we want o be as a dis rict with re-
and in math, 51.02% of students
“There is no doubt that our
at certain grade levels. We must
the making when, then s a Fort
topic. De Jongh was a 24-year-old
memorial ceremony in Saint Jean
de Luz and met a former member
by anywhere from
grade levels.
– Superintendent
“
”

	CUSD
November 2023
	
	NON-PROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID FRESNO, CA
PERMIT NO. 220
			
	School District Ave.
611
		
	Clovis Unified S 1450 Herndon Clovis, CA 936
	
Clovis Unified School District — DEVELOPING STUDENTS IN MIND, BODY & SPIRIT	Volume 26, No. 4

FOLLOW US ON	AND AT	M

BUILDING FOR TOMORROW

Work underway on new educational center in southeast area – phased opening scheduled to begin Fall 2025

Clovis Unified School District got out the hardhats and golden shovels for a groundbreaking celebration Oct. 17 that marked the oficial start of construction on the district’s next comprehensive educational center. The Terry P. Bradley Educational Center will be home to the future Clovis South High School and a yet-to-be-named inter-mediate school that will have a phased opening starting Fall 2025.
Student performers and honored guests attended the event as did center namesake Terry P. Bradley, Ed.D., who served the district for 34 years in several business and fi-nancial roles that culminated in his superintendency from 2002 to 2009. His legacy of fiscal responsibility while still building first-class facilities and his dedication to doing what’s best for students remain guiding principles throughout the district.
Bradley said he is humbled by the honor and excited knowing the center will be built and operated with Clovis Unified’s vision of serving students and meeting the standards of excellence that were established by founding superintendent Floyd Buchanan, Ed.D.
Speakers at the ceremony gave Bradley credit for solid-ifying those standards into the district’s ongoing culture and making them a vital part of all district decisions to put kids first.
“It’s not just me. It’s the thousands of people who work for Clovis Unified. They just named the facility after me,” he said, noting it has always been the people who make the difference and positive impact on the lives of students. Located in the burgeoning southeast corner of the district at the Highland and Clinton avenues alignment, the educational center will ease current overcrowding at schools in that area and provide space for expected future student enrollment growth. School attendance boundaries have yet to be developed, and public meetings and discus-
sions on those will begin in January.
The Bradley Center will have a few new features among Clovis Unified schools, like putting its main support re-sources in one building – administration, nursing, library – that will serve both schools. Itwill also have the district’s first sunken football field and gymnasium.
“This is an exciting time in Clovis Unified as we mark the beginning of an entirely new school area anchored by this center,” said Assistant Superintendent of the Clovis South Area Stephanie Hanks. “It’s also a wonderful tribute to Dr. Bradley, a district leader whose expertise with finances and facilities helped shape our district into what it is today. We will honor him in years to come by remaining focused on our core values of putting students first, valuing our employees and enhancing our community partner-ships.”

Clovis Unified officials including retired Superin-tendent Terry P. Bradley, Ed.D., top photo, pictured second from left, and current Superintendent Corrine Folmer, Ed.D., left, take part in the ground-breaking ceremony for the Terry P. Bradley Educa-tional Center that is under construction in the district’s southeast area near Highland and Clinton avenue alignments. Dr. Bradley, photo at left, who served in positions
of business and fi-nance prior to his superintendency, is credited for his fiscal responsibility while still building first-class facilities that would serve stu-dents. Pictured at right, a chair on the stage of the cere-
mony reserved for the late, founding Superintendent Floyd “Doc” Buchanan, Ed.D., that held Doc’s hat paid tribute to his legacy of always putting children first. Below, a rendering shows the entryway of the new center.
Photos by Kendra Burt, Patti Lippert/CUSD Today

‰Name approved

It’s official. Clovis Unified’s next high school will be called Clovis South High School, following approval of the name by the Govern-ing Board Sept. 20. The school will be part of the Terry P. Bradley Educational Center that will also be home to a new, yet-to-be-named in-termediate school. The center is planned to open Fall 2025 for grades 7 to 9. An additional grade level will be added each year until it is complete. Attendance bound-aries will be estab-lished next spring.

‰Get involved Watch for future updates about the Terry P. Bradley Cen-ter timeline, commu-nity meetings, atten-dance boundary proposals, naming of the intermediate school, selection of mascots, school colors, and much more at cusd.com.

Clovis Unified student Courtlin Pulliam spoke at a World War II remembrance ceremony as a guest of honor because of her school History Day project. The connections she made while research-ing her topic led to the invitation to come to France this Fall.

Photo special to CUSD Today.

Student project leads to invitation overseas

n
Kastner teen is guest of honor
at World War II remembrance
that involved extensive research and corresponding with relatives and members of the Comète Line Historical Society in Europe. The Society, which
was the guest of honor in France this fall at re-
for her History Day project.
stayed in ouch with their American friend, and
this fall.
Kastner Intermediate student Courtlin Pulliam published t Courtlin’s project in their newsletter, membrance ceremonies of a World War II resistance invited her to France to take part in several events movement that she had researched                                                       During Courtlin’s whirlwind The unexpected once-in-a-life-                                                  weekend in France, she attended a
time experience was two years in
and the Comète Line as her project
(who was 15 during the war and
Washington Elementary a student,                                                  of the Comète Line resistance group Courltin selected Andrée de Jongh                                                  smuggled messages hidden in bread past enemy forces). She also traveled
had been shot down in Nazi- ccupi d Belgium
a formal Comète Line Memorial ceremony and
Belgian nurse who founded the Comète Line, a to Anglet and met with the mayor, participated in group that rescued Allied AiroForce epilots who gave a speech alongside the Comète Line Association and France. Courtlin won 1st Place in the Fresno
County History Day competition for her work ‰ Please see Courtlin, Page 10

State scores provide insights into student learning, help to establish more strategies
Some of our
schools saw student
achievement grow
In the wake of the state’s release in October of the 2023 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) results, Clovis Unified educators are ana-lyzing the data and using the in-formation to shape classroom in-
basis.
struction on a student-by-student	15-22% at certain “While our Clovis Unified stu-

dents continue to perform above the county and state averages, and
we have seen some classrooms	Corrine Folmer, Ed.D. make great gains, we are not where
CAASPP result ,” said Superin-
n English Language Arts
by-student at how it can inform
year,” Folmer said. “Some of our
grow by anywhere from 15-22%
spect to tour overall tdistrictwide	data to drill down to look student-tendent CorrinesFolmer, Ed.D. of	instruction in the current school theIdistrict’s overall results. (ELA),	schools saw student achievement 66.18% of students in Clovis Unified
(state average is 46.66% in ELA);
scored at or above proficiency level     now work together to replicate that level of achievement across every
math).
trict.”
were at or above grade level profi-     grade level and school in our dis-ciency (state average is 34.62% in          This fall, the district has been conducting school-by-school re-
team of incredible educators are
views of the data, and each school working hard to overcome obstacles	site leader is engaged in a process to learning, and we are using this	‰ Please see Scores, Page 10

