A Community Comes Together For Its Schools - Opinion - Marin IJ By George Stratigos

A Community Comes Together For Its Schools
By George Stratigos

Anyone who has followed the turbulent history of the Sausalito Marin City School District can appreciate the changes that are finally taking hold here: changes that will have a positive impact on the district, its families and children for many years to come.

Measure I, appearing on the ballot of voters in Sausalito, Marin City and the Houseboats, will authorize construction bonds that will greatly enhance facilities that are in desperate need of improvement.

On Tuesday, October 19, all five members of the Sausalito City Council voted to support the measure, and joined other community leaders and a united district board in endorsing this plan of action. As a Sausalito native, as a former member of the city council, and as the current president of the school district’s board of trustees, I am delighted beyond words to see that we are at last coming together to move our district forward.

It is no secret that, every year, Sausalito loses families to other Marin communities. These are families intent on sending their children to a neighborhood public school that they believe will better meet the needs of their children. This exodus is the principal reason why Sausalito has the highest average age of any Marin community.

The first step in turning this situation around came in the school board recall five years ago. The recall carried by a wide margin because the community recognized the need for change. Two years ago, the district’s primary school, Bayside Elementary reported that student test scores had doubled. Shortly after that, the school was recognized as one of two most improved schools in all of California.

The bond measure will help the district continue this forward momentum. It will provide funds for the construction of a kindergarten that will allow Bayside to cease the reliance on portables that have been in use for forty years. It will fund the creation of a new middle school, which is desperately needed to meet the district’s mandate to ensure that our children will be as well prepared for high school as the children of other Marin County communities. In addition, the funds will cover a myriad of needs that will make necessary safety upgrades and access improvements.

The unanimous support of the Sausalito City Council for Measure I is an important statement that this community is ready to make excellence in education a top priority. We could not make a wiser choice for our children, or for the future of our community.

George Stratigos, a former member of the Sausalito City Council, is the President of the Sausalito Marin City School District’s Board of Trustees.

Letter to Voters about Measure I - By Yes I Can Commitee

Dear Sausalito Marin City School District Voter:

This is the moment!

This election the voters of the Sausalito Marin City School District will be asked to make an important decision. Measure I is a proposed $15 million construction bond that allows for the building of a new middle school, the replacement of our substandard K-2 portables with a new permanent building, and modernization of all other buildings to safety and ADA standards, as required by state law. The passage of this measure will make a big change for our small district, affecting all three of our schools: Bayside Elementary, Willow Creek Academy, and MLK Academy. It will ensure that we can provide adequate after-school child care facilities as well. Most importantly, it will help in the success of Vision 900, which is our program to make our district equal or better than other high achieving districts in Marin County.

This is the first school bond measure put before the voters of this district since 1930. That’s an incredible fact when one considers that in the past ten years every other Marin County school district has passed one or more bond measures to improve and expand their schools.

After many years of struggle our district is at last making the kind of progress that has long been sought by hoped for by the community. In the last three years we have doubled our academic test scores and, in 2003, Bayside Elementary, was recognized as the second most improved school in all of California.

On average, homeowners will see an increase of approximately $100 on their annual tax bill if this measure is passed. Besides the wonderful benefits improved school facilities will create for our community’s children, your support of this measure is a wise investment. Increased home values, as reported in the Marin Independent Journal, have followed school bond measures in Kentfield, Corte Madera, Tiburon, Mill Valley and elsewhere in Marin.

Beyond this fact, it is common knowledge that our district has long suffered the loss of young families who exit our community when their children complete pre-school and begin their primary education. This flight of young families has given us the oldest median age of any community in Marin.

This is the moment. Let’s stay on the road that we are on today: Creating an effective charter school in Willow Creek, continuing to improve our academic standing at Bayside Elementary and creating a newly renovated middle school so badly needed by our older children.

Join us at upcoming community forums or call directly to 332-4197 for more information. Vote for Measure I on November 2nd and prove that ours is a community where equal opportunity means excellence in education for all.

Vision 900: The Next Plateau For Academic Achievement.By George Stratigos "Yes I Can" Committee

“yes I can”

Vision 900:
The Next Plateau For Academic Achievement.
By George Stratigos
Sept 27, 2004

In just a few short days, our public schools will be opening their doors to begin the 2004/2005 academic year. This will mark the beginning of a new chapter in our continuing quest to make the Sausalito Marin City School District the very best school district in the county of Marin.

