unified school

A reception was held Tuesday for those retiring from the Lake Tahoe Unified School District this year. The 11 retirees have worked a total of 299 years in education.

Cynthia Cowen, Teacher – 37 years
Martha Brown, Sr. Accounting Assistant - 33 years
Sandra Moulton, Teacher – 30 years
Norman Nold, Bus Driver/Trainer – 30 yrs
Sydney Brown, Teacher – 29 years
Joan Romero, Sr. Accounting Assistant, Food Service Department - 27 yrs
Steven Hall, Speech Therapist – 27 years
Renee Gorevin, Teacher – 24 years
Francis Fortier, Warehouse Assistant – 24 yrs

There will be a reception for all of the 2015/16 retirees of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District on Tuesday, June 7 at 5:00 p.m., prior to the start of the board meeting on the lawn at the Education Center.

Those retiring have worked a collective 299 years in education. Lake Tahoe Educational Foundation President Coleen Shade will conduct the ceremony.

The following certificated and classified retirees will be honored:

Cynthia Cowen, Teacher – 37 years
Martha Brown, Sr. Accounting Assistant - 33 years
Sandra Moulton, Teacher – 30 years

WHO:
Spectators, volunteers, residents, visitors, businesses, sponsors, media, and cycling enthusiasts

WHAT:
Amgen Tour of California returns to Lake Tahoe, May 19:
Men’s Stage 5 races 132.4 miles from Lodi to South Lake Tahoe
Women’s Stage 1 start/finish in South Shore 72.7 mile circumnavigation of the lake

WHERE:
Race headquarters: Heavenly Mountain Resort California Base Lodge
3860 Saddle Rd, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150

WHEN:
Thursday, May 19 from 10 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

A joint effort between the City of South Lake Tahoe and Lake Tahoe Community College will soon expand recreation offerings on the South Shore.

The Community Playfields Expansion Project will bring two new playfields to the area as work gets underway on the Community Playfields Expansion Project adjacent to the current soccer field at the college.

There will be three open seats on the Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board of Education this fall when voters head to the polls on November 8, 2016.

Governed by a team of five members, only Board President Barbara Bannar and member Ginger Nicolay-Davis are not up for re-election. Seats held by incumbents Adam Jones, Dr. Michael Doyle and Dr. Larry Green will be on the ballot.

Adam Jones, who represents Trustee Area #1, was appointed to the Board in March 2015 following the resignation of Sue Novasel.

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency presented Lake Spirit Awards to four people who possess a strong personal commitment to preserving Lake Tahoe at today’s Governing Board meeting.

The Lake Spirit Awards honor people making real progress at restoring Lake Tahoe. Created in 2011, the awards are a way to recognize those individuals whose passion for Tahoe results in progress and environmental improvements.

Seniors at South Tahoe High School must pick something to do for their senior project, a requirement of graduation, one that pushes them to do something different and unfamiliar. Some students learn to play a guitar, while others do stand up comedy. And some students like Ethan Strain, learn how to give back to their community and work with children.

The students must select an advisor for their project, someone who knows the chosen subject and can guide the student to a successful completion.

The third annual Mental Health Forum in South Lake Tahoe today brought together almost 60 people who are dedicated to helping the mental and behavioral health in the community.

Hosted by Barton Health, this year's forum participants shared the progress they've made on strategies for mental health and local service gaps that were generated during the 2015 event.

Jeanne Nelson from the South Lake Tahoe chapter of NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) was very pleased with the outcome Thursday.

With almost 300 children in the Lake Tahoe Unified School District not having a permanent home, the Kiwanis Club of Tahoe Sierra is holding a community event to help them with a big need: luggage and backpacks.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District has changed the school calendar to accommodate the anticipated road closures needed for the upcoming Amgen Tour.

Due to the rolling lane closures at approximately the same time schools are let out, students will get a minimum day on Thursday, May 19, 2016.

Amgen officials said more than 350 of the world’s top male and female cyclists will challenge themselves in Lake Tahoe.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School District Board voted Tuesday night to approve a 4.5 percent raise to all classified, certified and confidential employees in the district.

"This is very much appreciated," said Jody Dayberry, President of the South Tahoe Educators Association after the board voted to approve the 4.5 percent across the board raises. "Everyone is very happy."

