NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
FRESNO, CA
PERMIT NO. 220
Clovis Unified School District
May 2020

1450 Herndon Ave.
Clovis, CA 93611
Clovis Uniﬁed School District — WHERE CHARACTER COUNTS!	Volume 22, No. 10

follow us on	TM               and at CUSD.COM

INSPIRING EXCELLENCE

We are finding new ways to connect during distance learning. Top left, Garfield kindergarten teacher Honey
Sullivan Zooms her students,top right, to show them the class butterfly emerging from its chrysalis.Bottom right, Weldon Elementary Principal Ray Lozano makes a video of morning announcements to share on Pajama Day.Bottom middle and left,school parades give students and teachers
a chance to support one another.

Photos special to CUSD Today.

R E S O U R C E S

LEARNINGcontinues in Clovis Unified. Parents and students are encouraged to talk
with their teacher – through email, Zoom or a phone call – to discuss
specific needs regarding academ-ics. They are here to help.

GRADUATION

Graduation celebrations for Class of 2020!

SUPPLEMENTALonline resources for elementary and secondary students are available. They include support and instruc-tion tutorials, as well as virtual field trips, story times and art projects. Visit cusd.com/COVID-19OurStudents.aspx.

TECHNOLOGYhelp is available online at cusd.com/TechnologyHelpForStudents. aspx or by calling the CUSD Technology Help Desk at 327-9595.

MEALSare available for children ages 1 to 18. They are distributed weekly
and include five days’ worth of breakfasts and lunches. For up-dated locations and details, visit cusd.com and look under Lunch Schedule.

“TOGETHER WE’VEGOT THIS”is a video series created by our school coun-selors and psychologists to offer practical ways to help with emotional wellness. Each 4-minute video focuses on a topic such as building routine, ways to interact and hav-ing healthy conversations. Videos are on Clovis Unified’s Facebook page and cusd.com.

CUSD Today

Caps and gowns are on their way and it is time to celebrate our graduating seniors!
While we share in the heartbreaking disappointment caused by the coron-avirus restrictions keeping us from hold-ing our traditional ceremonies and end-of-the-year events, our enthusiasm for our seniors cannot be stopped!
The Class of 2020 will be celebrated in Clovis Unified style, and we know proud parents, family and friends will join us in creative ways to make this milestone occasion a very special one for our beloved seniors.
The district has developed a three-part graduation planafter considering hundreds of suggestion, concerns and comments sent to us through a Facebook Live discussion, emails, surveys and phone calls. The plans include individual senior experiences in the next few weeks at the stadiums; a video release on the originally scheduled school graduation night along with skylights in school colors at the school site; and a delayed full-school ceremony in late July if mass gatherings are allowed by the state.
Specific schedules and details will be distributed through high schools, but the following provides an overview look at the festivities ahead:

Walking the Stage Now Pomp and Circumstance? You bet!

During the final weeks of May and early June, our graduating seniors will be as-

signed an individual time to arrive to their home stadium where a stage decorated in their school colors and graduation re-galia will be waiting for them. Students can be joined by
four members of their household (following gathering limitation guide-lines). The student’s name will be an-nounced and the graduation march played as the senior walks across the stage to receive his or her diploma from the principal. Photos, available for down-load, will be taken by a professional photographer and each student will re-ceive a free 5x7 print. Proud family members attending will have the best seat in the stadium, and other friends and relatives can watch a livestream. Students will receive a gown before the event to wear and can keep it as a me-mento for later pictures and celebra-tions.

Original Graduation Night Celebration
Keep the original graduation date circled on the calendar and send out those announcement cards! As a tribute to our seniors, skylights will shine in school colors this night above the campus and a custom video for each school’s senior class will be released online at the time and date of the school’s originally scheduled graduation ceremony. Students and families can create their own custom

watch party that evening with friends and relatives hanging out in online chat rooms and Zoom meetings as you view. The videos are being filmed now and will include all the graduation traditions such as the flag salute, senior speakers, principal com-ments, student honors, music, pho-tos and the names of the graduating
class. It’ll be another great opportunity to make the end of the year memorable if you have a graduate in your house or in your neighborhood. (See Page 3 for schedule and celebration ideas.)
Full Ceremonies in July Delayed ceremonies will occur on

July 27 and 28 at the Save Mart Center, so long as mass gatherings are allowed. Each of our high schools would celebrate with their own graduation ceremony at a time to be determined during these two days. The indoor venue has been reserved and can provide room for social distancing and also air-conditioning during this very hot part of our summer months. Because of the potential that California’s ban on mass gatherings may still be in place by late July, and to allow families enough time to plan for atten-dance, a decision will be made no later than July 1 if it is necessary to cancel these events.We will be closely working with officials and local public health guidelines in making this determina-tion.
For the latest information on gradu-ation details, visit cusd.com or your high school’s website.

INSIDE:

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Summer School programs
During these uncertain times, Clovis Unified is committed to providing high-quality educational programs for our students.Page 3

SPORTS
BHS water polo player earns award Buchanan High swimmer and water polo player
Caleb Teraoka is the recipient of the 2020 Rene Errotabere Scholarship. Page 7

SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE
Making distance learning a success Over the past two-and-a-half months we, like every
other organization in the nation, have had to make deci-sions that we would have preferred not to make. Page 5

Page 2	CUSD Today	May 2020

W
aging families, neigh-
student’s original gradu-
tually together on Zoom
May 2020	CUSD Today	Page 3

➤ANNOUNCEMENTS	HOME CELEBRATION IDEAS

Grading guidelines Clovis Unified’s leadership team

released guidance on grading dur-ing this time of distance learning. The guidance establishes that for the fourth quarter, elementary students will receive a mark of “Outstanding,” “Satisfactory” or “Needs Improvement;” and sec-ondary students will receive letter grades ofA, B, C, D or F. Students’ actual grades will still be deter-mined by their teacher according to work turned in during distance learning.
The guidelines do acknowledge the unique situation and challenges of off-site learning, and this will be kept in mind as grades are as-signed.

