Lawndale Tribune AND lAwNDAle News The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - September 15, 2016 Sailor Performs In Indonesia Aboard USNS Mercy U.S. Pacific Fleet Band Musician 3rd Class Jason Andrews, a native of Hollywood, California performs at a Pacific Partnership 2016 reception aboard hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19). This is the fifth time Pacific Partnership has visited Indonesia. Partner nations are working side-by-side with local organizations during disaster response training, civil engineering projects, Women, Peace, and Security seminars, medical subject matter expert exchanges and a live field training exercise aimed at improving the capacity of local government, civilian agencies and partner militaries to collectively respond in crisis. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Elizabeth Merriam. Wiseburn Full of Optimism As School Year Begins With Positive Forecast On Enrollment, Test Scores By Haleemon Anderson A real sense of accomplishment pervaded the recent meeting of the Wiseburn Unified School District (WUSD) Board of Trustees, as one after another, board members reported exciting news for the coming year. Superintendent Tom Johnstone confirmed the school year opened with very strong enrollment numbers. “We’re in our third week, and our numbers are coming in strong,” Johnstone said. Enrollment at the three elementary schools is on target, he added, with Anza at 585 students; Burnett, 463 and Cabrillo, 457. At Dana, the district’s middle school, enrollment is at 1,027 students in grades six through eight. “We’re on target in each grade,” Johnstone said. He confirmed, these numbers represent an increase of about 100 new students. Last year the district had 2,490 students; for the 2016-17 academic year, total enrollment is at 2,592. Johnstone also reported exciting progress on statewide assessment tests. Results of the SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) showed Wiseburn students made some of the highest gains in the region on Math and English Language Arts. The SBAC rolled out two years ago; in addition to being aligned with the states’ Common Core standards, the test is also touted as more accessible to parents. It features year-to-year comparisons and scores are now delivered in the summer, giving teachers a window of opportunity to adjust curriculum and target specific areas for reinforcement. Wiseburn students in 3rd through 8th grades showed an overall 11 percent increase in ELA scores and an 8 percent increase in math. DaVinci Science scores increased an impressive 14 percent in ELA and 16 percent in math. The all-state average increase was 5 percent in ELA and 4 percent in math. Deputy Superintendent Chris Jones reported on technology initiatives, saying, “Our one-to-one technology roll-out is about 99 percent complete.” Jones explained that the district’s push to have a Chromebook in the hands of every student is, essentially, an innovation in itself. “We are ahead of the market on this,” Jones said. The notebook computers run Google software and the district has beefed up staff to ensure network capabilities are sound and teachers have classroom support for the new technology. “We’ve expanded our future-ready advisors,” Jones said. “Our teachers are excited about the opportunity this brings to the kids.” The district’s numbers guy also had good news to share. Chief Business Official David Wilson noted that since 2015, there has been a 5.8 percent increase in the District’s value, from $7.5 billion to $8 billion. Board members Nelson Martinez and Roger Banuelos reported attending Back To School Night at Dana. Martinez expressed great pride in the school’s maintenance and upkeep, and acknowledged the districts’ staff did a great job over the summer getting the schools ready for fall. “The schools look like they’re new,” Banuelos said. “That goes to the culture of our schools.” Board Vice President JoAnne Kaneda acknowledged Member Neil Goldman, who was not present, saying Goldman had taken initiative to help resolve issues plaguing Little League. “I really want to thank him,” Kaneda said. “He’s put a lot of effort into the Little League situation.” Kaneda reported her sons have all finished in the district, and are now managing college, jobs, and internships, as well as their personal lives. She acknowledged the education they received as students of the Wiseburn community has prepared them well to be independent adults. Dr. Mary Ring, executive director of project development for the district, updated the board on Project Optimal, a joint venture with SELPA and the California Teacher Credential (CTC) program. Ring said the project trains special education teachers, allowing them to add additional authorizations to their existing credentials. Project Optimal, in collaboration with the Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA), offers an online program to credentialed special education teachers, essentially granting them “added authorization” to work with students who present autism, early childhood traumatic brain injury, emotional disturbances, and other special needs. “We’ve trained thousands of teachers,” Ring said. “We’re really proud of the program.” The Wiseburn Board sponsors the innovative program, which is supervised by Ring’s office. It is open to special education teachers throughout the state. Since 1977, all school districts and county school offices in California were required to form geographical regions of sufficient size and scope to provide for all special education service needs of children residing within the region’s boundaries. Each region became known as a Special Education Local Plan Area – SELPA. Today, there are over 120 SELPAs in the State. The SELPA coordinates with school districts and the County Office of Education to provide a continuum of programs and services for disabled individuals from birth through 22 years of age. Back to School Night programs are scheduled at Dana tonight, and at Cabrillo on Wednesday, Sept. 21. The next regular meeting of the Wiseburn Unified School District Board will be held Thursday, Sept. 22, at 6 p.m. • Inside This Issue Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................7 Classifieds............................3 Entertainment......................4 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Legals............................2, 6-7 Pets........................................8 Police Reports.....................3 Seniors..................................7 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast Friday Partly Cloudy 71˚/62˚ Saturday Partly Cloudy 71˚/63˚ Sunday Sunny 77˚/65˚
Lawndale_FB_091516_FNL_lorez
To see the actual publication please follow the link above