Page 2	CUSD Today	November 2023

		

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CUSD holiday closures
The CUSD District Office at Herndon and
hosts free, monthly Parent Night workshops for parents to
November 2023	CUSD Today	Page 3

‰ Announcements

Election change update
The Clovis Unified Governing Board trustee election process will be changing to shift elections from an at-large voter election, to one where a trustee for an area is voted on by residents of only that area. The board held five public hearings, which concluded in October, about the proposed change and trustee map, and the board’s approved recom-mendation was directed to the Fresno County Committee on School District Organization for its review. The county entity voted Nov. 1 to approve the change and trustee map. The changes to Clovis Unified process will take effect beginning in the next board trustee election in November 2024. For updates, see cusd.com.
‘Elf – The Musical’ in November
Let the holiday season be-gin! Clovis West will be per-forming “Elf – The Musical” this month, putting to song and dance the beloved tale of Buddy, a young orphan who crawls into Santa’s bag and mistakenly grows up believing he is an elf… even though he is much taller and is not any good at making toys!
The production is rated PG and will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9-11 and 16-18, and at 2 p.m. Nov. 11 and 18, at the Mercedes Edwards Theatre, 902 Fifth St., Clovis. For information and tickets: www.cwhsdrama.weebly.com.
‘Songs of a New World,’ by CN
Clovis North’s Bronco Dra-ma will present “Songs for a New World,” which shares un-related stories that speak to hardship, resilience and choic-es made – from the deck of a Spanish sailing ship heading to a new land, to a poor young man dreaming of becoming a famous basketball player.
The show will be held at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30, Dec. 1, 2 and 7-9, and at 2 p.m. Dec. 2
and 9 at Dan Pessano Theater, 2770 E. International Ave., Fresno. For information and tickets: thebroncodrama.com.

College financial aid window, workshops Seniors planning on attending any college in the fall of

2024 should prepare to submit their FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or CADAA (California Dream Act Application) online. Through the documents, students can learn if they are eligible for financial aid.
There are major changes and improvements coming to the 2024-25 FAFSA form. As a result, the new form will be available in December 2023 (and not on Oct. 1 as in years past). Changes to the FAFSA form for the 2024-25 school

Huskies host California’s top justices

Two state judicial leaders recently visited Maple Creek Elementary to present the school’s 2023 California Civic Award of Excellence: Supreme Court of California Chief Justice Pa-tricia Guerrero and Presiding Justice of Court of Appeal Brad Hill of the Fifth Appellate District.
The Huskies’ Civic Leadership stu-dents led a presentation to the justices during the visit. Maple Creek Elemen-tary teachers also spoke about the civic learning programs and lessons happening on campus, including the Positivity Project and the Collaborative
Mentoring program.	to Principal Gina Kismet.	they like, build them up, and launch “This award represents all of your         Kismet praised her entire team. them.”
hard work, and that starts with each “This award has to do with our students	Maple Creek was announced earlier of you as an individual but working and all of the good work that they do, this year as the only elementary school collectively with your classmates,” said and it has to do with our wonderful in California to receive the 2023 Civic Chief Justice Guerrero as she congrat- teachers and advisors who pour them- Award of Excellence. Congratulations ulated students and presented a plaque selves into these programs, find things Huskies, on this exceptional honor.

year includes expanded eligibility for federal student aid and a more streamlined application process.
Clovis Unified schools will be closed Nov. 10 for
Veterans Day; the week of Nov. 20 through 24 for
Thanksgiving Break; and Dec. 22 through Jan. 8 for
Winter Break.
As a senior student, what can you do in the meantime? Make sure to create your StudentAid.gov account and record your username and password so you can access and submit the 2024-25 FAFSA form when it becomes available. Because of the FAFSA form release delay this year, the
April 2, 2024 (not March 2).
Cal Grant deadline has been extended this school year to	Sunnyside avenues will be closed Nov. 25 and 26, FAFSA is not just for low-income students and should	Dec. 25, 26 and Jan. 1.
Parent Academy workshops
Clovis Unified Supplemental Service’s Parent Academy
be completed by all students planning to attend a community college for either a career certificate or transfer degree and by all students planning to attend a four-year university.
The application will also be used for college scholarship
information and many student athletes are asked to complete	learn about the many district resources and programs the application. Starting last year, applying for the FAFSA	available to help their child. Upcoming meetings and topics is mandatory for all seniors, however, students/parents	include:
can also choose to complete a FAFSA waiver form. Contact	n Nov. 7 – “Social Emotional Supports & Suicide Preven-your high school counselor for more information.                   tion”
Clovis Unified high schools will be holding workshops	n Jan. 18 – “Newcomer Family Night”
to assist families in completing the FAFSA. They are:	n Feb. 20 – “Understanding Interventions, 504’s and IEP’s” Buchanan High, Dec. 18, Jan. 31, March 20; Clovis East	n March 19 – “Family Safety Night” (held at Weldon Ele-High, Dec. 12, Jan. 16 and March 19; Clovis High, Jan. 29,     mentary)
Feb. 26 and March 13; Clovis North High, March 4; and	n April 11 – “Building Readers at Home”
Clovis West High, Dec. 18, Jan. 17 and 29, Feb. 5 and 13,          Workshops are held at the CUSD Professional Learning and March 18.                                                                           Center, 326 N. Clovis Ave., in Clovis, with free dinner and Links, information and workshop dates/times are available     childcare at 5:30 p.m., and the workshop at 6 p.m. Topics through the CUSD high school counseling centers’ websites.     were selected based on parent feedback and requests. To The FAFSA online application can be found when available     register for a Parent Night or to find out more about the
at https://studentaid/gov.	Parent Academy, visit: cusd.com/ParentAcademy.

Student leadership conferences underway at Clovis Unified

Clovis Unified has opportunities for students to par-ticipate in student leadership conferences each year. The district partners with the community in creating these cultural events where students can learn about themselves and one another.
Conferences include keynote speakers and professionals in the community discussing their experiences, answering questions, and providing information about college and careers.
Upcoming conferences are:
n CUSD Asian Student Success Conference, Nov. 29, at the Reagan Educational Center
n CUSD Transition Student Conference, Jan. 23, at the Mercedes Edwards Theatre and Clovis Veterans Memorial District. Transition Program students only.
n Fresno County Superintendent of Schools African American High School Student Leadership Conference, Feb. 6, Fresno Convention Center
n CUSD African American Student Leadership Middle School Conference, Feb. 23, at the Clovis North Educational Center. Open to Central Valley Intermediate Schools.
n CUSD Latino High School Student Success Conference, March 4, Clovis North Educational Center
n CUSD Officer Jesus Ceron Latino Student Success Middle School Conference, March 22, at Kastner Inter-mediate
Clovis Unified’s leadership conferences are open to all students regardless of race and ethnicity.

