Sunday, September 30, 2012




CCCE would like to introduce you to Coast Unified School Board candidate Judith Hillen:

 

Judith Hillen

Elementary School Teacher/University Professor/Math Consultant  

 

On Tuesday, November 6 you have the privilege of exercising your right to choose who will represent you on the Coast Unified School Board. I am a candidate for the position of Trustee and would appreciate your vote.


Who am I?

 Education

  • B.S., Elementary Education, Cal Poly
  • M.A., Integrated Mathematics and Science, Fresno Pacific University
  • Ed.D., Curriculum, Instruction and Ed. Leadership, USC

Professional Experience

  • Elementary classroom teacher in California and Oregon
  • University Professor - Fresno Pacific University - Graduate Math/Science
  • Program Director - AIMS Education Foundation
  • Mathematics Consultant - Creative Mathematics/Math Six-Paks©

Family in Cambria

  • My husband and I have lived in Cambria for 4 years.
  • Our daughter Kate and husband Mike Magnuson live and work here 
  • Our three grandchildren Grant, Ellie, and Spencer attend Cambria schools 
  • Sister and brother-in-law, Marcia and Dean Hilger also live here and are active supporters of CUSD and AFS (foreign exchange program).

What’s important for Coast Unified School District?

Students come first. We should strive for excellence and innovation in academics, sports and the arts.

Sound fiscal management - As state and federal funding sources lessen, we need creative ways to insure that our teachers and students still receive the support they deserve.

Strong, open communication between schools, parent and community!



Monday, March 26, 2012

Communication, Community Input and Transparency... is that too much to ask for?

Recently there have been several issues which seem to have polarized our community with respect to the school district. We believe that improving communication between the community and the school board could help ease some of this discord and potentially provide a forum to resolve conflict and restore confidence in our leadership.

We are asking the Coast Unified School District Board of Trustees to create a community liaison committee consisting of board members, teachers and parents to discuss and work towards solutions to the many issues facing our school district.

If you agree then please take a minute to sign our petition:


http://www.thepetitionsite.com/683/436/064/communication-community-input-and-transparency-is-that-too-much-to-ask-for/

Friday, March 2, 2012

Dear Bert Etling...

Thank you Lee for standing up to the real bullies! Hopefully Bert will see fit to publish your letter, but for now I will publish it here!

Bert -

That Sanders piece you ran was insightful. I regret Greg Sanders has not attended a school board meeting once in Chris Adams's tenure as Superintendent. It would be great to get his thoughts on the impact of long term English language learners to a community. Personally, I had to review our ELL program and performance with the Director of the CA Department of Education Language Policy and Leadership Office, the head of the AMAO office, speak with three benchmark school districts and consult an ELL Advocacy group before I was comfortable speaking publicly about these topics. I will presume Chris Adams or Pedro Garcia brought Sanders up to speed on the complexity of these issues.

Sander's claims that Superintendent's own kids are being bullied is troubling. Having attended the SLO county anti-bullying conference hosted by Dr. Crocker I would go further and say, The Cambrian needs to investigate bullying at our schools immediately. It is rampant.

I know firsthand because I am the parent of not one, but two, bullied children. My children were not bullied by other kids though but by Superintendent Adams and his wife.

Superintendent Adams distributed a letter to his staff in his staff meetings calling me, their father, a liar. He proceeded to claim I was attacking the district staff by asking questions about our ELL program. Bert, you remember this letter, The Cambrian published it the following day and still has not fact checked his statements. Not to be outdone, Julie Adams cyberbullied my ten year old daughter in an email she sent to the district staff and half of Cambria. In addition to being distasteful and mean spirited it turns out her disclosures about my disabled child violate state ed code, FERPA laws, IDEA law and the CUSD Board bylaws. These laws exist to protect my child's privacy and the information is held only at the district office. I expected the Board to launch an investigation but they have initiated nothing. Everyone involved in special education in SLO County who has learned of this disclosure has been appalled by this conduct. If you need to review Julie's email for your investigation it is still online at Calcoast news. It is not hard to find, the private information Julie Adams disclosed about my child can be seen alongside allegations of sexual harassment by an area police chief!

By definition bullying uses a power imbalance, intends to cause harm and is repeated so it seems, I too, may be a victim of the Adams' bullying. If you want to interview me I will happily tell you how I feel about the matter. Perhaps Greg Sanders and I could speak at a Rotary meeting together and discuss whether such behavior passes the Four-Way test? It would be a good lesson on ethics for the kids of our town.

We need your investigative journalism to put an end to this nonsense. First, find the elusive Pedro Garcia and then launch your investigation into bullying.

We are all counting on you Bert.

(from Lee Chamberlain)

Thursday, February 2, 2012

New 2010-2011 Ed Data Reports Released today

You can now access 2010-11 district-level teacher salary and experience data, physical fitness test results, and average class size data on the Ed-Data website.

