DJUSD Staff Insights

We’re excited to share an update on our ongoing community outreach for school boundary planning. So far, we’ve held two outreach meetings and there’s still one in‑person session left on Thursday, November 13 from 6:00–8:00 p.m. at Da Vinci High Tech Hub.

As we move into November, we understand that some families may be experiencing interruptions in their food assistance benefits. We want to reassure you that all DJUSD students can continue to receive no-cost breakfast and lunch every school day. These meals are free for all students, regardless of benefit status, and are available at every school site. In addition, our website lists several local resources available for families seeking food assistance.

The Business Office is wrapping up the 2024-25 Fiscal Year budget and preparing it for presentation in December. We’re also hard at work on the First Interim Budget Report. Our goal is to make sure our financial planning continues to support our schools, students, and staff in the best way possible.

(Traducción en español abajo). To help prevent slips, trips and falls during our wet Fall and Winter season, please wear appropriate clothing, footwear and personal protection equipment, such as:

• Waterproof coats and layers

• Non-slip shoes or boots

• Disposable gloves and masks

Choose gear that will allow you good movement and not restrict your full range of motion. While cleaning classrooms and high traffic areas, gloves, masks and handwashing will aid in protection from germs and flu viruses. We hope you all have a great and healthy Fall and Winter season.

Para ayudar a prevenir resbalones, tropiezos y caídas durante la temporada lluviosa de otoño e invierno, por favor use ropa, calzado y equipo de protección personal apropiado, como:

• Abrigos impermeables y ropa en capas

• Zapatos o botas antideslizantes

• Guantes y mascarillas desechables

Elija equipo que permite buena movilidad y no limite su rango completo de movimiento, mientras limpia salones y áreas de alto tráfico, el uso de guantes, mascarillas y el lavado de manos ayudará a proteger contra gérmenes y virus de la gripe. Esperamos que todos tengan una temporada de otoño e invierno saludable y segura.

The Capital Operations Department is dedicated to providing clean, safe, and quality facilities that promote successful teaching and learning. Managing and supporting the planning, design and construction for all new building, modernization and capital improvement projects in the District.

• The Maintenance and Operations (M&O) Division is responsible for maintaining and repairing existing facilities to ensure safety, provide an effective learning environment, and represent the District's commitment to serving our students, staff and community.

• The Custodial Operations division provides cleaning services for all District facilities. Custodial staff works to provide safe, clean and organized school sites to support the District's students, staff and community.

• The Facilities Use Department assists members of the community to use Davis Joint Unified School District facilities for athletic events, neighborhood meetings and more.

• Integrated pest management (IPM) is the process implemented by the District to address the use of pesticides and herbicides in our schools to help ensure students and staff safety. IPM is based on prevention, monitoring, and control with the goal to eliminate or reduce the use of pesticides and herbicides.

Congratulations to our recipients of the November 2025 cycle of the DJUSD Values in Action Awards! These honorees will be recognized by the DJUSD Board of Education and District administrators at a special celebration on November 20 for their dedication and meaningful contributions to our students and to the goals of the DJUSD Strategic Plan.

Thank you to all who continue to support and participate in this program as we celebrate the outstanding individuals who exemplify our district’s core values. We look forward to honoring more remarkable DJUSD community members in the future!

Your principals and department managers are eager to hear directly from staff about what is and isn’t working at our schools and departments so that we can learn and improve. The ~15-minute, online, anonymous survey asks all staff – both instructional and non-instructional – for feedback on topics like: culture, relationships, engagement & professional development & support. Your voice matters and we are grateful for your feedback. Each site (including the District Office and Capitol Operations) has a specific survey code, which you should have received by now. If not, please contact Climate Coordinator, Kate Snow.

Davis Schools Foundation proudly maintains the iconic pedal-powered carousel, the Flying Carousel of the Delta Breeze, located at Davis Central park. DSF makes it available for use (for free) by DJUSD-related organizations, clubs, classes, teams and PTA/PTOs to run as a fundraiser during Farmers' Market. Learn more and sign-up today! If you have any questions, please email carousel@davisschoolsfoundation.org.

In December, we will be bringing new course proposals and course revisions to the Board of Education for approval. Colleagues at Da Vinci and Davis Senior High schools have been working to expand course offerings and opportunities for our students. Below is a summary of the courses being proposed and/or revised for the 2026-27 school year.

• Computer Game Development

• Mechatronics

• Peer Mediation

• Intro to Business

• AP Business

• AP Computer Science

• Honors Yearbook

Join Team Davis and the City of Davis Adaptive Recreation Program for the next Parent Education Forum! Learn how to access supports, services and programs for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

• Tuesday, November 18 from 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. at the Davis Senior Center, 646 A Street -
• Topic: Getting Connected to Services with Alta Regional Center sharing guidance on eligibility, self-determination and IEP recreation services.
• Questions? Contact Jillian LeDuc at jleduc@cityofdavis.org

• November 13 from 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. Designed for Belonging: Environments That Prevent Escalation
• December 3 from 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. Executive Functions for Every Classroom Free and eligible for salary advancement via professional growth credit.

Register at bit.ly/41rqpwp and in Perform to ensure PD credit.

• Attendance and School Refusal Resources

• Dyslexia Padlet & Free Webinar Recordings

• Executive Functioning Padlet

• Inclusive Access to a High School Diploma

This presentation by Tom Harrer LMFT, Owner/CEO of the Auburn-Davis Center for Dialectical Behavior Therapy, focuses on improving parent-child relationships through key communication strategies. The presentation will present core strategies to help you build stronger family bonds, including foundational principles from DBT, building trust and safety, and the power of validation. This PEP Talk is on Wednesday November 19 from 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. Register here

Staff are invited to participate in a biweekly group facilitated by Winding Brook Health, our new Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provider. The group offers an opportunity to process and share challenges, successes, coping strategies and approaches for optimizing wellness and a healthy work-life balance. The group will meet on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month (when we are in session) from 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. You can learn more about individual and group options on the EAP page. Feel free to share this flyer with your colleagues. The next group is on November 13 in the DSHS Admin Building conference room.

We are thrilled to welcome several new team members this year. To help support our continued growth, we are excited to welcome Eliana Hernandez to Willet Elementary as our Food Prep II. Stacy Clark has also joined Cesar Chavez Elementary as a Food Prep II. Dino Alukic has joined our Delivery Driver/Warehouse team to help organize, store, and transport all products needed to serve over 6000 meals a day. SNS would like to warmly welcome all our new team members. We are looking forward to seeing them shine in their new roles.

• All staff received an email regarding the transition to Windows 11 on staff devices. Here are the instructions if you still need them.

• The DJUSD Tech Hub has a number of resources for applications, including the DJUSD Insights Dashboard. We are adding new resources soon on AI.

• The District Technology Advisory Committee (DTAC) is meeting on Wednesday, November 12. Please reach out to your site Principal if you are interested in attending. On the agenda:

• AI (Artificial Intelligence) and the impact on K-12 Education

• The next iteration of staff devices

• 1:1 Chromebook Policy

• Employee Assistance Program
• Mental Health and Wellness Resources
• DJUSD Strategic Plan
• Office of the Superintendent
• More Ways to Stay Connected
• Share your thoughts and concerns at communications@djusd.net

DJUSD Staff Insights e-newsletter is designed to keep our employees up to speed on the latest news and need to knows coming from various departments in this very challenging time. We hope you find this resource helpful. You can find archived issues on our Staff Insights webpage.