Entries by Ben Drahmann

Visions In Education Collaborates with the CASBO

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Visions In Education Collaborates with the CASBO

As California’s legislative climate continues to change, Visions In Education’s team of dedicated professionals works hard to ensure that our school continues to serve our students in effective ways. At the recent California Association of School Business Officials (CASBO) conference, Visions presented to an audience of school leaders from around the state. A proud member of CASBO for years, Visions’ continued collaboration with peers in other schools allows our school to tackle challenges as part of a greater community. 

“It’s a great avenue to show the communication and collaboration between charter schools and traditional schools,” says Visions Fiscal Services Manager and CASBO Charter Schools Professional Council Representative Marko Mosunic. 

The subject of Visions’ presentation concerned AB130 and AB167; two bills that have changed the way charter schools operate and how Visions has put measures in place to ensure minimal disruption to our students while remaining in compliance with State guidelines. The presentation, hosted by Visions Controller Larry Falcon, Director of Operations Michael Brubaker, and Marko Mosunic, provided valuable advice on how schools can work with educational partners to ensure compliance. 

“As a presenter, you can tell the audience were engaged and asking very attentive questions,” says Marko. “A couple of people came up and took photos of our information to take back to their schools.” 

Collaboration with other schools has been part of Visions’ success for more than twenty years, and as Marko says, sharing resources and information to support students creates a better educational environment overall. 

“When you pull resources from all sides, you can do great things for the community and the kids.”

Hear from Team Visions!

About CASBO

The California Association of School Business Officials is the premier resource for professional development and business best practices for California’s school business leaders. Founded in 1928, CASBO serves more than 24,000 members by providing certifications and training, promoting business best practices and creating opportunities for professional collaboration. CASBO members represent every facet of school business management and operations. 

Student Spotlight: Young Astronomy Enthusiast Shoots for the Stars

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Student Spotlight: Young Astronomy Enthusiast Shoots For The Stars

“Even though she may be but little, she is fierce.” Words written by William Shakespeare became a phrase that Visions student Celeste C. lives by. An avid lover of all things celestial, Celeste’s interest has lain overhead since she was a young girl. But unfortunately, a tumultuous and dangerous school environment prompted Celeste’s family to search for another school; one with a safe home-learning environment that allowed Celeste to learn at her own pace.

Connecting with Visions Home School Academy teacher Lisa Kawazoe allowed Celeste’s mother, Carina, to focus on providing her daughter with a quality education in a more suitable environment. Celeste’s grades improved as a result of taking classes that suited her interests, such as Morse code and art classes with her teacher’s encouragement. 

“She does what she needs to do,” Carina says. “She asks the questions she needs to ask.” 

Despite her anxiety about chemistry class, Celeste has maintained a solid A+ in the subject! Her teachers, picking up on her love of science, nominated Celeste for the NASA “You’ve Got Perseverance” award recognizing students that have persevered in their academic pursuits and continued to show improvement. Celeste was one of only 20 students selected for this award and the only one from Northern California! Recipients got to participate in a webinar on April 5th with the Perseverance Rover team, asking questions about their mission and what kinds of things go into the successful operation of a rover on another planet. Celeste credits her teacher’s encouragement with getting her to pursue opportunities like this. 

“She gives me the courage to try out new things,” says Celeste. 

North Star

Celeste’s enthusiasm for astronomy has continued to propel her to new heights of academic success. She hopes to one day have the chance to study phenomena like the northern lights or the Crab Nebula up close. Next year, Celeste will be enrolling in a medieval literature class and moving on to biology for science. Her mother credits Celeste’s teacher with pushing boundaries and encouraging her students to pursue their interests. 

“I couldn’t be more grateful,” says Carina. “She has really been a guiding light.” 

Note: If you would like to nominate a student that’s overcome personal hardship for the You’ve Got Perseverance Award, see this form. 

Graduation 2020 Information

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Blue Graduation Cap with Anything is possible spelled out in gold glitter letters

Graduation 2020 Information

Updated: June 5, 2020

Visions In Education is excited to share our 2020 Virtual Graduation! We’re so proud of our graduates and we hope you enjoy the ceremony.

Click here to access the virtual graduation videos!

