Newest articles on The Sacramento Press tagged as "scusd"

Oak Park to get new middle school

2012-01-27T01:38:34Z

A new middle school will open in Oak Park in the fall – the neighborhood’s first stand-alone middle school since 1963.

Oak Park Preparatory Academy (Oak Park Prep) is a St. Hope Public School and will open to seventh graders in August.

Oak Park’s previous middle school – Stanford Junior High – was burned down by two teenagers in 1963.

There are three middle schools in the district that serve Oak Park students – California, Will C. Wood and Kit Carson – but none are located within Oak Park.

The Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education trustees voted to approve Oak Park Prep’s charter Oct. 6, and the new school will serve 60 students the first year.

The school’s attendance will increase to 180 students over the next four years, according to Paul Schwinn, Oak Park Prep founding principal, allowing time for the new school to “fine tune” its programs as it grows.

Michael Boyd, president of Oak Park Neighborhood Association, said there has been a positive response from the neighborhood about the new middle school.

“People get excited anytime a quality school comes to the community,” Boyd said Thursday. “There are some controversies around charter schools, but overall we want to see kids get the best education.”

The St. Hope Public Schools organization runs three schools in the Oak Park area: PS7, a K-8 program, Sacramento Charter High School and Triumph Center for Early Childhood Education, a public preschool. There are about 1,500 students attending the three schools.

Faye Lawrence, a parent of two Sacramento Charter High graduates and two students who currently attend PS7, said Thursday that the new middle school will provide more educational opportunities to Oak Park families.

“(The new middle school) will be modeled after PS7,” Lawrence said, “and the PS7 kids generally enter high school ahead of other students coming from other schools.

“Being able to get kids on a good learning track earlier will really make a difference in their education,” she added.

At the moment, the new middle school doesn’t have a set location. Schwinn said the school applied in November to SCUSD for space in a wing of the Sacramento High School campus that, until December, housed The Met High School.

Schwinn said he expects to have final approval for the location by spring.

City Councilman Jay Schenirer, who represents Oak Park and District 5 on the City Council, said he’s glad to see Oak Park get another school.

“It’s being operated by an organization with a great track record of providing an excellent education, and of sending kids on to be successful in college,” Schenirer said. “They are filling a need in the community.”

Schwinn attributed the success of the schools to their focus on the core subjects of literacy and math.

“We spend 3.5 hours each day on literacy and two hours on math,” Schwinn said. “We’re trying to get our students to a place where they are ready to take calculus in their senior year of high school and take honors classes throughout high school.”

Oak Park Prep students will largely come from the neighborhood's seven elementary schools – Ethel Phillips, Oak Ridge, David Lubin, Father Keith B. Kenny, Fruitridge, Tahoe and Bret Harte.

As a charter school, however, enrollment is open to any student in any district, Schwinn said.

The school is accepting applications until March 15 for 60 openings for the 2012-13 school year. If the school receives more than 60 applications, Schwinn said, there will be a random-drawing enrollment lottery to fill the openings.

Remaining applicants will be placed on a waiting list.

St. Hope Public Schools will host an information session for interested families Feb. 9 at the PS7 site on the Sacramento High campus.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Junior Journalism Writers

2012-01-24T03:20:50Z

When did you get the "writing" bug? That insatiable bug that you must write something, anything to tell and inform the world. Was it when you wrote for your College paper? Maybe, it started in High school when you were in the Yearbook Club or writing for the the school newspaper. Whenever it was, it gave you the momentum to continue to write your stories or articles today.

This just may be true for a handful of students that are in the Journalism Club at Isador Cohen Elementary School. Yes, I said elementary. They are students ranging from third through sixth grades and they write the stories for the school newsletter. The Club is in its second year at Cohen and has seen an increased interest to participate from last year.

If you peeked in the computer lab, you would see the students in different stages in their writing process. Ranging from: gathering research for their interviews, writing their story in Microsoft Word, copying and pasting their finished story into the Microsoft Publisher newsletter, taking pictures, or searching for graphics to place in their article. They are always working on something to meet the deadline or for the next newsletter.

Joining the club was a process within itself. The children had to fill out an application, provide one teacher reference, write an essay, and have a short interview. Those that met the deadlines and completed the process were selected to join the club. "This provides the students "real" world experience and helps put the students at ease when they are interviewing for their stories." said Dawn Weymouth, the club advisor.

The students were able to put those interviewing skills to the test when they had the opportunity to interview SCUSD's Bully Prevention Specialist, Shiela Self for their "Bullying" article and Rosemont.patch.com Editor, Cody Kitaura. Cody was actually doing a story on the Club, but little did he know, the club was doing a story on him too. Both were really great and had so much information for the students to use for their articles and later on in school or their lives.

The club is still in the infancy and with the kind of students that are currently partcipating, the club will continue to make great progress. As long as they have that writing "bug" they will have a place that allows them to continue to write and inform their parents and peers. Never know, it may give THEM the momentum to continue on long after they have left the halls of Isador Cohen. Keep that pen to the paper and your fingers typing, kids!

Disclosure: Dawn Weymouth works for SCUSD at Isador Cohen.

No swap for Sac High and West Campus – for now

2011-12-23T02:28:05Z

The potential West Campus/Sacramento High School “swap” is off the table, but the budget and facility use problems that spurred the proposal still exist – leaving open the question, is this really the end of the conversation?

“We have serious issues as far as our budget goes,” Sacramento City Unified School District trustee Patrick Kennedy said Monday. “We’ll have to look at all of our facilities. I won’t say there won’t be discussions of (school) closures in the future.”

In an effort to save money and make more efficient use of district facilities, the SCUSD board recently considered swapping two school programs – the charter school program at the Sac High campus and the program at the West Campus facility.

After much debate and community outcry, the proposal was tabled at the Dec. 6 school board meeting. No date was set to continue the matter at future board meetings – but it remains an open possibility for future consideration.

As the school district budget troubles continue, so will the need to consider cost-cutting alternatives such as school closures or program consolidations.

It is a possibility that Kennedy said is unlikely to be successful, however.

“I can speak for myself, not the board, in saying I feel confident that in the long term I don’t see anything happening as far as a move (for either campus),” Kennedy said.

The school district has been plagued with budget shortfalls for the past few years, and last year, the district faced nearly $18 million in cuts to the budget, resulting in class-size increases, a reduction of school counselors and nearly 350 staff layoffs.

One of the ways board trustees considered saving money was closing schools that were operating at low capacity or combining programs at under-utilized facilities into a single program. The West Campus/Sac High swap proposal was intended to be part of those cost-saving measures.

Although the issue of a potential swap appears to be resolved, Kennedy said the budget issues for the district are not – and that may mean more painful cuts for area schools in the coming year.

“We need to take care of our long-term viability for the next few years,” Kennedy said, “So, we expect there will be another round of cuts next year. We are looking at everything – we’ve even opened up the contracts with our unions to see about getting concessions there.”

For administrators at St. Hope – the organization that runs the charter high school program at the Sac High facility – the potential for the school board to move the charter program is a constant threat, regardless of the most recent board action to table the idea, because the school has a short lease agreement for the facility.

“When a (school) charter is granted, they usually get a five-year (facility-use) lease,” said Mayor Kevin Johnson, who founded St. Hope. “It is frustrating that we’ve been given only 1-year leases, where other charter schools got two years or longer.”

The school board determines which facility the charter can use and the term length of the agreement.

According to the district website, there are currently eight independent charter schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District, and two of those are operated by St. Hope.

Of those eight charter schools, five have two year facility agreement terms, and one has an agreement in perpetuity – it remains in effect for the life of the charter.

The two charter schools operated by St. Hope have one year lease agreements.

“What we are looking for is stability so the question doesn’t come up again next year and the year after and so on,” St. Hope schools superintendent Jim Scheible said Thursday.

“People want to be secure in knowing where their kids will go to school for the long term,” he added.

Scheible said St. Hope started the process for the annual renewal of its facilities use agreements with the district in November, and the agreements will be discussed at the Feb. 2 school board meeting.

If the school board agrees to multiple-year lease agreements, Scheible and Johnson both said that would lend important stability and security to the programs – and take some pressure off administrators.

“Why would you not want to give a successful program the stability and security they need to keep functioning?” Johnson asked. “Other places could learn from (the program) and then, hopefully, duplicate the success.”

City Councilman Jay Schenirer, the council representative for District 5 where Sac High is located, said Wednesday that he hopes the notion of a campus swap is off the table for good.

“They are talking about the two highest-scoring high schools in the area,” Schenirer said. “My hope is that they would leave it alone and let the schools do their business.”

Schenirer said a long-term facilities agreement would help stabilize the programs and allow administrators to focus on a more important work: the education of kids in the district.

“Having to fight that fight every year and worry about it – it’s time off task,” Schenirer said. “Their task is really about educating young people. The more time they have to worry about facilities, the less time they have to spend on the education aspect of their work.”

Scheible said the goal should be to work in partnership with the school district to get kids the best education possible, adding, “If we work in collaboration, we can come up with a good compromise that will benefit everyone.”

On Dec. 6, we asked our readers “What should the SCUSD board do about a West Campus/Sac High swap?” 482 people voted and here are the results:

Leave both campuses as they are – 399 votes
Make the swap and add a comprehensive high school – 61 votes
Put it to a vote in the district – 7 votes
Make the swap, but wait until the current students have graduated – 6 votes

Nine voters chose “Other” and gave the following responses:
“Make the swap period!”
“Make the swap next school year”
“Provide all children with modern, high quality facility they need to learn”
“Improve West Campus and leave Sac Charter alone”
“Leave them as they are separate schools”
“Leave both campuses as they are and look for an alternate site for WC”
“Build another school for West Campus”
“Put both schools at the Sac High location”
“Leave Sac High and move West Campus to one of the ‘adult’ school locations”

The SCUSD board meets on the first and third Thursdays of each month. Meetings are held at the Serna Center Community Room at 5735 47th Ave.

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on Twitter @MelissaCorker.

Looking for a 'win–win' for West Campus and Sac High

2011-12-06T04:07:37Z

The Sacramento City Unified School District board is considering a potential campus “swap” for two central city schools – a move that has stirred up a storm of criticism from parents, students and education advocates in the city.

The proposed swap would move the West Campus High School program from its current 58th Street location to the old Sacramento High School facility and replace it with the Sacramento Charter High School program, which is currently at the old Sac High campus.

Proponents of the swap say the move will allow the popular West Campus program to expand and will create an opportunity to establish a non-college preparatory high school program for students in central city neighborhoods.

Opponents of the swap say the current programs are doing just fine as they are – and where they are – and they have the high graduation rates to prove it.

Ultimately, the final decision rests with the seven-member SCUSD board.

A comprehensive high school is one that offers both general academic courses and specialized trade, and technical subjects but does not necessarily have a college prep emphasis.

If a comprehensive program is established on the Sac High campus along with the West Campus program, the two schools would be independent of each other, yet share the same campus facility.

Proponents of the swap say if the West Campus program – which is currently at capacity and has a long waiting list – is moved to a larger facility, the program will be able to expand. That will give more students an opportunity to take advantage of amenities at the Sac High campus, such as a newly refurbished swimming pool, athletic fields and state-of-the-art science labs.

The current West Campus High facility has 863 ninth-12th grade students enrolled, according to Gabe Ross, spokesman for SCUSD.

The Sac High facility has capacity for more than 2,000 students, Ross said Friday, and currently the charter school has just over 900 students – not quite half full.

“Everyone says (the central city neighborhoods) need a high school,” said Phil Pluckebaum, a project manager for the Public Health Institute and a member of the Sacramento Comprehensive High School Coalition.

“The dilemma has always been, where do you put the school?” Pluckebaum said.

The Sacramento Comprehensive High School Coalition, founded in January, is a group dedicated to establishing a high school to serve the central city area.

The proposal of a campus swap is not a new one – the College Glen Neighborhood Association brought it up in 2003 – but, with recent recommendations from the SCUSD Facilities Reuse and Consolidation Committee, the swap idea was revived and has since been getting a lot of attention.

“The question has been persistent for years,” Pluckebaum said. “It just wasn’t fully vetted before.”

The Committee’s recommendation was not initially a “swap,” board member Patrick Kennedy said Friday, because the district doesn’t have jurisdiction over the charter school program – the board is not responsible for how the charter program expands or if it has a waiting list.

The district does have a legal responsibility through Prop. 39 to provide an “equivalent” facility for the charter school as it would make available for a district school of the same enrollment size.

The West Campus facility appears to satisfy this requirement, Ross said, and that is why it is under consideration as a replacement facility for Sacramento Charter High School, if the SCUSD board decides to move the expanding West Campus program onto the Sac High site.

Pluckebaum said Thursday that the coalition’s focus is on providing a “pedestrian-friendly,” neighborhood comprehensive high school.

“We want a high school fed by neighborhood middle schools to be a place where people can walk and ride their bikes to,” Pluckebaum said.

