MILPITAS UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

Milpitas Kiwanis Kohl's Cares for Kids - Adult Volunteers Needed

6/28/2018

Kiwanis Club of Milpitas and Kohl's
Kohl's Cares for Kids

150 Milpitas Unified School District elementary students will be shopping for school clothes on Sunday August 5, 2018. Chaperones are needed to escort and assist each child as they shop.

Volunteers report at 6:15 AM to the parking lot entrance to Kohl's at the Great Mall in Milpitas. Coffee and breakfast snacks will be provided.

Please join us as we help these children start their school year right! Volunteers already include MUSD staff, local elected officials, Milpitas Police and Fire, Cal Fire, City of Milpitas staff, MHS Key Club, Kohl's employees and Kiwanis members. Children have been pre-selected by MUSD based on need. The Kiwanis Club of Milpitas will supply gift cards for the shopping.

Volunteers please contact Mike Mendizabal at mikemendizabal@hotmail.com or (408) 306-3586.

Affordable Home Internet - $10 a Month

6/20/2018

AT&T is offering low-cost wireline home Internet service to qualifying households:

With at least one resident who participates in the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and
With an address in AT&T’s 21-state service area, at which we offer wireline home Internet service, and
Without outstanding debt for AT&T fixed Internet service within the last six months or outstanding debt incurred under this program.
If you are a California resident and at least one member of your household receives Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits you also may qualify based on the same requirements that apply to SNAP participants.

Click on the image below to view the flyer. Or go to att.com/access for complete information.

Swimming Programs by Santa Clara Swim Club

6/12/2018

JUNE 11TH - AUGUST 3RD
OPEN SWIM: 1:30PM TO 4:30PM, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
$5/swim

Click here to go to Santa Clara Swim School's registration page.
Click here to go to Santa Clara Swim Club website.

Sinnott Special Education teacher hosts "Mommy's Spa"

6/11/2018

For Mother's Day, Sinnott Special Education teacher Charanpreet Walia honored her loving and beautiful mothers by inviting them to "The Mommy's Spa," where they were pampered by little professionals. Services including facials, manicures, and head-back massage were provided to them. Later moms spent some time with their little ones making great art pieces.

MHS librarian creating a welcoming learning environment for students

6/11/2018

by LeighAnn McCready

The Milpitas High School library was remodeled with bond monies in the 2014-2015 school year and this year’s Class of 2018 has only the “new library” in their history as it opened in February of 2015. One of my goals in the remodeled space was to create an environment and atmosphere where students want to be. If you drop in before school or at lunch, you’ll definitely see that goal fulfilled. Whether hanging out on the comfortable seating areas, grouped around a table or in the study rooms, students have found their “own spots” in the library.

When I introduce 9th graders to our Library Learning Center, I tell them books are just a small part of the job I do and the services I offer, even though visually it’s the most obvious. In the information saturated world we live in today, I guide students to find academic resources to support their learning, critically analyze the information coming to them and introduce them to resources that are available electronically but not via a Google search. I have them bookmark the library webpage so they can also access the resources anywhere they have internet access. Hopefully, by the time they leave MHS they are ready to face the information world that lies ahead whether at college or in their careers or in life.

The last two years, I’ve been slowly easing into low-tech maker space ideas. Bubbles, coloring pages and origami were a few of the things I did last year. This year I added “Stick Together” posters, jigsaw puzzles, spirograph templates, blackout poetry and to finish off the school year a summer themed communal coloring poster. The posters and jigsaw puzzles were a huge hit and I will definitely put more out next year.

I feel incredibly lucky to work as a Teacher Librarian in MUSD. I rode a roller coaster of school librarian cuts from 2002-2007 untiI arriving at Milpitas High. According to the California Department of Education Statistics About School Libraries, “approximately 9 percent of California schools have a credentialed teacher librarian on campus part time or longer; the majority of professional staffing is found at the high school level. A teacher librarian has both a California teaching credential and a California teacher librarian services credential.” Before earning my library credential and Master’s Degree in Library Science, I taught high school math at all levels so I come at this job from a different angle then many teacher librarians. While it’s a small part of my overall job, I love putting the right book in the right student’s hands even if it’s not “great literature.”