Those who have lived in our community for five or more years know how long a mountain we have had to climb to come to the point where we stand today. We’re proud of test scores that have soared from lows in the 300s range to now, nearly 700. You may have read that Bayside Elementary was recognized as one of the two most improved schools in the entire state. The plateau that we have reached has put our schools, Bayside Elementary, Willow Creek Academy, and our middle school, Martin Luther King Academy, on a par with schools throughout California.

Now, however, with your continued support and involvement, we want to begin the trek to the summit. We call this mission “Vision 900,” and I’m excited to share with you what we hope to accomplish. On average, the best test scores in Marin County come out of places like the Ross School District. Their student scores range in the upper 800s. The best scores in California range in the mid 900s. Vision 900 is our plan to take our school district to the top level of academic achievement for all of Marin County’s public schools. The estimated time of this journey: five years. Total cost in a new school bond measure, to replace our middle school, and upgrade safety facilities at Bayside and Willow Creek: 16 million dollars. The results we anticipate—a community with young people successfully prepared for high school, college, and beyond: priceless.

The board has encapsulated our sense of mission in the district’s new signature statement: “Living Life Educated.” Part of our commitment to educational excellence is accepting the reality that, for us to make this climb, our journey demands we must do everything right. Raising the achievement level of all our children means carefully monitoring their individual achievement. To accomplish that, we must maintain a learning environment that hears the concerns of our district’s parents.

We are imposing on ourselves standards of excellence that we believe the community should impose upon us. In this climb to academic excellence, failure is not an option. The community should demand of us what we demand of ourselves: that our public schools will be the top ranked schools in this county.

The newest member of our school board, Mark Trotter, reminded us recently that no climb to the top is accomplished in a simple straight line. Often the trail goes through a series of switchbacks, and at times, unexpected turns. We should keep that in mind because there will be setbacks and unexpected challenges along the way. But we must never take our eyes off the prize: that our children will be a part of a community of learners, and these young people will be able to see a future with real promise: one in which they act and achieve with the civility of an educated society.

Vision 900 takes us beyond individual programs, and into a focused goal for success.
We will demand of our staff what our parents demanded of us: unity of purpose, clarity of mission, and focus on achievement.

To you, our community, your board of trustees has one message: Demand of us the very best, because it is what we demand of ourselves.


George Stratigos, a former member of the Sausalito City Council, is the President of the Sausalito Marin City School District’s Board of Trustees.

Prepared by the community volunteers at the “yes I can” committee P.O. Box 679 Sausalito, CA 94965 Tel 415-332-4197

Building The Middle School Our Community Needs and Deserves. Marin Scope -By Dr. Shirley Thornton

Building The Middle School Our Community Needs and Deserves.
By Dr. Shirley Thornton

In 2001, the Sausalito Marin City School District took the first step to create an independent middle school for the sixth, seventh and eighth grade students of our communities. Up until this time, these grades were housed together at the Bayside Campus, just off of Nevada Street.

Today, our middle school, Martin Luther King Academy, is housed in the old North Bay School facility: a three room school building in Marin City.

The need to build an actual middle school is acute. Middle schools are specifically designed to guide adolescents through the often difficult transition from elementary school to high school. The middle school years span sixth, seventh and eighth grades, and represent the passage from childhood into young adulthood: a time of rapid physical, intellectual, social and emotional growth. Sixth grade resembles elementary school in that it is self-contained, but provides a transitional phase during which sixth grade students interact with older students through common activities and experiences. The seventh and eighth grades look more like high school in that single subject credentialed teachers provide instruction in their area of expertise.

It follows naturally, that there is a need to provide facilities that enable teachers to deliver instruction that prepare our students for high school. For example science labs, where children can engage in hands-on learning which greatly enhances their educational experience. A media learning center that supports individual research and preparation of portfolios that is a requisite for high school entry. The media center will also support full participation in the Bay Model’s Jason Project preparing our youth to understand and respect that delicate ecology that is so important to their community.

Equally critical is the physical development of our students. Studies indicate that obesity is an increasing threat to the health of our youth. The construction of a gymnasium and the creation of an outdoor track and obstacle course will allow us to expand our fitness programs in a variety of important ways. These outdoor facilities would be available to the community, as well.

Our current facility provides none of these benefits or environments, most of which are mandated by the state as standard to a middle school. A driving tour of our county will reveal various facilities from Tam High, to Mill Valley Middle, Reed and other schools that are in the midst of, or have recently completed similar improvements.