Superintendent Remarks

“Thank you to the Class of 2020. Because you’re not able to have a traditional ceremony, you’ve brought people from all walks of life together. Whether you know it or not, your sacrifice has reminded us how important traditions, and rites of passage are to our experience of life. I hope in some way you understand why presidents, athletes, actors and people of all faiths have been compelled to speak to you, the graduating class. They know, as we do – that this rite of passage is to be celebrated!” – Superintendent Jody Graf

Use the Official Graduation Hashtag – #VisionsGrad

Share your memories on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using #VisionsGrad. The most creative photos will have a chance to win free Class of 2020 merch! Make sure your profile is set to “public” so we can view and share your photos. You can also send your photos via email to marketing@viedu.org. 

Spirit Store

Celebrate your accomplishments and show that you’re #VisionsProud. Visit the Spirit Store for class of 2020 items and other Visions goodies! Shop here.

Again, congratulations to the graduating class of 2020! We wish you the best in your future endeavors. Thank you to our graduates, parents, office staff, teachers and Board of Directors, for making our virtual graduation an exciting celebration!

June 2, 2020

We are only days away from our pre-recorded graduation ceremony! On Friday, June 5 the virtual graduation videos will be available on YouTube and viedu.org.

This series of videos includes speakers, student performers, the reading of names along with graduate photos and shout-outs. Each of these elements will be available in separate videos so you may watch what you want, when you want, as many times as you want!

On Friday, once the videos are posted, we will send participating grads and staff an email with the YouTube link so you can celebrate the Class of 2020! The link will also be posted on the Wire, social media and on the homepage of viedu.org.

Share Your Memories

Post your photos on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using #VisionsGrad to be featured on our profiles and for a chance to win FREE Class of 2020 apparel! Make sure your profile is set to “public” so we can view and share your photos.

You can also send your photos via email to marketing@viedu.org. Our teachers, principals, administrators and staff would love to see how you are celebrating!

Congratulations to the Class of 2020! We look forward to celebrating you virtually on Friday, June 5.

If you have any questions, please contact Angelica Gallardo at agallado@viedu.org.

May 26, 2020

Visions In Education will be posting its virtual graduation ceremony on Friday, June 5th (time to be determined). Please note, this will not be a live ceremony. Instead, it will be a series of videos that represent each portion of our normal graduation program; speakers, student performers and of course, reading of the names of the graduates!

The reading of the graduates will be broken down by alphabetic groups. This will allow you to not have to sit through 500+ names to get to your picture!

As a result, you get to watch what you want, when you want, as many times as you want.

If you have any questions please contact Angelica Gallardo at agallardo@viedu.org.

Please continue to check this graduation page or the Wire for updated graduation information.

May 12, 2020

Visions In Education will be posting its virtual graduation ceremony on Friday, June 5th (time to be determined). Please note, this will not be a live ceremony. Instead, it will be a series of videos that represent each portion of our normal graduation program; speakers, student performers and of course, reading of the names of the graduates! The reading of the graduates will be broken down by alphabetic groups. This would allow you to not have to sit through 500+ names to get to your picture!

As a result, you get to watch what you want, when you want, as many times as you want.

Participants in the ceremony should be expecting packages, via Fedex, from the school starting the week of May 18th. This would include your cap, gown, tassel and diploma cover.

The week of May 18th, we will be sending, via email, instructions to participants on how they can help us create their custom graduation slide.

Please continue to check this graduation page or the Wire for updated graduation information.

May 5, 2020

As you may know, Visions has decided to change the format for the 2020 Graduation ceremony that was to be held on June 1, 2020 at Memorial Auditorium. We will celebrate the graduating class of 2020 through a virtual format, a pre-recorded video, that will closely mimic our traditional ceremony with speakers, student performers, and special recognition of our graduates.

Making the decision to change the format, to a virtual setting, for graduation was not taken lightly. We held off as long as we could with the hope that external conditions would change, however, it is now apparent that social distancing will be encouraged beyond June 1, 2020. As a result, we will upload our ceremony to the Visions’ website (viedu.org) on Friday, June 5, 2020 (time to be announced). It will be available for viewing at any time convenient for you and your family thereafter. It does not require a log-in or password to watch.

Participation in the ceremony is optional for graduates. We have reached out to all of our January 2020 graduates as well as potential June 2020 graduates to ask if they would like to participate. We are mailing out graduation packages to ceremony participants including caps, gowns, and tassels (at no cost) so they may take a picture of themselves in their “graduate regalia” for our graduate slide show. Graduates will also be able to offer a “shout out” of gratitude to someone who helped them along the way.

