Safe	school
puses, and normal
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PERMIT NO. 220
Clovis Unified School District
March 2020

1450 Herndon Ave.
Clovis, CA 93611
Clovis Uniﬁed School District — WHERE CHARACTER COUNTS!	Volume 22, No. 8

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Coronavirus update

Clovis Unified keeping abreast, following health officials’ guidelines

CUSD Today

Pete the Cat, Super Fly and Peppa the Pig were brought to life by volunteer readers at Fancher Creek Elementary and other Clovis Unified schools in March as part of the National Read Across America celebration. Held during the week of March 2, the birthday of beloved children’s book author Dr. Seuss, events in-
cluded teachers dressed like book characters and students doing projects themed around books. Above:Reagan Educational Cen-ter Deputy Principal and incom-ing Clovis East Area Super-intendent Jennifer Thomas reads “Pete the Cat and the Perfect Pizza Party” to first graders.
Right:Clovis Police Officer Sam Lord-Huff keeps the at-tention of students in Dawn DeShields’ third-grade class as he reads about Super Fly.

Photos Special to CUSD Today by Ron Webb

Given the evolving public health situation related to the emergence of the new COVID-19 strain of coronavirus, Clovis Unified is committed to taking steps to mitigate the spread of contagious illnesses. We are and will continue to be in close communi-cation with the Fresno County Public Health De-partment and will follow best practice recommen-dations from our
perts.
local health ex-	n Fresno County Public Health:
departments/
plans are in place	co.fresno.ca.us/ at each of our cam-	public-health
ommended	by
ls.
Control: cdc.gov
n
CUSD.COM
Unified app
school activities are	n Centers for Disease continuing as rec-	n CUSD Nursing Services public health offi-          (559) 327-9466 ciaThe following is	n Download the Clovis helpful informa-
tion for parents interested in learning more about Clovis Unified’s preparedness efforts.
What is being done on CUSD campuses to prevent the spread of illnesses like the flu and COVID-19?
It’s important to keep in mind that the best way to prevent the spread of viruses in general is to follow common-sense health practices. These remain the most effective method to avoid the spread of COVID-19 as well.
Our school campus classrooms, common spaces and restrooms are cleaned every night. Recently, we adjusted our custodial schedule by reducing the number of days classrooms and common spaces are vacuumed from five to three days each week. This allows our custodians more time to conduct deep-cleaning and disinfecting of classrooms and common areas.
All students viewed video lessons on hand washing and are being given time before and after lunch/recess to wash hands or use hand sanitizer. Signage has been posted in highly visible locations on campuses about the importance of good hand hygiene.
Additionally, students and staff are strongly en-couraged to cover their mouths if coughing, avoid sharing drinks or food, and to stay at home if they are sick. Classroom surfaces and door handles are frequently being wiped down. In athletics, shared

CUSD schools earn ‘Distinguished’ title

Three Clovis Unified schools have been named winners in the California Distinguished Schools Program. Fancher Creek, Gettysburg and Lincoln elementary schools will be honored at a special ceremony in Anaheim in April.
The program recognizes outstanding education programs and practices at elementary and seondary schools in alternate years. Selected schools exemplify they have made exceptional gains in implementing the academic content and
performance stan-dards adopted by the
State Board of Edu-cation for all stu-dents.
Awardees hold the title for two years. The program recog-
nizes elementary schools in even years and interme-diate and high schools in odd
years, and allows eli-gible schools to apply for the DS award once every two years.

Making a splash!

Kastner swimmer qualifies for U.S. Olympic Trials

CUSD Today

Kastner Intermediate eighth-grader Hannah Marinovich had her fastest swim race ever on Leap Day and qualified for the U.S. 2020 Olympic Trials in June.
As a matter of fact, her time is the fastest-ever for the 200-meter breaststroke by an American 13-year- old.
Hannah clocked 2:29.15 at the College Station, Texas Sectional Championships Feb. 29 – well under the Olympic Trials qualifying time of 2:33.29 – and earned second place in what was a very close race. Her personal best time up until then had been 2:33.93.
“Going into the race, I was extremely nervous. I swam my best time ever in the morning and was excited to race again at night,” Hannah said.“I could tell that I was in the lead for the majority of the race.”
She was just barely edged out of first place at the end by Texas A&M post grad

➤ Please see Hannah, Page 11

➤ Please see Virus, Page 6

March is ‘Music in Our Schools Month’ in Clovis Unified

For complete story, see Page 4.

INSIDE:

INSPIRING EXCELLENCE
Latino Conference attracts 750 students The Seventh Annual Clovis Unified High School
Latino Student Success Conference was held on March 9. Page 3

SPORTS
Five in a row for Bears!
For the fifth year in a row, Buchanan High’s wrestling team dominated the CIF State Wrestling Championship Feb. 29. Page 7

SUPERINTENDENT’S MESSAGE
We respond together to current news In just the past week, several major local and
world events have impacted our schools and as a team we are on high alert. Page 5

Page 2	CUSD Today	March 2020

SPRING CLOVIS KICKERS SOCCER #2

Boys and girls 3 to 6 years old

April 18 through May 23 | Early registration fee: $95 by April 12 Site: Community Day School

SPRING GIRLS SOFTBALL LEAGUE

Girls 4 to 14 years old

March 9 through May 9 | Registration fee: $160 Site: Buchanan High

SPRING BOYS BASEBALL LEAGUE

Boys 4 to 8 years old

March 16 through May 14 | Registration fee: $140 Site: Woods Elementary

SPRING T-BALL LEAGUE OPTION 1

Practice/games one night per week Boys and girls 3 to 6 years old
March 23 through May 7 | Registration fee: $95 Sites: Jefferson Elementary or Maple Creek Elementary

SPRING T-BALL LEAGUE OPTION 2

Practice one night with games on Saturdays Boys and girls 3 to 6 years old
Games: March 28 through May 9 (You choose practice night M-Th) Registration fee: $115
Site: Cedarwood Elementary

SPRING CLOVIS RUGBY CAMP

Boys and girls 6 to 12 years old

March 10 through April 18 | Registration fee: $75 Site: Maple Creek Elementary

PARENT COACHES WANTED!

www.clovisrec.com or 327-9225

Officer mentors students,
strives to make a difference
Photo special to CUSD Today.

March 2020

Inspiring FOCUS

ON:

CUSD Today	Page 3

Excellence

750 attend Latino Student Success Conference

THE Seventh Annual Clovis Unified Latino Student Success Con-ference was held March 9 at the Clovis Veterans Memorial District building with more than 750 Clovis Unified students attending. It was the first time that the CVMD was used and Conference Chair Richard Delgado said it provided students with a pro-fessional conference style atmosphere.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Enrique Alemán, Jr., a professor and chair in the Department of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies at the University of Texas at San Antonio. In late 2014, Alemán produced and co-
wrote “Stolen Education,” a documentary about the forgotten history of a little-known federal desegregation court case from the 1950s (Hernandez et al. v. Driscoll Consolidated School District, 1957).

