MME 101

This page can help new MME parents as well as school veterans better understand the school and how to navigate it’s many programs…and decipher the many acronyms! If you have more questions, we encourage you to join the MME Parents Facebook Group or contact us. There is a wealth of knowledge there.

What to Expect at MME that might be new to you.

Gallery Walks

  • A Gallery Walk is like a mini school open house. Your student will lead you around the classroom with a checklist, showcasing all their hard work and what they have learned in their unit.
  • Any family member or important adult friend can come- just be sure to check in at the front desk in the office.
  • Your teacher should email you or send home fliers prior to each Gallery walk.
  • Gallery walks happen in the morning before school starts, or the afternoon as school ends. Usually 20-30 minutes.
  • Gallery Walks align with class units. Each unit is normally around 6 weeks in length, and will have a Gallery Walk at the end.
  • Teachers generally give at least 2 weeks notice, but reach out to your kid’s teachers if you have scheduling questions. Teachers should also discuss this at back to school night.
  • Teachers try to stagger Gallery Walks so that parents with kids in multiple grades do not have 2 gallery walks on the same morning, but double bookings do sometimes happen.
  • Try to arrive early! The parking lot is extra crowded on Gallery Walk days.

Field Trips

  • Field trips begin in 1st grade (before first grade experience are brought TO the school in ways such as AG day).
  • Field trips are funded by the PTA (except for the 6th grade outdoor education trip which has shared expenses with DJUSD).
  • MME relies entirely on parent volunteers for transportation (with the exception of that one 6th grade trip).
  • Why not buses? Unfortunately buses are very expensive. It costs about $4,000 for a single trip, and neither the school nor the PTA has the budget to fund that.

How does lunch work?

  • School lunches are free for all students!
  • Each student at MME is allowed a free breakfast and a free lunch each school day. Extra meals beyond that will be charged to your student’s account via their student ID number.
  • Kids also have the option to bring their own lunch from home if they want. Ask your teacher about nut products.
  • The kids have 20 minutes to get lunch and eat before general recess begins. This can be tough on slow eaters. Snack recess (earlier in the day) has the option to eat a snack before playing.
  • There are lunch time volunteer opportunities (such as MME Gardens and PTA Recycling Program) which can get you a better glimpse into lunch time.

What do I do if my kid is sick?

  • Call the school (530) 759-2100
  • You will be directed to an “attendance” option from the menu.
  • You need to call each day your child is sick to excuse the absence.

What do I do if I need to pick up my kid early?

  • Call the school (530) 759-2100 before you leave to pick up your kiddo.
  • School staff will pull your kid out of school and have them waiting in the front office for you.
  • The best advice is to communicate with the front office on timing and they can generally make it pretty easy.
  • You can email the teacher as well, but it is not required and should only be done in addition to calling the front office.
  • Partial days are still very helpful to the school. Our school is paid by attendance (this year’s attendance provides next year’s funding), and a partial day still counts as attending school. So maximize our school’s funds by bringing your child in for that partial day.

What do I do if my child will be late?

  • If your child will be very late, call the front offie at (530) 759-2100.
  • Check your child in at the front office when they are ready to be dropped off to class.
  • Partial days are still very helpful to the school. Our school is paid by attendance (this year’s attendance provides next year’s funding), and a partial day still counts as attending school. So maximize our school’s funds by bringing your child in for that partial day.

What School Supplies do I need?

  • You are not required to supply ANY supplies for your child’s school time.
  • PTA uses donations to fund each teacher’s classroom. This supply fund is intended to help our teachers, so they don’t have to dip into their own salaries to fund classroom supplies.
  • Suggested items you can send with your student are a backpack, water bottle, and lunch box (if your child wants to bring home lunches).
  • Often your teacher will have supply needs even beyond what PTA can fund. Feel free to ask them for a list or ways to help provide for the class supplies.

Promotion Ceremonies

  • Kindergarten. TK also participates in the ceremony, but the promotion is to celebrate Kindergartners joining the main part of the school as first graders. This is normally held in the last week of school.
  • 3rd Grade. Celebrate promoting into upper elementary grades.
  • 6th Grade. This is the big one! Traditionally, 5th grade parents take charge of the volunteer efforts so that the 6th grade families can enjoy the day. This is normally held on the last day of school. Here’s more info.

