March 1998 News Archive
Friday, March 27, 1998
SB 1969 Training
Over 250 teachers between the two districts completed SB 1969 Training on April 6, 1998. SB 1969 Training was approved by the State as an alternative to the CLAD Training. The training, which spanned two school years (1996-97 and 1997-98), was offered by the District so that teachers could meet the requirements of a new State law. We recognize that offering the SB 1969 Training on staff development days effected site staff development. Teachers requested this training be provided on staff development days so that it would not be necessary for them to complete the CLAD training which involved taking 4-5 courses at a local college. Teachers were required to take an (open book) exam at the end of the course to demonstrate proficiency. At the end of the training, teachers will be issued a certificate documenting their participation in and completion of the training.
Times Have Changed, And So Have We
There have been many changes in education during the past two decades. Certainly, one of the major challenges we have faced has been a marked decrease in funding resources for California students. In a nutshell, we have had to do more with less. At the district level, we have streamlined operations in recent years, as is evident in the following information:
| Santa Barbara School Districts | 1977-78 | 1997-98 |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment | 16,117 | 15,537 |
| Total number of district administrators | 29 | 16 |
| Total number district support staff | 100 | 58 |
Our objective during these lean budget years is to channel as many dollars as possible to the school sites.
MathCounts Competition
Goleta Valley JHS MathCounts team took first place in the Chapter level competition held in Ventura in February. Team members Huei-Chyun Luh, Elizabeth Kim, Sarah Hasch, and Justin Luria competed in a field of 17 teams from 14 junior high schools. Coach Fred Soltysik and his team went on to compete against the best MathCounts teams in Southern California.
Mock Trial
San Marcos HS had the winning team at the Santa Barbara County Mock Trial Competition. The team continues on to the State Finals in Sacramento.
Tandy Technology Scholar
Rob Deconde, San Marcos HS senior, was selected as one of the 100 recipients of a $1,000 Tandy Prize for excellence in math, science, and computer science. Rob appears in the April 20 issue of Time magazine.
Spelling Bee
Alexander Georgakis, Goleta Valley JHS 7th grader, was the winner in the junior high school division in this year’s Santa Barbara County Spelling Bee. Peter Ty, Franklin Intermediate 6th grader, was the first runner-up in the elementary division. They went on to compete in the state Spelling Bee.
Stanford 9 Testing in the Santa Barbara School Districts
On April 13, 1998, the Santa Barbara School Districts will administer the State-mandated (Senate Bill 376) Stanford Achievement Test, Form 9. The test is referred to as the S.A.T./9 or the Stanford 9.
Students in grades 2-8 will take tests in reading, written expression (language), spelling, and math. Students in grades 9-11 will take tests in reading, writing (language), math, science, and history/social studies. This tests will be conducted in English and will have very specific time parameters. All school districts in the State will complete Stanford 9 testing before the middle of May.
Additionally, on May 4, 1998, Limited English Proficient (L.E.P.) students at the elementary school level and English-as-a-Second Language (E.S.L.) I and II students at the secondary school level will take a test in Spanish called the Spanish Assessment of Basic Education, Form 2 (S.A.B.E./2). For students whose primary language is Spanish, S.A.B.E./2 is one indicator of a student’s level of academic proficiency in their native language.
The Santa Barbara School Districts encourage student participation in the Stanford 9 and S.A.B.E./2 testing for the following reasons:
- Standardized tests provide parents, students, and educators with baseline data on student performance. They are one of several types of measures used to monitor academic progress and identify areas for improvement.
- The tests are useful tools in making comparisons and evaluating the similarities and differences among schools and districts across the State of California.
- For Spanish-speaking children, standardized tests are a basis for redesignation. Redesignation from a Spanish-language academic program to an English-language academic program occurs when students perform at the 36th percentile on standardized testing.
These new, required tests in English will probably be very difficult for students with limited English proficiency. Prior to, and at the time of Stanford 9 testing in English, Spanish-speaking students will be encouraged to do the best job they can and to answer only those questions that they understand. The District would like parents to know that the student’s present ability to read English will be taken into account when the test scores are evaluated by teachers. Each year, students will gain more experience with reading and writing in English and it is expected that students will feel more comfortable taking these tests in English as their experience level increases. These tests are a very important tool in determining student redesignation.
No single test tells educators everything they need to know about how well a student is learning. But testing students over time, on different subjects, and observing their performance in the classroom helps educators identify the strengths that each child has and areas where each child needs help.
