The public meeting to choose a replacement for the late Sara Cazares is at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the district office.

Saturday’s “faire” is at Barnes & Noble.

The event is tomorrow (May 17) so if you’re interested, sign up your young Boris Spassky.

As for board comments:

Steve Smith: He said Item 7.4 is a sign the board is being proactive.

Sal Ramirez: No comment.

Kathy Garcia: She spoke of various events she attended and praised the HOPE organization.

Colleen Keenan praised organizers of recent volunteer and retiree events.

David Varela thanked the district for last week’s memorial event for Sara Cazares. He also reminded everyone there are only a few days left to vote for this. 

Gloria Allen spoke about the recent Kennedy Games. Allen also rued the lack of coverage of the event by yours truly.

Retired Principal Eugene Jackson spoke about principal notices/releases and asked why the board has approved personnel moves. He said principal contracts basically are worthless. “You owe these unit members an explanation as to how their employment conditions are being manipulated outside of the contract.” He said the district should let principals who might be affected know now so they can pursue other jobs elsewhere. To not do so, Jackson said, would put into question whether the district lacks “a modicum of decency.”

Merlo students, including junior Cecilia Magana and senior Domingo Soto, spoke of the benefits of the school’s SkillsUSA program. The students are asking  the district to approve a trip for 12 of them to the SkillsUSA national championships  in late June (Item 8.6).  The students are raising funds and also asking for some financial support from the district.

Mark Palmer, parent of a top SECA student: He said he agrees with this letter by Superintendent Steve Lowder:

 March 28, 2013

Colleagues:

Since my arrival in SUSD, I have spoken about the fact that I require my administrators be “Instructional Leaders”. By this I mean all the District staff who have oversight of school and school programs as well as all the administrators at our sites, must behave in a specific manner and have a specific set of skills. The one thing that I find to be consistent at all of our schools is that our students are pleasant and interested in learning.

There are some that have asked about the difference between a good manager and an “Instructional Leader”. I have had numerous teachers tell me how they like their principal, how nice they are, or that they are friendly. While these are critical skills, they are not sufficient if our main goal is to prepare our students for the future. “Instructional Leaders” are those who are able to create a culture of learning, an excitement about learning that is palpable. I will try in this report to provide you a glimpse of what I mean when I use the term, “Instructional Leadership.”

Let me start by describing what a good manager does. That person ensures that the building is clean, the students behave or are disciplined, they follow district directives, and they stay within their budgets. Many would say that this is all that needs to be done. I, however, strongly disagree. An instructional leader is a person who knows what good instruction looks like. They are able to show their skills to the staff and they have the ability to inspire staff to propel student achievement. They are excited and dedicated to student achievement and they know that it is not only a National imperative, but a moral obligation.

“Instructional Leaders” spend their time looking in classrooms watching instruction and monitoring student engagement. Their staff conversations are dominated by actions and activities that drive student learning. They develop and lead professional learning communities that focus on student data. Data about what students know and need to know to be successful. They lead staff meetings in discussions about what instructional plans are working or not and develop collegial plans to change things so that our students can achieve at high levels of success. They create an atmosphere that allows staff to plan, work the plan, and measure the success of the plan. There is no penalty for failing, but there is for doing the same things over and over and hoping for different outcomes.

I will tell you that as I visit school sites and look into classrooms, it is quite evident which sites are engaged in “Instructional Leadership” and which are not. We are all here for our students and we must believe that our students can and will perform at higher levels. This isn’t magic or rocket science. There are lots of districts around the country and around the State that are doing a better job with children that are just like ours.

Three years ago I had an opportunity to visit China’s schools. Large classrooms and schools are not a problem for them. One of many sites I visited was an elementary school of 5,000! Classrooms routinely had 45 or more students. Those students were working hard and learning at high levels. You might know that India is the largest English speaking democracy in the world and that China has more “gifted” children than the US has children.

