Superintendent's Newsletter

Posted Date: 3/22/24 (11:49 AM)

As we move into April and closer to the end of the school year there are many events and activities that are and will be scheduled at each site. We begin the "end of the year season" with our yearly Open House at each of the Elementary Schools, MJHS, MEIPP, and VMHS. Alhambra traditionally does not participate in this event. Some sites will be begin with some type of introduction program or event in the MUR or Common Area before opening each classroom for parents and students to visit, and some may have food trucks available so please check your school's website for details.

Spring Break is right around the corner. All schools, with the exception of Alhambra High School will have a half day of school on Thursday, March 28th. All schools will be closed from Friday, March 29th through Tuesday, April 9th. The District Office will be open throughout the break with the exception of Friday April 5th.

Summer School Credit Recovery dates are June 10th through July 10th. Classes will be held at Vicente Martinez High School at 925 Susana Street. Information can be found on the Credit Recovery website. The MUSD Extended School Year program will begin on June 10th and end on July 10th. The elementary program will be held at Las Juntas and the secondary program at Vicente Martinez High School. Parents of the students who are eligible for this program have received an invitation via Google Form to register their child. To ensure appropriate student to staff ratios, please respond as soon as possible. The MUSD will not be hosting any other learning recovery programs this year.

PFT (physical fitness testing) is happening now in grades 5, 7 and 9, during PE classes. CAST testing (science) began this week in grades 5, 8 and 11. SBAC testing (ELA and Math) for grades 3-5, 6-8 and grade 11 will begin on the week of April 15th. Please check your school website for specifics. High School AP testing will be held in May, from the 6th through the 17th.

Ed Trust West, the firm hired to do an Equity Review and create a Blueprint for Success at Alhambra High School held a data preview and input session last week. All administrators and AHS Department Chairs were invited and were given the opportunity to pose questions, make clarifications and provide input into their initial findings. A full report will be written and presented to the MUSD School Board at the June 10th Board meeting.

Have a safe, relaxing and enjoyable Spring Break!

Helen Rossi
Superintendent Martinez Unified School District

The 2024 MUSD Employees of the Year

Please join me in Congratulating
Samantha Groess - MUSD Educator of the Year!

Julie Webb - MUSD Clerical and Administrative Classified Employee of the Year!

Mei Veasey - MUSD Security Services Classified Employee of the Year!

All three, along with all the District nominees, will be celebrated at the
MUSD Board Meeting on May 13th at 6:30pm

Julie Webb Samantha Groess Mei Veasey

MUSD, Say Something, Navigate360 Detect Program Pilot

The Martinez Unified School District is committed to providing the safest possible environment for our students and staff, and we have always taken proactive steps to make our schools the best places to learn, work and grow. To maintain our standards and keep our school community safe, we are piloting Navigate360 Detect, a digital language scanning technology that will allow us to get ahead of school violence and incidents of concern for the remainder of the school year.

Our partners at Say Something in collaboration with the MUSD Administration have done their due diligence in selecting this program, which is integrates with the Crisis Response Team of the Say Something Program. Navigate360 Detect is the most ethical approach to a holistic view for overall safety and wellness. Its intuitive artificial intelligence platform takes a respectful approach to avoid bias while adhering to privacy laws. More specifically, Detect continuously scans all email addresses belonging to the MUSD looking for key phrases that will pick up indications of the following topics:

Threats or violent ideas
Possession of weapons
Suicidal ideation
NSSI (non-suicidal self-injury) - cutting, burning, punching oneself
Child abuse
Inappropriate teacher/student relationships
Fighting
Sexual abuse/assault
Substance use on campus
Substance abuse/sale/purchase
Idolization of mass shooters

Students are continuously connected through the digital and social media landscape. It is not always possible to scan all the information flowing daily on various platforms to find individuals intent on harm to self or others. Navigate360’s Detect software will close that gap and keep us ahead of potentially dangerous incidents with alerts of concern in near-real-time that we would not otherwise be privy to, positioning us to intervene and get help to those who need it while keeping the school safe.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to your site administration with any questions.

Spring & Summer Camps, Workshops, Youth Sports and Employment Opportunities

Interested in Spring and Summer opportunities for your children? Please visit the MUSD Community Flyer webpage. Each week the MUSD receives notices and flyers for a variety of community programs, events and activities for our youth. Postings are updated frequently and remain on the page for 30 days. Here are few recent posts:

2024 Grad Night Auction & Community Donation Drive

Silent Auction: Live March 4th-March 17th!

Would you like to sit field level with the 2024 Alhambra High School graduates and not worry about parking, here’s your chance! A silent auction for seating and parking packages will be live from 12PM on March 4th until March 17th at 8PM is being hosted by Safe & Sober Bulldogs.

Safe & Sober Community Donations

Not attending graduation and would still like to support providing our graduates with a Safe & Sober alternative the night of graduation? Safe & Sober Bulldogs is seeking donations to support this year’s Class of 2024. This opportunity will not expire and donations will continue to be welcomed. Know a business that can help? Please share either the QR code or URL with them. Proceeds will support event transportation, activities and raffles on Grad Night. Donations will also support angel gifting as needed. Your generosity and support the Class of ’24 is greatly appreciated!

MUSD American Indian Culture and Education Program

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