Dr. Ben Churchill
Carlsbad Unified School District
Welcome students, parents, teachers, support staff, and CUSD community to the 2016-2017 school year!
My first Carlsbad Unified Back-to-School Day was exciting and inspiring. I got to experience the Big Day as a parent, sending my own CUSD students off to their new school for the first time. And, as an educator, there is nothing quite like the arrival of students on the first day. More than 11,000 Carlsbad Unified students streamed through the welcoming school gates with their backpacks and their new shoes, looking for their friends, ready for a new school year with an enthusiastic smile and a clean slate.
And it’s going to be a great year. On the Wednesday before the first week of school, 350 CUSD teachers started the year with an optional professional development day which challenged them to “Innovate - Ignite - Inspire.” The following day all of our teachers were back in action, learning about the newly adopted Math series, Go Math; participating in technology training; and collaborating to examine student data and align their instructional programs.
CUSD is an awesome school district because of its people and its traditions. Teachers come to Carlsbad to stay here. They dedicate their careers to this district. Many of our teachers and parents went to school here in Carlsbad and are lifelong members of the Carlsbad community.
This year CUSD is honored to welcome 50 brand new teachers to the family.
Last year was a year of successes and accomplishments. Our own Doug Green was named California Teacher of the Year, and Deputy Superintendent Suzanne O’Connell was named ACSA’s San Diego County CBO of the Year. Bobby Allen was selected as our CUSD Teacher of the Year, and Kathleen Russell was named CUSD Classified Employee of the Year. Hope, Pacific Rim, and Aviara Oaks Elementary Schools were honored by the California Department of Education as Gold Ribbon Schools, and Hope Elementary was also honored with the Exemplary Arts in Education Award. We are proud to say that CUSD’s state assessment (SBAC) scores showed growth at every grade level, and exceed countywide and statewide averages. Looking at last year’s 29 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) indicators: we hit 25 of our goals, from increasing the number of students taking AP, Honors, and Community College classes, to improving CUSD’s English learning students’ scores. I congratulate our administrators, teachers, support staff and students on their achievements.
As we begin the 2016-17 school year we will challenge ourselves to continually improve, with added focus in the following areas:
~ We will embrace the shift to digital resources for learning and teaching. All sixth graders are being issued a chromebook as part of our 1:1 (one device to one student) initiative. We will get as many resources as we can into our staff members’ hands so they have what they need to do their challenging jobs.
~ We will work on telling CUSD’s amazing stories beyond the district and the local community, using as many media channels as possible. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@CarlsbadUnified and @SuptChurchill) and look for more information in the months ahead.
~ We will continue to work towards our Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) goals. The CUSD Governance Team has clearly developed where we are going: our mission, vision, and core values will remain the same, and provide continuity as we move forward.
~ We will undertake a new Recycling/Sustainability initiative. We will begin single streaming of all recyclable materials into one bin, and will continue to find new ways to bring economies of scale to reduce our environmental impact.
~ We will enter into new partnerships with colleges and universities, local businesses, and technology providers; we will integrate project-based learning and other student-centered methodologies into our classrooms; and we will create real world experiences with multiple pathways to success for all students.
Welcome to the new year! Let’s work together to make this the best one yet.
