The DRAMA Continues

There continues to be NO budget deal as there continues to be a stalemate between the respective parties in Sacramento. Today's "action" -- as outlined in the most recent update to us -- is that the Democrats are proposing a solution that is promised not pass by the statements of the Governor and the Republicans. Though one would have to commend those that are at least proposing "something" rather than nothing.

The wrangling continues while "Rome burns" and July 1st and IOU's loom in Sacramento. Beyond the "heat of the moment" with the budget issue, Dan Walters of the Sacramento Bee has and continues to be a veteran observer of California politics and related budget issues -- one of his more interesting articles about the LONG-term issues of the California situation can be found at the Sacramento Bee website.

R&R Time

I was able to get away for a brief period of time and reflect on something other than school, budgets, etc. I hope you have had a similar opportunity or have such time arranged for this summer. Renewal is important, particularly in our business, and particularly during these difficult "budget" times. My time and place was in the high Sierra (which has long been a refuge for me). While I will not bore you with "home movies," I will include one brief picture of one of the lakes that we visited at 10,551' -- yes that is really snow at the end of June.

Again, I hope you find time of rest and relaxation this summer.

Best Regards,

Rick

Success on a NATIONAL Scale!!

In the annual ranking of high schools in the United States by Newsweek magazine, we once again have high schools that have fared well and are in the top 1,500 high schools in the country. While there will always be those that will criticize such rankings, they are nonetheless independent rankings of schools that are meaningful. Actually, I believe the best evaluation mechanisms that we can find are those that are external and independent -- as opposed to our own, internal statements of worth. Kudos to Poly, North, and King High Schools in their accomplishment and thanks to their students and staff that "made it happen."

Twitter

As you probably know, we have been experimenting with twitter as a communication tool -- and are still trying to "figure out" how it can be an effective mechanism for us. It is also interesting that "twitter" has made the cover of Time magazine along with an accompanying article. Interesting perspective on this methodology including an example of at least one use in an educational environment.

How do you think we could or should use this technology -- or not?

Interesting?

Interesting conundrum -- with the advent of NCLB we are asked (required) as educators to make sure that ALL students succeed and NO child is left behind -- a noble goal. The obvious implication of NCLB and its goal is to address each student individually to meet his or her unique needs. The institutional reaction (across the nation) would appear to be exactly the opposite -- we establish "standards" and related procedures that offer "one size fits all" and reject individuality. Interesting!

So how could we ensure success of ALL students and do so through individualization?

Congratulations!!

Once again our students and staff trimuph!! Osten Anderson has just been named as a National History Day winner in Maryland. Also named was the Poly Group Documentary Boys as a second place winner for their combined project. I continue to be impressed with the "value-added" components of the RUSD educational process. Congratulations to all.

And special thanks to Ron Weston for his leadership with this entire project and journey from the local to the county to the state to the national level. It wouldn't have happened without him.

Legacy

This is a time of year for goodbyes and well wishes, not only for our graduating seniors, but also for our graduating employees who are commencing on a well-deserved time of rest in their lives that we know as “retirement.”

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind of celebrations for these RUSD team members, many of whom have spent the majority of their adult lives helping the children of Riverside in a variety of ways. They are our administrators, teachers, school secretaries, budget experts, library assistants, cafeteria workers, and many others who quietly and without fanfare are changing the world a little bit every day.

Many of these people don’t want any congratulations or glory for what they do. But the impact they have on others is striking. I saw just one example of that at the June 4 retirement celebration held for Assistant Superintendent Glenn Allen King, who will leave our district at the end of this month after a long and stellar career. This occasion was held, appropriately enough, in the multipurpose room at Emerson Elementary School, where Mr. King began his teaching career 39 years ago. Several of Mr. King’s former students, known as “King Kids” attended this celebration and spoke of how he truly changed their lives. These individuals spoke of how Mr. King mentored them as sixth-graders, showing them that he cared for them and expected the best from them every day. His devotion didn’t stop when the bell rang or even when these students reached adulthood. At graduations, weddings, the births of their children, and even funerals, he was there. And now, those former students are making a difference in the lives of others. Some are even teachers here in our District.

