Clovis Unified	from	their
elementary	nervous per-
emerge near Highland
“2 Minutes Today”

	CUSD
March 2023
	
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Clovis Unified School District — DEVELOPING STUDENTS IN MIND, BODY & SPIRIT	Volume 25, No. 8

FOLLOW US ON	AND AT	M

MUSEUM ON WHEELS	CONSTRUCTION ZONE

Students benefit from mobile military exhibit at Buchanan

The national Mobile Education Exhibit of Wreaths Across America made one of its few California stops at Buchanan High Feb. 21 for students and the community to learn about the service and sacrifice of the U.S. military. More than 200 students in history classes toured the interactive exhibit, and a community ceremony was held later in the day.
Hosted by the Fresno-Yosemite Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution, the Mobile Education Exhibit parked next to Buchanan’s Memorial Garden that honors the eight fallen BHS alumni who lost their lives while on military duty in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The exhibit is housed in a large semi-trailer and is a museum on wheels that includes short films and shared stories, and it makes stops across the United States annually to educate visitors.
Wreaths Across America is a nonprofit group that honors veterans and each year places a wreath at the headstone of fallen vet-erans at Arlington National Cemetery as well as cemeteries across the nation. This past De-cember, several Clovis Unified high school students assisted in local efforts on the Na-
tional Wreaths Across America Day.	Photos special to CUSD Today by Kenny Gilman

Work underway on new schools

This month construction crews will begin moving dirt and preparing two future Clovis Unified school sites in the southeast area of the district.
To ease current overcrowding that is anticipated to become more impacted with developments un-derway in that area, a new elementary school is being	built	near
➤
Learn More
View the new
Fowler and McKinley avenues and an edu-cational center to in-clude both an inter-
high	school	will
mediate school and	video recently emailed to parents about the
and Clinton avenues.	educational center. In the next month,
Clovis Unified’s Governing Board is expected to name what will be the district’s 35th elementary school and, soon after, school colors and a mascot will be developed with new principal Laura Reynolds working with the community for ideas.Attendance boundaries have been approved (see cusd.com for map) after months-long planning and community meetings, and the school will open for students in the fall of 2024.
The Terry Bradley Educational Center will be the anchor creating a new school area within the district. Clovis Unified follows a plan that divides the district into areas centered on a high school and its feeder schools and is overseen by an area super-intendent.As the district has grown, this model has kept a scaled down approach that offers stakeholders and the surrounding community strong access and connectivity with each other. Current Clovis High Principal Stephanie Hanks was recently announced by the governing board as the new area’s superin-tendent beginning this July.
The ed center for the yet-to-be-named schools is planned to open for seventh- through ninth-grade students in the fall of 2025, with a grade level being added each year until the school is complete. District staff will soon start preliminary research regarding attendance boundaries, and community meetings for input and feedback will begin this fall.
For ongoing updates about these projects, visit cusd.com/facilities or the new elementary school website at es35.cusd.com.

Creativity sparks with Oral Interpretation

The	53rd	excellent	or Annual Oral	good, the ex-In terpretation	perience was a Festival     had	big victory for everyone talk-	all participants, ing at the Paul	said Clovis East S h a g h o i a n	High drama Concert Hall.	teacher     and The two-day	event emcee event in Febru-	Heather Ran-ary showcased	dall. “Watching
groups from		the kids go Photo special to CUSD Today by Joey Elswick.
Temperance-Kutner Elementary students Caleb Correa, left,Abrielle Franco and
schools per- Danna Juarez Cervantes perform “The Very Cranky Bear,” by Nick Bland.	sonas backstage forming a spoken-word piece in unison. Students	to their confident characters onstage is miraculous. had been meeting and practicing for months on	For many of these students this is the first time bringing a narrative to life, and the festival allowed	they have done anything like this, and it takes a lot them to be rated by a panel of experts.	of bravery to complete this task.”
“Students learn responsibility, practice stage	Most of the oral interpretation pieces are per-presence and public speaking, and gain new friend-      formed in unison as a group, some require students ships along the way,” said Red Bank Elementary      to tap further into their bravery and perform solo second grade teacher Megan King, whose students      lines.
performed “The Good Egg,” by Jory John and	King said of her Red Bank team:“To see these Pete Oswald. “They are not all from the same      13 kids ask and choose to put themselves out group of friends, so they are able to branch out      there really spoke a lot to me. They took a risk, and form a new community…it’s beautiful!”             courageously prepared, and they knocked it out
While each group was given a rating of superior,	of the park!”

STORY TIME!

CUSD Deputy Superintend-ent Norm Anderson was one of many guest readers during Read Across America Week. See “Around the District” on Page 7.

A student conference, campus activities, guest speakers and more were part of Clovis Unified’s celebration of Black History Month. See Page 2.

