 After several hours of candidate interviews Aug. 13, the Board selected Hai Minh Ngo as the provisional appointee for the open board seat, which was vacated by Daniel Bobay earlier this summer.
Ngo has been a part of Rose Elementary School’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) since his oldest child started Kindergarten there during the 2018-2019 school year. He has also been serving as a volunteer on the Community Board Advisory Council (CBAC). After Ngo was selected by the Board, Superintendent Cheryl Jordan administered an oath of office. "It feels amazing to go through this experience,” said Ngo. "I can’t be more ecstatic about being selected.” Seventeen people submitted applications for the board seat, and eight had been selected by the Board subcommittee to appear for interviews in an open session. "I think that it demonstrates the care that our Board takes in how they see their roles in supporting our school district and community. They wanted to make sure they had the right person to join the team, and they took time to deliberate and be thoughtful about who they ultimately selected,” said Superintendent Jordan. Board Vice President Hon Lien added: “He will be a great addition to the Board, and I know he will put all his time and effort into caring for our children in the district." The district will publicly post the provisional appointment, and if uncontested, Hai Minh Ngo will fulfill the board vacancy until elections in November 2020.  Superintendent Cheryl Jordan and Board of Education President Chris Norwood greeted hundreds of Milpitas Unified School District staff with words of encouragement and appreciation during the annual Welcome Back rally held the morning of Aug. 12 at Milpitas High School.
“Together we help our students become who they are supposed to be,” said Superintendent Jordan as she reviewed the district’s strategic goals and offered examples of how staff and students have been accomplishing them. “Together, we are MUSD and 2019 is going to rock because we are a championship team!” President Norwood, a sixth-year trustee who attended MUSD schools as a student-athlete and also both coached and volunteered during his 46 years and counting in Milpitas, described staff members as “modern, real-life, unsung and super heroes.” “The Board of Trustees cares about you in ways you could not image. …At board meetings, we celebrate the children, your work and the community,” President Norwood said. “We are MUSD! We are the Culture of We! Welcome back!” Milpitas High School students Salma Soudbakhsh, Catherine Navalta, Megan Clark and Angela Kim, supported by MHS videography teacher Champ Wrencher, also debuted their "The Culture of We is... " video. (click link to enjoy) The first day of school for MUSD students is Thursday, Aug. 15.  This summer, the City of Milpitas gave a group of MUSD students the opportunity of a lifetime.
Through their Youth Force work program, the City matched 18 students from both Milpitas High and Cal Hills with different employers. The program went from June 10-August 2, and had students working at places like the Milpitas Sports Center, City Hall, Milpitas Library, Milpitas Fire Department, a dental office, a speech pathologist’s office, and even school district offices. All students worked from Monday to Thursday, about 24 hours a week, and received $15 an hour in payment from the City. During the first 2 weeks of the program, students received training and engaged in work-based learning to better prepare them for their first day on the job. Andrea Hutchison, who worked as a Coordinator for the Youth Force program this summer, led the training, guiding students through team-building exercises and activities, and engaging them in discussions to deepen their understanding about how to function in the workplace. Hutchison has also been a teacher at MHS for the past 19 years, and loves working with students; she is also MUSD's Digital Business Academy lead and is focused on building partnerships with our city and businesses to support student internships, mentoring, and career pathways. “This has been one of the most enjoyable summer jobs I’ve ever had,” said Hutchison. Rosana Cacao, the Recreation and Community Services Supervisor at the City of Milpitas, oversaw the Youth Force program, and offered tremendous support along the way. Chloe Wang, 16, who will be going into her senior year at Milpitas High, worked as an HR intern with View, Inc., a Milpitas smart glass company. “I’ve been able to see the corporate world in a different way and see what it’s like to work in that type of environment,” said Wang. Another incoming senior, Yong Tao, 17, spent the summer working for the City of Milpitas’ HR department. “I’ve gotten a better look at how our local government operates and runs behind the scenes,” said Tao. Tao had always pondered going into the medical field in the future, but after working for the City, he says he’s now open to the possibility of considering a government-related job. One student, Karrington Kenney, an incoming junior, had the opportunity to work for Find My Everything, a start-up company that created a GPS tracking device to help with finding anything -- or anyone -- across the country. “It’s really cool to be behind the scenes of a startup like that,” said Kenney, who helped with things like social media, planning their October launch party, and even creating a YouTube video. She also learned a great deal about angel investors, and how a company can evolve from an idea to a reality. Find My Everything is based in San Jose. In terms of her career goals, Kenney plans to go into the Criminal Justice System. Along with providing work experience, part of the program also involved employers sitting down with students for an hour each week to discuss their goals. Students also met weekly with Hutchison on the MHS campus, where they spoke of their goals from the week prior and how they’d met them. They also talked a great deal about the importance of making smart decisions. “I asked them to observe people making decisions in the workplace,” said Hutchison. “And to just think about how many decisions a day their employers are making. And I also asked them to keep a log of the decisions that they made.” At the end of the program, a luncheon was held at Dave & Buster’s to celebrate the students’ achievements. Many of the students said it was a great learning experience and wished that the program had lasted longer. “This sort of experience really gives everybody a new perspective on things and changes our lives,” said Chloe Wang. The City of Milpitas' Recreation and Community Services Department has offered such a great opportunity for our students to learn and thrive as they continue moving toward their future careers!  Not everyone may be aware of this, but the Milpitas High School campus bustles with activity during the summer season.
