Shoutout to our amazing students for their outstanding performances at the Youth Arts Show! 🎨✨ Your creativity, dedication, and talent truly shined on display. We are so proud of the hard work you put in and the way you represented our community!
youtu.be/c9rNvOaWYyo?...
Not often a conversation takes you from early influences to the full arc of your career. For me, it comes down to 3 questions: Why change? Is it good for kids? And how do we make it work, pushing through barriers, not accepting “no” at face value.
What a week at Columbia!
We celebrated Ms. Rawlinson with heartfelt appreciation for making our library so special 💙📚
Lions Club honored our Read to Succeed winners (with Rory the Lion joining the fun 🦁), and students shined in our annual variety show! 🎭✨
Columbia’s Discoveries is growing! 🚀 Now featuring LEGO challenges, coding, and video game design—giving students fun, hands-on ways to create, collaborate, and build future-ready skills. #STEM #AfterSchool
Grateful to Blue Zones & our partners as their project wraps in Tuolumne County. They helped us refocus on student & staff wellness: outdoor renovations, a community disc-golf course, expanded snacks & healthier meals, and a full-time PE teacher. Changed our culture. #BlueZones
A Library Media Specialist isn’t an “extra.” Beginning in 26–27, we will have a fully credentialed LMS serving all grades—strengthening global education, digital literacy, and AI readiness. Preparing students for the world they’re inheriting. 🌎📚💻
www.cusd49.com/article/2713...
Columbia proudly recognizes Marcus Phillips with the Every Student Succeeds Award! Marcus has shown meaningful growth, improved focus and confidence, and a positive attitude each day. His kindness, respect, and strong work ethic make him a true leader in our community. 👏🎉
🎮 Big news for our Grades 4–8 students! We’ve launched Creatify.gg with Fortnite & UEFN — introducing students to video game design, digital creativity, and real-world career pathways.
📈 Attendance is up. 👏 Parents love it. 🔥 Kids are excited #EdTech #GameDesign
Science Family Night was a huge success! 🔬✨
So proud of our students for showcasing their research & creativity. Thank you to our amazing community partners for bringing new #STEM opportunities to life and to our families for the incredible support. #ScienceEducation #FamilyEngagement
When you hit 100 days your back starts cracking, your knees are creaking, your hair gets grayer, and you start forgetting what time it is! Thank goodness Ms. Lane’s class was able to keep me on track!
Proud to join the Brighter Together podcast to talk rural leadership, equity, and what it really takes to move a district from stagnant to strategic. bit.ly/4bmwpwd🎧✨
In celebration of Columbia Elementary becoming a Blue Zones Approved school and worksite!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mbE...
AI adoption isn’t a race—it’s a readiness test. Before scaling tools, districts must build shared understanding, governance, and human capacity.
Join us for Capacity Before Capability: Leading AI Readiness in Public Education with Google for Education.
After much demand, the Columbia staff got a Chicago-centric lunch before their well-deserved break. Chicken Vesuvio, Vesuvio potatoes, sausage & peppers, pasta, 300 meatballs, and garlic bread—all from scratch. Worth every one of those 8 hours. 🍽️❤️
#StaffAppreciation #ChicagoStyle #SmallButMighty
Holiday school events are pure magic🎄From packed concerts and kazoo renditions of “Jingle Bells” to caroling kinders and gingerbread houses—these moments make school special thanks to our amazing staff for creating them.
#SmallButMighty #HolidayCheer #WeLiveForThis #KazooAmateur #AuraFarming
Presented at the CSBA AEC last week as part of the CSBA AI Taskforce. Grateful for the trustees & superintendents who said it was one of the best sessions of the conference. Proud of the real work districts are doing to integrate AI responsibly. #CSBAAEC #K12AI
Bravo to Ms. Fitzwater & our students for a stunning run of "The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe!" 🎭
Our growing arts program, now a member of the International Thespians, and our new sound system helped their confidence soar. #ArtsEd #Thespians #SmallButMighty
We just posted our best CA Dashboard results ever—ZERO red indicators.
75% of students grew in ELA/Math, Grade 8 Science hit 98%, and chronic absenteeism dropped to 22%.
Small, rural, and proving what’s possible with strong leadership, systems, and innovation. 💚💛
www.cusd49.com/article/2547...
Thrilled to complete the Leading GenAI Adoption & Policy micro-credential with AI for Education! At Columbia, we’re building #AILiteracy, ethics, and readiness across leadership + classrooms, leading with intention, equity & curiosity. #GenAI #EdTech
Our first week of Columbia’s Discoveries was a hit!
From ASL and math games to volleyball and D&D, our students are exploring, creating, and connecting. We’re so proud of their curiosity and those ASL introductions were adorable. 🫶 #AfterSchoolFun #LearningBeyondTheBell #WholeChild
Join us as Columbia’s incredible K–8 cast brings C.S. Lewis’ timeless tale to the stage where courage battles fear, and hope melts the longest winter!
#NarniaOnStage #FamilyFun #TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe
We are pleased to be working with ATCAA to ensure students have access to food over the weekends. To sign up, please complete & submit the attached application to our school's front office; we have printed copies available for pickup & we can send them home with your student.
@bsky.app 🎃 Had another spooktacular Halloween with our amazing students and staff! 👻 Our downtown Columbia parade brought families, neighbors, and local shops together once again — a true community tradition! 🧡🖤
Proud to represent at the Community Engagement Initiative! We’re building trust, shared leadership, and systems that make every voice matter. From Columbia’s Discoveries to co-design with families, our journey continues toward deeper connection. #CEI
Had a wonderful time celebrating Tuolumne County’s progress toward becoming a recognized Blue Zones partner! 💙 It’s inspiring to see our community unite around healthier lifestyles + stronger connections. #BlueZones #CommunityHealth
Back from the NCERT feeling inspired and grateful. Each session re-centered how I think about leadership, resilience, and the future of education. Presenters reminded us that love is stronger than fear, true leadership is moral courage in action, and leadership spans across generations.
Cooking Up Community: How Blue Zones Project Tuolumne County is Redefining Food Education with Mobile Kitchens - shar.es/agzJNW - Proud moment for #CUSD49! Our students are learning real-world skills in healthy living & cooking through the Charlie Cart mobile kitchen.
At Codestack Conference Live, I spoke on #AILiteracy and how context, clarity, and intent shape AI’s output. Like HAL 9000, systems fail when given conflicting orders. Clear direction turns tools into collaborators. AI literacy isn’t optional, it’s essential.
Nearly 100 leaders packed the room at CSC Live in Stockton for “Humans, Resources, & Robots.”
Inspiring energy & curiosity as we explored how AI can streamline operations & elevate HR + learning while keeping people at the center.
#AIinEducation #CSCLive #SchoolLeadership
Uh, yeah. It was a pretty amazing first week back. Truly we are #SmallButMighty and showing everyone why.