July 16, 2009
Editor's note: During the summer months, Community Connection will be published bi-monthly instead of weekly. Have a safe and happy summer! Remember, school starts on August 10th!
SUSD Recalling Up To 129.5 Teachers
Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) announced that it’s recalling up to 129.5 teaching positions that were lost due to a Reduction in Force (RIF) in March. Additionally, SUSD will reinstate many assistant principals and will bring back school resource officers at the high school level. The recall process will continue throughout the month of July.
“I am pleased that the state budget was finally approved, and we were able to begin our recall of up to 129.5 teachers. We are deeply grateful to our teachers who have been very patient during this process. Our goal is to reduce class size to meet the learning needs of our students,” said Superintendent Dr. Gary T. Catalani.
SUSD is also asking any teachers who are not recalled to remain with the District as substitute teachers. These teachers will be given priority status for substituting positions. Teachers who have been RIFed have the right of recall to the District for a period of three years. Human Capital will be working throughout the summer to bring back as many teachers as possible based on budget capacity.
The State budget for Arizona was voted into law on July 8 which allowed SUSD to begin recalling teachers.
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2009-10 Enrollment Packet Information
The 2009-10 Enrollment Packet is now available online. The following required forms need to be returned to your child’s school. These required forms are:
- Enrollment/Registration Form
- PHLOTE Form
- Annual Requirement & Notification (Code of Conduct Notification and Parent Language Survey)
- Emergency Card/Student Health History
If this is your first time enrolling your child into a Scottsdale Unified School District school, you will need to bring the following documentation with you:
- Birth Certificate or Passport
- Immunization Records
- Proof of Residency (acceptable are rental agreement, escrow papers or most recent utility (gas, electric or water) bill.
- Guardianship/Custody Documentation (if applicable)
- Unofficial high school transcript or most recent report card (for students entering grade 9) and standardized test scores, if available.
Completed Enrollment Packets can be returned to your child’s school starting July 20th. (Copper Ridge July 27th)
- High Schools – Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Closed 12-1 p.m. for lunch.
- Sierra Vista Academy – Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Middle Schools – Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Appointments can be made if necessary.
- Elementary Schools – Please check your child’s school Web site for information.
Remember to START SMART – School starts on August 10th!
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Technology Classroom Upgrades
Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) is excited to announce that construction is starting for our classroom technology updates!
The updates to a typical classroom include a ceiling-mounted projector, a document camera, a wireless audio system and an interactive white board. Read more...
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DCMS Teacher Attends NASA's Teacher Academy
Mary Trent, a sixth grade science teacher at Desert Canyon Middle School, joined 25 applicants from Arizona to study Meteorology topics at NASA's Teacher Academy in Meteorology Education from July 13-17 at Embry Riddle University in Prescott, Ariz.
Topics of study included atmospheric composition, atmospheric optics, greenhouse gases, climate change, atmospheric structure, heat transfer, instrumentation, wind, moisture, clouds and precipitation, air masses, fronts and cyclones, general circulation, stability, thunderstorms, cloud microphysics, radiation, remote sensing, ocean-air interaction, tropical cyclones, weather analysis, forecasting, computer modeling and applications.
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Back to School Checklist
With only a few weeks of summer vacation left, parents are getting their children geared up for the 2009-10 school year by scheduling immunizations, eye exams and physicals and purchasing school supplies. With such busy schedules, it is easy to forget what day school actually starts – Monday, August 10th.
Click on the following links for more information about:
For school supply lists, check your school's Web site. Look for the parent-teacher link in the the "Our Community" section. If you have any additional questions, please call the District office at 480-484-6100.
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Open Enrollment Applications Still Being Accepted
Did you know that parents outside of the SUSD boundaries may enroll their child in a Scottsdale Unified School District school? SUSD accepts Open Enrollment applications throughout the year.
The Open Enrollment form is available on our Web site at http://www.susd.org/district/administrativeservices/howtoopenenroll.cfm.
Here are just a few reasons why you should consider open enrollment:
- Twenty-two “Excelling” schools as rated by the Arizona Department of Education.
- Twenty-seven National Merit finalists.
- SUSD students score higher than state averages on both AIMS and Terra Nova tests at all grade levels and in all content areas.
- SAT scores for our college-bound students were above the state and national averages in both English and Math.