Mayor Kevin Johnson, who was involved in starting the St. Hope Public Schools at the old Sacramento High School facility in 2003, said at a press conference in November that a campus swap would be a mistake by the school board.

“I don’t think any community wants it to happen,” Johnson said. “The West Campus community doesn’t want to move. Obviously, (the) Sac High campus doesn’t want to move – this is just politics.”

For those who oppose a campus swap, the limited number of neighborhood schools is not the issue – a disruption of two successful education programs is the greater problem.

Keiona Williamson, 17, a senior at Sacramento Charter High, appealed to the City Council Nov. 22 to oppose a campus swap.

“(Sacramento Charter High) has cultivated me and my peers into successful young adults,” Williamson said. “Switching the campuses is not only unnecessary, it disturbs the culture that we have worked so hard to build up. Please don’t mess with success.”

Parents of students told the City Council that they are happy with the schools as they are – and where they are.

“My family purchased a home in Sacramento specifically for the schools we would access,” said Debra Larson, a social worker and parent of a West Campus student.

“I am told that West Campus needs to be relocated to the Sac High campus because West is too old and lacks modern amenities,” Larson, 50, said. “We urge you not to believe that our children want a better school. They love their campus.”

Larson said the idea of swapping campuses because one may be inferior in some way would send the wrong message to students and their families.

“I’m horrified that one group of kids would be forced to move into a space vacated because it isn’t good enough for another group of kids,” Larson said. “I am concerned about the message we are sending to both groups of kids and their families if this happens. It is just wrong.”

Members of the SCUSD board have been working on this and other proposals for increasing efficiency within the district for months, Kennedy said Friday – and the work is far from ended.

“I understand the anxiety these things cause,” Kennedy said. “It’s hard on the schools, and on the community at large. But these are conversations that have to take place to make sure we are doing the right things for our students.”

Still, there is no need to rush to any conclusion about what action the board may take, Kennedy said.

“We are just at the data gathering point,” Kennedy said. “There is a lot of work to be done before we can make a decision.”

Ross said that “design teams” – appointed by the principals of each school and comprised of staff, parents, students and neighbors – are studying the potential benefits and drawbacks of a campus swap.

“The superintendent felt the most prudent effort was to get input from all kinds of affected communities about the prospect (of a swap),” Ross said.

When the design teams send their findings to the school board, Ross said, the board will take a closer look at all options.

“I’m not in favor of moving schools and programs just for the sake of moving them,” Kennedy said. “If you can’t prove to me that we are improving things, then I wouldn’t be in support of it.”

Kennedy said that, whatever decision is made, isn’t going to be made in the next month – but he couldn’t estimate a time frame for a decision.

When the SCUSD board meets Thursday, it will hear an update from staff on all the consolidations under consideration, but the board will not vote on anything.

Ross said that, because there is no specific time frame, the soonest the board could be in a position to vote on the situation is Dec. 14.

“Ultimately it’s an advisory recommendation for the board,” Ross said. “Ultimately it’s the board’s decision.”

Melissa Corker is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press. Follow her on twitter @MelisaCorker.

Editorial Note: A spelling correction has been made to this story after it was published.

Dirty Pool: SCTA Style

2011-06-02T19:54:38Z

By Henrietta Cisneros, freelance correspondent.
June 2, 2011
12:00 p.m., PST

Dirty Pool: SCTA Style

Members of the Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) and a faction of teachers at Hiram Johnson high school are waging a new kind of warfare. Children at Hiram Johnson High School and throughout the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) are being misguided and manipulated by a group of teachers and union bullies as a means of ousting seasoned principal, Felisberto Cedros.

Conflict erupted on the Hiram Johnson campus between Cedros and a group of teachers shortly after he was appointed principal last year. Cedros implemented new policies at the school ranging from a dress code for teachers (teachers were wearing flip flops and shorts to work), no pets at school, no food or drink in the classrooms, to ensuring that best teaching practices were being utilized in each classroom. Cedros also initiated a summer long cleaning spree in which many teachers were told to remove their personal belongings from their classrooms. During the summer cleaning phase a school employee noted that she observed custodial staff remove six beds, old and outdated textbooks from the 1960’s, and open food items that had been expired for nearly three years. It was also suggested that many classrooms were infested with rat and dog feces.

Some teachers on the campus have resisted the changes almost from the beginning. Now, in a retaliatory effort, many of these teachers have resorted to drafting students on the campus to do their dirty work. That’s right; kids are being recruited and manipulated as a means of assisting SCTA in “dirty pool” tactics. This plan comes to fruition this evening at 6:30 p.m. at the SCUSD Board of Education meeting. Tonight, school aged children that have been taken advantage of and unduly influenced will be marched in front of the School Board in an effort to do away with a principal that has fought valiantly to eradicate an atmosphere of low standards and poor teaching on the campus. Why? Simply put, there are some teachers on the Johnson campus that want things to go back to the way it used to be. How did it used to be? Student expectations were low. Teacher standards were nearly unheard of. Teachers rested comfortably in their poor performances while the union approved former principal treaded quietly until he could retire.

It is apparent that Cedros and his administrative team have created a climate of new expectations at Johnson high school. Many teachers and students on the campus enjoy the new expectations and challenges. Some students have exclaimed that they feel “more prepared for the world after high school.” It is evident that the new leadership is making a difference.

Tonight’s board meeting will be important. Tonight can be a defining moment in the direction we want to take our schools. Do we want “old guard” union lackeys with a track record of failure and low expectations running our schools or do we want leaders with intestinal fortitude that are willing to do what it takes to get the job done? Our children are certainly worth the debate.

The public is encouraged to attend and speak at tonight’s school board meeting. The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Serna center located at 5735 47th Avenue, Sacramento, C.A. 95820.

SMAC holds arts funding symposium

2011-03-24T00:30:13Z

Representatives from over 80 arts organizations received tips on obtaining funding at an arts funding symposium hosted by the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission (SMAC) Tuesday moning at the KVIE banquet room with a speech by Congresswoman Doris Matsui.

The free event titled “Where's the Money?” was a day full of speakers, panels and workshops with teachers, artists, grant writers and various other active participants for the arts in Sacramento in attendance.

KVIE General Manager David Lowe opened the event by talking about the Public Broadcasting Station to note that KVIE also largely relies on funding from public grants, private grants, and donations like the attendees in the room.

“Keep fighting for every bit of funding,” he said, “not only so you can survive, but also so you can thrive.”

Matsui, who represents California's District 5, addressed the crowd in her speech, applauding them when she said, “ your commitment to the arts is wonderful and timely.”

Matsui said she came to support SMAC because she wants this type information available. She went on to defend the arts, saying they are needed for cultural development.

“Arts are important for the vitality of a community,” she said. “Arts are the DNA of a community.”

Matsui also addressed Sacramento more specifically when she noted that the Sacramento arts community is unique because there are so many organizations that work together, whether they are ballets, symphonies or otherwise.

The opening workshop was given by Mike Griffin, the congressional liaison for the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

“National Endowment for the Arts is a public agency dedicated to advancing artistic excellence, creativity and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities,” he said.

NEA, Griffin said, distributes about 40 percent of its federal funds among partnerships like SMAC and other nonprofits working to promote the arts in the community. He was there to discuss the options for funding arts programs at the federal, state and local levels, and how to apply.

Along with the NEA, Kay Sprinkel Grace, author of “The Boundaries of Risk: Daring to Dream in the Arts,” spoke on how to find funding, and later there was a private local funders panel facilitated by Sprinkel Grace.

“Everyone is here for one reason – they are looking for money,” Said SMAC Executive Director Rhyena Halpern. “There's a real hunger for it.”

SMAC hoped the symposium would provide an opportunity and concrete resources for private and public funding, she said.

One attendee, Nixa Schell, came on behalf of the Sacramento City Unified School District, where she is director of the fine arts programs. She came because of the decline in arts-based programs in schools and simply because “there is no money.”

“Everything has to be funded through grants right now,” she said.

Despite the lack of funds, there are programs being developed to integrate art and music into the classroom. One program titled “Any Given Child” has teachers work with artists and musicians in the community to develop lesson plans to infuse art and education.

Through this whole process of developing programs and finding funding, Schell said she hopes it will encourage students and teachers to be less intimidated by the arts and to be able to use them.

The program closed with its last run at the exchange of information with speed dating for arts funding. Artists and art organizations met face-to-face with funders and nonprofits like SMAC and For Art’s Sake.

“The purpose is to inspire,” Halpern said. “It's a really hard time right now.”

Feb. 8th declared "Let's Move" Day

2011-02-09T04:25:40Z

Plans were announced at the Mayor's press conference Tuesday to construct a running track and community garden at Will C. Woods Middle School where U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius spoke to mark the one year anniversary of the “Let's Move” campaign.

Initiated by First Lady Michelle Obama on Feb. 8, 2010, “Let’s Move” is a healthy lifestyle campaign to address childhood obesity.

Sacramento City Unified School District was chosen as one of the 14 community sites in California, to receive a grant from the California Endowment with help through local partners The Sacramento Kings and UC Davis Health Services.

California Endowment spokeswoman Marley Klaus said SCUSD was chosen to be a part of “Let’s Move” based on a number of factors.

“It is typically an under-served community,” she said. “But there is also community involvement.”

In addition, Sacramento was considered not solely based on its “significant issues” but because it also has a lot of energy, Klaus added.

Before the press conference started, a group of about 40 students was led through a series of exercises by the Sacramento Kings mascot Slamson, cheerleaders and, Strength and Conditioning Coach Daniel Shapiro. Shapiro called out the drills, which included push-ups, jumping jacks and running in place, while Slamson and the cheerleaders demonstrated.

The press conference opened with words by Will C. Woods Middle School’s principal, Mary Desplinter. She said the reason for the school's participation is that obesity is an issue not just for Sacramento, but for the nation.

“We want to make sure to educate the whole child,” Desplinter said, adding that resources are limited for advocating healthy eating and lifestyles. Through the partnership, the school will be able to provide the facilities to promote “Let’s Move” and healthy lifestyle choices.

Robert K. Ross, CEO of the California Endowment, also spoke Tuesday to an audience of middle school students, teachers and Kings guard Pooh Jeter.

“We are here because we care about the students at this particular school,” he said. “We are happy to invest in 14 community sites, over $1 billion over the next 10 years.”

Mayor Kevin Johnson then spoke about the program, noting his support and its importance for local youth.

“You have to have a healthy lifestyle,” he said before asking the students in the gym to raise their hands in a pledge to eat healthy, help in the community garden and be physically active.

Johnson concluded his speech with, “We want to declare Feb. 8 as ‘Let’s Move’ Day in Sacramento.”

Sebelius added that with grants and funding, such as those from the endowment, the Sacramento Kings and UC Davis, students can help build healthy communities.

“I want to see that you’re going to be great leaders in the community,” she said, “Happy Birthday ‘Let’s Move.’ ”

Video by Kathleen Haley

Nonprofit brings arts program to schools

2011-01-20T00:34:57Z

Local artist Kim Grace faces a unique challenge each week: how to teach visual arts to the visually impaired.

Grace is one of 75 artists who work with students in the Sacramento City Unified School District through the Very Special Arts program, teaching art to both students in special education and students in general education.

“It’s been a real experience for me,” she said. “Most of these students don’t get a lot of opportunity for art in schools, so when you walk in with a box of paint, it’s like you’re the biggest rock star around.”

When it came to working with blind and visually impaired students, Grace said she had to rethink her teaching process, focusing on how the artistic media feel in her hands and how she can relate her knowledge to students who can’t see.

Very Special Arts is an international nonprofit network affiliated with The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

Alice Parente founded the local chapter of the organization, called “I Can Do That!,” 25 years ago, and it now serves 3,000 students in 60 schools in the district.

“This is my heart’s passion,” she said. “I’ve seen some of these students grow up going through the program, and it’s rewarding to see how much they’ve grown.”

Parente works with the special education teachers at the school sites, who then partner with general education teachers so art classes mix the students together.

“What’s amazing is, when you look at a class, you can’t tell who is a student in special education and who isn’t,” Parente said. “They’re all artists.”

The program is largely funded by the nonprofit, with the school district paying for 10 percent of supply costs, half of Parente’s salary and transportation to performances and art shows.

“And they provide a lot of support,” Parente said. “They really believe in this program.”

The students’ academic performance is measured before and after they start the program, and Parente said there are noticeable improvements in math, reading and language arts, but the biggest improvement comes in self esteem.

“The arts are success-oriented and non-threatening,” she said. “They get told they can do whatever they want instead of being told they can’t do something.”

Sherron McCarthy is a special education substitute teacher in the district with a personal connection to the program.

“My son is 28 years old, and he went through the program,” she said. “He enjoyed art. He was never very artistic, but it was good training for him.”

Her son, who has Down Syndrome, currently works at a golf course and lives independently.

“(Leonardo Da Vinci Elementary School) gave him a good start,” she said.

Students in the program learn to work in clay, sculpture, painting, drawing and performing arts such as music and various forms of dance.

