Saturday, April 24, 2004
Monrovia SchoolLink Preview for Wednesday, April 28, 2004 meeting
Here's a summary of the items I think may be interesting at this coming Wednesday's board meeting (actually two meetings). Unfortunately, the juicy item is closed to the public. In this closed item, the board will evaluate the superintendent and district administrators.
~ Brad Haugaard (brad@sacklunch.net)
There are actually two meetings this Wednesday. The first meeting, at 6 p.m., is a special meeting with one item on the agenda, to honor 47 school volunteers, whom - worthy though they are - I'm not going to list here. The regular board meeting is at 7 p.m. Here are a few items from the agenda:
Items 4.1 and 4.1.1 ~ The board will recognize the AVID "write-off" award winners and the top readers at Clifton Middle School.
Item 4.1.2 ~ The Rotary Club of Monrovia is going to give the district a thousand bucks for the "Pro-Active Tutoring Program." Ooooo! I'm sure it's a good program, but I HATE that word "pro-active." They probably use it just for the acronym, PATP... Hmmm, maybe not.
Item 4.2 ~ Free-for-all time. You can get up and say anything you please.
Item 5.1 ~ The board will accept a bunch of gifts from a bunch of groups.
Item 7.8 ~ The board will decide whether to hire Link-Nilson Corporation to put in $45,000 of fire sprinklers at Clifton.
Item 7.9 ~ Something about fiddling with a retirement plan. Beats me what it's about.
Item 7.10 ~ Somebody (probably Linda Dempsey) will talk about the district's budget situation. I have a bold prediction: She's going to say it's a very tight budget.
Item 8.3 ~ The board will decide whether to schedule a "Staff Appreciation Day," "Day of the Teacher," and "Classified School Employee Week." Teachers get a day and classified folks get a week??
Item 12.0 ~ This item is closed to the public. The board will evaluate the superintendent and district administrators.
LOCATION AND TIME ~ 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. (for the regular board meeting), not 7:30 p.m., as previously.
A LETTER ~ Erin Thorn writes about my comment that instead of paying fundraiser money to kids to run laps, I'd prefer to pay for them to do something useful, like pulling weeds. She writes: "I don't know about weed pulling, but last school year the Monrovia/Duarte PTA Council proposed having all the Monrovia Schools participate in a Monrovia Walk to raise money. It was brought up at the May or June Council meeting. Whether or not it was ever talked about again, I don't know. Kids were supposed to start at their home school, and walk around Monrovia visiting other schools in the district. I thought it sounded like a great way to get the community together, and raise funds for the district as a whole."
ON THE WEB ~ You may also see Monrovia School Link, and some back issues, on the Web at www.monroviaschoollink.com.
(0) comments
Here's a summary of the items I think may be interesting at this coming Wednesday's board meeting (actually two meetings). Unfortunately, the juicy item is closed to the public. In this closed item, the board will evaluate the superintendent and district administrators.
~ Brad Haugaard (brad@sacklunch.net)
There are actually two meetings this Wednesday. The first meeting, at 6 p.m., is a special meeting with one item on the agenda, to honor 47 school volunteers, whom - worthy though they are - I'm not going to list here. The regular board meeting is at 7 p.m. Here are a few items from the agenda:
Items 4.1 and 4.1.1 ~ The board will recognize the AVID "write-off" award winners and the top readers at Clifton Middle School.
Item 4.1.2 ~ The Rotary Club of Monrovia is going to give the district a thousand bucks for the "Pro-Active Tutoring Program." Ooooo! I'm sure it's a good program, but I HATE that word "pro-active." They probably use it just for the acronym, PATP... Hmmm, maybe not.
Item 4.2 ~ Free-for-all time. You can get up and say anything you please.
Item 5.1 ~ The board will accept a bunch of gifts from a bunch of groups.
Item 7.8 ~ The board will decide whether to hire Link-Nilson Corporation to put in $45,000 of fire sprinklers at Clifton.
Item 7.9 ~ Something about fiddling with a retirement plan. Beats me what it's about.
Item 7.10 ~ Somebody (probably Linda Dempsey) will talk about the district's budget situation. I have a bold prediction: She's going to say it's a very tight budget.
