Mary Farmar students taking part in kindness challenge all week

Mary Farmar elementary kindergarteners Oscar Caballero, Aspen Harris, Malena Castellanos, Dylan Olech, Kate Fernan, Cameron Bohacek and Roy Bernards and teacher Kellie Barragan take part in the Great Kindness Challenge, which is being celebrated at thousands of schools across the world this week. (Photo courtesy of Tammy Harley)

 Elementary schoolers already have a tendency to be kind, but this week at Mary Farmar Elementary School, students are taking it to a whole new level. 
   For the second year in a row, Farmar is taking part in the Great Kindness Challenge, an international bullying prevention initiative in which students spend the last week of January trying to perform as many acts of kindness as possible. The Great Kindness Challenge is presented by nonprofit group Kids for Peace and has had more than 15,000 students in 91 countries participate.
   The challenge was brought to Farmar last year by Tammy Harley, a Special Day Class teacher with the Solano County Office of Education who instructs special education students at Farmar. In its initial year, Harley said participation was pretty minimal and primarily involved her class. Students would address the school through the intercom with such chants as “When I say Mary, you say Farmar!” or “When I say kindness, you say matters!” Harley’s class also decorated hearts and placed them on the windshields of teachers’ cars, and they distributed “Kindness Matters” fliers to their peers. What started out as a modest event was well-received enough that Harley was able to get the entire school involved this year with even bigger events. 
   One of the biggest features this year is Kindness Stations set up during recess, where students can perform different activities. On Monday, the station had pieces of paper where students could write notes to their teachers.
   “The template said, ‘My teacher makes me feel special when…’ and the students were drawing a picture and writing a sentence to give to their teacher,” Harley said. 
   On Tuesday, students made paper chains which are now hanging in the school’s hallway.
   “I had students write their names and an act of kindness that they have participated in,” Harley said. 
   On Wednesday, students made hearts to give to their friends. Today, kids are designing bookmarks, and the week will all culminate Friday with a schoolwide aerial Living Kindness picture featuring 600 participants. 
   Harley’s class has also taken part in collecting data on each smile, high five and fist bump they receive from students walking in each morning. On Monday, students received between 25 and 45, more than 80 on Tuesday and over 100 on Wednesday. 
   “Once kids got involved with it, parents got involved with it having a lot of people walk by my classroom in the morning,” Harley said. 
   Harley said parents have been a major help, volunteering their time to cut out hearts and bookmarks for the students to build their designs on. 
   “It has really been overwhelmingly amazing,” she said. 
   The primary goal, Harley said, has been to reinforce the notion to students that kindness matters. 
   “Every single act, no matter how small, can build upon and make a difference to people,” she said. 
   Harley is also grateful for what special education students have been able to accomplish.
   “It’s important for me to let everyone know how amazing my students with disabilities are and how kind they are and that they can make a difference too,” she said. “I have already seen this week an increase in the peer interactions between my students with special needs and the general ed population. They are already joining in with them, coming by with our high fives and our fist bumps. Kindness is showing at Mary Farmar this week.”
   SCOE is one of four county offices of education to be designated as Kindness Certified, and Farmar Principal Wendy Smith has registered for the school to receive that title. For more information on the Great Kindness Challenge, go to thegreatkindnesschallenge.com.

Benicia Moms Group's Early Education Fair returns

 Preschool is an important milestone in every person’s life. It is when children take their first steps into the world of education. However, it can be a lot of work just to get started. Thankfully, as they have in the past, the Benicia Moms Group will be hosting an Early Education Fair to let parents know what to expect.

   According to Brittainy Sapien, a vice president of administration for Benicia Moms Group, the group first hosted a Preschool Fair in 2013 under the guidance of member Ann Brooner. It was also held in 2014 and 2015 but was canceled in 2016 due to a lack of resources and intesrest.

   “When we did not host the fair in 2016, we had heard a lot of feedback that people had missed the fair, so we knew that it was an important thing to bring back to the community,” Sapien said. 

   With the help of Benicia Unified School District and First 5 Solano, the Early Education Fair is back to provide information on preschool and kindergarten. Parents can have questions about preschool answered, meet with community resources and learn about activities and childcare for kids ages 5 and under. Benicia Unified representatives will also be on hand to talk about kindergarten preparedness. 

   Sapien said the event will also be a good opportunity for parents to learn what types of curriculum and recreational activities are available and various types of support services. 

   “We’ve received feedback from a lot of the agencies like Child Haven and others that Benicia has low enrollment in some of these services that many of these people are, in fact, qualified to receive,” she said. “We’re hoping that families are able to meet and greet with these agencies and actually realize that there’s a lot of services available to them. If they’re not aware, now they can become aware.”

   “We’re just hoping to facilitate this kind of meet-and-greet, one-stop shop for a lot of these families and hopefully get everything that they need set in line,” she added. 

   The Early Education Fair will be held from 1 to 3 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 14 at the Benicia High School gym, located at 1101 Military West. Refreshments and hands-on craft will be provided by Lakeshore Learning. This event is free and open to the community. For more information, email bmgearlyedfair@gmail.com or call 297-3921. 

