The seniors of the Class of 2010 are again selling the popular “Sandwich-Meals” from The Central Station. You have a choice of Tri-Tip, BBQ Chicken or Pulled Pork sandwich including a side and a drink all for $10.00. It’s so convenient to call ahead, 5244-5286 and have your order ready to go or eat in. Each student is asked to sell at least 10 tickets (or more) to help Grad Nite Live meet their needed amount of $23,000.00. We will be selling these tickets until March 31st, 2010.

Superintendent Jack-O'Connell
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction

SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell today announced 760 local educational agencies (LEAs) have submitted a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in order to partner with the state of California in the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) competition.

Under the Obama Administration’s guidelines, Race to the Top calls on LEAs to voluntarily partner with the state to implement reforms that improve student outcomes. California’s MOU was developed in accordance with recently released final Obama Administration Race to the Top guidelines. The MOU establishes a framework of collaboration and articulates specific roles and responsibilities for the LEA and the state if California does win a federal RTTT grant.

Forty-four percent of the school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools in California have signed the RTTT MOU, representing 57 percent of students attending California K-12 public schools. Sixty percent of students living in poverty attend a school in an LEA that has signed up to participate in RTTT.

Of the total number of LEAs that signed an MOU, 449 are school districts or county offices of education, 308 are charter schools, and two are Regional Occupational Programs.

Of the 760 LEAs that submitted a signed MOU, 561 or 77 CONTINUED »

VENTURA COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION
The Board Meeting will be held at the VCOE Conference & Educational Services Center
Conejo Room / Salons A - C
5100 Adolfo Road, Camarillo
(805) 383-1900

SPECIAL BOARD MEETING AGENDA NO. 10-01

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
6:00 p.m.  OPEN SESSION (Conejo Room)
6:30 p.m. PUBLIC HEARING ON PIRU CHARTER SCHOOL

(Salons A – C)
The Public Hearing on Piru Charter School will NOT begin prior to 6:30 pm. Members of the Public that wish to address the Board on this item must first complete a Speaker Form. Speaker Forms must be submitted no later than five (5) minutes prior to the topic coming up for discussion on the agenda. (Board Policy No. 9325)

9:00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT (Unless extended by Board Action)
Times are approximate and are provided for convenience only. Open Session items may be re-ordered.

Agenda No. 10-01
A. CALL TO ORDER – Conejo Room
1. Pledge of Allegiance. CONTINUED »

Perfect Attendance winner for December, John Chavez.

On Monday, December 7, 2009, San Cayetano School recognized good citizenship and character at their Peacebuilder Assembly for the month of December. Mr. Francisco Garcia, from CSUCI, came to speak to the students about how to be a good citizen. Each teacher chose a student from his or her class whom showed excellent character and peace-building skills. Julian Calderon and Christina De La Mora, the San Cayetano ASB President and Vice-President assisted Mr. Garcia in handing out the Peacebuilder Awards. The Peacebuilders for December are: Alexander Adame, Emilia Magdaleno, Juan Martinez, David Linares, Bella Villegas, Juan Hernandez, Yazmen Del Toro, Christian Garza, Alesha Felix, Ocelotl Martinez, Erin Overton, Yazmeen Del Toro, Antonio Villalobos, Cesar Lopez, Kaylee Serna, Pedro Aceves, Diego Garcia, Ashley Montano, Damian Alvarez, Ryan Nunez, and Fernando Trujillo. Julian and Christina then announced to the students that the Rainbow Foundation is sponsoring the San Cayetano Character Counts Award of a $100.00 savings bond. Mr. Garcia presented the Character Counts Award to a deserving fifth-grade student. Joe Guinte from Mrs. Chisholm was chosen by the fifth grade teachers as a model of outstanding behavior and responsibility to the other students. To conclude the assembly, students were reminded to turn in their Perfect Attendance tickets. Each month all students who come to school, each day, on time, are given an orange raffle ticket. The students place their tickets in a box and one ticket is drawn. The student whose ticket is drawn is given a NASA backpack with Max Goes to the Moon in it. Each month, the tickets will be put into a larger box that will be kept until the end of the year. In June, Mrs. Marholin, the principal, will draw from the tickets to give away two new bicycles. John Chavez, a fifth grader from Mr. Maus’s class, won the Perfect Attendance Award for December.