“Knowing each other’s culture and diversity is important	also provide leadership exposure for students wanting to and can lead to better understanding between students	make a positive impact on their campuses and communi-and our community,” CUSD Coordinator of Community	ties.”
Relations Saul Salinas, Ed.D., said.                                              More information and signups are available through “It’s also vital students learn about paths to success as     the district’s intermediate and high schools counseling of-
they consider their futures after high school. The conferences	fices.

Inaugural district Native American event conference held

Clovis Unified held its first Native American Student      Kenneth Shirley, an Emmy-winning filmmaker and Success Conference Nov. 1 that opened with a traditional      founder of Indigenous Enterprise, LLC, who was joined ceremonial Native American Song as a cul-                                          by fellow filmmaker Lionel Thundercloud. tural offering to Native Americans.                                                        Two breakout sessions were held with local The event was created through the efforts                                          community partners and mentors, and there
of the Clovis Unified Native American Ad-	was a drum circle led by Delaine Bill, Cultural visory Committee, which is composed of	Support Specialist for the Fresno American staff, parents and students. They wanted to	Indian Health Project and member of the provide an opportunity for all the district’s	Mono/Wukchumni tribe.
Native American students to come together                                               Planners called the first conference a suc-while celebrating their culture.                                                              cess and said its primary goal was to provide “The primary goal is for our Native                                          inspiration for students to pursue goals be-American students to learn about the im-                                          yond high school and equip students with portance of education, perseverance, and                                          useful tools to help them along their journey. goals through a Native lens,” said Robyn Snyder, Director      It will become part of the district’s annual student lead-of Supplement Services who helped with planning.            ership conferences that also include the Asian American, About 100 CUSD students attended from intermediate      African American and Latino Student Success Conferences
and high schools. They heard from keynote speaker	held throughout the school year.

Elise Krieghoff - Basketball,
Soccer, Buchanan High
Clovis High
Clovis High
1991 Clovis High Football Team
ducted for standout athletcs
teams were chosen from among hun-
their hometown football games
programs. We are proud to honor
n
Carlo Prandini, Ph.D. –
Doc Buchanan Award
the idea of stu-
best they could
Basketball & Track
Cougar history.
ball during his
time at Clovis
n
James Patrick –
2014 National Coach of the Year. In
2005, he was inducted into the Cali-
1995-2018,
T i r a p e l l e
ists, 33 of whom
i n d i v i d u a l
duction into the California Wrestling
tory in 1995.
Professionally,
Jason Donald – Baseball
Page 4	CUSD Today	November 2023

CUSD Athletic Hall of Fame welcomes Olympian, pro-players

n Six individuals, two teamsiin-

A Bronze Medal Olympian who played in Major League Baseball, two professional soccer players and
a tri-sport athlete who went on to be	2023 CLOVISUNIFIED ATHLETIC a Fresno State football star and later            HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES
a college coach were among the 2023	n Jason Donald - Baseball, Class of Inductees for the Clovis Uni-          Buchanan High
fied Athletic Hall of Fame. Six indi-	n
vidual athletes and two Clovis Unified	n Jack Mattox - Football, Basketball, Track, Clovis High
James Patrick - Baseball Coach,
dreds of nominations profiling highly	n Chad McCarty - Soccer, Clovis High accomplished district athletes.	n
at The inductees were first celebrated	n Stephen Tirapelle - Wrestling Coach,
Friday night Oct. 27 conducting the	n 1974, 1975, 1976 & 1978 Clovis
pre-game coin toss, and then they	High Girls Tennis Teams	Photo special to CUSD Today by Kenny Gilman.
n
Carlo Prandini, Ph.D.,
Doc Buchanan Award
cusd.com/AthleticHallOfFame.
were honored at the Athletic Hall of	n	CUSD Athletic Hall of Fame inductee Jack Maddox, who played three Fame Induction Ceremony Oct. 28                                                                 sports for Clovis High in the 1950s and went on to play in the NFL, at the Shaghoian Concert Hall with                        Learn more at:	shares memories during the ceremony as he is interviewed by emcee on-stage interviews and video profiles                                                                 George Takata. View videos: CUSD.com/AthleticHallOfFame.
of each legendary athlete.

“Each inductee is an example of
incredib e contributions to Clovis
Superintendent Steve France who
Unified the hub of multiple State CIF
country, track and field, and swim
in a row (1997 and 1998), CalHi
the Year and 2010-2019 California
the very first
Valley Champi-
hard work paying off. They’ve made played a vital role in making Clovis	Baseball Coach of the Year two years	contributing to Unified, l their professional careers, Championship meets, including cross	Sports’s 1998 California Coach of	boys soccer CIF and their communities,” said Assistant and dive.	Coach of the Decade and the Amer-	onship win in oversees the event. “Their stories are n Jack Maddox – Football,	ican Baseball Coaches Association’s	the school’s his-
a testimony to the incredible caliber
of our district’s schools and athletics	Three-sport athlete making	fornia Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame.	he played for the
accomplishments.”
ketball	and
tox played foot-
Wrestling Coach
legend. From
Mutiny and the
team winning the U.S. Open Cup
them and be a part of their outstand- Along with bas-                                    n Stephen Tirapelle –                                         Tampa       Bay ingThe following are the honorees. track, Jack Mat-                                         National, state, and local coaching     Columbus Crew Juniors, the latter during his time there. McCarty was
also an endorsed Nike athlete, a
to be a track
later became the
H h	State
team and competed in the Sydney
Carlo Prandini, Ph.D. was hired High School. He	coached a total	member of the United States national by Doc Buchanan personally in 1978 first Cougar to play the sport profes-	ofig 63 Clovis	Olympics in 2000 (taking 4th place). coach	and	sionally, in 1959 with the Dallas Cow-	wrestling final-
were CIF State
teacher at Clovis                                  boys and the Denver Broncos in High, and it was                                  1961. After retiring from football, he
the wo shared
coach at Fresno City College.
easyt to see that                                  had a 25-year career as a teacher and     champions. His 2015 team still holds the CIF State Championship record
dents being the
Baseball Coach
score of 276.5 points. With these ac-complishments come accolades, like
Coach of the Year as well as his in-
be. This was also the idea that fueled	Highly decorated baseball coach	the title of 2013 National High School Prandini throughout his career. Under with a trophy case full of individual
won seven league championships,
individual championship. While
Patr ck co ched
1985-2019. Dur-
Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2021.
Chad McCarty – Soccer
Olympics. McCarty earned the title
of The Fresno Bee’s Player of the
the Year The Fresno Bee Player of
his teaching, Clovis High’s track teams and i teama honors. At Clovis High,	Hall of Fame in 2014 and the National	n Buchanan High grad with a stellar numerous league and section indi- football from                                                                                               baseball resume. His achievements vidual championships, two individual 1984-2004 and	n	as a Bear included the titles of BHS state championships, and one national baseball from                                         Soccer star with stops including	Athlete of the Year, TRAC Player of working in Clovis Unified in multiple ing that time, he	Major League Soccer and the Sydney	the Year , and CIF Player of the Year, positions from athletic director to was	dubbed                                                                                               all awarded in 2003. After high school, deputy superintendent, Prandini USA	Today’s	Year while at Clovis High as well as	Donald played for the Philadelphia

