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Robinson Crusoe April 25, 2013 at 08:10 pm
Nothing! The school system only teaches how to be a repeater, a robot. They do not teach how to…Read More educate yourself, they do not teach critical thinking. Kids should be able to miss a bit of school after all they aren't slaves yet, that's after the graduate.
Rosaura Raya-Markham April 25, 2013 at 03:59 pm
There are many reasons why students are truant. It is not because they are illegal. Are the students…Read More being truly engaged in school? Whose responsibility is it? Schools, parents and students? Do you know the saying that "It takes a village to raise a child." We definitely need to take a look at alternate methods of public schools receiving funding from the state for attendance and property taxes.
Abby April 23, 2013 at 08:22 pm
I agree completely. Aaron and his family are amazingly nice and very into helping the schools and…Read More the community. I go to school with Aaron he is so nice to all the kids. Our school (MJHS) made a video just for him to make him feel at home and let him know that we support 100% and we want just him to get better. We are really pulling together as a community.
We all hope he gets better soon and will do anything to help him.
Carolyn Duncan April 17, 2013 at 08:14 pm
Couldn't agree more. Great couple, great family, wonderful values. Aaron (and Abby too, of course)…Read More has always seemed to me to be destined for great things. I have seen the way he befriended, related to and helped our next door neighbors children. I know that he will continue to shine even with this unspeakable adversity.
Anything any of us can do to help support such great and positive influences in our community should be done.
Jack Weir April 29, 2013 at 08:39 pm
The termination of the superintendent and general counsel was not a knee-jerk action. Over the past…Read More several years both have exhibited an arrogant attitude toward public participation, and have engaged in "under the table" actions that have wasted tens of millions of tax dollars, brought discredit to the district and caused low morale.
Although I'm not privy to the board's specific intentions, based on conversations during and since the election campaign I believe the main thrust will be:
>Shifting the district's focus from Dent Center bureaucracy to positive programs at local school sites;
>Making clear the board's expectation that all district employees will work with high personal integrity and professionalism;
>Ensuring that district resources are spent with a priority on the classroom, and
>Insisting that the public is treated with respect and that the district's public records are made available as required by law.
Mary Gray April 29, 2013 at 04:58 pm
Mr. Weir,
Since you appear to know something, perhaps you can clue us in as to what the MDUSD…Read More Board's game plan is? To my knowledge, they have not articulated any plan other than to get rid of Messrs. Rolen and Lawrence. Perhaps you and Mr. Shuey, who endorsed the efforts of CVCHS to drain approximately $1.7 million or more from our kids in the MDUSD can now go have a beer and celebrate, but this turmoil cannot be good for PH kids or schools...
Annette April 29, 2013 at 06:31 am
@gregargoyle
I, too, recall the days of McHenry and company, and without any particular fondness.…Read More I was not impressed that he was replaced so much for the sake of change as it was necessity - and long overdue at that. And why did we have McHenry for so long, when he made stupid mistakes that cost the District time and again (while driving his District-leased Mercedes)? Because the Board did not have the either the conviction or the courage to do what was necessary in a timely manner. Fortunately, there appear to be some on this Board who do not suffer that problem.
There are far too many instances where dead wood is kept afloat simply because it requires less energy than addressing the mounting consequence. It may yet be borne out that nipping things in the proverbial bud may be the best thing that could happen here. It will be up to the Board to search, scrutinize, and thoroughly evaluate the potential problems in the past history of the candidate before extending an offer to a new prospective superintendent.
Lee Perry March 25, 2013 at 12:39 pm
I have an idea. Why don't we relieve the teachers of the responsibility of the parents teaching…Read More 'healthy living' and other 'lifestyle' subjects so our kids can learn to read, write, and do math at levels that allow them to compete with workers from other countries?
After all, we're gonna need them as indentured servants to pay for our upcoming Social Security benefits.
Patrick J. McNamara March 19, 2013 at 12:48 am
"Programs include 'an academically integrated curriculum of in-class movement breaks,' a…Read More before-school group aerobic work-out program, and a '100-mile club' where the kids work throughout the school year to run 100 miles."
Formerly known simply as "P.E." and "recess."
The President's Council on Physical Fitness began under President Kennedy in 1961. It's a noble cause to encourage fitness and good nutrition. Still, I'm not sure overly onerous or punitive policies designed to protect kids or adults from their own poor choices is government's business. At least Lady Bird Johnson's crusade "Keep America Beautiful" fought against littering, which was already against the law, but just under-enforced.