Photo special to CUSD Today by Ron Webb. Above: Students attend the College & Career Fair at the Latinos Student Success Conference.Top right: Students listen to keynote speaker Dr. Enrique Alemán Jr.

Dr.Alemán earned his Ph.D. in Educational Administration, with a concentration in Edu-cational Policy and Planning, from the University of Texas at Austin.While at UT-Austin, he also completed a doctoral certification in Mexican American Studies.
Students were not only challenged and in-spired byAlemán, but also had the opportunity to participate in a “meet the mentors” session as well as a college and career fair. There were more than 100 community mentors and college/career representatives available.

“The confer-ence has in-spired me since the speakers are from Latino backgrounds and have ac-complished big goals. … I get to meet
students from other schools who are also Latino. I don’t feel like I am the only one and if others are able to ac-complish a lot, I feel like I am able to as well.”
Francia Barragan, Clovis High junior

“I liked the va-riety of men-tors from a va-riety of jobs who helped me decide what I want to do in the fu-ture and what classes I need to take in col-
lege. It showed me not to be afraid of being a Hispanic/Latina in my com-munity”
Sonia Calderon, Clovis East High junior

“It has in-spired excel-lence in me by knowing that there are so many of the opportunities for Latinos in the Central Val-ley and we can achieve any-
thing we put our minds to.”
Andrea Ceron, Clovis West High senior

“It helped me become aware of all the dif-ferent oppor-tunities. The mentor session assisted me in identifying people in the same field like me. It also in-
spired excellence in empowering me by knowing that I am not alone.” Stephanie Santillanez,
Clovis North High senior

“The confer-ence inspired me to be proud of my culture and background. Seeing all the successes of the Latino population has motivated me
to work hard to achieve my goals.” Tiane Tauiliili, Buchanan High junior

How has the Latino Club inspired you?

“Bringing in all these speakers has been very in-spiring. Their backgrounds have been challenging and they still attended col-lege.”
Zeena Bangar,
Co-Vice President, eighth grade

“Latino Club helped me meet new people. You can be in-spired by the speakers. They make you feel like you can do anything.

Jose Ayala, President, seventh grade

“Latino Club helps me by learning so many things from the speakers about where they came from and where they are at now.”

Sonya Bangar, Co-Vice President, eighth grade

CONTRIBUTORS

Thank you to the following for their contributions to this page: ■ Debbie Parra, Ed.D.,
Assistant Superintendent, CIA ■ Saul Salinas, Coordinator of Community Relations
■ Emily Crabtree, Buchanan News Network student
■ Daniel Pearce, Buchanan News Network teacher
■ Aide Madrigal, Pinedale Elementary teacher
■ Richard Delgado, Clovis West High Area student relations liaison
■ Jessica Salazar, Clovis High Area student relations liaisons ■ Bryana Montemayor,
Clovis North High counselor ■ Tracy Brandon, Buchanan High counselor ■ Sylvia Lopez,
Clovis East High counselor
■ Jesse Ceron, Kastner student resource officer

For the Love of Dance

Pinedale Folklorico’s 21-year history sharing culture, pride

Pinedale Folklorico is under	costumes from the region of the direction of TK/kindergarten	Jalisco. Many of the first costumes teacher Aide Madrigal who has	that were created were sewn by been with the district for 21	Aide Madrigal’s own mother. years. The program at Pinedale	The program primarily began Elementary began in 1999 to at-	for students in fifth and sixth tract students who identified	grade, but over the years it has with the dances and culture of	included all grades including Mexico. There are many regions	kindergarten. Pinedale Folklorico in Mexico, and each has its own	is now one of the largest ele-unique style and intricate foot-	mentary school folkloric pro-
of music as well as dress.	students participating annually.
Kastner Intermediate School Resource Officer Jesse Ceron, who is the Kast-        work that goes with specific types      grams in CUSD, with over 70 ner Latino Club Advisor, meets with club officers to plan a meeting.                     The folkloric program helps           Fundraisers are held through-Hispanic students identify and      out the school year to support
learn about their culture and	the folkloric program. These helps to instill a sense of pride.	fundraising efforts have allowed Since it is open to all students, it	the director to purchase over 100
also allows students from other	pairs of dance shoes and over 80 School Resource Officer Jesse	Sonya, said “He is a hard worker	backgrounds to learn about dance	costumes. No student has ever
Ceron is a Clovis Unified Crystal	and is amazing at his job. He	and the Hispanic culture.	been turned away due to the lack Award winner and advises the	makes our campus safer and he is              When the program first began,	of resources.
largest Latino Club in the district      nice man to be around.”                        there were a handful of young           Students who have danced at at Kastner Intermediate. In addi-          Said Sonya Bangar,“He interacts          girls who debuted brand new      Pinedale, have continued to dance tion, he is Clovis Unified’s nomi-      with kids, makes our campus feel                                                                 for Kastner Intermediate and nation for Fresno County Super-      safer and he is truly a funny man                                                                 Clovis West High. Many of the intendent of Schools, Classified      to be around.”                                                                                               students that have graduated Employee of the Year.                              Club President Jose Ayala                                                                 from Clovis West have even come Ceron, who worked previously      agreed. “He is very cool and de-                                                                 back to help teach at Pinedale
as a police officer for Parlier and      serving of the award. Officer Ceron                                                                 just for the love of dance. Even Fresno police departments, says      shares humbly,‘Kids are kids. They                                                                 the children from the 1999 group school safety is the priority, but      are welcome to attend the club                                                                 have begun to dance for Madrigal he also wants to make a positive      meetings and every student, of                                                                 throughout these last few years. impact on kids.“It’s important for      any cultural/racial background,                                                                        The students begin practice students to feel valued,” he said,     can and will benefit.’”                                                                                      each fall and practice once a which is why he decided to become          In addition to these awards Of-                                                                  week until spring. The students the Latino Club advisor four years      ficer Ceron has been busy planning                                                                 are invited to dance at various ago.                                                     this year’s districtwide second an-                                                                 events around the district and We asked three of the Latino      nual Latino Intermediate Student                                                                 community throughout the year. Club student board members why      Success Conference that will be                                                                 When the students go on stage, they thought he was deserving of      on March 20. All five intermediate                                                                 it is easy to see the love and re-the award and nomination.                schools in the district will be in                                                                   spect they have developed for
Zeena Bangar, Co-Vice President	attendance. Cultural, motivational	folkloric dance. of the club along with her sister	and historical sessions will be held.

