January 2005 News Archive
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Music Students United: Concert to Benefit the District’s Music Program
High School Music Students Come Together to Aid Junior High Counterparts
Motivated by a desire to support the band program needs of their junior high school counterparts, a group of high school music students will perform a benefit concert on Saturday, January 22, 2005, at 7:00 p.m., in the La Cumbre Junior High School auditorium. La Cumbre Junior High School is located at 2255 Modoc Road, Santa Barbara. Calling themselves Music Students United (MSU), the students invite the public to attend an evening of jazz. Presale tickets are $5 for students/seniors and $10 for adults. Door sale tickets are $6 for students/seniors and $12 for adults. Tickets can be ordered and reserved by calling Leslie Cook at 680-8904.
Music Students United (MSU) was founded by Leslie Cook and fellow Dos Pueblos classmates Steven Barnett and Jory Harris. The idea stemmed from a discussion that the Dos Pueblos High School jazz choir had about the needs of the music program in local public schools: including making more instruments available through school. After researching the issue, students decided to take a proactive approach. Among their ideas were helping tutor students, raising money, directing students to teachers and organizations that would help them develop their music skills, and inspiring students to get involved in music.
The students then went before the Board of Education, requesting recognition as an official student group and asking for a mentor who could help direct them as to how they could be most helpful. Then-president Nancy Harter volunteered to mentor the group and another board encouraged the effort by providing seed money. Students from San Marcos and Santa Barbara high schools have joined the group to make this a unique district wide high school endeavor.
MSU targeted its initial efforts to benefit La Cumbre Junior High School. MUS has been organizing the music library, tutoring students, and fund raising to purchase and repair instruments. The group is looking into the possibility of starting a once-a-month music conservatory, where elementary, junior high, and high school students would convene and hold sectionals and master classes so that the younger students could get more individualized attention.
Personnel Changes in the Santa Barbara School Districts
In order to address school site administrative needs in the Santa Barbara Elementary and High School Districts, the following changes will be made by the end of January 2005. The Board of Education voted 5-0 on each of the personnel items. The board’s decision was announced this afternoon following closed session of a special board meeting:
- Adams Elementary School principal Jo Ann Caines will become the permanent principal of La Cumbre Junior High School (she replaces Eugenia Walters, who resigned for personal reasons);
- Franklin Elementary School assistant principal Matt Zuchowicz will become the interim principal of Adams Elementary School;
- La Cumbre Junior High School assistant principal in charge Patricia Santiago will become the interim principal of Washington Elementary School (she replaces Beatrice Rubio-Cordeiro who is on a long-term medical leave).
Additionally, effective today, Santa Barbara Junior High School’s interim principal Susan Salcido will be the permanent principal at that school.
“I am pleased that we are able to draw from our exceptional pool of district administrators to meet our mid-year school site administrative needs,” said Interim Superintendent Brian Sarvis. “Leaving one school for another is never easy because of the relationships that are formed. But, these are professionals who saw the larger need and accepted the challenge that accompanies change. Jo Ann Caines, Matt Zuchowicz, and Patricia Santiago will provide effective leadership and are committed to making the new transition as seamless as possible.”
JO ANN CAINES – New permanent principal at La Cumbre Junior High School
Jo Ann Caines has left an indelible mark at Adams. With the assistance of staff and parents, she led Adams to the
high achievement recognition levels of California Distinguished School and Title I Achieving School. But, she is returning “home” to
La Cumbre, where she taught for many years before serving as an assistant principal there.
A dedicated and hardworking individual, Ms. Caines is eager to engage staff, parents, and students in building a “new La Cumbre.” Her creativity and skills as a problem solver and team builder will serve her well as, in recent years, La Cumbre’s enrollment has declined to approximately 430 students.
Ms. Caines is immensely proud of having attended Santa Barbara public schools, grades K-12. She is a Santa Barbara High School Don. She received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish/English linguistics from U.C. Santa Barbara. She earned a master’s degree in education at the University of Illinois, Urbana/Champaign and an administrative credential at California Lutheran University.
MATT ZUCHOWICZ – New interim principal at Adams Elementary School
Matt Zuchowicz spent his early childhood in Mexico City. Following the family’s move to Santa Barbara, he
attended Peabody, Santa Barbara Junior High, and Santa Barbara High School. He received a bachelor’s degree in
Latin American studies at Yale University and an administrative credential at U.C. Santa Barbara. Over the years, he
taught bilingual education at McKinley Elementary School, served as a library media specialist at Peabody Charter,
ran the Santa Barbara County Education Office’s “Computers for Families” program, and at one point
served as their director of instructional media services. At the beginning of the 2004-05 school year, Mr. Zuchowicz
began work as Franklin Elementary School’s assistant principal.
“I am delighted to be joining the Adams School Community! Having worked with Jo Ann Caines, as well as a number of Adams teachers, I know how hard she has worked to build a cohesive team of staff, parents, and community partners that are focused on the academic achievement of Adams’ students. I am looking forward to working with Ms. Caines during this transition. I know that because she will be only a stone’s throw away at La Cumbre Junior High, this will help ensure a smooth transition.”
PATRICIA SANTIAGO – New interim principal at Washington Elementary School
Patricia Santiago has a bachelor’s degree in history and psychology from Carroll College in Wisconsin. She
received a master’s degree in bilingual special education from California Lutheran University and a master’s
degree in educational leadership from U.C. Santa Barbara. From 1983 until 2000, Mrs. Santiago taught at several local
elementary schools, including Franklin and Peabody. Her enthusiasm and administrative expertise will help assure a
seamless transition at the end of this month.