Throughout all grade levels, parents are interested in ways that they can help their child best prepare for testing. There are several ways that parents can complement the academic preparation that teachers provide. Research indicates that students perform well when they are well rested and have a solid breakfast on the day of the test. Equally important, support and encouragement from parents and teachers go a long way toward helping students put their best foot forward.
Waiver Application
As advised by legal counsel, the Santa Barbara Barbara Elementary School District will, as an interim measure, submit its new educational plan for teaching Limited-English Proficient (L.E.P.) students to the state Board of Education for its information and review pending the state Board’s issuance of final standards, regulations and guidelines concerning programs for L.E.P. students. The application is submitted for the limited purpose of state Board review so that the Santa Barbara School Districts new educational program for Limited-English Proficient students is consistent with federal guidelines, therefore making primary language instruction unnecessary. The state Board of Education’s action eliminating waivers and returning to local control the educational and pedagogical decision of which programs to implement for its L.E.P. population is laudable. However, until the final policy guidelines and standards are issued, the District will submit its application for state Board review to assure that no claim can be made that its program does not comport with the requirements of law.
Superintendent Michael Caston has indicated that, "The District will continue to move forward as scheduled with the English Acquisition Plan. We feel strongly that it will present some unique opportunities for our children." That plan is slated to go into effect in September 1998.
Any inquiries regarding the recent announcement that the state Board of Education will no longer grant waivers to California’s bilingual law, should be directed to the District’s legal counsel: Celia Ruiz of Ruiz & Shapiro, (415) 974-1101.
National Merit Finalists Announced
The results are in. The National Merit Scholarship Program Finalists have been announced and 15 of the 14,000 Finalists attend schools in the Santa Barbara High School District:
Dos Pueblos High School
- Amy Braun
- Matthew Brown
- Chantal Clarke
- Jared Green
- Cherie Kalisher
- Evan Morrison
- Matt Odette
- Thomas Stanley
San Marcos High School
- Nick Blackwell
- Skylar Campbell
- Katie Hibbard
- Brian Kreiner
- John Wiemann
Santa Barbara High School
- Arvind Jammalamadaka
- John Ostwald
More than 1.1 million students took the 1996 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. That test is administered in approximately 20,000 U.S. high schools. Approximately 15,000 Semifinalists were selected in September 1997. After going through an additional level of screening, in February 1998, 14,000 students designated as Semifinalists advanced to the level of Finalists. All Finalists will be considered for Merit Scholarship awards. Those awards will be made in the spring.
Santa Barbara Rotary Club Teacher Recognition Award
Anne Carey, Santa Barbara Junior High math and science teacher, won the Rotary award for her "outstanding and special service to her school and its students." This award is part of a special project of IMPACT II – The Teacher’s Network program sponsored by the Santa Barbara County Education Office.
Girsh Teaching Tolerance Awards
Lito Garcia, La Colina Junior High, and Carol Soltysik, Goleta Valley Junior High both received $500 Girsh Tolerance Teaching Awards. The awards were established to recognize secondary teachers who are committed to helping students understand the Holocaust and creating projects that help students demonstrate positive behaviors.
Spelling Bee
Alexander Georgakis, Goleta Valley Junior High 7th grader, was the winner in the junior high school division in this year’s Santa Barbara County Spelling Bee. Peter Ty, Franklin Intermediate 6th grader, was the first runner-up in the elementary division. Alexander will compete in the upper level state competition on May 16 in Marin County. Peter will compete in the elementary level state contest on May 2 in Sonoma County.
Impact II $250 Adapt-an-Idea Grants
IMPACT II $250 Adapt-an-Idea grants for creative curriculum ideas were awardedto Melanie Jacobson, San Marcos High (Tomato Sauce Isn’t Italian!); Peggy Lubchenco and Dave Marchetti, La Colina Junior High (Weatherlink); Kurt Bergthold and Janet Goode, La Colina Junior High (A Medieval Festival); Cynthia Heller and Rick Newhouse, La Cumbre Middle (Nurturing Learning Through Gardening); Martin Robertson, La Cumbre Middle (Grammania).
Partnership Results In Green Eggs And Ham
"Do you like green eggs and ham?" On March 2, 1998, that question was posed to young children at Roosevelt Elementary, when 14 students from Santa Barbara High School visited as part of Read Across America Day. The Santa Barbara High representatives, students in Judy Burris’ Childrens Literature class, shared their love of reading with the younger students as a way to encourage them to become lifelong learners. They read a variety of books to Roosevelt students in grades K-5.
March 2 marks the birthday of Theodore Geisel, known to the world as Dr. Seuss. Read Across America Day is an annual national event to honor Dr. Seuss, celebrate reading, and create community partnerships.
