Saturday, June 26, 2004
Monrovia School Link ~ Number 85 ~ June 26, 2004
Thanks to Kathryn Lamb for this fine report. I really enjoyed her personal observations. Also, I think it speaks highly of Alex Zucco and Ed Gililland that though they did not win spots on the board in the last election, they are still working to help the district. Especially check out what Alex is up to, below.
~ brad@sacklunch.net
By Kathryn Lamb
Board of Education Regular Meeting June 23, 2004
Betty Sanford and Joel Shawn were absent, H.S. Student Rep Tiffany Ross was thanked for her representation this year and presented with a plaque in appreciation. Ryan Blachshere (sp?) will be next year's rep.
Superintendent Louise Taylor, working her way through the consent agenda, mentioned that a particular item having to do with CIF League Representation was being pulled. It seems that representatives, including the H.S. principal, must be named specifically, and since Al Clegg is leaving - this was a "back the truck up" moment for me... I haven't heard or read anything in the paper about this! - the item has been pulled until a new principal is named. Later, she thanked Mr. Clegg, who wasn't there, for his many contributions and wished him well in his new position in Hacienda/La Puente (I think). [Pardon me - Brad - for butting in here, but I wanted to add that I don't find it surprising that this news was not in the local papers, but I do find it a bit annoying that "local" newspapers seem to find it so hard to cover basic local news, such as what the school board is up to. Back to you, Kathryn.]
Clare Chesley was responsible for another item being pulled from the consent agenda. This one was regarding high school textbooks. She had a lot of questions - and rightly so, in my opinion. She said she had questioned Joel Shawn by telephone, at length, (he was away at a conference at the time) about the books and was really clear that in order to vote on these, she needs to be sure that the textbooks would be absolutely the best choice from both an educational and financial standpoint. Clare has requested that special study sessions be set up in the fall and that reports be made on the books under consideration.
Monrovia resident Alex Zucco had several points to bring out under oral communication... but first Monina Diaz made several somewhat awkward complementary comments about Alex's hairstyle. Alex questioned the way that students are identified as potential GATE students. She suggested that all parents be made aware of GATE and be given the opportunity to request testing. I would add to that, that teachers and parents of second grade students should be on the lookout for those students, so that they can begin the program in third grade. Also, the test is not the only way to identify a potential GATE student. State standardized test scores above the 90th percentile can also identify GATE-qualified students.
Alex reported also that Mayflower no longer offers the after school recreation program because of funding issues. This means that only the 30 or so students enrolled in the Options program there have access to after school care at Mayflower. She suggested a fee-based program as a possible solution and asked for other ideas. She shared that Mayflower is the only school in our district to offer a daytime version of open house. Mayflower invites parents to visit classrooms only during the day each spring but has nothing in the evening, when more families would be available to visit.
And with yet another great idea, Alex referred to a parent organization in Pasadena that visits and reports on the various school sites, meeting with principals and working to boost parental awareness and public opinion. Louise Taylor asked Alex if she would be willing to co-ordinate this for our schools and Alex said she would. I must add here that I think that Alex is an amazing person. She has great ideas and she is willing to work hard to see them through.
[Amen! This is why I thought Alex would have made a good board member. For more on the Pasadena group, called PEN, see the second item at www.monroviaschoollink.com/archives/2004_04_01_archive.html ]
Alex also expressed concern for the drop in enrollment that occurs between elementary and middle school, and personally, I wonder about the drop between middle schools and high school.
The Board is purchasing a new-to-us assessment program called Tungston Learning, and Bryan Wong had a lot of questions about the costs and benefits of this particular program. He and Clare went back and forth with Joel Shawn by phone about this and the textbook issue.
A heating contract was approved for the High School gym, and with a term new to me, a collective bargaining agreement re: health insurance is being "sunshined" in. That means that it is coming out into the light of day and is being shared with the public.
Volunteers on the school sites will soon be classified as level 1 and level 2. Those who are alone with students, as I understand this, will need to be screened for former criminal behavior. It seems harsh, but as a parent I see that it's another layer of protection for our children. I'm a classroom volunteer, and take students out of the classroom to read on a weekly basis... I'm willing to do it.
The dress code policy, and several other issues, came up but could not be voted on because the full board was not present. It seems that they will not all be in the same place at the same time until the end of August or early September.
A few other items:
~ Ed Gilliland reported on the progress of the snack bar/restroom H.S. project. They are halfway to their goal of $50,000. Donations for this can be sent to PO Box 1983, Monrovia, CA.