To Mr. King and to all of our other retirees, I say thank you. You all have made a positive and lasting impact not only in our District, but in our entire Riverside community.

Is This Any Way to Run a Railroad?

Well here we are within 2 weeks of completing the year (all 365 days of it). As we have used up 350 of those days already, there aren't very many left – and not surprisingly most, if not all, of our 08-09 money has been spent. HOWEVER, the state has not yet adopted its final 08-09 budget!! That’s right – that is not a typo – they have not adopted their final budget and are therefore in a “rush” to get it done by June 30th. More specifically, they are geared up to reduce another $9.2 million from our 08-09 RUSD budget (which of course was spent some time ago).

Having trouble figuring this out? Well the feds also sent us a check for about $11 million in stimulus during the past few weeks. Now it makes sense?!? The 09-10 budget year should be even more interesting given the maneuvering of the leadership in Sacramento.

Competition amongst equals!

Annually, the state releases its “similar school ranking” – which occurred just recently based on the testing done in the spring of 2008. The “similar school ranking” is in my view one of the finest measures available to look at schools across the District and state. Essentially the state takes all of the demographic, language, and income data (120 variables) and calculates a factor that represents all of that information. Based on the calculation, they pick the 50 schools above and the 50 schools below each school as “similar schools,” thus controlling for the student variables. The 100 schools that are “just like you” are then ranked from 1 to 100 in deciles (groups of 10) from lowest (1) to highest (10). The result is a ranking of schools across the state of California that are VERY similar to “my school” – giving a very accurate measure. While no one would suggest that we focus on just one year or just one score, this does provide us with some interesting data.

We have provided that data over the course of several years on our new website including the most recent release of information. We provide that information for your review and information.

You meet the nicest people in the most unusual places

Pardon the blog today as it is more social than professional. So Saturday a couple of friends and I are hiking from Idyllwild up and over Mt. San Jacinto to the tram above Palm Springs. We are getting ready for a trip this summer. This trip provides both distance and altitude. As I am toiling up the hill on what has been called the “steepest trail on the mountain” and this group of three has passed me for the 3rd time – this guy turns around and says, “Aren’t you Dr. Miller?” – Which of course is accurate. It turns out that this is Steve Heinhold in front of me from John W. North High School Math Department.

I appreciate the effort that Steve as well as many of the rest of you that take the time and concern to introduce yourselves to me – particularly in unusual, non-traditional places – it helps me to get to know you. Thanks!

We need your help

As we continue to attempt to improve our communication and transparency, we are considering the possibility of adding some Podcast options. However, before we invest the time, we are interested in YOUR opinion as to its value. I would encourage you to take the survey at the right to guide our efforts. The survey is the ONE question you see to the right. Thanks for your help.

Best regards,
Rick

The finale!!

Last night I attended the last of the comprehensive high school graduations at the Ramona Stadium – as chronicled this morning in the Press-Enterprise. Arlington High School graduated 427 seniors under the leadership of 1st year principal, Mr. Antonio Garcia. The procession was led by the staff, which had awesome participation in the event – showing their commitment to their students and work. Truly the Arlington student and staff lived up to the challenge of the principal to “Be Of Significance.” The valedictorian, Joyce Lin, mused in her comments that while Wikipedia was the “most reliable source known to man,” students had spent close to "194K excruciating hours of lectures."

As with other graduations throughout the District, the music and arts program highlighted the tremendous assets we have with our schooling process. The highlight of the highlights was the male trio from the 2009 National Honors Choir (3 of the 21 from California) doing a stirring rendition of “I Hope You Dance.” The entire week and the entire graduation in each case of each high school is a showcase of what is RIGHT with our students, staff, and RUSD system. I don’t know where you would go to find a better representation and example of the opportunities available (and delivered!) in RUSD.

Thanks to ALL that made this year and the success of these students excellent! THEY are of Significance!!

