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To view the archived Budget Discussion Blog please click here.

Welcome to the 2009-2010 School Year

As we begin the new school year I am introducing a change to the BLOG. While it was appropriate and necessary for this forum to focus solely on budget last year, I am going to broaden our discussions this year to include a variety of topics that relate to the school district. The BLOG will continue to be a place where you can learn about timely and important issues, including those related to state and school finances. It is my goal that our discussions here will not only keep you updated but additionally provide me, the Board of Education, and our staff with input and insight into your perceptions and ideas about the school district and how to best serve our students. I will, beginning with this posting and update, write a weekly posting and make every effort to respond to your comments and questions in a timely fashion.

Last year’s discussion on this BLOG was impressive. We were able to discuss highly complex, diverse, and politically charged budget topics. For the most part, participants were respectful, thoughtful, and articulate. Occasionally this was not the case. When a posting was made that violated decorum it was removed. This will still be the norm. To help ensure that we are all operating from the same set of assumptions here are a few ground rules:

Any posting the includes vulgar language will be removed,
Any posting that name an individual (other than me) will be removed – the BLOG is not intended to be a place to make complaints (or praises) about specific individuals or programs. We have specific processes and protocols for handling complaints (our district and uniform complaint process).
Postings should be related to the school district, education in general, or state and federal policies that affect education.

That’s about it. I look forward to hearing from you and engaging with you in this ongoing dialogue. I hope we all have a terrific 2009-2010 school year.

Discussion

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Joel Shawn wrote (on September 8th, 2009 3:39pm):

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:

Reductions to spending,

Use of reserves,

Staff concessions including negotiated salary reductions,

Reductions to staff

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

Fund raising efforts by the Arcadia Educational Foundation,

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:

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

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.

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

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.

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

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:

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

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

In some cases middle and high school classes have more students

There are more combination classes at the elementary school levels

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.

Reply...

Thomas Paine wrote (on October 22nd, 2009 12:39pm):

I see no mention of any less district staff just
cuts to people who have a DIRECT influence on
the childrens lifes and well being.

Reply...

Joel Shawn wrote (on October 26th, 2009 10:21am):

Everyone that works for the Arcadia School District has been affected by the reductions. Classified and Confidential staff, in addition to the classified personnel reductions, also agreed to freeze annual salary increases (what are called step increases). While no teachers or administrators were laid off, both of these groups, including those that make-up "district staff" all agreed to a 1.25 percent salary reduction. This pay cut along with all of the budget reduction steps taken, enabled us to "save both teaching and administrative positions" and to keep to a minimum the number of classified workers laid off. Everyone who works in this district has been affected by the budget cuts. And, I strongly believe these cuts and budget adjustments were made in a way that minimized the impact on our students.

Reply...

Thomas Paine wrote (on November 3rd, 2009 4:12pm):

1.25% salary reduction BIG DEAL!! You should be
ashamed of yourself.What this district needs is
new blood in a number of departments, consolidate
positions, review the effectiveness of some of
your subordinates get rid of some of the real deadwood. Run the district like a business.

Reply...

Joel Shawn wrote (on September 16th, 2009 12:39pm):

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.

Reply...

Joel Shawn wrote (on September 24th, 2009 1:39pm):

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:

The district's 2009 API score of 912 puts the district in the top ten of all Unified School districts in California.
All Arcadia Schools made their API growth targets.
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).
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

Reply...

Budget wrote (on October 12th, 2009 8:10pm):

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?

Reply...

Joel Shawn wrote (on October 14th, 2009 10:20am):

Thank you for your question. By the way, you are the first person to post a question or comment this school year!

This is a very good question and it is not too early in the school year to ask it. There are two major "predictions" that we have to consider when we discuss what's next for the school district's budget. On October 1st I attended a meeting of a group called the City Schools Superintendents. We heard a presentation from a panel of leaders from several different state educational organizations. Each of the presenters commented on the state's fiscal situation and how it might affect school district budgets. One of the panel members reported that the state's budget continues to have a large deficit estimated to be between 8 and 14 billion dollars. In order to fill that gap, we have to ask, where will the state propose to make reductions when the Governor shares his proposals for the 2010-2011budget?

So, the first question is, will the Governor propose mid-year cuts (what was done to us last year), to the current, 2009-2010 school-year budget? The second question is, will the Governor propose additional reductions to our revenue limit (the basic unit per student of how we are funded) for the 2010-2011 school-year.

Here's what we were told: Next year is an election year. Education reductions last year made up over 60 percent of the overall cuts made to the state budget (Arcadia Unified is operating with about 20 percent less dollars this year than it should have when compared with 2008-2009). There is a technical issue called Maintenance of Effort which is related to the money we received from the Federal Government -- basically to preserve what we received the state may not cut education below a certain level and we are close to that amount. The economy in California has not "recovered" but it does appear that the recession is technically over. It is predicted that the state's economy will not return to pre-recession levels until 2015. Tax revenues are still a concern but there are indications that things are improving.

Taking all of this together, the best guess we have right now is that we will not be subject to mid-year cuts (2009-2010), and that funding for 2010-2011 will be flat. That means (hopefully) no additional reductions but also no cost of living adjustments (cola) to our revenue. In practical terms this is the same as a cut to our budget because our expenses do increase each year. The cola is designed to offset these additional expenses so when we don't receive it we have to absorb cost increases into our existing revenue.

As the school-year unfolds we will know more and will share information here. The first scheduled official release of information will be the Governor's January 2010-2011 Budget proposals which are scheduled to be released by January 10, 2010.

Reply...

Joel Shawn wrote (on October 14th, 2009 4:06pm):

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!

Reply...

Joel shawn wrote (on October 30th, 2009 2:33pm):

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.

Reply...

David Hokanson wrote (on November 9th, 2009 12:10pm):

In my view, the steps taken on H1N1 are logical, but they don't go far enough. Why, when proactive school Districts nationally and in California are taking steps to vaccinate children for H1N1 in schools, does Arcadia Unified have no such plan? According to CDC, the H1N1 pandemic is different from seasonal flu and it would seem to me that stronger measures like vaccinating children in school is warranted.

Reply...

Joel Shawn wrote (on November 9th, 2009 4:45pm):

As indicated above we are following the recommendation of official health agencies that all school age children be immunized for both H1N1 and the seasonal flu. As far as I am aware no school districts in California are directly immunizing their students. The Los Angeles County Department of Health suggests families be immunized at health clinics. There have been no discussions that I am aware of to immunize children at schools. Lastly, as I'm sure you are aware there is still a shortage of H1N1 vaccinations.