American Student
Young teens gain
Page 2	CUSD Today	March 2023

Photos special to CUSD Today

Students learn from each other at campus events

Clovis Unified schools around the district                                                                                   ■ Clovis West High’s African American celebrated Black History Month throughout                                                                              Student Union hosted a month-long Black February with assemblies, lunchtime events                                                                              History Month Trivia contest. Classes com-and more to educate students on African                                                                              peted to answer the most questions correctly American culture. Here’s a sampling of the                                                                              each day of the month, for the opportunity many activities, several planned by students,                                                                              to hang a Black History Month banner in that were held to inspire and celebrate                                                                              their classroom for the rest of the school African Americans.                                                                                                                    year. The AASU also hung posters around ■Gettysburg ElementaryPrincipal Dave                                                                              campus of influential African Americans. Castro shared facts and asked trivia questions                                                                              “A continued engagement with history is about black history every morning during                                                                              vital as it helps give context for the present,” announcements.                                                                                                                        said AASU advisor Monique McCoy.“Black ■Clovis Adult Educationacademic class-     art, and food for students and families.            History Month is an opportunity to under-
es visited Fresno’sAfrican American History          ■ Riverview Elementary’s Human Re-     stand Black histories, going beyond stories Museum.                                                           lations Council shared information about     of racism and slavery to spotlight Black
■ Kastner Intermediate invited Clovis	influential African Americans during their	achievement.”
West High alum and current NFL Philadel-	morning announcements all month long.	■ Buchanan High students Janaya, Joy phia Eagle football player Andre Chachere	Sixth grade students also attended a lesson     and Kendall, as part of the Ujima Project fresh from the Super Bowl and Fresno	about Dr. Charles Drew, an African American     put on by Fresno County Office of Education, Deputy Mayor Matthew Grundy to an as-	doctor and scientist who helped develop     made presentations to elementary students sembly. They spoke to students about the	blood banks during World War II.                   on African American leaders. They visited obstacles they’ve faced that shaped them          ■ Clovis North Educational Center held     Woods Elementary, where they shared about into who they are today. They also encouraged	a drumming performance at lunch for stu-     Dr. May Jemison, who was known for her students to work hard and dream big to	dents to enjoy. The school was also decorated     accomplishments as an engineer, physician, achieve their goals.“I like that their stories	with posters and banners featuring quotes     and the first African American woman to serve as a great reminder for us to appreciate	from influential African Americans in his-     travel to space.
the people around us,” said eighth-grade     tory.                                                                       ■ Weldon Elementary students enjoyed student Allison Moua.                                           ■ Clark Intermediate’s Black Student     an engaging drumming performance by ■ Lincoln Elementary fifth- and sixth-     Union organized a campus-wide research     African Drum Interactive. The school also grade students attended a showing of“OUR     project involving most of the student body:     received a visit from the Clovis High School Story: The Black History Musical Experience,”     students selected an influential African     stompers, who performed for students and which took students on a journey through     American activist, athlete, artist, inventor     talked with them about historical role models history, achievement and cultural positivi-     and others to learn more about their impact     who inspire them. The seniors in the group ty.                                                                      on American society. Students also partici-     also talked about their plans after high ■ Copper Hills Elementary invited the     pated in trivia activities and fun events fo-     school to encourage the young students to
Libota Drum Circle for an evening of dancing,	cused on friendship and education.	plan for a bright future.

inspiration at African

Success Conference

n Clovis Unified hosts event for area schools

Hundreds of seventh and eighth graders from 18 schools across Fresno County at-tended Clovis Unified’s Middle School African American Student Success Conference in February at the Clovis North Educational Center.
Drumming from TOUNKARA Plus! kicked off the event that featured inspiring speakers and informative breakout sessions for students to meet with local mentors and discover career opportunities.
Lindsay Fox, President and CEO of United Way Fresno and Madera Counties, gave the keynote speech, sharing her passion for sup-porting youth and the resources that can help them thrive. Since joining the organi-zation in 2016, Fox has focused on supporting working families through wealth creation and closing the racial divide.
Close to 40 local professionals served as mentors for students to ask questions of and learn about their careers that include police officer, news reporter, business owner, college professor, nurse and principal among others.
Clovis Unified hosts the annual event and invites other Fresno County schools to participate.

March 2023	CUSD Today	Page 3 ➤ Announcements

123,561,710
That’s how many sheets of paper Clovis Unified has saved in the last six months by using Peachjar, an electronic flyer service, that emails directly to homes everything from school newsletters to messages about the carnival, upcoming athletic games or parent meeting, to name a few.
Thank you to our schools and families for your efforts in using the paperless service! Together, we are making a dif-ference.

Design a police car
Imagine your child’s artwork featured on a Clovis Unified police car!? The CUSD Police Department is running a contest for students of all grade levels to create a new design for the district’s police cars! The win-ning design will be featured on new district police cars, and the top three entries will be awarded gift cards. The contest ends March 31. Entry forms and details are available at school offices. For more information, call the CUSD Police Department, 327-9221.

Meal planning help
Learn all about preparing healthy and cost-effective meals at “Plan, Shop, Save & Cook,” a series of free classes open to all Clovis Unified families that will be held every Wednesday in March from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Hosted by the All 4 Youth TarpeyWell-ness Center, the sessions will include meal planning, how to save money when shopping, reading nutrition facts and prepping healthy meals. The wellness center is located on the campus of Tarpey Elementary, 2700 Min-newawa Ave., Clovis.

2023-24 new student registration

Registration is underway for transitional kindergarten through 12th grade students who will be brand new to Clovis Unified in the 2023-24 school year. Online pre-regis-tration is available at www.cusd.com/New StudentRegistration.aspx.
Clovis Unified also provides high-quality preschool programs at 29 school sites. En-rollment for the 2023-24 year for preschool opens online at 10 a.m.April 5. To enroll or learn more, visit www.cusd.com/ Pre school.aspx.

Get your tickets!
Who needs Broadway when the amazing talent of Clovis Unified’s high school students and their school productions are available right here? For more information or tickets, visit CUSD.com/tickets.
■ ‘Puffs’ – Buchanan High’s Bearstage Production brings to life “Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain

School of Magic and Magic” in this parody of the Harry Potter book series. The show will be at 7:30 p.m. March 9-11 and 16-18 at the Dan Pessano Theater, 2770 E. Inter-national Ave., Fresno.
■ ‘Sister Act’ – Clovis West High’s The-ater West will perform the musical comedy “Sister Act” in April. Based on the movie with the same name, the play follows the adventures of Deloris Van Cartier, an aspiring singer who witnesses a murder and has to go into protective custody as a nun. The musical will be at 7:30 p.m.April 20-22 and 27-29; and 2 p.m. April 22 at the Mercedes Edwards Theatre, 902 Fifth St., Clovis.

