Monrovia School Link ~ Number 151 ~ January 21, 2006
A half million bucks in lost kids. Whew! Know any kids whose parents want to move up to Monrovia schools? I'm sure the district would roll out the red carpet. I'm afraid writer Maritza Diaz gave away the ending of the vegetable movies, so don't read the "Vegetables" item if you want to be surprised by the movie's ending.
~ brad@sacklunch.net
By Maritza Diaz
Welcome to another wonderful year of budgets, enrollment, awards, budgets and budgets. The first meeting of the school year started off with a welcome, a job well done and a good-bye.
IN MEMORIAM ~ The Board and the City of Monrovia have proclaimed the week of Jan 18-25, 2006 as a week of remembrance for Marine Lance Corporal Raul Mercado, a Monrovia High School graduate, who was killed on January 7 by a roadside bomb in Iraq.
NEWBIE ~ Superintendent Louise Taylor welcomed Dean Conklin, Deputy Superintendent Curriculum and Instruction. Whew! Hope that all fits on his business card. The other new kids on the Monrovia block (Clarence Shaw and Chris Rich) seem to be doing quite well in their still new positions on the board. They asked many questions and seem dedicated to learning all the inner workings of the school board. Hang in there guys, it should get easier.
JOB WELL DONE ~ Well, the recognition of various Monrovia Unified School District employees for their outstanding work was kind of like a little party. An excited bunch of family and friends came out in support. It was actually very nice to see: Renee Dakin, Instructional Aid, Bradoaks Elementary School; Heather Povinelli, Teacher, Bradoaks Elementary School; Hector Flores, Custodian, Santa Fe Middle School:, Stephanie Sparks, Teacher, Santa Fe Middle School. Congratulations everyone!
COUNSELOR WEEK ~ The board adopted the resolution to proclaim the week of February 6-10 as School Counselor Week. Mark your calendar.
EXPELLED ~ The board voted on two expulsion cases involving two Santa Fe students. Before the vote, Board Member Clare Chesley told the public the board takes expulsion cases very serious. The cases where discussed in closed session. The board voted to 5-0 yes.
VEGETABLES ~ Choose carrots over chocolates. That's the message Stacy Escarcega, Health and Nutrition Coordinator, presented. She showed short public service announcement movie clips created by Monrovia that promote eating fruits and vegetables. The short "movies" were very entertaining and quite impressive. The clips featured healthy food overpowering junk food and coming out the champion. If you want to see the clips, they will be shown on KGEM starting next month.
Escarcega was then joined by Robert Lewis, head of food services. They discussed the importance of the school district taking action to help students stay healthy. Escarcega said action needs to be taken because, according to the stats, the number of overweight kids is "quite striking."
- 22% of 5th grade students are considered overweight.
- 28.9% of 7th grade students are considered overweight.
- 31.4% of 9th grade students are considered overweight.
There will further discussion on this in a future meeting.
TRANSFERS ~ Most of the inter-transfers (between district) deal with work-related or child-care related situations, so says Donna MacLeod. The big talk was about how to keep students from transferring out and how to increase the number of students transferring in to the district. 107 students transferred out, which equals about half a million dollars. Yikes!
MacLeod said she asked the county if the district could just stop granting approval for students transferring out, but the parents have the right to file an appeal. That appeal usually favors the parents. What about people wanting to come to Monrovia? Chesley asked about policies that might make it a little easier for parents. Pupil Personnel Services can help parents wanting to get their children into Monrovia, so if you know people who might want to come to Monrovia schools, let them know.
SPACE ~ What do you do with extra classrooms at Canyon Early Learning Center? The recommendation is to either use it as daycare or for an educational program. Chesley commented that the extra space could be used to expand the pre-kindergarten classes as a way to attract new students to Monrovia. Actually, attract the parents, because the little kids probably don't care.
AUDIT ~ Well, the audit report of the district's financial statement says the district's financial management is within guidelines and it found no major mistakes or oversights. So, hats off to the number crunchers for their excellent job. The board did ask for more details on certain sections of the audit regarding policies and expenditures. If you enjoy talk about numbers and budget policy, you would have been on the edge of your seat.
ANONYMOUS ~ Someone anonymously gave $10,000 the district. The board expressed its appreciation and will, no doubt, put the money to some good use. Did you donate the check? Come on, confess.
February 8 is the next one folks. I'll save you a seat.
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