TJUSD Board Meeting - March 11, 2015

News pertaining directly to Trona, Death Valley, the northern Mojave Desert, Inyo County, and adjacent areas.

TJUSD Board Meeting - March 11, 2015

Postby blackturtle.us » Fri Mar 13, 2015 8:14 am

The meeting Wednesday evening (March 11, 2015) lasted just under two hours and was attended by the school board, seven employees, two students, and a parent.

Highlights:
1) Sixth Grade Science Camp - The sixth grade teacher (Cathy Heseman) presented a slideshow and told about what students did during their stay at science camp. Most of the images depicted outdoor activities in a beach setting. The camp was located in the Cambria/San Simeon area.
2) Expanding Your Horizons - A small number of sixth grade girls attended an event held at the China Lake naval base. The girls participated in workshops led by women working as scientists at the base. The board was exceptionally interested in this event and expressed the hope that students in the future would be able to attend this annual event.
3) Technology: Mr. Olney briefed the board regarding network maintenance issues, staff technology training, interactive whiteboards, Chromebooks, etc.
4) Dental Services - Dental interns from Loma Linda provided dental services for children living in the community. In February they screened students at the elementary and in March they performed various dental procedures on students (and other children in the community) who were determined to be in need of such services.
5) Gymnasium Roof - Mark Goins presented information regarding work that will be performed on the gym roof. An all metal roof will be installed, complete with a two inch layer of insulation. It will be blue. Also the roof edging (fascia) will be in sandstone and at some point foyer windows will be replaced. Work on the roof is set to begin in March and be complete by the third week of May. Asbestos abatement on the flat portion of the roof on the backside of the gym will be performed during spring break. No vote was required to move forward on the project since it had been approved at a previous board meeting, but the board did informally approve of the suggested colors for the roof and fascia.
6) 2015/2016 School Calendar - approved with a 5-0 vote.
7) Summer School Program - An enrichment-orientated summer school program will be offered for elementary and middle school students this summer. (HS students will be offered the usual credit recovery program.) The idea is to provide a more creative and engaging program to increase student academic motivation. Last year the cost to the district of summer school was $18k. The proposal for this summer includes the employment of an additional teacher with a cost estimate of $23k. The board approved this proposal with a 5-0 vote.
8) Second Interim Report - Dawn McMillen presented a financial report to the board. She mentioned that district enrollment seems to have stabilized (at least temporarily). Among quite a few other details she stated that total revenue for the current year is estimated to be $5.1 million with expenditures projected at over $7 million, including the costs for the demolition of the old elementary buildings and the installation of a new gym roof. Despite deficit spending the projected ending balance for the fiscal year is $8 million.
9) Policies and Procedures - A fair amount of time was devoted to updating Board Policies and Administrative Regulations. Much of this had to do with revisions necessitated by changes in policies at the state level. For instance, requirements for tuberculosis testing/screening were modified and so it was necessary that the BPs and ARs reflect this change. Other changes had to do with technology planning, criminal records checks, and budget. Additionally a few BPs were renumbered to locate those items more appropriately.

NEXT MEETING: April 16, 2015 (That’s a week later than normal due to spring break.)
User avatar
blackturtle.us
Cantankerous Mule
 
Posts: 280
Joined: Fri Sep 28, 2012 12:20 pm
Location: Turtle Town

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 11, 2015

Postby CoolChick » Fri Mar 13, 2015 12:35 pm

Parent upset over school lice policy :puzzled:
It's getting warm and usually that means more bugs... including lice!!!
:eek2:
User avatar
CoolChick
Cantankerous Mule
 
Posts: 323
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2013 11:09 am
Location: The Chicken Ranch

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 11, 2015

Postby dingleberry » Sat Mar 14, 2015 7:27 am

14 Students Accused In Sex Assault Assaults At Venice High School :wtf:
Dang! If my understanding is correct that would be like half the boys in the high school if this were to have happened in Trona! I think repeating the word assault in the title is probably a typo...
User avatar
dingleberry
Greenhorn
 
Posts: 37
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2014 7:15 pm
Location: Just hangin'

