School Board Notes 1.16.07
By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent
Originally published here
Committee Considers Prop. H Plan
School board members on Tuesday night considered a plan submitted by the Community Advisory Committee on how to spend the $20 million the district will receive this year in Prop. H funds. The board, meeting as the Committee of the Whole, also considered a plan outlined by the superintendent’s office on how the money could be spent.
The board will vote to adopt a Prop H spending plan at its next meeting, January 23. Copies of the CAC’s proposal can be obtained on the Web .
The CAC reviewed the superintendent’s proposal in developing its spending plan and included most of staff’s recommendations and requests. However, there were several areas where the two differed significantly. The CAC recommended some allocations not included in the superintendent's proposal, including:
The staff also said that the high school computers are outdated and can’t support programs the schools would like to offer students.
Committee members, for their part, said that in public meetings, that they had heard over and over again the need for violence prevention and peer resources.
“If there was anything we heard over and above anything else it was the value of peer resources to the youth,” said Prop. H CAC member Sandra Fewer, who works with Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth.
Community meetings also elicited strong testimony about the need for increased translation services for non English-speaking parents. A large contingent of foreign parents appeared at the meeting to appeal — in languages including Chinese, Spanish and Samoan — for services that would enable them to better communicate with teachers and the district. Parents told of the many complications that arose from not being able to read letters sent from the school, as well as the frustration of not being able to actively participate in their children’s academic progress. One parent said she almost missed an opportunity to enroll her daughter in a gifted program because she couldn’t read the letter informing her that her daughter qualified. Another parent at Tenderloin Community School spoke of how panic at the largely ELL school after a student died suddenly as a result of a viral infection. Parents couldn’t read the letters sent home and didn’t know whether a critical risk had been posed their children.
Such testimony had prompted the CAC to support the recommendation of $600,000, a figure put forth by immigrant advocacy groups. District staff said its lower $125,000 figure came from assessments in consultation with its translation staff about how much it would cost to increase translation services. The district currently spends $375,000 on Spanish and Chinese translation services.
Task Force Presents Small Schools Policy
The Small Schools Task Force made a presentation pitching the value of small schools and presenting a draft policy for how the district could support and develop small schools by design. The small schools initiative seeks to boost student achievement through smaller student populations, more personalized instruction and, in some cases, unique curriculum approaches. It is largely aimed at closing the achievement gap between the district as a whole and English language learners and students of color. It also seeks to create high-quality schools that will help retain and attract students to the district, whose enrollment has been declining.
The task force was chartered by the district last June to develop a policy framework for supporting small schools; it comprises SFUSD staff working at existing small schools, as well as parents, students, district staff, union representatives and community-based organizations. The group’s draft policy lays out how the district would define small schools, how schools could become eligible to join the initiative, as well as how they would be funded, staffed, assessed and held accountable. It also outlines the district’s role in supporting the schools.
The policy was drafted by the task force in collaboration with district staff. Copies can be obtained by contacting district representative Mary Richards at (415) 355-7323. The policy will be presented to the full board for first reading at it next meeting, Jan. 23. It will then be forwarded to at least two committees. Board members would then revise the draft or give it back to the task force or district staff to revise before it comes before making a final vote.
District Launches Parcel Tax Initiative
The district is drawing up plans for a parcel tax that would raise money to increase pay for educators and other staff.
The tax would seek to raise funds to achieve the following:
Meetings to Start an Hour Earlier
The committee decided to move the start time for general meetings (held the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month) from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. starting with the February 12 meeting. The change was made so that the meetings, which often stretch until close to midnight, could end earlier. The committee also agreed to hold its closed session meetings the Thursdays before the general meetings. Closed session meetings are currently held before the general meetings, and often delay the start of the meeting.
GreatSchools.net Correspondent
Originally published here
- Committee Considers Prop. H Plan
- Task Force Presents Small Schools Policy
- District Launches Parcel Tax Initiative
- Meetings to Start an Hour Earlier
Committee Considers Prop. H Plan
School board members on Tuesday night considered a plan submitted by the Community Advisory Committee on how to spend the $20 million the district will receive this year in Prop. H funds. The board, meeting as the Committee of the Whole, also considered a plan outlined by the superintendent’s office on how the money could be spent.
The board will vote to adopt a Prop H spending plan at its next meeting, January 23. Copies of the CAC’s proposal can be obtained on the Web .
