Walters » News » Superintendent’s Newsletter: October 12, 2023
Superintendent’s Newsletter: October 12, 2023
October 12, 2023
Superintendent's Newsletter October 12, 2023
Dear Fremont Unified Community,
I’m excited to share updates from the past couple of weeks in Fremont Unified, where our outstanding students, staff and community are making incredible things happen.
Congratulations to the three Fremont Unified high schools named to the 2023 AP School Honor Roll. Mission San Jose High School earned a Platinum Recognition; it enabled 91% of the Class of 2024 to experience at least one AP course, with 88% earning college credit by earning an AP Exam score of 3 or higher. Both American and Irvington high schools earned a Gold Recognition by enabling at least 70% of the Class of 2024 to take one or more AP courses, with more than 60% of those students earning college credit by earning an AP Exam score of 3 or higher. Congratulations to each school, their students and their outstanding staff on this achievement.
Last Friday our Curriculum and Instruction team hosted a training for 7th grade teachers on Prisms of Reality. Two teachers at each middle school will use the Prisms immersive virtual reality headsets and supplemental curriculum with their students to reinforce math concepts with real-world applications. I thank the participating teachers for taking a leap into the future of instructional technology, and I look forward to visiting classrooms as students begin using these tools.
The caring staff, responsive services and up-to-date resources the District provides for each student help make our community a desirable place to live, work and raise a family. Please find information below about a community-wide conversation we’re starting to better understand the priorities of our families and community, and presentations we’re hosting next week to outline how we’re allocating limited financial resources to best meet the needs of our students.
I hope you will join the conversation and help us plan for the sustained excellence of Fremont Unified.
October 5: 2023 Fremont Unified Teacher of the Year Rachel Brown was celebrated by colleagues and friends at the Alameda County Teacher of the Year Awards. Mrs. Brown is a 4th grade teacher at Mission San Jose Elementary.
October 6: Our Student Support Services team hosted a resource fair for our school counselors at the District Office. It was an incredible opportunity for our staff to learn more about local services and organizations that are ready to partner with our schools, and connect with our students and families. I thank the 19 community organizations that participated, click here for photos and more information.
October 13: Non-School Day for Students
Reminder: Friday, October 13 is a non-school day for FUSD students. We wish our students a great day off!
October 16 & 18: School Funding Presentations
All community members are invited to join Superintendent CJ Cammack and Fremont Unified leadership on October 16 or 18 to learn about school funding in California, the implications for FUSD, and the process for budget design in dynamic economic realities.
Join the conversation by attending or streaming either session, and/or submitting questions in advance. Both sessions will include the same presentation, and a recording will be posted following the events.
Visit our Events webpage to submit questions or comments that may be addressed during the presentation, and to access the event livestream.
Strengthening Fremont Schools: A Community Conversation
As you may know, Fremont Unified School District (FUSD) is among the lowest funded school districts in Alameda County. The impacts of years of underfunding has created unique challenges in providing the same quality of education, including state-of-the-art education facilities, that other students in nearby communities already have. Additionally, the locally controlled funding that the District depends upon to help maintain core academic programs, retain qualified classroom teachers, keep libraries open, and relieve classroom overcrowding, among other needs, will be ending soon.
As the District considers a future with limited locally controlled funding, we want to hear from you. Please take a few minutes to complete the following survey: Join the Conversation Today.
October 19: Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill
On Thursday, October 19 at 10:19am, our schools will participate in the Great ShakeOut, an international earthquake drill. All community members are encouraged to join us in practicing earthquake safety and preparedness. Click here to view our earthquake response webpage.
ParentSquare Resources
All Fremont Unified schools and parents/guardians are able to use ParentSquare for home-to-school communications. Find links for training and help videos, app downloads and answers to frequently asked questions at fremontunified.org/logins.