Update Week of September 8, 2009

Opening of School Last Week

We had a very smooth opening to the school year. You may be surprised to learn that over 9500 students returned to school last week. The high school began last Monday, August 31st and the remainder of the schools opened Tuesday, September 1st. The smoke generated by the Station fire created unhealthy air causing us to keep students indoors for recesses and physical education. Athletic practices were cancelled or moved to other locations. We routinely monitor reports from the Air Quality Management District, Fire Departments, and the Public Health Department to determine if regular outdoor activities may be resumed.

Construction

Significant work has been under way over the summer at Arcadia High School, Holly Avenue Elementary, Highland Oaks Elementary, and First Avenue Middle School. It is gratifying to see the Bond Program become a reality.

Influenza

There is heightened concern that we may experience a more severe flu season this school year in part because of the presence of the H1N1 swine flu. We are sending home information to every family who has a student in the school district that outlines our prevention response plans and includes information on how to stay healthy. The following is an excerpt from my cover letter to these materials:

The school district is taking the risks associated with the flu very seriously and has committed resources and significant planning time to this issue. The district's plan includes the following:

• We are working closely with the County of Los Angeles Public Heath Department and local and state educational authorities regarding the H1N1 issue.


• The District has a plan in place to address possible heath issues that may arise due to the H1N1 flu including: posting of universal precautions and flu recognition information in each classroom and all school sites, directions to staff to instruct students about flu prevention practices, and plans at school sites for addressing the immediate needs of students who become ill.


• It is our intention, as recommended by the Public Health Department, to keep schools open, and to keep ill students and staff home.


• We are asking you (parents and staff) to keep ill students at home for at least 24 hours after they are fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medications such as aspirin and Tylenol.


• It is vital that parents/guardians promptly pick up from school any of their students who have been identified by school staff as being ill.


• The district will be communicating directly with staff and families about our plans and encourage you to plan ahead regarding the logistics of who will care for your children if they become ill.


• We recommend that all Arcadia students and staff consider being vaccinated for H1N1 and seasonal flu.

Budget

I am pleased to share with you that we have a Board of Education and County approved three-year balanced budget. Revisions to the State budget that were approved in August to close an approximate 26 Billion dollar deficit did result in additional reductions to our revenues of about $334,000 in one-time and $239,000 in ongoing losses. Our budget, adopted by the Board of Education in June took into account the possibility of these additional reductions. We balanced the budget by:

1. Reductions to spending,


2. Use of reserves,


3. Staff concessions including negotiated salary reductions,


4. Reductions to staff


5. Use of Federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Legislation one-time funds,


6. Fund raising efforts by the Arcadia Educational Foundation,


7. Individual school fund raising efforts of the PTAs.

It would be an error to think that the budget cuts have not impacted our programs. While I am exceptionally proud of the way we went about making cuts, the relationships with our bargaining units, and the support of the community in facing this crisis, I would be remiss if I did not point out the real impacts of these budget reductions.

To get a sense of how serious the impact on our district is, consider the following:

1. In 2007-2008 we received $5,774 per student (our revenue limit).


2. In 2008-2009 if we would have received the statutory cola (additional money calculated by law to address increased costs of doing business as a school district) we would have received $6103 per student.


3. We actually received $5,625 per student and were told this in the middle of the year.


4. In 2009-2010 if no reductions had been made and if again, we had received our statutory cola we should have been funded at $6364 per student.


5. After all of the budget revisions (approved in August) we will receive $5196 per student.


6. These reductions equal about a 20 percent cut to the level of revenue we should have received this year.

What this means for the Arcadia School District is that:

1. We have fewer classified staff - the people who support the classroom teachers,


2. While we have rehired all probationary and permanent teaching staff who were laid off, we did not fill all teaching positions created through retirements and other staffing changes: there are about 5% fewer teachers this year than last


3. In some cases middle and high school classes have more students


4. There are more combination classes at the elementary school levels


5. Over a two-year period a 20 percent reduction has been made to school supply budgets

Lastly, while we do not anticipate the need to make midyear cuts the economy in California has not yet rebounded. The State's tax revenues remain insufficient to balance the budget. This means that we are likely to have additional reductions to our revenue and may need to make additional cuts in the 2010-2011 school year.

In closing I would like to welcome back all of the students, their families and our staff members. I look for to your comments.

Name:


Comment:

Update Week of September 14, 2009

School has opened smoothly and we are all settling into the 2009-2010 school year. I'm pleased to share that the Station Fire appears to be contained. Beginning early last week, air quality in Arcadia improved dramatically and we were able to resume normal outdoor activities including releasing elementary students for recess, outdoor physical education, and athletic/band practices and events. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the thousands of firefighters whose hard work and bravery clearly prevented this horrific fire from becoming an even greater crisis. The two firefighters who lost there lives battling the blaze will forever be in our thoughts; we thank them for making the ultimate sacrifice while protecting us. On a related note, last Friday was the 8th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 tragedy. Arcadia High School has started a tradition of combining their first all school assembly with a Ceremony and Remembrance of the 9/11 events. Local Fire and Police staff members participate and are recognized. The assembly was held on the football field last Friday (September 11, 2009) at about 10:00 a.m. and included the entire student body of over 3500.

