Hawthorne Press Tribune
Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - November 2, 2017
Local Teacher Is Unsung Hero
Voya Financial has given Hawthorne High math teacher Ding-ay Tadena first place prize for this year’s Voya Unsung Heroes awards competition. Tadena will receive $25,000 in addition to an initial $2,000
grant to fund her innovative program, “When Geometry Meets Fashion,” that helps high school students connect “left brain and right brain skills” and understand crossovers between arts and mathematics.
In the photo, L-R Front Row: John Barba, Registered Representative of Voya Financial Advisors; Ding-ay Tadena’s husband; Ding-ay Tadena and her two children; and Heather Lavallee, President of Tax
Exempt for Voya. Back Row: Jon Reilly, Head of Core Sales, Tax-Exempt Markets, Voya; and Jay Jorgensen, Senior Vice President, Tax Exempt Markets, Voya. Photo Provided by Voya Financial
Wiseburn School Board Listens to
Parent Concerns About Childcare
By Duane Plank
College” to hopefully fill the seven District
As the long-anticipated move-in to the new
personnel vacancies. He noted that the District
building on Douglas Street nears, the Wiseburn
is “in the process” of filling the positions, with
School Board last Thursday held what will
fingerprinting and other necessities before hiring
apparently be its second-to-last meeting at the
being addressed. Johnstone estimated that the
facilities located on Aviation Boulevard. The
District’s goal was to have the new hires in
move-in timeline, according to Wiseburn Unified
place, and the childcare situation resolved, no
School District (WUSD) Superintendent Tom
later than January. He added that he feels the
Johnstone, was for administration staff to start
pain of working parents who need childcare.
moving filing cabinets and paperwork into the
“I don’t like it when our families have to go
new building last Friday.
somewhere else for kindergarten,” he said.
Da Vinci personnel started to migrate to the
The residents who spoke brought up myriad
new building earlier this week, with the teachers
issues for working parents, and Board President
set to settle in on November 3 and the students
Israel Mora said, “We are now going to put a
stashing their backpacks on Douglas Street and
lot of energy into seeing how we can grow,
continuing their studies on November 8. The
hiring the right staff--which we are actively
official dedication ceremonies at the new building
trying to do.”
will take place at 10 a.m. on December 9.
Issues brought up by the three residents who
Right out of the starting blocks, the Board
spoke included the wait lists in place now in the
members and Johnstone were faced by three
District. Johnstone commented that the current
Wiseburn constituents--members of the public,
enrollment at Anza for the preschool children
who spoke about their issues with District
is “30 kids, but there is a wait list of 183.” He
policies and programs regarding before and
pointed out that at Cabrillo, there are 60 kids
after school childcare.
in the program with no wait list. Johnstone
Times are tough now, with many parents
explained that the reason there is no wait list
working and childcare issues at the fore.
currently at Cabrillo is because that campus does
Working parents related their challenges with
not provide an after-school program. District
Wiseburn’s before and after school programs.
facilities and land space, which are limited,
One of the speakers said she had researched
provide a challenge to expand the program.
school districts and moved here because of the
Johnstone was aware of the residents’ issues
sterling reputation of WUSD. “We moved here
and emailed, “We are discussing options to
for a reason,” she said, but lamented the childcare
expand the programs at all three elementary
dilemma. Communication issues were mentioned
schools. The short-term challenge is staffing
by the three people who addressed the Board
and the longer-term challenge is facilities. We
on Thursday evening. Johnstone, acknowledging
hate to lose a single student/family because of
the challenges faced by working parents, noted
childcare needs, so this is definitely something
that care programs are “an area of tremendous
that we want to deal with and very soon!”
need” in the District. The Superintendent
On the continuing construction at the Douglas
reported that he is trying to ramp up staffing to
Street property, Vince Madsen, the District’s
provide necessary childcare services, and that
Director of Facilities Planning, emailed that
the District is doing everything necessary to take
“basically we will be moving administrators
care of this issue. “It is a huge issue of need-
into the building this coming week with the
-we know that we need to increase capacity,”
major school moves starting Friday, November
Johnstone said. “What we have done is, even
3 running through the weekend and the
before school started, we contacted El Camino
students’ first day of school will be November
8. We walked with the fire marshal and our
commissioning agents and state inspectors and
have reached a substantial completion milestone
with ongoing punch-list items that we will be
scheduled off hours around the students’ school
schedule.”
Continued Madsen, “Phase 2 is moving
along, which is the gym and the aquatic center
which is a joint-use venture with the City of
El Segundo. It will be nice to have the high
school building behind us as we focus on just
finishing up Phase 2, which should be complete
by the end of June.”
Madsen mentioned that he would have no
problem relinquishing the challenges that he
has shouldered at the Douglas Street facility as
the construction winds down for Phase 1 of the
mega-project. “I am just excited to give up the
keys to the building,” he said Johnstone, who
will retire at the end of June, issued a somewhat
tongue-in-cheek ultimatum to all involved in
the construction project--that Phase 2 of the
project better be completed by the end of his
tenure, “or else.”
The Board was slated to hold a special meeting
last Saturday to figure out facility needs in the
future. Johnstone said one of his wishes was for
a construction bridge over Aviation Boulevard.
“So, our kids don’t have to walk. That is an
accident waiting to happen,” he commented.
With no special presentations on the agenda, the
Board then moved on to informational comments.
Kudos were given to Board President Israel Mora,
who has, shall we say, prodded all the people
involved with the Douglas Street construction
to get the job done and get the administrators,
teachers and students moved in at the gleaming
new facility. “Thank you for everyone putting
up with me,” Mora said. “It has huge push to
get the high school finished. The school looks
beautiful, and it’s very exciting. The opening
is around the corner.”
The only Wiseburn Board meeting slated
for November is on the docket for Thursday
evening, the 16th. •
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