October 2012 - Moreno Valley Unified School District

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2Serving theChildren ofRiverside County23rd District PTAPresidentSandy RamirezDateline EditorKay RookhuyzenAdministrativeAssistantNatasha Contreras(951) 826-6822Riverside CountySuperintendent ofSchoolsKenneth M. YoungCalifornia State PTAPresidentCarol KocivarI N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :Sandy’s Sideline ........................ ..2Kay’s Korner………………….…...3Membership………………….…...4Safe Routes to School.. ........... ...5PTA and CT #s...…………….......5Got Correct Finance..….……….6Calendar.................................... ..7PTA Insurance Dues ........... ...…..7Prop 38, Arts Education..…..…..8The DREAM Project…….….…...9Stuff the Bus…………………….. 10‘What’s Their Secret?’Top Educators Share ‘Best Practices’ at theEducation SummitKenneth M. Young, Riverside County Superintendent of SchoolsAt the Riverside CountyOffice of Education, we’vegot some tall orders on ourto-do list. We need toimprove our high schoolgraduation rate (and reducethe numbers on the dropoutside of that equation). Weneed to keep our studentson a successful learningpath beyond high school, sothey’re well-prepared forcollege or the changingworkplace.How do we tackle such bigjobs? Let us show you, atthe 10 th Annual RiversideCounty Education Summit,coming October 25 th at thePalm Springs ConventionCenter.The theme for this year’ssummit is “K-12 Collegeand Career Readiness forthe 21 st Century.” If thatsounds futuristic, think of itin this context. A colleaguewas stopped at a trafficlight recently and a youngmother passed in front ofhim in the crosswalk. Shewas pushing her toddler in astroller. The driverdescribed his shock as herealized the strollercontained a member of thegraduating Class of 2028!That youngster will be inour schools before we knowit. At the EducationSummit, we’ll be shapingher educational course.Our keynote speaker will beDr. Willard R. Daggett,CEO of the InternationalCenter for Leadership inEducation. Dr. Daggett isrecognized worldwide forhis proven ability to movepre K-12 education systemstoward more rigorous andrelevant skills andknowledge for all students.We must think, and act, onthat large scale. As theRiverside CountySuperintendent of Schools,I am tasked as the electedsuperintendent servingmore than 400,000 studentsin hundreds of schoolsacross a county of morethan 7,200 square miles.That’s a responsibility Itake very seriously. Yes,we’re here to help createsuccess stories, one studentat a time (think of thatyoungster in the stroller).But we’re also here to movea whole school systemtoward the light of a moreempowering education forall our students.So at the EducationSummit, we’ll also beproviding nearly two dozen“Models of AcademicExcellence” workshops, onsubjects including duallanguage programs; math,science and technologymagnet schools; academicachievement academies;and intervention andcollaborative coachingblueprints, just to name afew. We’ll also bespotlighting our mostnotable Models ofAcademic Excellence at anawards luncheon.We hope you can join usOctober 25 th at theRiverside CountyEducation Summit to get onwith the work of building abetter future for all ourchildren.To learn more, or to registerfor the 10 th AnnualRiverside CountyEducation Summit, go to:http://www.rcoe.us/articles/12-1025a.htmlOr contact RCOE’s TraceyRivas:(951) 826-6570trivas@rcoe.us

