Category Archives: Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District

Some Solano school district leaders to close sites for remainder of year – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

In response to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statement, made public on Wednesday, that he expects California K-12 campuses to remain closed for the remainder of the school year, at least two educators have announced their district sites will not reopen until the fall.

Vacaville Unified Superintendent Jane Shamieh and Dixon Unified Superintendent Brian Dolan have announced they will close their respective classrooms for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year, affecting some 15,000 students and thousands of employees.

“This does not mean the 2019-2020 academic year is finished,” Shamieh said in a press release issued Friday. “It means we have to find even more innovative ways to educate our students while adhering to the ‘shelter-at-home’ orders.”

Source: Coronavirus: Some Solano school district leaders to close sites for remainder of year – The Reporter

Amid COVID-19, FSUSD leaders host ‘Virtual Senior Information Night’ – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

In the ongoing COVID-19 era state and county officials have ordered most people to stay at home, but California schools are still in session and one particular group, seniors, harbors justifiable anxiety about their futures, including their pending graduations.

To allay some of those concerns, Fairfield-Suisun Unified leaders on Thursday evening connected virtually with nearly 900 high school seniors and their families in the largest Solano County district, with 22,000 students across two cities.

District officials, in their effort to dispel worries, livestreamed Virtual Senior Information Night on YouTube, which aired in English and Spanish, Coverage included graduation requirements, satisfying the University of California “a-g” requirements, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, college entrance requirements, credit recovery, graduation ceremonies and senior events and activities, district spokesman Tim Goree said in a press release issued Friday.

Source: Coronavirus: Amid COVID-19, FSUSD leaders host ‘Virtual Senior Information Night’ – The Reporter

Fairfield-Suisun Connects with High School Seniors and Their Families – Daily Republic

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By Tim Goree

The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District connected virtually Thursday evening with nearly 900 high school seniors and their families. The Virtual Senior Information Night presentation was conducted via livestream on YouTube. The important information was shared on the topics of graduation requirements, satisfying the University of California “a-g” requirements, Advanced Placement/International Baccalaureate exams, college entrance requirements, credit recovery, graduation ceremonies, and senior events/activities.

“We could have just sent an email or a letter to our families, but we wanted to try a different approach to reach our students,” said Superintendent Kris Corey. “I’d say it was a huge success based on the number of viewers who logged in. We were especially pleased to have nearly 90 viewers for our presentation conducted in Spanish.”

Source: Press Release: Fairfield-Suisun Connects with High School Seniors and Their Families

FSUSD Hiring Continues Despite School Closures – Daily Republic

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By Tim Goree

The Shelter at Home order doesn’t stop FSUSD Human Resources staff from interviewing, hiring, and placing staff into positions for the 2020-21 school year.

Virtual interviews were held with qualified candidates this week. Four of these candidates will be offered contracts for open positions within the district. First round interviews for the Nelda Mundy Elementary School Principal position were also held using virtual meeting technology. The candidates for this position participated in remote, virtual interviews with panel members. Second round interviews will also be held virtually.

There are currently 33 new hires under contract who were recruited from job fairs, online application pool interviews, and principal recommendations. These individuals will be assigned to positions at school sites for the 2020/2021 school year by April 10, 2020.

Source: Press Release: FSUSD Hiring Continues Despite School Closures

FSUSD leaders offer family-friendly tips, tools for ‘distance learning’ – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

State and local stay-at-home orders amid the COVID-19 pandemic have prompted never-before-seen experiments with online education at schools across the nation, and the process began Monday in Fairfield-Suisun Unified.

In Solano County’s largest school district, with 22,000 across 30 sites, the educational services department has devised family-friendly ways and means to help students press on, in the meantime, with their education outside the traditional school site setting.

Virtual school, aka known as “distance learning,” has existed for decades, but it has not been a common practice in American public schools because of digital inequities among students and concerns about implications for teachers, among other reasons.

Source: Coronavirus: FSUSD leaders offer family-friendly tips, tools for ‘distance learning’ – The Reporter

Solano County schools to remain closed through May 1 amid COVID-19 outbreak – Times-Herald

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All Solano County schools will be closed until at least May 1, Vallejo City Unified School District Superintendent Adam Clark announced in a message to parents Thursday.

Clark said the decision was made as a “coordinated response that represents a continued effort to reduce the number of affected individuals with COVID-19 and to keep our communities as safe as possible pursuant to the Governor’s Executive Order N-33-20, the current Solano County Order to Shelter At Home, and in consultation with Solano County Public Health.”

“The safety and wellness of students, school personnel, and the community are our highest priority,” Clark added.

Source: Solano County schools to remain closed through May 1 amid COVID-19 outbreak – Times-Herald

FSUSD Provides Family Friendly Tools For Distance Learning – Daily Republic

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By Tim Goree

Distance Learning Resources Available on the FSUSD Website.

