Fremont Unified School District

This month Washington High School marked the successful reconstruction of its Husky Gardens with a ribbon cutting ceremony. Principal Bob Moran, school staff, student leadership, #FremontUnified leadership – including Superintendent Erik Burmeister, Associate Superintendent Daniel Hillman, and Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Zack Larsen – and community partners who made the transformation of the garden possible came together to celebrate its opening. The reconstruction of the garden – which is in the heart of the WHS campus bounded by a row of lockers and a row of classrooms on either side – was a collective effort of many teachers, students, programs, volunteers, and industry partners. The Home Depot became a key partner in the recent overhaul of Husky Gardens when its corporate offices responded to a request from Dr. Lisa-Marie Burns – a WHS teacher, department chair, and program coordinator – to help make the garden a place for instruction, relaxation, and all manner of growth. She saw the community-focused work The Home Depot was supporting in neighborhoods across the country, and she saw an opportunity to collaborate. The Home Depot Corporation connected Burns to its Bay Area leadership and Regional Pro Account Sales Manager Lucretia Heath. Beyond providing funding for supplies, The Home Depot also supported the overall design and shared its incredible crew from the Fremont and Newark stores that helped deliver and install materials, improve and beautify the garden, and haul away waste. Many WHS educators and students have contributed to efforts to build and maintain the garden over the years, including teams from Special Education and AVID, and the school’s MMAA alumni who started a living mural in 2022 that will continue to grow with the garden. Ceramics teacher Mr. Jake Rodenkirk and his students provided a Husky solar fountain for the garden, plus ollas that slowly release water to the plants. Mr. Steve Olson from Centerville Middle School designed and built a beautiful redwood sign that hangs outside its entrance, which was sponsored by Swagelok Northern California. The space is open now for WHS students and staff. Go Huskies! Read more, see more photos: https://lnkd.in/g23mBvGe

Are you an adult learner ready to take the next step in your career? Earn your Registered Behavior Technician Certification through the Behavior Analyst Certification Board! Fremont Adult and Continuing Education offers this course for anyone who would like to learn evidence-based Applied Behavior Analysis principles and strategies for helping individuals with and without developmental and intellectual disabilities. Individuals looking to work as #SpecialEducation teachers, #Paraeducators, childcare administrators, reading specialists, occupational therapists, school psychologists, or speech-language pathologists would benefit from completing the training. Online sessions are Tuesdays from 6-8pm, September 10 through November 12. Find more information and registration: https://lnkd.in/g2E_9HdN

The #FremontUnified #BoardOfEducation holds its next Regular Meeting on Wednesday, August 28. Open session is scheduled to start EARLIER than usual at 6:00pm. Join/Comment in person or remotely. Agenda, public comment instructions, streaming: https://bit.ly/3WQQv8Q

Thank you to everyone who joined #FremontUnified yesterday for the first of our Meet the Superintendent & Long Range Facilities Plan Roadshow events! Thank you also to Superintendent Erik Burmeister and Associate Superintendent Daniel Hillman for presenting and responding to questions from attendees. If you missed it, you can watch the recording and find the presentation at fremontunified.org/events. Please mark your calendar for these upcoming virtual and in-person sessions: August 30, 1pm, virtual September 17, 6pm, Washington High School Theatre September 19, 6pm, Hopkins Middle School MUR September 26, 10am, Fremont Adult & Continuing Education MUR We hope to see you at one or more of these events!

Join us tomorrow for the first of our Meet the Superintendent & Long Range Facilities Plan Roadshow events! The virtual meeting is from 4-5pm, with time at the end to ask questions of Superintendent Erik Burmeister and the panel. Stream the meeting at fremontunified.org/events, and find instructions there to ask questions by Zoom or phone. Can't join this session? Mark your calendar for future virtual and in-person sessions: August 30, 1pm, virtual September 17, 6pm, Washington High School Theatre September 19, 6pm, Hopkins Middle School MUR September 26, 10am, Fremont Adult & Continuing Education MUR

Lila Bringhurst Elementary unveiled its Legacy Mural last week, a project that began when the school opened in 2022. Teachers Brett Walsh (now at Thornton Middle School) and Kristine Tsung spearheaded this project to commemorate the school’s first year. Students were involved from the start: 5th graders in the Mandarin Immersion Project stamped out the tiles by hand, and Bringhurst students from transitional kindergarten through 6th grade painted them. This project was made possible through collaboration with Jake Rodenkirk, ceramics teacher at Washington High School, who lent his expertise and fired the tiles. The mural includes 850 tiles surrounding a centerpiece designed by Kristine Tsung, which features drawings of Fremont’s landmarks created by 5th and 6th graders at the time of the school's grand opening. Though these students have now promoted to 6th and 7th grade, many returned for the mural unveiling. They searched for their tiles with current Bringhurst students and their families, along with current and former school staff. Project supporters were also on hand to watch the unveiling, including Jacob Rodenkirk, Bringhurst parent Alexander C. - a contractor who played a key role in the project, the school's founding principal Johanna White, and the school's current administrators: Principal Angela Hsu and Assistant Principal Robin Vranesh. Many thanks to Ms. Kristine Tsung for sharing updates on this project and the unveiling!

There are so many wonderful things happening in #FremontUnified schools! Check out this Tri-City Voice article about an amazing project at Oliveira Elementary! Teachers Amy Twisselman and Gina Song led this fun and meaningful work, which features tiles made by students in 2023-24, but has room for new students to make their mark, too. Shout out to Principal Linda Anderson, who supports her team in their work to make every student feel valued!

Today was a GREAT day in #FremontUnified! Shout out to each campus for welcoming students with excitement and warmth, and thank you to everyone who helped make the #FirstDayOfSchool a joyful and safe start to the 2024-25 school year! We thank each of our amazing employees for their work today and all the preparation that came before. As Superintendent Erik Burmeister noted in his message to staff at the end of today: Yours is not always easy work, but it's important work. It's the most important work a person can choose to do. Our District Leadership Team went out to each campus to provide support, and Superintendent Burmeister was joined by FUDTA President Victoria Chon for several school visits. Thanks to everyone who welcomed these visitors - and put them to work! The Team met at the end of the day to share great things we saw at each school - there was so much to share! And we shared areas to improve - we are focusing energy on that, too. We send our best to every employee, student and the entire community that supports our schools - we can't wait to see you for the second day of school tomorrow!

Welcome to the #FirstDayOfSchool! We wish every student, employee, and community member a great day! Many #FremontUnified elementary students will present their teachers with a flower and vase from yesterday's Welcome Teacher Day, presented by Washington Hospital Healthcare System. We thank everyone who volunteered and sponsored the event, which has been a Fremont tradition for 25 years thanks to Dirk Lorenz and the dedicated community partners who make it happen. Have a great day, and please travel with care as our roads and sidewalks see extra traffic from our schools.

Tomorrow is the #FirstDayOfSchool! We can’t wait to see our students, staff and families on Wednesday, August 14. We thank the outstanding team in #FremontUnified for each member’s work to prepare for the year ahead; from our Maintenance, Operations & Grounds staff getting campuses clean and repaired, to our Facilities & Construction staff taking advantage of empty campuses to do renovations, to our District Office team for serving families and schools throughout the summer, to our admins who came back and hit the ground running, to our certificated staff who worked to improve their practice and prepare to reach each student, and so many more. Each employee makes a difference, and we appreciate you! See you tomorrow!