It’s time for parents of four- and five-year-olds to enroll their children in either transitional kindergarten (TK) or kindergarten for the 2024-25 school year. Students must turn five years old by September 1 to enroll in kindergarten and must turn five between September 2 and June 2 to enroll in transitional kindergarten.
To support local families with young children, many school districts host annual kindergarten registration events, where parents can come in person to complete registration forms and make sure their child has the required health vaccinations.
Kelseyville Unified School District’s TK/Kindergarten Enrollment Fair is on May 30 from 3:00 - 6:00 pm in the Kelseyville MUR Building located on the Kelseyville Elementary School campus. Those who would like their child to receive vaccinations from the Lake County Public Health Department must pre-register for the event by April 26 at kvusd.org/district/portal/registration.
TK and kindergartners (and all students new to the district) must present the following documents to enroll: birth certificate, proof of up-to-date immunizations (visit shotsforschool.org for details), proof of address, a school entry physical examination by a licensed medical provider, and an oral health exam by a licensed dental provider. It’s a good idea to make the medical and dental appointments as early as possible, because everyone is scrambling to get them the week before school starts.
Now is also the time when families with children who want to attend a school that isn’t in their home district must request interdistrict transfers. Unfortunately, we may not be able to accommodate all requests, especially for those from out of the district who want to attend one of our elementary schools. Riviera Elementary currently has 300 enrolled students and Kelseyville Elementary has about 600, putting us at or over capacity. Interdistrict transfer requests are due by July 31, 2024.
I am happy to report that we have enough space for all students who live within our district boundaries, but given the addition of a new apartment complex and the number of families moving into town, our schools are filling up fast. This means that even if a Kelseyville student has been attending an out-of-neighborhood school, there’s no guarantee their intradistrict transfer will be approved again this year. Students must request an intradistrict transfer every year before school starts. (Transfer requests are due May 31, 2024. Forms are available at kvusd.org/portal/registration.)
All transfers are approved or denied based on California Education Code and the criteria outlined in our school board policy. Once we are sure we have enough room for all the neighborhood students who belong in a school, we look at class sizes. If we have extra space, we evaluate applications by considering factors like whether a student is experiencing special circumstances that might be harmful or dangerous to them, as well as whether a student has a sibling or parent who works at the school they want to transfer to.
We are thrilled that so many people want their children to attend Kelseyville schools, and we don’t like turning anyone away, but we must follow the laws that govern California public schools and our own board policies. For additional information about school enrollment at Kelseyville Unified, visit kvusd.org/District/Portal/registration or email us at welcomecenter@kvusd.org.
You may be surprised to learn that when our youngest students miss just two days of school per month for any reason—excused or unexcused—they can become third-graders who can’t make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn; sixth-graders who cannot keep up in core classes, and high school students who do not graduate.
Missing ten percent of school, which equates to about 18 days for the whole school year, is called “chronic absenteeism” and children living in poverty are more than twice as likely to be chronically absent. This is especially harmful in kindergarten through third grade when students are building fundamental language and math skills.
Even when students are absent because of something important like a medical appointment or family emergency, they still miss out on the teacher’s lesson and social time with their peers. Studies show it takes three days for students to catch up for every one day they miss.
Here’s why. When students miss a day of school, they not only miss that day’s lesson, they also struggle to keep up when they return to the classroom because lessons build on each other. If they missed yesterday, today’s lesson will be harder. They don’t like feeling behind, so they disengage. When school goes from being fun to confusing, from being easy to hard, many students stop trying.
The best thing parents can do is to get their children to school every single day. This means scheduling appointments after school when possible. It means planning family trips to coincide with school holidays. It means only keeping students home for illness when they have one of these three symptoms: a fever higher than 100 degrees; diarrhea or vomiting during the previous 24 hours; or eyes that look pink and/or crusty.
I understand the desire to keep kids home from school when they have the sniffles, to wrap them up in a cozy blanket and feed them chicken noodle soup. But allowing them to skip school just a couple of days a month can significantly affect their success at school.
When you get your child to school every day, it sends a message: that showing up every day is important. And these good habits can last a lifetime.
Some people think I am worried about attendance because of the drop in funding that occurs when students are absent. It’s true–I do care about funding, but only because of what funding allows us to do for our students. More funding means we can hire more teachers, which reduces class sizes. Smaller class sizes allow each child to receive more individual attention from their teacher.
