event
Clovis
Unified
NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
FRESNO, CA
PERMIT NO. 220
“We were blown away by the number
signatures, meet with principal
Unified sipped on pink milk just before
class had recently read an article about a
out why they wanted it, and made an ap-
!

Clovis Unified School District — WHERE CHARACTER COUNTS!

follow us on

March 2022 Volume 24, No. 8
TM               and at CUSD.COM

Clovis Unified School District
1450 Herndon Ave.
Clovis, CA 93611
COVID-19 UPDATE

Mask requirement lifted for students

Significant milestone for schools, education

Governor Newsom and his administration have announced the end to California’s kindergarten through 12th-grade mask requirement effective March 12. Nearly two years prior, in March 2020, the governor initiated the stay at home order that is marked by many as the starting point for our journey through the COVID-19 pandemic. Much has transpired in the 24 months that followed. Here, Clovis Unified Superintendent Dr. Eimear O’Brien provides a statement in the wake of Fresno County’s end to contact tracing in schools and the end of K-12 mask mandates.
“The welcome news from the Newsom Administration that COVID-19 conditions continue to improve around the state and country, and that masks will no longer be re-quired, but highly recommended, in K-12 schools after

Eimear O’Brien, Ed.D.
Superintendent
March 11 marks another sig-nificant milestone in our jour-ney back to normalcy for our students and staff. Our students can now more fully engage in valuable classroom learning and social development regard-less of vaccination status, and we are pleased that the Gover-nor did not wait any longer to take this important step for-ward. [Also on Feb. 28 Gover-nor Newsom signed an Exec-utive Order that aligned
CalOSHA regulations so that at midnight March 11 em-ployees in schools are no longer required to wear masks in schools.]
“We have carefully navigated every step of this journey adhering to health mandates and balancing two critically

important goals: protecting the health and safety of our students and staff, and prioritizing in-person education for our students. Every decision we have made has kept these two goals in mind, and whether it is our investment of millions of dollars in air quality improvements, free-standing HEPA filtration units in every classroom, PPE, testing, and cleaning and sanitizing measures, or working with our county to first implement (and in recent weeks to end) contact tracing and most testing, we are confident that our schools are ready to move into an endemic approach that returns California’s schools to the fully engaged, mask-free learning environments we have long valued.”
Read the full announcement from the Governor at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVI D-19/guidance-for-face-coverings.aspx.Clovis Unified will continue to monitor and respond to evolving changes to health and safety guidelines. For the most recent updates, visit cusd.com.

Fancher Creek cleanup effort unites community

■ 834 pounds of trash picked up by school

CUSD Today

Photo special to CUSD Today by Kenny Gilman. Garfield fourth-graders had a tasty victory when they put their civic lesson into action and respectfully petitioned their principal to consider having strawberry milk available in the cafeteria.

CUSD students enjoy strawberry milk following petition

■ Garfield 4th-graders gather 151	milk, too!
Garfield fourth-grader Evan Swearingen
CUSD Today
– with help from classmates Sabrina Jones, Chloe Hale and Bree Ortiz – jumped into action. They gathered 151 signatures on a
Elementary school students across Clovis	petition requesting strawberry milk, wrote

Students in Garfield teacher Rita Twet’s
Bump.
Valentine’s Day thanks to fourth-graders at pointment with Garfield Principal Jennifer Garfield Elementary School.                                “I was thrilled to see our students taking an active role and affecting change for not
to bring strawberry milk o his school’s
vocabulary and promote class discussion
Bump said. “I was impressed with their
Campus Catering the next morning, excited
boy in Missouri who successfully campaigned	only our school, but other schools as well,” cafeteria. While the article t in Scholastic’s	presentation and I called Robert Schram in monthly newsletter was intended to enhance to share our students’ request and to invite about evidence-based opinions, it also got him to be a part of the process.”
the kids thirsty. They wanted strawberry	➤ Please see Petition, Page 3

Students Sabrina Jones, left, and Bree Ortiz make a toast before sipping on their pink milk. The two were part of the organizers of the drive and wrote essays on why they wanted straw-berry milk.

