NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
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FRESNO, CA
PERMIT NO. 220
Clovis Unified School District
March 2021

1450 Herndon Ave.
Clovis, CA 93611
Clovis Unified School District — WHERE CHARACTER COUNTS!	Volume 23, No. 8

follow us on	TM               and at CUSD.COM

We’re back ...

Vaccines available for all district staff

n Around 3,400 opt for vaccination in March

Photos special to CUSD Today.

Clovis Unified welcomed in-termediate and high school hybrid students back to cam-pus Feb. 23 for the first time since last March as recent up-dated county and state guide-lines allowed for their return. Strict health and safety proto-cols are being followed for the now 21,000+ students at all the district’s elementary and secondary school sites who are taking part in in-person learning.

Pictured, clockwise from top, Buchanan High teacher Pat Geil takes a selfie with his American Government stu-dents on the first day back. For some classes at Clovis West High, students are meet-ing in the lecture hall to spread out. Kastner Interme-diate orchestra instruction is held outside.Welcome signs greet returning students.

For ongoing re-opening up-dates and plans, see cusd.com.

Educators became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vac-cine in Fresno County as of March 1.
Clovis Unified acted quick-ly to create easy access to vac-cinations for all employees who chose to receive them.
About 50 percent of Clovis Unified’s 6,400 employees, which includes full-time, part-time, substitutes and walk-ons, indicated they wanted vaccinations in a
survey conducted in February. This
is in addition to the 1,000 of the	their first dosage of the vaccine by district’s healthcare and close-con-	mid-March.
tact special education employees	District employees continue to who were allowed and chose to      have the option to make appoint-receive the vaccination in January.      ments with any vaccine provider
This month about 3,600 vaccines	in Fresno County.
and accompanying blocks of ap-	Partnering providers used either pointment times were developed      Pfizer or Moderna vaccines that for CUSD employees with local     have both been shown to have 94-vaccination providers: Sierra Pacific      95% efficacy against contracting Orthopedic Center (SPOC),Valley     COVID-19.
Health Team and Baz Allergy In-	Learn more: https://covid19. stitute. All employees using these      ca.gov/vaccines/#When-can-I-get-services were expected to receive     vaccinated.

6 schools win Bonner Awards Six Clovis Unified secondary	Joshua Shapiro, Ed.D., the prin-

schools won the prestigious 2021      cipal of both recipients Granite Bonner Character Award.                  Ridge and Clovis North, said re-The Virtues and Character                   ceiving the award validates the Recognition Award was pre-                           schools’ efforts to provide sented during an online                               high-quality instructional celebration Feb. 24 toAlta                                 programs that include a Sierra, Clark, Granite                                 focus on character devel-Ridge and Kastner inter-                                opment and civic educa-
mediate schools and Clovis	tion.
and Clovis North high                           “To achieve success re-schools.                                              quires dedication and collaboration In addition to completing an      from all stakeholders. I am proud extensive application, finalists     to say [these schools] demonstrate arranged a panel of administrators,     these valuable qualities,” he said. teachers and students to be inter-          Clovis Unified’s six recipient viewed by the Bonner Center who     schools are among a total of 10 then determined recipients. In even      Valley secondary schools that were years, the awards program recog-      honored this year by Fresno State’s nizes elementary schools and in     Bonner Center for their schools’ odd years, intermediate and high      exemplary character and civic ed-
schools.	ucation.

The ‘Golden’ Eagle has landed

CW grad helps develop cameras on Mars; scientist Zooms with former teachers, students

By Patti J. Lippert CUSD Today

When the Perseverance Rover landed on Mars Feb. 18 after traveling 300 million miles in six months, it carried with it the years’ long work of a Clovis Unified graduate. Clovis West High 2004 alum Colin McKinney led the NASA team respon-sible for the cameras on the Perseverance that suc-cessfully and immediately began relaying images to Earth when it touched down.
His third-grade Valley Oak Elementary teacher Chris White could not have been more proud. Her current class – fifth graders at Bud Rank Elementary – had watched the landing of Perseverance live. “The first thing I said to my class when it landed was, ‘Look how clear the pictures are,’” she said. And that was before she knew of McKinney’s con-nection.When she found out, she couldn’t wait to tell her class.
McKinney recently joined White’s students through Zoom to talk about his work for NASA. It was a reunion of sorts as also attending were McK-inney’s first-, fourth- and fifth-grade Valley Oak

teachers Kendra Matson, Nancy Swain and Linda Meyerson, respectively, and Superintendent Eimear O’Farrell, Ed.D., a former Valley Oak teacher and principal.
“We are so proud of him,”White said.“Colin is an inspiration. He played such a large role in this major event that was captured around the world!” McKinney attended Clovis Unified schools Valley Oak, Kastner and Clovis West; earned his electrical engineering degree from Cal Poly; and joined NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in 2008. In 2015 he assumed the role as the product delivery manager of the Mars 2020 Rover Enhanced Engineering Cameras. The Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover
launched July 30, 2020.
McKinney explained to students that the goal of the Mars 2020 mission is to search for signs of ancient life on Mars by taking soil and rock samples that will later be returned to Earth and studied. Advanced camera technology needed to be developed in order for the rover to move around the planet faster to desired sites (images from satellites orbiting

➤ Please see McKinney, Page 7

Photo special to CUSD Today. Clovis West graduate Colin McKinney led NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab-oratory team responsible for developing technologically advanced cam-eras for the Perseverance Rover’s mission on Mars.