And this summer’s been no different. Students from elementary school, middle school, and high school all took part in one (or more) of the various programs and courses offered across MHS grounds. Almost all programs wrapped up on Friday, July 26. To get an idea of all the activity at MHS this summer, here are some highlights: High School Extended Learning Program The intention of this program is to give students an opportunity to recover credits that they missed during the school year. Students who received an F (or even a D-, in some cases) are able to come and take the course again in accelerated fashion. The Extended Learning Program features 2 sessions, back-to-back. Each session goes for 3 weeks. Students are able to take 1 or 2 sessions, depending upon their needs. If they take both sessions, which total 6 weeks of course study, it’s the equivalent of 2 semesters. After any given school year, the vast majority of high school students who need to make up credits will take advantage of the summer program and recover those credits. Middle School Extended Learning Program Whereas high-schoolers have an opportunity to go back and recover credits, middle-schoolers can take advantage of their Extended Learning program for additional academic reinforcement. Although they don’t attend to make up credits, they're able to take additional classes in areas where they might need extra help. In the first session, both the High School and Middle School Extended Learning programs had close to 370 students; the second session came in at around 300 students. Over the summer, 19 courses ran, including subjects like Biology, Spanish, World History, English, and a variety of Math courses. High School ELD and SDAIE Geography Another section of summer courses encompassed English Language Development (ELD) and Specifically Designed Academic Instruction in English in the area of Geography. Two hybrid English 1 classes were available for students who needed to meet their ELD requirements, in order to get them caught up on English, and in some cases, help them gain eligibility toward different colleges. "When you’re a new student coming to the country, you have to surpass certain ELD levels before you can start high school English coursework,” said Deanna Sainten, who was the Co-Principal (along with Nichol Klein) for the summer programs on the MHS campus. “The struggle comes with how quickly can we get them into these classes because we want these students to have college opportunities like everyone else.” Currently, MUSD is looking for ways to improve the recruitment process so that we’re able to bring in more students who need these classes in the future, as this year showed lower numbers of students across ELD classes than previous years. Middle School ELD Same as above, except this program is geared toward middle schoolers. It’s all about preventing lost opportunities in language acquisition over the summer months. High School Extended School Year (ESY) Middle School Extended School Year (ESY) Both the High School and Middle School ESY opportunities are extended school year programs for special education students who receive special services during the school year. Their services don’t just come to a halt due to the appearance of summer. Some who receive services like Speech or are involved in Work Studies programs have the opportunity to continue. Also, through these programs, Special Education students have been on the MHS campus over the summer, learning lessons that will provide them with a strong foundation for independence in life. They learn things like how to use public transportation and shop for groceries, and go on field trips to places like the Great Mall. Santa Clara County also runs a program for 2 classrooms of Special Education students over the summer, known as their Community Based Instruction (CBI) program. Over this summer, there were 2 middle school ESY classes, 2 high school ESY classes, and 2 CBI classes. 8th Grade Math Summer Bridge This is an intervention-based course for 8th-graders, designed to reaffirm what they learned in the previous year. If they’ve been struggling with math concepts, this program helps them even the playing field, so that they can walk into the new school year feeling confident. Summit Extended Learning For the past 5 years, MUSD has been working with Summit Learning, which offers an online platform that personalizes the teaching and learning experience. In our school district, Summit is used by Pomeroy Elementary (4th, 5th, and 6th grades), Weller Elementary (5th and 6th grades), and Russell Middle School (not entire grades, but different classes). MHS is also starting to use the program. The