October - Filipino American History Month, Farm to School Month, Dyslexia Awareness Month
October 2-4 - Rosh Hashanah
October 2 - Custodian Appreciation Day
October 5 - World Teacher Day
October 6 - National Coaches Day
October 11-12 - Yom Kippur
October 14 - No school and offices closed
October 14 - Indigenous Peoples’ Day
October 14-18 - Week of the School Administrator
Celebrating Two New Facilities
Davis Senior High School celebrated two major milestones this month! The first was a ribbon cutting for the brand new STEM building, a state-of-the-art facility that will enhance hands-on learning and innovation for our students. Additionally, Davis High broke ground on the highly anticipated Aquatic Center, which will provide a new top-level facility for our athletic teams and student programming. Learn more about our completed and ongoing Bond projects on our website.
Values in Action Awards Program - Celebrating our Community
Introducing our NEW DJUSD Values in Action Award Program! These awards are given to individuals who embody the shared values of DJUSD and demonstrate outstanding efforts that celebrate the cultural contributions and identities in our school communities and the work of our four Goals for Student Success. The Values in Action Awards provide the opportunity to honor those who have "gone above and beyond" to support excellence in our schools. There will be three award cycles throughout the school year - November, February and April. Nominate a student, family member/guardian, staff member or community member today!
Boundary/Enrollment Board of Education Study Session
Today we face what many believe is the most significant housing challenge our city has experienced in its long history-- and something that has important impacts for our schools and the long-term health of our school district. As a result, beginning this month, the Board of Education will be exploring the data and a discussion about birth rates, housing, enrollment and school boundaries and the well-being of our schools. We encourage you to tune into the Board’s discussion and learn more about this important topic.
Multi-Factor Authentication
Beginning in October, 2024, the DJUSD Technology Department will start enabling Multi-Factor Authentication for DJUSD Microsoft and Google accounts. This means that in addition to a password, staff will approve a sign-in with a USB key (provided by DJUSD) or a mobile device. This level of security will lessen the chances of spam or ransomware affecting our network.
We will be rolling this out on a site-by-site basis, and each site will have an opportunity to hear from a technology staff member about their options before we enable MFA for the site. Please email Director of Technology Scott Thomsen (sthomsen@djusd.net) with any questions.
Understanding and Using Personal Necessity Leave
Personal Necessity leave hours are the amount of hours that an employee can use of their annual Sick Leave accruals for personal reasons. It is a common misunderstanding that Personal Necessity leave is a separate and additional bank of leave hours. They are not, despite how it looks on the ESS portal and your pay stub. Overuse of these hours can result in exhaustion of sick leave, and in some cases, a pay dock.
The use of Personal Necessity is outlined in both of our collective bargaining agreements. The DTA agreement covers Personal Leaves in Article 8.3. The CSEA agreement covers Personal Necessity Leave in Article 12.5. Both agreements define the types of absences that qualify under Personal Necessity, allow a maximum number of days for personal business, and ask employees to notify supervisors three days in advance (when possible). If you have any questions about your leave or leave balances, please reach out to Michelle Keeler.
Update on CDE’s New Initiative: Inclusive Access to a Diploma
The CDE, in collaboration with WestEd, has launched an exciting statewide initiative called Inclusive Access to a Diploma: Reimagining Proficiency for Students with Disabilities. This initiative focuses on improving graduation rates for students with disabilities by providing schools and teachers with enhanced resources to assess proficiency in courses required for graduation.
A temporary website, www.altmeans.org, has been set up to share information and gather feedback from students, families, educators, and administrators. I encourage you to explore the site and offer your input to help shape the initiative, ensuring it effectively supports students with disabilities in meeting state diploma requirements.
Additionally, WestEd will be hosting a series of town hall webinars to provide more details on the goals and strategies behind the initiative. Here are the dates and registration links:
Town Hall 3 - November 21, 2024, from 4:00 to 5:30 PST
Town Hall 4 - January 7, 2024, from 5:00 to 6:30 PST
Recognizing AAC Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month
As we celebrate Augmentative Alternative Communication (AAC) Month and National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October, we highlight the importance of communication tools and inclusive employment. For more information on these topics and updates from the California Department of Education's initiative on inclusive access to diplomas, please view our special education newsletter.
Report Positive COVID Test Results
Staff are required to report if you test positive for COVID-19 using the COVID-19 Reporting for staff form. The form will allow you to upload the required image of the test result. A DJUSD Contact Tracer will follow up with you if additional information is required.
Learn how to Save a Life with CPR/AED Training
The District offers free CPR certification classes monthly throughout the school year. Get paid, get certified. Sign up HERE.
Our DJUSD PEP Talk Series Continues
The DJUSD Parent Empowerment Program (PEP) Talks are monthly virtual webinars on various topics for parents and guardians presented by local community organizations. Please join us each month to learn about and discuss important topics that impact our students. PEP Talks are held virtually from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Pre-registration required. Language interpretation available. For more information, including registration, please visit our PEP Talk website.
2024-25 PEP Talks Schedule and Topics
October 9 - Perfectionism in Children and Adolescents
November 13 - Validation
December 11 - TBD
January 22 - Helping Kids and Families with Loss & Grief
February 12 - NAMI Ending the Silence for Families
March 12 - How to Talk so Your Kids Will Listen and Listen so Your Kids Will Talk,
April 16 - Understanding Sexual Assault and Supporting Students
May - TBD
Next Meeting
The next regular meeting of the Board of Education will be in-person on Thursday, October 3, 2024. This regular meetings can be viewed on DJUSD Education Channel 17 and by livestream, or you can watch archived recordings at djusd.tv.