Happy New Year, it’s 2010.  The thought of the year 2010 conjures up futuristic images similar to those in a suspenseful  science fiction movie.  However, this isn’t a movie, it’s really the year 2010 and in Banning Unified School District, we are proud to relay that we are teaching, working and leading with futuristic plans for our students, our District and our community.  Each and every day, the employees make decisions and create a learning environment in which students can develop academically and emotionally and become productive and responsible citizens of an increasingly global society.

January not only marks the beginning of a new calendar year, but it also marks the mid-point of our school year.  As we come to this point, we have the opportunity to measure our progress over the past five months and evaluate this progress based on our goals for the year.  We began the school year, in August, with a keen focus on student data—local, county and state.  This data was analyzed to position ourselves to either continue the momentum or adjust and refocus.  Each site utilized their school data and developed “smart goals” based on their students’ needs.  In addition to the focus on data, staffs, depending on grade levels, received professional development in Six Trait Writing Strategies, Skills for English Language Learners, Strategic Schooling, Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) curriculum development and techniques to support differentiated instruction.  The skills and strategies learned are being successfully implemented in classrooms throughout the District.

In the area of new programs, Full Day Kindergarten has been a tremendous success.  Students are reading, writing and computing at and above grade-level standards.  The Full Day Kindergarten program is proving to be the new anchor for accelerated learning in our K-12 continuum. Through out GATE program, in grades 2 through 12, three new Odyssey of the Mind teams are preparing for action-based research and competition at the State level.

Looking toward the next five months, Banning High School and Nicolet Middle School will continue training their teacher leaders in the components of Strategic Schooling with the goal of training the entire staff over the next two school years.  For grades K-6, grade-level cohorts will participate in articulation days designed to focus on writing and developing benchmark  assessments.  Additionally, beginning in February, professional development will be expanded to include a Trainer-of-Trainers model to support new and veteran teachers.  Our plan is to begin training teachers with one to five years experience and eventually train all Banning Unified School District teachers.  The focus of the trainer-of-trainers model is Teacher Expectations and Student Achievement (TESA).  TESA is a research-based staff development program based on Expectation Theory.  When fully implemented, TESA has led to improvement in student achievement and  school culture and climate.

Finally, the California Standards Tests are front and center on the minds of all teachers, grades 2-11, as they prepare for California State Assessments, which will be administered in April and May.

At the District level, a series of school site meetings and Town Hall meetings will be scheduled, beginning in January, to discuss state-of-the-District matters and give staff and community current information regarding the impact of the State budget on our schools and employees.  More information regarding these meetings will be posted on our website.

As you can see, we are very busy in BUSD preparing students and staff for 2010 and beyond.  Thank you for your support and interest in Banning Unified School District and I wish students, parents, staff and community a happy and prosperous New Year.

Superintendent