Page 11 - Mid Valley Times 8-15-19 E-edition

Thursday, August 15, 2019 | A11 | Mid Valley TiMes
Dinuba Unified superintendent delivers pep talk for 2019-20
By Rick Curiel
Mid Valley Times
Before the start of every school year, teach- ers and administrators from Dinuba Unified School District come together to hear the Su- perintendent’s Address from Dr. Joe Hernandez. On Wednesday, Aug. 7, the district’s educators gathered for a pancake breakfast, a gym gather- ing reminiscent of a high school rally, superinten- dent’s report and a moti- vational message.
Now entering his 11th year as superintendent for DUSD, Dr. Hernan- dez has seen a lot of prog- ress over the past decade and is looking ahead to even more changes, as the district continues to pave the way toward a new high school.
“Welcome back,” Hernandez told his staff. “And to all the new faces, welcome to Dinuba Uni- fied.”
Forty new teachers were added to the dis- trict this year.
As Hernandez high- lighted that change is the ‘buzzword’ this year in Dinuba Unified, one thing he said will not change is the district’s culture, values and goals for student excellence.
Some of the highlights Hernandez pointed out from last year includ- ing Sierra Vista High School being recognized
by the State Department of Education as a model continuation high school.
Hernandez also took the time to recognize a district bus driver for going above and beyond the call of duty during a medical emergency last year on a Dinuba school bus. During an incident where a child began choking on the bus, Di- nuba Unified bus driver Bennie Buongiorno re- acted immediately and pulled the bus over and promptly performed an emergency Heimlich ma- neuver. The action, Her- nandez said, quite possi- bly saved the child’s life.
“I couldn’t believe how calm she was dur- ing the incident,” said Hernandez.
Buongiorno was rec- ognized with a certificate of appreciation and was given a standing ovation by her peers.
Also recognized were last year’s Excellence in Education award winners and all classified and con- fidential employees.
“We really appreci- ate you,” Hernandez told those employees.
Growth in student achievement was also highlighted by Hernan- dez, where students con- tinued to improve in the areas of math and Eng- lish.
Some of the biggest changes in the district include the acquisition of Dinuba’s downtown Vo-
Photos by Rick Curiel / Mid Valley Times
ABOVE: Faculty from Roosevelt Elementary School cheered while attending Dinuba Unified School Dis- trict'sannual Superintendent'sAddressonAug.7.
LEFT: Grand View Elementary School's mascot got into the spirit during the annual Superintendent's Address on Aug. 7.
age below 2.0 and then joined the military. Af- ter the military, he began taking college courses and quickly realized his outlook on education had dramatically changed as he began doing well in college.
Carney now holds a masters degree in Edu- cational Leadership and is now pursuing his doc- torate.
He said the turning point in his life was that relationship he devel- oped with the church choir instructor.
“This one relationship made a big difference in my life,” said Carney.
He now shares with other educators the bene- fits of relationship-based teaching, and encour- ages teachers to focus on developing positive relationships with their students.
“What we need to do is ask ourselves, what can we do to give our children more positive experiences?” Carney shared.
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cational Center, moving the district’s adult school to a much larger facility and allowing more space for staff development.
Other new changes to the district include a new head football coach at Dinuba High School, Carlos Barajas, and the implementation of tack- le football at Washington Intermediate School.
But the biggest thing on the horizon remains the new high school. Which is tentatively scheduled to begin con- struction in the next few years. A video slide fea- turing digital renderings
of the new school was shown during the super- intendent’s presentation.
To motivate the teach- ers as they go into a new school year, Hernan- dez brought in educator Steve Carney, who is the cofounder of the Impact Learning and Leading Group.
Carney shared the story of how he grew up in third generation pov- erty and was well on his way to the same destiny before a chance encoun- ter with a church choir instructor changed the course of this life.
He admitted that he
wasn’t the best student in high school, didn’t have much interest in school either until that chance encounter. But he gradu- ated from high school with a grade point aver-
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SANGER UNIFIED Continued from page A1
tion of Universal Design for Learning Strategies through Co-Teaching; Madison Preschool teacher Sandra Olivo for her program Indoor-Outdoor Library; Sequoia Elementary teacher Jill Beard for the program Early Literacy; WAMS teacher Judy Duran for the Digital Stories Project; WAMS teacher Sindee Silveria for the GARDEN pro- gram; and, Wilson Elementary teacher Anissa Rozadilla for her program Girl Power.
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