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Board Meeting Bullets
Note to Members: Open Session began at 6:00 for a Showcase presentation on McKinley's Spanish Dual Immersion program followed by the Board Study on instituting a Mandarin Dual Immersion program at Wilson beginning in August of 2019. Many stakeholders addressed the Board. Please keep in mind that comments are abridged and are not verbatim. Some comments to the Board are listed in an attachment below as provided by the speakers. ATTACHMENTS Link to Full Agenda McKinley Spanish Dual Immersion Presentation Mandarin Dual Immersion Presentation (Proposed program to begin in August 2019. Note: Changes were made to the posted presentation immediately prior to the Board meeting.) Asst. Supt. Ed Services Contract (Contract for Mr. Symonds) Behavior Analyst Job Description (New job description proposed) RO Health Contract (Amount not to exceed $23,856.00) Conference Report # 12 Conference Report #12a Certificated PSR #12 (See extra 10 days at per diem rate for GHS Admin) Classified PSR #12 Essential Training Report P.O. Report #12 D. Dragoo Address to Board on Behalf of McKinley DI Teachers Anna Navarro Comments on Dual Immersion Transition to JMS Patti Kim School Board Comments (TOSAs, RIF, JMS PE) Wilson PTA Request for Information on Mandarin DI Program SGTA BOARD MEETING BULLETS Board Meeting San Gabriel USD March 26, 2019 6:00PM 1. OPENING PROCEDURE 1.a. CALL TO ORDER at 6:02 PM. 1.b. ESTABLISHMENT OF QUORUM. All members present. Motion to approve agenda passed unanimously. Requests to address the Governing Board. 3 minute maximum timed as requested by Board President Shellhart. Edith Gonzalez: PE Teacher at GHS. I'm here to defend my colleagues and my own children. Concerned about the reduction of a JMS PE teacher and use of 6th grade teachers to teach PE. I value my profession. 6th Grade MS credential has only one class in elementary PE. We will have a PE specialist for 4/5 only, not one for 6th, then back to 7-12. We are going backward. Please reconsider your choice. Patti Kim: JMS PE and TOSAs I am one of the 6th grade teachers not qualified to teach PE. It's unreasonable to think that 6th grade MS teachers can teach PE. Comments attached. Dena Dragoo: Teacher SGUSD President We submitted postcards with SGUSD teacher concerns and flyers; don't know if you received them, so we are scanning and sending them to you. Board Study session for MIE was in a casual setting to allow everyone to speak their minds. We hope you will allow the same for Dual Immersion Mandarin. Scott Facher: GHS English teacher. Old Concern: I believe that tone and context matter. I was here on January 16th and was appreciative of the Board's striking of the pay increase for the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendents of 2.5% (tabled and stricken.) Tabled means to come back again. I hope we don't see deja vu all over again. New concern: I understand that at a February 12th Exec Board meeting with Dr. Pappalardo. Dr. Pappalardo noted our district is shifting from support to compliance. Compliance means following the law; support means providing assistance to our students. We need both: compliance and support. I think there is an administrative disconnect. Agenda Item 2: McKinley Spanish Dual Immersion Program Dena Dragoo: Presents document on behalf of McKinley Dual Immersion teachers. Comments attached. Kelly Padillo: McKinley Dual Immersion parent and administrator at LAUSD. I am for whatever they need. Please provide whatever funding and curriculum development materials. It's a wonderful program and we appreciate your support. Anna Navarro: SGUSD Instructional Coach on successfully transitioning McKinley Spanish Dual Immersion elementary program to the middle school. Comments attached. Michelle and Lilly Braunhag: Parent at McKinley addressed the Board with her daughter, Lilly. Supportive of program and also supports establishing a transition plan for JMS Spanish DI program. 2. PRESENTATION - McKinley Spanish Dual Language Immersion Showcase. Presentation attached. Presentation offered by Mr. Jim Symonds, McKinley Principal. Noted that there is some limited attrition each year. About 25% of our DI students are from outside of our district. Mr. Symonds noted preliminary conversations with JMS Interim Principal on transition plan. Several McKinley DI students addressed the Board. Marisol Ortiz spoke on behalf of herself and Consuelo Gomez thanking the Board for the program and the hope to work together to make it a superior program. Comments Student Member Talamantes: A plan should be put in place to guarantee success. Student Member Tan: Agreed with Talamantes. Make sure a big picture is in place. Mrs. Alvarado