Mr. Alcozar and Luis share a smile and a handshake.
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Last month when Migrant Homework Center Teacher Danny Alcozar showed up to work at the Rancho Sespe Homework Center, he did not imagine that he would be called to perform above and beyond the call of duty. One of his homework center students who regularly attends the homework center for tutoring and help with his homework started choking on large piece of hard candy. Mr. A as his students affectionately call him, noticed that Luis Piceno was panicking and struggling to breath. Mr. A quickly jumped from his seat and performed the Heimlich maneuver on Luis and out flew the hard object. Luis is very thankful that his teacher and pal Mr. A was quick on his feet and able to come to his rescue. Danny Alcozar is a life-long resident of Fillmore and has been a hard working dedicated teacher for Fillmore Unified School District for many years. He has served the Migrant Program’s after school Homework Center for over 12 years and has created a wonderful learning environment for the students of Rancho Sespe who attend the Migrant Homework Center. BRAVO to one of our outstanding teachers…Mr. Danny Alcozar.

Tricia Gradias is FUSD's Migrant Education Coordinator.

Dr. Theodore R. Mitchell, President
California State Board of Education
1430 North N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: PIRU CHARTER SCHOOL • SUPPORT •

Dear Dr. Mitchell:
It is my pleasure to offer my support for Piru Elementary School's petition for approval to become a charter
school before the California State Board of Education. The petitioners will be advocating for charter school
authorization before the Board on Wednesday, May 5th.

The Piru Charter School Committee has taken considerable time and effort to ensure that its petition conforms
to the legal, educational, and fiscal requirements for acceptance. The Committee received recent approval for
their petition from the California Advisory Commission on Charter Schools. In addition, I have received
assurances that most of the concerns that the Ventura County School Board had in their review of the
application have been mitigated.

I have every confidence that the Piru Charter School will indeed offer a well-rounded, high quality education to
students in the Piru community, located within the Fillmore Unified School District serving the Santa Clara and
Santa Clarita Valley's.

I applaud Piru Elementary School's efforts and respectfully urge you and your fellow Board Members to
consider their petition for a charter. Thank you for you and your Board's time and dedication.

Sincerely,
CAMERON M. SMYTH
Assemblyman, 38th District

Piru Charter School will be the topic of discussion this weekend on the radio.

Q104-7’s Community Talk Show, hosted by Nancy Rodriguez, from "The Rico and Mambo Morning Show” will air this Sunday 8am-9am, featuring an interview with three people closely involved in the effort to convert Piru School into an independent charter school of choice. Ms. Rodriguez’s guests will be Richard Durborow, representing the charter petitioners, former Fillmore Mayor Evaristo Barajas, who grew up in Piru, representing the community perspective, and Rita Avila, who represents parents, as her two youngest daughters both currently attend Piru School. Tune in to hear about the exciting learning opportunity that will become available to Piru students next year!

Mrs. Chisholm’s class received the People Respecting People (PRO) Award.
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On Monday, April 12, 2010, San Cayetano School recognized good citizenship and character at their Peacebuilder Assembly for the month of April. Mr. John Wilbur, Principle of Fillmore High School, came to speak to the students. Mr. Wilbur spoke to the students about how being a good citizen and friend, not only at school, but at home would also help them to make a better life for themselves. Joe Giunta and Christina De La Mora, the San Cayetano ASB President and Vice-President assisted Mr. Wilbur in handing out the Peacebuilder certificates. The Peacebuilders for April are: Maria Barajas, Jayla Martinez, Leo Venegas, Ruben Desoto, Janeah Castro, Filiberto Magana, Anthony De La Torre, Neidy Rincon, Karen Trujillo Villanueva, Monica Ramos, David Rodriguez, Melia Galindo, Coy Gossage, Hailey Carrillo, Karina Cisneros, Jorge Hernandez, Josie Paniagua, Perla Chavez, Abby Sanchez, and Austin Reed. At the lower grade assembly, Joe then announced to the students that the Rainbow Foundation is sponsoring the San Cayetano Character Counts Award of a $100.00 savings bond. Matthew Henschel was chosen by the third grade teachers as a model of outstanding behavior, responsibility, and kindness to the other students. He was recognized with a certificate and the savings bond. Another highlight of assembly were the speeches given by San Cayetano’s Migrant Speech and Debate team coached by kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Capra. Diego Garcia, Johanna Garcia, Julisa Garza, and Nathalie De La Herrera have been practicing their public speaking skills to compete in the Ventura County Migrant Speech and Debate Tournament for grades 4-12 that was held in March. Each student was able to give one of their speeches that they read at the tournament. To conclude the assemblies, Christina reminded the students to turn in their Perfect Attendance tickets. Each month all students who come to school, each day, on time, are given an orange raffle ticket. The students place their tickets in a box and one ticket is drawn. The student whose ticket is drawn is given a backpack full of supplies. Each month, the tickets will be put into a larger box that will be kept until the end of the year. In June, Mrs. Marholin, the principal, will draw from the tickets to give away two new bicycles. Sandra Chavez, from Room 24, won the Perfect Attendance Award for April.