I’m drawn to stories of teens dealing with various social issues. One of my current favorite teen authors in Jason Reynolds. He writes rich stories about teens dealing with tough issues. The first book I read by him he co-wrote with Brendan Kiely titled All American Boys. Sixteen-year-old Rashad (who is African American) is mistakenly accused of stealing. His classmate Quinn (who is white) witnesses his brutal beating at the hands of a police officer who happens to be the older brother of his best friend. The story is told in alternating points of view from each boys perspective. One of Jason’s more recent books is a novel in verse, A Long Way Down. In this story, Will boards an elevator determined to avenge his brother’s death. At each floor the elevator stops and someone boards that knows what he’s trying to do and pushes him to think deeply about the situation. I’ve put this book into the hands of some of my most reluctant readers and they are absolutely riveted. The Ten Things article I shared is just a small example of a large voice in Young Adult literature these days that understands that teenagers need to be seen in all their uniquenesses.

Fall 2017 End of Semester Library Report: https://youtu.be/0NOip2H8YBU?rel=0
Spring 2018 End of Semester Library Report: http://bit.ly/2xNHrJs
MHS Library Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/milpitashighlibrary/

Rancho Book Club celebrates a decade of food, fun, and fiction

6/11/2018

For immediate release Contact: Shannon Carr,
Board Support & Communications Specialist
(408) 635-2600, ext. 6031

Rancho Milpitas Middle School’s Book Club is turning the page on a new chapter, since it kicked off 10 years ago by English teacher Brenna Dimas.

To mark the milestone, Dimas said this year the club has been running a few special events including the Decade of Reading Challenge, where any student who reads one book from each of the years is going to receive a special challenge buster shirt. There’s an additional challenge where anyone who wants can try and read all of the books, 46 titles, and there was a March Madness style book battle, where Wonder was selected as the school’s favorite book.

On April 30, award winning author Gennifer Choldenko spoke to Rancho students during an assembly about her book Al Capone Does My Shirts, which was from year one of the Rancho Reads Book Club.

The Newbery Honor Book and New York Times Bestseller is historical fiction about living at Alcatraz in 1935 and 1936 not as a prisoner, but as a civilian child meeting some of the most famous criminals in history, including Al Capone.

“I got the idea for Al Capone Does My Shirts from an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about kids who lived on Alcatraz when it was a working penitentiary,” Choldenko said at the assembly. “…As soon as I saw that article I thought, ‘Wow, How cool to grow up on this island so close to maximum security prisoners.’”

In researching for the book, Choldenko volunteered to work on the island. She met many people, including a man who was a kid when Al Capone was there. Choldenko also learned that if you lived on Alcatraz, your laundry would not be done by your mom, your dad, or the laundromat down the street. Instead, your laundry would be done by the convicts.

“And that really intrigued me because as I interviewed people I found there was kind of an interaction between the civilians who lived on the island and the convicts,” she said. “It is true that Al Capone’s first job on Alcatraz was in the laundry room. So when I found that out I got really excited because I already had the first title in my head.”

The Rancho students provided personal notes to Choldenko as a gift and Dimas made it into a book for her.

“It was really amazing to hear how an author of so many well-written books thinks,”
seventh grader and Book Club member Anthony Overton said, adding that he has read all three of the Al Capone books.

Dimas said developing students’ love for literacy is just one of the many important reasons she founded Book Club 10 years ago. She was inspired to create the group after attending a summer workshop where she heard about a book club designed for students, teachers, and parents.

“That seemed like such a great idea to bring together students, especially at the middle school level who are struggling to sometimes see the connections that they have with adults, and to give them that opportunity to not only share their thoughts with one another but to get other perspectives as well,” she said.

The club, which meets five times a year, opens with a potluck followed by an icebreaker game and then a discussion about the book that the group is currently reading; otherwise known as the three Fs (food, fun, and fiction). Depending on the amount of people who attend, the group is divided into smaller tables of 10-12 people for discussion, and must include a mix of adults and students.

“It is a place for kids to go to learn about each other and learn about themselves,” Dimas said.