Teacher Salaries:
Our Teacher Salaries reports include information on a district's salary schedule as well as the highest salary offered, district contributions to teacher benefit plans, percent change in salary over the prior year, and information on teacher credentials and experience.

Using Ed-Data's Compare Districts tool, you can also see which districts have the highest, or the lowest, salaries in the state or compare your district to similar districts.

Please note: Salary and benefit information comes from a teacher salary report (J-90) that districts are not required to file. About 20% of districts (about 1% of the state's ADA) do not file this report and so will have no data in the Teacher Salary, Teacher Benefit, or Supplemental Salary tables.

Physical fitness data:
The California Department of Education (CDE) just updated 2010-11 results from the California Fitness Tests. You'll find this latest data in the Performance tab of the Accountability reports at the school, district, county, and state levels.

Average class size data:
We've also posted Average Class Size data in the profile reports. But please note, the state did not release average class size information for self contained classrooms for 2010-11.

Important note about the data:
As many of you know, the state continues to experience some data collection issues in the transition to the new student-level data system. We've flagged and explained problems wherever possible in the text accompanying the data. For more information, please see our Data FAQ article.

What's Next on Ed-Data:
The CDE recently updated 2009-10 cohort graduation and dropout data. We are loading it now and hope to bring it to you soon. The Department is also in the process of updating 2011 Accountability data including API Growth, AYP, and PI information. We'll refresh the information on Ed-Data as soon as possible.

http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/Pages/Home.aspx

Monday, January 30, 2012

Proposed Community Liaison Committee

CCCE would like to thank the efforts of Audrey Negley in opening a dialogue with the board! Audrey has met with Cindy Fratto and we, as per Cindy's request, are now working on compiling a list of more specific issues. Please email me at cindysass@yahoo.com and let me know if you have any questions or concerns you would like addressed! Here is Audrey's letter:

________________________________________________________

Ms. Cindy Fratto
Board of Trustees
Coast Unified School District
1350 Main Street
Cambria, California 93428

Re: Proposed Community Liaison Committee

Dear Ms. Fratto:

I am a parent of two children currently attending the Cambria Grammar School. I have involved myself in the school environment by helping in the classroom and participating in the Cambria Grammar School Parent Teacher’s Association (PTA). In doing so, I have been able to observe and experience some of the issues that confront our school district. It is important to me that I attempt to be a proactive parent and assist the school and community in helping enrich and improve our children’s learning environment.

Unfortunately, there have been several issues which seem to have polarized our community with respect to the school district. From my observation and understanding, I believe that improving communication between parents and the school board could help ease some of this discord and potentially provide a forum to resolve conflict and restore confidence in our leadership. I would like to propose that a committee be developed consisting of several parents and board members to develop an agenda of current issues and work towards finding a resolution, if appropriate, and provide a means to offer parents and the public with important information.

I realize that the public is offered time to comment at monthly school board meetings; however, this forum does not provide an open line of communication where each party can respond to concerns or requests. Pursuant to the Coast Unified School District Bylaws, a temporary special committee can be formed and discharged by the President of the Board. With respect to that provision of the bylaws, I would like to propose that a temporary subcommittee be formed consisting of Board members and parents to discuss and work towards solutions to the many issues that the public is bringing to the Board.

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this matter with you and hopefully engage members of our community in a productive and professional manner. I believe that it would be to the community’s advantage to have this matter before the school board at its next meeting.

Sincerely,
Audrey Negley

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

CCCE Mission Statement

Welcome to Concerned Citizens for Cambrian Education's blog. Below you will find the CCCE's main objectives. It is our goal to build a better school district through improved communication and community involvement. Please keep comments focused on the issues and the mission of the group. Please be nice and treat others' comments with respect. Association with the group in no way is an endorsement of statements made by any other member. You can also join us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/groups/273133316074257/


CCCE Mission Statement

Community Representation:
Ensure that the Board provides leadership and citizen oversight, fairly represent their constituents and stakeholders e.g. parents, teachers, administration, staff, the community, the taxpayer and above all, the children of the district.

Community Values:
Ensure the Board and district is responsive to the values, beliefs, and priorities of the community and that Board actions and decision reflect these community values.

Community Communication:
Create an open dialogue between the Board and their constituents and ensure that there is no district retaliation in response to an opposing thought or recommendation.

A Desirable Workplace:
Ensure the district has established safe and supportive working condition that will attract and retain staff members who are highly qualified and dedicated to the education and welfare of students.

Adherence to Board Procedure:

Ensure that the Board follows the laws pertaining to public education, established policies of the district and public meeting protocol.

Parent Involvement Through Board Appointed Committees:

Establish functioning Board appointed committees that participate in the guidance and direction of the school.

Community Involvement:
Utilize the full resource of the community to support the district in the creation of Board appointed committees that facilitate the execution of Board directed initiatives.

Transparency:
Ensure that the finances and strategic direction of the district are fully transparent and represent the values beliefs, and priorities of the stakeholders.

Followers