The students’ work is shown in art shows held in winter and spring. The next one is the sixth annual Winter Very Special Arts Festival, 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Jan. 27 at the Sam Pannell Meadowview Community Center, 2450 Meadowview Road.

It is free and open to the public, and performances including dancing and singing will start at 10 a.m.

One of the more than 500 students whose art will be shown or performed at the show is 14-year-old Austin Benavidez, who is visually impaired.

“Artwork is fun,” he said. “Usually I love doing clay. Clay makes things easier. The painting is messier, but I’m good at making pinch pots and rolling pots (out of clay).”

Last year, Austin was in the program’s blues band playing tambourine, but he said he prefers sculpting from clay.

Billy Lei is a 13-year-old visually impaired student who immigrated from China last year.

“I like to make bowls and put handprints in it,” he said. “I made a clay box with handles. This is my first year doing art. I like this.”

Shelby Haines is a special education teacher at Leonardo Da Vinci who specializes in working with visually impaired students, including Austin and Billy.

“It’s really exciting,” she said. “Having a professional artist gives them another experience that I wouldn’t be able to offer them.”

Haines said private programs are available, but they are very costly, and having the Very Special Arts program come directly to the school is a benefit to all the students.

Parents who want their children involved in the program should go through their school’s special education teacher, Parente said.

“In 25 years, we’ve never turned away anybody,” she said.

Brandon Darnell is a staff reporter for The Sacramento Press.

Black Parallel School Board meets to discuss SCUSD problems

2011-01-11T20:14:46Z

The Black Parallel School Board discussed its plans for 2011, including addressing problems with the quality of teachers and underachievement of black students in the Sacramento City Unified School District.

The meeting was held Saturday at the Oak Park United Methodist Church.

The BPSB’s mission is to ensure quality education for African American students in the SCUSD. The board observes and critiques SCUSD performance and advocates for African American students.

The BPSB was created in Jan. 2008. It was born of the frustration of Sacramento State professor Otis Scott with the SCUSD at a Sacramento Area Black Caucus meeting in 2006.

According to Carl Pinkston, secretary of the BPSB executive council, Scott was angry that the SCUSD failed to follow up on issues concerning the black community.

Scott wanted to call attention to a crisis in education and to reframe the discussion as a new civil rights struggle. The community needs to be proactive rather than reactive toward the crisis, he said.

After the BPSB was formed, the members studied state of education for black students in the SCUSD and created a report from their findings. The report shows an achievement gap between black and other students that steeply rises after second grade.

The report showed only eight out of 644 black students were enrolled in eighth grade geometry and that they have an 84 percent failure rate for geometry in the 10th grade.

At Saturday’s meeting, Executive Council Chairman Darryl White brought up one of the major problems the BPSB has with the SCUSD: the constant influx of new teachers to already underachieving schools.

White said schools with a history of underachievement tend to be where new teachers are hired. It takes three to five years for teachers to gain the experience to be effective, and once they have it, they move on to “better” schools, he said.

This means that some students never learn from an experienced teacher. Perpetually in class with new, bad or substitute teachers, students have a difficult time progressing at a rate commensurate with being taught by experienced and effective teachers, White added.

He pointed out that it’s not one person or group that’s the problem, it’s teachers’ career paths within the SCUSD that prevent underachieving schools from providing a quality education. Teacher quality makes or breaks a school, he said.

SCUSD President Gustavo Arroyo was also at the meeting. He outlined his goals for solving issues within the SCUSD, saying he is reaching out to communities to hear their issues, and his main goal is creating space for people to voice their issues with the current system.

“I’m trying to open the door for dialogue,” he said.

Sacramento is one of the most diverse urban education systems in the country, according to SCUSD’s education technology plan. The district is 32 percent Hispanic, 21 percent White, 21 percent African American, 20 percent Asian, 2 percent Pacific Islander, 1 percent Filipino and 1 percent American Indian.

The system teaches more than 48,000 students in Kindergarten though 12th grade among 88 schools. SCUSD is governed by seven elected members and a student member.

Some of the other goals of the BPSB are “to assure that classrooms with high African Descended student populations start and end the school year with qualified and experienced teachers that possess the ability to relate to students of color; to assure that teacher/student ratios are between 20-25 students per teacher (less for K-3) in all grade levels to promote the academic success of all students; to assure that schools with high numbers of African Descended students are properly funded,” according to the report.

Anyone of African-descent who regularly attends BPSB meetings can become a board member.

The executive council is in charge of implementing decisions that the board passes.

“Everyone has to participate,” Pinkston said. “It’s a culture and place to develop new leadership.”

White added, “The Black Parallel School Board is a watchdog group. We are here to observe and find out about negative impacts on the students we support.”

The next meeting will be at 10 a.m. Feb. 5 at the Oak Park United Methodist Church at 36th Street and Broadway.

The first photo is of Gustavo Arroyo. The second is of the Oak Park United Methodist Church.

Kings help South Sac school kids get healthy with "Get Fit with the Kings" program

2010-12-10T03:27:39Z

Sure, you see the Kings everywhere in the community donating either time, money or tickets to a future home game.

But this time it was different. And, according to Kings President of Business Operations Matina Kolokotronis, it was one of the most important community-minded event the Kings have ever had the chance in which to participate.

On Thursday, the Sacramento Kings, The California Endowment and the Sacramento City Unified School District gathered at Earl Warren Elementary School in South Sacramento to announce their partnership in creating the new “Get Fit with the Kings” program that is intended to boost the overall health of Sacramento-area youth.

On-hand for the festivities were a slew of Kings’ employees: players DeMarcus Cousins, Pooh Jeter and Francisco Garcia; Kings Ambassador Bobby Jackson; Kings Strength and Conditioning Coach Daniel Shapiro; the Sacramento Kings Dance Team; Slamson; the Kings Breakers and lots of Kings personnel.

The program is intended to support the work of South Sac’s “Building Healthy Communities,” a 10-year, $1 billion program of The California Endowment, by encouraging kids to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle and stay in school as a step to becoming engaged.

South Sacramento was one of 14 communities across the state to benefit from the 10-year commitment of The California Endowment. The three schools chosen, Earl Warren Elementary School, Will C. Wood Middle School and Hiram Johnson High School, will get help increasing their FITNESSGRAM scores - an annual statewide test given to the children.

Jim Keddy, the Director of Health and Communities for Northern California, said he thinks the importance of getting and helping keep kids healthy can’t be overlooked.

“It’s important because we have escalating rates of obesity in this country with children, which means escalating rates of diabetes,” Keddy said. “We are coming together to reverse that trend, and we’re doing it by working together and promoting physical education in schools and better school food.”

Keddy also spoke about why they choose the Kings as partners in this venture.

“The Kings are a powerful motivator,” Keedy said. “You can see what’s going on in the auditorium right now. The kids see the Kings players, the dance team and the kind of modeling they provide in terms of physical health and nutrition. It’s inspiring! It just adds electricity to what were trying to do.”

For Kings’ strength and conditioning coach Daniel Shapiro, it was a chance to share some of what he’s been doing all of his life.

“(When I was a kid), I was outside until the sun went down,” Shapiro said. “You didn’t play video games, and if you did, it was when you got inside. I think we’ve kind of lost that.

“The importance of having public schools with good P.E. programs, outdoor parks and just access to people and education to a healthy lifestyle is something that you can’t replace, because it pays off so much in the long run.”

The “Get Fit with the Kings” program will be a comprehensive plan of action including:

- Workshops for students, parents and teachers from Kings players and staff on the importance of exercise and how the school can better promote it

- A “Get Fit with the Kings” website that features nutrition tips, healthy recipes and an “Ask the Doctor” interactive feature

- Investments by the Kings to improve gyms, fields and fitness equipment at the schools

- Community rallies and health clinics at the schools featuring Kings players, staff, dance members and Kings Breakers

A familiar face at these community events has been Kings newcomer and rookie Pooh Jeter, who always seems to be in the mix.

Jeter said he is one who would love to give back to the community any chance he gets when he’s not wearing out the hardwood floors of the Kings’ training facility. He’s also very excited that The California Endowment stepped up for this incredible opportunity for the kids in this area.

“Whenever I have a chance to give back, that’s what I do, especially with kids,” said the 27-year old rookie. “I’m so happy they (The California Endowment) are doing this, because the kids need it. Health is part of life. I’m glad that we started with the kids so they can continue this process as they become adults.”

Photos by Mark Needham

SCUSD Board Member Diana Rodriguez Reflects on the White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanics

2010-10-24T18:20:45Z

My Dear Friend,

Just yesterday I was at the White House East Room with the President of the United States, Barack Obama, to witness him signing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

The initiative calls for the expansion of educational opportunities, improvement of education outcomes, and the need to deliver a complete and competitive education for all Hispanics, the Initiative shall, consistent with law, promote, encourage, and undertake efforts designed to meet the goals and objectives set forth in the document signed by President Obama on the 19th day of October in the year 2010.

The initiative also calls for us to work across communities in partnership with one another to help achieve President Obama's goal to ensure that all of our children, regardless of race, are provided a world-class education. As President Obama stated in his speech, just before signing the White House Initiative for Educational Excellence for Hispanics, "Now, this is not just a Latino problem; this is an American problem. We've got to solve it because if we allow these trends to continue, it won't just be one community that falls behind -“we will all fall behind together."

This is why I have taken the commitment to our children in Sacramento to continue to learn as much as I can and to use my knowledge, skills, and abilities to ensure we provide results and positive outcomes in alignment with President Obama's 2020 goal. As you know, we are not only local or national, we are a globally competitive environment, and we can no longer afford to see things as just a local issue. We have a responsibility to ensure our work is being done in the manner in which it is prescribed in order to achieve the greatness that we know we are.

I have a simple request of you; that you continue to support me; and when I call upon you for assistance, please roll up your sleeves to help create a brighter and more prosperous future for our children; for not only our city, but also our great nation, and ultimately, our entire world.

After all, it's all about the kids. If we fail them, we fail ourselves and everyone else we share this planet with.

Have a great evening and enjoy your time with your families. When you look at the young children in your family, in their precious faces, know that there are people who are genuinely concerned about doing the right thing for them and their future.

Sincerely,

Diana Rodriguez
SCUSD Board Member
District 5
(916) 752-3686

Diana4scusd@yahoo.com

http://www.scusd.edu/BoardofEducation/Pages/BoardofEducationMembers.aspx

Latest Board Update from the desk of Superintendent Jonathan P Raymond

2010-10-19T15:10:40Z

Teaching and Learning

Priority School Professional Development: Staffs of the six Superintendent’s Priority Schools gathered at the Serna Center this week for training with Rochelle Herring-Peniston, president of Transformation By Design. Faculty learned the use of Data Wise inquiry protocols, which assist in analyzing student work, and learned how to identify learning goals and teacher learning needs. The sessions used the teachings of Harvard researchers such as Kathryn Boudette, Richard Elmore and Brent Stephens as well as the work of Nancy Love, Linda Darling-Hammond and Walter Doyle.

Every Day Counts: Charlotte Chadwick, principal at John Bidwell School, is throwing down the gauntlet —on October 7, her school had nearly 100 percent attendance for both staff and students. All staff members were present and only three students out of 381 were absent, which equated to 99.993 percent. Almost exactly the same occurred on October 13, she notes, with the exception of one staff illness. Chadwick’s announcement kicks off a competition – can any school achieve 100 percent attendance this year?

CORE Launch: Superintendent Raymond was in Los Angeles on Monday for the launch of CORE (California Office to Reform Education), a nonprofit organization founded by the seven superintendents (including Superintendent Raymond) who authored California’s Race to the Top application. The group’s intention is to leverage the collective energy of these seven districts – which together serve more than a million students – to continue moving forward with reforms developed for RTTT despite the federal government’s denial of California’s bid. CORE aims to engage public school communities at the grassroots level in changes that will improve teaching and learning. Those change initiatives include implementation of the Common Core State Standards in math and English (which were approved by the state Board of Education in August); development of formative student assessments aligned to the new standards; and developing tools and processes to better serve teachers and principals.

Standards Discussed: Cesar Chavez Intermediate School’s fourth- and sixth-grade teachers held a “Standards Night” for parents last week in which they shared the results of the first benchmark tests in English and math and explained the purpose of real-time learning assessment and discussed learning expectations for students.

Cougars Hit the Right Note: The John F. Kennedy High School Marching Band competed in the Oakmont High School Invitational Marching Band Tournament and came in second place within their class. Individual student Chris Chin won first place in the Drum Major category.

LEED-ing the Way: Fifty businesses/organizations from throughout the area participated in “Career GPS,” a LEED (Linking Education and Economic Development)-sponsored event held Thursday at Luther Burbank High School and attended by Rosa Parks Middle School students. The event featured interactive exhibits by regional employers and a talk-show format panel presentation with industry experts.

Operations

Grant Money Received: SCUSD’s Planning and Construction department received word last week that the State Allocation Board approved the district’s joint-use grant application of $572,374 for the Robbie Waters Pocket-Greenhaven Library at the School of Engineering and Sciences. The project is funded by Proposition 55.