California Lutheran University has been selected the regional host site for the 2010 Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership (HOBY) Seminar to be held June 11-13. The program is open to outstanding high school sophomores who are nominated to attend by their school's guidance counselor, principal or teacher. Local service clubs may also nominate a student.

More than 9,000 high school students from across the country are expected to participate in one of 70 HOBY seminars taking place this spring. In addition to Cal Lutheran, other California sites are UC Davis, Whittier College and Concordia University. All of those programs will take place June 18-20.

"Our seminars provide students who possess demonstrated or potential leadership skills a chance to foster their passion and knowledge in an encouraging and interactive environment," said Javier LaFianza, president and chief executive officer of HOBY. "This is a way for high school administrators to show these students that their hard work and dedication is appreciated and supported in a very meaningful way."

Each high school may nominate up to two students to attend the prestigious CONTINUED »

Where: Piru Community Center
When: Tuesday, January 5th, 2009 from 6:30-8:00pm

Please join us to answer any questions about our proposal, to hear from enthusiastic local parents who have visited a local charter school, and to hear from parents who have their children currently attending charter schools. Come hear why these parents are fully committed to charter schools!

CHOOSE CHOICE FOR YOUR CHILD
CHOOSE TO SUPPORT PIRU CHARTER SCHOOL

For more info go to www.pirucharterschool.blogspot.com or send us an email at pirucharterschool@earthlink.net

ESTAN INVITADOS
Junta Para Escuela Charter de Piru
Para Padres y la Comunidad
Centro de Comunidad de Piru
martes, enero 5o del 2009 6:30-8:00pm
Los esperamos para poder contestar sus preguntas sobre nuestra propuesta, y para que puedan escuchar a padres que están entusiasmados después de haber visitado una escuela charter de la zona y también a padres que ya tienen a sus hijos en una escuela charter. Vengan a escuchar porque estos padres están tan felices de cooperar en la educación de sus hijos en escuelas charter.

We hope you have enjoyed a restful holiday and are now ready to think about plans for the New Year! One of the most important choices you have for the months ahead is your child’s education. We hope you are joining with us in supporting Piru Charter School, and have planned a meeting in the Piru Community Center on Tuesday, January 5th from 6:30 to 8 p.m. to answer any final questions about this proposal, and to hear not only from enthusiastic local parents who have visited a local charter school, but from visiting parents who are excited to have their children attending a charter school right now. Come hear why these parents are fully committed to charter schools!

The goals for Piru Charter School continue to be:
Keep Piru School Open
Lower Class Sizes in the Upper Grades
Make Better Choices with Our School Money
Provide for a Possible K-8 Learning Opportunity
Continue Piru School’s Path to Success!

It is our belief that only by choosing to convert to Piru Charter School, can Piru parents be given the choice of schooling options they need in order to assure that every Piru student be given a high quality learning opportunity as they begin life.

Misinformation has been spread about charter schools. Come hear for yourself, the facts in a quiet sharing of information. Next week Piru Elementary will have a chance to choose not be guided by the continued attempts of Fillmore Unified School District , but by the Ventura County Office of Education and Success. Choose choice for your child. Choose to support Piru Charter School!
Tuesday, January 5th 6:30. We hope to see you there!
pirucharterschool@earthlink.net

There is more to cover than space allows. Our next meeting is open to the public and will be held Monday, Jan. 4th at 6:30 pm in the Fillmore High School Band Room. If you want to get the Fillmore Band Boosters, Fillmore Elementary Schools, FMS, and FHS Band updates, contact us or look for our web site to be up and running next month.