Item 8.3 ~ The board will decide whether to schedule a "Staff Appreciation Day," "Day of the Teacher," and "Classified School Employee Week." Teachers get a day and classified folks get a week??
Item 12.0 ~ This item is closed to the public. The board will evaluate the superintendent and district administrators.
LOCATION AND TIME ~ 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. (for the regular board meeting), not 7:30 p.m., as previously.
A LETTER ~ Erin Thorn writes about my comment that instead of paying fundraiser money to kids to run laps, I'd prefer to pay for them to do something useful, like pulling weeds. She writes: "I don't know about weed pulling, but last school year the Monrovia/Duarte PTA Council proposed having all the Monrovia Schools participate in a Monrovia Walk to raise money. It was brought up at the May or June Council meeting. Whether or not it was ever talked about again, I don't know. Kids were supposed to start at their home school, and walk around Monrovia visiting other schools in the district. I thought it sounded like a great way to get the community together, and raise funds for the district as a whole."
ON THE WEB ~ You may also see Monrovia School Link, and some back issues, on the Web at www.monroviaschoollink.com.
Monrovia School Link ~ Number 79 ~ April 25, 2004
I have a friend who is trying to make the Pasadena Unified School District a better place for children and other living things - to paraphrase an old bumper sticker. I got to talking to him about what he and the rest of his crew are up, and some of it is rather interesting. I don't know if what they're doing is something we should do in Monrovia - you tell me - but I thought it was worth setting before you.
~ brad@sacklunch.net
My friend's name is Mark Goodstein and he's a busy-busy man, but even busy-busy men need to take a break once in a while, so I dragged him out to Starbucks last week to ask about the Pasadena schools project.
He said he and his wife and eight or nine other couples have formed a group called PEN (Pasadena Education Network). So what is a PEN?
Mark starts off with what it's not: "We're not boosters; we're not part of the district. It isn't an advocacy group or a Political Action Committee," he said. "It's purpose is to provide unbiased information to parents about the Pasadena Unified School District," or, as the official mission statement says, its purpose is to "To promote public education for a stronger community by connecting families, encouraging dialogue and providing meaningful information about PUSD."
Kristin Maschka, also with PEN, added later by email that the group's focus is to provide information about the schoools for pre-kindergarten parents (I guess those are the parents deciding whether to send their kids to public schools), and to get them connected to each other and to parents with children already in the district. For example, she said that PEN's focus this spring has been on education events for parents, scheduling tours of schools for parents of pre-kindergarten children, and sending email updates to the group.
Mark said the PEN folks meet for dinner - he said they order pizza, though he didn't specify the toppings - about once a month at a home, or more recently, at a child care facility in Pasadena. At their meetings - which they have just recently opened to the public - they may listen to a speaker, such as the superintendent of schools, a board member, or recently a regional expert on educational testing.
That in itself sounds worthwhile, but this is what particularly interests me: The group also sends its members around to review each of the Pasadena schools.
How's that work? I ask.
Well, he said, one or more PEN members make an appointment with the principal to visit a school. They bring along a paper form with spaces to fill in all kinds of information.
And what if you can't persuade the principal to schedule a visit?
Hold on; we'll get to that.
The form has basic questions, such as the principal's name, location of the school, enrollment, test scores, class size, and what not, but also evaluation questions that might cause a bit of unease on the part of school administrators, such as: "Does the principal seem confident and interested in interacting with students," "How are teaching assistants utilized?" "What is the annual figure for teacher turnover?" "How well are the facilities maintained? Are bathrooms clean and well supplied, and do the grounds look safe and inviting?" "Do classrooms look cheerful? Is student work displayed, and does it seem appropriate for the grade level?"
Ouch! I can imagine a bit of hesitancy on the part of the principal about having such a visit, which brings me back to my question. What happens if the principal - or whomever - is unresponsive to the request to visit? Well, Mark said, that goes in the report too, under: "Comment on how difficult or easy it was to arrange for a school visit." Hmmm, Yes, I can see that this would provide a bit of leverage.
After the form has been completed, Mark said, the principal is asked to correct any mistaken facts. But just the facts. If the principal doesn't like the opinions, well he or she can't change those.