Chronic absenteeism impacts more than academics. At school, students learn to navigate complex social interactions with peers, they develop respectful relationships with caring adults, and they explore extracurricular interests like athletics, art, and music. They also get a roof over their heads, a free meal, and a safe space to be themselves.
Unfortunately, students whose families are struggling financially are a lot more likely to be absent because of factors out of their control, such as unstable housing, unreliable transportation and a lack of access to health care. If you are having trouble getting your child to school every day, talk to their teacher. We’ll do what we can to connect you with more resources—other families who could help out, district support, or assistance from community organizations.
Education is the path to success and having students in school every day is the path to a great education.
School funding in California depends on both state funding and local tax dollars. State funding can only be used for operational expenses like teacher salaries, supplies, and other materials directly related to student instruction. For facilities maintenance and construction, schools depend on local tax dollars.
In 2016, Kelseyville voters passed Measure U by a significant margin, allowing us to make essential upgrades and repairs to our schools. We kept the community informed of our progress along the way, so people knew we respected and appreciated their support. Thanks to sensible planning from our school board and careful execution from our staff and community partners, we were able to complete projects at every single school, even in the midst of a pandemic.
Some of the highlights included a new multi-use room (MUR) at Kelseyville Elementary that now serves as both a cafeteria and a gymnasium. Before we had a MUR, kids didn’t have a covered space where they could eat lunch. At Riviera Elementary, we upgraded the parking lot to make it safer and enhance the flow of traffic. At Mountain Vista Middle School, we renovated classrooms and bathrooms and added shade covers over ADA-compliant walkways. At Kelseyville High School, we built a state-of-the-art shop building and installed air conditioning in the gym.
These enhancements continue to make a big difference for our students. However, our work isn’t finished. Due to increased enrollment and the normal wear and tear of so many students on our campuses, we need to invest in our schools again. This should be the last time we request a bond measure for many years.
To figure out exactly what we needed, we hired a company to objectively assess our school campuses. Here’s what they said:
Original and historic buildings throughout the district are especially in urgent need of modernizing in order to meet current safety and accessibility standards, as well as access to the digital education tools necessary for our 21st century learning environment…Given increasing construction, maintenance, and utility costs, as well as the need for facilities to serve as an important community resource for emergency shelter in extreme weather and disaster events, this Needs Assessment focuses on safety, accessibility, durability, and cost containment/mitigation.
Right now, Kelseyville Elementary is bursting at the seams. For the 2023-24 school year, we had to deny requests from several families who wanted to transfer in, and still, we are at 600 students (which is significantly beyond the population the school was built for). With Measure Q funding, we would be able to update and build more classrooms, modernize the playground, replace non-operable windows, repair and repaint walls, and more.
At Riviera Elementary, we are also planning for a future with more students. This creates the need for more classrooms, an updated HVAC (heating and air conditioning) system, and replacing floors, cabinets, and data infrastructure.
At Mountain Vista Middle School, we’re planning on more classrooms, an upgrade to the irrigation system, replacing and repainting damaged walls and ceiling tiles, and more. I was principal at MVMS when the last round of updates occurred. After that, the new classrooms and bathrooms were never hit by vandals, only older parts of the campus. Students took pride in the parts of their school that were in good repair.
At Kelseyville High School, the pipe that carries sewage is half as big as it should be. This results in back-ups and problems that none of us wants to think about, but that our janitors and maintenance folks cannot avoid. Roofs and exterior siding are in need of phased replacement, and the remaining portable buildings on campus are more than 30 years old, which is far past their expiration date.
The point is, we are not asking for fancy upgrades. We are asking for essential maintenance and additional space to meet our growing student population. A new apartment building is under construction in the Kelseyville Elementary area, which will only increase our need for more room.
We're happy to welcome more families to our Kelseyville community, but we need enough funding to provide adequate school facilities. Kelseyville Unified is proud of our good reputation, and we are dedicated to maintaining it.
We know that when a school district has a good reputation, it's easier for businesses to recruit employees to the area. There’s a lot of research that says well-maintained schools contribute to a positive campus culture, which increases student attendance and therefore, performance. Also, great facilities attract great teachers and we are competing for staff because of the nationwide teacher shortage.
The bottom line is that our kids deserve a safe and comfortable place to learn. They need classrooms where air conditioning works in the summer and heaters work in the winter, allowing them to concentrate on their studies rather than the temperature. They need doors and windows that seal properly, furniture that isn’t broken, and walls where the paint isn’t peeling off. They need brightly lit classrooms and safe playground equipment.