program is free to use; one just has to learn the software. The beauty of Summit lies in the fact that it’s self-paced, and allows students the opportunity to participate in project-based learning while receiving mentoring. Goal-setting is also a big part of the process. Over the summer, the Summit Extended Learning program gave opportunities to students who weren’t able to finish the program during the regular school year. Although students are able to access the online platform from home, they’re not able to take the course’s content assessments without the approval and presence of their teacher. And so, over the course of 2 weeks, elementary students and middle school students were able to drop in during specific time slots, to take their content assessments. The assessments are comprised of 10 questions, which are based on certain objectives; students must demonstrate that they understand everything they’ve learned so far. All topics — like Math, Science, History, and more — are based on California Content Standards for certain grade levels. "Not everything is a one fit model,” said Sainten. “With this, kids get to learn at their own pace, and it’s pretty magical. The results I’ve seen have really blown me away.” Summit Extended Learning started on June 17, and finished up on June 27. Looking to the Start of a New School Year Our staff and students have worked hard this summer. In just a couple short months, the educational pathways of students who engaged in this summer coursework have been tremendously enhanced. We’re about to step into the 2019-2020 school year more confident than ever, knowing that the students in our Milpitas community will continue blazing toward successful futures. And MUSD is happy to be able to continue the work of supporting and empowering them in the process.  Vocational Specialist Annette Rodarte Through the Department of Rehabilitation, the Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD) runs a summer Transition Partnership Program (TPP), through which special education students go out and work in the community. This year, 23 students, ages 16-18, were involved with TPP. The program started on July 8 and officially wrapped up on July 26. MUSD’s Vocational Specialist Annette Rodarte, along with her staff of three, spent the last few weeks facilitating the program, and even worked to train students in soft skills like communication, professionalism, and teamwork. The students in the program were divided into two groups — Group A and Group B. In the beginning, Group A students, whose disabilities were less severe, were taught how to use the bus. They received a bus pass and also work clothes, paid for by the TPP. Working from Monday to Friday at places like Big Al’s, Walgreens, Kaman’s Art, Poke Supreme, Grocery Outlet, and the City of San Jose, Group A students received work experience that challenged and evolved them. Students were also evaluated by both employers and staff, and even completed their own self-evaluations. "There was a handful of students who were offered permanent positions,” said Rodarte. “Also, employers commented that our students had great work ethic, even better than some of their regular employees.” Rodarte has worked in her field for 27 years. She first started out at the Eastside Union High School district, where she was for a total of 17 years. For the past decade, she’s been with MUSD. “I love what I do,” said Rodarte. Group B’s students had more severe disabilities and required 100% job coaching. A staff member made sure to be present during the students’ work experience, to support them with whatever they needed. B students love repetition, are very dependable, and like schedules. Since Goodwill is great when it comes to training and working with disabled individuals, it offered a terrific learning space for Group B students to get acclimated to working. Along with Goodwill, Group B students worked at Bounce-a-Rama, Walgreens, and Kaman Arts. Group B students received no training on using public transportation, as staff actually drove them to their places of employment. This was the first year the program allowed for Group B students to participate — six of them in total. During the regular school year, Rodarte and her team, which consists of two job developers and one transition assistant, continue to carry out their work, training students across various workshops. In general, they work with students from the 9th grade all the way up to 22 years of age, supporting them in things like self-advocacy skills and interviewing, and even taking them on field trips to places like community colleges. “And in the end, we do a career fair to wrap everything up,” said