April Report: Things I've done for/or attended around the district. 

Hello Placerville Union School District Staff and Parents. It's been a busy time and I've fallen behind in reporting out on the events I've been able to observe or participate in on the different campuses. 

In November I was able to participate by serving at the Turkey Dinner Feast and Celebration and the staff and students "Ate it Up!"" Great to see the coordinated effort between our Admin, school staff, parents, board members and community. 

In December I was able to attend the California School Boards Association Trustee conference. There was a strong focus on Al and what it can do for us if we "partner" with it, but emphasized we need to make sure it is used safely. Our tech department is on top of this with our role out of the Magic School, which comes with safeguards! 

I was also honored to be a facilitator for the Small and Rural Schools workgroup presentation on A Day in the Life of the Superintendent/ Principal. The discussion was illuminating and given the many hats this role demands it became apparent that the right person for this role MUST be driven by a LOVE of educating students! 

In January, we held the DELAC meeting, and the focus was on clarifying the district policy on how we respond if ICE were to come to our schools. Mr. Bonniksen did a great job explaining what our process is, and this helped to waylay fears that parents were having. Our focus is making our school's safe and welcoming for all our students! 

In February we had our Board Workshop and took part of this time to learn more about the Parent Liaison positions and what they are accomplishing. I was very impressed with all they are doing at each site to engage parents and make sure parents are informed and accessing the information or services they may need to help their students learn and thrive at school. I was also able to attend the monthly Bobcat Store where the kids enjoyed spending their hard-earned Bobcat Bucks on a plethora of items. Afterwards I attended the Virtue Assembly where students from each class were awarded for their kindness to others, and Mr. Wilson was awarded outstanding volunteer for his 15 years of volunteering at Schnell. What a role model and such a giving person he is! 

March and April were chocked full of activities! In early March I was able to attend my first Legislative action week, and we met with Assemblyman Patterson to ask for support of the Save Rural Schools Act, increasing the substitute teacher daily 

count to 60 days to ensure consistency and stability when staff are out on longer term leave, and support for prop 98 dollars to remain in EDUCATION budget and not taken for other purposes. He agreed with all our requests. 

I attended the Markham girls' basketball championship games where Markham's 7th Graders took 1st place and 8th Graders took 3rd place, Go Panthers! I also attended "Pay it Forward" presentations in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade classes. There were many projects that spread kind messages throughout downtown Placerville with painted rocks with sweet messages, to handing out roses to people at random in hopes of making their day, as well as service projects at the Upper Room and the local Senior living facility. I was truly proud to hear what the students learned and that their intentions were to bring a smile without expecting anything in return. What a great lesson! I was also able to attend the Unified Basketball tournament at both Markham and Sierra this year and this was such a highlight for our students, with lots of grinning from ear to ear on their faces as well as parents and staff. Truly inspiring! 

I was also able to review the new Kinder - 5th grade math curriculum that we're looking at and it looks fabulous, and I am excited to hear how the implementation goes. If this is what we do pass. 

Finally, I continue as a member of the State Level California School Boards Association (CSBA) Small and Rural Schools Workgroup and attend monthly meeting that address issues our Small Rural school District face. Through this groups input, CSBA took up the cause and has been effective in advocating for a decrease in documentation. The legislature know that schools are drowning in excessive and often repetitive documentation that takes time away from educating and supporting students. The Legislature is now mandated to review all documentation, identify duplication and eventually reduce the amount of documentation to streamline documentation. This will save Districts much needed time to attend to student needs! 

Happy Spring! 

Chris Belmer, PUSD Board Vice President