Volunteer duo set to sell bond to voters

District proposition seeks $179 million

By Blanca Gonzalez

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 30, 2007

There's no heat in the Proposition C campaign headquarters on Midland Road in Poway, but Lorene Joosten and Sabrina Butler make do with space heaters from home and an extra sweater or two.

Despite the chill, Joosten and Butler expect a warm response from voters Feb. 5 when residents decide on the Poway Unified School District's $179 million bond measure.

A survey conducted in September found that two-thirds of likely voters would support the bond, which would allow the district to finish school renovation projects that were supposed to be done using a $198 million bond measure approved in 2002. The district was unable to complete all of the projects planned for that money.

For the rest of the story, click below...

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Volunteer duo set to sell bond to voters

Schools get alerts out in a hurry - Connect-ED is a Web-based mass notification service

 

Thousands notified with one phone call

By Blanca Gonzalez

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

December 28, 2007

When a swastika and other graffiti were found on Westview High's campus this month, parents were alerted about it before students arrived home that afternoon.

Dawn Kastner, principal of Westview near Rancho Peñasquitos, notified thousands of parents with a single phone call using a communications system that allows educators to call or e-mail with important news or other announcements.

The days of notes to parents being sent home from school, often lost amid the clutter in students' backpacks, are long gone in Poway Unified and other school districts throughout San Diego County.

Connect-ED is a Web-based mass notification service that allows districts to send voice messages and e-mails en masse in minutes, a change from automatic dialing systems that require more equipment and could take hours to reach the same number of people.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Schools get alerts out in a hurry

Preschoolers call high school home in Poway Unified

RANCHO PENASQUITOS – One of the most popular classes at Westview High School usually has a waiting list, and the children like it so much they sometimes cry when it's time to go home.

Marshall Lehew, an aide with Westview High School's full-day preschool program, chatted with a shy Sasha Greenhall recently.

Westview's preschoolers may not be learning calculus or economics like the teenagers in nearby classrooms, but amid the singing, drawing and playing in the sandbox, they are learning skills meant to prepare them for future success in education and life.

The Poway Unified School District is known as an academic powerhouse, serving about 32,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. What is less well-known is that the district also offers preschool programs at more than half its campuses.

 

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Education -- Preschoolers call high school home in Poway Unified

High school counterfeiters held

High school counterfeiters held

Government can't, shouldn't outlaw 'hate'

 

Government can't, shouldn't outlaw 'hate'
By: JIM TRAGESER - Staff Writer

If you have kids in the Poway Unified School District, you might want to simply assume there will be less money for instruction and classroom supplies in the years to come. Litigation is expensive, you see, and when you have a school board on a collision course with the U.S. Constitution, more litigation would seem pretty unavoidable.
Not that Poway is any stranger to being sued for stomping all over the rights of students who don't think the way the board majority thinks they should. The district has spent who knows how many tens of thousands of dollars (maybe more) defending itself in an ongoing lawsuit that arose when officials punished a student for wearing a T-shirt that read "Homosexuality is shameful."

North County Times - Jim Trageser's Flailing Against the Wind opinion column - Government can't, shouldn't outlaw 'hate'

Various Video Reports - FOX6 San Diego

 

Noose, Racial Slurs at Nearby High School 11/28/07
A noose and racial slurs were found on campus at Rancho Bernardo High Scool, just weeks after a similar incident at Poway High School.

Racial Tension 10/5/07
A noose was recently found in a boys' bathroom of the Poway High School. Plus, a brush fire burned dangerously close to homes in Kensington.

School Threat 5/3/07
Sheriff's deputies will provide extra security at Poway High School after the school received a shooting threat. Eric Collins spoke with students, parents and administrators.

God in the Classroom 5/1/07
As Kristine Frazao reports, a Poway high school teacher has been ordered to take banners out of his classroom because they mentioned the word God.

Poway School Harassment Verdict 6/8/05
The Poway Unified school district has yet to decide if they will appeal the verdict of a harassment case. It was filed by two gay former poway students. The jury awarded each of them over 100-thousand dollars. FOX 6's Andrea Nguyen has reaction to verdict.