While students who are academically cleared by May 22nd may participate in the ceremony, please remember that to receive your diploma, graduates need to be financially cleared as well. This is a completely separate process through Visions’ Fiscal Services Department. Diplomas will begin to be issued by mail the first week of June.

Whether a graduate chooses to participate in the ceremony, or just receive a diploma, they will receive an email on May 5 regarding the next steps in the process.

To be academically cleared, seniors need to have passed all of their required classes by May 22, 2020. Students who do not meet this deadline may have that opportunity to complete courses over summer and participate in our summer graduation ceremony in August.

Should you have any questions about graduation, diplomas, or clearance, please contact Angelica Gallardo at agallardo@viedu.org.

April 22, 2020

Dear Potential Graduates and Families:

We look forward to celebrating you and your accomplishments!

I want to let you know that we have decided to change the format for the June 1, 2020 graduation ceremony that was to be held at Memorial Auditorium. We will celebrate the graduating class of 2020 through a virtual format, a pre-recorded video, that will closely mimic our traditional ceremony with speakers, student performers, and special recognition of our graduates.

Making the decision to change the format, to a virtual setting, for graduation was not taken lightly. We held off as long as we could with the hope that external conditions would change, but it is now apparent that social distancing will be encouraged beyond June 1, 2020.

The first step in this process is to gather feedback from you, our graduates. To do this, all potential graduates MUST complete the Graduate Survey they received via email, by Thursday, April 30, 2020.

Please continue to check your email and the Wire for more details as they become available.

Jody Graf, Ed.D.
Superintendent

California State Assembly Awards Visions with Recognition

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Visions Staff honored by California State Assembly

California State Assembly Awards Visions with Recognition

Last month, Visions In Education and our Executive Director, Jody Graf, were honored with the Educational Leadership Recognition at the Russian-Speaking Community Partners Capitol Reception.

This reception is organized by the Russian American Media and the Council for Cross Cultural Affairs and it is held to strengthen the relationship between the Slavic community and local government. Visions was one of ten community partners honored at the reception for our work with Russian-speaking students and families.

Jody was presented a Special Recognition Certificate issued by the California State Assembly. Some of our English Learner (EL) staff attended the reception to celebrate this accomplishment including 9-12 Academy Administrator Saideh Malekafzali and teachers Sandra Fleischmann, Joanna Lasalle, Aleksey Sharipov and Gregg Moses.

“I would like to celebrate our teachers and the great work they do to support all of our students,” said Saideh. “It was wonderful to be one of the recipients of the award from the Russian American community. It showed that the good work of our teachers and our organization was shining enough to be chosen among many schools who also serve this population and the community.”

We’re proud to work with the Russian-speaking community to provide access to personalized education opportunities. View photos from the event on our Facebook and on the Russian American Media’s Facebook page.

Visions Partners with Police to Combat Bullying

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Group photo of Visions students, teachers, and local police officers

Visions Partners with Police to Combat Bullying

Our Independent Study and Home School Academies recently teamed up to host two bullying awareness events in Lodi and Sacramento. The mission of these events was to equip our students with constructive ways to deal with bullies and to make sure they don’t participate in this negative behavior themselves.

Each event was hosted by police officers who gave advice for dealing with bullying and cyberbullying. Here’s their top tips for avoiding bullies.

How to Spot a Bully
Bullies tend to exhibit the following behaviors:

  • Teasing
  • Threatening
  • Spreading rumors
  • Fighting

Typically bullies are lashing out because they can’t deal with their emotions or life circumstances. They may also participate in these behaviors to fit in with their friends and to feel powerful.

How to STOP a Bully
If you or a friend is being bullied, be courageous. Verbally stand up for yourself but avoid physical contact. Don’t feel powerless; everyone has value and a purpose in life. If you can’t deal with the situation yourself, get to a safe space and find an adult or person of authority to explain the situation to.

If the bullying persists no matter how you deal with it, contact your local police department. Call them using their non-emergency number or file a report online. This way the abuse is tracked. If the department is able, they may send an officer to speak with the bully.

Watch Out for Cyberbullying
Bullying can happen anywhere and anytime. To avoid cyberbullying, don’t share your passwords with other people and be cautious about what you post online. Sharing photos and personal information on social media like Instagram and Snapchat could be used against you.

Think Before You Act
Always think before you act. If you feel that you may have bullied someone in the past, apologize. Everyone involved will feel better after the situation has been resolved.