Snowline JUSD Policy for Cell Phones, and Search and Seizure for illegal drugs or weapons.
By Vicky Rinek
At the August 27 Board meeting, the Board of Trustees discussed item 5 of the agenda: the Policy on banning mobile communication devices on campus and the search and seizure procedures.
The two adoptions were presented to the Board for their consideration and approval.
Relating to communication devices, the Board was asked to approve CSBA policy.
Second item: To adopt the CSBA policy and administrative regulation for search and seizure.
Both are to promote safe learning environments throughout the district.
Mobile communication devices on campus will not be allowed during instructional time and must be turned off. This Policy includes smartphones and smartwatches.
However, a student shall not be prohibited from possessing or using a mobile communication device under any of the following circumstances:
1. In the case of an emergency or in response to a perceived threat of danger
2. When a teacher or administrator grants permission to the student to possess or use a mobile communication
device, subject to any reasonable limitation imposed by that teacher or administrator
3. When a licensed physician or surgeon determines that the possession or use is necessary for the student’s health and well-being
4. When the student’s individualized education program requires the possession or use
Students may use cell phones, smart watches, pagers, or other mobile communication devices on campus during noninstructional time if the device is utilized by law and any rules that individual school sites may impose.
Smartphones and other mobile communication devices may not be used in a manner that infringes on the privacy rights of others.
When a school official reasonably suspects that a search of a student’s mobile communication device will reveal evidence of the student’s violation of the law or school rules, such a search shall be conducted by Policy. When a student uses a mobile communication device unauthorizedly, the student may be disciplined, and a district employee may confiscate the device. The employee shall store the device securely until it is returned to the student or turned over to the principal or designee, as appropriate. A student may also be subject to discipline, in accordance with law, Board policy, or administrative regulation, for off-campus use of a mobile communication device that poses a threat or danger to the safety of students, staff, or district property or substantially disrupts school activities.
The Superintendent or designee shall inform students that the district will not be responsible for a student’s mobile communication device brought on campus or to a school activity and lost, stolen, or damaged. Board Policy Manual Snowline Joint Unified School District.
Dr. Ryan Holman, Superintendent of Snowline JUSD, addressed the Board. “The two leaders of the High schools, Lisa Hanson and Chad Brooks, and their administrative teams, the whole concept of an off-and-away policy for mobile communication devices (Cell phones primarily), also smartphones and smartwatches.” Dr. Holman mentioned two specifically: “An area that we are trying to make a real positive impact on our students.” Dr. Holman continued. “One is eliminating distractions. “When we talk about the educational process when kids aren’t distracted, they’re more successful. The first large goal that we’re trying to achieve is this outcome. The second one is to follow the resources related to the health and wellness of kids. What we know very clearly in the research is that the inordinate amount of time spent on cell phones, smart watches, etc, leads to the idea of them as students not being as healthy as they possibly can. As you’ve heard during the last two meetings, we feel compelled to make this move, beginning on September 3, at all the high schools.”
The Board reviewed the Search and Seizure.
The Superintendent or designee shall ensure that the following safeguards are used when making metal detector scans:
1. Before the walk-through, students shall be asked to empty their pockets and belongings of metallic objects.
2. If an initial metal detector activation occurs, students shall be asked to remove other metallic objects they may be wearing (e.g., belt and jewelry) and walk through a second time.
3. a hand-held metal detector shall be used if a second activation occurs.
4. If the activation is not eliminated or explained, staff shall escort the student to a private area where an expanded search shall be conducted by a staff member of the same gender as the student in the presence of another district employee.
5. The search shall be limited to the detection of the cause of the activation.
Use of Contraband Detection Dogs
Contraband detection dogs shall not be used in classrooms or other district facilities when the rooms are occupied, except for demonstration purposes with the handler present. When used for demonstration purposes, the dog shall be separated from the students and not allowed to sniff any individual.
Before conducting an inspection, students shall be asked to leave the room subject to the canine sniff.
No student shall be forced to leave personal items behind for inspection, unless school officials have reasonable suspicion to search the item.
Only the dog’s official handler shall determine what constitutes an alert by the dog. If the dog alerts on a particular item or place, the student using that item or place or responsible for it shall be called to witness the inspection. If a dog alerts on a locked vehicle, the student who brought the vehicle onto the district property shall be asked to unlock it for inspection.
At the beginning of each school year and upon enrollment, the Superintendent or designee shall inform students and parents/guardians about the district’s policies and procedures for searches, including notice regarding:
1. The possibility of random searches of students, their belongings, their vehicles parked on district property, and district properties under a student’s control, including lockers or desks
2. The district’s contraband dog detection program
3. The use of metal detector scans
In addition, the Superintendent or designee shall ensure that signs are posted at all schools where metal detectors are to be used explaining that anyone on campus or attending athletic or extracurricular events may be scanned for guns, knives, or other illegal weapons.