Summer School
During these uncertain times, Clovis Unified is committed to providing high-quality educational programs for our students. With this goal in mind, CUSD will offer summer school at the elementary and secondary levels. Just like learning has looked different these past few months, so will summer school. Summer school programs will continue with distance learn-ing, and preparations are currently underway.
Elementary and intermediate summer school will be for students who are at-risk of not promoting to the next grade level. It will be a continuation of this school year. High school summer school program will be a combination of credit recovery and original credit for those students with im-pacted schedules. Schools are cur-rently in the process of enrolling students for summer school and contacting parents. If you have questions about your child at-tending summer school, please
contact your school site.

Summer Camps
The many summer sports, arts and recreation camps and activities usually offered by the district are currently on hold.
Decisions will be made soon as to whether they will be allowed. Check for updated details on cusd.com.

CAN CONTAIN OUR ENTHUSIASM FOR OUR GRADUATES!

party. Have your senior wear the

E ARE encour-                                                                                                       cap and gown, and the rest of the family should dress up, too.

bors and the communi-
ty to get your celebrato-
ry ideas going for your
Have     favorite     appetizers, sparkling cider or dessert ready. ■ Encourage other friends and relatives watching with
ation night. Here’s a few	you online also to gather vir-

we have heard, and we                                                                                                                or an online chat room encourage you to share                                                                                                          so you can talk with one an-
yours on your school’s so-                                                                                                      other. Encourage these guests cial media. Let’s make sure                                                                                                     to have festive items, too, the Class of 2020 knows                                                                                                          that they can hold up – think how much we all care!                                                                                                             noise makers (first time ever you can have noise makers
■ Parents, make the original	at a CUSD graduation!), graduation date a big day! Put                                                                                                    balloons, pom-poms and signs. streamers in the house. Signs                                                         ■ Email teachers and invite them to “drop in” on your on the garage. Arrange a tribute on a table to your graduate Zoom party.
using school pictures, awards and memorabilia from kindergarten	■ Make it a virtual potluck. Create a theme. Get your through now.                                                                                 Zoom visitors to play along. Personalize it to your graduate.
■ Wake up your senior with “Pomp and Circumstance”	■ Play your school’s alma mater or fight song, available on playing (the graduation march song), along with a favorite school websites.
breakfast treat. Plan a day of pampering and surprises.                    ■ Have a graduation march! Crank up “Pomp and Cir-■ Mail out announcement cards with an insert that asks cumstance” again and have your cap-and-gown-wearing senior relatives to join in watching your graduation video on the night walk a path in the house and yard to your cheers. Better yet, of your originally planned ceremony. Make it a distance party!        add a short walk in the neighborhood at a planned time so
■ Plan for the entire household to “attend” the watch neighbors can come to their front steps and celebrate!

Neighbors:	 Community: Paint the town red! And gold! And

Show your support by
decorating your yard.
How about tying school
colors on trees, making cele-
bratory signs or writing the
graduate’s name in chalk
on the sidewalk?
blue! Put up streamers or ribbons in school colors on the dates of the original graduations. Buchanan Bears, red and blue; Clovis Cougars, blue and gold; Clovis East Timberwolves, navy, silver and green; Clovis North Broncos, Co-lumbia blue, black and silver; Clovis West Golden Eagles, cardinal and gold; Alternative Education Eagles, green and gold; and Clovis Online Chargers, navy and green.

Page 4	CUSD Today	May 2020

Clovis Unified juniors honored for tenacity

By Sara Almaraz Foundation for Clovis Schools

“He has overcome so many challenges.”
“She’s a true grit girl.” “He is never going to give
up.”
These and many similar phrases were used through-out the evening when de-scribing the perseverance of 17 Clovis Unified high school juniors at the 2020 Students of Promise Schol-arship and Awards Gala held in early
March.
T h e a n n u a l Academy Awards-
style event, hosted by the Foundation for Clovis Schools, honored the group of remarkable students who were nominated earlier in the school year by faculty and staff and later selected by the Foundation’s board of directors for their tenacity and courage. The students were showered with acco-lades, as their captivating stories of determination and strength of mind were shared throughout the evening.
“Some of the Founda-tion’s most rewarding work lies in honoring our Students of Promise,” said Michael Fennacy, Foundation for Clovis Schools chairperson. “Each year we learn valuable lessons from these students’ extraordinary stories of over-coming adversity.”
In addition to the acco-lades at the gala, each student is guaranteed a $2,000 schol-arship upon graduation from high school and en-rollment in post-secondary education.
“Our foundation is truly privileged to offer the sup-port and encouragement for these students to stay strong through their upcoming sen-

ior year,” Fennacy said. Each honoree has a com-
pelling story – loss of or abandonment by a parent, chronic medical conditions, unusually difficult upbring-ings, or numerous other challenges – but they all have one thing in common: they continue to thrive de-spite the odds.
The evening’s featured speaker, McKay Duran, is a 2016 Student of Promise and Clovis North High grad-uate, studying political sci-ence at Fresno State while serving on
the City of F r e s n o Y o u t h Commis-
sion, representing the may-or’s office.
Duran’s story of personal triumph parallels the stories of many of the students re-ceiving the recognition this year. He has experienced health issues since birth, which affected some aspects of his educational develop-ment and at times, emo-tional wellness. He shared that, despite missing school to undergo surgeries and procedures addressing his medical needs, he persevered and strove to make his ed-ucation and involvement in extra-curricular activities his top priorities.
He said that the Student of Promise award is one of the most impactful awards he has received.