Community Engagement

Community Meeting/Back-to-School Night at Hiram Johnson: Hiram Johnson High School held a community meeting on Thursday night prior to the school’s Back-to-School night. At the meeting, district staff presented an overview of plans to engage the school community in developing a shared vision for the school. A few parents in attendance expressed concerns about the changes at the school and the meeting format. The Back-to-School Night, which followed the community meeting, was very well attended by parents and staff.

Healthy Competition: Students from Pacific Elementary and Maple Elementary met on the soccer field on October 8, where they “kicked” up a lot of school spirit. The event (pictured below) was a joint effort between Pacific and Pacific Enrichment Program (PEP), the campus after-school program.

Safety Meeting: Maple Elementary School held a Community Meeting with staff from the district’s Safe Schools Office and representatives of the Sacramento Police Department on Wednesday, October 13. Community and parents learned how to be the eyes and ears of the neighborhood, the importance of reporting unusual activity and information on gang prevention. The officer in attendance also addressed issues of traffic around the school.

‘Target’-ing Literacy: Parkway Elementary School won a $2,000 grant from Target stores for an Early Literacy Program for grades K-3.

Upcoming Events

C.K. McClatchy Homecoming Saturday, October 16 – 10 a.m.

The school’s 74th annual homecoming parade, themed “Party at the Pyramids,” begins at 10 a.m. in the CKM parking lot, 3066 Freeport Blvd. From there, the floats, marching band and “royalty” cars head south as they wind through the Land Park neighborhood. The homecoming football games against the Hiram Johnson High School follow: JV at 11 a.m. and varsity at 1 p.m.

Author Dave Eggers at JFK Wednesday, October 20 – 1 p.m.

Dave Eggers, Pulitzer Prize finalist for his memoir “A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius,” will speak with 450 John F. Kennedy High School students about his latest book, “Zeitoun,” a Los Angeles Times Book Award winner. Eggers’ appearance is sponsored by One Book Sacramento, a Sacramento Public Library program.

Health Fair Thursday, October 21 – 5 p.m.

Families will get free dental and vision screenings and other medical services and get an opportunity to sign up for health insurance or connect with health care providers. City of Sacramento Parks and Recreation will be providing entertainment. The fair is jointly sponsored by the City of Sacramento, Kaiser Medical Foundation and The Effort, a mental health and social services organization. The fair will be held at McClatchy.

Make a Difference Day Saturday, October 23 – 8:30 a.m.

Volunteer construction crews will be digging post holes, shoveling dirt and stacking cement blocks to create a brand new school garden at Bret Harte Elementary in Curtis Park, on Saturday – national Make a Difference Day. The work day will be organized like an old-fashioned barn-raising: Volunteers who participate will then take their newfound knowledge of garden installation to Luther Burbank High School, where they will rehabilitate a school garden there. The garden installation is a joint effort of several partners, including Bret Harte teachers and PTA, the Healthy Food Task Force, Sacramento Area Community Garden Coalition, Sierra Health and AmeriCorps.

Fall Graduation Tuesday, October 26 – 6 p.m.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell will be at the district’s annual Fall Graduation ceremony for students who completed all the requirements to earn a diploma last summer. Forty-nine students from throughout the district have been invited to attend with their families. The event will be held at the Charles A. Jones Skills Center, 5451 Lemon Hill Ave.

Hate Crimes Forum Thursday, October 28 – 3:30 p.m.

The 2nd Annual “Youth Against the Hate” forum, sponsored by SCUSD, Asian Resources and YouthRISE, will be held from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. in the cafeteria at McClatchy. The afternoon program will include a keynote address by Basim Elkarra, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, workshops for teens and their parents and spoken word poetry by members of Sacramento Youth Speaks.

Ethel I. Baker Library Makeover Friday, October 29 – 1 p.m.

More than 150 volunteers will put finishing touches on a new school library at Ethel I. Baker Elementary School before an official ribbon-cutting ceremony at 2:45 p.m. The library makeover – one of 32 nationwide – is being made possible by Target and The Heart of America Foundation. The new library will have thousands of new books, new furniture, paint, carpet and technology. Additionally each student and their siblings will receive seven new books to take home to their personal library.

SCUSD Web Site http://www.scusd.edu/Pages/default.aspx

Candidates vie for SCUSD Board seat

2010-10-13T07:06:32Z

The slate is diverse, ranging from a higher education teacher to a retired Naval commander. All are vying for one thing: the chance to represent the Pocket neighborhood on the SCUSD School Board.

Five candidates met at a forum on Tuesday evening at the School of Engineering and Sciences to make their case as best representative for SCUSD District 6 Board Member. The forum was organized by the Didion/Lewis Park Recreational Center Committee and moderated by Michael Langley, editor of Pocket Online.

The biggest topic of reform referred to teachers.

"Everything is in instruction," said Sharon Owens-Thomas. "We probably have one-third high performing teachers in the district, another third mediocre, and another third that are underperforming."

"The first thing we have to do is change the way that we bring teachers into this system."

This feeling was echoed by other candidates.

"It's sad to say, but there are a lot of teachers that are excellent and phenomenal, and there are a few teachers who are not," said Shane Singh.

Darrel Woo, whose qualification as a teacher came under question last week, took a somewhat different approach.

"I'm not in favor of throwing out the baby with the bathwater," said Woo. "What I am in favor of is making our teachers better teachers, making our parents stand up for their children, and making our children responsible for their education as well."

Robert Barton looked at reform in terms of motivation.

"Reform is to help leaders in charge of schools, not administrators," said Barton. "The Principal's role is to inspire, to lead, to train, to motivate; it's all about leadership at the school."

"You don't fire the teachers, you motivate them."

The topic of teachers led to the inevitable discussion regarding labor unions.

"We need school reform, we need to work with the unions to try to somehow phase out these teachers who are no longer motivated," said Rob Gunn.

In regards to unions, Singh discussed tenure and proposed training, something Owens-Thomas took exception to.

"How much training can we have," asked Owens-Thomas. "I don't wan't see another training program. What I want is to grade highly effective teachers in the classroom."

Singh suggested having a gauge to measure teacher performance, and Owens-Thomas was quick to point one out.

"I'm sorry Mr. Singh but we do have a gauge in Sac City Unified," responded Owens-Thomas. "They're called benchmarks."

In the end, all the candidates shared a common goal.

"Let's make our teachers better teachers," said Woo. "Let's make them the best teachers they can be for our children."

Both District 7 Councilmember Candidates Ryan Chin and Darrel Fong were on hand for the meeting.

Representatives from Mayor Kevin Johnson's office were also in attendance.

Visit Pocket Online for more information regarding the candidates and audio clips from the forum.

SCUSD Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond Letter to Community October 7, 2010

2010-10-09T20:48:11Z

Dear Colleagues:

From magazine covers to movie screens to MSNBC’s Education Nation, public schools are a growing topic of national discourse. This interest is understandable. With economic recovery slow, unemployment high and a barrage of data about how American students stack up against their global counterparts, many across the country worry about the status of public education.
On Saturday, I attended a screening of the documentary “Waiting for Superman” and participated in a panel discussion that followed. The film tells the story of five families fed-up with low-performing schools in their neighborhoods and their attempts to enroll their children in higher-performing charters.

I came away from the movie with an overwhelming sense that we have to stop blaming teachers for problems that have multiple causes, ranging from poor administrative oversight and accountability to a lack of parent engagement. I know how hard teachers work to educate every child and challenge students at their ability level. We need to work equally hard to give our teachers the tools and supports they need to be successful. Let’s stop scapegoating and come together to find solutions that work.

The other takeaway, for me, in “Waiting for Superman,” is the idea that innovation is crucial to improving public schools. This is why charters can be an important part of a district portfolio: Charters have certain freedoms to innovate and those ideas can be borrowed and replicated.

But we have to remember that innovation isn’t exclusive to charter schools.

Last week, 80 educators from across Northern California gathered at Health Professions High School for a site visit and to observe a “salon” session, an innovative, teacher-organized, teacher-led approach to improving student learning. During a salon, teachers work together to find best practice strategies that all faculty can then apply in their classrooms. At last Monday’s session, teachers collaboratively hammered out what an effective collegiate-level research paper should look like – a desired outcome that creates a standard for the school.
The educators who observed the salon in a fishbowl activity assumed that Health Professions, with its other ground-breaking approaches to high school curriculum, was a charter. In fact, when Health Professions was proposed there was discussion about whether to make it a charter. It is not. Health Professions is a school at the edge of a federally funded housing project. It serves mostly low-income students (66 percent qualify for a free-or reduced-price lunch) and mostly underrepresented minorities (35 percent African American; 37 percent Latino). And it grew 24 points on the Academic Performance Index last year. Of its 2010 graduates, 100 percent are enrolled in college.

Additionally, about a third of those students received a “diploma of excellence,” meaning they put in 100 hours of community service or more during their four years in high school.

If we want to counter the notion that only charters hold the key to the future of public education, we must be willing to embrace successful innovations and push ourselves to do better.

Finally, while charters are an option for some, the overwhelming majority of children in this district attend traditional public schools. These are the schools that serve foster kids and homeless kids, kids whose parents are in jail, kids who themselves have been in jail.

That’s not an excuse for failure. But that’s reality. Those are the kids that come through our doors. To quote one of our teachers, “the real Superman – and Superwoman --is the teacher who educates these kids.”

“Waiting for Superman” gets its title from Geoffrey Canada, CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone, a 97-block area in New York City that includes two respected charter schools. As a kid in the Bronx, Canada was crushed the day he learned that Superman is fictional. Canada says: “I was crying because no one was coming with enough power to save us.”

There is no magic bullet to our problems, no easy answers. But collectively and collaboratively, I believe we have enough power to change the lives of the children we serve. And for that, we all deserve a cape.

Sincerely,

Jonathan P. Raymond
Superintendent

Sacramento City Unified School District Web Site http://www.scusd.edu/

SCUSD Board Update by Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond

2010-10-04T23:48:39Z

Teaching and Learning

New families welcomed: John Cabrillo Elementary School’s Back to School Night on September 29 was well attended and included an announcement of new Student Leadership Representatives for the year. Families new to the school were welcomed with a rose presented by the student leaders. Additionally, each classroom teacher gave a presentation to parents establishing the learning goals, student expectations and ways parents may help support student success at school this year.

Achievement celebrated: More than 95 percent of parents attended Hollywood Park Elementary School’s Back to School Night. During the event principal Hamed Razawi shared the school’s 13 percent increase in ELA proficiency and the 43-point gain on the Academic Performance Index to the roar and cheer of the audience. Hollywood Park’s API is 815. Primary grade teachers, parents and administration had a small town-hall like meeting to plan for the formation of a split class.

Parental input sought: Theodore Judah Elementary School held a meeting for parents of English learners on September 23 to gather input from the families on how best to support the academic success of their children. The group also discussed strengthening parent access to resources. Members from the PTA Board were also present to collaborate and establish support for all families. On the following night, Theodore Judah hosted its PTA-sponsored barbecue. Families and staff enjoyed hot dogs and hamburgers and had an opportunity to connect with each other while learning about other PTA-sponsored programs planned for the 2010-11 school year.

Linked Learning: Eighty Linked Learning educators from across Northern California gathered at Health Professions High School on Monday for a site visit in which they observed faculty participate in a campus “salon,” a meeting of teachers in which they collectively dig into a subject related to student learning. At Monday’s salon, teachers delineated desired student outcomes for a collegiate-level research paper.
Bidwell scores grant: John Bidwell Elementary School is one of 60 recipients nationwide of the ING Run for Something Better School Awards Program grant of $2,000. The money will be used to introduce fourth through sixth grade students to the benefits of exercise with an eight-week running program. Curriculum for the program includes lessons on healthy lifestyle choices. Congratulations Bidwell!

Operations

Vaccination clinics are a big hit: More than 400 students, family members and community members came to Golden Empire Elementary School on Friday, September 24, for the district’s free inoculation clinic. Health Services staff injected more than 300 influenza and/or pertussis (whooping cough) vaccines. At Hiram Johnson’s School Based Health Clinic, nearly 50 vaccines have been given to students and parents.

Community Engagement

Beautification completed: Volunteers from Milgard Windows, along with several Pacific Elementary School parents, students, staff and district Maintenance and Operations staff, participated in a campus beautification day on Saturday. Workers planted and pruned the front bushes, spread bark in the planting beds, striped the parking areas, repainted the map/hopscotch areas on the playground and kindergarten yard, and began priming the outside walls and trim. Milgard also donated school and art supplies to Pacific teachers. The day ended with a celebratory lunch provided by Milgard Windows.

Open wide: With the help of area dentists and dental assistants who volunteered their time, Edward Kemble Elementary held a free dental screening for every student. The event was pulled together by the school’s Healthy Start Coordinator. Each student received a small bag of dental goodies to keep up good teeth cleaning at home.