Phillies and the Cleveland Indians, and he also played in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where Team USA earned a Bronze Medal! On the Olympic team, Donald led in batting average (.381) and slugging percentage (.571). n Elise Krieghoff – Soccer

Krieghoff was a 4-year starter in soccer and a 3-time CIF Cen-tral	Section champion, rack-ing up 100 goals and 37 assists while at Buch anan. During her college ca-
reer, she became the 2013 Big West Conference’s Offensive Player of the Year, the conference’s record holder for most player of the week honors (with eight), Cal Poly’s Female Athlete of the Year recipient and Cal Poly’s all-time leader in single-season goals (21), career goals (52) and game-winning goals (seven). Professionally, Krieghoff played for the Boston Break-ers in 2016 and the Valerenga Damer in Norway in 2017.

n 1974, 1975, 1976 & 1978 Clovis High Girls Tennis Teams

North Yosemite League Champi-ons, Two-time NYL Co-Champions, & CIF Section Champions

n 1991 Clovis High Football Team

CIF Valley Championship (Un-defeated Season), One of Only Two Undefeated Teams in Clovis High School Football History, Scored the Most Points of Any Team in 100+ Year History of CIF Football, Ranked No. 2 in State and No. 16 in Nation.

Active prevention
VISION

November 2023	CUSD Today	Page 5

Student achievement not where we want it to be – yet!

By Corrine Folmer, Ed.D. Superintendent

EVERYWHERE I go in our school district, I see signs of learn-ing. Sometimes, that learning looks like a classroom

Corrine Folmer,
Ed.D.
full of students working	on	a back-wall white-board     puzzling over the formula for solving quad-ratic equations. Sometimes,       it looks like a group of first graders at a kidney table
working on reading comprehension with their teacher. And, sometimes, those signs of learning are literally … signs. Signs on the classroom walls that say things like:
“You don’t know it…YET!”
“If you’re not challenged, you’re not learning.”
Teachers use these signs to en-courage our students toward what’s

called a growth mindset. This mind-set describes a learner who under-stands that while there is incredible access to information at one’s fin-gertips, true learning is something one must work at it, and it is often messy and challenging. In fact, sometimes we fail and have to try again. Those are life lessons that can get lost in our world of AI-generated essays and carefully edited social media videos that often skip over the process of learning to show a perfect outcome.
Understanding and applying a growth mindset to life is critical not only to success in the classroom, but also success in life. It’s a lesson that we adults learn and use on a regular basis, and as our team is diving deeply into California’s recent re-lease of student achievement data, we are applying our best growth mindset.
Our amazing instructional team, and growth mindset attitude for ALL students, has allowed CUSD students to rank second in the state in ELA and Math for schools that test more than 20,000 students!

While we are proud of our Clovis Unified students who continue to perform above the county and state averages, and we have seen some classrooms make great gains, we are not where we want to be as a district with respect to our overall district wide CAASPP results. In English Language Arts (ELA), 66.18% of students in Clovis Unified scored at or above proficiency level. In Math, 51.02% of students were at or above grade level proficiency. In compari-son, statewide the number of stu-dents testing at grade level was 46.66% in ELA and 34.62% in math, and for districts testing more than 20,000 students we are the second highest performing district in the state in ELA and Math.
There is no doubt that our team of incredible educators are working hard to overcome obstacles to learn-ing, and we are using this data to drill down to look student-by-stu-dent at how it can inform instruc-tion in the current school year. This is the detailed work that helps us learn and allows us to meet every student where they are in their in-

dividual learning journey.
Some of our schools saw student achievement grow by anywhere from 15-22% at certain grade levels. We must now work together to repli-cate that level of achievement across every grade level and school in our district.
This fall, the district has been conducting school-by-school re-views of the data and each school site leader is engaged in a process called “Principal Grade Level Ex-pectations” or PGLE, in which in-dividualized plans are created to promote student-by-student growth toward mastery of grade-level stan-dards. Principals provide in-depth assessments, that assist us in looking for trends and commonalities across the district that offer insight as to where and how we can make im-provements to better support our teachers and students.
The same level of analysis is hap-pening at every level of the district including the individual teacher-stu-dent level, where teachers work with their site leadership to create indi-vidualized intervention plans for

every student who did not achieve at or above their grade level stan-dard. That work informs the day-to-day instruction delivered by teachers in the classroom.
Our parents are partners in this learning process as well. We encour-age you to use the systems available to you in Clovis Unified like Parent Connect to check your child’s progress in class, and the variety of interventions we offer when your child is struggling to understand a concept. Check in with your child regularly to see how things are going at school and pay attention to times that they seem to have struggled in their understanding of a concept in class. Reach out to your child’s teacher(s) if needed, and be aware of the six, eight and 12-week grading periods at the secondary level and the progress reporting times in ele-mentary.
We might not be where we want to be today. I would, however, add that all important, growth mindset word and say instead: We aren’t where we want to be YET – and working together, we will be!

Keep drug-prevention conversation going all year long

Last month across Clovis Uni-fied campuses, students took part in National Red Ribbon Week, an anti-drug campaign with messages and activities that encouraged chil-dren to make healthy choices and say no to drugs.
Just a sampling of school ac-tivities included rallies, dress-up days and spirit contests; visits by a state assemblyman, a boxing world champion, law enforcement officers and firefighters; and doing activities that simulated impair-ment, signing a pledge not to do drugs, and even marching in a parade through Old Town Clovis to draw awareness to living a healthy life.
“The dangerous, and sometimes deadly, consequences of drug use are a reality in today’s society and a threat to our students. That’s why Red Ribbon Week is such an important time for our entire com-munity,” said Superintendent Cor-rine Folmer, Ed.D.
As part of Red Ribbon Week, Clovis Unified also conducted a daily social media campaign pro-viding information about the dan-gers of drugs; district and area re-sources available for help; and tips for talks between parents and chil-dren on this topic.
This important education must keep going as the very real threat of even accidental drug misuse can be life altering. The Fresno County District Attorney’s Office reports that the leading cause of drug-related deaths in the county is due to street fentanyl, an illicit opioid that in some cases is being produced to look like candy and is targeted toward teenagers.
We urge families to continue in these important discussions about the dangers of drugs and real consequences throughout the entire year. According to research, children whose parents talk with them about the dangers of drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs. Here are excerpts from Clovis Unified’s awareness campaign:

Be informed
Knowing the facts about drugs can equip parents to better protect their children from drug use.
n Drugs alter brain develop-ment, especially in adolescents who are still growing and learning.