School buildings are closed, but learning continues in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District (FSUSD). The Educational Services Department has worked diligently to provide family friendly tools to assist the 22,000 students being educated outside the traditional school site setting.

Source: Press Release: FSUSD Provides Family Friendly Tools For Distance Learning

Solano County school closures extended through May 1 – The Reporter

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By Nick Sestanovich

Solano County Office of Education has advised public school districts and charter schools to continue distance learning through at least May 1.

The guidance was issued after consulting with Solano County Public Health and is in accordance with both the county’s stay-at-home order and the similar executive order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom, SCOE officials announced in a news release Thursday.

Previously, the superintendents of Solano County’s school districts had announced closures with tentative dates for reopening beginning in late March and then rescheduled to mid-April. However, since Newsom has called for individuals to stay home and prohibit mass gatherings of more than 10 people indefinitely, SCOE — as well as school district superintendents and charter school leaders — settled on May 1 as a tentative return date but would work with state and local health officials to determine if the date will be extended further.

Source: Coronavirus: Solano County school closures extended through May 1 – The Reporter

Solano schools push back student return date to early May – Daily Republic

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By Bill Hicks

The Solano County Office of Education advised all school districts throughout the county Thursday to extend school closures and subsequent distance learning through May 1.

Action by the county office follows similar action taken Wednesday by the Fairfield-Suisun School District.

Solano County school districts and charter schools had previously announced tentative dates that would extend school closures until mid-April. However, Gov. Gavin Newsom has called for individuals to stay at home statewide and prohibited mass gatherings of more than 10 people – indefinitely.

Source: Solano schools push back student return date to early May

Educating in an Outbreak: CA Teachers Adapt to the New Reality of ‘Distance Learning’ | KQED News

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By Vanessa Rancaño

Mary Vanasit, a third grade teacher in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, is holding class for the first time since her school closed four days ago. On the computer screen in front of her, 21 of her 27 students form a squirming grid, each of them in their own little video chat universe.

Mason is rolling around in bed, Chris and Colton keep walking around, it’s impossible to understand Christian because he sounds like a robot, Kinley appears to be mildly tormenting her cat, and absolutely nobody is adhering to the hands-off-the-face mandate.

From her own box in the upper left corner of the screen, Vanasit does her best to keep the class on task. “Can you hit your speaker button so we don’t hear your background noise?” she asks one student. “Can you minimize your Zoom tab and then open Google Chrome?” she asks another. “If you look in the chat, it has the instructions.”

Source: Educating in an Outbreak: California Teachers Adapt to the New Reality of ‘Distance Learning’ | KQED News

High school artists win honors for ceramics, painting, more – Daily Republic

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By Amy Maginnis-Honey

The Fairfield-Suisun Visual Arts Association hosted its fourth annual art show open to area high schoolers.

Among the exhibitors was Katherine Gerhardt, a senior at Rodriguez High School.

She earned a Juror’s Choice Award for acrylic painting, “Cry Me a River,” which was inspired by Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art.

Gerhardt painted the 40-foot-by-60-foot work in her bedroom.

Source: High school artists win honors for ceramics, painting, more

Fairfield-Suisun school officials look for silver lining during virus outbreak – Daily Republic

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By Bills Hicks

“Out of crisis always comes opportunity,” Fairfield-Suisun School District Superintendent Kris Corey said Thursday during the scheduled meeting of district’s Board of Trustees, which included Trustees John Silva and Joan Gaut, as well as board president Judi Honeychurch checking in via phone to aid in the practice of social distancing.

Corey’s comments came in an effort to find as many silver linings as possible during a school closure period where district schools will remain closed during the Covid-19 outbreak through April 17, with students slated to return to campuses April 20.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun school officials look for silver lining during virus outbreak

FSUSD pitches in with free meals for children amid latest pandemic – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, as many other state and U.S. school districts are doing, Fairfield-Suisun Unified is pitching in, too, scrambling to feed students after state-mandated school closures.

In a press release issued Thursday, district leaders announced they have begun to serve breakfast and lunches to children ranging in age from newborns to 18 at seven school sites: Cleo Gordon Elementary, Fairfield High, Fairview Elementary, Grange Middle, Suisun Elementary, Crystal Middle School, and David A. Weir Preparatory Academy.

Source: Coronavirus: FSUSD pitches in with free meals for children amid latest pandemic – The Reporter

Solano County Schools To Close For 2 Weeks: Coronavirus | Dixon, CA Patch

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By Maggie Fusek

All public and charter schools in Solano County are closed beginning Monday because of the situation surrounding the coronavirus — COVID-19 — the Solano County Office of Education announced Friday.

“In light of the ever-changing situation with COVID-19, Solano County superintendents and charter school administrators have made the difficult decision to close schools ­­­­­­­­­for two weeks beginning Monday, March 16, 2020 through Friday, March 27, 2020,” SCOE said in statement. “Superintendents and charter school administrators will make a determination at that time about any further closures.”