The Fillmore Band Boosters are making every effort to raise upwards of $40,000.00 for high school band uniforms. On December 9th, they held a drawing for an Excursion on the Fillmore and Western Train and a fifty-fifty drawing where $150.00 was raised. Mrs. Delores Pace won the trip for two generously donated by Teresa Wilkinson of Fillmore and Western Railway. The winning fifty-fifty ticket worth $75.00 belonged to Szilvia Beylik, a middle school band parent who graciously donated her prize back to the band uniform account. Thank you Mrs. Beylik! The following day, Mrs. Delores Pace also made a generous contribution to the uniforms account. Another thanks!

Deep appreciation goes to all of the parents who showed up to support their children in band and to parents and Band Booster members who volunteered their time and shivered by the doors selling pre-wrapped goodies. We would also like to acknowledge Fillmore Middle School employees, Mary Ecklund, Johnny, and Ralph Topete for their help and support.

On Saturday, Dec.12 at the Piru Christmas Parade, the Band Boosters President, and four high school band members, Brandy Nisbet, Claire Faith, Grace Simon, and Karissa Tarango braved the rain selling fundraising goodies and collecting donations for dinner for two at El Pescador in Fillmore and another fifty fifty drawing. Mr. Jesus Ortiz, gifted certificates for dinner for two at his popular restaurant. The El Pescador gift certificate was won by a nice lady whose name is safely locked up in the band room, but will be acknowledged next week. This time the fifty- fifty prize went to Debbie Sanchez, who was there as a representative for Relay for Life. The total amount donated was $460.00 giving a nice $230.00 Christmas bonus to Mrs. Sanchez who turned around and gave the money right back to the uniform fund, less her $20.00 investment. Thank you Mrs. Sanchez!
Band Boosters wishes to thank the community of Piru and Mrs. Maria Trokye for their support and for allowing us to set up a booth during the Piru Christmas festival. Talk about a community with heart! 　

Blessings to all and a Happy New Year!
Band Booster President, Debbie Galarza

Fillmore Unified School District

FILLMORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
TUESDAY, JANUARY 5, 2010
5:15 P.M. – CLOSED SESSION
6:00 P.M. - REGULAR MEETING
627 SESPE AVENUE, FILLMORE, CALIFORNIA

AGENDA
The public may review or request a copy of support materials provided to the Board Members where the word materials appears.
5:15 p.m.
I. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
II. ROLL CALL
III. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NONAGENDA ITEMS, PETITIONS
This is the time and place to address the Board. State law prohibits the Board from acting on issues not included on the agenda; however, requests may be made for discussion of specific topics at subsequent meetings.
IV. CLOSED SESSION
The Board of Education will meet from 5:15 to 6:00 p.m. CONTINUED »

California State University Channel Islands

Camarillo, Calif., Dec. 16, 2009 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) is pleased to announce a $300,000 grant award from the National Science Foundation to Dr. Ching-Hua Wang, Director of MS in Biotechnology and Bioinformatics Program and Special Assistant to the Provost at CSU Channel Islands, and colleagues from San Diego State and Chico State Universities. The grant will be used to develop ethics education content for three different PSM fields: Biotechnological Science, Computational Science, and Environmental Science and to integrate the content into the Professional Science Master (PSM) programs within the CSU system.

The two-year PSM programs are innovative and rigorous, combining graduate education in science and technology with industry-relevant education in business, management, communication, and law. The ethics education program will be used throughout the CSU campuses and the National Science Foundation would also like the program disseminated to other campuses in the nation. Currently, there are over 120 Professional Science Master programs in the United States.

Students are admitted into PSM programs after completing an undergraduate CONTINUED »

Camarillo, Calif., Dec. 16, 2009 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) will welcome back to the campus 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Professor Muhammad Yunus on Friday, Feb. 26, 2010.

The University will host several campus activities during Dr. Yunus’ visit. His book, Creating a World without Poverty: Social Business and the Future of Capitalism, was selected for the CI annual Campus Reading Celebration. At a morning event, Professor Yunus will discuss the book and review social projects with CI faculty, staff and students.

At 4 p.m., the general public will have an opportunity to join students from CI, Ventura, Moorpark, and Oxnard Colleges at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza to discuss social business and the new-found corporate interest in social business.