Kristin added that while these review forms exist, PEN's emphasis is not on them. She wrote that the group's purpose is "as much, if not more, about the connecting and dialogue as the information piece. Honestly, we aren't focused very much on the reviews right now. What we're finding is that the most powerful thing for parents is to connect with one another, to tour schools, and to connect with parents of existing students. Our reviews are evolving into a checklist that parents can use as they tour schools that provides a lot of the factual information about the school and then gives them a list of questions to ask."
As for the principals, Kristin wrote. "We went to a prinicipal's meeting and shared with them who we were and what we were doing. We basically said, 'We took a look around and discovered that you are doing some amazing things and that the perception of our schools really doesn't match the reality. We told them our goal was to help people get the real story. And yes, we promised we wouldn't publish anything about a school without circling back to the principal. Most principals have been very supportive because we were so up front with them and because the superintendent is supportive and because they know that the public doesn't know enough about all the good things happening on their schools. We also meet once a month with the PreK liasion from PUSD to give her feedback and stay in touch."
Okay, well even if the forms are not the main focus of the group, let's finish going through the process. How do you get the information from the forms out to the public?
Well, Mark said, PEN is just getting started and is still figuring out the best way to do that.
As both Mark and Kristin said, PEN is new and how its activities will eventually gell is not entirely clear. However, a few things strike me as interesting. The idea of getting pre-kindergarten parents together to meet one another and to meet parents of children already in the district seems, as Kristin says, pretty powerful. It's always good to be able to compare notes with other people who are facing the same questions. Also, it might be neat to have occasional gatherings at which educators - from both inside and outside the district - are guest speakers. The idea of evaluation forms sounds interesting, though I sense that PEN hasn't quite decided how to use them and Monrovia is a smaller district and probably people here have a bit better idea about what is good and bad about the various schools. But still, it's something to think about.
If anybody wants to learn more about what PEN is doing (just in case some civic-minded person might want to imitate all or part of what PEN is doing), Mark suggested writing to pasadenaednetwork AT earthlink.net, or calling (866) 216-7334. However, I've been warned that these are all volunteers and the response may not be speedy.
HIT UP ~ By the way, on a different topic, a friend of mine at work hit me up to sponsor each lap his son ran in a race to raise money for the La Canada-Flintridge Educational Foundation. He raised more than $300! Just at our office! And that's for La Canada-Flintridge! I mean, why would anybody outside of LCF give money to the schools there? Personally, my heartstrings are not easily tugged upon by the crying needs of the poverty-stricken children of La Canada-Flintridge. Also, why should I give money for some kid to run around a track? I'd much rather pay to have the kids paint a wall or pull some weeds or do something useful. So, I refused to give a dime, right? Wrong. I paid up. But a couple thoughts occured to me. First, that it was ridiculously easy for him to raise that money, even for LCF. And second, that I'd have been a lot happier giving money to sponsor kids pulling weeds at the Monrovia schools. I don't recall that ever happening, though. All I remember is cookie dough and wrapping paper fundraisers. Maybe it has happened and I just don't know about it, or maybe it hasn't but should. Anybody know?
ON THE WEB ~ Monrovia School Link, and its back issues, are also on the Web at www.monroviaschoollink.com.
(0) comments
I have a friend who is trying to make the Pasadena Unified School District a better place for children and other living things - to paraphrase an old bumper sticker. I got to talking to him about what he and the rest of his crew are up, and some of it is rather interesting. I don't know if what they're doing is something we should do in Monrovia - you tell me - but I thought it was worth setting before you.
~ brad@sacklunch.net
My friend's name is Mark Goodstein and he's a busy-busy man, but even busy-busy men need to take a break once in a while, so I dragged him out to Starbucks last week to ask about the Pasadena schools project.
He said he and his wife and eight or nine other couples have formed a group called PEN (Pasadena Education Network). So what is a PEN?
Mark starts off with what it's not: "We're not boosters; we're not part of the district. It isn't an advocacy group or a Political Action Committee," he said. "It's purpose is to provide unbiased information to parents about the Pasadena Unified School District," or, as the official mission statement says, its purpose is to "To promote public education for a stronger community by connecting families, encouraging dialogue and providing meaningful information about PUSD."
