TJUSD Board Meeting - April 03, 2014

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TJUSD Board Meeting - April 03, 2014

Postby blackturtle.us » Thu Apr 03, 2014 7:43 pm

The meeting this evening lasted one hour and twenty-four minutes. There were several people present for the early part of the meeting, but most left well before the end of the meeting. The following are the items of interest, as I saw them anyways.

1) Elementary AVID - Two teachers from the elementary school shared with the board how they use AVID in their classrooms. One teacher talked about how AVID is used at the second grade level and the second teacher (with the assistance of two students) explained how fifth graders benefit from the AVID program. Later in the meeting, BTW, the board approved the contract with the AVID organization for the 2014/2015 school year.

2) Board Member Comments - One board member had good things to say about bus cameras. Other board members talked about the Centennial Celebration and another talked about youth basketball. Regarding the Centennial Celebration it was reported that it was very successful. Not only did a large number of people participate, but various organizations raised a fair amount of money during the event. For instance, it was stated that over $400 was raised at the ice cream social that was held at the Trona Airport.

3) Superintendent's Report - Supt. Olney reported that the Parent Project has been a success and that the twelve-week course is now over. He also talked about the WASC accreditation process and said that two self-study meetings have been completed. Additionally he mentioned that several teachers attended the recent Computer Using Educators Conference and that he will meet with them and a few other staff members to discuss technology-related ideas that should be considered for implementation in the district.

4) Negotiations - An item having to do with health insurance benefits has been added to the list of items to be discussed during contract negotiations with the teaching staff.

5) Public Comment - A community member announced that 18 students will be participating in the JR Olympics next Saturday (April 12) from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Cerro Coso Junior College.

6) Baseball Coach - Approved by a vote of 3-1. The single nay vote was cast by Sandy Sprouse. The missing board member was Trisha Funke who was present for most of the meeting, but who had to step out for a few minutes. (I believe she was making an appearance at the final Parent Project meeting.)

7) Facility Master Plan - The board approved (4-0) a contract with an architectural firm. The firm will assess facilities, conduct a consolidation study, and create a master plan for improvements. The total cost will be well over $20k, but the report will provide a thorough list of maintenance, demolition, upgrades, and modernizations which enable the district to deal with facilities issues in an organized and cost-effective manner.

8) Board Policies and Administrative Regulations - Ten policies and regulations were introduced for the board to consider. Some discussion regarding each of these items took place, but no action was taken. The items can be grouped into the following categories:
A) Athletics - Job descriptions for athletic director and head coach of high school sports. (2 items)
B) Technology/Social Media - Policies related to district-sponsored social media and employee use of technology. (4 items) The focus here was primarily on the use of social media as it relates to classrooms and sports teams. Coaches and teachers will be required to get permission to create such social media sites and the sites will be required to post information such as disclaimers and policies regarding inappropriate language and that sort of thing. In fact, a list of eight items which each official district social media platform shall display was presented. Also discussed were policies relevant to appropriate employee behavior on such sites.
C) Nondiscrimination/Harassment - The focus here was gender, gender identity, and gender expression. (4 items) Basically language was added to existing policies and regulations address these issues as per either state or federal requirements. For instance, the following passage is included in one of the Administrative Regulations:
Determining a Student's Gender Identity: The Coordinator shall accept the student's assertion unless district personnel present a credible basis for believing that the student's assertion is for an improper use.

The coordinator would be the superintendent in our district. Board members asked for clarification several times regarding the implications of this policy. For instance, under what circumstances would a biological male be permitted to play on the girls' softball team or possibly use the girls' restroom. Obviously this is a controversial and sensitive issue.

NEXT REGULAR BOARD MEETING: May 8, 2014
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Re: Gender Identity

Postby wildrose » Fri Apr 04, 2014 6:43 am

Call me old-fashioned, but I believe that a child can live with his or her biological gender until after they turn eighteen and legally become an adult. Except for rare cases where a child is born with some kind of mutation which causes genital deformity, children should not be given some kind of special exemption in public schools. As for students who turn eighteen before graduation, they should live with their biological gender until they graduate or else they can opt out and go to a special school. I'm not trying to be mean or to discriminate, but gender is a biological given and children don't have the life experience to make that kind of decision regardless of what some liberal social worker may have to say on the issue!
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Re: Gender Identity

Postby shadylady » Fri Apr 04, 2014 7:27 am

I'm pretty liberal on most issues having to do with sex and that sort of thing, but I'm not comfortable with allowing children to change their gender identity. That can wait until after they turn eighteen. I don't think parents should have to deal with the issue just because some kid with psychological issues at school decides to change gender.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - April 03, 2014

