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. 

   

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)

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)

School board to hear update on stadium renovation project

(Originally published in the 3/1/16 edition)

   The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District will listen to a status update on Benicia High School’s new stadium at Thursday’s meeting.

   The stadium is one of the largest projects to be financed through Measure S, an initiative approved by Benicia voters in 2014 to provide $49.6 million in bond funding to be spent on facilities at district schools. 

   The renovated athletic facility will still be used primarily for football and soccer as well as track and field, pole vaulting and discus throwing. It will also retain the existing scoreboard, but it will have a new 8-lane all-weather track, upgraded lighting, bleachers that would fit up to 3,300 people and a redesigned entryway. 

   The project is awaiting approval from the Division of State Architecture. If approved, construction will begin when summer break starts in June and is projected to be completed in October. 

   Bond Director Roxanne Egan will give a presentation on where the status of the project lies at this point in time. According to a report by Egan, the district is still looking for contractors.

   “The district’s standard practice when constructing school buildings is to use the traditional low bid process which allows any licensed contractor to bid on the work,” she wrote. “However, there are other legal methods of construction delivery that sometimes are a better fit.”

   Egan cited a “lease leaseback” method, which authorizes a district to lease a school site to a contractor for a nominal amount. After the contractor builds the project, it leases it back to the district for 40 years, at which point ownership returns to the district. This process is done without competitive bidding. 

   “The stadium project involves multiple complex construction challenges which must be completed on a tight schedule,” Egan wrote. “The lease leaseback method will allow the district to select from a list of preferred contractors who have previously performed similar stadium projects for public school districts.” 

   Egan also noted that staff is working with legal counsel to make sure all construction documents meet legal requirements. 

   In other business, the board will consider the criteria for determining the order of seniority for employees who have the same date when they began working in the district. Chief Business Official Tim Rahill will also be reviewing the 2015/16 Second Interim Financial Report.

   The board will meet at 7 p.m., Thursday, in the Benicia Unified School District Board Room at the district building on 350 East K Street. There will be an earlier closed session at 6 p.m.

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. 

WASC updates on school board agenda tonight

(Originally published in the 2/4/16 edition)

   The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District will hear reports from Liberty and Benicia High School regarding Western Association of Schools and Colleges visits at tonight’s meeting.

   WASC is an academic organization responsible for the accreditation of K-12 schools and public and private universities. If a school is accredited, it meets the standards of academic excellence and validates the school’s integrity.

   “Accreditation is integral to a school’s perpetual cycle of assessment, planning, implementation, monitoring and reassessment based upon student achievement,” WASC’s website states. “It fosters excellence in elementary, secondary, adult and postsecondary education by encouraging school improvement through a process of continuing evaluation and to recognize, by accreditation, schools that meet an acceptable level of quality in accordance with established criteria.”

   Assistant Superintendent Marie Morgan will be leading the discussion on the progress of both schools’ reports. Liberty completed its accreditation earlier in the year, and Benicia High is currently in the middle of its cycle. 

   JoAnn Severson, the principal of Liberty High, will be sharing the final written report including the recommendations the school received by WASC representatives. Liberty staff were pleased to learn the school will be accredited through 2019, and it met the one to one computing standard with three new Chromebook carts for students. Staff was also commended for providing a “positive, caring, peaceful family atmosphere” and a “true alternative educational setting,” according to a Power Point presentation put together by Severson. The principal will also be spotlighting a grant the school received from Solano County Association of Realtors which will be used to create a vocal group made up of 18 to 20 female Liberty students. 

   Additionally, there will be a Power Point on Benicia High’s mid-cycle visit report. The report will include new community profile information and demographic data as well as implications of that data, address significant changes and developments, describe ongoing school improvement and progress on critical areas for follow-up and go over how the current action plan has evolved from the previous action plan as well as what work still needs to be done. 

   Benicia High will be hosting a WASC accreditation team on Monday, March 7 and Tuesday, March 8 as a follow-up to the school’s 2013 visit from WASC. The WASC committee will be co-coordinated by social science teachers Stacy Starkweather and Sadie O’Neill, who have administered staff focus groups in being able to disaggregate data and collect evidence to support site goals and action items. 

   In other business, Bond Oversight Committee Chair Ellen Blaufarb will present the annual 2014-2015 report from the Bond Oversight Committee, and Deputy Superintendent Dr. Michael Gardner will be highlighting teachers of the year and classified personnel of the year from across the district.