The middle school years are recognized as an important time when students develop their self-image, and hone their attitudes towards learning. Relationship building can play a large role in this process. We aim to create learning experiences that will further students' social and moral development while providing academic excellence.

We envision a school that will be able to capitalize on the unique businesses and cultural environment that exist in our community. For instance, we should have a music studio on campus, where engineers and staff from the Plant, for example, can work with our children to show them the world of music from inside the profession. In our own neighborhood there are opportunities to work with computer companies, restaurants, retailers, bank and investment officers, to learn first hand about the sport boating and fishing industry, and many other diverse activities that happen in Sausalito and Marin City everyday of the year.

Successful middle schools capitalize on the innate curiosity of young adolescents, and expose them to a range of academic, vocational, and recreational subjects for career options, community service, enrichment, and enjoyment. Focus areas usually include foreign languages, intramural sports, health, clubs, student government, home economics, technological arts, independent study projects, music, art, speech, drama, careers, consumer education, and creative writing emphasizing the development of good organizational and study skills, a respect for diverse learning styles and experiences in cooperative learning.

Perhaps most importantly, a successful middle school prepares our students for high school and, sets the stage for college and their adult lives. As a community, we expect a middle school that can provide for the needs and aspirations of our children as other middle schools do today in communities such at Mill Valley, Tiburon, Larkspur, Kentfield, and beyond.

Five years ago, we began the process of setting new goals and new directions for the public schools of Sausalito and Marin City. We have accomplished much, but there is still much to do. At the very top of that list is the construction of a middle school that puts the children of our district on an equal footing with the children of every other district in our county. There is no wiser investment we can make than to invest in the future of our children, and in the quality of our public schools.



Dr. Shirley Thorton, former Deputy Superintendent, State of California , colonel, retired, USAR; is an associate professor at CSU Sacramento; and the Vice-President of the Sausalito Marin City School District’s Board of Trustees


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Our Children Are Our Future - Marin Scope - By -Diana Lynne Turner

Our Children Are Our Future

by
Diana Lynne Turner



We all know how important the future of our children are to the viability of our community. But often we forget that, during those precious years that they receive their primary education, decisions can be made and experiences gained that will have a dramatic result on their future.

Today, my youngest child, Chauncy, is taking on the challenge of the first grade. My hope for his success is bolstered by the fact that the Sausalito Marin City School District provided him with an excellent foundation for his future: first at the age of four, as a part of the Head Start program; then at age five, as a kindergarten student at Bayside Elementary.

Not too many years from now, Chauncy and his fellow first grade class of 2005 will be the graduates of our middle school at Martin Luther King Academy. We should be confident that the class of 2012 will begin high school fully prepared to compete with students from any other school in Marin. After all, the best measure of our success is their success.

We are now engaged as a community in studying the benefits of a bond measure that will allow our district to build a new middle school at the site of the old North Bay School in Marin City. It will transform this old facility, which currently serves as King Academy, from three classrooms and a group of portables into a fully functioning middle school, complete with a science lab, gymnasium, and auditorium.

For the first time in the history of our school district we will offer our students with a facility that is on a par with middle schools in Mill Valley, Tiburon, Corte Madera and Kentfield.

Bayside will also benefit by getting a new kindergarten facility that will allow us to take our youngest children out of the portable classrooms, which have been in use since 1968. Additionally, there will be a variety of safety and structural upgrades that will have a positive impact on all of Bayside and our charter school, Willow Creek Academy.

I initially became involved with our public schools as a parent volunteer because I have always believed that involved parents and community citizens are important to the success of our schools. It has been a delight for me to be able to serve and an honor to be appointed to the district’s board of trustees. It’s no secret that for many years, our school’s academic performance has lagged behind those of our neighbors. We have improved dramatically, however, in the last two years, and we have boldly set a new goal to place our test scores in the top five percent of schools throughout California.

There have always been those who don’t believe that we can succeed. But don’t tell that to Chauncey or his fellow first graders. And don’t tell that to the parents of these children as well. Their future is as bright and filled with as much promise as the future of any other child in any other school in Marin.

The ability to successfully educate our children is the most important measure of a great society. We will succeed because we must succeed. With the commitment of our community to make the essential physical improvements to our schools, I know that we can succeed.


Over the past two years, Diana, a resident of Marin City, has been active as a PTA President in both the Marin Head Start program and Bayside Elementary School. In 2003, she was appointed to a seat on the Board of Trustees of the Sausalito Marin City School District. She works as a Laboratory Technician at Kaiser’s Medical Campus in San Rafael.

