Use of Categorical Flexibility for 2012-2013

At a regularly scheduled public meeting

of Corcoran Unified School District

CUSD Board Room, 1520 Patterson Avenue, Corcoran, California

May 22, 2012

6:30 p.m.

Due to the cuts to education by the State of California the District is allowed to transfer specific amounts from various categorical programs to any other educational purpose.

The District proposes to take advantage of the allowable transfer provision to sustain vital services and reduce the impact of the state cuts.

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on May 22, 2012, or as soon thereafter as

practicable at a regularly scheduled public meeting of the Board of Education of

Corcoran Joint Unified School District, which will be held at 1520 Patterson Avenue,

Corcoran, California, the Board will consider entering into energy service contracts with

AmSolar, or an affiliate, for the installation of certain energy savings measures and solar

generating facilities on the property of the Corcoran Joint Unified School District, and

related site agreements. Prior to consideration of the contracts, the Board will hold a

public hearing on and consider a resolution to adopt findings required by Government

Code, sections 4217.12, regarding anticipated energy cost savings and other benefits the

District may receive if the Board decides to enter into the energy service contracts and

related site agreements. The resolution, agreements and supporting documents will be on

the Board’s regular public agenda for public comment and discussion.

Rich Merlo, Superintendent

Corcoran Joint Unified School District

TOWN HALL MEETING

Tuesday, May 15

6:00 p.m.

Technology Learning Center

1101 Dairy Ave.

The community is invited to attend

the meeting in order to get a better

understanding of the proposed

school bond and what the monies

from that bond would accomplish.

The following information is provided to assist voters in understanding the facts behind Measure V and how its passage will affect the District and our community.

What is Measure V?

Measure V is a $9.0 million general obligation (G.O.) bond program.  It is intended to address the needs of the student population through modernization projects.  Measure V will modernize outdated classroom and school facility interiors and exteriors, replace aging portable classrooms, and repair dry rot and plumbing systems.

How did the District come up with the project list for Measure V?

Over the last couple of years with input from staff, teachers, parents, community leaders, and the District architect, the District has prepared a School Facilities Master Plan.  The Master Plan identifies the most urgent facility needs including modernization of the District campuses, as well as some key new structures and facilities.

Specific types of projects to be funded by Measure V include:

• Making health and safety improvements
• Repairing and upgrading classrooms and school buildings
• Improving student access to computers and modern technology
• Constructing new classrooms to replace temporary portable classrooms, and
• Upgrading inadequate electrical systems and replacing deteriorating plumbing and sewer systems

What will the passage of Measure V mean for our students and the community?

Measure V will provide our students with a better learning environment by making repairs and upgrades to existing classrooms and school facilities.  This falls in line with the District Vision of becoming a “Destination District.”  Many of the District’s facilities such as the Technology Learning Center, gymnasium, and athletic fields are used by both the schools and the community.

What will Measure V cost?

The annual tax rate per property owner is estimated to be $5.00 per month per $100,000 of assessed valuation.  (Do not confuse assessed valuation with market value.  Assessed valuations are the value placed on property by the County and are almost always lower than market values). Check your property tax statement for your current assessed valuation.

Eduardo Ochoa                  Lora Cartwright                    Steve Berry

Click on “Read More” for Articles on Administrators

Eduardo Ochoa, John C. Fremont Principal

Eduardo Ochoa grew up in Corcoran and graduated from Corcoran High School in 1997 where he was named a J.G. Boswell scholar.  He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University in 2001. The following year he earned a Master of Arts in Education from Stanford. He later completed his education with an Administrative Credential from National University.

Ed started his education career in Corcoran as a math teacher at Corcoran High School in 2002. He then served as vice principal at Corcoran High School from 2004 to 2009.  He has been the Director of Categorical Programs of Corcoran Unified School District since July of 2009.

Since coming to Corcoran Unified School District, Eduardo has become a member and/or board member of several local organizations, including Community and Schools Together (CAST) and Corcoran YMCA.   He sits on several educational committees through the Kings County Office of Education.

Eduardo makes his home in Corcoran with wife, Tirsa, and children, Breanna, Xavier and Sofia.

“I’m looking forward to working with the great staff, students and parents of John C. Fremont,” stated Eduardo. “Great work has been done at the school and with the changes happening to education over the next couple of years, I look forward to partnering with all stakeholders to continue this commitment for continuous improvement!  Much work lies ahead, but with the vision, leadership and dedication already on full display throughout the school and the district, I am confident that we will all work together to realize our potential.”

Lora Cartwright, Director of Educational Services

Lora Cartwright was born in Provo, Utah and grew up in Tempe, Arizona. She was raised in a warm and encouraging family that valued education. She followed in her mother’s footsteps by choosing a career as a teacher as she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education from Arizona State University. Prior to moving to Corcoran, she taught for eight years in junior high school, kindergarten, third grade and Adult Education classes in Arizona, Texas and Ohio.

Lora has been in the Corcoran Unified School District for 18 years. She taught four years at John Muir and Kings Lake schools before taking on the duties as Resource Teacher for Mark Twain and John Muir schools (five years).