Photo special to CUSD Today by Kenny Gilman

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, volunteers from Fancher Creek Elementary School showed some love to their community as they cleaned up litter around the school and surrounding neighborhood.
New Principal Carisa Cordova worked with Beautify Fresno to hold the community cleanup Feb. 12. Beautify Fresno provided the trash bags, paper pickers, vests and
or kid power, to get the job done.
reek kindergartner Briana Vang
gloves; the school provided the manpower,     Fancher CPhoto special to CUSD Today by Kenny Gilman. and her parents, Brigham and Susana Vang,
of volunteers,” Cardova said of the Saturday	work together to clean up the area. morning activity.“We had planned for 80	administration at Clovis East High School, but ended up having 107 – we had to have	Cordova began her Clovis Unified career volunteers share trash pickers because we	as a teacher at Fancher Creek 18 years ago ran out!”	and cares about the community.
Together they filled 103 garbage bags         In developing the cleanup project, Cor-with 834 pounds of trash.                               dova said her goals were to increase support Sixth-grader Maya Gomez said she liked     of the school in the neighborhood and how so many people from not just the     also teach students to take pride in their school but also the community joined in     community.“Engaging in meaningful civic the action.“[They] came to help clean up     activities can help them develop a sense of OUR neighborhood because they felt it     purpose, which will promote continued was special, and honestly, it was fun.”             civic participation as they grow up,” she
Cordova became the Falcons’ new prin-	said.
cipal mid-year when the former principal	The event is planned to become an an-relocated. While she was most recently in     nual tradition.

CUSD kids’ art, essays earn awards in MLK contest

County
Annual STATE CHAMPS! Fresno

several
Buchanan	sees wrestlers win
top spot

for sixth	winners.
year in a row.	See Page 4 for
See Page 9	excerpts and artwork.

INSIDE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS CUSD art contest
Clovis Unified Business Services is holding its 14th Annual Budget Book Cover Art Contest. The contest is open to all CUSD and CART students. Page 3

CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION
It’s time to register for CTE classes CUSD high school students are currently regis-
tering for next year’s classes. Each high school has a designated CTE counselor. Page 11

SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE Time to come together
Across the world we are emerging from a two-year pandemic, celebrating improved COVID-19 conditions, and taking steps toward a return to normalcy. Page 5

Page 2	CUSD Today	March 2022

March 2022	CUSD Today	Page 3

➤Announcements

Photo special to CUSD Today. One of the winners from last time is this drawing by then second grader Evelyn Hanson,Valley Oak Elementary.

CUSD art contest
Clovis Unified Business Services is holding its 14th Annual Budget Book Cover Art Contest, with winning works to be published in the district’s 2022-23 CUSD Budget Book. The contest is open to Clovis Unified TK-12th-grade students and CART students. Entry requirements are:
■ Artwork must include photos or illustrations of students.
■ Artwork should represent the demographics of the whole district
■ Page layout must be landscape and printed 11”x 8 ½ ”. No digital entries.
■ Artwork can be in color or black/white.
Five finalists will be selected to receive a Visa gift card from contest sponsor Xerox Corporation and their artwork will be featured in the Clovis Unified 2022-23 Budget Book. They will also be recognized at the April 20 CUSD Governing Board meeting.
To view last year’s winning artwork, please visit: https://www.cusd.com/BusinessServices.aspx
An application form must be attached to each entry and is available through school offices or can be down-loaded and printed from https://www.cusd.com/Busi-nessServices.aspx. Entry deadline is 5 p.m. March. 29.

Free online tutoring
Clovis Unified intermediate and high school students can access free, online tutoring for their classes through a partnership the district has created with the Princeton Re-view’s tutor.com. Subjects range from algebra and calculus to chemistry, English and physics. Students can access the service through their Clever account.

CUSD holiday closures
Clovis Unified schools will be closed for Spring Break April 11-18.

Class of 2023 graduation dates Hey juniors,

mark your cal-endars!	The g r a d u a t i o n schedule for the Class of 2023 has been an-nounced. Grad-uation      cere-
monies will be held May 30 for Clovis West High; May 31, Buchanan High; June 1, Clovis North High; June 8, Clovis East High; and June 8, Clovis High. Clovis Adult Education will celebrate its graduates June 3; Alternative Education, June 5; and Clovis Online is tentatively June 3 or 6.

‘The Uninvited’ March 17-19
Clovis East High will perform “The Uninvited” in March in the Dan Pessano Theater located in the district’s Performing Arts Center, 2770 E. International Ave., Fres-no.
The play is a thriller tale of ghosts and secrets, set at an English seaside cottage that may be haunted. Performances began earlier in March and remaining shows are at 7:30 p.m. March 17-19. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students. For more information see www.cloviseastwolf-packdrama.com.

Download the app!
Keep connected with all the latest news about Clovis Unified schools by downloading
the Clovis Unified app, available through iOS and Android app stores. Available through mobile devices, the app conveniently ac-cesses attendance reporting, lunch menus, school flyers and more.