Fall Carnival celebrates Mexican Independence Day: Bowling Green Chacon Academy hosted a Fall Carnival on September 24 featuring food, face painting, balloons, games and more. Rincones de Mi Tierra, a community partner, performed several traditional Mexican dances in honor of Mexican Independence Day. Several Chacon students performed traditional dances as well. Wells Fargo and Jamba Juice, two additional community partners, participated in the event. Student volunteers from John F. Kennedy High School’s ROTC program and Luther Burbank High School’s Key Club helped make the event a great success.

Dads on the grill: Thirty Earl Warren Elementary School fathers worked in shifts at the campus’ Back to School Night on September 23, barbecuing 1,500 hot dogs for the 800 parents, students, neighbors and siblings that attended the event. Through community partnerships and donations, the entire event was funded (dinner and entertainment). Partners who participated include: Latino 97.9 Radio Station; Moriyita Taiko Group and Fremont Presbyterian Church. See photos above:

Parkway Back to School Night: Parkway Elementary School held its Back to School Night on September 29. The event included a hot dog dinner fundraiser for the sixth grade Sly Park trip. Parents visited classrooms and were eligible for two “Goodie Bag” prize baskets for each class. Volunteers from Phoenix Park and Parkway Estates neighborhood associations prepared the dinner and hosted information booths.
Cougars catering: Tonight, 15 of John F. Kennedy High School’s culinary arts students will cater an event for 300 people at McGeorge School of Law in Oak Park. The students will be supervised by JFK’s culinary arts teacher Jim Morgan. The event is sponsored by the Women’s Caucus of the McGeorge School of Law and benefits local homeless shelters.

Pony Express delivers: Pony Express Elementary School held its Back to School Night on September 23. Refreshments were provided by the South Land Park Association, which also provided information about the association. The night included presentations from the school’s PTA and Dad’s Club.

Upcoming Events

Students on TV Monday, October 4 – 5:45 a.m.
Caroline Wenzel Elementary School third graders will be featured on the CBS13 morning show “Good Day Sacramento” this week interacting with morning meteorologist Laura Skirde. Video of the students will air at 5:45 a.m. and again at 6:45 a.m. Monday through Friday. Skirde will also answer a weather question from a student each morning as well. The questions students asked will be posted on the Weather School page at http://cbs13.com/weatherschool throughout the week.

Bowling Green Science Night Wednesday, October 6 – 6 p.m. Bowling Green Charter Complex will host a Family Explorit Science Night on October 6 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Families will explore hands-on inquiry based science. The event is an opportunity for families and staff to interact and enjoy science learning.

Zombie Zoom Friday, October 15 – 1:30 p.m.
Mark your calendars for the first-ever fitness celebration at C.B. Wire Elementary School. Families, students and staff will be running/walking 20 minutes to see how many laps/miles they can put in. Participants may wear a fall theme costume during the fitness run. This run is part of C.B. Wire’s Fall Festival Initiative to get more parents involved in childhood education and with their family’s fitness level.

Fashion Show Saturday, October 23 – 2 p.m.

Golden Empire Elementary School teacher Carla Randazza has been selected to participate in the Jones New York Teacher Fashion Show, part of the Jones New York in the Classroom program. The event will be on October 23 at the Downtown Macy’s. She gets to keep all of the clothes she models!

Forum for SCUSD District 6 Trustee Candidates

2010-09-30T03:57:46Z

Residents of the Pocket and Greenhaven neighborhoods will have a chance to hear from candidates running for Trustee Area 6 of Sacramento City Unified School District at a forum on Tuesday, October 12, 2010.

Photo by MikkiPiper.

Five candidates are running for the position since two-term incumbent Roy Grimes declined running for a third term. Grimes served as SCUSD board president three times during his eight year tenure.

The slate of candidates is diverse:

Rob Gunn is a transportation engineer.

Darrel Woo is a higher education teacher and City Parks & Recreation Commissioner.

Robert Bartron is a retired Naval Commander and education administrator.

Shane Singh is a community volunteer and attorney.

Sharon Owens Thomas is a teacher.

The forum, presented by the Didion/Lewis Park Recreational Center Committee, takes place in the gym of the School of Engineering & Sciences from 7pm-8:30pm.

Michael Langley of Pocket Online is slated as moderator.

View more from Mikki Piper.

New DAC President Lourdes “Lou” Jimenez-Price Invites SCUSD Board of Education Candidates to Join with Parents, Teachers and Community At District Advisory Council Meeting

2010-09-11T17:26:32Z

Greetings to all of the candidates:

My name is Lourdes Jimenez-Price, and I am the President of the District Advisory Council (DAC) for the Sacramento City Unified School District. Please accept this e-mail as an invitation to join us this coming Tuesday, September 14, 2010, for the DAC General Meeting at the Serna Center. I have attached a copy of our agenda.

For those of you unfamiliar with the DAC, the purpose of the DAC is to advise the SCUSD Board of Education, Administration and the School Site Councils (SSC) on issues affecting the education of the students in SCUSD including, but not limited to, all matters pertaining to parental involvement in the review, planning and improvement of Title I and State Compensatory Education (SCE) programs.

Our meeting on September 14, 2010, will have a 45 minute portion intended for parents to get to know the DAC and to mingle. I am encouraging voter registration.

Dinner and childcare is provided.

Let me know if you will attend.

Thank you.

Lourdes Jimenez-Price, DAC President

SAC CITY UNIFIED: SCHOOL BOARD RACES
Voters in Sacramento City Unified School District's Areas 1, 2 and 6 will elect trustees to represent them November 2, 2010.

Candidates listed in order of appearance on http://www.elections.saccounty.net/coswcms/groups/public/@wcm/@pub/@vre/documents/webcontent/sac_024898.pdf

• AREA 1: Land Park, downtown, midtown, Curtis Park.

David Ross: Chief Executive Officer

Ellyne Bell: Children's Shelter Director

Paige Powell: Teacher/Mother

• AREA 2: East Sacramento, Tahoe Park, College Glen, part of midtown.

Andrea "Andie" Corso: Teacher [e-mail not found]

Jeff Cuneo: Parent/Children's Advocate

Matthew Easley: Youth Athletic Trainer [e-mail not found]

Mary Hernandez: Community Organizer

• AREA 6: Pocket area.

Darrel Woo: Teacher/Parent

Sharon Owens Thomas: Teacher [e-mail not found]

Robert Gunn: Tranportation Engineer [e-mail not found]

Robert Bartron: Retired Nacal Commander

Shane Singh: Community Volunteer/Attorney

The next DAC meeting is Tuesday, September 14, 2010at the Serna Center, Community Room, from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm. Free dinner and daycare is provided for your convenience.

Teacher Raises Afoot? Optimistic on School Chief's Hiring Practices !

2010-08-05T17:50:10Z

We teachers have all been sacrificing lately for the good of students and the financial solvency of Sacramento City Unified School District. I have an SCUSD-tested plan, however, to help us improve our financial and working condition, especially in light of the SCTA-generated concessions to our District. Here’s what we do.

Apply to the SCUSD school board to use the title, “Chief”, in front of our employee classification. For example, I would take over the moniker, Chief 6th Grade G.A.T.E. Teacher of Phoebe Hearst (it’s better to use capital letters…more credibility). You can immediately see how much more grandeur it gives a lowly teacher. But there are a host of reasons why we all should use the title, Chief:

*It improves student discipline. We all understand the importance of students deferring to classroom authority. Quiet kids make for productive kids.

*Classroom learning is enhanced. Studies show that totally compliant children make marked gains on standardized tests, the only true reliable test of student achievement.

*Teacher appearance necessarily will approach some higher standard. Let’s face it, a Chief Anything can’t come to school to improve learning for students in, say, jeans and sneakers!?! I’m a proponent of the bowtie, for example. You all must have lots of ideas on how we can dress ourselves more properly. Let’s do mandatory in-service on how to enrich a school community by what Chief teachers wear. If only we could enlist some administrative help with teacher wardrobes.

*Parent-teacher conferences will go more smoothly and there will be more of them as well. No parent is going to dare skip the chance to talk to a “Chief” Teacher, and those pesky questions about student progress will be a thing of the past.

But this is the best news. We’ll all get huge raises. I don’t know how the Superintendent does it, but it’ll happen. He’s so confident that he replaced the Chief Financial Officer of SCUSD with a Chief Communications Officer. The financial predicament we face must not be all that bad, I guess! Maybe we’ll all just talk our way through the mess. I’m all for it anyway; it’s way easier than doing math and stuff.

So that’s one chief at $100,000 plus per year. His Chief of Staff? Again up into the six figures. The new proposed Chief of Family and Parent Engagement is expected to cost a bundle. We don’t exactly know how much the new Chief of Accountability will make, but the District spent $52,000 for a North Carolina outfit (none available in our state, I guess) to study accountability for us, so you know it’s going to cost a lot to hire someone to oversee how students, and eventually teachers are doing. Gotta be in the $100,000 plus range, though. All totaled SCUSD boasts seven new chiefs and counting. Heck, Mr. Raymond is spending thousands of dollars just to move secretaries, I hear. So any of you certificated people out there that know some secretaries, let them know about what we can do for them, too. Let’s spread the wealth!

So my plan then, placing a capital Chief in front of our lowly titles, will automatically generate an average salary increase of $42,000 per year, roughly a $1 for every student we serve--- if you look at finances the way our District does. And don’t worry about the school board; they’ve approved every Chief thrown at them. Besides, the Sacramento Bee hasn’t questioned the impropriety of any of our Chief’s Chiefs. It’s all on the up and up. You see, friends, we’re golden; we can’t lose.

So let’s start applying then. The District is apparently long on dollars, longer on Chiefs. The only thing we may be in short supply of is common sense. But we can solve that with a new position…..Chief of Better Judgment. Of course, we’ll have to run that by the SCUSD Communications Department for fiscal soundness.

Erik Knudson
Applying for Chief Random Article Writer status as the Need Arises

David Lubin and Matsuyama Elementary Schools Named 2010 California Distinguished Schools

2010-04-20T15:11:24Z

Sacramento, Calif. – Two Sacramento City Unified School District elementary schools – Matsuyama and David Lubin – were named 2010 California Distinguished Schools by the California Department of Education on Monday.

The award recognizes academic excellence and efforts to narrow achievement gaps. Schools are identified for eligibility on the basis of state and federal accountability program test scores. Applicants are then required to describe two “signature practices” that have led to an increase in student achievement and a reduction in test score disparity between ethnic, racial and socio-economic groups.

At David Lubin, Principal Lynne Soto and her team have raised the test scores of African American and Latino students by implementing a teacher-led, school-wide writing program and by carefully assessing the language arts needs and skills of students to place them in appropriate classes.

Matsuyama was honored for its focus on differentiated instruction and student intervention. Principal David Huscher says these programs have aided in raising test scores among African American, Latino and socio-economically disadvantaged students.

“Creating educational success stories for our students – especially those who have struggled in the past – is an extraordinary accomplishment,” said Superintendent Jonathan Raymond on learning of the district’s Distinguished Schools honorees. “We are very proud of the hard work put in by students and staffs at David Lubin and Matsuyama.”

The Distinguished School program is in its 24th year. Elementary and secondary schools are recognized on alternate years. The awards will be handed out during a ceremony at Disneyland on June 2.

Gabe Ross (916) 643-9145 gabe-ross@sac-city.k12.ca.us

SCUSD to create ‘Superintendent’s Priority Schools’ for six most academically troubled schools

2010-03-18T23:29:29Z

SCUSD to create ‘Superintendent’s Priority Schools’ for six most academically troubled schools

Bold leadership, effective teachers, additional resources for more than 4,600 students

By Gabe Ross

March 16, 2010 – Sacramento’s six most academically troubled schools will be put into a special grouping of schools—the Superintendent’s Priority Schools—with innovative principals, additional assistance and resources Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond announced today.

In a first-of-its-kind effort in Sacramento to intensely focus on improving underperforming schools, the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) will create the Priority Schools to help more than 4,600 students in six schools—Oak Ridge Elementary, Father Keith B. Kenny Elementary, Jedediah Smith Elementary, Fern Bacon Basic Middle, Will C. Wood Middle and Hiram W. Johnson High. Oak Ridge was identified by the California Department of Education last Monday as among the state’s “persistently low-achieving” schools, but Superintendent Raymond said the five other SCUSD schools also have not served children adequately.

“We must take strong, decisive action and include our school communities to help these schools vastly improve how they educate our children,” Raymond said. “Tinkering around the edges of the problems at these schools won’t work. We need bold leadership, more effective teaching and a plan to provide the support our teachers and principals desperately need. We also need more resources to help students learn. We cannot afford to wait another few years and let another generation of students be lost because we didn’t do something to improve their educational opportunity.”

Raymond said the first steps will include meeting with staff, parents and partners involved with each of the six campuses. “We want to move with deliberate speed in this process. That means taking time to meet with staff, parents, students and partners. It means making sure we avoid unintended consequences. It means moving quickly but also taking the necessary steps to learn what is working at each school and what needs to be improved for the students,” Raymond said.

