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Thursday, March 31, 2011

The TOP of the top

I am always amazed and impressed with the top 10 category in Riverside County academic awards. Once again our RUSD students did extraordinarily well with 4 of the 10 awards.  This continues to sustain my argument, that if you want opportunities to excel you won’t find a better place than RUSD (maybe equal, but not better).  On the other hand, I frankly am not sure how you can get GPAs north of 4.5 (all of them), new SAT scores of 2250 (which is in excess of the 99th percentile nationally), and apparently successfully created a foundation for world peace.  Extraordinary kids and great staff.  To give you some view of these extraordinary RUSD students (as I cannot adequately describe their talent, work, and dedication) I have included one such example below:

This student is a senior at an RUSD High School. The student is ranked first in their class and has a GPA of 4.75. The student’s activities and honors include:  summer research intern at the National Institutes of Health Laboratory of Malaria and Vector Research in Washington DC, volunteer intern at the UC Riverside Insect Immunity and Vector Biology Lab and the Biomedical Sciences Lab, founder and tutor of the chess club at Riverside Main Library, founder and tutor of the chess club at Riverside Orange Terrace Library, volunteer at Loma Linda Children’s Hospital, National Merit Semifinalist, National AP Scholar, California State History Day finalist, and Rensselaer Medalist. They scored a 2,250 on the SAT.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

A little more detail...

For a good but brief analysis of what yesterday's news in Sacramento means to all of us in the State as well as in K-12 education -- you might wish to check out this article/website.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Last Gasp?

So if you haven't heard yet, the Governor has declared that he has given up on the Republicans, the opportunity to get to a ballot measure for June, and the possibility of extending the current taxes.  Beyond the media reports, Brown wrote a letter to Senator Bob Dutton (local representative and Senate minority leader) basically agreeing to some version of 3 items but unwilling to talk about 53 items.  Actually, it is pretty interesting reading.

I understand that lots of folks think that somehow there has to be a "deal" struck between the two parties.  Okay!!  But, regardless of your party, I really don't understand the reluctance to allow the people (US!!) to vote one way or the other on the matter (feels a bit undemocratic).  Especially, given it is a tax we are already paying.  And by the way, a June vote is NO guarantee of it passing -- it is only an opportunity for us to know what the citizens of California would actually like to do on this particular matter!!

Time is finally gone!!  My best info is that if this is not resolved in the next two days we are in for defacto CUTS because we aren't allowed to vote.

Monday, March 28, 2011

So How Do You Feel About the Loss of Another $1,000+ per Student?

Ymm... Okay, deadlines are passed, even the "wiggle" room is passed, what is left?  With the passage of last week and still no authorization for a ballot measure, it seems that YOU and I will not get a chance to tell the Governor and Legislature about our beliefs regarding a tax extension or a doubling of the current budget and program reductions.  At least that is what the Governor seems to believe in his YouTube video discussion and "check-in" with the people of California.

While I can understand we looked at this tax question back in 2009, I am somewhat amazed at the lack of willingness to look at it again two years later.  I don't know about you, but it would seem that there have been several changes in the past two years that may or may not effect my view of the matter.  In my RUSD world we have made another $75 million in reductions (which kinda' sounds like big money to me) and the impacts on our classrooms and District are becoming increasingly obvious.  In California, this year's per student funding is actually less than it was in 97-98 (which was awhile ago).  At the same time, the national economy has clearly shown signs of not only recovery but growth (albeit slow in California).

Guess our legislators don't believe we have the wherewithal to make such important decisions.  Instead, THEY now have the collective obligation to make even more draconian cuts (which we will live with) that not only effect our students ...BUT the economic future of California.

If you are prompted to call those that get to make this decision, you can find their numbers here and you can choose to call them now or wait until after the reductions begin to occur.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The Sac Budget Tango?

So last week came and went and the Governor and Legislature did not meet the budget timelines laid out for putting the tax extension on the June ballot.  SO the theory was, maybe this week!  There was a bit of "give" in the deadline ...but even that ends either today or tomorrow, depending upon your view.  However, the newest strategy seems to have moved to a Plan B approach that hopes for a November (what happened to June?) election -- meanwhile Rome is burning.

The economic conditions in California government continue to spiral down.  Waiting is NO solution.  The tragic part -- in my view -- is by not addressing the needs of our students, we create long-term damage to both the State of California AND the student.  Where is the leadership?

Friday, March 18, 2011

For Those of You Who MISSED It...

Last Thursday morning, we had a great opportunity to address our business community -- via Good Morning Riverside, regarding the great work that our students and staff are doing in RUSD.  With about 200 people crammed into the Music Room of Mission Inn, we were able to showcase just a fraction of the good work that is being done on a daily basis.

