"Preparedness Best Practices for Homeowners and Renters"

Take an inventory of your valuables and belongings. This should include taking photographs or a video of each room. This documentation will provide your insurance company with proof of your belongings and help to process claims more quickly in the event of disaster.

To enable filing claims more quickly, keep sales receipts and/or canceled checks. Also note the model and serial numbers of the items in your home inventory.

Remember to include in your home inventory those items you rarely use (e.g., holiday decorations, sports equipment, tools, etc.).

Store copies of all your insurance policies in a safe location away from your home that is easily accessible in case of disaster. You may want to store your policies and inventory in a waterproof, fireproof box or in a safe, remote location such as a bank safe deposit box. Consider leaving a copy of your inventory with relatives, friends or your insurance provider and store digital pictures in your e-mail or on a Web site for easy retrieval.

Know what is excluded by your insurance policy. You might need additional protection depending on where you live. Make sure your policies are up to date. Contact your insurance provider annually to review and update your insurance policy.

Keep a readily available list of 24-hour contact information for each of your insurance providers.

Find out if your possessions are insured for the actual cash value or the replacement cost. Actual cash value is the amount it would take to repair or replace damage to your home or possessions after depreciation while replacement cost is the amount it would take to repair or replace your home or possessions without deducting for depreciation.

Speak with your insurance provider to find out if your policy covers additional living expenses for a temporary residence if you are unable to live in your home due to damage from a disaster.

Appraise your home periodically to make sure your insurance policy reflects home improvements or renovations. Contact your insurance provider to update your policy accordingly.

Thank you to each staff and community member who participated in the Superintendent Search Survey providing the board with valuable information about your specific needs and expectations for a district leader. The following survey results are a compilation of the feedback received from administrators, teachers, classified staff, and the community:

Survey Questions (pdf)
Survey Participation (pdf)
Vision (pdf)
Core Values (pdf)
Previous Experience (pdf)
Curriculum/Fiscal Experience (pdf)
Communication (pdf)
Teacher Evaluations (pdf)
Demographics (pdf)
Knowledge (pdf)
Ideal Superintendent (pdf)

CDC urges you to take the following actions to protect yourself and others from influenza (the flu):

1 - Take time to get a flu vaccine.

• CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses.
• While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine protects against the three viruses that research suggests will be most common.
• The 2010-2011 flu vaccine will protect against an influenza A H3N2 virus, an influenza B virus and the 2009 H1N1 virus that caused so much illness last season.
• Everyone 6 months of age and older should get vaccinated against the flu as soon as the 2010-2011 season vaccine is available.
• People at high risk of serious flu complications include young children, pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart and lung disease and people 65 years and older.
• Vaccination of high risk persons is especially important to decrease their risk of severe flu illness.
• Vaccination also is important for health care workers, and other people who live with or care for high risk people to keep from spreading flu to high risk people.
• Children younger than 6 months are at high risk of serious flu illness, but are too young to be vaccinated. People who care for them should be vaccinated instead.

2 - Take everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.*
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you are sick with flu–like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
• While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.

3 - Take flu antiviral drugs if your doctor prescribes them.

• If you get the flu, antiviral drugs can treat your illness.
• Antiviral drugs are different from antibiotics. They are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaled powder) and are not available over-the-counter.
• Antiviral drugs can make illness milder and shorten the time you are sick. They may also prevent serious flu complications.
• It’s very important that antiviral drugs be used early (within the first 2 days of symptoms) to treat people who are very sick (such as those who are hospitalized) or people who are sick with flu symptoms and who are at increased risk of severe flu illness, such as pregnant women, young children, people 65 and older and people with certain chronic health conditions.
• Flu-like symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may also have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, and have respiratory symptoms without a fever.

Visit CDC’s website to find out what to do if you get sick with the flu and how to care for someone at home who is sick with the flu.

Use the extra hour to Test Your Home's Smoke Alarms.

• Replace batteries - in battery operated smoke alarms.
• Test hardwired - smoke alarms.
• The National Fire Protection Association recommends replacing smoke alarms every ten years.

A few fast facts from the National Fire Protection Association:

• Smoke alarms cut the risk of dying in a reported fire in half.
• Most homes (96%) have at least one smoke alarm (according to a 2008 telephone survey.)
• Overall, three-quarters of all U.S. homes have at least one working smoke alarm.
• Each year, nearly 3,000 people die in U.S. home fires.
• In 2003-2006, roughly two-thirds of home fire deaths resulted from home fires in homes with no smoke alarms or no working smoke alarms.
• In 23% of the home fire deaths, smoke alarms were present but did not sound.
• In fires considered large enough to activate a smoke alarm, hard-wired alarms operated 91% of the time; battery-powered smoke alarms operated 75% of the time.