   The board will meet at 7 p.m. tonight in the Benicia Unified School District Board Room at the district building on 350 East K Street. There will be an earlier closed session at 5:30 p.m.

   

Stacy Holguin appointed as new Benicia Unified School District trustee at Thursday's meeting

(Originally published in the 1/26/16 edition)

   The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District voted 3-to-1 to appoint Stacy Holguin as its newest trustee, filling the vacancy left by the passing of Rosie Switzer in December, at its meeting Thursday.

   Holguin has served as vice president of the Benicia Education Foundation since 2008 and is also an adjunct professor at UC Berkeley. She was interviewed in front of the board by President Gary Wing along with two other prospective applicants, Ira Glick and Karina Guerrero. Wing first asked the applicants why they wanted to serve.

   “My interest around education overall really lies in the fact that I was a student who probably without a solid educational background wouldn’t have gone anywhere,” Holguin responded. “My focus on education has been an oversight in my life. My educational path is focused on furthering education for others, my volunteer work has all been in the district and school district and my career has been focused around public education.” 

   “Bringing that passion forward in my life, an obvious next step, having worked through so many parent positions and student-focused positions is looking to serve at a higher level, and this board of trustees is an opportunity to do that,” she added.

   Holguin said that a major emphasis for her will be college preparation for students.

   “I feel like I could bring a lot of prior work to the district in that area and really look at how to build a supportive community culture to further post-high school education for our students,” she said. 

   Wing then asked the applicants what school or committee activities they had been involved in and then describe their contributions and explain how it would enhance their service to the board. Holguin responded by saying that she and her husband moved to Benicia as her oldest son was starting kindergarten and vowed to stay until her kids graduated, and they would have to contribute to make sure they were getting the best possible education.

   “From the get-go, I served as everything from a parent room mother to several PTA positions, including treasurer and secretary,” she said.

   As vice president of the Benicia Education Foundation, Holguin said she has overseen several major projects, including direct fundraising and helping set the agenda for the organization. She also had facilitated discussions during the closure of Mills Elementary in 2005. 

   Wing then asked what the role of a trustee is.

   “I think one of the main purposes of this board is to set vision and direction for the educational establishment within Benicia,” she responded. “Part of that is building community and bringing together and collaborating with the various organizations that impact the educational system.” 

   Wing asked the applicants how they would respond to criticism and input from the community. Holguin said she would respond with empathy and grace and work with a team to see if there are actions that can be taken. Wing also raised the question of how the applicants would help ensure educational success for all BUSD students. 

   “One of the key factors is involving families and parents,” she responded. “We’re not reaching the bulk of parents, and we need to do some work as a school district to further engage the families and parents.” 

   In her final statement, Holguin stressed the need to take BUSD to a higher level. 

   “Benicia feels like we’re on the edge of becoming a great organizational community,” she said. “I think we’re on the precipice of really launching into something that is going to be new and exciting and will really launch our children to the next level and hopefully bring about the opportunity for BUSD to be the engine that drives Solano County to move our education program and our students into that next level.”

   The board voted to appoint Holguin for the next 11 months until she runs in the November election. If she wins, she will serve for the next two years to fill out the remainder of Switzer’s term. Afterwards, she will be back on the four-year rotation. Holguin took the oath of office administered by Solano County Superintendent Jay Speck and participated in the remainder of the meeting.

   In other business, Chief Business Official Tim Rahill provided a quarterly update on the Measure S bond where Roxanne Egan was introduced as the new bond director. 

Stacy Holguin takes the oath of office administered by Solano County Superintendent of Schools Jay Speck.

Photo by Nick Sestanovich

Benicia Unified School District to consider computer science program at Thursday's board meeting

(Originally published in the 1/19/16 edition)

   The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District will consider the approval of a computer science education program agreement at Thursday’s meeting.

   Code.org, a Seattle-based nonprofit organization that encourages computer science education for K-12 students, has entered an agreement with several school districts nationwide to support expanding access to computer science programs to students. Under the agreement, Benicia Unified would have access to Code.org’s curriculum and updates as well as professional development and program support.

   The program would offer a variety of courses for K-12 students. Elementary school students would learn computer science fundamentals, middle schoolers would be able to take computer science in algebra and computer science in science, and high schoolers would be offered introductory computer science and computer science principles. 