If America is to have a bright future, we cannot afford to lose one child. We cannot allow them to have a mediocre education. Not only does their future depend on a high quality education, our future does as well! “Instructional Leadership” is critical to our work. I am committed to public education, our students, and our community. I hope that I have provided you some insight into my goals and why I am making the changes that you might hear about or read about in the paper. I hope that you agree with me and will support these critical endeavors.

Yours truly,
Steve Lowder Ed.D.
Superintendent

Also, Merlo Institute valedictorian Lisved Gonzalez spoke about her school. Incidentally, she wants to be a pharmacist and she said she is waiting and hoping to be accepted to UOP. Not to put any undue pressure on UOP, but cmon, do it.

There was a presentation on the Summer Success Leadership Academy at UOP. Christopher Prado (pictured): He said the program was founded “in direct response” to homicides in the city. Michael Tubbs and Ty-Licia Hooker were founders.

Rodolfo Buenrostro, Franklin alum, UOP freshman, spoke about fundraising done as a team with other students who benefited from the  SSLA. “We have basically come up with ideas of what can be the most impactful in making an impact for students. Basically they can see we care for them.” He said “music is a pivotal experience every student should have.” He said his group raised about $4,000 … and they presented a check to the district.

Francisco Guiao, Franklin alum, UC Davis freshman: “We realized we were passionate about music. Music was our salvation, and fine arts. We realize we have become better leaders for the community through the Summer Success Academy. We leave the check here today as a beacon of hope.

Lee invited everyone on the board to attend. He also said he is putting on the upcoming youth conference with Councilman Michael Tubbs. Tickets are $15. There’s also an affiliated event, a comedy roast of Mayor Anthony Silva, scheduled for the same night. Tickets to that event start at $25.

Here’s what I was able to transcribe of Lee’s comments before closed session:
“I’m working in partnership with (Councilman) Michael Tubbs. First of all, I’d like to extend an invitation to all of you to come. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the board. I’ve had the privilege of meeting with a couple of you. I also want to publicly thank Julie Penn, who actually was my boss at one time (she was at Stagg, he was a campus security monitor). Now I’m here, grown up. I just want to thank her for sending the information out to schools. I know that there’s a board policy or a school policy that doesn’t allow the youth to organize at school and talk with their peers about the foundation and talk about sponsoring the program because of the charge to attend the event. A couple of things. While I don’t expect the school district to pay for it, what we’d love to do, since money is an issue to get the information out to the masses, we’d like to ask for sponsorship. While that’s not realistic, I’d like to ask all of you to consider a way to allow and afford these young people the right to organize at their school sites, share this opportunity with the kids who may want to come and also be able to enjoy this opportunity that’s going to provide a pathway, giving an avenue for self-expression.”

He said some principals have been helpful, others not so much. “I’m looking for support of the largest school district within the city that we’re launching this foundation,” Lee said.

Six students also spoke on behalf of Lee’s organization, including one from McNair High and at least two from Lincoln High. One student, Tay McCarthy, declined to give his name or identify the school he attends. SUSD is not providing much support for the event because admission is being charged. Lee has enlisted the students to ask for support from the school districts in the area. The students who attend non-SUSD schools said they understand the SUSD board holds no sway over what other districts do (or don’t do).

Lincoln High senior Frankie Macato said, “What we’re trying to accomplish here is to rebuild Stockton. We want to give kids the opportunity they don’t have to become what they want to be, whether it be a young artist, a young musician, a young dancer. The (money from) the events we’re hosting is going straight to the foundation so hopefully we’ll have money to have those things – build dance rooms or studios for the kids to have, and we can have people from the industry come and teach them. That’s what we’re trying to build in Stockton. We’ve lost a lot of our entertainment in this city. We’re just trying to bring the city back to life.”

Stockton Unified
Student Support Services Department, Attn: Scholarships
1144 East Channel Street, Room 205
Stockton, Calif. 95205

Following are materials from this afternoon’s memorial event.