“We have already met with staff at each school and will begin scheduling meetings with parents, students and partners immediately.”

The school district will recruit principals and teachers for the Priority Schools who have a proven record of successful leadership and teaching. Raymond said the six schools will go to “the front of the line” for new computers and other resources, and squads of new volunteers, tutors and mentors will be recruited to help bring additional support to the schools.

Raymond said the six schools will report to one director who will report directly to the superintendent. “That director’s main job will be to support those six schools,” Raymond said. “The days of business as usual are gone. We’re going to take big, bold, dramatic steps to help these schools.”

Academic performance data for these six schools show they have consistently failed to adequately educate children for as long as seven years. Four of the six schools have failed to meet federal proficiency standards in English Language Arts and math for seven years, two have failed to meet the standards for four years. Any gains have been minimal and, in some cases, performance has declined.

All six schools serve primarily economically disadvantaged, minority populations. At all but Johnson, more than 90 percent of the students live at or near poverty.

“We are failing the students we most need to help – those who live in poverty and don’t have the same advantages at home that other students have to help them be prepared to succeed in school,” Raymond said. “We have let failure be acceptable at these schools for too long. But next school year, that culture of failure stops, and a new culture of success and achievement must begin.”

The Oak Ridge school will receive up to $2 million in additional support as a result of the state’s designation of it as a persistently underachieving school. SCUSD will use federal Title 1 money and leverage other private and public resources to pump up the funding for the other five schools, Raymond said.

At Johnson, which has nearly 2,100 students, the district will provide additional resources to support the existing 9th Grade Academy Program to give extra, focused attention to freshmen as part of the Priority Schools initiative. Johnson also will have a special arts school within the main high school.

“The waiting is over,” Raymond said. “Urgent action to improve these six schools begins now. We don’t have a child or a moment to lose.”

Go to the Sacramento City Unified District Web Site

Board of Education Meeting Tonight March 18, 2010

4:30 p.m. Closed Session
6:30 p.m. Open Session

Serna Center
5735 47th Avenue
Sacramento, Ca 95824
Community Room

Sacramento school board approves layoffs to help solve budget deficit

2010-03-05T05:53:53Z

Sacramento school board approves layoffs to help solve budget deficit
About 430 teachers and other school staff, 125 central office workers would lose jobs

By Maria L. Lopez

March 4, 2010 – Elementary class sizes will be larger and about 430 teachers and other school staff would lose their jobs under a plan approved by the Sacramento school board Thursday night for millions of dollars in spending cuts to close a $30.6 million budget deficit.
The Sacramento City Unified School District board voted unanimously Thursday night to approve the cuts to take effect in the next school year unless the district’s unions join the administration in agreeing to concessions to stave off some of the cuts.
Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond said the school district must close a $30.6 million deficit for the 2010-11 budget. The board approved Raymond’s plan to lay off about 340 teachers, 60 counselors, social workers and psychologists, about 38 school administrators and five school clerical workers.
Class sizes in kindergarten through third grade will be increased from about 25 students per class to 30 students under the plan. An agreement by employee unions to accept concessions is still in discussion and could help save jobs and keep class sizes smaller.
“These cuts in the budget definitely will impact our ability to educate children. Class sizes would be larger and good teachers would be lost. But we are hopeful that our continuing discussions with our employee bargaining units will be successful and we will be able to avert some of the job losses and some of the class size increases,” Superintendent Raymond said.
Employee health care benefits have skyrocketed 50 percent over the past five years. Teachers pay virtually nothing for health care. If the employee bargaining units would agree to a $50 per month insurance premium and three furlough days, the same number of furlough days as Superintendent Raymond and other unrepresented employees, the district could save $5.1 million and save up to 68 teachers’ jobs. Teacher jobs saved means smaller class sizes.
SCUSD has cut spending or enhanced revenues by $144 million since 2002, including deep cuts in administrative budgets as enrollment has declined and state revenues have been slashed.
In the new budget, the administration will make even deeper cuts, saving $5.95 million by eliminating 87 central office jobs. About 63 central office administrative employees, in addition, will receive layoff notices. Another $15 million savings will come from spending cutbacks for such state programs as assistance to struggling students, supplemental school counseling, regional occupation programs, adult education and school and facility maintenance funds.
Raymond said the district will save another $950,000 by making buildings more energy efficient, $253,000 in an across-the-board cut of 10 percent in central office budgets. $170,000 by reducing the number of high schools offering summer school from five to two, $30,000 by eliminating some district employee cell phones, $47,000 in computer software reductions, $15,000 in lower storage costs, and $85,000 in special education reductions.

Central administration makes more budget cuts
Savings
Central office layoffs                                    $5.95 million
Central office 10% budget cut                   $253,000
Energy efficient buildings                           $950,000
Eliminating some district cell phones     $30,000
Eliminating storage sites                           $15,000

The superintendent said laying off teachers, counselors, custodians and other school workers, and packing more children into every classroom in kindergarten through third grade are the last things he wants to do.
“I am still hopeful that we will be able to reach an agreement with our employee unions and together we can reduce some of the impact of this very dire financial situation,” Raymond said.
California school districts are required under state law to notify teachers and other employees by March 15 of expected layoffs. School districts also are required on that day to report to the county offices of education their plans to balance their budgets for this year and the following two years.

Sacramento City Unified School District Web Site

This meeting of the Sacramento City School Board is videotaped in its entirety and will be cablecast without interruption on Metro Cable 14, the government affairs channel on the Comcast and SureWest Cable Systems. Today’s meeting will be replayed Sunday,

Or go to the Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education Meeting Web Site to watch the archive video of the meeting

Sacramento City Unified School District Community Budget Forums

2010-02-13T17:58:54Z

The budget and strategic plan survey of the community is complete. These surveys mark the a new commitment by SCUSD to listening to our community, consulting the community on important decisions and providing the public open access to our work in leading the district. The data will be accumulated and we will report on the results of the surveys as soon as possible.

Superentendent Jonathan Raymond announced that the district has scheduled four community forums to discuss the budget. These forums seek to gain recommendations from the public on how the district should deal with a budget shortfall of up to $30 million. “In the end, the school board will make the tough decisions about how to balance the budget and will set a direction for the district with the new strategic plan. But these forums are allowing us to have a conversation with the people of Sacramento – teachers, parents and community members alike – like never before in our history. These conversations are vitally important and are giving us a window into the community’s thoughts and ideas about the kind of schools they want. We want to make sure everyone takes this opportunity to be heard,” Superintendent Raymond said.

Each is scheduled from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

• Feb. 17 – McClatchy High School, 3066 Freeport Blvd.
• Feb. 23 – Rosemont High School, 9594 Kiefer Blvd.
• Feb. 24 – Luther Burbank High School, 3500 Florin Road
• March 3 – location to be announced

"It's absolutely critical that the community is part of these decisions. It's their schools, after all."

Go to the SCUSD Web Site

The survey of the community and employees regarding SCUSD's budget and strategic plan is complete.

2010-02-11T16:30:00Z

These surveys mark the beginning of a new commitment by SCUSD to listening to our community, consulting the community on important decisions and providing the public open access to our work in leading the district. We thank everyone for their enthusiastic participation in these historic surveys. The data will be accumulated and we will report on the results of the surveys as soon as possible. We also will contact those community members who provided us email addresses when the survey results are tabulated.

SCUSD reaches out to Hmong families to secure voice in budget, strategic plan

2010-02-05T17:25:54Z

Hmong Women’s Heritage Association helps boost participation in district surveys

By Maria L. Lopez

In an effort to ensure the greatest participation possible in two historic surveys, the Sacramento City Unified School District is teaming up with the Hmong Women’s Heritage Association (HWHA) to assist parents and students in completing questionnaires about the district’s budget and strategic plan from 3:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 5 at the Association’s offices, 2245 Florin Rd.

The first-of-its-kind endeavor to involve Sacramento residents in improving their public schools involves a pair of surveys on school improvements and the district’s budget.

Every Sacramento community member—including parents, teachers and other employees of the district—is being asked to respond to the surveys that will yield for school board members and the superintendent a treasure trove of information about the community’s needs and priorities for public schools.

SCUSD Superintendent Jonathan Raymond said, “We have a valuable and important partner in the Hmong Women’s Heritage Association, and we greatly appreciate their assistance in reaching out to an important and vital part of our community.” He added, “We want to make sure everyone takes this opportunity to be heard.” Community members can take part in the surveys through Feb. 9. The surveys are anonymous. Results will be shared with the public the week of Feb. 15. In addition to the HWHA, neighborhood associations and other organizations are assisting the district by encouraging their members and partners to complete the surveys.

HWHA is a non-profit, community-based organization committed to empowering Hmong women and their families in the Sacramento region. It provides a range of health services through the Hmong Family Resource Center, the Kashia Health Program which aims to reduce cancer and chronic health disparities among the Hmong community, and the Youth Empowerment Program that operates after-school programs to help meet the needs of Southeast Asian youth.

Go to the Sacramento City School District Web Site

Historic Surveys on Public Schools Draw Strong Interest

2010-02-04T02:55:52Z

SCUSD superintendent urges community to weigh in before surveys close one week from today

The Sacramento school district’s historic public surveys on its budget and strategic planning have drawn more than 11,000 responses so far, and Superintendent Jonathan Raymond Tuesday urged parents, teachers and students to take the surveys before the Feb. 9 deadline in one week.

This first-of-its-kind effort to involve Sacramento residents in the improvement of their public schools involves a pair of surveys on school improvements and the district’s budget. Every Sacramento community member—including parents, teachers and other employees of the district—is being asked to respond to the surveys that will yield for school board members and the superintendent a treasure trove of information about the community’s needs and priorities for public schools.

“We’ve had an excellent response from teachers, parents, students and community members so far. With their responses to these surveys, they are giving the school board and the administration very valuable information to help to make tough decisions on the budget and to help us to plan where we the Sacramento City Unified School District should be headed in the future,” Superintendent Raymond said. “There is still time, though, for more citizens to go online to participate and make sure their voices are heard.”

Community members and employees should log on to the district website, www.scusd.edu, to take part before Feb. 9.

One survey is designed to gain recommendations from the public on how the district should deal with a budget shortfall of up to $30 million. The other survey will help district leaders design a new strategic plan to improve every school.

While the community has one more week to weigh in on the issues, the surveys already are producing trends for school district officials. For example, large numbers of community members who have already responded reported that keeping class sizes small and making sure children have textbooks are important considerations for the budget. Teachers and staff, meanwhile, also are trending toward small classes and textbooks as very important considerations for the budget, along with making sure every school has its own principal.

Students surveyed for their thoughts on the development of the district’s strategic plan are reporting that having good teachers and principals and feeling safe at school are the most important considerations.

“In the end, the school board will make the tough decisions about how to balance the budget and will set a direction for the district with the new strategic plan. But these surveys are allowing us to have a conversation with the people of Sacramento – teachers, parents and community members alike – like never before in our history. These conversations are vitally important and are giving us a window into the community’s thoughts and ideas about the kind of schools they want. We want to make sure everyone takes this opportunity to be heard,” Superintendent Raymond said.

The surveys were developed by K12 Insight with input from district officials and community members who were part of a special community wide focus group convened Jan. 12.

More than 3,800 responses to the surveys have been received from Sac City teachers, and nearly 3,000 responses have been received from parents and other community members so far. Students were invited to respond to the strategic plan survey, and more than 4,200 students have done so.

The surveys are anonymous. The surveys are returned electronically to K12 Insight, which produces reports for the school district based on the results. No names of respondents are attached to the reports provided to the school district. Results will be shared with the community the week of Feb. 15.

Parent surveys are available in Hmong and Spanish in addition to English. Parents who cannot access the surveys online may call (916) 643-9420 for a paper copy of the survey.

SCUSD budget gap grows by $10 million

2010-01-20T01:40:02Z

SCUSD budget gap grows by $10 million

School district facing eighth year of reductions

Story By Maria L. Lopez

Photo by BigEducationApe.blogspot.com

Surveys by K12 Insight

Sacramento City Unified School Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond announced today that the district will need to reduce its 2010-11 general fund budget by $28 to $30 million. The projection was readjusted after review of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s budget proposals.

Raymond said the district had expected to trim $18 million from next year’s budget but revised the estimate after the Governor’s proposals were released.

Raymond said that since 2002-03, SCUSD has cut more than $144 million from its budget. “While the news is not good, we will do what we have to do to meet the needs of our students. We will need the best thinking and efforts of everyone from our staff and parents to community members to meet this new challenge,” Raymond stated. “The priority will be students and what we need to do to create a positive future for them.” The superintendent said the district is undertaking two surveys to gather community input to create a strategic plan and budget. Focus groups were conducted earlier this week to help craft the surveys which will be posted on the district’s web site Jan. 19. “We will use our strategic plan as the filter to plan our budget for next year and beyond, and public engagement is critical to the process,” Raymond said. “We will ask whether each dollar spent and every budget cut puts kids first and supports student learning.” He said the fiscal challenge “cannot and will not” be
used as an excuse for not meeting the needs of students.