INSIDE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS
2021-22 registration underway Registration has begun for the 2021-22 school year
for incoming transitional kindergarteners, kindergarteners or new-to-the-district first through 12th graders. Page 3

FOUNDATION
New projects and programs funded Six new projects and programs supporting social-
emotional wellness and two supporting citizenship and civic pride are underway in Clovis Unified.Page 6

SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE
Making progress and planning ahead
At this moment in time, one year after the start of the COVID pandemic, I must give praise to an educational team who has forged a path where no map existed. Page 5

Page 2	CUSD Today	March 2021

registration underway
cusd.com where they will
began March 4.
Monday through Thursday. The SierraVista Children’s Health
ttendees wil :
Student leadership conferences in March
Scheduled for this month are the CUSD Asian Student Success
Conference and the CUSD Latino High School & Middle School
pring Break
March 2021	CUSD Today	Page 3

‰ Announcements

2021-22 new student
special education teacher, Clovis Unified’s Special Education Teacher Residency Program is a great way to achieve your goal while learning from caring, dedicated mentors.
Residents receive a tuition stipend, earn their specialist credential, Registration has begun for the 2021-22 school year for in-	complete student teaching in CUSD, and have ongoing professional
coming transitional kindergarteners, kindergarteners or new-	development. They also receive priority hiring in Clovis Unified to-the-district first through 12th graders.	upon completion of the program.
Kindergarten registration is occurring at all elementary	Applications are now being accepted for CUSD’s Fall 2021 schools in Clovis Unified. To be eligible to register, a child          Special Education Residency Program. Zoom information sessions must reach 5 years of age                                                               are available for interested candidates through April. Sessions are on or before Sept. 1 of this                                                               one hour and are held at 3 p.m. on March 17, and April 7, 14, 22 year. Parents may utilize                                                                and 29.
the pre-registration process	For more information and to access the Zoom sessions, go to available	online	at                                                                www.cusd. com/teach.

fill out their child’s regis-	Meritorious Budget Award
tration form. They may                                                                      Clovis Unified’s Finance Department continued its award-attach enrollment docu-                                                                 winning streak for the 23rd year in a row when it recently received ments to the online form or make                                                  the 2020-21 Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) an appointment to drop off enrollment documents to their          Meritorious Budget Award. The award honors sound fiscal man-resident school. Those needing help with the online process          agement and budgetary policies and was created by ASBO to en-may go to their resident school during school hours.                        courage districts to make budgets which carefully meet selected Transitional kindergarten will be offered and is also open          criteria and budgeting accuracy while also have a budget that is
for registration. If your child will turn 5 years old between	easy to read.
Sept. 2 and Dec. 2 of this year, the child may be enrolled in the	Clovis Unified’s 23 consecutiveASBO awards marks the longest district’s TK program. Students in TK would then be enrolled          streak for any school district in California.
in kindergarten the following year. Transitional kindergarten
Registration for all new students entering grades 1-12
began at school sites on March 10; online pre-registration
uses the same online registration system as kindergarten.		Clovis Unified hosts two student leadership conferences this month that are in online formats, due to gathering restrictions. Attendees will hear from keynote speakers, local professionals
ties.
In cooperation with the State Department of Health Services	and learn about post high school college and career opportuni-and the Fresno County Health Services Agency, Clovis Unified’s
Sierra Vista Children’s Health Center offers immunizations
at 510 Barstow Ave., Clovis, and is open 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
and CHDP physicals for eligible children. The center is located          Conference. Conference details are available through school coun-seling offices and on cusd.com. Recorded conferences will be
uired resident and vaccination documentation or to pre-
February CUSD African American Middle School Conference
for viewing on that site.
Center phone number is 327-7976.	available for viewing following the events at cusd.com/idac. The reqFor additional information about new student registration,	and Black History Month Student Celebration are also available register, visit cusd.com.
Join our team!                                                    S Clovis Unified schools will be closed for Spring Break March Clovis Unified is currently hiring for the 2021-22 school        29 through April 5. The district’s business offices at 1450 Herndon
year. Learn more in an online Teacher Informational Recruitment	Ave., Clovis, will be open during this time.
Fair from 3 to 4:30 p.m. March 18.
■
ALearn aboutl certificated job opportunities at Clovis Unified	SPECIAL EDUCATION
■ Receive information on applying on Edjoin	The following upcoming free online webinar will be offered ■ Be provided basic credentialing information                           by the CUSD Special Education Department’s Family Resource ■ Meet members of CUSD’s leadership team                              Center. For more information or to inquire about an interpreter, ■ Learn about the benefits provided to CUSD employees           please call 327-8455.
Special Ed Teacher Residency Program
accepting applications now
Register at: https://bit.ly/3dL8XLc		■ “Sensory and Motor Information Parent Strategies,” 6:30 to 8 p.m. March 23 online. Free.Attendees will learn about sensory processing and tips on how to help a child improve attention, concentration, participation and skill development. Register at
If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a	https://tinyurl.com/FRCotpt.

What’s on your plate?

By Lul Taher

CUSD Campus Catering Intern

March is National Nutrition Month, an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics to
raise awareness about making informed food choices and developing healthful eating habits.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to nutrition and health. People have different bodies, goals, backgrounds and tastes. Recipes can be tailored to fit personal preferences.
A nutritious plate is half filled with fruits and vegetables, a quarter of grains (preferably whole grains), and a quarter of lean protein. The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans provide dietary advice for the public, with the focus on nutrient-dense (high in nutrients lower in calories) foods and bev-erages; a limit on those higher in added sugars, saturated fat, and sodium; and staying within
calorie limits.
Family meals are a great way to spend time together and try out new, healthy recipes. If it’s not possible for a family to eat together at home regularly, consider making time to cook together on the weekend or share an afternoon snack.
Plan weekly meals and aim for variety. In-clude the five food groups (fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy) to build healthy meals that meet calorie and nutrient needs.
Tips to make a healthy meal
■ Prepare ingredients in advance of cooking, to make the cooking process easier.
■ Buy frozen and low-sodium canned veg-etables to have some basic ingredients on hand.
■ Baking, grilling or steaming are healthy ways to prepare vegetables or protein.
■ Cook with herbs, spices, lemon juice or no-salt seasonings for flavor to keep sodium levels low.
■ Prepare extra servings of a favorite, healthy dish to eat throughout the week, to save time.
Resources:
■ Healthful recipes: https://www.myplate. gov/myplate-kitchen/recipes
■ Keep food safety in mind, visit: https://www.fda.gov/food/buy-store-serve-safe-food/food-safety-your-kitchen

