Board Meeting Highlights

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Serramonte del Rey

699 Serramonte Boulevard, Room 223

Daly City, CA 94015

View the JUHSD December 7th board agenda here.

President Rosie Tejada thanked Jefferson High School Principal Kesha Emmendorfer, her site staff, and district office administration for their swift actions to properly evacuate the school to the football field after a false threat was made this past Monday morning. She appreciated the communication sent from the district office, both as a parent of a JHS student and a board member.

Vice President Andrew Lie was impressed with the progress of our District's Educational Housing Project after a brief tour of the building. During his attendance at the CSBA (California School Board Association) conference in San Diego, he was pleased to view plans from other districts, including neighboring Berkeley, for fostering similar projects to redevelop property to better fund school programs.

Clerk Carla Ng-Garrett enjoyed spending time at the CSBA (California School Board Association) conference in San Diego and meeting her state counterparts. During this festive month, she thanked the teachers and staff of the District for their hard work during this past semester and wished them a very happy holiday season.

Trustee Nick Occhipinti encouraged the school board to continue embracing the power of public information and civic engagement. He thanked students in the community for practicing social activism and speaking up for local injustices.

Trustee Kalimah Salahuddin shared that after attending the CSBA (California School Board Association) conference in San Diego was pleased to see other districts in the state doing their best to generate revenue to retain staff and provide funding to student programs. She was also proud of our District being mentioned at the conference for the implementation, and now almost completion, of the Educational Housing Project.

Superintendent Toni Presta briefly spoke on the false safety threat made at Jefferson High School this past Monday. She thanked site and district office staff, along with local law enforcement, for taking such quick and calm action to ensure all JHS students and staff were safe and sound.

Along with the Board and San Mateo County colleagues, Ms. Presta attended the CBSA's (California School Board Association) conference in San Diego. She was quite impressed with the keynote speaker, Dr. Victor Rios. He is the author of six books including "My Teacher Believes in Me: The Educator's Guide to At Promise Students," and is the Associate Dean of Social Sciences and Professor Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Share shared that his talk was inspirational and she hopes that we can get him up to San Mateo County!

Union President Monica Casey echoed the sentiments of Superintendent Presta and Board President Rosie Tejada and thanked the staff of Jefferson High School, including their wellness counseling team, for truly helping each other during this past Monday's incident of crisis. She also shared that District-Union negotiations will continue tomorrow.

During the start of each board meeting, it's always a treat to hear our Student Trustees eloquently share site updates and concerns with the school Board of Trustees and Executive Cabinet.

Student Trustee Katalina Huazano, representing Terra Nova High School, was presented with the District's December Student of the Month, and was quite honored to receive this distinguished award.

Student Trustee Green, though absent from tonight's meeting, asked President Tejada to read an update. He mentioned that though students at Jefferson High School still felt scared from a false threat made on the campus this past Monday morning, they applauded staff for keeping and reassuring their safety.

At next month's meeting, our District Student Trustees will have the opportunity to present events taking place at their school sites.

Congratulations to Katalina Huazano for being named our District's Student of the Month for December!

Katalina’s performance in the Terra Nova community reflects a young woman who is making a lasting impact on the Terra Nova community.

Just this year alone, Kat took the initiative to organize and start a new environmental club on campus. As the founder and co-president of the Environmental Alliance Club, she is focused on getting the Terra Nova Garden back up and running for the enjoyment of her fellow students and staff members.

Kat is also currently serving as a Tiger Ambassador, Link Leader, Peer Mentor, and member of the District’s Student Advisory Council as a student trustee. From those who have seen her in action in these roles, they all are impressed by her strong leadership skills.

Those who have seen her in action in these roles share that her ability to provide mentorship and support to her peers knows no bounds. In their words, “Kat is able to connect with students of all backgrounds and interests by providing an empathetic ear and kind heart. She carries herself with a quiet yet powerful presence that exudes positivity and warmth.”

Her contributions to Terra Nova also extended to the track and fields as Kat has participated on our cross country, soccer and track teams during the past four years. According to her Cross Country coach, Mr. Willemse, “Katalina is a runner's runner. Just as in the classroom, Katalina is dedicated to constant improvement on the course. In AP US History last year, Katalina raced to the top of ‘History Mountain,’ metaphorically speaking. As her coach this year, I witnessed Katalina literally run to the top of mountains.”

In addition to her TN activities, Kat served a summer internship at Golden Gate National Conservancy where she did habitat restoration, worked in native plant nurseries, and led career and leadership development workshops. She has also worked with Esports, an inclusive sports program serving kids with special needs. She also participates regularly in beach cleanups, does community garden work, volunteered at the food bank during the pandemic, and tutored kindergartners with reading through Zoom.

On top of navigating all of these activities, Kat is an exemplary student. She continually exceeds academic expectations by performing at a high level and taking full advantage of our most rigorous course offerings. She has an overall weighted grade point average of 4.222 and has plans to study Environment Science in the fall. Wherever Kat decides to go will be lucky to have her. She will most definitely make their campus as lively and positive as she has made ours. Because at her core, Kat is an outstanding student leader. She is humble, unassuming and very personable. Kat has a positive attitude in all that she pursues. She is someone who encourages her peers to participate. She leads by example and by doing. Those around her describe her positive spirit and energy as radiating and compelling. To where others want to be around her and join in on whatever project she is working on.

Kat embodies all that we aspire for our TN students to be: an exemplary scholar and champion. The Terra Nova community is stronger because of her contributions to our classrooms and campus life. On behalf of the entire Terra Nova faculty and staff, we are proud to have Katalina Huazano represent Terra Nova as our District’s December Student of the Month.

We thank Katalina for being such a stellar student and important member of our District community. Way to go, Katalina!

Per state education code, Tina Van Raaphorst, Associate Superintendent of Business Services, gave a presentation on the District's first budget report for this school year. Items to note included the District seeing an unexpected student enrollment drop, along with showing a gap between state funding and community-funded taxes. She also shared that COVID relief funds received last year are still being spent this year. To view the full presentation, please click (HERE).

Kareen Baca, Associate Superintendent of Educational Services introduced The Educator Effectiveness Block Grant and shared how it's a one-time fund to provide professional learning for teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and classified staff in order to promote educator equity, quality, and effectiveness. JUHSD has been awarded $1,057,516. These funds must be spent by June 30, 2026.

The adjournment of this meeting was in honor of Linda Mac Donnell, former Registrar at Oceana High School. Mrs. Mac Donnell passed away on November 30, 2021.

Mrs. Mac Donnell retired from JUHSD after 30 plus years. During her time at JUHSD, she held various positions including Attendance Aide, Nursery School Coordinator, and Registrar at Westmoor and Oceana High Schools.

Mrs. Mac Donnell is survived by her husband, Robert Mac Donnell, who has also been a long time JUHSD employee, son Samuel, daughter-in-law, and two grandchildren.

We, the Jefferson Union High School District Board of Trustees, send our condolences to Mr. Mac Donnell, family, friends, and host of loved ones.

The next regularly scheduled Board Meeting will take place December 15, 2021. Public session begins at 7:00 pm (unless otherwise noted) on the JUHSD YouTube channel and in person at the District Office.

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Email: communication@jeffersonunion.net
Website: www.juhsd.net
Location: 699 Serramonte Boulevard, Daly City, CA, USA
Phone: 650-550-7900
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Twitter: @juhsd1