Football season in May? Well, in Fillmore the excitement is building as we prepare for Football at Fillmore High, 2010. When Fillmore High plays Santa Paula High this year, it will be the 100Th meeting between these two teams. Fillmore High is hosting this grand event and they are already gearing up for a Big Crowd, and hopefully a memorable game.
The Alumni Assoc is participating in this years event by selling a DVD Documentary of the History of the football game between Fillmore High, and Santa Paula High. Isaac Reyes, Class of 94', and his counter parts at FX (Fox Cable group) will be compiling interviews, stories, and old game film along with photos of this Rivalry. They are looking at somewhere between a 45 minute and one hour documentary of this 99 game history.
If you have a favorite memory of this rivalry or either cheered or played in this game and have a story, Please let Isaac know. He also is looking for more game film and photos of this game. His email is ireyes88@gmail.com
The Alumni Assoc is very excited about this fund raiser, and Pre-Orders will be accepted starting this Summer, and running all through the fall. The Documentary will become available on November 1st, 2010. Cost for this DVD is $20.00, and $25.00 if you wish to have it packaged and mailed to an address. This would make a great Christmas or Birthday gift for any Alumni of Fillmore High. There is a Facebook page (Fillmore/Santa Paula 100Th Rivalry), and soon they will post a 30 or 40 second clipping of the DVD. If you wish to see a longer clip of the DVD, come to the Alumni Dinner on June 12Th. You can be one of the first to place their pre-order video at the Dinner.
The current record of this Rivalry is 55-37-7, Santa Paula. The last 5 years, Fillmore leads 3-2. The last 10 years, Santa Paula leads 6-4. The last 20 years, Santa Paula leads 12-8, but only one Team will win the Century Mark!!
Hope to see you all at the Alumni Dinner and the game in November. Always remember to Fight on for Fillmore and Sing out her name!

Jeff Sweeney is Fillmore Unified School District's Superientendent.

After months of controversy and outspoken community opposition to the petition to convert Piru Elementary School in the Fillmore Unified School District (FUSD) to the Piru Charter School (PCS), the State Board of Education (SBE) will make the final decision on the charter in early May. Started by a small group of only nine teachers, and with minimal community and parent support, the PCS charter was unanimously denied by the FUSD Governing Board and the Ventura County Board of Education.
The PCS charter proposes serving the same students who currently attend Piru Elementary. The charter specifically proclaims that PCS already has “strong parent support.” However, the petitioners fatally miscalculated the amount of parental support. Since September Piru parents have made very clear that they actively and overwhelmingly oppose the conversion to PCS and will not send their children to PCS should it be approved.
Hundreds of parents, and the vast majority of District employees, have expressed their opposition by signing petitions and/or appearing in person at FUSD and County board meetings. They did so again earlier this month at a hearing in Sacramento before the Advisory Commission on Charter Schools (ACCS), a purely advisory state body.
Piru Parents with Power, a grassroots organization, submitted a petition to the ACCS opposing PCS. This petition was signed by 260 parents/guardians, representing 200 current Piru Elementary School students.
Amazingly, approximately 60 parents/guardians, Piru community members, and FUSD employees also made the long trek to Sacramento to assure that their opposition to PCS was made known. Most of them got to Sacramento on a private bus, paid for through their own community fundraising efforts, including taco and garage sales.
PCS continues to try unsuccessfully to convince the State that the parental support they claimed in the charter exists. PCS recently submitted outdated intent to enroll forms, despite knowing that many of the parents who had originally signed the forms had specifically withdrawn their interest in enrolling their children at PCS. PCS also submitted numerous letters of support, but despite PCS’s unrelenting efforts to garner local parent support, only 14 of those letters, representing 26 students, are actually from parents whose children currently attend Piru Elementary.
PCS continues its quest to divert attention from CONTINUED »