Rodarte. “The students introduce themselves and practice what they’ve learned.” Workability, a grant offered through a state program, is a support service, highlighting areas such as work-based learning, work preparation, and collaboration. The TTP program is one of the programs that receives support from Workability. "I always love a challenge,” said Rodarte. “And I know that these students, they can work. It’s just figuring out how to break down the tasks for them. And also, how to inform our community about them, so that they give them a chance and let them try.” At MUSD, we’re focused on providing opportunities to engage students in ways that will grow them socially, emotionally, and academically. We’re proud to embrace programs that support our special education students in reaching their fullest potential.  Summer has been zipping by, and during these past several weeks, we’ve kicked off a series of bond projects across various school sites in the Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD). Projects started getting underway on June 10, just one day after students finished up the 2018-2019 school year. Since then, a collaborative group effort has been in motion to bring our painting, roofing, and paving projects to completion. We’re in the homestretch now, as we push to have all projects finished before school’s back in session on August 15. "We’re excited with the beginning of this bond through these kickoff projects. It’s the beginning of working to repair and improve the quality and conditions of our schools,” said MUSD’s Director of Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation Brian Shreve, who has been helping oversee the modernization plans along with the Bond department. We’ve come a long way in such a short period of time. Since the school district wanted to ensure that students’ safety, health, and wellbeing were prioritized, and that there were no distractions cutting into school time, we opted to start and complete these projects during the summer. And though we’re not quite finished yet, we wanted to show the community how the bond money approved last November is already making an impact. “We are eternally grateful to our Milpitas community for saying YES to our students and MUSD team members when they approved Measure AA last November. Visit MHS and see what a difference fresh paint makes in creating a welcoming learning environment that says, 'We Care!'” said MUSD Superintendent Cheryl Jordan. Here’s what we’ve accomplished so far: PAINTING Sites: Milpitas High School (MHS), Pomeroy, Burnett, Curtner, and the Maintenance, Operations, and Transportation (MOT) Corporation Yard (which is located behind Russell Middle School) All painting projects are nearing completion, and headed toward a final review process.  Painting at MHS.  Painting at Curtner. PAVING Sites: Pomeroy, Russell, Rose, Sinnott, and MOT Corporation Yard Asphalt replacement has been completed at most sites, with striping to follow.  In the process of laying down asphalt at Russell Middle School.  Photo of completed asphalt at Pomeroy (no striping yet). ROOFING Sites: MHS, Russell, and Pomeroy Across these three sites, portions of the roofs are being done. Currently, these sites are all in different phases, yet are on track for completion before school begins.  Roofing at MHS, prepped and ready to lay new roof membrane down.  Roofing restoration at Russell. Currently in process is a non-skid safety roof walkway. (The lines of tape are a guide, marking where material is being applied for walkways.) HVAC and Galvanized Piping Replacement Spangler is the only school site this year where the Heating and Air Conditioning units, along with Galvanized Piping, are being replaced. HVAC units are nearing completion and the Galvanized Piping is in progress.  Removing old piping at Spangler.  Check out one of the old pipes at Spangler. The galvanized piping there was original, and had not been replaced since the school initially opened over 50 years ago! The new piping will all be made of copper. Next up: We’re deep in the final design stages of Phase 2 for Mabel Mattos Elementary School, and also finalizing the designs for the modernization of Randall Elementary School. Also underway: We’ve been reviewing and finalizing design work for MHS and the second high school campus. We are thrilled about all the progress and improvements across our school sites to date, and we know that all the work being done will only serve to enhance our ongoing commitment to education and supporting students’ success. More updates will be forthcoming throughout the process!  This summer has opened up a wealth of opportunities for so many of our MUSD students...