The University expects a sold-out event and encourages the general public to buy tickets as soon as possible to assure a seat for this event. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased by visiting www.ticketmaster.com or by visiting the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza at http://www.toaks.org/cap/tickets/events/event.asp?eventID=1514

The list of Yunus’ awards and recognitions is lengthy and the CONTINUED »

Camarillo, Calif. Dec. 15, 2009 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) announced the receipt of a $250,000 grant for its Nursing Program. Funding was provided by the Foundation for California Community Colleges and Kaiser Permanente Fund for Health Education at the East Bay Community Foundation, through collaboration with the California Institute for Nursing and Health Care (CINHC) and the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

The grant was one of seven awarded to California community college/university partnerships to develop model programs for fast track transitions from an associate nursing degree (ADN) to a bachelor nursing degree (BSN) program. This program will create a better educated nursing workforce as well as increase the quality of healthcare throughout the state.

CI is collaborating with Santa Barbara City College, Ventura College, and Moorpark College to discuss streamlining curriculum to make sure that all course prerequisites to continue on to a BSN would be met at the community college level and that all lower level general education requirements are also completed at the community college. This process allows students to move smoothly into upper division work without delay. Graduating with a BSN allows nursing students many more career options, such as public health nursing, and allows students to move directly into a Master’s program if he or she wishes.

Dr. Karen Jensen, Chair of CI’s Nursing Program, said a survey CONTINUED »

California State University Channel Islands

Camarillo, Calif., Dec. 15, 2009 – CSU Channel Islands (CI) recently was recognized with an honorable mention in the 2008 Campus Votes Challenge. The Challenge, administered by the Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service at Tufts University, was originated to encourage voting participation in the 2008 presidential election by college and university students nationwide. More than forty undergraduate colleges and universities participated.

Tisch College’s Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) released figures indicating that the national average for voter turnout among the nation’s 18-24 year old college students was 59.7 percent. The seven winners of the 2008 Campus Votes Challenge had a turnout of over 70 percent. The 15 institutions receiving honorable mention, including CI, had a turnout of over 60 percent.

Tufts University President Lawrence S. Bacow stated that, “The CONTINUED »

Fillmore Unified School District

FILLMORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2009
5:15 P.M. – CLOSED SESSION
6:00 P.M. - REGULAR MEETING
627 SESPE AVENUE, FILLMORE, CALIFORNIA

AGENDA
The public may review or request a copy of support materials provided to the Board Members where the word materials appears.
5:15 p.m.
I. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
II. ROLL CALL
III. PUBLIC COMMENT ON NONAGENDA ITEMS, PETITIONS
This is the time and place to address the Board. State law prohibits the Board from acting on issues not included on the agenda; however, requests may be made for discussion of specific topics at subsequent meetings.
IV. CLOSED SESSION
The Board of Education will meet from 5:15 to CONTINUED »

Camarillo, CA. - The annual California State University Media Arts Festival was held Nov. 7 at CSU Fullerton. Student entries from various campuses in the 23 campus CSU system were submitted to the Festival, out of which 30 finalists were chosen for award competition within nine categories: Animation, Documentary, Experimental, Interactive, Music Video, Narrative, Television, Feature Screenplay, and Short Screenplay.

CSU Channel Islands (CI) announced that four students from its Art Program received place recognition for their films: Charlotte Ferguson, Director and Producer, Second Place for her Interactive entry, Velouria Vodka; Kellam Cunningham, Director, and Luke Sommer, Producer, Second Place recognition for their Television entry, Xtreme Dog Walking; Katherine Thompson, Director and Producer, Third Place recognition for her Interactive entry, KMTdesign.com. The finalist projects were screened at the Festival and Rosebud Award (first place) winners were announced.