Swastika Found at School - FOX6 San Diego

Swastika Found at School - FOX6 San Diego

 

God in the Classroom 5/1/07
As Kristine Frazao reports, a Poway high school teacher has been ordered to take banners out of his classroom because they mentioned the word God.

Swastika Found at School - FOX6 San Diego

Poway superintendent nominated for national honor

 

Don Phillips considers the district his classroom

POWAY ---- Nearly three decades have passed since Don Phillips stepped out of social studies and history classrooms and into school administration, but his conversations and everyday phrases are still colored with references to the Founding Fathers and world cultures.

The Poway Unified School District superintendent, who has been at the helm of the nearly 33,000-student district for six years, says that's because he still considers himself a teacher ---- he is just leading and learning from a much larger class of students.

"It's more interactive, more of a give and take," Phillips said, adding that his "students" these days are parents, teachers and community leaders. "It's been an opportunity to work with other people who care and who do want to do a better job of educating kids."
In the years since he joined the district in 2001 ---- after serving for 12 years as the superintendent of two suburban school districts in the Bay Area ---- that has meant tackling everything from updating aging facilities to improving student achievement at all levels.

Poway superintendent nominated for national honor North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News

People say the funniest things...

 

"California is a natural disaster theme park..."

CalWatch

Race issues dominate PUSD board meeting

 

SABRE SPRINGS -- A group of black parents and students asked trustees in the Poway Unified School District on Monday night to crack down on racial discrimination and hate with stronger discipline, accountability and a zero-tolerance policy for students and staff.
More than 50 people -- many representing the nonprofit minority community group Concerned Parents Alliance -- attended the board's monthly meeting Monday to discuss a proposed revision to Poway Unified's "Harassment and Hate Behavior" policy and raise awareness about racial discrimination in the district.

Their primary concern, they said, is that racial discrimination is not being dealt with seriously enough and that the consequences for such behavior need to be more clearly defined. Similar to the district's policies on alcohol and drug use or sexual harassment, parents said, there should be no question as to the penalties for discrimination.

Race issues dominate PUSD board meeting - North County Times

Swastika, foul graffiti scrawled on high school

 

A swastika and a profanity smeared in feces were discovered on a window at Westview High School yesterday, just days after Poway Unified trustees considered toughening policies aimed at curbing hate behavior.

A custodian found the graffiti at the student store on the campus near Rancho Peñasquitos. It was cleaned up before most students arrived for classes, district officials said.

Principal Dawn Kastner e-mailed Westview parents decrying the vandalism and asking for help to find who did it. She said police are investigating.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Education -- Swastika, foul graffiti scrawled on high school

Poway district strengthening harassment policy

 

December 11, 2007

The Poway Unified School District is toughening its policy on harassment and hate behavior after a series of incidents on campuses, including nooses being found at two high schools.

Superintendent Don Phillips said the recent “disturbing incidents” reflect racial harassment and intimidation against students. Phillips said that the district won't tolerate such behavior and that the policy revisions reflect the district's commitment to cultivating safe campuses.

The changes had a first reading at last night's school board meeting. They include more training for students and staff to promote tolerance and diversity and add “the presence of nooses” as a specific example of hate behavior.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Poway district strengthening harassment policy

Poway trustees to discuss tolerance, finances - North County Times

 

SABRE SPRINGS - In the wake of three racially related incidents on Poway Unified School District's high school campuses in recent months, the district is looking to strengthen its stance against harassment and hate by promoting tolerance training and enforcement in a revised board policy, Superintendent Don Phillips said Friday.
The proposed "Harassment and Hate Behavior" policy will come before trustees for discussion during Monday night's board meeting.

Poway trustees to discuss tolerance, finances - North County Times

Del Sur school trying single-building design

 

Most malls are built for shopping, not learning.

But the future Del Sur Elementary is designed as a two-story, enclosed-mall-type school to serve the fast-growing area west of Rancho Bernardo.

It's now just a steel skeleton of a building amid an expanse of dirt. But by next fall, students will start classes at a $29.5 million campus that combines the old-fashioned “schoolhouse” concept with modern design for energy efficiency.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Del Sur school trying single-building design

Red Pills » Teacher Applicant

 

After being interviewed by the school administration, the teaching prospect said, “Let me see if I’ve got this right: You want me to go into that room with all those kids, correct their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse, monitor their dress habits, censor their T-shirt messages, and instill in them a love for learning. You want me to check their backpacks for weapons, wage war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, and raise their sense of self esteem and personal pride.

