Posted by Sandy, a resident of the Mohr Park neighborhood, on Jun 20, 2012 at 9:27 pm
Sandy is a member (registered user) of PleasantonWeekly.com

Now I understand why there was no response to my post here in the forum! The meeting was not televised live. The archived webcast is now available online:

Web Link

Public comments were heard from Laura McNerney (Valley View parent) and Janelle Sloan (Vintage Hills parent) on K-3 reading.

In the superintendent's report, an overview of the decision made to reinstate K-3 staggered readings was provided by Cindy Galbo-Lorimer.

Significant Agenda (with background PDFs documents if available):

Demographic report (scheduled for 40 minutes on the agenda) (PDF):

Web Link

Facilities Master Plan presentation (scheduled for 30 minutes on the agenda)

(No PDF of this presentation is available to the public at this time.)

Ongoing development of this plan will continue through October 2012, with continuing community involvement, notably from staff, parents, and students.

The board took a 5-minute break at 9:35 pm.

Posted by LuvPleasanton, a resident of the Downtown neighborhood, on Jun 20, 2012 at 10:48 pm
LuvPleasanton is a member (registered user) of PleasantonWeekly.com

I AM ABSOLUTELY IN SHOCK ... THE FOLLOWING IS OUR SUPERINTENDENT'S STRATEGIC PLAN FOR OUR KIDS!!!!! DELIVERED AT THE SCHOOL BOARD MEETING!

IT IS THE MOST RIDICULOUS BUNCH OF PC GARBAGE I HAVE EVER HEARD FROM A PERSON WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR "EDUCATING" OUR CHILDREN!!!!

WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO READING, WRITING AND ARITHMETIC!!!!!!

THE ONLY WAY THESE BUREAUCRATS WILL BE SUCCESSFUL IS TO FOCUS ON THE BASICS AND TEACHING OUR CHILDREN HOW TO EMBRACE AND LOVE LEARNING !!!!!!!

NOT ALL THIS "BOIL THE OCEAN... FEEL GOOD... SAVE THE WORLD ... GARBAGE...

I CANNOT BELIEVE IN THE ENTIRE STRATEGIC PLAN THE SUPERINTENDENT DID NOT MENTION ONCE THAT OUR GOAL IS TO INSURE OUR CHILDREN CAN READ, WRITE, COMMUNICATE, CALCULATE OR EMBRACE AND LEARN TO LOVE LEARNING!!!!

IT'S ALSO AMAZING THAT THIS PLAN WAS DEVELOPED AFTER MEETING WITH THE COMMUNITY ... I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT IS WHAT WAS CONVEYED TO THE SUPERINTENDENT, IF IT IS, GOD HELP US!!!!

HERE IT IS ... YOU BE THE JUDGE...

Superintendent Ahmadi presented the District’s Strategic Plan. After

conducting Listening Campaigns with many groups throughout the Pleasanton community, input was used to finalize the Vision, Mission, and Bold Goals for the District.

The Vision: Every student will be a resourceful, resilient, responsible and engaged world citizen.

The Mission: Our students will make a better world.

Bold Goals:

CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION

1. Eliminate racial, socio-economic, and gender predictability in

achievement.

2. Optimize student learning by utilizing innovative technologies.

PERSONAL GROWTH

1. Empower all students to develop character, compassion, civility, and community consciousness.

FISCAL STEWARDSHIP

1. Students will be central to all fiscal decisions.

2. Ensure fiscal health through investing in today while planning for

tomorrow.

LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

1. All students and staff are provided with a high-quality physical

environment that facilitates teaching and learning.

2. Every student and staff will feel safe, respected, and enjoy positive

connections.

Posted by Sandy, a resident of the Mohr Park neighborhood, on Jun 21, 2012 at 8:08 pm
Sandy is a member (registered user) of PleasantonWeekly.com

LuvPleasanton, I appreciate your expression of concern with the first three elements of the strategic plan. I also *suggest* that you *refrain* from writing in ALL CAPS on a web forum. It is often interpreted as YELLING AT YOUR READERS, which generally discourage them from responding in anything other than the same tone. Worse yet, it can make it less likely that people will read or absorb your ideas at all.

I think the plan as presented is wordy and could use a professional edit.

One core idea in your comments is this sentence: "The only way these bureaucrats will be successful is to focus on the basics and teaching our children to embrace and love learning." I agree. I interpret the "moral imperatives" element of the strategic plan as capturing these ideas, and in particular these sentences:

"It is our responsibility to inspire curiosity and a passion for lifelong learning."

"We believe in providing learning that is innovative, irresistible, creative, relevant, and rigorous."

I note that you did not include the moral imperatives section of the strategic plan in your summary. I would welcome hearing your response to those statements of belief. Do they conflict with your own beliefs? Do you think they will be harmful to students?

I would also like to point out that the strategic plan is not yet complete. The last section of the plan -- the balanced scorecard -- is still in development. I expect that it will be presented for comment and approval at school board meetings in August and September. My business experience leads me to believe that this is the most important element of a strategic plan, because it specifies what will be monitored by the district's leadership.

So I encourage you to share your critique and your suggestions for improvement with the superintendent and board members over the summer. Write them some emails. Ask specific questions, to encourage them to respond.

Posted by LuvPleasanton, a resident of the Downtown neighborhood, on Jun 22, 2012 at 8:01 pm
LuvPleasanton is a member (registered user) of PleasantonWeekly.com

Sandy, Thanks for the response ...

I AM YELLING!!! IS ANYBODY LISTENING!!! ... MY CHILDREN ARE NO LONGER IN PLEASANTON SCHOOLS, THEY HAVE ALL BENEFITED FROM ATTENDING THE PLEASANTON SCHOOL SYSTEM AND ARE NOW CONTRIBUTING TO A "BETTER WORLD" ...

I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS STRATEGIC PLAN WAS PRESENTED AT THE PUSD BOARD MEETING AND ALL HELL DIDN'T BREAK LOOSE ... $1000s OF DOLLARS IN CONSULTANTS, $200K ADMINISTRATORS AND THIS IS WHAT THEY PRODUCE... TRY AND MEASURE IT!!! TRY AND UNDERSTAND IT!!!! YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!!!

GOD HELP YOU FOLKS WITH CHILDREN STILL IN PLEASANTON SCHOOLS!!!!

I will now lower my voice .... WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!!