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 11, 2015

Postby cactuspete » Sun Mar 15, 2015 8:58 am

GERM that kills schools
Why has Finland been doing so well? Are they inoculated against the Global Education Reform Movement (GERM)?
User avatar
cactuspete
Prehistoric Fossil
 
Posts: 1277
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2012 11:14 am
Location: The Boonies

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 11, 2015

Postby pcslim » Sun Mar 15, 2015 11:02 am

No boys allowed in this science and tech program
It's amazing the way our society provides all sorts of opportunities for girls that don't exist for boys. We have Title Nine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_IX) which provides girls with access to boys' sports programs, but not vice versa. Physical fitness requirements are lower for females in a number of job areas including the military than they are for males. And now there are programs like this (also mentioned in the board meeting report) that are not available to boys. If a program were available to boys only there'd be all sorts of screams of sexism, but not so when it is the other way around. Hypocrisy?
User avatar
pcslim
Lonesome Miner
 
Posts: 543
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 8:24 pm
Location: Exact coordinates unknown

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 11, 2015

Postby shadylady » Mon Mar 16, 2015 8:52 am

cactuspete: GERM is a bad thing and it encapsulates exactly what's wrong with all the educational initiatives pushed by the federal government. Standardization is not good for education.

pcslim: In light of the fact that more women graduate with degrees in biology than do men, it would seem that this sort of program is not necessary, but women are still under-represented in engineering and computer science. I agree that it seems hypocritical to offer special programs for girls, but to do so for boys would draw a ton of criticism. That is problematic.
User avatar
shadylady
Prehistoric Fossil
 
Posts: 1289
Joined: Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:20 am
Location: The Ranch

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 11, 2015

Postby wildrose » Sat Mar 21, 2015 8:25 am

Finland schools: Subjects scrapped and replaced with 'topics' as country reforms its education system :smart:
This sounds like an interesting way of reorganizing schools. It might work, but it would require teachers who are capable of reinventing the way they teach. Most people have a hard time breaking away from the status quo and even if teachers were able to make the change, you can only imagine how parents and the general public would complain about how it's not the way things were done when they were kids!
:roll2:
Subject-specific lessons – an hour of history in the morning, an hour of geography in the afternoon – are already being phased out (and) are being replaced by what the Finns call “phenomenon” teaching – or teaching by topic. For instance, a teenager studying a vocational course might take “cafeteria services” lessons, which would include elements of maths, languages (to help serve foreign customers), writing skills and communication skills. More academic pupils would be taught cross-subject topics such as the European Union - which would merge elements of economics, history (of the countries involved), languages and geography.

LINK: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/finland-schools-subjects-are-out-and-topics-are-in-as-country-reforms-its-education-system-10123911.html
User avatar
wildrose
Prehistoric Fossil
 
Posts: 1397
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2012 10:41 pm
Location: middle of nowhere

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 11, 2015

Postby MojaveMike » Sun Mar 22, 2015 7:13 pm

Atlanta Teachers Face 20 Years In Jail For Cheating Test Scores :wtf:
Testing should be seen as a way to hold students accountable for learning, not judging whether or not teachers are effective. People who go into teaching work hard, but many children don't. Punish the kids who fail to do well on the test, not the teachers who have to deal with the uncooperative kids!
User avatar
MojaveMike
Prehistoric Fossil
 
Posts: 1142
Joined: Mon Oct 01, 2012 3:51 pm
Location: Middle of Nowhere

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 11, 2015

Postby recluse » Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:33 pm

What Parents Need To Know About Juvenile Criminal Justice :wtf:
Even the best kids are just unlucky move away from incarceration. Some felonies committed before the age of eighteen can follow a kid for the rest of his/her life.
User avatar
recluse
Backcountry Hiker
 
Posts: 680
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:48 am
Location: where you'd least expect

Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - March 11, 2015

Postby recluse » Mon Mar 23, 2015 7:34 pm

Girls & Tech: Efforts to Encourage Young Women into Programming
Do girls have what it takes to code? :shrug:
User avatar
recluse
Backcountry Hiker
 
Posts: 680
Joined: Sun Mar 08, 2015 7:48 am
Location: where you'd least expect

Next

Return to Local News

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 65 guests

cron