Members of the club recently met to talk about their experience with the group, and some of the favorite books they have read since joining. Among the fan favorites this year were Ms. Bixby’s Last Day by John David Anderson, The Lightning Queen by Laura Resau, and OCDaniel by Wesley King.

“Mrs. Bixby’s Last Day was probably one of my favorites because it talked about appreciating
your teachers,” eighth grader Chloe Nguyen said. She joined book club in seventh grade, seeing it “as an opportunity to throw myself into a community in which I could relate.. … I feel that Rancho is more united as a whole with Book Club.”

For eighth grader Matthew Wheeler, who has also been in the club for both years, it “has helped me become less shy and become more vocal about my thoughts.”

Math teacher Ken Chiu said he has seen Dimas’ dedication to Book Club since she founded the club 10 years ago with former librarian Liz Lewis, whose position was cut. Because of that, Chiu is now the person who scans the book when students borrow it to read.

“She plans the entire Book Club event,” he said. “There's no stipend or extra duty points for running it. Her motivation is to share her love for books to our students.”

Chiu added the club is important, especially in this day and age.

“Book Club is refreshing at a time when education is so focused on screen time,” he said. “Book Club brings out face to face interactions. You hear how kids analyze themes and critically think about stories. The Rancho community is so fortunate to have such an advocate for literacy in Ms. Dimas.”

Dimas said Book Club is “her baby” but it couldn’t have thrived without the help of supportive colleagues over the years. And she has learned a lot along the way. This year, Dimas has been focused on the diversity of the protagonists, selecting books that connect with Rancho’s demographic.

“I’ve definitely, as the years have gone on, made more and more effort to include diverse voices in books,” she said. “That was one of my big goals this year. ...Just trying to have stories that represent our student body, that are stories that need to be told and they need to be told by people who have lived those lives.”

Each year, depending on the group, Dimas said different things emerge. A few years back, for example, one of the members said he really appreciated the book club because he felt that it was the only place on campus that he belonged. Other times, they’ve had people attend who were so excited about the book the seats were all taken so they sat on the floor. She recalls this happened in 2012-13, when members discussed the physics and philosophical ramifications of time travel that came about from When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead.

“Regardless of whether it’s eight kids that end up coming or a year where we have 50 or 60 members, having that space for them I think is really important,” Dimas said.

Russell Middle School holds first ever College Day

6/11/2018

For immediate release Contact: Shannon Carr,
Board Support & Communications Specialist
(408) 635-2600, ext. 6031

Students from Thomas Russell Middle School got a jumpstart on their future during the first ever College Day on May 16.

Principal Damon James said the day was created since AVID students were previously the only ones to get a good sense of what it’s like to prepare for college because of the program’s focus on academics.

“As a school, we had not comprehensively addressed going to college, every other year we would take students through a career day experience. Yet, this experience did not share the varied steps that professionals took to be successful, like attending college.” James said. “So we’re just trying to bridge some gaps this year.”

That day, AVID and leadership students delivered presentations to their classmates on different topics each period including college readiness, getting into college, college life, and financing. During lunch, representatives from different colleges such as San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, Silicon Valley Career Technical Education, had tables and spoke with students. In addition, there were students in groups with posters representing different colleges who shared facts about their assigned school.

“I think the kids are all really learning something,” James said. “Often we’re the ones who take ownership, and we deliver the information… but to see the kids put on presentations to their classmates, the amount of interactivity and the amount of focus. The three rooms that I walked by, all eyes were on the presenter and the presenter was talking as if they were in college and had this experience, even though they’re an eighth grader.”

Seventh grader Dennis Samboa said the day was a good jumpstart on a conversation that he has already started with his family.

“It’s important to start early because the earlier you start, it’s going to secure your future,” he said. “You’re going to have a bright future.”

Samboa hopes to attend University of California, Berkeley or University of California, Davis and he wants to become a pediatric or family doctor or nurse.

While the students explored college topics, 26 parents attended a workshop about college.

“I’ve never seen parents so excited,” said Marissa Canez, Milpitas High School’s College and Career Technician. “My focus was on my website and the resources I offer ranging from work experience and college resources and scholarships.”

Aanal and Achal Anjaria, who have a seventh grader at Russell, attended the event.