LESSONS

Inspirations by, for and from our CUSD students

CUSD Today Weldon Elementary students march through Old Town Clovis in the school’s annual Red Ribbon Week Pa-rade, with students chanting “Say No to Drugs” and “Live Drug Free.” Clovis High and Clark Intermediate’s marching bands and Sierra Vista’s cheer and leadership students also took part.

“Find ecstasy in life; the mere sense of living is joy.” EMILY DICKINSON, POET

n Drugs reduce levels of “re-	n App conversations can be	tain combinations that signify var-ward” neurotransmitters like sero-      made up entirely of emojis in cer-	ious drugs.
tonin and endorphins in the
brain, making it harder for the
brain to naturally experience                                                                            By taking preventative meas-happiness.                                                                                                        ures, parents can create an en-n Drugs commonly accessed                                                                       vironment that encourages their by youth include alcohol, to-                                                                       child to live a healthy, drug-free bacco, marijuana, prescription                                                                       lifestyle. Here are some preven-
drugs and street drugs, including	tative actions:
fentanyl which is the leading	n Talk with your child about cause in drug-related deaths in                                                                       the real consequences of drug Fresno County.                                                                                                 use.
n Drug dealers use apps to	n Keep any prescription med-contact youth and arrange con-                                                                       ications out of reach of children venient cash-app purchases, even                                                                       or in a locked cabinet. dropping off products in loca-	n Know where your child is tions by a student’s home.                                                                                and know their friends. Speak

— ABOUT US —

up about anyone whose influence concerns you.
n Monitor social media for peer pressure and cash apps that target youth.
n Learn and watch for symp-toms of drug use.
n Seek help for any mental health or wellness issues.
n Encourage a balanced life that includes social, physical and co-curricular activities. Plan family time.
Talk with your child Here are tips for starting suc-

cessful conversations:
n Choose informal times such as during dinner, in the car, going for a walk or at bedtime.
n Set clear expectations about drug and alcohol use, including real consequences for not following rules.
n Develop strategies with your child if they encounter peer pres-sure regarding drug use.
n Let them know you care and will answer their questions hon-estly.
n Check-in with them and keep the conversation going.
n Stay engaged in their lives by asking about their friends, school and activities.
n Be a good listener. Supports available

Parents can talk to their child’s school counselor or school nurse who can direct them to appropriate information and supports on cam-pus. Several resources can be found online at the Clovis Unified Com-prehensive Wellness Project that covers topics including substance use, mental health and mindful-ness.
n Clovis Unified Wellness Re-sources: https://www.cusd.com/ ComprehensiveWellnessProject. aspx
n Clovis Unified Parent Bul-letins: https://www.cusd.com/Par-entBulletin.aspx
n Drug Enforcement Adminis-tration:	https://www.getsmart aboutdrugs.gov/
n Lock Your Meds: https://lock-yourmeds.org/
n Mothers Against Drunk Driv-ing: https://madd.org/
n National Institute on Drug Abuse: https://nida.nih.gov/
n Red Ribbon Organization: https://www.redribbon.org/

CUSD Today, Clovis Unified’s good news publi-cation, is sent directly to the homes of all CUSD parents and staff, as well as district supporters. In an effort to unify the CUSD community, the newspaper highlights the achievements of Clovis Unified students and staff; profiles new and updated Governing Board policies; and shares general news and information happening within the district.
Circulation: 34,000.
Funding: All costs associated with producing, printing and mailing CUSD Today are entirely funded by our advertisers. To show your appreciation of their support, we ask you to consider patronizing these businesses and services as the need arises.
Story submissions: Please submit all ideas to the Site Coordinator at your school. Please contact your school to find out who your Site Coordinator is. Editorial deadlines are two weeks before the pub-lication date. We do our best to include as many sub-missions in each issue as our editorial space will al-low.

CUSD Today Staff

Publishing & Editorial Clovis Unified School District 1450 Herndon Avenue Clovis, CA 93611 Telephone (559) 327-9094 cusdtoday@cusd.com

Kelly Avants, APR Chief Communications Officer
327-9092

Patti J. Lippert Managing Editor 327-9094

Kellie Feramisco Advertising Manager 327-9093

Verna Garcia Graphic Designer

CUSD Governing Board Members

David DeFrank	Hugh H. Awtrey	Steven G. Fogg, M.D. President                                      Vice President                                         Clerk
327-9000	437-6580	269-7000

Deena Combs-Flores Yolanda Moore Clinton Olivier Tiffany Stoker Madsen 273-9824                              437-6580                     313-6065                             392-1014

CUSD Administration

Corrine Folmer, Ed.D.	Norm Anderson Superintendent                                            Deputy Superintendent
327-9100	327-9107

Marc Hammack, Ed.D.	Barry Jager	Michael Johnston Associate Superintendent                  Associate Superintendent                  Associate Superintendent
School Leadership	Human Resources and	Administrative Services 327-9350                                 Employee Relations                                 327-9110
327-9308

Page 6	CUSD Today	November 2023

AROUND THE DISTRICT

November 2023

Editor’s note: “Around the District” is a regular feature of CUSD Today that highlights positive activities and accom-plishments of students and schools throughout the district.

Delicious reading at TK
Temperance-Kutner Elementary held a restaurant style “Book Sampling,” that allowed students in second through sixth grades to have a taste of different genres of books, like this one pictured for nature and the outdoors. Students rotated through different themes, discussed with their peers what they were discovering, and wrote reflections about what they tried. Students and teachers alike had fun feasting on the literary buffet.

Panthers learn about City Hall
Local government officials made a special visit to Dry Creek Elementary recently to teach second graders all about their jobs and the inner workings of city government. Clovis City Council Member Matt Basgall and Assistant City Manager Andy Hausler explained the vital roles and responsibilities of city government officials. They talked about the significance of building economic development, ensuring city safety, providing a pleasant place to live, and creating job opportunities within the community. Students learned how the city’s infrastructure – like roads, water and sewer services — plays a pivotal role in their everyday
lives.
The excitement continued as Clovis Fire Department’s Captain Josh Snow demonstrated crucial duties carried out by the fire department. Students marveled at the equip-ment he brought to share with them. A special highlight of the assembly was Clovis Police Department’s Officer Richard Cressall and his trusty K-9 companion, Jester. Officer Cressall explained how Jester has been expertly trained to assist the Clovis Police Department.
“The school assembly served as an invaluable learning experience, allowing the second-grade students to connect classroom lessons to real-life applications,” said the school’s Guidance Instructional Specialist Misty Sedehi.

