EL SEGUNDO HERALD June 21, 2018 Page 5
Jenette Osbourne is First Female
ESLL All-Star Manager
Story and Photos by Gregg McMullin
For over 60 years the El Segundo Little
League (ESLL) has had its share of memorable
managers, including former all-star team leaders
Gary Marks, Joe Soto, Tim McDonnell and
Travis McAndrews. The ESLL can add Jenette
Osbourne to that list now. Coach Osbourne, who
managed the Triple-A Royals this season, was
also a finalist for the inaugural Nate Chittick
Coaches Award. For her coaching experience,
knowledge of the game and passion to teach,
she was voted to be this year’s 9-10 all-star
manager. It is the first time in the 64 years of
El Segundo Little League that a female has
been named as an all-star manager.
Osbourne’s knowledge of baseball stems from
her years playing softball at a young age and
for the El Segundo Eagles team in high school.
When she got married and moved away, she
thought she would be teaching her daughters
to play softball one day. When she was blessed
with three boys, Jenette she got her sons into
Little League and started assisting teams on
which they played. When the family relocated
back to El Segundo in 2015, she immediately
got her boys in the ESLL. Her first year she
just assisted at practices, but in 2016 she was an
assistant coach. Then in 2017, she applied and
was accepted to be a manager at the Triple-A
level. This season, she managed the Triple-A
Royals and led them to the second best record.
Wiseburn School Board Lauds
Dana Students and Instructors
By Duane Plank
Last Wednesday evening’s meeting of the
Wiseburn School Board, helmed by Vice
President Roger Banuelos in the absence of
President JoAnne Kaneda, celebrated the exploits
of Dana Middle School (DMS) students
and instructors.
Three Dana students who will be entering
eighth grade this summer were feted for their
selection to attend the American Association
of University Women (AAUW)-sponsored Tech
Trek college campus visits that will take place later
this summer. The Tech Trek features hands-on
activities and opportunities on college campuses
for young women to explore their passion for
science and math and receive tutelage and
mentoring from experienced teachers and professionals.
Victoria Lowe and Sidney Talbert will
attend the University of Santa Barbara Tech
Trek, while Jayden Silvers is the selection to
attend the University of San Diego offering.
The evening’s second presentation focused on
the success achieved by middle school students
in the recent Robert H. Herndon memorial
science competition, now in its 41st year. The
competition is sponsored by The Aerospace
Corporation and this was the seventh time
Wiseburn Unified School District has competed.
This year’s competition, which took place on
May 24, involved middle school students taking
part in challenges involving robotics and water
filtration. DMS Project Lead the Way (PLTW)
instructor Andy DeSeriere helped mentor the
team during the competition.
Said Wiseburn Superintendent Dr. Tom
Johnstone, “We are very thankful for the
PLTW program and for all the time that Andy
puts into it. All of you students represent us
so well.” The Dana team finished second out
of 22 schools in the experiment competition,
with two students finishing second and third
in the essay competition.
Initially 30 students were interested in participating
as part of the Wiseburn team. Ten
were selected to compete. Some of the students
attended the Wednesday night meeting to read
their essay competition “abstracts” and highlight
their Herndon projects to the Board. “We are
really proud of the time that the students have
put into this,” DeSeriere said, noting how the
students had benefited from collaborating with
local college professors and industry veterans.
The third presentation came from DMS
mathematics stalwarts Maria Garcia and Evelyn
Andrade. Incoming District Superintendent Dr.
Blake Silvers introduced the group, which was
making a presentation he termed “wrapping up
the year in mathematics at the middle school…
but more importantly, a culmination of a lot
of years of professional development in the
math department.” Silvers cited “an evolution
in math” at the middle school, and the everevolving
building of a collaborative environment
among the instructors in the department.
