At last nights School Board meeting Board members Tony Prado, Lucy Rangel ad Dave Wilde all commented on this video that Assist. Superintendent Director of Educational Services Katy Hadley showed at a recent workshop they attended.

The video did float around facebook a while back. Check it out:

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So what do you think?
It seems a pretty daunting task to prepare students for jobs that don't even exist yet with technology that will be outdated by the time they graduate from high school.
But what about the idea that instead of preparing students for jobs.... (Ok let's really get outside the box here) public education needs to shift its goal to preparing students to become.... thinkers, problem solvers, and entrepreneurs. To provide them with skills to think on their feet and to meet the demands of whatever is thrown their way. What about preparing students to have the confidence to question the status quo? To imagine that success is not always defined by the amount of money you make or what corporation your work for but by what you contribute to your community or even something as seemingly small as making a child smile.

I was recently listening to an author from India being interviewed about the great progress happening in India. He spoke about how every single successful person he knew in India, who had risen up out of the chaste (or class) of their parents... every single one worked for themselves. They created their own job. This got me thinking, in the US we hear all about job creation, and many expect our governments to seemingly wave a magic wand, or maybe a dollar, and *poof* create hundreds of thousands of jobs. But what about the idea that folks need to start preparing to climb out of that box, to think about filling the needs of their community, and creating their own jobs. Doesnt' work for every single person, but think about even the effect of a small shift. Hummmm.

Look around our world. Egypt. Tunisia. Los Angeles. And sometimes even yes, our own Communities of Fillmore, Piru and all of Ventura County. Public Education needs to shift its goals, challenge students to build their confidence in ways that they can find their passion, their contribution, their voice and take it out into their community in a positive way. It’s beyond jobs. It comes down to do we want kids trained to get an A, B or a C (I think our current system even trains some kids to get D’s and F’s…) or do we want them to be confident enough to fail… and keep going…. and get up again and keep going.

What would they do if they knew they would not fail?

What would they do if there were TRULY no stupid questions?

Maybe they just might solve the world’s problems that we don’t even know exist yet.
Just maybe.

Tuesday night The Flashes hosted New Jewish Community for their final regular season match for the 2010-2011season. Due to scheduling issues the match was held in the Flashes Wrestling Room. Spectator space was limited but everyone was accommodated who wanted watch the match. The match begun in timely fashion right at 6:00 PM. Each team gave up 3 forfeits in various weight classes due to vacancies which meant this match was going to come down to a head to head match up. The match started at the 103 weight class. Due to injury of Flashes Wrestler Felicity Zavala the 112 match ended in a Fillmore forfeit. Credit goes out to Felicity for showing Flashes spirit. From then on the Flashes began to roll over New Jewish Community. The Flashes racked up pin after pin and in the end all matches were won by pin. The final score was Flashes 60, Jaguars 24.

Tonight’s Highlight video is of Cameron Riley’s match, who wrestled in the heavyweight class. He did a great job of staying with his opponent and taking advantage and getting the job done. See video below of his performance.

Next up: Thursday, 2/3/11, The Flashes compete in League Finals at New Jewish Community. Wrestling action begins at 2:00 PM.

According the California Department of Education Piru Elementary Schools, with a 2010 Base API score of 709 has been placed on a list of 1000 "low performing" schools in California. While there does appear to be some concerns over some schools being on list that have scores over 800, Piru Elementary appears to truly meet the criteria for "low performing". http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/eo/op/yr10ltr10.asp (Enter Ventura County, and select Fillmore)

Click here: http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/eo/op/yr10ltr10.asp to see the letter sent to all County and District Superintendents on October 8, 2010.

Here are some excerpts from the letter that may be of interest to some parents whose children currently attend Piru Elementary or who may be planned to send their children there fall 2011:

"Parents may exercise their transfer option using this list for their students to begin enrollment at another school for the 2011-12 school year. Parents must submit an application requesting a transfer to the desired school prior to January 1, 2011. Parents who opt to transfer their students under this law may enroll their students within the same district or any other district, provided the school to which they are applying has a higher Academic Performance Index (API) score than the school from which the students are transferring."