Regardless, your point is well taken and I have passed this suggestion on to staff at the Los Angeles County Office of Education who have discussed it with County Health Officials. The County Health department's website, http://www.lapublichealth.org/ has information about clinic locations and H1N1 vaccine clinic schedules.

Reply...

David Hokanson wrote (on November 10th, 2009 8:46pm):

The Pasadena Star News thinks it is a good idea ... http://www.pasadenastarnews.com/ci_13742958

The CDC has planning guidance for those schools interested in doing it ...
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/slv/planners.htm

I appreciate AUSD's taking the matter seriously and hope when the vaccine shortage abates that LA County schools may make school located vaccinations a priority.

Reply...

Joel Shawn wrote (on November 11th, 2009 9:44am):

Thanks - we will continue to coordinate with the various health agencies and certainly cooperate with any effort to protect our students from the H1N1.

Reply...

Wondering wrote (on November 19th, 2009 8:45am):

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?

Reply...

Joel Shawn wrote (on November 25th, 2009 12:33pm):

Hello - thank you for your question. I am sure that many people are beginning to wonder how the current news about the state budget will affect Arcadia. I will be posting an update later this afternoon (see below) that will address this. However, we really don't know a whole lot more than what has been reported and probably won't until the Governor's budget proposals are released in January. I will share what is known and what impact we think it might have on us.

Reply...

Joel Shawn wrote (on November 25th, 2009 2:59pm):

Update Week of November 23, 2009

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday I wanted to update you on a few things:

Arcadia Best Place to Raise Your Kids -- Second Year in a Row

In their fourth annual survey, BusinessWeek.com has once again selected Arcadia as the best city in California to raise kids. The article says, "Arcadia located about 20 miles from Los Angeles, is the state's best place to raise kids for the second consecutive year because of its low crime and excellent schools." We certainly agree and are pleased the schools were noted as contributing to the selection. More information may be found at:

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/11/1117_best_places_to_raise_kids/6.htm

State Budget

The Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) last week announced that the state is facing a $20.7 billion budget problem over the next 18 months (through June 2011). They attribute this deficit to previously enacted budget solutions that will fail to produce the savings anticipated, and a persistent gap between obligations and state revenues. Failed "budget solutions" from the July 2009 version of the budget add up to over $6.3 billion, and they carry over again into 2010-11. Add to that $7 billion in the state's persistent structural budget problem and the LAO sees almost a $21 billion deficit.

The way the budget development process works in Sacramento is that we (school districts) will not know what impact the above has on us until the Governor releases his January 2010, budget proposals (which he is legally obligated to do by January 10th each year). Please recall that the Arcadia Unified Board of Education approved a three-year (2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012) balanced budget in June of 2009, as required by state law. This budget reflects about a 20 percent reduction in revenue over what we should have received and was achieved through a combination of expenditure reductions, staff concessions, use of revenues, and fund raising by our Parent Teacher Associations and Arcadia Educational Association partners.

At this time, the experts we depend on to advise us about the budget do not believe the state will make mid-year reductions to education revenues. Our personal assessment concurs with this. An additional aspect here is the money we've received from the Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). ARRA has a technical component called "Maintenance of Effort" (MOE). Essentially, the state cannot reduce the amount of money it is spending on education without jeopardizing the ARRA money. However, the state could apply for a waiver of this requirement with the federal government which if approved would permit them to cut education spending without affecting ARRA.

Lastly, (for the moment), the LAO projects three years (2012-2015) of consecutive increases in the Proposition 98 guarantee (this is the legislation that guarantees education about 40 percent of the state's annual budget) and an increase of about 1 billion dollars in the guarantee for the current school-year (2009-2010). This means the state owes K-12 education more money than it currently plans to sends us and makes future reduction difficult without suspending proposition 98.

Given the current economic realities and the pace of the recovery we do not expect to see any increases in revenues to schools in the near future. We are cautiously hopeful that we will not see unmanageable additional reductions to our core funding. Keep in mind that for us, flat funding -- no increases or cost of living adjustments (COLA) is the same as a cut because our expense go up each year. Additionally, if our student enrollment goes down (which it has slightly the last few years) we receive less revenue.

As the year progresses we will have a lot more to communicate to you about the state's financial situation and how it will affect our school district.

Facilities Program

As you drive around our community I am sure you have seen evidence of the progress being made on the school district's facility program which is primarily funded through the Measure I bond which was generously passed by the residents of Arcadia three years ago in the fall of 2006. We are well into the program. I am very pleased to report that projects are on schedule and bid awards continue to come in under our construction estimates. This means our money will go farther and we can do more of the things our schools need done. Work is currently underway at Arcadia High School, First Avenue Middle School, Holly Avenue Elementary School, and Highland Oaks Elementary School. We will soon begin work at Dana Middle School (including construction of the new gymnasium which is a joint project with the city of Arcadia and the school district), Baldwin Stocker Elementary School, and Camino Grove Elementary School. Lastly, we design work is beginning on the last phase of the project which will take place at Foothills Middle School, Hugo Reid Elementary School, and Longley Way Elementary School (as well as work at other district facilities).

Influenza and Student Absences

About a month ago I wrote an update about influenza, the H1N1 virus, and how it was affecting our school district. I wrote the following when discussing how many students appeared to be ill and not at school: "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." We continue to monitor student absences very closely and I'm pleased to report that over the last two weeks student absence rates appear to be at a similar level as seen during the same period in the previous two school-years. Hopefully this trend will continue and the impact of the H1N1 influenza virus on our students (and staff) will continue to be minimal. We will continue to monitor the situation and work closely with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (including supporting their recommendations for immunizing students and staff).

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday! Thank you all for your continued support of the Arcadia Unified School District.

Reply...

Joel Shawn wrote (on December 16th, 2009 7:54pm):

Update Week of December 14, 2009

Happy Holidays! The most important update I can give at this time of the year is to send my best wishes to all of you and hope that you have a safe, happy, and fun holiday season. As I am certain you are aware, the Arcadia Unified School District will be on winter break following school dismissal on Friday, December 18, 2009 until school resumes Monday morning, January 4, 2010.

We are very pleased that student absences in Arcadia continue to be at normal rate when compared with previous years. Regardless, seasonal influenza and the H1N1 viruses are still of concern. Health officials recommend children and young adults ages six months through 24 years receive the H1N1 vaccination. Below is a recent news release with additional information about the availability of the H1N1 vaccination.

Again, I hope you have a wonderful holiday and as always thank you for your continued support.

Please click here to view the H1N1 news release.

Reply...

calendar rumors wrote (on December 25th, 2009 10:10am):

I have heard from our PTSA that the 2010-2011 school year will start in August rather than in September, but I cannot seem to find any calendar on the AUSD website for next year. As summer planning for many families is beginning now, what can you tell us about these plans? How will the earlier start affect the rest of the school year?