Postby panamint_patty » Sat Apr 05, 2014 6:44 am

Sexually Active Teen Girls Are Like Dirty Candy (But Not The Boys)
Mississippi isn't exactly on the cutting edge when it comes to education or anything else for that matter. This tactic to persuade kids not to be sexually active is somewhat amusing, but it's tragic that kids in that state aren't being given good objective information which they can use to make good decisions for themselves. What I like the most about this news clip is that it features a Peppermint Pattie! That's kind of cool.
:bounce:
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Re: Dirty Candy

Postby CoolChick » Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:28 am

panamint_patty: Dirty Candy sounds like a good name for a girl rock band. Their lead singer could be Peppermint Patty and maybe the drummer could be something like Lisa Liquorice. LOL
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - April 03, 2014

Postby desertrat » Sat Apr 12, 2014 8:40 am

Changing Our Education System One Programmer At A Time :mad2:
Education in the USA is asleep at the wheel. There is no real teaching of technology. You have airhead teachers doing PowerPoints and MS Word or teaching other office programs, but no real use of technology. Some of them have fancy gadgets, but very few of them are actually capable of teaching computer science and programming. It's a travesty when you think about it. It's a fundamental failure.
In the off chance you’ve been sleeping under a rock with no Wi-Fi for the past 20 years, here’s some news: The U.S. educational system is under attack from multiple fronts and is on the verge of being reshaped by a profound entrepreneurial uprising.

Not only do colleges need to do a better job with technology, but high schools and elementary schools need to also start teaching computer science and programming concepts. They can either catch up with the times or they can be replaced.
(Schools focusing on vocational computer science training) tend to attract very motivated students, many of them mid-career in non-technical professions, who spend day and night learning coding over short periods of time. After completing their programs, the students have the technical skills employers are looking for, and they are highly marketable. In fact, Flatiron boasts nearly 100 percent job placement.

LINK: http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/12/changing-our-education-system-one-programmer-at-a-time/
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - April 03, 2014

Postby wildrose » Sat Apr 12, 2014 11:40 am

Teachers, students and social media: Where is the line?
Zero tolerance policies are always reactionary, short-sighted, and wind up with unintended adverse results. People need to take a deep breath and understand what they're dealing with before they make unnecessary rules or attempt to put unnecessary restrictions on other people's behavior. Context is important as a friend on Facebook is not the same as a friend in real life. People in positions of power need to realize that just because the word "friend" is used, it doesn't have the usual meaning. It's called getting a clue! Also communication is used for a lot of different purposes and can be conducted face-to-face, orally over the phone, through text messages, through email, through private messages on social media sites, etc. It's the motives of the person that matter, not the tool used to deliver the messages. Banning Facebook is a little like banning playgrounds because every once in a while there are playground fights.
:laugh:
Carol Thebarge, a 79-year-old substitute teacher in Claremont, N.H., brought this issue to light recently when she was told by school officials to unfriend her more than 200 current students on Facebook. If she didn't, they said, she would no longer be called on to substitute. She announced Thursday (on Facebook, of course) that she would not comply.

LINK: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/04/09/facebook-teachers-twitter-students-schools/7472051/
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - April 03, 2014

Postby panamint_patty » Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:49 am

Trona schools ready for Common Core
There were a couple articles about Trona schools in the Daily Insufficient in the last week or so. This first one is about the Common Core, but it talks even more about technology and the internet.
Olney said the high-speed Internet is hooked up, and now the school is looking into a wireless system. He said now the school is upgrading the computers available to students. Currently these computers are limited to those in the library, but the goal, Olney explained, will be to have a computer for each student. The new standards task the schools with having its students computer literate and efficient. This means each student will have to have their own computer, or similar device.

LINK: http://www.ridgecrestca.com/article/20140407/NEWS/140409703/1997/NEWS
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - April 03, 2014

Postby panamint_patty » Sun Apr 13, 2014 7:54 am

Trona students get look at the job market
Here's the second article. It's about a career day activity at the high school.
Beatrix Ramirez, ROP specialist with the district, said the response from both kids and presenters has been outstanding and positive. Kids were able to chose what speakers they wanted to hear from and were allowed to ask questions after the presentations.

LINK: http://www.ridgecrestca.com/article/20140405/NEWS/140409781/1997/NEWS
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - April 03, 2014

Postby CactusHugger » Mon Apr 14, 2014 4:56 pm

Bullied Student Records Bullies, Gets Threatened With Felony Charges For Violating Wiretapping Law
This is just wrong on so many levels. I get it that you can't just go around recording people without them knowing, but it seems that maybe some laws are more important than others and that wiretapping laws are trumped by laws against harassing other people.
A Pennsylvania teen, who claimed to have been bullied constantly (and ignored by school administration), made an audio recording of his tormentors using a school-supplied iPad. He brought this to the school's attention, which duly responded by calling the cops… to have him arrested for violating Pennsylvania's wiretapping law.

LINK: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20140411/16314926883/bullied-student-records-bullies-gets-threatened-with-felony-charges-violating-wiretapping-law.shtml
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