Could somethig like the Atlanta testing scandal happen in Walnut Creek?

By asking this question, I admit I'm being provocative. I'm not expressing doubts about the overall integrity and professionalism of teachers working in schools in Walnut Creek and surrounding communities. I find it hard to believe that teachers working in any of the five public school districts serving Walnut Creek lived in the "culture of fear and conspiracy of silence" that existed in the Atlanta school system and led to a cheating scandal over standardized tests.

Still, California public school teachers, schools, administrators and districts--like their counterparts in Atlanta--face high-stakes pressure over test scores. C'mon. How do any of us rate a school's quality? By its API scores. Good API scores, largely drawn from STAR tests, help determine property values and the desirability of certain neighborhoods and communities.

A lot rests on API scores.

I've heard so many teachers talk about how the post-No Child Left Behind emphasize on test scores had created an atmosphere of almost non-stop testing and the necessity to "teach to the tests."

Just this weekend, I was having coffee with a Walnut Creek woman who teaches third grade in an elementary school in the Mt. Diablo Unifed School District.

She bemoaned the amount of time in a school year taken up by tests--up to six weeks a year. I told her I wasn't surprised and shared how I was amazed to learn, when my son was in second grade, that he and his classmates spent a week on learning how to "bubble." That is, to properly fill in the bubbles on the multiple choice STAR tests they would start taking that year.

This teacher added that her school's principal, young and eager to follow the rules, has little time to concern herself with more substantial issues, such as whether students are really engaged in what they are being taught. She just cared about teachers raising students' test scores.

As this teacher described it, her principal wasn't interested in teachers or students drawing outside the metaphorical lines of a highly regimented, standards-based curriculum. In this teacher's school, the success of a teacher is not judged on whether her students are absorbing the material, comprehending the concepts, or learning to like learning.

Success is measured by a number tabulated by a computer crunching through stacks of tests.

In Atlanta, investigators concluded that some 178 educators in 44 schools engaged in "systematic misconduct." Principals publicly humiliated their employees and teachers erased out wrong answers on tests and marked in the correct answer.

A 413-page report, released by Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R), found "systemic misconduct within the district as far back as 2001" and concluded that "thousands of school children were harmed by widespread cheating in the Atlanta Public School System. ... A culture of fear and a conspiracy of silence infected the school system."

"On a national level, the cheating story cuts to the heart of a major education policy debate over accountability,' the Huffington Post reported. "The Atlanta report's conclusion that cheating resulted from a culture of fear, one spurred by rising test-score targets, fuels the argument that policies determined by test scores provide perverse incentives that are not in the best interests of students."

Policies determined by tests scores are not in the best interests of students.

Interesting and disturbing conclusion, because more and more policies here in California schools seemed very much determined by test scores.

Comment of the day: the difference between having sons and daughters

Of course, I get lots of great comments, so I hesitate to single one out, but this comment gave me a laugh as I was reading through the ones that came in overnight. It also seems to fit in somewhat with the sexual theme of the previous post--although that story deals with sexual activity amongst members of an older generation.

This comment came in response to my post asking parents whether they would ever allow their teens to rent hotel room to hang out in before and after senior ball.  The senior ball for Las Lomas High is coming up this weekend, and Principal Pat Lickiss suggested to parents that booking rooms for their kids was not a good idea.

After a parent talked about his or her concerns about having a daughter, another reader, Anon 11:27 p.m., shared his/her thoughts:

I am a parent of two boys. The way I see it I have two penises to worry about. You parents with daughters, I feel for you. You have to worry about [many] penises."  

Good luck. 

Walnut Creek schools about ready to make their fundraising goal

(In case you hadn't heard. ... I received notice about two weeks ago, and kept meaning to publish it.) 

The Walnut Creek Education Foundation says that it was only $7,612 away from making their fundraising goal of $724,000.  According to Liz Davis, the foundation president, this fundraising feat was accomplished even though only 45 percent of parents in the districts donated to the foundation.

WCEF's participation rate is a bit lower than foundations raising money for districts in Lamorinda (Oh, those Lamorinda overachievers!). The foundations for these districts also ask for much more money overall--twice or nearly twice as much as Walnut Creek--and more money from each individual family.

WCEF asks for $500 per family, while the Lafayette Arts and Science Foundation, with a fundraising goal of $1.5 million and a 53 percent participation rate, asks for $500 per child.  The foundations for the Orinda and Moraga schools ask for $550 and $600 per child, with fundraising goals of $1.5 and $1.3 million, respectively. The Education Foundation of Orinda enjoys a 68-percent parent participation rate.

The $$$ raised by WCEF support art, music, and PE, and librarian hours in the elementary schools; a counselor, librarian hours, and a "visiting artists" program at Walnut Creek Intermediate; and an academic counselor, librarian, and leadership class at Las Lomas High.

Walnut Creek writer, father, PTA president: We need to stop coddling our children

I ran into Walnut Creek writer and dad R.J. Lavallee at last weeks' Community Coordinating Council meeting, a gathering of PTA presidents and representatives from the schools in the Walnut Creek School District. The discussion was homework. The district is in the midst of drafting a new policy that should answer the questions: How much? What should it cover? Is it even necessary?

Lavallee seemed to be the lone voice in the room, saying he didn't mind homework being assigned on weekends or over holiday break. 

