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  • Panorama Family-School Relationships Survey

    SANTA MARIA JOINT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 2560 SKYWAY DRIVE SANTA MARIA, CA 93455 Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Parents/Guardians,   I hope you are doing well.   I am following up on the Family School Relationship Survey.  To make it easier for you to access the survey, I have provided you with the link to your school. Please click on the appropriate school link to get started.  If there is a preference in language that you would like to take the survey, at the top left corner you can change the language you prefer to take the survey. School Survey Link Delta High School https://surveys.panoramaed.com/smjusd/2623182193/surveys Ernest Righetti High School https://surveys.panoramaed.com/smjusd/1828372647/surveys Pioneer Valley High School https://surveys.panoramaed.com/smjusd/1856723463/surveys   Santa Maria High School   https://surveys.panoramaed.com/smjusd/6826749079/surveys Thank you, Steve Molina SMJUHSD Director of Student Services 805-878-8136

    Wednesday, Nov 24 2021

  • Transitioning from at-large elections to by-trustee ...

    NEWS*NEWS*NEWS   SANTA MARIA JOINT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT   PRESS RELEASE   November 19, 2021   The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, like many cities and school districts across the state, has started the process of changing how voters elect school board members by transitioning from at-large elections to by-trustee area elections.    The existing at-large election system gives voters the ability to vote for all of the board members. The new by-trustee area system will allow voters to only vote for a candidate who lives in their district of residence.    On April 10, 2018, the SMJUHSD School Board adopted a resolution to transition from at-large trustee elections to by-trustee area elections.   The district is using a demographer, who has been working with a legal team to ensure fairness and adherence to legal requirements, to prepare the proposed maps based on the 2020 Census data. These maps can be accessed on the school district’s website for review by the public.     The public is invited to comment and share their opinions at the Nov. 30 special board meeting on how the district’s boundaries and neighborhoods should be represented. The board will also discuss redistricting at future meetings. This will be the third of five public hearings.   For more information, visit http://www.smjuhsd.k12.ca.us/   SMJUHSD Media Contact: Public Information Officer Kenny Klein 805 709-1454   or  kklein@smjuhsd.org  

    Saturday, Nov 20 2021

  • Family-School Relationship Survey

    SANTA MARIA JOINT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 2560 SKYWAY DRIVE SANTA MARIA, CA 93455 Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Parents/Guardians,   I hope you are doing well.   First off, I would like to thank you for all your support and participation at our schools and the District.   As a Santa Maria Joint High School District parent/guardian, we acknowledge that your feedback plays a role in the services provided to you, students, and the learning environment at our schools.  The District is seeking your participation in a family-school relationships survey.   The survey results will be shared and provide recommendations.  The survey is 18 questions and takes about 10 minutes to complete.  The survey link has been provided below; please click on the link to get started and use the access code associated with your student’s school.   If there is a preference in language that you would like to take the survey, at the top left corner you can change the language you prefer to take the survey.   https://surveys.panoramaed.com/smjusd School Access Code Delta High School 4074735782 Ernest Righetti High School 6183909214 Pioneer Valley High School 7141326222 Santa Maria High School 7184008165 Thank you, Steve Molina SMJUHSD Director of Student Services 805-878-8136

    Saturday, Nov 20 2021

  • SMJUHS District ESSER III Expenditure Plan

      SANTA MARIA JOINT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT 2560 SKYWAY DRIVE SANTA MARIA, CA 93455     Dear Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Parents, Guardians, and Students, Good evening and I hope all of you are well.  You are invited to the District Parent Advisory Committee meeting on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, starting at 6:30 PM,  presented in English and Spanish with Mixteco interpretation available.   The meeting takes place at the Santa Maria High School Cafeteria.  Food served at 6:00 PM.    Thank you for attending last month’s Parent Advisory Committee meeting and for participating in the District’s ESSER III Expenditure Plan.   The October 27th meeting will focus on the results of the ESSER III Expenditure Plan survey and the proposed actions of the plan.    We look forward to your engagement.  Below is the agenda for Wednesday, October 27, 2021, meeting.   PAC Agenda LCAP Process Defining the American Rescue Plan (ARP)   ARP ESSER III Purpose Requirements Use of funds Intended use of funds Safe return and continuity of services Survey Results Proposed Actions   Thank you, Steve Molina, Director of Student Services 805-878-8136