First Latino “Trailblazer Award” goes to Buchanan teacher

Buchanan High School Spanish	at Santa Catalina Elementary	Francisco as well as founding the	written two poetry books in Span-teacher and	School in Chile and has an upper	first Spanish literary journal at	ish.
poet Nicolas	education from Fresno City and	Fresno State and is the president	In English, the title of the books Gonzalez won	then from Fresno State.	and one of the founders of the     is “Empty Dreams,” which is on the first-ever          He has two bachelor’s degrees,	Hispanic Club at Fresno State. He     nostalgia and features “In the Rain,” Latino Stu-	one in Spanish and one in English,	also writes journal pieces for news-     which is about losses.
dent Success	and a minor in creative writing.	papers and journals.	His books are published in Mex-Conference	He also has a postgraduate degree           Gonzalez writes for the Com-     ico, Chile, Canada and the United “CUSD Lati-	in Latino American literature.	munity Alliance in Fresno and the     States.
no Trailblazer	Gonzalez was the recipient of	Chilean literary journal.	He was selected for the award Award” in March.                               the Golden Pen award by the Coun-           He has been teaching Spanish     by the CUSD Latino Student Suc-
Gonzalez started his education	cil of Latino American Art in San	at Buchanan for 10 years and has	cess Conference Committee.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Page 4	CUSD Today	March 2020

Photo special to CUSD Today by Ron Webb. Clovis North Educational Center Assistant Director of Bands Jose Vargas goes over music with his students at Granite Ridge Intermediate.Below: The Temperance-Kutner Choir performs.

The Sounds of CUSD

March is Music in Our Schools Month in Clovis Unified. The district’s 43,000-plus students have multiple oppor-tunities to take part in music programs from choirs to or-chestras to marching bands, in addition to the elementary school music curriculum taught through sixth grade.
“Music is alive and thriving in CUSD,” said Visual and Performing Arts Coordinator Dan Bishop.
“In CUSD every student moves, sings or plays an in-strument in first through sixth grade, with many of them continuing in these programs at the secondary level,” he

said.“The educational research and study of brain devel-opment suggests that music study makes kids smarter.”
As we celebrate music education and the district’s com-mitment to it, here’s a look at our musical offering by the numbers.
■ 66 elementary bands and orchestras ■ 33 elementary choirs
■ 22 intermediate choirs
■ 11 intermediate orchestras
■ 15 intermediate bands (concert and marching) ■ 25 high school choirs and show choirs
■ 10 high school orchestras
■ 15 high school bands (concert and marching) ■ 16 secondary jazz bands and combos
In addition, there are several smaller elementary per-cussions and show choir ensembles. All five intermediate schools and all five high schools have Color Guard and Winter Percussion/Concert Percussion.
Clovis Unified has been awarded the title of“Best Com-munities for Music Education” by the NAMM Foundation, or National Association of Music Merchants, for the past two years.
“Music and musical performances help young students with self-discipline and time management skills. Playing in groups fosters collaboration and team building much like a sport. Students have to constantly work together to achieve something beyond the measure of their individual skill,” Bishop said.
For a listing of various musical performances around the district see the VAPA page on cusd.com.

VISION

March 2020	CUSD Today	Page 5

We respond together to current news

By Eimear O’Farrell, Ed.D. Superintendent

As I sit down to write this column, it seems
you can’t turn on the television or radio or open a newspaper with-out hearing more alarming news about	world
health and finan-
cial events, and	Eimear O’Farrell, we aren’t im-             Ed.D.
mune to them
ourselves. Clovis Unified is an or-ganization whose experiences are intertwined with our community’s, and we often say,“As the community goes, so goes our schools” (and vice versa).
This truth is apparent in times of high public anxiety, and in just the past week, several major local and world events have impacted our schools. As a team, we are on high alert and actively engaged in assuring that our students and staff are taken care of, and that our re-sources are focused on doing what is best for kids.
Take for example, the recent emergence of a new strain of coro-navirus that has put pressure on every public agency to demonstrate their degree of readiness to act quickly and in the best interest of the community in a rapidly chang-ing situation. It has also likely left many parents wondering about Clovis Unified’s own emergency response preparations, and how decisions are made in times of high public anxiety.
First, we must communicate fre-quently with experts in public health, and with our staff, parents and students. That helps us stay up to date with best practices and with guidance from the experts. Secondly, we must implement these

best practices consistently and in follow the recommendations of the reflect current best practices in this every corner of our district. We California Department of Public evolving situation.
have a great team in Clovis Unified Health, Fresno County Department	We recognize that it is not a and everyone, from our custodians of Public Health and the Centers question of if, but of when, we will to our teachers, from our food for Disease Control. This plan is have students or staff who test pos-service workers to our clerical staff, consistent with our past practice itive for COVID-19 (just as hap-is doing their part to promote in similar situations in our history pened during the outbreak of H1N1 healthy practices that reduce the (such as the closing of Clovis East in the past).We also recognize that spread of illnesses. Given that we High School following a mercury now is the time to adhere to the are constantly fighting the spread spill, or the H1N1 outbreak). Fresno facts, and to continue to be proactive of regular cold and flu viruses, this County’s Department of Public in communicating with our com-is an area in which we have some Health is communicating with us munity of staff, students and par-great expertise.	daily, and we are arm-in-arm with ents.
Clovis Unified will continue to their team to ensure our actions	Also in the news last week, but

LESSONS

Inspirations by, for and from our CUSD students

Photo special to CUSD Today by Ron Webb. Clovis North High student Emma Hamburger is one of 17 high school juniors named as the Foundation for Clovis Schools 2020 Students of Promise. These students have overcome challenging adversities while still making education and school a priority. A gala dinner was held in March to celebrate these students who also received a scholarship toward their education after high school. More about the students and event will appear in the April edition of CUSD Today.

“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.”

CHRISTOPHER ROBIN, IN “WINNIE THE POOH”

on a more local level, was the results of Clovis Unified’s March 3 facility bond request before voters. Unfor-tunately, with most of the votes counted, Measure A has failed to reach the needed 55% approval in order to pass.
While the results have not yet been finalized, the trend appears to indicate we did not receive the go-ahead from our community to build our needed high school and intermediate school, or to continue to modernize and update our cam-puses. As you can imagine this is challenging news to hear.
Our need to build new schools to keep pace with growing student enrollment, and to repair and mod-ernize old schools remains, and we will immediately begin to re-eval-uate our options to do so as we move forward.
To meet the needs of our stu-dents without necessary facility dol-lars will require difficult decisions that will impact our entire district. Just like our preparations for public health concerns, we will make those decisions with our students’ best interests at the forefront. Thank you, too, to everyone who voted yes on Measure A in support of our schools.
In the coming weeks we will be examining a number of options for housing students when schools are over their capacity, and for re-pairing older schools when no fa-cility dollars are available to do so. These decisions will be made while listening closely to our community. There’s no doubt that a lot is going on in the world, but a quick look back over the past few decades reminds us that we’ve been through health scares before, we’ve lost bond measures before, and we’ve always weathered the storm and come out stronger by remaining calm and working together. I’m confident the same will hold true this time
around.