Kristin Maschka, also with PEN, added later by email that the group's focus is to provide information about the schoools for pre-kindergarten parents (I guess those are the parents deciding whether to send their kids to public schools), and to get them connected to each other and to parents with children already in the district. For example, she said that PEN's focus this spring has been on education events for parents, scheduling tours of schools for parents of pre-kindergarten children, and sending email updates to the group.
Mark said the PEN folks meet for dinner - he said they order pizza, though he didn't specify the toppings - about once a month at a home, or more recently, at a child care facility in Pasadena. At their meetings - which they have just recently opened to the public - they may listen to a speaker, such as the superintendent of schools, a board member, or recently a regional expert on educational testing.
That in itself sounds worthwhile, but this is what particularly interests me: The group also sends its members around to review each of the Pasadena schools.
How's that work? I ask.
Well, he said, one or more PEN members make an appointment with the principal to visit a school. They bring along a paper form with spaces to fill in all kinds of information.
And what if you can't persuade the principal to schedule a visit?
Hold on; we'll get to that.
The form has basic questions, such as the principal's name, location of the school, enrollment, test scores, class size, and what not, but also evaluation questions that might cause a bit of unease on the part of school administrators, such as: "Does the principal seem confident and interested in interacting with students," "How are teaching assistants utilized?" "What is the annual figure for teacher turnover?" "How well are the facilities maintained? Are bathrooms clean and well supplied, and do the grounds look safe and inviting?" "Do classrooms look cheerful? Is student work displayed, and does it seem appropriate for the grade level?"
Ouch! I can imagine a bit of hesitancy on the part of the principal about having such a visit, which brings me back to my question. What happens if the principal - or whomever - is unresponsive to the request to visit? Well, Mark said, that goes in the report too, under: "Comment on how difficult or easy it was to arrange for a school visit." Hmmm, Yes, I can see that this would provide a bit of leverage.
After the form has been completed, Mark said, the principal is asked to correct any mistaken facts. But just the facts. If the principal doesn't like the opinions, well he or she can't change those.
Kristin added that while these review forms exist, PEN's emphasis is not on them. She wrote that the group's purpose is "as much, if not more, about the connecting and dialogue as the information piece. Honestly, we aren't focused very much on the reviews right now. What we're finding is that the most powerful thing for parents is to connect with one another, to tour schools, and to connect with parents of existing students. Our reviews are evolving into a checklist that parents can use as they tour schools that provides a lot of the factual information about the school and then gives them a list of questions to ask."
As for the principals, Kristin wrote. "We went to a prinicipal's meeting and shared with them who we were and what we were doing. We basically said, 'We took a look around and discovered that you are doing some amazing things and that the perception of our schools really doesn't match the reality. We told them our goal was to help people get the real story. And yes, we promised we wouldn't publish anything about a school without circling back to the principal. Most principals have been very supportive because we were so up front with them and because the superintendent is supportive and because they know that the public doesn't know enough about all the good things happening on their schools. We also meet once a month with the PreK liasion from PUSD to give her feedback and stay in touch."
Okay, well even if the forms are not the main focus of the group, let's finish going through the process. How do you get the information from the forms out to the public?
Well, Mark said, PEN is just getting started and is still figuring out the best way to do that.
As both Mark and Kristin said, PEN is new and how its activities will eventually gell is not entirely clear. However, a few things strike me as interesting. The idea of getting pre-kindergarten parents together to meet one another and to meet parents of children already in the district seems, as Kristin says, pretty powerful. It's always good to be able to compare notes with other people who are facing the same questions. Also, it might be neat to have occasional gatherings at which educators - from both inside and outside the district - are guest speakers. The idea of evaluation forms sounds interesting, though I sense that PEN hasn't quite decided how to use them and Monrovia is a smaller district and probably people here have a bit better idea about what is good and bad about the various schools. But still, it's something to think about.
If anybody wants to learn more about what PEN is doing (just in case some civic-minded person might want to imitate all or part of what PEN is doing), Mark suggested writing to pasadenaednetwork AT earthlink.net, or calling (866) 216-7334. However, I've been warned that these are all volunteers and the response may not be speedy.