Lawrence Risner March 13, 2013 at 12:51 pm
I don't think the blame falls on any one group be it kids or adults. But I do think it does start at…Read More an early age - just look at the competition starting in kindergarden - who's can read the best - who's can add & subtract - who's can be the winner of an event (by the way, if there's a winner doesn't that make everyone else a loser?) . Why not start the kids off in schools with group socializing programs? Forget the competion at early ages and teach them to get along amongst themselves first. Parents and teachers both should maybe consider that children don't yet have the life experience to be able to handle in a sensible manner losing or feeling like they aren't as good as the rest. There has to be an influence of compassion for others at very early stages of social living. "Civility" is not inborn - it has to be taught and practiced - if it isn't you are left with human animals by default which is what is happening today and it's not entirely their doing because they just don't know better.
Linda Meza March 13, 2013 at 09:59 am
From the Challenge Day website:
http://www.challengeday.org/challenge-day-program.php
Our programs…Read More go beyond traditional anti-bullying efforts, building empathy and igniting a movement of compassion and positive change.
Challenge Day's mission is to provide youth and their communities with experiential workshops and programs that demonstrate the possibility of love and connection through the celebration of diversity, truth and full expression.
Our 6 1/2-hour Challenge Day program is designed for 100 students. Our program is created to build connection and empathy, and to fulfill our vision that every child lives in a world where they feel safe, loved, and celebrated. Challenge Day is more than a one-day program. Our programs go beyond traditional anti-bullying efforts, building empathy and igniting a movement of compassion and positive change, known as the Be the Change movement.
Cheryll March 13, 2013 at 02:03 am
I havent heard of Challenge.I agree that bad parenting can also make kids act out in any number of…Read More ways, but even great parents can have kids that seek opportunities to bully-or do anything bad if they think they can get away with it. There is a pack mentality that is very popular now days, and it can happen with poor or rich kids, girls or boys. Now days its all about who's tuffer. Not unlike when I went to school, only x ten. My mom was a teacher at the Jr.high for 20 yrs and I know of several kids who have gone through school bullying, even that which got so bad, and the school refused to do anything about it, so the child was removed and had to go to another school.We would like to think that teachers aren't the only role models in some of these kids' lives but unfortunately to many -they are.And while we certainly don't pay teachers enough to be surrogate parents, these teachers see the kids for more hrs a day than their parents do.If you're a single parent of a teenage boy, the school may have more ability to teach and control the child than the mom who is working 2 jobs and never home. In those cases we have to acknowledge that we can't just go case to case and wait for the next problem, we need to instill the programs and policies that make changes. The "village" approach because we dont know WHAT goes on behind those closed doors. Families are stretched to the bare wire, financially, stress wise, finances crumbling, on and on. The kids are going to show it too.
Emily Henry (Editor) March 7, 2013 at 11:58 pm
Thank you for commenting. Could you tell us why you think this?
Anonymous March 7, 2013 at 07:28 pm
As a student at College Park, I do not believe they care about parent or student opinions at all.
Martinez Parent February 27, 2013 at 01:40 am
I have the last of my 3 kids now at Alhambra High, and I can tell you this Principal has been as…Read More positive a force at the school as I've ever seen. There was for years a real lack of accountability at this school, as there is in the district overall it seems to me, and that has changed some recently. I hope we aren't back to slackery & indifference after Ms Kamel, but fear the worst.
My son says improvements at the school has been noticeable over the last year. From my perspective teachers now respond to communications, seem to give more feedback on papers and grade things quicker, etc. There are all sorts of new initiatives, and a new focus on academic achievement. If you know our high school, you know that is not the history and culture, sad to say. In my prior experiences when I complained about teachers having poor follow through or not doing their job, I was told that's the way it is and nothing can be done. Our district officials talk reform but don't even know where to begin. They give lip service but have no follow through. Ms Kamel in my experience is 'hard nosed, creative, and inspirational' in the best sense.
I for one notice a palpable difference, and from talking to others at least some other parents feel the same. Thank you Ms Kamel Fraser for your many contributions to our school. I'm sorry we aren't better equipped to take advantage of your abilities and enthusiasm, & our family wishes you the very best wherever you end up!
Marshall Cochrane February 26, 2013 at 11:47 pm
40 minute commute too far from home???Right, that's adequate reason to leave a challenging job as a…Read More high school principal...Sounds like someone who is overwhelmed by the challenge...Too bad...Selection process must be reengineered if the stick factor is only 2 years...I've never had a job which wasn't at least a 60 minute commute...can't appoint to pollianaish administrators at a time when really hardnose, creative and inspirational leadership is required to provide the quality of education and educational challenges necessary to equip our young people to compete in a very aggressive high tech future world.