thanked the student speakers in Spanish. When a new program is started there is a lot of doubt. I only look forward to expanding the program to new communities. Mr. Ammon: Questions for Mr. Symonds. I understand that scope and sequence will be completed this summer. I know you've already spoken about the transition to JMS. Dual Immersion is really the gold standard in education. Doesn't the data show that they will underperform in the early years, but out- perform their peers in later years? Thanked Mr. Symonds for his commitment to the program. Mrs. Haas: To the McKinley students who spoke in support of the DI program: Very well done. Dr. Scott: Addresses to the Board by DI students is nothing short of remarkable. Neighbors speak Mandarin in the home and made commitment to attend McKinley so that students are now trilingual. We need to identify skills to make our students successful. Kudos to McKinley. President Shellhart: Sees that Mr. Symonds will be an asset as he knows the DI program as as a principal and will be Asst. Supt. of Ed Services. President Shellhart requests moving Item 13b1 up for consideration at this time. Approved unanimously. 13.b.1. Approve Gabrielino High School Chapter of Future Business Leaders of America to Compete at the California State Leadership Conference in Sacramento, California, April 25-28, 2019 FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America)comment moved up in the agenda. Requested Board approval to attend conference in Sacramento (Item 13b.) Request approved unanimously. Edith Gonzalez: Parent of Spanish DI student and GHS teacher. In hindsight, I would say we started the program unprepared without curriculum through 2nd grade. I'm concerned with starting the Mandarin program in the fall. Don't be hasty. Don't do to Mandarin DI what you did to Spanish DI. They are starting at JMS in 1 1/2 years. We can't have these students go into Spanish 1. Please don't let us down. We took a risk. Please think about what you are going to do. If you're going to do it, do it right. Diane Tom: JMS 7th Grade Science Teacher (Joined by other teachers from the elementary and middle school) Concerned as a science teacher about the priorities and direction of the district. RE: NGSS science. We are operating under standards as of 2013, but we do not have the curriculum and materials to match the new curriculum whether it is at elementary or middle school. Now that we are thinking of supporting new programs, let's make sure we need to be sure we have materials to support our core curriculum. Casey Bauzon- Wilson parent, representing Wilson PTA. Asked to comment after the presentation, but Board directed her to comment now. Launching a new program requires planning and community feedback. Wilson parents were not informed. Presented questions and requested that Dr. Pappalardo respond to questions by April 8th. Comments attached. Connie Lam: Wilson PTA president. No information has been given to change our doubts. We want you to reach out to the Wilson community. Our voices do matter, and we hope you understand that. Mr. Bill Brock : Wilson Parent- What happened to the study session? Pres. Shellhart: We can't answer any of your questions at this session. Mr. Brock: If I am on the DI Mandarin committee at Wilson, why haven't I seen this presentation yet? Vicky Mireles: Here to advocate for our students. We have an amazing Spanish DI program at McKinley. I was embarrassed the 1st year because we weren't ready; we did not have the support or materials. My fear is the same thing will happen at Wilson. It takes longer than 1 month to review a program. Our students deserve excellence. I want to be proud of our Mandarin program. Who is in charge? I asked Dr. Pappalardo and he could not tell me. We need a Master Plan in place. Give it a year to do it well. Our kids deserve the best. Dr. Pappalardo: Mr. Symonds will be in charge of all the Language programs and Gail Calhoun will be in charge of all English Learner programs. 3. DISCUSSION - Board Study on Mandarin Dual Language Immersion. Presentation attached. Presented by Mr. Symonds, Ms. Calhoun, and Ms. Contreras. New slide information not included on posted presentation:
