CONGRATULATIONS Somsack Chaitesipaseut, who represented the Fremont Union High School District at Santa Clara County’s 2009 Teachers of the Year Celebration. Thirty teachers from districts in the County were recognized for their excellence in the classroom, their commitment to professional development, and their dedication to students, school, and the community. This was Santa Clara County’s 40th Annual Teacher Recognition Day.

Somsack Chaitesipaseut began his teaching career in 1999 at Fremont High School, his alma mater. He knew he wanted to “learn how to be a teacher from awesome role models” he experienced at the school. He says that what he enjoys most about teaching is the interaction with students and seeing their “ah-ha!” moments.

Honorees were selected by their districts for this most prestigious local award given to classroom teachers. The gala ceremony was  co-hosted by Dr. Charles Weis, County Superintendent of Schools, and Jack O’Connell, State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Honorees were presented with engraved awards, entertained by student performers, and featured in video profiles.

CONGRATULATIONS to Student leaders from FBLA, Future Business Leaders of America, and DECA, an Association of Marketing Students, who were recognized by the Board of Trustees for their exceptional leadership and volunteer work for their schools and community. Students: Cupertino FBLA Kwan-Keat Ang; Fremont DECA members Pavel Klier, Bruce Feldman, Harikrishna Patadiya and Nancy Chen; Homestead FBLA  Alissa Song and Kathy Sun; Lynbrook FBLA Kavya Shankar and Anu Prasad; Monta Vista DECA members Ravikumar Ashok, Diane  Keng,  Sonika  Singh, and Elaine Tang; and FBLA  Panos Kanellakopoulos and Christopher Chui.

Students presented an overview of their organizations goals and activities.

• DECA students are active volunteers in their community at the Cupertino Fall Festival, Diwali Festival, FUHSD Foundation Crab Feed, American Heart Association Walkathon, Business Plan Workshop, Silicon Valley DECA Fashion Show, and Senior Center Pumpkin Carving.
• Silicon Valley DECA chapters include Monta Vista, Fremont, Lynbrook, Harker, Saratoga, and Milpitas High Schools. With students from all across the United States, Canada, Guam, and Europe, the International Association of DECA aims to further the education of high school and college students in business, marketing, management, entrepreneurship and leadership in business, finance, hospitality and marketing sales and service. There are over 180,000 members worldwide.
• FBLA students are active leaders in the community through the American Enterprise Project, Community Service Project, Go Green Project, March of Dimes and provide support and service to their schools for Back to School Night, Bond Measure B, Parcel Tax Measure G, Graduation, and Business Tours.
• FBLA is the oldest and largest student business organization in the world with over a quarter million members. The District boasts the top three schools in the United States: First—Homestead, Second—Monta Vista, and Third—Lynbrook as they led California to its Eleventh National FBLA Championship last summer. Collectively, FUHSD students earned over 70% of California’s total  points.
  

District students continue to hold key leadership positions at the school, state and national level:

Kavya ShankarNational FBLA Vice President, California State President, Lynbrook President
Anu Prasad, Lynbrook FBLA Co-President
Alissa Song, California FBLA State Vice President, Homestead FBLA Vice-President
Kathy Sun, Homestead FBLA President
Panos Kanellakopoulos, California FBLA State Secretary-Treasurer from Monta Vista
Christopher Chui, Monta Vista FBLA President
Kwan-Keat Ang, Cupertino FBLA President

"What we are really most proud of is the learning culture that we have embedded into our organizations, the positive,
the encouraging environment where students come together to study business and also the unique cohesiveness we feel
as chapters. I know all of us have made lasting friendships throughout FBLA, have pushed ourselves to limits beyond
imagination, and also experienced opportunities that we could never have imagined in our wildest dreams. And these are all
impacts that will continue with us even past our high school career. As we all head back to our chapters, we are excited to pass
on this legacy to the members who aspire to become, and we know we will become, the future business leaders of America."
— Alissa Song, California FBLA State Vice President, Homestead Vice President

FBLA Advisors: Mark St. John, CUPERTINO High; Byron Lee, Graeme Logie and Edmond Kwong, HOMESTEAD High; Andrea Badger, LYNBROOK High; and Carl Schmidt, MONTA VISTA High.
DECA Advisors: Daryl Olsen, FREMONT High, and Carl Schmidt, MONTA VISTA High.