Marisa Sanchez Clovis East

Alyssa Burton Clovis West

Spencer Folsom Buchanan

Jayden Keller Clovis West

Hallee Jadin Spate Clovis East

Helen Chu Buchanan

Destiny Getchell Gateway

Raymond Lopez Buchanan

Mai Pang Thao Clovis East

Miguel Covarrubias Conde Buchanan

Emma Hamburger Clovis North

Dylan McWhorter Clovis East

Ryan Wilder Gateway

Ethan Dussell Clovis North

Deema Kashak Clovis West

Araceli Ramirez Clovis

Gianna Wise Clovis

cisions for the
VISION

May 2020

Team effort makes

CUSD Today

distance learning

Page 5

success

By Eimear O’Farrell, Ed.D. Superintendent

OVER the past two-and-a-half months we, like every other organization in

the nation, have had to make de-cisions that we would have pre-ferred not to make, but which were the right de-

Ed.D.
time in which we	Eimear O’Farrell, are living. The
move to distance learning is one such decision.
For me, this still-unfolding ex-perience has led to a few “aha” mo-ments.
The first came Monday morning after we made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend on-site in-struction. Our leadership team had spent the weekend analyzing the thousands of details and decisions that needed to be made quickly to implement distance learning, and our teachers had been told to sit tight and expect more direction by the end of the day Monday.
Within a few minutes of starting our work Monday morning, I was overwhelmed to hear of the number of our grade level and subject matter teams who had also immediately set to work over the weekend to plan out the first phase of learning for their students.
Our teachers immediately took action, and they haven’t stopped since. The main work of the district, in the form of student learning, is continuing. And when there was talk out of Sacramento that schools may have to start the 2020-21 school year early to make up for time lost this spring, we were able to reassure our community that Clovis Unified would not need to do so.

From day one of distance learn- how we will meet the unique needs ability to achieve those standards, ing our team has made the contin- of every student in the upcoming that kids can live up to those ex-uation of education for our children school year.	pectations. Whether it was Clovis a priority. In Clovis Unified, stu-	Which leads to me to my next West’s Carter Williams performing dents continue to receive the new assurance: our students are worthy backyard harp concerts to uplift instruction needed to be ready to of our high expectations.	her neighbors, or Reyburn’s Bryce progress to the next grade level or         We have lived by a long-standing Stover, the Buchanan Bird Brains their post-secondary education on belief that if you set high standards or Clovis North’s robotics teams time, and we are already planning for students and believe in their using 3-D printers to make masks

LESSONS

Inspirations by, for and from our CUSD students

Photo special to CUSD Today by Ron Webb. We are so proud of our Clovis Unified teachers and students, like Mountain View Elementary student Luke Patla, who continue to work hard to learn and stay connected during this time of distance learning. Clovis Unified has a great team and great students who have been resourceful and resilient to adjust in these challenging times. We believe their perseverance and grit provide great hope for a bright future. Together, we’ve got this!

“Believe you can and you are halfway there!”

THEODORE ROOSEVELT, 26TH UNITED STATES PRESIDENT

for healthcare workers, or Clovis High’s Sarah Azzarello’s fun parody to make us laugh, our students have impressed me.
Since March, I have received email after email and heard stories from every one of our communities about students demonstrating that they are worthy of our confidence. Distance learning isn’t easy, and I have said repeatedly that our ap-proach to education since March has been a balance of rigor and grace toward our students who are responding to and staying engaged with their teachers.
My final certainty involves our families.
Each May here in Clovis Unified, we celebrate employee appreciation month to recognize the team of people who work to support our children in their education. This year we have an entire new “adjunct faculty” team – our parents! I have always known that our families care about their children’s success, and I have been in communication with so many of our families who are doing their best to support their kids, juggle their own work, and manage the anxieties facing all of us during this unprecedented time. Just as we transitioned to a whole new way of doing business, you did too.We’re all in this new thing called “distance learning” together. Since March, we have had to make many decisions to keep our aim number one –Maximizing the Achievement of ALL Students – aim number one. As I reflect back on these decisions, I know that we have not been perfect in our exe-cution, but we have been consistent in keeping Clovis Unified’s core values and our primary purpose of educating our students front and center. It has been a team effort, and I would not want to be on any
other team than this one. Together, we can do this!

Crystal Award winners show Clovis Unified at its best

Thirty exceptional Clovis Unified employees were honored with a Crystal Award, the district’s highest employee recognition, at an event earlier this year. The following is the final part in a series profiling recipients using excerpts from the award videos. A full list and videos are on cusd.com.

By Kathleen Coates Special to CUSD Today

Andrea Melton
Liberty Elementary Campus Club Lead Instructor
Expert Organizer
Andrea Melton, Campus Club Lead Instructor at Liberty Elementary, is the definition of going above and beyond.
Nominators said she “goes over the top” to deliver for stu-dents, from after-school homework help to big summer events.
Melton not only engages her Campus Club students, but she also engages with parents and the community to foster a climate of trust and respect. As the lead at the Copper Hills summer program, Melton took the initiative to invite a famous author and poet who conducted a work-shop during summer campus club. She then invited parents to come that evening to enjoy a poetry jam where students recited the poems they had written during the workshop and everyone enjoyed some pizza.
Melton also involves students in projects for the good of the community, such as annual Thanksgiving and Christ-mas food drives for Central Valley Veterans through the Campus Club Junior Leadership. She nurtures students’ spirit through her everyday kindness and flair. Melton creates monthly themes, sports activities and parties for holidays and the Super Bowl.
Danny Munster
Clovis West Transition Specialist Life Saver & Superior Juggler

In his job as Clovis West Area transition coordinator, Danny Munster provides guidance and support for students needing a little help transitioning from one school level to

another. He does a superior job at making sure each child has what is needed to succeed in school and in life.
Munster has an innate ability to get to know and assist special education and all students and remember their interests and challenges and their names. Through the SOAR program, he and his team go to physical education classes to connect
with students, even running the track to help kids shave time off their mile runs.
Munster showed he was also a superior juggler when he took on two jobs at once. A resignation at Clovis West High School led him to also serve as activities director for the last several months of the school year. Munster planned the school charity fashion show, a spring rally, the senior slide show, Grad Nite and the graduation ceremony.
In addition, when it came time for student leader appli-cations, he recruited underserved students from his transition group and many of them became part of the leadership program. Munster puts his students first.
Jeri Olson
Clovis East Math Teacher The Perfect Equation

As chairwoman of the Clovis East High Math Department, Jeri Olson has taken it upon herself to serve all teaches and all students, not just the students in her classes.
Through tireless research, working with teachers on new strategies and going into seventh and eighth grade classes, Olson has improved student achievement at all levels. She truly cares that every student – all 4,200 – maximizes achievement, especially struggling learners. She is a master of her craft.
Olson has pushed teachers out of their comfort zone by providing a psychological safe zone where she motivates rather than deflates.And she has credibility because she is the first to put new strategies or systems into action in her own classroom and have other teachers observe. Jeri holds after-hour labs and is available at lunch time.
One of those techniques is showing teachers how to hold data chats and set goals with students so they both