HIT UP ~ By the way, on a different topic, a friend of mine at work hit me up to sponsor each lap his son ran in a race to raise money for the La Canada-Flintridge Educational Foundation. He raised more than $300! Just at our office! And that's for La Canada-Flintridge! I mean, why would anybody outside of LCF give money to the schools there? Personally, my heartstrings are not easily tugged upon by the crying needs of the poverty-stricken children of La Canada-Flintridge. Also, why should I give money for some kid to run around a track? I'd much rather pay to have the kids paint a wall or pull some weeds or do something useful. So, I refused to give a dime, right? Wrong. I paid up. But a couple thoughts occured to me. First, that it was ridiculously easy for him to raise that money, even for LCF. And second, that I'd have been a lot happier giving money to sponsor kids pulling weeds at the Monrovia schools. I don't recall that ever happening, though. All I remember is cookie dough and wrapping paper fundraisers. Maybe it has happened and I just don't know about it, or maybe it hasn't but should. Anybody know?
ON THE WEB ~ Monrovia School Link, and its back issues, are also on the Web at www.monroviaschoollink.com.
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Monrovia School Link ~ Number 78 ~ March 24, 2004
Thanks to Kim Larsen for the following report on the last board meeting. Out of curiosity, I went to the district's Web site to check on the agenda for the meeting. It's not there. The meeting was on March 24, it is now April 1 and it's *still* not there (http://www.monroviaschools.net/BOEMinutes.htm). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the point of an agenda is so people will know what is happening at a meeting so they can decide whether to go. Doesn't it just kinda a little bit defeat the purpose if the agenda doesn't go on line *before* the meeting? Okay, new topic. It appears the board is interested in your views, and is advertising its phone number and email address. See below. Good! Also, I got a good comment about my interview with Joel Shawn and my thoughts about the API scores. Way down at the bottom.
~ Brad Haugaard (brad@sacklunch.net)
By Kim Larsen
Award Presentation: Samantha Witte and Heather Pentecost helped Betty Sandford present an award to the Monrovia City Council in thanks for its $4,000. contribution to keep the Mayflower Elementary After School Recreation Program going. Mary Ann Lutz spoke on behalf of the City Council. She said this was a vital progam and they took money out of the City Council Budget in order to ensure its success. Retired City Manager Dan Hopper also spoke of the value of this program and the importance of our young people as they are the future of Monrovia.
Board of Education thanked the Monrovia Public Library for its $8,000 contribution to the English Language Program. This is a tutoring programs for Limited English Speaking Children which is performed in the classrooms at Santa Fe and Clifton Middle Schools. The $8,000 is the result of winning a grant that is specifically geared toward collaboration between a local school and public library. The Head Librarian at the Monrovia Public Library also gave another $2,000 in books and materials for this very important program.
Monrovia Chamber of Commerce and Board of Education thanked four individuals - 2 teachers and 2 classified employees of the Monrovia Unified School District. Charlotte Schamadan did the honors, acknowledging each employee - explaining why they were chosen for the award and giving moving testimony as to the character of each individual. Charlotte did an excellent job with her presentation. The Honorees are: Martha Moncada and Edwina Johnson of Monroe Elementary School and Julia Klegg and Shannon Johnson of Brad Oaks Elementary School. Congratulations to all four wonderful employees! Betty Sandford also thanked all of the Monrovia School district employees for their hard work.
Ed Gililland presented information on the plans for the new Snack Bar and restrooms at MHS near the Football Field. They still in need more money to complete this project and there are several levels of donation to choose from: Silver Level - $100, Gold Level - $500, and Platinum Level - $1,000. Checks can go to Big M Booster Club if you would like to help see this project to completion. Businesses or individuals who would like to make a larger contributions may do so. For $10,000 your business can have its name engraved on the Mens/Ladies Restroom or Snack Bar.
Board Member Reports:
Clare Chesley thanked Santa Fe PTA for inviting her to its monthly meeting. They have a very good PTA. She also attended a School Attendance Review Board, meetings for parents of children with discipline/attendance problems. These are very difficult meetings and she thanked the parents and teachers who not only attend the meetings but who are working so hard to correct the problems of these students. She also said Bradoaks Elementary was visited by the California Distinguished Schools Board, which was very impressed with the school. The former Principal of Bradoaks came back to the school a week earlier to help make the school site the best it could be for this very important visit. Now that's dedication.