   To participate in the program, the district would have to submit an application form, which can be found at code.org/educate/districts. The application would evaluate the district for participation eligibility and serve as a needs assessment. 

   The program would also determine which teachers are eligible to participate. The agreement notes that code.org has the right to deny teachers from participation. For example, if a teacher who has never taught science and will not be teaching science courses in the coming year, his or her application will not be accepted. A teacher’s hourly stipend rate for participating is $24.37. However, educators will only receive stipends for the hours they participate in professional development. The hours of professional development for eligible teachers are three phases for 55 hours for computer science in algebra and science, including 35 hours in person and 20 online. For introductory computer science and computer science principles teachers, the total number of hours is 94 for four phases, including 72 in person and 22 online.

   For more information, visit code.org/educate/professional-development. 

   In other items, Chief Business Official Tim Rahill will deliver a report on the Measure S bond’s status as well as an update, and Assistant Superintendent Marie Morgan will give an update on the Local Control Accountability Plan, which was approved by the Solano County Office of Education in June.

   The board will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21 in the Benicia Unified School District Board Room at the district building on 350 East K Street. There will be an earlier closed session at 6 p.m.

School board hears discussion on mental health

(originally published in the 12/13/15 edition)

   The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District heard a discussion on the need for more counseling and mental health support in the district at a busy Thursday night meeting.

   Carolyn Patton, the district’s special services director, led the discussion through a Power Point presentation. She cited one of Superintendent Charles Young’s goals for the district, which was “to promote safe and welcoming schools, and building empathetic, responsive, student-centered networks of support.” She then mentioned two practices that would allow schools to reach this goal: Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports- which looks at data to see if students understand what school behavior is like- and the American School Counselor Association’s national model. 

   The data for the first practice is determined by the California Healthy Kids Survey, which has already been completed by students and is currently underway for staff and parents. 

   The American School Counselor Association’s national model looks at what direct services counselors provide to students. According to Patton, one-third of their time should be spent on core instruction, another third should be spent on helping students plan their schedules and the last third should be spent on responsive services like resolving conflicts between students and teachers. Patton will delve into this data at a later date.

   Patton also brought up the student-counselor gap at Benicia High School. The California Department of Education recommends a student-counselor ratio of 361-to-1, while ASCA recommends a ratio of 250-to-1. Benicia High has a ratio of 550-to-1, which is well above the recommended ratios. Currently, the school has three counselors plus a career counselor and administrative assistant to serve the needs of around 1,700 students.

   “We would need more counselors at the high school to beat that ratio,” Patton said.

   On a more positive note, Patton noted that Mental Health Coordinator Jessica Garcia has been able to implement a number of services, including weekly meeting with Benicia High and Benicia Middle School’s counselors and psychologists, a mentoring program at Benicia Middle, a Stress Less Week to take place before Benicia High’s finals week and a suicide prevention handbook as well as suicide awareness training. 

   Patton says the district wants to implement the Sources of Strength suicide prevention program to train staff involved with the Safe School Ambassadors program. it also is looking to enact a social emotional learning curriculum that deals with how to handle stress and depression.

   “We do not teach this on a regular basis,” Patton said. “We introduce it a little bit in the middle school, and we hit suicide prevention and some emotional development in ninth-grade health, but it’s not taught systematically. We’ve heard from parents, students and staff that we need to be more diligent about that.” 

   Additionally, a “Stress Less Holidays for Families” event will be held 7 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 15 at Benicia Middle School. Mental wellness experts and psychologists will be on hand to talk about the causes of stress and provide tips on how to overcome it.

   Patton called upon the community to continue to provide feedback.

   “I want to thank the board for holding us accountable on helping us to get a suicide prevention policy,” she said. “I want to ask you to continue to hold us accountable and look at that second goal and help us to work towards that.” 

   Trustee Andre Stewart highlighted the need for specificity in the plan.

   “I would ask that we do consider putting target dates into when we’re going to archive these goals,” he said. 

   Stewart also asked if there was a number as to how many students were helped by counselors. Patton said the tracking form indicated how many cases were closed and which students and how many students were referred on to other services. 

   Additionally, Stewart also underlined the importance of the high school bringing in more counselors.

   “I hope that we really are more aggressive in 2016 in hiring more counselors,” he said.

