It was a love fest at Wednesday's meeting of the Monterey County Board of Education, where trustees held a public hearing to consider the renewal of the Bay View Academy charter school.
Fourteen people spoke in support of renewing the charter, including parents, teachers, and board members.
Nobody spoke against it.
The room was packed, and all who spoke describe passionately -- even tearfully -- how wonderful Bay View Academy is. What a difference it's made in some children's lives. How lucky everyone is to be a part of this family.
Bay View leaders want to renew the charter for five years and expand its size to make the school K-8. The Monterey County Board of Education will hear staff recommendations and make a decision on March 6.
Showing posts with label Bay View. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bay View. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Monday, February 4, 2013
Bay View Charter and North County Unified at MCOE Wednesday
Leaders with Bay View Academy Charter will make their case at 3:30 p.m Wednesday at Monterey County Board of Education for why their charter permit should be extended. And augmented to house almost twice the students it has now.
It will be the the second major issue the education board takes on. In the morning, they'll consider whether to give the green light for the reorganization of the North Monterey County Unified School District Board into trustee areas. The two promise to be lively hearings.
It will be the the second major issue the education board takes on. In the morning, they'll consider whether to give the green light for the reorganization of the North Monterey County Unified School District Board into trustee areas. The two promise to be lively hearings.
MPUSD meeting tonight: keep me informed, will you?
I had a day-long date with the Monterey County Grand Jury, so won't be able to attend tonight's MPUSD meeting. Many items of interest, most prominently, the final approval to convert the former Bay View Elementary building into a preschool.
If you're heading out there, take good notes for me, will you? And shoot me an email. I'll check in with district officials in the A.M.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Why not swapping Bay View Academy with the proposed child care center?
Who knows how far this idea would go, but at a community meeting organized today by MPUSD Jon Hill, a couple of people wanted to know this:
Since the district is barely going to open a child development center -- at the former site of Bay View Elementary -- and since Bay View Academy is growing, wants to grow even further to add a middle school, why not just let them take over the Bay View building? Why not start the child care center at Del Monte from scratch, and let the charter have the Bay View building?
Who knows how far this idea will go, but Monterey community members want the idea explored.
One thing's for sure: Bay View is a wound that won't be healing for some time to come.
Since the district is barely going to open a child development center -- at the former site of Bay View Elementary -- and since Bay View Academy is growing, wants to grow even further to add a middle school, why not just let them take over the Bay View building? Why not start the child care center at Del Monte from scratch, and let the charter have the Bay View building?
Who knows how far this idea will go, but Monterey community members want the idea explored.
One thing's for sure: Bay View is a wound that won't be healing for some time to come.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Bay View Academy has a new principal
Bay View Academy parents met and greeted Mitchell Barlas, their brand new principal, last week at their new site.
Barlas holds dual masters’ degrees from Teachers College Columbia University in both Organizational Psychology and Education Administration. He received a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential with bilingual specialization from San Francisco State University and completed his undergraduate studies in Political Science/International Relations at the University California, Los Angeles. His annual salary is $80,000, retirement through the California State Teacher’s Retirement System, plus still being negotiated medical benefits.
Bay View Academy took possession of the Del Monte School site last week, so parents and volunteers will be busy in the next few weeks to make the site ready for the start of school on Aug. 15.
“We’re very excited,” said Bay View Academy President Bill Shaw. “We just can’t wait.”
Barlas holds dual masters’ degrees from Teachers College Columbia University in both Organizational Psychology and Education Administration. He received a Multiple Subject Teaching Credential with bilingual specialization from San Francisco State University and completed his undergraduate studies in Political Science/International Relations at the University California, Los Angeles. His annual salary is $80,000, retirement through the California State Teacher’s Retirement System, plus still being negotiated medical benefits.
Bay View Academy took possession of the Del Monte School site last week, so parents and volunteers will be busy in the next few weeks to make the site ready for the start of school on Aug. 15.
“We’re very excited,” said Bay View Academy President Bill Shaw. “We just can’t wait.”
Monday, June 13, 2011
Ravitch v. Alter
A very interesting conversation taking place in national education circles became heated last week when education expert Diane Ravitch took on columnist Jonathan Alter at a radio show in Denver, the culmination of days of back and forth.