Fillmore Unified School District

FILLMORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
THURSDAY, APRIL 22, 2010
6:00 P.M. – SPECIAL BOARD MEETING
627 SESPE AVENUE, FILLMORE, CALIFORNIA

AGENDA
The public may review or request a copy of support materials provided to the Board Members where the word materials appears.

6:00 p.m.
I. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
II. ROLL CALL
III. CLARIFICATION OF AGENDA AND TIME ALLOCATIONS FOR DISCUSSION ITEMS
VIII. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS AND NONAGENDA ITEMS
This is the time and place to address the school board on any items on the open session agenda. State law prohibits the Board from acting on issues not included on the agenda; however, requests may be made for discussion of specific topics at subsequent meetings
IV. ACTION ITEM CONTINUED »

California State University Channel Islands

Camarillo, Calif. April 19, 2010 – Since the fall of 2005, when Hurricane Katrina struck an unsuspecting New Orleans with savage force, students from CSU Channel Islands (CI) have returned annually to the city during their Spring Break to renew their commitment to the city’s recovery.

The trip is part of the service learning component of the Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM) program. An interdisciplinary program designed for students interested in environmental topics, it provides education and exposure to both scientific and human aspects of environment issues.

“Service Learning in New Orleans”, is in its fourth year and is an extremely popular course open to all majors. This year CI’s student and faculty contingent to New Orleans included several students from Oregon State University and two of their professors, eager to be a part of the excursion. A professor from Loyola Marymount University and a representative from the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation also participated.

Assistant Professor of Environmental Science and Resource Management, Dr. Sean Anderson, prepared student participants for the intense twelve-day field course in and around New Orleans with pre-trip lectures and preparation. Once in New Orleans, they studied factors that led to the man-made disaster. Students had the advantage of interacting with local experts, survivors, and residents and assessed the ongoing disruptions to daily life and the lingering impacts of poor coastal resource management.

They studied the previous and current levee CONTINUED »

Fillmore Unified School District

FILLMORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
TUESDAY, APRIL 20, 2010
5:15 P.M. – CLOSED SESSION
6:00 P.M. - REGULAR MEETING
627 SESPE AVENUE, FILLMORE, CALIFORNIA

AGENDA
The public may review or request a copy of support materials provided to the Board Members where the word materials appears.

5:15 p.m.
I. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
II. ROLL CALL
III. PUBLIC COMMENT ON CLOSED SESSION AND NONAGENDA ITEMS, PETITIONS
This is the time and place to address the Board. State law prohibits the Board from acting on issues not included on the agenda; however, requests may be made for discussion of specific topics at subsequent meetings.
IV. CLOSED SESSION
The Board of Education will meet from 5:15 to 6:00 p.m. to consider matters appropriate for Closed Session in accordance with Government Code Sections 3549.1, 54956.7 through 54957.7 and Education Code Section 35146. If the Board does not complete Closed Session discussions at this time, the Board may adjourn to Closed Session at the end of the regular meeting. DISCLOSURE OF ITEM(S) TO BE DISCUSSED IN CLOSED SESSION School District Pupils (Education Code 35146)
o Expulsion Case Number 09-10-14 Labor/Negotiations (Government Code 54957.6)
o Update; Direction to District Negotiators (Jeff Sweeney, Mike Bush, Bev Jones, Todd Schieferle, Margaret Chidester) for negotiations with the Fillmore Unified Teachers Association (FUTA), the California School Employees Association (CSEA), Confidential Employees, and District Administration. Personnel Matters (Government Code 54957)
o Hiring, Evaluating, Discipline, Dismissal/Release
PSL# 205
In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, if you need special assistance to participate in this meeting, please contact the Superintendent's Office at (805) 524-6038. Notification 48 hours prior to the meeting will enable the district to make reasonable arrangements to ensure accessibility to this meeting. [In accordance with Government Code 54961 and Board Bylaw 9320(a).]