“For us, she’s our first child and only child and we’re learning everything as she grows up,” Aanal said. “So this helps us a lot to see how everything will be progressing for her. We would love to have more sessions and more information.”

The College Day Committee included, Science teacher Quyen Han, Special Education teacher Dawn Hobbs, Math teacher Breanne Alcala, AVID teacher Barbara Knitter, School Counselor Latisha Roberts, Counselor intern Jolene Soares, and Assistant Principal Luis Lopez.

More than 400 MHS seniors earn nearly $2.6 million in scholarships

6/11/2018

For immediate release Contact: Shannon Carr,
Board Support & Communications Specialist
(408) 635-2600, ext. 6031

Four hundred and twenty-six Milpitas High School seniors have earned a combined total of nearly $2.6 million dollars in scholarships. Approximately 250 students from the graduating class of 2018 attended Senior Awards Night on May 23 to join in the celebration of these honors.

“This being my first year, I can’t believe the accomplishments that you have all accumulated over these last four years, and the accomplishments about your next steps in life,” Principal Francis Rojas said. “This year’s senior class is truly impressive.”

Approximately 345 students received the Gold Cord for earning a 3.25 unweighted Grade Point Average (GPA) or 3.5 weighted GPA; 191 students received a Maroon Cord for completing 150 hours or more of Community Service; 158 students received a President’s Education Award for maintaining a minimum GPA of 3.5 or higher from 10th grade to 12th grade, taking five AP/Honors classes with a B or better in each and scoring “Advanced” on four of four Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium exams; 175 students received a Golden State Seal for receiving a B+ or higher in an English, Math, and science course in ninth, 10th, or 11th grade and receiving a B or higher in U.S. History and a grade of B or higher in two other courses for ninth, 10th, or 11th grade; 33 students received the State Seal of Biliteracy award; and eight students are a National Merit Scholarship Finalist for placing in the top 1% nationally based on their performance on the PSAT taken in their junior year. Finalists are eligible for multiple scholarships.

This year’s Valedictorian, Ivan Chan, earned a 4.48 GPA. He will attend Yale University, and earned a Gold Cord, Maroon Cord, Golden State Seal, President’s Education Award, National Merit Finalist, Chi Am Circle Scholarship, $2,500 National Merit Scholarship, and $4,000 Elks National Semi-Finalist Most Valuable Student Scholarship.

This year’s Salutatorian, Kevin Quach, earned a 4.47 GPA. He will attend Yale University, and earned a Gold Cord, Maroon Cord, Golden State Seal, President’s Education Award, 2017 QuestBridge National College Match Finalist, $500 PTSA Scholarship, and $500 Milpitas Management Association Scholarship.

“I want you to look around and see all the people in the room celebrating with you,” Rojas said. “From the people in our community that make Milpitas a safe and thriving city to live in to the school board and district office folks who ensure that you have the opportunity for quality education, your administration, your counselors, your school staff and teachers who give to you and encourage you each day.”

Rojas added: “Now look at the faces of the loved ones who are here with you to celebrate. Take a moment to acknowledge their support in helping you to be here tonight. This is a celebration for all of us.”

Rojas acknowledged where students will head to come fall. One hundred and eight students will attend a University of California UC while 148 are going to a California State University, 51 will be at private or out of state universities, 315 will go on to community college, 10 are planning to go to art or technical schools, 17 are moving to their military careers.

He added that many students have set their minds on specific universities while some are able to choose from several options. From those, two students will attend Yale, two are heading to Cornell, two to USC, two NYU, five to Morales’ alma mater UC Berkeley, seven to UCLA, 91 to San Jose State University, and others will attend college life in various locations throughout the nation and internationally.

“No matter where our students have chosen as their next step, we all know that you are well prepared and ready for the challenges of life ahead,” Rojas said.

Marissa Canez, Milpitas High School’s College and Career Technician and coordinator of Senior Awards Night, shared her pride in the ceremony.

“I had a lot of favorite moments from the planning and organizing to the event itself,” she said. “I would have to say my most favorite is the smile and excitement on the students’ faces when they hear what scholarship they were awarded.”

