Category: Sweetwater Strong

Recently, more than eighty pallets of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) was delivered and distributed at Sweetwater High School thanks to Last Mile San Diego and San Ysidro Health.
Several volunteers conducted health screenings and distributed hand sanitizer, face shields and hand-held thermometers to various residents, families and organizations in need of supplies in the South County region.

“We are honored and privileged to continue our collaboration with the city of National City,” said Maribel Gavin, Sweetwater High School’s principal. “Sweetwater High School is happy to work with our mayor, Alejandra Sotelo-Solis, and assist with the distribution of much needed PPE to our community members. Together we can continue to put safety and health measures in place and do our part to reduce COVID cases. This is one step closer to bringing students back to our campus.”

The South Bay has been hit especially hard during the coronavirus pandemic, in part because so many residents are essential workers and have contracted the virus on the job or traveling for work.
Representatives from the National School District, Granger Junior High, National City Middle School, Sweetwater High, Tijuana Hospital, the Teamsters Union, Project 1:1 and SD Labor Council were recipients of the PPE.

According to Last Mile San Diego’s website, the volunteer group was “founded by a San Diego emergency physician and her friend, who shared experiences and heard from other San Diego ER physicians and nurses that they were unable to access adequate PPE.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic made its way to San Diego County, no longer do the voices and laughter of students fill lunch areas in the South Bay. However, despite the lack of in-person traditional school, the Sweetwater Union High School District has hit a milestone in serving more than one million meals since the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools in March.

In Sweetwater, where a large number of students qualify for free and reduced lunches, the district has continued to provide nutrition to more than a million students with Grab ‘N Go meals and will continue to do so throughout the summer.

“It was important for me as a member of this community to attempt to provide as much normalcy as possible,” said Eric Span, Director of Nutrition Services. “I saw directly the impact of the COVID-19 closures on our families and wanted to serve as best we could.”

The district operated a dozen drive-through Grab & Go distribution centers that served seven breakfasts and seven lunches packaged together for a total of 14 meals a week. All students 18 and under were provided with meals.

“We needed our team to join in and they did,” said Span. “We also needed our distributor and manufacturer partners to help us re-envision our serving models.” According to Span, in order to relieve students and families dealing with food insecurity, nutrition services received a tremendous support from district-wide administrative teams to help serve families.

“The district needed parents to be patient with us as we quickly developed a service model that supported their needs. I am extremely proud of the work and dedication of our entire staff,” said Span. “Our Area Supervisors had to operate in new roles to make this successful. Our warehouse and maintenance teams have been tremendous during this crisis.”

“I believe the entire effort has been a testament to the Sweetwater Spirit. Every department and school site has been absolutely awesome in ensuring that our students continue to be cared for in this area,” said Span.

Last week, more than 2,000 Sweetwater Union High School District Seniors took part in a parade of cars to celebrate the graduating class of 2020. The Sweetwater District organized the celebration hosted at and in partnership with Southwestern College, the City of Chula Vista and the Chula Vista Police Department.

The graduation celebration was a unique way to honor and celebrate the class of 2020 during a pandemic.

Thousands of students and families packed decorated compact, mid-size, full-size and even convertible vehicles, as they entered Southwestern Colleges campus. Students were greeted with lively music and booth style stations representing all thirteen high schools in the district. Several students arrived dressed in caps and gowns as they drove around Southwestern College’s campus and were cheered on by teachers, staff and district officials.

Several parents and families expressed their appreciation for such an event honoring their students. Comments like: “This is awesome”, “Thank you for doing this”, “This means so much”, and “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” were all sentiments that could be heard as droves of cars circled the campus.

Students and families creatively decked out cars with balloons, banners, photos, paint, and signs that read: “Harvard Bound”, “LSU here I come”, “I did it!” and “First Generation Graduate.”
This was the first time many students had the opportunity to see classmates, teachers and staff since district-wide school closures in March.

The non-traditional graduation celebration was an important alternative to a traditional commencement, which has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Graduation events will be considered in late July/early August under the guidelines of San Diego County Public Health orders at that time. If a graduation event is not possible at that time, the events will be postponed until December 2020.

Again, we honor and congratulate the entire Sweetwater District Class of 2020.

11th and 12th grade U.S. History and Senior Government students from Eastlake High School recently participated in a unique opportunity, where they were amongst a pretty impressive group of individuals.

Donnie Edwards, retired NFL player and Sweetwater District Alum, is the founder and executive director of the Best Defense Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on helping military veterans and their families. Thanks to Edwards and his foundation, students filled Eastlake High’s theatre where 12 veterans shared their military and civilian life experiences.