Gasp! Including one from yours truly.

In his latest essay, "Protecting Children, published on his website, Bent Spoon Media, Lavalle admits: "I had made a passing comment to the district superintendent that maybe I was too much of a hard ass, thinking kids almost don't have enough homework."

Like me, that meeting prompted Lavallee to reflect, not so much on the debate surrounding school work that's assigned to kids to do at home, but on the bigger questions it provokes--about  education, society, parenting, and family life in America.

"Bottom line, what do we expect public education to provide?" Lavallee asks. He goes on to say that he doesn't think that "public school is the place for [his sons] to learn right from wrong, or how to resolve conflicts, or how to be a child. ...

He continues:

 "Focusing on the expectations that parents have of today's public education system may help right a few of the ills in today's ailing schools. For me, I try to remember why public education was even created in this country. We are supposed to be preparing our children for life outside of the home, life as an autonomous person. Where I know my thoughts greatly diverge from some of my parenting peers is that I fully believe we have come to a point where we overly coddle our children. The modern concept of childhood – of sheltering children from difficulty, and immersing children in a sugary-sweet start to their upbringing – is very recent, and very Western, and in my opinion is adding to the slipping test scores in our system."

Lavallee also provides some interesting historical on the concept of public education in America, a notion that goes back to Thomas Jefferson, and on how some see public education as fulfilling a nation- and economy-building role in the United States.

Check out Lavellee's "rant" as he calls it, on homework and public education. You can also check out some of his other essays on parenting and kids and technology.  Lavallee is the author of a book on kids and technology, IMHO (In My Humble Opion): a guide to the benefits and dangers of today's communication tools.

Big student rally and performances in Lafayette Sunday to protect arts and elective programs in Walnut Creek and Lamorinda high schools

My sixth-grade son recently said he was looking forward to going to school at Las Lomas, because he had heard there would be a creative writing class there. But that class might not be there when he gets to Las Lomas. It might not be there next year. The teacher says the class will get cut if the Measure A parcel tax does not pass.

Measure A is an emergency $112-per-parcel tax for property owners in the Acalanes Union High School District, which includes Las Lomas High in Walnut Creek. The district has had to cut its budget by $8 million over the past three years and is looking to eliminate more than 50 teaching positions. Those cuts will mean the loss of science, foreign language, English, social studies, arts and mathematics classes. They could also mean the loss of seventh period. The district has already decided to close Del Oro, its well-regarded alternative high schol.

Measure A, if approved via a mail-in ballot due May 4, will bring in about $4 million to the district each year.  This parcel tax would sunset in five years and be paid in addition to the current $189 parcel tax, which voters extended indefinitely in November.

Students from throughout the district performed music, drama skits, and public speaking at a rally in Lafayette's Downtown Plaza. One of those students was Emily Shearer, a senior at Acalanes High who is a member of the school's award-winning Mock Trial team. She spoke about how participating in mock trial, the environmental club, and Science Bowl have taught her team work, critical thinking, public speaking, and leadership.She adds  her accomplishments in these extracurricular programs gave her an edge when she applied for college--her experiences won her admittance to top universities.

John Stockton, in an e-mail to parents, wrote about the value of performing arts classes. He said they are often taken for granted but that they provide numerous benefits to students:

--Student overall academic achievement improves by participation in performing arts programs.

--Dedicated adult role models and peer support provide a positive emotional growth environment for students.

--Time management and teamwork qualities are promoted and enhance the development of the total student.

--Studies show a correlation between development of artistic skills and success in core academic areas such as math.

As the advanced boys and girls choral groups from Campolindo High school performaned Glee TV show-quality numbers, I thought of what my son and other kids would lose if they couldn't do this sort of music class or drama or studio art.

I also thought of what he would get out of a creative writing class that he wouldn't get out of a regular English class. Not surprisingly, I'm a fan of creative writing classes, and I think they are helpful to avowed non-writers, people who don't see themselves as aspiring Stephen Kings or Sylvia Plaths. The thing is, even non-writers, willl have to be able to write at various points in their lives--college essays, business memos and proposals where they have to communicate their ideas.

The teacher told me how her creative writing class allows students to express themselves in ways they don't get to do in a regular English class, where they are usually locked into writing persuasive essays in that tightly controlled structure.In creative writing, these students get to express themselves, through stories, poems, and free writing.

I've seen how this kind of self-expression can free up kids--and adults--to play, experiment, and find their own voice. It can help people become comfortable with writing, and the more people become comfortable with writing, and free up their own voice, the easier it becomes for them to articulate their ideas.

Walnut Creek Intermediate deals with another drug possession issue

A seventh grader at Walnut Creek Intermediate was caught this week in possession of a small amount of marijuana, suspended by the school for five days, and issued a citation by the Walnut Creek police.

This information came in the form of a notice e-mailed out to parents by Principal Kevin Collins. This notice appears to be another example of the school's "conscious decision to inform the community if there were any incidents or threats to our students, either on campus or to and from school," according to Walnut Creek School District Superintendent Patricia Wool.

She explained this effort to keep the community informed about safety issues in an e-mail she sent out earlier this week. Her e-mail went out, no doubt, in response to concerns being raised recently that the loss next year of one of two vice principal's positions, due to budget cuts, would compromise the safety and well-being of the more than 1,100 students on the downtown campus. "We are committed to providing a safe environment regardless of WCI administrative staffing levels," Wool said.