- Scottsdale Unified School District offers specialized programs such as:
- Aviation Science Program at Coronado High School
- Nursing Program at Saguaro High School
- Culinary Program at Chaparral High School
- Award-winning Media Communications Program at Arcadia High School
- International Baccalaureate Program at Desert Mountain High School
- Foreign Language Immersion Program at Pueblo Elementary School
- Six middle schools with Enrichment Courses that ease the transition from elementary school to middle school and then from middle school to high school
- Three K-8 schools
- Sixteen elementary schools that lay a strong educational foundation
Once accepted to an SUSD school through the Open Enrollment process, parents will not need to fill out another application for the remainder of their child’s public school career. Parents will need to provide their child's transportation to and from school. There are a limited number of our schools that are not accepting students through the Open Enrollment process because those schools are at full capacity. Please call the school in which you are interested to check Open Enrollment availability.
Your child’s special place to Excel is waiting in the
Scottsdale Unified School District!
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 If you would like to drop off an open enrollment application or registration packet or have a general question to ask, please visit the high school or middle school in your designated complex. Staff members at these sites are ready to assist you with friendly smiles and/or helpful voices over the phone.
Summer Hours:
- High Schools – Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. Closed 12-1 p.m. for lunch.
- Sierra Vista Academy – Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.
- Middle Schools – Monday-Thursday 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Appointments can be made if necessary.
- Elementary Schools – Please check your child’s school Web site for information.
- The Education Center – June 1-July 30- 6:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday-Thursday. Beginning August 1 - 7:30 a.m. - 4:15 p.m.
Please note that all school offices will be closed from July 6-16. During this time, enrollment applications and registration packets can be dropped off at the Education Center or the Community Schools office located at our Warehouse.
Registration for Kids Club or Community Schools' summer programs will be accepted only from from 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday at the Warehouse, 9313 N. 95th Way, Scottsdale.
Feeder School Chart
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 Planning Your Summer Vacation? Remember to Plan for START SMART — August 10!
Keep the first day of school – August 10th – in mind when planning your family vacation this summer. It’s important that children are in school, because learning begins on the very first day of instruction. Scottsdale Unified teachers come to class each day prepared to teach all students, but these lessons are learned best when children are in class! Remember, school starts on August 10th!
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SUSD Offers All Day Kindergarten
The Benefits of All Day Kindergarten and K-3 Override
- The K-3 Override was originally approved to provide all day Kindergarten for Scottsdale Unified School District.
- When the State provided funding for all day Kindergarten, we were able to support smaller class sizes in Kindergarten and grades 1, 2 and 3.
- The current State budget challenges may impact the funds provided by the State for all day Kindergarten. District leadership is continually monitoring the State budget process and will update this information as often as possible.
- If the State does not provide funding for all day Kindergarten, the K-3 Override will be used to continue our current all day Kindergarten program. We would not be able to continue to reduce class sizes in grades 1, 2 and 3.
Thank You
- The K-3 Override was passed by voters in 2005. A voter-approved K-3 Override runs for a period of seven years.
- The first five years of this override allow for a school district to budget an additional 5% of K-8 funding capacity.
- If the Override is not renewed after five years, it will be reduced by 1/3 of the approved funds in year six and an additional 1/3 reduction will occur in year seven.
- The K-3 Override allows $3.4 million per year of additional education funding so that the District has reduced Kindergarten class sizes targeted at 21 students to 1 teacher.
- These funds also allow reduced class sizes in grades 1-3, during the important early years of a student’s education. Funds also provide for instructional assistants in kindergarten and first grade.
The Benefits of the K-3 Override to Our Children Are:
- Better academic preparation.
- The opportunity for enrichment of the curriculum.
- More interaction between teachers and students.
- More focused participation during early childhood education which positively impacts later academic performance.
- A more productive learning environment and the opportunity to learn to work well with peers.
Thank you for your continued support of public education! Your support has made excelling education possible in the Scottsdale Unified School District. Thank you!
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Scottsdale Republic Features SUSD Teachers
Do you know an outstanding teacher in the Scottsdale Unified School District? Would you like that teacher to be recognized in the newspaper? The Scottsdale Republic runs a weekly feature highlighting a different SUSD teacher each week. To nominate a teacher, simply fill out the online Teacher Nomination Form.
*Please note that a high resolution digital photo must be submitted to be considered for publication.
View the article on Hopi Elementary teacher Livia Rice that ran in the Scottsdale Republic.
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H1N1 (Swine Flu) Update
06-11-09 - Information from the CDC
05-19-09 - Update from Maricopa County Department of Public Health
05-08-09 - CDC What's New on the H1N1 Flu Site
05-04-09 - Important Message from Maricopa County Department of Public Health
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