Reply...

Joel Shawn wrote (on December 28th, 2009 9:30am):

The start day for students for the 2010-2011 school-year will be Thursday, August 26th. As you can imagine there are many variables which affect the calendar and something you may not know is that we negotiate the specifics of the calendar with our teachers' bargaining unit. The 2010-2011 calendar has been agreed upon. We need to finalize end of grading periods (semesters, trimesters, etc.). Once these have been determined the calendar will be posted on the website (by the end of January).

Reply...

calendar rumors wrote (on January 29th, 2010 7:09pm):

Thanks for posting the 2010-2011 calendar! I notice something in March called a "Teacher non-work day" which is also marked as a "Pupil Holiday" and am wondering what this is? It sounds like a furlough day to me, but perhaps there is another explanation. Also, at the bottom of the page it says CSEA Paid Holidays. For those of us not caught up with the acronyms, could you explain what this means and how those holidays differ from the others?

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Joel Shawn wrote (on February 1st, 2010 12:23pm):

One would think that the calendar was a pretty simple and straight forward thing to get set-up each year. Like most things we do, it is more complex than it might appear on the surface. A "Teacher non-work day" is not a "furlough day." By contract teachers work 185 days during the regular school year. This includes 180 student days and five additional days for staff development, planning, and staff meetings in preparation for the school year. With work beginning for teachers on August 23, 2010, and school beginning for students on August 26, 2010, it created the need to have one teacher and student free day during the school year. March 14, 2010 is that day next year. All other employees work that day.

CSEA is the California School Employees Association. A little more complexity here: CSEA employees are those folk who are not certificated (principals, teachers, me, etc.) and who hold various jobs like the school office clerks, bus drivers, instructional assistants, etc. Unlike teachers who work a specific number of days (185), our CSEA staff work on a calendar (for example; 10 month, 11 month, or 12 month). As negotiated in their contract they earn paid holidays which tend to coincide with legal holidays. This is really just a way of saying that on those days noted as CSEA Paid Holidays which also happen to be holidays the schools and district offices are closed. I hope this helps.

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calendar rumors wrote (on February 1st, 2010 4:55pm):

Yes, thank you, it helps a lot. I really appreciate the time you take to answer questions like these and to explain the details so patiently.

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concerned wrote (on January 9th, 2010 6:10pm):

I am anxiously awaiting AUSD's response to the Governor's proposed budget which, according to today's LA Times, includes an additional $2.4 BILLION cut for public education.

It sounds all too much like last year which resulted in an overall 5% decrease in teaching positions as well as devastating cuts to support staff, and across-the-board pay cuts in our district. None of which, I suspect, our schools can absorb again while maintaining anything close to the excellence we currently expect and enjoy.

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Joel Shawn wrote (on January 10th, 2010 10:39am):

Welcome back from "winter break" to a new year and a new decade.

As the comment posted above reflects, the Governor's budget proposal released Friday, January 8, 2010 has us greatly concerned. While promising to protect education, the details of the Governor's budget seem to tell a drastically different story. We are beginning the process of analyzing and understanding what this proposal means. This includes receiving advise and training from the various professional organizations that support public education (for example ACSA, CSBA, CASBO, School Services of California, School Innovations and Advocacy, etc.). As you might image emails are flying and staff is working to understand the intricacies of this budget. On Wednesday, January 13th staff and I will attend the School Services budget briefing. By the end of thi week (January 10, 2010) I will post a summary of what impact the Governor's proposal if implemented would have on Arcadia Unified.

I would, however, like to state a position; no additional reductions to the Arcadia School District budget are acceptable! We understand that there is a significant deficit in the state's budget (about 20 billion dollars through the middle of 2011) that must be addressed. We are also being asked (and have agreed) to support and participate in a major new school reform effort called Race to the Top (RTTT). The state must apply to the federal government for these new dollars which are part of the Obama administration's ARRA program. In order to be eligible to apply the state and local school district must agree to implement major changes in the way we do business related to; standards, use of student performance data, teacher and principal evaluation, and turning around persistently low performing schools. The promise of these new dollars (the amount of money is an unknown at this time but will be $350-$700 million for the state) can not be used to replace money taking away from us by the state to balance the budget. It is disingenuous for the Schwarzenegger administration to tell the federal government that we are fully funding education in order to qualify for RTTT and then to propose more than two billion dollars in additional reductions to schools.

We will fight to preserve the funding of our wonderful school district so that we may protect our students' programs and education. As indicated above, look for additional information about the budget here later this week. As we did last year, we will fully communicate and discuss the budget, its impact on AUSD, and our work on behalf of our students, here in this BLOG.

Again let me wish you a Happy New Year. I look forward to hearing from you and our continued discussion.

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Holly Avenue Parent wrote (on January 12th, 2010 7:06am):

Although I appreciate the new technology the teachers and students now have access to from the recent construction, I am disappointed in the choice of colors used for paint and floors at Holly Avenue. The gray walls and gray floors make the once warm and cozy school look like a jail, institution, or industrial building. I heard that they wanted to buy one color of paint for all the schools to help save money, or something along those lines. Couldn't they have chosen a nice blue, like what the walls of Holly used to be? Why couldn't they update the sinks in the classrooms main building?Are they the original sinks? When I have gone to wash my hands in my child's classroom, the water comes out a color that I am sure would not pass inspection. And the drinking fountains on the playground! The children literally have to get down on their knees to be able to use them. Why can't they be moved to an appropriate height? Why isn't the blacktop where the portables available to the children yet?

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Joel Shawn wrote (on January 13th, 2010 5:41pm):

Thank you for you posting. One of the obvious challenges with our school facilities program is that we have to make decisions that will not meet with everyone's approval. I do want to assure you we do our best to take into consideration many factors and make a strong effort to balance aesthetics against cost and long term maintenance. When it came to picking colors for Holly Avenue, a color palette was submitted by the architect and approved by the district in response to the district's request to provide a complimentary color scheme that would be easily maintained, and hold up well over time. You are correct that we limit the number of paint colors used district wide which is one of the ways we control costs. However, consideration is given to select colors that match the current school colors (and this was the case at Holly).

Related to you input on sinks in classrooms: The sinks in the classrooms in the main building were replaced during our modernization program in the early 1990's and therefore were not replaced again in the current program (this is an example of the type of decision we have to make to ensure that our Measure I dollars go as far as they possibly can -- we just don't have enough money to do everything we might like to). The drinking fountains have been tested and meet standards for drinking water. We will look into your observation about the color of water coming out of classroom faucets.