Working together for kids Parents from every school joined Clovis

Unified School District site and adminis-tration staff recently to discuss student pro-grams and to help identify priorities on campuses. The 2022-23 Mid-Year Local Con-trol and Accountability Plan (LCAP)Report included presentations on available funding, current supports and services, and recent California Dashboard assessment findings of the district. Those at the meeting took part in an interactive online Thought Ex-change, providing feedback and rankings of input.
Information gathered will be used in planning for the next school year programs and priorities. Learn more: cusd.com/lcap

Leadership conferences for students planned

Clovis Unified has opportunities for stu-dents to participate in student leadership conferences that include keynote speakers and professionals in the community dis-cussing their experiences, answering ques-tions, and providing information about col-lege and careers.
Remaining upcoming conferences are: ■ CUSD Latino High School Student
Success Conference, March 13, Clovis North Educational Center
■ CUSD Officer Jesus Ceron Latino Stu-dent Success Middle School Conference, March 31, at Kastner Intermediate
More information is available through the CUSD intermediate and high schools’ counseling offices.

Free online tutoring
Clovis Unified intermediate and high school students can access free, online tu-toring for their classes through a partnership

the district has created with the Princeton Review’s tutor.com. Subjects range from al-gebra and calculus to chemistry, English and physics. Students can access the service through their Clever account.
Spring Break
All Clovis Unified schools will be closed for Spring Break April 3 through 10. The CUSD district office will be open during this time with normal business hours.
Clovis Unified Child Development will hold a Spring Break full-day childcare pro-gram for elementary students from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. from April 3 to 7 at Oraze and Lincoln elementary schools. Transportation is available. Registration opens March 10 through Parent Connect, and space is limited. Details: 327-9160 or www.cusd.com/Op-tionalPrograms.aspx.

Special Education Upcoming workshops

The Clovis Unified Family Resource Center has the following special educa-tion events planned to provide infor-mation and support. They are:
■ “All About 504 Plans,” online workshop, 6:30-8 p.m. March 21, pres-entation byWendy Karsevar, CUSD 504 Plan learning director, Zoom. Register for link: tinyurl.com/FRC3-21-23.
■ “Special Education Parent Café,” in-person, 6:30-8 p.m., March 30, for families to connect with other parents who have a child with an IEP. CUSD Professional Development Building, 1680 David E. Cook Way, Clovis.Adults only; childcare is not provided. RSVP: tinyurl.com/frcparentcafe3.
Questions: 327-8455 or email fami-lyresourcecenter@cusd.com.

Award nomination for Exceptional Person

CUSD Special Education Depart-ment’s“Exceptional Persons Awards” is receiving nominations through March 15. The award celebrates district em-ployees and volunteers who are excep-tional at helping students with special needs. A judging team will determine the recipients and a ceremony will be held April 26. More information: CUSD Family Resource Center, 327-8455. To submit a nomination: tinyurl.com/Ex-Per2023.

Page 4	CUSD Today	March 2023

VISION

March 2023

Clovis

CUSD Today

Unified is a purpose worth

Page 5

our best

By Eimear O’Brien, Ed.D. Superintendent

IN the past few weeks I have had multiple reminders of what makes Clovis Unified a unique	and

special place whose cause is worthy of our best.
At our an-nual Crystal Awards I was reminded of this through
the individual	Eimear O’Brien, stories of our              Ed.D.
24 employees of the year.
Each one of these individuals was cheered on by co-workers and family members as they were hon-ored for being people who go the extra mile to make their small part of Clovis Unified the absolute best it can be for students and for our community.
Story after story was shared that night about this group of people who inspire the best in the rest of us because of the high stan-dards they set for themselves, and the character and integrity with which they live out their service to our students and their co-work-ers.
Whether it was the student re-lations liaison at Pinedale who goes out of his way to help those in need in the community and who mentors many students on the campus; or the transportation leader who is regularly willing to hop behind the wheel and drive a route if there is a need (while lay-ering in the rest of her responsi-bilities between stops and after hours); or the teacher who is so familiar with the unique needs of each of her individual students that she creates customized plans

for each of them so that they can     name just a few). Commitment     whether their field of competition excel, their stories are inspiring.         to a high standard, to supporting     was in a gymnasium or a court
It’s also championship season,	each team member toward excel-	room.
and I’ve had the opportunity to	lence, to putting in hours to hone	January and February are also cheer on teams competing for state	talents, and to being willing to     months in which we hold multiple and regional wrestling, soccer, bas-	persevere were all qualities shared     student success conferences. These ketball and mock trial titles (to	by these teams, regardless of     day-long goal setting workshops

LESSONS

Inspirations by, for and from our CUSD students

Special to CUSD Today Who believes in our students often before the students themselves do? School counselors! Clovis Unified campuses recently showered the counseling teams with appreciation during National School Counseling Week. From large thank you posters with custom messages, (pictured with Clovis East High Counselor Dr. Shur Lee), to special morn-ing announcements and sweet treats, jesters of gratitude were presented by students and co-workers to these hard-working staff members who guide students in academics and high school course selections; college and career planning; and personal and social goal setting. Said district Guidance Learning Specialist Jeff Hodges,“School counselors create a school culture of success for all!”

“Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.” LADY BIRD JOHNSON, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES, 1962-1969

are planned and facilitated by a wide ranging team of diverse ed-ucators and community mentors all of whom are focused on in-spiring students of every culture and ethnicity to set goals and de-velop the tools to achieve them.
In between gala awards cere-monies; division, regional or state playoffs; and conferences, I’ve also spent hours each week on our school sites and in classrooms. There, I’ve witnessed our educa-tional team leaving no stone un-turned in a quest to inspire students to achieve at their very best.
Theodore Roosevelt made a compelling point when he said, “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.”
That is true in everyday life and it is especially true when talk-ing about students and their learn-ing.
Connecting with students in a way that makes them want to learn from someone who they know cares about them as an individual is the intersection where the magic of great teaching takes place. In our classrooms, I see that magic happening, and it’s because of our people.
There are many things in the world right now that may cause one to question whether or not they are worthy of our time or our deep emotional investment. My experiences over the past month have been a reminder that Clovis Unified is truly something special, something worthy of be-lieving in, something worthy of giving our best to as an educational team and as a community.
As you look into the future, I encourage you find a way to con-nect with our school community. You won’t regret the investment of time and emotional resources because the purpose we are all working toward is so deeply worth all that we can give.