Comments: Jocelyn Tan, Student Board Member: Looks like a good plan. If we have a big picture, I think this can work well. How are the Wilson parents going to be involved? Dr. Pappalardo: We don't have the criteria yet for enrolling, but we have the vision. We know that some students leave our district to attend Mandarin DI in other districts. We want to attract students from other districts to our district. We feel that the time has come and we want to give that option to our parents. Other schools around us have closed elementary schools with low enrollment. Mr. Talamantes, Student Board Member: I heard you say that other districts have DI programs. What was their timeline? Dr. Pappalardo: Other districts have been running the DI for 10 years. They are welcoming and willing to share their program. Dr. Pappalardo: Currently we have 4 TK classes in the district ( Parent comment: But none at Wilson.) We have heard a lot of interest. If we have enough enrollment, we will place a TK class at Wilson. Mrs. Alvarado: There is a fear factor and an opportunity factor. Fear of a new program: but we are staring with Kindergarten, not the whole program. The opportunity factor of keeping Wilson. I saw the fear from SGTA with the MIE program and racism of SGTA leadership. I've seen this over and over that teachers do not want to reach out to other cultures. (Audience response.) Don't tell me ""Wow. " These are racist comments. Audience: All we are asking is one year to develop the program. No one is saying anything is wrong with a Mandarin DI program. Pres. Shellhart: We need to cut off the comments. Audience: She called us racist. Mr. Ammon: Enrollment is going down. There are just not as many students at Wilson as there used to be. The median price of a house in Wilson area is $850,000 and young families can't afford to move here. The enrollment at Wilson keeps me up at night. Edith Gonzalez is right about the rough start to the Spanish DI program. The concerns stated are valid. There were Mandarin presentations to the Board in 2016. Board had the presentation come back year after year. Leadership in Ed Services did not support the DI program. Mrs. Haas: I do wish my kids were young enough to have had the DI experience in SGUSD. The best time to learn is as children (Audience comments- that's not our concern. The concern is that you are rolling it out too fast.) We are preparing for a global economy. New programs are always going to have a hiccup. We can't delay year after year. (Audience comments- unable to decipher.) Dr. Scott: I love Wilson and have a personal connection. If I thought this was going to be negative or compromise the program, I would be screaming from the top of my lungs. How long is long enough? Six months? (Audience comments: Where is the research? Would your Music program have been successful with a 5 month roll out?) You act as if (the Board) is benefitting from this. If we brought data back next week, you would say it's still not enough. Do I want to see something rolled out that is a silly, frivolous, waste of time? No. I'm trying with all my heart. The problem is you do not have good information. I will make sure I get it to you. I don't think any answer I give will be sufficient. (Audience calls out No.) I get that you need the information out. We are not on the fast train. What if we wait a year and we have no money next year? Our information indicates we have the money to do this. (Audience: We can't hire in a hurry.) Sometimes you don't have all the background information. There is nothing to hide. (Audience: we understand. The question we have is the quality of the teacher, the quality of the curriculum. We understand you are trying to protect our schools. We want to implement good curriculum.) Dr. Scott: If nothing else, your concerns have been duly heard and we need to answer them. We will work with Mr. Symonds and Ms. Contreras. We've been having this conversation about Mandarin DI for years. Mr. Ammon: The questions brought up by Casey are good, We need to answer them and would like to meet with the Wilson PTA. Dr. Pappalardo: Mr. Symonds is in charge. Ms. Calhoun is the support for all EL programs. We will continue to look at implementing a Mandarin DI program and and TK program at WIlson in August 2019. I would like to advertise for a Mandarin DI Kinder teacher. If we do not find a teacher, we will study for another year. Shellhart: The April 16th date is arbitrary. Decision may not be fully addressed then. Schools are closing: Azusa, Garvey, etc. Alhambra, Garvey, Monrovia, Pasadena, So, Pasadena all have Mandarin DI Programs. Successes for MIE and Spanish DI programs. We have 5 months. We have a lot of work to do, and we realize that as a Board. We are relying on our administrators to assist us. More questions called out from audience about why other districts would share their DI information if we were going to take those students away from them. Dr. Pappalardo addressed the comments regarding sharing of information and resources between districts. Dr. Scott: Will present MIE program development and successes at CA School Board conference. We want to share what we do with others. Pres. Shellhart: While the DI program will be housed at Wilson, it is a district