The Santa Barbara High-Roosevelt Elementary partnership was arranged by Principals J.R. Richards (SBHS) and Bonnie Switack (Roosevelt) and Library Media Teachers Mo Rosenberg (SBHS) and Susan Billig (Roosevelt).
San Marcos High School Aces Mock Trial
San Marcos High School won the Santa Barbara County Mock Trial Competition on Saturday, February 28, 1998. The competition was part of the larger state competition sponsored by the Constitutional Rights Foundation. Teams from throughout Santa Barbara County met on February 21 in a Preliminary Round Competition. Four teams – San Marcos, Dos Pueblos, Cate, and Santa Ynez – met in the February 28 semifinals. Cate and Santa Ynez were eliminated, leaving the teams from San Marcos and Dos Pueblos High Schools to compete in the finals. San Marcos won the County Championship for the second year in a row. San Marcos will continue on to the State Finals to be held March 27-29 in Sacramento.
The competition was based on an actual criminal case from 1997. The case focused on a simulated criminal case of manslaughter and traffic sign stealing charged against a fictitious college student named Chris Donovan. Each team received an identical, detailed 75-page case packet. Each school prepared both prosecution and defense cases. Students spend a considerable amount of time preparing for their role as part of the prosecution team, defense team, or as a witness. The "trial" is conducted within strict time limits and procedures.
Unique to Santa Barbara County, San Marcos fielded two teams in the Preliminary Round. This was done in order to provide an educational opportunity to as many students as possible.
The San Marcos team was coached by local attorneys: Eric Hanson, Chief Trial Deputy of the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office; Jean Farley, Assistant Public Defender of Ventura County; plus Joel Kreiner and Michael McMahon, Assistant Public Defender of Santa Barbara County.
The winning team from San Marcos High School includes: David Major, Allie Hanson, Ryan Delk, Rob DeConde, Jessica Blickley, Kate Kolstad, Jonathan Kolstad, Joey Rinehart, Meagan Simmons, Brian Kreiner, Mary Daniel, Kristen Buppert, Hogan Ganschow, Emily Kryder, Peter Butcher, Nick Stewart-Oaten, Ashley Brown and Kelly Van Buren. The team coach is Eric Burrows, American History teacher.
District Offers NEW Pre-Kindergarten Summer School
The Santa Barbara Elementary School District is offering a NEW Pre-Kindergarten Summer School program from July 13-August 14, 1998. The new program will focus on English conversation for incoming kindergarten students. This commitment to pre-kindergarten summer school is one of several important support components of the District’s new English Acquisition Plan.
Parents are encouraged to register their child if he/she needs help with English speaking skills. Children will be selected for this program based on need, following a language assessment. All children who qualify will be enrolled. Parents will be notified if their child meets the criteria for this program.
Before registering for this new summer school program, parents must go to their designated school site and complete the fall 1998 kindergarten registration forms. Parents will need to provide three items: proof of residence, such as a utility bill; the child’s immunization records; and legal proof of the child’s age, such as a birth certificate. This birth certificate must verify that the child will be five years old on or before December 2, 1998. When kindergarten registration is complete, parents can then sign up for the Pre-Kindergarten Summer School program. On this sign up sheet, parents will indicate the school site they wish their child to attend during the summer school session. The summer program will be conducted at Adams, Cleveland, Franklin, Harding, McKinley, Peabody Charter, and Washington Elementary Schools. The program will operate from 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. (Families who reside in the Roosevelt and Monroe attendance areas may send their children to any of the participating elementary summer school sites, however they should enroll at Roosevelt or Monroe.)
Registration for kindergarten for the 1998-99 school year and the new Pre-Kindergarten Summer School program begins March 16 and continues through March 27, 1998.
For more information, contact any elementary school in the Santa Barbara School District or call the District Administration Center (963-4331) for the phone number of an elementary school site near you.
Kindergarten Registration Set To Begin In The Santa Barbara Elementary School District
Kindergarten registration for all schools in the Santa Barbara Elementary School District begins March 16 and continues through March 27, 1998. Children who are 5 years old on or before December 2, 1998, are eligible for kindergarten.
Parents must register their child for kindergarten for the 1998-99 school year at their designated District elementary school. They will need to provide three items: proof of residence, such as a utility bill; legal proof of the child’s age, such as a birth certificate; and the child’s immunization records.
For more information, contact any elementary school in the Santa Barbara School District or call the District Administration Center (963-4331) for the phone number of an elementary school site near you.