cultural awareness
Page 4	CUSD Today	March 2021

Preschool teacher leads
New books reflecting diversity at Weldon added to library

n school project to expand

CUSD Today

Nearly 200 new books representing the ethnicities of all students at Weldon Ele-mentary were added to the school’s library shelves in February.
The “Diversify Your Mind with a Rainbow of Books” project is the brainchild ofWeldon preschool teacher Joann Barry, who also serves on the district’s Intercultural District Advisory Council. She has been involved in several of the school’s multicultural learning programs and saw an opportunity to expand the cultures represented in the library
“I am very passionate about children reading and being able to see themselves represented in a book,” Barry said.“I feel, if children see this, it will instill an appreciation and respect for books and the people around them.”
Barry pursued and received a Foundation for Clovis Schools grant to fund the project, along with receiving donations from Donor’s Choose and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
“The goal was to have picture books,

chapter books and nonfiction titles available in every culture represented here at Weldon,” said librarian Lisa Palomares who joined Barry on the project.“How wonderful for a student to check out books that represent them in some fashion; to see a character they can relate to in a story!”
Barry and Palomares requested a break-

down of all the ethnicities of children at the school from registrar to help make the book selections. On the library shelves are now colorful, hardback books such as “Kimono,” “Princess Hair,”“Julie of the Wolves,”“Little Kunoichi,”“Imani’s Moon” and “Island Treas-ures.” Students have been eager to check out the new books.

Weldon Elementary preschool teacher Joann Barry sits among the nearly 200 new books added to the school library that feature characters from many different ethnicities and backgrounds.

Photo special to CUSD Today.

“Knowledge is power,” Barry said.“Here at Weldon, we want to give students the power of reading. We want them to read about the success of others and to inspire them with hope and determination so they can be the best they can be in mind body and spirit.”

VISION

March 2021

Making progress

CUSD Today	Page 5

and planning ahead

By Eimear O’Farrell, Ed.D. Superintendent

TWELVE months can seem like a lifetime and the blink of an eye, all at the same

time.
I find myself reflecting on that seeming dichoto-my a lot as we have approached the one-year anniver-
sary of the COVID	Eimear O’Farrell, pandemic’s on-             Ed.D. slaught. On one
hand … could it possibly be 12 months since we’ve been able to see family members who live far away, or that we’ve been engaged in efforts to find a path back to a traditional, five-day- a-week school schedule? On the other hand … wasn’t it a lifetime ago that we sat down in a crowded movie theater to enjoy a good film, dined indoors with friends, or watched our student per-formers and athletes compete before hundreds of excited spectators?
Where we stand today as a school district, with every school opened for hybrid instruction and more than 21,000 students attending classes in person while another 21,000+ remain online, represents an incred-ible journey that has taken both a lifetime and a moment. It’s a journey that won’t be over until we return to a full, five-day-a-week schedule, but also one during which our Clovis Unified team has moved mountains, battled through uncharted territory, and overcome obstacles that have stymied many other school districts in California.
At this moment in time, one year after the start of the COVID pan-demic, I must give praise to an edu-cational team who has forged a path where no map existed, who has over-come their own worries and fears to serve students. Few may realize it, but it has often been our Clovis Unified team who developed the plans and strategies now used across

the state and county to return op-     options; delivering food and instruc-     making sure our teachers had the portunities to students.                       tional materials; scheduling and     supplies, equipment, support and Whether through handing them     rescheduling classes as we pivoted     information needed to recreate their
a hot meal; creating Return to Play	to different instructional models;	instructional model three times in

LESSONS

Inspirations by, for and from our CUSD students

Photo special to CUSD Today. LUNCHTIME FUN:Leadership students at Reyburn Intermediate have been getting creative in how to stay “social” during these unique times. They are holding student-led “Noontime Activities” Zooms to play a va-riety of games virtually – including Name That Tune, Pictionary and Hangman. They’ve even held Cookie Decorating and Turkey Hunt contests! For hybrid students, leadership kids are holding in-person, socially distanced games before school.
“It is a happy talent to know how to play.”

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

just a few months; or accomplishing the myriad of other details that al-lowed school to remain in session, and now return to a form of in-per-son instruction – this team has done it all.
Our mountain has moved far, but it isn’t yet where we want it to be for our students. That’s why our efforts are now focused on the coming school year. Simply put, our goal is to return our students to a traditional, five-day-a-week schedule with the new school year.
Efforts like our current work to obtain vaccinations for our educa-tional team are steps in the right di-rection to accomplish this goal. This month we are also working with our employee groups and leadership team to analyze options and the im-pact of various health and safety measures on staffing, facilities, sched-uling, transportation, and other op-erational elements of the school day. We are also using this month for discussions with state and local health officials about future physical distancing requirements that impact education. After initial plans are drafted, in April we will be processing possibilities with our student and parent communities in advance of releasing final plans in late April. At that time, families will be asked to indicate if they will return their children to our comprehensive campuses for in-person instruction or choose a continued online option for
learning.
As we’ve heard from our parent community, before they can realis-tically make that decision, they need details of what in-person and/or on-line learning will look like, what access will be available to co-curric-ular programs, what transportation and food service will look like, and the other details that help make an informed decision. It is our intent (barring any major changes in state policies for California school districts) to provide parents with these details by the last week ofApril, giving fam-ilies time to plan for the upcoming school year and the end of this long and arduous journey we’ve traveled together.