You want me to teach them patriotism and good citizenship, sportsmanship and fair play, and how to register to vote, balance a checkbook, and apply for a job. You want me to check their heads for lice, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, and make sure that they all pass the state exams.

You also want me to provide them with an equal education regardless of their handicaps, and communicate regularly with their parents in English and Spanish by letter, telephone, newsletter, and report card.

You want me to do all this with a piece of chalk, a blackboard, a bulletin board, a few books, a big smile, and a starting salary that qualifies me for food stamps. You want me to do all this and then you tell me……..

I can’t pray - or conceal carry?”

Red Pills » Teacher Applicant

WorldNetDaily: Homosexodus! Students flee forced 'gay' agenda

 

Parents in California have started reacting to the state's newly mandated homosexual indoctrination program by pulling their children out of classes, and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell is warning districts they'll lose money if that happens.

A spokeswoman for a ministry called Considering Homeschooling said she already has seen an overwhelming increase in requests for information about homeschooling.

As a result, spokeswoman Denise Kanter told WND that her group is sending out 5,000 DVD packages to churches around the state that include basic "how-to" information to provide parents a direction to turn when they choose to protect their children from the new school agenda.

The new law demands, "No teacher shall give instruction nor shall any school district sponsor any activity that promotes a discriminatory bias because of a characteristic [including perceived gender.]"

WorldNetDaily: Homosexodus! Students flee forced 'gay' agenda

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Education -- Schools chief nominated for national award

 

POWAY – When Don Phillips graduated from a Palo Alto high school 40 years ago, he had no idea he would eventually return to lead the Bay Area school district a few decades later as superintendent.

Don Phillips

The teenager, photographed in his yearbook with light bulbs in his ears, could not know his destiny. But today, as superintendent of the Poway Unified School District, he knows the importance of preparing students for anything.

Some careers of the 21st century don't exist yet, but Phillips says he wants the Poway district to get students college-ready and primed for any possibility.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Education -- Schools chief nominated for national award

Drive to replace instruments lost in flames in full swing - North County Times

 

POWAY -- A partnership between the Poway Unified School District, a North County music retailer and a longtime resident could bring song and sound back into the homes of dozens of student musicians who lost their instruments in last month's wildfires.
Organizers of the collection drive said Monday that they want to give students the opportunity to replace instruments that can cost several thousand dollars apiece.

Drive to replace instruments lost in flames in full swing - North County Times

Firing teachers can be a headache for districts - North County Times

 

NORTH COUNTY -- "Accountability" may be the new buzzword in public education, but getting rid of poor-performing teachers continues to be a challenge for school districts, officials say.
"Once a teacher obtains permanent, or tenure, status, removing them from the district is really difficult," said Bill Chiment, superintendent of personnel services for the Poway Unified School District. "It's a very lengthy process."

Firing teachers can be a headache for districts - North County Times

North San Diego County Times School News Briefs: PUSD creates Fire Victims' Relief Fund

 

 

POWAY -- The Poway Unified School District has established the PUSD Fire Victims' Relief Fund and is working in collaboration with the Palomar Council PTA to assist staff members, students and families affected by the recent wildfires.
The fund was created to accept general and specific money donations. Make checks payable to: PUSD Fire Victims' Relief Fund. Donors may designate that funds be directed to assist staff members, students and families at a particular site. Mail checks to: PUSD, Attention: M.J. Stollfuss, Accounting Department, 13626 Twin Peaks Road, Poway, CA 92064-3034.