CHS artist wins trip
Clovis High student artist Isabella Avery is headed to New York City! She was selected as the grand prize winner in the Fresno County Of-
fice of Education’s annual “One Voice – The Spirit of 9/12” art contest and won a trip to visit the National 9/11 Memorial in NYC. The contest both honors the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, and cel-ebrates the unifying spirit of the following days when Americans came
together to help each other.
Isabella was also awarded a scholarship as a top-three finalist in the contest.
“The powerful imagery she has composed embodies the legacy of national pride we strive to share with our stu-dents, especially as we remember and honor the lives lost during 9/11,” said Clovis High art teacher Samantha Oroz-co.
Other Clovis Unified finalists in the contest included: Allison Chung, Alta Sierra Intermediate, Art; Giselle Rubio, Emily Abaya, Evelina Taylor, Arantxa Chavarria, JoAnna Fenn and Izaiah Martinez, Clark Intermediate, Art; Kendall Metzler, Jameson Tadlock, Kai Katoch, John Svigos, Char-lotte Coon, Brinkley O’Brien, Kyle Clapp, Carly Gilbert and Carson Cummings, Alta Sierra Intermediate, Poetry.

CN physics student earns Gold Medal Congratulations to Clovis North High student Zian Shi,

who won a gold medal for the U.S. Physics Team at the 2023 International Physics Olympiad (IPhO) in Tokyo, Japan! He, along with four other students from across the

CUSD Today

Score for Riverview preschooler

One of the youngest Riverview Elementary School Rams was a special guest at a Fresno State football game! Preschooler Avery Torres was Valley Children’s Hospital’s Fresno State “Kid’s Captain” at the game against Kent State. Avery was born with a heart defect and underwent a 10-hour open-heart surgery at just four months old. She is now a happy, thriving preschooler who represented both Valley Children’s Hospital and Clovis Unified at the big game.
As a guest of honor, Avery met former Bulldog quar-terback David Carr, carried the game ball when it was delivered to the field, talked to coaches and players, and enjoyed the game from the Valley Children’s suite. “It was quite a remarkable night for this CUSD kiddo!” said her mother (and Red Bank Elementary principal) Amanda Torres.

country, competed against 89 other nations. The U.S. Physics Team finished with four gold medals and a silver medal.
Zian, a junior at Clovis North, said he began learning about physics in eighth grade and it just “clicked.” In his biography for the event he writes, “It wasn’t a sharp, dis-tinct click of a metronome,
but rather the long, continued note of a violin bow. Physics just flowed naturally. Conclusions, results, and models seemed obvious and intuitive, not just a bunch of equa-tions.”
He is a part of the Broncos Science Bowl, Competitive Programming Club, Experimental Science Club and Math Circle.

Buchanan wins Emmys
Buchanan High broadcasting students are adding more Emmys to their trophy case. The Bears won 11 awards from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences 2022-2023 Regional Student Television Production Awards for Ex-cellence. Three are the highest honor, a Pillar of Excellence – including for the school’s student-produced news show, “Buchanan News Network” or “BNN” – and have been advanced into the upcoming national competition.
“Receiving this level of recognition for my work means the world to me,” said BNN student producer Jillian Leslie. “Being a part of this production has allowed me to further develop my videography skills while also gaining significant experience in communication and teamwork.”
Buchanan’s video program has taken home a total of 30 NATAS Emmys for various projects, including this year’s honors. Teacher Dan Pearce said Buchanan keeps winning for one reason: “It’s the students. Period. I am amazed at the creativity that these students have, year after year.”
Buchanan’s entries that earned a Pillar of Excellence for the Western Region – including California, Oregon, Nevada and Hawaii – will be entered into NATAS’ national awards event with winners to be announced this fall. The winning projects are:
Pillar of Excellence:
n Newscast – “BNN 2023,” Jillian Leslie, producer; Taylor Brunzell, Megan Hoopes, anchors; Bono Bioco, Russell Bowman, Jacob Menz, Hayden Stockdale, Nathan Gettman, editor/camera operators; Adam Smart, Makayla Wyckoff, editors
n Video Essay – “Coffee Cave,” Brunzell, director
n Audio/Sound – “Purgatory,” Brunzell, sound designer

Page 7

Certificate of Merit
n Audio/Sound – “John – Shortfilm,” Bioco, audio/sound n Commercial – “The Healthy Vibe Commercial,”Noreen
Marquez, Leslie, producers
n Commercial – “Sprinkles Donuts commercial” Luke D’Mello, producer
n Editor – “Purgatory,” Brunzell, editor
n Non-Fiction – Short Form – “Bear Spotlight - The Pianist,” Levi Hull, photographer/editor
n Photographer – “Excalibur - Breast Cancer Warrior,” Bra den Estes, director of photography; Levi Hull, camera operator
n Photographer – “John – Shortfilm,” Bioco, Stockdale, photographers
n Video Essay – “Where Ice Cream and Community Meet,” Grace Persons.

Nation’s best at History Day
Clovis North High student Surabhi Khanna won a 2023 National History Day championship in Maryland, the only entrant from California to earn a top prize!
Surabhi took home first place in the Senior Individual Performance category for her piece titled, “Deeds, Not Words: How Emmeline Pankhurst Expanded the Frontier of Women’s Rights.”
Surabhi told local media she came up with her idea after learning about Pankhurst, who was born in the 1800s and was a British political activist who was among the first to lead a suffragette movement in the United Kingdom. “I knew I could be passionate about her and portray her character,” she said. Surabhi learned all she could about Pankhurst to then create her 10-minute
performance that displayed her research.
The road to the prestigious competition began in the fall, with more than 600,000 students across the United States re-searching and developing projects to then compete at county and state levels; the select few state winners then advanced to National History Day, which this year had roughly 1,500 par-ticipants.
Other students from Clovis Unified who placed in National History Day and received an Honorable Mention in Junior Group Performance are Alta Sierra Intermediate students Michelle Acosta‚ Arna Banerjee‚ Kaylee Kirk and Megan McGinthy. Their piece was titled, “The Women’s Army Corps: How Females WACked Their Way Through an Age-Old Military and Gender Frontier.”

