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TO: Donald A. Philips, Ed.D., Superintendent
FROM: Irvin G. Rollins, Jr., Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent - Student Services
SUBJECT: Juana Briones and Barron Park Site Boundary and Program Support
Introduction
Earlier this academic year, an advisory panel of community members was convened to meet with site and District officials to advise the Superintendent on proposed boundaries for Juana Briones Elementary and the 12th Elementary School (Barron Park site). The committee has representatives from Barron Park, Juana Briones, Charleston Meadows, Curtner and Ventura neighborhoods.
Community Meeting
The Superintendent and his staff met with the advisory group March 9, 1998, to further review the boundaries previously discussed with the Board. The committee reviewed the original boundary (Map Y) proposed at the February 12, 1998, Board Meeting and the boundary (Map X) that was presented at the March 3 Board Meeting. Both maps contemplate a K-5 grade configuration. There is no perfect boundary scenario that places the right number of students on each campus, divides equally the number of special needs students and follows natural boundaries and does not divide communities.
The boundary issues, while important to the committee, were of secondary significance to committee members. Their focus shifted to the depth of commitment from the administration and Board to adequately respond to the educational needs of the students (high as well as low achieving) within their community. The committee urged the administration and Board to:
- Make every effort to balance special needs students over time;
- Provide the two Barron Park neighborhood schools with resources to assure achievement levels similar to other schools in the District;
- Budget funds to support the School Site Council, new classroom and start-up for the new school (General Fund/Special Funding Sources);
- Promote resident enrollment by creating conditions which inspire confidence and excitement about the educational programs in these schools;
- Explore pre-kindergarten options in order to identify ways to support students and their families prior to entering school.
The Superintendent and his staff support the boundary presented to the Board on March 3 and believe that the reopening of the Barron Park site should represent a new beginning for the 12th Elementary School and Juana Briones. The administration is recommending Map X (attached) because it provides more natural boundaries within the communities and also aligns itself better with the capacities of the two sites.
To facilitate the new beginning, each school will require planning, community support and an infusion of additional human and financial resources. The Board is encouraged to authorize the following general levels of support:
- Up to $10,000 each for Juana Briones and the 12th Elementary School to develop a plan to support the new beginning of these schools during the spring and summer 1998.
- The development of a state-of-the-art technology program at the 12th Elementary School consistent with the District Technology Plan and current best practices to support teaching and learning.
- Establish a site technology plan to meet school priorities by strengthening the home-school connection, encouraging collaboration between teachers and students and developing a rich and challenging project-based curriculum for all students.
- Provide grants of up to $40,000 per year for two years for each school based upon a Superintendent-approved plan (these are to be one-time start-up costs and not for ongoing expenditures beyond the first two years). Grant criteria includes:
- a student achievement component with a strong literary emphasis (standardized test data as well as other indicators);
- facilitating the purchase, installation and training of students and staff in the instructional
- use of computer and related electronic technologies to support the educational mission of the school;
- provide for parent out-reach;
- could include the employment of supplemental instructional personnel to assist teachers in their review and refinement of curriculum and instructional strategies for special needs students as well as accelerated students during the two year start-up phase;
- provide for staff development.
- Provide for a K-5 student strand, with a minimum of two kindergartens and at least one class for grades 1 through 5, at the Barron Park site.
- Upgrade the technology assigned to Juana Briones to a level similar to most schools within the District.
- Actively support planning for a pre-kindergarten program (to be funded from outside sources) for special needs students in the Barron Park/Juana Briones communities who would benefit from a preschool experience.
- Explore establishing a preschool program with other community agencies utilizing outside funding sources.
Prior to the decision to open the 12th School, enrollment growth and limited classroom space at Juana Briones resulted in significant numbers of students being overflowed to other sites and/or placed in alternative school programs, such as Hoover and Ohlone. The proposed reconfiguration activities are intended to enhance the quality of the educational programs and to attract students back to their neighborhood schools, Juana Briones and the 12th School.
Providing state-of-the-art technology for the 12th School is intended to further encourage the enrollment of neighborhood students in their new school. The technological resources allocated to the 12th School are intended to serve as a tool to support the creation of an innovative school with a strong sense of community. For example, a computer connection between the home and school could serve to facilitate the completion of homework assignments and to establish ongoing communication between parents and teachers.
Each School Site Council (SSC) is required to review and/or identify goals for their schools. These goals could be incorporated into the School Site Plans by the SSC for implementation and annual evaluation. To facilitate the achievement of each school's related objectives, the Superintendent's staff is in the process of revising the District's Special Needs Supplemental Funding formula for all schools. Furthermore, these Special Needs Funds as well as School Improvement Program, base allotment and other school and community fiscal resources are funding sources for longer-term support of site determined programmatic and staffing decisions.
Recommendation
The Superintendent recommends that the Board adopt boundary Map X for Juana Briones Elementary and the new Barron Park site (12th Elementary School) as well as the following:
- Up to $10,000 each for Juana Briones and the 12th Elementary School to develop a plan to support the new beginning of these schools during the spring and summer 1998.
- The development of a state-of-the-art technology program at the 12th Elementary School consistent with the District Technology Plan and current best practices to support teaching and learning.
- Provide grants of up to $40,000 per year for two years for each school based upon a Superintendent-approved plan (these are to be one-time start-up costs and not for ongoing expenditures beyond the first two years).
- Provide for a K-5 student strand, with a minimum of two kindergartens and at least one class for grades 1 through 5, at the Barron Park site.
- Upgrade the technology assigned to Juana Briones to a level similar to most schools within the District.
- Actively support planning for a pre-kindergarten program (to be funded from outside sources) for special needs students in the Barron Park/Juana Briones communities who would benefit from a preschool experience.