Free Seasonal Flu Vaccinations

A Walk-in Point of Dispensing (POD)
Friday, October 29, 2010
10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

College of the Canyons
East Physical Education Building
26455 Rockwell Canyon Road
Santa Clarita, CA 91355

The seasonal flu vaccination is recommended for all people 6 months and older.

• The walk-in flu POD is an interagency emergency exercise done in cooperation with the City of Santa Clarita, College of the Canyons, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
• Accommodation is available for individuals with mobility challenges.
• H1N1 is a part of the seasonal flu vaccination formulation.

For safety concerns, please do not bring animals on the campus.
For information, please call: (661) 250-3708

The first phase preliminary evaluation has been completed, with extremely positive comments from Dr. Warschauer and his team. Key phase one questions included:

1. How suitable do teachers and staff find netbooks and open source software (in regards to cost, maintenance, size, portability, functioning, and fit with instructional needs)?
2. What do teachers and staff perceive to be the impact of netbook computer and open source software use on teaching and learning processes and outcomes?
3. What have teachers and staff found to be effective practices for implementing laptop programs with netbook computers and open source software, in terms of curriculum, pedagogy, professional development, and any other matters?

From the report:

Overall, the Saugus laptop program appears to be extremely well designed, thoughtfully implemented, and well received by teachers and students. Learning activities with laptops match well with what is known about how students learn best with technology.

Dr. Warschauer and his team found the program to be particularly effective for teaching and learning of writing, differentiated instruction, and making connections for deeper learning. They were also impressed with the sustainability of the program. Again from the report:

We and others have found similarly positive results in other laptop programs with larger and more expensive computers and more commercial software. However, it has been often difficult to sustain these more expensive initiatives. We thus entered this study with a real curiosity as to possible effectiveness of a laptop program using small, low-cost netbooks, an open source operating system, and, for the most part, free open source software.

Interviews and observations suggest that Saugus has chosen the right tools for the job. The netbooks and software are performing quite well and teachers report few technical problems, most of which they say are quickly and easily solved. The small form factor of the netbooks appears to be an advantage; the machines are very light and take up comparatively little room on student desks. The social networking tools created by the district allow both teachers and students the chance to collaborate online through blogs and wikis, and the wide range of free software used allows the same kind of learning activities that we have observed in laptop programs elsewhere. Most importantly the project should be more sustainable than other, more expensive, laptop programs, especially in these difficult economic times.

Needless to say, we are quite pleased with the results. You can read the full report here.

The broader second phase will soon be underway, attempting to answer the following questions:

1. What changes in district and state test scores occur following student participation in the laptop program, and how do these changes compare to students in other grade levels (i.e., not using laptops) in the district? How do these changes differ among particular groups of students in the district (e.g., by gender, ethnicity, free lunch status, special program status)?
2. How frequently and in what ways do students use laptops in instructional activities, and do these differ among particular groups?
3. What relationships exist between frequency and types of laptop use and test score outcomes?
4. How suitable do staff, teachers, and students find the Eee netbooks and open source software for upper elementary school instructional use?

For further details, please review the updated research proposal. We are looking forward to sharing the results of this phase with you as well in the near future.

We are pleased to report that the results are in and the program has been a huge success! Student proficiency in English/Language Arts on the state test jumped an incredible twenty-four percent (24%) - a greater gain than Saugus has seen in any year since state-wide testing was instituted. Both student and teacher technology literacy also showed impressive gains, and students are more actively engaged and participating in their own learning. The success of the initiative has led the district to consider expanding the program beyond the fourth grade, although funding continues to be a challenge.

In the mean time, many parents and staff members have inquired about the possibility of purchasing a "netbook" with all the Saugus software pre-installed on it to own. Through the SWATTEC Parent Purchase Program, parents and staff members can now take advantage of the district's size and purchasing power to acquire a Saugus approved netbook with all the Saugus software pre-installed at a reduced cost.

To make the purchase process easier, we have partnered with CDW to create a web site to take your order. You may order as many as you like. The netbooks will be shipped to the District office for setup (we will install all of the district software on them) and we will notify you when they are ready to be picked up. The web address is:

http://cdwg.com/swattec

A few things to keep in mind:

• We expect delivery by Christmas, however cannot guarantee it. The web site on which orders are placed offers details as to availability at the time of order.
• There is no limit to the quantity purchased
• Students will not be allowed to bring them to school at this time. Laptops are for personal use only.

Thank you for your continued support. Please feel free to contact SUSD IT should you have any questions.