Sunnyside upgrades
Focus on tech, facilities and social learning for new school year
Sunnyside Union School District (SUSD) is trying some new initiatives this school year, and it’s hoping to connect staff and students through technology and more social methods of instruction.
“The district is going through a culture change,” addressed Steve Tsuboi, SUSD superintendent. “We are changing the kids’ mindsets from ‘I have to be there’ to ‘I want to be there.’”
One of the newest additions to the elementary school is their full day transitional kindergarten class.
“We think we are going to prepare our kids better for kindergarten. We want to address childrens’ needs sooner, and if we can do that we can provide a better education for them,” said Tsuboi.
Tsuboi said the new TK classroom will teach kids to be more social and to know what it’s going to be like when they go to kindergarten, and also for the parents by letting them know what the expectations are.
In past years, teachers of grades K-3 at Sunnyside used to do their own physical education (PE) activities, but now there is a new PE instructor that does, which gives staff more time to collaborate and talk with one another about future plans and strategies that need to be discussed. First to third grade students are also now ex-
pected to stay 45 minutes extra in school.
Tsuboi said they expanded their school time from 2:15 p.m. to 3 p.m. for the students to focus on skills they might need help with to be successful.
He added that the district will also begin some modernization projects starting in September.
“In the next month in a half, people will start to see commotion going on,” said Tsuboi. “I want parents and students to know that there will be projects going on during the academic year, but it will not happen all at once.”
The first thing they will start is the “face lift” of their multipurpose room that has not been upgraded in years.
“We are looking at a new ceiling , flooring, a stage area and many other things,” said Tsuboi.
During the spring, SUSD received a “First Five” grant from Tulare County, enabling them to up a new shade structure on their kindergarten playground which, will have artificial turf for kids to play on in a safe and protected surface.
Due to the Prop 39 energy efficiency project, the district will also be working on some outdoor lighting enhancements and classroom thermostats to be monitored and controlled to be more energy efficient. Currently they are in the process of finishing their first nursing room to address the health needs of students.
SUSD continues to push technology. They have one-to-one technology for students and a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) lab where projects can be done. The lab now includes two 3D printers, a green screen and a laser cutting machine that students can use to make and build items, including plaques for students who participate in their cross country meet next week.
The district has a variety of electives available for students to take, such as folkloric dance, cross country, STEM, gardening and landscaping.
“We are pretty excited with the diverse electives that we are offering the kids,” said Tsuboi. “We are just trying to expose the kids to as much possible, because there is so much going on out there and they must keep up.”
Josh Tredway, fourth and fifth grade combination classroom teacher, is making learning a little different for his students this year. He modernized his classroom into a cafe like environment where students are able to choose where to sit while they learn.
SUSD is becoming a three-way learning environment where parents, students and teachers will be held accountable to each other, and they are addressing social needs to have a more social campus with teachers and students.
“It's a small school, but a lot of them don't know everyone's name,” said Tsuboi. “The sixth to eighth grade mentoring program pairs staff and students together so the kids get to work with them and know them.”
Tsuboi says the program addresses social and mental support, academic support and behavioral support so the kids have somebody they know to talk to incase there is an issue or they need help with something.
“The success right now is really high,” said Tsuboi. “The kids want to know when will their next time to meet will be.”
Tsuboi said SUSD'S biggest accomplishment this year is the work the staff is doing for the students to learn and understand what a learner is.
“Its not just someone that shows up to school, behaves and does well. Now they are participating,” said Tsuboi. “We want to continually build and allow students to demonstrate their knowledge by being able to share and evaluate as they progress.”