Most powerful instructional initiative: in-person learning

Editor’s note: Clovis Unified’s Liberty Elementary Principal George Petersen is a 2019 recipient of the nation’s highest school principal honor, the U.S. Department of Education’s Terrel H. Bell Award for Outstanding Leadership. The annual award is presented to just 10 principals from out of the more than 100,000 in the United States.

By George Petersen Principal, Liberty Elementary

I began teaching high school English back in 1987, and after several years of Clovis Unified’s version of administrative preparation, I eventually landed at Liberty Elementary School as principal. Through my journey, I have experienced numerous attempts at improving student achievement. These attempts were often referred to as an “initiative,” for example, an instructional
initiative, which might involve redesigning lessons, adopting new curriculum, or renovating the classroom. These initiatives took a great deal of time, sometimes multiple years, to get an entire staff trained and the programs implemented correctly. It also took time to gather the data to determine if the initiative was effective or not. Many educators have become cynical towards initiatives because of their reputation of promising much and delivering little.
In my 34 years of education, I have never seen such an immediate impact of an instructional initiative as what I am experiencing now. Our district’s decision to bring back students to in-person instruction is the single most effective instructional initiative that I have ever been involved with. I have never seen the classroom more powerful than today. In

some instances, I have watched students’ attitudes and their academic performance improve in a matter of minutes.
Before in-person instruction resumed, I heard countless stories from families of how a child hates his life, doesn’t like school, is depressed, refuses to participate on Zoom, grades the lowest they have ever seen, talk of self-harm, etc. After our district decided to bring back students, the transformation process for those struggling happened as soon as they entered the classroom. Our teachers told me their stories with delight: “George, what took me days on Zoom to get these kids to understand, took me only an hour with them in the classroom.” “On Zoom, this kid never did work. He’s all caught up
now!”
“She went from all F’s to B’s and A’s.”
“You should have seen her face light up when she came into classroom!”
“He’s smiling again!”
Some of the teachers told me their stories with tears of joy.
When the online classroom began last year and continued at the start of this school year, we monitored our students’ progress, not just with assignments and grades, but we also interviewed parents and met with students.We were shocked to discover that a great deal of the academic content our staff was working hard to teach online was not being mastered by our students. We concluded that a large portion of our student population would never, no matter how long they stared at a screen, be entirely successful. But with in-person instruction, so many of those struggling learners had an im-mediate and dramatic turnaround. The evidence for this ini-tiative’s effectiveness is indisputable.
Before COVID, I took some of the things we did at the el-ementary school for granted, one of them being recess. Part

of our plan for the return of students was structured play during break (with health and safety protocols in place). The immediate social-emotional impact on our students was not only extraordinary, but so much fun to watch. I have never seen so many kids playing with so much joy.Another example is lunch. Students talk with so much enthusiasm about the opportunity to sit down with friends to eat.
If I believed in-person instruction placed children and adults in an unsafe environment, I would not have allowed students back on campus.After much research and training in the safety protocols, the Liberty staff, back in October, concluded that in-person instruction can be delivered in a safe environment. Our belief has been realized. It works.We also understand not everyone agrees with us, which is why we still offer an online option.
I have been blessed to be part of a team that personifies what it means to put the education of children first. The grit and determination of the staff to work through the challenges of bringing kids back to in-person instruction has been in-spiring. I saw a staff design new curriculum and learn how to utilize new delivery systems in a matter of months. They dealt with the lack of knowledge and experience, the setbacks, and the failures of implementing the simultaneous teaching model. They embraced the workload demanded by safety protocols. They endured all this because they knew what was best for our students.
This past year, I have reassessed how vital of a role my profession plays in our community and how important edu-cators are to the healthy development of children. As a graduate of a high school in Clovis Unified and the only district I have worked in, I can say, more than ever, I go with admiration for what we do as an educational team. More than ever, I am proud to be Clovis Unified.

— 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 Fax (559) 327-2957 cusdtoday@cusd.com Kelly Avants, APR
Chief Communications Officer
327-9092 Patti J. Lippert Managing Editor
327-9094 Sara Almaraz
Advertising Specialist 327-9095 Verna Garcia
Graphic Designer

CUSD Governing Board Members

Steven G. Fogg, M.D.	Susan Hatmaker	Tiffany Stoker Madsen President                                      Vice President                                         Clerk

269-7000	288-2743	392-1014

o
Hugh H.Awtrey                David DeFrank               Y landa Moore                Betsy Sandoval 437-6580                            327-9000                            327-9000                             291-7564