— ABOUT US —

can identify gaps in learning and improve on them.
When Olson was approached by Clovis Community College to design a course of fourth-year math for seniors, she was all in. She took time outside her regular duties to build a syllabus, determine curriculum and complete a new course outline.
Sally Palermo CI&A Senior
Administrative Assistant Our PLC Ambassador

“Phenomenal!” That is the one word the school leadership senior administrative team uses to describe their colleague, Sally Palermo. And they are not alone in their praise as people can’t say enough about
this 23-year Clovis Unified employee. She the senior ad-ministrative assistant for the Curriculum, Instruction and Accountability Department, which is housed in the Profes-sional Learning Center, or PLC.
She is known for her efficiency. To improve communi-cations, she partnered with the Communications and Tech-nology departments to integrate three calendar systems into one web-based version. Together with her team, Sally often schedules as many as 1,000 visitors a week to the PLC.
Because of her professional expertise, Palermo served on seven candidate-interview panels this year. She gathered and put together a display honoring former superintendent, the late “Doc” Buchanan. But it is her ability to foster a climate of respect through relationships that gave her the informal title of“PLC Ambassador.”
When Special Education Department employees also were situated in the building, she sought to make them feel welcome through invitations to social gatherings and events. Her warmth and support is just who Palermo is. She’s the one who delivers food to a sick employee or puts little gifts on co-workers’ desks.
Palermo’s efforts improved the working environment in the department, as shown by the district’s department survey that rose from 40% to 75% being “a great deal” satisfied with conditions..

➤ Please see Awards, Page 9

CUSD Today,Clovis Unified’s good news pub-lication, 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 Today are entirely funded by our advertisers. To show your appreci-ation of their support, we ask you to consider pa-tronizing 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 publication date. We do our best to include as many submissions in each issue as our editorial space will allow.

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

Christopher Casado              Tiffany Stoker Madsen                 Susan Hatmaker President                                 Vice President                                    Clerk

908-9953	392-1014	288-2743

D
Hugh H.Awtrey	Steven G. Fogg, M. . Ginny L. Hovsepian	Elizabeth J. Sandoval 437-6580                         269-7000	916-1286                           291-7564

CUSD Administration

Eimear O’Farrell, Ed.D.	Don Ulrich, Ed.D. Superintendent                                      Deputy Superintendent
327-9100	327-9107

Norm Anderson                        Barry Jager                        Michael Johnston Associate Superintendent           Associate Superintendent            Associate Superintendent
School Leadership	Human Resources and	Administrative Services 327-9350                            Employee Relations                              327-9110
327-9308

AROUND THE DISTRICT

Page 6	CUSD Today	May 2020

Photo special to CUSD Today. Music strums from Clovis West student Carter Williams’ harp from her backyard that faces Woodward Lake.

Soothing sounds
Clovis West High sophomore Carter Williams, like many Clovis Unified students, has been doing her part to help the com-munity during these challenging times. Carter is an accomplished harpist. Since the stay at home order was placed in March, she began holding an hour-long concert in her backyard, which faces Woodward Lake. “I thought it would be fun to surprise the people as they walk around the lake by playing for them,” Carter says. “Hopefully it makes people’s day better when they hear
me playing some of my favorite songs.” Not only are her neighbors enjoying the
calming sounds, but others in boats on the lake are setting their anchor so they can relax and listen as well.

CAE nursing graduation CUSD’s Clovis Adult vocational nursing

staff surprised its 23 students completing the 18-month program with a video grad-uation tribute during the final class Zoom meeting April 27. The four-minute long video features photos of each graduate and their own words of thanks, the student speech, pictures of their learning experiences and a photo of their LVN pins and flowers that would have been present had they been able to gather for the traditional graduation. “We are very proud of our nursing grad-uates who never stopped pursuing their dream of becoming a nurse during the pan-demic crisis,” said instructor Chun Hee Mcmahon, noting many of the students are between 29-35 years old, immigrants,
ESL or minorities.
Said speaker Lupy Tejeda,“We made the commitment to ourselves, our supporters and our future patients to help and to in-fluence good within those we interact with to build a better community.”
The full video can be found on the Clovis Adult School’s Facebook page.

BHS robotics award
Many Clovis Unified competitive teams faced great disappointments as several aca-demic, sports and art competitions were cancelled due to gathering restrictions since March 13. The Buchanan Bird Brains ro-botics team was among them, but the team received some good news in early May. The 70-member team was recognized with the Chairman’sAward for the Monterey Regional FIRST Robotics, the most prestigious award that honors the team that best embodies the purpose and goals of robotics. Since the competitions were canceled this year, the Chairman’s Award was given by judges based on the essays the team submitted.

Miramonte support
Miramonte Elementary continued to teach character to its students by showing the community its care. The staff and stu-dents put together a care package for health care first responders that included cards,

Photo special to CUSD Today. Reyburn Intermediate student Bryce Stover uses his 3-D printer to make protective face visors that he is donating to a local hospital.

Reyburn student 3-D prints visors

Bryce Stover is a Reyburn Intermediate student who found a way to help during the COVID-19 outbreak and the medical supply shortage. He has been 3-D printing protective face visors for medical personnel and donating them to Saint Agnes Medical Center. He had delivered 50 by early April and planned to create at least 100. Bryce likes engineering and 3-D designing. He has helped his family with volunteer work at the hospital before, as his mom has a certified therapy dog who makes regular visits. During the pandemic, Bryce wanted to help and found design plans online how to print the visor bands for face shields. Once he got the green light from Saint Agnes that they would be acceptable, he began to create the visors. Each one
takes about two hours to create.
“The staff has been very grateful, and it has been heartwarming that my little action has made a big difference,” Bryce said.
“His printer has been going non-stop for several weeks,” said his mom, Nadine Stover.“He realizes that this is important and every single face shield he makes could be the extra layer of protections that is needed for the people working in the medical field that literally could save a life.”

snacks and drinks. They put together a	Mickey Cox donation
on the school’s Facebook page. “Thank
and heroes that we look to.”
“Soup-er” Bowl Food Dr ve held earlier
Zoom video presentation that can be seen          Students at Mickey Cox Elementary do-you,” students said, “for being the helpers     nated 14,715 items in its iFourth Annual this year. The generous offering was more
than 5,000 more items collected than last year. Dozens of boxes were filled with cans of soups, vegetables, sauces, pasta and more, and were delivered to the Poverello House and to the Ronald McDonald House.
The food drive not only assists the local

Photo special to CUSD Today. Clovis East’s Medical Career Pathway class students are doing community service, such as making masks.

