Superintendent

Dear Parents and Community Members

Happy New Year!

This New Year is shaping up to be exciting with the implementation of many new initiatives that will improve the quality of education for our students.  As this New Year begins, our K-6 students will be moving back into a totally renovated Anna Yates Elementary School on 41st Street.  This 8.5 million dollar project has created a wonderful new learning environment to support the education of our elementary school students.

Work on the Emeryville Center of Community Life continues to move forward toward reality. The mission and vision of the Center is to transform the quality of life for all citizens of Emeryville and its children. New schools will be created within the Center along with a rainbow of services that include health services, counseling for families and children, community services including recreation for youth, adults, and seniors, as well as, other services designed to enhance the quality of life for all residents.  The City of Emeryville and the Emery Unified School District are working in collaboration on this unique model that will give students and all residents connections to their community, new resources, and a real sense and presence of neighborhood and community.  The Conceptual Master Plan for the Center is near completion and it is anticipated that a team of design architects will begin the design of the facility during the summer of 2009.

In the area of student learning, we are continuing to implement strategies to raise the rigor in our educational programs and develop higher expectations for all our students.  We will be reviewing our graduation requirements from high school as well as planning new and challenging curriculum for students at all grade levels.

A major goal of our Board of Trustees is to create a culture where “Parents as Partners” power student success.  We are developing a strategic action plan that will describe specific strategies for how parents can become more involved in their children’s education and support the school district’s goals of improving student learning.

We continue our work to secure funding to support our educational programs through corporate, foundation and governmental grants.  This year, the total grants received by the school district exceeds 1.3 million dollars.  The grants support district efforts to raise student achievement, integrate arts into the curriculum, and develop wellness programs for students.

If you ever have any questions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me at john.sugiyama@emeryusd.org or you may call me at (510) 601-4904.  I look forward to working with all members of the school community over the next year to advance the goals for our school district and wish you much success this year as you and your family partner with us in working to meet our goal of improved learning for all our students.