Crystal Award celebrates winners’ innovation, care

Twenty-four Clovis Unified employees recently were the starts of the show at The Crystals where they received the district’s highest employee award for their exceptional work in the preceding school year. These educators – ranging from teachers and princi-pals to librarians and athletic directors – were nominated by their peers or supervisor in the fall and selected by employee judging panels to merit the top recognition.
The Crystal Award is given to those employees whose passion, innovation, dedication and dynamic work ethic far surpasses their job description. These are people who in tangible, measurable ways selflessly help students reach their full potential in mind, body and spirit. They go above and beyond what is expected, and they do so without prompting. They lead and inspire others by their humble nature and heart-felt examples.
In this issue of CUSD Today, we continue our ongoing series in alphabetical order meeting our honorees. For video biographies and presentation, see cusd.com.

By Carol Lawson-Swezey Special to CUSD Today

Cheryl Hedrick Garfield Elementary
Team player, literacy champion, solution finder and gap filler extradinaire! These are the accolades used in the nomination for Crystal Award winner Cheryl Hedrick. The library technician at Garfield Elementary goes above and beyond to support staff, en-gage students, ignite learning and promote diversity.
“Cheryl is not a librarian, but a teacher whose classroom is a library,” a coworker said.“Whether it’s going on Zoom to read a book to the medically fragile students at the Garfield Center, picking a multicultural book celebrating diversity, or intentionally learning sign language to include the Deaf and Hard of Hearing students, Cheryl is in a class all her own.”
Hedrick has been instrumental in developing and imple-

➤The Crystals
A full list of this year’s winners and videos from the awards presentation can be found on-line at cusd.com

menting the site technology plan, co-teaching and supporting classrooms in literacy, driving multicultural appreciation and disability awareness programs and supporting student achieve-ment and behavior. She researched and selected 47 books specifically for Hard of Hearing students.
Hedrick begins each library reading session with a phrase of the month, relating to another culture. Additionally, she has led the robotics team, the Library Cubs club, Destination Imagination, and is a CSI Facilitator.
As one of her colleagues shared,“Cheryl has created an en-vironment of curiosity in her library which has ultimately bled into the classroom.”
Jennifer Hunt
Mickey Cox Elementary

Mickey Cox Elementary office manager Jennifer Hunt is all in! She exceeds expecta-tions daily and holds herself and her staff to the highest standards to provide the best service to students, staff and community, She arrives at school early, stays late and has learned all the roles within the school office so she can fill in when circumstances war-
rant.
Beyond her typical job duties, Hunt’s commitments include helping with intervention for at-risk students, assisting families and staff with technology, supporting learning stations during her lunch break, decorating for Mickey Cox events and greeting substitutes and ensuring they have sub plans and learn their

way around campus.
Most of the school’s clear concise communication is either initiated or filtered by Hunt through the school’s Weekly Roundup.
When parents come into the office in distress, Hunt provides families with her undivided attention and unwavering support. During the height of the pandemic, she even assisted with COVID testing when the volume of families needed testing was high.
Her colleagues said she puts the thoughts and needs of oth-ers before her own and makes Mickey Cox a priority. One coworker shared how Hunt drove her home when she wasn’t feeling well and only left when she was sure she had everything she needed.
Other co-workers added, “Mrs. Hunt always does what’s best, not what’s easy!”
Charlotte Loeffler Mountain View Elementary

To many of her peers, Mountain View El-ementary fourth-sixth grade Functional Life Skills teacher Charlotte Loeffler is “Wonder Woman.”
She has created a paradise for learning, safety and social-emotional development through a welcoming, inclusive classroom environment. Her constantly evolving lessons
are based on input from students, parents and mainstream, like using yoga and other strategies to reduce student anxiety and stress.
To encourage learning, skills and responsibility, Loeffler initiated the Positive Behavior Support and Intervention (PBIS) Bear Cave store and Bear Buck coffee where students learn about advertising, stocking inventory, money management and customer service. She is the coordinator on campus of CSI and ASES.
On her own time, Loeffler coaches after-school sports and

➤ Please see Innovators,Page 6

— ABOUT US —

CUSD Today, Clovis Unified’s good news publi-cation, is sent directly to the homes of all CUSD parents and staff, as well as district supporters. In an effort to unify the CUSD community, the newspaper highlights the achievements of Clovis Unified students and staff; profiles new and updated Governing Board policies; and shares general news and information happening within the district.
Circulation: 34,000.
Funding: All costs associated with producing, printing and mailing CUSD Todayare entirely funded by our advertisers. To show your appreciation of their support, we ask you to consider patronizing these businesses and services as the need arises.
Story submissions: Please submit all ideas to the Site Coordinator at your school. Please contact your school to find out who your Site Coordinator is. Editorial deadlines are two weeks before the pub-lication date.We do our best to include as many sub-missions in each issue as our editorial space will al-low.