MUSD, City of Milpitas host first ever Safety Table Talks

6/8/2018

For immediate release Contact: Shannon Carr,
Board Support & Communications Specialist
(408) 635-2600, ext. 6031

Approximately 50 people came together to join in “courageous conversations” during Milpitas Safety Table Talks, held in collaboration with the City of Milpitas and Milpitas Unified School District, June 2 at the Milpitas Community Center. The event was inspired by the County of Santa Clara Community Summit on Firearms and Safety, held by Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese, on April 28.

“The strength of Milpitas is in its sense of community, and when we come together to understand one another’s perspectives, we can use that strength in working together as one to ensure safety in our schools, businesses, places of worship and assembly, and throughout our city,” Superintendent Cheryl Jordan shared as her vision for the day. “We will take this opportunity to come to the table and talk about what matters most to us, the well-being of every person in our Milpitas community.”

The morning kicked off with an icebreaker and table talk about community safety before transitioning into a panel of leaders, moderated by Superintendent Jordan, which included Cortese, Congressman Ro Khanna, California State Assemblymember Kansen Chu, Milpitas Police Department Chief Armando Corpuz, Milpitas Councilman Bob Nuñez, MUSD Board Vice President Chris Norwood, and Milpitas High School Principal Francis Rojas.

During the panel, participants were asked the following questions:

Introduce yourself, your role in the community, why you are here to talk with Milpitas
From your position (i.e. community leader, clergy, activist, political leader) how do you define “safety?”
As a superintendent when I think of safety I think about the physical safety of our students and staff, our students’ emotional and mental well-being, and working as partners with our parents and community to ensure their safety. Today we have members of our Milpitas community who think of safety in terms of who they are and their roles in our city, as our Milpitas community leaders, how do you see yourselves working together for Milpitas to address their needs? How can you provide resources for safety in Milpitas?

Each panelist shared their remarks about their roles, particularly in how they relate to the Milpitas community and bettering the lives of those most affected by safety.

“Milpitas High School School is the center of this community,” Principal Rojas said. “We are probably the largest organization in the community with over 200 adult staff members and 3,300 youth who this community entrusts the school district to educate and to protect. Participating in this panel, I really want to be able to listen to everyone here about their perspectives on community and school safety, and to be able to look at our policies and practices at the high school and districtwide to see if we can improve safety for all of us, both staff and students in our schools. We serve over 10,000 students here and our children are our future, our children are … Safety is of utmost importance to all of us as parents.”

Norwood, a Milpitas resident for more than 40 years, with two children of his own, echoed similar sentiments.

“As a long time resident in the city of Milpitas and being on the board, which we have a diverse board, I have been very proud of the fact that our board has dialogued just like this,” he said. “… Milpitas has a lot of great connections. If you look at the esteemed panel that we have here, it’s a representation of the county and at the federal level in terms of who we have access to. So when I think about us coming together today as a community, I think about the conversations that we have as a school board and us having dialogue, and the opportunity to bring that conversation wider underneath the vision of our Superintendent and the Culture of We, underneath all of the residents that I’ve known for a very long time.”

In thinking about safety, Norwood said he thinks about a few different things.

“I think about our buildings, our children, our teachers, our parents. Their ability to walk into our buildings and to feel safe, that our infrastructure is solid. I think about access and egress in terms of how our students get to campus and once they’re there, that they’re secure. And then in the event that something unfortunate happens or is going on, they have the ability to be in safe places and get out of those buildings safely. … I think about our staff, student training and their awareness. There’s a lot of education that needs to go on, not just with adults.”

Chief Corpuz admitted that “being safe largely starts with being free of free when you’re out in the community.”

“I want to take the opportunity to say that for us in the police department, fire department, public safety as a whole, for us to be effective in the community as a whole in our roles is to be well trained, well equipped, well staffed,” he said. “And it’s a privilege to work in this city because we are well trained, well staffed, well supported. … We have a city manager, city council, city staff and community that have been highly supportive of public safety. And when you allow us to work in that environment with those resources we are more effective at what we’re doing.”

County Supervisor Cortese acknowledged that the dialogue happening in the room wasn’t “warm and fuzzy” but part of a microcosm and a model for what needs to keep happening.

