Campus Updates… Fillmore Middle School (FMS) Principal Todd Schieferle, left, and Sierra High School (SHS) Principal Tony Held provided updates on plans to improve student academic achievement, school discipline and safety, and parent outreach, at Tuesday night’s school board meeting. Schieferle emphasized FMS’s improved school climate and a new-to-FMS professional development method, Professional Learning Communities (PLC).

Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) Board held the open session of its regular meeting October 21, 2008, at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room at the District Office. The Board heard an update from two school principals, reviewed Walk to School/Work Day, and discussed future construction.

Fillmore Middle School (FMS) Principal Todd Schieferle and Sierra High School (SHS) Principal Tony Held provided updates on plans to improve student academic achievement, school discipline and safety, and parent outreach. Schieferle emphasized FMS’s improved school climate and a new-to-FMS professional development method, Professional Learning Communities (PLC). Both FMS and SHS had struggled under a lack of firm and clear procedures due to staff turnover. Held and Schieferle are remedying those situations.

Schieferle deliberately started out the school year in a manner designed to ensure that FMS would be safe, orderly, positive, and have systems in place. He said that discipline had always been an area of concern. Last year, then-Principal Held with Schieferle as Dean had started addressing the gang problem. There were ten expulsions and six sexual battery cases last year. This year, the administration is laying down the law. Schieferle described the orderly manner in which students are required to enter and exit the gym for grade-level assemblies. Students have been pre-warned against specific behaviors that would be punished by expulsions and suspensions. They have also been warned that the school does not tolerate violence, sexual assault, battery, or dress code violations. FMS has a new dress code this year. Assistant Principal Tricia Godfrey has visited each class to describe the dress code, and it is now well-established.

The new traffic patterns for dropping-off and picking-up students are not only preventing accidents, but have also reduced the tardiness that detentions had been unable to cure. Schieferle has a new attendance policy which involves staff ranging from clerks to counselors to the principal acting as a team to communicate with parents. Poor attendance leads to poor test scores. The administration wants students in school for their own safety, to improve test scores, and to ensure that the school receives ADA money. Schieferle has the discipline problems, the dress code, and school safety under control. Discipline and safety are prerequisites for student achievement.
FMS has "Program Improvement" (PI) status under the "No Child Left Behind" Act. It is in its fifth year of that status. Although efforts had been made to move beyond PI status, up until this year the teachers and staff had been too overwhelmed. Schieferle and Godfrey are building on the line of attack that Superintendent Jeff Sweeney and Former Principal Held put into place. Last year, FMS underwent a curriculum audit by Ventura County Office of Education (VCOE) consultants. Professional development plans were based on that audit. This year, FMS will be working with VCOE to implement Marzano Instructional Strategies, which research proves are the strategies most likely to result in student achievement. Now the teachers are being trained to “focus on learning not teaching,” according to Schieferle. This means that the teachers consider what they want the students to learn, how the students will learn it, and if the students do not understand the material, then the teachers reconsider how it is being taught and adopt promising practices. The plan is to focus on English Learners’ writing across the entire curriculum. Like other schools in the district, FMS is using Response to Intervention (RTI), which is a data-based early intervention method, and teacher collaboration.

FMS has converted an empty classroom into a parent center. The parent liaison works there, and on the last Friday of each month a well-attended meet and greet for parents is held there at 7:30 a.m.
Sweeney called the positive changes at FMS “remarkable.” He said that the tone of the school feels different because the school year was started with discipline and focus. Schieferle acknowledged District staff for its leadership, guidance, and support.

Principal Tony Held reported on the many changes at SHS, the District’s alternative high school.
SHS has a new collaboration with Fillmore High School (FHS). FHS Principal John Wilber and FHS counselors have met with SHS’s teachers. The teachers are starting to participate in FHS’s Wednesday morning department meetings. Counselor Norma Sandford has been enhancing communication between the two schools by attending and reporting on staff meetings. Held said that SHS will be using FHS end-of-year assessments (modified to fit SHS parameters) to ensure that SHS credits are comparable to FHS credits. Wilber and Held are reassessing enrollment criteria for the schools.

SHS is using RTI and Manzano Strategies. Teachers have expressed a willingness to attend training; most of them have attended Mazano training, and Held has attended an institute on continuation schools. SHS is having weekly staff meetings at which the teachers share information about what works with specific students.
The school counselors have a set weekly schedule which makes it easier for the students to take advantage of opportunities such as office hours and guest speakers. College and Career Technician Isela Larin has arranged for guests to talk about careers, social issues, and health.

SHS has a safety plan; weekly meetings have cut down on discipline issues, and the campus is more peaceful and academically-oriented this year. Students are being held accountable for their attendance. The SHS student handbook is being rewritten to be consistent and clearly communicative so that parents will understand what the school expects of their children and can support the school. Held wants to improve parent involvement. He noted that over forty families have children attending SHS, and thirty families were represented at back-to-school night. He hopes to institute a parent newsletter.

Held mentioned that the SHS ASB is active this year; there will be a Halloween costume contest and the students are submitting mural designs for an outside wall which they will paint.

Sweeney said that SHS feels more like a small high school now.

Board Member Tony Prado stated that he was impressed by the Principals’ presentations and appreciated the opportunity to be informed by presentation rather than report.

The Board approved the elective Business Math course being taught at FHS.

FUSD and Griffin Industries have decided to postpone construction of Rio Vista Elementary School. The State is granting one-year extensions on such construction projects due to the slow economy. Griffin is continuing work, but has not been selling homes, so financing the project would be difficult at this time, and without the new households in place, the school would not have enough students. If necessary, the project will be delayed two years. The delay is not expected to increase costs. The school is scheduled to open in 2011 instead of 2010.
Walk to School/Work Day on October 8th was a decided success district-wide. Assistant Principal at FMS Tricia Godfrey reported that 100% of the teachers at FMS participated, and 80% of FMS students walked, including some Piru students who were bussed to San Cayetano and walked to FMS from there.

Assistant Superintendent Bush reported that the State has solved its immediate cash flow problem. He is concerned about tax revenue projections, and expects the Governor to call for revised budget legislation in November after the election.