CUSD Today Staff

Publishing & Editorial Clovis Unified School District 1450 Herndon Avenue Clovis, CA 93611 Telephone (559) 327-9094 cusdtoday@cusd.com

Kelly Avants, APR Chief Communications Officer
327-9092

Patti J. Lippert Managing Editor 327-9094

Kellie Feramisco Advertising Manager 327-9093

Verna Garcia Graphic Designer

CUSD Governing Board Members

D
David DeFrank	Hugh H.Awtrey	Steven G. Fogg, M. . President                                      Vice President                                        Clerk
327-9000	437-6580	269-7000

Y
Deena Combs-Flores	olanda Moore Clinton Olivier Tiffany Stoker Madsen 273-9824                                 437-6580	313-6065	392-1014

CUSD Administration

Eimear O’Brien, Ed.D.	Norm Anderson Superintendent                                                    Deputy Superintendent
327-9100	327-9107

Robyn Castillo, Ed.D. Corrine Folmer, Ed.D.	Barry Jager	Michael Johnston Associate Superintendent	Associate Superintendent       Associate Superintendent Associate Superintendent
Instructional Services	School Leadership	Human Resources and	Administrative Services 327-9373                             327-9350                     Employee Relations                   327-9110
327-9308

Page 6	CUSD Today	March 2023

Innovators: Highest employee honor presented

FROM PAGE 5
encourages SPED student participation so the kids experience inclusion and belonging. She successfully led Mountain View’s Oral Interpretation Team to win eight superior ratings with her students in the Performance Group.
Exhibiting true superpowers, Loeffler mentored several substitutes last year when the K-3 Functional Life Skills teacher was out on maternity leave. She assumed her caseload, con-ducted triannual assessments, facilitated meetings, wrote IEP reports and supervised a challenging student. Her own class continued to excel with all students meeting or exceeding their IEP goals and three transitioning to middle school vocational education.
Bobby Mammen Clark Intermediate

In the 31 years that Bobby Mammen has been at Clovis Unified, the Clark Interme-diate teacher and athletic director has posi-tively impacted generations of students, staff and community alike.
Since 2006, Mammen has led the Clark WEB –Where Everyone Belongs – program that focuses on ensuring all students have
the ultimate experience in the new school year. He takes his students to all eight Clovis Area elementary feeder schools and makes sure Clark’s teams are representative of all schools. Clark had more than 700 students participate in athletics
in the last school year, and Bobby added additional teams to make sure all interested students could compete. He also en-couraged working hard in the classroom to remain eligible. The increased participation had a monumental impact in school pride and belonging.
Mammen builds trust by hiring highly invested role models who are reflective of the community. His diverse coaches mir-ror demographics of about 55% of the students representing an ethnicity other than white.
Several nominators, his former students at Clark, and now on staff, said that Mammen not only develops winners on the playing field but also winners in life!
He always told us, one said, “When you leave Clark and continue on your journey as a Cougar and in life, remember who you are and what you represent.”
Elizabeth Marquez Miramonte Elementary

Student academic, social and emotional needs are Elizabeth Marquez’ highest priority. The Miramonte Elementary teacher saw a need for a supplemental writing program and a new STEM program that would en-courage higher order thinking, and she took it upon herself to make it happen. She re-searched, trained and personally paid to
bring that program to campus. Those efforts led to 73% of third graders who met or nearly met the claim area of writing last year.
Marquez is also involved in GATE and CSI, is the advisor for Peer Mediators, which provides a direct means for students to help other students and serves as the PLC lead. She shares her expertise to model and coach the ASES after school staff by introducing class management and appropriate use of re-sources. She has spent countless hours fine-tuning the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support program at Miramonte.
Marquez believes that students need to feel safe and valued to optimally learn. Last year the brother of a student passed away. On behalf of the Miramonte staff, she sent flowers and a card to the family. She personally attended the funeral and her support and kindness made a huge impact on the family and especially her student. It’s just one of the many examples of how she cares.
Michael Miller Clovis West High

The secret sauce in the Clovis West High School automotive pathway program is CTE instructor Michael Miller.
An exemplary teacher, father figure, coun-selor, mentor, confidante and coach, Miller creates a family culture and opportunities for students to connect with one another and the community at large.
He designs his classes to be inclusive, offering four levels of automotive classes, encouraging freshman to enroll. Ford Motors has said on multiple occasions,“If a resume comes in and it has ‘Clovis West’ listed as education, it is a given that the candidate will be a good hire.”
Miller thoroughly prepares students for post high school opportunities. He recognizes that not all students have the skills to be a diagnostic technician and is now developing cur-riculum for a Service and Parts Manager.
Since joining Clovis West in 2015, his program has added a heavy-duty shop and earned coveted accreditations, enabling donations from industry giants like Ford and Dodge. His stu-dents have also won Skills USA Career Challenges.
In 2020, Miller and Learning Director Karen Boone, applied and received a $55,000 Clean Fuels Transportation Pilot Grant.

The money furnished an educational trailer used by Clovis West auto students to visit feeder school sites and introduce elementary students to new electric vehicle technology and available options for their futures.
Andrew Nabors Facility Services

Two words that consistently describe newly promoted Coordinator of Adminis-trative Services Andrew Nabors are efficiency and effectiveness! As the Senior Analyst for Development and Boundary Analysis in Fa-cilities during the Crystal nomination period (he has since been promoted to coordina-tor!), Nabors tracks future student growth
in the district. His work has a tremendous impact on every school and department in Clovis Unified. His keen ability to access unique information has helped him develop and write programs for customized data analysis that allow Clovis Uni-fied teams to effectively gather information.
During the pandemic, Nabors developed the district’s COVID Dashboard. He designed a public interface, wrote compatible code to work with eSchoolView and connect it to the forms back-end database. This tool went through many

And the Crystals go to ...

