Students, educators and parents are encouraged to take a brief survey that will help IUSD learn more about students’ use of educational technology, educators’ use of technology in the classroom, emerging trends, and strategies to promote 21st century skills.

“Speak Up,” a national online research project facilitated by Project Tomorrow®, gives individuals the opportunity to share their viewpoints about key educational issues. Each year, findings are summarized and shared with national and state policymakers. Best of all, participating schools and districts can access their own results online, free of charge.

The Irvine Unified School District will use this important data to guide its continuous improvement efforts and strategic planning, so please speak up! The survey takes approximately 15 minutes to complete and will be accessible through Friday, Dec. 18.

Just click on the link below and type “survey2010” when asked for a password.

To begin the survey, Click Here

The IUSD Board of Education voted unanimously on Tuesday, Nov. 17, to enter into a historic agreement with SunEdison and SPG Solar, which will establish energy-generating solar power systems at 21 sites throughout the district.

Under the terms of the agreement, IUSD will incur no upfront costs. SunEdison will own, operate and maintain the newly installed solar photovoltaic systems, with IUSD purchasing energy at a discounted – and predictable – rate.

While final design plans at each site will require individual board approval, the project as a whole is poised to be the largest solar deployment for a public school system in California, and possibly the United States. The district’s savings has been conservatively estimated at approximately $17 million over the next 20 years.

The unique partnership is also expected to pave the way to the development of a valuable curricular component. Utilizing an Internet-based monitoring system, students will be able to track solar energy production and consumption at their sites in real time, while taking part in lessons on how solar panels work and how weather impacts energy production.

IUSD previously explored solar installation at a single site. The agreement approved on Nov. 17 could generate more than 6.6 million kilowatt hours of solar energy in the first year alone. Over 20 years, the solar installation is expected to offset 127 million pounds of carbon dioxide, or the equivalent of removing more than 12,000 cars from the road for one year.

To read about IUSD’s solar plans in the Orange County Register, Click Here

Registration for Fall 2009 is now open for all classes with space remaining, including ESL, GED, Keyboarding, Accent Reduction, Teacher Aide and Floral Design! If you did not register for classes yet, please browse our course catalog. Register today before these popular classes fill! All our registration is online this year.

Visit the Irvine Adult School Website

To read a recent article about the Irvine Adult School by Orange County Register columnist Teryl Zarnow, Click Here

The Astounding Inventions Contest will be held on Saturday, January 30, 2010 at Irvine Valley College. For more information, Click Here

The Irvine Unified School District is at the vanguard of the “green schools” movement – and others are taking note. In a recent edition of Green Technology Magazine, writer Racquel Palmese details IUSD’s efforts to conserve, recycle and explore new technologies in the pursuit of sustainability.

To view the story, Click Here

The IUSD School Readiness Program serves families with children from 0-5 years of age. Did you know that the School Readiness Program offers the following services?

• Classes for preschool age children and toddlers
• Kindergarten readiness classes
• Parent education classes/seminars on health, development & parenting strategies
• Health and Nutrition Counseling
• Physical Exams

For more information, visit our website. Click Here