Education California | The official newspaper of the Association of California School Administrators
Volume 49 | Number 9 | October 22, 2018
ACSA launches school violence toolkit
The first priority of educators nation-
wide is to provide a healthy and safe school
environment for all students and staff.
ACSA has taken a proactive role in school
safety with the creation of the Fatal School
Violence Toolkit.
“We believe there is a need to have seri-
ous discussions about school safety,” said
ACSA President Holly Edds. “With regard
to school violence and threats, we are facing
new challenges every day, and we’ve built
this toolkit to include resources designed to
save lives.”
The toolkit has three sections: before
an incident; during an incident; and after
an incident. ACSA members have contrib-
uted content to the toolkit, which includes
resources on lockdown drills, facility assess-
ments, crisis management, and samples of
post-incident communications. The toolkit
also includes links to content from student
advocates, federal agencies and thought
leaders in other parts of the United States.
“This is for members, by members,”
Edds said. “By leveraging the work and
experiences of our members, we’re creat-
ing an incredible opportunity to learn from
each other.”
The toolkit is the product of ACSA’s
Fatal School Violence Task Force, which
is made up of more than 20 volunteers
See TOOLKIT, page 5
Accessibility resources. The
“Smarter Balanced Resources and
Practices Comparison Crosswalk”
for 2018-19 is now available at http://
bit.ly/smarterbalancedresources.
The Crosswalk lists the accessibility
resources that currently are included
in the Smarter Balanced Usability,
Accessibility, and Accommodations
Guidelines and provides a description
of both the resource and its classroom
equivalent.
Reviewers needed. CTC is still
The challenges of cerebral palsy cannot keep a smile from
Joey Drake's face.
When it comes to robotics, Jamie Geng knows she is in
control.
Smiling through the challenges Robotics helps overcome anxiety
She is only 11 years old, but Joey Drake is wise beyond her
years.
“A lot of my friends and my family say ‘How are you so
mature?’” Joey said. “They think I’m older than I am. But I say
because of what I’ve had to go through, I know things that not
all 11-year-olds know because not all 11-year-olds have to go
through things like this.”
Born with cerebral palsy, Joey faced her fair share of chal-
lenges growing up. But she refused to let her condition dictate
her daily life. She is in a league of her own. Jamie Geng is one of the most
talented students to walk through the doors of Westview High
in San Diego.
“It’s pretty rarified air,” Poway Unified School District career
education specialist Joe Austin said. “I can honestly say when I
talk about Jamie that there’s no question she’s the top 1 percent
of the students I’ve worked with. And that’s 25 years of high
school graduates.”
She’s an AP student. She’s a musician. But she might be most
See JOEY, page 6
See JAMIE, page 5
in need of program reviewers for
Administrative Services and other pro-
grams. The Commission’s accreditation
system is a peer review process in
which peers conduct pre-visit evidence
review and site visit activities. The
Commission is seeking information
on potential reviewers’ expertise and
availability through a survey found at
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/
SZW3DLS. The survey is short and
gathers information regarding both
your expertise and availability. The
survey should take no longer than five
to 10 minutes to complete. Once sur-
vey data is compiled they will contact
applicants to provide details about your
participation in upcoming Program
Review sessions. Additional questions
may be sent to [email protected].
ECE webinars. ACSA, in part-
Helping the non-
traditional student
Following his own non-traditional path to school leadership has allowed
Amos Nugent III, left, to better relate to his students.
Not all students fit the mold of the traditional school.
Often the job of helping these at-risk students learn is the
responsibility of continuation schools and other such edu-
cational options. That makes Amos Nugent III an impor-
tant part of the safety net, as the principal of Community
Collaborative Charter School North Sacramento. Nugent
performs his job so well he was chosen as ACSA’s 2019
Continuation/Educational Options Administrator of the
Year.
Like many of his students, Nugent’s path has not neces-
sarily been carefully plotted out. He said he started out in
education, then left to run his own successful business. He
had no plans to become a school administrator, but came
back into the field of education as a favor to a friend.
“However, after my first year back, the opportunity
presented itself, or as I view it, God opened the door for
nership with the California County
Superintendents Educational Services
Association, is offering a two-part, free
webinar on expanding access for early
childhood education. The first part is
Oct. 22, 9:00-10:00 a.m., and deals
with funding opportunities and policy
changes. The second part will be Nov.
14, 9:00-10:00 a.m., and shares best
practices from the field for expanding
ECE. Register for Part 1 at http://bit.ly/
ECEpart1. Register for Part 2 at http://
bit.ly/ECEpart2.
Hotel rate correction. An incor-
rect rate for the upcoming Every Child
Counts conference was listed in the
brochure inserted into EdCal on Oct.
1. The correct rate is $203 per night.
ACSA regrets the error.
See NUGENT, page 7
California schools named as 2018
National Blue Ribbon Schools
Superintendent of Public Instruction
Tom Torlakson congratulated 12 California
public schools that have been chosen as
2018 National Blue Ribbon Schools. This
coveted award honors public and private
elementary, middle, and high schools where
students achieve high learning standards.
“Congratulations to all the schools on
this list that are helping students achieve
their dreams and to the leaders dedicated
to and invested in finding ways to close
the achievement gap,” Torlakson said. “The
teachers, parents, administrators, and com-
munity members at these schools are out-
standing examples of innovative things hap-
pening in California education.”
The award affirms the hard work of
educators, families, and communities in
creating safe and welcoming schools where
students master challenging and engaging
content. In its 36-year history, the National
Blue Ribbon Schools Program has present-
ed this award to more than 8,800 schools.
Schools are recognized based on all
student scores, subgroup student scores,
and graduation rates. They are among their
state’s highest performing schools as mea-
See BLUE RIBBON, page 7
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