n Toni Jo Beltran, Gettysburg Elementary Resource Specialist n Sheryl Boe, Director of Transportation
n Annette Burger, Buchanan High School Secretary II n Sarah Burress, Clovis East High Activities Director
n Trina Hairabedian, Cole Elementary Instructional Assistant I n Stephanie Hanks, Clovis High Principal
n Ginger Hazel, Temperance-Kutner Elementary Teacher n Cheryl Hedrick, Garfield Elementary Library Technician
n Jennifer Hunt, Mickey Cox Elementary Ofice Supervisor n Charlotte Loefler, Mountain View Elementary Teacher
n Bobby Mammen, Clark IntermediateTeacher, Athletic Director n Elizabeth Marquez, Miramonte Elementary Teacher
n Michael Miller, Clovis West High Teacher
n Andrew Nabors, Facility Services Coordinator
n Dan Pantoja, Clovis West Area Student Relations Liaison n Abigail Paxton, Buchanan High Teacher
n Aaron Penberthy, Kastner IntermediateTeacher n Joaquin Rivera, Pinedale Elementary Teacher
n Lizette Ruiz, Clovis West High Bilingual Instructional Assistant II n Susan Rutledge, Assistant Superintendent of Business Services n Loree Sisterson, Reagan Educational Center School Ofice
Supervisor, Sr.
n Lauri Vaughn, Cedarwood Elementary Teacher n Carol West, Mountain View Elementary Teacher n Maila Yang, Tarpey Elementary Teacher

revisions as the district brought students back on campus. Nabors also collaborated with the Technology Department
and rewrote standardized COVID forms, developed an internal dashboard to extract data when needed to present to the Gov-erning Board and public, and created daily reports to send to lead administration.
But his day doesn’t stop at the office. Nabors serves as the head coach of the Buchanan High School Bird Brains Robotics team for 80-100 students. He has successfully guided them from the local level to the national level on numerous occa-sions, and last year they qualified for the World Champi-onships.
Coach Dan Pantoja Clovis West Area

Dan Pantoja, affectionately known as Coach Dan, lives and breathes Pinedale Pride. The Clovis West Area student relations liai-son was nominated for his work at Pinedale Elementary, where he is firmly committed to his community and he cultivates a culture of trust and respect.
For the past eight years, he has inspired athletes and developed young leaders through the Pinedale wrestling and football programs.Area schools now know that Pinedale will be a tough competitor.
Coach Dan hosts highly anticipated various camps through-out the year. He seeks out coaches who will be servant leaders for Pinedale youth and encourages them to develop that team mentality and foster good character, both on and off the field. He has provided transportation to wrestling matches and pur-chased athletic equipment for students from his own pocket. He developed ‘Mornings with Dan’ at Clovis West to mentor and fellowship with former Pinedale students who may need extra support, and he also serves as the Latino Club advisor and helps mentor the African-American Student Union advi-
sor.
His good deeds go beyond sports and into the area of Pinedale where Coach Dan has mowed lawns for elderly resi-dents, paid to have a single mother’s car repaired so she could get back to work, or made home visits to get a high school student back to school. He’s a much-valued part of the com-munity!
Abigail Paxton Buchanan High School

Affectionally known by her students as “Pax,” Buchanan High drama teacher Abigail Paxton maximizes her energy – and she is known for having a lot! Her passion and dedication shine, whether it’s creating lesson plans, choreographing a dance, directing a play or creating a safe space for students to experience acceptance, love and purpose.
Paxton plans her curriculum specific to her students. She gleans ideas from the latest TikTok challenge, pop-culture craze, or a familiar TV show or song, thus motivating her stu-dents to be silly, serious, nostalgic, and reflective.
She ensures all her productions are family friendly, with clean humor and respectable content.Always seeking ways to clarify and reinforce the production process, she turns every glitch into a teaching moment, encouraging students to be re-flective and move on.
Paxton took over the Buchanan Improv Team last year when their beloved coach unexpectedly passed away. In tribute to him, she mentors them and even brought back outdoor shows after the pandemic hiatus.
It’s because of her initiative that there’s been a supportive atmosphere created at Buchanan between arts and athletics – and Pax now has many athletes auditioning and performing in her plays!
Paxton intentionally builds community, unites students and makes decisions based on what’s best for her thespians. This has promoted increased enrollment in her elective classes and the number of students auditioning for shows.

AROUND THE DISTRICT

March 2023	CUSD Today	Page 7

Stronger together at Clark

enjoy making connections with them before they enter Clark.”

Celebrating reading, and Dr. Seuss!

During Read Across America Week,which includes the birthday of children’s book author Dr. Seuss, Clovis Unified schools had an array of activities and guest readers. At Cole Ele-mentary, Superintendent Eimear O’Brien, Ed.D., joined some of the district’s youngest children – transitional kindergartners in Kathy Loeprich’s class. It was “Green Eggs & Ham” Day in honor of Dr. Seuss’ book with that name, and everyone was encouraged to wear green. Dr. O’Brien not only read to students but also used a globe to point out where she was born in Ireland. “From an airplane, the country of Ireland looks like an emerald jewel because it is so green,” she said.

Books for Weldon
Bad habits may be hard to break but some-times, good habits are just as difficult to stop. Recently more than 100 books were donated to Weldon Elementary School thanks to the San Joaquin College of Law’s Elizabeth O’Neill Book Drive – but the twist is the annual drive has been on hiatus since 2020 due to the pan-demic. Some faithful donors, however, in the habit this time of year of giving showed up at the college with children’s books.
Said Weldon librarian Lisa Palomares,“Wel-don is always excited to receive books! We are thankful San Joaquin College of Law gifted us

Clark Intermediate recent-ly celebrated Multicultural Week with activities that in-cluded morning lessons, lunchtime events and a school assembly focused on “Stronger Together.” Featured were student and staff speak-ers, along with performances by the Folklorico and Bhangra dancers from Clovis High.
“All cultures and back-grounds can come together to make this world a better place, and it starts with all of us,” said Noel Felix and Jor-dan Cota, advisors to the Clark Multicultural Club that led the weeklong celebration.

with such a nice assortment of titles and beau-tiful hardbound copies. Our students were very eager to get their hands on them!”
Thank you to the San Joaquin College of Law and good-habit givers for supporting Clovis Unified kids!

