New Santa Ana | Tag Archives: garden grove unified school district

GGUSD launches online resources to support at-home learning

Posted on March 27, 2020 by Editor Posted in Disease, Education, Emergencies, Garden Grove, Health and Medical, Public Safety, Santa Ana Leave a comment

The Garden Grove Unified School District (GGUSD), which serves the Western portion of the City of Santa Ana, suspended their classes from March 16 to April 3, with Spring Break following from April 6 to 10. They will be back in session by April 13 if the COVID-19 situation has abated by then.

Effective Monday, March 30, the GGUSD Grab and Go Meal service will be open on Mondays and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to ensure our families and food service workers are able to stay home as much as possible, reducing their risk of exposure to illness. GGUSD’s Grab and Go Meal Service provides free breakfast and lunch every week, with the exception of Spring Recess April 6-10. Families will receive meals for Monday and Tuesday every Monday and meals for Wednesday through Friday every Wednesday. Visit www.ggusd.us/coronavirus for a list of locations.

This week, Garden Grove Unified School District launched a new webpage, https://ggusd.us/covidresources, which is packed full of resources in three categories – academics, wellness, and community-based resources. The webpage is designed to be a one-stop-shop to support at-home learning for the district’s more than 41,000 students and their families.

The Academic Resources section includes learning packets by grade level, digital textbooks, and other tools to access virtual classrooms and support at-home learning. The Wellness Resources section includes information on supporting students’ mental health and socio-emotional well-being, including useful tips on coping with covid-related anxiety and a list of mental health related agencies. Community Resources includes free or low-cost services provided by community organizations, including help with access to free food, childcare, and internet services.

“Educators across the country are navigating uncharted territory and we are so proud of our teachers and instructional leaders for the innovative work they are doing to engage digitally with students and ensure learning continues,” said Board of Education President Walter Muneton. “This webpage will help ensure important resources are ready and available for our community with the click of a button.”

GGUSD schools continue to check out devices for students who need them, and community liaisons, school psychologists, and instructional aides have also been checking in on students. GGUSD is committed to expanding at-home learning and is working hard to keep families informed through ParentSquare and other digital resources. Families who need help navigating ParentSquare can visit https://ggusd.us/parentsquare.

The Garden Grove Unified School District is suspending classes starting on 3/16

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Editor Posted in Disease, Education, Garden Grove 4 Comments

After careful deliberation, and in keeping with other large urban school districts in the state, the Garden Grove Unified School District Board of Education will be suspending in person classes for students effective Monday, March 16 through Friday, April 3, followed by our regularly scheduled spring break from April 6 through April 10.

We do not have any confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in our schools or local community but this action is an extra measure of protection to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19. More information will be sent home and posted on our website and social media pages regarding instruction and other supports for students and families.

The Garden Grove Unified School District responds to hateful videos targeting Vietnamese students

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Editor Posted in Education, Garden Grove, Racism, Santa Ana, Vietnamese 2 Comments

On Saturday, 3/8, administrators from Bolsa Grande High School and Garden Grove Unified School District were made aware of videos of two students filming themselves on campus, unknown to most of those depicted in the videos, engaging in profane, disruptive, disrespectful and hostile words and actions, including mocking and harassing many students and adults and specifically mocking /harassing Vietnamese students in an assembly and on the campus. The video, originally posted via YouTube, was then reposted in shorter clips to an alumni’s Facebook post.

The behaviors shown in the video are unacceptable and will not be tolerated by Bolsa Grande or GGUSD. Disruptive and bias/hate speech and actions have no place in our schools. Bolsa Grande High School administrators acted swiftly on Saturday to investigate this incident, with the support of the Garden Grove Police Department. Rest assured that any students engaging in such behaviors, including hate/bias speech or activities will face disciplinary action in accordance with California Education Code. Principal Conway sent out a message to her students, parents and staff on Saturday assuring them that the video does not portray the values of the diverse school and that the imaging presented is inappropriate and unacceptable and will not be tolerated. We deeply apologize for the pain this has caused our community.

GGUSD is working with OC Human Relations and the Orange County Human Relations Commission to take a firm and unwavering stand against any and all acts of hate speech and to develop a district-wide plan to promote a safe and welcoming environment at all schools. Approximately 30% of our district students (and almost 60% of the population at Bolsa Grande High School) are of Vietnamese descent. In light of recent documented discrimination directed against Asians in relation to the Coronavirus, all schools will reinforce with students, parents and the community that any racist/xenophobic language (either in person or via social media) must be immediately reported to an adult on campus.