Garcia and Andrade will travel to Washington,
D.C. later this month to make a math
presentation and proposal because DMS has
been once again selected as a prestigious
“National School to Watch” by a consortium
of educational entities. The program applies
rigorous criteria to designate high-performing
middle grades schools.
While the presentation was math-based,
Garcia and Andrade stressed the need among
students to develop and nurture self-esteem as
well as the belief that if someone “believes”
in you, you can accomplish anything.
Garcia spoke of Wiseburn’s partnership
with the Math Leadership Corps Program
and Loyola Marymount University and how
“through that partnership, we were able to
grow tremendously as a department.” She also
noted, “We also saw that there were also some
needs of our students that were not being met
[in the partnership].”
Because the partnership grant with LMU
was ending, the members of the DMS math
department strategized ways that they could
refine their practices and meet the students’
needs to continue to elevate math test scores.
Sixth grade teacher Andrade spoke about the
challenge of math instruction at her grade level
and how the instructors were using new tools,
such as a pre-assessment matrix, to refine their
teaching methods and better reach students.
Garcia added that by reconfiguring the classroom
learning environment, utilizing whiteboards and
a 360-degree classroom, “amazing things [are]
going on.” Andrade added, “I can’t thank Dr.
Silvers enough for [allowing me] to redo my
entire classroom. “She pointed out how the new
classroom structure has allowed instructors to
be more flexible and creative in implementing
their teaching lessons.
Garcia and Andrade both said that the DMS
math department is looking forward to continuing
to strengthen and change the instruction
focus as they move towards lessons that will
be implemented in the 2018/19 school year.
Johnstone applauded the presentation, saying,
“I am blown away.” Board members chimed in,
lauding the “evolution of learning” and citing
the teacher collaboration taking place at DMS.
Board member reports then followed, with the
comments ranging from the accomplishments
of the 2017/18 school year to the success of
the past week’s Concert on the Green program
that showcased Wiseburn student musical
talents. They also spoke of the graduation
ceremonies, which member Nelson Martinez
said are a “culmination of the work that the
teachers do day-to-day.”
Martinez also gave kudos to the retiring
Johnstone, wishing him and wife Terry, who
is also retiring from the District, “the best in
the next chapter of your life.”
After member and administration reports,
the Board quickly passed standard action items
with one of those related to the ongoing pool
project. Consent items included approving
additional hours for instructors as Wiseburn
shifts into summer school mode.
The Board officially ratified Lisa Wilberg
as the new assistant principal at DMS. She
emerged from more than 40 applicants for the
position. “She earned it. She rose to the top,”
Johnstone said.
Prior to the meeting, Johnstone touched on
the results of the District’s $29 million bond
measure, which at press time was lagging
in approval. It needed a 55 percent approval
to pass and had inched forward with a 51.6
approval rate. Johnstone said that although
the actual vote totals had not been finalized,
he seriously doubted that there were enough
outstanding, uncounted votes to “turn the tide.”
He posited that the bond measure may have
had sufficient support within the district, but
that “at the end of the day, people have to go
out and vote.”
The next regularly scheduled Wiseburn School
Board meeting will take place on Tuesday evening,
June 26, with the members commencing
the open session at 7 p.m. on the ground floor
of the new Wiseburn High School, located at
201 N. Douglas St. •
Jenette Osbourne instructs her all-star team.
See Sports, page 6
Community Briefs from page 3
music production, Minecraft modifications,
virtual reality, drawing and illustration, and
stand-up comedy. High school students can
take classes such as SAT Boot Camp, Guitar
Camp, and Writing the High School Essay, in
addition to learning about algebra, geometry,
and drawing and composition.
Students can enroll in a morning and/
or afternoon course; it is advised to enroll
as soon as possible because classes fill
quickly. Lunch supervision is provided for
students in grades one through eight who
are enrolled full day. Aftercare is also
available. All classes are on the El Camino
College campus.
For more information: http://www.eccommunityed.
com/ or call 310-660-6460.
– Content: El Camino College •