Betty Sandford attended a luncheon meeting with PTA Presidents past and present and was impressed with all of the members. She also mentioned that on Saturday, April 3, there will be a Family 5K Walk sponsored by the Santa Anita YMCA - a very important fund raiser that everyone should try to attend. Monrovia Arts Festival Association's Plaza Art Walk will take place in late Spring. This is a wonderful group; very supportive of the schools and local young artists.
Dr. Louise Taylor spoke about two students who are receiving important awards for their academic work, and about the California Distinguished Schools Award - three local elementary schools are in the running - Bradoaks, Mayflower and Monroe. She congratulated Don Hopper on his distinguished career in Monrovia city management and his retirement, and Scott Ochoa, who has been promoted to Monrovia City Manager. She spoke about her visit to Monroe Elementary, visiting each class and how well all of the students are doing academically. She thanked the Schamadan family for all of its support and fund raising efforts for the schools. The Schamadans will be designing several banners representing the different schools across Monrovia in order to make the wall behind the School Board more interesting and attractive. Anyone who would like to help with the cost of the banners please contact the school district.
Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Joel Shawn spoke about the upcoming testing season. He said it begins April and runs through May. Last week the 4th and 7th grades throughout the district were given the writing test. MHS scores are not as high as the board would like to see them and they are working with the teachers and staff at MHS to improve the test scores. Also, last week, every 10th grade MHS student had to be in school in order to take the test that allows them to graduate from High School. Each student and his or her parent were called prior to the test week and each student was given an explanation of how important it was to be present on the day of the test. 426 out of 430 students in the 10th grade showed up and took the exam. The state requires a 95 percent attendance rate and MHS had a 98 percent rate. Shawn also mentioned a new course available for AP students at MHS - Zoology. The motion to approve the new course passed 5-0.
Clare Chesley spoke about how wonderful it is that despite the economic crisis confronting the school districts throughout California we can add a new AP course to the MHS curriculum. She also asked Shawn about adding an Economics course to the High School curriculum. He said he would look into it.
Betty Sandford spoke about the GATE program. There are many questions regarding this program and the school board is working hard to improve the quality of the GATE program classes and activities.
Item: 7.10- Current Auditors.- Approve agreement for Auditing Service Co. for a 3 yr. period beginning with the 2004- 2005 period. The current fees are lower than those they were paying 3 years ago. Dr. Carter suggested that they continue to change firms every 3 years as this is good business practice. Motion carried 5-0.
Item 10: Only one meeting will be held in April due to scheduling conflicts. The April meeting will be on the 28th. There will be 3 meetings in May. District Music Festival will be in May at MHS- watch for more information to come.
Monina Diaz said that the school board members would like to have more contact with the public, so she gave the information to us for our use. Please leave a message on the phone answering machine and a board member will return your call.
Monrovia School Board email address: Board@monrovia.k12.ca.us
Monrovia School Board phone number: (626) 471-2010
A LETTER ~ Erin Thorn, an Instructional Aide at Wild Rose, wrote with some informed thoughts about my article on API scores. She said she doubts my estimate that Plymouth Elementary has the lowest socio-economic make-up in Monrovia. [I mentioned that because it seemed to me that made its rising API scores all the more impressive.]
Erin writes, "That is probably (I don't have the numbers, but I'm pretty sure) not true. The lowest are probably Monroe and Wild Rose. It all has to do with the boundaries assigned to each school. Monroe's encompasses an area in a rectangle, basically around the school, between the Arcadia border to the west, Myrtle Avenue to the east, Huntington to the south and Foothill to the north. Mayflower's is fairly the same (surrounding the school) except for a small part south of Huntington and east of Myrtle. Plymouth serves mainly the 'Mayflower Village' area. It's mostly the same way as Monroe/Mayflower's, as is Bradoak's. Wild Rose has the most unusual make-up. Part of its boundaries are the nice part around the school, and above Foothill. However, it also has the majority of the south/west Monrovia area. The part below Huntington and Duarte, east of Myrtle and extending to the Arcadia border (the poorest area of Monrovia). It also serves a very high percent of non-fluent English speakers. This still doesn't explain why they [Wild Rose's API scores] are lower than Monroe's, but it evens it up a little.