6:00 p.m.
V. RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION Any Action From Closed Session CONTINUED »

Senator George Runner
Serving the 17th District which incorporates portions of the Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Ventura and Kern counties.

[Letter from Senator George Runner]

To: Dr. Theodore R. Mitchell, President
California State Board of Education
1430 North N Street, Room 5111
Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: PIRU CHARTER SCHOOL ▪ SUPPORT ▪

Dear Dr. Mitchell:
I am pleased to write a letter of support for Piru Elementary School’s petition for approval to become a charter school. The petitioners will be advocating for charter school authorization before the Board on Wednesday, May 5th.

The Piru Charter School Committee has taken considerable time and effort to ensure that its petition conforms to the legal, educational, and fiscal requirements for acceptance. Furthermore, the Committee received recent approval for their petition from the California Advisory Commission on Charter Schools.

I have every confidence that the Piru Charter School will indeed offer a well-rounded, high quality education to students in the Piru community, located within the Fillmore Unified School District.

I applaud Piru Elementary School’s efforts and respectfully urge you and your fellow Board Members to consider their petition for a charter.

Sincerely,
George C. Runner, Jr.
Senator, 17th District

Myth #1: Piru Charter School is an experimental school.
Fact: Piru Charter School is not an experimental school.

Myth #2: Piru Charter School is a private school and you have to pay to attend.
Fact: Piru Charter School is a free public school.

Myth #3: You have to complete volunteer hours to keep your child in the school.
Fact: There are no volunteer requirements to attend Piru Charter School.

Myth #4: There will be no after-school program.
Fact: There will be an after-school program at Piru Charter School.

Myth #5: Parents and the community will have no control over the school.
Fact: The community will have control over Piru Charter School. The Piru Charter School Board consists of parents and community members.

Myth #6: Small class sizes are not guaranteed.
Fact: Piru Charter School will have smaller class sizes in the upper grades.

Myth #7: There will not be a school bus.
Fact: Piru Charter School will have a school bus.

Myth: #8: There will be no Special Ed program or teacher.
Fact: Piru Charter School will have a special education program and teacher.

Myth #9: If you register your children at the charter school, you will be reported to immigration and deported.
Fact: It is illegal for Charter Schools to report people to immigration.

Myth #10: The charter petitioners falsely told people Piru School was closing.
Fact: Anti-charter school employees spread a rumor that the school will close if it converts into a charter school.

Myth #11: Piru School is doing fine just the way it is.
Fact: Piru Elementary is ranked 11th from the bottom when compared to 100 similar elementary schools in California. The facilities at Piru Elementary are in very poor condition according to Ventura County School Board Member Dean Kunicki.

Myth #12: The charter school’s budget is not sound, and the school will go broke.
Fact: Piru Charter School’s budget was independently prepared by one of the best charter school budgeting organizations in the State. The California Department of Education says that Piru Charter’s budget is sound.

Myth #13: The District told a parent who called that there will be no GATE program at the charter school.
Fact: Piru Charter School will have a GATE program and it will be better funded than the current program.

Myth #14: There will be no band program at the new school and all the instruments will be taken away.
Fact: Piru Charter School has budgeted for a 0.25% Full Time Equivalent Band Teacher, which is exactly what Piru Elementary School has now. Under Proposition 39, if the District provides band instruments to the other elementary schools, they must provide them to Piru Charter School. It’s the law.

