Topic

Action

No report this month.

• Esperanza High School’s Back-To-School night was successful with over 1,000 parents in attendance. Two hundred and forty eight students at Esperanza High School have earned the designation of AP Scholar by the College Board in recognition of their exceptional achievement on the college-level Advanced Placement Program Exam. Of this year’s award recipients, 115 are sophomores or juniors.
  
• Fairmont Elementary – Students are involved in the Response to Intervention (RTI) reading program. The program provides students 45 minutes of reading time four times a week.
  
• George Key – Students have been participating in the Art Masters program and are also enjoying a new platform swing that the school was able to provide for the students. The swing has the added benefit of providing a therapeutic experience for the students.
  
• Rose Drive Elementary held a Jog-A-Thon last week that raised more than $20,000 which surpassed last year’s event total. Also their second annual Fall Festival will be on October 24th. As part of Rose Drive’s Red Ribbon Week activities, police officers will be at the school showing students squad cars and teaching them about smart choices. A SWAT helicopter will also be landing on the school’s field as part of the festivities.
  
• Topaz Elementary test scores improved this past year. Students and teachers alike are proud of this achievement.
  

Dr. Smith introduced Eric Padget, School Board Trustee, and thanked him for his participation on the SCAC today.

Dr. Smith shared a card and note from Marie Otto which thanked everyone for last month’s luncheon and the gifts she received from staff and SCAC members.

• Yorba Linda High School Update – Dr. Smith reported that construction is well under way and on schedule for the fall 2009 opening of the new YLHS. In response to a question regarding staffing for the new high school, Dr. Smith explained that anyone interested in becoming a staff member at Yorba Linda High School would apply through the district’s Personnel Department. Once boundaries have been determined and the approximate number of students attending is known, the process for staffing the school will begin. In response to a question regarding the school colors, the colors selected were crimson red, navy blue and silver.
  
• Boundary Community Forums - Dr. Smith distributed a flyer indicating the boundary public forums locations and times. Two or three boundary scenarios will be presented to the community. Staff will share a boundary presentation at the November 17th meeting and Dr. Smith encouraged members to invite a friend to attend. In response to a question regarding how information related to the community forums would be distributed, Dr. Smith indicated a phone message will be going home to parents as well as a letter with the date, time and location of each community forum.
  
• State Budget – Dr. Smith reported that he was in Sacramento at a meeting last week regarding the budget situation. Public education is anticipating a special budget session after the election and possible midyear budget cuts.
  
• In response to a question regarding the selection of an academy for Yorba Linda High School, Dr. Smith explained that to accommodate students’ interests each high school has developed or is in the process of developing a career technical academy. Valencia High School has already established the Val Tech and BITA academies; El Dorado High School has developed a Digital Media Arts Academy, and this year Esperanza High School has established a Medical Science Academy. Mr. Flynn, Principal of Yorba Linda High School, will be meeting with his leadership staff soon to determine the best career technical path for the new high school.
  
  

In response to a question regarding elementary school booster clubs, Dr. Smith explained that the PTAs do the major share of fundraising at the elementary level. In response to a question regarding Outdoor Science Camp and fundraising procedures, Dr. Smith indicated that a district staff will be working with school site principals and the PTA to determine the most appropriate way to raise and hold funds for outdoor education Dr. Smith and staff will report back on the outcome of this discussion.

In response to a question regarding ASB organizations, Dr. Smith explained that ASBs are at the middle school and high school levels only.

In response to a question regarding the district’s policy on Outdoor Education, Mrs. Cash, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services indicated that the decision to participate is a site-based decision only. Within established standards, school sites have discretion in the methods which they use to teach students the various aspects of curriculum. For example, some school sites choose to take students on field trips and others use in classroom instruction and experiential activities to teach the same standard. Outdoor Science Camp is on the Principals agenda in November and this item will be brought back to a future SCAC meeting

In response to the question regarding services to help students who did pass the CAHSEE, Mr. Moore stated that students may receive instruction in individual or small group CAHSEE classes one to three times per week. The district also has diagnostic computer software that provides prescriptions to help students identify areas that need special emphasis.

• In response to a request for a Bible Club update, Dr. Smith reported that a change of our current district policy from Closed Forum to a Limited Open Forum policy went to the October 14th School Board for a first reading. The second reading will be on the agenda for the next School Board meeting, October 28th.
  
• In response to a question regarding lunch money accounting and a more efficient way to notify parents when their child’s lunch money account is low or expended, district staff contacted Henrietta De’Ora, Food Service Director. Mrs. De’Ora indicated that they are close to implementing a pilot program before making this available to all parents.
  
• In response to a question regarding the district’s policy on distribution of flyers for non-sponsored school events, Dr. Smith explained that schools are continually asked to distribute non-school sponsored information to students. The district has established policies that allow for non-profit organizations to submit flyers for district approval before being distributed home with students. It was suggested that if a parent has a particular need, the situation be discussed with the principal and then perhaps the PTA, Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts or a similar nonprofit group would like to use the event as a service project.
  
• In response to a question regarding oversight of curriculum throughout the district and how that curriculum is presented, Dr. Smith explained that the state has established content standards that all teachers are expected to teach. District assessments and teachers collaboration are used to continually monitor and ensure the standards are being taught in the most effective way possible.
  
• In response to a question regarding a shaded cover for students at Key School, Dr. Smith thanked the representative for her extreme patience and promised to check with Mr. Bailey to find out when that will happen and report back at the next meeting.
  
• In response to a question regarding opportunities for teachers to share information, it was explained that teachers from all schools use collaboration time to discuss curriculum and standards, evaluate assessment data as well as discuss individual student needs for the purpose of improving student achievement.
  
• In response to a question regarding the discrepancies of the website at the district level and the websites at the individual schools, Rosemary Gladden said that she would investigate but noted that the district is requiring that each school use either the district website or the school website to disseminate information, not both.

Mrs. Castrey closed the meeting with a reminder to fill out a “Good News” form and share your school’s good news with SCAC members and to bring questions to staff at the next meeting on November 17, 2008.