Recently families with students should have received a letter from me and a packet of information related to the influenza and our plan for addressing the upcoming flu season. In my letter I say, "We are asking you (parents and staff) to keep students who are ill at home for at least 24 hours after they are fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medications such as aspirin and Tylenol." One parent sent me a question about the risks of using aspirin with children. My statement was not intended as medical advice. Please seek consultation from your physician before giving your child medications. The statement was taken from information given to us by the Centers for Disease Control and is intended to insure that students are fully recovered from the flu before returning to school.

One goal that I have for the BLOG this year is to solicit information, opinions, and ideas from you. From time to time I will pose a question for you to consider and would appreciate you posting your responses (please remember the ground rules for BLOG stated above). My hope is that this will generate a discussion about a school district related topic and that I (the Board of Education, and my staff) will gain insight into how we might improve our programs and organization. So here goes:

Reflect on the first couple of weeks of school. How might we have made the opening of school "better" for you and our students?

I look forward to your ideas.

Name:


Comment:

Update Week of September 21, 2009

Last week the California Department of Education released the Accountability Progress Report. This report includes the Academic Performance Index or API which has become the primary way schools and school districts are assessed by the state and the public as to their students' academic performance relative to adopted curriculum standards. To say this a little differently, it is how schools and school districts are judged and compared. For us in Arcadia Unified, these measures, while important, are only one of many pieces of data and information we use to gauge our success and to help us continue to learn how to best meet the learning needs of our students.

This having been said, we are exceptionally proud of our students' performance on state assessments and our schools API scores and continued growth.

As a brief reminder:

"The API is a single number, ranging from a low of 200 to a high of 1000, that reflects a school's, an LEA's, or a subgroup's performance level, based on the results of statewide testing. Its purpose is to measure the academic performance and growth of schools. The API was established by the PSAA, a landmark state law passed in 1999 that created a new academic accountability system for K-12 public education in California. The PSAA also established an alternative accountability system for schools serving high-risk students -- the Alternative Schools Accountability Model (ASAM). The API is calculated by converting a student's performance on statewide assessments across multiple content areas into points on the API scale. These points are then averaged across all students and all tests. The result is the API. An API is calculated for schools, LEAs, and for each numerically significant subgroup of students at a school or an LEA." (2008-09 Academic Performance Index Reports Information Guide, California Department of Education)

And couple of things to point out about our API scores that we are specifically very proud of:

1. The district's 2009 API score of 912 puts the district in the top ten of all Unified School districts in California.
2. All Arcadia Schools made their API growth targets.
3. Nine of Ten Arcadia Schools have APIs over 900 with the high school's score at 876 (the high school grew 17 points this year).
4. Dana Middle School achieved the largest API growth this year with an increase of 21 points.

The following chart summarizes the district's API scores for 2008-2009:

Academic Performance Index	2009 Growth API	2008 Base API	2008-09 Growth Points
ARCADIA UNIFIED	912	899	13
Elementary Schools
Baldwin Stocker Elementary	956	947	9
Camino Grove Elementary	935	925	10
Highland Oaks Elementary	952	948	4
Holly Avenue Elementary	909	901	8
Hugo Reid Elementary	930	924	6
Longley Way Elementary	920	916	4
Middle Schools
First Avenue Middle	925	918	7
Foothills Middle	957	947	10
Richard Henry Dana Middle	938	917	21
High School
Arcadia High	876	859	17

Name:


Comment:

I know we just started the school year, but when looking at the big picture, what is the budget looking like for the next school year? Is it too soon to even ponder that thought?

Name:


Comment:

Update - Week of October 12, 2009

We are now in the seventh week of the 2009-2010 school year. Please see my response to the posting above for an update about the school district's budget.

Town Hall Meeting to Discuss Changes to State Government -- Thursday, November 5, 2009, 6:00 PM -- 8:00 PM, Dana Middle School Multipurpose Room

After reading my response to the budget question above, it should be evident that I continue to have grave concerns about California state government's ability to legislate and manage a stable budget system for our schools. We need to discuss these issues and find ways to propose changes to state government that will help the school district. Please review the following letter from the Arcadia City Council and Arcadia Board of Education describing an opportunity for you to join us in a discussion about state government:

Dear Colleague,

The City and School District continue to work diligently to maintain the excellence of city services and our schools' educational programs but it has become more and more apparent that California's system of government is fundamentally flawed. Recent events demonstrate that the relationship between state and local government is badly broken and it is time for discussion and exploration of how the State governance could be modified to be more efficient and responsive to local needs. Because a possible solution may involve a constitutional convention, the City and School District have arranged for an opportunity to hear what would be involved.