For nearly 22 years, Edwards has dedicated his life to giving back to the military by participating in USO tours, and organizing trips to take veterans to their former battlefields. Like Normandy, where he took seven Iwo Jima survivors back to the islands earlier this year.

Ranging from the ages of 95-100, many of the veterans expressed their desire to inspire young people to have a feeling of hope and pride in their country. “We are here today to encourage all of you to make an active contribution to someone who is out serving our country today,” said Edwards. “I use the platform I have to give back to the men and women who gave so much to us.”

Eastlake High Principal Dr. Ricardo Cooke encouraged students to “listen with their hearts”, as veterans spoke about their experiences in the Korean War, Pearl Harbor, Vietnam War and Normandy Invasion. During the Q & A portion of the event, students asked questions like, what made you enlist in the military, what was your biggest take away from joining the military; and what was the driving force to keep you going?

One veteran quoted late U.S. President Ronald Reagan when he said, “Freedom is not free. Our freedom could be lost in one generation.” For most of the men, it was their belief in their country and so that future generations could enjoy life and live in freedom.

Edwards attributes his dedication to giving back to veterans specifically to his 14 year long career in the NFL and the platform it provided for him to be able to give back to our military.

“If you take anything away from today, please remember one thing,” said a WWII Veteran. “We did it for you. When you see the U.S. flag flying in the breeze, it moves by the last breaths of every late serviceman that fought for this beautiful country.”

In honor of Arbor Day, Sweetwater High School recently added five new trees to their campus for the sake of enhancing student and environmental health. Arbor Day is a national holiday dedicated to encourage individuals and groups to plant trees. Thanks to a partnership with Lumbercycle, A Reason to Survive (ARTS), CALFIRE, SDG&E and California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the grant funded opportunity encourages planting more of the right trees in the right places as a vital part of healthy communities and ecosystems, providing countless benefits.

“In less than a year, we at Sweetwater High will be celebrating our 100 year anniversary,” said Sweetwater High Principal Maribel Gavin. “As of right now, we do not have enough green spaces on campus. We appreciate the generous assistance and support to beautify Sweetwater High School for the betterment of our students, staff and environment.”

Sweetwater High students from select environmental classes, participated in the event where representatives from Lumbercycle and CALFIRE provided an educational demonstration on how to properly plant and water trees. The school received two Raywood Ash and three Chinese Flame trees that are appropriate species for this location.

According to Lumbercycle, these benefits include giving humans oxygen needed to breathe, improving air quality, slowing climate change by incorporating carbon into wood, cooling neighborhoods with shade, reducing energy bills and enhancing human physical and mental well-being, to name a few.

After the tree planting demonstration, students formed teams and were supported by expert coaches to plant and water the remaining four trees around campus.

“This exercise not only is educational for our students but good for our climate,” said Principal Gavin.

The Sweetwater Union High School District is taking the lead on “Social Emotional Learning” (SEL) and bringing it to new levels for students and staff in the South Bay. By definition, SEL is the process of developing the self-awareness, self-control, and interpersonal skills that are vital for school, work, and life success.

Three years ago, “The Culture and Climate Committee” in the SUHSD gave birth to the SEL work being done in the district. It began with bringing “restorative practices” into play when handling student behavior situations and essentially creating stronger bonds with students.

“I strongly believe that no other work can be successful at school unless students and staff feel cared for,” said Louise Williamson, AVID and Peer Counseling teacher and Restorative Practices Resource Leader at Hilltop High School. “One of my biggest goals is to work with students to understand the effects of their behavior by creating positive change, facilitate communication between staff and students, and support/train teachers in relationship-building techniques on my campus and throughout the district.”

According to Williamson, the Sweetwater District and SEL team is committed to prioritizing SEL in all schools because when staff focus on the whole child, teach social and emotional skills, and intentionally provide a safe, positive climate where students feel more confident and accepted, teachers have more time to support learning and academic achievement increases.

“As teachers, when we don’t incorporate restorative practices in our day, we throw away hours of instruction and our students don’t feel safe. The same goes with adults,” said Williamson.

Hilltop High School Principal Karen Hernandez is a prime example of incorporating restorative practices during her interaction with school employees. Hernandez begins each staff associated meeting with an SEL guided activity. As a school principal, she deeply believes in the importance of SEL and its benefits to the culture and climate of each person at her site.

Williamson also oversees the “Connect Crew Club” on campus that is comprised of a group of students that assist in helping freshman transition and feel comfortable with high school life. Student lead focus groups are also a huge success on Hilltop High’s campus says Williamson as they build mindfulness in the classroom and help students recognize their angry before they burst out.

