From personal observation opportunities gathered during many hours of volunteering at public schools subsequent to my retirement, I have observed conditions so negatively numerous that the cummulative affect is beyond any real depth of understanding by the ‘man on the street’.

I answered the door to my personal home, yestrerday Sunday the 28th, during a brief absence of my spouse who had gone shopping. One of 8 grand-daughters was at the door, in her Sunday outfit. She was accompanied by a young man whom I had met only briefly at the college graduation of her older sister back in May of this year. The rain at Sonoma State that day was heavy and our planned family picnic was doomed so my wife and I left without chance of conversation with the young man who was standing in my home yesterday.

The happy couple announced their engagement and their planned wedding date which will occur about 6 months prior to her December 2009 course completion. She has earned 4.0 to date and expects to maintaine that level. The kicker? She will be graduating Cal Poly three and one half years after entering the school direct from High School..

Another older sister remains at Cal poly and will graduate at the end of another quarter, her problem? a shift of majors. At one time abandoning architecture to favor law, then, finally choosing teaching of high school math with strong possibility of dropping that in favor of teaching in the area of special education.
This pparticular lass amazed me with the grades she obtained in calculus as well as her free hand skill in drawing architectural designs where the dour insytruction emphasized freehand skills in straight lines with propoer shdowing techniques! Ever add curved features to a multi-storied structures while adding Shadows? She also thinks she has strengths as a swimming coach.

Of the five youngsters in that family unit, the youngest is at Carondelet, the girls high school located across the street from the football team in Concord’

The oldest youngster, the hapless ‘big brother’ to four sisters is happiiy occupied as a member of the IBEW. hrew up his hands a fell pret ro the crafts, followuing the success of his paternal grandfayher a highly skilled machinest who created products requiring tooling to 5/1000′s accuracy to meet specifications specifications. Or his father who aided his employer from the use of wood patterns to automatic tooling commanded by CAD specicatins involcing a single machine automated to use of 21 separate tools.

In that family unit, there was no TV influence. The TV was not hooked up to cable nor satellite; if you wanted to rest your eyes away from the books, pick out an educational prrogram from the many tapes in the home libary on which shelves you could watch a parental approved movie now and then. Want other news? Read a newspaper at the school ibrary! You would be surprised at the ‘elevated’ conversations occuring bewteen siblings living at that household!

Daughetr and her husband both worked but at different shifts She worked swings at the hospital as a trauma unit nurse while he worked an early morning shift at the foundry where he workes as a pattrern maker who induced his employer into use of computer to design and tooling of the patterns used in the foundry. His shift ended in early afternoon so he picked up the kids and took ‘em to soccre games eyc. while she prepared to start work at 4:00 PM Days off were days spent participating in school activities.

Vacations were family events where the family bonds were tightened in oversized housboat rentals shared, with or without friends or family. It was and is a tight, supportive family. Oddly, because both parents were skilled, their gross income was largely spent on parochial education, K-12 which denied scholarship eligibility at college level. All the youngsters, including the ‘tag along’ who remains athe young ladies high school,Carondelet, located opposite the football school.

College in this family was largely, but not entirely, financed by the employment sought out by these young people. No body took them by the hand to register in distant schools or were offered anything but availability of positive parental advice on the subject of how to register and what courses to take!

Attending the K-8 graduation of the third child in the rankings of ths family, (Cal-poly student desirous of teaching,) two things stick in my mind. First, was that my granddaughter walked away with a goodly number of scholarship monie awarded to those involved with community projects outside the purvey of this particular school; 2nd was that of the 35 students graduating eigth grade, 28 were part of the original 35 in the first grade! Seven move outs in eight years speaks to the HUSD problem of transience in HUSD.

I attribute the public school problem, in the first place, to classroom transiency rate at HUSD. Now, I’ll bet a case of diet coke on the idea that the average parent in HUSD, fails to understand the meaning of classroon transiency or the affect it has upon a teacher’s ability to teach.

In the second place I have reason to believe that conciously or unconciously the average parent sees little or no reason to strongly control the amount of influence provided by Television to children!

The above are the major observations I carry around under my hat. I have others, some are revealed at the top or within this blog page. You might wish to read them if you have not already done so.

Of course, being Irish, I have by nature allied topics, but since the above scribbles do not seem to have stimulated public expression, out of the mouths of the 16 candidates…..nor,have my expressions of concern on these subects, evcked response from any member of the Board of Trustees, or the editorial pages of Daily Review, why would I waste additional time?