CUSD Administration

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

Robyn Castillo, Ed.D.	Corrine Folmer	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

programs supporting
Page 6	CUSD Today	March 2021

Foundation provides $40K boost for projects

Diamonds SPARKLING GEMS IN THE DISTRICT

n New specialty grants fund

wellness and citizenship By Sara Almaraz

Foundation for Clovis Schools

Six new projects and programs sup-porting social-emotional wellness and two projects supporting citizenship and civic pride are underway in Clovis Unified, thanks to specialty grants awarded recently by the Foundation for Clovis Schools. The specialty grants, which include support for mentor-ship programs and teen dating violence prevention	curriculum,
among others, are funded as part of the Foundation’s Classroom and School grants program.
“We’re very fortunate to have the means to continue to offer support to Clovis Un-ified educators and students during the pandemic,” said Foundation Chairperson Michael Fennacy, who is a partner at Darden Architects.“Support from our Foundation donors has made this program’s success a reality, and we are appreciative to have community partners who care so deeply for CUSD kids.”
The specialty grant awards, totaling $39,278, are funded as part of the Founda-tion’s Classroom and School grants program, which strives to help educators innovate in their classrooms.Approximately 3,000 stu-dents will be impacted through the grants, which were funded through partnerships with Kaiser Permanente and Clovis Veterans Memorial District.
Descriptions of non-specialty Classroom and School grants were published in the November issue of CUSD Today. The spe-cialty grants awarded are:
All comprehensive high schools:KNOW MORE Club –Teen Dating Violence Aware-ness and Prevention – Provides domestic violence and dating violence education and intervention to teens. The program utilizes drama, music, real life situations, and sta-tistics of abuse in teenage relationships to demonstrate how serious this problem is in our community and in the world.

Alta Sierra Intermediate: Connecting Our Students and Community Through Creative Video Productions –Provides Alta Sierra Broadcasting students with technology needed to allow for opportunities to express themselves, connect with peers, and connect with the community.
Clovis Community Day: CCDS Focus Fix –Provides at-risk students with strategies to release negative energy through isolated aerobic activity-based Cooling Stations, which will promote positive physical move-ment.
Clovis Community Day: Project SMART – Provides a school-based men-toring relationship for at-risk 4th through 8th grade students thereby
improving academic achieve-ment and interpersonal re-lationships, and reducing lev-
els of juvenile delinquency. Grant funds support fingerprinting of mentors, fieldtrips and support of other mentor/mentee ac-tivities.
Clovis High: Collaborative Mentoring Art Class Cricut Maker –Provides a Cricut Maker for the Collaborative Mentoring Art course at Clovis High so that students may learn to create items including paper crafts, iron-ons, decals, leather crafts and more. Clovis High: Clovis Proud (Patriots Grant) – Will honor the five branches of military by purchasing decals for Clovis High football players’ helmets.Also provides military-themed yard signs for athletes and staff to help promote a sense of citizenship
and community.
Cole Elementary: Social Emotional Learning A Priority During COVID-19 – Implements specialized emotional wellness curriculum for Cole Elementary first graders. Includes the purchase of 12 readers/songs, lessons, and positive reinforcements for all first graders, addressing social emotional needs.
Red Bank Elementary: Reading and Writing for Cultural Awareness (Patriots Grant) –Provides standards-based reading and writing materials that facilitate a better understanding and appreciation for others’ experiences while addressing current political and social unrest.

Clovis Unified’s 60th anniversary year is unlike any other with the challenges resulting from the COVID pandemic. But in this, our Diamond Anniversary year, there are many ways students, staff and families are shining brighter than ever as they make the best out of difficult situations. We salute these diamonds that illustrate the strength and character of Clovis Unified.

BOUQUET OF KINDNESS: A flower	u u u
garden is blooming at Tarpey Elementary	MIGHTY LOVE FROM SOME OF LIT-thanks to not one, but     TLEST LEARNERS: Fort Washington Ele-two thoughtful grand-                                           mentary students mothers connected to                                           learn daily lessons the school.                                                           from The Positivity
Shirley Wood
The colorful flow-	Project. In Febru-ers are actually hand	ary, second-grade crocheted yarn pencil	students in Kath-toppers that were first	leen Karas’ class made for students by	were learning about kindergartner Lily	compassion, and Garth’s grandmother,                                           the children decid-Cindy Nelson. Nelson     ed they wanted to create treat bags for kids was inspired to make     their age who might not have received a the flowers after hear-     Valentine as a way to be compassionate. ing Lily’s class on     The idea flourished. The class and entire Zoom doing their     school provided donations of treats, hand-MindUp Curriculum.     made cards and hand sewn masks (made The kin dergartners     by Ms. Karas), the children put together 90 were learning about     gift bags that were then donated to the deep breathing and     Marjaree Mason Center for children there.
being calm. Teacher Teri Varvis and school	u u u
psychologist Suja George had students prac-          TEACHERS SUPPORTING TEACH-tice deep breathing by pretending to smell     ERS:SierraVista Elementary teacher Michael flowers (inhale through the nose) and blow                                             Williamson re-out a candle (exhale through the mouth).                                             ceived a special Nelson got the idea to crochet the flowers                                             gift recently. His for the class, and teacher Mrs.Varvis turned                                             former ValleyOak them into pencil toppers, even attaching                                             Elementary third-positive messages to them such as “Good                                             grade      teacher Job” and “You Are Loved!”                                                                        John Armendariz The flowers became very popular and                                             (“Mr. A”) present-soon others wanted them, too, but Lily’s                                             ed him with his
grandmother had returned to the East Coast.	entire tie collection!
To the rescue was grandmother number	Williamson said his third-grade year was two – longtime school volunteer Shirley     a challenging one, and his teacher Mr. A – Wood, who took up her own crochet hook     who always wore a tie – made a big impact and got to stitching. She has already made     on his life.
more than 100 additional flowers for students	As a teacher now himself, Williamson and staff to enjoy. (And to make this “Dia-     said he makes a point to carry on the mond” story sparkle even brighter, here’s a     necktie tradition by wearing a tie in his
fun fact about Wood. She began volunteering	class at least once a week.
at Tarpey 18 years ago when her granddaughter	With Mr. A’s retirement from teaching Kianna was in kindergarten. Kianna has long     last year and his generous, unexpected pres-since graduated, but Wood stayed on. She     entation of 60 fun-themed ties, looks like continues to volunteer every week for the     Williamson will have plenty to choose from Spartans and is beloved by all at the school!)     for many years to come.