“When you can put us in a room without an aisle that separates us, when we can put you at tables without aisles that separate you based on the viewpoints that you came in with, it is hugely important,” he said. “...Labeling people leads to ostracism and ostracism leads to anger and violence and fear. … Please continue to promote this kind of thing and let’s continue doing this.”

Following the panel, the day continued with a table talk about school safety, lunch, and another table talk with participants topic of choice: support services, places of assembly/worship, firearms, and safety in the workplace.

Facilitators reported out on the discussion, deemed a success for those in attendance.

“I’m very excited about this,” Norwood said. “I’m very excited about all the different community members, community leaders coming together and having courageous conversations, table talks, and setting the example for who and what Milpitas is. … I’m hoping that this group can continue to renew that spirit and do outreach into your circles of influence and share this was a really powerful day be willing to give them feedback. And when we continue to do these things in partnership with the city, that these audiences continue to grow and the messages begin to permeate about what Milpitas is anchored in: Respect, dignity, honor.”

View photos and videos here.

Kaila Schwartz takes the stage as Milpitas Unified’s Teacher of the Year

6/8/2018

For immediate release Contact: Shannon Carr,
Board Support & Communications Specialist
(408) 635-2600, ext. 6031

Milestone birthdays are a staple celebration for many. But for Kaila Schwartz, her 30th birthday was the turning point in her career.

“I know that sounds really weird but around the time I turned 30, my dad reminded me that, when I graduated from Syracuse, I had promised myself that I would give full-time acting 10 years and that if at the end of those 10 years I wasn’t happy with where I was in my life, then I would reevaluate everything,” she recalled. “And, well, my 30th birthday was that 10-year mark. I discovered that I really wasn’t happy. I was not feeling fulfilled. I felt like I had lost my creative spark.”

So Schwartz applied to the four most competitive Master of Fine Arts programs in the country, got rejected from all of them, and was offered a job teaching fourth graders how to read Hebrew at a temple in Cleveland, Ohio.

“That’s the job that changed my life,” she said. “I fell in love with teaching, then got my Master’s in education. All of my inspiration came back. All of my creativity came back. My feeling of satisfaction was never higher.”

Schwartz said this zest for teaching has sustained throughout her career, which has been mainly in Milpitas Unified School District. She has been teaching Theater and English for 17 years at Milpitas High School.

“Seventeen years may be a long time to be in one school district ... but I have a strong connection, an affinity, for this community and for my students,” she said.

Schwartz was announced as Milpitas Unified’s 2017-18 Teacher of the Year during the Employee Recognition Celebration on May 30. She will be one of 29 accomplished educators honored at the 49th annual Teacher Recognition Celebration, presented by the Santa Clara County Office of Education, on October 22 at the Heritage Theatre in Campbell.

“I’m still shaking my head in disbelief,” Schwartz said of the announcement, adding it made her feel shock, gratitude, and humbled.

Schwartz was nominated by coworker LeighAnn McCready, Milpitas High School’s librarian.

“I was quite pleased with Kaila's honor,” McCready said. “Oftentimes our hardest workers go unrecognized because they don't toot their own horns. Kaila does so much behind the scenes and more than many realize.”

McCready has watched Schwartz work hard for students in different ways since she arrived as librarian at Milpitas High School in 2007. She noted the growth of Schwartz’ theater program from one to two classes to a full schedule, her work with students in English as she challenges them to think for themselves, serving as the adviser to National Honor Society students and their coordination of the bi-annual blood drive, and her support of colleagues through her work with new teachers, and just in everyday interactions with staff. Schwartz has participated in the Teacher Induction Program for at least 10 years.

“She's a team player and isn't about the accolades even if they are well-deserved,” McCready said.

Two of Schwartz’s seniors noted her class as being participatory with a style that makes them want to actively participate. She makes it a collaborative and not a competitive environment where they feel it is a project-based environment about learning, not just getting the points.

“I try to give students a forum to express themselves, and provide a safe space for them to tell their stories, speak their truths, and develop their self-esteem,” Schwartz said of her philosophy towards training students in the performing arts. “I encourage students to build bridges of understanding across all facets of life. And I also foster an appreciation of the arts.”

Before coming to Milpitas, Schwartz graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1985, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting and directing from Syracuse University in 1989, earned a Master’s Degree in Secondary Education from John Carroll University in 2001, and did her student teaching at Charles F. Brush High School in Lyndhurst, Ohio.