Note that the deadline for next school year was January 1, 2011. But what about parents who were not notified of this option? Or what about parents who students starting in the fall?
According to the letter you can contact Carolyn Mills, Education Programs Consultant, by phone at 916-445-7746 or by email at cmills@cde.ca.gov.

Please consider posting your findings and experience here to help other parents.

Are you choosing to transfer? Why or Why not?

Fillmore Middle School
Student Awards Waffle & Strawberries Breakfast

When: Thursday, February 3rd
8:15 am-8:45 am

To recognize student achievement.

The middle school is doing something a bit different in an effort to increase parent participation in the student award ceremonies. Usually a night time event, switching to the morning may get more parents, and adding waffles and strawberries is a fun and unique way to get kids excited and hopefully motivated to win an award.

Flashes Wrestling: Alex vs Santa Paula

Flashes Wrestling: Christian vs Santa Paula

Flashes Wrestling: Jonathon vs Santa Paula

Flashes Wrestling: Kyle vs Santa Paula

Flashes Wrestling: Robert vs Santa Paula

Here is the Video of the School Boards Study Session on "Program Improvement" from Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Check back next week for a post on budget information for the District. Answers to the following questions:
What does the District spend on Administrative salaries and benefits?
What does the District spend on books and supplies?
How much does the District spend at each school site?

The Flashes traveled to Santa Paula Wednesday night for a schedule Tri-Valley League Wrestling Match. To prepare for the match Coach Cal pulled up several JV Flashes wrestlers to fill holes in the roster in the hopes that they could add to the team points. This was the first time this season the two teams lined up across the mat from each other. The wrestling action was fast paced and action packed. Fans from both schools made their presence known early on by the thunderous cheers during each match. Alex Rivera and Jonathon Minero both showed good control of their opponents. Kyle Castaneda and Christian Conaway all won their matches by points after each going 3 full rounds. Both wrestlers had been fighting colds all week and reported for duty in the best shape possible. Robert Bonilla, Team Co-Captain started his match off in an aggressive manner which resulted in a fast pin. Sammy Orozco won by forfeit. The final team score was Santa Paula 48, Fillmore 30. Individual match videos can be viewed below.

Upcoming Flashes Wrestling Schedule
2/1/11 New Jewish Community will travel to Fillmore for a 6 PM match.
2/3/11 Flashes travel to New Jewish Community for League Finals.
2/5/11 Flashes travel to Chaminade. This is a double elimination tournament.
Date unknown CIF Team Finals
Date unknown CIF Individual Finals

The Flashes Varsity Wrestling Team was idle this past week due to the rescheduled league match with New Jewish Community. Wrestling resumes this Wednesday, 1/26/11, when the Flashes travel to Santa Paula for the schedule Tri-Valley League match against the Cardinals. This is an important match for the Flashes as they work to place themselves in position for the League Championship.
The match will take place in the Santa Paula gym and is set to begin at 6:00 PM. JV will take to the mat first followed by the Varsity.

The Flashes Wrestling Match scheduled for 1/20/11 at 6:00 PM has been canceled. Stay tuned for more information.

The 1/19/11 Fillmore Flashes Wrestling match scheduled against New Jewish Community for 6 PM has been postponed till 1/20/11. Weigh-ins and warmups begin at 5PM with wrestling set to start at 6 PM in the Flashes gym.

This is the second league match for the Flashes. As previously reported the Flashes are coming off an excellent performance at the Highland 10 Way this past weekend and ready to take control of the mat come Thursday night.

"Can you give an estimate as to what percentage of time is spent at school board meetings talking about what individual campuses are doing to get out of PI status? I’m not there for the meetings but it just seems to me that this should be a big issue for board members and they should be grilling the superintendent and principals on a pretty regular basis about this. Are board members complacent about this? Are board members getting this type of information privately during closed sessions because it’s embarrassing to the district?"