COMMUNICATION
Homestead High School Senior Zahra Ali shared information on givegoogle.com that benefits the American Cancer Society. •  CSEA President Roberto Gutierrez announced negotiating team members: Bernard Vargas, Ruben Delgado, Diana Zankick, Gladys Marroquin, and Ruth Sandoval. Gutierrez stated that CSEA is working hard to support the renewal of the parcel tax and looks forward to working with the District this year. Board Members welcomed Roberto back as he has been absent from meetings due to an illness.

STUDENT BOARD MEMBER REPORT
Student Board Member Christopher Chui reported IDC invited Board Members to attend homecoming activities at the high schools during the next few weeks.

PRESENTATION BY CAREER TECHNICAL EDUCATION STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS
Student leaders from FBLA, Future Business Leaders of America, and DECA, an Association of Marketing Students, presented an overview of each organization’s goals and activities. District students continue to hold key leadership positions at both the state and national level: Kavya Shankar, National FBLA Vice President, California State President, Lynbrook President; Anu Prasad, Lynbrook FBLA Co-President; Alissa Song, California FBLA State Vice President, Homestead FBLA Vice-President; Kathy Sun, Homestead FBLA President; Panos Kanellakopoulos, California FBLA State Secretary-Treasurer from Monta Vista; Christopher Chui, Monta Vista FBLA President; and Kwan-Keat Ang, Cupertino FBLA President. The Board of Trustees commended the students for their exceptional leadership and volunteer work for their schools and community and presented each group with a certificate of recognition.

SUPERINTENDENT’S REPORT
Superintendent Bove stated the District is proud of Somsack Chaitesipaseut who represented the District in the 40th Annual Santa Clara County Teacher Recognition ceremony. Somsack was one of 30 teachers representing districts in the county.  •  COO/Associate Superintendent Glenn Evans reported that the District is close to finalizing a new lease agreement with The Kings Academy (TKA), located on the former Sunnyvale High School site. TKA has occupied this site since 1993.

2008-2009 ASSESSMENT and ACCOUNTABILITY OVERVIEW
Deputy Superintendent Kate Jamentz shared with the Board a summary of key assessment and accountability data for the 2008-2009 school year. Her report provided an overview of student achievement results at the District level on six key indicators: Academic Performance Index (API) targets, California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) results, percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards in key courses, whether the District has met annual Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals, how students do in college level coursework taken in high school, and how students do on tests designed to predict success in college. Jamentz stated that these same indicators will be addressed at the school level in the annual school plans to be presented to the Board over the next few months. These school plans will also include priorities for improving student achievement.

UPDATE ON THE STATE BUDGET
CBO/Associate Superintendent Christine Mallery reported that the lawsuit which was filed against the Governor over his veto of $500 million in line items in the revised 2009-2010 State Budget is still pending. She stated that there are currently 961 bills on the Governor’s desk waiting to be signed, of which 80 are education-related. Mallery also reported that the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) Board of Administration approved using excess reserves from its self-funded preferred provider organization (PPO) plans to offset premiums and contributions paid by members and employers for two months; thus employees enrolled in the CalPERS PPO health plans will pay just $1.00 for the months of October and November 2009.

UPDATE ON THE BOND MEASURE B
COO/Associate Superintendent Glenn Evans reviewed recent Tracks and Fields renovation project highlights: the District recently held community meetings regarding tracks and fields renovation at Cupertino, Lynbrook, and Monta Vista High Schools; the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) process is underway for Lynbrook and Monta Vista High Schools and there will be multiple opportunities for neighbors/community members to provide input; and construction continues at Homestead and Fremont High Schools — District should have DSA approval for Increment 2 on both sites in the near future and will submit Increment 3 plans to DSA within the month. [Editors Note: Increment 2 approval was received on October 8.]  Evans reported that work is progressing toward completion on the current phase of the solar PV construction and that the “energizing” ceremony to connect the solar at Lynbrook High School will be held November 12th (more details soon). Evans stated that a Board Study Session on facilities modernization will be held next month..

BOARD OF TRUSTEES...
     •  Awarded a contract to Ram Kirpalani for Division of State Architect (DSA) Inspection Services for the
        Measure B Tracks and Fields Project
     •  Approved a contract amendment to David J. Powers to prepare an Environmental Impact Report (EIR)
        for the Lynbrook and Monta Vista High School Tracks and Field Projects