"I almost forgot - Plymouth changed its timing on testing this past year. They usually test in May with everyone else, which puts them at a disadvantage since they are out the whole month of April. This past year they tested in June(?), so they had a little time back in the classroom to prepare their students and get them back into the normal routine before they tested. I don't have the actual API scores, but their similar schools rank changed from a 5 to an 8. So, maybe the 2003 scores are a better reflection of their actual performance than the earlier scores."
You can see the article Erin is refering to (it is the March 18 posting) at www.monroviaschoollink.com/archives/2004_03_01_archive.html.
(1) comments
Thanks to Kim Larsen for the following report on the last board meeting. Out of curiosity, I went to the district's Web site to check on the agenda for the meeting. It's not there. The meeting was on March 24, it is now April 1 and it's *still* not there (http://www.monroviaschools.net/BOEMinutes.htm). Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the point of an agenda is so people will know what is happening at a meeting so they can decide whether to go. Doesn't it just kinda a little bit defeat the purpose if the agenda doesn't go on line *before* the meeting? Okay, new topic. It appears the board is interested in your views, and is advertising its phone number and email address. See below. Good! Also, I got a good comment about my interview with Joel Shawn and my thoughts about the API scores. Way down at the bottom.
~ Brad Haugaard (brad@sacklunch.net)
By Kim Larsen
Award Presentation: Samantha Witte and Heather Pentecost helped Betty Sandford present an award to the Monrovia City Council in thanks for its $4,000. contribution to keep the Mayflower Elementary After School Recreation Program going. Mary Ann Lutz spoke on behalf of the City Council. She said this was a vital progam and they took money out of the City Council Budget in order to ensure its success. Retired City Manager Dan Hopper also spoke of the value of this program and the importance of our young people as they are the future of Monrovia.
Board of Education thanked the Monrovia Public Library for its $8,000 contribution to the English Language Program. This is a tutoring programs for Limited English Speaking Children which is performed in the classrooms at Santa Fe and Clifton Middle Schools. The $8,000 is the result of winning a grant that is specifically geared toward collaboration between a local school and public library. The Head Librarian at the Monrovia Public Library also gave another $2,000 in books and materials for this very important program.
Monrovia Chamber of Commerce and Board of Education thanked four individuals - 2 teachers and 2 classified employees of the Monrovia Unified School District. Charlotte Schamadan did the honors, acknowledging each employee - explaining why they were chosen for the award and giving moving testimony as to the character of each individual. Charlotte did an excellent job with her presentation. The Honorees are: Martha Moncada and Edwina Johnson of Monroe Elementary School and Julia Klegg and Shannon Johnson of Brad Oaks Elementary School. Congratulations to all four wonderful employees! Betty Sandford also thanked all of the Monrovia School district employees for their hard work.
Ed Gililland presented information on the plans for the new Snack Bar and restrooms at MHS near the Football Field. They still in need more money to complete this project and there are several levels of donation to choose from: Silver Level - $100, Gold Level - $500, and Platinum Level - $1,000. Checks can go to Big M Booster Club if you would like to help see this project to completion. Businesses or individuals who would like to make a larger contributions may do so. For $10,000 your business can have its name engraved on the Mens/Ladies Restroom or Snack Bar.
Board Member Reports:
Clare Chesley thanked Santa Fe PTA for inviting her to its monthly meeting. They have a very good PTA. She also attended a School Attendance Review Board, meetings for parents of children with discipline/attendance problems. These are very difficult meetings and she thanked the parents and teachers who not only attend the meetings but who are working so hard to correct the problems of these students. She also said Bradoaks Elementary was visited by the California Distinguished Schools Board, which was very impressed with the school. The former Principal of Bradoaks came back to the school a week earlier to help make the school site the best it could be for this very important visit. Now that's dedication.
Betty Sandford attended a luncheon meeting with PTA Presidents past and present and was impressed with all of the members. She also mentioned that on Saturday, April 3, there will be a Family 5K Walk sponsored by the Santa Anita YMCA - a very important fund raiser that everyone should try to attend. Monrovia Arts Festival Association's Plaza Art Walk will take place in late Spring. This is a wonderful group; very supportive of the schools and local young artists.