AROUND THE DISTRICT

March 2021	CUSD Today	Page 7

Forest at Freedom
Excellent s-p-e-l-l-i-n-g
Eleven Clovis Unified schools took part in the district’s annual CUSD Spell Off in February, with the top two
spellers in the elementary and intermediate competitions                                                                                                                   Clovis Unified schools continue to get creative advancing to the Fresno County Spell Off that will be held                                                                                                              as they bring the sixth-grade camping experience in March.                                                                                                                                                                                           held during non-COVID times at Sonora into their Achuth Vinay (Fugman Elementary) and Xara Hussain                                                                                                              in-person and online classrooms this year. Recently (Century Elementary) finished in the top spots for ele-                                                                                                              Freedom Elementary’s staff and parents worked mentary, while Rajbir Longia and Tatum Custer (both                                                                                                              with Clovis Unified’s Sierra Outdoor School (SOS) Alta Sierra Intermediate) earned first and second for in-                                                                                                              in Sonora to provide students with an exciting camp
termediate.	experience.
Participating schools were Bud Rank, Century, Dry	When Freedom sixth-graders entered their class-Creek, Fugman, Liberty, Moutain View, Valley Oak and                                                                                                              rooms during the week of Feb. 9, they were instantly Young elementary schools and Alta Sierra, Granite Ridge                                                                                                              transported into the mountains of SOS with all the and Kastner intermediate schools.                                                                                                                                                    sights and sounds of the wilderness. Each day of
Students chat with civil rights icons
activities. The kids enjoyed experiences such as owl
the week Freedom teachers Megan Flowers and Clovis Unified held its annual African American Middle	Kaley Reynolds recreated SOS classes, events, and
pellet dissection, animal tracking, leaves and trees
School Conference Feb. 22. Keynote speakers were civil
girl, Bland marched with her sisters in Selma, Ala., and
Students ended the week with traditional keepsakes
rights icons Joanne Bland and Joan Mulholland.As a little	identification, orienteering, constellations, the Silent later worked with civil rights activist John Lewis. Mulholland,	Mile, birds of prey, and more.
from SOS, such as a tree cookie necklace, science
notebooks and owl pellet dissection pieces. Camp
was even concluded with a fun, socially distanced
outdoor picnic with students performing the tradi-
Photo special to CUSD Today.
who was among the first white people to join the Jackson Woolworth’s sit-in, and she participated in more than 50 sit-ins by the time she was 23. Clovis Unified intermediate students Inaya Johnson (Granite Ridge), Jordyn Sanders
the legends following their presentations. The conference
(Kastner) and Brooklyn Washington(Reyburn) interviewed	Freedom Elementary sixth-grader Alexia Lopez takes part in and tional campfire skits for one another.
video is available for viewing on cusd.com/idac.aspx.
Broncos earn second place
adaptation of a game played at camp at Sonora called “Jays and	“This was one amazing week to say the least for Junco,” which recreates the bird world and teaches students about the sixth graders at Freedom Elementary,” said Prin-how birds store food, nest and the dangers of predators.               cipal Kristen Belknap.
in Academic Decathlon
Clovis North won second place in the 39th Annual
Fresno County Academic Decathlon that was held virtually
leadership team did not let stay-at-home orders or social	students came up with some great ideas about safe ways to distancing protocols put a stop to their volunteer efforts.	collect resources,” she said.
in February. The event featured 23 teams competing in the
theme “The Cold War.”
Academic Decathlon teams are comprised of 12 students
with GPAs ranging from under 1.00 to over 4.0, who
compete in 10 examinations: art, music, language and lit-
erature, mathematics, economics, science, social science,
speech, interview and essay. The final culminating Super
For the last several months, COS students have been	Hannah Larson-Olivarria, a member of both CSF and collecting resources for the Ronald McDonald House     NHS, wrote a formal letter to solicit donations and shared Central Valley, which supports families of those receiving     it with her classmates. Another student, who is an avid care at Valley Children’s Hospital with food and a place to     tennis player, made collection bins and placed them at stay, and recently delivered four truckloads of items! Do-     multiple tennis clubs. Other students spent hours on the nations included everything from toilet paper and laundry     phone, and also used various social media platforms to re-detergent to crackers and pasta.                                               quest donations from family, friends and businesses.
Quiz encompasses all seven subjects.
Clovis Online helps families
COS students brainstormed what they could do, and	“It was really cool to get to help people who are struggling junior Aidan Purtellmade an online platform for classmates     in a creative way,” said senior McKay Kinsey.“I also learned to share ideas. CSF advisor, Kim Patterson, said it was a     how to organize and collaborate with other people remotely,
Members of Clovis Online School’s National Honor	great experience that allowed the students to build teamwork	which is going to be super important in college and be-Society, California Scholastic Federation (CSF) and student	and communication skills all for a good cause. “The	yond.”
McKinney: ‘My education in Clovis Unified gave me a wonderful jumpstart’

FROM PAGE ONE

Mars show surface features that look similar to old riverbeds) and to move the rover’s drill arm with precision to take soil and rock samples. “The cameras are basically the eyeballs of the rover,” he said.“We needed better eyes to allow the rover to drive farther and faster.”
In previous missions, cameras took black and white images and the rover had to stop each time a picture was taken.“It was a slow process. Imagine if you had to stop each time you blinked,” he said.
For the Mars 2020 project, McKinney and his team of 30 engineers, scientists and technicians were tasked with developing cameras that could take high-resolution color photos while the rover was moving. They worked on the development for five years, built and tested 25 cameras, and nine of those are on the Perseverance today.
“It was both a thrilling and daunting en-deavor. On one hand, I get to use my expe-rience to design, build, and test ground-breaking cameras that will be on another planet. On the other, they can’t fail. The mission is dependent on these cameras to function – without them, we are literally driving blind.”
Much to McKinney’s joy, the cameras did not fail. He and his team watched together on a Zoom call as Perseverance landed in February, and they cheered as the first pictures came through.“It was a huge sigh of relief,” he said.
White’s students had lots of questions for McKinney. “What’s a day in the life of your job like?” asked Rylie. “Why did you want to be an engineer?” asked Thiago. “What age did you become the most inter-ested in the rover?” asked Christian.

