TJUSD Board Meeting - October 09, 2014

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TJUSD Board Meeting - October 09, 2014

Postby blackturtle.us » Fri Oct 10, 2014 3:46 pm

Several members of the community were in attendance at the board meeting this evening. The entire meeting lasted just a little more than one hour.

1) Superintendent’s Report:
a. Food Services - Corrective actions recommended based on past inspection have been implemented and approved by the CDE. Also Mr. Olney mentioned that a special potato bar lunch was provided by the cafeteria and that students were so impressed that they actually (literally) applauded the efforts of the cafeteria staff.
b. Wireless Internet - Staff accounts configured and working. Student and Guest accounts have yet to be configured. Network maintenance and monitoring will be contracted out.
c. Save The Children - Mr. Olney shared information regarding an early childhood literacy program called Early Steps to School Success offered by an organization affiliated with Save The Children.
(See fact sheet: http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/% ... TSHEET.PDF )
d. Demolition of Old Elementary School Buildings - A contractor has been selected to complete this project. At only $407K, the total projected cost is much lower than previously expected. (Asbestos abatement fees are included in this total.) The maintenance department has already done a lot of work in preparation for the removal of the buildings. Reusable items have been removed and some will be sold to the public by the Searles Valley Scholarship Foundation at an upcoming rummage sale. [Later in the meeting the board approved the contractor. The project is tentatively scheduled to begin late in October and will take sixty days to complete. Materials will be salvaged for reuse by the district or by community organizations.]
2) TCEA Collective Bargaining Agreement - The board voted to approve an agreement with the Classified Staff.
3) Zero Period - An ASB leadership class was approved. Students will receive credits and the teacher will be paid at his hourly rate to teach an extra class beyond his normal assignment.
4) The board approved an annual contribution to the ASB Activities Club to be funded by royalty monies. This money will be used to support student activities, school spirit and tradition. The Trona High School Leadership Class will develop an annual projected budget, review projected budgets of all clubs, and develop proper budgeting procedures.
5) Board Policies - Several revised board policy items were approved and one was presented for a first reading.
6) High School Basketball Coach Approved - Mr. Findlater (new high school P.E. instructor) will coach both the boys’ and girls’ teams.
7) Board Workshop - Saturday, October 11, 8 a.m. with open session in the District Board Room.
8) Next Regular School Board Meeting - Thursday, November 13, 2014.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 09, 2014

Postby CactusHugger » Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:54 pm

UK Teacher Shows Student's Swimsuit Photo From Facebook To Class Assembly To Teach Her A Lesson
Internet safety freaks sometimes get a little crazy. First off, the internet is not actually a dangerous place. Secondly displaying swimsuit pictures online is not something that should be discouraged. And finally, school officials should not be trolling student webpages for ways to embarrass or humiliate students.
I would imagine that if a teacher wanted to convince children that the internet -- which is not especially dangerous for kids -- actually is especially dangerous for kids, there must be a myriad of ways to go about it... Let's begin with the entire premise that a fifteen-year-old girl wearing a bikini is an appropriate target for slut-shaming. I wasn't aware that a fifteen-year-old girl was supposed to be so ashamed of her own body that she should not be pictured wearing what all kinds of fifteen-year-olds wear at public beaches all over the place. What the hell?

LINK: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20141007/10253228753/uk-teacher-shows-students-swimsuit-photo-facebook-to-class-assembly-to-teach-her-lesson.shtml
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 09, 2014

Postby wildrose » Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:12 am

You Posted That on Facebook?
It's hard to say if Ellen was inspired by the teacher from the UK in CactusHugger's post or if it was the other way around, but Ellen at least gave each of the people who she humiliated an iPad... hopefully the teacher from the UK steps up and does the same!
:laugh:
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 09, 2014

Postby panamint_patty » Sun Oct 12, 2014 6:40 am

School Lunches Around The World
Interesting comparison between countries. I think if I were a kid, I'd want to have lunch in France!
:pac:
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 09, 2014

Postby surfsteve » Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:02 am

According to that video The United States and Russia have the worse lunches in the world. I second France. You guys should have a contest and the winner gets to be one of their foreign exchange students. I wonder if they get to have wine with their lunches!
Make Trona great again!
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 09, 2014

Postby tronagirl » Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:52 pm

Dance program helps girls boost math scores :prof:
This is interesting. I was always bad at math and a program like this probably would have helped me.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 09, 2014