Investing in schools is about the biggest bang for your buck you can hope for. These students are our future doctors, lawyers, teachers, and law enforcement officers. They will be taking care of us eventually. Let’s take care of them now.
“New year, new me!” We’ve all said this once, or twice, or every single January. We kick off the year feeling motivated and hopeful, but as time goes by, our resolutions can become harder to achieve and eventually, they fade away. We tell ourselves we’ll try again next year, and the cycle continues. So, why is it so hard to reach the goals we set for ourselves?
Success relies on three factors: setting clear, realistic goals; fostering internal motivation; and most importantly, understanding the true purpose of the goal–not just the desired outcome but why it matters in the bigger scheme of things.
In education, goal-setting is important because it helps all of us challenge ourselves–students, staff, and administrators. Measuring progress and celebrating small successes can increase our self-confidence and reinforce our desire to keep striving toward our larger goal.
I’ve found that the best way for me to stay motivated is to focus on how my goal connects to my larger purpose. When I can see how my actions contribute to something I care about, however boring or unpleasant those tasks may be, I am more likely to do them–and to reach my goal. Apparently, I am not alone because there are lots of books on this subject (check out Simon Sinek’s Start with Why).
As the superintendent, the thing that gets me up in the morning is the idea of KVUSD students being able to pursue fulfilling careers and enjoy their lives. As a result, I spend a lot of time focusing on student achievement.
As I work backwards from my main purpose (Kelseyville kids who grow up to have fulfilling careers and happy lives), I look at the steps that increase the chances of success. Graduating from high school is a key predictor, so I want high graduation rates. Then I ask myself what increases the likelihood of graduating from high school. Research shows that students who learn to read by third grade are significantly more likely to graduate. So, that’s my goal–learning to read by third grade. Do I really care if students learn to read when they are 8 or 9 or 10 years old? Not really. But if data tells us that reading by third grade makes a significant difference, then I am motivated to make it happen.
When we work with children, explaining how their tasks connect to a larger purpose can help them understand why something matters, and celebrating along the way can definitely inspire their engagement. This is why we track mastery of each multiplication table with fun stickers on a chart. It's why kids are so excited to beat their own race times in PE class. Accomplishing these goals step-by-step builds their confidence and motivates them to achieve new heights.
Once we get into the habit of goal-setting, anything is possible. Strategic goals set our kids up for academic success, but building the habit of goal-setting lays a foundation for success in whatever they take on later in life.
Set your goal. Track your progress. Know your “why.” Let’s show our children the power of purpose. There is never a better time to start than right now.
As the holiday season approaches, excitement and anticipation are in the air. Festive decorations fill the streets and stores. We’re bombarded with images of beautifully wrapped gifts, freshly baked cookies, and advertisements for every new gadget under the sun.
But for some, rather than a time of joy and celebration, the holidays can bring up complex emotions like grief, loneliness, financial stress, and unmet expectations. These not-so-cheery aspects of the holidays are hard for adults, but even more so for kids, who may not have the experience and skills to handle hard situations.
Curious children not only compare gifts, but traditions and celebrations as well. In our community Winter Break is often synonymous with Christmas Break–but it’s important to remember it’s not the only holiday celebrated.
Isolation
A big part of school is finding your crowd–the people who make you feel like you belong. The holidays can put a wedge between people, making them feel lonely or inferior. Not everyone celebrates Christmas. Wedge. Not everyone can afford the newest tech or fashion. Wedge. Not everyone is excited to spend time at home. Wedge.
And, anytime there’s a break from school, some students will lose more than just classroom instruction–they’ll miss the free meals that keep them fed, the social interactions that bring them joy, and the care of trusted adults at school who make them feel safe and seen.
There’s just no getting around it–the holidays can magnify stress, which feels so much worse with holiday carols playing in the background. Here are some issues to consider with ideas on how you might reduce the emotional challenges that can accompany this time of year.
Grief
One of the most difficult aspects of the holidays is navigating loss. Whether the absence of a loved one is due to death, divorce, or simply a change in circumstances, the holidays can make that loss feel especially painful.
Although it’s hard, it’s important for parents to acknowledge these feelings in themselves and to encourage their children to express their grief rather than bottle it up. If you’re a parent of a Kelseville student and you believe your student needs extra support right now, please reach out to your school’s counselor to discuss options.
