Friday, September 10, 2004
Monrovia School Link ~ Number 91 ~ September 10, 2004
A couple things strike me about the report below. First is the drop in the number of students enrolled in the district. This - unfortunately - means less money for the district from the state. I suspect the absurd price of housing has a direct relationship to this problem. Can young families even afford to move in? Second, it appears the district is doing pretty well overall on the standardized tests. Thank you very much to Sigrid Caldera for taking time out to report on the meeting!
~ brad@sacklunch.net
Wednesday, September 8th, 2004 School Board Meeting
By Sigrid Caldera
Superintendent Louise Taylor introduced the new student body representative, Ryann Blackshere, an impressive young senior at MHS who seeks an early admission at Stanford University. By the way she has a 4.2 GPA!
Bruce Carter said that a lot of legislative alerts on the federal and state level are being voted on presently and encouraged everyone to e-mail their congressmen or women.
Clare Chesley reported on the dress code and said that a uniform policy for the elementary schools is in place, but for the middle schools and high school this is almost impossible to enforce. The existing policy was revised over the summer, but is not yet on the website. She said parents should make sure theirs kids are dressed appropriately - common sense should be used. She said dress matters in regards to academic performance. She also pointed out the website for the STAR testing results to be used to find your child’s booklist suggestion according to his/her performance on the API.
Monina Diaz reminded parents to get their kids to bed early every day and feed them a good breakfast before school.
I didn’t quite catch Betty Sanford’s explanation of where she went with some community member, something about model personal training, an idea that Clare at one point had suggested...(?).
Ryann Blackshere reported on the high school. She said that next week there will be an opportunity for all students to approach the different clubs on campus and find out what they are all about. She also mentioned a special dress-up week for the kids, red on Monday, sunglasses on Tuesday, etc. She mentioned a sports rally, that homecoming is October 27, and that the homecoming dance is scheduled for October 23.
Dr. Taylor commented on the smooth opening for all the schools and gave out a bunch of kudos. Everyone feel "kudosed" for good work, staff, teachers, service people, parents...
She’s expecting a great year. The new principal for the high school couldn’t make it tonight due to a scheduling conflict. His name is Frank Zepeda(sp?) and he comes here from Norwalk high school where he was the principal. He was an English teacher before, a coach, counselor and assistant principal. He’ll start on 9/14.
Debby Collins gave an update on the enrollment at all the schools. Overall, she mentioned that the expected enrollment at all schools is down, way down at some schools. The kindergarten classes at Mayflower are over their 20-student limit and some kids will be transferred out to Canyon Early Learning Center. All other classes in the lower grades will be leveled by this Friday (K-3 can only have 20 kids). We have more than 1,700 students at the high school and that’s the only school that met the projected enrollment. The final figure states a shortage of about 180 enrollees, which will affect the budget, of course, and adjustments of some sort will have to be made. Final enrollment figures will be available soon, and the expectation is that more students will enroll this week.
Dr. Taylor reported good news for Mayflower: The Boys and Girls Club of Monrovia will provide after school care on campus!
Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Joel Shawn gave a detailed explanation of the STAR testing and other tests, their meaning and target. It was very informative and he invited anybody with questions to call his office. Basically what I got out of his information is that the proficiency rating on the STAR is a very high standard set by the No Child Left Behind Act and that the basic rating is a good average indicator. Eventually, by 2013, everybody is expected to a proficiency rating.
All of our schools met all of the requirements on the AYP (annual yearly progress). Measured on a federal criteria we’re doing a remarkable job, he said. Over a six year period all schools have progressively done better each year on the API. Even though there is still some concern in certain areas and he listed 13 points of what is being done in the schools to improve or enhance the performance. By the way Santa Fe is no longer an at risk school. Way to go Santa Fe!
I liked Bruce Carter’s remark at the end. In his opinion we’re over emphasizing testing, and are, in fact, over testing constantly. For him motivation matters most. If students are motivated to learn, that’s what truly matters and ensures success.
I had to leave at that point.
