The Santee School District Board of Education met at 6 p.m. October 1, 2024. Meeting highlights included:
Reports and Presentations
- Spotlight: Buddy's Backpacks - The Board of Education and Administration recognized the members and volunteers of the Santee Mobilehome Owners Action Committee, Inc. for their effort to provide donated backpack and school supplies through the Buddy's Backpacks program.
- Spotlight on Education: Chet F. Harritt School - Chet F. Harritt staff presented an update on student assessment and survey results from the 2023-24 school year as well as site collaboration plans for the 2024-25 school year.
- Community Engagement Initiative (CEI) Presentation -Janessa Nedney, Director of Community Collaborative, provided an overview of the district's participation in the Community Engagement Initiative and how the activities support LCAP Goals. The Community Engagement Initiative was added to the California Statewide System of Support (SSOS) in 2018 with the purpose of:
- Building capacity in communities and school districts to have difficult conversations and build trust, with a focus on improving outcomes for pupils.
- Identifying effective models of community engagement and metrics to evaluate those models.
- Developing effective peer-to-peer partnerships between school districts and county offices of education to deepen community engagement.
- Improving community engagement statewide and incorporate practices that prove effective toward school district and county office of education efforts.
Discussion and/or Action Items
- Sydney DiGrazia was appointed to Coordinator, Child Nutrition Services. Ms. DiGrazia was previously employed by the University of Utah and most recently completed an eight-week dietetic internship with the Child Nutrition Department at Coronado Unified.
Ms. DiGrazia holds a Masters of Dietetics Administration and a ServSafe Food Manager Certification. She’s volunteered at Sharp Hospital where she assisted the lead dietician in creating nutrition educational material and classes. Prior to that, she was a Teacher’s Assistant to an Introduction to Food Science course and served on the Executive Board of the Student Nutrition Organization while completing her undergraduate and Didactic Program in Dietetics at San Diego State University.
- The Board voted to move forward with the procurement of two security systems identified as a need from campus security analyzations of the last two school years. Administration will present more information about each system and next steps at the October 15, 2024, Board Meeting.
- Indoor/Outdoor paging/clock system: $1,885,938
- Visitor management system upgrade: $636,400 (5-year term)
- The Board approved the Mental Health Specialist Intern job description. The Mental Health Specialist intern(s) will provide increased student access to mental health services in support of the Student Behavioral Health
Incentive Program (SBHIP) initiative, which is a $2.7 million grant to fund support ongoing staffing needs and an infrastructure for a sustainable mental health program.
- As part of the district’s ongoing efforts to celebrate and recognize the exceptional work of our staff, administration recommends the District join organizations across the nation to celebrate the following staff recognitions. These celebrations provide a unique opportunity to highlight our educators' and staff members' contributions to student success and community engagement.
- October 14 - 18, 2024 – National School Lunch Week
- October 14 - 18, 2024 – Week of the School Administrator
- February 3 - 7, 2025 – National School Counseling Week
- March 2 - 8, 2025 - School Social Worker Week
- April 22, 2025 – School Bus Driver Appreciation Day
- May 2, 2025 – School Lunch Hero Day
- May 6, 2025 – Day of the Teacher
- May 7, 2025 – School Nurses Day
- May 18 - 24, 2025 – Classified Employees Week
The next regular meeting of the Santee School District Board of Education will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, October 15, 2024, in the Educational Resource Center, 9619 Cuyamaca, Santee. Meetings can also be live-streamed at santeesd.net/LiveBoardMeeting.
Note: These are not official meeting minutes of the Board of Education but rather a brief recap of the Board’s actions. For meeting recordings and official meeting minutes, click here.