#WeAreASJUSD Newsletter January/February 2025

Dear Parents,

Here is my monthly newsletter with a few items of celebration, a look back at some important events, anticipation of some upcoming important occasions, and some key reminders. Have a great February and enjoy your break!

Sincerely,
    Barbara Dill-Varga, Ed.D
     Superintendent, Aromas-San Juan Bautista USD

Celebration!

Award Winners!

  • Our Director of Curriculum, Jivan Dhaliwal received ACSA’s Region 10 Director of Curriculum Award for the month, nominated by her fellow peers. Congratulations, Jivan!

  • Michelle Croucher Dougherty, our Director of Special Education and Student Services, has received ACSA’s Region 10 Special Education Director of the Year award. We are very proud of her! She will be honored this spring at ACSA’s banquet.

  • We congratulate Jaden R., Anzar sophomore, for taking 3rd place in San Benito County Poetry Out Loud Competition 2025!

Why Anzar?

Why ANZAR? (the 5th in a series to appear in the Parent Newsletter, containing information about our flagship school)

Life after High School

Anzar is committed to preparing students for life after high school. That may involve applying to two or four year colleges for those who want more education as they prepare for future careers. Going to college is expensive, as you know, and while our students are rewarded with many scholarships and financial aid packages, we want to be sure that  we help them identify what they are good at, what they enjoy doing, what can earn them a living, and what the world needs them to work at to address important problems. 

The Japanese have a word for the intersection of those four attributes.  It is called finding  your IKIGAI. This year, we had all of our students, especially in grades 6-12, take a Career Interest Inventory that gave them some feedback about possible career areas. We used this information to invite industry partners, colleges,  armed forces, and other community organizations to a huge Career Fair held in Anzar’s library.  Grades 6-12 spent a couple of hours visiting booths in the gym, gathering information, asking questions, and having their eyes opened to possibilities. Out of these partnerships will come internships and job shadow opportunities.  We want our students to have some direction after they graduate!

In addition, we have new courses for those who are looking for more practical skills.  We are transporting interested students to Hartnell to take Mechatronics (robotics of agriculture). We have hired an amazing industrial arts/design teacher who is bringing a focus on manufacturing, cabinetry, welding, and related skills to our students in classes they can take in our state of the art woodshop. Our advisory program also provides an opportunity for students to receive guidance. 

These are just some of the opportunities our students at Anzar have while in high school to help prepare them for their future! Anzar is a small high school, staffed with adults who can give students personal attention, and is agile enough that we can adapt the course offerings and schedule to help meet current student needs as they plan for Life After High School.

US News Best High School

Looking Back....

Absences Add Up

Chronic Absenteeism

We continue to work on reducing chronic absenteeism. We know that when students are in attendance, their student achievement increases. To date this year, our efforts have paid off as we have accomplished the following milestones:

Attendance Rates as of 2/11/2025

  • Anzar: 94.31%

  • Aromas: 93.73%

  • San Juan: 92.76%

  • District Average: 93.60%

We are still looking to improve these percentages and we appreciate our parents working with us on these goals.

Intersession at Anzar High School

We had a successful Intersession at Anzar with 13 different classes taught during the two week period of time.

Students could select to attend classes such as: Wilderness Survival, Making it with Metal, Intro to German, and Nutrition Knowledge is Power.  Classes were also held in our state of the art woodshop and our culinary lab where we had a guest chef direct his student team to making different meals every day. 

Some students also selected to join our K-8’s as classroom interns as they explored the roles and responsibilities of our teachers.

We are lucky to be a small school district that can support this innovative annual January program!

Intersession Culinary

Intersession Culinary

Intersession Welding

Career Fair Anzar

Career Fair at Anzar High School

Students in grades 6-12 participated in our first ever College and Career Fair in Anzar’s gym. 46 Industry Partners and College representatives set up tables for the fair. Student feedback after the fair was overwhelmingly positive with 91% stating that the fair has caused them to think about possible career pathways and college options.

High School students had a passport they completed where they were required to speak with 3 industry partners and 3 colleges, then develop a “Next Steps” plan for themselves which could include things like sending a follow up email or visiting a school. 

Coming Up....

Immigration Meeting / Town Hall at San Juan School - February 25 at 6pm In Person or via Zoom

We are hosting a panel of experts at a town hall at San Juan School on February 25th. Panelists will include experts in the field of immigration and related legal issues that have surfaced since January 20. 

All are welcome to attend in person or by zoom. Details available through the Parent Square flyer you should have received or from your school site. 

Immigration Information Meeting

Immigration Information Meeting

ASJUSD Strategic Planning

March 20-22 are the dates for the district’s strategic planning process.  With the facilitating assistance of The National Center, a  group of community members, parents, teachers, classified staff, administrators, and some students will gather to help develop a three year plan for the district’s future.  This plan will help guide decisions the Board needs to make regarding every aspect of the district’s work.  The first two days will have a focus on reviewing and revising the district’s vision and mission and using that to identify specific measurable outcomes. The last day the draft of the plan will be reviewed by the Board as they finalize the document.  The final document will be a Board approved document, posted online, and be very important to provide focus for the future.

San Juan School Construction Project Update

Progress is being made. We anticipate a groundbreaking ceremony the first week of June! Tentative Phase One ( classrooms) completion for the fall of 2026.  The entire school is expected to be completed for the fall of 2027. Measure O, state matching funds, and a portion of Measure D will fund this project.

Interdistrict Transfer Information

The window for inter/intra district transfer requests is now open. Requests must be submitted annually, and the deadline for this year is Thursday, April 17th. Be sure to submit your transfer request within the designated window to ensure consideration. Late submissions may not be accepted, so it’s important to plan ahead and complete all necessary paperwork on time. Please visit our website to complete your annual request.

Reminders!

Important Dates:

  • Next Regular Board Meeting is March 12, 2025 at 7PM in Anzar Library.