It is, perhaps, a survival skill to fixate on the negative (financial setbacks, gambling losses, tragedies, etc.) rather than the positive. However, sometimes you have an experience that is so overwhelmingly good that the experience stays front and center.

I have had many, many wonderful days as superintendent. Few, however, have been as good as meeting with the six Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation committees who visited our comprehensive high schools these past two weeks. The WASC process makes sure that our schools are excellent educational institutions and that our community's teens are receiving a high quality experience across multiple dimensions. As they talked about their time in our classrooms and with our students and staff, these educators, from all over the state and with years of experience teaching and visiting schools, shared so many superlatives and effusive compliments. They wanted to take our staff back to their district, they talked about how much they had learned, and how many truly innovative lessons they observed. But most of all they talked about the caring, mutually respectful relationships between adults and students they observed.

Two comments stood out for me. At one school the visiting committee chairperson proclaimed that, "In 36 years of visiting schools he had never seen such a great school." At another, the visiting committee said that our "School had the team and the commitment to create a more just and equal world."

It is easy to look over fences and see greener grasses. Our world doesn't always send us messages that reinforce how fortunate we are and all the reasons for us to be grateful. Sometimes it takes people from the outside sharing this with us. March was a good month for this.

A new e-cigarette device is gaining popularity nationwide among young teens. It is the "Juul" vaporizer (JUUL). Students refer to using this device as "juuling." While marketed as alternatives to traditional cigarettes, they contain chemicals and many contain nicotine making them addictive.

The Juul can be very deceptive as it does not look like an e-cigarette or vaping device. It looks like a small USB flash drive and can be charged while plugged into a laptop. It is small enough to fit inside an enclosed hand and does not emit any odor -- making it easily concealable from adults and simple to use. In addition, the pods used with the Juul come in appealing flavors such as strawberry, mango, fruit medley, and mint. These kid-friendly flavors make the pods appear harmless; however, one Juul pod contains as much nicotine as one pack of cigarettes. Even more concerning is that marijuana can be "juuled." You should also know that students can easily purchase these on Amazon without age verification.

We urge you to educate your students regarding the dangers of vaping and juuling. The use of these devices by minors is prohibited by state law and SMUHSD Board policy. Students using or in possession of these devices will be subject to disciplinary action and potential reporting to law enforcement.

Read an informative article by NPR.

Additional Resources:

Together we can work to protect our children and support healthy practices at home and at school.

As educators, we are struggling to figure out the right response to our students' growing interest in being politically active. One thing on which we all agree is that the ballot box is the ultimate place to participate in local, state, and national issues. Voter registration laws in California were changed in 2014 to allow all sixteen and seventeen year olds to preregister to vote.

At the February 22, 2018 school board meeting, students and staff asked the Board to pass a resolution declaring Friday, March 23, 2018 "The Day of Student Registration to Vote." The Board passed this resolution at the March 8, 2018 meeting. In junior U.S. History classes and senior Economics/Government classes, students engaged in activities surrounding our country's history of voting rights. Upperclassmen were encouraged but not required to register to vote if they were eligible to do so. The goal of the SMUHSD team was to register all of our students and to increase the overall percent of young people casting their vote for candidates and measures that reflect their values.

The SMUHSD Mental Health Council is made up of District staff as well as community partners. Members include:

The mission of the Mental Health Council is to improve and advance the mental health initiative as we build our capacity to address student mental health needs more effectively and efficiently. We collaborate with community partners to review and discuss trends, use data to plan interventions, and review the outcomes of interventions and supports in the greater school community.

The Mental Health Council has provided a robust service to provide feedback, review data and evidence-based best practices, and guide the implementation of the Mental Health Wellness program.

The SMUHSD DELAC vision is that our English Learner students are loved, supported, understood, and successful in our schools.

Over the last several meetings, our DELAC has been gathering feedback from students and school staff. On November 29th, 2017 they hosted a panel of thirteen English Learner students, whose language fluency ranged from ELD 1 to EL in the mainstream, and a recently reclassified student. On January 24th, 2018 they hosted a panel of four teachers and counselors. All of the questions for both panels were generated by the parents, and both panels offered the opportunity for authentic engagement between DELAC and the stakeholders they serve.

