AV UNIFIED NEWS
October was a wonderful month! We enjoyed all the traditional October celebrations, including Homecoming for AVHS and a costume parade at AVES. Parents attended parent/teacher conferences at AVES and PLPs at AVJrSrHS. In addition to our regular events and festivities, AVUSD students enjoyed the Los Cenzontles concert, thanks to Mr. Robert Anderson and Eugene Rodriguez, Executive Director for Los Cenzontles Academy, who brought this concert to us.
Sports are going strong! The Girls’ Varsity, JV, and 8th Grade Volleyball teams all won league championships. Boys’ soccer made the playoffs, and cross country championship races are coming soon.
It’s hard to believe that we are already heading into November! With the holiday season on the horizon, we look forward to many more celebrations and fun times together. We are grateful for the support of our parents and community!
Upcoming Events:
November 7 - AVES: First Trimester Ends
November 11 - No School: Veteran’s Day
November 14 - AVES: Report Cards go home
AVJrSrHS: Progress Reports mailed home
November 21 at 1:15 - Track Grand Opening
November 11 - Veteran’s Day
November 24-28 - Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 15-19 - AVJrSrJS: Finals Week
Dec. 22- Jan. 9 - Winter Break
Track: Ribbon Cutting on November 21
We are so excited!! Please join us for a district-wide ribbon cutting at 1:15 on Thursday, November 21st just before Thanksgiving Break. AVES students will come up to AVHS on the bus and will be a part of the ceremony as well. A good time will be had by all and our students will be an important part of the ceremony. We hope to have lots of parents attend too!
We look forward to guests, including the press, officials from Caltrans, Mrs. Louise Simson, and possibly Congressman Huffman, whose support was instrumental in our receiving the funds for our beautiful track! Here is an article about the track, from EdSource magazine: https://edsource.org/?p=744164
Thank you, Justin Rhoades, for this very cool video of the new track!
AV JrSr HS FFA Went to Indianapolis
Mrs. Swehla took a group of FFA students to the National FFA Convention in Indianapolis! They had a wonderful time, visiting the Indianapolis Zoo, volunteering at the Crown Hall Arboretum and Cemetery, and generally enjoying the experience. A highlight of the trip was when Amalanalli and Violleth won second place in the NATIONAL Agriscience Fair for Division 2 Social Science! Congratulations, Amalanalli, Violleth, and AVUSD FFA! You make us so proud.
Mrs. Cook’s Spanish III Class is Going to Peru
Several students from Mrs. Cook’s Spanish III class will be headed to Peru during Spring Break. Students will have the opportunity to stay with host families and will enjoy a full daily schedule of learning and fun. What a fantastic opportunity for our students. Thank you, Mrs. Cook!
Parenting Resource
Parenting can be difficult and it is nice to have some help! Brightlife is a program brought to us by CalHOPE. It offers FREE coaching via live video chat and also offers an on-demand digital library for parents. Please read this flier if you are interested.
More Information on Our Construction Projects:
AVES Kitchen
The AVES kitchen is nearly complete! Architect Don Alameida is working with the construction team on the final touches, including an updated oven and range. We had hoped this work would be completed by the first week of November, but it is not quite done yet. We anticipate it being completed very soon!
AVHS Gym
We continue to work with the Office of Public School Construction (OPSC)for funding. Plans have been submitted to the Division State Architect (DSA) and our architect is working through allowable costs with DSA. We anticipate refurbishing, rather than replacing, the gym. This WILL happen and we will keep you posted!
CTEFP Grant
This grant is a lot of work and we are hopeful to have it completed soon. It is due by December 1 and, if awarded, could result in $6 million for new construction of a Career Tech Ed facility that would house our agriculture programs, including expanded areas for ag mechanics. Our kids deserve this and we are putting together the strongest application possible.
Curriculum Being Piloted at AV Jr/Sr HS
AVHS is piloting History/Social Studies curricula. The series is Impact California Social Studies published by McGraw Hill. This series includes:
Principles of Economics by Gary E. Clayton, Ph.D., C: 2019
Principles of American Democracy by Richard C. Remy, Ph.D., Donald A. Ritchie, Ph.D., Lee Arbetman, M.Ed., J.D., Megan L. Hanson, M.S., and Lena Morreale Scott, Ed.M. C: 2019
United States History & Geography: Continuity & Change by Joyce Appleby, Ph.D., Alan Brinkley, Ph.D., Alber S. Broussard, Ph.D., James McPherson, Ph.D., and Donald A. Ritchie, Ph.D. C: 2019,
World History, Culture, & Geography: The Modern World by Jackson J. Spielvogel, Ph.D. C: 2019
We also Have a Health book to pilot also published by McGraw Hill:
Glencoe Health: Human Sexuality by Mary H. Bronson, Ph.D. C: 2022
Parents and guardians are welcome to review the pilot materials and should contact Principal Heath McNerney if they would like to do so; these materials will be made available in the school library.