Crystal Award winners show Clovis Unified at its best

Thirty exceptional Clovis Unified employees were honored as Crystal Award recipients during a gala celebration Feb 26 at the Performing Arts Center. Supervisors, co-workers, spouses, children and grandchildren cheered as their recipient walked down the red carpet on stage and received their award.
The Crystal Award is Clovis Unified’s highest employee recognition. It is given to those employees whose passion, innovation, dedication and dynamic work ethic far surpasses their job description. These are people who in tangible, measurable ways selflessly help students reach their full potential in mind, body and spirit. They go above and beyond what is expected, and they do so without prompting. They lead and inspire others by their humble nature and heart-felt examples.
Employees are nominated for the award by their peers or supervisor, and judging panels made up of Clovis Unified employees follow a strict rubric that outlines criteria in selecting the year’s recipients.
The following is the second in a three-part series profiling each recipient in alphabetical order, using excerpts from the evening’s celebration videos.

By Kathleen Coates Special to CUSD Today

Heather Fullbright
Miramonte Elementary Campus Catering Supervisor I
Mustang Champion
Miramonte Elementary School campus catering supervisor Heather Fullbright is more than a “cafeteria lady.” She is more
like a mother or friend to all, with her generous and caring character.
Fullbright always goes out of her way to make students feel welcome, regularly gives of her free time and attends to students with special dietary needs.
Because she meets with every child and their parents who needs a special lunch, she was able to avert a crisis. A student with a severe allergy to eggs was allowed by a sub-stitute teacher to get a tray of regular food. Heather saw this and quickly switched out the food in the nick of time.

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

There are countless ways Heather makes her mark on the Miramonte community. One is her attention to low-income children who need a helping hand. She sometimes pays for student lunches and breakfasts out of her own pocket.Another is her “Mustang Manners” program in the cafeteria, where she makes her own lesson to teach students about the importance of saying please and thank you.
Fullbright organizes and cooks the community Fall Dinner each year. She also gives children coloring pages to color, and posts them in the kitchen. Children who don’t feel comfortable at recess come to her warm and inviting kitchen instead to color and admire their work. She truly cares about her Mustang students.

Karen Gonzales
Fort Washington Elementary Fourth Grade Teacher
Fort Washington Superhero
Last year, longtime fourth/fifth grade combo teacher Karen Gonzales rescued the entire Fort Washington Elementary School community.
When the school’s Guidance Instructional Specialist Gavin Gladding was killed in a tragic accident, students and staff at the school were heartbroken. No one could replace the beloved administrator, yet the work of a GIS remained to be done. It wasn’t the right time to hire someone new for the job as the school was still reeling from their loss. Gonzales stepped up to help. She sought no new title or praise, but she did the GIS work while con-tinuing to monitor her class, now being taught by a student teacher hired as a long-term substitute.
Because she has an administrative credential, Gonzales became the obvious choice to assist. She immediately took on GIS duties, such as discipline, instructional leadership, mentoring and overseeing cheerleaders. Seeing her familiar

— ABOUT US —

face in the role was a comfort to a hurting school.
During that time Gonzales stayed connected to her teacher teammates through Professional Learning Committee meetings. And she reassured parents that she was still involved with their children’s learning in her class.
To honor Mr. Gladding, she worked with the FortWash-ington parent club to raise money for River Camp scholar-ships for low-income children. Her selfless and steady guid-ance greatly helped the staff and students during a very difficult time.And according to FortWashington Principal Melanie Hashimoto, Gonzales stepped up so that she could serve her school community.

Jennifer Johnson
Red Bank Elementary School Office Supervisor
The Voice of Red Bank
Who warmly greets visitors to Red Bank Elementary School every day? Why, office supervisor Jennifer Johnson. Who reads the morning announcements and
pumps music out to the classrooms to set the right tone? Jennifer, of course. She is the voice of Red Bank.
Johnson enjoys dressing up for Red Ribbon week, Char-acter Counts days and Halloween. She volunteers to coor-dinate the school’s annual Winter Holiday Card, purchasing decorations for the photo.And of course, she completes all her administrative and clerical tasks with aplomb. But she is so much more.
Johnson is a model of efficiency, going out of her way to do everything possible to keep school operations humming. For example, she stays in touch with parents and personally helps them fill out forms to achieve 100% re-enrollment every year even before school starts.
Johnson provides a literal calming corner for students who need help managing their behavior. The corner has calming gadgets, crayons and a comfortable chair. She even reinforces positive behavior with snacks and rewards pur-chased with her own money. And there was the time she traded her very own shoes with a student whose shoes were unknowingly out of dress code and would have pre-vented her from going on a field trip.

➤ Please see Awards, Page 6

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	434-8272                           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

stream students with special needs and
year Clovis Unified employee her long-awaited due.
out to do something to help them when she arrived four
ucation classroom and created a buddy classroom. She
Reagan Educational
Leader of the Pack
three years ago, he was determined to
Camp. Kerney gives an annual presentation to every
at the Clovis Unified’s Sierra Outdoor
There are limited resources at the outdoor school, so
Lassor also lends a hand to the building maintenance
and pond pumping systems.
Lassor is dedicated to staff, such as training new bus
his dedication to the children who are educated at SOS.
Clovis West Campus Catering
Positive Innovator
LeBouef was hired at a time when the catering staff’s
morale was low. One cook said she was ready to retire, but
and then design their own menu dish – the Golden Eagle
Jennifer L. Mau
Resource Teacher
Page 6

Awards:

CUSD Today	March 2020

Clovis Unified’s highest employee recognition

FROM PAGE 5	Ray Lassor
Sherri Johnson	Sierra Outdoor School Mechanic Cole Elementary Teacher                                             One-Man Fix-it Band
A Treasured Gift
If it has an engine, Ray Lassor can fix Cole Elementary School teacher Sherri	it.A vehicle mechanic and volunteer driver
only does she go out of her way to main-
Johnson is simply an angel on Earth. Not                                 School in Sonora, he is constantly called upon to repair anything with a motor – not just the older
pressure washers and generators.
create opportunities for all children to come together in	buses, snowplow and other vehicles, but snow blowers, inclusive, supportive ways, but she also has six adopted
children she rescued from abuse and neglect. Give this 32-	Lassor makes do. Keeping the fleet in working order without

hnson is cited for her big heart and called a “gem” and a
having to pay for new vehicles and parts saves thousands
in an emergency.
Jo Again and again, kindergarten-first grade teacher Sherri	of dollars and assures that the school can evacuate quickly “treasured gift” by her peers. In addition to maximizing
test scores, Johnson is invested in the Clovis Support and
the academic achievement of all students based on state      mechanic on larger projects at the site. He repairs wellheads Intervention (CSI) program.                                                    and helps maintain the fires suppression, drinking water
Seeing that many students at Cole come from difficult
home lives, Johnson asked to be a CSI coordinator and set	drivers in chain and cable installation. But he stands out in