~ Clare is looking for volunteers to offer support and boost science programs at the H.S. She's looking for members of the community with science backgrouds to share their knowlege. She wants to find ways to bring volunteers, both parents and community leaders, to all of the schools. She'd like to see a centralized phone number and organization of needs and offers to help. She said that funding is very important, but even more so are volunteers. [Speaking of coordinating volunteers, a nonprofit offshoot of Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena has created a Web site to coordinate volunteers who want to help Pasadena's in-the-doghouse Blair High School. It's an interesting concept. Take a look here: www.adoptaschoolpasadena.org . Creating such a site seems like a lot of work, but maybe if it was for several school districts (Monrovia, Arcadia, Duarte, etc.), it would be very helpful. It might be a good project for parent groups in those districts, and be a good way for the various local parent groups to get to know each other and work together. And I'll bet Lake Avenue would be happy to give pointers.]
~ There were only nine people in the audience.
~ I will not name names, but I saw some yawning up on the dias.
~ Special Effect: The School District logo that appears on KGEM before and after the airing of the meetings is actually a green folder propped up on a binder in front of the camera.
~ I left there feeling somewhat uncomfortable, as I generally do after attending these gatherings. I do not leave feeling valued, supported, appreciated or with a sense of peace knowing that all is right with our school system. Rather, I feel as though the audience is a necessary part of the process but isn't really welcomed; that not all information is being shared. There is no warm interaction during the public comment; not a whole lot of eye contact... some yawning and just a disconnected feeling. I appreciate that we, as parents, have been invited to comment; I appreciate the attempt to complement Alex Zucc's hairdo... but it feels a little flat to me. Only Clare looked out into the audience and thanked us for attending. I do feel great about our schools when I'm on campus. Our administrators, teachers and staff are all that I'm looking for and more. I feel very optimistic about our schools when I'm actuually there. I wish it carried on up to our school board.
A LETTER ~ Regarding my (Brad's) speculations about first and second "readings" and soda pop, Sharon Weiser writes that the readings are basically "cleaning up the language of the policy and approving it. It is beyond the 'What if the public does not like it stage.' The no-soda pop thing is a statewide assembly bill (I think assembly) that says by September 2004 no public schools will be allowed to sell soda pop or other junk food. I don't know the definition of 'junk food.' Makes me wonder what it is since the federal government has classified French fries as a vegetable."
The Monrovia School Link is also available on line at www.monroviaschoollink.com
Thanks to Kathryn Lamb for this fine report. I really enjoyed her personal observations. Also, I think it speaks highly of Alex Zucco and Ed Gililland that though they did not win spots on the board in the last election, they are still working to help the district. Especially check out what Alex is up to, below.
~ brad@sacklunch.net
By Kathryn Lamb
Board of Education Regular Meeting June 23, 2004
Betty Sanford and Joel Shawn were absent, H.S. Student Rep Tiffany Ross was thanked for her representation this year and presented with a plaque in appreciation. Ryan Blachshere (sp?) will be next year's rep.
Superintendent Louise Taylor, working her way through the consent agenda, mentioned that a particular item having to do with CIF League Representation was being pulled. It seems that representatives, including the H.S. principal, must be named specifically, and since Al Clegg is leaving - this was a "back the truck up" moment for me... I haven't heard or read anything in the paper about this! - the item has been pulled until a new principal is named. Later, she thanked Mr. Clegg, who wasn't there, for his many contributions and wished him well in his new position in Hacienda/La Puente (I think). [Pardon me - Brad - for butting in here, but I wanted to add that I don't find it surprising that this news was not in the local papers, but I do find it a bit annoying that "local" newspapers seem to find it so hard to cover basic local news, such as what the school board is up to. Back to you, Kathryn.]
Clare Chesley was responsible for another item being pulled from the consent agenda. This one was regarding high school textbooks. She had a lot of questions - and rightly so, in my opinion. She said she had questioned Joel Shawn by telephone, at length, (he was away at a conference at the time) about the books and was really clear that in order to vote on these, she needs to be sure that the textbooks would be absolutely the best choice from both an educational and financial standpoint. Clare has requested that special study sessions be set up in the fall and that reports be made on the books under consideration.
Monrovia resident Alex Zucco had several points to bring out under oral communication... but first Monina Diaz made several somewhat awkward complementary comments about Alex's hairstyle. Alex questioned the way that students are identified as potential GATE students. She suggested that all parents be made aware of GATE and be given the opportunity to request testing. I would add to that, that teachers and parents of second grade students should be on the lookout for those students, so that they can begin the program in third grade. Also, the test is not the only way to identify a potential GATE student. State standardized test scores above the 90th percentile can also identify GATE-qualified students.
