Back to School Bash: August 5, 2017

SAUSD families are invited to celebrate the new school year and receive free backpacks, health screenings, and many more resources to get the school year started off right. This event is exclusively for Santa Ana Unified School District students. Click on headline to learn more.

HIGH SCHOOL INC. PRESENTS $30,000 DONATION CHECK FOR EXPANSION OF AUTOMOTIVE ACADEMY PROJECT

By expanding the outdoor education space for our National Award Winning Automotive Academy, High School Inc., CTE, the Santa Ana Unified School District and Santa Ana Valley High School are together empowering youth and strengthening our community. High School Inc. President Mark McLoughlin and others gathered with SAUSD board officials, Automotive Academy students, their instructor and the Principal of Valley to accept and recognize a donation of $30,000 in support of the lift expansion project.

SAUSD SUMMER ENRICHMENT STUDENTS TO PERFORM DISNEY'S 'THE LITTLE MERMAID'

FREE MEALS FOR CHILDREN IN SANTA ANA THIS SUMMER!

The Nutrition Services Department in Santa Ana Unified School District is pleased to announce that we will be participating in the Seamless Summer Feeding Option; serving free summer meals to children in the community! Please click on the headline for a list of participating sites, dates, times and additional rules.

NEW USC ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS SAUSD’S COLLABORATION WITH OTHER DISTRICTS TO IMPROVE STUDENT OUTCOMES

Garden Grove Superintendent Gabriela Mafi ME ’00, EdD ’02 keeps fellow Superintendent Stefanie Phillips EdD ’05 in nearby Santa Ana on speed dial, and the pair meet for lunch once a month. “We know each other well,” says Mafi. “We share issues and best practices across districts, including issues with our boards or collective bargaining.” Mafi and Phillips are more than just fellow alumnae of USC Rossier — they represent districts that are part of a consortium called CORE, the California Office to Reform Education. They agree that the ability to reach out regularly to other urban superintendents is one of the many benefits of their CORE connection.

News Release:

Santa Ana Unified School District's Statement on the Arrest of Tracey Steven Fulford

Congratulations To The National Award-winning Speech And Debate Team Of The Santa Ana Unified School District

Santa Ana Unified School District students have returned victorious from the National Speech & Debate Association’s 2017 National Speech & Debate Tournament, held June 20-23, 2017 in Birmingham, Alabama. After the District’s first national tournament, the group concluded the competition with five breaks. Finalists are as follows.

SAUSD’S DR. SUSIE LOPEZ-GUERRA RECEIVES COMMUNITY BUILDING AWARD

Congratulations to Dr. Susie Lopez-Guerra, Director of Community Relations for SAUSD, for being presented this week with a Community Building Award from Santa Ana's Resource Network. The award recognizes people or groups that are “continuously creating a positive environment, increasing productivity, and making Santa Ana a great place to live, work and play.” Dr. Lopez-Guerra was recognized for being “particularly effective in bringing people together to promote enrichment opportunities for students and in supporting development pathways for our organizations.” The award was presented during the city’s 2017 Celebrate Santa Ana event, held on June 29, 2017 at The Heritage Museum of Orange County.

SAUSD REITERATES ITS HIRING PRACTICES

The safety of all Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) students is paramount as we go about educating the approximately 53,000 young people who come to us each day. The SAUSD Office of Human Resources helps ensure that all employees are properly screened and vetted before they begin supporting our students. Additionally, we routinely work to update and refine our screening protocols to ensure that we are providing the highest level of security to our students, staff and visitors in our various school sites, daily. SAUSD’s 91.6% graduation rate is proof that the 4,000 teachers who make up our teacher corps are some of the best in this state and indeed the country. They go above and beyond to ensure that our young people, many of whom face tremendous external challenges, are able to excel despite their disadvantages.

BOARD OF EDUCATION RECOGNIZES EMPLOYEES OF THE MONTH FOR JUNE 2017

The Board of Education recently recognized Kristen Abadjian as the District's Certificated Employee of the Month for June 2017. During the same meeting, the Board also honored Alicia Islas-Nava as the Classified Employee of the Month for June 2017. Read more about both of them here.

360 SANTA ANA UNIFIED STUDENTS TAKE PART IN MATH FIELD DAY

The 22nd Annual Math Field Day - an annual math competition for 4th-8th graders selected by teacher coaches to represent their school sites - was held recently at Villa Fundamental Intermediate. Students competed in mental math, algebraic thinking, geometry, problem solving (BreakOUT Edu) and STEM. Math curriculum specialists organized and managed the event which drew 360 student math-letes, about 90 teacher coaches, and about 25 volunteers from AVID SAUSD, Orange County Math Council, and LionHeart.

PIO PICO ELEMENTARY CELEBRATES SUBARU'S CONTRIBUTIONS

Students at Pio Pico Elementary recently celebrated their ties with Subaru and associates and thanked them for their support during two special gatherings. Subaru has been a long time community partner for Pio Pico, said Lorena Rubio, Interim Principal. Subaru donated plants and seeds to Pio Pico's garden to help with the National Wildlife Federation Initiative. In addition, Subaru employees have also been Book Mentors for a group of third grade students for the entire school year. One campus celebration highlighted Subaru's gardening contributions, while the other showcased Subaru mentors.

MENDEZ FUNDAMENTAL STUDENTS COMPETE IN NATIONAL ROCKETRY CHALLENGE

Mendez Hot Shots Team A from Mendez Fundamental Intermediate recently competed in the Team America Rocketry Challenge Finals Fly-Off in The Plains, VA. Sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association, the National Association of Rocketry and more than 20 industry partners, TARC is the world's largest student rocketry contest. This year, nearly 5,000 students representing 46 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands designed, built and launched rockets in hopes of qualifying for the National Finals.

WALKER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS MEET ONLINE TUTORS IN PERSON

First graders at Walker Elementary School recently met their tutors from Tutormate, a program that connects students and employees from different companies through the internet. They work together throughout the year to improve students' reading skills. "It is a wonderful program and both students and tutors were very excited to meet each other," said Principal Mariana Garate.

ADVANCED LEARNING ACADEMY STUDENTS TAKE PART IN GAMING APP SHOWCASE

Advanced Learning Academy's "Coding Wolves" recently won second place in the AppJam+ Mobile Gaming App Showcase. The students worked with UCI Computer Science mentors to learn about app development and computer science skills. AppJam+ is a mentorship program that teaches students to build software in a short period of time. The goal is to excite and inform students about STEM career fields while teaching them the creative and hands on technical process of mobile application development. Students receive mentorship from college undergraduates and learn to make Mobile apps that can be used by their peers. To view a video about the students' experience, click here.