After Care Programs

  • There are 2 programs offered on site: SPARK and Catalyst
  • SPARK is run by the school district and is hosted in the Montgomery MPR. https://www.djusd.net/instruction/programs/DJUSDSPARK
  • Catalyst is a private program. The Catalyst room is located by the back parking lot of the school (near the soccer fields). https://www.catalystkids.org
  • Both programs tend to fill up, so if you rely on after school care it is often best to apply to both.
  • Peregrine also offers an aftercare program to non-peregrine students. Since the schools are so close to each other, Peregrine will walk students between MME and their campus after school. https://www.peregrineschool.org/kestrelclub

What are these Acronyms and Programs I keep hearing about?

PBIS

  • PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports. Our school uses this system to handle behavioral challenges on campus.
  • PBIS uses a Multi-tiered system (MTSS) that offers different levels of support.
    • Tier 1: Universal, Primary Prevention (For All). Tier 1 systems establish a foundation for positive and proactive support. It enables most (80% or more) students to experience success.
    • Tier 2: Targeted, Secondary Prevention (For Some). Students receiving Tier 2 support get an added layer of support targeting their specific needs. 
    • Tier 3: Intensive and Individualized, Tertiary Prevention (For Few). Students receive more intensive, individualized support to improve their outcomes.
  • Learn more at https://www.pbis.org. If you have concerns regarding how behavior issues are handled, understanding the basics of PBIS can help you communicate better with the school.

SEAL

  • SEAL at our school stands for Sobrato Early Academic Language. This program was developed with multi-language learners in mind.
  • SEAL is the instructional model that MME uses. Students develop language skills through thematic units that are based on science and social studies standards.
  • From a parent’s point of view (not the official description), you can think of each SEAL unit like a Quarter/Trimester where the lessons revolve around a broad topic. Teachers for each grade work closely with each other to coordinate their lessons to tie into the theme. Even field trips align directly to the current SEAL unit.
  • There is a Gallery Walk at the end of each SEAL unit so kids can show off what they’ve learned.
  • Learn more at https://www.seal.org

SEL

  • SEL sounds a lot like SEAL, but is a completely separate acronym!
  • SEL stands for Social Emotional Learning.
  • This concept is incorporated into our classrooms. The goal is for students to learn about social and emotional skills with their academic skills.
  • Skills can include self awareness, social awareness, relationship skills, and decision making.
  • To learn more about SEL, go to read about the fundamentals of SEL.

Monty Asks

  • Monty Asks is an integration of SEL into the classroom with the help of Climate Committee.
  • Students in different classrooms are asked questions posed by Climate Committee that directly relate to their school and how to help with the social climate and other issues.
  • (Monty is our mascot. He is a mustang.)

Reading Room

  • Located in C-2, a space used for Reading Paraeducators and Reading
  • Specialists to pull students in small groups or 1:1 for instructional support and/or literacy intervention.
  • Ana Bacon, Reading Specialist, provides Spanish intervention and Tier 2 instructional support (grade levels served varies depending on need).
  • Heather Wiggin, Reading Specialist, provides English intervention and Tier 2 instructional support (grade levels served varies depending on need).
  • Students are selected in partnership with classroom teachers based on student need.

Reading Paraeducators

  • We have 5 paraeducators, funded mostly by MME School Site Council for Tier 2 (small group, differentiated) literacy support in grades 1-6.
  • Two paraeducators help per classroom, offering 35 minutes of support during literacy instructional block (M, T, Th, F).
  • Some paraeducators provide additional support outside of the literacy instructional block.

YouthTruth Survey

  • The DJUSD YouTruth Survey is an annual, anonymous student perception survey administered to students in grades 3-12.
  • Staff and families are also given an optional version to participate in.
  • This survey is intended to provide feedback on social climate and academic perceptions.
  • This survey is paid for by DJUSD, and created by a nonprofit called YouthTruth.

Bridge

  • Bridge is an MME program which runs for most of the year, and is an after-school program multiple days of the week.
  • We have one staff member who runs this program, and they are assisted by many students from UC Davis.
  • Bridge provides tutoring, mentoring and fun activities after school through a collaboration with the UC Davis work study program.
  • All migrant students attend Bridge along with other students who are recommended by their teachers. This program is an especially valuable resource for EL students (English learners).
  • Bridge has a few large activities through the year that are fun family events. PTA, Bridge, and Climate Committee plan to work together to expand these activities to be available for the entire school.

