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Top issues for educators in Yuba-Sutter

Appeal-Democrat - 5/27/2017

May 27--Editor's Note: Priorities. We asked reporters to speak with a variety of sources for their beats and develop a list of priority items for each -- what sources think are the most important issues, actions, initiatives. This series continues through May. Add your thoughts on priorities and story ideas by participating in an online survey -- go to appealdemocrat.com and click on the header "Beats and Priorities" near the top of the home page.

There is no shortage of priority issues for educators on either side of the river.

The Appeal-Democrat spoke with three school district officials from Yuba City Unified School District and Marysville Joint Unified School District -- YCUSD Superintendent Doreen Osumi; YCUSD Deputy Superintendent Robert Shemwell; and MJUSD director of attendance and discipline Jolie Carreon.

Here is what they said to be on the lookout for in the near future, in no particular order.

- Strategic planning. The Yuba City Unified School District Governing Board will invite community stakeholders to participate in the development of a new YCUSD Strategic Plan at the start of the 2017-2018 school. The strategic plan will be used to communicate the board/district goals and the actions to achieve the goals.

- Career and technical education. Yuba City Unified School District will see options expanded from high schools to middle school grades.

Courses such as "Medical Detectives" that will feed into the patient care pathway as well as design and modeling and automation and robotics, both feeding into the engineering and architecture pathway, will be offered at middle schools throughout the district.

Shemwell: "It's a very compressive pathway that lays out the skills and practical hands on experience that individuals would need to have entering those fields in the community."

- Facilities. YCUSD will open the new Career Technical Education Auto Technology/STEM facility at Yuba City High School in August that will provide a state-of-the-art learning facility for our students. In addition, a new weight room at River Valley High School will be opening in June.

YCUSD will break ground on two multi-purpose rooms, one at Tierra Buena Elementary School and the other at Barry Elementary School and YCHS will see their football field and track replaced with new athletic surfaces.

- Next generation science standards. YCUSD has started the rollout. In 2017-18, students can expect to see the implementation at all grade levels.

Shemwell: "It will integrate technology with engineering and mathematics. It's kind of a revamping of our science curriculum with a lot of hands on and experience based integration."

- Technology. The 2017-2018 school year will bring additional technology to the classrooms with grade levelaccess, through the use of mobile labs.

Shemwell: "You're going to see a proliferation of Google Chromebooks across all grade levels and more utilization of iPads at the early elementary level."

- Transportation. Families and students can expect to see eight new buses on the roads of Yuba City. Five of the buses have been funded by a grant received by YCUSD with one of the five being an electric bus.

Shemwell: "They're part of a multi-year plan for the district to replace its aging bus fleet by the year 2020. We'll get a little bit into electric busses that will be utilized locally around town, but for the most part we're sticking with diesel for our buses."!

- District advisory committee. MJUSD will hold three meetings throughout the school year and different topics arediscussed. Parents are invited to attend.

- Gang awareness training. Yuba County Sheriff's Department and Marysville Police will work together to present information regarding gangs in the Yuba-Sutter community in October. The presentation is for parents.

- Stand for the Silent anti-bullying campaign. It starts in October and will feature Kirt Smalley, a parent of a child who completed suicide because of bullying. Many MJUSD schools will have Smalley share his story with students.

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(c)2017 the Appeal-Democrat (Marysville, Calif.)

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