   A public comment was given by Barbara Gervase, the mother of Kyle Hyland, a Benicia High student who died by suicide last year. Gervase thanked Patton for presenting her plans but agreed with Stewart that specific dates were needed.

   “We all hope for the best, but we really need a thorough, laid-out plan so we can reach those targets and make sure that the board knows what needs to be funded,” she said. 

   After her son’s death, Gervase set up the Kyle Hyland Foundation with the goal of raising awareness of suicide rates among teens. The foundation has been working to establish a teen center in Benicia with activities geared toward teenagers and counselors and mentors to provide support. Patton announced at the meeting that a space has been found for the center. According to the foundation’s Facebook page, the center will be operating within the Gateway Church, located at 1315 Military West, just down the street from Benicia High. An open house is planned for January.

   In other business, the board re-elected Gary Wing as president and elected Diane Ferrucci to fill late Trustee Rosie Switzer’s role as clerk. The board also observed a moment of silence for Switzer after short speeches by each trustee, and it determined that an appointment would be made by Jan. 28 to fill the vacancy on the board. 

  

School board to determine vacancy process at Thursday's meeting

(Originally published in the 12/9/15 edition)

   The school board will determine which process will be used to fill the vacancy left by late Trustee Rosie Switzer at Thursday’s meeting.

   Switzer, who passed away Nov. 29, had been serving the Benicia Unified School District’s Governing Board for 10 years. Per Education Code 5090-5095, the board has a variety of options to fill her seat by Jan. 29, 60 days after the vacancy. The board will discuss all possibilities.

   The first option is for the board to make a provisional appointment. A person would be chosen to fill a one-year term until the next school board election on Nov. 8. The winner of the November election would hold office until Dec. 7 2018, which would have been the last day of Switzer’s term.

   The second option is for the board to order a special election prior to the Nov. 8 general election. The elections could fall on either April 12 or June 7. For a special election to be held on June 7, the board would have to order the election by January 28. Once again, the winner would serve the remainder of Switzer’s term. However, the board would have to function with four members until the special election, and the cost would be more than $264,000.

   Finally, the board can decide not to make an appointment or call for an election. Under this scenario, if the board fails to perform either of the options by Jan. 29, County Superintendent Jay Speck would call an election to fill the position and place it on the ballot for the general election in November. The winner would fill the rest of Switzer’s term, and the board would operate with four members until the general election.

   In other business, the board will consider and approve California Basic Education Skills Test waivers for 30-day substitute teachers and Special Services Director Carolyn Patton will lead a discussion on counseling and mental health support. 

   The board will meet at 7:15 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10 in the Benicia Unified School District Board Room at the district building on 350 East K Street. There will be an earlier closed session at 5 p.m. and a board workshop at 5:15 p.m.

School board OKs plan for student progress

(Originally published in the 11/22/15 edition)

   The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District voted to approve Benicia Middle School’s and Benicia High School’s Single Plan for Student Achievement at Thursday night’s meeting.

   As Assistant Superintendent Marie Morgan noted, the SPSA is developed by school site councils to develop goals that would support the academic performance of all students. The councils look over student data and then use that information to develop objectives that work best for each school.

   The first person to speak was Stephen Brady, the principal of Benicia Middle School. For the plan’s first two goals, Brady wanted to establish career readiness for students by having them increase their literacy and mathematical proficiency by 10 percent on the English Language Arts and math portions of the California Assessment of Student Progress and Performance. Specifically, the plan aims to reduce the achievement gap by at least 10 percent for students with disabilities, students with economic disadvantages and students in numerically significant ethnic groups. 

   Brady noted that of the students who took the ELA assessment last year, 55 percent met or exceeded the standards and did better than the state average in all categories. Likewise, 44 percent of 6th graders passed, as did 60 percent of seventh graders and 61 percent of eighth graders. On the other hand, only 46 percent of students passed the math assessment.

   The third goal aims to use innovative technology and instructional materials to support safety and success for students. This includes implementing a new fire alarm system and increasing the number of students in technology-related courses. In 2013, 333 students were enrolled in technology classes, but that number jumped to 418 students for 2015. 

   The final goal concerns student connectedness and making students feel safe and engaged with the school. For this, a Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support program was established to enhance high behavioral expectations and social skills for all students. Brady noted that the number of student referrals had dropped from 167 in 2014 to 60 in 2015 so far. In 2014, 41 students were suspended, while only 12 to date have been suspended this year. No students have been expelled in the last 3 years.