Comments from -- Westview student's costume wasn't Klan outfit, dad says

 

article:"

The group, Concerned Parents Alliance, said the Westview High student wore a costume resembling a Ku Klux Klan outfit on Halloween. The group also was concerned about an incident last month in which a noose was found hanging in a boys bathroom at Poway High School in Poway. "

Comments:

By 1234san diego on 11/10/2007 at 9:34 p.m.
The personal talking about sensitivity training is the same person who ruined Westview's 2005 graduation. Ms. Darlene Willis shouted Westview was a good old white boy's club, she called people "crackers" and was physically abusive.
What was it over, people were told they could no longer enter the gym to view the Grad Nite stuff. Of course, in her eyes she was being stopped because she was black. Can you say someone has a horrible chip on their shoulder?!
It is all on record. No need to pull the post!!
I think the wrong person needs this training!
She always use to pull the race card when her son got in trouble.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By 1234san diego on 11/10/2007 at 9:38 p.m.
Oh yeah, Ms Willis runs the Concerned Parent's Alliance. She has had numerous groups like this. They seem to last for a short time and then a new group is formed.
She had been an administrator at UCSD and then a very short stint at SDSU. Did something go wrong? Just maybe, not sure!
She ruined many people's graduation, including my daughters!!
No this "highly sensitive and tolerant person" is going after some kid.
Her sensitivity needs to stay very far away from the school system. She is scary!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

By sarah23 on 11/10/2007 at 10:04 p.m.
If I have understood the media coverage correctly, the noose was at Poway High, and the Ghost/KKK costume were at Westview High. The two incidents were unrelated except that they occurred in the same school district.

For more comments or to add yours, go to the link below and scroll past the bottom of the article...

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Westview student's costume wasn't Klan outfit, dad says

30-Year-Old Man Pleads Guilty to Molesting 13-Year-Old Boy - FOX6 San Diego

 

"I'm just glad it turned out the way it did," Paul Sweeney, a lead custodian for the Poway Unified School District, said outside court

30-Year-Old Man Pleads Guilty to Molesting 13-Year-Old Boy - FOX6 San Diego

Southern California Cities and School Districts Use NTI Group's Mass Notification Services to Keep Residents, Students and Parents Informed

 

NTI Group also announced:

• San Diego Unified School District sent close to 400,000 voice messages in six different languages Monday to update parents on school closures quickly and efficiently with a 95 percent success rate;
• Poway Unified School District, facing heavy parent and staff evacuations, sent over 280,000 voice messages;
• The University of San Diego used its Connect-ED service to keep students and staff up to date, sending voice and text messages to its students and staff as needed throughout the day;
• The city of St. Helena’s fire crews, in Northern California, used the service to call up its Strike Team units to Southern California to aid in fire containment;
• The cites of Villa Park and Laguna Woods to send messages to residents regarding unhealthful air quality conditions due to the Santiago fire in Orange County;
• Of all mass notifications messages sent Monday regarding the fires in Southern California, Connect-ED and Connect-CTY represented 68 percent of all voice call and 91 percent of all text and email messages delivered;
• In total, throughout the country, NTI sent over three million messages and 750,000 text messages on Monday through the Connect services.

Emergency Notification: Southern California Cities and School Districts Use NTI Group's Mass Notification Services to Keep Residents, Students and Parents Informed

Escondido high school district goes paperless - North County Times

 

ESCONDIDO ---- The Escondido Union High School District school board has gone digital, swapping bulky paper agendas for an online electronic database that catalogues searchable agendas, meeting minutes and audio recordings of trustees' discussions.
The move, district officials said Friday, will save the high school district thousands of dollars in printing, mailing and labor because employees will not have to spend dozens of hours binding agendas and back-up documents for as many as 60 different people.

Escondido high school district goes paperless - North County Times

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Westview student's costume wasn't Klan outfit, dad says

 

RANCHO PENASQUITOS – The Halloween garb worn by a Westview student last week was a ghost costume, not a Klan outfit, the boy's father said yesterday.

“My son is not racist. He was more naive than malicious,” said the father, whose name is not being used because he said he feared his son could be subject to harassment.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Westview student's costume wasn't Klan outfit, dad says

Campus incidents prompt call for action in Poway school district - North County Times

 

POWAY -- A nonprofit community group of minority students and parents asked Poway Unified School District trustees this week to provide teachers and students lessons in diversity and tolerance after what they described as racially offensive incidents at two campuses last month.
District officials said Tuesday that the first incident, on Oct. 4, involved a noose hung by an unknown person on the inside of a boy's bathroom stall at Poway High School. They said that as part of a Halloween event on campus Oct. 31, a Westview High School student wore a costume that resembled a Ku Klux Klan outfit.