Valentines for Vets California As-

semblyman Jim Patterson visited Garfield Elemen-tary last month, touring several classes and picking up around 800 Valentine’s Day cards that were to be given to local veterans. The en-tire Cubs student body had been busy cutting pink
hearts, drawing flags and writing words of appreciation as the school takes part in its an-nual Valentine’s for Veterans project.
“We hope our students learn that even at a young age, they can make a difference and help those in our community,” said Principal Jennifer Bump of Garfield’s participation.
Assemblyman Patterson met with second and third graders to share the impact the cheerful cards have on veterans and to let the students ask questions.

Chieftains teaching Warriors For two days, Clark Intermediate eighth-

grade students in Lisa Brown’s “Introduction to Education” led two first and fifth grader’s P.E. classes at feeder school Weldon Elemen-tary.
“It’s so much fun to watch our eighth-graders put into practice tricks that they’ve been learning,” said Brown.“They’re teaching others the importance of play physical activity throughout school and life.”
The course is designed to give students a taste of what it would be like to be a teacher one day, and it helps them learn about the CTE education programs that will be offered in high school if that’s something they want to pursue.
Plus, Brown said, it’s great to meet the ele-mentary kids who in just a few years will be on the Chieftains’ campus.“We love working with our feeder school students, and we really

Joining talents at CN
It wasn’t just Clovis North High drama students, but also choir and art students who helped present the school musical,“The Hunch-back of Notre Dame.” Drama instructor Matthew Bridges, who is brand new to the Broncos but has taught drama for several years, said he wanted to come in with a splash for his first show that would be grand in both scale and effect. That included joining forces with CN Choir Teacher Heather Bishop to have her students sing on stage and CN Art Teacher Lauren Myers to challenge her advanced students to create stained glass imagery.
“Because I now work in a district where the arts are supported by such a talented team, it was important for me to include as many other people and students as possible,” said Bridges who is a former Clovis High drama student and 2006 graduate.
At times in the show, more than 60 students were on stage in the performance that Bridges described as a compilation of every adaptation of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” as well as several original moments.

Super kind Tigers
The tigers are terrific at spreading kindness! Century Elementary celebrated “Kindness Month” with acts of kindness all throughout February. The Kindness Committee, led by teacher Kim Fox-Kristensen, is made up of more than 20 students who volunteered their lunchtime to brainstorm ideas for their school to share kindness. Some members of the com-mittee decorated the school walkway with welcoming messages for their athletic opponents on game day. Others wrote motivating messages on clothespins to clip onto students’ backpacks all around campus.

Editor’s note: “Around the District” is a regular feature of CUSD Today that highlights positive ac-tivities and accomplishments of students and schools throughout the district. Items for consideration may be sent to cusdtoday@cusd.com.

school
Page 8	CUSD Today	March 2023

Attendance
Board names Hanks as new area superintendent

adopted for
n boundaries 35th elementary

By Kelly Avants

CUSD Chief Communications Officer

March 1
Celebrating March as Music in Our Schools Month, the Clovis Unified Governing Board meeting March1wasenlivenedwith a performance by the Buchanan High Jazz Band underthedirectionof Barb Shinaver.
Clovis High School has a new principal following the Governing Board’s ap-pointment of Matt Lucas, current principal at Cedar-wood Elementary, to the positioneffectiveJuly1.Lu-castakesthereinsof Cougar Countryfromcurrentprin-cipalStephanieHanks,who will become the Assistant SuperintendentoverClovis Unified’s sixth comprehen-sive high school area this summer.
Also appointed during the meeting was Adminis-trator of Curriculum, In-structionandAccountability DarrinHoltermann.Holter-mann,whocurrentlyserves astheDirectorof Induction and MTSS, will fill the po-sition as of July 1 after cur-rent Administrator Janet Samuelian retires.
Membersof thedistrict’s CareerTechnicalEducation teamwerepresenttoanswer questionsabouttheirannual reportonthestatusof their worktoconnectandprepare studentsforcareerfieldsaf-ter high school. This year, enrollment in CTE classes hasincreasedby12.7%,with more than 3,600 students

taking a CTE course. Inotheraction,theboard: Approvedconstruction
costs for Phase 1B of the Terry Bradley Educational Center and related provi-sions of the lease-leaseback agreement and authorized the Superintendent or de-signeetoexecutethesched-ule of sublease payments for Phase 1B.
 Accepted a $3 million award from the California Department of Education fortheCareerTechnicalEd-ucation Incentive Grant.
Votedtoelectfourcan-didatesfromSub-Region10 (our local area) to serve on the	California	School Board’s Delegate Assembly for a two-year term. The fourcurrentlyserveonGov-erningBoardsof otherFres-no County school districts.

Feb. 16
The new elementary school opening at Fowler and McKinley avenues in August of 2024 now has a definedattendanceareafol-lowing the Governing Board’s adoption of school boundaries.
The decision came after a months-long process in-volvingmultiplecommunity meetings in the Clovis East Area where the school is under construction. Prin-cipal Laura Reynolds will now work with her com-munity to develop possible options for school colors and mascots as the Board also considers possible names for the new school in the coming month.
For more information about the school boundary process or to see the ap-provedmap,visithttps://rec. cusd.com/2022school boundaries.aspx.
The market study rec-ommendation for opera-tionalemployeesrepresented