One idea to help reduce the pain of an absent loved one is to give yourself permission to create new traditions. Rather than trying to keep things the way they’ve always been, change things up.
Financial Stress
Financial stress can also make the holidays harder. Not only are there higher expenses, there are also higher expectations. Between childcare, food, activities, and gifts, it can be hard to keep up. Then, when children come home asking for unaffordable gifts, parents can feel doubly sad.
Locally, Toys for Tots can provide assistance for families who are struggling financially. And if your child attends Kelseyville Elementary School or Mountain Vista Middle School, don’t hesitate to contact your child’s school counselor to request that your child be put on the staff gift tree. Every year Kelseyville Unified employees contribute to holiday gifts for students to make their season a little brighter.
Other Options
The holidays come with many challenges, but there’s still so much joy to be experienced and memories to be made. So what can we do to make this season more enjoyable for parents and children?
It can be helpful to focus on experiences rather than “things,” such as spending quality time together playing games, volunteering, or going outdoors. Go for a walk or hike, play in the snow (if we get any), or come up with a scavenger hunt. If you’re having trouble thinking of new ideas, Google “free activities with kids” and pages of ideas will appear. Here’s one I found: www.verywellfamily.com/absolutely-free-activities-for-kids-2997490. Family activities can create precious memories without the need for extravagant spending.
One activity that is scientifically proven to improve people’s mental health is practicing gratitude. Consider asking everyone in your family to make a list of the things they are most thankful for–right now and throughout the year. Are your kids thankful for the way the family dog greets them each morning? Are they thankful for playing at the park? All those little things add up.
While the holidays can pose some challenges, they also offer an opportunity to teach kids resilience and how to find joy in everyday experiences.
When we are introduced to different perspectives, it changes how we see the world. One of the great things about Kelseyville Unified is that we have students and staff from many different backgrounds who learn from each other every day.
In our schools, English and Spanish are the most common languages. Being able to speak both not only allows someone to connect with pretty much everyone at school, it also provides a window into another culture. Plus, learning more than one language enhances brain development.
When children enroll in a public school in California, if they speak a language other than English at home, they take an English proficiency test to make sure their English skills will enable them to keep up with instruction.
If their English needs work, they are placed in the English Learner Program. This program consists of both individualized support and integrated language-building activities. Integrated language-building includes teaching methods such as giving students an opportunity to practice talking with each other using specific scripts to build vocabulary. These language-building practices benefit all kids, not just English Learners.
To make sure no one falls behind, KVUSD has made language development an integral part of how we work. Many of our teachers have been trained in guided language acquisition design (GLAD), so they have more tools to help students gain English proficiency. And the results speak for themselves: last year, an impressive 25 students tested out of the English Learner Program.
Achieving English proficiency before high school lays a strong foundation for future academic success. As classes become more challenging, the ability to understand and communicate effectively in English is essential for complex subject matter.
While it is important to make sure our Spanish-speaking students become fluent in English, it is also important to provide English-speaking students with the opportunity to learn Spanish. This is why we sought the grant funding that allowed us to start our dual immersion program at Kelseyville Elementary School.
Research shows that bilingual children, meaning those who are fluent in two languages, develop stronger thinking, logic, and language skills, as well as better problem-solving and abstract thought processes. Being bilingual also helps children develop stronger social-emotional processing skills, such as delayed gratification (being patient and willing to put in work when the reward doesn’t come immediately).
This is the first year of our dual-immersion program. We are starting with kindergarten and first grade and will expand the program over the next several years as students progress through fifth grade.
Research shows that dual-immersion programs close the learning gap for Spanish speakers by allowing them to learn basic academic concepts in their native language. These programs also immerse our English speakers in another language, allowing them to quickly become bilingual. Though there may be an initial struggle for native English speakers, research shows that things click around third grade and then they sky rocket academically.
For students to be successful, schools and families must work together. To support our Spanish-speaking families, KVUSD has hired Bilingual Liaison Alex Duarte. She assists Spanish-speaking families by providing them with the resources they need to help their children succeed. For example, when a student needs to enroll with the district, there are a lot of required documents. Alex walks families through the whole process, step by step.
Alex is stationed at the district’s Welcome Center, but is happy to meet parents at school campuses for their convenience. Alex also attends district meetings to translate information for those who attend. She wants people to know they can ask for help with anything school related. She is wonderfully approachable and very capable.