Ravitch, an architect-turned-enemy of No Child Left Behind, took issue with President Barack Obama's mention during his State of the Union address of the Bruce Randolph school in Denver as one that has achieved impressive gains.In an editorial in the New York Times, Ravitch deplored the habit of some reformers of touting "miracle schools" when, in reality, the gains these schools have made are nothing to crow about (something Ravitch has been done for quite some time). At heart, Ravitch was criticizing the nouveau reformers, wealthy entrepreneurs and their philanthropic ventures keen on supporting the reforms they prefer -- such as promoting charter schools and linking test results to teachers evaluations.
(On a side note, the Nieman Watchdog noted that the Bruce Randolph school's progress was ill-measured and the children who are graduating are not really prepared to go to college)
Enter Alter, who sided with the nouveau reformers and said "nonsense." By beefing up accountability standards, the education reform movement works.
A flurry of commentaries ensued. According to former science teacher and respected blogger Antony Cody, Bloomberg shut the commentary period to Alter's piece after 24 hours of being up.
Ravitch and Alter had a mano a mano at the David Sirota radio show in Denver. While their dialogue was mostly focused on the Bruce Randolph school, the implications are far reaching.
Alter accused Ravitch of misusing and abusing statistics. Sirota asked Alter whether the calls for "accountability" were meant to demonize teachers and the unions that represent them.
"Why are the so-called reformers so focused on radically reforming schools as supposed to looking at neighborhood school model?" Sirota asked (Yeah, like the Bay View School model. That's one that seemed to work very well)
Alter's response: The model has not worked for this country. (We've) spent enough and are not getting enough for it.
And that's the bottom line. Reformers seem to want to get "a return" on the investment that's put into schools, as if they were listed in NASDAQ or the NYSE. As if education could only be measured through tests (oh, wait, we are already doing that.) So what's the appropriate return for a child who goes to school for 12-years? A job at a fast food restaurant? A path to the business world? Or another four or eight years of higher education so they can become engineers, professors, lawyers?
For those of you who have not been tuning in to the national debate in education, the conversation between Ravitch and Alter is a good start. There's so much to learn, and so much that's at stake.
Ravitch, an architect-turned-enemy of No Child Left Behind, took issue with President Barack Obama's mention during his State of the Union address of the Bruce Randolph school in Denver as one that has achieved impressive gains.In an editorial in the New York Times, Ravitch deplored the habit of some reformers of touting "miracle schools" when, in reality, the gains these schools have made are nothing to crow about (something Ravitch has been done for quite some time). At heart, Ravitch was criticizing the nouveau reformers, wealthy entrepreneurs and their philanthropic ventures keen on supporting the reforms they prefer -- such as promoting charter schools and linking test results to teachers evaluations.
(On a side note, the Nieman Watchdog noted that the Bruce Randolph school's progress was ill-measured and the children who are graduating are not really prepared to go to college)
Enter Alter, who sided with the nouveau reformers and said "nonsense." By beefing up accountability standards, the education reform movement works.
A flurry of commentaries ensued. According to former science teacher and respected blogger Antony Cody, Bloomberg shut the commentary period to Alter's piece after 24 hours of being up.
Ravitch and Alter had a mano a mano at the David Sirota radio show in Denver. While their dialogue was mostly focused on the Bruce Randolph school, the implications are far reaching.
Alter accused Ravitch of misusing and abusing statistics. Sirota asked Alter whether the calls for "accountability" were meant to demonize teachers and the unions that represent them.
"Why are the so-called reformers so focused on radically reforming schools as supposed to looking at neighborhood school model?" Sirota asked (Yeah, like the Bay View School model. That's one that seemed to work very well)
Alter's response: The model has not worked for this country. (We've) spent enough and are not getting enough for it.
And that's the bottom line. Reformers seem to want to get "a return" on the investment that's put into schools, as if they were listed in NASDAQ or the NYSE. As if education could only be measured through tests (oh, wait, we are already doing that.) So what's the appropriate return for a child who goes to school for 12-years? A job at a fast food restaurant? A path to the business world? Or another four or eight years of higher education so they can become engineers, professors, lawyers?
For those of you who have not been tuning in to the national debate in education, the conversation between Ravitch and Alter is a good start. There's so much to learn, and so much that's at stake.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
A messenger of MPUSD propaganda?