The CAC reviewed the superintendent’s proposal in developing its spending plan and included most of staff’s recommendations and requests. However, there were several areas where the two differed significantly. The CAC recommended some allocations not included in the superintendent's proposal, including:
- $1.65 million for violence prevention, with site allocations of $50,000 for each middle and high school. The site council would work in conjunction with the students to determine how to allocate the funds, and would solicit proposals from community-based organizations such as YouthSpeaks, a youth newspaper, and United Playaz, a performing arts program. The CAC also recommended expanding the peer resources programs at secondary schools to include six additional schools. The superintendent’s request did not include funds for violence prevention, and sought only to maintain the existing peer resources programs already established through Prop. H.
- $600,000 for translation services, which would allow for expanding the hiring of interpreters, translation of school and district notices, and translation to other languages, including Russian and Samoan, from only Spanish and Chinese. The superintendent’s proposal recommended $125,000 for the purpose of expanding translation.
- $770,000 to support adding wellness centers, which provide nursing care, counseling and peer resources, at four additional high schools so that every high school in the district would have one. The superintendent’s proposal sought three wellness centers for $577,500 and would leave one school, Washington High School, without one.
- A computer replacement program requested by the superintendent that would have provided updated computers for teachers, classrooms and computer labs at the high school level.
- A request for a district-wide assessment system to gauge student progress.
- Half the $1.4 million the superintendent had requested to acquire 10 math and language arts coaches to support teachers in improving instructional practice.
The staff also said that the high school computers are outdated and can’t support programs the schools would like to offer students.
Committee members, for their part, said that in public meetings, that they had heard over and over again the need for violence prevention and peer resources.
“If there was anything we heard over and above anything else it was the value of peer resources to the youth,” said Prop. H CAC member Sandra Fewer, who works with Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth.
Community meetings also elicited strong testimony about the need for increased translation services for non English-speaking parents. A large contingent of foreign parents appeared at the meeting to appeal — in languages including Chinese, Spanish and Samoan — for services that would enable them to better communicate with teachers and the district. Parents told of the many complications that arose from not being able to read letters sent from the school, as well as the frustration of not being able to actively participate in their children’s academic progress. One parent said she almost missed an opportunity to enroll her daughter in a gifted program because she couldn’t read the letter informing her that her daughter qualified. Another parent at Tenderloin Community School spoke of how panic at the largely ELL school after a student died suddenly as a result of a viral infection. Parents couldn’t read the letters sent home and didn’t know whether a critical risk had been posed their children.
Such testimony had prompted the CAC to support the recommendation of $600,000, a figure put forth by immigrant advocacy groups. District staff said its lower $125,000 figure came from assessments in consultation with its translation staff about how much it would cost to increase translation services. The district currently spends $375,000 on Spanish and Chinese translation services.
Task Force Presents Small Schools Policy
The Small Schools Task Force made a presentation pitching the value of small schools and presenting a draft policy for how the district could support and develop small schools by design. The small schools initiative seeks to boost student achievement through smaller student populations, more personalized instruction and, in some cases, unique curriculum approaches. It is largely aimed at closing the achievement gap between the district as a whole and English language learners and students of color. It also seeks to create high-quality schools that will help retain and attract students to the district, whose enrollment has been declining.
The task force was chartered by the district last June to develop a policy framework for supporting small schools; it comprises SFUSD staff working at existing small schools, as well as parents, students, district staff, union representatives and community-based organizations. The group’s draft policy lays out how the district would define small schools, how schools could become eligible to join the initiative, as well as how they would be funded, staffed, assessed and held accountable. It also outlines the district’s role in supporting the schools.
The policy was drafted by the task force in collaboration with district staff. Copies can be obtained by contacting district representative Mary Richards at (415) 355-7323. The policy will be presented to the full board for first reading at it next meeting, Jan. 23. It will then be forwarded to at least two committees. Board members would then revise the draft or give it back to the task force or district staff to revise before it comes before making a final vote.
District Launches Parcel Tax Initiative
The district is drawing up plans for a parcel tax that would raise money to increase pay for educators and other staff.
The tax would seek to raise funds to achieve the following:
- Raise the salary schedule to be a more competitive district.
- Provide financial incentives to attract teachers to hard-to-staff subjects and schools.
- Provide greater and more consistent professional development.
- Provide increased support through classroom aides and teaching materials.
Meetings to Start an Hour Earlier
The committee decided to move the start time for general meetings (held the second and fourth Tuesdays of the month) from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. starting with the February 12 meeting. The change was made so that the meetings, which often stretch until close to midnight, could end earlier. The committee also agreed to hold its closed session meetings the Thursdays before the general meetings. Closed session meetings are currently held before the general meetings, and often delay the start of the meeting.
Labels: GreatSchools.net, School Board Notes, SFUSD Politics
1 Comments:
Why isn't the agenda item on charter schools covered in Nicole's report?
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