The Weekly Newspaper of El Segundo
Herald Publications - El Segundo, Torrance, Manhattan Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, & Inglewood Community Newspapers Since 1911 - (310) 322-1830 - Vol. 106, No. 39 - September 28, 2017
Inside
This Issue
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.....................16
Classifieds............................4
Crossword/Sudoku.............4
Entertainment......................6
Legals............................ 14,15
Letters...................................3
Pets......................................17
Police Reports.....................7
Real Estate........ 10-13,18-19
Sports.................................5,8
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Sunny
79˚/63˚
Saturday
Sunny
75˚/63˚
Sunday
Partly
Cloudy
75˚/63˚
Richmond Street Staff Start New
Year with Big Thank You to Ed!
Richmond Street Elementary School staff members show off their school spirit and support of The El Segundo ED! Foundation by wearing their ED! shirts. They know every student wins by supporting
the ED! Foundation. Photo Provided by Alisa Lister. •
School Board Hears and Views Next
Generation Science Presentation
By Duane Plank
One of the tent-poles of 21st Century learning
across the country has been the implementation
Longtime First Baptist Church
Pastor Gears Up for Next Chapter
By Brian Simon
On October 1, John Svendsen will address
the congregation at El Segundo’s
First Baptist Church for the final time.
After 27 years in town and well over 1,000
Sunday sermons, the venerable pastor is
retiring and moving to Portland, Oregon
with his wife Susie.
Saying goodbye to El Segundo will be
bittersweet for Svendsen, but he hopes
to make a difference at his new locale.
“We have family in Salem, which is 45
minutes south, and Portland is a cool
city,” he said when asked why he and
Susie chose that particular town. “Plus
the rain will drive me indoors to write.”
Writing is one component of Svendsen’s
plan to embark on something he calls
“WPTM Portland.” While it may sound
like a radio station, it actually stands
for “Writing, Preaching, Teaching and
Mentoring.” His goal upon arrival will be
to check out various congregations and
eventually land in one spot where he can
help out the pastor. In some ways, it will
be an extension of what he already does
at First Baptist, only without the burden
of all those administrative responsibilities.
“I’ll offer my services to preach if the pastor’s
sick, on vacation or needs a break,”
Svendsen said. “Or I can conduct a class.”
At the age of 61 and two and a half
years removed from a stage four cancer
See Pastor John Svendsen, page 2
of an educational approach to schooling
that utilizes Science, Technology, Engineering,
the Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) as entry
points for guiding and stimulating student
inquiry and dialogue, as well as opening the
doors for critical thinking.
Tuesday evening’s El Segundo Unified School
District School Board meeting featured one
major presentation, helmed by the District’s
Executive Director of Educational Services,
Marisa Janicek. The 45-minute presentation
and question and answer period, which was
buttressed by Janicek’s team of District lead
science instructors, was entitled “Next Generation
Science Standards (NGSS): Charting
a K-12 Plan to Develop Scientific Literate
Citizens.” It detailed a three-dimensional scientific
learning triangle encompassing science
and engineering practices, disciplinary core
ideas and cross-cutting concepts.
Janicek and her team initially noted a timeline,
beginning in September 2013 when the State
Board of Education implemented the NGSS
agenda, to 2015 that included collaboration
between the District office, El Segundo High
School and El Segundo Middle School featuring
the establishment of a STEM committee;
having the Project Lead the Way program
begin to incorporate NGSS standards; adopting
a science course sequence; and integrating a
three-year roll-out plan at the Middle School.
The District’s 2015-16 NGSS plan included
high school teachers attending Los Angeles
County of Education roll-out meetings; developing
the scope and sequence of the program at
the Middle School; and professional development
days that included teachers from Center
Street and Richmond Street elementary schools.
Moving toward the K-12 implementation of
the NGSS standards, the 2016-17 immersion
in the plan included multiple opportunities for
District instructors to receive extra training in
the program, with high school science teachers
attending another roll-out hosted by LACOE;
and the integration of sixth grade classes into
the program.
The presenters covered the District’s “nextsteps”
in program implementation, including
having K-12 lead teachers participate in the
NGSS Performance Task Development Project;
See School Board, page 14