“I’m excited about becoming a member of the Washington Elementary School team,” stated Mrs. Santiago. She continued, “Washington has a long history of academic excellence which can be attributed to its dedicated teachers and committed parents. It is my hope that my experience as a leader at Peabody Charter School and La Cumbre Junior High School will enhance the strong educational program already in place.”
Channel 18 Replay of the January 18 Board Meeting
Today’s special board meeting on the Santa Barbara Elementary School District’s Single Plan for Student Achievement will be aired on Saturday, January 22, 2005, at 10:00 p.m. and again on Sunday, January 23, 2005, at 9:00 a.m.
Calendars for 2005-06 Adopted by the Board of Education
On January 11, 2005, the Board of Education adopted a 2005-06 modified calendar for the Santa Barbara Elementary School District and a separate 2005-06 modified calendar for Santa Barbara High School District. The calendar for the districts’ two year round schools, Cleveland Elementary and the Santa Barbara Community Academy, have not yet been finalized.
There are two notable changes from previous years: a pre-Labor Day start date for students in both districts and length of the winter and/or spring break. The calendars can be summarized as follows:
* the modified calendar for all elementary schools*, begins with an August 29, 2005 start date for students; a three-week winter break; and a two-week spring break, (*except the Santa Barbara Community Academy and Cleveland Elementary as both are year round schools);
* the modified calendar for all secondary schools begins with an August 29, 2005 start date for students, however only a two-week winter break, a two-week spring break, and an earlier end-of-school date of June 16, 2006.
Friday, January 7, 2005
Williams Lawsuit Settlement
Notice of Public Hearing on Textbook Resolution
In May 2000, the American Civil Liberties Union and other public interest advocates representing students across the state, filed a lawsuit claiming that the state failed to provide poor and underprivileged students with equal educational opportunities (including access to instructional materials, inadequate facilities, and a lack of credentialed teachers). The Williams Lawsuit Settlement was reached in late August 2004 and seeks to encourage school administrators, governing board, parents, and community members to work together to identify and correct impediments to education.
On Tuesday, January 11, 2005, beginning at 7:00 p.m., a public hearing will take place on a district resolution regarding the sufficiency of textbooks and/or instructional materials at schools in the Santa Barbara Elementary and High School Districts. The hearing will be in the Board Room, Administration Office, Santa Barbara School Districts, 720 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101.
Posters are on display at every school, informing parents and guardians of key points in the settlement and where to obtain a Uniform Complaint Procedure form, if needed.
GATE Testing for Students in Grades 2-5
The Santa Barbara Elementary School District will be testing referred students in grades 2-5 for Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) identification. This testing is also for students who are not currently enrolled in the Santa Barbara Elementary School District but whose families live within the elementary district’s attendance boundaries and will be enrolling their child in the district in the fall of 2005. Parents who are interested in referring their child for testing must do so by January 21, 2005.
From now until January 14, a parent referral form may be obtained from any Santa Barbara Elementary School District school office. The referral form must be completed and returned by January 21, 2005, to Barbie Evans, GATE identification coordinator, Administration Office, Santa Barbara School Districts, 720 Santa Barbara Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Ms. Evans can be reached at 963-4338, ext. 315.
The district does not accept private testing.
San Marcos High School Student Named Anti-Defamation League Sugihara FellowExcerpt based on a December 1, 2004, Anti-Defamation League press release
Andrea Matthews, a student at San Marcos High School and participant in the Anti-Defamation League’s 2004 National Youth Leadership Mission in Washington, D.C., has been chosen as one of ten 2004-2005 “Sugihara Fellows.” The fellowship is sponsored by the Mel and Eileen Ludwig Family Foundation, requires students to write an essay on the important contribution of Chiune Sugihara, a Japanese Consul stationed in Lithuania in 1940, in the rescue 6,000 Jews from the Holocaust. One of five winning essays, Ms. Matthews wrote in her essay:
“We must, as a people follow his example and realize that there are higher obligations than duty to government or society. If we can recognize and combat prejudice we can create a world in which discrimination no longer exists, where all men and women are equal in every mind...”
As a result of her winning essay, Ms. Matthews will be one of five students taking part in an ADL-led mission to Japan in January 2005, where she will speak with and visit schools, government agencies, and community-based organizations. Ms. Matthews’ fellowship also brings a $400 grant to San Marcos High School to be used for the purchase of anti-bias/diversity materials or for ADL’s A World of Difference Institute training and a $200 personal award. Upon her return to Santa Barbara, Ms. Matthews will have the opportunity to share her experiences with her fellow students at San Marcos High School, as well as throughout the community through her participation in the ADL’s Dream Dialogue program. Dream Dialogue brings together a diverse group of local high schools students who demonstrate a belief in combating bias and discrimination. In monthly meetings, participants bond across ethnic groups, develop teen leadership skills, train to become anti-bias peer facilitators, lead discussions in valuing diversity with their peers and initiate a community social action project of their choosing. Dream Dialogue youth also participate in Santa Barbara County’s No Place for Hate campaign (No Place for Hate is a community coalition sponsored by the ADL and committed to the creation of safe and welcoming communities throughout Santa Barbara County).