Members of the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education have unanimously voted to lend their support to Proposition 30.
At their Thursday meeting, each board member expressed frustration with the failure of state legislators to come up with a meaningful solution to California’s education funding crisis. While Governor Jerry Brown’s tax initiative is far from a permanent fix, it does buy the district time for maintaining crucial programs, said board member Sam Mowbray.
“I feel I have no alternative but to support this resolution,” added board member Hilary LaConte.
Outgoing Claremont Educational Foundation President Liz Weigand will be recognized at the next meeting of the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education, set for Thursday, October 4 at 6:30 p.m.
Another ceremonial item will be the appointment and swearing in of the non-voting CUSD student board member from Claremont High School for the 2012-2013 school year.
Don’t give her fantasy. Don’t give her sci-fi. When it comes to reading, Barbara Cheatley, owner of Barbara Cheatley Antiques in Claremont, wants a slice of life.
Most often, this reality check comes in the form of biography, her favorite literary genre.
Recently, she read Frank and Eleanor: An Extraordinary Marriage, a book by Hazel Rowley charting the unconventional union of the 32nd president and his outspoken first lady, which prevailed through political strife and infidelity.
Jack Scott, scholar in residence in Claremont Graduate University's School of Educational Studies and chancellor of the California Community Colleges from 2009-2012, will deliver this year's 29th annual Howard R. Bowen Lecture on Tuesday, October 2.
Mr. Scott’s talk will focus on how California's higher education system has gone from being a world leader to being one of the country's most challenged over the span of 40 years.
Local fifth and sixth graders recently got a lesson in how to turn creative ideas into concrete accomplishments when the authors of 2 popular sci-fi/fantasy series, Lisa McMann and Margaret Peterson Haddix, visited Vista Elementary School.
Vista librarian Cindy Dewey coordinated the visit with the help of Mrs. Nelson’s Toy and Bookshop, which the authors visited later that evening.
Ms. McMann, the New York Times bestselling author of 9 books, appeared as part of her promotion for Island of Silence, the second book in her The Unwanteds series Kirkus Reviews has called “The Hunger Games meets Harry Potter.”
The Friends of the Claremont Library has announced its forthcoming program for The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, the amazing story of a virtually unknown woman whose cells have become one of the most important tools in modern-day medicine. The book is this year’s On The Same Page selection for the city-wide community read.
Heavy-hitting items on the agenda included the district’s Annual Report on Assessment and Accountability, a preliminary roundup of how CUSD students did on testing last year, set against the context of how the district has performed in the last few years. The agenda additionally featured the also-preliminary Unaudited Actuals Reports for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2012, which indicates how the district is doing financially.
News was good on both fronts.
Jazz music and the chatter of some 55 community members filled the boardroom of the Richard S. Kirkendall Education Center on Thursday during a welcome reception for new Claremont Unified School District Superintendent Jim Elsasser.
“It feels like you’ve been welcoming me for a long time,” joked Mr. Elsasser, who inked his contract in May and took the reins of the CUSD June 1. “I promise this is the last welcome event.”
A welcome reception for new CUSD Superintendent Jim Elsasser will precede the next meeting of the Claremont Unified School District Board of Education. Set for Thursday, September 13 from 5 to 6:30 p.m., the meet-and-greet is open to the public.
The reception will be followed by the school board meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. and will feature another welcoming ceremony when Mr. Elsasser swears in new student board member Maggie Elizalde, a senior at San Antonio High School.
There’s change in the wind for public schools across the nation, including those in the Claremont Unified School District, in the form of a new set of state standards called the Common Core.
Its development is incomplete because assessment methods are still being devised, and its implementation is unfunded, but Common Core is set to start in 46 states, including California, in 2014. Here’s a little background.
Sixth graders at Sumner Elementary School got a taste of the political process on Wednesday when Donna Lowe—a Republican candidate for the newly-redistricted 41st Assembly District—stopped by to share her take on state government, running for office and the challenges facing Californians.
“I know you’re probably very fidgety and want to get out to the playground,” Ms. Lowe said to the 102 kids who trooped into the cafeteria for her mid-morning presentation
Whether wielding a paintbrush or trolling estate sales for vintage collectibles, Anne Seltzer is known for her visual acumen.
What not everyone knows is that Ms. Seltzer—a local artist and the owner of a Brush With the Past: Art Gallery and Vintage Treasures, located in the Claremont Village—also has a way with words.
She was a high school English teacher, instructing teens in the joys of literature, before she gave it all up to be a full-time artist.
On a journey to transform the way care is provided in its skilled nursing setting—based on resident-centered values and practices—Pilgrim Place has discovered that enhancing the communication skills of the limited-English- speaking staff is making a difference.
“The job description of the housekeeping staff has become that of homemaker,” said Sue Fairley, vice president of health services at Pilgrim Place.
Students stopping by Kristin Robinson’s office are greeted by a drawing of Tinker Bell, which hangs behind the new Sumner Elementary School principal’s desk.
Ms. Robinson, who will participate in the Disney sponsored Tinker Bell half-marathon in January—joining a throng running 13 miles in green tutus—has amassed quite a collection of memorabilia commemorating the mischievous character.
Ms. Robinson’s fairy fixation stems from her nickname, “Tinker Bell,” a moniker referring to her penchant for styling her blonde hair in a pixie-like updo and another shared attribute.