CE community service
Dr. Kelly Eichmann who teaches the Pa-tient Care Pathway class at Clovis East High School not only re-directed many of her class assignments to understanding the pan-demic and its impact on the health industry, but she has also created a Community Service Task Force for her students wanting to find ways serve the community during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Her students did not disappoint. Several of them got involved and have sewn masks and given them to local hospitals, made donations of blood and written encouraging messages for isolated residents.
“When they begin to look outside of themselves and serve, not only do they feel better about themselves, but they also have a better outlook for the future,” Eichmann said.

community, but also is designed to encourage students to help others. The top two donating classes –Shelby Goddard’s third grade class and Michelle Houston’s fifth grade class – receive “Soup-er” Bowl Ring Pops and a perpetual trophy to be displayed until next year’s drive.

CN medical delegate Clovis North freshman

Lauren Falconwas named as a delegate for the Con-gress of Future Medical Leaders that was planned to be held in late June in Boston. The Congress is an honors-only program for high school students who want to become physi-cians or go into medical research fields.

Law college gives books
When Young Elementary opens for the first time this fall, the library will have a great start to its collection thanks to a generous donation of children’s books from	the	San Joaquin College of Law.
The law school collected	1,182 books through its
Photo special to CUSD Today. annual Elizabeth Young       Elementary O’Neill Book Drive Prin cipal Kacey Gib- for the new Clovis son peeks at some of Unified school that the books donated to is currently under the new library.            construction      in southeast Fresno.
The college staff and students have held the collection drive and donated books to Clovis Unified schools since 2009, with this year’s total beating all of its previous records. Past recipients have included Reagan, Mi-ramonte, Cole, Mountain View, Boris, Jef-ferson, SierraVista, Pinedale, Temperance-Kutner, Lincoln, Nelson, Fancher Creek, Weldon and Tarpey elementary schools.
Young Principal Kacey Gibson and office manager Melanie Allen picked up the first 1,001 books in March, and the remaining books will be delivered when the shelter in place concludes. Also contributing to the donations were the Fig Garden Friends of the Library that contributed more than 300 books.

SPORTS

May 2020	CUSD Today	Page 7

➤ SPORTS BRIEFS

Photo special to CUSD Today by Ron Webb. Buchanan High’s Caleb Teraoka is the Rene Errotabere Scholarship recipient. Other finalists are Grant Lake, Clovis High; Tyler Parker, Clovis East; Kelton Lindsey, Clovis North; and Melania Scanlan, Clovis.

BHS water polo player earns Errotabere award

Buchanan High swimmer and water polo	May 1 in which the winner of the award player Caleb Teraoka is the recipient of the	and $2,500 scholarship was named.
2020 Rene Errotabere Scholarship, named	Finalists receive a $500 scholarship and after a beloved Clovis Unified administrator      they are:
who died in 2004.                                                  ■ Grant Lake, Clovis High, football, vol-The memorial tribute was set up to                                               leyball, track, bas-honor Errotabere's nev-                                                                             ketball and soc-
er-give-up at-	cer
titude, and it is	■ Tyler Park-presented year-                                                                                              er, Clovis East, ly to an athlete                                                                                              baseball
who has been	■	Kelton found to be ex-                                                                                             Lindsey, Clovis cellent in mind,                                                                                             North, swim body and spirit                                                                                              and       water by a committee                                                                                              polo
made up of the	■ Melania namesake's family                                                                                        Scanlan, Clovis and co-workers.                                                       West, soccer and volleyball
Teraoka, who	had leukemia as	“You have all shown that you have de-a child, will study nursing and play water      veloped resiliency, perseverance and tenacity, polo in the fall at Cal Baptist University. He      which will serve you well in your futures,” was among five finalists nominated by their      said Superintendent Eimear O'Farrell to school and interviewed by the committee.      the five standout students. “Rene would Finalists were celebrated on a Zoom call      have been so proud.”

Football All-Stars

The Fresno City-County All-Star Football game may have been cancelled due to coro-navirus, but that does not take away the prestigious recognition for several Clovis Unified players who were named to team rosters because of their talent and accom-plishments.According to the event’s website, the players selected represent the best of the Valley and were hand chosen by coaches to have played in the annual all-star game. Congratulations to these young men.
Included on the City’s Team roster were Tanner Ewell, Clovis West, linebacker; Roman Rodriguez, Clovis North, running back; and Brandon Wafer,Clovis West,run-ning back.
Representing CUSD on the County’s Team roster wereGodofredo Aguilar, Clovis East, outside linebacker; Blake Baldwin, Clovis East, inside linebacker;Byron Foun-tain, outside linebacker;Chandler Hamilton, Clovis East, defensive back;Garrett Harris, Clovis, offensive guard;C.J. Jones, Buchanan, defensive back; Grant Lake, Clovis, wide receiver; Matt Merritt, Buchanan, defensive end;Zane Rix,Buchanan, nose tackle;Isaiah Robles, Clovis, quarterback; Jonah Schmidtke,Clovis East, nose guard/defensive tackle; and Zach Studt, Buchanan, defensive tackle.

Junior League scholarships Five Clovis Unified female student athletes

were among 24 high school seniors recog-nized in the Fresno area by the Junior League of Fresno for their combined achieve-ment in athletics, academics and citizen-ship.
Each honoree is presented with a schol-arship and a plaque.
The 2020 honorees include Emily Cazares, Buchanan; Avery Evans, Clovis; Elizabeth Naranjo, Clovis East; Heather Ayerza, Clovis North; and Ashlyn Brosi, Clovis West.

