Fullerton School District Board meets at 6pm on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of each month at district headquarters, 1401 W Valencia Dr, Fullerton. For agendas go to: www.fullertonsd.org or call (714) 447-7400.

July 26 Board Meeting

Congratulations: Commonwealth Elementary School has been scheduled to have a new mural on the school done by a company named Robots & Rainbows.

New Principals: Ms. Julie Lucas will be the new principal at Fern Drive School. Jose Varela will be the new principal at Nicolas Junior High School. Julie Brandon has been appointed the Director of Special Education.

School Safety: Dr. Chad Hammitt, the Associate Superintendent of HR, introduced Lori Bruno who is Director of Risk Management for FSD and will be developing a safety plan for the upcoming year. Already, certain safety features have been implemented in the schools and District buildings, such as providing for a single point of entry during the school day, improved fencing for schools, doors being locked during the school day, window coverings so students and/or staff are not visible during the day, and security cameras. The Fullerton Police Department is working with the District in site assessments and safety evaluations.

The District is required to do regular drills in all the schools every month. A new website for parents to use is being developed.

The District is also looking at the creation of a Community Engagement Center. This will be a place where students and community can be safe; it will be opened by 2024. Safety training will be provided for students, staff, and school volunteers.

Social Emotional Learning (SEL): All students will be introduced to a special training program dealing with self-management and SEL in the classroom. The focus is on self-management by the student. Special Education students are also included in the available training.

Golden Hill School has changed its name to Golden Hill Elementary School for Creative and Performing Arts.

The My Connect Academy program that provides homeschooling instruction for Fullerton elementary students has received approval from the District and State for the years 2022, 2023, and 2024.

FSD’s Dream Catchers students will be featured at various movie theaters in the area. The movie campaign will highlight FSD’s Dream Big Initiative through marketing at the AMC/Fullerton, Regal in Brea, and Yorba Linda theaters from December 2022 through March 2023.

June 21 Board Meeting

Pivotal Practice Award: Fullerton School District was awarded a 2022 California Pivotal Practice Program (CAPP) award from the California Department of Education. CAPP recognizes California districts and public schools that have demonstrated innovation and exceptional work when California required schools to offer distance learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

FSD Education Services employees receive an award for the district for Pivotal Practice during distance learning. Photo courtesy of Fullerton School District.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion (DEI) Presentation: Ms. Danilla Nava described how FSD qualified for State funding called “supplemental and concentration grants” to Districts based on the enrollment of high need students, i.e. foster youth, English learners, and low-income students. DEI is applied throughout the District as well as Response to Intervention (RTI). These are two programs used to coach management, teachers, and rest of staff to cultivate diversity.

Languages: FSD is partnering with Advantage Communications to provide expertise in Spanish and Korean languages.

National School of Excellence Awards (NSEA): Three District schools received NSEA. Bronze Award went to Acacia Elementary, Rolling Hills, and Raymond; Silver Award went to Orangethorpe, and Gold Award went to Beechwood.

Mural at Valencia Park: Soon, Valencia Park School will have a beautiful mural at the school’s entrance painted by Operation Clean Slate.

Board Approved:

• Renewed agreement with OC School Districts for Student Transportation Services.

• New agreement between FSD and the OC Superintendent of Schools to provide Preschool Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) Training Services for all FSD preschool and transitional Kindergarten Teachers. Preschool GLAD consists of 2 parts: 1)

Theoretical and research-based training and 2) Teachers attend four days of demonstration training to observe the model and strategies being demonstrated during regular preschool classroom schedule. The goal is to have all students enrolled in a bilingual program and be proficient in English.

• Currently there are 17 Speech & Debate Programs in the District. Speech & Debate increases students’ ability to think, listen critically, articulate thoughts confidently and persuasively, and increase problem-solving abilities.

• Renewed contract agreement with Mind Institute for Spatial Temporal (ST) Math. ST Math is a visual platform where students become better equipped to tackle complex math problems, recognize patterns, and build conceptual understanding.

• FSD is renewing the Education Consulting Agreement between FSD and the North Orange Community College District to provide college courses for 7th and 8th graders.

• State funds will be provided to operate these preschools for staffing, materials, and supplies: Richman and Valencia Park schools will be offering a full day preschool program. Programs are also at Commonwealth, Hermosa Drive, Maple, Orangethorpe, Pacific Drive, Richman, Valencia Park, and Woodcrest Schools.

• Adopt proposed Local Control & Accountability Plan (LCAP). The LCAP provides guidance for developing the District’s budget.

The District has also received an Inclusive Early Education Expansion Program grant. It will focus on children with moderate disabilities.

The next Fullerton School District Board Meeting will be Tuesday, August 9.