SPECIAL EDUCATION Advisory committee meeting

Clovis Unified holds regular meetings throughout the year of its Special Education Community Advisory Com-mittee (CAC) that are open to the public. The committee serves in an advisory capacity to the Special Education

Local Plan Area.
The next meeting will be held at noon, May 25 at the CUSD Professional Development Building, 1680 David E. Cook Way, Clovis.A parent workshop will precede it at 11 a.m. The meeting topics will be “Annual Service Plan Review SPED Budget & Student Voices.”
For information call 327-8455 or email familyresource-center@cusd.com.
Online webinars
The following upcoming online webinars will be offered by the CUSD Special Education Department’s Family Re-source Center. For more information or to inquire about an interpreter, please call 327-8455 or email familyre-sourcecenter@cusd.com.
■ “All About Section 504 Plans,” 6:30-8 p.m., March 29, online webinar. Free. Parents, caregivers, professionals are invited to learn about how students qualify for a 504 Plan; what are accommodations and modifications; and how is a 504 Plan different than an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Register at https://tinyurl.com/FRC3-29-22. Exceptional Persons Award

CUSD Special Education Department’s “Exceptional Persons Awards” is receiving nominations through March 15. The award celebrates those district employees and vol-unteers who are exceptional at helping students with special needs. A judging team will determine the recipients and a ceremony will be held in April. More information: CUSD Family Resource Center, 327-8455. To submit a nomination: https://tinyurl.com/ExPers21-22.

Petition:

FROM PAGE ONE
Schram is Clovis Unified’s director of food services, and he contacted Producers Dairy, the district’s milk supplier. Although the dairy stopped production of strawberry milk because of staffing, as luck would have it, they planned to produce a limited run of the pink milk the week before Valentine’s Day.
Schram immediately ordered several thousand car-tons to be delivered to Clovis Unified. “We probably wouldn’t have thought to ask for it if it had it not been for the kids’ petition,” Schram said.
Evan and his fourth-grade classmates are excited. Strawberry milk will be making its appearance at Garfield Elementary on Friday, Feb. 11. (Clovis Unified schools were closed Valentine’s Day, Monday, Feb.14, in honor of Lincoln’s Birthday.)
“I am so proud of Room 40!” Bump said. “They showed such initiative, passion, and drive to make a difference. I hope this experience reinforces that there is so much they can do to affect positive change in the world.”

AROUND THE DISTRICT

Page 4	CUSD Today	March 2022

MLK contest winners
The Fresno County Superintendent of Schools hosts the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Art, Essay and Speech Contest, and this year numerous Clovis Unified students participated with several earning top accolades.
Best of Show Artwork for elementary grades was won by Mountain View Elementary sixth-grader Raya Saptorshi and for secondary grades by Reyburn Intermediate sev-enth-grader Avery Gregory.
In the speech competition at the elementary level, Reagan Elementary fifth-grader Manapreet Kaur earned third place; at the intermediate level, Granite Ridge sev-enth-grader Sania Jhagiani won first, eight-grader Priya Prajapati second, and Clovis Online eighth-grader Ryan Ramos, third; at the high school level, Clovis North senior Trisha Prajapati won first place.
The top essay winners for elementary, intermediate and high schools were, respectively, Rex McTeer, Fort Washington Elementary,Izabella Brizard, Reyburn Inter-
mediate, and Trisha Prajapati, Clovis North. The essay	■ Izabella Brizard, Grade 8 – “Injustice Anywhere is a	■ Trisha Prajapati, Grade 12 – “Oprah theme was “Honoring the dream today with hope, com-                                 Threat to Justice Everywhere”                                            Winfrey: Empowering the Masses with passion and unity for all.” Excerpts follow:                                                              “…Dr. King started a national move-                              Her Message”
■ Rex McTeer, Grade 6 – “MLK and                                 ment that will last for generations to                                   “…Oprah was groundbreaking. She Dr. Bernice King:A Father and Daughter                                 come, and from that has risen many                              broke barriers and opened a path for Story”                                                                                     civil-rights activists making a difference                               other African American women to reach “… Subsequent to the efforts of Dr.                                 in our country, one of those people                               for success. She emphasized individual King, hundreds of people, groups and                                 being Rashad Robinson. Robinson works                               effort and determination to lift one above organizations followed in the pursuit                                 with organizations like Color of Change,                              their own circumstances. What can one of his dream. But who better to follow                                 and GLAAD, to end racial and social person do to improve society? She was different in a way directly in Dr. King’s footsteps than his                                 discrimination. In November 2019 that she focused less on groups and more on each person daughter, Dr. Bernice A. King? She was Rashad worked to pass a bill ending Black hairstyle dis- alone. A unique leader in the post-civil rights era, a busi-
only 5 years old when her father was assassinated. Inspired crimination in schools, and in June 2020 Robinson, as nesswoman and actress, Oprah’s preaching of individual by him and his legacy, Dr. Bernice King became committed well as organizations Including Color of Change, NAACP, empowerment led her to become a role model for both to changing systemic injustice by delivering many of her ADL, and others, came together in a Stop Hate for Profit women and African Americans and helped portray Dr. own speeches regarding the injustices behind racism. …” campaign. …”	King’s dream of hope, compassion, and unity for all. …”

Nearby fieldtrip for DC
Dry Creek Elementary students were able to take a field trip that literally had them walking across the street.An old home that was scheduled to be removed to make way for new development, was first being used by the Fresno County Fire Department

for training. Dry Creek students were able to come for a tour and discussion with fire-fighters and see simulations that involved smoke machines. The safe demonstration allowed students to learn more about fire safety and the important work done by fire-fighters.