Source: Solano County Schools To Close For 2 Weeks: Coronavirus | Dixon, CA Patch

Suit on Behalf of Five More California School Districts to Hold JUUL Labs, Inc. Accountable – Yahoo Finance

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California School Districts with Suits Filed Against JUUL Labs, Inc. (Graphic: Business Wire)

The five lawsuits, filed on behalf of Pacific Grove Unified School District, Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, El Dorado Union High School District, Downey Unified School District, and Santa Cruz City Schools were filed in their respective counties, and the Case Numbers are 20CV000991, FCS054513, PC20200144, 20STCV09614, respectively.

These districts join 18 other school districts that have also filed, including Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest school district in the nation; San Diego Unified, the second largest district in California; Glendale Unified; Compton Unified; Anaheim Elementary; King City Union; Ceres Unified; Chico Unified; Davis Joint Unified; Poway Unified; Rocklin Unified; Acalanes Union High; Monterey Peninsula Unified; Anaheim Union High; Castro Valley Unified; Campbell Union High; Cajon Valley Union; and North Monterey County Unified School District to take a stand against JUUL’s promotion of dangerous and addictive products.

Source: Baron & Budd and Panish Shea & Boyle File Suit on Behalf of Five More California School Districts to Hold JUUL Labs, Inc. Accountable for Targeting Youth and Creating an E-Cigarette Epidemic that Impedes District-Wide Learning

FSUSD’s Early College High School Program Grows – Daily Republic

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By Tim Goree

FSUSD and Solano Community College Collaborate to Grow Early College High School Program.

Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District’s Early College High School (ECHS) program is growing! In the 2020-2021 school year, ECHS will add 68 students to the 247 students that they currently serve. The new additional students will be split evenly between the ninth and tenth grades. An additional 34 students will be added to the freshman classes in the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years to increase the overall school population to nearly 400. The extra capacity will alleviate a growing waitlist of students eager to enter the successful program.

Source: Press Release: FSUSD’s Early College High School Program Grows

Positive Outcome from Another FSUSD Compliance Review – Daily Republic

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By Tim Goree

CDE indicates all review areas are in compliance and no response is required.

[Fairfield, CA], [March 6, 2020]: The Seamless Summer Option (SSO) allows sponsors to operate an open community meal site using the National School Lunch Program’s (NSLP) administrative and monitoring requirements. The purpose of the SSO is to assist traditional and year-round schools to make nutritious meals more accessible to children.

Representatives from the California Department of Education (CDE) conducted an Administrative review of Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District’s Seamless Summer Feeding Option for the month of June 2019, and all review areas are in compliance. Once again, FSUSD excels when its operational processes are scrutinized.

Source: Press Release: Positive Outcome from Another FSUSD Compliance Review

Adapted physical education students bowl for joy, thanks to Joy – Daily Republic

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By Amy Maginnis-Honey

Middle and high school students from the Fairfield-Suisun School District wasted no time seeking strikes and spares at the annual Adapted Physical Education bowling event.

More than 160 of them filled the bowling alley lanes at Stars. Pizza, soda and other treats were served to the bowlers, all with varying levels of skills.

Shirley Cavasos was accompanied by 30 young people from Rodriguez High School, Green Valley Middle School and Oakbrook Elementary.

Source: Adapted physical education students bowl for joy, thanks to Joy

Digital bookmobile new school literacy tool – The Reporter

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By Kimberly K. Fu

Earlier this week, a 53-foot long literacy program on wheels rolled into Fairview Elementary School in Fairfield to bring the joy of the written word to students.

The Digital Bookmobile by Overdrive was welcomed with a cacophony cheers as students waited in line for a turn to enter the traveling library.

That done, the youths poured into the vehicle and took seats in the exhibit area. They learned to access ebooks and audiobooks offered by the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District using a touchscreen at the front of the room. Hands waved excitedly throughout the short instruction period and the kids, of the generation that seems born with digital knowledge, quickly got the hang of the material.

Source: Digital bookmobile new school literacy tool – The Reporter

Rodriguez announces inaugural class for Athletic Hall of Fame, new football coach – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

Rodriguez High announced the inaugural class for the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame, which includes two former NFL players and a former Gatorade California State Softball Player of the Year, during halftime of Thursday’s home boys basketball game with Armijo.

Oh, and one of those inductees was announced as the new football coach.

Stevie Johnson – who had 1,000 receiving yards in three of his six seasons with the Buffalo Bills and also played for the San Francisco 49ers and San Diego Chargers – was introduced as the school’s 11th football coach as well, replacing Stephen Meyers, who was 9-19 in three seasons.

Source: Rodriguez announces inaugural class for Athletic Hall of Fame, new football coach