   Trustee Peter Morgan said he really liked the specificity of the first two goals.

   “That’s a model for every goal-setting exercise we put into these types of plans,” he said. “I know when you achieve it. You can report back to me next year and say ‘In what areas did we not exceed 10 percent?’” 

   However, he felt the third and fourth goals seemed more like mission statements and were less concrete in denoting how the goals have been reached. 

   “A goal of putting a percentage of technology in student’s hands is a goal we can say we achieved,” he said. “Next year, when we look back, I can know if we’ve met goals 1 or 2, I won’t know if we met goal 3 or 4.”

   Next to present was Brianna Kleinschmidt, one of the vice principals at Benicia High School. The school is currently gathering data for the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, who will visit in March and determine if the school is still worthy of being accredited. 

   “We’re looking at alignment to our WASC goals,” she said. “We’ve continued some goals from the previous year as well as adding some new goals as well based on our data analysis.”

   Kleinschmidt outlined five goals: developing a rigorous data system, providing a work environment that supports staff and recognizes excellence, increasing graduation requirements for all students, promoting appropriate technology and ensuring timely and transparent communication with students, staff and parents.

   Kleinschmidt noted that 69 percent of students who took the Advanced Placement exam in 2015 passed compared to 77 percent in 2014, but she also noted that more students are taking AP classes, and the number of advanced courses increased by two. For the second goal, BHS is continuing its Teacher of the Month program to recognize teachers doing innovative things, and the school recently implemented an Employee of the Month program for classified employees.

   For the third goal, BHS is aiming to increase its graduation requirements from its current 220 credits and increasing the number of career technical education pathways. 

   Kleinschmidt also noted that the number of district-owned student technological devices like computers on campus has jumped from 150 in 2013 to 567. In January, this number will increase again to 885. Additionally, as of this week, all teachers have received laptops and docking stations. 

   “They can learn right along with students in some cases,” Kleinschmidt said. 

   For the final goal, BHS has created its own Twitter account to post events and provide information. Additionally, PowerSchool reports let parents know they can sign up for alerts to remind them to check on their child’s grades.

   The board unanimously approved both plans. In other business, Chief Business Official Tim Rahill provided an update on the replacement of Benicia High’s “outdated and unreliable” fire alarm and communication systems, and the board voted to approve a mental health clinician for all district schools. 

   

   

   

Student achievement plan on agenda for school board meeting

(Originally published in the 11/17/15 edition)

   The school board will vote to approve the Single Plan for Student Achievement for Benicia High School and Benicia Middle School at Thursday’s meeting.

   The SPSA is put together by School Site Councils to develop goals to support the academic performance of all students. Each site team will study state and local measures to track progress and create a plan that works best for each school. The SPSAs for the district’s four elementary schools were approved at the Oct. 15 meeting, and now it will be Benicia Middle and Benicia High’s turns to outline their respective goals for student achievement.

   BHS has identified four goals: developing a system of rigorous data to implement effective student interventions, providing a work environment that supports staff and values excellence, promoting appropriate technology to enchain students’ learning opportunities and ensuring that communication with students, parents, staff and the community is timely, professional and service driven. 

   To help implement the first goal, Site Council staff would like the number of students passing the California High School Exit Exam to increase by 3 percent and Early Assessment Program scores to increase by 5 percent. According to a report prepared by the high school, 36 percent of the students who took the EAP in 2014 did not demonstrate readiness for college-level English and 28 percent were not prepared for college-level math. Additionally, 43 percent of the special education students who took the CAHSEE’s math exam did not pass, and 21 percent of economically disadvantaged students did poorly on both the English and math portions. 

   The report suggested offering implementations to help students succeed on these exams, including the provision of after school English and math labs and an integrated math support period with a companion class.

   To implement the second goal, the plan is suggesting full attendance at staff and department meetings because a 2013 staff survey indicated that only 54 percent of faculty members “feel they are part of a collaborative environment that encourages reflection and analysis of the teaching and curriculum decisions.” 

   For the third goal, the plan aims to increase the faculty use of existing school technologies and make sure there is a baseline standard.

