For the past four years, Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) has been proud to host both high school and middle school students from China. 

“TVUSD works with TowerBridge International (TBI) to foster both short-term and long-term visits from Chinese students and their teachers. These visits range from one week to an entire school year,” said Deputy Superintendent Jodi McClay. The partnership with TBI also sends teachers, administrators, and students from Temecula each Spring to schools in China. 

“This program has been a win-win for all involved,” stated Deputy Superintendent McClay, whose family provided a home-stay for one of the visiting students a few years ago.  “Temecula Valley students, as well as visiting students from China, learn a great deal about each other’s cultures, school systems, and life as a teenager.”   

McClay added that the district receives a small fee for hosting each of the Chinese students who visit, and utilizes these funds, for example, to support the Visual and Performing Arts programs at the sites, including providing new band uniforms for students in the Chaparral High School band.

The Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) Governing Board recently approved plans to spend $1.8 million in state grant funds to address the needs of students who perform “below standard” on state assessments in English Language Arts or Math, and who have not been previously supported by external funds.  The grant comes from the state’s Low-Performing Student Block Grant (LPSBG), which will run through June 2021. 

“This grant will provide resources that will provide for the growing social-emotional needs of our students; professional development in technology, cultural proficiency, and math instruction; a parent education program; an intervention program; software licenses; release time for teachers to conduct assessments and monitor student learning; and much more,” said Deputy Superintendent Jodi McClay in a statement to district principals this week.

“Though TVUSD remains the highest performing district in Riverside County, our district is always striving to ensure that students’ needs are fully met, and this grant will provide significant resources to do just that,” added McClay.

TVUSD Deputy Superintendent Jodi McClay has been taking time to sit and listen to elementary school teachers at each of the district’s 16 elementary campuses.

“While I am on school campuses daily to observe classroom instruction, I do not have as many opportunities to speak candidly with teachers about their concerns, so these lunch visits have proven very helpful,” she said recently.

Deputy Superintendent McClay said she plants herself in the teacher’s lounge at each site on any given day, and as teachers drop in for their lunch breaks, she is able to listen to their concerns and share pans the district is currently working on to address them.

“Much of what I am hearing has validated feedback from other venues and provided an opportunity for me to share what the district is planning in response, particularly about the changing social-emotional needs of our students,” she added.

As a result of these visits, she explained, the district is now adding a Tier II Behavior Specialist at every elementary school to support student and teacher needs. The district is also researching instructional models that could enhance our physical education program and provide more time for teachers to plan instruction.

“Teachers have seemed extremely appreciative and positive during these chats. They are eager to be a part of solutions,” said McClay, who is taking the feedback back to the district leadership team and Governing Board. “I am reminded daily of what an awesome staff we have in TVUSD!”

Temecula Valley Unified School District (TVUSD) recently detailed its structured approach to seeking input from all stakeholders served by the district.

“Strategies and plans to ensure ongoing feedback from our community are fundamental to keeping our district focused on the needs of all our students,” said Deputy Superintendent Jodi McClay.

The district, in February, held its third regional Community Advisory Partners (CAP) meeting for the 2018-19 school year. Deputy Superintendent McClay explained, “Each of our 27 school sites has an active CAP team, which includes parents, teachers, administrators, and students. They meet monthly on their campuses and come together several times each year for regional sessions. These important exchanges allow for cross-grouping of elementary, middle, and high school teams from the area.”

During these meetings, teams work collaboratively to review data, programs, and services provided by schools and the district at-large. In January, nearly 300 participants came together from each of the three regions to analyze district-wide student academic performance data and to identify strengths and areas of growth.

“The valuable input from these sessions will then be compiled with feedback from other stakeholder groups and presented to the district’s Governing Board,” said McClay. “Our process ensures opportunities for community input which shape and guide the district’s priorities and the Local Control Accountability Plan,” she added.