Education in Focus: Good News!

By Leslie DeRose and Jeff Ursino

It’s no exaggeration to say public schools in California are suffering through the biggest fiscal crisis in our lifetimes. Perhaps the biggest ever. While economists say the economy is showing signs of life, our schools are still struggling under years of budget cuts. In the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, we have had to slash over $18.5 million from our budget over the past five years.

But in spite of all that school goes on. Over 19,500 students come to Pajaro Valley and Aptos schools Monday through Friday. Our bus drivers transport one-third of our students to and from school each day. Over half our students take advantage of our lunch program and eat nutritious meals each day. Teachers are there to help students learn. Coaches lead them through victory and defeat. Custodians and maintenance crews keep our schools clean and safe while our administrative staff works behind the scenes in an effort to keep it all running smoothly during this unpredictable time.

Unfortunately, we don’t hear much about these dedicated professionals. We are constantly bombarded with bad news about California schools. So we thought we’d share a little of the good news that happening in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District:

• Academic Performance Index test scores have gone up the last three years. We have a lot further to go, but we are on the right track and making real and lasting progress. Recent accreditation reviews of Aptos and Watsonville high schools made special note of the exemplary work the district has done to improve academic excellence and standards-based instruction.
• PVUSD received a $250,000 grant from the Secondary Education Commission for the 2011-2012 school year and has been asked to apply again next year. The grant is a partnership with UC Santa Cruz, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and The Central California Writing Project. The grant provides middle and high school English teachers with monthly training in writing standards with an emphasis on analytical writing. The goal for this year has been for teachers to gain a deeper understanding of the new writing standards and begin to introduce them to students.
• Tenaya Greeninger, a sixth-grader at Mar Vista Elementary School, has been surfing since she was 6 and has been training with the Junior Lifeguards program in Seacliff for the past few years. She put her training to work recently when she rescued two 11-year-old boys who were caught in a rip current at Rio Del Mar beach. When she saw what was happening she grabbed a surfboard, paddled out the boys and helped them back to beach. Renaissance High School’s boys’ basketball team won its first title since 2000 after defeating Central Coast. Go Dragons!
• Two Valencia Elementary School 6th graders, Eve Jones and Calissa Kloepfer, won first place at the in the category of microbiology for their project, “Handy Solutions."  They will be traveling to Los Angeles in May to compete in the state science fair.
• PVUSD is paying particular attention to the implementation of a strong K-12 English Language Development (ELD) program. Twelve schools have been trained in ELD or are in the process of being trained. Once training is complete, schools receive peer coaching to implement the program. Our middle and high schools have received new ELD materials as well. 
• Each month the Food and Nutrition Services Department features a seasonal fruit or vegetable in the cafeteria called “Harvest of the Month.” This fruit or vegetable is usually purchased locally and most of the time is organic. Harvest of the Month exposes students to fruits and vegetables they might not see all the time. The department is also offering recess fruit carts at 12 elementary schools in the district. These carts are loaded up each day with fruit and vegetables and staff take them out to the playground during recess.
• PVUSD, in partnership with Monterey Peninsula Unified School District, has secured a three-year, $3 million California Mathematics and Science Partnership grant to work with over 100 teachers to improve student achievement by targeting mathematics in grades three through algebra 1. Participating teachers will complete 60 hours of intensive professional development and 24 hours of classroom follow-up. As part of the grant, all teachers will participate in summer institutes, lesson study, classroom coaching, and performance assessment scoring. Attention will be focused on developing the foundational concepts underlying the newly adopted Common Core State Standards (CCSS), emphasizing tools for teachers to analyze students’ thinking. A major component of the project is to help teachers move students from arithmetic to algebraic thinking across the grades and promote success in algebra for all.  

While the news about public education seems to be all grim, we’ve got good news to report.  Great things continue to happen in Pajaro Valley schools. Despite all the challenges, the district continues to look toward the future to make lasting investments in our students and to build on the great things we’ve already accomplished. Our future can be bright if we stay focused on our most important thing—our students!

Leslie DeRose and Jeff Ursino are the president and vice president of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s governing board of trustees.