Math Cohort 3 & 4 Brought Together for Day of Learning!

On April 21st the math teachers from the Math Cohort 3 & 4 were brought together to form a larger group of teachers working through the Carnegie Math together! Next time you see any of your colleagues from this group, ask them how many yards it was from the merry-go-round to the to slide! 

Student Led Open House at Victoria

Students at Victoria Blended led their Open House today. They shared information about the program, current learning, and other activities they will continue to engage in for the rest of the year. People in attendance consisted of JCCS staff, parents, community members and partners.  

Capturing History

On Monday, April 18, students from Choice partnered with The Aja Project to honor O'Conner Church Goods as they prepare to leave the building they have called their home for 50 years so our new learning lab can move in and offer an enhanced learning opportunity for JCCS students. The students were given a tour of the store and candle making factory by  Jackie O'Conner and her son John O'Conner. They also participated in an architectural photography workshop and were sent out to capture the essence of the store. Many of the photos will be displayed in the performance space when "37ECB" opens. 

What are you reading?

Recently, the students at CTEC took a trip to Barnes and Noble bookstore.  They picked one book of choice to read and later share with the class. While there, one student remarked, "I had no idea a bookstore could be so fun!"  After shopping students also enjoyed a lunch at Smash Burger. 

Building a Stronger Community

Last week Choice Blended hosted an Open House that was a huge success! Our focus for this round of Open Houses is to provide wraparound services for our families. We wanted to make the experience about more than meeting teachers, but rather what services can we provide to students/families to help them be more successful! In this case we had Linda Brown (Student Transition Tech), Shar Brockoff (Counselor), Stephanie Molina (PFL), Admin, Teachers, and more! 

Start planning your open houses now and make sure to include all of the above and anyone else you can think of that can help us support our students & families!   

Organic Garden

Students at NCTSA planted a garden 4 weeks ago. Among the fruits and vegetables are lettuce, leafy greens, tomatoes, blackberries, strawberries, and onions.  Special thanks to our CTE teacher,Ron McCord, for his dedication to our students. 

Rain or Shine!

Last week proved to be a rainy week however that didn't stop us from engaging in some deep professional learning in each of our school sites. The teachers went through a student work protocol to see how the tasks they assign align with our district Instructional Focus. I was able to stop by 4 sites and was very impressed at the thoughtful work being completed. We all look forward to working through this same protocol many more times!

Lindsay teachers working on their team report

English 3D Curriculum

Tuesday was a powerful day of learning for a group of teachers and para-professionals when they learned about our new curriculum to support our English Language Learners. Thank you to all of you for being engaged learners!

                                            

                                            

Building A Strong Community

The staff at La Mesa Blended has worked hard and focused on creating a strong culture where students know they are respected and heard. A few of the steps they are taking to do this is by holding town halls and finding team building activities! I appreciate the work and so do their students!

New Tables and Chairs Continued...

Students across the district were very excited today with the delivery of new tables and chairs. Not only that, but they also had their rooms painted over winter break and as one student told me, "It feels like a brand new school!"

We are very thankful to our team who helped get this project off the ground! If you are in the neighborhood, stop by and check it out!

Words A!ive Luncheon

Students from Lindsay Blended Community School had the honor of being sponsored at today's 12th Annual Words A!ive Author's Luncheon. Diana G., recent Lindsay graduate, shared her writing completed during a Words A!ive Adolescent Book Group with guests. Her stories and others from students at Breaking Cycles, Choice, Innovations Academy of Empowerment, Monarch, La Mesa Community, No. County Tech, So. County Blended and Lindsay can be read in "Journey to Empowerment."  

Dia De Los Muertos

This week at Victoria the students set up an altar to celebrate the Day of the Dead!

Looking Good!

Cuyamaca was the first school to receive the new furniture we have ordered for some of our Community School sites! The goal with our new furniture is to be able to create student centered cooperative spaces. These desks can be moved and placed in different configurations. 

If you get a chance, ask Ellen how it is going or stop by Southland to check out what they have! 

Very exciting times for teaching and learning at JCCS! 

Pumpkin Fun!

The Lindsay girls and their babies had a great time relaxing and enjoying some holiday fun today at the Pumpkin Station in Mission Valley. 

The teachers had a pretty good time too!

TIP Pilot

Fabulous JCCS Educators in our thematic, interdisciplinary, project-based learning (TIP) pilot collaborating around questions about adversity our students experience, our vision of our students success, and what our students need to achieve the success we want for them (and they want for
themselves!).

Great Idea

Rochelle Parsons, teacher at Bayside, has set up a way to quickly check for student understanding of the Learning Target(s) at the end of class.  As they are exiting the room, students move the clothes pin with their name to the appropriate folder.  What a great way to quickly gather formative assessment data and inform instruction!  Thanks for sharing, Rochelle!

SC-REC Open House

South County Blended Community School teachers and staff hosted an Open House for parents on Thursday October 8th, 2015.  Parents had the opportunity to meet their students' Principal, teachers, counselor, Parent and Family Liasion, school nurse, and other support staff.  Parents received information about the academic program, available resources and supports, and an invitation to be actively involved in the education of their child.  Great start to a new school year!!!

Parent "Greet and Treat"

Our Parent and Family Engagement Team had a very successful Parent "Greet and Treat" event for our Community Schools and Monarch School.   We had an amazing time introducing JCCS support staff and school site administrators that were available to answer specific questions from parents.  Parents were engaged in meaningful learning activities that focused on parent support and student success in College, Career, and Community.  We look forward to continue to create opportunities to involve parents in their child's education and support them throghout their time in JCCS.

Back to School Night!

This week Heidi and Tracey had the pleasure of attending Open Houses at Choice Blended, CTEC, and Thurgood Marshall.  The staff at Choice shared with the parents that attended about their new look and all liked the changes.  At CTEC, two of the students presented to those there about the partnership between CTEC and ADA Youth Build and their individual successes.  The Thurgood house was packed and presentations around attendance, health, counseling and curriculum took place.  We all look forward to attending the Open Houses at other schools in October!

South & East Teachers Engaged in Professional Learning

Teachers and staff from the south and east community schools, met on Thursday Sept. 24th at SC-REC for their first PLC meeting of the 2015-2016 school year. The meeting was a continuation of previous conversations with staff regarding our focus on preparing students for Success in college, career and community. Under the leadership of vice-principal Valentin Escanuela, and principal Dulce Leyva-Hall, teachers and staff develiped ideas for this year's PLC's that will positively impact student sucess/love of learning and teacher success/love of teaching.