MBUSD Superintendent's Newsletter

Superintendent's Newsletter

August 30, 2024

Dear MBUSD Parents and Community,

I hope this newsletter finds you well! Today’s issue features details on MBUSD’s e-bike safety initiative, MBEF’s Annual Appeal, and a student winning a one-of-kind scholastic contest.

We wish the Mira Costa Football team the best of luck on their first home game tonight!

In recognition of Labor Day, all schools and District offices will be closed on Monday, September 2.

Staff Spotlight: Robin Knezevich | Elementary Musical Theatre/Drama

We are excited to feature one of our newest staff members at MBUSD. Robin Knezevich is teaching the new elementary musical theatre/drama class for transitional kindergarten (TK) and kindergarten students across all five elementary campuses. She has been an educator for twenty years and has taught kindergarten through third grade, including eighteen years at Redondo Beach Unified.

Robin shared “I have been privileged with the opportunity to incorporate my passion for music and theatre into my instruction and also direct many productions. Prior to teaching, I spent a year touring internationally with a musical theatre troupe.” Now, in her new role, Robin is thrilled to blend her love of performing arts with early childhood education. “It is a joy to have the honor of building this program. I’m looking forward to producing a culminating spring musical, which will provide students with the opportunity to showcase the skills developed in our musical theatre classes,” she said.

Knezevich was drawn to this position because it offers “an incredible opportunity of engaging the youngest of learners in the performing arts in ways that honor their stages of development. I believe that musical theatre is an engaging, joyful, and accessible experience for young learners. It taps into their innate abilities to play and create.” She also appreciates that MBUSD values the arts and their importance in early childhood education.

Robin credits her 2nd/3rd grade teacher Mrs. Crenshaw, and her high school choir teacher, Mr. Bledsoe, as the inspirations behind her career in education. They taught her valuable academic and life lessons while demonstrating deep care for their students’ well-being.

In her free time, Robin loves spending time with her four-year-old daughter, Grace, and her husband, Steve. They enjoy visiting the beach and parks, attending musicals and concerts, and watching movies together! They are also frequent visitors to Disneyland.

MCHS PTSA Hosts Warm Welcome for New Principal Dr. Jennifer Huynh

This morning, the Mira Costa PTSA organized a special meet and greet on campus, offering parents and guardians a chance to connect with the school’s new principal, Dr. Jennifer Huynh.

She shared, "It was great being able to connect with families. I learned so much about their backgrounds and goals for their students. This helps me gain a deeper understanding of how to best support our families and students’ needs.”

The event provided an opportunity for attendees to engage with Dr. Huynh one-on-one. If you missed this meet and greet, there will be another one tonight at 6:00 p.m. at Mustang Mall.

MBUSD to Launch New E-Bike Safety Initiative

We are excited to introduce a new districtwide e-bike safety initiative for the 2024-25 school year, aimed at enhancing the safety of our students who ride e-bikes to school. Starting later this fall, all students who wish to park their e-bikes on campus must complete an e-bike safety course and registration process. With the rise of e-bike use across Manhattan Beach, the new initiative will educate riders with hands-on training on how to stay safe and keep others safe when they are operating an e-bike.

MBUSD will provide, at no cost to students, in-person e-bike certification courses in collaboration with E-Bike Sense. These courses will be available later this fall. Upon successfully completing the course, students will be provided a sticker to place on their e-bike, enabling them to park it on campus. As an alternative to our in-person course, MBUSD will also accept privately registered certifications (at parent expense) from the online programs offered by Pedal Ace. Stickers will be available in the office the last week of October.

To provide our students time to complete these certification classes, enforcement of this policy will begin on November 4, 2024. If a student attempts to bring an e-bike onto campus after November 4 without completing the required training and receiving a registration sticker, the e-bike will be held for parent pick up. Students riding non-electric bikes will not be required to attend a certification course nor to display a sticker on their bike.

In order to get a head start on e-bike safety, you may want to have your student take this free safety and training course designed and offered by the California Highway Patrol. It is a good way to help orient our e-bike riders to the rules of the road and ride more safely. This course will not fulfill the requirements for a sticker but will help your student be safer on the road.

We will continue to share important updates about this initiative. We appreciate your continued support of student safety. Working together, we can ensure a safer environment and promote responsible e-bike usage.

Back to School Nights

This week, Mira Costa and MBMS held successful Back to School Nights with a large turnout of parents and guardians. The school halls were filled with activity as they visited their students’ classrooms.

Thanks to the administrators, teachers, staff, students, and partners the evening was a memorable one, showcasing the warm and welcoming atmosphere of our schools. Back to School Night for MBUSD elementary schools will be held next Thursday, September 5.

Thrive with MBUSD: Together, Every Day

We are excited to announce MBUSD’s attendance awareness campaign, “Thrive with MBUSD: Together, Every Day.” This initiative celebrates the importance of regular attendance while addressing chronic absenteeism. By raising awareness within our community, we aim to emphasize that developing strong attendance habits is key to fostering the essential skills to help our students succeed. We will utilize District and school communication platforms to share the message with the broader community, which will include students' voices on why they enjoy attending school.