We can’t wait to see the benefits our dual-immersion program will provide to our students as they progress on their educational journeys.
In some ways, public education is like parenting. With parenting, all you have to do is raise your child. Of course, any parent reading this is thinking, “Yeah, simple. No problem. Easy peasy.” Well, education is kind of the same. All we have to do is educate students. How hard can it be?
As you might imagine, to do this right, local school districts must have hundreds of people who understand and care about all the ways we need to support kids, including creating an environment that is safe and conducive to learning. It reminds me of the meme “Be like a duck… be calm on the surface but paddle like crazy underneath.” This pretty much sums up a day in the life of a school district.
When students arrive on campus, everything is in good working order. Our schools are clean and welcoming. Students don’t have to worry about whether it’s safe to enter a classroom or use the facilities. This is as it should be, but it doesn’t happen without a whole lot of planning and a dedicated crew of skilled employees.
Recently, I asked our maintenance and operations director, Kyle Reams, to share his team’s work with our school board. The amount of effort and number of details required to keep school campuses in good working order–and meet our students’ evolving needs–is truly mind-boggling. Not only that, the work typically has to happen when students aren’t on campus, requiring projects to be squeezed into the hours or days when students are on vacation or between terms (the weeks before and after summer school).
With such small windows of opportunity, you might think the Maintenance team would just take care of the most urgent needs, but no, they do it all. Here’s a small sample of the work done this summer.
As soon as school was out in June, the Maintenance Department, Information Technology Department, and almost all district custodians moved the offices of our Kelseyville Learning Academy, Welcome (Registration) Center, Student Services, and teachers from all school sites so we could deep clean, repair, renovate, and modernize school campuses. I don’t know if you’ve ever moved your office–all the furniture, your computer and tech tools, and all the other miscellaneous stuff you’ve acquired over the years–but let me tell you, it’s a major undertaking.
Once everyone was moved, the work began. The Maintenance folks proceeded to prepare the Gard Street location for our new Monarch Program where young adults with special needs learn to be more self-sufficient. The facility includes a newly constructed laundry area and a full kitchen.
Before summer school started, the Maintenance crew coordinated the installation of a ductless HVAC system to control the interior temperature of the 4,000-square-foot kitchen where our awesome Food Service Department prepares meals for all Kelseyville students. After summer school ended, the crew coordinated the installation of a commercial ice machine with the capacity to support all district food service needs. They also put the compressor/condensing unit outside to avoid heating up the interior.
In other parts of KHS, the Maintenance team worked with contractors to replace a 70-year-old, 4-inch sewer pipe with a new 8-inch sewer line. Our Maintenance team also replaced the asphalt on the main parking lot from the ground up (base rock, regrading, and re-compacting) to make it ADA-compliant. Finally, they renovated and modernized the staff bathrooms to match the already-updated, ADA-compliant student bathrooms.
At KES, they installed ADA-compliant walkways, 6-foot-tall fences, and black decorative gates, as well as a separator to prevent adventuresome preschoolers from running and hiding on the KES campus for fun. In our multi-use room (MUR), they installed a high-resolution projector and powered screen with an integrated bluetooth, blu-ray, and wireless microphone system for school assemblies, sporting events, movie nights, and more.
In the beginning of August, right before school was about to start, we realized that the EDMO classroom needed new ceiling tiles, paint, and carpet, so the Maintenance team rushed to get that done, too.
For the Transportation Department, we purchased a new office trailer. The Maintenance and Information Technology teams, along with contractors, hooked up all necessary services, one of them being an electrical upgrade from a single 100-amp subpanel to a 3-phase, 200-amp service.
At the District Office, they began a renovation to make room for our expanding business office. We’ve been making do for a while, but now we’re converting the west side of the building from one office and one break room to two offices and a break room. Having adequate space will be great for our hard-working employees.
After years of drought, we also needed to trim back many of our beautiful trees to maintain their health–and to keep students and staff safe. So that’s done, too.
These projects do not account for the thousands of other projects our Maintenance team completed. We are lucky to have such a skilled and dedicated group of folks taking care of our campuses, keeping everyone safe, and providing spaces where students and staff can do their best work.
At Kelseyville Unified, we are in the business of helping students realize their potential, and we know that working together with parents and others who care about kids means we can do our best work. We all do better when we collaborate in life–when we combine our knowledge, talent, and creativity toward a common goal–whether we are students working on a class project or adults teaming up to solve complex challenges.