The City Council and Board of Education will be co-hosting a Town Hall Meeting on
Thursday, November 5, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Dana Middle School Multipurpose Room, 1401 South First Avenue, Arcadia. The event has been organized to provide a public opportunity to be informed, ask questions and provide input into the discussion of what it will take to reform California's government. Matt Regan, Director of Government Relations with the Bay Area Council, in affiliation with the Repair California movement, will be the featured speaker and program facilitator.

This will be a great opportunity to bring Arcadians together to reflect on and discuss the current structure of state government and how it affects us locally. We hope you will be able to join us.

Sincerely,
Arcadia City Council
Arcadia Board of Education


I hope you will join us for this important meeting on November 5th.

June Ko - Arcadia High School Senior Selected to the 2009-2010 Rose Queen Court

This is Arcadia High School's third consecutive year to have a representative on the Royal Court. I am pleased to offer my congratulations to June Ko and her family. We are very excited to be represented by such an outstanding student. June is enrolled in three Advanced Placement classes; English Literature, Government, and Environmental Science. She is also enrolled in Statistics, Speech and Debate and is a member of the Advanced Video Production team. June is a student representative on School Site Leadership Team and a member of Senior Men and Women. Congratulations, June!

Name:


Comment:

Update Week of October 25, 2009-10-29

I think it's fair to say that health is on everyone's mind. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that many of us are concerned specifically about influenza and more specifically about the Pandemic H1N1 Swine Flu. As we end the tenth week of the 2009-2010 school-year I thought it would be helpful to update you about how the flu season is affecting the district.

As you might expect based on reports on television and the newspapers, many people are ill with influenza as well as other viruses (unfortunately we still don't have a cure for the common cold). We are experiencing an increase in student absences. We are also monitoring these absences very closely: how many, which school, reasons for absence, how long is a student absent, etc. While there is clearly an increase in the number of students ill and who are staying home (when you compare these statistics to the same period of time for the last two years), we are not concerned that what we are experiencing has reached a threshold that would indicate we have problems that our Influenza Plan and regular health procedures can't address. To put this in perspective, over a two-week period in October (2009) we have had between three and four percent of our student population out of school (this includes students absent for all reasons including some of which are not health related and many which are not a result of influenza). The length of a typical student's absence does not appear to be significantly different than past years.

When students return to school, after being absent they are asked to have their temperature taken prior to being returned to their regular class schedule. This procedure helps us keep all students well and safe. We have been very pleased with the community's response to our request to keep children home if they have flu like symptoms including a fever. We are also very pleased with the manner in which each of our individual school sites have implemented our health plans including assisting students who become ill at school. Again, parents have been terrific in responding when asked to take a child home who became sick at school.

As we have previously indicated, school district staff are working closely with public health and other official educational agencies at the local, state and federal levels. We receive frequent advisory information from these agencies which is helpful in updating our plans and monitoring the overall impact of the pandemic flu on the school district. We do send information to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) as required and they follow-up as appropriate to assess the impact of how illness potentially could affect wider groups of students and staff. To date we have received no official reports from the LACDPH indicating additional actions we would need to take beyond what our influenza plan dictates.

The Center for Disease Control and the LACDPH recommend being vaccinated for both the seasonal flu and the Pandemic H1N1 (which is beginning to be available). The following is from a recent LACDPH publication:

"Yes, getting vaccinated is the best way to prevent this flu. The vaccine for Pandemic H1N1 flu is made just like the seasonal flu vaccine that is recommended each year. Just like seasonal flu vaccines, Pandemic H1N1 vaccines are safe and effective. They will be first available to:

Pregnant Women

People living with or caring for infants under 6 months of age

Emergency medical services personnel and health care workers

Children and young adults from 6 months

People aged 25 through 64 years with chronic medical conditions like heart or lung disease, asthma, diabetes, or weakened immune systems

The H1N1 vaccine will be available in two forms- nasal spray and shot (injectable). Talk to your health care provider to see which form of vaccine is right for your child."

You may be interested to know that Arcadia Unified offered a free seasonal flu vaccine clinic to all of our employees (current and retired) and their family members over the age of 18. On October 9th we vaccinated 466 individuals. Additionally it is our plan to offer the H1N1 vaccine to our employees and their families when it is made available.

Thank you for your support of our health plans, universal prevention practices, and responsiveness when we need your assistance. We will keep you informed through this BLOG, our "phone-blast" system, and written communications.

Stay well!

Reminder: Please attend the Town Hall meeting cosponsored by the Arcadia City Council and the Arcadia Unified School Board next Thursday, November 5, 2009 at the Dana Middle School multi-purpose room. As a reminder the purpose of the meeting is to discuss changes to California State Government. I hope to see many of you there.

Name:


Comment:

The newspapers have started sounding the alarm regarding new, more dire state budget cuts. I know you don't have any official word on how these cuts might impact our schools, but I would be shocked to hear that you have no more access to additional information than I do. What are the current predictions?

Name:


Comment: