Tag Archives: education

Articles, Education

Charter School’s ICE Notification To Families Was An Accident, Principal Says

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Thumbnail photo by James Brooks

Uncharted Shores Academy principal Dan Cartwright has issued an apology after a staff member mistakenly sent out a notification stating that ICE agents were on its main campus.

The notification was issued at about 1:22 p.m. Wednesday through the charter school’s emergency communications system, Cartwright said in a letter sent to families and the greater Del Norte community. Once staff realized the mistake, they sent a brief followup at about 1:31 p.m. informing families that the message was sent in error.

At about 1:57 p.m., school staff sent out a final message providing more information about the incident and apologizing to families, according to Cartwright’s letter.

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Articles, Education, Youth

DNUSD Workshop Series Aimed At Giving Parents Tools to Advocate For Their Special Needs Children

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Del Norte Unified is launching a new workshop series that urges parents to not only advocate for their special needs child, but be a voice for special education issues at a regional level.

DNUSD’s six-week IEP Empowerment Series starts Feb. 5, Special Education Executive Director Jennifer Armington told Redwood Voice Community News. Its goal is for DNUSD to offer a place where parents can air their concerns about special education issues as well as to arm them with information they need to advocate for their children, she said.

A larger goal is to get parents involved in DNUSD’s Collaborating on Meaningful Parent Advocacy for Student Success, or COMPASS, group. One or two parents involved in that group can then bring Del Norte-specific concerns to the committee advising the Humboldt-Del Norte Special Education Local Plan Area.

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Articles, Education, Emergencies

Del Norte Unified, Office of Ed Launches Emergency Communications Protocol

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Thumbnail image courtesy of the Del Norte County Office of Education

Del Norte education officials are launching a new communications protocol officials say will present a “united and effective approach” to their messaging during emergencies.

Del Norte Unified School District and the Del Norte County Office of Education have adopted the Standard Response Protocol (SRP). Developed by the “I Love U Guys” Foundation, the platform will use shared language and procedures for communicating with students, staff, families and first responders at all of its campuses during an emergency.

Staff will begin practicing the new protocol starting Jan. 5, DNUSD spokesman Michael Hawkins said Monday. The public launch will be held Jan. 9, according to the district’s SRP web page. 

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Articles, Education, Elections, Local Government

Michael Greer’s Prop. 50 Opposition Resolution Fails Twice With School Board Colleagues

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Greer | DNUSD

Thumbnail photo: Under new proposed Congressional District boundaries, Del Norte County would share a representative with Shasta, Siskiyou and Modoc counties, which are currently in District 1. | Photo courtesy of the Senate Election and Constitutional Amendments Committee.

Michael Greer made two unsuccessful attempts Thursday at getting his fellow school board members to officially oppose Proposition 50. 

Greer’s resolution before the Del Norte County Office of Education Board of Trustees and a similar resolution before the Del Norte County Unified School District Board had the same outcomes — dying due to lack of a second.

“I brought this (forward) because I believe that local communities, local school boards, local county offices of education, the county Board of Supervisors and the city itself needs to take part in a political process especially when it affects our California Constitution,” Greer said during the DNUSD Board meeting after acknowledging that the resolution he presented before the County Board failed to get a second motion. “The proposition takes away the opportunity to have that community support.”

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Editorials, Education, Local Government, Opinion

Editorial: Keep Party Politics Out Of Our Local Government

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Thumbnail photo: The Del Norte Unified School District Board of Trustees from left to right: Frank Magarino, Charlaine Mazzei, Don McArthur, Abbie Crist and Michael Greer. Courtesy of DNUSD.org.

This first editorial is the collective opinion of Redwood Voice Community News and KFUG Community Radio LLP and is separate from our regular news coverage. To make your own opinion known to us, email redwoodvoicedn@gmail.com.

It’s not lost on Redwood Voice Community News and KFUG Community Radio LLP that we are stating our opinion about a local elected official stating his opinion.

But when said elected official, in this case Del Norte Unified School District Trustee Michael Greer, seeks to make his opinion DNUSD’s official opinion by asking his colleagues to approve a resolution, we need to speak up.

Greer plans to ask his fellow school board members on Thursday to “adopt a position of opposition to Proposition 50.” For anyone who doesn’t know, if it passes, Prop. 50 would be California’s response to Texas’s efforts to add five more Republicans to the U.S. House of Representatives through Congressional redistricting.