According to the California Department of Justice, Human Trafficking is a $32 billion a year global enterprise and the fastest growing criminal industry. It is a form of modern day slavery that profits from the exploitation of our most vulnerable populations. California's Attorney General Kamala Harris is focused on combating the pervasive issue of human trafficking in California and has made it one of her top priorities.

Location

The UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Education Research Center (TERC) is expanding their successful Science Expo program to South Lake Tahoe through funding they were awarded last week by Soroptimist International of South Lake Tahoe.

Through a partnership with the Lake Tahoe Unified School District, TERC will host three days of the expo March 30 through April 1 at Lake Tahoe Community College.

During the day the expo will be presented to students in South Lake Tahoe and the community is invited to a public session March 31 from 4:45 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

South Tahoe High may soon have a new Strength and Condition Center, and the public can make donations to have their name put on the project.

The Sports Medicine program at the school was developed to help train students to assist injured students, and the new plan at the school is being designed to prevent injuries to the student athlete.

The next cast for the Tahoe Arts Project's Dancing with the Tahoe Stars has been announced, and the list contains ten South Lake Tahoe business owners, educators, police sergeant, and other well known locals.

Professional dancers will be working with the "celebrities" to teach them each a dance they'll bring to the MontBleu stage on Saturday, March 5, 2016.

The Stars:

Dr. Kelly Shanahan will be teamed up with Rainer Herm to dance Disco.
Iris Kahm is teamed up with Jorge Favio Orozco to dance Salsa.

Last week we had the opportunity to attend a field trip at Heavenly Mountain Resort. Thanks to a grant written by STEEC member, Devin Middlebrook (TRPA Environmental Education Specialist), EPIC Promise (through Vail Resorts – Heavenly) covered the cost of transportation, lift tickets for the tram ride, use of snowshoes, and presenters. The day was well planned and all went smoothly.

We learned much about our environment including local animals, avalanche safety and snowmaking. And luckily we enjoyed a “blue bird” day at the top of the tram!

Joy Barney has dedicated her life to connecting youth to the land. In the process she has touched many lives, so it comes as no surprise that winning a national award for her, is all about inspiring others.

Who were the first residents of the Lake Tahoe basin? How do you convey the word "SOS" in Morse Code? What is the 1930's cabin tour? If you don't know the answers to these questions, ask a third grader.

In the month of October, 220 students from third grade classes in Lake Tahoe Unified School District took field trips to the Lake Tahoe History Museum where they spent a morning with hands on displays, singing and docent led museum tours.

The school tours started in 2010 when Jackie Dumin, the Tallac Site Director for the U.S. Forest Service, developed the program.

El Dorado County schools chief Jeremy Meyers was arrested Thursday for the second time in five months for allegedly driving under the influence, this time after he crashed his truck into a utility box at 2 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Meyers, 45, allegedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.15 percent or more, a threshold approaching twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent, according to the CHP. Authorities did not provide his exact blood alcohol level.

The Lake Tahoe Unified School Board student representative is now junior Sarah Smith. She was sworn in by Board President Barbara Bannar at the last meeting.

South Lake Tahoe's Cork & More is not going to close at the end of the month as previously announced. The media coverage of their closing brought potential buyers out of the woodwork. Stay tuned to see if a sale is successful.

Like many Americans, law enforcement folks have been deeply moved by the horrific images we have seen in Oregon. A certain feeling of helplessness has become the norm when we look at these events from the prevention perspective. We may ask questions like:

“Why do people who would do such a thing have access to a gun?”
“Why didn’t people who knew the shooter do something to stop him before people died?”

Last spring, Lake Tahoe Unified School District (LTUSD) students in 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 11th grades took a new style of state testing. The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) was an on-line assessment that measured their problem solving and critical thinking skills.

LTUSD Superintendent Dr. James Tarwater will present the results to the School Board Trustees during Tuesday's board meeting.

Mother Nature hasn't been very nice to Southern Bleachers out of Texas. They are the contractors working on the new football stadium bleachers at South Tahoe High and they missed the August 8 deadline for completion of the project. Summer rains caused several delays but they are now back on track to have the project finished by August 21, a week before the school's first football game.

Students at South Tahoe High and South Tahoe Middle schools now have an option to the normal suspension process thanks to the Brief Intervention Program (BIP) developed by the South Tahoe Drug Free Coalition.

In the past, students would be sent home for three days when suspended for having, or being under the influence, drugs or alcohol while at school. In many instances this method was looked at as a few days vacation with little, or no, opportunity to learn from their errors.