- Submitted by Fillmore Resident via email, (requested to stay anonymous because of connections to the District*)

For an explanation on Program Improvement see: www.fillmoregazette.com/front-page/state-releases-school-progress-report

My read of this question is that it is asking for my opinion based on what I have seen. So please keep in mind that this particular post is essentially my opinion.
As I prepare to answer this question I find that I want readers to know that I am no fan of “standardized testing”. I feel that those bubble tests have numerous problems, and surely fail to assess the “whole child”. That being said, standardized tests are in fact a part of the current system of public education. The tests are not only used to assess students in grade and high school, but also for entry into many colleges and universities. This is changing. Some colleges are moving away from the SAT. Progress is happening. You will see in my response below that I think changes are needed throughout the public education system, and surely rethinking standardized testing is one of them. But because our local district must adhere to the “laws of the land”, we must continue to operate within the world of standardized tests, not matter how much we wish them gone. But I think both the environment and students can benefit from a discussion of how to better prepare our students to not only do better on those assessments, BUT to learn how to better understand concepts and ideas, think critically about problems put before them and to think outside the box or bubble. If our students get better at those things, they are sure to improve on many levels, and those nasty standardized tests just may be one of them. The folks, who study how people learn, have this information; our schools have access to the current information about how we all learn. We just need to demand the effective processes be implemented. And many of them cost little or no money. (More on that later)

1. Give an estimate as to what percentage of time is spent at meetings talking about what individual campuses are doing to get out our PI status?
At most meetings, I have seen very little if no attention, discussion or direction given regarding the fact that all schools are currently in PI status. So far this year, the Board HAS heard once from each principal regarding his or her plans, goals and changes currently being implemented. From what I have heard most changes are based around the idea of "collaboration", including an emphasis on writing throughout subjects, targeting assistance to each students needs and for the elementary schools to learn what Principal Chrissy Schieferle and staff are doing at Mountain Vista in order to mirror that schools improvement. All plans sounded great although I did not see any clear expectations laid out by the Board for the Principals.
To be frank, I saw a slight shift occur during the recent campaign (disclosure: I was a candidate, in case you didn't know) and following the election. Last year, when parents brought concerns regarding "program improvement" to the Board, Board members seemed to not know anything about it, and to state that all the schools were "excellent". Some Board members seem to still be clinging to the idea that the schools are excellent while at the same time calling for more discussion on how the schools are improving. I am closely watching how the new Board members add to the conversation, and whether or not the Board as a whole either faces this head on or continues to stick its head in the sand.
In my opinion the “PI” issue is so much more than curriculum and collaboration. It is about a true change at the very core of the entire District, here is a quote from the CEO of Baltimore Schools (similar position to superintendent) Andres Alonso “"We have very, very consciously looked at the history of the district, look at what has been done in the past, and we have very, very intentionally tried to do things in a very different way." (www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/17/andres-alonso-ceo-of-balt_n_810085.htm...) Alonso was quoted in an interview he gave about the changes he oversaw in that District, which according to the article turned an underperforming District into one of the best in the state.
Now, all that being said, today, Tuesday January 18th the Board will have it’s first ever (to my knowledge) study session on “Program Improvement”. The title of the session is “ Program Improvement: What it is? What it means? And what we are doing about it?” I will be there. And a full report will be made in the paper this week. So the Board will spend one hour learning about Program Improvement. I hope that it grabs their attention and they grasp the seriousness. No one wants the state to take over one of our schools. No one.

2. Are Board members complacent about this? In my opinion they are. Some Board members might be waking up a bit, but the jury is still out on this one. I really think this is an issue that should have folks asking more tough questions, and being much clearer with administrators about what the Board expects to see each and every year. Ask this again in June. And remember, a big part of “PI” is the school choice conversation as well. This year FUSD had declining enrollment. Board members were presented with the numbers. In this tight financial situation each student that leaves the District means less income for the District. Not one question was asked about WHY students were leaving the District. Not one. I would really like to see the Board get interested in the “PI” issue not because it means the schools are “failing” the state standards, but because it means that the schools are “failing” the students, and the community. Remember, the quality of our local schools affects what businesses fill our business parks, it affects property values, crime levels. It affects community. When all schools are in PI that means that students have the right to transfer to a non-PI school outside of the District. That is a right that the law guarantees. The Board should be vigorous about addressing this issue first because of what it means for the students, but second because of the affects that on going “PI” designation has on the number of students enrolled in FUSD schools.