program. Wilson still has the opportunity to develop its own signature program. Chanda Strom: I'm glad you are allowing me to speak today. I'm a little emotional because I am remembering back in the day when we had a terrible Board member. But you are not. There seems to be a road-block between us and Dr. Pappalardo and you. Thank you (the Board)for making the commitment to SGUSD. I look forward to working with you. Your comments about how salaries of the teachers do not reach the classroom (were hurtful). I did not address those because, surely, Dr. Scott did not mean that. We are not against the Mandarin DI program. We call the new science bldg the "F-n : building. Teachers were not asked for input. We have only 12 outlets in the science lab. You will see extensions and cords all over the room. There is a water pipe problem. We have asked for it to be checked.Has there been a report? Consistently we are asking for support we are not getting. I am sorry to go off on a tangent. I understand you want to do what is best for our students. We want what is best. We can start over. We need to have trust. You have to contribute to that too. Mrs. Alvarado: (Addressing prior comments.) I was sharing what I heard from SGTA leadership during the start of the MIE program. I did hear those comments. I don't want to see that crop up with the DI program. 4. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING(S) 5. PUBLIC HEARING(S) 6. REPORT(S)/PRESENTATION(S) 6.a. REPORTS - Student Board Members (3 mins) · Del Mar High School, Armando Talamantes. School highlights for Del Mar, Coolidge, Washington, and Roosevelt. · Gabrielino High School, Jocelyn Tan. School highlights for GHS, JMS, McKinley, and Wilson. 6.b. REPORT - Board President (3 mins) An immense amount of concern has been devoted to the misrepresentation of facts from SGTA. First we have not made any decision about Wilson DI program. Let's be constructive and not destructive. If teachers want to meet with Board members, we are open to that. Congratulations to SGUSD music staff for prestigious award. Attended playground project at Smith Park. Recommend listening to Del Mar Podcast. 6.c. REPORT - Superintendent (3 mins) Congratulations to 7 Del Mar students going on to State History day competition. GHS Music building project underway. Dr. Pappalardo will make sure to include the GHS Music staff in the building planning session. Thanked McKinley and JMS staffs for input on the McKinley and JMS principal positions. Wishes all a pleasant spring break. 7. BUSINESS SERVICES 8. EDUCATIONAL SERVICES 8.a. ACTION - Approve Consultant Agreement with RO Health Inc. for 1:1 LVN support, School Year 2018-2019 Rationale: On August 21, 2018, the board approved the contract with RO Health to provide substitute LVNs for our district. At this time, the Special Education Department needs to contract with RO Health for one LVN who will work with a special education student daily to provide health care services per the student’s IEP. RO Health can provide licensed vocational nurses to provide care for the student per the IEP for the remainder of the school year. Amount not to exceed $23,856.00. Contract attached. No discussion. Unanimously approved. 9. HUMAN RESOURCES 9.a. ACTION - Approve New Job Description, Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) and Establish One Position Rationale: The BCBA is an integral part of special education case management for SGUSD students across the District and SELPA with significant behavioral needs related to Autism Spectrum Disorder and certain behavioral disorders. Services implemented by the BCBA fulfill a legal requirement related to the Individual Education Programs (IEPs) for these students. Job description attached. Comments: Mr. Ammon requested some background. Addressed by Mr. Perry. Motion passes unanimously. 10. SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE 10.a. ACTION - Approve Employment Contract with Jim Symonds, Assistant Superintendent, Educational Services, Effective July 1, 2019 . Contract attached. Contracted Base Salary: $149,915 annually with benefits including Annual longevity stipend calculated on Base Salary as follows: 2% after completion of 10th year of service Additional 1% for each additional 5 years of completed service thereafter The District shall provide a 50% match (District will provide $1 for every $2 made by Mr. Symonds) for any regular contributions made to an approved deferred (403(b)) program up to the allowable statutory limits. Comments: Mrs. Alvarado: Drumroll please. Dr. Scott: Expressed words of appreciation. Motion passes unanimously. 