May 2022 Message from the Superintendent

Partners in Education at Carlsbad Unified

Here at Carlsbad Unified, parents, businesses, and community members are critical partners in education.  They provide opportunities to interact with an array of community resources as our students explore their passions, learn about what’s available here in North County, and enrich their lives through the artists, scientists, and leaders they meet.  COVID might have limited in-person interactions, but we were able to continue to connect via virtual field trips and guest speakers.  Now our campuses are once again busy with excitement as we welcome back our invaluable partners in person.

Parent volunteers, book fairs, ice cream socials, and field trips are now back as we return to normal.  Our partners are again participating and contributing – organizing career days, family picnics, and other special activities on every campus.

For instance, on Compassion Day at Kelly Elementary School, experts and parent volunteers helped students rotate through stations where they experienced what it feels like to have a disability.  Students tried decoding messages in Braille, endured a sensory overload room, tried to function wearing blindfolds, and attempted to run on the field with yardsticks taped to their legs. Then, in a student-run center, they wrote notes about kindness to create a beautiful mosaic. 

At the Sage Creek High School PTSA’s JIVE event (Jobs, Internships, Volunteers and Education), parents and community members helped students get information about possible jobs and internships.  Local businesses such as Handel’s and Chick-Fil-A set up tables and shared information about jobs and summer internships.  

Booster club members are now making hot dogs and selling tickets to sporting events, working backstage at musical and theater performances, and raising money for competitions, travel, and sports equipment.  Tutors are giving needed help to students in danger of falling behind. 

Our Carlsbad Educational Foundation (CEF) and its partners facilitate a multitude of community-based programs for Carlsbad Unified students.  Lego Robotics; Agua Hedionda Lagoon field trips; Coastal Roots Farm visits; Junior Achievement BizTown curriculum and field trips; Nordson Corporation’s Tech Time Challenge; Science Days with volunteers from Thermo Fisher; Agua Hedionda Lagoon Foundation’s Environmental Stewardship initiative; the Science Olympiad supported by Viasat; and Junior Achievement’s Finance Park – these are some of the many initiatives and programs supported by CEF and its partners.

And, in the field of Career Pathways, our business, industry and community partners are providing vital support.  Overseeing these important relationships is our own Nicole Moersch, K-12 Pathway Coordinator.  She was just named the 2022 College & Career Pathways Educator of the Year by the Classroom of the Future Foundation for her commitment to innovation in education.

Our Pathways are guided by the expertise of the District Career Pathways Advisory Committee and other business partners who collaborate with career pathway teachers in aligning curriculum, software, and equipment with industry standards.  These volunteers from the business and industrial community also offer internships, feedback on student projects, mentorships, guest speakers, and other hands-on experiences for students. 

In addition, our partners at the Carlsbad Chamber of Commerce offer their Rising Stars student recognition program, scholarships for high school students, and exposure to the world of work. 

We are indebted to all of these partners for their generosity of time and resources to ensure that our students have an educational experience that prepares them for a successful future. Partners – we couldn’t do it without you!

March/April 2022 Message from the Superintendent

Measure HH Facilities: A Look to the Future

When the Carlsbad community voted in 2018 to approve Measure HH, the district’s $265M facilities bond measure, we all looked forward with great anticipation to seeing the inspiring environments in the newly modernized schools where students would be learning and creating.

Now our Measure HH Phase 1 projects are largely completed, and those beautifully modernized and renovated buildings – at Magnolia, Hope, and Kelly Elementary Schools; Carlsbad High School’s Science Building; and STEAM labs at Poinsettia and Pacific Rim Elementary Schools – are serving students. As we look forward to the finalization of our Phase 1 projects, we are also looking forward to the commencement of our upcoming Phase 2 projects.

Carlsbad Unified recently welcomed Jessica Kimbrell, our new Director of Facilities Planning and Construction Management, who brings many years of experience in school construction  management.  She will provide day-to-day management and project oversight, assisting with cost containment and consistency in projects across the district. 

We are currently embarking on the final design, engineering, and permitting process for Measure HH Phase 2 projects. These will include campus-wide renovations at Valley Middle School and at Jefferson, Buena Vista, and Aviara Oaks Elementary Schools.  Phase 2 projects will also include new STEAM Labs at Aviara Oaks, Buena Vista, Calavera Hills, and Jefferson Elementary Schools, and at Aviara Oaks and Valley Middle Schools.

Buena Vista will see the replacement of old portables with new modular classrooms, a new STEAM building, a redesigned pre-school area, and new landscaping.  At Jefferson, two classrooms will be converted into a Culinary Arts Room and a STEAM Lab, and ten classrooms will be modernized.  Aviara Oaks will get remodeled Kindergarten classrooms, a STEAM Lab, a new quad to replace older portables, and other interior modifications.  Valley will undergo a campus-wide interior modernization with new STEAM collaboration rooms, a new Special Education classroom located to promote inclusion, and renovated restrooms.

All of these projects still must be submitted for review by a number of agencies.  But construction at Jefferson may begin as soon as this summer, and we estimate that the other Phase 2 projects will begin in the summer of 2023.

We acknowledge that there will be challenges as we move into Phase 2.  Post-pandemic, we are seeing rising costs on labor and materials, and we are experiencing a different bidding environment.  Still, we are confident that our professional teams of architects, contractors, construction managers, and district staff will make it happen.  We were successful in selling $28M in certificates of participation to supplement our remaining Measure HH funds, and in using existing Mello Roos dollars to help offset the impact of inflation.  Our goals for Phase 2 are to integrate stakeholder input into our plans; to maximize and prioritize the impact of limited dollars in these times of rising costs; and to ensure parity, to the extent possible, among all of our campuses.

Carlsbad Unified thanks the Carlsbad community for supporting these investments in your schools.  We are grateful to the construction teams, engineers, and architects, and we appreciate the patience and understanding of our teachers, staff, and students as they deal with the inconvenience of construction work on campus.  These projects will support the academic performance of our students and the property values in our community for many years to come.