EL SEGUNDO HERALD February 28, 2019 Page 3
School Spotlight
You’re invited to
ESUSD Sports
“Monte Carlo Night”
Saturday, March 2, 2019 - 6:00pm in O’Grady Hall
FOOD • DRINKS • SILENT AUCTION • RAFFLES
TICKETS ON SALE NOW!
$30.00 per person • $50.00 a couple • VIP Tables available
Includes: $100 in Gaming Chips, Dinner, & 1 Drink Ticket
Should you have any questions, please contact
Adrienne Rodriguez (626) 675-9841
Email: sasmom22@yahoo.comor
Jill Deranian(310) 322-4218
Email: jillderanian@gmail.com
CHILD CARE IS AVAILABLE
Pajama/Movie/Game Night for $5.00 pre paid/$10.00 at the door:
Includes: Pizza, drink, popcorn and a dessert.
Thank you to our VIPs
CASINO
RENTALS BILL RUANE
www.saselsegundo.org
DJ
SRMEK-A-LOT
IT’S A
233 Lomita Street, El Segundo, CA 90245 (310) 322-4218
WUSD
Wiseburn Board Hears Comments
on Resolution to Cut Counselors
By Duane Plank
Last Thursday evening’s well-attended
Wiseburn School Board meeting (under
the guidance of Vice President/Clerk Roger
Banuelos in the absence of President JoAnne
Kaneda) featured comments from seven
concerned community members, teachers
and parents who were there to voice their
thoughts about a pending “discontinuance of
particular kinds of service” for the 2019/20
school year.
The Board later in the meeting adopted a
resolution that would eliminate, at least at
this time, school counselor positions during
Wiseburn Unified School District’s 2019/20
school year. The resolution cited the Board’s
need to “meet fiscal and programmatic
obligations.”
The community members, some very
emotional, were adamant in their support
of the value provided to the community
by school-site counselors, with remarks
touching upon the assets the counselors are
to the elementary school students and the
impact they make on young learners. The
speakers shared positive experiences with
District counselors that have been critical to
their children’s growth, as well as personal
stories of the impact on young learners and
their families.
Board member reports followed. Dr. Neil
Goldman thanked the public speakers and
noted that the Board and administrators
have received letters from concerned parents
anxious over the proposed counselor reduction.
He also spoke of the strategic master plan that
the District is developing, commenting, “We
are continuing to move forward so that we
can be the best for you and our community.
We will try to act accordingly, and followup
on your comments.” Nelson Martinez
thanked the speakers, saying, “As a father of
two, my children benefit from the counseling
services, and I can certainly understand the
comments that were made here tonight.” He
also recognized the letter writers who were
not able to attend Thursday’s meeting.
Chief Business Official David Wilson made
a very brief presentation, and then Assistant
Superintendent, Educational Services Dr.
Aileen Harbeck spoke about the recent
Project Lead the Way (PLTW) training that
District teachers have completed, noting that
more Wiseburn instructors are involved in
the program than ever before. She also gave
praise to the Wiseburn Education Foundation
for i0ts financial support of myriad programs.
In his comments, Superintendent Dr. Blake
Silvers gave the District’s perspective on
the proposed counselor reduction. He noted
that he understood that the resolution to
be passed later in the meeting could cause
“feelings of discomfort and frustration. “We
do not plan to cut counseling services to our
students in the elementary schools,” he said.
“In our analysis of our current program, we
sincerely believe that we can do better and
provide a better and more defined level of
counseling support for our schools. Our new
model will allocate an additional $30-50,000
into the area of student support services and
through both counseling and administrative
intervention support. Students will not see
a lapse in service. We have heard from the
community and we know that our students
are using our counseling services. We need
to do right by our community and continue
to provide the best services.” Silvers thanked
the citizens who attended the meeting and
said he was “encouraged by the path we have
moving forward to ensure our students thrive.”
Eagles Win the CIF Soccer Title
Story and Photos by Gregg McMullin
That reticent swagger that the El Segundo
High School boys soccer team has these days
is because it just won its second consecutive
CIF Southern Section championship. Yes, the
Eagles defeated a highly touted West Torrance
team 2-1 in the first overtime period to capture
their second consecutive CIF title. A year
ago, the Eagles won the CIF-SS Division 5
championship and this season they won the
Division 3 title.
For the first time in the school’s history,
El Segundo played host to a CIF final in any
sport. In claiming a second consecutive CIF
title, it marked the first time in 53 years an
El Segundo program has repeated as CIF
champions. The 1965-66 baseball teams
won back-to-back CIF titles under legendary
coach John Stevenson, so Eagle soccer
head coach Andrew Kelley is in some very
select company.
On a cool evening, an estimated 1,500
fans would be treated to one of the most
intense games of the season between the
second-seeded Eagles and the eighth-ranked
West Torrance Warriors. Before the game, El
Segundo senior Emma Byron sang a breathtaking
rendition of the National Anthem that
set the tone for the evening.
Eagle goalie James Amerault saves a goal attempt by West Torrance’s Issai Yamakawa as #4 Logan Pismopulos and #6 Ciaran Feeney
come to help.
El Segundo School Board Hears
State of the Facility Presentation
By Duane Plank
At Tuesday evening’s meeting of the El
Segundo School Board, the members were
privy to a presentation from a troika of women
who spoke of the strides being made at The
Learning Connection (TLC), which is El
Segundo’s before-and-after school program
offered at both Center Street and Richmond
Street Elementary schools for students in
transitional kindergarten through grade five.
School Board Vice President Dr. Jeanie
Nishime ran the meeting, in the absence of
President Nancy Cobb.
Student Representative to the Board Matthew
Tritasavit kicked off the presentations,
initially congratulating the El Segundo High
School boys soccer team for capturing a
second consecutive CIF title with a 2-1
overtime victory over West Torrance High
last Saturday evening.
Denise Azcuna, longtime program director
at TLC, was joined in the presentation
by Center Street instructor and Nationally
Board-Certified Teacher Daphne Moote,
and Guadalupe Grijalva, Executive Director
of TLC and the Eagles’ Nest. They gave
updates on enrollment, discussed the results
of recent parental surveys, and recapped
TLC changes and the current implementation
of their programs. Moote spoke about
the training sessions that took place in the
past year, as well as new items implemented
in the program, including small-group
activity time.
The TLC program, which is anchored at El
Segundo Unified School District elementary
schools and is its 25th year, currently has
an enrollment of 302 students. The speakers
detailed new programs and noted they look
forward to the new building construction
taking place at Richmond Street after the
demolition of the old Madson house TLC
facility.
Parental survey results were parsed, with
the note that “overall feedback was positive
and reaffirmed the changes implemented” this
school year. The survey results portrayed that
respondents felt, overwhelmingly, that TLC
provides a vital service for District families,
is a welcoming place for the child to reside,
provides a welcoming environment at drop-off
and pick-ups time, and that staff is responsive
in timely fashion to parental inquiries.
The final stages of the presentation centered
on “building the capacity of the personnel,”
including upcoming professional development
opportunities. Next steps mentioned
include increased communication with
families through an updated website and a
plan to keep the Richmond Street families
informed about summer construction on the
new TLC building. Said Superintendent Dr.
Melissa Moore: “I commend our team and
our program.”
Prior to the TLC presentation, Director of
Innovation and Student Support Services Dr.
Jack Plotkin and his implementation team
See ESUSD, page 13
See Sports, page 14
See WUSD, page 11