Dr. Louise Taylor spoke about two students who are receiving important awards for their academic work, and about the California Distinguished Schools Award - three local elementary schools are in the running - Bradoaks, Mayflower and Monroe. She congratulated Don Hopper on his distinguished career in Monrovia city management and his retirement, and Scott Ochoa, who has been promoted to Monrovia City Manager. She spoke about her visit to Monroe Elementary, visiting each class and how well all of the students are doing academically. She thanked the Schamadan family for all of its support and fund raising efforts for the schools. The Schamadans will be designing several banners representing the different schools across Monrovia in order to make the wall behind the School Board more interesting and attractive. Anyone who would like to help with the cost of the banners please contact the school district.
Associate Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction Joel Shawn spoke about the upcoming testing season. He said it begins April and runs through May. Last week the 4th and 7th grades throughout the district were given the writing test. MHS scores are not as high as the board would like to see them and they are working with the teachers and staff at MHS to improve the test scores. Also, last week, every 10th grade MHS student had to be in school in order to take the test that allows them to graduate from High School. Each student and his or her parent were called prior to the test week and each student was given an explanation of how important it was to be present on the day of the test. 426 out of 430 students in the 10th grade showed up and took the exam. The state requires a 95 percent attendance rate and MHS had a 98 percent rate. Shawn also mentioned a new course available for AP students at MHS - Zoology. The motion to approve the new course passed 5-0.
Clare Chesley spoke about how wonderful it is that despite the economic crisis confronting the school districts throughout California we can add a new AP course to the MHS curriculum. She also asked Shawn about adding an Economics course to the High School curriculum. He said he would look into it.
Betty Sandford spoke about the GATE program. There are many questions regarding this program and the school board is working hard to improve the quality of the GATE program classes and activities.
Item: 7.10- Current Auditors.- Approve agreement for Auditing Service Co. for a 3 yr. period beginning with the 2004- 2005 period. The current fees are lower than those they were paying 3 years ago. Dr. Carter suggested that they continue to change firms every 3 years as this is good business practice. Motion carried 5-0.
Item 10: Only one meeting will be held in April due to scheduling conflicts. The April meeting will be on the 28th. There will be 3 meetings in May. District Music Festival will be in May at MHS- watch for more information to come.
Monina Diaz said that the school board members would like to have more contact with the public, so she gave the information to us for our use. Please leave a message on the phone answering machine and a board member will return your call.
Monrovia School Board email address: Board@monrovia.k12.ca.us
Monrovia School Board phone number: (626) 471-2010
A LETTER ~ Erin Thorn, an Instructional Aide at Wild Rose, wrote with some informed thoughts about my article on API scores. She said she doubts my estimate that Plymouth Elementary has the lowest socio-economic make-up in Monrovia. [I mentioned that because it seemed to me that made its rising API scores all the more impressive.]
Erin writes, "That is probably (I don't have the numbers, but I'm pretty sure) not true. The lowest are probably Monroe and Wild Rose. It all has to do with the boundaries assigned to each school. Monroe's encompasses an area in a rectangle, basically around the school, between the Arcadia border to the west, Myrtle Avenue to the east, Huntington to the south and Foothill to the north. Mayflower's is fairly the same (surrounding the school) except for a small part south of Huntington and east of Myrtle. Plymouth serves mainly the 'Mayflower Village' area. It's mostly the same way as Monroe/Mayflower's, as is Bradoak's. Wild Rose has the most unusual make-up. Part of its boundaries are the nice part around the school, and above Foothill. However, it also has the majority of the south/west Monrovia area. The part below Huntington and Duarte, east of Myrtle and extending to the Arcadia border (the poorest area of Monrovia). It also serves a very high percent of non-fluent English speakers. This still doesn't explain why they [Wild Rose's API scores] are lower than Monroe's, but it evens it up a little.
"I almost forgot - Plymouth changed its timing on testing this past year. They usually test in May with everyone else, which puts them at a disadvantage since they are out the whole month of April. This past year they tested in June(?), so they had a little time back in the classroom to prepare their students and get them back into the normal routine before they tested. I don't have the actual API scores, but their similar schools rank changed from a 5 to an 8. So, maybe the 2003 scores are a better reflection of their actual performance than the earlier scores."
You can see the article Erin is refering to (it is the March 18 posting) at www.monroviaschoollink.com/archives/2004_03_01_archive.html.
