I’ve redesigned the website and the blog and combined them on one site, OurFocusOurKids.com. If you go to the site and click on the “Blog” link at the top of the page, you will find all the contents of this blog there.

This new site provides a much better platform for me to develop and additional functionality. For example, there is now a search feature that searches the entire site and the journal/blog.Try it out.

Feel free to comment on the site about the site. I hope you like it.

Sacramento Bee Article

The state senate passed SB 5x 1 late Tuesday Night. The bill now goes to the Assembly Education Committee.

You can track the progress of the bill here: http://leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sbx5_1&sess=CUR&house=B&author=romero

Senate approves education bill, paves way for stimulus money

http://www.sacbee.com/capitolandcalifornia/story/2304911.html#Comments_Container

By Diana Lambert
dlambert@sacbee.com

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Published: Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009 – 10:46 am
Last Modified: Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2009 – 2:59 pm

The California State Senate voted Tuesday to pass Senate Bill X5 1, which would make the state more competitive for federal Race to the Top stimulus funds.

Last night had about 50-60 attendees and I thought it went well. I think the district had a successful event last night for several reasons.

• It was advertised well in advance with fliers and phone calls
• Childcare was provided – Our Caitlin and Riley and many other children had a great time!
• The topics covered were important to parents. They included:
  • The Parent Academy
  • District Education Plan
  • Title 1 criteria
  • Curriculum
  • Professional Development – Staff Training
  • Benchmarks and Assessments
  • Meeting the needs of all students including:
    • English Learners
    • Gifted and Talented
    • Students with Disabilities
  • Special Education Advisory Committee
  • School Site Council Training
  • District English Language Advisory Committee

I want to thank the district for putting forth the effort to involve parents and I hope the future nights (January 5th, March 3rd, May 4th) will be as well presented and received.

The general session was about an hour long and focused on the development of a District Education Plan. The plan will plan spending what little discretionary funds survived the state budget cuts. Each member of the audience was asked to provide input on which areas were important to them and they were encouraged to provide additional comments. We were told the district would use this input to guide the development of their spending plan for the next several years.

After the general session, we separated into smaller breakout sessions. My wife and I attended the GATE session presented by Assistant Superintendent Maureen Latham. We learned the funding for the GATE program, and about 12 other programs, for the next few years will be swept into the district’s general fund to support core curriculum. These dozen programs will be eliminated or severely reduced in Beaumont. There are a few district wide GATE nights planned this year but no individual site programs will be funded by the district this year or next.

Mrs. Latham was asked about the Redlands school district’s ability to continue to support many of their programs and she educated us about the Redlands Educational Partnership Foundation (REP) which provides funding for their programs. Many of Redlands’ special programs are fee based. She indicated the GATE program in Redlands may cost parents as much as $500 a year. Here is a link to REP’s web site: http://www.rep4schools.com/ . Mrs. Latham indicated a community member in Beaumont is starting a campaign to build something similar here. I volunteer my services towards this effort.

For our programs to continue in BUSD, the financial support will need to come from the parents and community. This is why it becomes even more important for parents to come together and get involved. I want to again acknowledge that last night was a good start for the district’s parent involvement efforts but there is still much more they should do. I again ask the district to sit down with parents and develop a district wide Parent Involvement Policy and encourage the sites to develop similar parent supported policies. I’d also like to see the district modernize their communication network by adding a district wide parent email network and/or RSS feed.

I’d like to encourage anyone else who attended last night’s event to leave a comment. It would be good to hear from someone attending one of the other breakout sessions.

“Race To The Top” is the Obama Administration’s education reform program created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. SB 5x 1 is a bill authored by Senator Gloria Romero, a candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction, that will amend California’s laws to meet the Obama’s Administration education requirements to make the state eligible for funding from “the largest pool of discretionary funding for education reform in U.S. history – $4.35 billion…”

Senate Bill 5x 1 is scheduled to be voted on by the legislature this week and the California Teachers Association is asking its members to call their “State Senators and ask them to reject Senate Bill 5x 1”. In summary they believe the legislature is moving too fast and the bill has “numerous problems”.

The Official California Legislative Information Site http://www.leginfo.ca.gov
Provides the latest Amended version of the bill here:
http://leginfo.ca.gov/pub/09-10/bill/sen/sb_0001-0050/sbx5_1_bill_20091029_amended_sen_v98.html

A quick read of the amended bill suggests to me that school districts will have to re-evaluate how they approach failing schools and consider new and somewhat controversial solutions. It would authorize test results data to be used for purposes of making employment decisions relating to teachers and require this data to be used to provide a means to evaluate teacher performance. These uses of the test data are currently prohibited by law and are, in my opinion, what worries the CTA the most.