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Marin schools exceed goals in state tests -Marin Independent Journal -September 01, 2004

Marin Independent Journal


Marin schools exceed goals in state tests
By Jennifer Gollan
IJ reporter




Wednesday, September 01, 2004 - Educator cites preparation as key to success

Half of Marin schools scored above the state's benchmark on California achievement tests this year, according to a report released yesterday by the state Department of Education.

A total of 37 schools in Marin hit the state's goal of scoring 800 or higher on this year's Academic Performance Index, or API, up from 35 schools that did the same last year. The index, based on a scale of 200 to 1,000, is required under the state's Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999.

"I think we are continuing to show that when a community supports public education, students achieve at the highest level," said Mary Jane Burke, superintendent of the Marin County Office of Education. "It is critical that we remember that a test score is just that, a test score. Until we are certain that each and every child is achieving at their highest level, we can't rest."

Mary Buttler, assistant county superintendent for education services, attributed Marin's escalating number of high-achieving schools to the increasing reliance by teachers on textbooks aimed at preparing students for state tests.

The API is factored into federal accountability standards outlined under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The No Child Left Behind Act aims to raise academic proficiency of all students by 2014. To meet this goal, students must meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards.

The progress standards assess schools based on the percentage of students who are able to demonstrate proficiency in each subject and at each grade level tested. Every subgroup - including English-language learners and special education students - must meet the federal standards. If they fail to do so for more than two years, schools must send their under-achieving students to higher-achieving schools.

Beyond that, the state Department of Education could intervene to bring the school up to par.

In Marin, 13 schools did not make AYP this year for various reasons, including the percent of students proficient in a certain subject area and the number of students who took the test. The schools that did not make AYP included Bayside School in the Sausalito Marin City School District, West Marin Elementary School in the Shoreline Unified School District and Gallinas School in the San Rafael City Schools District, Buttler said.

This year, nearly 6,000 California schools, or 65 percent, met the federal AYP criteria, compared with 54 percent last year, according to the state Department of Education.

In mid-October, the state Department of Education is expected to release information on the number of schools statewide that earned API scores above 800, as well as on progress of various ethnic or English learner groups and formally identify schools that need improvement.

Novato Charter School in the Novato Unified School District showed the most dramatic improvement of Marin schools in its API score, with a score of 841 in 2004, up from 771 last year.

"They put a huge effort in last year to start teaching standards-based instruction," said Jan Derby, superintendent of the Novato Unified School District. "Their API scores were not commensurate with the rest of the district for the last two years, and now they are."

Under state law, if a charter school fails to earn academic scores on par with other local schools for more than three years, a school district can revoke its charter.

The API score at Olive School, however, dropped 12 points this year to 781.

"That is something we need to analyze," Derby said.

In the Tamalpais Union High School District, API scores remained fairly steady above 800 at the district's three traditional high schools.

The API scores at Redwood and Sir Francis Drake high schools dropped by one point each, to 851 and 805 respectively, and that of Tamalpais by four points to 805.

"We are happy that we are meeting the state and federal requirements," said Christine Anderson, assistant superintendent for instruction at the Tamalpais Union High School District.

"Those are insignificant differences," Anderson said of the slight decrease at the district's three traditional high schools. She attributed this year's scores to federal requirements under No Child Left Behind, which this year required more students to take the test, many of them for the first time.

"We work really hard at getting people to take the test - very often those who haven't taken the test don't do as well," she added.

Tamiscal High School, with an alternative program, increased its API score by 15 points to 808 this year.

In the San Rafael schools, several elementary schools showed improvement of at least 20 points on the API, including Bahia Vista, Laurel Dell and San Pedro. San Pedro, for example, had an API score of 587 last year, compared with 614 this year. Laurel Dell had an API score of 671 last year, compared with 693 this year. Bahia Vista's API score went up 22 points to 685.

"I think that one of the things that we've tried to do is to support our schools with high-quality instructional materials and staff development - that has shown in these three elementary schools," said Rebecca Rosales, assistant superintendent for K-12 curriculum and programs.

Terra Linda High School's API score increased 43 points to 775 this year.

Gallinas and Davidson Middle School were among the schools in Marin that did not make AYP.

"They are not making AYP because the subgroups - Hispanics, those with learning disabilities, and English learners - have narrowly missed the AYP criteria," Rosales said. "They require additional instructional attention. We want to continue to reinforce skill acquisition at the same time that content deepens and becomes more abstract in terms of thinking."

Contact Jennifer Gollan via e-mail at jgollan@marinij.com

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