League of Women Voters Benicia register more than 500 student voters

(Originally published in the 4/28/16 edition)

   To say that the 2016 general election is inescapable is an understatement. Even before Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex) became the first to officially announce his candidacy in March of 2015, the media had been fervently speculating who would become the next president, which was only inflamed by several others throwing their hats into the ring over the next year. Now, the race has dwindled down to five as of this writing: Democrats Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders, and Republicans Cruz, John Kasich and Donald Trump.

What is perhaps even more exciting than this race is the fact that for many high school seniors, this is their first time voting. But it doesn't stop there: Solano County 18-year-olds will also be electing senators, congressmen, state senators, assemblymen, district supervisors, mayors and voting on ballot measures. To make sure students were prepared to vote in an informed way, League of Voters Benicia was there to help.

In March and April, the local chapter of the national nonpartisan organization aimed at encouraging civic engagement, visited more than 30 social science classes in high schools in Benicia, Vallejo and Fairfield, as well as Solano Community College. The campuses visited were Benicia High School and Liberty High School in Benicia, St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School and Jesse Bethel High School in Vallejo, and Fairfield High School, Sem Yeto High School and Matt Garcia Career and College Academy in Fairfield. 

Members of the Voter Services Team- including Susan Neuhaus, Harvey Rifkin, Peggy Lipper, Carin Coleridge, Gayle Vaughan, Eliza Wingate and Alvina Sheeley- delivered a Power Point presentation on the importance of voting, the offices up for election and the ballots on the June 7 primary. The presentations did not encourage students to vote for any particular candidate as the League of Women Voters is nonpartisan, but they did highlight how essential voting is. 

“We had a slide that said 'Denial and ignorance are the enemies of democracy' and had a picture of an ostrich with his head in the sand,” Vaughan said. 

They also showed a graph of the 2012 election in which the youth voter turnout was only 41.2 percent and encouraged them to beat that number. After the presentation, registration forms were given out, and more than 500 students ended up signing up to vote.

The presentations were also informative to the teachers as well. LWV had discussed California's semi-open primaries, in which those who registered under “No Party Preference” could request a Democratic, Libertarian or American Independent ballot, but not Republican, Green or Peace and Freedom Party ballots. 

“A couple of the teachers, once we said that, said ‘Oh, I think I need to change my registration,’ so some of them changed their registration so they could vote for the candidate they wanted,” Vaughan said. “The kids were very careful about that, and they asked a lot of questions.”

Since California requires two weeks of civic instruction on the voting processes in U.S. government and economics classes prior to the primary and general elections, Vaughan said the level of prior knowledge students had varied from class to class.

“Some classes had really gone over it and informed students how the process worked, while others had just gone over the government process,” she said.

The 2016 election is unique in that new voters will be affecting all three branches of government. They will not only be electing a new president but also a new California senator, as Barbara Boxer will be retiring after 24 years, which Vaughan noted is longer than this new crop of voters has been born. Additionally, who they elect as president could determine the next Supreme Court justice.

At the local level, Benicians will be voting for a mayor, Councilmembers, district supervisors and more.

“Not often do you get all levels of government in one election,” Vaughan said.
Vaughan said this election is exciting for 18-year-olds not only because it will be their first time voting but also because they have the power to really make a difference.

“This one is important because many things can be changed right now,” she said. “If you’re interested in making change, now’s the time to do it.”

Those looking to register to vote can pick up forms at the post office, library and City Hall. You can also register online by going toRegistertovote.ca.gov.

School board hears about further efforts to create safe, welcoming schools at Thursday's meeting

(Originally published in the 4/24/16 edition)

   Dr. Carolyn Patton, the director of special services to Benicia Unified School District, presented an update to the school board on the work being done to create Safe and Welcoming Schools at Thursday’s meeting. Three programs were highlighted, which fit in with Superintendent Charles Young’s goal of creating and maintaining schools that were safe and welcoming. 

   The three programs that were discussed were Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) at the elementary schools, the Second Step and Special Friends Supports program also at the elementary schools and the Sources of Strength program at Benicia High School.

   “Just a disclaimer: these are not all of the things we are doing toward these goals, so I don’t want you to think this is it,” Patton said. 

   Patton then talked about about the goals of PBIS, which academically covers topics like what students are expected to learn, how those lessons should be taught, what faculty should do if students do not learn it and how they should intervene. As Patton noted, those same topics could be applied at the social and emotional level. She then allowed Benicia Middle School teacher Faith Shaw, Liberty High School Principal Joann Severson and Robert Semple Elementary School Principal Christina Moore go over what their schools were doing in their PBIS training. 

   “It really is about teaching our kids behavioral expectations,” Patton said. “Just like we don’t expect kids coming into school knowing how to read, we shouldn’t expect them to come into school with the same behavioral expectations or understanding. We really need to teach those things and help reinforce them in a positive way.”

   Next to present was BUSD psychologist Kelli Leiner who talked about the Special Friends and Second Step programs at the elementary schools. Special Friends is an early mental health intervention program in which students and specially trained aides interact one-on-one in a playroom.

   “Students who are identified for this program are usually demonstrating some mild to moderate adjustment issues,” Leiner said. “There could be anything from being new to the school to a loss.”

   Second Step is a social skills program, usually consisting of groups of two to four students. Leiner then introduced Joan Burnett, a Special Friends aide at Robert Semple, who then introduced three students who had participated in the program.