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Snowline JUSD Board Meeting
[Wrightwood, CA] — Sept. 13, 2022
By Morgan Owen
The Board of Trustees unanimously voted to employ Danielle Salazar as the assistant principal of Vista Verde Elementary School, effective Sept. 19. Salazar’s ability to connect with students will be felt by the entire school. Nevertheless, her second-grade classroom will miss her.
At Serrano High School, students and parents report that the culture and experience at the school have enhanced since last year. There is a feeling that teachers are more engaged, students are participating with school spirit, and relationships between students and proctors are improving.
Serrano High School is also expanding its “Diamond Bucks” program to include a campus store where students can use their earnings to purchase items, such as ear pods. “Diamond Bucks” are distributed when a student is “caught doing good things.” Teachers may also use it for incentives and rewards in the classroom.
The Hanover Research will conduct a comprehensive research study of A-G completion rates throughout the district to determine where the district scores and where they can improve. Preliminary data point to several reasons students don’t complete A-G data, including low grades, language requirements, and others. More information will be available after Hanover Research completes the study.
The board approved the consent agenda that included ratifying the employment of teachers Janet Hay, John Affleck, Sean Clark, Zackery Castor, Cheryl Hall, and Candace Ryan, subject to background checks and credential qualifications. Overnight field trips for the Serrano High School Cadet Corps to Camp San Louis Obispo and the Serrano High School Choir to the Alpine Meadows Retreat Center were approved.
For 2022-2024, Serrano High School will provide appointments for student teaching positions to Central State University students, and the Riverside County Superintendent of Schools will sponsor a CTC-accredited Education Specialist District Intern program for Snowline teachers through 2025. The CTC program will allow teachers employed at SJUSD to pursue their Preliminary Education Specialist Credential for mild/moderate/severe disabilities for students from kindergarten through age 22.
Because there were no nominations for the District 4 Trustee position, the board will fill the seat through a Provisional Appointment Process wherein they accept applications from residents of Trustee Area 4. Applications must include a letter of introduction, a resume, and an address. The board will review applications and make the appointment at the Oct. 25 meeting.
The next Snowline JUSD Board Meeting will be on Oct. 25 at the District Office. The closed session starts at 4:30 PM, and the open session begins at 6:00 PM or when the closed session finishes. The board meeting can also be viewed online through SJUSD’s Youtube page.
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Snowline Joint Unified School District provides fact on COVID-19
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By Vicky Rinek
Tuesday, January 12: Dr. Ryan Holman, Superintendent of SJUSC, presented the highlights of the District’s data on what they have accomplished and what is in the future for the schools’ staff and their students, as well as the community at large.
All the Snowline Schools’ boundaries remain in the purple tier, the highest level of concern and the most restricted as pertaining to the returning of in-person learning at the schools.
Dr. Holman indicated no available ICU beds in the High Desert and health officials proving services for patients are under extreme challenges. He continued to mention that the public needs to do their civic duty to bring down the positive testing numbers and prevent the rise in outbreak numbers and increase the demand for our hospitals. Holman stressed that the education community needs to work together to bring us down to a tier that would allow students and educators to return to the classroom. His presentation included important information on the current status, incentive Grants, testing at the schools, and the COVID-19 vaccine distribution operation.
Within the Snowline School District covering an area population of 43,987, report a total number of cases of 3,016 and youth cases of (age 5-9) 336
Phelan 14,747 reports 1,245 cases and six deaths.
Piñon Hills 8,042 reports 305 cases and two deaths.
Wrightwood’s population of 5,177 reports 270 cases and one death.
Snowline border goes into other communities:
Victorville, with a population of 43,987, reports a total number of 3,016 cases, of which 336 represent youth ages 5 to 19 and deaths of 96
Oak Hills 9,488 report 1,137 cases and one death
Within the Snowline boundaries, Snowline School goals for In-person cohorts and ES waivers will be determined on February 16.
Based on the overall community numbers and whether the school sports department will start up again, it will be determined with the February 16 numbers.
Dr. Holman, “First of all, I want to attract attention to In-person cohorts in elementary schools’ waivers and give you an update on that information. We certainly want to consider getting ourselves back, but safety is always the primary concern, and that is why we are where we are until February 16.”
The elementary school waivers include Piñon Hills Elementary, which was previously approved as a long-term school waiver; however, this area returned to the purple tier because of the community condition of COVID-91.
Hopefully, plans for the middle school opening and outdoor sports programs won’t be available until February 16, after monitoring conditions and there is a significant drop in cases. “We will continue to monitor ourselves, but safety is always our primary concern.