My physical therapist grew up in Pacific Grove, and when I told him this morning I covered the closure of Bay View, he smiled chagrined and said "Another one? There used to be five elementary schools in PG when I grew up. And they were all full."
Now there's only two. And I'm sure the closures of the other three were just as painful as Bay View's.
Monterey Peninsula people who have been unhappy with MPUSD officials and their decision to close Bay View have always suspected their motives, and they continue to do so. They say the numbers don't add up, that the district's own financials disprove their claims. And then they accuse me of not bothering to investigate "the true reasons behind this travesty?" as "YesIndeed01" does in his post to my story in today's paper.
And what are the true reasons? Is anybody profiting? Who exactly? How?
While it's true that the district's decision has been very unpopular, I have yet to see anything illegal. Yes, the closure of Bay View -- along with the increase in salaries to the top administrators -- has caused great political damage. I don't doubt there's people moving to other areas -- or asking for transfers -- so their children can attend other districts (a topic I plan to address in future stories). In my view, though, it still fails to meet the test of malfeasance. I may be naive, but what exactly is there to investigate?
The MPUSD board decided a couple of years ago on the ideal size for their schools. Bay View did not fit within the "ideal size" category. They decided to close it, just as they closed other schools. Just as they closed Monte Vista in years past.
Unpopular, no doubt. Misguided, perhaps. In these times of budget uncertainty, likely a necessary evil. Illegal? Not as far as I can see. Every time somebody has presented me with documents claiming they prove MPUSD's math is fuzzy, I've reviewed them, checked them, and realized they don't disprove MPUSD's logic. Yes, they used bond moneys to retire some debt that was impacting MPUSD's bottom line. Legal. The added wiggle room gave MPUSD moneys for other stuff, including salary increases for administrators. Legal and unpopular, perhaps not the best choice trustees could have made. But what is there to investigate? If somebody out there knows something -- and has the documents to prove it -- can you please illuminate me?
I've been doing tons of stories about MPUSD -- one of the largest school districts in Monterey County -- and will continue to do. Some stories will focus on the cheerful, others on the negative. Not every aspect of the 10,000-plus student district can fit in a slice-of-life story. That doesn't make me a propagandist for MPUSD.
And if "YesIndeed01" has numbers I haven't seen, I'd be glad to take a look at them.
—Claudia
Now there's only two. And I'm sure the closures of the other three were just as painful as Bay View's.
Monterey Peninsula people who have been unhappy with MPUSD officials and their decision to close Bay View have always suspected their motives, and they continue to do so. They say the numbers don't add up, that the district's own financials disprove their claims. And then they accuse me of not bothering to investigate "the true reasons behind this travesty?" as "YesIndeed01" does in his post to my story in today's paper.
And what are the true reasons? Is anybody profiting? Who exactly? How?
While it's true that the district's decision has been very unpopular, I have yet to see anything illegal. Yes, the closure of Bay View -- along with the increase in salaries to the top administrators -- has caused great political damage. I don't doubt there's people moving to other areas -- or asking for transfers -- so their children can attend other districts (a topic I plan to address in future stories). In my view, though, it still fails to meet the test of malfeasance. I may be naive, but what exactly is there to investigate?
The MPUSD board decided a couple of years ago on the ideal size for their schools. Bay View did not fit within the "ideal size" category. They decided to close it, just as they closed other schools. Just as they closed Monte Vista in years past.
Unpopular, no doubt. Misguided, perhaps. In these times of budget uncertainty, likely a necessary evil. Illegal? Not as far as I can see. Every time somebody has presented me with documents claiming they prove MPUSD's math is fuzzy, I've reviewed them, checked them, and realized they don't disprove MPUSD's logic. Yes, they used bond moneys to retire some debt that was impacting MPUSD's bottom line. Legal. The added wiggle room gave MPUSD moneys for other stuff, including salary increases for administrators. Legal and unpopular, perhaps not the best choice trustees could have made. But what is there to investigate? If somebody out there knows something -- and has the documents to prove it -- can you please illuminate me?
I've been doing tons of stories about MPUSD -- one of the largest school districts in Monterey County -- and will continue to do. Some stories will focus on the cheerful, others on the negative. Not every aspect of the 10,000-plus student district can fit in a slice-of-life story. That doesn't make me a propagandist for MPUSD.
And if "YesIndeed01" has numbers I haven't seen, I'd be glad to take a look at them.
—Claudia
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