   Patton then introduced Mental Health Coordinator Jessica Garcia to talk about a new program at Benicia High called Sources of Strength.

   Sources of Strength is a suicide prevention program consisting of 65 students and 11 faculty members including Garcia and three of the school’s counselors. The group meets every other week in peer groups to foster a sense of positivity for students dealing with anxiety or depression. The idea for the program was brought forth by Barbara Gervase, the mother of 16-year-old Benicia High student Kyle Hyland who died by suicide in 2014. 

   “I’m very happy that you agreed to finally bring that program to BHS,” Gervase said in a public comment before the presentation. “From what I’ve heard, it’s been going wonderfully well. One of the things that I’m asking from you is that if this program is working so well, then we need to make an effort to bring it to more kids at BHS because it’s limited.” 

   Gervase also recommended bringing the program to Benicia Middle School, as students tend to begin exhibiting mental health issues at the middle school level. 

   To demonstrate what students were learning, sophomore Amaya Clark talked about a 21-day challenge in which students were given journals to write about three things they were grateful for.

   “I noticed for the first day I kind of did broad things,” she said. “By the fourth day, I had to really think about things I was grateful and appreciative for, and I had to be more specific because I would have ran out of things. It just made me have an open mind and think ‘Wow, I really am grateful for this.’ It was a really good idea.”

   The board’s trustees praised the presentation. 

   “This is probably the best presentation I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been on the board 12 years,” Andre Stewart said. 

   Stewart said he has hired interns who did not know how to talk to adults.

   “This first thing you’re teaching them (PBIS) will teach them how to have presence, how to present themselves and how to talk to adults,” he said. 

   Stewart made the recommendation that the district work to provide more counseling support by hiring more staff. Currently, Benicia High has three counselors- Justin Keppel, Megan Guenther and Kathleen Wallace- to serve the needs of 1,700 students, which does not meet the California Department of Education’s recommended ratio.

   “I think you will be pleased with the recommendations coming forward in the LCAP,” Patton said. 

   In other business, the board voted to set the retention for Benicia High’s stadium renovation project at 10 percent because the project is substantially complex, and Young formally introduced Damian Scott as the new principal of Benicia Middle School. 

   

Three Benicia elementary schools receive Gold Ribbon honors

(Originally published in the 4/14/16 edition. The date for the regional ceremony has been corrected, although no further details on it are known.)

   Yesterday, State Superintendent of Public Schools Tom Torlakson announced that 772 California elementary schools are being honored under the Gold Ribbon Schools Awards Program. Sitting among this prestigious crop are three of Benicia's elementary schools: Mary Farmar Elementary, Joe Henderson Elementary and Robert Semple Elementary.

   The Gold Ribbon Award was created as a way to honor state schools, while the California Distinguished Schools Program is on hiatus as California creates new assessment and accountability systems. Nearly 6,000 elementary schools were eligible to apply, but only 7 percent of them were able to receive this honor.

   Schools applied based on a program or practice schools have adopted that can be replicated by other schools.

   “These schools shine as bright beacons for others, putting forth an exemplary effort to ensure that every student is ready for 21st century college and careers,” Torlakson said in a statement. “California teachers are developing an education model for the nation, training the students of today to be the problem-solvers, inventors and pioneers of tomorrow.”

   Mary Farmar highlighted its use of the Teacher College Reading and Writing Project, which aims for students to become strong readers, writers and thinkers through collaboration and solid instruction.

   Joe Henderson highlighted its efforts to improve literacy by building a reading life. This has been done through the implementation of a new reading room and its use of a web-based program called myON, where students can build their literacy skills through reading stories and poems even when they are at home.

   "We have built a love of reading through choice, stamina and instruction," Joe Henderson Principal Carin Garton said."Everything we've done at Joe Henderson has revolved around a love of reading."

   Robert Semple highlighted its use of Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports, its reading intervention program and the positive impact these programs have had on students.

   “Our receiving this award is based on the culmination of hard work done this year and last year,” Robert Semple Principal Christina Moore said. “It validates the specific programs we're working on the positive impact they've had on behavior and academics.”

   “We're so excited,” she said of receiving the award. “I'm overjoyed.”

   Matthew Turner Elementary, the one Benicia school that was not nominated, was recognized as a Distinguished School in 2014.

   All the nominated schools received a visit by a committee, and Superintedent Charles Young felt optimistic afterwards.

   “When visitations ended, they told us 'You guys are great. We're submitting your applications to the Department of Education,'” he said.

   Young also noted that one third of all recommendations from Solano County came from Benicia Unified School District.

   “It's a great achievement and continuing recognition of the hard work put in by staff,” Young said.

   "We're told by our families all the time what an exceptional job we do at educating kids," Garton said. "To have the state and county come in and recognize us for it makes it all the more worthwhile. It's kind of a dream come true."

   A regional ceremony will be held June 1.

New Benicia Middle School principal named

(Originally published in the 4/12/16 edition)

   Benicia Unified School District Superintendent Charles Young announced Damian Scott as the new principal of Benicia Middle School on Friday through BUSD’s website. 

   Scott will be filling the position left by Stephen Brady. Brady was hired at the start of the 2015-2016 school year as the successor to Christina Moore who left to take a new job as the principal of Robert Semple Elementary. Brady announced his resignation via an email to BMS parents in February. 