Compliments take flight! National Compliment Day is a big deal

at Clovis East, with students on campus handing out cards with encouraging messages to one another throughout the day.
But this year, part of the T-wolves’ squad — its cheer team — was returning from a competition in Texas on that day in late January. So, what to do? Hand out compli-ment cards in the hotel, airport and on the airplane, of course! Recipients from hotel

guests, to airport security staff, stewards, passengers and even the pilot were all smiles by the surprise burst of kindness!
We have a compliment for the team:You make us proud! Great job.
(...and btw, Clovis East’s cheer team took home the National Championship award in the Advanced Non-Building Game Per-formance Division!)
Broncos earn second place at Decathlon

The Clovis North High Academic De-cathlon team finished in second place at the 40th Annual Fresno County Academic Decathlon in February. This year’s event featured 23 teams competing in the theme, “Water: A Most Essential Resource.”
Academic Decathlon teams are comprised

of 12 competitive students with GPAs ranging from under 1.00 to over 4.0, who compete in 10 examinations: art, music, language and literature, mathematics, economics, sci-ence, social science, speech, interview and essay.

Science Bowl win
Clovis North’s Science Bowl A-team will be heading to Washington D.C. this spring to compete in the National Science Bowl after it won first place in the Central Valley Science Bowl Regionals in February. The team is made up of students Manogna Jha, Isaac Wang, Joshua Lin, Zian Shi, and Ananya Vinay. Clovis North’s B-team earned third place and is made up of Nadia Almasri, Linda Do, Manomay Jha, Albert Kim, and Kendric Hsu.

VISION

March 2022	CUSD Today	Page 5

We’re at our best when we’re together

By Eimear O’Brien, Ed.D. Superintendent

ACROSS the world we are emerging from a two-year pandemic, celebrating im-

proved COVID-19 conditions, and taking signif-icant steps toward a return to nor-malcy, while on our	television
apps we are wit-
screens and news	Eimear O’Brien, ness to the inva-             Ed.D. sion by Russia of Ukraine.
It only takes a glance at news headlines to recognize that the world is a tumultuous place, and that peaceful coexistence seems at times far out of reach. The events now taking place in Europe especially tug on my Irish roots, as there are many corollaries between Ukraine’s and Ireland’s histories. As I hear from families and employees who have relatives personally impacted by the conflict in Eastern Europe it hits me in the heart how critically important it is that we as a com-munity come together with trust and intentionality to develop rela-tionships, and that we teach our children to do the same.
A poignant reminder of this truth came during our last Governing Board meeting, when we had the pleasure of hearing the beautiful voices of about 60 Maple Creek El-ementary students under the direc-tion of Gary Kliewer. The students were at the meeting to celebrate March as Music in Our Schools Month and to highlight the impor-tance of music education here in

Clovis Unified.                                     Kliewer’s song choices also sent a     years, and as my calendar again fills Music has a way of bringing us      strong reminder as the children sang     with student activities and events, I together, and it happened again that      “Sisi Ne Moja,” or in English “One     see the positive impact on our stu-night as an audience of disparately      Voice,” and “Fly Away Home,” both     dents of relationships forged around opinioned people there for a business      of which melodically called on us     common interests and experiences. meeting of our Governing Board      to come together around our com-     Later in that same meeting, our stu-joined together in a standing ovation      mon humanity.                                   dent representative from Buchanan for the students’ performance. Mr.          Our kids are wise beyond their     High, Faith Dumore shared a long

LESSONS

Inspirations by, for and from our CUSD students

Special to CUSD Today Students in Clovis East High’s CTE Patient Care Pathway class visited the Central California Blood Center recently to observe and learn from healthcare workers there. Several of the Clovis East students also donated blood, for a total of 23 pints.
“No one has ever become poor by giving.” ANNE FRANK

list of activities and accomplishments from around our campuses. Musicals and plays, academic and athletic championships, school dances, rallies and student trips are all back on the calendar, and everywhere I look I am reminded about what has been a strong hallmark of Clovis Unified for decades: our relationships.
Students are all in, and so is our educational team. I see that evidenced while watching our students and coaches compete in athletics, like the state wrestling championship Feb. 26, where Buchanan High brought home its sixth consecutive championship and 25 Clovis Unified wrestlers from all of our high schools placed. I see it at recent drama per-formances by Clovis High and Clovis North at the Mercedes Edwards The-atre, and at the Dan Pessano Black Box, and at Unified Sports, Robotics, Academic Decathlon, Mock Trial, and FFA competitions, and I see it as I spend time in our classrooms. Parents, I encourage you to be
all in as well.Watch for opportunities to engage with your child’s school. If you haven’t been to a School As-sessment and Review Team (SART) parent meeting lately (or maybe never) watch for the next one and make plans to attend. Have you met your child’s school principal or other members of the administration? They are active and visible in the school community and you can easily find them at student activities, that upcoming school carnival, fundraising dinner or out and about during parent pick up times at the start and end of school. Our site leaders are great people, and they are eager to build relationships, es-pecially with those with whom they share a common bond – our stu-dents.