volunteered to bring autism students into her regular ed-
years ago. She has trained additional CSI facilitators. She      He volunteers to drive a bus for day field trips. He also vol-unteers to pick up visiting schools’ students at their school
hearing students alike.
driv ng them to SOS. He maintains a spot e s driving
then started a sign language club for non-hearing and	sitesi down the mountain, staying overnight atl ashotel and Johnson also founded the Building Bridges Club to	record despite the windy, rainy, snowy conditions.
break down barriers, focusing on second and third grade	Kristy LeBoeuf students. The students learn disability and cultural awareness,
Supervisor
hear guest speakers and perform songs using sign language on and off campus. She helps create a safe and inclusive
Kevin Kerney
environment for ALL students.		Clovis West High School Campus Catering Supervisor Kristy LeBoeuf su-pervises food preparation for Clovis West
Center Principal                                 High School and three elementary schools. Her clever way of thinking out of the proverbial box to serve students and
teacher.
When Kevin Kerney became principal	staff proves one doesn’t have to be in a classroom to be a of Reagan Educational Center more than           LeBoeuf is dedicated not only to providing each child
create an atmosphere of trust and support with his staff
and to foster a st ong, fierce and unified identity for the
the whole ch ld. By carefully training her food serv ce
make a positive impact every day.
with a nutritious meal daily, but also she wants to serve school like othersrhigh schools in the district. Mission ac-	staff, and also i paying attention to their needs, she triesi to complished. Kerney swooped in to provide positive leadership
that transformed the way the school community felt about
new leader,Wolfpack Pride grew.
school. He was the only principal to attend Leadership
her job again. LeBouef fosters an environment of peer
itself and how others viewed it as well! With Kevin as the      LeBouef’s clear communication style and getting her team Kerney makes himself highly visible, showing up for      involved with the school community got her excited about sports, robotics and band and choir activities at the 7-12      coaching, which translates to a better experience for stu-dents.Not only does LeBoeuf advocate for kids on campus,
the next six years.
create an inclus ve environment. Kerney started “REC
for child nutrition programs.
success. And during National School Lunch Week, she
incoming seventh grade classroom on topics from grit to      but also, she uses personal time to lobby state legislators growth mindset. This sets the tone for the newest class for           The real fun came when LeBouef first developed a spe-Chief among his accomplishments are his efforts to      cialty sandwich line unique to Clovis West that was a huge DEC,” or Reagani Educational Center Diversity Education      partnered with an ESL class to teach them food standards
Burrito.
Council, whose mission is to spread cultural awareness and teach empathy. The group meets twice a month and holds cultural activities like Unity Week.
Nelson Elementary GIS/
After the local Jakara Movement approached Kerney, seeking to engage Punjabi parents, Kevin created a successful
Punjabi Back to School Night.
He makes sure all students and staff feel a part of the	‘A Shining Light’
Wolfpack.                                                                                                                  Nelson Elementary School resources Kerney challenges his leadership team with thought-                                 teacher Jennifer Mau is on the front lines provoking book studies. He does simple gestures such as                                 of a new charge: doing whatever it takes making barbecued hamburgers for his staff or taking a                                 to help traumatized students become calm
teacher’s supervision duty. He worked with his activities	and be able to focus on school.
director to create “No Backpack Day,” where students           Nelson had an influx of students with troubled home literally spend one of the first days of the year taking part      lives, causing them to act out. It’s not within a resource in ice breakers and games to connect with one another      teacher’s job description, but Mau completed training in and the staff.                                                                              Social Emotional Learning, attended conferences and we-He sets the example in every way.                                        binars and did all she could to get the whole staff informed

Virus: CUSD is working with County Health

FROM PAGE 1                          When academic, sports or     eral population. What is      https://www.cdc.gov/ and team water bottles have been      performance teams are trav-     different about COVID19 is      through the Fresno County replaced with disposable      eling to out of town com-     that it is a new strain of the      Public Health Department cups.                                         petitions, we are also evalu-     larger coronavirus family for      at https://www.co.fresno.ca.u Is CUSD canceling activ-     ating the best practice rec-     which there is not a current      s/departments/public-
ities?	ommendations for the des-	vaccine, and for which the	health.
That is not the recom-	tination county to which	general population does not	As new information is mendation of health offi-	our students are traveling.	already have antibodies.            available or if public health cials. Instead, we are moni-	We will adjust as needed.              How can I keep informed     recommendations	for toring the situation in Cali-           I’ve heard that there are	on the coronavirus outbreak?     schools change, we will keep fornia and Fresno County	cases of coronavirus in our         The latest news about the      our community in form -in particular, and we will	community, what does that	coronavirus outbreak and      ed. Questions can also be follow best practices as put	mean?	actions recommended by the      submitted to the Clovis Uni-forth by Fresno County           Coronaviruses are fairly	Centers for Disease Control      fied Nursing Services Office health officials and CDC.	common viruses in the gen-	is	available	online	at      at 559-327-9466.

about trauma and how to help those who have experienced it. She leads a weekly behavior team that monitors students’ emotional and behavioral needs and provides support through counseling. Mau always looks for the reason behind a child’s behavior problem. For example, once she learned a student couldn’t focus because his bedroom was too cold to sleep in, so she bought him a blanket. Or, in another case, students with shoddy shoes or pants that didn’t fit well and were teased and she got new shoes and husky-sized pants.As a result of these types of actions, the children relaxed and were able to resume learning.
Mau does all this on top of her regular duties, regularly being called out of classrooms and school events to de-escalate a situation. She initiated staff development to change the culture at Nelson.

➤BOARD BRIEFS

New principal named for Clovis East for fall

By Kelly Avants

Chief Communications Officer

March 4
The Clovis Unified Governing Board enjoyed a talented performance by members of the Clovis High Chamber Orchestra at the start of their March 4 meeting. The per-formance, led by Director Esmerelda Rocha Lozano, cel-ebrated the board’s earlier declaration of March as “Music in Our Schools Month.”
Students, local business partners and staff from the district’s Career Technical Education Program delivered a report to the board highlighting the growing program’s impact on students. This year, more than 4,100 students are enrolled in close to 20 career pathways that prepare students for the world of work in career fields ranging from banking and finance to firefighting, automotive to entertainment, and many others.
In other action, the board:
■ Appointed Ryan Eisele, current principal of Kastner Intermediate School, to the position of principal at the Reagan Educational Center, effective July 1. He is replacing current principal Kevin Kerney who will become the Buchanan Area Superintendent in July.
■ Authorized the superintendent or designee to submit an application to the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) to participate in the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Component Project.

Feb. 19
The board appointed current Reagan Educational Center Principal Kevin Kerney to the position ofAssistant Superintendent of the Buchanan Area, and current Deputy Principal Jennifer Thomas to the position of Assistant
Superintendent of the Clovis East Area, effective July 1. In other action, the board:
■ Recognized eight teams that earned Valley, Division and/or State athletic titles in the 2019 Fall CIF season. Congratulated at the meeting were Buchanan High’s boys water polo and girls cross country; Clovis High’s girls water polo; Clovis North’s boys cross country, girls tennis and girls gymnastics; and Clovis West’s girls golf and girls volleyball.