Volunteering to support kids in school can be a regular activity or a one-and-done experience, depending on how much time and energy you have. You can help out in the classroom weekly, chaperone events periodically, serve as a guest speaker once, or participate in any of a number of school groups and committees with varying time commitments.
Every single bit helps. In the classroom, parents can lighten a teacher’s load and provide students with more individual attention. Parent volunteers can also allow the class to take on projects that would be much harder for a teacher to do alone. On field trips and during other school events, parent volunteers help ensure student safety.
In our middle school and high school AVID classrooms, we invite guest speakers from the community to highlight their college and career choices and which classes helped them get to where they are today. Learning about other people’s choices and experiences can give students a new perspective and new hope. It’s so important for students to see new possibilities and to understand that the road to success isn’t always straight or simple or obvious.
My own path took some unexpected turns. I’ve let plenty of kids know that I dropped out of college at one point, but I still ended up earning my doctorate and becoming a superintendent. Truth be told, sometimes setbacks allow you to find a better route or choose a whole different path.
If you want to learn more about being a guest speaker, contact our AVID coordinator, Jen Conrad, at jconrad@kvusd.org. If you are a parent or community member interested in supporting local students in other ways, consider these options.
School Site Council - Every school has a site council and we are currently looking for people who are interested in running for election. Site council members support positive school culture, strong academic performance, and student safety. The council is made up of parents, teachers, and administrators who review and approve the school safety plan, analyze academic and attendance data, and review suspension rates. Then, the council works together to develop an annual plan to improve performance.
It’s amazing what can happen when different perspectives are thrown into the mix. A few years ago, we were having trouble attracting enough AVID tutors when a parent asked whether high school students could help out. Such a brilliant solution–and now that’s how we do it. Parents bring their students’ ideas too, and those help inform our decision-making.
Elementary & Middle School Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) - If you are a parent of a student in transitional kindergarten through eighth grade, we invite you to join your school’s PTO. These parent-driven organizations host events and fundraisers to enrich our students’ learning and development. This is a great way to meet other parents, too.
Kelseyville High School Parent Booster Club - The booster club raises money to support school athletics, from uniforms to equipment and more. Plus, it’s fun!
District Advisory Committee - This committee is open to parents and community members. We ask for a two-year term with quarterly meetings to set districtwide goals.
If you’re reading all of this and thinking you might like to do more than volunteer–that you’d like to work in education, please check out our open positions by visiting kvusd.org and clicking on Work With Us. Rewarding careers in education come with competitive salaries, benefits, training, and growth opportunities. Some positions require teaching credentials; others do not. If you are interested in becoming a teacher, you can begin teaching while you get your credential. Visit the Lake County Office of Education for more information.
When parents and community members get involved in our schools, it is great for our students–it is also rewarding and fun for adults. Join us!
Spring is here and that means the school year is wrapping up. This was the first year since the pandemic where we were able to settle into a routine without constant interruptions–no hybrid schedules, no mask mandates, no COVID testing. Without those distractions we were able to help students refocus on school, and it felt great.
Of course, making up for lost time isn’t easy. But we have a great staff and well-structured programs that allow us to support students, especially when they start to falter. One of the most powerful programs is called Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), a tiered framework to improve student behavior that depends on setting clear expectations, reinforcing good behavior, and proactively supporting students who are having a hard time.
With PBIS, a struggling student might start and end each day by checking in with a trusted adult on campus who helps the student set goals for the day and make a plan for the obstacles most likely to cause problems. I love the PBIS approach because it integrates all of the data, systems, and practices affecting student outcomes–and data is my thing!
Another data-driven approach to help students regain their academic, social, and emotional footing is for teachers to work collaboratively to address issues. We continue to reinforce our professional learning communities (PLCs) where teachers can identify and solve challenges together. As we implement new curriculum, teachers can support each other to make sure students are getting the most out of learning. We’ve seen great gains in early reading, for example, because every K-5 teacher is spending at least 15 minutes a day using the Sonday System, which is based on phonics (a time-tested approach). Doing this schoolwide and then discussing results with professional peers helps reinforce the program.
In May and June, we host many end-of-year celebrations–visit kvusd.org and click on Events for details. Also during these months, students complete state testing and we invite parents and staff to complete surveys to evaluate school and district communication. We’ll use this information to meet the needs of our students, families, and employees in the coming year.