Campus incidents prompt call for action in Poway school district - North County Times

Fresh Dining donates meals to fire victims

(nice dig for the district... ~admin)

Fresh Dining donates meals to fire victims -- Fresh Dining announced that it will sponsor a week's worth of food delivery free for 100 San Diego residents in areas hardest hit by the recent fires. Ready-to-eat meals will be delivered daily to their respective temporary residences.
In addition, Fire Relief Fresh Dining Gift Cards can be bought for individuals, families and charities at a reduced cost of $135 per week. The cards are available online at http://www.freshdining.com.
Also, Fresh Dining is working with the Poway Unified School District, of which 22 teachers and 300 students were left homeless by the fires, to offer meal sponsorships for school district members at reduced costs via the district's Web site at http://www.powayusd.com.

North County Exchange: Internet Business Group to meet North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News - NCTimes.com - Californian.com

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Education -- Schools pushing new bond measure

 

POWAY – The Poway Unified School District will ask voters to approve a $179 million bond to finish renovation projects that were supposed to be done with money from a similar measure passed five years ago.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Education -- Schools pushing new bond measure

Teen Collapses At Football Game, Dies - Local News Story - KNSD | San Diego

 

SAN DIEGO -- A 15-year-old Mount Carmel High School student died Friday night after collapsing at a football game

Teen Collapses At Football Game, Dies - Local News Story - KNSD | San Diego

Tutoring program offered for PUSD students

 

POWAY -- Members of the Poway Community Leadership Institute are developing a free tutoring program for Poway Unified School District students who need one-on-one assistance. The program will be open to students at all grade levels.
Tutoring will take place at the Poway branch of the San Diego County Library, 13137 Poway Road. Interested parents and potential volunteer tutors are invited to meet with the PCLI team to discuss the program. Members of the PCLI team, which includes Annette Gonzalez, senior management analyst for the city of Poway, and Nazem Agha, owner of Carpet Country Flooring in Poway, will be available from noon to 3 p.m. Oct. 26 and 28 in the Meeting Room at the Poway Library. Those who are unable to attend but would like to participate in the program can call Susan Davis at (858) 679-0410.

North San Diego County Community News Briefs: Many events rescheduled - North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News

District strikes energy deal - North County Times

 

By: SHAYNA CHABNER - Staff Writer
Solar panels to be added to roofs of four schools

SABRE SPRINGS -- In an effort to curb rising electric rates and promote green policy, the Poway Unified School District has agreed to open up space on the roofs of four schools to a private company looking to build solar panels on them.
On Monday, trustees signed off on an agreement with Honeywell Building Solution that allows the New Jersey-based company to install photovoltaic panels on the roofs of Chaparral Elementary, Oak Valley Middle, Poway High and Westview High schools. The district would purchase all of the energy produced by the panels for 20 years.

District strikes energy deal - North County Times

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Education -- Poway presses on with schools

 

By Blanca Gonzalez

UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

October 17, 2007

Poway Unified will open two elementary schools next year in the growing west side despite delays in the state approval process for one of them.

The two schools are set to open on one campus next fall after Del Sur Elementary is completed in August, said Superintendent Don Phillips. Willow Grove Elementary will also open on that campus because the new school in the southwestern area of the district won't be ready until at least December 2008, district officials said.

Poway Unified School District trustees heard the building update at Monday night's school board meeting.

Del Sur is expected to open with about 120 students, leaving plenty of room for Willow Grove students, Phillips said, as the school is being built to serve 800 students. The Del Sur community, west of Rancho Bernardo, is expected to grow as new housing is completed.

SignOnSanDiego.com > News > Education -- Poway presses on with schools

Support seen for extending school bond

POWAY – A majority of voters in the Poway Unified School District would support extending the current school bond to raise $150 million to renovate local schools and improve education, according to a survey conducted this month.

For the rest of the story--> SignOnSanDiego.com > News > North County -- Support seen for extending school bond

From High School Dropout to CEO

"I said to myself that I'd show her! I went to an adult education school which was a branch of the Poway Unified School District in California and told them I wanted to receive my HS diploma. 

