Hawthorne Press Tribune The Weekly Newspaper of Hawthorne Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - July 3, 2014 Kiwanis & Rotary Clubs Present Officer of the Year Award The Kiwanis Club of Hawthorne and the Rotary Club of Hawthorne/LAX/Lennox held their Annual Joint Meeting on June 6 at Hawthorne Memorial Canter as the two community service organizations joined to honor the Police Officer and Firefighter of The Year. Hawthorne Police Chief Robert Fager presented the Police Officer of The Year to Officer Jason Moulton, a Hawthorne High School graduate who joined the Hawthorne Police Dept. in 2005. In 2006 he was assigned to the SWAT Team. He is also a Police K-9 handler, and part of the REACT Team. Pictured L-R are: Kiwanis President Rick Carver Hawthorne Police Chief Robert Fager, Councilmember Olivia Valentine, Officer Jason Moulton and his wife, and Rotary President Patrice Jinso Springer. Photos courtesy of Doug Herbst, Kiwanis Club of Hawthorne. Schools Must Balance New Common Core Expectations with Older Restrictions By Dylan Little While educational changes in the state of California have made Program Improvement's future unclear, the Hawthorne School Board still heard plans from Prairie Vista and Hawthorne middle schools on how they would proceed if they advanced into restructuring as they otherwise would've this year. While not mandated to change their methods, both principals said the changes they specified during the June 25 meeting are good ideas they are already beginning to implement. The rollout of the Common Core State Standards and the computerized Smarter Balanced Assessments that come with it has caused the state to temporarily suspend advancing schools and their districts along the Program Improvement (PI) pathway as mandated by the No Child Left Behind law. This means schools in their fifth year of PI need to develop a plan to avoid the empty threat of take-over by the state, although it's unclear when or if the state will ever call upon them to enact these plans. Director of Special Projects Mara Pagniano explained that while PI is typically seen as a punishment for under-performing schools, because of the strict guidelines for exiting PI, it's nearly impossible for a school entering PI now to ever leave. “Our teachers and our schools have been doing fantastic jobs. They provide very high quality instruction for students,” said Pagniano. “The problem is . . . 89 percent of our students have to be proficient, that is a very high threshold. It's a high threshold in general and it's a particularly high threshold when you say that every single subgroup in English language arts and in math has to meet that 89 percent threshold.” Board member Alexandre Monteiro said this problem isn't unique to Hawthorne. “This is a problem, across thousands of districts throughout California,” said Monteiro. “They made this for us to fail basically. We know the teachers are working hard and this No Child Left Behind is haunting us.” While technically mandated to provide a restructuring plan due to being in their fifth year of PI, the staff of Prairie Vista and Hawthorne middle schools used the opportunity to find more ways to address the needs of their students who are having difficulties with math and English. “This is highly valuable work,” said Pagniano. “Even if we weren't in PI I think this is the type of work we would continue to engage in.” Principal Chris Fagnano presented Prairie Vista's plan, which provides additional professional development to teachers as part of her goal of helping teachers bring advanced concepts to all Prairie Vista students, a goal she says has already assisted students with taking on bigger educational challenges. “Providing a rigorous program for those students really helped them and the parents really appreciated it,” said Fagnano. Hawthorne Middle School Principal Rudy Salas's plan included methods to support positive behavior with “Hawk Norms” like asking students to be responsible and use their best efforts. The plan also asks teachers to increase the collaboration both with each other and with math and language coaches. “You can no longer get to your classroom and close the door,” said Salas. Lastly, both schools included plans to bring more parents on campus in the hopes of them taking a more active role in their child's education. Fagnano said she is planning to hold parent meetings in conjunction with student performances to bring in students, while Salas said he is looking to gather feedback from parents to find topics they would find interesting and helpful. Board president Eugene Krank said these are steps in the right direction. “I always talk about parent involvement because I think that's key,” said Krank. “They're the ones that can get their kids straight better than we can.” The Board also received a $100,000 donation from Chevron to expand the district's Project Lead the Way program, a hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (known collectively as STEM) program that has been a “huge success” according to Morgan. Currently Project Lead the Way is a fixture at Bud Carson Middle School, but with the energy company's grant, Morgan said the district is looking to expand the program to Zela Davis Elementary. “They have been just abundantly generous with us. Our STEM academy and our STEM prep academy, they have made those labs possible for us,” said Morgan. The donation will help fund both additional training for teachers in how to make best use of the program as well funding additional technological resources for students. Chevron Policy, Government & Public Affairs Representative Lily Craig praised the district for embracing innovative ways to keep STEM education relevant in the classroom. She said she believes that sparking an interest in science and engineering will be vital when it comes time for Hawthorne students to pursue a career. “Right now, one out of every five jobs require some STEM education and that's only going to be more important in the future,” said Craig. “This is a good way to get our students ready for that future.” • Inside This Issue Business Briefs...................5 Calendar...............................3 Classifieds............................3 Certified & Licensed Professionals.......................4 Hawthorne Happenings....3 Food.......................................8 Legals............................2, 6-7 Letters...................................5 Sports....................................5 Weekend Forecast Friday Sunny 80˚/66˚ Saturday AM Clouds / PM Sun 82˚/67˚ Sunday AM Clouds / PM Sun 81˚/67˚ “The problem is . . . 89 percent of our students have to be proficient, that is a very high threshold.”
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