Fortuna Elementary School District

Superintendent’s Report

September 2024

We have had a fantastic start to the new school year!

Curriculum and Instruction:

All certificated positions have been filled for this year except for a school nurse, which we continue to advertise.  We have filled most of our classified vacancies except a few Special Circumstance Instructional Assistance (SCIA) openings.    

So far, the feedback regarding our K-8th math pilot program, Amplify’s Desmos, has been positive.  This is the first year using this program for our K-5th grade students and the second year for our 6th-8th grade students.  We will continue to monitor student progress and gather teacher feedback throughout the year. 

Our new social-emotional learning curriculum, Character Strong, is being implemented from TK-8th grade. This curriculum aims to increase students’ belonging, well-being, and engagement.    

All students in grades 1st—8th have completed or are close to finishing the beginning of the year STAR assessments in math and reading. These assessments are given four times yearly to monitor students' academic growth and target instruction.    

Before the beginning of the school year, our staff members participated in many professional development trainings to prepare for students.  Trainings were offered for IXL, Go Guardian, Character Strong, Keenan, and Desmos.   

Our District will continue to educate our students and families regarding the importance of attendance. Missing any amount of school can impact student achievement.   

Budget:

These pie graphs show FESD’s revenues and expenditures at budget adoption for 2024-2025.  It is important to note that the expenditures do not reflect the bargained agreements regarding increased salaries/benefits for our classified, certificated, and unrepresented employee groups for the 24-25 school year.  The adjusted salary/benefit expenditures will be reflected in the first interim at the December board meeting.  

Construction and Maintenance:

Starting the school year with little to no construction happening has been great!  The modernization at Walker Elementary will be completely finished next summer.  In the meantime, having working internet, phones, and new windows has been well received to begin the year.   

Miscellaneous:

Our District Meeting on August 14th was fantastic!  We had educator and motivational speaker Steve Bollar present to our staff.  The meeting was held in the FMS gymnasium, which was a great way to test out the newly installed sound system - amazing!  We recognized new staff, staff members with 20+ years of service to the District (39 employees!), summer staff who worked diligently to prepare our campuses for the new school year, summer staff who worked with our students during July for ELOP, and more.  Teachers and support staff left the meeting with classroom supplies and a renewed energy to begin the new year.   

All four of our school sites have held their Back to School Nights, which were well attended.  Our fall sports - volleyball, soccer, and cross country- have begun at the middle schools.  

Our new websites are up and running.  A big thank you goes to Susie Lewis for working long hours to get them functional and looking amazing for our District.  She will continue adding to them and making them as user-friendly as possible as the year progresses.  These websites are tied to our Parent Square communication platform, which has eliminated the management of various platforms.  Our websites are located at fortunaesd.com

We encourage parents, guardians, and community members to volunteer at our schools.  Please contact our school offices to inquire about volunteering.  Our motto is Better Together, so let’s work together to make this the best year for our students! 

Respectfully Submitted,

Amy Betts

Highlights from the 9-12-24 Board Meeting:

• Recognition of the passing of Jacquie Callihan

  • The Board would like to acknowledge the passing of Jacquie Callihan, who served as a valued teacher and principal at Norman G. Ambrosini Elementary School for over thirty years.  Mrs. Callihan’s dedication to the education and growth of our students will be remembered, and our thoughts are with her family and loved ones during this time.  

• The Board approved the Consent Agenda.

• A Public Hearing was held regarding the sufficiency of instructional materials for 2024-25.

• The Board approved Resolution 24-11 Declaring Sufficiency of Instructional Materials for 2024-25. 

• The Board approved Resolution 24-12 Gann Limit Resolution. 

• The Board approved the Unaudited Actuals. 

• The Board approved the 2024-25 8th Grade Fundraising Options.  

• The Board approved the Workplace Violence Prevention Plan SB 553.   

• The Board approved the Sub Rate for District Nurse.  

• The Board approved the Change of Date for the October Regular Board Meeting - October 17, 2024.  

• The Board discussed Board Policy 7310 (Naming of Facility).  The Board would like to see the creation of a Citizen Advisory Committee to review name suggestions and requests for naming any of the District’s facilities.  

Next Regular Board Meeting: October 17, 2024