The drinking fountains off the playground are installed at the low height as required by law to be accessible to meet the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). As you might imagine, there are many construction standards that must be met when doing work such as the projects at Holly. All of these projects have to be approved by the state of California and every detailed is scrutinized. Lastly, to provide a safe play area, the blacktop will be replaced where the interim classrooms once stood. This work will be done as soon as possible with the least disruption to school programs. Once complete the area will then be opened again for student use.

Again I want to thank you for your input. Things don't always make sense so I welcome the opportunity to explain and clarify why we've done what we've done.

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Thomas Paine wrote (on January 26th, 2010 4:54pm):

Typical of AUSD put thought into something like
institutional color schemes. My goodness that
is so 20th century. Battleship gray is ok. It
is like the district taking credit for test scores.

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Parent wrote (on February 2nd, 2010 7:44am):

"When it came to picking colors for Holly Avenue, a color pallet was submitted by the architect and approved by the district"... and the district chose gray...! Come on guys, this is an elementary school where learning should be exciting for kids, not a prison. Was this decision made by the same group who decided all the clocks in our elementary schools should be digital rather than the regular round face clocks? -- Even when telling the time is a State Standard for our elementary school students... (as well as using the clocks as a teaching tool for counting in fives, learning fractions, etc.)
I support AUSD in many things, however, it is a shame about poor decisions like these, for they don't affect the district, just our kids... how sad.

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response wrote (on February 5th, 2010 4:37pm):

You say the drinking fountains off the school playground met with the disabilities act? But the kids aren't allowed to go over by the auditorium during recess or go into the hallway at recess to get a drink. They have to use the fountains on the playground. Then the teachers don't let them stop for drinks on the way back to class. How would a child in a wheelchair, or with crutches, or being a tall 5th grader, drink from a faucet that is 2 feet above the ground? have you seen those drinking fountains? A few years ago, they repaved the blacktop, and added inches to the blacktop. There used to be a step that goes into the media center, and now it is level. I thought the drinking fountains were supposed to be moved higher.
I actually asked some teacher about the sinks-when the construction took place in the 90s, they took out the old cabinets, put in new, all except for the sink area. The cabinets above the sink were replaced or added, but the ones with the sink are still the old orginal ones. I don't think they replaced those sinks with that construction.
I know a lot of the parents and teachers are disappointed with some of the choices made with the renovations. Many of our teachers spend many extra hours at school-probably more time than they spend at their own home!Who would want to be surrounded by gray? I wonder if there has been a study of the effects of colors on emotions?!?! I am sure gray wouldn't be on the happy color list!

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ausd wrote (on January 12th, 2010 6:16pm):

cut support staff like counselors...
scores would never be affected without them!!!
we had 4 counselors and now why do we need 12? ridiculous! kids don't know them, they don't like them, they don't care about them. ask the kids.

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Joel Shawn wrote (on January 14th, 2010 8:39am):

I appreciate your comments but strongly disagree. We see counselors and our counseling program as essential to the success of our students. Our counseling program receives numerous awards and this year one of the high school counselors was named as the state's "Counselor of the Year." School districts frequently visit the school district to learn how we structure counseling and see what our counselors do. I personally don't know anyone who works harder and is more committed to our students than our counselors.

We have close to 10,000 students in Arcadia Unified. We have 18 counselors serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade covering eleven school sites. This is an overall ratio of one counselor for every 555 students. The American School Counselor Association recommends a counselor-to-student ratio of 1:250. The state of California has a goal of 1:400. We have a long way to go to reach either of these standards.

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ausd wrote (on January 18th, 2010 12:16am):

LOL!! Do they even go to work? They never pick up the phone? Did you even go there and see yourself? Work so hard?? Half of the time, they are not even there to work. I have had heard enough parents' complain about them. The whatever award is so laugable. No one knows what that is and no one cares!!

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fellow community member wrote (on January 18th, 2010 6:14pm):

It is clear you have run in to some problems dealing with the counselors in our district. Have you spoken with the principals? Have you met with anyone in the district office? Have you taken any actions according to the procedure for complaints that is handed out to every family at the beginning of every school year, in at least 3 languages? What have you done, besides visit the blog and complain, to address your problems? At some point you relinquish your right to have your complaints taken seriously if you are unwilling to take even the most basic steps to fix the problem yourself.

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foothills middle school student wrote (on January 18th, 2010 10:29pm):

I am a kid, and I know, care about, and love the counselors. without them I wouldn't know anything about high school nor college. they have helped me to see where I am going in my academic career. they have shown my resources where I can do research on my own. So if I saw our 2 counselors leave, I would be highly disappointed. I personally don't think test scores are at all a good way to gauge any staff members' credibility, but I have had friends having trouble in my honors math class, who, at the guide of the counselors, were placed in a position where they learned more, and thus their test scores go up, and they are happier. so, while you may have different experiences, I believe that they do their job and are far more important than many people in this thread of posts give them credit for.

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Arcadia High School Student wrote (on January 21st, 2010 9:08pm):

To whom ever wrote this blog about the counselors,
I have seen first hand how hard the counselors work. They have taken the time to help my friends and I select the best classes to better prepare us for college. I am not sure if you are an upset teacher or a concerned parent, but you clearly do not understand what counselors do and how they help kids. I have heard first hand that counselors are blamed for issues that they are not in control of. If you are truly serious about your accusations you need to take them to the counselors and get the full story. For me I am very happy with the service I have received from the counselors at the High School.

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AUSD Supporter wrote (on January 16th, 2010 8:56am):

I know education funding in California is very complex and I dont understand it but I have been reading about the Beverly Hills School District becoming a "basic aid" district where they are funded by their local property tax which exceeds what they get from the state. This must clearly be to their advantage financially. From what I have been reading, it seems like basic aid districts like Laguna Beach, Newport Mesa and now Beverly Hills have a lot more money per student than revenue limit districts because of their high tax base. With the tax base in Arcadia, is this something AUSD would benefit from or is our local property tax revenue not high enough?

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Joel Shawn wrote (on January 16th, 2010 9:58am):

Thank you for your comment. There are many advantages to being a Basic Aid School District primary of which is you receive high funding rates and are funded directly from you local property taxes. Additionally it should be noted that your funding is not stable since it is based annually on how much local property tax is collected. So while you may receive additional dollars (which is a good thing) your long term budgeting and ability to ensure stability of student programs can be a challenge.

You don't get to choose to be a Basic Aid district. There is a formula that is used to determine eligibility. Essential you may become Basic Aid when your local property taxes will provide more funds than you would receive from the state based on the state's "Revenue Limit" per student allocation. Arcadia, regardless of our robust housing and higher than average value of homes does not qualify (at least at this time).

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Joel Shawn wrote (on January 16th, 2010 11:36am):

Update Week of January 18, 2010

Greetings! I want to update you on two things: 1) the governor's 2010-2011 budget proposal and its impact on Arcadia schools, and 2) our participation in Race to the Top (RTTT).