Crystal Award winners show Clovis Unified at its best

Editor’s note: Clovis Unified will celebrated 15 employees for their exceptional work conducted in the 2020-21 school year with a Crystal Award, the district’s highest employee honor. These educators – ranging from teachers and principals to counselors and secretaries – were nominated by their peers, and then selected by judging panels made up of Clovis Unified employees who followed a rubric outlining the high criteria for the award.
Crystal Award winners are each, in their own way, a tes-tament to the exceptional work employees are doing across the district daily, especially during a year where all employees had to pivot and adjust to changing learning conditions due to the pandemic.
We thank these men and women who inspire us all as they do their very best for the students of Clovis Unified.
In this issue of CUSD Today, we meet five of these honorees. (In alphabetical order, the first five were profiled in CUSD Today in February; the remaining five will be profiled in April.)

By Kathleen Coates Special to CUSD Today

Sean Ford
Clovis North Educational Center Guidance Learning Director

Guidance Learning Director Sean Ford is absolutely committed to the Clovis North Educational Center students under his tutelage, the transition of sixth-grade students to middle school, and the tran-sition of students to college or careers.
Ford and others on the counseling team completed the United Way 21-day Equity Challenge in the spring, and his involvement has helped the group develop a better understanding of how issues of racism affect people’s lives.
Another of his accomplishments was volunteering to spend his whole summer restructuring how the usual 40-page packet of information on post-secondary collegiate and career goals is disseminated to students. He created a Websource for resources for each grade level, digitizing the packet. While he wasn’t fluent in the technology, he took the initiative to use “Websites for Dummies” and got the job done.
Ford is advisor to the African American Student Union

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

and provides members weekly lessons covering topics such as leadership building, empowerment perspective and history. He founded the Clovis North March Madness Basketball tournament run entirely by the AASU. He has spent personal time on weekends taking his students to leadership conferences and visiting colleges.
As the NCAA eligibility coordinator, Ford helps prepare student athletes for collegiate athletics, and most recently, followed the ever-changing requirements for them to par-ticipate in sports in college despite COVID.

Ryan Gettman
Bud Rank Elementary Principal
Ryan Gettman gets it! With his out-standing organization skills, Bud Rank Elementary School Principal Gettman met the needs of his students and staff during the pandemic. His motto before COVID was “We got this,” and during the pandemic, it reassuringly became: “We still got this!”
Principal Gettman was there for his students, and parents salute him as someone involved and engaged. He assuaged their concerns about the unknown virus and kept them informed during the pandemic. The Ravens’ relied on him. He kept active on social media, and even convinced his grown son to put on the Raven mascot costume for videos the principal recorded for students.
Gettman staff said he makes them feel known. He cares about not only them, but he also knows about their families and life events. Bud Rank’s crew fondly calls him “Our Gettman” or simply “Gettman,” and view him as a superhero who takes care of them. For example, he made sure teachers found solutions to their childcare needs before returning to campus themselves.

— ABOUT US —

In August 2020 when all students had to start online and he conducted parent surveys regarding future learning option preferences between online or in-person, his fore-thought and organization shined. He made sure to match preferences of students to correspond with teachers’ pref-erences. This paved the way for very little changes or in-struction disruptions when Bud Rank Elementary could open for in-person learning in December 2020 – the first in the district to do so!
He remained a source of calm amid the storm, said his nominators.
Kacey Gibson
Janet Young Elementary Principal

Imagine having to hire a whole new staff for a brand-new school during a pandemic? And imagine building an en-tirely new school culture and community without students and families on campus? Well, that’s exactly what Janet Young Ele-mentary School Principal Kacey Gibson
did, as she went above and beyond to hire, connect and create a supportive culture for the brand-new Jets!
She brought several creative tools to bear at the school. She began a club called “Junior Flight Crew,” running the club with upper-grade students who helped make founda-tional decisions about the new school. In addition, she held “Talk with Mrs. Gibson,” a monthly Zoom meeting to keep staff and the community informed.When it came de-ciding when to return to campus, Gibson sought parent input and based her plans on their feedback.
Principal Gibson drove to every staff members’ house to deliver school swag in cardinal and blue, including a Jets crew T-shirt and aviator sunglasses. And, she would check in with them regularly. During teacher in-service days, Gibson devised socially distanced exercises for staff such as a scavenger hunt using 6-foot strings to keep them apart – while still allowing them to be together.
The Jets’ culture took flight, and staff and students now on campus this year for in-person learning are soaring with school pride.
Gibson handled a wildly unprecedented first-year school opening with very creative solutions that set the Jets on a flightpath for success.

➤ Please see Winners,Page 7

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 Nancy Porter
Advertising Specialist 327-9095 Verna Garcia
Graphic Designer 224-9711

CUSD Governing Board Members

Y
Tiffany Stoker Madsen	David DeFrank	olanda Moore President                                           Vice President                                        Clerk
392-1014	327-9000	437-6580

Hugh H.Awtrey                                  Steven G. Fogg                            Betsy Sandoval 437-6580                                                269-7000                                         291-7564

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 2022

support goals
In this edition, we focus on Clovis Unified’s
we introduce people on our LCAP team making a
”
tall and love
adventures.
“
➤
BOARD BRIEFS
Karen Majchen and Dry Creek Elementary GIS Re-
■
Approved an agreement with the San Joaquin
Feb. 16
March 2022	CUSD Today	Page 7

IT’S PEOPLE NOT PROGRAMS

ACES OF LCAP
Relationships help F The Local Control Accounta-bility Plan (LCAP) uses student,
parent, staff and community feedback to develop a plan in Clovis Unified that primarily support our foster youth, English learners and low-income students. In this series,
Transition Program that is in all six school areas.	difference in student lives. MORE: cusd./com/lcap daily There are six directors and 16 counselors. Let’s
meet one of our counselors.	I’m187.96

centimenters
NAME: Brenda Acomb Forbes JOB: Student Relations Liaison
SITES: Clovis North Educational Center
Q:What does a Transition Counselor do?	most outdoor A: My role as a Transition SRL is to provide
safety, connection and value for our students and
families through positive relationships and resources.	Brenda Acomb Forbes
OK, that was a fancy mission statement, but really, it’s all about building relationships. Getting to know students and their families is my goal. Know-
ing a student’s strengths and struggles help me	getting academic support at library lab.
provide or find the support and opportunities to           Q: What is your most memorable moment? help them grow.                                                                A: I can’t point out any ONE event that is most Q:What is a typical day like for you?                    memorable. I do however love seeing my students
A: My typical day revolves around meeting	achieve their goals. It is exciting to see a student with students. I currently support students from:	turn in a missing assignment, pass a class they Three of our feeder elementary schools (Copper,	didn’t think they could, get involved in a club, Riverview, Mountain View), Granite Ridge Inter-	make a friend, get the emotional support they mediate and Clovis North High. Between meeting	need, become confident or graduate from high with students, I’m communicating with teachers,	school with a plan.
parents and counselors. One day a week I help	Q: How does your work relate to the LCAP? run a Transition academic lab at Mountain View	A: My role as a Transition SRL directly relates along with some awesome high school peer coun-      to LCAP as we support our focal students. I work selors. Three days a week after school I support      to support our students and connect them with our Transition high school and junior high students      resources.

Trustee map chosen, new principal named By Kelly Avants

Chief Communications Officer

March 2
■ Appointed two learning directors to open po-sitions at Clovis High. Congratulations to Mickey
Joyful music filled the Clovis Unified Governing	Cox Elementary Guidance Instructional Specialist

Board meeting March 2 as the Maple Creek Choir
Month.
■
Amended Board Policy No. 6146.1 – Graduat
performed in celebration of Music in our Schools	becca Porcella who will take on new roles July 1.ion The board received a written report on the New-	Requirements – Clovis Adult Education.
masks requirements as of midnight March 11, edu-
program.
som Administration’s decision to end K-12 school	Valley Air Pollution Control District related to par-cation-based mask enforcement until that time, and	ticipating in the New Alternative Fuel Vehicle Grant the submission of letters approved by the board to
more than 120 legislators related to concerns with
consideration by the state legis ature.
SB871 (Pan) and SB866 (Pan l and Weiner) under	The board began its Feb. 16 meeting congratulating In other action, the board:                                          ➤ Please see Board,Page 11

Winners: FROM PAGE 5
Gabriel Hughes
Weldon Elementary & Clark Intermediate Student Relations Liaison

Gabriel Hughes has heart. As a student relations liaison for the Transition Team at Weldon Elementary and Clark Intermediate, he works with students who have challenges to overcome. And these challenges were often made more difficult during the pandemic – but Hughes is a powerful supporter who took care of
his kids. He motivated students to stay engaged, do better in school and feel part of the community. He joins students, taking part in student ac-tivities, rallies and field trips. In short, he IS there for his kids, cheering them on and showing he believes in them.
Students and parents are in awe of the lengths Hughes will go to help them, like bringing them groceries and games, spending time with them just hanging out, and even inviting one foster child home with him for Christmas dinner. One mother summed up the sentiment expressed by many. She said:“Mr. Hughes is now part of my village. He is family.”
Hughes prides himself on finding students’ potential and guiding them to build intrinsic motivation. He holds them accountable, while helping them learn from their mistakes. He sees greatness in his students and strives to help them see that in themselves.
Hughes helps plan the African American Middle School Conference and sits on the African American Advisory Board, advising district leadership on issues of race relations. He and two co-workers created a Black History Month video on why they’re proud to be Black.
His nominator says, everything Hughes does is to help students suc-ceed.
Daryl Katoch
Alta Sierra Intermediate Learning Director Daryl Katoch, the learning director at Alta Sierra