Well, thank God foe his occasioanl kick in the ass which puts me to effort of continued attempts. When I get to the ‘pearly gates’, I might be assisted in attempts to gain entry by an advocate, from ranks of successful former HUSD student who speaks spanish, swahili or even gaelic if such are approved as lingua
franca at the gates of heaven.

When I was in high school in SF – a public high school – not the best either – I don’t really remember too many people offering me guidance – I had to seek it out like: can you help me register for college? or what classes do I need to take? then I got the assistance I needed. Perhaps more sub-urban (although I don’t think f Hayward as sub-urban) schools really help kids get into college?

What I want to see happen is parents start taking a more active role in the educational process – asking questions, going to classes, getting involved, volunteering, etc. However they can do it. We can’t just send the kids to school – and the let the powers that be – just educate them – parents have to be involved as well – like read the newsletters that come home, attend parent meetings, we are all busy – but honestly take some time out to educate your children as well. I see many parents just drop off the kids at school (not even signing in for the before school care) – just get out of the car for 5 min, say hi to the teachers/caretakers – let them know who you are.

As to your son’s friend, you mean the lad had no knowledge of how to register? Did he not learn how to ask the simplest o questions; “can you show me how…?
Will you sdvise me how….how?

Then. “I would ;ike to see thr school work pimsrily sy home….” Thst idea really confoozes me! Can you
add to the thought?

Get your school to do http://www.readfortherecord.org – I called HUSD to see if they would send out info to school – they never called back. Libraries are taking part – we could have a great OCTOBER 2 where everyone reads Corduroy at the same time – promoting literacy. And get some positive PRESS for HUSD – there are alot of hard working parents & children attending our schools.

It was described as the “Transiency rate” which recorded the number of students enrolled, at each school, as of the 1st day of October, in each school year. It then compared that number with the number of students, who had been enroled at that school in October with those who remained ON THE ROLLS, at the school at the conclusion of the school year. IT APPATRENTLY MADE NO ATTEMPT TO MEASURE THE TRANSIENCY OF ThHOSE WHO ENROLLED, AT EACH SITE, If they moved in and out after October 2 but before the end of the school year.

In early 1990′s, as an example, the rate of transiency at Longwood School, in late 1980′s and early 1990′s was pinned at or around 25%,it suddenly spiked to 46% in mid 1990′ but droped back to around 26% on the latter part of the 1990′s.

That information is apparently eliminated from our new modern, colorful, pretty much useless present website!

Transiency rate at 25% or 46% ??? WELL TO MAKE THE MATH EASY… AT 25% IT IMPLIES THAT OF 100 STUDENTS PRESENT on October, 25 had moved to another location outside or even within the district.

Question: How do you improve test scores when you do not have student attention for three years or more?

Transiency rates are high and the negativity of the test scores is largeloy due to classroom transiency, probably made worse by moving kids arouned to assure no more than 20 in some classes.

Give it some thought then tell the world how to address that factor. Perhaps a teacher or two will reveal the now apprently concealed website information which provides transparency to the basic problem.

Good luck at the polls!

I encourage more of the public to take part in the upcoming forums for the candidates. If you are interested in the dates and locations I will keep these posted at KellyRocchio.com under events. New forums are always being scheduled, so if you can’t make one, hopefully you can find one that works for your schedule.

search for the “60 Minutes” TV bit which appeared on Sunday Nights back in ’96 or ’97
I am a grown man but i quite lirreally wept at the end of the TV bit when the student, a little latino lady was video taped at the news, revealed to her in a place of business, that she was going to College courtesy of unknown party whose generosity supplemented her announced scholarship. The lass phoned her mother to announce, in tears… ” momma, i’m going to college !”

The concept has speraed across the nation and the last I have recently heard a feasibility study was being done at A San Francisco low income neighborhood.

There are now about 20 such High Schools resulting from the start of the concept in 1994!

It would never have happened without Community involvment which encourages greater family interest as well as personal discipline exhibited by the involved students.

If the Community of this area really got involved, rather than wait for the Bo0ard of Trustees to guide the thought, much coukd happen here!

Well, if you want the scoop on the real problem and an outstanding solution, where the community at large gets explore with Google Assitance the following.

On google search for : CRISTO REY SCHOOLS, CHICAGO ILLINOIS!

Initiated in 1994 in a very troubled Chicago “low income neighborhood” the comcept has spread across the Country!

When you reach the website of Cristo Rey Svhools search for the