Happy New Year!
I would like to welcome everyone back to school after our winter break and wish all a very Happy New Year!
We are all hopeful that 2012 sees a brighter future for all of us. The outlook for education continues to be tenuous, at best. While the promised “trigger cuts” to education did not materialize to the extent expected we did experience an additional cut to our largest funding source, our revenue limit. The state continues to defer our revenues which results in difficulties meeting financial obligations.
I have always been accused of being an optimistic person so I will continue to hope for the best, but must remain a realist and prepare for the worst. We will be developing a budget committee to address the financial issues we must face. I would like the committee to be comprised of all stakeholder groups. I will be seeking members from our labor organizations, parents, community partners, board members and other administrators. We will begin meeting in late January and continue throughout the year.
We are currently seeking to fill the Board seat vacated by Mr. Michelin upon his successful bid for City Council. Applications will be accepted through January 13th with interviews to follow. All interviews will take place during open session of a special board meeting. Those meetings will be posted on this site if you are interested in observing the process.
The Hawthorne School District continues to do wonderful things. Our employees work very hard to provide our students with the best learning environment possible. I am thankful to work in such a place and look forward to a fabulous 2012. I know we will continue to do our good work even with all of the challenges the budget places before us.
Thank you for your continued support and Happy New Year!
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Hawthorne's Middle Schools Given Focused Educational Themes
Daily Breeze Article
By Rob Kuznia Staff Writer
Posted: 10/17/2011 07:17:25 PM PDT
Sixth grader Averille Walton learns the piano at the same time as 30 other students at Prairie Vista Middle School, which is now a fine arts academy. (Brad Graverson / Staff Photographer)
It's nothing new for a public high school to build its curriculum around a singular focus - perhaps in the arts, the sciences or vocational ed.
But the Hawthorne School District is embarking on a pioneering version of such an approach by bringing it to all three of its middle schools.
This means Prairie Vista School is no longer just a regular middle school. Now it has a specialized theme, namely the fine arts. Ditto for Bud Carson Middle School, the district's new hub for classes in science, technology, engineering and math (often referred to as STEM). And Hawthorne Middle School, where the thrust is business.
Tiffany Tran in a honors science class at Bud Carson Middle School, which is now a science and math academy. (Brad Graverson / Staff Photographer)
Rolled out this fall, the plan is partly an effort to staunch a steady outflow of Hawthorne's K-8 students to neighboring charter schools, a common occurrence in public schools serving a low-income clientele.
But Helen Morgan, superintendent of the K-8 Hawthorne School District, said the ultimate goal is to put more students on the path to college. She believes tapping into students' inner strengths earlier on will help accomplish that.
Read more . . .
NEW Law - Whooping Cough/Pertussis Immunization Requirement for 7th - 12th Grade Students for 2011/12 School Year
A new school immunization law requires all students entering 7th through 12th grades in the 2011-2012 school year in California to be immunized with a pertussis (whoopingcough) vaccine booster called Tdap.
Pertussis is a very contagious respiratory disease that can be severe and last for months. The immunity received from either early childhood immunization or pertussis disease wears off over time, leaving older students and adults susceptible again to pertussis. Immunization with Tdap can protect students, schools and communities against pertussis.
The new requirement affects all students – current, new, and transfers – in public and private schools. The law has two phases:
- For the 2011-2012 school year, all students entering into 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th or 12th grades will need proof of a Tdap shot before starting school.
- For 2012-2013 and future school years, all students entering into 7th grade will need proof of a Tdap shot before starting school.