I don’t feel our state legislature or Governor has a recent track record of doing much good for our kids and the fact that they are in a hurry to pass this bill concerns me. I also don’t feel the CTA always acts on what is best for our kids and too often are more concerned about their own self interest. I don’t fault the CTA for this since this is the reason most unions exist.

I’ve provided a link below to a presentation of the CTA’s position as well as several other links I found helpful in my research. I don’t know enough to make a fully informed decision on the bill yet. It seems there are some good things about the legislation and if its passage is required for our schools to benefit, something needs to be done, but I think it would make sense to slow down a little and have more discussion.

Our State Senator is Denise Moreno Ducheny and her phone number is (916) 651-4040

Links:
In Favor:
Governor Schwarzenegger’s Press release – http://gov.ca.gov/press-release/13028/
Sacramento Bee’s Editorial – http://www.sacbee.com/325/story/2259591.html

Opposed:
From the CTA – (California Teachers Assoiciation) http://www.cta.org/action/alert/Alert20091030.htm
From The National School Boards Association’s Web Site (Reproduced with permission from School Board News) – http://www.nsba.org/HPC/Features/AboutSBN/SBNToday/Race-to-the-Top-funds.aspx

On Monday (Oct 26) I attended the District’s Educational Technology Plan meeting. I want to thank Mrs. Hackney, District Coordinator of Technology, for inviting me to attend. The purpose of the meeting was to develop a new three year plan for technology for the district. I was hoping the plan would provide a blueprint and direction for the board and district as they plan to spend some of the money from the upcoming sale of measure Z bonds.

The meeting was conducted by two representatives from Tech-Ed Services, the organization the district has hired to help design and write the 3yr plan. Early on, I could see their objective was to create a plan that would provide a supporting document necessary to apply and receive grant money for technology expenditures in the district. They seemed less concern about actually providing the district a list of what our schools and kids need to be technologically literate after they graduate from high school.

Mrs. Hackney indicated there was a technology matrix on the district’s website that provides specific information of what the district’s goal is for students by grade level. She indicated it needs an update but said it would provide a good example of the tool the district could use to provide more direction for the board and administration in the future. The link to the current technology plan is http://www.beaumontusd.k12.ca.us/depts/tech/technologyplan.pdf the matrix is appendix A and starts on page 72.

I tried to impress upon the group my opinion that the district needs to provide the instruction and resources in technology to motivate kids, beginning at an early age, to become more involved in the nuts and bolts of technology. I have watched my four year old and seven year old work with the mouse and keyboard while they play games online and I know it is never too early to start introducing technology into our kids’ lives. Computers and the Internet are such a large and important part of our culture that we are doing our kids a disservice by not making technology more of an integral part in their early education.

I got the feeling that many of the teachers in attendance also felt that there was so much more we can do to help all our kids become more computer literate. Many families in our district don’t have the access to technology that my family does and the only place for their children to get the access they need, is in school. I wasn’t able to stay for the part of the meeting where the wish list was developed and I feel the teachers are in a better position than I to determine what they need in their classrooms. I hope the district will work with teachers and parents who work in the technology industry to provide the resources to best prepare our students. My fear is that if we don’t provide this board specific direction and instructions about how to get to where we need to be, they won’t have the proper focus on our chlidren’s technology future.

Here are some ideas I have on what the district can do to right now to improve the technology environment in our district.

1. I have been disappointed for some time about the district’s policy of purchasing technology hardware on the state contract. Our school purchased a Dell laptop last year for $1,500 off the state contract.  I priced the same laptop with similar specs on Dell’s website for around $700. When I brought this to the administration’s attention I was told it was necessary, but not required, to purchase from the state contract to get the support and training they needed. I argue they could go to a local vendor like Best Buy and get the hardware and support at a better price.
2. Regularly the district is retiring “obsolete” computer equipment. I know the existing plan’s objective is to have computers less than 48 months old in the classroom. I wonder if some of the “old” equipment the district is retiring could still be put to good use. I have a computer at home that is more than 48 months old and when we  purchased a new laptop we decided to convert this machine for internet, word processing and printing purposes only. We paid Staples to back up our programs, clear the hard drive, upgrade the memory and reinstall our backed up files for a cost of less than $150. It now functions perfectly and is the machine our children use. I think if all the machines being retired were overhauled this way and then put back in the classroom; it wouldn’t take too long to have several computers in every classroom for kids to use for researching and writing their school projects.
3. The district needs to begin using emails and RSS feeds to communicate to parents. The automated phone calls generated by the superintendent and school principals is useful in letting parents know what’s going on but many parents never hear these calls. Sometimes they are answered by children who don’t take messages or they aren’t always able to stop what they are doing and listen to the calls. Many parents use email and cell phones to stay connected;  the district should embrace this and provide digital communication to parents who prefer it to the telephone calls.
4. The technology matrix needs to be updated as soon as possible. We have many teachers and parents in this district that use technology on a regular basis. We need to find these parents and teachers and get them together to work on the matrix so once the money is available for technology, we can hit the ground running. I recommend this meeting be held in the evening with child care support to get the input from parents unable to attend meetings during the day. Many parents who use technology in their daily work I know would like to contribute but are unable to miss work.