Hillary Destra March 5, 2013 at 07:55 am
Including and up to Junior High I was enrolled in the Mentally Gifted Minds program; my Spanish and…Read More Gaelic forefathers teaching themselves how to amalgamate linguistically and otherwise. Thank goodness I had MGM to give me a boost as I had real bad parenting and lived in poverty. I eventually ended up in Foster Care system where I had to work so hard night and day, and we (even me, a gifted one) was only allowed one hour a day to study. I don't know that throwing money at broken school systems is a way to improve society. Who is to say the school administrators will put the money to good use when they are so used to dealing with just problems? There's a movie based on a true story starring Hillary Swank about this, if you want an example.
I am sorry to see middle class children or gifted children declinated for a political agenda. Will those schools be speaking other languages in those same classrooms? Without learning proper language in schools we have to have others write for us.
I also would hope that in order to find more funding that drug manufacturer/growing/selling laws be enforced and with higher fines and penalties--especially when such activity is around schools--as well as the tax cheating that comes out of that income and/or other types of tax cheating be enforced such as property tax cheating. New taxes are not the solution when cheaters are the problem. More ballet classes, less ballots.
Anne Mobley March 3, 2013 at 04:08 pm
Ron, I totally agree with everything you said except about the guns. We need to eliminate the…Read More psyche drugs that make people do terrible things with guns, knives, cars, etc. It is the drugs that should be eliminated. BTW how the heck are you? Still with our old employer or did you retire too?
Chris J Kapsalis March 3, 2013 at 09:57 am
You cannot eliminate them without creating even larger problems. Prohibition taught us that.…Read More Secondly, why is it acceptable to tax a persons home they bought and not the alcohol they bought for education? How is the money earmarked to education from a parcel tax but cannot be form a sin tax? Does not make any sense. And no taxing does not eliminate a problem, as I said alcohol sales are still brisk in Ontario, but it does generate a lot of money for things like education and health care.... The other things you mentioned are other issues we need to also address. I think the first step is making a law that forces money raised for a thing to actually go to that thing or else. The lottery debacle should have taught us that. I really hope there is not another parcel tax on the next ballet for education. Owning a home is the way many save for retirement. Their retirement. Home ownership is also a dream for many that these parcel taxes pull away a little each time, they add up big time though. Tax Sins? Seems much more logical and fair to me than taxing peoples homes.
Roy Baril February 22, 2013 at 12:51 pm
Not a potential move.... A definite move! The Secret Garden will be razed this summer to make way…Read More for a $5,000,000 dollar building (the Vincente Center). There are only 1 more year of funds available for the Secret Garden (mostly provided by the local PTA and tuition) to stay open. After that, no more pre-school in Martinez. After 50 years in operation, it is a travesty that the community will let this worthy institution just fade away.
Tambre Bryant February 8, 2013 at 01:21 pm
Tried to get classes for a year now. Not available or filled with continuing students. Gave up and…Read More went back to school on line with no grant. :(
Kayleen Parks January 28, 2013 at 11:43 am
When our family was exposed to lice I learned the hard way that you need two combing techniques. For…Read More live critters (apparently fast buggers) you need a fairly random pattern - if you start on one side and move to the other they often just move. For nits you need an organized side to side approach. Also, dipping your comb in vinegar helps breakdown the material that is used when nits are attached the the hair follicles.
Susan Bigham January 27, 2013 at 02:14 pm
Our school district's nurse says that outbreaks in schools almost always coincide with the arrival…Read More of winter clothes in stores and with the start of the Halloween season. It makes sense... lots of kids/people trying on warm winter hats and Halloween costumes that include hats, wigs, or other headgear.
Thanks for the article. I am going to provide a link to it for the parents at our school.
Bill Schilz January 16, 2013 at 04:59 pm
Congratulations Deidre! You'll be an outstanding Board member!
Harriett Burt January 16, 2013 at 03:10 pm
Deidre Siguenza is an excellent choice for the MUSD board in my opinion. I am also very glad to see…Read More that there were so many interested applicants. The more people who step up to participate in our elected positions, the better.
Dive Turn Work January 23, 2013 at 12:56 pm
Lawyers teaching people to become better lawyers. Kind of like criminals do with each other in…Read More prison.
Ron Skrehot January 23, 2013 at 01:32 am
Another sad note, the state has enough money for high speed rail it doesn't need, but has to pass a…Read More proposition to fund basic education. This is where our Governor is failing all of us, not just our kids.