Based on how well I did on my GED, they said I had enough units to graduate, but in order for them to issue me a diploma, I would have to take one class at their school. I did, and 16-weeks later I had a HS Diploma. Well the girl was long gone, but hey! I now had both a GED and HS Diploma. But in reality, I learned two valuable lessons that has served me well in life."

for the rest of the story-->The Student Operated Press

SearchPowayUSD Comment: You know, you never know who or how you will affect someone...

Survey finds support for another Poway school bond North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News

 

POWAY -- A survey of 600 residents who live within the boundaries of the Poway Unified School District found that two-thirds of them probably would support the district's bid to extend its multimillion dollar bond measure for another 14 years, officials said Monday.

Survey finds support for another Poway school bond North County Times - North San Diego and Southwest Riverside County News

Deputy Superintendent John Collins

Deputy Superintendent John Collins said the first wall recently went up at Del Norte High School in 4S Ranch, the district’s fifth comprehensive high school. Also, the foundation is ready to pour at Del Sur Elementary School, which will be the district’s first fully enclosed two-story school.

www.mylocalnews.com

Superintendent Don Phillips

Superintendent Don Phillips announced the district had an increase of 366 students at the start of the 2007-2008 school year, bringing the student population of PUSD to 33,209. He said the district is “adding staff members at the last moment to balance that out.”

www.mylocalnews.com

PIP Gets funding...

— About 20 classified positions will be reinstated this week after the district learned that a $1.2 million grant from the California Department of Mental Health will be awarded for the district’s PIP program in 10 schools.

PIP, Primary Interaction Program, helps kindergarten through third-grade students tackle issues ranging from cultural diversity and shyness to adapting to a new baby in the family. PIP is available at all of the district’s 23 elementary schools and is funded through grants.

Prior to the grant, which was awarded to the district on Sept. 7, the district had to serve layoff notices to 20 employees working as student services assistants and student services specialists. However, according to Associate Superintendent Bill Chiment, the district’s personnel department is in the process of rehiring those employees.

PIP has several components and serves “thousands” of students each year, according to Elaine Cofrancesco, the district’s executive director of Student Support Services.

www.mylocalnews.com

Trustees hear update on PUSD school projects

 

POWAY – As the first wall of a new high school goes up, walls in old elementary schools come down.

It's all part of Poway Unified's building program, including major modernization projects at several schools. While work nears completion at Poway High, Mt. Carmel High and Garden Road Elementary schools, old buildings are gutted at Los Peñasquitos and Painted Rock elementary schools and construction has started at the future Del Norte High School, and Del Sur Elementary School in the western area of the district.

SignOnSanDiego.com  -- Trustees hear update on school projects

Wow... Poway School District hits World Net Daily

WorldNetDaily: State's 'hate crimes' code used against 'pure speech'

"When you start down the list of Western countries, Australia, Canada, Britain, France. Everywhere hate crimes plans have been adopted there are examples of problems. It's gotten to the point even pure speech is being criminalized, with no actions or violence," he said.

"That's where hate crimes legislation inevitably has led in other Western societies," he said. His organization has worked on a number of such cases already involving California's own version of a "hate crimes" plan.

"The law of unintended consequences – or perhaps intended consequences cleverly disguised – is starkly illustrated by the ongoing federal case Harper v. Poway Unified School District," he wrote in a summary of the problems. "In Harper, a student responded to the annual pro-homosexual 'Day of Silence,' which was being heavily promoted on his high school campus, by wearing a T-shirt which expressed his religious viewpoint that homosexuality was 'shameful.'

"Instead of allowing a differing viewpoint, school officials pulled aside Harper, demanding that he change his expression or face suspension. An assistant principal even suggested to Harper that he needed to leave his faith in the car while at school, in order not to offend homosexual students," according to McReynolds.

"Such a result clearly undermines basic Constitutional protections," including free expression and religion, he noted.

WorldNetDaily: State's 'hate crimes' code used against 'pure speech'

2007 Growth API LEA List of Schools Report

2007 Growth Academic Performance Index Report

2007 Growth API LEA List of Schools Report (CA Department of Education)

Their simple secret to teaching successes

Their simple secret to teaching successes | Inquirer | 09/10/2007

Parents wonder why Chaparral mural wasn’t saved | The Pomerado Newspaper Group

 

“Apparently losing the murals was unavoidable,” Brommer said. “We have a ‘70s school and it really needed the new stucco and paint.”

