Nearly all of our students chose to march in solidarity with immigrants today, Day Without Immigrants. The students first learned more about the movement and made posters, then joined in the protest march from Sunrise to the Hwy. 101 Bridge and back, during their lunch hour. 

The sentiment was particularly strong, as some of students’ family, relatives and neighbors have been picked up by ICE immigration officers in recent days. 

The community responded in kind, with numerous drivers on Julian Street and on the free honking and shouting in support of the students.

The Sunrise Middle parent advisory ELAC committee met this morning and came up with a list of things they’d like to see in the school’s new LCAP (Local Control and Accountability Plan) for 2025-2026.

The measures include:

• Teacher raises
• More funding for the after school program
• More hands-on elective classes
• More supervision in the parking lot
• School street crossing guards

The school’s administration will meet with various parent, student, staff and community groups over the next couple of months to formulate the new LCAP for next school year.

The LCAP for this school year can be found here: https://sunrisemiddle.org/wp-content/uploads/bsk-pdf-manager/2024/07/2024_LCFF_Budget_Overview_for_Parents_Sunrise_Middle_Charter_School_20240622-merged.pdf?bsk_pdfm_doc_file_url=default

The Sunrise Middle School Board of Directors voted this week to re-affirm its 2017 policy of protecting all students at Sunrise in the wake of the incoming Administration’s threats of mass deportation.

The Board, as well as the school administrators and teachers, have re-affirmed that the school will not cooperate with immigration officers and will continue to consider the school a “safe haven” where students should be able to learn without threats to their safety.

“Migration to this country is often propelled by social, economic, and political factors and native country conditions, which result partly from U.S. government and corporate policies and interests, and thus immigrants and their families are here entitled to compassionate and humane treatment in this country,” the school board wrote in its resolution.

The school’s policy states:

• If an immigration enforcement officer arrives at our school site they will not be allowed on campus unless they have a warrant signed by a federal judge.
• The school will not release any information on its students unless required to do so by a federal judge.

In addition:

• We will immediately alert our families if we hear of an ICE raid in the area.
• We will offer to drive a student to or from school if an ICE raid is threatening parents from doing so themselves.
• We will continue our policy of not collecting information about the legal status of our students and families.

For students and families seeking additional information or support, please visit https://www.sccoe.org/supoffice/Pages/Immigrant-Student-Resources.aspx to learn more.

Echoing similar efforts backed by state legislators and the governor, the Sunrise Middle School Board of Directors has adopted a cell phone ban for Sunrise, effective immediately.

The unanimous 5-0 vote Tuesday evening re-enforces what is in the student handbook, namely, that:

• The student’s phone will be taken away if seen outside the backpack or pocket and then will be returned at the end of the day.
• The parent will be notified on the second offense, and the student may have the phone back at the end of the day. (Parents don’t need to come in to collect the phone.)
• The student will be on a cell phone contract and must turn the phone in to the office each day after the third offense. If the student doesn’t turn in the phone, the office will keep it overnight.

Meanwhile, the new, formalized policy strongly encourages parents to set parent controls on their students’ phones, allowing them to be used only for emergency phone calls during school hours.

The board policy also encourages parents to closely monitor what their students are doing on social media.

According to a new law signed by Gov. Newsom, all school districts must develop policies to limit smartphone use during school hours by July 1, 2026.

When signing the bill, Newsom stated: “We know that excessive smartphone use increases anxiety, depression and other mental health issues – but we have the power to intervene.”

Sunrise students grew nearly two years in one in both math and reading this year.

The students grew 189 percent in reading on their local iReady tests, and 179 percent in math.

Alonso Guerrero was one of about 30 after school workers from four counties honored this morning at a California Expanded Learning Department “breakfast of champions” in Gilroy.

The state’s Region 5 awarded him an Excellence Award for his two years as our After School Director and Athletics Director.

Kudos also go to all our after school program staff – also, Renee, Alex, Luis, Helen, Joshua, Jose and Ivette.

Sunrise has one of the best attended after school programs in the state.

Specifically, Alonso, aka Mr. Bo, was honored for his work coordinating between teachers and after school instructors, organizing eight different teams throughout the year, working with parents and 8th graders on high school acceptance and coordinating other fun activities in the after school program. Mr. Bo started at Sunrise five years ago as a paraprofessional in the math classes.

Thank you, Alonso, and all the after school staff, for providing our youth with a nurturing second-home environment!

Sunrise Middle School celebrated its 13th anniversary Friday night with the unveiling of two new murals for the school, depicting the Aztec tradition as well as the fiery force of the phoenix rising!

Student and alumni speakers, student performers and Banda Xclusiva added to the evening’s excitement.

The 13th year has also seen the highest English and Math test results for middle schools in central San Jose, as well as strong reading and math growth of about two years in just the past year. Also, three 2nd place wins in league sports – for futsal, boys basketball and girls soccer. A possible 1st on the way!

Go Aztecs!

Sunrise Middle School outperformed other California schools with similar demographics on the state CAASPP tests last spring, the state of California reported today.

36.7% of Sunrise students scored proficient or higher in English, and 26.56% in math – compared to 31.91% in English and 19.09% in math statewide – for schools with low-income Latino populations. Students statewide, including from affluent schools, scored 46.66% proficient in English and 34.62% proficient in math.

Also – in another great achievement – nearly twice as many Sunrise students scored proficient on the state English Learner (ELPAC) exam as English Learners statewide: 31.34% as compared to 16.50%! Sunrise also scored much better on both exams (the CAASPP and the ELPAC) than nearly all of the other charter and district middle schools in downtown/East San Jose – in some cases twice as well. This was true for English Learners and special education students as well as the whole student population.

Sunrise attributes its strong scores to a well qualified and passionate staff, hard-working students and highly supportive parents.

Sunrise Middle will be reclassifying 34 percent of its English Learners this month, or twice the percentage that schools statewide are able to reclassify.

The school is able to reclassify 45 of its 132 English Learners, based on their scores (4 out of 4) on the state ELPAC and SBAC exams, their grades in English and other classes, and their teachers’ recommendations.

Last year schools statewide were able to reclassify about 15 percent of their students, based on ELPAC test scores and the other standards.

Sunrise Middle’s social studies teacher, Jaeve Luuhoang, was one of ten teachers awarded a Follow Your Bliss award from the 49ers Foundation.

Ms. Luuhoang was honored for her work on social justice and environmental issues with our youth.

Here she is shown with Harry Edwards, the namesake of the award. Mr. Edwards, 88, organized the two black Olympians that resulted in medals with black power fists, now shown on the stadium podium. He is an emeritus professor of sociology at UC Berkeley and leads the diversity program for the 49ers.

Also pictured here is Sunrise paraprofessional Jordan Monderen and the student body vice president, Alex Jose Garcia.