If you would like to be more involved at school, please contact your school’s principal, Ms. Jenny Bailey at AVES or Mr. Heath McNerney at AV Jr/Sr High, or our district superintendent, Ms. Kristin Larson Balliet. We are deeply grateful for our AVUSD families.
With respect,
Kristin Larson Balliet, Superintendent
Anderson Valley Unified School District
klarson@louise-simson
JED STEELE HAS PASSED
Many in Anderson Valley will remember him as an early groundbreaking, award-winning winemaker for Edmeades Vineyards in Philo, back when the Edmeades owned it. Steele and his family moved to Lake County in the early 90s where he went on to wine industry promise there.
Grower Spotlight: Jed Steele
An Integral Part of Lake County’s Past, Present, and Future
Jed Steele’s pioneering roots in Lake County winemaking sprawl across the North Coast wine region and span five decades.
Jed began his winemaking career working in the cellar at Stony Hill Winery in Napa Valley before obtaining his master’s degree in enology from UC Davis in 1974. He spent the next eight years as the winemaker and vineyard manager at Edmeades Winery in Mendocino County’s Anderson Valley before a phone call altered the course of his life and career, leading him to Lake County.
Creating Appeal With A First Lady’s Palate
Fetzer winemaker Paul Dolan was on the other end of the line, urging Jed to join a startup winery in Lake County called Kendall-Jackson. That resulted in a meeting between Jed and Jess Jackson, owner of the fledgling winery. The pair huddled over hamburgers at the Gaslight Grill in Lakeport. “I was very impressed with him,” Jed recalls.
Soon, Jed set off on an adventure that is still unfolding. He was heavily involved as Kendall-Jackson bloomed over the first nine years of its existence. Kendall-Jackson Chardonnay became a favorite of first lady Nancy Reagan, who insisted on it being served at the White House. Word of her preference for K-J Chardonnay got around when Pulitzer Prize-winning San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen wrote a piece in which he referred to the Chardonnay as “Nancy’s wine.”
But as Kendall-Jackson’s size grew in proportion to its fortunes, Jed chafed at the shift toward a more corporate environment. “Going to board meetings and having to wear a tie all the time didn’t sit comfortably with me,” he says. After nine years with Kendall-Jackson, Jed decided to strike out on his own. He considered Napa, Sonoma, and Mendocino, but realized he already was where he wanted to be: Lake County.
Leasing Lower Lake Winery, Steele Wines launched in 1991. Five years later, Jed purchased the former Konocti Winery facility and moved production to Kelseyville. Over the years, he has been an integral player in the region’s winemaking resurgence.
Seeing Promise in an Emerging Lake County
Lake County’s viticulture and winemaking history trace to the 1870s. By the early 1900s, Lake wines were gaining international recognition. But Prohibition threw the industry into a tailspin. Vineyards were plowed under. Pear and walnut orchards sprung up, thriving on the rich soil in the county lowlands.
In the 1960s, demand for grapes began to soar, and vineyards re-emerged. But interest did not immediately correspond with success in Lake County winemaking’s second act. “Soil that’s good for pears is not necessarily good for grapes,” Jed explains. “For some white grapes, it’s fine. But for most reds, it’s a little too heavy..”
Fortunately for Lake County’s resurging wine industry, the region features a range of soils and terrains, much of it created by volcanic activity thousands of years ago. Soils in the uplands – the Red Hills, High Valley, the upper areas of Kelsey Bench – were formed from relatively recent lava flows, providing a base from which reds can thrive. As winegrape growers recognized this, they gradually planted vineyards in these locations and the resulting grapes began to attract interest from winemakers.“So once that change started to happen,” Jed says, “the quality of the wines increased significantly.”
When Jed began planting for his own winery, Bordeaux and Rhone varieties were instant winners and they continue to be successful. Seventy percent of the grapes his winery uses today are harvested in Lake County.
“It’s a really good place to grow grapes,” Jed says. “The soils are great. The land is still, compared to neighboring counties, relatively inexpensive. So it’s a great investment for a lot of wineries who tapped out in Napa and Sonoma. Lake County still remains a location where people can grow good-quality grapes very economically.”
In addition to inspiring Lake County grape growers, Jed has also influenced and mentored several winemakers in the region. He continues to accrue accolades and provides a benchmark for the ever-increasing quality of Lake County wines. In these and many other ways, Jed embodies the past, present, and future of Lake County winemaking.
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