Parents wonder why Chaparral mural wasn’t saved | The Pomerado Newspaper Group

City Hall Elections

quote from commenter on story below; 

District One Voter wrote on August 16, 2007 6:52 AM:
"Having lived in the City of San Diego all my life, I have seen the good and the bad. Carl DeMaio is one of the BAD. If you ever to get a chance to talk to this guy (good luck he never shuts up to listen to anyone) you will understand. Phil (Money Bags) Thalheimer is another example of someone with money who thinks he/she can buy their way into political office. What is sad is that the press helps by labeling them "front runners" placing the candidates who would do the most good for all of us and not willing to prostitute themselves at a disadvantage. Case in Point: Steve McMillan, 12 year Trustee for the Poway Unified School District who represented District 1 and 5 with honesty and professionalism. He would have been a GREAT choice but opted out of the $$$ chase. Too bad for Dist 1"

voiceofsandiego.org: Cafesandiego... City Hall Elections

Making the Grade - San Diego Magazine - September 2007

Ranking our top elementary and middle school districts can be a subjective call. But there are guideposts. Using state and federal standards, here are 45 San Diego schools that measure up.

Poway USD and Creekside Elementary Principal Robin Robinson mentioned.

Follow this link 'for the rest of the story'.

POWAY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT v. LINDSEY STEWART

Since 1999, Stewart has filed at least 10 unsuccessful administrative actions on her son's behalf against the District.

POWAY UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT v. LINDSEY STEWART, No. D048901 (107 LRP - SchwabLearning.org

More info:

Subject: Parent shall pay District $1302.00 within 30 days of the issuance of this decision as a consequence of her bad faith. This order is enforceable in the same manner as a money judgment.

Yet more info:

PDF of the Court Decision

High Schools

Another High School speech lawsuit aka Harper v. Poway Unified School District

Elliott Chambers, a high school student in St. Paul, Minnesota, was ordered by his school principal not to wear his "Straight Pride" sweatshirt to school after receiving a complaint from another student who represented several homosexuals.

Sorry, Your Viewpoint Is Excluded from 1st Amendment Protection:

That's what the Ninth Circuit holds today, as to student speech in K-12 schools, in a remarkable -- and in my view deeply unsound -- decision (Harper v. Poway Unified School Dist.).

The Volokh Conspiracy - Sorry, Your Viewpoint Is Excluded from First Amendment Protection:

Strange but true at Poway Unified School District

Don't have a date on this, but here it is. 

Strange but true at Poway Unified School District

Westview High School - Junior Year Memories

Very nice....

YouTube - Junior Year Memories

Survival Skills for the Principalship:

Survival Skills for the Principalship: A Treasure Chest of Time-Savers, Short-Cuts, and Strategies to Help You Keep a Balance in Your Life (Paperback)

Author acknowledges ...

Susan Van Zant

Former Principal, Meadowbrook Middle School

Poway Unified School District

Can An $80 Million IBM Deal Save New York City's Schools?

The city just awarded IBM a five-year contract to create a massive system to manage, track, analyze, and share information about student and school performance. But it won't buy Johnny new pencils.

Poway is mentioned wayyyyy at the bottom...

For the rest of the story...

Profiles in Success - Rancho Bernardo High School

San Diego, CA — When the three car dealerships saw the concepts for their new television ad, they knew they had a winner. The Poway Honda, Toyota, and Chevrolet representatives also felt sure that the production company making the pitch would create a glossy, broadcast-quality product. Quite a vote of confidence, considering the entire crew was composed of students from Rancho Bernardo High School (RBHS).

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Model Continuation High Schools for 2007 - Year 2007 (CA Dept of Education)

 Go Abraxas!

Model Continuation High Schools for 2007 - Year 2007 (CA Dept of Education)

Implementing a Growth Model in a School System

BY RAY WILSON

Making the shift from traditional, long-standing, institutional behavior is difficult for any organization. For those of us in public education, a shift that must be aggressively pursued is abandonment of our single-minded emphasis on an assessment model that relies almost entirely on measures of student status at a single point in time for a more balanced approach that also values student growth over time...