CHS paints Cedarwood

When Cedarwood Elementary students returned to school

this year, they were greeted by a beautiful mural outside the library painted by five Clovis High art students.
The school’s library had a blank wall surrounding an outdoor patio that sat empty, and librarian Tanya Hammrich dreamed of adding bright storybook characters to the wall for her students to enjoy. She coordinated with the high school artists to create a final design for the wall and they painted it in a span of a few months.
“For me, the mural was a good experience,” said Clovis High artist Zach Walton. “I learned how to both create a large-scale artwork and plan a group composition. I looked forward to working on it each day, and it will forever be a positive memory for me.”

National mock trial star
Clovis North student Nathan Gonos earned second place in the Courtroom Journalism Contest at the 2023 National Mock Trial Championships. This contest has students experience the courtroom from a reporter’s perspective. Participants observe one round of the mock trial competition, then report on the case by writing and submitting an article for judging within a limited number of hours.
Nathan had a great season: his county-level article submission earned him a spot at the state-level Mock Trial Championship tournament. He went on to earn the top Mock Trial Journalist in California for 2023. As a first-place finisher, he progressed to the national-level championships and earned second place.

they use to
thing and
Peace” at the
recent summit.
Page 8	CUSD Today	November 2023

STUDENTS HELPING STUDENTS

200 CUSD peer counselors meet at annual summit

Peer counselors – stu-dents who volunteer to be trained and then serve as a confidential resource for oth-er students facing challenges – are on every Clovis Unified intermediate and high school campus, and recently they all gathered at the annual CUSD Peer Counseling Summit.
“Most teens will talk to a friend or a peer who they can trust. Peer Counselors are not to fix anyone’s prob-lem or to give advice. Peer Counselors listen, support and help guide the counselee to possible options to what-ever they are going through
in a safe nonjudgmental en-	with a peer counselor and	Above: CUSD vironment,” said Derrick	felt supported and connect-	peer counseling
Davis, Wellness Teacher on	ed, and the peer counselor	students listen to Special Assignment.	helped the student find ad-	anti-bullying
The students are each part	ditional support on campus.	speaker “Mr.
of their school’s Peer Coun-	“They would check in with
been trained
in intercom-
munication
skills that
ically and
knew they
could tell
them any-
seling program and have	that peer counselor period-	Left: Clovis West student Kylie Ivanoff signs “I love you” during an activity about
another.
p r o v i d e	they would	encouraging one peer sup-	not judge
port to students on their	them but support them,”
Davis said.
campus. They create an en-                                                                                                                       Photos by Kendra vironment where students          In addition to one-on-                                                                       Burt/CUSD Today
can discuss concerns, feelings	one sessions, Davis said peer
and thoughts, and where the	counselors create community	preciation luncheons for clas-	Williams, Clovis West High, peer counselors can help	and school wide events to	sified staff, Red Ribbon Week	4 years; Gianna Hamel, Clo-with campus resources and	bring awareness around	activities, mental health ac-	vis North High, 4 years; and referrals if needed. Every-	mental health, suicide pre-	tivities and passing out green	Sydney Harrison and Juan thing is confidential unless	vention, healthy relation-	ribbons for every student,	Garcia, Clovis High, 4 years. a student wants to do harm	ships, drug prevention and	and many more.                                         n n n
to self or others.                        more. Peer counselors have          At the conference, seven          More information about Davis shared an example     run Kids Day events, Anti-     seniors were recognized for     peer counseling is available
of a student who was feeling	Bully events, Toys for Tots,	serving as a peer counselor	on CUSD intermediate and pressure to excel academi-	blankets for the hospital,	for four or more years: Lil-	high school campuses. Learn cally and who was also strug-	paintings for children with	liana Garcia, Clovis East	more about Clovis Unified’s gling with tension at home	cancer, letters for US troops	High, 6 years; Sukhmann	Comprehensive Wellness Proj-because of their parents’ dif-	and the Veterans Hospital,	Sidhu, Clovis East, 4 years;	ect at cusd.com/Comprehen-ficult relationship. They met	New Student luncheons, ap-	Riley Strunk and Solomon	siveWellnessProject.

Fall rally for fun!

Fall rallies filled Clovis Unified cam-puses, like this one at Cole El-ementary. The Bulldogs had fun building school spirit, with teachers and students dressing in their best spirit wear for their “Red vs. Blue Color War Rally,” making signs and join-ing in ener-getic activities.

Communications Officer
Oct. 18
‰
forwarded to the Fresno
County Committee on
action, which is anticipated
Authorized an agree-
ground space at Miramonte
Elementary by the Fresno
Project les ons of respect and
November 2023	CUSD Today	Page 9

BOARD BRIEFS
Board to establish new trustee area election system

By Kelly Avants                        Governing Board approved CUSD Chief                                a proposal to establish a dis-
trict-based/trustee area elec-tion system. Also approved
was the proposed trustee	Board. With the proposal,	by all voters residing within After holding the fifth of	area map (the map currently	the current hybrid election	the district will change to
five public hearings to listen      used by the district) and the     system in which trustees      require trustees to live within to community input on the      sequence of elections for the     must live within one of seven      one of seven trustee areas subject, the Clovis Unified      seven seats on the Governing     trustee areas and are elected      and be elected by voters re-siding within that same

trustee area.
The adopted resolution,
Pinedale pride, CW future      with the approved map and Three Pinedale Elementary stu-                                                                                             election sequence, will be
dents recently put their Positivity
for their consideration and
kindness tosuse. A large group of	School District Organization elementary students were attending
to occur in early November.
If approved by the Commit-
tee, the new election system
will be in place beginning
with the November 2024
election.
In other action, the board:
a Clovis West High football game, led by Transition Program Spe-cialist Amber Kalustian. While Kalustian was busy leading the group in several activities, she had set her belongings off to the side. The three boys, Angel, Ralph and Matthew, picked up her bags for
ment to allow the use of
her and held onto them so they	n wouldn’t get left behind or taken.
When Kalustian thanked them
for their help, they said, “This is
Pinedale Pride – that’s what we                                                                                             County Superintendent of do!”                                                                                                                                         Schools to provide a Wellness
After hearing the story, Clovis	Center on the campus.
West High Principal Eric Swain and Kalustian visited Pinedale Elementary to bring the              n Approved two resolu-boys hats and donuts as a treat for their kindness.                                                                    tions recognizing special “These three students showed exceptional character! They will be true leaders at          weeks in Clovis Unified; the Kastner Intermediate and Clovis West High schools, and we can’t wait to have them!”          first to honor the celebration Kalustian said.                                                                                                                         of Red Ribbon Week October 23-28, 2023; the second to
honor the contribution of school psychologists to the overall educational program of the district and to celebrate National School Psychology Appreciation Week Novem-ber 13-17, 2023.