Photo special to CUSD Today. Former Valley Oak Elementary student Colin McKinney Zooms with his former VO third-grade teacher, Chris White, and her now fifth-grade students at Bud Rank Elementary. Kids used the “hand up” icon to take turns asking the Mars scientist lots of questions.

The Golden Eagle graduate answered	ticularly my engagement in the GATE (Gifted each question and encouraged the fifth	and Talented Education) program in sixth graders to keep dreaming big. He said while	grade at Valley Oak under Gary Cohagan it wasn’t until college when he started putting	that allowed me to blossom and feel em-the pieces together regarding his career, he	powered to reach for the stars.”
knows his time at Clovis Unified helped          He also said he benefitted from his in-him be well prepared.                                       volvement with marching, symphonic and “My education in Clovis Unified gave     jazz bands at Kastner and Clovis West.“The
me a wonderful jumpstart into the STEM	music programs provided me the social, (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math)	leadership, and individual development op-field and prepared me for a career at NASA	portunities to grow as a young individual,” and beyond,” McKinney said. “It was par-	he said, which were skills he needed to lead

his NASA team.
White’s students liked hearing that it was McKinney’s love for playing video games that started him on his path to engineering. He described as a kid when a new game came out and his computer couldn’t operate it because it was older, that he took his computer apart and figured out how to up-grade it.
He also credits his success to his mom, Linda McKinney, to whom he says he owes everything. They had modest means when he was young, but she provided him with all he needed and gave him the confidence to succeed.“She is my inspiration and role model of what a parent should be,” said McKinney, who with his wife Jenny, are ex-pecting their first child this summer.
As for his interest in the stars, he told students that they were always a draw for him. He said he would look out at them on clear nights as a child in Fresno and be fas-cinated.
“Sometimes, if I was lucky, I could see Mars,” he said.
Little did he know, that sometime, in the future, he would help the rest of the world see it, too.
“We are very proud of you Colin,” Su-perintendent O’Farrell said.
“It’s not often a teacher can say a former student is literally a rocket scientist,”White said.“Colin, you’ll always be 8-years-old to me, though” she said showing a picture of him from an old Valley Oak yearbook when he was in her class. “I’m so happy for you and what you’ve accomplished.”
And to her current students,White pon-dered,“Which one of you will I be talking about in 20 years? I hope this has inspired you to reach to the stars. You can do great things for this world!”

School Farm & Food Pro-
duction CTE building to
CTE building to Marko Con-
Feb. 3
Page 8	CUSD Today	March 2021

Board hears return updates, Career Technical Education report

By Kelly Avants, A.P.R. Chief Communications Officer

March 3
The Clovis Unified Gov-erning Board heard updates on the return of students to campuses in the district, vac-cination for employees and testing, federal and state COVID relief funds, athletic and after school activities for students, and continued work to navigate a path back to a pre-COVID instruction-al schedule in the future. Representatives from all three employee groups that rep-resent classified, certificated and operations employees also spoke at the meeting.
A report was given on the district’s 20 Career Technical Education pathways and the 3,928 students enrolled in these programs around the district. More information about CTE is available online at https:// www. cusd. com/ CareerTechnicalEducation.aspx.
In other action, the board: ■ Approved an agreement
with WestEd for Teaching Pyramid professional devel-opment for preschool and Special Education Depart-ment staff.
■ Approved the partici-

➤ BOARD BRIEFS

pation of students from the	tion next week.
district’s high schools in the          Also included in the re-concurrent public higher ed-     port were updates on plan-ucation program for the sec-     ning of Class of‘21 activities, ond semester of the 2020-     athletic and visual and per-21 school year.                          forming arts programs, and ■ Accepted a donation of     work to prepare for deliver-
an electric transfer walker	ing vaccination to employees manual wheelchair to Clovis	choosing to receive the vac-North Educational Center.	cine when it becomes avail-
■ Approved a new course	able to educators.
of study proposal for inter-          In other action, the board: mediate schools.                            ■ Approved an extension ■ Celebrated Music in     of the 2021 elementary sum-Our Schools Month by view-     mer school calendar to in-ing a selection of perform-     clude an additional two ances of students in visual     weeks of intervention in-and performing arts pro-     struction for students iden-
grams.	tified to participate.
Feb. 17
■ Appointed Gonzalez Ar-chitects to provide design
After last week’s return	services for the Dry Creek of the final phase of elemen-	portable relocation project, tary students waiting to re-	and awarded bids for office
sume in-person instruction,	supplies, additional work on Clovis Unified elementary	the Dry Creek portable re-teams are now serving more	location, the Clovis East High
than 14,600 TK-6 grade stu-
report, the Governing Board
duction & Managerial Arts
dents on-site. During a staff	Seals Construction, and the heard updates on this work,	Buchanan High School Pro-and final preparations un-
struction.
derway at the district’s sec-ondary schools to welcome an additional 7,500+ stu-
dents for in-person instruc-	The board received a re-

port on the Governor’s Jan-uary Budget Proposal and the district’s preliminary budget for 2021-22. The dis-trict’s proposed budget re-flects the Governor’s intent to provide schools with a 3.84% COLA after a year in which districts were provided 0% COLA and had to man-age the state’s deferral of some cash payments.
There is some additional money proposed for Special Education Early Education and supporting schools in returning students to in-per-son learning, along with plans for federal stimulus money directed to education, and provisions for school districts that have seen ADA drop because of the pan-demic that allows for the higher of the past two years

to be used to calculate budg-ets.
q
The next regularly sched-uled meeting of the Governing

Board is March 17 with the public portion at 6:30 p.m. Agendas, minutes and videos of meetings are available at cusd.com.