August 15th Layoffs

The governor and others are talking about exercising an untested bit of Education Code that allows school districts to lay off teachers and other certificated employees on "August 15th." While there are tremendous mid-year budget reductions coming to us from the state as early as July and guaranteed in their tremendous size, I have no intention and I know of no one in Riverside who is recommending such action. We value our employees and have no interest in that strategy or action. There will be school districts that will exercise this option as they have little choice.

As a point of interest, to accomplish an August 15th layoff, we would need to take official Board action before the end of June to meet all the timelines involved with an August 15th layoff process. We went through a difficult notification process in March to notify certificated employees of the possibility of layoff which was followed with an actual layoff in May. Why would we choose to turn around inside of 30 days of the final layoff notice process and start laying off teachers and others again? Poor planning?

The finals continue

Tonight graduations continue at Ramona and King High School. I was unable to attend King (as I can't be in two places at once), but was able to attend Ramona along with Dr. Beaty. I have now shaken the hands of 1,500+ graduates and unfortunately missed the 750 at King. Ramona had 429 pieces of Lego delivered to Principal Mills as part of the "senior gift" from each of the graduates. Included in the graduates were 104 AVID grads which makes up 1/4 of the Ramona grads. These are 1st generation graduates that are going on to the university level and have historical statistics that show a high rate of completion. A wonderful evening of celebration at Ramona.

Additionally, it should be pointed out that there was strong staff support throughout the event. It was also great to see the principals from the feeder elementary and middle school. Sierra Middle School staff also participated in the event.

Another final -- another great performance

To add to the Poly graduation, we had the John W. North High School graduation tonight. Once again a GREAT event. While it was "cloudy" and cool (actually an advantage over the option of heat), the spirit and celebration was anything but "cloudy" at the RCC stadium. In fact the clouds "parted" and the sun came out for the ceremony. There were 581 grads with flags from the 17 countries in which they were born.

Many teachers and staff members were there in a voluntary basis (they were their because the believe in their students and their profession). Both on the field and stage in full academic regalia and throughout the stadium staff members were fully engaged. I am sure that they have been engaged in a similar manner throughout the 4 year career of these students. Congratulations to all!!

The FINAL Examination

Last night I had the pleasure of participating in the 121st Riverside Poly graduation along with their 600+ graduates. It strikes me that while MUCH is made of test scores and NCLB (both of which are important) -- the real test (final exam) was last night with graduation of its highly talented, hard-working Senior class. There was excellence in their musical performances, speeches, demeanor, and academic work that brought them to this point. A vast number are matriculating to universities -- including Ivy League options. ANYONE looking at and participating in the events of last night saw a high-quality school system far surpasses the myopia of a single test score.

Congratulations to the graduates, as well as the teachers and staff that made all of this possible.

Leadership Matters

It was my pleasure this past week to meet with our Leadership Academy where we have various employees in our District that are seeking to find out more about what "leadership" might be like and whether that is the type of "fit" they are looking for. An outstanding group that has been meeting through the year -- reading books -- and have spirited discussions. This effort is led effectively by Gloria Cowder and Susan Mills. I suspect, from my interaction with them, that this a group that is already leading in a variety of forums. As a District, we are properly involved here is empowering others and building capacity. Congratulations to all!!

Budget Solution?

The state budget continues to be a significant topic for RUSD and all schools and districts in the state of California. There are horrible impacts on our teachers, staff, and students -- lasting impacts. The dilemma is that on a local level we are not in control of our present or our destiny -- as the state determines our funding and therefore our capacity and potential output. So what should be done?

It is is interesting to note the Press Enterprise editorial on the matter and the call for a much longer view and more rational approach to the state budget. I agree with them when they comment that, "California will never break its budget death spiral as long as legislators refuse to think beyond the present."

We are working on it

Several of you have complimented and asked questions about our new web page. The new RUSD website’s appearance, ease of navigation and features makes for a much improved experience for our website visitors. The main point of navigation for the site is the menu at the top of every page. The menu allows visitors one-click access to any district department or school. The content management feature is designed to make it easy for non-technical staff to update information on their school site or department web page. We believe this feature will result in a website that is timely and up-to-date.

