WELCOME BACK

Here's to a happy and healthy new year for all EUSD employees and their families.  This edition includes news of a prestigious district award, an update on actual EUSD 2009 health insurance costs, a preview of insurance work for 2010, information on the best-kept "freebie" secret in Escondido for teachers and students, summer school plans, and wonderful employee accomplishments.

IN THIS ISSUE: EUSD Exemplary Program Health Insurance Update School Board Communication Plan Free Hands-on Workshop (WAP) EUSD: Project-based Academies Staff Accomplishments/Recognitions Did You Know?

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Apple Exemplary Award

Apple Exemplary Award
Many amazing teachers, students, technology staff, and administrators have forged forward to bring innovative technology into EUSD classrooms.  Their efforts have not been sweeping, districtwide initiatives, but rather small groups of pilot teachers over several years, bringing the magic of Project LIVE and iREAD to students.  Apple recently announced Escondido Union as one of 35 school districts in the United States with an exemplary technology program.  EUSD has two such exemplary programs.  Project LIVE underscores the power of the movie-making experience to deepen student understanding while building interpersonal and problem-solving skills.  iREAD has made national headlines in education for its amazing track record of improving reading fluency with the help of the iPod.  EUSD will officially receive its Apple award at the February 25 school board meeting.  Thank you to the many participating classroom teachers and to the Technology and Media Services Department for your extraordinary commitment to bringing 21st century technology to students.  Congratulations!

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Health Insurance Update

Since 2007, our school district has participated in a self-funded insurance plan.  We are part of a 12-district pool.  Each district has its own individual health plans and premiums.  Ideally in a self-funded plan, the premiums paid into the plan are adequate to pay for all medical and prescription costs, with 15 percent to 20 percent of the funds still remaining for unforeseen costs, such as accidents or catastrophic illnesses.  Over the last four years, the premiums charged to and paid by EUSD have not been adequate to cover our collective utilization of the plan.  When an insurance plan is used at rates greater than 100 percent, the claims are paid and a deficit ensues.

EUSD receives quarterly reports from our insurance provider and shares the utilization information from these reports with the Board of Education and the Health Insurance Committee.  The deficit has been a growing concern.  For the 2008-2009 school year, EUSD paid just over $16,000,000 in health insurance premiums for benefit-eligible employees.  Plan and premium adjustments were made in January and in May of 2009.    As of 12/31/09, EUSD's unpaid health insurance deficit has accumulated to $10,600,853.  For eight of the twelve months last year, healthcare costs surpassed 100 percent, with just four months of costs being less than 100 percent of the premiums paid for each of the months.  Our highest utilization month was in May at 226 percent.  The total repayment of the deficit to the district's insurance provider, Fringe Benefit Consortium, is the complete responsibility of the district.       

This month, the district is repaying a part of this health insurance deficit.  A total of  $4,361,400 will be paid. A transfer will be made of $900,000 from the district's workers compensation fund, and $761,400 of this payment will come from budgeted insurance money not being utilized.  Eighty-two employees opted out of EUSD medical insurance plans for 2010, and these funds will be applied directly to the current deficit fund balance. The final $2.7 million first payment portion will be paid from the district fund balance. The remaining district deficit will be repaid over the next four years at approximately $1.56 million per year.

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School Board Communication Plan

On January 13, 2010, the school board approved a plan to enhance further open and transparent communication with EUSD employees.  In an effort to share the plan with everyone, it is can be found here.

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Best Kept Secret in Escondido

Kids and animals just seem to go together.  The Wild Animal Park offers free, self-guided visits to teachers and their classes during the school year.  Within the Wild Animal Park are 3 free, hands-on learning modules for K-8 students. K-6 students are introduced to radio telemetry as a way to monitor and track endangered animals such as the California condor and rapidly disappearing native rodents.  Students utilize radio receivers and experience the ability to track animals and gather scientific information first-hand.  A genetics-based lab is available for middle school students.  Soon a new learning module will be introduced around bioacoustics and will provide kids with the opportunity to hear and track communication between animals. Contact Robin Keith today to sign your class up for one of these once-in-a-lifetime exploratory experiences (rkeith@sandiegozoo.org, (760) 747-8702, ext 5764.)  Note:  Title I schools may qualify for transportation assistance.

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2010 New Summer School

The district has two goals for summer school offerings in 2010:  (1) to continue to offer summer learning opportunities to 1,200 students, and, (2) to create a great professional development opportunity for teachers interested in project-based learning.  The district plans to offer four-week Kinder Prep classes for entering kindergarten students with no previous school experiences.  For select students in grades 4 through 8, the district will host Project-based Academies.  Interested teachers will be invited to participate in two weeks of paid professional development wherein they will design a project-based unit.  Teachers will then have the opportunity to teach the project-based unit for two weeks with students.  Project-based learning units will have a specific focus on mathematics with great teacher freedom to integrate math with other content areas including art, music, etc.  Summer school job posting information will be available from Human Resources just before spring break.

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Employee Accomplishments and Recognitions

Kudos is in order for Felicita School's Jenna Rohrssen.  Jenna is the School Library Technician at Felicita and she has completed her Master's Degree in Library & Information Science.

Rincon Schools' Mike Steres will soon be honored by the California Association of Teachers of English as their recipient of their Middle School Award for Classroom Excellence.  Mike will be recognized at a state conference on February 13 in Los Angeles.

The 2011 Boston Marathon will be a bit brighter that April 18th when two EUSD staff members grace the pavement.  The race has been in existence since 1897 when just 18 people ran the 26-mile, 385-yard race.  L. R. Green teacher Tatiana Dearinger and Tech and Media Services Director Kathy Shirley will be joining 25,000 runners on that Patriot's Day in Boston, after recently qualifying by running their first-ever marathon.  We'll be rooting for you both!

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Did You Know?

District Nurse Holly Hart reports that we have two special angels in our community.  On Decmber 1, Lenscrafters, on Auto Parkway and Via Rancho Parkway, joined forces to provide free eye exams and glasses to 37 of our EUSD students.  EUSD thanks branch managers David Widman and Lazarro Castillo, respectively, for their generosity and new brand of "customer service."

Remember to send employee news/accomplishments to jwalters@eusd4kids.org.

Next Month Topics:  EUSD's 2010-2011 Budget, TIDES, Escondido Education Foundation's Youth Media Festival

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