Growing up in the Cleveland area, Schwartz said the path to Milpitas was clearly paved.

“Toward the end of my Master’s program, we had to create a resume and we had to do interviews,” she said. “I participated in the university sponsored teacher fair, but I also posted my resume on various sites in different states, one of which was CalTeach. The day after I posted my resume on CalTeach, I got an email from Terry Queenan asking for an interview. The interview was scheduled for a week later. He said it would be a 45 minute interview. It lasted over two hours. I flew out a week or two later to see the school and as soon as I stepped foot on campus, I was offered the job.”

Since starting with Milpitas, Schwartz has been credited with developing an award-winning theater program. This year alone, they won third place for the NorCal Thespian Play Festival, First Place/Grand Prize for TheatreWorks’ 1440 Countdown, and a performance spot in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe for 2019. They have also won numerous awards for playwriting at the 1440 Countdown, having performed at six out of seven competitions. Awards include Best Drama, Best Comedy, Second Place, Third Place, and Schwartz was featured in a TheatreWorks video advertising 1440.

There was an extensive application process for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and Schwartz said it was great to be chosen since it was such a challenging application process. Of the information covered, Schwartz had to explain what sets her theater program apart from other high schools.

“I run my rehearsals like I would run them with professional actors,” she wrote in the application. “As a result, I’ve had students tell me that the training they have received from me has set them apart in the working world and has led them to greater opportunities than their peers.”

In addition, the application asked where her students went after high school, and if any of them had achieved any level of success in theater. They also wanted a five-minute video, reviews, letters of recommendation, student testimonials, and her philosophy on arts education.

She noted being chosen was incredibly validating because they were selected from a Board of Governors on the East Coast, who are all theater educators at the university level.

Schwartz said the awards are great to mark their accomplishments but there is a deeper meaning to the participation.

“It’s really important for my theater students to get a taste of the real world of theater,” she said. “I love my relationship with TheatreWorks because it puts me closer in touch with local theater artists, and it puts my students in touch with them.”

The partnership started about 10 years ago when she first brought her students to one of their matinees. They were impressed with how well behaved her students were both during the performance and the preshow workshops. A couple of years later, they started competing in their 24-hour play festival, now known as 1440 Countdown. Soon after that, she was convinced by one of their educational theatre associates to bring the Young Playwrights Project to her advanced students.

“Everyone on their education staff has become a friend and colleague,” she said.

Despite enjoying her job, Schwartz said there are still challenges that she has to work through, including long hours, fundraising, and feeling like she constantly has to prove to people that an arts education is valuable.

“The skills are applicable to every career path,” she explained. “My students live collaboration, they learn creative problem solving, they become quick on their feet, they are able to work with people of all different personality types, and they’re able to stay focused on getting a task done. They also learn how to work under pressure, and they learn how to stay positive while working under pressure. Most important of all, they gain confidence and self-esteem.”

Despite the challenges, Schwartz said the students are what keep her going.

“They have so much creative energy and they want so much to express themselves, and I think many of them are grateful for the opportunity to do that without judgment,” she said.

They keep her so energized in fact that in five years, even 10 years and beyond, she can’t imagine doing anything else. Twenty years later, looking back on her decision to change her career, Schwartz said she never imagined it would lead to this. But she is paid back in full every day by her students.

“I have so many students out there who make me proud every day. I am proud to know them. I am proud of the humans they’ve become. I’m happy that they are finding happiness and satisfaction in what they are doing, whether or not it’s in performing arts. I’m happy and grateful to have been even a small part of of their lives,” she said.

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Milpitas Kiwanis Kohl's Cares for Kids - Adult Volunteers Needed

Affordable Home Internet - $10 a Month

Swimming Programs by Santa Clara Swim Club

Sinnott Special Education teacher hosts "Mommy's Spa"

MHS librarian creating a welcoming learning environment for students

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More than 400 MHS seniors earn nearly $2.6 million in scholarships

MUSD, City of Milpitas host first ever Safety Table Talks

Kaila Schwartz takes the stage as Milpitas Unified’s Teacher of the Year

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