Melissa Rains a science teacher at Castle Park Middle is in her third year of having her “Homeroom” class devoted to SEL Development. Rains has implemented SEL activities during professional development days focusing on the diversity in the school site staff and school diversity as a whole.

“My philosophy is unless we support the whole child we can’t expect to meet academic expectations that we set for our students,” said Rains. “Although we may not have the ability to change their problems, we can provide them with inner resources that they can take with them as they grow into adulthood.”

“I teach SEL because I want to prepare young people for life and this is a natural by product,” said Rains. “Approaching teaching with a compassionate lens builds new climate and culture in our classrooms and in our schools and that’s what this movement is all about.”

What made you decide to run for the Sweetwater District Student Board Representative position?

I decided to run for the student board representative position because I wanted to be an advocate for underrepresented students, specifically our LGBTQ students. I wanted to show that we, as LGBTQ students, still have a voice in what happens in the world around us. As well, I wanted to advocate for Sweetwater’s Student Body as a whole. Student perspective and insight is extremely important not only within our district but, with global issues world-wide. Thus, I wanted to show other students that they too, can be an advocate and fight for what’s just and change the future (as we say in CASC).

How has this experience been thus far?

So far, this has been an amazing learning experience. Even though I’m familiar with LCAP funding and how school districts budget themselves, this new experience broadened my knowledge and helped me better my public speaking skills. As well, I learned how to develop a tougher skin and you do have to make tough decisions when it comes down to it. I honestly want to thank Dr. Janney, Board Vice-President Mr. Frank Tarantino and Dr. Mariana Gomez for helping me transition into this position and serve as mentors to me throughout the process.

Why did you decide to become a member of the California Association of Student Councils (CASC)?

I decided to join CASC during my freshman year because I saw it as an opportunity to break out of my shell and develop more as a leader and person. Learning about the social justice and advocacy portion of the organization interested me the most and helped me grow into the advocate I am today.

I’ve been involved with CASC, three years now. I previously served as an Outreach (Publicity/Communications) for the Region 12 (San Diego and Imperial Counties) Cabinet. I served in that role for 2 years before becoming the Region President this year. This is my first year serving on the CASC State Council, a group of 25 high school students that run CASC operations on a state-wide level and are in charge of the various statewide conferences we hold in Sacramento (Student Advisory Board in Education/Student Advisory Board on Legislation in Education) and Los Angeles (Youth Action Summit of California).

What other extracurricular activities are you involved in?

Outside of CASC, I’m involved with my school’s Foreign Language and Global Studies (FLAGS) program student council which is a group of students who oversee the program’s activities. As well, I’m involved with my school’s Ballet Folklórico program and Gender-Sexuality Alliance Club (GSA). I’m also a member of AP Scholars, a group of students who fundraise for AP exam costs and, CSF. I’ve been in these activities since my freshman year as well. This year, I started being in my school’s Peer Mediation (Connect Crew) class in which we mentor around seven freshman students throughout their first year of high school. I’m also a Teen Court juror and a member of the Restorative Youth Justice Advocacy group within our district.

Are you taking any AP courses?

Currently, I’m enrolled in two AP classes. I take AP Spanish Language and Culture and AP Calculus AB. However, I’m taking a total of five AP exams this year including those I am enrolled in the course for. The additional AP exams I’m taking are AP English Language and Composition, AP Physics 1 and, AP United States History.

Have you made a decision on where you would like to attend college? If so, what will you study?

As for college, I haven’t decided where I would like to go, however my top choice of a university would be Stanford. From there, I’d like to double major in Political Science and Education.

You have quit the schedule, how do you juggle it all?

As for juggling everything that I do, I live by three simple words: Know your limits. I’ve set limits on myself and learned to set attainable goals as well. I also make sure to take care of my family and myself so, that I can perform my best every day.

What advice would you give to underclassmen who aspire to follow in your footsteps?

My advice to underclassmen would be to always stay true to yourself and aspire to be great in your way. Everyone has a calling in life, we just have to find it. As well, be sure to study hard and have fun during high school. The people you meet and the memories you make will last you a lifetime. Be sure to take care of yourself too. Don’t let anyone get under your skin because you’re unique. Let your uniqueness shine and, it will carry you far!

Ethan is a junior at Hilltop High School in the Sweetwater Union High School District.

Teaching is an art. On a daily basis, teachers all across the country and in the Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD) prepare lessons to strive to bring out the best in their students and achieve academic and personal success.