Budget Update:

As indicated above the Governor released his 2010-2011 budget proposals on Friday, January 8, 2010. While promising that "education funding would be protected," the details show there is some evidence to protect education but other details don't match his words.

Positive evidence of the protection that the Governor provides for education includes the avoidance of midyear district-level cuts to K-14 education in spite of a $6.6 billion Budget gap in 2009-10. For AUSD this means we will not have to make any reductions to our budgets in the middle of the current school year and this is good news.

As the discussion of the budget turns to proposition 98 and revenue limits for the next year things get a big more confusing. Revenue limits provide about two-thirds of school districts' revenues and the vast majority of general purpose funding. For the current year (2009-2010), the Governor's Budget proposes no change in revenue limit funding, with the deficit factor remaining at 18.355%. However for next year while the Governor says revenue limit funding will remain the same, he goes on to propose two things that will reduce our resources next year over what we are receiving this year:

1) The budget fully funds a negative cola of .38 percent. As crazy as this sounds it means a reduction of $23 per student for us or about $230,000 in an ongoing reduction.

2) The governor also proposes an ongoing targeted cut of $1.5 billion in 2010-11, comprising $1.2 billion aimed at "school district administrative costs" and recaptured savings of $300 million assumed to follow from the "elimination of barriers to contracting out." The Governor's Budget provides no details on how local school districts would achieve these savings nor does it describe how the state would cut school funding related to these savings. For Arcadia this is projected to be and additional loss of about $2,000,000.

There are a lot of other important and complicated things in this proposal that I am not going to review at this time. The above two items have the most immediate impact on us and we must begin to figure out how to make an additional $2,230,000 in ongoing cuts to our budgets beginning next year.

As we have been planning for the possibility of additional cuts and carefully managing our current resources, I am glad to share that we will not have to lay off any probationary or permanent teaching positions for the 2010-2011 school-year in order to balance the budget. This unfortunately does not mean that I can say the same thing for all other types of positions at this time. This statement does not mean additional staff will be eliminated, I just can't promise that is the case. Additionally, we may not be able to replace every teacher that leaves us (for retirement, etc.) which would result in increased class sizes. We will be exploring every possible solution to this new shortfall with the goal to protect our student and the programs that serve them.

Lastly, the idea that somehow we can make $2,000,000 in cuts by reducing "school district administrative costs" is absurd. We would have to eliminate every administrative position other than those at school sites to make up this amount. The details of this proposal have not been determined. As we learn more about what these proposal specifically mean, and work to balance our budget given these new reductions we will keep you informed here.

Race to the Top

On Tuesday, January 5, 2010, the Arcadia Board of Education held a special meeting to address the request from the state of California to enter into a Memo of Understanding (MOU) to participate in the state's application to the federal government for the Race to the Top program. The following is from a press release issue by Jack O'Connel Superintendent of Public Instruction on January 15, 2010:

"RTTT is part of the federal stimulus package of bills known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. President Barack Obama and U. S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced last November the eligibility and selection criteria for states to compete for $4.35 billion in the RTTT competition, which is the single largest pool of discretionary funding for education reform in U.S. history.

California's application spells out how the state and participating local educational agency partners will collaborate in unprecedented ways to make systemic changes to help accelerate growth in student achievement and improve public education in four key focus areas:

Refining California's rigorous state standards by adopting internationally benchmarked common core standards and aligned assessments that better prepare students for success in college and the workplace;

Recruiting, developing, and retaining effective teachers and principals in all schools, with particular attention to those schools that need them the most;

Expanding our education data system to support instruction and better measure student success in college and the workforce; and

Dramatically improving the state's persistently lowest-performing schools.

To date, 804 local educational agencies (LEAs) submitted a signed Memorandum of Understanding to partner with California in the RTTT competition. Here are the latest figures on California's local participating partners:

Type	Statewide	Participating LEAs	Percentage of Total Statewide
LEAs	804	1,729	46.5%
Schools	5,755	10,225	56.3%
K-12 Students	3,645,963	6,252,031	58.3%
Students in poverty	1,991,399	3,271,334	60.9%

Of the 804 LEAs, 457 are school districts or county offices of education, 345 are charter schools, and two are Regional Occupational Programs. Of the total number of MOUs, 602, or 78 percent, were signed by the LEA's superintendent and school board president; and 122, or 26 percent, included a signature by the LEAs teachers' union leader.

The Arcadia School Board voted its unanimous approval to support signing the MOU which we did and submitted to the state on Friday, January 8, 2010. If approved at the federal level, the state will be funded between $350 - $700 million. We don't know how much money Arcadia will receive. Once approved, we will have 90 days to submit a detailed work plan to the state."

I along with our Board of Education supported participating in RTTT because we feel our school district is already working toward many of the goals outlined in the state's proposal. Our strong relationship with our teachers' association will enable us to work on elements of the program that require changes to current collective bargaining agreements (such as changes to what must be included in the teacher evaluation process). Arcadia Teachers Association leadership and I have already had several conversations about these elements and have agreed to negotiate. If we are unable to reach required agreements we have been assured by staff at the department of education that we would be able to exit the RTTT program without penalty. Our commitment at this time is to make a good faith effort to meet the program standards.
Lastly, new legislation has been passed and signed by the governor which was needed to make California eligible to apply for RTTT.

All aspects of the bills are important and you may learn more by reviewing the actual text of bills passed by the legislature at: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/

(note:look for SBX5 1 Romero and SBX5 4 Romero)

More information about RTTT and a complete listing of school districts that signed the MOU may be found at: http://www.caracetothetop.org/cs/rttt/print/htdocs/home.htm.

We will be continuing our discussion of RTTT with you in the near future. As always, thank you for your continued support of the Arcadia Unified School District.

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teacher wrote (on January 18th, 2010 6:20pm):

I've been reading a lot about Race to the Top, and am hoping that you can provide some background into your thinking in deciding to sign the MOU with the State. It seems like there are a lot of controversial areas of change for what will probably be a limited amount of money that our District will actually receive. Also, is it one-time money, or does RTTT represent on-going funding? What were the pros and cons that you (personally, as a District, and as a Board, as well as in communication with the unions) considered when deciding to sign up for participation in this federal program?