If you missed it you can find it at the following website and replay it:  http://www.schooltube.com/video/6280ad6137d8ecaf5910/Good-Morning-Riverside-Performance

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Are we ready for some changes?

It would seem that we are in interesting times where there is clear evidence (based on some triangulation) that things are not as they were in the last century -- to wit:
  • Recent evidence from the U.S. Military indicates that they are increasingly having difficulty finding "qualified" recruits for military service.  Obviously this data is somewhat skewed as recruits tend to be "self-selected" -- however, 25% are not qualified to serve.
  • Time magazine reports that in 2010 there was a 59% DROP in email use by 12 to 17 year-olds based on their social media preference.
  • At the same time we have discovered that "Watson" (the artificial intelligence "competitor") really is "smarter" than the two previous champions on the quiz show, Jeopardy.
  • Finally, we find that many in Wisconsin are concerned and "in the streets" over the potential loss of government support positions and related benefits.
It would seem to me, that old rules don't work so well any more.  I am thinking we need to figure out how to get ALL of our children/students to high levels of productivity and 21st century skill level (which is not fact based) as quickly as possible.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

We Passed the DEADLINE ...now what?

Now what?  Who knows?  Speculation is that while we exceeded the Governor's 60 day deadline ...there may be a few more days before this tax extension ballot becomes "impossible."  My understanding is that the absolute end of this legislative procedure is Monday, March 21st -- at which point there will need to be a different strategy in Sacramento. 

As to the mechanics, it is interesting that apparently 5 Republican Senators (2 are required for passage) have indicated some interest in stepping over the line on this issue.  Assuming that can be accomplished, the Governor is half way there as he must get 2 Republican Assembly members to do the same thing -- and so far we have not heard of anyone voicing interest in taking that action.

It is also interesting that there has been little discussion of the $12 billion that the Governor is projecting in reductions in the budget.  Typically, these are reductions that are not viewed positively by the Democrats.  Overall, this feels a bit like 2009 with another Governor.

In the middle of this mix, is the smaller, but very much related question, how will we fund our schools and the education of our children (future)?  I can agree with the recent direction of our Press Enterprise editorial on the topic.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

March 15th and NO layoffs

It is March 15th and we have been able to avoid ANY layoffs.  My congratulations to our RCTA and CSEA unions that had the foresight to craft and arrive to an agreement back in November (2010) that provided for NO layoffs this year (except for 17 FTE in ARRA funding).  Fortunately, for all of us, we have NOT needed to even exercise the allowable 17 layoffs in the ARRA situation.  This is best for all of us.  My deepest appreciation for both of our unions in establishing these agreements and related conditions where NO one is laid off in these difficult times.

Our employees are our asset, that is the only way we can get the work of schools and education done.  Now, one would only hope that Sacramento can get its work done and we can have a reasonable budget for this coming year (2011-12) and the next.  We have thousands of kids and an entire economy depending upon us.

Monday, March 14, 2011

So Happy for Pi (Pie) Day!!

I am excited and I would assume that all of you that are math inclined share the same enthusiasm for todayWhy you ask?  It's 3/14 -- PI Day.  You know the mathematical constant that we use in all kinds of calculations and frustrations of math instruction in our schools.  Remember the value of Pi? ...Yep, you are right... 3.14 (kinda like 3/14).  However, as it is an irrational constant we still are looking for the complete value but it starts looking like π = approximately 3.14159 26535 89793 23846 26433 83279 50288 41971 69399 37510...

Of course if you like Pi Day, you will also like July 22nd which is Pi Approximation Day as 22/7 (day/month date format) is a fractional approximation of Pi.  BTW ...July 22nd is 100 days away.

In any case, enjoy your Pi today!

Monday, March 7, 2011

3 days and counting?

According to the Governor's timeline, we have 3 days until we hit Wednesday, March 10th -- when he needs the legislature to approve the June ballot option to extend our taxes in California.  As such, things have become increasingly interesting.  Most recently, there is ballot language proposal released by the Governor to manage this situation along with a trailer bill.  Actually, the Governor was somewhat humorous in his Biblical references regarding the attempt to persuade Republicans to join the cause.

However, the basic dilemma continues between the Republicans and Democrats in a game of "chicken."  Dan Walters has one of the more compelling columns on the problem.  The essential problem is that the game has changed with Prop 25 in November.

3 -- 2 -- 1 ...the clock is ticking and the outcome is critically important not only for schools and children BUT to all of California.  We will see what happens.  Wind your watch!!