She also said that since the beginning of the 2009-10 school year, there have been two incidents of students being caught in possession of marijuana. There was also a student caught with alcohol and two students who brought knives to school.

Here is a note from Principal Collins about the latest marijuana-possession incident at WCI:

I want to advise our community about a student discipline issue that occurred at WCI during seventh period today.

A seventh grade student was found in possession of a small amount of marijuana. I suspended the student for five days and called the Walnut Creek Police Department. The student received a juvenile citation and was released to the custody of a parent.

We are asking that parents again take this opportunity to speak with their children about drugs and about making good decisions. The safety and security of our students and campus remains our top priority.

Walnut Creek's Little League opens Saturday with exhibition games, other special events

Maybe this is another sign that spring has officially arrived: the Walnut Creek Little League opens its 2010 baseball season Saturday. For their opening day ceremonies at Walnut Creek Intermediate, the league will host a series of exhibition games, and hear from special guest speaker, Paul Zuvella, a former shortshop for the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees.

It all starts 10 a.m. in the Walnut Creek Intermediate gym. More than 800 families, and children, ages six to 14, will be participating in the season. Following the talk by Zuvella will be a Parade of Teams and exhibition games.

Here is more opening day ceremony from the league's community relations representative,  Joe Branka.

Food and drinks will be available from McCovey’s Restaurant. The Oakland A’s will provide prize drawings and giveaways while Sports Basement will host a tent. New this year is a “gently used” equipment swap meet for families to donate and swap baseball gear for the upcoming season.

Little League’s Challenger Division season also begins March 20. Geared toward children with special needs, the Challenger Division provides a real baseball experience while adapting to any disability. There is no cost to players’ families as expenses are borne by sponsors. Baseball and Softball division play begins March 27 at WCI, Bancroft Elementary, Heather Farm Field, Indian Valley Elementary and Northgate High School.

WCI’s two fields will host exhibition baseball and softball games beginning at 11:35. Walnut Creek Intermediate school is located at 2425 Walnut Blvd. in Walnut Creek.

Teacher pink slips have gone out: Are you concerned about favorite teachers or other school employees not having jobs next year?

The number is huge: 23,000.  That's the number of pink slips that have gone out over the past week to public school teachers and certified employees across the state, due to some pretty savage education budget cuts. Districts had until Monday to issue notices to teachers, telling them they may not have jobs next year.

But behind that number are many individuals working in public schools in Walnut Creek and surrounding communities. These are individuals who have the potential to make a huge difference in the lives of our kids. We've all had the experience of our kids dealing with the "bad" teacher. More often, we've seen what happens to our kids' confidence, learning, and enthusiasm for learning when they have a good teacher.

I've been hearing some pretty sad stories over the past few days. There is the husband and wife, who had some 10 years' or more teaching experience between them, who lost their jobs last year in one East Bay district. They relocated this school year to another district. But because they didn't have any kind of seniority with their new employer, they're going through the pink slip blues for a second year in a row.  They have two young kids.

I also heard about a popular shop teacher at a local high school who just received his pink slip. Sure, we live in an era that stresses high GPAs and SAT scores, especially in some of our more high-achieving school communities. I can see people making the argument that in tight budget times electives like shop should be low on the priority list. Better that shop classes get cut instead of AP math, right?

Not so fast. 

The thing is, not all kids are Ivy League-bound or fit that super-achiever mold. Some kids have other talents. The sort of technical education that kids learn in shop can be very useful in life and in the ability to get out and earn a good leaving--and to be a productive member of our community. I've also heard that this particular teacher was very good at working with those kids who didn't feel like they quite fit in. His class was giving these kids good reason to stay in school, feel good about themselves, and accomplish things.

I'm sure you've heard some bad news about a favorite teacher who may not have a job next year--and you're not happy about it.

Feel free to share, but don't post the teacher's name, or mention anything that would too easily identify them, as I understand not all teachers want this news broadcast. On the other hand, if the news is general knowledge ... Use your best judgment. Also fee free to privately e-mail me the name and school of the teacher.  I could follow up and see if that teacher would be interesting in sharing his or her story with Crazy readers.

Do your kids feel safe at Walnut Creek Intermediate?

Apparently, the vast majority do, which is a good thing, despite the fact that the school has had to deal with five "student issues" in the 2009-10 school year, according to Walnut Creek School District Superintendent Patricia Wool. These incidents involved students bringing knives to school and being in possession of alcohol or marijuana.


Questions about the future of student safety and well-being have also been raised of last week's decision to eliminate one of two vice principal's positions at the 1,120-student school. 


Wool addresses concerns about WCI student safety in an e-mail she just sent out to parents Monday. She also cites results from the most recent California Healthy Kids survey. 


According to Principal Kevin Collins, to the question, "How safe do you feel at school," 16 percent of WCI seventh graders surveyed replied "very safe," close to 60 percent said "safe," and only 4 percent said "unsafe." 