She furthered her career with a Masters in Administration from California State University-Fresno, which took her to the next step of her career path when she became principal of John C. Fremont School. She has held this position for eight years.

Lora has two wonderful children, both Corcoran High School graduates who are currently finishing up their college degrees in Arizona, and a very supportive husband of 27 years, who works at J.G. Boswell.

Lora looks forward to each day with optimism and enthusiasm in having the privilege to work with the great students and staff in the Corcoran Unified School District. She believes that “Knowledge is Power; power to provide the confidence and skills needed to accomplish one’s dreams.”

Steve Berry, Director of Categorical Services and Technology

With his father in the U.S. Navy, Steve Berry lived in many places in the United States and Japan in his early years. His family settled in Lemoore when he was in third grade and he remained there throughout the rest of his schooling until college.

Steve graduated from Fresno State in 1990 with a BS in Industrial Technology.  “It’s like engineering, but without the hard math,” is how he explains it.  He worked a summer as a Migrant Aide in Tulare. When a teaching position opened in Corcoran, he decided to give it a try.  In 1991 he was hired as a fourth grade classroom teacher at Mark Twain Elementary.  While there he established the Eagle Vision News Network and Student Mail Service, both of which are still in place today.  In his fourth year he was awarded Teacher of the Year for his innovation and enthusiasm both inside and outside of his classroom.

After seven years at Mark Twain, he transferred to Bret Harte Elementary to teach first grade.  The following year he was recruited to teach a video production elective class at Corcoran High School.  CHS utilized his skills not only in the classroom but also announcing football games and running the scoreboard for basketball.  In 2003 he applied for and was hired as the resource teacher at John Muir Middle School.  This position transitioned into his current position as Learning Director.  His work at John Muir earned him the 2010-11 Administrator of the Year.

Steve’s wife, Lisa Coleman, has worked for Corcoran Unified a year longer than Steve and is currently teaching fourth grade at Mark Twain.  The couple has two daughters working their way through the District.  Rachel is a fifth grader at Mark Twain, while Nicole is at John C Fremont in the third grade. Steve is rightfully proud that Rachel scored a perfect 600 on the CST math test last year and Nicole is an Academic All-Star.

“I’m looking forward to the new position,” he said.  There have been–and will continue to be–a lot of changes in the field of education.  Little ole Corcoran is right at the cutting edge and I look forward to maintaining Corcoran as a Destination District not only for parents but other school districts as well.  We have schools from not just California but around the world coming to see our teachers and students in action.  Mr. Merlo had the vision to get the ball rolling and it’s up to all of us to do our parts to maintain the momentum.  I’ve enjoyed working for Corcoran Unified these past 21 years and have no intention of slowing down now.”

Corcoran Unified School District

District Update

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This is a quote we came up with after a discussion on building a collective efficacy among all staff members.  Teachers should have the professional autonomy to stop a lesson and make adjustments because the core intent is student learning; not covering content.  That is the paradigm shift we are seeing.

This is a shift because we have become so content driven.  After all, there are these thoughts that keep rising in the back of our minds that say, “I have to get through this,” or “I have to stay up with the pacing guide.”  The new thoughts that we have to have imprinted in our minds is, “I have to make sure my students are getting this,” or “I have to know if they are getting this now.”  And, with this type of thinking in mind, teachers need to have the freedom to make a “real time” adjustment in their teaching.  In other words, it is okay to stop, start over, adjust, change the direction etc. all for the sake of student learning.

Once “real time” student understanding and learning is the focus and goal in our day-to-day work, and it is important to everyone at a school site, making the necessary adjustments becomes a way of doing business.

One of the questions that was posed to several administrators at a recent conference was, “why is it adults do most of the talking in our classrooms?”  The implied question is, why do we not structure more opportunities for students to express themselves orally and academically?

The discussion was interesting because as we drilled down deeper and deeper into the why behind our work as educators, we found some critical factors.  After we reflected on how most educators learned and “did school,” we realized that most of us learned sitting at a desk, listening, taking notes with little to no discourse during class time.  Most of us did school well, and most of us learned in the traditional style of teaching and learning.  In other words, most of us were “good at school.”  It is important to note, we still have students like us, but the reality is most students are not.

We have made the assumption that since we have learned this way, our students learn this way, and when we see that they are not responding, it can frustrate us.

The other revelation is the fact that most of us learned to teach the way we do, i.e. standing in front of the class lecturing and providing direct information to students with little to no dialogue from students by our teaching mentors and by our college education classes.

And, lastly, this is how we have set up our evaluation systems, and how we have expected teachers to teach.  We have emphasized teacher talk, checking for understanding (which is still essential), but we have made little emphasis on what students are doing.  That is, what tasks are students assigned, and do those tasks include student oral language expression, thinking, and writing at the higher levels of complexity we are targeting?

The good news is we know the source of the problem which has much to do with what we think is important in teaching and learning.  Now, as we understand the importance of structured academic student talk, and as we emphasize the importance of the complexity of the student task, we all can move forward to seeing greater benefits and opportunities for student achievement growth!