The Media Arts Festival is conducted under the umbrella CONTINUED »

Piru parents, teachers and students listen as Fenton Charter School Director Irene Sumida explains why becoming a charter school will benefit Piru students, like it has benefited the students of their school.
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Fenton Charter School Family Center Director Tony Peña and Fenton parents share why they are so happy that their children attend a charter school, and say why they think it would be better for Piru children, too.
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Piru visitors tour the primary grade science lab at Fenton Charter School, while Fenton students are working cooperatively on a project about ecosystems.
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Piru visitors see Fenton Charter School's upper grade science lab, where students are learning about the geology of the sea floor.
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Every classroom at Fenton Charter School is equipped with a modern teacher workstation, where the teacher can present information on the LCD projector, control all the students' computers, and speak through a sound amplification system, so that all students can clearly hear, as well as see, every lesson.
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Are charter schools private? Do they charge money to attend? Do they provide fewer programs and services than regular public schools? Rumors and myths about charter schools have been spread around the Piru and Fillmore communities since nine Piru teachers submitted a petition to the Fillmore USD on September 16th to convert Piru Elementary into an independent charter school. On the day before Thanksgiving, a group of seven Piru school parents took a break from their holiday meal preparations to spend the morning finding out the facts for themselves by visiting a real charter school. They went, along with a small group of Piru teachers, to visit Fenton Charter School, in the northeast San Fernando Valley. Only 37 miles from Piru, Fenton is one of the oldest charter schools in California; it started in 1994 as one of the first independent conversion charters in the state, and its demographics almost exactly mirror those of Piru School: 87% of the students qualify for free and reduced lunch, 54% are in the English as a Second Language program, and come from a primarily Hispanic community. The visitors were greeted by Fenton Director Irene Sumida, who started at Fenton as an assistant principal before it became a charter school. “Districts tend to treat all schools as if they are the same,” Ms. Sumida told the group. “Why should you be treated that way? If your school is isolated from the District, don’t you (parents and teachers) know what is best for your school?”

Also leading the tour was Tony Peña, the director of the Family Center at Fenton Charter School. Here parents come during the day to take ESL classes while a daycare and preschool is provided for their young children. Mr. Peña explained that he grew up in the neighborhood and attended Fenton before it was a charter, going on to Maclay Junior High and San Fernando High School, then returned to Fenton to work at the school before it became a charter, and has been working there since 1992. He still lives nearby, and both his daughters attended Fenton Charter School. He made the point that becoming a charter is so popular with the neighborhood parents that“98% of parents (at Fenton) prefer keeping their kids in a charter school (when they leave Fenton), and I was one of those parents.”

At the Fenton Family Center, in the middle of the school’s campus, Mr. Peña introduced us to four of the parents who were taking ESL classes there, while their young children attended preschool right next door. They chuckled when asked if they were required to pay for services and were emphatic to stress that no fees are required from parents for any services. They all agreed with him that because Fenton is a charter school, it provides more services to the children and parents, from parent ESL classes, afterschool programs, more technology for the students, and a bigger voice for parents in how their school is run, and how the funds are spent. As Mr. Peña emphasized, because Fenton is an independent charter school, the money for the children’s education comes directly to their school, and the charter doesn’t “have to share (it) with the District office.”

Ms. Sumida and Mr. Peña showed parents the clean, neat facilities, the well-provisioned cafeteria, and some of the 900 computers on the Fenton campus, introduced them to the four full-time technology specialists who keep those 900 computers up and running, guided them through Fenton’s own TV studio, which also serves as their school’s board room for council meetings, and took them through the science labs, art room and several regular classrooms, which have no more than 25 students. The lower grade classes get an aide for three hours daily, and the upper grades for 1.5 hours daily. At the end of the tour, the parents agreed that being a charter allowed Fenton the opportunity to do great things for kids, and hoped that other Piru parents would take the opportunity to visit charter schools, like Fenton, so they could see for themselves what becoming a charter could mean for Piru Elementary. Several of the parents offered to take back other interested parents who might like to visit Fenton Charter School for themselves. To reach them, please send an email to pirucharterschool@earthlink.net
So what did the Piru parents learn from this trip? Charter schools are free, public schools, just like regular public schools, they do not charge money to attend, and charter schools provide MORE services and programs than regular public schools. These parents saw what the parents at Fenton already know: charter schools are better equipped to respond to the desires of parents in order to meet the needs of their children.