April 2007 News Archive
Monday, April 30, 2007
It is now Time to Register for Free Universal Preschool
School year 2007-08 is just around the corner and parents of very young children have the opportunity benefit from a free, high quality, nurturing educational opportunity for their little ones. The Santa Barbara School Districts’ Child Development Program serves 3 1/2- or 4-year-old children and is open to families living within the attendance boundaries of the Santa Barbara Elementary School District and to employees of the elementary and secondary school districts.
Jennie Martinez, a coordinator in the elementary district’s Child Development Program, said, “This program offers children an opportunity to be socially, emotionally, and cognitively prepared for kindergarten. We feel very privileged to have staff who are so highly qualified. The program will be staffed at a ratio of eight children to one staff member. Additionally, this is the first year that food for the program will be provided by Peabody Charter School’s food service program.”
The Universal Preschool program has space in both morning and afternoon half-day sessions. Applications can be picked up at the Child Development Office, 712 E. Cota Street, Santa Barbara. For more information call Helen Santoyo at 965-4633, ext. 264.
Mandarin Chinese to be Offered in 2007-08 in the Santa Barbara High School District
If there is student interest at the secondary level, Mandarin Chinese will be taught this fall in the Santa Barbara High School District. Nationally, teaching Mandarin Chinese as one of the core languages in K-12 education is growing in popularity. On April 24, 2007, the Santa Barbara School Districts approved the addition of a Mandarin Chinese course for grades 7, 9, and dual enrollment course at Santa Barbara City College. In the course, students will have the opportunity to learn about the culture and language, both written and oral. With more than a billion speakers, Mandarin is the most widely spoken language in the world (by comparison, English is spoken by more than 500 million people, is the second top language spoken in the world, and is the official language of more countries than any other language).
The high school district’s five-year plan is to offer Mandarin in grades 7-12 as a four- or five-year sequence, ending in the newly developed Advanced Placement Mandarin Chinese course. The courses are recommended for the non-native speaker.
Finding teachers in this particular subject is expected to be difficult so, beginning next year, the district will pilot the courses in one or two interested junior and senior high schools. Mandarin will be taught within the school’s staff allotment for foreign language/electives. Thus, it will require no additional funding beyond normal text and materials costs.
In the course outlined proposed to the board, students in grade seven would begin by learning numbers; study the people and the family unit; explore Chinese calligraphy and painting; become familiar with Chinese money and food; and learn to express date and time. Throughout the 36-week course, cultural activities would be woven in to the curriculum.
The course outline for grade nine includes lessons in diction, tone, geography, reading and writing, the Chinese zodiac, food and kitchenware, plus skits linked to holidays and festivals.
Class size is not expected to exceed 25 students. It is late in the current school year. If there is insufficient interest at this time, or inability to fit the course in the 2007-08 master schedule, then the program will be offered in 2008-09.
Budget Reductions in the Santa Barbara School Districts
On Tuesday, April 24, 2007, the board of education adopted more than $2.5 million in budget reductions for school years 2006-07 through 2008-09.
The budget reductions are necessary to fund the recent raises agreed to by all parties; meet the districts’ multi-year projection requirement for the 2006-07 second interim report; keep the districts solvent and enable a positive certification; eliminate the need to make even larger cuts in 2008-09; mitigate the expected continued decline in enrollment; and maintain the districts’ fiscal health, including a mandatory three percent reserve.
Identified Budget Reductions / Adopted by the Board of Education on April 24, 2007 (pdf)
Administrative Changes in the Santa Barbara School Districts
At last night’s meeting of the Santa Barbara School Districts’ Board of Education, Dr. Brian Sarvis announced the following two appointments:
ASSISTANT SUPERINTENDENT
Santa Barbara High School principal Paul Turnbull was appointed assistant superintendent of the secondary district,
effective July 1, 2007. He will replace retiring Assistant Superintendent Jan Zettel, who has been with the district
since July 1, 2004. As the assistant superintendent of secondary education, Turnbull’s major duties and responsibilities
will include administration of the secondary district’s instructional program, including curriculum development;
curriculum articulation in grades K-12; and oversight of federal-, state-, and local-funded programs. Turnbull will
be employed on a 225-day contract. The salary range for the position is $117,210 to $128,900.
The search for a new principal at Santa Barbara High School is now underway.
Mr. Turnbull joined the district in July 2001, when he started work as an assistant principal at Goleta Valley Junior High School. Two years later, in July 2003, he was appointed to serve as that school’s principal. Then, on July 26, 2005, Mr. Turnbull was selected to be the principal of Santa Barbara High School.
Prior to joining the Santa Barbara School Districts, Mr. Turnbull was a teacher and administrator in the Abbotsford Senior Secondary School in Abbotsford, British Columbia. At Abbotsford, he taught International Baccalaureate English, English, physical education, outdoor education, and coached varsity girls’ basketball and varsity football. He also taught in grades 3-12 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Mr. Turnbull has a master’s degree in education from the University of Victoria, British Columbia. As an undergraduate, he earned three bachelor’s degrees in the following disciplines: education, University of Manitoba; English literature, Queens’ University in Kingston, Ontario; physical and health education, Queens’ University in Kingston, Ontario.
WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Demian Barnett is the new principal of Washington Elementary School. He is currently employed in the San Luis Coastal
Unified School District, where he has been working as the director of instructional services and special projects.
Mr. Barnett has worked as an administrator at the K-8 and high school levels, and teacher at the middle and high
school levels.
No stranger to this community, Mr. Barnett once served as an academic supervisor of student teachers at UC Santa Barbara’s Teacher Education Program.
Mr. Barnett has experience in the classroom and administrative experience in areas such as English learner programs, data analysis, categorical programs, professional learning communities, testing coordination, campus discipline, budgets, staff development, technology plans. He is the author of Learning How to Learn and A School Without a Principal.
Mr. Barnett’s contract beings July 1, 2007. The salary range for the principal position is $90,075 to $101,246.
Open Alternative Students Help the Earth with their Service Projects
Committed to caring for the Earth all year long, students at Open Alternative School are participating in service projects for the Earth this spring.
On Thursday, April 26, fromn 11:00 to 1:00, Brian Malcheski's second- and third-grade class will help beautify the Red Cross grounds by planting flowers. Projects by other classes include volunteer work at Scofield Park and at El Capitan State Park; a recycling presentation by fourth- and fifth-grader students to other school classes; participation in an origami whale project; and work on creek restoration.
Liz Rivera's K-1 class is building a chaparral environment in their classroom and is involved with the Mountain Lion Foundation. In May, these students will hear a presentation by the foundation about mountain lions and how those animals can be protected.
Got Gangs? Author Richard Ramos to Meet with Students, Staff, and Parents
Because the safety of all students is the most important priority of the Santa Barbara School Districts, the elementary and secondary districts continue to take proactive steps in dealing with a very challenging community problem. One step is to maintain dialogue within the school community, as demonstrated by the upcoming presentations by Richard R. Ramos, a resource on gang violence prevention and intervention.
In April and May, Mr. Ramos will conduct one-hour, age-appropriate student sessions at Franklin, Cleveland, Harding, Roosevelt, and McKinley elementary schools; La Cumbre, Santa Barbara, and Goleta junior high schools; and Santa Barbara and San Marcos high schools. At the elementary level, he will focus on each child’s potential and his presentations will be interactive, visual, and positive. When he addresses junior high students he will focus on principles of success and help youth to understand and develop vision and goals for their future. The presentation to high school students will build on the message but with more information and substance relative to that age level.
Afterschool presentations for staff are being scheduled. They will be voluntary. Elementary district certificated and classified employees are being notified that Mr. Ramos will be at Franklin Elementary School on Monday, April 23 at 3:30 p.m. Secondary district staff are being informed that Mr. Ramos will be at La Colina Junior High School at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 11. At those meetings, he will focus on the seven principals outlined in Got Gangs? He will offer practical guidance and tools to use in building a classroom culture of productivity.
The third component of his presentations will be sessions for parents, in Spanish and English, that are designed to guide them in taking an “inside-out” approach, focusing on personal development as the key to raising happy children for healthy communities. Four separate 6:30 p.m. presentations for parents are scheduled as follows: Spanish-speaking parents can attend a 6:30 p.m. meeting on Monday, April 23 at Franklin Elementary School or a 6:30 p.m. Thursday, May 24 meeting at McKinley Elementary School. English-speaking parents can meet at 6:30 p.m. at Santa Barbara Junior High on Tuesday, April 24 or a 6:30 p.m. meeting at La Colina Junior High on Friday, May 11.
The presentations by Mr. Ramos are part of ongoing school safety efforts by the Santa Barbara School Districts, including:
- zero-tolerance policy toward gang activities, gang colors, gang signs, or any other form of disruptive behavior;
- continual, visible supervision of school premises;
- close working relationship with law enforcement (school resource officers are assigned to our school district and are on our campuses and in our neighborhoods every day);
- students and parents are informed that negative behaviors will result in suspension or expulsion;
- staff is trained on conflict management techniques and many of our schools have on-going conflict resolution and character education programs for their students;
- highly-trained school counselors, school psychologists, and youth service specialists are readily available;
- along with a host of other community-based programs, our schools provide a number of age-appropriate after-school activities (academic, athletic, and enrichment) for all grade levels;
- equally important, we encourage all parents to know where their children are and who their friends are.
In a recent letter to parents, Superintendent Brian Sarvis stated, “The entire staff of the Santa Barbara School Districts is committed to making sure that our campuses remain safe and nurturing places…As your partner in education, we share your belief that student safety is the foundation for a safe learning environment. We will accept nothing less.”