   Scott received his undergraduate degree from the University of Oregon, his administrative credential from the Fortune School of Education in Sacramento and his master’s degree from San Jose State University. Scott has taught elementary school, science and computer science and is currently an assistant principal at Alhambra High School in Martinez, which received Gold Ribbon School recognition during his tenure.

   Additionally, Scott was able to coordinate a partnership between the computer science education nonprofit program code.org and eight local school districts, including BUSD. 

   “We enthusiastically welcome Damian Scott as the new principal of Benicia Middle School, knowing he will provide strong, compassionate, visionary leadership for years to come,” Young said in a statement.

   Scott could not be reached for comment. 

Benicia kids get honored in Safe Routes to School poster contest

(Originally published in the 4/10/16 edition)

   All throughout Solano County, children ages 5 through 14 were asked to submit drawings to Solano Safe Routes to School's “Think Outside the Car” poster contest, encouraging students to walk, bike or ride their scooters to school. Students in Benicia were among those who took runners-up and honorable mention.   

   Safe Routes to School is a program put on by Solano Transportation Authority to encourage students to find alternate routes to school beyond having their parents drive them. Alternatives include walking, riding bikes or taking public transit, which STA believes not only improves students' health and well-being but also cuts down on air pollution and traffic congestion.

   The contest not only acted as a public service announcement to parents and fellow classmates but also demonstrated the artistic talent and creativity of Solano's youth.

   “The Safe Routes to School program received so many wonderful and creative entries,” Fairfield Mayor Harry Price said in a statement. “129 students from 23 schools throughout the county entered the contest.”

   Benicia Unified School District students were honored in all three categories. Xavier Parra, a first-grader from Joe Henderson Elementary, took runner-up in the transitional kindergarten through second-grade category. Ryder De Lago, a fourth-grader from Matthew Turner Elementary took runner-up in the third through fifth-grade category. Finally, Justin Gallardo, an eighth-grader at Benicia Middle School, recived an honorable mention in the sixth through eighth-grade category.

   The big winners in each category were Umar Vasani, a second-grader at Wardlaw Elemntary in Vallejo; Josiah Lacy, a fourth-grader at Crescent Elementary in Suisun City; and Samantha Guinn, a seventh-grader at the Public Safety Academy in Fairfield. Honorable mentions also went to Sierra Christiansen, a first-grader at Kairos Public School Vacaville Academy; and Grace Miller, a fourth-grader at Cordelia Hills Elementary in Fairfield. Karina Ceja-Escobedo, a seventh-grader at Public Safety Academy, rounded out the honorees with a runner-up award in the sixth through eighth-grade category.

Price and Suisun City Mayor Pete Sanchez announced the first-place winners over the air on Vacaville adult contemporary station KUIC.

   “I was impressed at how well the winning entries best showed the benefits of walking, biking or riding a scooter to school,” Sanchez said. “The kids really did a great job.”

Annual Run for Education to once again raise money for Benicia schools Sunday

(Originally published in the 4/7/16 edition)

   It’s that time of year again when citizens of the community come together to literally run for a good cause: strengthening Benicia Unified School District’s educational programs.

   The Benicia Education Foundation will be holding its 9th annual Run for Education on Sunday, open to everyone from expert runners to first-time athletes. Runners can participate in two races. The 5-kilometer race starts at the Southern Pacific Railroad Depot at the end of First Street, winds through West H, West Second, West I, West 9th and West K streets before returning to First Street. The 10-kilometer race starts at the Benicia State Recreation Area’s Ridge Trail, peels off into West K and H streets, winds through Military West and ends on First Street. The event has managed to attract a wide variety of people, even from those outside the community. For instance, last year’s 5K winner, Melvin Nyairo, came all the way from Yuba City.

   Outgoing race director Teresa Zabrek, who has been helping new director Lisa Koenen in her transition, says more than 400 people have signed up for the event so far, but with spring break falling last week, she expects that number to grow this week.

   “We hope to hit 800 runners with over 100 volunteers,” Zabrek said. “We may fall a little short of our goal since the focus this year was more on transitioning to a new race director, but next year marks the 10^th Annual run so we are already thinking of fun ways to bring out the crowds to help us celebrate.”

   New this year is a registration site called Run Sign Up, which allows applicants to register a team or family for one handling fee, among other benefits.

   “This system is tied to Synergy Race Timing, so when people register their information is entered directly into the timing system,” Zabrek said. “People can register online right up to race start time with a credit card, and race results will be posted live on computers for people to get their results more quickly. We are very excited about all of the features this new system will offer to us as organizers and to our runners.”

   Additionally, there will be an early morning warm-up presented by Benicia Jazzercise, a performance of the national anthem by Benicia High School freshman Kirsten Lambincio, sponsor booths on the First Street Green and an awards ceremony. The winners of the 5k and 10K races will receive Benicia Downtown Dollars, and the top 3 of each age category receive medals. There will also be T-shirts distributed with a logo designed by Benicia High alumna Alison Harris-Abbott, founder of the company Designs by AHA. 

   A big theme for this year’s event is ensuring that all BUSD students are prepared for college. According to BEF Vice President and BUSD trustee Stacy Holguin, while the foundation has been working to raise money for library and technology resources, she says the district has been able to stabilize funding in this area. Now the focus is on making sure the district provides funding to build college and career readiness for students at all levels. 