 BOARD BRIEFS

by CSEA Chapter 250 was	with the district. approvedatthemeetingfol-           The board also took ac-lowingapprovalof theECC	tion to appoint a leader to recommendationsbyCSEA	the developing high school members on Feb. 15.	area served by the future
The implementation of	Terry Bradley Educational thestudyforoperationsunit                            Center an-employees will now follow                            nouncing the same timeline as other                            thatStephan-employee groups with new                            ieHanks,cur-salaryschedulesimplement-                            rentprincipal edasoftheFebruarypayroll.                            at	Clovis
It’s expected that work to         Stephanie      High,willas-complete calculations for           Hanks        sumetherole
retroactivecompensationto	as of July 1. the start of the current year          Theboardadoptedares-will be completed,and sep-      olutionhonoringemployee arate paychecks/direct de-      Steve Ward on his 46+ year posits issued, toward the      career with the Clovis Uni-end of April or earlier if      fied who is retiring. Ward possible.                                   has served as a teacher,
CSEAemployeeseligible	schoolsiteanddistrictlevel fortheretroactivecompen-	administrator and was in-sation are those employed	strumental in bringing the as of Feb. 15, 2023. ACE	CIF State Cross Country Psychologists/MentalHealth	Meet to the district as well Professionals have not yet	astheopeningoftheMiCare settled their first contract	Health Center that opened

in 2018. In 2011, Ward served as Interim Superin-tendent of Clovis Unified for a three-month period as the district transitioned to the superintendency of Dr. Janet Young.
Inotheraction,theboard:  Approved the place-
mentof astudentwithspe-cial needs in a residential treatment facility as identi-fied in the student’s indi-vidualizededucationalplan. Feb. 1

Dozens of student ath-letesandtheircoacheswere present at the Governing Board meeting to be recog-nized for winning seasons. Prior to the start of the meeting, the Governing Board participated in a fa-cilities planning workshop to review updated enroll-ment projections based on recentinformationreceived from the cities of Fresno andClovisaboutresidential development, construction work on the Terry Bradley

EducationalCenter,andthe process to name the school site located at Fowler and McKinley avenues.
Inotheraction,theboard:  Heard a report from
members of the Business Services team providing an overview of the Governor’s 2023-24 proposed state budget and its impact on Clovis Unified.
Approvedtheone-time revenue expenditure plan forArts,MusicandInstruc-tionalMaterialsGrantusing the allocation percentages developed by sites and de-partments. A copy of the percentage allocation is available with the online agendamaterialsof theFeb-ruary 1 meeting.

q Thenextregularlyscheduled
meetingof theGoverningBoard is set for 6:30 p.m. March 15 in the Boardroom located at 1680 DavidE.CookWay,Clovis.Com-pleteminutes,agendasandmeet-ing videos are available online at www.cusd.com.

March 2023	CUSD Today	Page 9

National organization’s co-founder visits two CUSD schools

How do you teach integri-ty, perseverance or prudence to a first grader? Or for that matter, a third grader, or a sixth grader?
In Clovis Unified nearly all 34 elementary schools ac-cess daily lessons from The Positivity Project to do just that. Known as “P2,” the pro-gram explores 24 character strengths, and recently P2’s co-founder and CEO Jeff Bryan visited the district from the East Coast to see first-hand how it is working.
Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum, Instruction and Accountability Erin Waer – who was principal of Boris Elementary when it opened in 2016 and was the first to use P2 on the West Coast – led Bryan on the tour of Clo-vis and Century elementary schools’ programs.

“The Positivity Project is one of the most incredible strategies I have witnessed and supported in my 22 years in education,”Waer said, not-ing now hundreds of schools in the Central Valley alone use the project.
Built around the idea of developing an “Other People Matter” mindset, the program teaches character and rela-tionship building skills to em-power children to lead lives equipped with important strategies and understandings. Each week, one of 24 traits is highlighted in daily 15-minute prepared lessons that are grade-level appropriate, but the entire school is focused on the same trait.
Recently, P2’s focus was on Perseverance, and for ex-ample, fourth-graders’ lesson included a mindful moment,

THE POSITIVITY PROJECT

a quote – “You never give up.	about encouraging others. It’s Even when things are hard,”	a program that impacts the a short video about an	entire campus in a positive Olympian who fell during	way.”
her race and was helped by a	Clovis Elementary Principal fellow athlete in getting to     Donelle Kellom said she likes the finish line, and questions     how P2 unites students and like, “How do both women     staff alike.
show perseverance,” and	Bryan	watched	third “How are they thinking of     graders acting out perseverance others; do you have examples     scenarios on his tour of the where you’ve thought of oth-     Jaguars’ campus.
ers?”                                              “P2 empowers everyone Sometimes a class will take     involved with a common lan-more time because kids are     guage and an understanding that engaged,Waer said, and     of how to build positive rela-those conversations are im-     tionships.     Students     are portant. She recalled at Boris     equipped to have conversations walking down the second-     about topics that often go un-grade wing and seeing walls     mentioned like bravery, pru-covered with sticky-notes that     dence, and open-mindedness had positive messages – “They     … the common pacing cal-had just done their P2 lesson     endar allows everyone from the librarian to coaches to
campus monitors the ability to reinforce and recognize what is being studied. Parents are included though P2 for Families and can follow along from home with weekly videos and conversation starters.”
Bryan said of his visit to the two CUSD schools: “At both schools, it was clear that the students understand char-acter strengths because they

Photo special to CUSD Today. Positivity Project CEO and President Jeff Bryan recently visited Clovis Unified schools using the program that equips children with character and emotional wellness skills.

were using the vocabulary to	and strategies to teach kids describe themselves and oth-	positive psychology.
ers. “                                               “We believe that if each He co-founded The Posi-      individual is strengthening tivity Project with fellowWest       their relationships and build-Point graduate Mike Erwin       ing their character, then our following their combined five      citizens, communities and tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.      country will be stronger and According to the website, they       better prepared to meet the wanted to continue to serve       challenges of the future,” their country and felt the next       Bryan said of the program step was to help empower      that is now used by 135 youth by partnering with      schools in the Central Valley
schools to provide training	alone.

Page 10	CUSD Today	March 2023