Oct. 4
The Governing Board held a public hearing to allow for feedback from the com-munity on the sufficiency of textbooks and instructional materials in the current school year and later adopted a resolution affirming that sufficient textbooks and in-structional materials are available for all students in the district.
In other action, the board: n Held a public hearing
on the conveyance of public rights-of-way easements and later approved the con-veyance of those easements identified as APN Nos. 574-130-01T (Portion)/PW-2023-16521, and PW-2023-16523. n Received a written re-port on the placement of students in ninth grade

mathematics courses indi-cating that outside of seven students whose parents re-quested that they be placed in math classes not com-mensurate with their quali-fications, the district’s 3,335 ninth grade students are en-rolled appropriately.
n Approved the member-ship of the Career Technical Education District Advisory Committee for the current school year.
n Approved a contract with The Positivity Project for use of resources at district schools during the current school year.
n Approved an agreement with Assessment Technolo-gies Institute to provide sup-port technology to students in the Clovis Adult School Nursing Program.
n Adopted Resolution No. 3948 declaring the Board’s intention to exchange real property designated as APN 491-030-70T, 491-030-20T, and 491-030-65T for APN 310-310-38.

Sept. 20
Clovis Unified’s newest high school has a name, after the Governing Board’s action on Sept. 20 to decide on the name Clovis South High School for the campus that will be located in the Terry P. Bradley Educational Cen-ter. The school and a yet-to-be-named intermediate school are under construc-tion now and scheduled to open with grades seven, eight and nine in August 2025. Attendance boundaries will be developed this school year for the new campus, with several months of commu-nity input planned in early 2024 before the Governing Board takes action.
Everyone in attendance enjoyed a performance from Clovis East High School’s musical “Addams Family” at the start of their meeting.
Student athletes from Spring CIF Championship teams and State champions were also at the meeting to be congratulated by the Gov-erning Board. In attendance at the meeting were coaches and athletes from Buchanan High School’s Boys and Girls Track and Field teams coached by Brian Weaver, and California State Cham-

pion Hilton Green; Clovis East High School’s Girls Bad-minton coached by Janine Sodersten and Boys Volley-ball coached by Marcos Orro; Clovis North High School Boys Swimming and Diving coached by Peter Fecht; and Clovis West High School’s Girls Swimming and Diving coached by Adam Reid, along with California State Swimming and Diving Champion Nathanial Gra -bowski. Not able to attend the meeting was Clovis High’s California Track and Field State Champion Sydnie Vanek.
In other action, the board: n Rescinded their previ-
ous approval of external re-quests for use of district fa-cilities between 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. on days that school is in session. Moving forward, the district’s facility use policy (BP1330) and processes con-tinue to allow open access to external groups requesting use of facilities for their events and activities outside of those hours, while putting a priority on the primary academic, intervention and enrichment purpose of our schools. The complete policy and facility use procedures are available online at www.cusd.com/Facility Use.aspx.
n Approved all change or-ders, a notice of completion, meetings minutes from their Sept. 6 and Sept. 13 meetings; and ratified the 2023-24 salary schedules as required by California’s public em-ployee retirement systems. n Approved agreements for students with special needs placed in non-public schools as identified in their individualized educational plans, an agreement with Educational Resource Con-sultants for grant writing and research supporting pro-grams in the district, and an agreement with National Im-pact Mentoring and Training Program to provide men-toring services in district
programs.
n n n
Complete minutes, agen-das, and videos of meetings of the Governing Board are at cusd.com. The next sched-uled meeting of the Governing Board is 12:30 p.m. Dec. 8, 1680 David E. Cook Way, Clovis.

cluding the individual
Clovis Unified’s results
ELA	Math
Madera Unified	31.03%	17.46%
Page 10	CUSD Today	November 2023

Scores: CUSD student scores top area districts

2023 CAASPP Results
FROM PAGE ONE                 provided a new baseline re-called “Principal Grade Level      flecting the impacts of learn-
Expectations” or PGLE, in	ing loss during the pandem-	Percent of students meeting/exceeding state standards on which individualized plans	ic. State testing was con-	the California Assessment of Student Performance and
are created to promote stu-	ducted again in Spring 2023,	Progress tests dent-by-student growth to-	and these recent results show
standards. This same level
of analysis is happening at
every level of the district in-
have been slow to rebound
to pre-pandemic levels of
academic achievement.
ward mastery of grade level	that across the state, students	Clovis Unified	66.18%	51.02% State Average	46.66%	34.62% Fresno County Average	43.14%	30.40% Central Unified	41.29%	26.59%
teacher-student level, where	are second highest for both	Fresno Unified	33.20%	23.31%
teachers work with their site	math and ELA for school
leadership to create individ-	districts testing more than	Sanger Unified	47.60%	34.54%
ualized intervention plans	20,000 students, and the	Source: California Department of Education for every student who did	highest of any school district
not achieve at or above their	with a socio-economically	dents and their peers, and	on improving academic suc-grade level standard. That	disadvantaged population of	between students and their	cess for every one of our work informs the day-to-	more than 40%.	teachers that equates to suc-	students,” Folmer said, “and day instruction delivered by           Among the tools being	cess in the classroom; and	these results will help us fo-teachers in the classroom.	used by the district’s team	facing the decreases in at-	cus in on ways to better sup-
During the pandemic,	to ebb the pandemic’s impact	tendance rates and the im-	port our students.”
state testing was halted, and	have been restoring class-	pact time away from the	Learn more or find indi-when it returned in Spring	room behavior expectations;	classroom has on students’      vidual school results: https:// 2022, there was a decrease	re-developing interpersonal	learning.                                   caaspp-elpac.ets.org/ in scores statewide. That	relationships between stu-          “We are focused this year      caaspp/.

Courtlin: FROM PAGE ONE President, the mayor of An-glet and the US Consul from Bordeaux. During the cere-mony, Courtlin was present-ed with a letter written by Andrée de Jongh and an orig-inal photo of her.

“Courtlin’s magnificent relationship with this piece of history permeates us and roots us in our convictions and our actions,” said Anglet Mayor Claude Olive during his speech at the memorial ceremony.
Courtlin also joined a 21-kilometer hike over the Pyre-nees Mountains, following the path the pilots and their guides followed to escape. The group visited a memorial site for Jim Burch, the only American pilot to die on the Comète Line, and Courtlin placed a poppy wreath and American flag on the me-

morial. To complete the trip, Courtlin went to Spain and visited the children and grandchildren of a man whose family hid escaping pilots in their home during the war to help the resistance effort. They joined a cele-bration with music and singing, where Courtlin was presented with a book about the Comète Line.
“The most unexpected part of this whole experience is this whole week,” said Courtlin. “Two years ago, I never pictured myself now being in France giving a speech, laying flowers on memorials, or meeting peo-ple this involved in the Comète Line. It was really cool to meet everyone that was so passionate, and also to see the efforts that they put in to keeping the Comète Line alive.”