TJUSD Board Meeting - January 14, 2016

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TJUSD Board Meeting - January 14, 2016

Postby blackturtle.us » Fri Jan 15, 2016 12:01 pm

The agenda for this meeting was short, but the actual meeting lasted about an hour and forty-five minutes. There were two presentations which were somewhat lengthy. Other than a couple students and a few school employees, the audience was composed of presenters, three in all, but more on that down below.

Board Member Comments: The most interesting comment was in regards to an upcoming event featuring ROP Students scrimmaging against Fire Fighters in a game of basketball. There will also be some kind of “dance off” competition along with the basketball game.
Superintendent Comments: Keith Tomes conducted a campus walk-thru with the Darik McCullar (the new head of maintenance and transportation). He talked about prioritizing facility improvement projects, but provided few specifics. Mr. Tomes also talked about modernization and architectural projects under consideration, but provided no actual details. Additionally, Mr. Tomes talked about an independent study program which should be initiated in the near future as well as “Success Assemblies,” the first of which is scheduled for February.
Elementary Report: Alan Tsubota provided information about: a) dentists from Loma Linda checked the teeth of elementary students earlier this week and will return in March to fix problems they found; b) Calendar Committee will meet next week to put together the calendar for the 2016-2017 school year; c) staff inservice regarding Smarter Balanced Assessment was provided first work day of January.
Odyssey of the Mind: Fifth grade teacher Cathy Heseman talked a bit about a student club she is sponsoring and some of their activities and an upcoming competition they are preparing for. MORE INFO: http://www.odysseyofthemind.com/
Butch Owens: Addressed the school board on behalf of Sage Oak Charter Schools. Proposed a possible affiliation between TJUSD and his organization which could be financially beneficial to TJUSD.
OnPoint: A company which facilitates the effective use of technology provided a presentation for the board. The presenter tried to convey what it was his company does and how it can help the school district. Basically he asserted that OnPoint “helps schools create innovative learning environments” by coordinating technology with the curriculum and by providing training to instructors.
California Prep Charter: The board voted to move forward with developing an affiliation between TJUSD and California Prep Charter following a lengthy question and answer session with a representative of the organization. Last month he and a colleague made a presentation to the board.
Board President Garrison requested that the Athletic Director make a presentation to the board regarding league information, etc. in an upcoming board meeting.
Board President Garrison also requested a public discussion regarding behavior grades and the conditions under which an instructor may give a student a behavioral mark of U on a report card.
Next regular board meeting: February 11, 2016
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - January 14, 2016

Postby wildrose » Sat Jan 16, 2016 7:52 am

School Bans the World "Please" :roll2:
This is an interesting discussion, but the focus on the word "please" is just a contrivance to create a provocative headline. The school didn't actually ban the word "please." All they did was make it clear to students that certain behaviors are not options or non-negotiable. So, the word please is optionally dropped from directives since the word implies that compliance is optional. The fear is that low performing children might be confused by overuse of the word and not be able to distinguish between a polite convention tacked on to a directive versus an optional request.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - January 14, 2016

Postby twister » Sat Jan 16, 2016 11:13 am

Woman convicted for "baby fight club"
Assuming the the conviction is justified (and not the result of an unfair or poorly conducted trial) and that the allegations are true, then this is some crazy stuff!
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - January 14, 2016

Postby wildrose » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:00 am

The great charter school rip-off: Finally, the truth catches up to education “reform” phonies
I recommend thinking twice before getting tangled up with a charter school operation. There have been some pretty shady organizations involved in the charter school movement and they're all about making money and only pretend to have the welfare of students as a priority.
Then, hiding behind pledges to do “what’s best for kids,” these operators too often do anything but.

LINK:
http://www.salon.com/2014/10/02/the_great_charter_school_rip_off_finally_the_truth_catches_up_to_education_reform_phonies/
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - January 14, 2016

Postby wildrose » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:09 am

Risking Public Money: California Charter School Fraud
This article goes into lots of detail. The charter schools mentioned in the board meeting report should be thoroughly vetted before any contract is signed. The local school district is rumored to have lots of money in reserves. It would be a pity for that money to be siphoned away as part of some money-transfer scheme. School finances are complex and there's lots of room for chicanery.
The number of instances of serious fraud uncovered by whistleblowers and the FCMAT suggests
that the fraud problem is likely not isolated to the charter operators that have been caught. In fact,
California’s charter oversight system’s deficiencies suggest that the $81,400,000 in fraud, waste
and abuse by charter operators that has been uncovered to date is likely just the tip of the iceberg.
Based on conservative estimates, California stands to lose more than $100 million to
charter school fraud in 2015. The vast majority of this fraud perpetrated by charter officials will go
undetected because California lacks the oversight necessary to identify the fraud.

LINK:
http://populardemocracy.org/sites/default/files/Charter-Schools-California-Report-b.pdf
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - January 14, 2016

Postby cactuspete » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:28 am

The charter-school scam deepens: The sick new “bubble” that could explode urban schools
Venturing too far down this rabbit hole is probably not a great idea.
Multiple authorizers may also weaken screening by giving charter schools the chance to find authorizers who won’t ask questions. In fact, CREDO has found that states with multiple authorizers experienced significantly lower academic growth. CREDO suggested that this finding might be due to the possibility that multiple authorizers gave charter schools the chance to shop around to find authorizers who wouldn’t provide rigorous oversight.

LINK:
http://www.salon.com/2016/01/05/the_charter_school_scam_deepens_the_sick_new_bubble_that_could_explode_urban_schools/
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - January 14, 2016

Postby cactuspete » Sun Jan 17, 2016 8:40 am

We’re Onto the Phony Education Reformers: Charter School Charlatans and Faux Reformers Take It on the Chin
The press has focused on the good charter schools, while ignoring the majority of failed charter schools. Some charter schools fail because they just weren't thought out very carefully, while others fail due to corruption. Failure to thoroughly vet a charter school would be a grave mistake. The school board cannot rely on the school administration to do this for them since the school administration could be "in bed" with the charter school organization. Therefore, the school board bears responsibility for the decision to work with a charter school and so hopefully they do independent research to avoid any unfortunate mistakes.
In April, another report from the Center for Popular Democracy, along with the Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools (AROS), uncovered over $200 million in “alleged and confirmed financial fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement” committed by charter schools around the country.

LINK: http://www.alternet.org/education/were-phony-education-reformers-charter-school-charlatans-and-faux-reformers-take-it-chin
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - January 14, 2016

Postby panamint_patty » Tue Jan 19, 2016 8:57 am

Charter Schools: There are too many scandals involving charter schools for me to feel comfortable with any financial connection between the local school district and such an organization. The possible benefits to the school district don't justify the potential pitfalls of such an arrangement.
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Risking Public Money

Postby twister » Wed Jan 20, 2016 8:37 am

wildrose: Wasn't FCMAT the organization that ran the school for a few years starting back around 2002 or 2003? As I recall there was a large layoff of employees and rumors that the school was about to close down because it went bankrupt. Is history about to repeat itself?
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - January 14, 2016

Postby mrgreen » Wed Jan 20, 2016 6:43 pm

Threats across U.S. shut down dozens of schools
Bomb threats made using a robotic voice originating in Bakersfield target schools across the nation.
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