    Wednesday, Oct 27 2021

  • Social Media Challenge

    We previously communicated to you regarding a Social Media Challenge (TikTok) called ‘Devious Licks’ that encouraged students to participate in dangerous and illegal acts of vandalism on campus.    Unfortunately, we must communicate again on a new series of ‘challenges’ posted to TikTok that also violate the Penal Code, the Education Code and/or the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District  (SMJUHSD) Board Policies.  These new challenges change monthly but ALL are disruptive, illegal and could result in serious legal, monetary and disciplinary consequences for students who participate.  The following is a list of the proposed future challenges:   October:  Smack a staff member November:  Kiss your friends girlfriend on campus December:  Expose yourself (private areas) on campus January:  Jab a breast February:  Mess up school signs March:  Make a mess in the courtyard or cafeteria April:  Steal something from campus May:  Ditch School June:  Flip off the Front Office July:  Spray a neighbors fence   Please talk to your students and help them understand that the consequences for participating in any of these challenges could result in suspension, expulsion, police involvement and/or monetary fines or restitution for damages.  If you have any questions, please contact your student’s school site administration team.    Thank you, SMJUHSD

    Tuesday, Oct 05 2021

  • Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Sta...

    SANTA MARIA JOINT UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief   III (ESSER III) Stakeholder Survey Dear Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Student, Parents/Guardians, and Staff:   The District is in the process of developing a new plan that will provide additional funding.  The District is required to submit a Board-approved plan for the use of the American Recovery Plan Act – Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) Gran funds.  The grant funding to the District is $9.8 million and will expire on June 30, 2024. The District's ESSER III Plan must address students' academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs, as well as the opportunity gaps that existed before and worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic.   The development of the District's ESSER III plan, stakeholder engagement from students, parents/guardians, staff, and labor associations is essential supporting the health and safety, academic, social emotional educational programing, and supports.  As key stakeholders, your feedback provides guidance and decision-making as a valuable resource in educating all students in our District. The actions and services of the SMJUHSD ESSER III plan will align with the District's Local Continuity and Attendance Plan, Expanded Learning and Opportunities Plan, and Local Control Accountability Plan.  The District will present the SMJUHSD ESSER III Plan to the Board of Education on October 28, 2021, for approval. Thank you for all your contributions and support in completing the survey.  The survey is in English and Spanish, with Mixteco audio provided for parents/guardians and community members.  When the link is accessed, in the upper-righthand corner, select the language preference.  Please use the link below to access the survey: https://smjuhsd.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0D68JHYR1Q44xWC Thank you,   Steve Molina Director of Student Services Santa Maria Joint Union High School District 805-878-8136

    Saturday, Sep 25 2021

  • Parent/Guardian Message

    Dear SMJUHSD Students and Parents/Guardians,   I hope this message finds you doing well.  It has been five weeks since the start of the new school year.  The best part of course is that our students are back on campus.   I am grateful to our staff for their efforts to maintain a safe learning environment for our students.  Our students also play a major role in the school environment by adhering to health and safety protocols - thank you for your cooperation!   I want to provide you with a summary of information shared at last week’s Board Meeting, which you can also view on the recorded videos posted on our district website at this link :  COVID testing of 2505 students and 244 staff has identified 33 students and 6 staff who have tested positive since the start of the school year across all of our schools.   We are hosting vaccination clinics for students and their families at each of our school sites starting at the end of the school day as indicated below.   September 16 @ ERHS September 23 @ SMHS September 30 @ PVHS TBD @ Delta HS All employees will be required to provide proof of COVID vaccination or test weekly starting on October 18. End-of-year 2021 data indicates that we made positive growth last year in several areas, including graduation rates, college eligibility (A-G), summer school attendance, state seal of biliteracy, and reclassification of multilingual learners.  This is all especially exciting, given that we were in a remote or hybrid learning model the entire year. Our School Board made a commitment to adopt a new district logo that reflects our district’s vision and mission.  The process and timeline for going about this change, to include student and staff input, will be brought back to the board later this year.   The process has begun to move our board elections from at-large to trustee areas.   There will be several public hearings on the topic at the forthcoming Board meetings through January.  Detailed information will be posted on our website in the very near future.   Have a good rest of the week and thank you for your continued support.     Gratefully,   Antonio Garcia  Superintendent Santa Maria Joint Union High School District

    Tuesday, Sep 21 2021

  • Parent Advisory Committee meeting Thursday, Septembe...

