Comments on: MDUSD superintendent welcomes students back to school Wednesday

By: Doctor J

Doctor J — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:41:19 +0000

Lawrence, Eberhart & Whitmarsh wasted tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars by not implementing the travel ban, cell phone ban, and trinket ban as I called for two years ago. Gov. Brown set the example and it paid off. Instead Lawrence had his contract extended with illegal automatic pay increases, and Eberhart and Whitmarsh continued their FULL FAMILY medical dental and vision benefits by being on the Board while cutting employees time and benefits. http://www.sacbee.com/2012/09/06/4794914/california-saves-85m-under-jerry.html

By: Theresa Harrington

Theresa Harrington — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:25:58 +0000

I am not afraid to ask Lawrence or Lock about increased instructional time. I have been working on other stories and haven’t had time to go over the SIG results in-depth. I also need to do the same for the SIG schools in WCCUSD, as well as in Hayward, Oakland and San Lorenzo.

By: Doctor J

Doctor J — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:23:54 +0000

Lawrence’s best kept secret: But for the huge API gains by the SIG schools [District +6 API gain], the District would have dropped about 25 API points. Theresa, why are you afraid to ask Lawrence or Rose Lock if they intend to continue with the “increased instructional time” [the key to the massive gains in API] at Bel Air, Shore Acres and Rio Vista after their SIG grants expire in June 2013 ?

By: Doctor J

Doctor J — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 17:19:21 +0000

@Anon#60 — Its a defacto boundary adjustment WITHOUT Board approval or public comment They cut the staffs at the schools they want to reduce the population to and add staff to schools where they want to increase the population. By eliminating the busing, its a no cost, secret boundary adjustment.

By: Theresa Harrington

Theresa Harrington — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 22:15:55 +0000

Breaking news from Twitter: “Residents of the Shore Acres area of Bay Point have been advised to shelter in place as police search for an armed fugitive.”

Hopefully, there aren’t too many school children walking home now.

UPDATE: I just heard that Shore Acres Elem. and possibly Riverview MS may be on lockdown, but this is unconfirmed.

By: anon

anon — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:50:40 +0000

Where were the 60 kids from Delta View last year? I find it hard to believe that 60 first and second graders suddenly moved into the Delta View boundaries over the summer.

By: g

Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:09:29 +0000

Ronald Way (Holbrook Elem) is a loop-around street, designed specifically with the school in mind, with just the school and a half dozen or so houses facing it. 99.999 % of kids walking to Wren do not walk right past Holbrook.

As for overflow, NCLB, “home school” etc.; What is considered the “home school” for these kids–Holbrook or Wren? Will they overcrowd Wren with overflow from Meadow Homes, and then overflow from there to even farther out into the valley within the next couple of years?

I doubt it.

If we allow these same out-of-touch Dent folks to continue to look to their own pay check before they look at the children’s welfare, or to the neighborhoods and parents who provide that paycheck, they will continue on the same me-first course–much like Whitmarsh, looking out for her neighborhood schools first and foremost.

They will change the maps so they no longer have to call it “overflow” and just send even more kids walking out of their own neighborhoods. That will save even more money for the paycheck coffers.

The “no-plan plan” was flawed from the beginning.

By: Theresa Harrington

Theresa Harrington — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 20:04:15 +0000

No Hispanic community leaders spoke at the board meeting where this decision was made.
Perhaps the superintendent’s lack of information about who would be affected kept them away.

By: Doctor J

Doctor J — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:45:15 +0000

Since the Hispanic community is adversely impacted at a greater degree, have you asked for a reaction from the local Hispanic community leaders and ask them what they are going to do about it ? We need a Cesar Chavez for education !

By: Theresa Harrington

Theresa Harrington — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 19:34:16 +0000

Perhaps some of the Measure C administrators at Holbrook could provide escorts for the children who are walking past their closed school, on their way to Wren.
Or, some of the Poway drivers who are taking special ed kids to the new Anova site at Holbrook could pick up a few displaced Holbrook students and take them to Wren after they drop of the Anova kids.
Patton said that overflow kids could ride the same buses as special ed and NCLB kids, if there was space.