Meanwhile, here is the superintendent's letter: 

Dear Walnut Creek School District Community,

At the start of the 2009-10 school year, WCI made a conscious decision to inform the community if there were any incidents or threats to our students, either on campus or to and from school.  We have informed the community about five student issues to date:  two students who brought knives to school, two students who possessed marijuana, and a student who possessed alcohol.  In addition, you received several reports about suspicious situations and possible abduction attempts in the region.  We inform the community so that you will be able to discuss these issues with your children and ultimately keep all children safe.  Some people worry that the notifications depict a changed campus.

When we look at data, there have been five incidents for 2009-10.  While we wish that there were no such incidents, pre-teens are working to develop good judgment and social skills.  Their judgments are sometimes not the best, and poor choices are sometimes made. It is our job, working with parents, to help all students make sound decisions for themselves.

In our WCI Parent Survey and the bi-annual Healthy Kids' Survey we gained important information about the safety at WCI.  The 2010 parent survey, taken by over half of our families, showed that 90% of families agree or strongly agree that their "student feels safe at school."  In the most recent California Healthy Kids' Survey taken by all 7th graders, 5% of students reported feeling "unsafe."  Because we want no students to feel unsafe, we are working with staff on this issue.

We are committed to providing a safe environment regardless of WCI administrative staffing levels.  A clear, specific reorganization will take place in the WCI Office if there is one vice principal next year.  We will ensure that student safety is a top issue and will be maintained no matter what the structure of the site administration.

Overheard: "Hey N-----!" A greeting between some Walnut Creek middle school boys

Picking up my son from school almost always proves to be an enlightening experience.

In the parking lot of 7-Eleven on Oak Road, one group of boys passed another, and a boy in one group said to a boy in the other, "Hey N----!" That's right, the N-word

The greeting was delivered in a friendly tone, no insult or hostility intended. The speaker was white, and so were the boy or boys he was addressing. So, it's not like this was the case of a white speaker saying something derogatory about the race of someone else. 

It was also clear that these boys didn't understood the significance of the word they were tossing around, that the N-word is pretty loaded in Western culture. As the Merriam-Webster Dictionary says, the N-word ranks as "perhaps the most offensive and inflammatory racial slur in English."

However, as the dictionary says, and as many of us know,the N-word's use "among blacks is not always intended or taken as offensive..." In the context of some segments of the African-American community, including the worlds of rap, hip-hop, and entertainment, the use of the word can be affectionite, familiar. However, it can be derisive, but acceptable to use. Example: In the HBO show The Wire, one Baltimore drug dealer would use the epithet when speaking with annoyance about another drug dealer who wasn't pulling his weight or is screwing him out of profits. The rapper Nas (pictured here at the Grammys) ignited a controversy when he announced that the name of his new 2008 album would be "Nigger." Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Fox News were not pleased, but many of Nas' entertainment colleagues came to his defense. Bottom line, the cultural acceptance for using the N-word exists--though it is controversial--and there are rules, though loosely defined, about when, how, and who can use this word. 

I don't think this cultural acceptance would extend to a  white Walnut Creek middle school student, although the kid was acting like it did. Offending someone was not his intention. Trying to look and sound cool, hip, street--that seemed to his the aim of him and his friends, at least one of whom was carrying a skateboard. 
Part of me was amused at the boy's misguided attempt to sound cool. Out of the mouths of 12-year-old white suburban boys.

But, another part of me thought, I hope some adult in his life has heard this word slip out of his mouth and given him a serious talk about why it's so massively uncool for him to use it.

I mentioned this incident to a co-worker, who, like me, grew up in Walnut Creek and attended local schools. Back when he was in middle school, he said, the massively uncool word that he and his buddies threw around at each other was "fag."

I'd say times have changed, but I think this f-word is still in play in 2010 amongst pre-adolescent and adolescent males.

Day of Action for students and teachers to protest statewide school budget cuts

The Mt. Diablo Education Association is organizating several demonstrations of students, teachers, and staff today  to protest $17 billion in state budget cuts to schools and colleges over the past two years.

These Mt. Diablo Unified efforts are part of March 4 Statewide Day of Action involving demonstrations around the state, including on college campuses such as UC Berkeley. A march and rally will take place in front of San Francisco' City Hall this evening.


These demonstrations are expected to be underway in various places around the state, starting soon.  In the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, students, staff and teachers at Clayton Valley High School were scheduled to begin their demonstration outside the school at 7 a.m. After-school demonstrations will take place at the following locations, according to the Mt. Diablo Education Association blog: Ygnacio Valley Rd and Oak Grove; Treat and Clayton Rd; and Monument and Contra Costa Boulevard.
 
Organizers note that "entire art,  music and PE programs have been eliminated, more than 16,000 educators were laid off, and large California corporations enjoyed tax breaks."

"This year, in the wake of all these cuts, our students and schools are being threatened again. We can’t let that happen."

Just this week, the Mt. Diablo school board is contemplating making $6 million in cuts every year to its $71-million-a-year special education program. Those cuts could mean that the district would eliminate the positions of 37 special education teachers and 65 special education assistants, according to the Mayor of Claycord. It could also mean that teachers in  classrooms would need to be trained to accommodate special education students in their non-special education classrooms.

Teen job fair in Walnut Creek Thursday; and the downtown library connection to my beloved summer job

I can't wait for my 11-year-old to get old enough to go out and get a job, and start bringing in some money to help keep me in living in the style to which I'd like to become accustomed! Oh, wait, a part-time, minimum-wage job won't do that for me? Especially in an expensive place like the Bay Area. Sigh. Another of my dreams dashed!