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Joel Shawn wrote (on January 19th, 2010 4:27pm):

Hi - great question. Yes it is one-time money over a four year period. We don't know how much. Our thinking in signing the MOU was based in our beliefs that: 1) most of the things "required" by Race to the Top are things that we are either already working on, for example: "Implementing/enhancing and using a local instructional improvement system (see definition provided by the U.S. Department of Education) that provides teachers, principals, and administrators, with the information and resources they need to inform and improve their instructional practices, decision-making, and overall effectiveness," and 2) things that may be newer for Arcadia are things that we and the teachers are at least willing to discuss, for example: "Design/refine and implementing rigorous, transparent, and fair evaluation systems for teachers and principals that use multiple measures that include student growth as a significant factor and area designed with teacher and principal involvement." What we've agreed to do is to write a plan describing how we would make a good faith effort to accomplish the various required components and to negotiate with our teachers' association those components that would change the current collective bargaining agreement. We have been assured and believe the MOU language is clear, that if we are not able to implement some required aspect, or not able to reach agreements with ATA we would exit the program and not be responsible to pay back any money received. So, the risks seem minimal and the possibilities for enhancing our work along lines we already are exploring seem like a strong positive. I hope this answered your questions. Thanks.

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dave wrote (on January 16th, 2010 6:47pm):

should hire more COUNSELORS in the elementary and middle school levels. May be even hiring a few more COUNSELOR in high school since you think they are SUPER valuable. Fire more teachers and classified instead!!!! the way to go.

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fellow community member wrote (on January 18th, 2010 6:23pm):

You do realize, I am sure, that sarcasm does not always translate in electronic media. However, you do make a valid point. If the problems most people have are in gaining access to their counselors then perhaps you are right - we must, according to basic logic, need to hire more of them.

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Fellow parents wrote (on January 25th, 2010 5:09pm):

It's hard to say why tax payer and their kids can't access the counselors? Even there are 8 more counselors compare to years ago. Most of the time they won't pick up the phone but only allow us to leave msg. Not only that, many are absent very often. It's hard to see all 12 in the office on a single day. May be hiring more will promote the laziness and ineffectiveness of the others. I heard that some will be on vacation during the peak time of senior mid year report period. Which is really aweful and irresposible behavior and lack work ethic or zero work ethic. Some of them are so mean to the kids. They are so reluctant to see them. They rather search the answers themselves.

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Another Perspective wrote (on January 25th, 2010 9:24pm):

I don't know if it is the same for the counsellors, but the phone in my classroom does not ring during class hours. ALL outside calls are directed right into voicemail while class is in session. If this is true of counsellor's phones this might explain why phone calls are not the best way to contact them. Just as it would be rude to my students to have their lessons interrupted by a ringing phone, it would be similarly rude to the students who are meeting with their counsellors to have their time interrupted by the telephone. I also know that several schools have to share counsellors, so what might seem to be an absence is really that counsellor doing his or her job at another school.

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Student Perspective wrote (on January 26th, 2010 1:17pm):

I believe there is a secretary that answers the telelphone in the counseling office...she answers for all of the counselors so I'm guessing she can't answer every call that comes in at the same time and those probably go to voice mail. Also, I think you are misinformed about the counselors taking vacations during the school year...I know they are woking on their mid-year reports right now because I was called in to the office by my counselor because I forgot to sign a form. Thank goodness my counselor is so thorough and makes sure everything is correct on my forms. You said you heard that some of them will be on vacation....maybe you heard wrong. One other thing, I have found my counselor in her office in July and early August, because I was taking summer school classes and needed her help. I asked her why she was here and she told me that there is just so much work to be done, she needed to come in on her own time. Also, I've never been treated mean by any counselor in the district, yet some of my friends get mad at them when the counselor doesn't allow them to make a teacher or class change.

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need more counselor time at Holly wrote (on January 29th, 2010 12:19am):

Our elementary school REALLY need a full time counselor. Our person does a good job but she is so busy she can't get to a typical kid who is dealing with family problems or needs friends. Our person is only here two-three days a week and is booked with heavy duty play therapy with kids who have serious behaviors . The principal needs to take over many times as children seem so distressed, several refusing to leave their parents, go to class,have high risk behavior and many more have serious behavior problems. She always comes when we call if she is on campus(and not at district meetings). We're fortunate she has specialized training and can handle big problems BUT I am sure this is why she stays so late cause kids really need help during the day and the teacher can't deal with it in a classroom with 30 other 8 year olds. Our school also has three sdc classes plus the resource class and many kids who get no special help and need it. That should count for more counselor help. This needs to be a priority !

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fellow staff and parent wrote (on January 29th, 2010 1:16pm):

Lazy?irresponsible?mean?I can not believe what I am reading about our counselors;I worked for 10 years in one of the middle school and had my 3 children going through elementary, middle and high school and I would never say that of the counselors :they were (are) hardworking, even overwhelmed,responsible, very kind and helpful.I personally think they have too much work and that we still need more of them to lighten their workload.( or maybe remove some of their duties that are not indispensable)I understand that you listen to your kid's complains,but that's only one side of the story and you need to find out the other side: email the counselor, no phone call, they are too busy, and express your sentiments,tell them what your student told you and find out what's really going on.I found that often kids blame the counselors or the teachers for their own irresponsible actions, behavior. It's very easy to make excuses for our own behavior, always blame others instead of being responsible and face the consequences.
I truly admire and respect our counselors , we need more of them.

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Arcadia High Alumni wrote (on January 29th, 2010 10:31pm):

I agree wholeheartedly with this comment - the counselors are very busy - there are a lot of us to deal with - and they do so with patience and kindness that i think most people would find hard to keep up in such a demanding job. i always had a great impression of our counselors - always smiling and asking me how i was doing, and doing anything to help when they could. arcadia high school is very very lucky to have such remarkably knowledgeable and dedicated counselors. count your blessings!

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Thomas Paine wrote (on January 26th, 2010 4:57pm):

Does nepotism exist in AUSD? How does it effect
the students and staff?

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Joel Shawn wrote (on January 28th, 2010 3:42pm):

As a matter of policy and practice the answer to your question is no. I am interested, however, in why you are asking. If there is the belief that something had occurred or was occurring that could be perceived as nepotism we would want to know about it and would investigate the allegation fully.

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david wrote (on January 28th, 2010 6:42pm):

corruptions also exist. hello..

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Anonymous wrote (on February 5th, 2010 11:50am):

as it does anywhere...

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tramp wrote (on January 28th, 2010 6:40pm):

Laugh out loud!!!!
I don't know how many times my students and their parents expressed their anger about their counselors.

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fellow arcadian wrote (on January 28th, 2010 11:51pm):

Try e-mail to contact conselors and teachers. If you do not get a timely response you have the proof you have tried with a date and you can go to administration and complain. It is not likely any of these people are sitting at their desk waiting for your phone calls. You also have the opportunity to explain or ask questions in detail and the person can research the answer and then get back to you. Many counselors, teachers and administration work in the evening and answer emails after hours often from home when it is far too late to call you and the interruptions of the day are gone. There is never enough time during the day to get to everyone.

