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.

The Western University of Health Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, is pleased to announce that local student William Jolley, son of Susan K. and Robert Jolley, has been seated for the incoming class of 2014. One of the nation’s newest and most innovative colleges of Veterinary Medicine, Western has recently received full accreditation and will seat 100 students out of approximately 4,000 applicants this year. An honor’s graduate of Hart High School, William earned a Regent’s Scholarship to study science at UC Santa Barbara. Switching to Cal Poly to pursue a specialization in Agricultural Biology, he was named class valedictorian in 2005. Since then he has pursued a career of ranch management and beekeeping. William plans to pursue large animal medicine and hopes to specialize in surgery. When he graduates in 2014, he will not be the first, but the second physician in his family. Younger sister Margaret is currently completing her second year of medical school at UC San Diego.
Congratulations, Drs. Jolley!

The "S" Club of Fillmore High School and Soroptimist International of Fillmore is organizing a Community Service Festival. The purpose of the festival is to: *Join hands with service clubs/non-profit organizations in Fillmore and all F.U.S.D. school clubs and work together to showcase our individual club, our non-profit organization and our school clubs. *Raise funds for our club/organization/school. *Provide affordable family entertainment.

We need your support and participation to help us have a good old fashioned festival. The festival will be Saturday, April 17 2010 at Sespe School. All clubs are encouraged to sell three items (ie, food, school spirit clothing, something unique to your club)...All proceeds go to the particular organization/club selling the items. For each item sold the club must also provide a FREE game/event. Such as bingo, craft center, balloon toss...each club decides what they want to sell and which games to provide free of charge.

Advanced registration is required. Please stop at Fillmore Mail Stop, 330 Central Avenue to register and secure your spot.

We will have a final meeting on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at 7:00 pm, in Room # 49 at Fillmore High School. Come find out how you can participate and benefit from this festival. Come to the meeting and share your idea or ask your question and to register.

For more information please contact:
Oralia: 524-4326 / magnoliares@sbcglobal.net or
Kathy: kittyvargas@gmail.com

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 a very structured CONTINUED »

Congratulations to Megan Baker of Fillmore. Megan made the Dean’s List (Scholars maintained 3.6 GPA) at California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks. Megan is a junior pursuing a Liberal Arts degree.

The Ventura County Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) is proud to announce a special education staff member who has completed all requirements for the Autism Certification Program in March 2010 and is recognized as an expert. For this certification, candidates participate in a variety of professional development events in order to gain skills and expertise for working with children with autism.

The candidate receiving a certificate is Ventura County Office of Education Education Specialist, Sophia Denise Pannell.

For more information on our Autism Certification Program go to our website at www.venturacountyselpa.com and click the “Autism” button. For more information call the SELPA office (805) 437-1560.

Enlarge Photo

Enlarge Photo

Thanks to the efforts of a group of parents who support the Piru Charter School petition, the quality of education for the children of Piru Elementary is already improving. At the recent January 25th County School Board meeting to decide on the Piru Charter, parents and community members presented the Ventura County Board members and the County Superintendent with a presentation of pictures of the run-down conditions of the play areas, buildings and other facilities of Piru School. The Ventura County Board members and the Superintendent were distressed by what they saw. One of the County Board members, Dean Kunicki of Simi Valley, said in response to these photos that he had visited the campus the weekend before with his family, and that he had never seen a school in worse condition than Piru. He urged parents to use a State law known as the Williams Act, which requires school districts to provide safe and adequate facilities for all students, informed them that they should file officlal ‘Williams Act’ complaints to get the campus fixed, and he turned to the District Superintendent, who was at the meeting, and put the District on notice that the conditions at Piru School were not acceptable and that the District is liable for them. County Superintendent Stan Mantooth personally provided parents from Piru School at the meeting with information on how to obtain the ‘Williams Act’ complaint forms, and since then those parents have filed complaints, and this action, combined with the publicity generated by the charter hearing, is bringing much-needed improvements to the campus. Take a look for yourself.

The Scholarship Committee of the Alumni Association received twenty seven applications from seniors of Fillmore High for the 2010 alumni scholarships. The committee, which consists of Mark Ortega, Kathleen McCreary, Corinna Mozley, Betty Carpenter, Liz Kemp and Dick Mosbarger, scored the applications, which consists of an autobiography, grade point average and involvement in school and community activities, to determine the top applicants. These seventeen will be interviewed by the committee on Wednesday, April 14 to determine the top individuals in this year's class. All applications will then be sent to Mr. John Lemley, class of 1961, who will also score the applications, and will determine the top two applicants who will receive the John and Nit Lemley scholarships, which consists of a $2500 scholarship for two years plus a one time $500 stipend towards a lap top computer. The remaining fifteen applicants will receive alumni scholarships, which will be presented at the awards assembly in June. The seventeen finalists are: Susana Amezcua, Susan Bolanos, Andre Casas, Esteban Casas, Anthony Chavez, Jazmin Galvez, Armanda Hernandez, Mariela Inda-Ramirez, Alejandra Lopez, Megan Louth, Moneh Magdaleno, Kelsey MacDonald, Kellsie McLain, Conchita Meza, Lena Stehly. Rebecca Vassaur and Deanna Villagomez.

The Alumni Association is also working to update the address files for all alumni members, so if you, or anyone you know has recently moved, please notify the alumni office at 805-524-0416, or at: staff@FilmoreHighAlumni.com so we can keep the files current. We are also asking that those alumni members who are not subscribers to the alumni newsletter, Flashbacks, to please consider doing so, as your subscription not only brings you the newsletter, but it also helps keep the association operating and allows us to support the activities that help the high school. This past year the alumni association has re-started the Shasta Daisy project to provide the flowers for the arches for graduation and has purchased two banners for the gym, which provide the words to the alma mater and to the school's fight song. The Board of Directors would especially like to see all former scholarship recipients sign up to receive the newsletter, which is only $20 per year. The Fillmore High Alumni Association is one of a kind and is only as successful as the support obtained from the members, so please help us by becoming a subscriber.

San Cayetano is a nationally recognized NASA Explorer School. In 2007 they were chosen through a competitive grant process to earn that title. With that distinction come many opportunities. This year, NASA team member Melanie Chisholm teamed with San Cayetano Principal, Jan Marholin to write a competitive paper about an experiment in micro gravity. Mrs. Chisholm and her students took the lead on developing an experiment that can be flown in reduced gravity and shared that with other team members and their students. The project was chosen as one of 10 in the country for this years flight. The experiment has to do with liquid transfer in reduced gravity. The experiment will be shipped to Houston after the Family Science Night and then the five teachers will follow on April 21st. They will go through astronaut type training in at Johnson Space Center before their flight. Each teacher at their own expense had to be cleared by an Aviation Medical Doctor saying they were ok to fly. We thank Dr. Brian Brantner of Ventura who gave staff a very generous discount. The teachers and the experiment will fly in a C-9 aircraft and do parabolic maneuvers over the Gulf of Mexico. Upon landing and collecting the data from the experiment , the students at San Cayetano will be able to video conference live with them as they get off of the aircraft. These teachers are the first from Ventura , Santa Barbara or San Luis Obispo Counties to be chosen for this project. The Micro Gravity Team will be demonstrating their experiment at San Cayetano’s Family Science Night April 8th. Come and meet the team: Melanie Chisholm, Brandi Walker, Rory Maus, Scott Olson, and Viviana Laureano-Magana.

They will be at the San Cayetano Family Science Night April 8th from 6-7:30PM. This event is FREE for all Fillmore and Piru students. Bring the whole family and experience being put inside of a bubble, hold sea specimens from the Mobile Marine Lab, plant a plant and take it away from the UC Hansen Agricultural Center, try on a spacesuit from the Gull Wings Childrens Museum and much, much more! Also featured with free hands-on science activities will be: Channel Islands National Park, INTELSAT, California Oil Museum, Dept. of Water Resources, California Condor Recovery, United Water Conservation District and Associates Insectary. Try your luck with balloon rockets, paper gliders and impact craters. This free event is being brought to you by The San Cayetano NASA Team and Friends.