A PUSD update from Superintendent Tom Taylor

At this point I hope the entire community is aware of all the construction going on in Paradise Unified School District (PUSD). In case you missed it, we have been able to invest approximately $100 million dollars into providing our students with new and updated state of the art facilities. I encourage you to go to our website to look at all that is going on.

The new construction is great, but as always, our priority is on learning and everyone’s wellbeing. It is the focus on our learning and our wellbeing that drives us. This past year we asked parents and staff to complete multiple surveys. As a result of the surveys and data, it is evident we need to focus on three things: Learning, Social Emotional Learning and Attendance. It is easy to see all those things work hand in hand.

Learning

We will use our Professional Learning Community time as a critical cornerstone to address learning. Much of this is assessing four critical questions:

1. What do we want our students to know?

2. How do we know when they know it?

3. What do we do when they don’t get it?

4. What do we do when they already know it?

Doug Reeves, from Creative Leader- ship, has written multiple books, in cluding Fearless Schools and was this year’s keynote speaker at the districtwide kickoff, and will be supporting us in this area for grades TK-8th. His focus

Matt Coleman, from Inflexion, has been and will continue to be with the high school on similar areas focused on systems implementation and change. Watch for PHS and the new Maxims: Connected, Hard Working and Future Focused.

Social Emotional Learning (RULER)

RULER: to Recognize, Understand, Label, Express, and Regulate oneself is our focus to address social emotional learning. Butte County Office of Education will continue to support us in this effort. All our sites have already started the development of their charters and the introduction of the Mood Meter. The focus as we move forward continues to be on strategies to support all of us in our daily jobs and routines.

Attendance

Attendance will be guided through our Three-Tiered System in Positive Behavior Intervention and Support. Our own Student Services department will be providing support and information to help us get back to our structure that was disrupted by COVID and the fire. This will include each site coming up with a plan to engage students and encourage them to be at school every day. When