Athlete signings
Congratulations to several Clovis Unified student athletes who recently signed National Letters of Intent to play sports at colleges this fall.
They are:

Buchanan
McKenna Cheny,track and field, North-ern Arizona University; Kelsey McKenney, water polo, Fresno State;Corie Smith, track and field, University of Arkansas; Mia Jau-regui, track and field, Fresno State; Ronnie Barrett,track and field, Fresno State;Logan Gioffre, wrestling, Cal Poly SLO; Charlie Barnes, basketball, Carroll College; Jaidon Padua, volleyball, Menlo College; Hunter Leake, wrestling, Cal Baptist University.

Clovis
Josh Dela Cruz, football, Briar Cliff Col-lege; Miles Henderson, baseball, Masters University; Jonathen Johnson, football, Northwest Oklahoma State; Sam Johnson, volleyball, Graceland University; Isabelle Knittle, water polo, University of Pacific; MaKayla McMahon, gymnastics, San Jose State University;Justin Mouritsen, wrestling, Western Colorado University; Kim Tovar, cross country/track and field, CSU Monterey; Sean Williamson, soccer, CSU Dominguez Hills.

Clovis East
Ashley Gardner, soccer, Fresno Pacific University;Gino Helmuth, baseball, Fresno Pacific University;Mackenzie Madron, soc-cer, Fresno Pacific University; Elizabeth Naranjo, track, Fresno Pacific University; Tyler Parker, baseball, Fresno Pacific Uni-versity; Josh Sue, baseball, La Sierra Uni-versity.

Clovis North
Brock Goerlich, soccer, California Luther-an University; Morgan Moffitt, softball, Briar Cliff University; Joshua Ochoa, track and field, UC Irvine;Ryan O’Hara, baseball, UC Davis.

Clovis West
Brayden Costales, cross country/track and field, Fresno Pacific University; Jessica Drake, basketball, Methodist University; Parker Fife, water polo, UC Irvine; Jack Fitzpatrick,water polo, Iona College;Morgan Ford, volleyball, Hendrix College; Megan Nabors,cross country/track and field, Mary-mount California University;Olivia Renfro, cross country/track and field, San Francisco State;Felipe Rodriguez,wrestling, Cal Baptist University.

Page 8	CUSD Today	May 2020

Exceptional friends to special ed students

By CUSD Special Education

Clovis Unified’s Community Advisory Committee announced 13 winners of this year’s 2019-20 Exceptional Person Awards. The award recognizes staff, students and volunteers in the Clovis Unified School District who have shown extraordinary work with and for students with special needs. The winners are making a difference in students lives in how they teach, support and encourage special education children. The winners were selected from more than 100 nominations submitted by parents, students, staff and administrators. This year because of the coronavirus restrictions, the award event could not be held, however winners were notified in grand fashion through drive-by parades, signs and Zoom-
bombs.
Winners receive their nomination letters and a commemorative plaque thanks to the generous donations made by various school parent clubs and foundations.
Congratulations to the following hon-orees:
Buchanan Area

Karen Babcock Instructional Assistant II Garfield Elementary/ SpecialEducation Center

“Respectful, compas-sionate, advocating for those who have no voice and eas-ing the mind of parents,
supporting her coworkers and team members. I couldn't think of a better person to have this honor.”– L.V. (Parent)
“Karen is the kindest human I have ever met. She brings a level of comfort to our stu-dents at the Garfield Center that is unmatched.” – Samantha Grijalva, LVN
Sandra Hajjaj Licensed Vocational Nurse, Garfield Elementary/Special Education Center
“Nurse Sandra Hajjaj is more than just a nurse, she is a blessing to the students in her care and
the people that are lucky enough to work with her.”– Tanika Mason,ATP Teacher
“I have never met someone so dedicated and hardworking. She loves each child in class like her very own and you can clearly see it.All the children in class adore her.”– A.R., parent

Clovis East Area
Chue Youa Lor Instructional Assistant II Boris Elementary
“Chue has a natural in-tuition for working with students with special needs, especially preschoolers. She uses the right balance of ac-
countability of expectations and loving com-passion to help every student succeed to their highest potential”–Gabby Castillo, SLP
“Chue has established wonderful rapport with each student showing compassion and integrity. It starts each morning when she greets them with a warm smile and a high five and continues throughout the day….” Jennifer Mersino, PALS Teacher
Xavier Ramirez
Teacher, Clovis East High “All the students know that Xavier will do any-thing for them, and yet at the same time holds each student accountable and expects the best out of
them. His work ethic and attention to detail is exceptional as well as his compassion and always doing what is best to prepare the students for the real world. … The staff and the students know that Xavier will always do what is best for the student and is their # 1 advocate for them.” – Whitney Swillis, Program Specialist

Clovis HighArea
Megan Erickson Instructional Assistant II
Sierra Vista Elementary
“I have full faith and trust in Megan’s decisions when it comes to my son because I know she only wants what’s best for him,
and I can’t explain how much I love her for that.”– C.E., parent
“What makes her exceptional is how she approaches her role and responsibilities with her assigned student. Megan is willing to think outside of the box in order to engage her stu-dents.” – Cathy Dodd, Principal
Russell Halterman Teacher
Red Bank Elementary “Kids always ask to go
to Russell's room, just to say hi or to let him know how good their day was. … His impact at Red Bank is

huge to our program, as kids work and thrive to be a better Bobcat, and a lot of it starts, with our Exceptional Person Mr. Halterman!”– Nick Gonzalez, IA IV
“He provides a stable caring learning en-vironment that all students need to grow in character, learn academics and become the best version of themselves. “ – Paula Vived, GIS
Dianne McCrain
Teacher, Clark Intermediate “Diane McCrain is the type of special education teacher who has the unique qualities of see past the stu-dent's DISABILITIES and looks at the student's ABIL-ITIES. She has a gift of
teaching the students to their full potential.” – B.V, parent
“She enjoys the challenge of finding the individual learning styles of each of her students and creating opportunities to present the material in the manner that best reaches each student.”– D.P., parent