Feb. 5
After a lengthy discussion at its Feb.5 meeting, the Clovis Unified Governing Board accepted the recom-mendation of staff to deny a petition submitted by the Clovis Global Academy charter school. The board’s dis-cussion centered on the district’s and School Services of California’s third-party analysis of the proposed operational budget submitted in the charter petition.
While members of the board and administration ex-pressed appreciation and positive interest in the proposed dual immersion program submitted by the petitioners, concerns over the charter’s financial solvency in the re-quested five-year authorization period was integral to the decision to deny the charter.An earlier motion to ap-prove the petition for a shorter period of time and with conditions did not receive the majority of support needed
for approval.
In other action, the board:
■ Approved the appointment of Robyn Castillo, Ed.D., to the position ofAssociate Superintendent of Instructional Services effective July 1, and later approved the affiliated employment contract. This new position will lead the Special Education, and Curriculum, Instruction and Ac-countability divisions of the district. Dr. Castillo is currently the Area Superintendent for the Buchanan Area.
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Governing Board is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. March 18. Minutes and agendas are available at cusd.com.

holder Valeree Ornelas – the
Arizona University
Clovis High
Jesslyn McCav
The Master’s University
■
Cooper Wenzel,soccer,
When Jordan Gifford gives f ight to his
his joy airborne and without limits.
ing choice. Either let him be confined to a
wheelchair for the re-
mainder of his life or
have his legs amputat-
ed below the knee and
fit with prostheses to
give him a fighting
chance. They chose to
fight.
Jordan, now a fresh-
man at Clovis East
High School, was born
with a hereditary con-
dition where he lacked
the tibia bone in both
tially formed.
Michelle, fundamental in normalizing
stepped up for support.
We told him that things may be harder for
it’s his own drive. He wants to help people
every two years.
and 5 losses. He will continue practicing
tition and with the Wo f Den Wrestling
was remarkable in his adaptive learning
in the room. His work ethic will carry him
mself.”
coaches and his teammates.”
Jordan is also participating in adaptiv
learned that training and working hard
severance and has been beaten down so
him.”
The Adaptive Sports Program at Valley
Children's Hospital gave Jordan opportu-
nities to explore Bucket List experiences
diving and even being at the controls of a
small plane. He currently does wheelchair
with the Sports Program and has competed
at the Desert Challenge.
“Don't give
you can do
about the
situation, so
along.”

	Inspiring Excellence

Clovis East wrestler rises above challenges
By Carol Lawson-Swezey                                                                                                                                                                             but “Jordan has a great sense of humor, Special to CUSD Today                                                                                                                                                                                     which made things a lot easier for our

natural athletic gifts, he is poetrylin motion,                                                                                                                                                  track and field this spring at Clovis East. e At a year old, Jordan’s parents, Michelle                                                                                                                                                       “I like competition and in wrestling and Ryan, made an agonizing, heart wrench-                                                                                                                                                  pays off,” Jordan said.“I’m competing with
the track team because I love to race.” Jordan started gymnastics at Break the
Barriers at age 5, showing natural athletic up. Nothing	prowess and working his way to being a
Barrier Breaker and ambassador on the International Travel Team, whose mission is to spread inclusion education worldwide. He performed with the team up to a hun-
just move                                                                                                                                                             dred times annually at venues that included Lakers and Cowboys and traveled to
Guatemala. He was often the star attraction Jordan Gifford	atop the team’s human pyramid.
Clovis East                                                                                                                                                                               “Jordan can hold a handstand longer athlete                                                                                                                                                                         than anyone,” said Break the Barriers CEO
lower legs and his right arm was only par-                                                                                                 Photo special to CUSD Today by Ron Webb.      Jared Hergenrader.“He’s shown great per-Clovis East High freshman Jordan Gifford, who uses prosthetic legs, competed in wrestling many times but has always risen to showcase
Jordan’s life, made him a photo book, ex- against able-bodied athletes. His coach Josh Adams said Jordan has a “can-do” attitude.	the ability and talent that God has given plaining the decision and the journey. Trag- At first, Jordan fell and broke several teeth. College & Career Class because he was
ically, she passed away unexpectedly in He broke several prosthetic limbs because spunky and had a ‘can do’ attitude,’” said 2017, leaving Jordan and his younger sister, of his “can do” energy. Since he is still Josh Adams, CEHS director of wrestling.
Mika, now age 8. Jordan’s grandparents growing, his current set needs to be replaced “He immediately took to the sport and like water skiing, sled hockey, rock climbing,
“Michelle and I just treated Jordan nor-	This winter, Jordan competed against curve with any technique we showed him. basketball, rappelling, snorkeling and scuba mally,” said dad Ryan.“We pushed him to able bodied peers in the lightweight class Without a doubt, Jordan outworks everyone
be independent and to figure it out himself. wrestling at Clovis East, racking up 3 wins far in accomplishing the goals he sets for racing and adaptive track and field events him, but he shouldn't limit himself. Mostly with teammates trainingl for state compe- hi Adams said it was a bit of a learning in Los Angeles, Minnesota and this summer,
and go out and do things.”	Club this spring and summer.	curve as he had never had an amputee, or
The prostheses were a painful adjustment.	“I recruited Jordan out of my freshman any wrestler with similar challenges before,	➤ Please see Jordan, Page 11

SPORTS

March 2020	CUSD Today	Page 7

Clovis Unified athletes sign letters of intent

n CHS female wrestler is among signers

Twelve senior student-athletes in Clovis Unified schools signed college Letters of Intent at commitment ceremonies in February, in-cluding Clovis High wrestler and Central Section title

to sign an NLI.
Phot special to CUSD Today.
Cougars’ first female wrestler      Athletes from Clovis High get ready to signoLetters of Intent Athletes who made their      with their future college during a February signing ceremony.
college commitments are:	■ C.J. Jones, football,	■ Logan Avina Barajas, Buchanan High                Fresno State                              wrestling, Menlo College
■
McKenna Chenny,
■
■ Kelsey McKenney, wa-	■ Tyler Gianakopulos, track and field, Northern	ter polo, Fresno State                wrestling, Cal Polye, soccer,
CSU Bakersfield
■ Valeree Ornelas,wrest-ling, Southern Oregon Uni-versity
■ Giano Petrucelli,wrest-ling, US Air Force
■ Brooklin Woolf,soccer, Fresno State
Clovis North High
■ Cason Brownell, base-ball, The Master’s Universi-ty
■ Nolan Inouye,baseball, Photo special to CUSD Today.
Buchanan student-athletes are all grins as they prepare to
make their commitments to play their sport.	CSU Northridge

Photo special to CUSD Today. The Buchanan HighWrestling Team won the state championship title for the fifth-year in a row, and two Bears won individual titles. The team is coached by Troy Tirapelle.