Garden Grove Unified School District is a highly diverse district dedicated to equity and inclusivity. We proactively address hate and bias in our district and have the following already in place:

A protocol for staff to respond to incidents of hate and bias, based on the Teaching Tolerance manual, Responding to Hate and Bias at School, to ensure an appropriate, consistent and inclusive response to hate and bias;
A Human Relations Taskforce facilitated by OC Human Relations to address school-based hate and bias and provide recommendations to the district;
A partnership with the Anti-Defamation League for staff and student training, including the launch of No Place for Hate Schools across the district, including at Bolsa Grande High School;
A Safe and Welcoming Schools Task Force working to define what safe and welcoming schools look like in GGUSD.
We are grateful for those in our community who reported the original video. As we have urged students and staff, if you see/hear something, say something!

It is also essential we do not vilify an entire school of almost two thousand students based on the behaviors of a few individual students. Unfortunately, threats of violence have been received via social media in relation to this video, and the police department are investigating these new reports as well as the original video.

Due to the tremendous volume of identical reports of the original video received via email, we ask that the community not continue to send notification of the original video so staff may fully devote their time to investigating this matter. However, if you have additional evidence related to the case, please forward via Facebook Messaging to the Garden Grove Unified School District.

The OCDA is hosting a free soccer camp this week to keep kids out of gangs

Posted on April 7, 2015 by Editor Posted in Crime, Education, Gangs, Garden Grove, OCDA, Santa Ana, Soccer, Sports, Youth Activities Leave a comment

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Date: April 6, 2015

TWELFTH ANNUAL SPRING YOUTH SOCCER CAMP CONTINUES TO BUILD SELF-ESTEEM AND ENCOURAGE POSITIVE CHOICES IN YOUNG STUDENTS

SANTA ANA – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) is hosting the 12th annual Spring Youth Soccer Camp (SYSC) this week for selected elementary school students from Russell Elementary School in Santa Ana. SYSC is an ongoing community gang prevention effort organized through the Orange County Gang Reduction Intervention Partnership (OC GRIP) that encourages youth to avoid the eminent dangers of gang life and get involved in healthy team-building extra-curricular programs. The 3-day spring break soccer clinic kicked off this morning at 8:00 a.m. and will conclude on Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

The program is being held at Russell Elementary School at 600 South Jackson Street, Santa Ana. Members of the media are invited to attend all portions of the event. Continue reading→

The Garden Grove Unified School District’s budget is short by $60M

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Editor Posted in Bao Nguyen, Education, Garden Grove, Santa Ana Leave a comment

GGUSD Trustee Bao Nguyen

“One meeting after the celebration of selecting a new superintendent, the Garden Grove Unified School District’s Board of Education will face a grim prospect: a potential financial shortfall totaling nearly $60 million,” according to the Garden Grove Journal.

The Garden Grove Journal also reported that “At the last meeting the board voted to choose Gabriela Mafi as the new top educator, replacing Laura Schwalm this summer.” Continue reading→

The 2012 O.C. Dept. of Education, Area One, Social Media Report Card

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Editor Posted in 2012 Elections, Art Pedroza, Education, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, Orange County, Santa Ana, SAUSD Leave a comment

Art Pedroza for the Orange County Board of Education, Area One

PRESS RELEASE, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2012
Contact: Art Pedroza, 714-606-7622, Website: www.votepedroza.com

The 2012 O.C. Dept. of Education, Area One, Social Media Report Card

SANTA ANA – Public school officials often talk about the need to connect with parents, but do our local public school districts really walk the walk, when it comes to communicating with parents?

Art Pedroza, a candidate for the Orange County Board of Education, Area One, noticed in 2010 that the Santa Ana Unified School District’s website did not include a common, and popular, tool for instantly translating their site to other languages. The district corrected that oversight once Pedroza brought up the issue during his campaign in 2010 for the SAUSD School Board. Continue reading→

GGUSD Trustee Candidate Bao Nguyen kicking off his campaign in Santa Ana on Aug. 7

Posted on August 1, 2010 by Editor Posted in Democratic Party, Elections, Entertainment, Garden Grove, Politics, Santa Ana, Vietnamese, Youth Activities Leave a comment

Bao Quoc Nguyen is kicking off his campaign for the Garden Grove Unified School District’s Board of Education, at the home of Maria Alba, at 4022 West Fay Circle, in Santa Ana, on August 7, from 4 pm to 7 pm. Click here to RSVP on Facebook. Click here to read the event flyer.

Click here to see Nguyen’s campaign Facebook page. You will note that most of his friends appear to be Democrats, and he appears to support the Dream Act, so I don’t think we have to worry about whether he might be affiliated with Republicans such as Van Tran or Janet Nguyen.

Here is Nguyen’s bio, from his website:

Nguyen is a proud product of the Garden Grove Unified School District. He has served as a member of the school site council at Ralston Intermediate while a student. He graduated from Pacifica High School after transferring from Garden Grove High School during his sophomore year. At Pacifica, Bao was named “most spirited” in his graduating class and also in student body leadership. As a high school senior, Bao was selected to represent his congressional district in the Presidential Classroom program in Washington, D.C.

A commitment to public service has been demonstrated throughout Bao’s educational career – from serving pancake breakfast to registering voters at the annual Strawberry Festival. Bao has also volunteered at Saint Columban Church to assist the elderly and immobile with house chores.

While earning his bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California at Irvine, Bao served in various leadership capacities for the Cross-Cultural Center and for the Political Science Student Association. He also served as the UCI student body representative to the Irvine City Council. Bao was a recipient of the Praxis Scholarship, which sent him to work in Washington, D.C. for the first Presidential Executive Order on Asian Americans since Japanese Internment. Bao is also a recipient of the Brett Baldwin Prize in Poetry, awarded by Poetry MFA and Humanities Associates of UCI’s Department of English and Comparative Literature. He has published poetry and other writings in both English and Vietnamese languages, locally and internationally, including Jossey-Bass’ New Directions for Student Services.

Bao has a master of arts in religious studies from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, and holds a California State Certification in Mediation. He has been an invited guest speaker at different colleges and universities, as well as community organizations, including the local chapter of California School Employees Association.

Bao has taught as a substitute teacher in grades K-12, including special education for the Garden Grove Unified School District. In his recent capacity as community organizer, Bao helped Garden Grove United Methodist Church bring a campaign for senior transportation to successful completion in the City of Garden Grove. Bao is trilingual in English, Vietnamese and Spanish.

Does Mayoral candidate Amezcua realize there is more than one school district in Santa Ana?

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Editor Posted in Civic Affairs, Education, Elections, Santa Ana, SAUSD, Youth Activities Leave a comment

Fellow Orange Juice blogger Art Pedroza recently wrote a post regarding Mayoral candidate Alfredo Amezcua’s misplaced criticism of our Mayor Miguel Pulido not helping the youth of Santa Ana. As Pedroza correctly pointed out under the leadership of Mayor Pulido and councilmembers Claudia Alvarez, Sal Tinajero, Vince Sarmiento and Michele Martinez the city has put in place a number of programs to serve our youth.

According to a posting on Mr. Amezcua’s Facebook page he said the following:

We are exchanging ideas wit voters concerned that the current mayor isn’t working with the school district to create greater opportunity for our youth.

In reading this it gives the impression that there is only one school district in Santa Ana and that Mr. Amezcua is only concerned about working with them. The reality is that there are four school districts that service the residents of Santa Ana: Santa Ana Unified, Garden Grove Unified, Orange Unified and Tustin Unified.

Clearly the school district that Amezcua is referring to would be the Santa Ana Unified School District. My question to Mr. Amezcua and his campaign would be, are you aware that we have other districts serving our city and are you interested in fostering relationships with them as well? Or do you only want to concern yourself with the SAUSD?

As a resident of Santa Ana and the Garden Grove Unified School District I want to be sure that those of us living outside the SAUSD boundries are not disenfranchised and that our tax dollars are not going only to the SAUSD. Mayor Pulido has built relationships with all these districts over his years in office and I would like to see those relationships grow and prosper.

First and foremost though I want a mayor that is focused on city issues and not one that is overly concerned with school district issues. We elect a school board to do that. Perhaps Mr. Amezcua can focus his energies on electing a stronger school board and ridding us of those members that continue to do a poor job.

However if Mr. Amezcua is determined to stay in the race for Mayor of Santa Ana he should start sharing with us his goals to help with the budget issues we are facing and important topics like that and leave the issues of our schools to the elected officials that are supposed to oversee them.

The SAUSD is considering laying off another 153 of their teachers

Posted on March 15, 2010 by Editor Posted in Anaheim, Education, Garden Grove, Jobs, Labor, Santa Ana, Youth Activities 9 Comments

The SAUSD is cutting their school budget again, and considering laying off 153 of their teachers

The Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) is considering laying off another 153 teachers, according to the O.C. Register. The district needs to cut $34 million from their budget.

At the same time the district is in the process of reassigning teachers due to the fallout from having six SAUSD schools placed on the state’s “persistently low performing” list.

How exactly are teachers at SAUSD supposed to be happy about working there under these conditions? And will voters react by tossing out the incumbent school board members in November? Two of them are up for reelection, including Audrey Noji and John Palacio. Continue reading→