Anyway, many of us probably had our after-school or summer jobs as teen-agers, where we earned money to help buy clothes, pay for movie tickets, even to put away and save for college.

To help local teens from being bored or going broke this summer, the City of Walnut Creek is holding a Teen Job Fair Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. There, the city will fill teens in about volunteer and summer jobs offered by the city. It is for teens 13 and up. This is a drop-in event--reservations are not required. The job fair will take place at the Civic Park Community Center.

OK, what was your after-school or summer job?

My first one was a disaster. I was hired to work as a cashier at the former Woolworth's in the Broadway Plaza. I always loved that Woolworth's, going in there to buy pet supplies, little trinkets. I thought it was cool to be able to work there. But, I was a horrible, terrible cashier. I was always mistyping the figures and causing over-rings, which would prompt the big, barrel-chested manager, who was carrying on a flirtation with a cute blond and more talented-cashier co-worker, to come barreling out to deal with my error. I lasted in the job about three weekends.

My next job was far more successful and fun. And, "Damn Library" fans, do you know what job that was? Shelving books at the old, now-torn-down library in Civic Park. Hmm. Would you call that the original "Damn Library"?

That was a great job. For one thing, it paid better than minimum-wage. I got to work with fun people--yes, those librarians are fun people. And, I got to be around books. Let's just say, I'd head out into the stacks with my cart of books, and sometime spend a little more time shelving than I needed.

Why are schools so enamoured of group projects?

For my son's PE/health class, he had been assigned to work in a group with about two other boys to put together a project on treating wounds. This project had been going on all week. He and his good friend worked together after school on a writing portion of the project. Another boy was to put together a visual presentation.


Well, on Friday he came home to announce that his group failed the project, and he was feeling pretty disconcerted and upset. Apparently, his good friend took home a copy of the written portion of the project, and it was his job to bring it to school on Friday to present. The boy who was to put together the visual portion of the project--well he didn't do it, or he forgot to bring it.

I'm sure there is a learning experience here--about how sometimes in life people you rely on goof up and forget, or goof off and don't pull their weight. But was this learning experience worth all the time it took? Or the stress and potential bitterness it caused? Does this particular group strategy help kids better master the subject matter they are learning?

According to Kidshealth.org, a website my son has himself used to research topics, group projects are popular in school because:

Few of us act alone in the real world. Most things are done with the help or ideas of other people. Group projects are great practice for high school, college, and real life, when you will probably have a job that requires working with others. Right now, group projects can be fun and they often allow you to do a bigger, more interesting project than you could alone. With group work, you can actually learn more in less time.


Group projects also give you a chance to get to know kids you might not otherwise know or talk with — maybe the quiet kid in the third row, the boy who lived down the street when you were in kindergarten, or the girl you're sometimes scared to say "hi" to at recess.


Group projects are also a great way to practice skills you're not so sure of. For example: working on a deadline, staying organized, or being patient. And if you're a little nervous talking in front of a group, a joint project can help you become more comfortable with it.

But as this website also points out, group projects can be stressful because someone may end up doing all the work if the rest of the team can't quite get it together.

I very much understand the value of kids learning to work together to complete a project. But I wonder if teachers are relying on the group project strategy too much, or employing it in situations that are not ideal.

I don't remember doing many group projects in school at all--way back when. I have a vague memory of doing one or two of them in a seventh grade social studies class, when we studied ancient civilizations. And, I don't remember it being stressful, though I'm pretty sure I lucked out and was seated at a table with other smart girls (yeah, I was a smart, focused student in school) who were all motivated to do well. No slackers.

I'd say my best preparation for the adult workplaces I'd eventually find myself was being involved in high school theater productions. Putting on a show, whether you were the star, the student director, or part of the back-stage crew, was very much a team effort. You had to learn to show up, be ready with your lines or your back-stage equipment, to do things on cue, to see your responsibilities as contributing to the greater whole. I'm sure kids learn similar team skills by participating in other sorts of team activities: team sports, Scouts, debate team, music.

And, maybe herein lies a key to a kid and teen enjoying a positive, educational, enriching group experience: the project involves a group of students who are all committed to its success. That's because they are interested in the subject, and because they choose to put themselves in a situation in which they engage with it.

Kids join extracurricular sports, arts, and other group activities because those activities interest them. They even become passionate about them. They get to stretch themselves physically, intellectually, creatively, socially. They want to do well at it, and they like being around other kids who share this common interest--and even passion.

So, probably, the best setting for kids to do group projects are not in classrooms, but outside of classrooms, when their participation is voluntary. Still, I can see group projects working in certain academic settings, in elective classes that the kids choose to take--or in specialized core English, math, history and science classes that kids take not just because they want to get college credit but because they are interested in the topic.

Recently, my son started an elective home ec class. He is interested in learning to cook. Yippee for me! (Actually, he and I spent yesterday with my sister, a former middle and high school foods teacher, preparing a six-course family dinner--pork tenderloin, creamy polenta, salad with pear dressing and goat cheese. My son put together a really exquisite "mile-high" chocolate cake, learning all about sifting, double-boiling chocolate, and the chemical reactions of baking soda, baking powder and salt in baking!) But, back to his home ec class and its relevance to this group project discussion: As my sister explained, and as I remember from middle school home ec, he'll end up working in groups in the kitchen. And, I can see that working out just fine.

He wants to be in that class, and putting together a meal can lend itself very well to a group effort. Yesterday's dinner was a group effort among the three of us, and maybe herein also lies another key to a successful group project. It has to be a project that naturally, organically, lends itself to a team effort.

I'm not sure a health class lesson on treating wounds was best served by a group project. For one thing, we're talking about health class. With all due respect to the teacher and even to the topic--yes, it's important for kids to learn to lead healthy lives--health class is one of those mandatory courses all students have to take but generally don't care that much about. So, you're not going to get the kind of commitment involved in making a group project pull together.

For another, we get back to whether this lesson was best suited to a group effort. Dividing up that lesson into a written and visual portion--sure, it can be done--but that structure seems artificial and contrived. It's a division of labor and structure for a presentation that I suspect was created merely for the sake of doing a group project, rather than for helping kids better grasp the subject matter.

So, those are my gripes and theories about school group projects. What has been your experience, or that of your kids? And, if any teachers want to share their thoughts, please do so.

What are YOU going to do with your kids this summer? We're trying to figure it out!

My soon-to-be 12-year-old is adamant that, this summer, he's not going to a camp.

Even though, from our recollection, he's very much enjoyed most of his camp experiences. (Talk about someone indulging in revisionist history!)

There were the somewhat costly but intriguing ID Tech camps offered at St. Mary's College, which he attended over a couple summers and where he said he made friends and learned to create his own computer games.

He also mostly very much enjoyed the Sports Camps offered through the City of Walnut Creek. Over the past few summers, he played soccer and basketball, then hung out at the Clarke Swim Center at Heather Farm Park. He was also introduced to lacrosse and golf. He was intrigued by lacrosse, but golf very much struck a chord with him, and golf is the sport that--for now at least--has captured his interest.

He has tried to make a very impassioned case about how he just wants to relax this summer, to chill... And not go to camp!!! He talks about wanting to spend time with his friends and  "hang out."

The "hanging out" part gives us pause. Especially when we're talking about a young male of a certain age.

Then again, I grew up mostly never going to a day-, half-day or sleep-away camp.  I did a lot of "hanging out" over the summers. Back when I was growing up, that meant, for me, watching lots of old movies on TV, and other "bad TV." It's true that the selection of bad TV available to me when I was growing up is nowhere near the scope and potential badness of "bad TV" now available to kids.  Cable was barely a concept back in the Stone Age of my youth. 

To give myself some non-media-engrossed cred, I  did spend a fair bit of my aimless summers just relaxing, wandering the neighborhood, reading books, and doing other things that parents of a certain bent now view with nostalgia and as useful to developing a balanced happy life.

But it's 2010, and we're all so neurotic about making sure our kids don't miss any opportunity for potential growth and accomplishment. Also, I'm a working parent. ...  But, the older my son gets, the more I wish I was not a full-time working parent; the more I wish I could just be around, so he could kick back over the  summer, be kinda lazy, watch some bad TV (including with his mother) and meander around with friends.

Back to the summer camp question: I wouldn't mind giving my son a break. After all, he's been doing this summer camp routine, as a substitute for part-time or full-time day care since he was five. Then again, I know he's at the age when he actually needs more supervision--not less than he was five years old. So, we're debating whether he'll go to camp, or if we can find a camp that would really appeal to him.

So, what are your kids' summer plans? Camp? Maybe you've heard of some really cool and unusual programs? If so, please, please, share that information with other readers--and maybe even me! 

Again, the City of Walnut Creek's Recreation Division has a good record of running summer programs, and we've had a very good experience with it, their counselors, and their supervisors. Also, as kids get older they become eligible to earning summer jobs as "recreation leaders"--err, camp counselors. My son has this summer employment future interests him.

Recently, I learned about a new grass-roots website, Sign Up For Camp. "It is a consolidated listing of camps in the Bay Area, and it's fully searchable," says a representative who contacted me. This site, founded by a San Francisco mother of two, "also allows parents to review camps and share their camper's schedules with one another. It promises to save busy parents hours of time."

So, check out Sign Up for Camp, and see if it's useful. Or, if you have other recommendations for resources for me and other readers, please let us know!

Would you vote yes to new parcel taxes to support local public school districts?

So, once again, the state is in a financial crisis, and the budget numbers don't look good for local governments, including local school districts. Millions of dollars in shortfalls are being reported by school districts that serve Walnut Creek. The board for the Acalanes Union High School District, which includes Las Lomas and Acalanes high schools, has just approved putting another parcel tax measure on the ballot May 4.

Faced with a shortfall of nearly $5 million, the district is seeking a temporary $112-per parcel tax. But, just in November, the district won an extension of its $189-per parcel tax. District officials didn’t ask property owners for more money on the November ballot because they didn’t know how severe cuts would be in the coming year.

With things looking disastrous in Sacramento, the district faces cutting 57 teaching, counseling and staff positions. The temporary parcel tax would go on a May 4 mail-in ballot. Another $800,000, the district hopes, would come from parent club donations.