3. Are board members getting this type of information privately during closed sessions because it’s embarrassing to the district?” This is a tougher question to answer since the public is not privy to what is discussed in closed sessions. If I understand the restrictions pertaining to closed sessions, any general discussion regarding Program Improvement SHOULD be happening in open session. Again I want to emphasize, that I know of nothing indicating that this is being discussed in closed session, I’m simply responding to this question. I think it would benefit the Board and District as a whole to shed more light on this issue not only because the public should be fully informed about the true state of the schools, but because it would improve the public's perception that the Board is knowledgeable on this and is demanding improvement at all schools, and is prepared to hold administrators accountable. *Keep in mind that employee evaluations made by the Board are generally protected, and MAY be discussed in closed session, and therefore need not be released to the public. BUT the public may participate in evaluation processes. Some Boards do hear from the public regarding administrator and superintendent evaluations.

I hope that answers your questions. Feel free to send a follow up, or post a comment here.

What do you think? Are the School Board members taking this issue seriously? Is it really that ‘big” of an issue? Do you care whether or not your child’s school is in “PI” status?

Thanks for reading, post a comment because School Matters.

Kimberly Rivers
School Matters Blog at www.fillmoregazette.com/blogs
schoolmatters@fillmorgazette.com
Mail to: Fillmore Gazette, attn: School Matters, 408 Orchard Street, Fillmore, 93015

Wrestling is the ultimate “mano e mano” sport. One ring, one referee, two wrestlers equally matched in weight, no special equipment except the desire of heart, physical strength, skills and ability.

14 wrestlers make up a complete team. The Fillmore Flashes roster is filled with holes in the lineup which is a huge disadvantage with wrestling team tournaments or when making a run at the League Title. That does not discourage the Flashes from making their presence known on the mat. On 1/14/11 and 1/15/11 The Flashes traveled to Palmdale for the always tough Highland 10 Way Tournament. The following schools competed at the 2011 Highland 10 Way; Highland, Palmdale, Antelope Valley, Knight, Eastside, Chatsworth, Upland, Agoura, Lancaster and Fillmore.

Competing for the Flashes were Francisco Enriqez at 103 pounds, Felicity Zavala at 112, Robert Bonilla at 119 pounds, Mark Zavala at 130 pounds, Kyle Castaneda at 135 pounds Jonathon Minero at 140 pounds, Alex Rivera at 145 pounds, Christian Conaway at 152 pounds, George Orozco at 189 pounds, Sammy Orozco at 215 pounds.

Fillmore wrestled Highland, Agoura, Chatsworth, Palmdale, Upland, Knight, Eastside and Lancaster over the 2 day tournament. While the Flashes gave up points due to vacancies on the roster, when measured Head to Head (the total score of those that wrestled) Fillmore beat every school with the exception of one. 7-1 Head to Head standings is an outstanding performance for Fillmore. After the Highland 10 Way the competition knows who the Fillmore Flashes are and what they are capable of.

The medals speak for themselves.
Sammy Orozco went 8 – 0. He took 1st Place at 215 pounds.
Christian Conaway went 7 – 1. He took 2nd Place at 152 pounds.
Kyle Castaneda went 6 – 2. He took 4th place at 135 pounds.
Mark Zavala went 7 – 1. He took 2nd place at 130 pounds.

Quickest pins went to Christian Conaway who had one pin in 11 seconds against Lancaster. Kyle Castaneda also jumped on the quick pin club with a 14 second pin against Lancaster.