Starting in mid-June, a group of 6th-8th graders became deeply immersed in the world of microbits, algorithms, and variables. These students devoted 4 hours a day, from Monday to Thursday, to a summer Computer Science class at Cal Hills High School. Led by an initiative through the Silicon Valley Education Foundation (SVEF), the course was a Pilot Program, which ran throughout Santa Clara County. “We have 10 classes, and this is one of them,” said Rosemary Kamei, Vice President of Innovation for SVEF. “We hope this is something that will grow in the future. We’ve partnered with schools like Milpitas, Alum Rock, Oak Grove, Franklin Mckinley, and Orchard School…” Just a week and a half before the 2018-2019 school year ended, MUSD put out the call to middle school students about the Computer Science class starting on June 17. “And within 2 hours, it was full,” said Greg Barnes, MUSD’s Director of Secondary Education. Barnes had been overseeing many programs throughout the summer, and offering logistical support. One hundred and 50 students applied for the course, but spots for only 20 were available. And right from the beginning, the accepted students hit the ground running... They started out the course by creating Micro Pets. Initially, they interviewed a partner to find out what that person wanted in a pet. Then they took that information and used coding to create the pet their partner had described. Each day, they added more functionality to the result. At the end of the course, they broke up into groups and created a final project to showcase all they’ve learned over the past month. Each project incorporated 3 microbits — square devices that act as tiny computers. The students learned how to code these devices, using chromebooks. In doing so, they were able to create all kinds of fun, stimulating projects, like alarms, a golf course obstacle course, and even a dancing inchworm! “I'm thrilled that we were able to partner with SVEF in providing our students with this computer science experience!” said Superintendent Cheryl Jordan. “At its meeting on May 28, 2019, the Board passed our Resolution to implement CA K-12 Computer Science Standards, and this is one example of our action steps in this initiative.” Joy Brawn, who had been teaching the course, said she was thrilled about how things had gone over the past several weeks: “I’ve really loved it,” said Brawn. “It was an awesome class.” Brawn is a teacher at Westmont High School for the Campbell Union High School District, where she teaches Biology. All the students had nothing but positive things to say about their time in the program. Many of them expressed how fun it was to learn how to make things they once never knew were possible for them to create. The Computer Science course aligns to state and national standards for Computer Science. All the students who took part in this summer program have gained exposure to an educational pathway that simply wasn’t there before. An opportunity like this has the potential to awaken and deepen students’ passion for learning while propelling them toward inspired future careers. MUSD is grateful to have been a part of this process, and extends a big thank you to the Silicon Valley Education Foundation for their partnership and support in helping to make this happen. A total of 412 students were invited to Milpitas High School's Senior Awards Night to be recognized for one or more awards.
personal to the students," said Marissa Canez, Milpitas High School's College and Career Technician. "My favorite part of planning this year's event was recording the seniors' shout outs to staff and family, and a compiled video of all the shout outs was played at the beginning of the ceremony. This was a perfect personal touch and brought a smile to so many faces!" This year at the 2019 MHS Senior Awards Night, 2 videos were played; one of student shout outs and the other on what Valedictorian means. Shout Out Video What does Valedictorian Mean Helicopter lands messages of growth mindset, healthy lifestyles at Sinnott Elementary School6/11/2019
A Sikorsky HH-60G Pavehawk from Moffett Air National Guard Base landed on the field of Sinnott Elementary School May 30. Maj. Ken Yambing, the CDTF Team Hawk commander, spoke about the importance of Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM), which led to the designing, creating, and building of the helicopter. He also talked to the students about having a growth mindset, and how making good decisions throughout your life can help you obtain some awesome jobs such as a pilot, first responder, teacher, etc.
SFC Mark Anthony Karandang, CDTF Civil Air Operations NCOIC, encouraged students to be kind to one another, and emphasized teamwork and healthy eating. He even led students and staff in an oath so they can be honorary members of their team. Officer Brian Hinkley of the Milpitas Police Department mirrored the message of making good decisions in life, such as teamwork, being kind, and eating healthy. This event reached over 900 individuals and was coordinated by MSgt Jeannie Lam, a third grade teacher at Sinnott Elementary School and a member of the 129th Rescue Wing. Milpitas Board of Education Trustees Michael Tsai and Kelly Yip-Chuan was also in attendance. The following dignitaries were also in attendance: Officer Kita Inthasack, School Resource Officer Officer Chris Nicholas, Traffic Safety Officer Counter Drug Task Force (CDTF) TSGT JESUS ORTIZ, CDTF Team Hawk NCOIC TSGT BRADLEY BOTHELIO, CDTF Team Hawk Special Missions Aviator SSGT RYAN GUERRA, CDTF Team Hawk Special Missions Aviator CAPT TREVOR STINSON, CDTF Team Hawk Aircraft Commander TSGT JOSEPH ZHANG, CDTF Communications NCOIC SSGT AARON PICKARD, CDTF Team Hawk Pararescueman SSGT THOMAS POST, CDTF Team Hawk Pararescueman |
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING:
The governing board of Milpitas Unified School District will hold a Public Hearing on Tuesday, June 28, 2022. Media ResourcesArchives
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