By the way, parcel taxes need two-thirds voter approval to pass, not just a simple majority. Many parents in this district, which has some of the Bay Area's top-ranked schools, are well off, and the high school and elementary school districts enjoy a long history of community fundraising and parent support.

If you would be affected by this parcel tax election, how would you vote? If you live in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District, would you support a parcel tax to help that district dig its way out of the financial hole it is in? Last spring, the majority of voters in the Mt. Diablo district said yes to a parcel tax, but the measure failed to get a third-thirds approval.

As for the Walnut Creek School District, it already has an $82-per-parcel tax, which voters approved to extend in November. That tax will bring in about $1.2 million annually. However, this district faces a $1 million shortfall. To get input from teachers, parents, and the rest of the community, it has been holding a series of "Budget 101" meetings. Some meetings have already been held, but here are dates for future ones: 

--Tuesday, March 16, 7 p.m. Murwood Elementary
--Wednesday, March 17, 7 p.m. Walnut Creek Intermediate
--Thursday, April 1, Walnut Heights Elementary

Suspicious guys eyeing Foothill Middle School students, as Concord police release images of suspects in one kidnapping and reveal that another girl made up her story of being grabbed and chased.

As Concord police continue to hunt two men suspected of abducting an Oak Grove Intermediate School girl on January 28, her story is being followed by sightings of other suspicious men in Walnut Creek and another girl’s false claim of someone trying to abduct her.

Walnut Creek School District Patty Wool, in an e-mail alert to parents, says that the Walnut Creek Police Department are investigating a report that two Hispanic males, in a white GMC van, on Thursday drove by three Foothill Middle School students and stared at them in a disturbing way. 

The students described the van as a late 1990s GMC model with tinted windows on both sides. The driver was described as a Hispanic male in his late 20s and early 30s, while the passenger was described as a Hispanic male in his late 20s or early 30s, with a triangular goatee, long slender nose, navy or black baseball hat, and a rusty brownish jacket.

Wool said the Concord police are investigating a similar incident involving a white van.

She is apparently referring to the case of a 13-year-old Oak Grove Intermediate School girl who says that a man in a white van drove up to her as she was waiting to be picked up at about 6 p.m. Friday from an after-school event. The girl told police that the man called her over, engaged her in a conversation, and grabbed her arm. After she broke free and as she was running back to the school, a second man chased her.

The Mayor of Claycord, quoting Concord police, is reporting now that this girl made up the story about the attempted kidnapping. 

While the girl did see a white van pass by her, as she waited in front of the school, the most that happened was that the driver of the van whistled at her. He didn’t stop, and he didn’t try to grab her, and no one tried to chase her.

However, this girl’s embellished story is not to be confused with an incident the day before, on January 28, involving another Oak Grove Intermediate student. Concord police say they are taking this situation seriously and have released these sketches of the suspects, which were published on Claycord. The Mayor says that the top sketch is of the driver; the bottom sketch is of the passenger.

This incident involves a girl who says she was picked up by two men in a black SUV, as she was walking to school at Oak Grove. She said she was driven around for several hours, then dropped off, uninjured, at an undisclosed location in Walnut Creek.

Does class size matter?

It's been all over the news: how another budget crisis in Sacramento means another spring of budget crises for local public school districts, a desperate situation that could lead to the layoffs of many more teachers and the increase in class sizes in all grades.

For this school year, Mt. Diablo Unified, one of the hardest hit in the Bay Area, already eliminated class size reduction in grades K-3. That is, it raised the number of students per class from 20 to 30.  K-3 class size reduction was introduced in California back in 1996, and districts were given incentives when they managed to keep class sizes in grades K-3 at 20. This also applied to some core 9th grade classes, such as math and English.

For this school year, Walnut Creek also raised K-3 class sizes from 20 to 25.

A lot of us parents like the idea of small class sizes because we believe our kids will potentially get more one-on-one time with their teachers. I'm sure teachers like it, too. Many education experts agree that students, over time, do better, academically and behaviorally in smaller class sizes.

"I am heartsick that some California school districts are backing away from class size reduction, a reform that is being whittled away in this terrible budget climate," wrote Delaine Eastin, who was state superintendent of schools when class size reduction was implemented. She was sharing her views in a City Brights blog on SFGate.com. "The decision to undermine class size reduction, to lower the number of days in the school year, to lay off teachers, counselors, nurses, crossing guards, to close schools, to reduce preschool, to reduce honors classes and even to raise fees at our colleges and universities is a shame and a disgrace."
Some experts, however, think that, ultimately, what counts is good teachers. A bad teacher won't do any better with 30 students than she will with 20. These experts say that California's class size reduction experiment cost the state billions of dollars that could have been better spent on improving teacher quality and other reforms that would have made our schools the models of excellence that they once were.
 
What do you think? What has been your child's experience in a small class, or in a large class. Are you scared about what's going on right now with the disaster that is public education financing?

It sucks for local school districts: Walnut Creek, Acalanes, Mt. Diablo dealing with layoffs, rising class sizes and closure of well-regarded alternative high school

Sorry, if some people find it offensive of me to use the word "sucks," but right now, I can't think of another term that applies to the scary financial situation, in our tough economic times, facing local school districts. 