At last night’s board meeting a couple parents of a Tournament Hills Elementary student expressed concern about students in their child’s class with suspected cases of H1N1 Flu. They wanted to know what the district’s policy was concerning parent notification and what they should do as parents. They understood the importance of keeping kids in school but didn’t understand why Conjunctivitis (Pink Eye) and Scabies, a highly contagious skin infection warranted immediate parent notification but H1N1 Flu doesn’t.

Becky Salato, the district’s Director of Special Education, explained the district was in close communication with the county health department and that they “are working closely with the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Riverside County Public Health Department to monitor flu conditions.” Mrs. Salato has posted a copy of a letter to be sent to parents to explain the district’s position and to let parents know what they can do to help. Here is a link to that letter http://www.beaumontusd.k12.ca.us/info%5Cpress%5CFlu_Memo.pdf. The letter directs parents to the government’s site www.flu.gov and the CDC information line, 1-800-CDC-INFO.

Schools are advised against early notification because the advantages to keeping kids home are outweighed by the disadvantages. The county health department advises against pre-epidemic notification to avoid creating a panic among parents. My first response was similar to the parents’ comments about Pink Eye and Scabies.

I began researching this and found some more useful CDC links regarding H1N1 and how schools should prepare for the flu season. I now understand the position of the health department and the school district and I know the district will continue to monitor the situation. The county provides up to date Infection Statistics on their H1N1 page http://www.rivcoph.org/h1n1/ to help you also monitor the Swine Flu.

Here are some other useful links:

Center for Disease Control (CDC) –

• http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/parents/ – H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu): Resources for Parents and Caregivers
• http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/schools/toolkit/actionsteps.htm – Action Steps for Schools to Prevent the Spread of Flu
• http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/schools/toolkit/ – Preparing for the Flu: A Communication Toolkit for Schools (Grades K-12)
• http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm – Questions & Answers 2009 H1N1 Flu (“Swine Flu”) and You
• http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/schools/toolkit/parentfactsheet.htm – Action Steps for Parents if School is Dismissed or Children are Sick and Must Stay Home

Riverside County Department of Public Health –

• http://www.rivcoph.org/ph_pdf/School_Guidance_4-30-09.pdf – Swine Flu Guidance for Schools
• http://www.rivcoph.org/ph_pdf/DaycareGuidance5-01-09.pdf – Swine Flu Guidance for Childcare Facilities
• http://www.rivco-familycarecenters.org/banning.htm – Banning Family Care Center – County Clinic

The First Annual Beaumont PTA Golf Tournament is in the books. I had hoped for more golfers and support for Beaumont’s Parent and Teacher Organizations but gauging from the reactions of the participants, I believe this is an event that will grow and become an integral part of the PTA fund-raising schedule at Brookside Elementary and, hopefully, all the district’s schools. Planning for the next tournament will begin immediately.

Thank you to all those who participated and contributed.

When you get a chance, go to the BUSD home page. The district is planning on releasing a new district website and new website’s for all the school sites but in the interim, I think the district has made some major improvements.

Here are the changes I’ve noticed since I started my website http://ourfocusourkids.com/ and this blog:

• A section where reports the district regularly provides in their board meetings are now available for public viewing. Here’s the link: http://www.beaumontusd.k12.ca.us/academic/reports.htm
• Board meeting agendas and minutes are being updated and kept current
• Audio minutes are now available click here http://www.beaumontusd.k12.ca.us/board/minutes_audio.htm
• There is a new section on the home page called “Recent News”Here you will find:
  • A brief summary of the actions taken at the last board meeting
  • A calendar of upcoming events
    • previously only available in the board meeting packages and not easily attainable
  • Links to the most recent Press Releases from  the district
  • Links to important reports in .pdf and other down loadable formats

I want to thank Dr. Kayrell, Mike Sturman and the rest of the district staff involved in the modernization of BUSD’s web presence.

These improvements enable me to refocus my efforts on what I feel is the most important need of our students, increased parent involvement. I will continue to provide my summary and opinions of what’s happening in the board meetings. I will keep trying to convince the board of trustees to work with parents to develop an organized and dynamic district wide parent involvement plan that will be annually reviewed and updated.

I will also work with  Principal Goode to develop Brookside’s parent involvement plan and I will continue to provide parents of Brookside access to School Site Council and PTA agendas and minutes.

Look for a new design of my website and blog into a single site with less focus on the district’s website and more focus on increasing parent involvement. The response of the district to better utilize their website has enabled me to redirect my focus and hopefully better utilize my sites as well.

Good Evening,

I want to begin by talking about the PTA Golf Tournament.

There is still time to get your entries in, the deadline is this Friday, October 13, 2009. The tournament is Saturday, October 24. We’ll be playing the Legends Course at the East Valley Golf Course, previously known as the PGA of Beaumont, starting at 9:00 am. You can contact me by email or phone to get information on how to enter. My email address is lwhite@ourfocusourkids.com and my cell phone number is 909-499-0489.

I am disappointed to say it hasn’t been the success I was hoping for. I only have a couple of foursomes scheduled; but there is still time to enter and earn your school’s PTA or Booster club $25 for each golfer entered.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank some people for their help in promoting the golf tournament:

• Mrs. Latham for getting the fliers distributed to the schools.
• Mike Sturman for designing the flier and helping me with the press release.
• To the principals who responded to my request and asked your PTA boards to contact me.
• Dr. Kayrell for adding the date to the district calendar.
• Mrs. Goode for supporting our PTA’s attempt to try and do something a little different.
• Mrs. Saucedo for your help in getting the word out at the High School.

 

With all the support I received from the district, I must admit I over estimated the parent response. I’m surprised that not one PTA board member, with the exception of Brookside, contacted me. If I as a PTA board member received an authorized flier from the district and a request from the school’s principal to contact another parent to find out how my school could benefit from very little effort, I would at least make a call. The response from district employees has been equally disappointing, I only received inquiries from two principals and two teachers.

Maybe, there‘s just not that many golfers in Beaumont.

I would like to ask you again to consider my request for you to provide a PTA email alias for the District’s PTA board members. It would give PTAs the connection we need to communicate and coordinate with each other about our efforts to support our kids and our schools.

This brings me to my next topic: National Volunteer Day.

I’d like you to consider declaring a District Wide Volunteer Day on on November 19th , the 17th Annual National Parent Involvement Day. I am finding as a PTA volunteer coordinator it difficult to find enough district authorized volunteers to work our events. On November 19th, I’d like to suggest you declare a day to honor and recognize our district approved volunteers. I think it would also be helpful if you sponsored an end of the year event similar to the district’s year end event for teachers and staff. I think the dinner you hold to honor teachers and staff breaks even each year.

A volunteer event could be modeled after the teachers’ event. Honorees and their guest would pay a reduced charge for their entry fee and everyone else’s entry fees will pay for the event. I think every district approved volunteer that helps out during the school year should be invited and honored. Recognition from the district for those volunteers making the effort to become approved by the district would help PTAs in recruiting more district approved volunteers.

I’m not sure how to get this issue on the agenda for your consideration. I could use your help and direction.

Thank you.

Global Tides Online Charter School, a non-profit organization created by Charter School Development Systems, has petitioned BUSD to partner with them to offer an online charter school. Global Tides is seeking to open a statewide online charter school and has begun an aggressive marketing campaign to find districts to partner with. They have sent petitions to school districts all over the state. Each district is required to hold a hearing within 30 days of receiving the petition and to make a decision within 60 days. For more information see this recent Press Enterprise article:

http://www.pe.com/localnews/k12/stories/PE_News_Local_W_tides02.44805de.html

Global Tides strategy is to find enough districts to partner with them to be able to claim they offer a statewide online charter school. Here is a link to a description of Global Tides’ mission and marketing strategy. Please check it out, they can explain it better than I can.

http://charterschooldevelopmentsystems.com/global-tides/

I’m not an expert in Charter Schools but I know that good ones offer reasonable alternatives to traditional public schools. I know they need school districts or county boards of education to sponsor them to be able to offer their services. I have read many articles about other local districts that have been required to hold public hearing for the Global Tides’ petitions. It seems Global Tides doesn’t always show up for the public hearings and after experiencing all the public hearings at BUSD board meetings, our public hearing will probably be over in a few minutes and there will be very little discussion.

I’m not sure I would move my kids to a charter school but I know I wouldn’t be interested in an online charter school. I believe Beaumont has exceptional teachers and schools and I want my kids to experience interaction with other students. I’d like to learn more about charter schools and see if there is any place for one along with our existing schools. While I don’t expect much to come from the public hearing on Tuesday, this might be a good opportunity to open a discussion.

I think parents should try to attend board meetings to learn about what is happening in their schools. If you’ve been wanting to go some time, this might be an interesting one to attend. And then again, maybe not…that’s the exciting thing about BUSD board meetings.