Five in a row for Bears!

They call their program “The Empire,”     pound weight class, and for the second and for good reason.                                     year, Crystelle Rodriguez won the state
For the fifth year in a row, Buchanan	title in the 111-pound weight class. High’s wrestling team dominated the CIF          Clovis High’s wrestling team won fourth State Wrestling Championship Feb. 29,	place in the state (159 points), and wrestler with 10 semifinalists and four finalists	Giano Petrucelli won the title for his 170-scoring a total of 261 points for the team	pound weight class. Clovis North’s wrestling state championship title. St. John Bosco	team earned sixth place (129 points), the took second with 183.5 points and Poway	highest placement in the school’s history. third with 182.5 points.                                     Buchanan’s win ties them up for the
Sixteen Buchanan wrestlers – 14 boys	most consecutive state championship wins, and two girls – qualified for the state	a record held also by Clovis High. This meet. The Bears had 11 medalists and	win makes six state wrestling titles for two state champions. For the third time,	Buchanan (they also won in 2006). Clovis Maximo Renteria won the title in his 126-	High holds the record with 13 state titles.

of Esmeralda Rocha Lozano, was invited to perform at the
Ag interest shared at CE
with others what the FFA program is and what it has to
He said one of his the best aspects of his job is to try to
Welcome to the ‘nest’
AROUND THE DISTRICT

Page 8	CUSD Today	March 2020

Photo special to CUSD Today. Clovis Adult ESL students volunteered at The Fresno Center, helping sort and distribute food to those in need.

Adult ESL volunteer
Clovis Adult Education students in Tanya Sumner’s English as a Second Language (ESL) class took part in a volunteer opportunity at The Fresno Center, which offers different support services for immigration to education advocacy.
The Clovis Advanced ESL joined in the monthly food distribution. The group of 22 attended an orientation, set up tables, unpacked boxes of food, bagged items and then worked with recipients by greeting them, translating for them and registering them. Four hundred families were served.
Sumner called it “a joy” to see her students collaborating, treating everyone with respect and also having fun.“Many said the plan to go back again to volunteer,” she said.

Bear drama students earn top award Buchanan High’s Bear Stage swept the CUSD Drama

Festival, taking home the Sweepstakes Award having received the highest number of cumulative points from the com-petitive events. Several students also earned top awards. They are Katelyn Basham, first place and command per-formance, Contrasting Monologue;Jacob Duekerand An-neliese Rosenthal, first place and command performance, Small Group Musical Number; and Christine Antaramian, perfect score, first place and command recognition, Scenic Design.

Unity week at CNEC
Clovis North High students celebrated unity week in March. The diverse cultures on the campus were highlighted. There were also performances and information booths from a variety of clubs, along with dress-up days and lunchtime activities that celebrated unity and school pride.

Photo special to CUSD Today. Parents, community members, administrators, high school students and district staff read books to students in classrooms at Oraze Elementary recently to help promote a love of reading and learning.

Guest readers at Oraze Elementary

Students at Oraze Elementary heard great tales of ad-	The date coincides with the birthday of Theodore venture an intrigue from guest readers that included a Seuss Geisel, also known as the beloved author “Dr. firefighter, a police officer and school namesake Roger Seuss,” who wrote numerous children’s books.
Oraze. In honor of Read Across America Day, March 2,	“We are so thankful that our community believes in the school invited community members to participate our mission to instill a love of reading and learning into by reading to students in the classroom.                              our students,” said Principal Robyn Snyder.

CH Chamber Orchestra performs
rstanding o government and it process.
semblyman Jim Patterson visited to help bring more un-Clovis High’s Chamber Orchestra, under the direction	de Pattersont introduced himselfs as a businessman and
the annual state event. The 42-member orchestra also
and differences between the United States Constitution
health care, and the minimum wage.
California All-State Music Education Conference in February.     former mayor of Fresno, and then described the similarities They were the only orchestra ensemble invited to play at     and that of the State of California. Students asked questions played during Clovis Unified’s recent Crystals, an event     about issues of interest to them, including immigration, that celebrates the district’s employees.                                         Students were also interested in how Patterson became interested in politics, as well as his opinions about the dif-
650,000 people from the Valley.
Clovis East High and Reyburn Intermediate students	ficulties of his job and what he enjoys most about representing celebrated National FFA Week recently. Events included
fun activities and informational presentations that shared	solve specific problems for the people of his district.

offer. The two schools are located on the Reagan Educational
Agriculture Center.
Assemblyman visits ASI government class
Center campus that also houses the McFarlane-Coffman		The annual T-Bird to Eagle Rally was held in February in the Clovis West Area. During the event, incoming ninth graders (Class of 2024) were welcomed to the Golden
Students in Alta Sierra’s eighth-grade Honors Academic	Eagle’s“nest.” Students participated in games, campus tours Block classes had a special guest when California State As-	and heard about the many opportunities at Clovis West.

March 2020	CUSD Today	Page 9

➤ ANNOUNCEMENTS

“Sense and Sensibility” starts March 19

Clovis	High will	perform “Sense and Sensi-bility” this month at the Dan Pessano Theater, 2770 E. International Ave., Fresno. The play is based on the book written by Jane Austen     in     the 1800s and is a satirical comedy
about middle-class life, following the rela-tionship of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. Performances will be at 7:30 p.m. March
19-21 and 26-28; and at 2 p.m. March 28. Tickets are $8 for students and $10 for adults.	Tickets	are	available	at cusd.com/EventsTickets.aspx.

ArtHop at Clovis Adult Education, March 19

Clovis Adult Education student and in-structor art, pottery and quilts will be on display and for sale at the CAE ArtHop from 5 to 8 p.m. March 19 at 1452 David E. Cook Way, Clovis. There will be food trucks, live music and dance performances. The event is free and open to the public. Details: 327-2876.

Parent Academy workshop, March 19

Clovis Unified offers Parent Academy workshops throughout the school year at no cost to attendees. The workshops are de-signed to inform and empower parents with information, understanding and resources to support their student at home and at school. Dinner and childcare are offered for each event.
Workshops are held at the Clovis Unified Professional Learning Center, 362 N. Clovis Ave., #101, in Clovis. (Southwest corner of Herndon and Clovis avenues, behind In-N-Out.). Dinner and childcare are offered for each event. There is no cost. Dinner begins at 5 p.m. and the program will be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Upcoming workshops are:
■ March 19 – “Specific Strategies for Anxiety and Depression”
■ May 19 – “Social Emotional Behavior Skills and Development”
Registration will be available on cusd.com on the Supplemental Services page. For more information Krista in Supplemental Services at 327-0667 or kristacortez@ cusd.com.

