Messages from the Superintendent

5715 Musick Avenue, Newark, CA 94560 | (510) 818-4103

Dear Newark Unified Family,

As I begin my tenure as Superintendent of Newark Unified School District, I am excited, honored and humbled to lead this great district and thank the Board of Education for allowing me to serve this wonderful community. I am so impressed by this district’s commitment to promoting student success and wellness. Our Board of Education has an inspiring vision of powerful futures for every student, which drives our core mission to ensure that every child, in every school, has access to robust and innovative learning experiences, and safe and healthy learning environments.

It will take a collaborative effort, with all of us linking arms to accomplish our district goals. To that end, I have spent my first few weeks meeting with teachers, principals, site and district support, staff, students, community leaders, business leaders, parents, and many others to start learning from you. We are listening and will take what we have learned to develop and implement a strategic action plan, which includes progress reports at every board meeting.

New Faces and Names!
NUSD is thrilled to welcome all our new employees, including our new Principal of Kennedy Elementary School, Ify Obodozie (click here for her bio), and our Co-Interim Principals of Newark Memorial High School, Dr. John Bernard and Pat Urbi (click here for their bios). We are also looking forward to selecting a fabulous new principal for Lincoln in the upcoming weeks. I am also happy to announce that the board took action to rename NJHS to Newark Middle School to align with the newly established middle grades instructional model.

Keep Your Eyes Opened…
In the upcoming weeks, be on the lookout for our Educational Benefits Packet, information about the start of school, invitations to join my Superintendent Community Advisory Council and Budget Taskforce, and information about registering for our new, two-way parent communication system called ParentSquare- which translates to and from our parents in over 100 languages!

Exciting Things to Come…
In preparation for the start of school, our amazing staff are working on numerous projects- especially our maintenance crew, who are working on paving, irrigation and landscaping, painting and HVAC installation, to name a few. Thank you in advance for helping us achieve our vision and for the warm welcome I have received. I look forward to our collaboration and working together to fulfill our promise to our students.

Sincerely,
Penelope A. DeLeon, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools, Newark Unified School District

Dear NUSD Family,

Welcome to the 2023-24 school year! It is our greatest priority to ensure every single child receives an outstanding education, which leads to a powerful future in adulthood.  To guide our work toward that vision, our board of education has set district goals related to student achievement, facilities improvement, parent engagement and fiscal health. I have linked a copy of our NUSD District Overarching Goals here.   

One of our goals is to provide safe, secure and healthy learning environments.  To that end our Maintenance and Operations Department has worked diligently over the summer to prepare our schools for the new year.   You will notice new HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning), paving, paint, landscaping/irrigation, deeply-cleaned classrooms and sparkling floors throughout the district.

In short, Newark Unified School District is committed to equity, access and opportunity for every child and excellence in all we do.  We strive not to be oneof the best, but to be THE best district around.   We strive to be RENOWNED.  
To accomplish this, we need your help as parent partners.  We welcome your input, insight and involvement. Please feel free to contact me at anytime at p d e l e o n @newarkunified.org. 

NUSD Holiday Newsletter

December 22, 2023

 

Dear Newark Unified School District Family,

As we begin our holiday break and prepare to celebrate the close of 2023, I would like to take a moment to reflect on how grateful I am for your ongoing commitment to our students and engagement in our schools.

Our students continue to demonstrate resilience, strength and brilliance as they navigate the post- pandemic world and strive for personal and academic success. Through everything, our teachers, administrators and support staff been unwavering in the passion and commitment they bring to our buildings each day.

We also extend our deepest appreciation to our families for your trust in our ability to serve your students. Thank you for your unrelenting support and investment in the success of our schools.

The holidays bring cheer as we spend time with family and friends. I want to sincerely wish each and every one of you the most joyous holiday season, full of peace, love and compassion. Please keep those who are less fortunate in your minds and hearts, as we know this time of the year can be difficult for many. Let’s continue to give our best to each other and show grace by extending kindness in the small moments of our days.

When we return in 2024, we will keep our focus on offering an outstanding educational experience for every child, while striving to expand options for students and families to grow together. As a school community and family, we have much to look forward to in the New Year.

Until then, happy holidays and best wishes!

Biliteracy Awards

Take a look at these Biliteracy Awards and see if your child may qualify! Holiday breaks are great opportunities for students to use their biliteracy to support their community and earn hours towards this award!

December in NUSD

Girls Who Code is on a mission to close the gender gap in technology and to change the image of what a programmer looks like and does. Thank you to NUSD board members, Nancy Thomas, Phuong Nguyen, and Carina Plancarte for celebrating the Girls Who Code Club Showcases at CHE and BGI with Ms. Kim and club members. Ms. Kim is scheduled to start clubs at Lincoln and Schilling for grades 3-5 in January 2024.

LCAP Survey

We invite the community to share their feedback and help to inform our plans for next year. The feedback provided will be shared back with school leaders and with the parent leadership groups. Please know that we will keep your comments anonymous to protect your privacy.

We look forward to hearing from you. Link to survey here.

Invitamos a la comunidad a compartir sus comentarios y ayudar a informar nuestros planes para el próximo año. Los comentarios proporcionados se compartirán con los líderes escolares y con los grupos de liderazgo de padres. Tenga en cuenta que mantendremos sus comentarios en el anonimato para proteger su privacidad.

Esperamos con interés escuchar de usted.

NMHS Toy Drive

Last night was a great event! We gave toys to about 275 NUSD children!! Our student and parent volunteers were amazing. We do not typically advertise prior to event because we try to be very careful to not invite families to more than one event and sometimes when it is advertised, families begin to look for sign ups and can end up on multiple giveaways lists.

NMHS OHOLONE Rocket Event

The Newark Memorial Rocket club had a Science Faire and public launch on December 9th at the Ohlone Newark campus. The free student organized event went very well and over 500 community members attended. There were various booths with rocket-themed treats, kid-friendly crafts, like stomp rockets and captivating science experiments. The most popular being the Lucid Car Display and rocket launch.

The Rocketry Club has been working tirelessly to prepare for not only the TARC Nationals this year, but also for the NASA Student Launch Initiative. If you would like to help them achieve their goals of launching in Alabama next year, please check out their Go Fund Me.

https://gofund.me/5181fb38