I want to start this week’s update by thanking our Trustees on the Durham Unified Board of Education for the collaborative work they do to help lead our school district.

Trustees are members of the Durham Community who choose to run for elected office to set policy to direct district administration in the operation of district schools. 

Technically, it is legally permissible for Trustees to be paid a relatively small stipend. The state of California recently increased the amount permissible for pay for trustees, but Durham Trustees have chosen to continue to act on non paid basis.

Additionally, the board of five trustees continue to work together as a team in order to make decisions that best help support our students.

At this week’s board meeting, we saw two of our incumbent trustees, Buzz Landon and Jennie DuBose, appointed to new four year terms. As a reminder, Buzz and Jennie’s four-year terms are scheduled to end with the Nov. 3 election. Due to a calendar misunderstanding, neither incumbent filed to run for re-election by the filing deadline. Nobody else filed to run for election for the open board seats by the deadline either. 

Applications were taken for appointment, and Buzz and Jennie both applied to be appointed.

Remaining trustees Ed McLaughlin, Andrew Sohnrey and Garrett Meyer voted unanimously at this week’s board meeting to appoint Buzz and Jennie to the open seats. 

Buzz and Jennie will be sworn into new four-year terms at the December meeting just as if they had been voted in as part of the Nov. 3 election.

Also, at this week’s meeting the board voted to change the dates for the November and December board meetings. The November meeting will be held on Monday, November 9. The December board meeting will be held on Wednesday, December 16.

Durham Intermediate School Principal Josh Rowe officially completed the California League of Middle Schools Leaders to Watch program this week. 

Mr. Rowe was recognized as part of the Leaders to Watch program in a graduation ceremony on Thursday in Long Beach.

Thank you for representing Durham Intermediate and Durham Unified! Take a look at the attached picture!

Construction started this week on the fencing project on the south side of the elementary school campus (see attached pictures).

This project will see new black iron fencing installed to secure the south side of campus. The project includes two new walk through gates that will be locked once school starts in the morning. 

It also includes a new gate in the far southwest corner of campus that will be locked once school starts. 

All walk through gates will include panic bars that allow them to be opened from the inside.

DES (from Samantha Brown)
This week at Durham Elementary was powered by school pride, health and safety screenings, community events, and fundamental math collaboration!

We kicked off the week on Monday, October 19th with a fall three-day weekend for students and staff. On Tuesday, our campus showed off its pride for Tiger Gear Tuesday, hosted another session of Reading Pals, and held our October DES PTS Meeting, and Probationary Teacher's Meeting. Tuesday also marked an exciting step forward for campus safety as installation officially began on our new security fencing on the south end of campus, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of this coming week.

Mid-week, our health team conducted First Grade Color & Vision Screenings on Wednesday, alongside our afternoon DES Staff Walk and Squack, School Site Council Meeting, and the DUSD Board Meeting. On Thursday, we hosted Reading Pals, enjoyed Popsicles with the Principal in the Courtyard, and came together for our 30-Minute Math Huddle in the MPR focusing on vertical alignment across grade levels. We wrapped up the week on Friday with our Kindergarten classes enjoying a fall field trip to the Book Family Farms Pumpkin Patch.  If you haven't had a chance yet, make sure to pop by the courtyard to view our wonderful Kindergarten scarecrow display; it will be up for one more week!

Upcoming Events at DES: October 26 – October 30, 2026

• Red Ribbon Week: "Make a Difference. Be a Hero. Stay Drug Free."

• Tiger Buck Store by appointment

• Trimester 1 Report Card Assessments

Monday, October 26

• "Be active. Choose movement, play and healthy habits!" — Wear a jersey or team t-shirt

• DES Student Council Meeting: DES Room 1 (12:15 PM – 12:45 PM)

• Early Out Collaboration: 1:40 PM

• Early Release Collaboration Grade Level Meetings (2:00 PM – 3:00 PM) (Report cards, assessments, parent-teacher conferences, upcoming events discussion, and DES Weekly Pulse)

Tuesday, October 27

• World Occupational Therapy Day

• "Be kind. Kind choices make a big difference!" — Wear red

• Reading Pals:  (1:00 PM – 2:30 PM)

• PBIS Leadership Meeting: (3:00 PM – 3:30 PM)

Wednesday, October 28

• "Make smart choices. Think, choose, & do what’s best for you!" — Wear neon 

Thursday, October 29

• "Lift each other up. Good friends make good choices together!" — Dress like your friends and wear matching colors or outfits

• Spooky Grams delivered to classrooms (to be sent home at the end of the school day)

• Reading Pals: (1:00 PM – 2:30 PM) 

Friday, October 30

• "Say BOO to bad choices!" — Wear Costumes to school (no scary masks or weapons allowed)

• TK Classes Trick-or-Treating around DUSD

• Kindergarten Classes Trick-or-Treating around Durham

DIS (From Josh Rowe)
Girls Basketball
Girls basketball opened the season this week with an away game against Palermo, followed by our home opener against CK Price. It was great to see our girls back on the court representing DIS and kicking off another basketball season!

The Great Gift Giveaway
We held our Great Gift Giveaway today and were able to reward our students for all of their hard work gathering pledges and running during the Jog-a-Thon.

We are incredibly grateful for the support of our families and community. The Jog-a-Thon is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and the money raised directly supports our students and many of the activities and opportunities we are able to provide here at DIS. Thank you to everyone who helped make this year's fundraiser such a success!

Red Ribbon Week
Red Ribbon Week is next week! This year's theme is “Make a Difference, Be a Hero, Stay Drug Free.”

This week, homerooms planned their designs for our door decorating contest, which will kick off Red Ribbon Week on Monday. Students are also encouraged to participate in our Red Ribbon Week spirit days:

• Monday — Anything but a Backpack Day

• Tuesday — White Lie Day

  • Write a funny “white lie” about yourself on a white T-shirt. For example, I might wear a shirt that says, “I love the Giants.”

• Wednesday — Sports Day

• Thursday — Superhero Day

• Friday — Costume Day

  • No weapons or masks. Costumes must comply with the school dress code.

We are looking forward to a fun week while reinforcing an important message about making healthy, positive choices.

Attendance Letters
We recently mailed attendance letters to families. These letters are informational and are intended to keep parents informed about their student's attendance, including the total number of absences and tardies accumulated so far this school year.

Regular, on-time attendance is an important part of student success, and these letters help families understand how much instructional time their student may have missed. If you have questions about your student's attendance or need support addressing barriers to regular, on-time attendance, please contact the DIS front office. We are happy to help.

Upcoming Events
October 26–30 — Red Ribbon Week
November 10 — Medieval Feast
November 11 — No School in Observance of Veterans Day
November 23–27 — Thanksgiving Break

DHS (From Marty Wilkes)
Counseling:
Tuesday Counseling held another lunchtime College Application Workshop, focusing on the academic sections of applications. 

Today, we hosted a representative from the Chico State Early Assessment Program (EAP) who spoke to all juniors about the importance of the CAASPP test they will take later this spring. This state test helps determine students’ proficiency in skills deemed necessary for high school graduation. Colleges can use this assessment to determine placement in English and math classes. Additionally, DHS now requires seniors to score proficient or above on all three sections of the test in order to have more than one free period their senior year. 

Next week we will be hosting a Junior Parent Night for students and their parents. The meeting will be on Thursday 10/29 at 6:00 in the DHS Library. Don’t miss this important event!  A representative from the CSU system will be discussing Academic Preparedness vs College Eligibility.  We will also be going over senior year and give recommendations to help students plan for their final years in high school.  

Athletics:
We have gotten to that time of the year in fall sports where every game matters, as a player and a coach you have to love this time of year.  It is time to dig in, make the play to live to play another day and if you don't, well ….

Football:  Friday was tough to watch for the Trojan fans. The boys had their chances, but they just couldn't quite make the plays that were needed.  Hopefully, they can rebound this week and get back on the W train.

Volleyball:  Had a difficult week they lost at home to Colusa in straight sets and started at East Nicolaus winning the first set before losing the next three.  The playoff bracket comes out later today.

Swimming: The girls and boys both won the league championship yesterday and will advance to the division championships next week.

Volleyball
Oct. 23 Section playoff bracket comes out

Football:
Oct. 23 at Pierce
Oct. 30 vs Winters

Student Services and Supports (from Marilyn Bertolucci)

Did you know……
As of January 2025, the county’s unemployment rate stood at 6.3%, exceeding both California's rate of 5.5% and the national average of 4.4%. The median household income in Butte County is $68,574, which falls below California's median of $96,334 and the national median of $78,538. Furthermore, 18.55% of households in the county earn under $25,000 annually, a higher percentage than in California (12.62%) and across the United States (15.00%).

Poverty is a main contributor to poor health outcomes. In Butte County, 18.34% of the population lives below the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), compared to 11.97% in California and 12.44% nationwide. This demonstrates that a higher proportion of local residents experience financial instability, hindering their access to health services, nutritious food, and essential resources.

Poverty and Undernourishment
Due to these poverty levels, local families face daily hunger because their earnings are insufficient to purchase enough food. In other cases, individuals suffer from undernourishment because they cannot afford nutritious options like protein and fresh produce, forcing them to rely on cheaper foods that lack essential nutrients.

Defining Food Insecurity
While hunger is a complex issue, it can be solved. The concept of food insecurity helps outline how and where local residents struggle to afford food. The USDA defines food insecurity as a condition where "consistent access to adequate food is limited by a lack of money and other resources at times during the year". Those describing food insecurity report that they are "struggling to avoid hunger," "hungry, or at risk of hunger," or "hungry, or faced by the threat of hunger".

Local Statistics

• According to estimates from Feeding America, 39,960 Butte County residents (18.03%) and 27.25% of children in the county (more than 1 in 4) experienced food insecurity at some point over the past year.

• Data from the National Center for Education and Statistics indicates that 18,535 public school students in Butte County (59.7%) qualify for free or reduced-price school meals.

• Across Northern California, 1 in 5 residents struggles with hunger-related issues, and the majority of these households include at least one full-time working adult.

Need support or want to contribute? 

North State Food Bank
Resources that provide food in Butte County

Reading Universe Check out the Video Library and the 10 Maxims: What We’ve Learned So Far About How Children Learn to Read!

Maxim 7
Direct, systematic instruction helps students to develop the skills they need to become strong readers. Indirect, three-cueing instruction is unpredictable in its impact on word reading and leaves too much to chance. 

Maxim 8
All of these maxims apply directly to English Learners/Emergent Bilinguals when they are learning to read in a language they already know. When learning to read in English, a language they are simultaneously learning to speak and understand, these students need support and instruction to become proficient in English as they are learning to read and write it. 

Watch Me!! One-on-One with an English Learner with Dr. Elsa Cardenas-Hagan

Weekly Update Archive