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American Association of School Administrators - Publications - Implementing a Growth Model in a School System

Recent Poway USD News

Poway Unified Buffs Out $100M High School With Tech, Energy Amenities (opens .PDF, page 9)

BY JESSICA LONG To prepare students for future advances, a North County school district has embarked on building nothing less than a next-generation training ground rich in technology advances and energy- saving attributes. The $100 million project, Del Norte High School, expected to open in fall 2009, is under construction on a 62- acre site in 4S Ranch.

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RBHS Highlights Newsletter March 2007 (opens .PDF)

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Blurb about Los Pen co-principal Damen Lopez from Midwest Members Seminar 2007 Keynote Sessions

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Poway USD News

Supreme Court has declined to suspend a California high school dress code

March 2007 The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to suspend a dress code at a California high school that is at the center of a continuing legal fight over free speech and religious rights. Tyler Chase Harper (Chase), a Poway High School student, filed suit against Poway Unified School District in 2004, claiming his rights to freedom of speech and religion were violated when he was removed from class for wearing an anti-gay T-shirt.

Follow the above link to an excellently done article by Greg Moran and links to background on the case.

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Poway Unified School District is a coalition member in California

The man behind Character Counts!

Michael Josephson is the founder and president of the Josephson Institute, which he named for his parents after retiring from successful careers in business, law and education. He serves without salary and donates all fees and honoraria from his programs to the Institute, which is overseen by an independent, volunteer board of governors.

Recent Poway USD news

Dual-language classes double the learning.

Poway Unified School Districts Valley Elementary school students – and parents – responsive.

Valley principal Sue Smith said the program's popularity has resulted in waiting lists the past few years, with many families from throughout Poway Unified trying to get in. About a third of Valley's 700 students in kindergarten through fifth-grade are in the program.

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District sued over removal of banners

The removal of banners with the words “God” and “Creator” from a high school math teacher's classroom have led to a lawsuit against the Poway Unified School District.

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Voters may be asked to extend bond

Not all planned projects in the Poway Unified School District will be completed unless voters agree to extend the current $198 million bond.

PUSD News

Foreign Language Assistance Program Office of English Language Acquisition New Grants for FY 2007

CA— POWAY, Poway Unified School District, $150,000.

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2006 Summer Data Conference Longitudinal Data Systems Strand

Across all sessions within the Longitudinal Data Systems (LDS) strand, at the July NCES Summer Data Conference in Washington, DC, were several common themes with respect to what state and district speakers found to be the necessary ingredients in developing and implementing effective and sustainable data systems.

The Effective Use of Data to Improve Instruction - Molly Schaeffer Poway USD

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Survey: 2007 California School Technology Survey

STS Data Report for Poway Unified District

Recent PUSD News

Business Intelligence: Poway Unified School District, with 33,000 students, serves a suburban, middle- to upper-middle-class community about 20 minutes north of San Diego. Under Poway CTO Robert Gravina, the district has been using SAS data warehousing and analytics software for a little more than four years...

"A teacher can go in [to a data analytics tool] and say, 'I want to look at all the students in my class that are second-language learners, scored below the 50th percentile on the CST, have a MAP score of less than 220, and receive reduced lunches.'"
— Robert Gravina, Poway Unified School District

 

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PUSD News

Together Our 3 Dealerships Have Donated Over $285,000.00 To The Poway Unified School District Since 2000 Through Our Ongoing Donation Program.

Poway Unified School District contributes money to the Romney for Prez people... hmmmm

Rancho Bernardo High School Friends of the Library: As the “financial arm” of the RBHS library, our mission is to provide our Library with funds to purchase relevant up-to-date books, online databases and instructional resources for all Rancho Bernardo High School students

Recent PUSD news

Wachovia Securities' Extensive Remodeling Project Gets Under Way San Diego Business Journal - CA,USA School Upgrades: Twin Peaks Middle School has completed its modernization under the Poway Unified School District's Building for Success program. ...

Recent PUSD News

Thousands yet to pass high school exit exam
Delay likely to opening of Willow Grove School
Police may open office at Los Pen
STAR test scores show mixed results
PUSD schools to open with new bell schedules, construction
Cell phone, calculators, gadgets shaping education

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