Fresno Unified Interim Superintendent Misty Her has a special message for the district’s 69,745 students: Make sure you are in your seats on time for the first day of school Monday morning — and for every day after that.

“Every single day counts,” Her said at a news conference Wednesday morning at McLane High School. “Remember school starts on Monday. We want you early. We want you there on time. We want you to be in your seats. And so we are committing to double-digit gains in proficiency over the next two years and we could only do it, students, if you come to school.

“So we need you to help us out. You can’t learn if you’re not in our classrooms. You’ve got to come to school. And not only does every day count, but every single minute counts as well.”

“Double-digit gains” are Her’s goals for every student to improve on English and math proficiency by at least 15 percentage points this year and again next year. It’s part of her 100-Day Plan for the district that focuses on just two goals: Improving student academic outcomes and customer service.

Tuesdays Are Early-Release Day

The academic gains will also rely on teachers getting time each week to meet for professional development with fellow teachers and with parents, Her said. Every Tuesday in a five-day school week will be an early release day. Students’ school day will end an hour early, giving teachers time to work and plan together with the goal of supporting students’ academic gains, she said.

In addition, “it’s an opportunity for teachers to connect with parents and to engage,” Her said. “If a student is struggling in class, it allows a teacher to have time to make phone calls or if parents want to meet, they can certainly do that, too, versus waiting until much later in the day. It just allows flexibility for our families, in particular our parents, and our teachers.”

On Tuesdays, students can go directly into after-school programs that will fill that hour and the remaining hours until 6 p.m., she said.

Her said she also wants parents to make sure all preschool, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, and first-graders are in their seats on the first day of school. The district is focusing a lot of attention on them through the Every Child Is A Reader literacy initiative, with the aim of students reading at grade level by the end of first grade.

“And so to our families and community, we need you to prioritize early learning,” she said. “We want you to bring your students and enroll them in our schools. … We want to make sure that they are there in their seats on Monday.”

Parents who haven’t yet gotten the required immunizations for their children can take advantage of a free clinic Saturday at Tioga Middle School, she said.

Improved Customer Service

Her also outlined a number of customer service improvements, including the new Let’s Talk app on the district’s website, where anyone with a question or concern can file a report and expect a response within 48 hours.

Not only will Let’s Talk be responsive to individual questions, it will also enable the district to keep an eye on data for trends that need addressing, she said.

And, for those parents and family members who don’t speak English, the district has a Family Connect telephone line at (559) 457-3988 that can link them with speakers of their native tongue.

Trustee Andy Levine, who represents the Fresno High Area, said he was particularly excited that the new school year would bring the opening of an additional 14 community schools. The five existing community schools had “significant” decreases in chronic absenteeism last year, he said.

Student Safety Is Key

Board Clerk Valerie Davis, who represents the Sunnyside Area, reminded motorists that they need to be careful and allow more time if their route takes them past or near a school starting Monday. “Start earlier so you’re not rushed,” she advised.

Student safety is a district priority, Her said, and each elementary school will have a full-time campus safety assistant. The middle and high schools will have campus safety assistant and also a school resource officer from the Fresno Police Department, she said.

And because of community support of past bond issues, Her said, many schools now have a single point of entry to increase on-campus security.

Her said she’s continuing to make surprise home visits to students, and she’s glad to see that some administrators, principals, and teachers are following her lead.

“I was talking to one principal the other day, and she said, this student was absent a lot last year. And so when I showed up with a backpack full of supplies, the student was like, ‘oh, I can’t wait to come on Monday.’ And she’s (the principal) like, ‘I’m gonna look for you.’ And so that’s just really welcoming our students back.”