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Articles, Community News, Education, Transportation, Youth

Despite ‘Making Strides,’ Students Were Nearly An Hour Late To School, DNUSD Transportation Director Says

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

Del Norte County Unified School District’s transportation director painted as optimistic a picture as he could when describing the first week of school for trustees.

But, though he said things have improved, Chris Armington admitted to cases where students were nearly an hour late getting to school.

“We are making strides to make sure that communications do go out to the parents,” he told trustees on Thursday. “I work with [DNUSD communications director] Michael Hawkins on communicating our shortages and our lates to the community, and we ask parents to assist if they can take their students rather than them being super late.”

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Articles, Education, Youth

DNUSD Recap: Trustees Create Budget Committee, Discusse Science Instruction and Climate Change

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Among the items discussed at Thursday’s Del Norte County Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting:

Standing Budget Committee:  Trustees approved the creation of a formal budget committee with dedicated meetings that will focus on how to be transparent about the district’s financial situation with all stakeholders, including parents.

Coming two months after he and his colleagues approved a 2025-26 budget amid warnings that DNUSD faces a slow decline in revenue and an increase in expenditures, District 5 Trustee Michael Greer said the meetings will be public.

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Articles, Education

DNUSD Leaders Adopt 2025-26 Budget Amid Warnings Of A Structural Deficit, More Cuts

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Thumbnail photo by Paul Critz

(Updated at 5:41 p.m. to clarify that Elizabeth Calleja is a parent of Redwood School students. Calleja said Wednesday afternoon that while she’s a long-time teacher with Del Norte Unified School District, she currently teaches at Castle Rock Charter School.)

Superintendent Jeff Harris pointed to another single-county school district to illustrate what could befall Del Norte Unified if its financial situation didn’t improve.

During a budget presentation where trustees learned that DNUSD faces a structural deficit over the next three years, Harris said the other single-district county took out a state loan and, five months later, was facing state receivership.

“What that means is the Board loses a lot of [their] authority. Everything is directly reported to the state,” Harris told trustees Monday, adding that student enrollment and revenues have declined statewide. “So it’s really critical that we all keep an eye not only on what’s going on next year, but the two years after that because they ended up owing $10 million on a $40 million budget and they didn’t have enough cash left to cover any of it.”

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Articles, Education, Youth

Mountain School In Gasquet May Lose A Teacher As DNUSD Grapples With Budget Deficit

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Thumbnail photo by Aisling Bludworth

(Updated at 4:42 p.m. Wednesday: Del Norte Unified School District Director of Communication Mike Hawkins offered a clarification regarding class sizes in the district. While class sizes are changing, many are still fairly small, he said.)

Brandiy Dixon’s days teaching third through fifth grades at Mountain School in Gasquet appear to be numbered.

But instead of fighting to keep her job when she appeared before the Del Norte County Unified School District Board of Trustees on Thursday, Dixon said she was concerned about her colleagues, who will now be expected to cover five grade levels each, and her students.

“The maturation gap between a 4 year old and a 9 year old and a 9 year old and a 14 year old is enormous,” she said. “These are formative years where students need targeted academic support, clear routines and peer connections appropriate at their stage of development. This structure risks students feeling overlooked, frustrated or unsupported, especially those who already need scaffolding to succeed.”

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Articles, Education, Health, Youth

Del Norte’s School Wellness Guide Prompts Discussion Over Birthday Parties, Cupcakes, and Equity

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Thumbnail photo: Fish tacos were on the menu for Del Norte High School students in this file photo from last year. Julie Bjorkstrand, Del Norte Unified School District’s director of nutrition services, presented an updated wellness policy and guide to the DNUSD Board of Trustees last week. | Photo courtesy of Josh Mims

Julie Bjorkstrand’s attempt to clear up confusion surrounding a wellness policy and accompanying guide turned into a plea for community involvement after questions about classroom birthday parties, cupcakes, pizza and other treats persisted.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture requires school districts participating in the National School Lunch and Breakfast programs to adopt a school wellness policy. Such policies are required to include guidelines that set nutrition standards around food and drink sold or provided to students on campus during the school day. 

Treats for classroom parties fall into the latter category, said Bjorkstrand, Del Norte Unified School District’s director of Nutrition Services, but it doesn’t mean having to give them up entirely.

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