Clovis North Area

Susan Bairstow Teacher
Copper Hills Elementary “As the team leader, Su-
san set the standard for the meeting, communicating well in advance the goals that would be discussed and
the people that would be in attendance. There was nothing that was not discussed during the meeting and I was given all the time I needed to ask questions and get answers. … Copper Hills has set the bar high for my ex-pectations of special education and that is the result of the work and character of Susan Bairstow.”–A.S., parent
Jessica Hatameria Teacher
Mountain View Elementary “What I love and admire most about Jessica is her humbleness and, above all, her integrity. Jessica is the kind of teacher who every
student will remember and think of fondly, because she took the time to get to know them, hold them accountable and support them every step of the way. The care and dig-nity that Jessica shows her students is what every parent and administrator hopes for in a teacher.” – Monica Everson, Principal

Clovis West Area Melissa Perez

Teacher, Liberty Elementary “She is the teacher that literally gives her students the sweater off her back when they come to school without one on a cold day. I could not think of anyone
more deserving." – Elvira Frantz, School Pyschol-ogist
“She has such a positive and selfless attitude, and this shows is the difference she is making in so many students' lives every day. When they leave her class at the end of the day, they are assured that she believes in them.”– Ashley Ferdinandsen, Student Teacher
Kristi Vincent Martinez Teacher
Valley Oak Elementary “Kristi has stood out as
an understanding and in-tentional teacher that goes above and beyond to ensure that her students and col-
leagues are supported” – Mikayla Sawatzky, SDC Teacher
“Kristi is a strong leader and role model with a huge heart. She promotes the values of diversity, acceptance and belonging.” – Karlina Osburn, IA II

District Wide
Derek Kennedy
Bus Driver, Transportation “Derek Kennedy is one
of the greatest supporters I know of children with spe-cial needs. I want to thank Mr. Kennedy for all his sup-
port and love he shows for the kiddos he works with.”– Melissa Perez, SDC Teacher
“Derek never had a bad day or ever showed up without a smile on his face. Derek goes above and beyond the duties of his job every-day” – Katie Williams, EIAP Teacher
Nikki Cornell, MPT
Physical Therapist, SPED “Nikki is a selfless ‘war-rior’ in support of Clovis Unified students. She is a voice for those who cannot explain their pains, move-ments or actions.” – Lisa
Keller, A.P.E Specialist
“Nikki makes an IMPACT not an impres-sion on Clovis Unified students. She’s focused on her students’ well-being and wants them to succeed.”– Ben Cazano,A.P.E Specialist

May 2020	CUSD Today	Page 9

Awards: These are people who help students in mind, body and spirit

FROM PAGE 5
Stephanie Patterson Liberty Elementary Teacher
Genius Teacher
It’s not often that your boss calls you a “genius.” But that’s what Liberty Elementary Principal George Petersen said of fourth grade teacher Stephanie Patterson.
Challenged as she moved from being a kindergarten teacher, Patterson studied research about better teaching strategies and shared her findings with her colleagues. She applied for grants and raised money to buy new furniture and technology for her classroom.
Patterson also supports students outside the classroom. She created a “Welcome to Liberty” program, pairing new students with current ones to enjoy a root beer float and tour of the school. She also started the Valentines for Vets campaign.
But Patterson’s real genius is her instructional techniques that involve every student, helping them learn to speak up without fear when they don’t understand something. Through “motivational interviewing” students learn to take risks.With the “Two Proofs” strategy, students present two different ways to solve a math problem.Another successful technique, called “Genius Hour,” has students investigate a topic of interest while still holding them accountable for reading, writing, research and scientific competencies. Stu-dents become self-directed learners.
The innovation has paid off. In 2019, Patterson’s student state test scores showed 100% on grade level in both English Learning Achievement and math, including struggling learners.
Crystal Rodriguez
Clovis Adult Education GLS Problem Solver

Guidance and Learning Specialist at the Clovis Adult Education Department, Crystal Rodriguez is the only counselor responsible for the academic progress of
2,500 students.
Rodriguez created an efficient enrollment process and converted student records to an electronic-based system. Crystal makes sure every person she meets with has an ed-ucational plan and understand what they need to do to earn a diploma.
She developed a system in which college transition counselors have an office on the Clovis Adult campus so they can guide students through the process of finding and applying to a college. As a result, the number of Clovis Adult students who applied to college increased 10-fold. She is relentless in searching for resources to help her students succeed, even seeing to medical needs and helping them find jobs and shelter.
Rodriguez attends events at elementary schools, com-munity events and career fairs to promote the academic and ESL programs for parents at Clovis Adult. Sometimes adult education students have emotional, financial or family issues. Rodriguez helps them feel good about completing their high school education by getting a GED. And she goes out of her way to partner with community groups such as the Marjaree Mason Center and ATR Associates for personal counseling services.
Ella Shasky
Dry Creek Resource Specialist Champion of Students

Dry Creek Elementary School Resource Specialist Ella Shasky’s job is to teach stu-dents with disabilities and support class-room teachers in meeting their needs. But Ella does much more – pushing into
general education classes to help other students with is-sues.
Her impact on campus has been far and wide. She has earned the respect of all at Dry Creek for her dedication, giving up her lunch period to provide support and volun-teering at the Movie Nights snack bar.
Her instructional methods have shown incredible results. Before she arrived, 6% of students with disabilities were