A State budget has not been finalized and plans for a $2 billion grant has been put on the table for all schools. This Grant represents an incentive payment of $450 per student to get them back into the classroom and In-person learning. The Grant’s deadline is February 1, and the administration team is working on completing the Grant application. However, the complete guidelines have not been forwarded to Snowline, and without them, the Grant committee is unable to complete the process. Also, Snowline has to get out of the purple tier to qualify for the Grant. The Grant committee will go ahead and prepare the Grant application, under the assumption that Snowline will be out of the purple tier and have all safety protocols in place. In the event Snowline fails to meet the State requirements, there is another Grant opportunity in March.
Part of the requirements for the Grant is to have students and teachers tested for COVID-19. Snowline is preparing for testing that would cover grade K through High School in the middle of February or until there is a significant drop in numbers of COVID-19 cases. “We will take measures that are in place and should be in place to ensure the safety of all the kids.” Said Dr. Holman.
Vaccination procedures are being finalized
The three phases outlined by San Bernardino are Phase 1A vaccines currently being vaccinated, Phase 1B (February ?); all educators, students, and essential workers (dentist, pharmacy, laboratory, and medical support), 75+ and 65+ years old, and congregate settings. In Phase 1C – (April ?); 50-64 years old, 16-49 years old with underlying conditions, and essential workers with high exposure. Dr. Holman got the word that large facilities, i.e., Disneyland, San Bernardino Fairgrounds, sports stadiums, will be target locations. Additional locations are possible, including CVS and Walgreen pharmacy. Victor Valley College has indicated that they have three extreme-low temperature freezers available that could house the vaccines.
Brian Holman is working with other superintendents and linking their arms together to help bring the resources up here and accelerate the vaccination process in any way possible, so they have identified points of distribution (POD). Locally, one POD identified is in Wrightwood. San Bernardino has targeted Wrightwood as a POD because in past trials, they had successfully distributed the flu vaccines. Dr. Holman and his team are working on expanding the POD locations to cover Piñon Hills Middle School, Quail Valley Middle School, or Baldy Mesa Elementary School, where the eastern end of the community will be covered. These sites have not received confirmation as of this date yet.
Dr. Holman will continue to update the Board at the January 26 meeting with more clarification on what’s safe for our schools. Robert Holman said, “so, we appreciate your support in the notion of us making the decision that is necessary to ensure safety across our entire Snowline learning community and will always continue to do that and keep you abreast of all the necessary changes.”
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February 25, 2020
Winners of 2020 Science Fair Announced
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| First place Lindsay Masseth (blue ribbon), second place Verona Casalicchio (red ribbon), third place team Addison Forshaw and Riley Carone (yellow ribbons) |
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By Donna Alvarez
Celebration night took place at the school board Tuesday night as middle school students and their parents filled the Snowline Joint Unified School District (SJUSD) Boardroom. Charlotte Eckenroth, Coordinator of Snowline’s Science Fair Program in charge of Quality and Learning Support, presented the prestigious awards. Over 30 judges scored the projects and were impressed by the creativity and scientific investigations of students. Eckenroth thanked the parents: “You no doubt supported your children’s passions in many countless ways at home. Also, special thanks to the teachers for going the extra mile this year with the students.” She asked the young scientists to come forward and receive their awards:
• Genesis Arauz: “Will It Attract?”
• Shayna Bailey: “Prevention, Now or Never”
• Taylorvon Bruce: “Killin’ It”
•Team - Jacob Brown and Jonathan Buckelew: “Pure to the Taste”
•• Third Place Winners: Team - Riley Carone and Addison Forshaw: “Passion to Imagine”
•• Second Place Winner: Verona Casalicchio: “How Do Hue Feel?”
•Team - Trysta Crimmins and Brookelyn Madole: “Safe in the Sun”
• Kace Dyerly: “Salty Water”
• Jada Echols: “Make It Rain”
Emmalee Excarzaga: “Hands Down Best Learning Around”
• Katie Foster: “Busting Rust”
• Audrey Galbraith: “PH Stomach Ache”
• Agram Gomez: “Musical Mangos”
• Sadie Grijalva: “Dancers Have Skills”
• Jonathan Jeong: “Music to my Roots”
•Kelly Johnson: “Spot that Dot”
•Carter Markey: “An Analysis of Which Type of Gas Lasts the Longest”
•• First Place Winner: Lindsay Masseth: “Energy in a Bottle”
• Jackson Mersman: “Ignorance is Bliss”
• Ryan Mickelson: “A League of their Own”
•Areyna Mitchell: “Green Eggs and Ham”
•Team - Kyle Nickerson and Hunter Way: “Blinded by the Light”
• Emily Smith: “Garbage to Garden”
• Brynne Staley: “Which Laundry Detergent is Best?”
• Ava Steinmann: “Food Waste Not in Good Taste”
• Samantha Thurber: “Persuasive Perception”
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