Postby mrgreen » Thu Oct 16, 2014 7:21 pm

Genes don't just influence your IQ—they determine how well you do in school
Nothing surprising here. The key to keep in mind is that intelligence and other assoicated traits are influenced by numerous genes and don't map in a one-to-one manner to any particular gene. Complex traits such as intelligence are hard to study for a lot of reasons and so there are no real conclusions at this time, just lots of questions and the good thing is that our questions are becoming progressively more intelligent!
A new study of more than 6000 pairs of twins finds that academic achievement is influenced by genes affecting motivation, personality, confidence, and dozens of other traits, in addition to those that shape intelligence. The results may lead to new ways to improve childhood education.

LINK: http://news.sciencemag.org/biology/2014/10/genes-dont-just-influence-your-iq-they-determine-how-well-you-do-school
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 09, 2014

Postby blackturtle.us » Thu Oct 23, 2014 8:02 pm

Meet the Board Candidates @ Senior Center, 7:00 p.m.: October 23
I didn't actually count the number of people in the audience, but I would estimate that there were about two dozen. About half of them were school employees or relatives of board candidates. All five candidates were present: Deana Garrison, Trisha Funke, Ray Richardson, Christina Celaya, and Chris Darling. They answered a set of questions which were prepared by Superintendent David Olney pertaining to challenges, roles, and responsibilities of serving as a school board member. It appeared that they had time to prepare answers to the questions before the event as most candidates seemed to be referring to notes as they answered the questions. In terms of substance there wasn't a lot of variation between the answers provided by the candidates. They all wanted the school to be successful and for students to be properly educated. They expressed themselves in different ways, but they all seemed to understand the roles and responsibilities of board members and to have the best interests of students in mind.

Common statements made referred to increasing parent involvement, focusing on students, working as a team, respecting fellow board members, empowering students, preparing students for success, developing well-rounded students, etc. Candidates mostly spoke in generalities and kept their statements very positive. Deana Garrison used the phrase "two-sided sword" twice, once in referring to Common Core and the other time in reference to the demolition of the old elementary buildings. Trisha Funke and Ray Richardson both specifically praised Superintendent Olney and pointed out that they were on the board when he was hired. (The school board directly hires the superintendent.) Funke talked about her extensive involvement in community organizations, including Trona Care. Richardson mentioned his experience working as a teacher, administrator, and board member over a period of over fifty years. Christina Celaya stressed the importance of keeping students involved in school activities and of reviving school traditions. Chris Darling seemed especially concerned about ethical and moral education of students and mentioned the importance of community involvement including involvement in religious organizations.
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 09, 2014

Postby wildrose » Fri Oct 24, 2014 8:31 am

Candidates tend not to take any chances at a forum like the Meet the Board Candidates forum and tend to deliver bland answers and to speak in generalities. Nothing surprising there. The three candidates up for re-election most likely stressed their involvement in school affairs and how they voted in favor of popular items that everyone is in favor of. That puts the other two candidates who haven't served as board members at a slight disadvantage, but that's how it usually goes. Unless there has been a major recent SNAFU, being a current board member is usually an advantage. I heard somewhere that Darling is a pastor and according to blackturtle's write up his answers reflected this somewhat. That's not necessarily a good or bad thing as long as his people skills are good. Who to vote for? Tough decision!
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Re: TJUSD Board Meeting - October 09, 2014

Postby cactuspete » Sat Oct 25, 2014 6:53 am

Security-fear complex invading American classrooms
I agree that privatization is a big problem and that it is relevant to this discussion, but another pieces of the puzzle are lawsuits filed over the last few decades which have had the effect of rendering schools incapable of dealing with student discipline. Therefore, rather than get in trouble for handling a situation improperly, they just hand the kids over to the pros.

This particular guest makes a number erroneous statements, which is to be expected since he speaks from the stereotypical progressive civil rights perspective. For instance he notes that although black and white teens use marijuana at the same rate, that black teens are arrested at a much higher frequency and attributes this to racism. This is a false attribution. Looking at the issue more carefully it has been shown that blacks are more out and in the open (in your face) about their use of marijuana and hence get caught because they fail to attempt to conceal their illegal behavior. Why they don't take precautionary steps is open to debate, but this lack of caution leads them to being arrested more often than whites. So, it's not a matter of racism on the part of law enforcement, it's a matter of rather obvious behavioral differences between the two groups being compared.
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