“Everything is on the table, and we will be looking at every part of the budget—not just personnel costs which represent 80 to 85 percent of our budget. This requires us to work with all of our unions to get control of our costs to ensure we create a future for our kids. We need to find savings, and we need to generate revenue,” Raymond said.

STRATEGIC PLANNING SURVEY & BUDGET SURVEY

Sacramento City Unified School District wants to hear from you!

Please take both surveys.

STRATEGIC PLANNING SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE

Take Survey Now

BUDGET SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE

Take Survey Now

Go to Sacramento City Unified School District Web Site

School moving from old Marshall School to Thomas Jefferson Elementary

2009-11-05T03:04:47Z

It was confirmed last week California Montessori Project's Capitol Campus will move from the Marshall School to Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in the College Glen neighborhood.

Since August, CMP leased the Marshall School building from the Sacramento City Unified School District, which also oversees its charter. Next Thursday and Friday, the school will be closed for the move and will resume at the new campus on Nov. 16.

SCUSD superintendent Jonathan Raymond met with CMP board members, students and parents Tuesday night at the campus' new location. After stating reasons for the move, he answered questions from parents.

"The old Marshall School, although a very beautiful facility and by all appearances structurally sound, does not comply with two very important requirements," Raymond said. "No. 1, the Field Act, (which) simply relates to the ability of a building to withstand a seismic event; the other important component is this building does not meet state building codes - it is not compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act."

He stated that charter schools are required by Prop 39, which passed in 2005, to comply with either one of these codes, and the Marshall School does not. Raymond also took responsibility for the error, and said he looks forward to helping CMP move to the Jefferson campus, which is Field Act and ADA compliant.

"We're going to do it expeditiously, with (the) least disruption to the children and to the families of California Montessori Project, first and foremost," Raymond said to the crowd of nearly 200 gathered in the multi-purpose/lunch room.

This includes providing bus transportation to the new school site throughout the remainder of the school year. Details on the bus routes will be given in the next week, Raymond said.

Thomas Jefferson Elementary School closed at the end of the 2008-09 school year after suffering from low enrollment and loss of revenue. Although CMP Capitol Campus' enrollment is also low, in the low 200s, moving to this location is an opportunity for the school to expand and use the facility the way it should be used, Raymond said.

The school also has a new rooftop ventilation system with furnaces and thermostats added last year, said Mellissa Truitt, SCUSD Associate Superintendent of Capital Asset Management Services.

Some parents said they were still upset about leaving the downtown location so quickly in the middle of a school year. They were notified in late October about a possible move.

"The move is disappointing because we lived in the (Marshall) neighborhood," said Rachelle Barbour, parent of a first-grade student at CMP. "If it wasn't for the liability reasons [if a seismic event did occur, the district and the CMP board would be liable for any injury], it wouldn't have happened so fast."

However, Barbour said she felt "reassured" that the superintendent met with parents and will use the buses provided by the school district. She also noted that there are too few schools in the grid, and said she would like for another school to open in the downtown area.

Darrin Greer, another parent of a first-grade student, thought that the meeting was informative and answered questions.

"The superintendent was open and it helps (that) the district is committed to transportation," he said. "Moving is difficult to do in the middle of the year."

Greer said it would be interesting to see how many people will stay at CMP and how many will leave, but he expects most will stay for at least the rest of this year. He also wanted to know if any other schools in the SCUSD have ADA or Field Act compliance issues.

"This was the only one," Raymond said in an interview after the meeting. "We want to see it thrive. We want to provide whatever support we can to ensure that they do, it's important for the community."

He also said that creating downtown-area schools is a priority.

"We have people living and moving in there, and we need to provide school facilities for those children too and those families," Raymond said. "I've told the community and others in the neighborhood that's something I want to work toward."

Operation Sellout: How the Sky Box Trumps the Lunch Box

2009-11-01T06:41:22Z

From the lofty perches of the power players, in their skyboxes and bank towers, the public may look very small, almost antlike. Deal and decision makers are elevated and segregated from the little people, whose lives they influence.

On Thursday, October 29, Mayor Kevin Johnson announced his "Rules of the Game" plan to build an arena and entertainment complex in Sacramento. The press conference was held 25 floors up, with a hazy overview of the city, extending from the historic rail yards to Cal Expo: two potential sites for a new and lucrative sports/real estate venture.

In that same sweeping view, the mayor could look down on the central city neighborhoods. From Downtown, Midtown, East Sac, all the way east to River Park and southward to College Glen, Tahoe Park and back around to Oak Park -- all of these neighborhoods are being intentionally and systematically deprived of a comprehensive, traditional, public high school.

This mayor has claimed to want to be an education mayor for Sacramento, even though public education is outside the duties and jurisdiction of the mayor.

So why? Why is a task force and "Rules of the Game" for placing a sports complex in the central city, more of a priority for this mayor than providing a comprehensive, public high school for the majority -- and historic center -- of the city's neighborhoods and families?

Would it help the mayor to see the big picture from up there, if there was a Sacramento High School Tent City, laid out in Fremont Park, Boulevard Park, McKinley Park and Bertha Henschel, Glen Hall Park and East Portal, Tahoe and McClatchy Parks?

A visit from Oprah's cameras might help draw his attention to the estimated 10,000 Central City students that have been displaced, abandoned and disappeared, since the closure of the real Sacramento High School in 2003. The disenfranchised are the rightful public school students and families of the Second Oldest High School West of the Mississippi.

How can it be so easy to overlook the reality that this student body, all these historic, central neighborhoods, do not have a comprehensive, traditional, public high school for their children to go to?

It helps if the local newspaper is complicit in crafting the story of how the public school was closed and reopened as a charter, in a continuous campaign of disinformation and incomplete reporting. Another puffy editorial was printed on Sunday, October 25 stating "On the scale of turnaround options, closing a school and reopening it as a charter is the most dramatic. It also is the most risky. But, as the Sacramento High experience has shown, it can bring big dividends for students in poorer neighborhoods, who too often are left behind."

Wait a minute. Who is being "left behind" here? 6 years later, -- after huge community outcry and advocacy, after a lawsuit and a consent decree of the court, ordering that the Sacramento City Unified School District provide a replacement -- half of the city of Sacramento's students still don't have their high school.

As the editorial said:

"Closing a school and turning it over to a nonprofit to run as a public charter school is not for the faint of heart" -- especially when it is done prematurely and illegally, as happened to Sacramento High School.

"It requires a strong school board willing to back an inevitably controversial decision" -- and complicit in the back room deals, dirty deeds, misuse of Federal funds and betrayal of the community will, all of which got that "strong" school board voted out of office.

"It requires a charter organization willing to withstand withering criticism in its sensitive startup years by those tethered to the status quo" -- the "status quo" being pesky, boring stuff like: the will of the parents, voters and taxpayers (who were forced to become litigants and WON), the history, traditions and needs of the whole community and -- oh yeah -- the law.

The editorial quotes, Tom Loveless, director of the Center on American Education at the Brookings Institution, who told The Bee when Sac High was closed, "It has never happened before where a large, existing high school closed in June and opened in September as a charter." The editor fails to mention that it will never happen here again. After the illegal handover of Sacramento's historic high school to Kevin Johnson, the resulting lawsuit led to a consent decree requiring a one year period in between.

This most recent in a series of misleading and enabling editorials continues. "Enrollment has stabilized at 1,000 students in the last two years and the school slowly seems to be getting beyond the intense conflict surrounding its founding. This is a school that could be even more successful if it had something more than a dismissive brush-off from influential parts of the community."

This is a school that is propped up with powerful media complicity and fudged statistics, packaged with the illegitimate use of the trappings of the historic public school: the mascot, the colors, team name, school name and the school nick name (which the SCUSD has unsuccessfully ordered St. HOPE to quit using). This sporty, peppy, purple and white sham of "Sac High," continues despite repeated public protests to the newspaper and the school board.

The sham, however, provided Kevin Johnson his springboard to the 25th floor press conference vantage and the Mayor's seat.

St. Hope operates "Sacramento Charter High School." It is not "Sacramento High School" or "Sac High." The only time the Sacramento Bee has consistently used the correct terms, were in the few unavoidable investigative articles, when alleged malfeasance by Kevin Johnson was too serious to gloss over. Then, the Bee referred to all the various other official entities of Johnson's St. Hope franchise and avoided any mention of him or of "Sac High."

"Getting beyond the intense conflict surrounding (St. HOPE's) founding," while pretending that central Sacramento should not have a comprehensive, public high school, is impossible. This fuzzy media blanket masking the truth and muzzling the public interest made Johnson's mayoral win possible.

This is a school that was paid for by the taxpayers, supported by the whole community for 147 years and valued for its diverse community-building aspect. This is a school that Sacramentans previously voted to approve bond funds, for renovations intended to serve the whole community, that ended up providing Johnson's boutique charter a $27 million renovation. This is a campus that belongs to the whole community, which is owed a consent decree high school after parents sued over the St. HOPE takeover.

This is a school that cannot justify its presence on the community's historic, upgraded, public high school campus without fudging the statistics, without cherry picking its student body, without the enabling of the local media and without excluding thousands of SCUSD students every year (including student families in Oak Park, who prefer a comprehensive, traditional public school to the St. HOPE charter). This is a school that owes the SCUSD $1,000,000 because it can't pay its bills.

So, who is really getting the "dismissive brush-off from influential parts of the community"? The highly insular, media fortified, privatized outpost of St. HOPE, squatting on the Sac High campus and the mayor with his lofty sky box view?

Or is it that vast, diverse Tent City of displaced high school students, spread out as far as the eye can see, spelling out the words, "Where's my High School"?

The bank tower skybox elites care about the bottom line. They are not accountable to -- or even aware of -- the community experience on the ground level.

It is up to the community to make sure that this mayor is not so blinded by the haze of powerful influence and the sport of politics, that he overlooks his duty to the the families and future of Sacramento.

Sacramento: A City That Works For Everyone: How Does Central Sacramento Work For Families?

2009-10-29T19:22:29Z

On Monday, October 19th, parents of the charter school California Montessori Project (CMP)-Capitol Campus where surprised to learn through a letter from CMP Director, Gary Bowman, that Mr. Raymond, the new Superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), was requesting that the Capitol Campus be relocated from the Old Marshall School (2718 G Street), a facility the school had moved into only 3 months prior, because the building was now deemed unsafe. The Capitol Campus is to be relocated in the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School (in the College Glen area) far from the current location forcing hundreds of families on the roads. Moreover the campus has to leave the premises in a hurry, in the middle of the school year -the move has already been planned for November 11th- even though parents learned through a subsequent letter from Gary Bowman (dated Thursday October 22nd) that there is "no imminent danger" and even though no one has yet seen the full report on which the SCUSD based its decision. Parents were not consulted, either about the time frame or by the choice of the new location. There is a perception among the parents community that the SCUSD is forcing a hasty decision in order to facilitate some ulterior plan. Read more here

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's slogan for Sacramento is "A City That Works For Everyone". How can the central city work for families if school are disappearing? CMP- Capitol Campus is the only Charter School offering a free-tuition Montessori education in the downtown/midtown area, attracting an extremely diverse community of families. The rightly named “Capitol Campus” has been in existence for eight years (first in the Pioneer Church on L Street, then since August 2009, in the Old Marshall School, where it was able to receive more students and extend its offering to 7th and 8th graders). Many families have made the choice to live in the downtown area because they believe in minimizing their environmental impact and improving the quality of life by living close to work and school. Last August, the Old Marshall School neighborhood community welcomed the school with open arms and big smiles, it was viewed as an important moment in the life of our city. Read more here. Parents are worried that their vision to make midtown more friendly and welcoming to families will never materialize if there are no schools to support families.

Open letter to Susan Miller, Associate Superintendent Sacramento City Unified

Dear Susan Miller,

Thank you for your message, even though it is a form letter that all parents received as a reply; and even though it came when everything had already been decided without any real input from us, the parents. This doesn't reflect a real concern for our situation! Only SCUSD Board member Jerry Houseman has shown a real interest in our problem by engaging into individual and thoughtful conversations, not only with me but with all the parents from whom he had received a letter.

We are forced to move but we still haven't seen the famous report from the architects and engineers hired by the District that claim that the Old Marshall School is not in compliance with the California Building Codes. We, as parents, are very curious to learn what the real problem with the school is: how exactly is the Old Marshall Building not in compliance? When are we going to be able to see and review the full report?

I was looking forward to meeting Superintendent Jonathan Raymond on November 3rd but now I am worried that he will give us the same kind of general, non-specific answers.

It is indeed "most unfortunate" -to quote your words- that our whole school Community has to be uprooted to the College Glen area, nice in itself but not what I signed up for when I enrolled my kids into the "CAPITOL" Campus of CMP. I will now have to spend 20 to 30 minutes on the freeway to take my kids to school every day (which is almost 2 hours in the car each day) when our commute to school is right now only 7 minutes (less than 30 minutes per day in the car).

If I had wanted to drive so far just so that my children would have a soccer field near their school or a real multi-purpose room, I could have signed up for another CMP Campus. What is now the choice of the parents who have chosen the environmentally conscious lifestyle of living, working, shopping, entertaining, and taking their kids to school in downtown Sacramento?

How is it more safe for our family to drive so long to go to school? There is more chance that my children would get injured in a car accident than there is that the Old Marshall School would ever fall on their heads!

We had a nice location at the Pioneer Church that we were outgrowing, so yes we were looking for another location in the downtown area, but we could have stayed there another year or two, till we find the perfect place... Now we have no choice but to take our kids to a distant school or leave CMP in the middle of the school year, which as you know very well is an almost impossible task, not only because the schools are full but because of the hardship it would impose on our children.

The only real support from the District that I would have been grateful for would have been if you had helped us find a location in the downtown area (even if it was only a temporary solution), by working in collaboration with the state or even commercial building owners, so that our families could have remained where we have chosen to be by enrolling our kids into the CMP Capitol Campus.

Sincerely,
Cecile Downs, a distressed and frustrated parent of two CMP students.

Parents split over possible Montessori school move

2009-10-28T04:56:49Z

A five-hour board meeting on the fate of California Montessori Project's Capitol Campus ended around 10:45 p.m. Monday night with a resolution: If an assessment says the Marshall School building in which the school resides is not compliant with state building codes, the school must move "expeditiously."

If the assessment, which has still not been made public, says the building does meet minimum state codes, the board will reconvene to decide if the school will move or not.

Nearly 100 people - parents, elementary school students and the California Montessori Project's nine board members, superintendent and a legal advisor - filled a multipurpose room at the Marshall School in Midtown to see if the school would need to move. They voiced a range of concerns, asked questions and offered suggestions to the board and its director.

The public charter grade school opened at its current location, 2700 G St., on Aug. 17, after eight years of being located in the Pioneer Congregational Church, 2700 L St.

California Montessori Project leases the Marshall School building from the Sacramento City Unified School District, which also oversees its charter.

Last week, parents received a letter from CMP superintendent Gary Bowman saying new SCUSD superintendent Jonathan Raymond had recently performed a study, deeming the building unsafe.

"I don't think (previous) staff did a thorough job, and that was something that I uncovered when I started," Raymond said to KCRA 3 last Tuesday. "(Students) were already in there, and we started to ask questions (like) 'Why were they in before we did a thorough review?'"

California public schools are required to pass strict earthquake standards designated in the 1933 Field Act, but since the Marshall School was built in 1903, it does not meet them.

"We know we don't have Field Act compliance, (because) we predated the Act by a number of years," said Bowman.

As a charter school, however, CMP only needs to meet minimum building requirements and not the Field Act. Their previous location, Pioneer Congregational Church, was not Field Act-compliant.

Bowman told those gathered Monday night that Raymond told him last week, "it's not your mistake, it's the city's mistake." He also said Raymond told him that "we will do everything we can to make it whole," and that he wants to meet again next Tuesday.

A CMP facilities team proposed Jefferson Elementary School, in the College Glen neighborhood, as the best fit for the school to lease. Several parents praised Jefferson's newer facilities, which include a larger grassy area for children to play, a more modern kitchen and a multipurpose room with a stage.

"In terms of the move itself, SCUSD is going to bring in packers, movers, they're going to go full tilt to support this move," Bowman added.

However, others felt skeptical of SCUSD's motives, shocked and betrayed at the sudden news.

"We felt that the building was safe enough," said Cécile Downs, the parent of a kindergartner and a second grader. "To my knowledge the school still has not received any written instructions to move."

Many parents voiced their concern that moving would disrupt students' education and take parent volunteer hours. Others alleged that the district wanted to rent out the Marshall School, which Bowman denied.

A number of parents demanded transportation to the new school it moves. Some said they would not be able to transport their children because it takes too long.

"This building is over a century old, and I don't believe there have been any problems related to earthquakes in this building," said Rich, a parent of a first grader who did not give his last name. "There is far more risk to our children driving on the freeway for two hours a day to get to a new location."

The Sacramento Press contacted SCUSD's public relations office manager Maria Lopez and asked if the Marshall School building violates any codes. She said the code is not the issue.

"Our superintendent said that no students should be in any structures not compliant with the Field Act," Lopez said. "There's a little bit of a grey area on whether independent charters (should) go into non-Field Act-compliant structures. Some think that they can, some think that they cannot."

SCUSD Board of Education approves drastic reduction of summer school

2009-06-12T15:09:40Z

The SCUSD Board of Education voted 5 – 1, with 1 abstention, to drastically reduce summer school programs for the next two years - effective immediately. The decision eliminates all programs for elementary and middle school students, and reduces summer school for high school students. In addition, special education programs will be reduced and adult school programs will either be reduced or converted to a fee based system. The decision will also impact almost 300 district employees, some of whom planned to report to work as early as today.

In her opening statements, Interim Superintendent Susan Miller stressed that the budget for this and next fiscal year was balanced as of May 14th, but then “the bottom fell out” and the district was forced to use stimulus funds. She added that they were leaving “no stone unturned” but that after years of “cutting to the core of instruction” vital services including employee contracts, support staff and transportation were being considered for cuts.

Ellyne Bell (Area 1), the only member to vote against the decision, asked what resources the district would provide to schools who will now be charged with the difficult task of bringing students up to grade level without summer school programs. Miller had no clear solutions to offer and stated only that it would be “reasonable to expect that (schools) will have to lead the charge to work (extra instruction) into the school year” and that the district would make “assisting them a high priority.”

Bell expressed deep reservations regarding the suggestion and reminded the board that they “made a commitment to keep cuts as far away from kids as possible.”

Board Member Diana Rodriguez (Area 5) raised questions regarding alternative options, such as charging a small fee for summer school. While SCUSD counsel suggested this might violate the K-12 constitution for California, district staff admitted the matter had not been researched. No other alternative options were presented to the board. The proposal also contained no information on the long-term impact of eliminating summer school programs for below grade level students.

With most summer schools slated to begin on June 22 and some beginning as early as today, the board had little time to consider researching other options.

Nine members of the community spoke publicly against further reduction of summer school programs, urging the board to “just say no, for a change” and expressing frustrations about the lateness of the proposal.

Supt. Miller addressed the crowd directly, urging them to understand that there were no ulterior motives behind the lateness of the special meeting. Current budget conditions left the district with no choice but to take immediate action.

Donald Terry (Area 3) also spoke frankly to the audience. He applauded his colleagues for making tough decisions in a difficult budget year and encouraged attendees to “pick up a newspaper and look at what other districts are doing.”

Jerry Houseman (Area 2) was the last to address the crowd. He admitted making the suggestion to Supt. Miller after he discovered that the Los Angeles Unified School District, which “represents ¼ of the students in the state,” was forced to cut summer school. “We need to join them,” he added. Houseman also stressed the importance or renegotiating union contracts and pointed out that salaries comprised 88% of the existing budget.

Roy Grimes (Area 6), Patrick Kennedy (Area 7), Houseman and Terry voted for the reductions. Gustavo Arroyo (Area 4) abstained from voting and Bell was the only “no” vote.

Program Reductions Defined (taken from the SCUSD proposal)

Eliminate Summer School Programs

Elementary and Middle Schools (for 2 years)
Adult Education (ESL, GEB, ABE, Distance Learning, Older Adults)

Convert Adult Education CTE Classes to Fee Based

Shift Cost of PACE/HISP/IB to Site & Grant Funds

Maintain Special Populations Programs to Close the Achievement Gap

Culturally & Linguistically Reponsive Pedagogy Programs
Hmong, Mien, Lao Program
Refugee Student Assistance Program
CSUS Math/ELA Academy

Maintain High School Programs with Modifications

Eliminate On-line Credit Recovery
Concurrent Enrollment with Adult Ed.

Budget cuts puts summer school programs at risk

2009-06-11T19:04:14Z

As their peers celebrate the last day of school, many Sacramento students will head home facing an uncertain summer. With only a one-day notice, SCUSD called a special Board of Education Meeting to be held on Thursday – the last day of school. The Board will consider a staff suggestion to eliminate summer school programs district wide.

Due to budget constraints, enrichment programs have already been stripped from the district’s summer school agenda. Kara Broderick, a first and second grade teacher at David Lubin Elementary, said that teachers were asked “only to recommend students that were below basic or far below basic” grade levels. The Board will decide Thursday whether or not to eliminate the program entirely.

Eliminating summer school programs for students who are below proficiency levels will have a far-reaching impact. A 2006 study of high school dropouts, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, found that 45% of students who dropped out of high school stated that “they started high school poorly prepared by their earlier schooling” and emphasized that many “likely fell behind in elementary and middle school and could not make up the necessary ground.”

As adults, these students are far more likely to be “unemployed, living in poverty, receiving public assistance, in prison, on death row, unhealthy, divorced, and ultimately single parents with children who drop out from high school themselves.”

Additionally, the study listed summer school as a supplemental service that “schools need to provide” in order to reduce drop out rates in the future.

The National Association of School Psychologists agrees, stating that summer school programs play an essential part in facilitating academic development and eliminating ineffective practices such as social promotion and grade retention.

For students struggling to meet grade level standards, summer school provides the opportunity to catch up prior to the start of a new school year. Linda Lane has enrolled her daughter Eva, who will enter the first grade at David Lubin next year, into the district’s summer school program.

As one of the youngest children in her class, Lane says that Eva “got off to a really rough start” but has been steadily making improvements. Lane believes that “summer school will help her achieve proficiency by the start of her first grade year.” She added that Eva “is finally enjoying the learning part of school, so she is ripe for leaning!”

SCUSD’s own proposed frameworks for academic achievement explicitly state that academic success can not be achieved “for every student by name” unless those below grade level are afforded the resources to meet minimum proficiency levels. By eliminating academic programs for the most vulnerable children in our district, the district will fail to live up to its own standards and frameworks.

The Board of Education will meet Thursday, June 11 at 7:00 p.m. at the Serna Center, 5735 47th Avenue, Sacramento. The meeting begins with a closed session and opens to the public at 8:00 p.m. The agenda can be viewed here.

Sacramento City Schools Facing Major Budget Crisis

2009-01-13T02:02:08Z

SCUSD to Meet with Residents In Lincoln Village

Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), which includes the schools of Abe Lincoln, AM Winn, Einstein, and Rosemont, has been facing serious budget problems this year. The district has already cut over $20 million from this year's budget and may be looking at mid-year cuts of up to $30 million more. The district is even looking at closing some school sites in an extreme effort to cut costs.

A special community meeting is being held by SCUSD officials on Tuesday, January 13th, at AM Winn Elementary School located at 3351 Explorer Drive. This meeting is being held to inform the public about options the district is considering and to seek community input. The meeting is scheduled to last from 6 pm to 8 pm. Although the district has scheduled meetings at other schools in other parts of the district, this will be the only meeting in the Lincoln Village, Countryside or Rosemont areas.

Even if you do not have children currently enrolled in SCUSD schools, this is an important meeting to attend. The quality of local schools are an important factor in the value of nearby homes and in the ability of the next generation of young people to gain the skills they will need to be productive members of our communities.

This article brought to you by the Rancho Cordova Post

How Did Sacramento High Become a Charter School?

2008-12-01T22:32:31Z

The first article in this series discussed the mixed reactions from community members regarding the decision to turn Sacramento High School into a charter school. You can read this story by clicking here or by clicking on the green storyline tab to the right.

For those of you who don't know, Sacramento High School became a charter school in 2003.

This surprised me, because I had always thought, "Once a charter, always a charter.” But, in learning more about the current Sacramento High School, there is a unique story.

The current school is a collaborative project put together by Kevin Johnson and St. Hope. Concerned with low academic performance, Johnson returned to his former Oak Park neighborhood and wanted to make a change.

The school was at risk for state takeover, or maybe even foreclosure, so the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) superintendent Jim Sweeney offered to transform the high school into a charter.

California's charter law allows for a school to run as a charter school and be governed by a specific contract, which is known as a "charter." This contract serves as the school's mission.

In the case of Sacramento High, this means that instead of being bound by the school district's rules, Sacramento High is operated by St. Hope.

This allowed for drastic changes to Sacramento High. For one, the school was divided into four separate entities.

To find out more about each, you can visit their Web sites:

School of the Arts
School of Business & Communications
School of Law & Public Service
School of Math Engineering & Health Sciences

Other changes included more focus on college and student achievement, tutoring, encouraging more student and parent participation, community service and an overall focus on scholastic achievement.

They also require students to wear uniforms and have more stringent rules while on campus in regard to things like wearing hats or using cell phones.

To find out more about Sac High, you can visit the school Web site here, or visit them at 2315 34th St
You can also call (916) 277-6200

Many parents, students and community members have expressed dissatisfaction about Sac High's transformation into a charter school. What are your feelings about Charter Schools in general? Do you know students who attend Sac High? Are they satisfied with the education they are receiving? Have you noticed improvements, overall, since this decision was made? Is there a better solution?