As we plan for this summer, Kelseyville Unified School District is offering a half-day summer school program for kindergarten through eighth grade July 5 through August 2 from 8:00 am until 12:30 pm. Summer School sites include Kelseyville Elementary and Mountain Vista Middle School. Our goal is to address learning loss in core subjects. (Applications for summer school are due June 8.)
Moving into next year, we’ll have even more to offer. We are expanding pre-kindergarten classes at both elementary schools, and at Kelseyville Elementary, we are launching a dual-immersion program where students in kindergarten and first grade will receive instruction in both English and Spanish with the goal of creating bilingual high school graduates. Research shows that students enrolled in dual-immersion programs typically out-perform their single-language peers on state assessments.
If you’re reading all of this and thinking you might like to work in education, please check out our open positions by visiting kvusd.org and clicking on Work With Us. Rewarding careers in education come with competitive salaries, benefits, training, and growth opportunities. Many positions have the same schedule as students with holidays and summers off, which is really convenient if you’re a parent. Some positions require teaching credentials; others do not. If you are interested in becoming a teacher, you can begin teaching while you get your credential. Visit the Lake County Office of Education for more information.
By Mike Jones, KHS Principal and Adriana Macias-Rodriguez, KHS Vice Principal
Whether we like it or not, social media is here to stay. It has become part of modern-day life for just about everyone, including our students. According to a recent Pew Research Study, 95 percent of teens in the U.S. between the ages of 13 and 17 have access to a smartphone, with more than a third admitting they use one or more of the major social media platforms “almost constantly." That adds up to a lot of screen time–about 7.5 hours per day for the average child according to Common Sense Media.
To be fair, social media has some benefits that deserve mentioning. It gives kids a way to connect with their peers, especially around shared interests and hobbies. Students can also discover resources and opportunities for learning, and get timely information from school staff and teachers. Social media platforms can even be a great outlet for creative expression.
Unfortunately, the consequences often outweigh the benefits. Social media can significantly impact children’s mental and physical health. After staring at their phones late into the night, students come to school the next morning tired with poor posture and fatigued eyes, making it difficult for them to focus in class. And that’s just the beginning. More serious problems, such as the skyrocketing rates of depression and anxiety among teenagers, are also being tied to social media, in part because of the ever-present cyberbullying that occurs. And kids are so used to doing everything online these days that they don’t hang out in person as often, leading to feelings of isolation.
As much as some of us would love to ban smartphones altogether, it just isn’t realistic. They’ve become an essential part of how we all connect, whether it’s staying in touch with family or communicating with employers. Instead, at Kelseyville Unified, we take proactive measures to encourage kids to use phones and social media responsibly.
To start, we have a policy at Kelseyville High School that prohibits phone use during class, with strict consequences for breaking the rules, including a loss of phone privileges. We also address social media head-on by engaging students and families with initiatives like our Kindness Campaign and events like Family Night Out, where guest speakers provide information and share resources about cyberbullying and responsible social media use. Earlier this month, for example, Monique Turner from the nonprofit Family Purpose led a discussion about the negative effects of social media with great tips on how to safeguard our children.
But we can only do so much here at school. We ask parents to do what we cannot: to take an active role in managing their kids’ social media use.
It all starts with being interested and involved. Think about all the time your kids spend online. Do you know what they’re looking at or who they’re talking to? One way to find out is to ask. Social media is an enormous part of their world, so knowing about their social media can let you know a lot about what is influencing their decisions. Be proactive instead of waiting for something bad to happen. Start a conversation about what they’re doing online.
If you believe your children are dealing with negative consequences from excessive social media use, a conversation is a good start, but might not be enough. Consider setting boundaries on their social media use – and maybe their phone use altogether. It can be hard to know where the privacy line is as a parent. You want to trust your kids, but you also need to know they’re safe and healthy. Trust your instincts.
Perhaps you designate certain times when your kids can and can’t use their phones or encourage them to pursue activities that don’t require screens. Scheduled social media breaks can help normalize spending time without a device. You can even incentivize the appropriate use of social media. Just make sure you’re being an upstanding digital citizen yourself. Kids see what family members post on social media and how they interact with others, and they’re likely to mirror that behavior.
Each child has a unique relationship with their phone. Some kids can handle more screen time, others less, but when it comes to social media, they all need monitoring. Start by taking an interest in what they’re doing online while keeping an eye on their physical and mental health. A few questions and a few boundaries can help make sure that social media creates more good than trouble in your child’s life.
5/8/24 6:42 PM
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