In the 2023-24 school year, 6.41% of our students missed 10% or more of the school year due to both excused and unexcused absences. Before the pandemic, chronic absenteeism districtwide was approximately 2%. MBUSD is committed to working with families to return to chronic absenteeism rates at or below that level, ensuring that every student is fully engaged and thriving in their education.

In addition to being essential to supporting student learning, attendance is also important because MBUSD only receives funding for students who are actually in attendance (we are funded based on our Average Daily Attendance or “ADA,” not just our enrollment). ADA is defined as the total days of student attendance divided by the total days of instruction during which the student is enrolled.

For each day that a student misses school, the District loses $65.

Click here to visit our attendance awareness page for more info!

Please take a moment to watch the new MBUSD-produced "Butts in Seats" video below reinforcing this important message.

Mira Costa Football Game Reminders

The first Mira Costa home football game takes place tonight at Waller Stadium at 7:00 p.m. Please read an important message below from Mira Costa Principal Dr. Jennifer Huynh regarding rules to review before attending Mira Costa football games (i.e., middle school and elementary-aged students may only attend if accompanied by their own parent/adult).

Costa football games are a great way to support our team and introduce your family to the high school experience!

Click the image below for the PDF.

6th Grader Teddy Franklin Wins National Essay Contest

Last school year, while still a 5th grader at Pennekamp, Teddy Franklin entered the first “America’s Field Trip” contest, where students from across the nation (grades 3-12) were invited to submit essays on the topic, “What does America mean to you?”

Teddy’s insightful essay stood out among thousands of submissions, earning him a first-place award in the prestigious competition.

His achievement was recently recognized, and as part of his prize, he won a trip to Boston Harbor. During his visit, he had the opportunity to tour the Charleston Navy Yard, visit the USS Constitution Museum, and meet active-duty Navy sailors to learn what it was like aboard a 19th-century sailing vessel, among other sites.

A panel of current and former educators selected 150 awardees with only twenty-five first- place winners. The contest was hosted by America250 to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

We congratulate Teddy on this achievement!

MBEF Annual Appeal

The robust opportunities in our Manhattan Beach schools are a direct result of the investment of MBUSD families in the MBEF Annual Appeal each year. The 2024-25 Annual Appeal is now underway with a $5 million fundraising goal to sustain educator positions and programs in our schools next school year.

Please click the links below to learn more about the impact of Annual Appeal donations through directed grants at every level.

Elementary Schools

MBMS

Mira Costa

Every donation is tax-deductible and 100% is directed towards the MBEF Grants in Schools for the coming year. There are several ways to support excellence in our schools. Click here to donate.

Have you Joined your School PTAs/PTSAs?

Manhattan Beach PTAs/PTSAs are vital partners to MBUSD providing support to students, families, and teachers. Joining and donating to your school's PTA/PTSA can have many benefits for you and your families:

Support your child's education - PTAs/PTSAs can help parents stay informed about their child's school life, collaborate with teachers and administrators, and contribute to their child's learning experience.

Be a role model - By joining PTA/PTSAs, you can demonstrate to your child the importance you place on education.

Get involved - PTAs/PTSAs offer many opportunities for parents to take part in school activities, attend meetings, and volunteer.

Access resources - PTAs/PTSAs provide resources for members, as well as offer a variety of programs and materials.

Make a difference - PTAs/PTSAs can help strengthen the school community, enhance fundraising efforts, and support the schools. Donations to PTA/PTSAs help fund programs and events.

Please consider joining and donating to PTA/PTSA today! Click the link(s) below for more information.

Young Entrepreneurs Academy is Accepting Applications!

The Young Entrepreneurs Academy is accepting applications for this year’s cohort! Sponsored by the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce (MBCC), YEA! has been a national program in Manhattan Beach since 2015. It supports and empowers young entrepreneurs in making their business ideas a reality. Through its nine-month program, students develop their business ideas, write business plans, and pitch to local investors.

Students meet weekly and learn how to plan and launch their own companies. Over the past three years, our MBUSD students consistently won first place, advancing their business ideas to the National Saunders Scholars Competition. During the last school year, MCHS student Maia Rocha won for her productivity app, "Doing Done.”

Thank you to the Manhattan Beach Chamber of Commerce for providing this opportunity to students. We are also grateful to Mira Costa English teacher, Rachel Thomas, for serving as a YEA! Instructor since the program's inception and supporting the program on the Mira Costa campus, and to Ro Schreiner for her support.

Click here for more information. The application deadline is September 18.

Announcing the 2024 Mira Costa Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame Honorees!

The 2024 Mira Costa Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame honorees have been announced! Congratulations to these exceptional alumni for their contributions to their careers, life pursuits, and the communities they serve. You can learn more about each honoree here.

The MCHS Distinguished Alumni Recognition Committee selects these outstanding individuals and recognizes them with this honor. The alumni will be celebrated at an all-student MCHS assembly and formally inducted during a reception. For the first time, students will also have the opportunity to attend a special Q&A event after school to learn more about the distinguished alumni.

In 2012, this program was established, and since then sixty-five alumni have been inducted.