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fellow arcadian wrote (on January 29th, 2010 10:08am):

I believe if a problem does exist you should take it directly to the counselor or counselors which the parent and/or student is angry. Maybe it's much to do about nothing.

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3rd ave resident wrote (on January 31st, 2010 9:49pm):

To Dr. Sean, So what is this I hear about a new district office at Bonita Park? Does this mean the pre-school and other programs are gone? What about the park? I live very close to the park and wonder if it is going to be a huge construction zone.My kids play there all the time.If the district is in financial trouble, how do you pay for something like that?I know enough to know the bond money can't pay for it.

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Joel Shawn wrote (on February 2nd, 2010 8:34am):

Thank you for your question. It is true that we are in the planning stages to develop a facility at the Bonita Park school-site that will house a variety of student programs and offices for the school district. As you might be aware, several years ago we entered into an agreement with Rick Caruso who is planning to develop the "Shops at Santa Anita" adjacent to the race track. Mr. Caruso was going to provide us free unfinished office space (about 22000 to 25000 square feet) to use as a district office. However, unresolved issues have caused delays to the Caruso project making it impossible for us to take advantage of the offer. Measure I work is in full swing at the high school and other sites in the district and in order to stay on schedule with the facilities plan, including the Performing Arts Building, the current District Office needs to be removed in its totality near the end of 2012.

To address our relocation needs we began to study alternatives in the spring of 2009. Various options were reviewed including; leasing existing office space, buying existing office space, utilizing district school property (Santa Anita and Bonita Park), etc. Included in this study was how the current bond funded renovation plans for the Bonita Park facility (to accommodate student programs: special education, occupational therapy, pre-school speech, Adult Education, Opportunity, Independent Study, etc.) which was budgeted at about two million dollars (bond funds) could be included in the development of an Educational Center that would include district office functions. It was determined that the most cost effective solution was to build a new facility at the existing Bonita Park school site which would be a combination of student program and district program support spaces.

The arrangement with Caruso was for unfinished space and we were responsible for "tenant improvements" that were estimated at costing $5 to $6 million dollars. Bond fund could not be used for this project. The school district has a Capital Facilities Fund that may only be used for building and improving capital facilities projects related to growth. This new project will be funded through a combination of bond funds (used for instructional related space) and the Capital Facilities fund.

All school district programs currently located at the Bonita Park site will be housed in the new Education Center. Serendipity Early Care and Education Center leases space from Arcadia Unified at Bonita Park. Serendipity is not an Arcadia School District program. They will be able to stay in this location through the summer of 2011.

I can assure you that like the variety of large construction projects that are currently underway throughout the school district, this project will be done carefully and adhere to required local ordinances which affect when work may be done in part to limit noise and other impact on our neighbors. Lastly, the park (next to our school-site) is a city facility. It should not be affected by our building project.

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parent wrote (on February 3rd, 2010 9:48am):

In response to color schemes for Holly Avenue, or any of the schools for that matter. I do not see how colors that correspond to the "School Colors" came into affect with the Grey. Holly's school colors are Royal blue and Gold NO GREY. Putting in institutional grey took the individuality out of the school. I have been a Holly parent for many years and will be for many more and do not like the drab and dullness brought in with grey.Holly not only has the Grey in our main hall where our school colors should be displayed with pride but our school has older areas that are still royal blue some doors are light blue others royal and some even look grey. For a school that is supposed to be almost finished we look like a project that has lost steam. Our new buildings doors were painted the beautiful Royal blue and our halls ugly grey. I would like to see the individuality brought back. We have also had the words "HOLLY AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL" displayed over the auditorium but they are hardly noticable against the wall colors, and the board in front of the office that had to be redone has now been put up with uneven seems and great gaps on either side. Our district and schools are noted for exceeding in excellence, and we love being apart of the district, but some of the choices for our construction upgrades just do not show our quality. Holly had beautiful doors on the auditorium we were able to salvage the inside doors but the outer ones were ripped out that was a characteristic of Hollys history. Although with all upgrades there are sacrifices and things that need to be changed or altered, I do believe that there should be every effort made to ensure the chracter and historical attributes of such an old school be preserved. Please bring back the blue and get rid of the grey. I do not believe when we voted for the bond measure to go ahead with construction we thought the schools would be changing color schemes and losing what makes each school different. BRING BACK BLUE! Please

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response wrote (on February 4th, 2010 7:09am):

Just a quick reponse on all construction color debates. It is vertually impossible to please everyone especially when it comes to design choices. I am sure the district had a very valid reason for choosing the colors they did because they have no reason not to.

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Supporter of bringing back blue wrote (on February 4th, 2010 7:42am):

I agree with the color schemes being changed was a bad idea. I am sure we all realize that pleaseing everyone is impossible but had the district not changed the colors that have existed for decades there would not be this disscussion. Choosing a color scheme "because you can get it in bulk in order to paint all the schools the same color" is not a design choice or a valid reson. I don't want to see all the schools painted the same colors we don't do that in schools, that is done in institutions. Each school has it's own color scheme existing keep it and let each school keep it's individuality.

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parent wrote (on February 8th, 2010 9:43am):

Will the new district office enjoy the gray color scheme as well?

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Parent wrote (on February 4th, 2010 8:52am):

Well after dropping my child off at school today other parents and myself were horrified to discover that the beautiful wood doors on our auditorium, the ones we thought they had been able to leave after replacing the doors leading to the main hall have been removed. Another parent made a very good observation and asked why the integraty of the historical atrubutes of this building been overlooked and now irreversibly destroyed?

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Holly Parent wrote (on February 3rd, 2010 11:55am):

I agree that the grey is so blah and un-inspiring and the floors in Holly used to look amazing and sparkle when polished now they look so dull. Why where the design decisions not purposed to Holly parents and residence. Most of AUSD employees do not even live in the district. Why did the cafeteria and auditorium not get any upgrades. Both rooms are unbearable in the warm seasons. Our welcome back coffee in September has parents sweating it is so hot in the cafeteria, and in the winter some student eat in the cold outside this is not how children should be treated, Zoo animals and prisoners have better eating and living arrangements when it comes to temperature and protection from the weather. The auditorium has had fans for 5 years if not more why haven't the upgrades in order to be able to install and use them been done. Thank you for the technology but overlooking the comfort factor for the students is unacceptable. I am sure the District office staff do not eat in extreme temperature why make our children. Comfort equals more students and parents willing and wanting to participate. Please Bring Back Blue!

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HA teacher wrote (on February 5th, 2010 11:49am):

as an asside to the "boring floors": the classrooms in the hallways you are describing were seriously impacted by hallway traffic noise. It is hard to teach with the foot traffic going by and interrupting lessons. The new floors were installed with sound reduction in mind.