--Walnut Creek School District is looking at a $1.6 million shortfall in the 2010-11 and 2011-12 budgets. The district has already raised class sizes in K-3 from 20 students per class to 25, cut custodial and other staff and administrative positions. "Unfortunately, to stay afloat in our multi-year budget projections, we will need to cut the Walnut Creek School District budget by another $800,000 to $1 million for next year," says Superintendent Patty Wool. "We will again use our three-prong process of meeting with staff, parents, and management. Then the Budget Review Committee will decide on a final cut list."

--The Mt. Diablo Unified School District: The district has already approved $3 million in cuts, but put off a decision on whether to eliminate the jobs of 23 school secretaries. The district must look at cutting millions more at its February 9 board meeting. According to the Mount Diablo Education Association, the total is at least $30 million. The district already made the decision last year to raise K-3 class sizes this school year from 20 students per class to 30.

According to a post earlier this month on the MDEA Teachers Forum blog: "I couldn't believe what I was hearing at last night's School Board meeting. The $17 million in cuts was horrifying enough. We (teachers and parents) were up in arms about the proposed class size minimum of 28 students, believing that it would kill some AP and Honors classes at some sites. We (parents) were distressed that we would not be able to pay to have our child bused to school. Librarians, music, special education, textbook adoption, custodial services, and the list goes on and on. All of these proposed budget reductions were proposed to meet a $17 million deficit by the 2011-2012 school year. And then there was the news that $17 million was not enough. Actually, the number was more like $35.5 million."


--Acalanes Union High School District: "The Governor's current budget proposal creates a $4.8 million revenue shortfall for the district in 2010-2011," says the staff report for the district's Wednesday night meeting. That means the district is looking at laying of 58 teachers, counselors, librarians, as well as the principal for the alternative high school, Del Oro. That's because the district is also looking at closing Del Oro at the end of this school year.

"Unfortunately due to its small enrollment and standard maintenance requirements, Del Oro High School is costly to operate. Staff conservatively views this site as requiring a minimum of $650,000 to operate annually. Six full-time equivalent positions would be eliminated from service with this proposed action. Del Oro High School has provided a valuable educational option to AUHSD students. Its recognition as a Model Continuation High School exemplifies the successes of students and staff. Due to a drastic need to reduce district expenses, unpleasant alternatives must be considered and acted upon."

Back to what the writer posted on the Mt. Diablo Education Association blog: "Bottom line is that people are scared. People are overwhelmed. ... Given all the added stress resulting from last year's cuts and the uncertainty of the future, we need to be one another's strongest support."

Police say they are taking “seriously” a Concord middle school girl’s report that she was kidnapped and released unharmed in Walnut Creek

Concord police Lt. Jim Lardieri told the Contra Costa Times that there is “no evidence” to indicate that a 14-year-old girl fabricated her report that she was kidnapped by two men in an SUV while she was on her way to school at Oak Grove Intermediate School Thursday.  


“We are taking this seriously,” Lardieri says.

Walnut Creek police notified their colleagues in Concord at about 11:30 Thursday that a girl had come into a Walnut Creek business, telling an employee that she had been kidnapped. 

The girl, who said she had not been injured during the incident, said she was walking on David Avenue en route to Oak Grove Intermediate to start the school day.  A black SUV, she said, pulled up alongside her. There were two men inside. One pulled her in.

The girl said she was driven around the area and eventually let out somewhere in Walnut Creek. 

The suspects are described as two Hispanic males between 20 and 24 years old.

Dick Nicoll, interim superintendent for the Mt. Diablo school district, told the Times that he had been prepared to send out an automated message to parents Thursday evening, but police asked them “not to do an ‘all-call’ at this time.”

“I have not talked to the girl,” he said. “I really don't know the facts or the circumstances, so we're just waiting for them to complete their investigation and advise us."

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call the Concord Police Department at (925) 671-3333, the Concord Police Tip Line at (925) 603-5836, or the Bay Area Crimestoppers at (800) 222-8477.

Ironhorse Trail warning after WCI sixth-grader approached by suspicious man

After a man approached a sixth-grader Monday and asked him to “come with him,” Walnut Creek Intermediate Principal Kevin Collins issued this warning to students (and their parents) about students walking by themselves before or after school.

As someone who has run that trail, and seen some of the characters who use our otherwise excellent public bike and walking paths, I’m glad the principal is issuing this warning.

From Principal Collins:

We want to advise our community about an incident involving one of our students that occurred on the Iron Horse Trail after school this afternoon.    

A sixth grade student was leaving campus after 4 p.m. by himself.  A man described as white, approximately 40 years old, under 6 feet tall, and of medium build, approached the sixth grader and urged him to come with him.  The adult did not touch or threaten our student, and because the incident occurred on the trail, there was not a vehicle nearby.

The student ran back to campus and reported the incident to the office.  We immediately contacted the Walnut Creek Police Department who had several officers respond.  They performed an area search and interviewed our student, but were unable to locate the suspect.  

We commend our student for quickly recognizing a bad situation, running away, and coming to the office to report the incident. 

The trail is a very busy place at the end of the school day at 3:00, but there may be few people on the trail at later times in the afternoon. 

WCPD recommended the following to our students:

--Do not walk alone on the trail

--Consider being picked up in front of the school if leaving after dismissal

--Do not talk with strangers

--Report any suspicious or awkward situations immediately to an adult and/or the police
  

--Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns.