Monrovia School Link ~ Number 131 ~ July 29, 2005
What a surprise! A bit of good budget news. Also, the board is discussing how better to communicate with the public. Sounds like a good idea. You can send your thoughts to board@monrovia.k12.ca.us. Also, my apologies for getting huffy in the last newsletter about getting the agenda late. It was just a glitch, not intentional, so no big deal.
~ brad@sacklunch.net
By Maritza Diaz
Last month's meeting was the hottest event on Huntington Drive. This month, not so much. Maybe the heat kept everyone away. Some much needed air conditioning is on its way, a beloved administrator said good-bye and the English Learner Program is doing great.
Let's get started. The public meeting was called to order by President Diaz at 7:25 p.m. Maybe they should start the closed session meetings at 6 so the meeting can start on time. Just an idea. Everyone was present except Clare Chesley.
STAR TEACHER ~ The Board recognized Phil Jelinek, a Monrovia Autoshop Teacher received the LA County Industrial Technology Education Association High School Teacher of the Year Award. Jelinek was given a star for his good work. Diaz said she wasn't surprised to see him receive the award and that he and his students always excel in their work. That star was kind of small. It didn't look big enough to fit that long award title, but maybe they used really small print.
BUT YOU CAN NEVER LEAVE ~ Dr. Joel Shawn bid Monrovia farewell last night and begins his new job in the Arcadia School District the first of the month. President Monina Diaz presented Shawn with an engraved pen and went on to commend him for doing a wonderful job in Monrovia.
"This is hard, Shawn said, "Sometimes we joke about it, that people never leave Monrovia. And they don't. And I don't really feel like I am. I want to say how humbling it is to do this work. To do this work in a community like Monrovia with people like this. And how much I've learned because I'm leaving much smarter than I was when I came here. Thank you so much for having allowed me to serve you."
For those who didn't get a chance to know Shawn, one only has to listen to others speak about him to know he is a great person and will truly be missed. But what was engraved on the pen? "Monrovia School District." So, as Taylor said, when he's signing paperwork for the Arcadia School District, he'll remember where he came from.
CLOGGING STREETS ~ The hot item this meeting was traffic flow. Jessica Nunez, a Monrovia resident, and three other residents spoke about the traffic flow near the schools. She said parents are clogging up the streets dropping off and picking up their kids and are making the streets near the school like the 405 freeway during rush hour. Nunez was concerned about her children's safety with so many cars around. There was also talk that the cut of transportation to the schools would create even more of a traffic jam. Louise Taylor said that Chief Business Officer Linda Dempsey has a meeting with the city to discuss this issue.
POOR COVERAGE ~ A Mr. Jones, a member of the community, wanted to know if there would be an improvement in the quality of the school meeting coverage. Apparently, it's not that great. Taylor said they are working closely with the city and KGEM and are eager to improve coverage. The best way to get high definition coverage of the meetings is to attend one.
VISITING ~ There was nothing much going on with the board members this past month. Only Betty Sandford had something to report. She talked about visiting the summer school program which offers students with learning problems the opportunity to improve their learning ability and help them go on to the next grade. She was very impressed with the students, quality of the teachers and enthusiasm of the principle. Sandford also attended the Family Literacy Program and, along with Taylor, went to the kick of meeting of Monrovia High School PTSA where they both became charter members. Wow. Busy lady.
BUDGET SURPRISE ~ After some personal congratulations to some of her colleagues, Taylor got down to some serious business. New information on the budget came form the state. This information wasn't on the agenda but Taylor wanted to share some of it before it's put in the September agenda.
This was actually good news about the budget. No, really, it's true! Chief Business Officer Linda Dempsy said the state budget arrived sooner than expected and it turns out $418,000 in district expenditures have been reduced thanks to a shift in the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS). The revenue limit deficit has also been reduced slightly (a nice surprise) and that means revenue has been increased by $70,000. So, the school district is almost half a million dollars richer.
Dempsey also said there was an enrollment increase and the district will be adding three permanent teachers to the high school next year and two substitutes. Enrollment is a tricky thing. She said there is no sure way to predict enrollment, but added that the estimates should be pretty close.
NEW BOOK ~ There will be a new health book in the classrooms soon. Glencoe Health, 9th Edition was unanimously approved after Shawn's recommendation. The book was on public display and the board solicited comments. But, there weren't any. It's no Harry Potter, but hopefully the kids will like it. [I took a look at it and it looked pretty good. - Brad]
ENGLISH LEARNERS ~ Carol Carter presented a simple report on a complex subject. Apparently it is a legal requirement to present this information. Who knew? The goal of the program is for students to learn English, improve their academic work so it becomes comparable to that of English-only students, and for students to successfully exit the program. On average it takes about five to seven years for a student to exit the five-level program, but some factors may get in the way, such as poverty and a lack of proficiency in a student's primary language. Enrollment has been steady for the last 10 years and the program is meeting all state targets and standards.
Wait! There's also the flip side to the good news. The report says there are two main things that need to be worked out. About 25 percent of students in the program are what Carter calls, "stuck in the middle" students. They advance to a certain level and just stay there and don't make any more progress. Another concern is the difficulty of delivering "polished English" to level four and five students without having a self-contained class for them. The NCLB (No Child Left Behind) has increased the requirements students must meet and therefore the program needs improvement to meet those new NCLB levels.
COOLING DOWN ~ The board approved a contract to finally give the Industrial Arts Building at the high school air conditioning. This building is one of the last at MHS without air conditioning. Maybe now students will have an easier time paying attention.
HELLO COMMUNITY ~ Toward the end of the meeting there was just a time to throw some ideas around about how to improve communication. There will be more discussions along with plans in the future and Diaz said if anyone has any ideas, let the board know. Bruce Carter said the most effective way of communication is talking on the phone or chatting with people at the store. So if you see him on the street go say "Hi," he won't mind. Diaz also mentioned that the Web site seems to be a key tool in communication with the community.
PARTY'S OVER ~ The first day of school is Wednesday, August 31. Good news for parents; bad news for kids. Time put away the beach pail and pick up a lunch pail.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR - If you need something to do on a Wednesday night, why not attend a school board meeting? The dates for future board meeting are:
August 24
September 14
September 28
October 26
November 9
December 14
The board meets at the school district office at 325 E. Huntington Drive, on the north side of Huntington, just across from Smart and Final, at 7 p.m.