February 2020 Message from the Superintendent

Thank You, Coastal Community Foundation

Sage Creek High School Biomedical Science teacher Valerie Park’s class has new equipment to measure blood pressure. “High blood pressure can be dangerous or even fatal,” Ms. Park explains. “In my class, students work with a partner to measure blood pressure and explore factors that might affect this value. In the past, students with skinny arms could not participate in this activity because we did not have the pediatric sized sphygmomanometers. Thanks to the Coastal Community Foundation grant, we were able to purchase 11 pediatric sphygmomanometers as well as 10 automatic blood pressure monitors.”

Ms. Park is one of eighteen Sage Creek (SCHS) and Carlsbad High School (CHS) teachers who are receiving much appreciated support from Coastal Community Foundation’s EdVentures Fund. This generous grant program reaches directly into the classroom to supplement STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) programs with hands-on, interactive, educational projects that stimulate learning and enhance the curriculum.

“We are pleased to support the work of Carlsbad Unified’s teachers,” said Laura Fleming, Program Officer at Coastal Community Foundation. “EdVentures provides enhancements to Career Technical Education and Visual and Performing Arts Pathways projects to spark students’ curiosity, encourage creativity, and, perhaps, lead to future careers.”

At CHS, EdVentures grants will help provide new musical arrangements for Music teacher Jessie Bullock’s choir and Peter Manzi’s Band Drumline. Juliana Quinones, SCHS Music teacher, will be able to purchase ukeleles and guitars. Jessica Allen, CHS Orchestra teacher, can bring in professional string players to help students with tone development. And CHS Dance teacher Jackie Solomon’s grant will help fund Dance Extreme, showcasing all genres of dance, including hip hop, jazz, contemporary, tap, and Latin.

Also with grants from the EdVentures Fund, Art teachers Megan Herrick (SCHS) and Kelly Foulk (CHS) will pay for student mural projects on campus, and SCHS 3D Design teacher Cathryn Burroughs’s students will create a Community Totem. SCHS Art teacher Sierra Aguilar’s students are using art to send a message of change by showing how plastic waste impacts our ocean ecosystems. CHS Art teacher Elizabeth Vincelette’s students are using clay and paint to bring a uniquely designed character to life. Krista King’s CHS Photo students are hand painting their own photography backdrops. CHS Ceramics teacher Lisa Smith will fund the Empty Bowls Project, in which art students will make ceramic bowls, fill them with soup, sell them, and contribute funds raised to fight hunger.

Jillian Porter Eshelman, SCHS theatre teacher, is able to invite accomplished guest artists--such as Elan McMahon, a professional musical director for the Old Globe--to share their talents at a Drama Artist Workshop. CHS Theater teacher Matthew Fauls-Rivas’s Lancer Players will be producing Amelie: The Musical in the spring, with a student orchestra, crew, actors, stage managers, and a student assistant director. “The grant will help fund music books, the music director, and tools to build the set,” said Mr. Fauls-Rivas. “Students learn many important skills like collaboration, pitch matching, harmonizing, and acting.”

CHSTV Broadcast teacher Doug Green will be running a Saturday workshop for 5th grade aspiring journalists, taking them through the entire process of producing a live newscast, which then will be live-streamed.

CHS teacher Susie Becker’s Fashion students will use CCF grant funds for material to sew Carlsbags that they will donate to the Assistance League resale shop. And CHS Business teacher Carol King’s Virtual Enterprise students will have a new Trade Fair Booth.

EdVentures Fund projects may provide real world applications or needed classroom materials. In total, Coastal Community Foundation awarded a grant of $20,179.29 to Carlsbad Educational Foundation (CEF) from its EdVentures program. CEF receives the funding and disburse the grant awards to the recipients. The grant range per teacher is $500-$1,500.

Coastal Community Foundation manages over 80 different funds, encouraging and facilitating philanthropy by connecting donors with community needs.

January 2020 Message from the Superintendent

Community Partnerships for Student Wellness

Partnerships are essential to our success in Carlsbad schools.  We are fortunate to have the outstanding support of the city, county, and community as, recognizing the social emotional needs of our students, we aim to provide a safe and nurturing place where each and every student can thrive. 

Carlsbad Unified schools offer programs, such as Sanford Harmony, that teach students ways to build strong relationships, solve problems, and develop healthy social emotional attributes. We are a Kids For Peace district, and believe that Kindness Matters. But we also understand that there are threats to the safety of our students—violence, isolation, negative social media, vaping, drugs—and that we need access to all of the resources and expertise of our community to protect our students. 

The City of Carlsbad and the Carlsbad Police Department work with us to provide School Resource Officers to keep our campuses safe. Our School Resource Officers, the San Diego County Office of Education, and the Vista Community Clinic provide presentations on the dangers of vaping to students in 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th grades, and offer training to their parents.  

Many of our parents are rightly concerned about the dangers that lie in our children’s electronic devices. Cyber expert Jon Moffat offers parent workshops with up-to-date information on online safety—including trends, new apps, social media—to protect children. Additionally, we’ve implemented the Common Sense Media curriculum for digital citizenship for all students.

Our schools also work actively with the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce. Several students who have overcome obstacles to achievement have already been honored through the Chamber’s new Rising Star Student of the Month program.

As another layer of community support, Interfaith Services provides a network of assistance in North County. It funds a case manager on site at Carlsbad High School to help provide resources for students facing individual problems including social emotional issues, homelessness, and academic performance. North County Lifeline provides training for our students on suicide awareness and prevention.

In its “Start With Hello” program, Sandy Hook Promise trains middle school students to make positive connections and to build a culture of inclusion at school, in order to protect children from negative behaviors and gun violence.

Our Live Well partner, the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, brings a broad range of health and social services to our campuses, and will be holding a Carlsbad Community Connect event in March for administrators, counselors, psychologists, and key student leaders.

MiraCosta College (MCC), Cal State San Marcos (CSUSM), and our other higher education partners provide outstanding educational opportunities for our high school students.  They go the extra mile to offer support such as free tuition (MCC), guaranteed admission for students meeting certain criteria (CSUSM), campus tours, college and career awareness, and other supportive services to help students succeed.

The Rotary Club is another valuable partner.  It supports AVID students with a seminar at the Carlsbad Sheraton Resort Hotel, where students enjoy breakfast with Rotary members and learn about leadership and careers; and it hosts an annual Christmas Party for elementary principals and selected students.  The Rotary also gives scholarships to deserving students.

Similarly, the Carlsbad Parks and Recreation Department and the Boys and Girls Club run the fun and exciting Mini March Madness basketball tournament for 5th grade boys and girls. The Boys and Girls Club also offers a variety of other positive activities for students. And the New Village Arts theater, through a grant from Wells Fargo and in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club, invites middle and high school students to attend theatrical productions and learn about theater careers.

We appreciate all that these and many other community partners do to help our students with the challenges they face. Our world will be the better for these connections.