The February 28th meeting focused on analyzing English Learner student achievement data. The parents plan on using the information gathered through these meetings to inform the recommendations to the Board of Trustees this spring.

Our Bridge program has grown significantly since the beginning of the school year. We are currently serving more than 20 students, and continue to strive to provide an appropriate, rigorous and relevant education to participants, most of whom have had interruptions to their schooling. Bridge students are strengthening their literacy skills in their home language, while being pushed in English and Mathematics. Teachers infuse lessons with technology almost daily and students have participated in multiple project-based learning experiences, including recording podcasts at the 826 Valencia writing center in San Francisco and cooking a Central American meal with students from Burlingame High School in a collaboration developed by Nina Finci, ELD Bridge teacher and Shannon Couch, Culinary Arts teacher at Burlingame High School.

It was inspiring to see both groups of students work together and authentically engage to learn more about one another. Students cooked California cuisine together again in March. The built-in wellness component led by Elena Ortiz and Wendy Daniels (wellness counselors), and Nancy Yance Chavez (SMHS family engagement coordinator) twice a week has been well-received by the students.

In addition, Bridge students have participated in many field trips including the San Mateo Main Library, SFSU, 826 Valencia and Facebook headquarters. They continue to learn about various careers and community resources through classroom guest speakers.

The development of Bridge has helped us meet the needs of a unique cohort of students and we look forward to continuing to build the program.

The Black Parents Association (BPA) is group of dedicated volunteers who are passionate about ensuring students of African and/or African American descent have the support and resources they need to succeed. The BPA is comprised of a very diverse group of parents/guardians, teachers, and friends of all ethnicities and walks of life. They come together to provide students of African and/or African American heritage access to quality learning environments, educational opportunities and an effective support system that will equip them throughout high school, while preparing them for college.

It is the BPA's goal to:

This group is very active. They meet monthly on an array of topics and often bring in some very powerful speakers on important topics such as black history, and how to prepare and afford college. They also host fundraisers such as their latest event which was a Community Wine Tasting Social that raised money for low-income high school students to receive a BPA college scholarship. Finally, their signature event is the annual Baccalaureate which celebrates and honors the accomplishments of students of African and/or African American heritage. It is always a beautiful and well-organized event.

If you want to learn more, drop in to any of the monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of every month starting at 6:30pm in the San Mateo High School Library. You will find a group of friendly and welcoming parents. Visit the Black Parents Association official website to learn details of this important group's many efforts!

Students are elected to student government positions and Associated Student Body (ASB) leaders through school- and grade-wide elections every year. The student government and ASB offer a way to give students a say in what happens around the school and throughout the District. Leadership classes and initiatives offer students opportunities to take charge and thrive in leadership positions. Leadership in schools translates to leadership in the rest of a student's life.

The elected leaders of the United Association of Student Body (UASB) - comprised of representatives from each ASB - are referred to as the "Cabinet." These student leaders bring an energy and commitment to building authentic connections between the schools. Each student brings energy to developing cross-school unity that helps students from different schools build strong friendships, exchange school ideas, and brings "connectivity" to the high school experience.

Here are the members:

A few months ago I heard former Stanford and Notre Dame football coach Tyrone Willingham speak about his experience being on both the giving and receiving side of what he called the "Twenty Year Hug." This hug, as he defines it, comes years after one's encounter.

It is a thank you, a kind note, or a call from someone who felt that you were a major part of their formative years well after the fact. In most cases, it is because you saw something in them that they could not see in themselves. When we generate these twenty year hugs through our support of young people who so desperately need our help and support, we are often representatives of silent or voiceless people whose lives were improved by our firm belief in their potential and character.

What you do for your student and for their friends matters in ways you will probably never know. And just because it can't be measured doesn't lessen its importance. And it is what makes our communities strong and healthy.

Here's to a happy, restful and peaceful spring break.

Sincerely,

Kevin Skelly, Ph.D.
Superintendent