We added a couple of new areas to the website, a Parent portal and an Employee portal. The new areas include a parent page populated with links to Accelerated Reader, California Content Standards, a listing of California Colleges, and other useful links. The site also contains an Employee Portal which allows employees and teachers’ quick access to some of their most used links.

The site is a work-in-process with new pages and content being added daily.

Things to come:

• A site search and site map.
• Website visitors will be able to register to receive RUSD news via email. This function will be expanded to include school site news.

Check out the new look if you haven’t already done so – and please be patient as we work to improve our service to you.

Budget AGAIN!! Budget still??

The Governor and legislature while adopting a supposed 2009-10 budget several months ago are now engaged in a mid-year reduction – before the ink is dry on the first version. There are lots of proposals and scenarios being suggested and we should be cautious in reacting to proposals prior to some clear action on the part of Sacramento. As an example, we heard yesterday that home-to-school transportation was essentially being eliminated (in terms of funding), districts will be able to use the “August 15th layoff” procedure, etc.

While I don’t have any intent to engage in ANY of the wild proposals that are being forwarded, I am clear that the 2010-11 budget year will be very difficult as the “one-time funds” (including the stimulus) will no longer be available. If something does not change dramatically in Sacramento during the 09-10 school year, it is clear that Riverside and every other district in the state will be engaged in reductions FAR beyond anything we have been able to imagine at this point.

On a related note, I met with Kenn Young, Riverside County Superintendent and Dr. Wendel Tucker, Alvord USD Superintendent to develop a video of some of the impacts on our local system with this most recent round of discussion in Sacramento. The video was part of RCOE’s Focus on Education production which is included.

I would encourage you to be aware of the very difficult situation we are in with our funding from the state, BUT at the same time avoid wild speculation about the dismal impacts it might have on each of us. We have a balanced budget and a plan to get through this year. We will work together to strategize the next budget cycle in spring 2010 – when it arrives.

Legislators List

For those interested in local and state contacts for Legislators -- follow the link.

Help is Amongst Us

Today I had the pleasure of joining numerous representatives from the community at a Mayor’s forum to discuss how local churches, non-profit organizations, educational institutions and government agencies can work together to help Riverside residents affected by the recession. This was, as Mayor Ron Loveridge described it, “an historic meeting” and just the first step in building a community-wide network of support for our families in need.

We all know that our nation is experiencing some of the most devastating economic times in history. More and more of our neighbors as losing their jobs and homes and our community’s children have to do without basic necessities. They need our help. It was clear from listening to those gathered at Tuesday’s meeting that a lot of help exists here in Riverside. We just need to do a better job of sharing resources and letting the public know what is available to them. As Pastor LeeRoy Coleman from the Kansas Avenue Church said, “Sometimes it’s not how good the players are, it’s how well the team plays together.” From what I saw Tuesday, we have an amazing team here in Riverside and we all are focused on the singular goal of helping each other.

Accomplishment and Celebration

This is a tremendous time of the year, as the school year comes to closure. That closure, of course, means it is time for promotion and for our seniors, graduation/commencement. I am always excited and energized by these times as the great work of our students and staff is realized in the final activity of a student’s K-12 school experience. Within the graduation events are stories of tremendous accomplishment represented by valedictorians and others who receive official recognition. On the other hand, there are also great stories of perseverance and of students overcoming obstacles that are more personal and less obvious. Those personal stories can be even more compelling. I am aware of a number of them across our District.

On a personal note, my own graduation from high school was as the Salutatorian (though not nearly as accomplished as our students), but most significantly I received a small scholarship from the local teachers association (little did they know what they were supporting) that was very meaningful in helping me attend college.

I commend our Riverside staff and students for their collective and individual accomplishments. Next week is a time of great celebration. I am looking forward to these events and plan to attend all the commencement ceremonies except in the cases of duplication.

Note: You can find information regarding the commencement and promotional activities on our RUSD website.