Intermediate, is the person needed in a clutch. He came to the rescue not once, but twice during the last year – first filling in for a transition coordinator who left in December 2020, then covering for the school principal in February.
These were tough times, and Katoch met the need and more with his optimistic and reassuring ways. In his primary role as learning director, he supports teachers with curriculum, instruction and data analysis.As interim transition coordinator, he created new employee training protocols and set up trainings. These efforts supported transition liaisons help students having a hard time with distance learning and address underlying causes such as lack of food or money for gas.
Said one student:“Transition helped me get through tough situations, knowing I was not alone.”
In February, when 900 students were returning for in-person classes, Katoch was quick to step up again when Alta Sierra’s principal needed to be off campus for three weeks for a medical reason. Katoch guided teachers, students and the community through the campus reopening following months of online learning. Buchanan Area Assistant Superin-tendent Kevin Kerney said Daryl developed and implemented a “seamless return.”
Added Kerney: Katoch exemplifies the six pillars of outstanding character that are crucial to being a good leader, and in addition to those, he has a seventh – “a GIANT heart.”

Page 8	CUSD Today	March 2022

March 2022	CUSD Today	Page 9

‘My Time is Now’

Three hundred students from five school districts took part in Clovis Unified’s Middle School African American Student Leadership Conference in February at the Clovis North Performing Arts Center. Keynote speaker Malik Lee told students to focus on the present and do all they can now as they pursue their future and their dreams.“Life is based on performance and not potential,” he said. Students also attended three breakout sessions that included time with community mentors and professionals discussing careers and college opportunities. The day also included a performance by the Libota Mbonda Fresno Drumming Group.

CIF cheer champs
Congratulations to the following Clovis Unified teams earning championship titles from the CIF Central Section Cheer and Dance Championships:
■ D1 Cheer All Female – Buchanan High ■ D2 Cheer Co-Ed – Clovis High
■ D2 Cheer All Female – Clovis North High ■ D5 Cheer Co-Ed – Clovis East High
■ D1 Dance – Clovis North High
■ D2 Dance – Clovis High
Winter district, league victories

Clovis Unified’s winter sports championships capped off in January for elementary schools and February for in-termediate and high schools league play. Several high school teams continued competition into Valley and State.
■ At the elementary school level, Reagan Elementary boys basketball team won the title, with Fort Washington Elementary in second place. FortWashington’s girls basketball team captured the top spot in a close final game against Woods Elementary. In wrestling, Dry Creek Elementary finished first in team score, followed byWoods, Cedarwood,

SPORTS BRIEFS

Mickey Cox and Red Bank elementary school teams.
■ In intermediate school sports, the following are the CIAL champions: Reyburn 7th grade boys basketball; Granite Ridge 8th grade boys basketball; Granite Ridge and Kastner 7th grade girls basketball (co-champions); Clark and Kastner 8th grade girls basketball (co-champions); Kastner 7th grade boys soccer; Reyburn 8th grade boys soccer; Reyburn 7th grade girls soccer; Granite Ridge 8th grade girls soccer; Alta Sierra wrestling; and Granite Ridge gymnastics.
■ In high school winter sports TRAC champions are Clovis West boys basketball; Clovis West girls basketball; Clovis East soccer (co-champions with Central High); Buchanan girls soccer; Buchanan wrestling.
■ Buchanan High’s wrestling team won the state title for the sixth year in a row in late February, and three wrestlers took home individual championship trophies. Winning their respective weight class titles were the Bears’ Jack Gioffre, Michael Gioffre and Joseph Martin.
Clovis High’s wrestling team captured third in the state, and Clovis North finished in the Top 10. The Broncos had two athletes take home individual championships: Joey Cruz and Paul Sharp.

BHS girls XC have big win
Buchanan High girls cross country team, winners of this year’s state championship title, traveled to Alabama shortly after their school season ended to compete in one of the biggest cross country races in the nation. The varsity girls team won second place in the Garmin RunningLane XC Championship.

CW Coach Reid honored
The National Federation of High School Coaches Asso-ciation recently announced the 2020-21 California Boys Swimming and Diving Coach of the year to be Clovis West High Coach Adam Reid.
Reid was nominated by the California Interscholastic Federation.According to NFHS, state honorees are selected based upon their coaching performance in the 2020-21 school year, lifetime community involvement, school in-volvement and philosophy of coaching. The NFHS relies on its member state associations to recognize those who are leading their sport, shaping their athletes and contributing to their community.

BHS Coach of the Year
Buchanan High coach Brian Weaver was recently named the 2021 U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association High School Girls Cross Country Coach of the Year for California.

Page 10	CUSD Today	March 2022

roll in Introduction
March 2022	CUSD Today	Page 11

It’s time to register for CTE classes

By Karen M. Boone CTE Learning Director

Clovis Unified high school students are currently registering for next year’s classes, which means it is time to consider enrolling in a Career Technical Education (CTE) course. While all academic counselors can discuss CTE offerings, each high school also has a designated CTE counselor; if a student has a CTE specific question, these counselors have the answer:
■ Buchanan: Mandie Engelbert
■ Clovis East: Joe Flint and Kim Hamilton ■ Clovis High: Todd Deck
■ Clovis North: Jay Center ■ Clovis West: Kendall East
While a large number of our CTE courses are two-period courses that allow for our junior and senior students to combine in-person instruction with work-based learning opportunities, Clovis Unified also offers single period courses that are open to 10th-to 12th-grade students. Some of these courses carry an Honors designation. For example, all five high schools offer Education Pathway English courses that are open to all students, carry a weighted grade and meet A – G re-quirements for English. Sophomores may enroll in Children’s Literature and juniors can enroll in Contemporary Issues in Edu-cation. Both are honors-level courses that offer a weighted grade. Buchanan offers two honors-level single period engineering courses: Honors Engineering Design and Development and Honors Principals of En-gineering. These two courses are part of the Engineering and Design Pathway and are open to 10th- to 12th-grade students who attend Buchanan.
Our Performing Arts Pathway also offers two single-period courses: Drama 2 Technical Theater and Advanced Technical Theater which are offered at both Buchanan and Clovis West. These courses allow students to learn about the production side of per-Board:

FROM PAGE 7
Sara McAvoy as the newly appointed prin-cipal of Oraze Elementary School, effective July 1. McAvoy is currently a learning director at Clovis High and will assume the new role at Oraze Elementary when current principal Robyn Snyder becomes the district’s director of Supplemental Services.
The board selected an updated trustee area map to submit to the Fresno County Committee on School District Organization to consider for approval. The update was necessary as part of rebalancing map rep-resentation following a federal census; the results of the 2020 census were delayed be-cause of COVID and only recently provided to the district to establish parameters and work with an outside demographer. The map does not reflect student attendance boundaries but instead is about board mem-ber trustee areas.
The board appointed Tiffany Stoker Madsen president to fulfill the current term

forming arts as well as the performance component.
Students at Clo-vis	High	and
Buchanan who are
interested in digital
photography can en-
Career Technical Education (CTE) courses are offered at all of CUSD’s highschoolsandaredesignedtolet students personalize their education to their interests. Students combine academic studies with hands-on learning applications and mentoring by industry partners.

to Digital Photogra-phy.
Clovis East offers a significant number of single-period courses including, but not limited to, Ag Engineering, Ag Science, Bi-ology and Sustainable Agriculture and Ad-vanced Floral Design.
Students who attend Clovis High and are interested in manufacturing or con-struction can take Basic Metal Manufac-turing, Building Information Modelling, Construction Technology, and a few other single-period classes in the Residential and Commercial Construction pathway.
Clovis High and Clovis West students interested in learning more about cars can enroll in Basic Automotive while Clovis West also offers Auto 2 and 3, which are more specialized single-period courses.
Business-minded students at Clovis West can choose from Computer Applications and Personal Finance, and Clovis North students have the option to take Computer Aided Design and Engineering or the fol-low-up course, Innovation and Product De-sign.
While all CTE courses are offered to all CUSD students, the single-period courses are generally taken by students at the host campus as there is not typically time in a student’s schedule to travel from one sight to another for a single-period class. These single-period classes are designed to introduce concepts and careers to students and are therefore open to any interested student. Other single period courses may be available. Contact the CTE counselor at your school
to learn more.

left vacant by the departure of Susan Hat-maker from the board. David DeFrank was elected vice president and Yolanda Moore board clerk. Later a discussion was held by the board regarding the current vacancy in Trustee Area 1. The board voted to use the November 2022 general election to fill the vacancy rather than make a provisional ap-pointment given the otherwise short duration of any appointee made this spring.
In other action, the board:
■ Received a written supplemental report to the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan, which is available from the Curriculum, Instruction and Accountability Office.
■ Adopted Board Policy No. 5146 – Mar-ried/Pregnant/Parenting Students to reflect existing practices and procedures in the dis-trict.
The next board meeting is March 16, with the public portion to begin at 6:30 p.m. Find complete board minutes, agendas and videos at cusd.com

Page 12	CUSD Today	March 2022