
Super DAC News: June 2023
All District Advisory Council / Committee Monthly Update
Welcome
Hello, Conejo Valley USD Community!
Welcome to this edition of Super DAC News, a monthly newsletter that highlights the work and activities of CVUSD’s six parent district advisory councils and the student district advisory committee. We hope that the information shared here each month is informative and helpful to families, students, staff, community members and community partners.
News & Updates from the DACs
African American District Advisory Council (AADAC)
We look forward to providing our next update in a future Super DAC Monthly! In the meantime, please click here to visit the AADAC webpage and learn more about us.
District Advisory Council (DAC)
At our May DAC meeting, the final meeting of the school year, we voted to update our by-laws, and we voted in our new slate of Executive Board officers for 2023-2024. We also recognized outgoing DAC member Susan Hanscom, who has been part of DAC for 12 years, for her many outstanding contributions to DAC and her service in various roles, including Chair, Vice Chair and Parliamentarian — Susan, you will be missed!
Retired Chief of Police Tim Hagel delivered our meeting’s primary presentation about the work of Safe Passage, the organization he founded to serve vulnerable youth in our city and a community partner for CVUSD. Safe Passage is dedicated to ensuring emotional connection and overall success for students by providing safety, food, literacy, STEAM education, mentoring, job opportunities and community.
Finally, we ended the year on a high note (literally) with a phenomenal performance by the award-winning Redwood Middle School Viking Band, led by director Adam Payne. The Vikings were hot off their successful May the 4th Be With You performance at Disneyland and played several crowd pleasers, including “The Throne Room” from the medal ceremony at the end of A New Hope. It was a fabulous and fitting finale for DAC this year!
The next DAC Meeting will be: September 12, 2023 in the University MPR.
Visit the DAC webpage for additional information.
District English Learners Advisory Council (DELAC)
Dr. Sellers, Dr. Wilson, Mr. Mercer and Mrs. Ashmore presented information regarding the different summer school opportunities that will be offered to students this summer. Questions were asked by parents during and after the presentation.
Dr. Araiza shared information about the current plan that CVUSD utilizes to ensure compliance with any applicable teacher and paraeducator requirements.
DELAC elections were held. DELAC would like to thank the current DELAC board for their time and service as well as welcome the new DELAC board. The outgoing DELAC board members were provided with a certificate and flowers (see attached picture).
The next DELAC Meeting is September 26, 2023 from 10am to Noon.
Visit the DELAC webpage for additional information.
Gifted and Talented Education District Advisory Council (GATE-DAC)
GATE screening – Rising 3rd graders are currently being screened and will wrap up by the end of the school year. Notification letters will be sent via US mail in June.
Course Pathways: Shauna Ashmore, Director of Student Support Services, gave a brief overview of the Course Pathways, which can be found on the district website.
2022-2023 Takeaways & 2023-2024 Endeavors - GATE-DAC reps broke into groups to reflect the past year and the upcoming year. The transition of GATE screening to include rising 3rd graders was a key achievement for GATE. This transition allows for early identification and more equity. Endeavors for the upcoming school year include pushing for more differentiation into the classroom, consistency across school sites, and access to higher lexile-level books in both the curriculum and the school site libraries for younger students.
Please click here to visit the GATE-DAC webpage and learn more about us.
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning and Others Advisory Council (LBGTQ+ AC)
We look forward to providing our next update in a future Super DAC Monthly! In the meantime, please click here to visit the LGBTQ+AC webpage and learn more about us.
Special Education District Advisory Council (SEDAC)
New Executive Board was elected. Chair-Denise Benic, Vice Chair-Erin Bell, Secretary-Mandy Pollak, Parliamentarian-Rachael Brusseau, Members at Large-Allice Chou, Jenny Crosby, Andrea Goetz, Andrea Mettel, LeeAnn Holland, and Martina Ziegenfuss.
Director of Secondary Special Education, Dawn Thomas, led an amazing presentation on increasing inclusive opportunities across CVUSD. The presentation concluded with a video where we heard straight from students about what inclusion means to them and the opportunities they had during this school year. Thank you to Ms. Thomas and to all the district administration that attended the meeting and added to the incredible and open conversation.
Special Olympics School Games were on May 20 at NPHS. Thank you to all the volunteers who made the day joyful and successful. Thank you to The teachers and staff who worked tirelessly to create and plan an incredible event. Congratulations to all the athletes for your accomplishments!
The next meeting for SEDAC is on Tuesday, October 3, 2023 at University MPR.
Visit the Special Education District Advisory Council webpage for additional information.
Student District Advisory Committee (SDAC)
We announced our new Executive Board for next year, and we did the "transfer of power" to the new board and they finished running the rest of the meeting.
We did a thorough brainstorming session for targets/goals for next year in SDAC where we split up into groups and each focused on a certain category (environmental, mental health, etc.). We then came up with goals within each of those groups and then shared out with everyone and chose three goals for each topic to focus on next year.
The next meeting for SDAC is August 28th, 2023 at 4pm in the Conejo Valley High School Board Room.
Please click here to visit the SDAC webpage and learn more about us.
Learn More About Us
What is a DAC?
A DAC or district advisory council/committee is a body made up of parent or student representatives that advises district leadership and administration on education programs, policies and procedures related to student achievement, academic performance, overall success and wellbeing. DACs are one avenue for parents, guardians and students to be involved and have a voice about the education of students in CVUSD.
What are the current CVUSD DACs?
• African American District Advisory Council (AADAC)
• District Advisory Council (DAC)
• District English Learners Advisory Council (DELAC)
• Gifted and Talented Education District Advisory Council (GATE-DAC)
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer or Questioning and Others Advisory Council (LGBTQ+ AC)
• Special Education District Advisory Council (SEDAC)
• Student District Advisory Committee (SDAC)
How can I learn more about the different DACs?
To learn more about the Student District Advisory Committee, check out their webpage.
Can I attend a DAC meeting?
District advisory council meetings are open to the public, and all are welcome. To see the upcoming meeting dates for all the parent DACs, check out the Master Schedule.
Upcoming DAC meetings and agendas are available on the district website through BoardDocs, which is the same portal for the Board of Education meetings. Access the BoardDocs portal here.
Conejo Valley Unified School District
Website: https://www.conejousd.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ConejoValleyUnifiedSchoolDistrict
Twitter: @ConejoValleyUSD