All Entries in the "Schools" Category
COC Hosts College Day
In it’s 5th year hosting College Day, COC is geared up and ready for what they hope will not only be a successful event, but beneficial to SCV teens. On Saturday, October 11th from 9am to 1pm college representatives will be at the COC Valencia campus waiting to meet and great Santa Clarita high school students and give them information about their college.
The day is scheduled with workshops and presentations as well as a mall like atmosphere for teens to walk around and gather information about colleges they are interested in.
Admission is free and the workshops they have tentatively scheduled include SAT & ACT test secrets, college bound student athlete, admissions essays, recommendations and interviews and more.
For more information you can go to the COC website.
Tutoring Club
I signed my daughter up at the Tutoring Club located on the corner of Newhall Ranch and Dickerson. (in the Eggs n Things center)
I see this place every time I drive over to pick her up and when she needed help in Geometry it was my first choice, mainly for the location. So far I have been very pleased with the learning environment and the price isn’t that bad either. I paid $370 for 4 weeks / 8 1 hour lessons($50 was a registration fee).
They are open from 2:30-7:30 and offer many subjects including SAT Prep.
Finals will be here before we know it, so if your kid is starting to need help, maybe it’s time to start thinking about getting them a tutor.
Check them out for yourself at their website.
NSD and STAR Results
The headline in todays Signal gives props to the NSD!
The Newhall School District is celebrating after achieving extremely high scores on its STAR tests, which contribute to the schools’ Academic Performance Index and the Adequate Yearly Progress scores that determine the schools’ state and national rankings.
According to data released Wednesday from the California Department of Education, the district’s English-Language Arts proficiency percentages are the highest out of all the Santa Clarita Valley public schools. 2007’s results showed that 68 per cent of the 5000 students in the district tested at the proficient level or above on their English-Language Arts tests, almost a 4 per cent rise on last year.
Teachers of the Year
A round of applause for:
Dawna Countryman from Tesoro Elementary has received the honor of the California Teacher of the Year from State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell. Check out this press release on the California Dept of Education website.
Additionally, congratulations to the 17 Hart District teachers that were nominated by their peers to receive the honor of ‘Teacher of the Year’ at the district level! All of these teachers are now in the running for ‘District Teacher of the Year’ and could even advance beyond that to the state level or even national recognition.
All these great teachers will be honored at a luncheon later this year at Robinson Ranch.
Without further ado, here they are:
Hart School Board Election
Only one brave soul, Joe Messina, stepped up to run for the difficult job on the Hart School Board. With all the heat these folks have taken over the last year about the Castaic High School cluster I am surprised that anyone would want that high pressure position that comes with a paycheck smaller than a peanut, but I did think that more people would run. I am also surprised that the two incumbents, Gloria Mercado-Fortine and Steve Sturgeon will run again.
I’d keep writing, but really Laurie Ender tells it like it is on her blog, so I recommend you check it out there.
Castaic May Go Modular
The powers that oversee the Castaic High School debacle are now looking at building the school using modular buildings. Having the buildings built off site would speed up the possible opening of the school back to the year 2010. Modular buildings cost less and go up quicker. This could be a solution for residents in Castaic who have been shuffled around the Hart School District over the past few years.
I hate sounding pessimistic, but I just have this feeling that someone isn’t going to like the whole ‘modular’ building idea. Surely there will be parents out there complaining about it. It’s just a feeling, but we’ll see what happens.
I did a bit of surfing on modular buildings and they look really nice.
Castaic High Schoolâ?¦Not!
I’ve been hesitant to post anything about the Castaic High School issue because it really isn’t a topic I’m well versed in, but after reading the paper today, well I can’t help it.
Castaic residents now have to wait until possibly 2014 for a high school. According to a meeting last night, that’s what they were told. Apparently, the location they were looking at has some huge pipeline going through below the property or some other environmental issue? This whole thing is ridiculous and embarrassing. It’s ridiculously embarrassing.
No wonder West Ranch became fed up. I mean they pay those “mellowroos” taxes over there and they probably knew all along it wouldn’t be done in 2010. They might just be the smartest ones in the bunch.
The thing that really struck me when I read the article was the last paragraph. It said:
“No decisions were made, nor were any clear plans laid out” yet one of the event organizers called it “a good start”. Start? WTF? This should be at least in the middle or at the end. Yet, they will build 4000 new homes, with no high school. Let’s not forget all the Val Verde homes in addition to that.
It never occurred to me that moving to the Valencia High School district would result in my kids attending an over crowded high school. I recently heard that there were over 100 kids signed up for the freshman football program for next season. Is there any truth to that? Is that a sign of things to come for the next 5-7 years? Will the kids have to share desks or textbooks?
I feel bad for Castaic residents. I do feel like they are being treated poorly through out all of this and the kids are the ones that will suffer. Can we give the kids in Castaic open enrollment? Let them attend any school they want in the SCV. Some of them might want to go to Hart or Canyon?
Well, my only hope is that there are enough Castaic kids with siblings attending West Ranch to reduce the class size at VHS. Of course, that’s just a hope. .
Ok, I’m done. Sorry, just had to get it off my chest.