Thank you for your inquiry on Grizzly. It is a pleasure to share my thoughts with you on this wonderful program. I have been recruiting young men and women to this program for 10 years and in the past have served as a mentor as well. I have also discouraged students from going and have offered other suggestions instead when I think it is not an appropriate option for them. For the record, I DO NOT recruit for any branch of the military and I have always been informed that the Grizzly staff does not recruit or advertise the military as a choice for students either. My only interest is to help students graduate from their high school and to help them with resources that will enable them to be successful in reaching their goals in their adult life.

The reasons why any youth would consider Grizzly vary based on their individual, personal or academic situation. In the end, it is up to the youth and their informed parent(s), to decide if this voluntary program is the right choice for the student. As a counselor, I review the academic history with students and parents, and hand out applications when inquiries are made. In many cases, students can also make the choice to improve their academic situation here at Fillmore High School by asking for help from their teachers and counselors, staying after school, completing their homework, studying for tests, or by enrolling at Sierra High School and/or taking additional courses through Ventura College.

The Grizzly Youth Academy is CONTINUED »

California State University Channel Islands

Camarillo, Calif. April 14, 2010 – The CSU Channel Islands (CI) Foundation announced that the sixth annual Business & Technology Partnership (B&TP) 2010 Leadership Dinner will be held on Thursday, April 22, at 6 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel - Mandalay Beach Resort in Oxnard, to celebrate CI’s unique partnership with the business and technology communities of Ventura, Santa Barbara and northern Los Angeles Counties.

Leadership and scholarship awards will be presented during the program. The dinner is by invitation and the public is invited to participate. Tickets are $150 per person and reservations and information are available by contacting Marti DeLaO at 805-437-8919 or email marti.delao@csuci.edu.

2010 Leadership Awards will be presented to three individuals recognizing contributions in their respective fields. Award recipients are Dr. Paul A. Rivera, Faculty Leader of the Year; Carl Wesely, Business & Community Leader of the Year; and Peter Wollons, Technologist of the Year.

Rivera, Associate Professor of Economics at CI, joined the faculty in 2002 after receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. Along with courses in economics and quantitative methods, Rivera teaches specialized courses in entrepreneurship, economic anthropology, and international experience. He has published works on diverse aspects of national and international economic issues and served on the Academic Senate of the CSU, the CSU Channel Islands Foundation Board, and the Board of Directors of the University Preparation Charter School. Rivera and his wife, Dr. Colleen Delaney-Rivera, who is also a colleague, have two children.

Carl Wesely founded Wesely CONTINUED »

Fillmore Unified School District

FILLMORE UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
JOINT MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AND THE NORTH FILLMORE NEIGHBORHOOD COMMITTEE
FOLLOWED BY REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION
TUESDAY, APRIL 13, 2010
5:00 P.M. – JOINT MEETING
6:00 P.M. REGULAR MEETING
FILLMORE UNIFIED BOARD ROOM
627 SESPE AVENUE, FILLMORE, CALIFORNIA
AGENDA

The public may review or request a copy of support materials provided to the Board Members where the word materials appears.

5:00 p.m.
I. CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
II. ROLL CALL
III. CLARIFICATION OF AGENDA AND TIME ALLOCATIONS FOR DISCUSSION ITEMS
IV. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS AND NONAGENDA ITEMS, PETITIONS
This is the time and place to address the school CONTINUED »

And put you into a bubble , AND let you try on a spacesuit, AND finally let you test your balloon rockets. Don’t miss a FREE evening of fun and learning with hands-on science activities. The San Cayetano Annual Family Science Night is FREE for all Fillmore and Piru students. The event is from 6-7:30PM. Come and see the Micro Gravity Experiment that is going into space, visit with Channel Islands National Park Rangers, and meet San Cayetano’s Robotics Champions. Pizza and soda will be available for purchase. This event is San Cayetano’s community outreach project hosted by the San Cayetano NASA Explorer Team and friends.