Ron Skrehot January 23, 2013 at 01:26 am
Some of this discussion is a bit off topic. The question was if we feel more money should go to…Read More certain districts or not. The fact is, this has been done for some time, long before Prop 30. Another fact is that most school infrastructure is paid for with local money, the state doesn't provide enough to maintain our schools and infrastructure, let alone build them or refurbish them when needed. Many poorer districts have little community support because the community has little to give. So the question really is, do those children deserve the same educational opportunities as children in wealthy communities? Poorer kids don't make the choice to be poorer so if wealthy kids are the only ones with access to education you have what existed in the dark ages. The Governor's plan may not seem fair but it's the lesser of the evils in my opinion. The other point well made in the article is the fewer number of teachers and other staff compared to 5 years ago. If we are spending too much for education then why are people seeking other professions at a growing rate? And why is California so low in per student spending compared to other states, many of which are poorer than ours?
Concord Mike January 15, 2013 at 09:57 pm
With the passage of prop 30, the average California per-student K-12 spending this year will be…Read More $11,400 per student. If the average class size is 30, that equates to a per-classroom cost of $342,000. As far as I can see, we are spending more taxpayer money than should be necessary to run a very good school system.
Instead of arguing about why one district gets a little more than another, we should be asking where all the money is going?
Answer: The money is going to wasteful administration, excessively high salaries and benefits. It is time to stop talking about more money for schools. It is time to talk about more accountability for results!
Jed January 18, 2013 at 01:53 am
SHAME on anybody who hides behind children to advance a political agenda.
Jed January 18, 2013 at 01:51 am
VERY WELL SAID, "Triple Canopy". You hit the proverbial nail on the head.
The sheep…Read More are gathering for the (second and unnecessary) "inauguration" of their Messiah: The MOST PHONEY of ALL TIME.... actually he may think he's right, but then, so did Hitler. Hitler "won" a huge majority in his last election before becoming a dictator, claiming to be the most popular (leader). We all know how well that went. So.. will the "sheep's Messiah" attack the Jews? If not the Jews, who will he condemn and send to camps? This is why we must adhere to, honor and defend OUR CONSTITUTION against all enemies; BOTH foreign and DOMESTIC. I took that oath and have never been relieved of same... nor will I be! NONE of my guns are of the "assault" variety - ALL ARE DEFENSIVE!
Triple Canopy January 18, 2013 at 12:57 am
NO. It's simply a "feel-good" false sense of security when the root cause of mass…Read More shootings lies in the mentally ill and law-breaking individuals.
Look at Chicago... 500 murders in 2012 and they have some of toughest gun laws in the nation. Most of the violence is done with a handgun so Emperor Obama's pursuit to ban high capacity magazines is to appease the uninformed public... it's a sound byte he is after to bolster is pathetic record. It is apparently okay in Chicago for people to get killed one at a time because few will notice.
They should change the name of Chicago to "Chicaghistan"
Frank Kastl February 22, 2013 at 03:48 pm
Having a closed campus is always needed and there should be a security camera system at entrances…Read More with someone trained on monitiring it while school is in session. Since Martinez Adult School conducts the Reserve Police Officer Academy, perhaps some of the students would be good candidates to man the cameras as they continue to learn more about the police system and eventually become reserve police officers. They would be a sort of non-contact security officer where they could observe and report to others, such as the police. Perhaps it is something that can be woven into the Police Courses for students of the police program for credit and practical experience. And of course, simply having the video cameras may be some sort of deterrant alone. But simply having the trained eye checking things is a big step over most schools. Heck- there may even be a grant available.
Josh Goldman January 12, 2013 at 01:28 pm
There was just another event yesterday where a kid brought a shotgun to school, intending to murder…Read More other kids. Luckily, a "silver-tongued" teacher was able to talk the student out of it. Of course, every teacher should try to talk the killer out of it, if applicable. But what if there is to chance to have a nice heart to heart chat? What if the killer barges in and in seconds is firing everywhere? Someone must be there to stop the killer in his tracks and now allow him to continue his killing spree.
Arm 2-3 teachers. Some schools have already taken action to protect their children. Other more liberal schools who hate everything about the NRA (it's their lifelong war against them) will use this school issue to further their political agenda at the expense of children's lives.
If I were a parent coming in to a new school district, I would look for the most secure campus to ensure the safety of my child. Private schools are well aware of this fact as they have much tighter security than public schools. Just look at all the school shootings. Were they at public or private schools? The killer will always choose a soft easy target in which she will be successful in her murders.
Josh Goldman January 12, 2013 at 01:21 pm
The type of person who would be chosen to carry a gun on school grounds:
1. Former gun carrying…Read More past (ex-military, ex-cop, ex-security, hunters, etc.)
2. Complete background check
3. Must pass a written and shooting test after being trained
4. Must pass a shooting test every 6 months
5. Must carry gun at all times on their body, preferably undercover
Helen Rossi Leaves Martinez Jr. High
0 Recommend Jim Caroompas (Editor)