This fine publication is also on the Web at www.monroviaschoollink.com.
A couple things strike me about the report below. First is the drop in the number of students enrolled in the district. This - unfortunately - means less money for the district from the state. I suspect the absurd price of housing has a direct relationship to this problem. Can young families even afford to move in? Second, it appears the district is doing pretty well overall on the standardized tests. Thank you very much to Sigrid Caldera for taking time out to report on the meeting!
~ brad@sacklunch.net
Wednesday, September 8th, 2004 School Board Meeting
By Sigrid Caldera
Superintendent Louise Taylor introduced the new student body representative, Ryann Blackshere, an impressive young senior at MHS who seeks an early admission at Stanford University. By the way she has a 4.2 GPA!
Bruce Carter said that a lot of legislative alerts on the federal and state level are being voted on presently and encouraged everyone to e-mail their congressmen or women.
Clare Chesley reported on the dress code and said that a uniform policy for the elementary schools is in place, but for the middle schools and high school this is almost impossible to enforce. The existing policy was revised over the summer, but is not yet on the website. She said parents should make sure theirs kids are dressed appropriately - common sense should be used. She said dress matters in regards to academic performance. She also pointed out the website for the STAR testing results to be used to find your child’s booklist suggestion according to his/her performance on the API.
Monina Diaz reminded parents to get their kids to bed early every day and feed them a good breakfast before school.
I didn’t quite catch Betty Sanford’s explanation of where she went with some community member, something about model personal training, an idea that Clare at one point had suggested...(?).
Ryann Blackshere reported on the high school. She said that next week there will be an opportunity for all students to approach the different clubs on campus and find out what they are all about. She also mentioned a special dress-up week for the kids, red on Monday, sunglasses on Tuesday, etc. She mentioned a sports rally, that homecoming is October 27, and that the homecoming dance is scheduled for October 23.
Dr. Taylor commented on the smooth opening for all the schools and gave out a bunch of kudos. Everyone feel "kudosed" for good work, staff, teachers, service people, parents...
She’s expecting a great year. The new principal for the high school couldn’t make it tonight due to a scheduling conflict. His name is Frank Zepeda(sp?) and he comes here from Norwalk high school where he was the principal. He was an English teacher before, a coach, counselor and assistant principal. He’ll start on 9/14.
Debby Collins gave an update on the enrollment at all the schools. Overall, she mentioned that the expected enrollment at all schools is down, way down at some schools. The kindergarten classes at Mayflower are over their 20-student limit and some kids will be transferred out to Canyon Early Learning Center. All other classes in the lower grades will be leveled by this Friday (K-3 can only have 20 kids). We have more than 1,700 students at the high school and that’s the only school that met the projected enrollment. The final figure states a shortage of about 180 enrollees, which will affect the budget, of course, and adjustments of some sort will have to be made. Final enrollment figures will be available soon, and the expectation is that more students will enroll this week.
Dr. Taylor reported good news for Mayflower: The Boys and Girls Club of Monrovia will provide after school care on campus!
Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Joel Shawn gave a detailed explanation of the STAR testing and other tests, their meaning and target. It was very informative and he invited anybody with questions to call his office. Basically what I got out of his information is that the proficiency rating on the STAR is a very high standard set by the No Child Left Behind Act and that the basic rating is a good average indicator. Eventually, by 2013, everybody is expected to a proficiency rating.
All of our schools met all of the requirements on the AYP (annual yearly progress). Measured on a federal criteria we’re doing a remarkable job, he said. Over a six year period all schools have progressively done better each year on the API. Even though there is still some concern in certain areas and he listed 13 points of what is being done in the schools to improve or enhance the performance. By the way Santa Fe is no longer an at risk school. Way to go Santa Fe!
I liked Bruce Carter’s remark at the end. In his opinion we’re over emphasizing testing, and are, in fact, over testing constantly. For him motivation matters most. If students are motivated to learn, that’s what truly matters and ensures success.
I had to leave at that point.
This fine publication is also on the Web at www.monroviaschoollink.com.
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