   “After numerous stakeholder meetings with representatives from each school, BEF is developing a plan that will support student and parent engagement at the elementary schools, middle school and high schools,” she said. “While this list is not exhaustive, we plan to support an expansion of the STEAM Wheel at the elementary schools; Math Support Lab  and Naviance expansion at the Middle School; and guest speakers and additional resources for the college and career counselor at the high schools.”

   Additionally, Holguin says the foundation will have a mini grant fund that teachers and administrators can apply for to support programs that will help with college and career preparation. 

   Zabrek says the event is very popular and allows people from all walks of life to come together to support a great cause.

   “This is a great way to come together as a community to show our support of Benicia public schools,” she said. “Even if you don’t have kids in school it is a fun, healthy event to experience.”

   The Run for Education will take place from 8 to 11 a.m., Sunday, April 10. Race day registration begins at 7 a.m. at the First Street Green, located at the corner of First and B streets. People can also register at RunSignUp.com or at Earthly Nutrition, located at 872 Southampton Road. For more information, visit BeniciaRunForEducation.org. 

School board discusses processes to renovate Benicia High School stadium

(Originally published in the 3/20/16 edition)

   The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District continued the discussion from its March 3 meeting on the process of procuring a contractor to construct Benicia High School’s new stadium at Thursday’s meeting.

   Benicia High’s stadium renovation project was one of the largest projects that was part of the Measure S bond, which was approved by Benicia voters in June 2014. At the last meeting, Patrick Wilson of School and College Legal Services of California in Santa Rosa argued the merits of a lease-leaseback process, in which a district leases the site to a qualified contractor instead of advertising for bidders, and the site is leased back to the district after construction is completed. 

   At Thursday’s meeting, Loren Sokup, an associate general counsel with School and College Legal Services presented the pros and cons of both the general bidding process and the lease-leaseback process. She began by noting that both methods share common elements, including the Division of the State Architect having to approve construction plans and the contractor paying prevailing wages.

   She then discussed the pros and cons of a general bidding process. On the positive side, a bidding process would likely lead to more competition and better pricing due to advertising and would decrease the likelihood of favoritism. However, the district would have to award the project to the lowest bidder even if a superior contractor is available, Sokup said.

   “Price is the primary driver in this, and the district is subject and locked in to those restrictions,” she said. 

   Under a lease-leaseback process, the district would be able to have a highly qualified contractor who will construct the project in a timely manner. On the other hand, Sokup noted, the process of sole sourcing can be abused, the pricing may be higher and has not necessarily been vetted by a competitive bid process and the contractor may want to delay the start of work for at least 60 days afterward to rely on validation procedure.

   Additionally, Sokup noted that the lease-leaseback process has become more controversial in the wake of Davis v. Fresno Unified School District, in which Fresno Unified misused the process for a variety of projects. Among other things, it was determined that the district had violated conflict of interest laws by granting the project to a construction firm that had previously assisted with consultation on the project.

   Sokup also noted that a pre-qualification process is mandatory for lease-leaseback and required for most bidding projects. Among the subects addressed in the process include whether or not the contractor’s license has ever been revoked or suspended, prior experience with K-12 stadium projects and the provision of audited financial states. 

   Trustee Stacy Holguin asked if there was a time frame difference in carrying out the two processes.

   “With regard to the bidding, there is a required advertising period,” Sokup responded. “With lease-leaseback, it tends to be a shorter time period. That being said, contractors are wanting to wait and start work after 60 days after the contract is awarded.”

   Holguin then noted that lease-leaseback is frequently used at the community college level and asked why it was so controversial at the K-12 level. Sokup noted that it was actually more controversial at the community college level because community college districts haven’t been verified while there is a verification process at the K-12 level.

   Superintendent Charles Young said the board would be moving forward with the bidding process.

   “With the issues of the legal process around lease-leaseback, the 60-day timeframe just pushes us out even further,” he said. “We’ve talked about this quite a bit, and we would like to go ahead with the bidding process.” 

   Trustee Diane Ferrucci concurred with Young’s reasoning.

   “The more I’m reading about lease-leaseback in light of all the recent legislation, it concerns me that they keep saying the district is going to have a really difficult time meeting the level of requirements in order to participate in that lease-leaseback,” she said. “I really prefer going this way with some really clear expectations and requirements.”

   In other business, educational services coordinator Jan Rogenski discussed the rigorous Reading and Writing Project that had been implemented at the elementary schools. Brian Douglas of Mary Farmar Elementary, Kathy Crozier of Matthew Turner Elementary and Deborah Campbell of Joe Henderson Elementary discussed what their students were learning under this program, and some of their students even got to present some of the reports they had written.     Additionally, Young formally announced Brianna Kleinschmidt as Benicia High’s new principal. 

Loren Sokup discusses the differences between lease-leaseback and general bidding. (Photo by Nick Sestanovich)

Brianna Kleinschmidt named as new Benicia High School principal

(Originally published in the 3/18/16 edition)

   Benicia Unified School District Superintendent Charles Young announced Wednesday that Benicia High School vice principal Brianna Kleinschmidt would be promoted to the school’s principal position. 

   Kleinschmidt takes the reins of Mark Corti who had filled in as interim principal following the resignation of Damon Wright in June 2015, after Wright accepted a position as principal of American Canyon High School. 