11. GOVERNING BOARD 11.a. DISCUSSION - Consider Rescheduling the May 14, 2019 and May 28, 2019 Governing Board Meetings to May 7, 2019 and May 21, 2019 Commencing at 6:00 p.m. with Closed Session. Dr. Pappalardo addresses rationale. Request to move May 14 to May 7 and keep May 28th. 12. BOARD ANNOUNCEMENTS, REPORTS, AND/OR COMMUNICATIONS Dr. Scott: I love that you are all here advocating and pushing. It is not falling on deaf ears. We don't always hear these comments until we are here (at Board meetings.) Congratulations to Del Mar History Day Competition. Wanted to acknowledge FBLA. You guys teach; we appreciate the hard job. Mrs. Haas: I agree with Dr. Scott. We are happy to see that you are engaged with the issues and involved with the discussion. Im super proud of Del Mar and History Day and FBLA. Looking forward to GHS Open House on Thursday. I am so grateful of the programs there for my children. Mr. Ammon: Kudos to Del Mar History Day podcast. I only get a glimpse of what you do through my nephew. As a Board member I feel responsible for their safety. A sobering reminder of the attacks at schools and mosques. We bear a heavy burden. Looking forward to GHS Open House. Mrs. Alvarado: Thanked Pres. Shellhart for her comments as timely and helpful. Commented about two camps at odds. I think we all want to have a positive program that the parents and community are happy with. We need to think through these things and keep the communication open. I know it goes on both sides. I will make a commitment to communicate more. 13. CONSENT AGENDA NOTE: (The Governing Board may take one (1) vote for all Consent items including: Business Services, Educational Services, Human Resources, and Superintendent's Office. Items may be removed from the Consent agenda and voted on separately.) Comments: Mr. Ammon commented on fine Leader in Me program at Coolidge. Consent Agenda listed below was approved unanimously with exception of Item 13b1, approved earlier in the meeting. 13.a. CONSENT - BUSINESS SERVICES 13.a.1. Accept Donations to the San Gabriel Unified School District from Various Donors. The voluntary donations in various amounts totaled $200.00 and were specifically made to the GATE Program to help with field trip costs. 13.a.2. Approve Purchase Orders Issued in Excess of $5,000 Report No. 12 . Attached. 13.b. CONSENT - EDUCATIONAL SERVICES 13.b.1. Approve Gabrielino High School Chapter of Future Business Leaders of America to Compete at the California State Leadership Conference in Sacramento, California, April 25-28, 2019 13.b.2. Approve Amended Consultant Agreement with Sarah Reeves for Induction Professional Development from February 2019 through June 2019 13.b.3. Approve Consultant Agreement between Franklin Covey Client Sales Inc. and San Gabriel Unified School District - Coolidge Elementary, Leader in Me membership, materials and training 2019-2020 The Leader in Me is based on paradigms, content, and practices that, when implemented with excellence, transform how a school community approaches education and redefine what school greatness means for the 21st century. This agreement would provide Aligning Academics training for Coolidge Elementary, not to exceed $6,000, 13.b.4. Approve Agreement with Alexa Garcia For WorkAbility I Transition Coordinator, School Year 2018-2019 (Special Education – WorkAbility I Grant) On August 21, 2018, the Board approved the contract with Ms. Garcia as the Workability Coordinator. Currently, the District needs to contract her for additional hours for the remainder of the 2018-2019 year. In consideration of service(s) rendered, the District agrees to pay the Consultant $30.00 per hour for 100 hours, for a total amount of $3,000.00. * 13.b.5. Approve Agreement with Dave Williams For WorkAbility I Transition Coordinator, School Year 2018-2019 (Special Education – WorkAbility I Grant) The Superintendent recommends the approval of this agreement with Mr. Dave Williams in the amount of $3,000.00 for assisting and implementing the special education department in job coaching and job development in the area of post-secondary transition through the Workability I Grant. 13.b.6. Approve Essential Training Travel Report No. 12 . Attached. 13.c. CONSENT - HUMAN RESOURCES 13.c.1. Approve Certificated Personnel Status Report No. 12. Attached. 13.c.2. Approve Classified Personnel Status Report No.12 . Attached. 13.c.3. Approve Essential Training Travel Report No. 12 . Attached. 13.d. CONSENT - SUPERINTENDENT'S OFFICE 13.d.1. Approve Essential Training Travel Report No. 12 . Attached. 14. ADJOURNMENT at approximately 8:30 PM. 14.a. NEXT MEETING REMINDERS: April 16, 2019. Join us at the next Board Meeting!
6:00 Open Session, Closed Session, 7:00 Open Session Reconvenes Keep wearing those shirts!! Show we are unified!
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