proficient in state tests in English Language Arts and 6% in math. Over her three-year tenure those numbers have jumped to 59% and 72%, respectively. How DOES she do it?
Although Shasky’s caseload is big enough as it is, she also teaches Panther Time groups in her classroom. Panther Time provides reteaching and enrichment lessons. Volun-teering in this way has shown reduced class sizes for inter-vention, removed a stigma associated with RSP and has promoted success for all.
Jose L.Vargas
Clovis North Educational Center Assistant Director of Bands
Selfless Winner
Founding Clovis Unified superintendent Dr. Floyd Buchanan would say, “If you want to be a winner, surround yourself
with winners.” Clovis North Educational Center Assistant Director of Bands Jose Vargas is just such a winner.
Vargas holds both himself and his students to high standards, and they both consistently outperform other music groups in the state. He does this through caring en-couragement and individual, practical instruction that makes students want to participate in his programs. He maintains an 80% retention rate among incoming ninth graders. He has built up the Granite Ridge Intermediate band program from 50 to 180 students over his time there. Vargas starts his passions for student musicians early –
he routinely reaches out to elementary sites, working with band articulation in the early grades. By doing so, Vargas builds a safety net where elementary students feel safe going to the next level of music in intermediate school.
The school’s Symphonic Band, under Vargas’ leadership, has scored all superior ratings at every festival for the past eight years. This band was the only middle school group invited to perform at a recent state music educators’ con-vention.
Manuel Vigil
Reagan Educational Center Lead Custodian
Efficient to a Fault
Reagan Educational Center Lead Cus-todian Manuel Vigil is always there to smooth things over to keep the school
running so learning can continue. He is dedicated to the REC, making sure school grounds are clean and teachers have the supplies, desks and chairs they need. He goes out of his way, even on days off, before and after school, to ac-complish these tasks. He is highly respected and viewed as a mentor.
During a community survey, 97% of respondents agreed that the building and grounds at Clovis East are well main-tained. Students note his hard work in surveys.
But he does so much more. He has helped students in-dividually, like fixing a broken bike or welcoming a new Spanish-speaking student. He comes up with solutions to nagging problems, such as delivering teachers’ instructional materials each summer in a more efficient manner.
Erin Waer
Boris Elementary Principal Bold 21st Century Vision

Boris Elementary opened in 2016 and Principal Erin Waer strove to create a learning environment at the new school based on the Partnership for 21st Century
Learning. Since then, under her guidance, the school has become a model for Clovis Unified and other districts.
Waer started with staff development to get across her vision of a working environment where students learn skills needed to succeed in education and to become pro-ductive members of the community. Teachers learned about Maker Space – giving students time to collaborate. Waer was first in the district to introduce flexible seating to allow for different ways of learning.
With Waer’s vision, and other programs like The Positivity Project and its “People Matter” mantra, incoming students learned skills of self-control, bravery and perseverance. At Boris, the library offers a chance to interact with robots, STEM projects are underway in the halls and Folklorico and Bhangra dance troupes create cultural awareness and an inclusive environment.
What is the result of all this innovative thinking and getting the staff to go all in?
State scores in English Language Arts showed 68% growth compared to 55% districtwide in 2018-19.
Steve Ward Legislative Analyst &
Government Relations Advocate Extraordinaire

Steve Ward, Clovis Unified’s legislative analyst and governing relations guru, is one of those humble employees who works
behind the scenes, often on his own time. He produces im-pactful results.
The 43-year-long district employee has always had an eye toward leading innovations and building partnerships that benefit students. He never seeks credit.
His job is advocating on a state and federal level for

greater education funding. Most notably,Ward created the School Funding Coalition, reaching out to other districts throughout California. More than 45 districts joined, and the coalition has been effective, resulting in millions of ad-ditional dollars for students statewide.
In addition, Ward makes sure the district is sound fi-nancially and oversees the Benefits Committee. Because of his concern about the rising cost of health care, he worked to establish Clovis Unified’s Health Center, a medical clinic for employees through the district’s self-insurance program. Employees owe no co-pays and are kept healthy and at their jobs.
Most recently Ward helped negotiate new contracts with physical therapy services, saving the district more than $600,000.
Erika Whitney
Child Development Preschool Program Supervisor
Preschool Cheerleader
Described as a teacher who does what-ever it takes to accomplish maximum achievement for students, district Child
Development Department preschool supervisor Erika Whit-ney leads the way in bringing innovative concepts to all teachers.
For example, Whitney created a system to engage the whole family in each child’s learning. Her initiative,“literacy backpacks” for preschoolers has been a smashing success. Each student receives a backpack with a book, a stuffed animal and a suggested family activity. Parents and kids alike were excited to take part, creating not just quality family time, but also learning opportunities for the young-sters.
Another concept Whitney introduced this year was called “Loose Parts.” For this, she had learning centers put together with found objects that children could move and change while they played. As children manipulated items like beads, bottle caps, rocks and leaves, they were also ac-quiring first math skills, social skills and learning concepts. The skills strengthen kindergarten readiness and the children loved doing the activities. With the help of others, she created 75 learning centers to be distributed to other preschool teachers and she followed up with teachers to help how she could.
Whitney also founded the Outdoor Classroom, conducting workshops in over 50 examples of this strategy. Christine Williams
Mountain View Teacher
A Cut Above
Mountain View Elementary transitional kindergarten/kindergarten combination class teacher Christine Williams is described in her nomination as simply “a cut above.” She puts Mountain View students’ progress above all else. For example, when she wanted to start an extended-day
kindergarten at the school, her principal told her there were no extra resources to do that. Instead, Williams gave up her prep time two days a week in order to hold extended days of instruction for students who needed it.
Williams had an innovative idea to begin teaching reading at the start of school and not wait until her kinder-gartners had mastered their phonics. She also included her colleagues’ lowest readers and included English Language learners. She taught reading and phonics concurrently and achieved great results with scores the highest Mountain View had seen in Kindergarten and first grade in years.
She volunteered to undergo Math Camp training, rep-resenting the Clovis North Area, and shared innovations she learned with teachers at all grade levels.
David “Keith”Williams Gateway High Teacher
Self-starter
Gateway High School teacher David “Keith” Williams knows alternative edu-cation students require resources and in-terventions, and he goes out of his way to connect students with the services they
need to be a success. The retired San Francisco Giants player has spent his entire 10-year education career at Gateway and is a proponent of service learning.
A proponent of service learning, Williams has involved students in the community to create a sense of pride and ownership. Projects have included building bikes for 20 children in need and sorting and packing foods for low-in-come families at the annual P-and-R Farms food bank drive.
His enthusiasm knows no bounds. He co-created a class – Beginning Broadcasting – and teaches US history, computer applications and credit recovery. In the classroom he uses a combination of tough love, accountability and fun to help students advance.
He volunteers to coach Gateway’s Peer Counseling, Interact Club and E sports. Much of what Williams does, he initiates himself. Because many Gateway students live in group foster homes, he created the “Holiday Hotcakes” event, persuading businesses to donate food for all 250 students, and teachers to come early and cook. For some, this may be their only holiday festivity.

Page 10	CUSD Today	May 2020