   Kleinschmidt graduated from Benicia High in 1997 and received her bachelor’s degree in English language and literature from the University of California, Santa Barbara and her master’s degree in the same field at San Francisco State University. Additionally, she picked up both her teaching credential and administrative credential at Brandman University. 

   She also spent a few years as an event planner with her own catering business in Sacramento but saw a need to pursue her passion.

   “I found I wanted to get back into the area that I studied and get into something that would make more of a difference,” she said. 

   Kleinschmidt returned to her high school alma mater in 2011 to become a teacher in the school’s English department. For the next three years, she taught freshmen, juniors and seniors in a variety of courses, including an expository reading and writing class which prepared high school students for college-level language arts work. In addition, she was the adviser of the yearbook class in 2013 and 2014. Both editions of the Pride yearbook, including the 2014 book which was the first “augmented reality” yearbook in Northern California, picked up awards. 

   Kleinschmidt was promoted to vice principal in 2014, a position she held for the next two years. In that time, she served as the Advanced Placement coordinator, the AVID program site coordinator, an administrator for the EcH2O Academy and was active in organizing the Every 15 Minutes program.

   When a principal position opened up, Kleinschmidt expressed interest.

   “I saw a real need for not just a principal but a principal that would provide some stability of leadership and be here for a long time because I know there’s been some turnover at the principal position,” she said. “I really wanted to continue to help Benicia High School grow and move in the direction that we’re headed in now and do so in a way that we would continue for many years to come.”

   Kleinschmidt says she will continue to work on the school’s current goals, including working with the Schedule Advisory Committee toward making a recommendation for a new bell schedule, changing graduation requirements to increase the number of graduates eligible for UC enrollment and overseeing the stadium renovation project. She also wants to help improve faculty leadership and building relationships with local businesses and alumni.

   “I would love to grow those connections with other businesses in Benicia so we can bring in opportunities for our students whether that’s internships bringing in guest speakers and bringing in opportunities for different classes that maybe we haven’t had in the past to really set our students up for success,” she said. 

   Kleinschmidt believes education will provide students with opportunities that otherwise would not be available to them.

   “I think we’re at a point of shifting away from asking students what they want to be when they grow up and instead helping them focus on what problems they want to solve because a lot of times we are preparing students for jobs that don’t exist yet, and so we need to provide them with a huge range of skills,” she said. “Education is growing and evolving in order to better equip our students for their path to success.”

   Kleinschmidt’s role as principal begins today. Vice principals Sean Thompson and Kathrine Cole and dean of students Stacy Starkweather will be assisting with the transition. Corti will be talking to Young to determine his role in the transition, and Kleinschmidt will also be performing her previous vice principal duties until a permanent replacement is hired. 

   “I’m excited for the opportunity, and I look forward to working with staff and the community to make Benicia High School the best that it can be,” she said. “It’s a great school already, and we just want to continue on that path.”

   

School board questions process to renovate stadium

(Originally published in the 3/6/16 edition)

    The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District heard a discussion on the progress of Benicia High School’s renovated stadium and questioned the approach the project was using. 

   The stadium, which was financed through Measure S, will feature a new all-weather track, a renovated entryway, upgraded lighting and bleachers that can seat up to 3,300 people. Patrick Wilson of School and College Legal Services of California in Santa Rosa explained that the district is planning to use a lease-leaseback process to construct the stadium.

   In a lease-leaseback project, school districts are authorized to circumvent the process of advertising for bidders and instead leases the site to a contractor. After construction is done, the site is leased back to the district. 

   “One thing that lease-leaseback allows you to do is pick the contractor who has special qualifications that meet the need for your project,” Wilson said. “You reserve lease-leaseback for exceptional projects, and the general rule is you’re going to bid your painting and paving projects and the more generic projects. But for a project like this that is complicated and involves track and field and stadium development and school buildings that are associated with that on a short timeline, you’ll want to have a general contractor who has done this kind of project before and has good recommendations.” 

   However, lease-leaseback has seen controversy. Last year, Fresno Unified School District went to court over its alleged misuse of the lease-leaseback method. The district had used lease-leaseback for a variety of projects, including the construction of Rutherford B. Gaston Middle School. The 5th District Court of Appeal ruled that the contract was leaseback in name only and the district violated conflict of interest laws by awarding the project to Harris Construction who had previously done consultation on the process, according to The Fresno Bee.

   However, Wilson said they will not repeat Fresno’s mistakes. 

   “Fresno Unified got into trouble, partly because they were using lease-leaseback for almost everything, and they were sole-sourcing it,” he said. “They weren’t casting the net wide and trying to allow qualified contractors to compete against one another. They tended to overly focus on one contractor who seemed to do all their work.”

   “We’re trying to avoid those pitfalls and help you get your stadium project off the ground,” he added. 

   The board trustees were quick to ask questions about the process.

   “If we state what we’re looking for, why wouldn’t qualified contractors apply to the job in the first place?” Trustee Andre Stewart asked. 

   “When you go out to bid, which is the general method of selecting contractors, you basically have to pick the low bidder regardless of whether you think they’re as qualified as you’d like them to be or not,” Wilson responded. “The way that we structure lease-leaseback is you reach out to four or five contractors, all of whom you think are highly experienced, and you get them to compete against one another. You whittle the pool down to one or two, and the board decides who you want to proceed with.” 

   Trustee Peter Morgan raised issues over the political impacts of lease-leaseback.

   “The lease-leaseback approach, used improperly, can circumvent a lot of the controls that are intended to ensure that taxpayers’ dollars are used most effectively,” he said.

   Morgan requested a written report detailing why lease-leaseback makes sense for the district and what the issues were in the Fresno case.

   “Fresno Unified forgot that bidding is the general rule, and lease-leaseback’s an exception that should be used for exceptional cases,” Wilson responded. “They started using it in all instances, and they had no element of competition. In virtually every lease-leaseback I’ve worked on, we do have competition.” 

   In other business, the board approved a new facilities master plan, and Superintendent Charles Young highlighted the process of implementing a new bell schedule. A special meeting will be held in Room L-3 at Benicia High School at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 10 where high schools from Albany and Piedmont will talk to parents about how their schedule changes worked for them. 

Roxanne Egan, Measure S bond director, briefly talks about the stadium renovation before handing the microphone to Patrick Wilson. (Photo by Nick Sestanovich)

Benicia elementary schools nominated for Gold Ribbon status

(Originally published in the 2/21/16 edition)

   Three of Benicia’s four elementary schools have been nominated to become Gold Ribbon California elementary schools.

   Mary Farmar, Joe Henderson and Robert Semple elementary schools are in the running to become Gold Ribbon schools for the year. The Gold Ribbon Schools Award Program was created in 2015 as a replacement for the California Distinguished Schools program, which is on hiatus as the state works to accommodate new assessment and accountability systems, according to Tom Torlakson, the state superintendent of public instruction. The program honors schools that have made major gains in the implementation of academic material and performance standards adopted by the State Board of Education. Schools are invited to apply, and their applications are submitted to the California Department of Education where they undergo review. Schools are later selected by the department for verification review by staff members of their respective county offices of education. 

   Last year, the program honored California’s middle and high schools. This year, the state’s elementary schools will be honored. 

   At Thursday’s school board meeting, Benicia Unified School District Superintendent Charles Young highlighted the same things each school highlighted in their applications. 

   “Joe Henderson highlighted their school's focus on building a reading life, Robert Semple highlighted the impact that Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports has made on their school culture as well as their reading intervention support program and Mary Farmar highlighted the positive impact that classroom-embedded professional development through Teachers College Reading and Writing Project has made on their instructional practice and grade-level collaboration,” Young said. 

   The schools will be reviewed by the Solano County Office of Education. Recipients will be announced by Torlakson in April, and a regional ceremony will be held for the winning schools in May.

   As for Matthew Turner Elementary— the one school that was not selected for Gold Ribbon status— Young noted that the school was recognized as a California Distinguished School in 2014. 

   

School board discusses next year's enrollment at Thursday's meeting

(Originally published in the 2/21/16 edition)

   Tim Rahill, the chief business official of Benicia Unified School District, delivered a report on enrollment projections for the 2016-2017 school year at a shortened school board meeting Thursday.

   Rahill noted that kindergarten and transitional kindergarten enrollment numbers are slated to be about the same as the previous year. Meanwhile, the district’s four elementary schools are projected to have slightly fewer students.

   “What you can see in the handout is that when we roll the grade levels into next year, we might be experiencing a decline in enrollment at the elementary schools by about 56 students,” Rahill said. “That’s basically due to the fact of a fifth grade exiting out to the middle school, and a smaller TK (and) K coming in.”

   Additionally, Rahill said that Benicia Middle School is likely to see a decrease in enrollment by 56 students, but this is par for the course. 

   “Historically, what happens at the middle school level is that we get students that enroll primarily from other private schools that come into the public school system,” he said. “We experience that, and it’s pretty flat. We’ve experienced that for the last seven years, so we’re not really anticipating a decline in enrollment at the middle school.”

   At the high school level, Rahill said the district is expecting a slight increase in students at both Benicia High School and Liberty High School by 33. 

   Rahill said the district is primarily focused on the elementary school enrollments.

   “Know that the office managers and the principals are working hard to do community outreach to get folks to enroll as soon as possible,” he said. “If that decline in enrollment sticks, we’ll be talking to the principals about potential adjusting to the staffing that we provide for less students.”

   In terms of staffing projections, Deputy Superintendent Michael Gardner pointed out that the district has experienced double the amount of retirements at the elementary schools as well as several resignations. 

   “We don’t anticipate any kinds of notices for any layoffs this year,” Gardener said. “We will be able to cover them with attrition.” 

   President Gary Wing asked what the dates were for students being accepted into transitional kindergarten and if students with slightly later birthdays would qualify. The dates are from Sept. 2 to Dec. 2, and Assistant Superintendent Marie Morgan said the district does not open transitional kindergarten up to all students.

   “There are a couple of exceptions, depending upon educational circumstances in terms of assessments or special circumstances for students,” she said. 

   Transitional kindergarten is an optional program for students who have their fifth birthday between September and December and can be taken in place of regular kindergarten. Trustee Stacy Holguin asked how much longer the district would be offering transitional kindergarten. Rahill responded by saying the state provides funding for transitional kindergarten, and BUSD would continue to offer it to families who choose to take part.

   “At this point in time, they’re not required to enroll, but if they want to we will provide TK,” he said.

   In other business, the board approved the first reading of several board policies, including the development of protocols to ensure that students are placed into an appropriate math class and not one they have already taken and a new law that prohibits districts from discriminating against a person requesting accommodations for disability or religious beliefs. 

   The board convened early to attend Benicia High’s open house night. The board will be holding a special board meeting study session at 6 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 25. The next regular board meeting will be Thursday, March 3 at its regular start time of 7 p.m. in the Benicia Unified School District Board Room at the district building on 350 East K Street.

   

Benicia and Liberty High discuss WASC updates at school board meeting

(Originally published in the 2/7/16 edition)

    The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District heard reports from Liberty High School and Benicia High School regarding the institutions’ Western Association of Schools and Colleges visits at its meeting Thursday.

   WASC is an academic body responsible for the accreditation of K-12 schools and universities in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam and American Samoa, and even extending toward Tokyo. Accreditation signifies that a school has met the standards set by the state.

   Liberty completed its WASC visit earlier in the year, and Benicia High completed its mid-cycle report in preparation for WASC visits on March 7 and 8. 

   JoAnn Severson, the principal of Liberty High, was the first to present. She noted that back in the 2012-2013 school year, Liberty underwent its first full self-study. Afterwards, the school was granted a six-year accreditation term. 

   “Mid-cycle, they come back and visit us, and that’s what just happened,” she said. 

   Liberty had its WASC visit in October, and the school will be accredited through 2019. 

   “It’s a great accomplishment for your small school down the hall, and we’re very proud of the work,” Severson said. 

  She then outlined the school’s WASC goals, which were to increase student learning as demonstrated by course completion and graduation rates, to empower students to successfully transition to college or into a career and to continue to foster a positive environment that addresses individual student needs and supports success for all students. 

   She also noted that staff was lauded for addressing all recommendations from its previous visit, improving its communication with Benicia High and making it easier for students who wish to return to Benicia High to be able to do so. 

   “It’s just so fantastic that we have this sort of alternative for our kids,” Severson said. “It’s something to really celebrate.”

   Severson also brought up recommendations from WASC staff, including continuing to increase the transition between Liberty and Benicia High and considering to increase its counseling services. For the first recommendation, Severson noted that the two schools had a joint meeting in November led by Special Services Director Carolyn Patton.

   “We talked about kids that wanted to come to Liberty, and we talked about kids that wanted to go back to Benicia High School, and that worked really well,” Severson said. “We have another one coming up in the springtime to talk about our next school year.”

   For the second recommendation, Severson mentioned that the school has a counseling intern who has been holding a girls’ group every Friday and the implementation of Teen Talk, a confidential group where kids can talk to each other.

   Severson then highlighted some ongoing work at Liberty, including the restoration of the Liberty greenhouse on J Street and a recent cookoff by the Solano County Association of Realtors where the profits were given to Liberty. The grant will allow the school to create a female vocal group as an expansion of Liberty’s partnership with the choral group VOENA. Severson said that almost all the female students are interested.

   “I have a piano,” she said. “We’re set to go!”

   Next to present was Benicia High social science teacher and dean of students Stacy Starkweather, who has co-coordinated the WASC committee with social science department colleague Sadie O’Neill. The school has completed its mid-cycle report ahead of its upcoming WASC visits, which are a followup to its 2013 visit. 

   Interim Principal Mark Corti praised Starkweather for his leadership during the process. 

   “Things that leaders have initiated, along with Stacy’s leadership, are leading Benicia High School into a great place,” he said. “This report will lead Benicia High School into the future.” 

   Starkweather began talking about the contents of the five-chapter report. The first chapter deals with updated community demographics and data. Among the data points reflected were the increase in advanced placement participation, strong CAASPP scores and proficiency in science scores. 

   “That doesn’t mean that we don’t need to continue to develop stronger programs,” Starkweather said. “We’re still creating successful opportunities for our students, and that’s what our report is about.” 

   Chapter 2 deals with significant changes and developments, including changes to leadership and staffing. Starkweather noted that since the last WASC visit, the district has had a new superintendent, the school a new administration and more than 30 faculty members have changed in the past three years out of 75.

   “What that has done is it’s created this really dynamic atmosphere where new ideas are coming in, new teachings going on and a shift to student-centered learning,” he said. “I have to commend the fact that this year, the VPs and everybody at that school did an amazing job getting that school open successfully in the fall in a middle of a paint job and a shifting leadership.”

  Chapter 3 outlines ongoing school improvements. It describes the yearly steps in collecting data and gives over focus group meetings, home group meetings and staff meetings. Chapter 4 focuses on critical areas for followup and Chapter 5 outlines continuing work to do. 

   “We’re not ready to present the results yet,” Starkweather said. “This is what we’re presenting to them, and I’m looking forward to coming back with our results from the report.” 

   Trustee Stacy Holguin commented that she had read the full report.

   “I really appreciated how in-depth the background was and the presentation of the steps,” she said.

   In other business, the board honored the district’s teachers of the year and classified personnel of the year from each school, including the BUSD Teacher of the Year Kim Thompson from Benicia High and BUSD Classified Personnel of the year Kristen Jovino from Benicia Middle School.