    Dear Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Parents, Guardians, and Students, Good evening and I hope all of you are well.  You are invited to the District Parent Advisory Committee meeting on Thursday, September 23, 2021, starting at 6:30 PM,  presented in English and Spanish with Mixteco interpretation available.   The meeting takes place at the Santa Maria High School Cafeteria.  Food served at 6:00 PM.    The Parent Advisory Committee plays a critical role in developing the District's Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).  This month's meeting focuses on the Local Control Accountability Plan and the input on the District's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) Plan.    To access the 2021-2024 LCAP Plan, please hold the control button and click on the bold LCAP.  This will take you to the District website, where you will access the  LCAP  plan in English.    We look forward to your engagement.  Below are ZOOM links for the meeting:   PAC Agenda Introductions Local Control Accountability Plan Process   Local Control Accountability Plan 2021-24 / ESSER III Plan Parent engagement activity Budget Overview 2021-22 school year Follow-up questions and dialogue   Thank you, Steve Molina, Director of Student Services 805-878-8136

    Tuesday, Sep 21 2021

  • Social Media Warning

    Destructive Social Media Challenge   September 15, 2021 Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Families, This email is regarding a new social media trend greatly affecting our high schools, the “Devious Licks” challenge, but also referred to as the “Tik Tok  Bathroom Challenge.”  This new social media trend encourages students to “lick” or vandalize and steal items from their school. The bigger the item, the bigger the brag or “Devious Lick”. Items such as soap dispensers, fixed hand sanitizers, fire alarms from walls, teacher’s keys, urinals, computer monitors, and school security vehicles are being stolen and vandalized to post to video-sharing apps, such as Tik Tok or Snapchat, using various hashtags, including #deviouslicks.  This week alone our high schools have had thousands of dollars worth of damage done by acts of vandalism to their facilities, mostly to our student restrooms.  Damage done to restrooms often requires us to close that facility for repairs, unfairly harming all students that need to use that facility during the day.   In response to this, we are increasing surveillance of our campuses, and reviewing all camera footage for responsible parties.   These are very serious offenses, and if a student is found to be damaging school property, stealing, vandalizing, or being in possession of stolen school items (including people’s personal belongings), the district will: Take appropriate disciplinary action. In accordance with Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 5144, students may lose school privileges for the remainder of the school year, such as participation in athletics or other extracurricular groups, clubs, school dances, and activities. File charges, per California Penal Code 594PC Vandalism and 484PC  Petty Theft.   Stolen property valued at $950 or more is a felony in California.  Seek restitution for the stolen and damaged items from the student or their parent/guardian(s). The typical cost to replace soap dispensers and urinals can run from $500-$2,000.  We ask that you help us put a stop to this by talking with your student about the serious consequences of participating in this destructive trend that involves stealing or damaging school property. We also encourage parent/guardian(s) to monitor their students’ social media activity, as these types of social media challenges tend to involve risky behaviors. Unfortunately, students do not typically realize the serious consequences or threats to the safety of others these trends pose.  Thank you for your assistance in helping to put a stop to this in our school community. SMJUHSD

    Friday, Sep 17 2021

  • By-Trustee-Area Elections

    September 14, 2021   Parents/guardians, staff, and all other stakeholders of the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District,   In April 2018, the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Board of Education approved a resolution that began the process of moving to "by-trustee-area" elections.  Up to now, our school district has had "at large" elections in which all district voters cast ballots for every seat on the board. By-trustee-area elections would subdivide the district into "trustee areas," with voters casting ballots only for the seat representing their designated area. By-trustee-area elections would put the district in compliance with the California Voting Rights Act. Trustee areas would be formed utilizing forthcoming data from the 2020 Census.  We will be discussing the process at our school board meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. and invite you to join by clicking on the following link:    English:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvPYs34lm9hOdAwgfi-gDGg Spanish:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvPOf03ekQDsiYfv60Ffbfg Mixteco:   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCviEi9hvcQl96poD0PDiSIA   If you are unable to attend, the recorded board meeting will be posted on our district website ( http://www.smjuhsd.k12.ca.us ) within 24 hours.

    Tuesday, Sep 14 2021