RUSD Superintendent Thanks Staff for a Job Well Done

All employees:
As we move toward the conclusion of the academic year’s First Trimester and the traditional Thanksgiving recess, please allow me just a moment to express my own personal gratitude and the appreciation of the Governing Board for the tremendous work currently in progress in our Ramona schools.

After having visited classrooms at each of our schools this fall, it is immediately obvious that teachers, administrators, and support staff are continuing to build on the outstanding academic achievement of the past several years. In spite of steadily rising student achievement, many staff members are continuing to push even harder this year so that every student is moving towards success in their learning. Additionally, our schools, staff members, and students are continuing to earn recognition for excellence in classroom performance. Here are just a few examples:

• While Ramona High and Mt. Woodson continue to hold current designations as California Distinguished Schools, Barnett Elementary has recently earned eligibility for the same award and is submitting its application this fall.
• Olive Pierce Middle School will receive a visit late this week to validate its potential recognition as a School to Watch – a prestigious award for middle schools on both the state and national level.
• Along with the Principal at Ramona Elementary and the Library Technician at Ramona Community School, the entire District was honored with the Technology Leadership Award from the Technology Training Foundation of America.
• A fifth-grade teacher at Barnett was named last week as one of the twelve Teachers Are Heroes recipients in San Diego County for the current school year by KSON radio.
• In co-curricular pursuits, the RHS Royal Alliance Marching Band and Color Guard has earned five 1st Place trophies already this season and was crowned AM Sweepstakes Winner at the Mira Mesa Field Tournament.
• In athletics, the RHS Boys Cross Country Team won the Palomar League Championship last week and is busy preparing for CIF next weekend.
• Six classroom teachers (at Hanson, Mt. Woodson, Barnett, Montecito, and RHS) have formed a collaborative known as the iLearners and are piloting 21st Century Learning with mobile technology – an exciting adventure that beckons to each of us as models for teaching in the very near future.
• Staff members at James Dukes have rallied behind an exciting college readiness theme for all students and are preparing for application to the esteemed No Excuses University network.
• In unprecedented recognition, the District received word this week from the California School Board Association that we will receive our third consecutive Golden Bell Award next month for the Ramona Reads! project – a uniquely successful program characterized by independent reading, motivation and student accountability, and a strong partnership between our ten local schools and the Ramona Public Library resulting in significantly improved reading scores for our K-12 students.

This list could easily be expanded with additional success stories of other performing groups, classroom achievements, and individual student and staff recognition. Weekly, the Ramona Sentinel and Ramona Patch highlight student and school achievements, indicating widespread success and advancement at each of our schools. More than just brag, however, our employees can have full confidence that our students will back up these many fine awards with rock-solid gains in statewide testing once again this spring.

Clearly, the State’s budget woes are presenting a problem for school districts across the State – and also here in Ramona. Based on current projections, the District is estimating a significant budget shortfall for next year with very little good news on the horizon. As we continue to march together through these uncharted waters of financial uncertainty, we must also continue to keep the children of our local schools on the forefront and celebrate, embrace, and support them as they continue to perform at higher levels than any group of students in our local history.

As for me and my family, we intend to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday in our local community with friends and relatives. It will be our intention to take time out to be mindful of the many blessings we continue to enjoy – not the least of which are two wonderful children and jobs which place us in contact with some of the finest educators and support staff in public education. On behalf of the Governing Board, I wish for each employee a wonderful break  – and truly hope that each of us will take the time to be thankful for the many blessings we are afforded as employees of Ramona Unified.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Bob Graeff, Superintendent