CAASPP

  • California Assessments of Student Performance and Progress. CAASPP website here
  • This is a standardized testing done by all students in DJUSD beginning in 3rd Grade.
  • The school will let you know ahead of time the week that testing will happen. Take extra care to have your kids well rested that week!
  • You can view your kids results in the parent portal
  • The aggregated results for the school and district are publicly available here
  • As a two-way bilingual school, our students are developing literacy in two languages. Since the CAASPP test is taken in English, scores should be viewed with this context in mind.
  • Here you can see a one-page information for Parents (Dept. of Education) with useful links, including a practice test.

ELAC (school-level English Learner Advisory Committee)

  • ELAC is a program required by the California Department of Education.
  • When MME refers to ELAC meetings, it is typically students who are classified as “English Learners” and their families meeting with our MME staff who run the ELAC program
  • ELAC has multiple meetings each year to help students and families navigate the process toward reclassification (being considered English proficient).
  • Families who are do not have an English Learner but want to participate/ help are welcome to reach out to MME staff about this.

DELAC (district-level English Learner Advisory Committee)

  • DELAC refers is a district-level committee managing topics related to English Learners and Reclassification within DJUSD.
  • DELAC stands for District English Learner Advisory Committee.

Reclassification

  • This is the process where a student is reclassified from EL status to Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) status.
  • This is a huge milestone for many students at MME and is celebrated with a ceremony near the end of each school year.
  • Read more about Reclassification.

ELPAC

  • ELPAC is an acronym for English Language Proficiency Assessments of California
  • ELPAC is the test that allows students to be reclassified from English Learners to English Proficient.
  • This is a huge milestone for many students at MME and is celebrated with a ceremony near the end of each school year.
  • Read more about the ELPAC Test.

SACSE

  • SACSE is an acronym for Superintendent’s Advisory Committee on Special Education
  • This committee includes parents, teachers, administrators, and classified staff.
  • They meet to discuss special education needs and issues.
  • To learn more about SACSE, go here.

SPED

  • SPED is an acronym for SPecial EDucation.
  • The SPED program is intended to provide specialized instruction and related services to students who need it.
  • MME has multiple staff who specifically work with SPED students and their families.
  • Learn more about SPED in general.

504

  • A formal plan for how a school will remove barriers so a student with a disability can learn alongside peers in general education.
  • Doesn’t include specially designed instruction.
  • A 504 is intended to help set up accommodations that may be needed by the student to succeed with the curriculum. Some accommodations might be more time to take a test, noise canceling headphones, permissions to use fidgets, and more.
  • Here is a pdf outlining IEP and 504 differences.

IEP (Individual Education Plan)

  • A formal plan that details the special education services and supports a school will provide to meet the unique needs of a student with a disability.
  • Includes specially designed instruction.
  • IEPs are more structured than a 504 plan, and involve specific goals and progress tracking. If your child needs specialized instruction (speech, sped, occupational therapy, ect) they may need an IEP.
  • Here is a pdf outlining IEP and 504 differences.

Inclusion

  • Inclusive early education is part of the disabilities education act.
  • The goal is to provide needed education for SPED students in the least restrictive environment possible among their peers.
  • To read more, go here.

AIM/GATE Programs

  • AIM stands for Alternative Instructional Model. GATE stands for Gifted and Talented Education.
  • These programs are intended to provide academic instruction focused on the needs of intellectually gifted students.
  • Our school does not have an AIM or GATE program.
  • Every child is tested for AIM/GATE in their third year of school (in the classroom) unless you opt out of this test.
  • If your child qualifies for AIM/GATE you can: 1) change nothing 2) transfer to a school with an AIM program 3) wait to take AIM classes until your child goes to middle school.

MME School Site Council (SSC)

MME Climate Committee

SPAC

  • State Parent Advisory Council. Advises the State Superintendent of Public Instruction in the planning, operation, and evaluation of the state’s Migrant Education Program (MEP).

UDL

  • Universal Design Learning. Learn more here.