Background information on Richard R. Ramos
Speaker, author and mentor Richard Ramos has a 27 year history of progressive and effective community leadership. Ramos is the co-founder of the Latino Coalition for Faith & Community Initiatives, a national nonprofit whose purpose is to strengthen and expand the capacity of nonprofits serving at-risk Latino youth and families. Under his leadership, the Latino Coalition is now working in nine cities in six states to address Latino youth, family and community issues.
Early in his career, Ramos served as a correctional officer in both state and federal prisons, a Juvenile Hall instructor and at-risk junior high and high school counselor, co-founding director of a gang intervention/prevention community coalition, director of a Latino youth and family teen center, senior pastor for 16 years, and founding director of the Interfaith Initiative (IFI) of Santa Barbara County. For his work in the field of human rights and interfaith understanding, he has received numerous accolades and awards.
What Parents Should Know About the School Wellness Policy
In 2004, a federal law was passed that requires school districts to establish a local school wellness policy by the beginning of the 2006-07 school year. This law recognizes the critical role that schools must play in helping to raise healthy children. The policy requires school districts to implement four steps:
- Create nutrition guidelines for all food sold on campus during the day, in efforts to promote health and reduce childhood obesity.
- Create goals for nutrition education and physical activity that promote student wellness.
- Create a plan for ensuring the policy is implemented.
- Include parents, students, school food service staff, school administrators, school board members, and the public in creating the school wellness policy.
A school wellness policy is important because:
- Nearly 40 percent of California children are not physically fit.
- Over the past 30 years, the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children ages 2-5 and youth ages 12-19. It has more than tripled for children 6-11.
- 62 percent of parents surveyed nationally think that it is very or extremely important that schools have a wellness policy, but only 17 percent of parents knew about the local policy requirements.
Parents are encouraged to take the following actions:
- Show support for the positive and healthy changes that the school district makes with the adoption of a local wellness policy.
- Participate in the development, implementation, and monitoring of the policy. In the Santa Barbara School Districts, the board of education has adopted Board Policy 6142, “Wellness”; Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 3550, “Food Service/Child Nutrition Program”; Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 3553, “Free and Reduced Price Meals”; Board Policy 6142.8, “Health Education”; Administrative Regulation 6142.8, “Stakeholder Involvement,” and Board Policy and Administrative Regulation 3554, “Other Food Sales.”
- Tell their children and other parents why this policy is important.
Cesar Chavez Charter School Students Encouraged to Play with their Food
From 9:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 20, 2007, Cesar Chavez Charter School students in grades 2-6 will participate in a nutrition decathlon. The purpose of the fun-filled event is to celebrate healthy eating and activity.
According to Jeri Waite, nutritionist with the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, California Children’s Dental Disease Prevention Program, “Our goal is to provide an opportunity for students to learn in a fun and interactive way about the importance of eating fruits and vegetables and engaging in 60 minutes of daily physical activity.” Ms. Waite continued, “Our goal is to promote the simple message to eat the recommended two cups of vegetables and two cups of fruit daily, buy local seasonal produce, drink water instead of sweetened drinks and encourage adults to engage in 30 minutes and youth in 60 minutes of physical activity most days of the week.”
The morning’s activities will include melon weight lifting, strawberry relay race, carrot hop relay, squash stretch, five-a-day fruits and vegetable toss, taste testing of apples and a food for thought nutrition education station.
The event is made possible because of the efforts of the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department California Children’s Dental Disease Prevention Program, Regional Nutrition Network Power Play Campaign; Gold Coast Collaborative, Partners for Fit Youth and Assistance League of Santa Barbara
Cesar Chavez Charter School is located at 1102 Yanonali Street, Santa Barbara.
Marjorie Variano to Serve as Principal of Adams Elementary School
Marjorie Variano has been appointed to the principal position at Adams Elementary School. When introducing her to the board of education at tonight’s board meeting Superintendent Sarvis stated, “Marjorie comes to us with a rich background in curriculum and a good deal of practical experience. We are pleased that she will begin work on April 16 and I anticipate a seamless transition in school leadership.” He added, “We thank current principal Matt Zuchowicz for his service to Adams and wish him well in his new position with the Santa Barbara County Education Office.”
Marjorie Variano noted, “I look forward to becoming part of the community. I am committed to high expectations for all students and I know that I will be working with an outstanding team that is focused on academic excellence. My door is always open and I look forward to talking with staff, parents, and students about their thoughts and ideas for our school.”
Ms. Variano has been an elementary school principal for five years and a junior high school assistant principal for two years in New York. Previous experience includes work as a curriculum coordinator, a classroom teacher, and a computer program analyst. She is experienced in management organization, communications, curriculum development, and leadership.
Ms. Variano received a bachelor’s degrees in arts and science in elementary/early childhood education from Fitchburg State College. She majored in early childhood education and earned masters of education at Western Connecticut State University. Following her studies at Western Connecticut State University, she majored in educational administration at State University of New York at New Paltz, where she earned a masters of education.
The salary range for the position is $90,075 - $101,246.
Adams Elementary School is located at 2701 Las Positas Road, Santa Barbara, and serves 545 students.