Bond Election for the Elementary School District
The Board of Education has called for a bond election on June 2, 1998. This $25,000,000 bond will be for the Elementary District only and will include the following projects:
- build a facility on the Hidden Valley property to include a 600 student regular facility, and 200 student facilities each for Open Alternative School and Santa Barbara Charter School;
- site acquisition funding;
- replacement or elimination of portable classrooms in excess of twenty years old;
- build permanent library buildings on campuses that have old portable library buildings;
- renovation and repair of various schools.
This bond is vital for the long term housing and maintenance needs of the District.
Paul Harris Memorial Award
In recognition for her work in education, the Rotary Club recently honored Linelle Glass, Santa Barbara Junior High School library media specialist.
National Hispanic Scholar Program (1997-98)
Recognition goes to seniors Adrian Foster, San Marcos High School, and Thomas Stanley, Dos Pueblos High School.
Golden State Exam
Results were recently released, and our students demonstrated outstanding academic achievement on the May 1997 Golden State Exam. A total of 2,697 tests were administered to our secondary students. Tests were given in first-year algebra, biology, chemistry, economics, written composition, geometry, government-civics, and/or U.S. history. Certificates of merit were presented to 431 students with High Honors; 477 students with Honors; and 634 students with Recognition.
MC4
The annual MC4 math competition was held at Allan Hancock College. It was geared to students in grades 5-12 and open to schools in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. District students were recognized in the top three places in almost every grade level in both the individual and the team competitions. Winning the team and/or individual competitions were students from Washington Elementary, La Colina Junior High, Santa Barbara Junior High, Goleta Valley Junior High, Dos Pueblos High, and San Marcos High.
National Merit Scholarship Program
Seventeen District high school students were recognized as Semifinalists, selected from the top 15,000 students in the nation. Twenty-nine students were identified as Commended students, representing the top 50,000 students in the nation. National Merit Scholar Finalist determinations will be made in the spring.
Keeping Current
Cassandra Ornelas and Debbie Pentland, nurses in our District, participated in a conference entitled Fifty Years of Caring for California’s Children. According to conference organizers, "The purpose of the conference is to assist the professional school nurse in dealing with the complex social, medical, and ethical concerns that they face in their work environments."
On January 23rd, during a teacher in-service day, members of the SBHS Disaster Team were trained in emergency procedures by members of the Montecito Fire Department and District personnel. The Disaster Team was trained in CPR and First Aid. The team learned how to conduct a room search, and practiced extinguishing live fires with fire extinguishers. SBHS is the first school in the District to go through this particular emergency training. In the future, we hope to offer this training opportunity to other sites.
Rebuild Roosevelt Elementary School
June 12, 1998, the day after school ends, will mark the beginning of a new chapter in the Rebuild Roosevelt project. On that date, site excavation is scheduled to begin. During the school year, the construction area will be cordoned off so that students can safely remain on campus. The anticipated length of the rebuild project is 14 months. We look forward to having Roosevelt students occupy the new building in the fall of 1999.
Currently, we are in the process of completing bid specifications as well as securing final approval from the Division of State Architecture. We will be going out to bid in March, with bid opening in mid-April.
In addition, we are very pleased to announce that our application for State matching funds, submitted in 1994, has been approved for funding. This will provide the Rebuild Roosevelt project with an additional $3 million when the next State bond election passes. This additional funding will allow the District to truly make Roosevelt a state-of-the-art facility.
Many individuals have worked hard to make this project happen and we would like to commend the outstanding work of the Roosevelt Safety Committee. The friends and families of Roosevelt School will have a great deal to celebrate at the official ground breaking, which will take place in late May.
Relocation of the District Office
From 1981 to the present, the administrative offices have been located in former classrooms at Santa Barbara Junior High School (SBJHS). The primary reason for the decision to house the District Office at SBJHS was declining enrollment. This was a very good housing decision for the District as it allowed the former administration building on Santa Barbara Street to be leased out. Additionally, it proved to be a sound financial decision as well, as these lease funds have been used for capital facility projects in the secondary district.
However, the District is growing and all campuses are operating in very crowded conditions. Thus, we are making plans to reoccupy the old administration building. The move will take place on March 28 and 30, 1998. Our new address will be 720 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. The building is located between Ortega and De La Guerra Streets. In addition to moving the existing Administration Center, the new site will be home to other District offices currently housed on school campuses, such as:
- Information Technology Services
- Print Shop
- Adaptive PE
- Visual Handicap Services
The main phone number currently used by the District is expected to remain the same. However, extension numbers are likely to change.
This move will help alleviate our over crowded conditions. All enrollment projections for the next ten years show steep increases and every space available to the District must be utilized.