Performance showcases
All Clovis Unified secondary school dance programs will be participating in the CUSD Dance Showcase at 7:30 p.m. April 4 at the Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall. Other up-coming district performing arts students displaying their talents at the Shaghoian in-clude:
■ CUSD Elementary Choral Festival, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. March 23 and 24
■ CUSD High School Band Festival, 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. March 25
■ CUSD Intermediate School Band Fes-tival, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 26
Information about these and other up-coming Visual Arts and Performing Arts events can be found at www.cusd.com /VAPA.aspx.

CDOEA Craft Fair, March 28 The Second Annual Spring Festival and

Craft Fair – a fundraiser for senior scholar-ships that assist students in need with grad-uation costs – will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. March 28 at the Buchanan High parking lot at Minnewawa and Teague avenues. For sale will be arts, crafts and other items along with food trucks and music. The event is sponsored by the Clovis District Office Em-ployee Association. Fore more information or to reserve vendor space, email duane-goudy@cusd.com.

Registration underway for new students

Kindergarten registration and new student registration for the 2020-21 school year began this month
For complete details or to access the online pre-registration, visit cusd.com.

CE’s ‘Technicolor Dreamcoat’ in April

Clovis	East High’s production of“Joseph and the Amazing Techni-color Dreamcoat” will be performed
in April at the Mercedes Edwards Theatre. The lively musical is the tale of Joseph, one of 12 brothers, who is given a beautiful coat by his father. The brothers are jealous and sell Joseph, sending him on a series of ad-ventures.
Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. April 23 to 25, 30 and May 1 and 2 at the MET, 902 Fifth St., Clovis. Tickets are $10 for students and $12 for adults. Tickets: clo-viseastdancedrama.com.

Free music concerts
The Clovis Community Choir and the Clovis Community Orchestra are both run under Clovis Unified’s Clovis Community Education Program. Both groups – around 80 members each – are composed of local performers young and old who share a pas-sion for music. They conduct concerts throughout the year that are free to the public. Upcoming Sunday afternoon events will be taking place at the Paul Shaghoian Concert Hall, 2770 E. International Ave., Fresno. They are:
■ Clovis Community Choir Concert, 2:30 p.m.April 26
■ Wind Symphony Concert, 3 p.m., May 3 ■ Clovis Community Band Concert, 2:30
p.m. May 17
For more information: www.cloviscom-munityed.com.

CUSD to benefit from Granville Home of Hope

The Foundation for Clovis Schools has been selected as a beneficiary of the 2020 Granville Home of Hope fundraiser.
Granville Homes, along with help from its trade partners, donates a new home each year as the grand prize awarded to one lucky winner from a limited-ticket sales drawing. Participants can also win other prizes, in-cluding a 24-month lease on a Lexus SUV.
Tickets are $100 each, and 100 percent of proceeds raised benefit 10 local nonprofits. All proceeds from tickets purchased through Clovis Unified stay in Clovis Unified.
The Foundation for Clovis Schools is a nonprofit organization that awards student scholarships, new teacher grants and class-room grants each year.
For more information or tickets, contact Sara Almaraz at 327-9095 or saraalmaraz @cusd.com.

Download the app!
Keep connected with all the latest news about Clovis Unified schools by downloading the Clovis Unified app, available through iOS and Android app stores. The app con-veniently accesses attendance reporting, lunch menus, student grades and more.

Be counted
The 2020 Census will begin in March, and families should expect to fill out a census form by mail, phone or online. The census is an important opportunity for everyone to be counted in their community which will help ensure agencies get the nec-essary funds for schools, healthcare, affordable housing, jobs, roads, transportation and emergency response teams.
A complete count gives students up-to-date statistics, resources and representation for the next 10 years. For more information, see census.gov.

Part of the National School Lunch
& Breakfast Program

For more information or menus: cusd.com/MealMenus.aspx

March 2020	CUSD Today	Page 11

Hannah:	Jordan: Mentors to younger kids at VCH

FROM PAGE 1	laborative Mentoring pro-Esther Gonzalez by only 0.02 gram, swimming is her pas-seconds. Gonzalez was one sion. She began competing of two 24-year-olds in the the summer after her second race, Hannah said, but the grade at Liberty Elementary young teenager was unde- and practices around 22 terred.	hours a week.
“When I am behind the	“My goals for swimming blocks, I will stretch and get are to make the Junior Na-‘in the zone’ and block out tional Team for USA Swim-everything else. I just focus ming, swim for UC Berkeley on swimming and racing” and make an Olympic team,” she said.                                Hannah said.
Unless someone younger        She swims for Kastner qualifies before June, Han- and the Clovis Swim Club, nah will be the youngest and she was a member of athlete at the 2020 U.S. the Central California Zones Olympic Trials.                     Swim Team the summers of Hannah comes from an 2018 and 2019. In addition aquatics family, with mom to breaststroke, she swims Bethany and dad David – the 100 fly and 400 and 200
both Clovis Unified teachers individual medleys.
– having swam competitively	Said mom Bethany,“Han-in their youth. Bethany was nah has a heart to race. That a Texas State Swim Cham- is something that cannot be pion and competed for Fres- taught. … She has set goals no State; David swam and for herself in swimming and played water polo and has in life, and she is determined coached both sports for 10 to achieve them through ded-years.                                     ication and hard work.”
While Hannah also en-	The USA Olympic Swim joys baking, singing and be- Trials will be held June 21 ing a part of Kastner’s Col- to 28 in Omaha, Nebraska.

FROM PAGE 7
“Jordan is a go-getter,” said Jennifer Crocker, director of the Adaptive Sports Pro-gram. “He is open-minded, tries new things and has a quiet strength.”
The VCH program began in 2008 and serves hundreds of disabled Valley children at no charge, regardless if they’re patients of Children's Hospital. Crocker met Jordan at age 5 and has seen him blossom into a self-confident, self-aware young man.
“He is able to be a mentor to younger kids and educated himself on his own body so he can educate others,” she said.
Jordan recently reached out to a CUSD preschool amputee who had been re-luctant to use her new limbs until his encouragement.
“It's a powerful feeling to know you are not alone,” said Lisa Gifford, Jordan's step grandmother, who has been protective of Jordan against insensitive comments or bullies.
“But I know he can handle

Photo special to CUSD Today by Ron Webb. Jordan Gifford works out during Clovis East wrestling practice. Says his coach Josh Adams, “Without a doubt, Jordan outworks everyone in the room.”

himself,” Lisa said. “Jordan	excel at school and in life.	on his own,” said Kim Hamil-told me he would rather	He loves roller coasters, his-	ton, CEHS Guidance and kids ask him about his dis-	tory, especially World War	Learning Specialist.
ability so he can explain,	11, and just wants to stay	For Jordan, it's a matter rather than stare.”	active.                                       of just doing it.
With or without his pros-	“Even given his physical	“Don't give up,” he said. thetic legs, Jordan Gifford      disabilities, Jordan never     “Nothing you can do about stands tall and soars above      likes to ask for help and tries     the situation, so just move his physical challenges to      to do as much as possible     along.”

Page 12	CUSD Today	March 2020