Shipley wins top award
SPORTS

March 2021

Let’s play!

CUSD Today	Page 9

On par with Clovis West girls golf coach

Sports competition returned to campuses in February after state and local health officials provided health and safety guidelines that allowed for play to resume. High school cross country teams were the first to hold meets (pictured, Clovis West and Clovis East teams com-pete), with girls golf, tennis and swim/diving soon following. Inter-mediate school sports followed a similar pattern.At elementary schools, sites began offering after-school skill-based programs for ath-letic training; some team sports may be offered in a condensed sea-son later in the year. Evolving guidelines from state and county health officials regarding competi-tions are ongoing and being re-viewed. For the most recent updates about athletics, visit individual school and team websites.

n for successful program CUSD Today

Longtime Clo-vis West girls golf coach Ken Shipley was named recent-ly the National Federation	of High	Schools’
Girls Golf Coach of the Year for the Western Section (Arizona, Cal-ifornia, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah) and the state. The Golden Eagles girls golf team has won 15-straight league championships, 13 of the last 14 Northern Area Champi-onships, and seven-straight and 12 of the last 14 CIF Division-I Valley Championships.
“The program’s success is di-rectly related to his skill, knowledge and ability to develop our young ladies into champion golfers,” said Clovis West Athletic Director Matt Loggins in congratulating Shipley for the recognition. The NFHS award will presented at a later time when gathering is allowed.
Shipley is in his 14th year at Clovis West but his coaching career actually began after he retired from a long career of university teaching and administration. Unknowingly, though, he was training for the roll for years, helping play golf with and take to lessons his own daughter, Jennifer. She was the top female golfer when she attended Clovis High (Class of 2004) before going on to play at Fresno State.
“That provided a great oppor-tunity to watch the game, watch player development and see coach-ing at different levels,” Shipley said. Q: What are a few special mo-ments from coaching Clovis West
girls golf?
A:There are so many highlights

and great times, including: the first team I coached (2007), and the team winning the Valley Champi-onship; the 2012 Valley Champi-onship when our freshman sixth-player shot par on the 18th hole to seal that championship in front of everyone who had already fin-ished and was gathered on the last hole watching; when our 2017 team won the Valley Championship by an incredible 64 shots; taking four of the teams to play the world-famous Stadium Course at PGA West in La Quinta; the 2019-20 team winning Clovis West’s 15th TRAC championship in a row and its seventh Valley Championship in row; having 14 girls go on to play college golf since 2010; having four alums who are now coaching or teaching golf locally, including Alison (Ross) Noonkester and Keila Takeuchi who are coaches at Clovis East and Laura (Scrivner)Sanders at Kastner.
Q:What is your coaching phi-losophy?
A: I tell my players to focus on improving as individuals and a team, and very rarely do we talk about things like winning or losing. If we do our best, use good tech-nique, use self-discipline and good self-management skills, we will see good things when we look at the scoreboard afterwards. I think that both current girls and alums de-scribe me as organized, hard-work-ing, supportive and approachable. They also know that I believe strongly in our abilities to improve and do well.
Q:What does this award mean to you?
A:I never anticipated anything like this. I’ve been very surprised by it and am deeply honored. It has also been very special to hear reactions from our current players, alums and families. Very special!

Photo special to CUSD Today. Clovis East High’s Jacob Tafoya signs to play football for Air Force.

22 athletes sign NLI

In February, Clovis Unified	avan Le Fevre, football, Lewis had 22 athletes participate in	and Clark College
National Letter of Intent sign-          From Clovis North High: ing day, naming the college     Emma Brown, soccer, Cal Poly, they will be attending. They     San Luis Obispo;Jeffrey Forbes, are:                                               swimming and diving, Wash-From Buchanan High: Sha-     ington University in St. Louis; gan Bhullar, soccer, Pomona-     Ryan Franco, wrestling, West Pitzer College;Helen Chu, track     Point; Sydney Hancock, vol-and field, Columbia University;     leyball, Colorado State Uni-Jaedyn Davies,swimming, Uni-     versity, Pueblo; Gabriel Jett, versity of Montevallo; Shayla     swimming and diving, Uni-Sakkakhanaune, soccer,Whit-     versity of California, Berkeley; tier College; Raegan Stermer,     Rees Kent, baseball, St. Mary’s basketball, Briar Cliff College     College;Christian Silva, soccer, From Clovis East High:Emi-     California State University,
ly Adams, wrestling, Texas Wes-     Northridge; Toby Miller, vol-leyan University;Andrew Man-     leyball, University of California, nion, wrestling, Menlo College;     Merced; Izabella Arballo, soc-Jacob Tafoya,football, Air Force     cer, New Mexico Highlands From Clovis High: Maddy     University; Carys Hall,soccer, Arnold,softball, CSU San Mar-     University of Alabama; Mia cos; Caitlin Decanio, softball,     Antonino, softball, California
Azusa Pacific University;Don-	Lutheran University

Page 10	CUSD Today	March 2021