Meet Don Dumas, Advanced Placement U.S. History Teacher and Boys Varsity Basketball Coach at Bonita Vista High School in the Sweetwater District. Dumas was recently named among the five San Diego County Teachers of the Year at the 2012 Salute to Teachers Gala held at Balboa Theatre in September.

“I feel very fortunate to be named Teacher of the Year,” Dumas said. “All 42 of the nominees were exceptional teachers, and I am completely humbled by the idea that so many other educators consider my classroom practices to be on par with theirs. “

Dumas has been teaching history and economics for nine years and has also served as the boys varsity basketball coach since 2014.

Dumas excels at making personal connections with his students as a way of establishing trust and further reinforcing a safe learning environment. “There is nothing more rewarding than when a student tells me that I have given them confidence to pursue some goal, whether it be in academia or elsewhere,” said Dumas. “That is my ultimate goal- to use my history curriculum and my ability to connect in order to empower students”

After his own challenging experiences in life and school, he was drawn to teaching so that he could help students who face familiar challenges. To help students succeed, he creates an environment where students can be “their authentic self,” express their views, and where their individual experiences are valued, not dismissed.

As an education advocate, Dumas believes in equitable education so much that he is the ‘Culture, Climate and Safety Committee Co-Chair for SUHSD. “I have always designed my classroom practices around what the students in front of me need, not what the standards said they needed,” said Dumas. “Sometimes those things align, but sometimes they don’t. I would discuss these things with my students, and tell them that I want to empower them to succeed in life in whatever they want to attempt. Now more than ever I am even more confident that I am doing the right thing in my classroom.”

One of Dumas’s former students said it best. “He falls nothing short of an amazing life coach with the ability to incorporate real-life conflicts with each history lesson in a way that speaks to each student individually.”

“I believe in all children that entire my classroom,” says Dumas. “Whether they are troubled or privileged, I strive to seek the potential in each and every student.”

What can start off as just another day on the playground or regular activity in the school gym, can suddenly turn into a child unexpectedly going into cardiac arrest and in worst cases, a tragedy.

1 in 300 young hearts are at risk for Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and in most cases parents are not aware. A simple heart screening is peace of mind, in addition to access to an Automated External Defibrillator machine (AEDs). Onsite AEDs have been known to save precious treatment time, and can improve survival odds before emergency medical service (EMS) personnel arrive.

Thanks to a partnership with the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD), Cristians Big Heart Foundation, San Diego Project Heart and Eric Parades Save a Life Foundation, new Automated External Defribrillators (AEDs) were recently donated to schools in the South Bay.

“Thank you Supervisor Greg Cox and all of our partners on contributing to this purpose,” said Sweetwater District Superintendent Dr. Karen Janney. “By providing this equipment to our schools we could potentially prevent future tragedies.”

Eastlake Elementary School hosted the AED distribution event where representatives from the partner organizations spoke to an auditorium full of sixth grader students on the importance of the partnership and what that ultimately means for students and their school. In addition, students went through a drill simulating scenario where they learned the important steps of being a first responder, important signs to be aware of, how to administer CPR and how to properly use an AED machine.

“Equipping schools with AEDs is the only way to ensure that children suffering from SCA can receive the treatment they need within this critical treatment window,” said Maureen O’Conner Public Access Defibrillation (PAD) Program Manager for the San Diego Project Heart Beat.

The Sweetwater Union High School District kicked-off the 2019/20 school year with a powerful vision and message of persistence from district Superintendent Dr. Karen Janney and Keynote Speaker Liz Murray. The American inspirational speaker who is notable for having been accepted by Harvard University despite being homeless in her high school years has gone on to become a motivational speaker and the founder and director of Manifest Living.

This year the Sweetwater Districts Welcome Back event focus remained on “SUHSD Elements of Effective First Instruction” that leads to student mastery and engagement through the ‘Lens of Equity’. Superintendent Janney spoke to the various ways the Sweetwater District is continuing its efforts toward equity in the district. The day was filled with workshops, professional development opportunities and back-to-school preparations.

Keynote speaker Liz Murray shared a heartfelt and powerful message with district staff that for several left a lasting impression. As the child of drug-addicted parents, Murray was homeless at age 15. She was determined to not be defined by her circumstances, which led her to earn her high school diploma in just two years and win a scholarship to Harvard University. Her story has made such a huge impact, that a Lifetime Television Movie “Homeless to Harvard” was made to share her story.

Her main message reminded district staff to be encouraging and engaging with students, so that they can reach their fullest potential and find success.