Outstanding performances were turned in by Felicity Zavala who wrestled at 112 pounds. She went three full periods, 6 minutes of Varsity wrestling, against her male opponent from Highland. She also pinned her male opponent from Chatsworth!
Sammy Orozco put on a clinic of shear bull strength against much bigger opponents. To quote Coach Cal “You can’t out bull THE Bull”. George Orozco went 4 – 4, all 4 wins by pin. Oh, did I mention that George and Felicity are Freshman?
On 1/14 Robert Bonilla wrestled at 119 pounds and was 3 – 1 that day. To celebrate he ate a Double double and fries. Come Saturday morning he was 1.6 pounds over his weight limit. Prior to weigh-ins he ran and worked up a sweat and spit is body dry. He stepped on the scales and lost 1.2 pounds, which put him over his weight allowance by .4 pounds. A lessor wrestler might let that steal their mojo, but not Co-Captain Bonilla, he shrugged it off and moved up to 125 pounds and went 4 – 0 on Saturday.

The Highland 10 Way was an excellent skills test for the Flashes. Log on to Coach Cal’s post match interview for his comments.

Comments welcome.

What: FUSD School Board Study Session on "Program Improvement"; What it is? What it means? What is the District doing about it?
When: Tuesday, January 18th, 5:30-6:30pm
Where: School Board meeting room at FUSD offices on Sespe in Fillmore
Why: This meeting is open to the public. It will be a good time to come and hear about what the District is doing about the fact that ALL seven schools are currently in "PI".

The School Board general meeting will begin at 6:30 following the study session.

Here's a portion of the article, see the full piece at : www.vcreporter.com/cms/story/detail/?id=8531

“What we’ve tried to do in Ventura County is keep chaos away from kids and families,” said Mary Samples, special education local plan area director. “We have worked so hard and diligently with the mental health department to keep everything intact.”

The cash-strapped Office of Education will owe approximately $2.5 million for mental health services and up to another $5 million in residential social services during the span of the MOU, Samples said.

“Additional money will now be coming out of school districts, and something else will have to be given up on the general education side of things,” said Samples.

Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget spared additional cuts to K-12 public education, if a five-year extension of temporary tax increases is approved by voters in June.

But unless an increase in state revenue is provided by the voter-approved tax extension in June, the 2011-12 school year for K-12 California public schools is forecast to lose $2 billion in funding due to the cuts Schwarzenegger had enacted, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office.

Extending the higher tax rates on sales, vehicles and incomes would offset some of the $2 billion in projected school district losses, Brown said.

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Ok this is Kimberly again, What do you think of this? Surely special education is a vital and important part of pur public education system, and these program are mandated by the State, but notice that according to this article the "estimated price tag is $7.5 Million" of special education programs in the County serve "550 students". And when we do the math, this comes out to $13,636.36 is being spent per student. See the article for the wide range of services provided, again ALL valuable and needed by these students and families, but note that (according to the article) even Mary Samples, "special education local plan area director" indicates that "something else will have to be given up on the general education side of things".

What are your thoughts on this?

A fun and hopefully inspiring bit of news.

View the whole article here: www.rockwallheraldbanner.com/local/x1637997740/Super-heroes-go-for-run-i...

By Jim Hardin
Herald-Banner

A Portion:

The event was sponsored by Rockwall Running Center, but Lee Chatham, a Rockwall Running Club member, came up with the idea for a Superman run on New Year’s Day.

Chatham was inspired by the sad financial state of the education system and a movie, “Waiting For Superman.”

Proceeds from the race will go to DonorsChoose.org, described as “an online charity connecting you to classrooms in need.” Promotional material for the race stated that a mission of the effort was “to save America from the cycle of violence and poverty by supporting education at the source — the classroom.”

And how does Superman come into play with this effort to meet financial needs — like providing funds for school supplies and basic classroom needs?

The Superman 5k Web site stated that “America’s system requires a heroes rescue — an entire army of heroes.”

The running bib worn by each runner proclaimed, “I Am Superman.”

“I realized we don’t have to wait on Superman,” Chatham said, referring to the movie title. “We are Superman. We are the super hero saving the day.”

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I've got a few great questions from community members, working on responses. Check back soon.
Happy Wednesday, Kimberly Rivers
schoolmatters@fillmoregazette.com