I would like to add that if the complaints about education at Holly Avenue are limited to paint color and construction design...then your child(ren) is/are fortunate to attend school there.

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Happy Parent wrote (on February 5th, 2010 4:13pm):

My children have been at a few different elementary schools, one being another Arcadia Elementary school, and I must say that the teachers at Holly are the best my children have ever had and the teachers are truly amazing. They go above and beyond,it seems like they spend a great deal of their own money to enrich the learning for our children.
I bet their displays of student work will soon cover the gray and you won't even see it anymore!!!

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HA Alumni wrote (on February 5th, 2010 6:23pm):

Although it would be great to believe he grey will be covered up with artwork there is never artwork displayed at the level of the grey or on some walls at all. The teachers at Holly are amazing and I love the school and the time I spent there but do not feel like it is the same school when I walk in the hallway now. It feels so un alive. The bright blue that used to greet Us as we walked in the door is now a dark and cave color. I feel sorry for the school and students now.

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Joel Shawn wrote (on February 5th, 2010 3:34pm):

We appreciate that not everyone will be happy with color and design choices made at our schools. Previously I wrote, "One of the obvious challenges with our school facilities program is that we have to make decisions that will not meet with everyone's approval. I do want to assure you we do our best to take into consideration many factors and make a strong effort to balance aesthetics against cost and long term maintenance. When it came to picking colors for Holly Avenue, a color palette was submitted by the architect and approved by the district in response to the district's request to provide a complimentary color scheme that would be easily maintained, and hold up well over time. You are correct that we limit the number of paint colors used district wide which is one of the ways we control costs. However, consideration is given to select colors that match the current school colors (and this was the case at Holly). "

Work is currently being done in the multi purpose room (at Holly) to install the fans. We are also looking at the possibility of air conditioning this space to make it more comfortable for both parents and students.

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Dolphin Lover wrote (on February 5th, 2010 4:07pm):

Holly Avenue's colors are blue and yellow. What consideration was given to matching that? The blue walls were turned to gray, the carpets brown...gray is a depressing, institutional looking color.

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Another AUSD parent wrote (on February 5th, 2010 6:15pm):

I would like to know if the colors implemented at Holly Ave will be district wide? Basically will Hugo Reid, Baldwin Stocker, Camino Grove ....etc have the grey that Holly has? If not what are the colors that have been "aproved" for the rest of the schools? If the same color is the aproved color before we spend anymore funds on labour to paint maybe the colors should be readdressed. We parents feel very strongly at all our schools and I am positive this disscussion will only escalate as more schools undergo construction if we all become copies of each other.

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parent wrote (on February 8th, 2010 10:01am):

Is there really that much maintainance for each school with regards to paint? There are three main colors in the district: red, blue, and green. Certainly having three different colors of paint can't be that much more than the 50 gallon drums of gray. The colors promote school spirit, they promote a bright and cheery atmosphere. If this much controversary and complaints have stemmed from one school being gray, what is going to happen as each school gets painted with this awful color? Maybe we can get a local business to donate paint and put a sign on our walls "Paint generously donated by Dunn Edwards".

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Interested Community Member wrote (on February 3rd, 2010 2:52pm):

Dr. Shawn, thank you for providing a vehicle for parents, staff, and community members to express their concerns and ask questions about our school district.

I find the conversation regarding counselors interesting. I believe it is unfair to judge counselors value by whether they are immediately answering their phone. Has it occurred to anyone that they might be busy doing their job, and thus have to rely on phone messages to screen the relative priority in responding to the calls that come in? Usually when I must leave a message I assume the person is busy, and not that a person is avoiding work. Funny how people project their own behaviors onto someone else, isn't it?

At this time of a financial crunch, I think the reasonable approach is to not expend more money in any area, place a freeze on all positions, and hope that attrition will take care of most of the deficit for next year. I would also recommend expanding the roles of department chairs at the high school with some additional stipend, and consider cutting back on the number of deans-asst. principalships.

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Joel Shawn wrote (on February 5th, 2010 11:05am):

Discussion About Counseling in Arcadia

Recently there has been a robust discussion taking place in the BLOG about the Arcadia School District Counseling program. It has been interesting to see different points of view brought forth and discussed in a civil fashion. I would like to remind everyone that our norms for this BLOG include that this is not the place to lodge complaints about programs or individuals. If we determine that a posting has moved across the line from a comment or an opinion, to a complaint, we will take those comments off the BLOG. We have a specific complaint process that may be utilized any time someone has a concern or problem that can not be resolved with an individual or program. If one needs assistance with the district's complaint procedures please contact my office (626-821-6640) or email me at jshawn@ausd.net. Keep in mind that we are limited in the formal action we can take when receiving anonymous complaints. However, we look into every concern shared with us anonymously or not.

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Curious about PTA wrote (on February 5th, 2010 4:15pm):

Dr. Shawn,

What is the district's perspective on the role of PTA in the Arcadia schools? Do you have any suggestions for how can teachers and parents can work together for the common good?

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Joel Shawn wrote (on February 5th, 2010 4:32pm):

Short response now - more to follow later: PTA is vital to the schools in Arcadia!

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PTA and School Fund Raisers wrote (on February 7th, 2010 1:46pm):

Can an individual school have fundraisers to earn their own money outside of the PTA venue? How do you monitor what schools do? Can teachers be forced or "strongly encouraged" to participate if they do not want to or can't due to family needs or personal reasons? How is it that some schools have enormous amounts of funds coming through to the school via PTA or other routes and others do not. Is it fair that some of us teach at a school where parents cannot spend the same kind of money on fund raisers as others? Our students cannot benefit from programs that give northern schools one up(especially in music).
I care very much and want to support my school but I question the equity and process. Do teachers HAVE to participate in a school-based fundraiser with time or $ donations or is it voluntary? We are all pretty desparate for simple things like supplies and I know we are being cut even further. Our principal has tried to be creative and the parents donate what they can. Now AEF is asking for money again and although the school sent out a letter explaining the difference between PTA and AEF, many parents are stressed out about it, especially at our school. I am not sure how we can ask for parents to spend even more.Your insight (or the Assistant Supt, C.Aragon) would be helpful to many of us as soon as possible. Thank you.

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Bill Klipstein, President, AEF wrote (on February 7th, 2010 8:41pm):

I would welcome the opportunity to address the concerns of parents who have received the AEF Annual Appeal letter. AEF strives to provide enrichment funding District wide. Our recent Appeals have targeted funding of staff positions, which is unique to AEF. If you would like to arrange a meeting with me or your local AEF trustees please contact us at ArcadiaEducationalFoundation@gmail.com.

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