   For the fourth goal, 64 percent of participants in a 2013 faculty survey indicated they were not properly informed about school developments and 35 percent of respondents to a 2013 parent survey said they did not get updated information about their child’s academic achievement. To help realize this goal, staff would have to establish an email and communication protocol, and parents would have to become more involved in student programs like band or athletic boosters.

   Benicia Middle School’s goals are for students to increase both their literacy and math proficiency on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress by 10 percent, to increase parental and community partnerships through awareness and community engagement and to improve infrastructure to provide a learning environment that offers opportunities for 21st century teaching and learning.

   In other business, the board will hear an update on Measure S bond projects and consider the approval of a new mental health clinician for the district.

   The board will meet at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19 in the Benicia Unified School District Board Room at the district building on 350 East K Street. There will be an earlier closed session at 6 p.m.

   

School board approves draft design for Benicia High School stadium

(Originally published in the 11/8/15 edition)

   The Governing Board of the Benicia Unified School District voted to approve the draft schematic design for Benicia High School’s renovated stadium at Thursday’s board meeting. As with the Oct. 15 meeting, the project prompted much scrutiny from the board’s trustees.

   The stadium, which will primarily be used for football and soccer games, is one of the next major projects to be financed through Measure S funds. Measure S was put forward to provide $49.6 million in bond funding to be spent on facilities at Benicia schools, including fixing the roof at Benicia Middle School and renovating the elementary school playgrounds. The initiative was approved by voters in June 2014.

   Chief Business Official Tim Rahill delivered a Power Point presentation on what the new stadium would consist of and responded to questions from the previous meeting. The renovated stadium will feature an all-weather track, new synthetic turf, new bleachers that would support 3,300 spectators- both home and visitor guests- and new bathrooms that will be moved to the renovated main entrance along with the concession stand. The estimated preliminary cost would be $8.9 million.

   Rahill also responded to inquiries from the previous meeting over what material would be used for the synthetic turf and what else the new field would be used for. He assured that the infill material would be cork or something similar, and the field would also be used for the annual elementary track meet, two annual walk-a-thons, five Benicia Youth Football home games and Benicia High’s graduation. 

   Trustee Peter Morgan expressed gratitude to Rahill for answering some of the questions from the previous meeting but expressed frustration over the project.

   “The fact that we’re put in this position to vote on this tonight ahead of the Facility Master Plan means we’re having to take it on faith that we’re making the right allocation, because we don’t know,” he said.

   “This is the first large project that we’ve gotten an estimate for, and we’ve not yet gotten a real estimate as to what the other things will cost,” he added. “I would hope in the future we do better planning.” 

   Trustee Andre Stewart questioned the necessity to nearly double the amount of seats from 1,960 to 3,300. Trustee Gary Wing said they would seat more people during graduation and cut down on the cost of renting chairs.

   “In consultation with the high school, one of the goals was to provide seats for all participants who come to different athletic events, especially football,” Rahill added. “Right now, there’s a huge ‘standing room only’ by the concession and existing bathrooms. Part of the idea to move the concessions and bathrooms to the main entrance is to move the population out of that area and into the stands so there’s a little bit more crowd control.”

   Trustee Diane Ferrucci also expressed frustration over the timing of the project.

   “The fact that we’re now having this discussion, I’m finding it very uncomfortable,” she said. “I feel in some way we’re being dishonest. This conversation should have happened when we were all concerned about the price tag in November when we approved going forward.”

   Ferrucci also warned the board about potential inflation, which could drive costs for Measure S projects up.

   “The price that you got in 2013 is not going to happen in 2018,” she said. “I think that’s something we need to consider.”

   Morgan agreed that the project should move on, but he also suggested that if the project reaches a point where it isn’t feasible, it should be ended.

   “I do feel like our hands are tied and we should go forward, but I do think we should have a point where  we should kill the project,” he said. “If we get to a point where as a board, we look at the Facility Master Plan and realize we’ve made a mistake, we should have the ability to stop this project.”

   Ultimately, all board members voted to move forward with the project. In the next month, documents will be prepared to be submitted to the Division of the State Architect in January. The board will vote to approve the Facilty Master Plan in February, and the project will be scheduled to be completed in October, 2016.

   In other business, the board highlighted some of the recent achievements of the Benicia Middle School band under the direction of Glenn Walp. The include earning second place in concert at the Foothill Band Review in Pleasanton on Oct. 24 and first place in parade competition and percussion at the Santa Cruz Band Review on Oct. 17.