Alex reported also that Mayflower no longer offers the after school recreation program because of funding issues. This means that only the 30 or so students enrolled in the Options program there have access to after school care at Mayflower. She suggested a fee-based program as a possible solution and asked for other ideas. She shared that Mayflower is the only school in our district to offer a daytime version of open house. Mayflower invites parents to visit classrooms only during the day each spring but has nothing in the evening, when more families would be available to visit.
And with yet another great idea, Alex referred to a parent organization in Pasadena that visits and reports on the various school sites, meeting with principals and working to boost parental awareness and public opinion. Louise Taylor asked Alex if she would be willing to co-ordinate this for our schools and Alex said she would. I must add here that I think that Alex is an amazing person. She has great ideas and she is willing to work hard to see them through.
[Amen! This is why I thought Alex would have made a good board member. For more on the Pasadena group, called PEN, see the second item at www.monroviaschoollink.com/archives/2004_04_01_archive.html ]
Alex also expressed concern for the drop in enrollment that occurs between elementary and middle school, and personally, I wonder about the drop between middle schools and high school.
The Board is purchasing a new-to-us assessment program called Tungston Learning, and Bryan Wong had a lot of questions about the costs and benefits of this particular program. He and Clare went back and forth with Joel Shawn by phone about this and the textbook issue.
A heating contract was approved for the High School gym, and with a term new to me, a collective bargaining agreement re: health insurance is being "sunshined" in. That means that it is coming out into the light of day and is being shared with the public.
Volunteers on the school sites will soon be classified as level 1 and level 2. Those who are alone with students, as I understand this, will need to be screened for former criminal behavior. It seems harsh, but as a parent I see that it's another layer of protection for our children. I'm a classroom volunteer, and take students out of the classroom to read on a weekly basis... I'm willing to do it.
The dress code policy, and several other issues, came up but could not be voted on because the full board was not present. It seems that they will not all be in the same place at the same time until the end of August or early September.
A few other items:
~ Ed Gilliland reported on the progress of the snack bar/restroom H.S. project. They are halfway to their goal of $50,000. Donations for this can be sent to PO Box 1983, Monrovia, CA.
~ Clare is looking for volunteers to offer support and boost science programs at the H.S. She's looking for members of the community with science backgrouds to share their knowlege. She wants to find ways to bring volunteers, both parents and community leaders, to all of the schools. She'd like to see a centralized phone number and organization of needs and offers to help. She said that funding is very important, but even more so are volunteers. [Speaking of coordinating volunteers, a nonprofit offshoot of Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena has created a Web site to coordinate volunteers who want to help Pasadena's in-the-doghouse Blair High School. It's an interesting concept. Take a look here: www.adoptaschoolpasadena.org . Creating such a site seems like a lot of work, but maybe if it was for several school districts (Monrovia, Arcadia, Duarte, etc.), it would be very helpful. It might be a good project for parent groups in those districts, and be a good way for the various local parent groups to get to know each other and work together. And I'll bet Lake Avenue would be happy to give pointers.]
~ There were only nine people in the audience.
~ I will not name names, but I saw some yawning up on the dias.
~ Special Effect: The School District logo that appears on KGEM before and after the airing of the meetings is actually a green folder propped up on a binder in front of the camera.
~ I left there feeling somewhat uncomfortable, as I generally do after attending these gatherings. I do not leave feeling valued, supported, appreciated or with a sense of peace knowing that all is right with our school system. Rather, I feel as though the audience is a necessary part of the process but isn't really welcomed; that not all information is being shared. There is no warm interaction during the public comment; not a whole lot of eye contact... some yawning and just a disconnected feeling. I appreciate that we, as parents, have been invited to comment; I appreciate the attempt to complement Alex Zucc's hairdo... but it feels a little flat to me. Only Clare looked out into the audience and thanked us for attending. I do feel great about our schools when I'm on campus. Our administrators, teachers and staff are all that I'm looking for and more. I feel very optimistic about our schools when I'm actuually there. I wish it carried on up to our school board.
A LETTER ~ Regarding my (Brad's) speculations about first and second "readings" and soda pop, Sharon Weiser writes that the readings are basically "cleaning up the language of the policy and approving it. It is beyond the 'What if the public does not like it stage.' The no-soda pop thing is a statewide assembly bill (I think assembly) that says by September 2004 no public schools will be allowed to sell soda pop or other junk food. I don't know the definition of 'junk food.' Makes me wonder what it is since the federal government has classified French fries as a vegetable."
The Monrovia School Link is also available on line at www.monroviaschoollink.com
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