P A G E 2Subscribe to Riverside County Superintendent of SchoolsKenneth M. Young’s “Education Update” electronic newsletterfor the latest news and information about our schoolsin Riverside County: www.rcoe.us/subscribe“A personwithout asense ofhumor is likea wagonwithoutsprings. It’sjolted byevery pebblein the road.”~ Henry WardBeecher,AmericanCongregationalMinister andAbolitionist“Trust yourhunches.They'reusuallybased onfacts filedaway justbelow theconsciouslevel.”~ Dr. JoyceBrothersYou have been the PTAPresident now for threemonths. You’ve had shorttime to get in the grooveand, hopefully, thetransition went smoothly.You’ve probably alreadymade a few “rookie”mistakes.How is it going overall?Are feeling confident orterrified? The great thingabout leadership is that thenecessary skills can belearned.If you attended the SummerLeadership Conference inJuly, you should be feelingmore confident already.Some other helpful thingsto know are: How do youget board member,administration and staff totake you seriously?The more you know aboutyour position and the PTAorganization, the morerespect you’ll get as you tryto lead your members.Read your bylawsthoroughly. Know the jobdescriptions. Attendcouncil or district meetingsand take the informationback to share with yourcouncils, units and boards.PTA information andactivities are not secret.Do your board membersknow the differencebetween you being “one ofthe gang” and your beingpresident? Being presidentbrings with it theresponsibility of followingrules, adhering toestablished protocols,meeting deadline, etc. Doboard members takeassignments seriously?How do you lead whenboard members don’t seeeye-to-eye on PTA issues,activities, or programs? Doyou know enough conflictmanagement skills toSandy Ramirez, Presidentnegotiate agreements or atleast consensus? Are youable to influence thosearound you? Work with theboard that was elected?People skills are alsoimperative in leadership.You must know how tobuild teamwork and how toengage the less vocalmembers. You need tounderstand that you may becaught between individualopinions and PTA policy…and to manage all of thiswith finesse.Take advantage of alltraining opportunitiesoffered at the council anddistrict levels of PTA topolice your repertoire ofcurrent leadership skills andget new ideas. Newleadership skills can beacquired and current skillsrefreshed.O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2P A G E 3“go through shoes,” “organizecanned good in pantry,” or “askkids and hubby what they feel likeeating this week.”accomplishments and analyze howyou spent your time. It makes youfeel great. If you use applicationsthat allow you to hide, well, I won’teven go there.My mother always had lists lyingaround the house. She took timeoutlining her duties and errands foreach day and enjoyed the pleasureof accomplishment. To-do listscan be a valuable resource in timemanagement, whether for PTA ornot. But you have to go at themproperly.I have four simple suggestions forusing lists to get things done.A list isn’t much good to you if youcan’t ever find it. Digitalapplications, customizedspreadsheets, a computerprogram…you choose the methodthat works best for you. Anyformat is fine as long as you canget to it, refer to it, add new itemsas things come up, etc. Keepinglists in my head does not work! Ialways make my lists on linedpaper, preferably in a notebook ofsome kind, steno pads and anyother small bound notebook, etc.It has to be where I can get myhands on it quickly and it has to fitin my purse so I can easilytransport it with me. I know friendsthat keep lists in their head. Ialready have trouble rememberingthings I have known for years.Daily things would probably kill me!Another thing I try not to do is writedown projects. I try to list tasks.Break down large, time-consumingtasks such as Spring Cleaning—which I do not do—into tasks suchas clean out bedroom closet ororganize kitchen pantry, sweepgarage, make monthly menu list,etc., into manageable tasks likeI am often tempted to knock of thequickies so I can start crossingitems off my list. But I havelearned, to my chagrin, that leavinglarger, often more important tasksto the end can be self-defeating tomy own efforts. Prioritize your list.I use circles or boxes in front oflisted tasks to remind which needto be done first. I even prioritizeerrands so I accomplish everythingout in one fell swoop out of thehouse! If check email is on yourlist, by all means check your email.But don’t let yourself getsidetracked for an hour onlinegoing to other links or whatever ifthere are more urgent things to bedone.If your list is well written and youmanage the tasks and the timeeffectively, you will have many ofthose items crossed out orchecked off at day’s end. You areunlikely to finish what I call mydreaded master list, my list thatrecords must-do’s into the future.These items can seemunreachable because, sometimes,they are. Looking at what youhave accomplished daily andcrossed out is motivating andbuilds morale. Look at yourMy daily lists include errands to berun, PTA work to be accomplished,articles to be written, phone callsto be made, notes to be written,etc. Sometimes just the writingcan be intimidating but, over theyears, I have learned this is how Ineed to work to get things done. Ifmy list isn’t finished, I move the notdone items to the next day if theyare truly important. I have alsobeen known to just cross them offafter evaluation, deciding thatmaybe that item wasn’t thatimportant after all.Writing lists may not be right foreveryone but it works for me. Ihave a lot that needs to be done;my fingers are stuck in a lot ofpies. In the long run, writing tasksdown, prioritizing, accomplishingtasks, tracking and crossing thingsoff allows me to feel my time hasnot been wasted, that I am gettingimportant things done and,actually, helps me find more timeto do things I just want to do, likereading, watching movies, lunchingwith friends, etc.To me, writing lists is a no-brainer.I want more time to do fun things,relaxing things. Better timemanagement allows more time forthe fun stuff!Kay Rookhuyzen,Leadership Mentor

P A G E 4The Ready, Set…Remit! Award marks the first lap of the membership race. Your PTA can takethe lead in this race if:your unit remits per capita dues for at least 30 members—to reach the State PTA office,through channels, by October 30.your unit checks council and district due dates to ensure you begin the school year at thestarting line.you get ready for a successful membership campaign, set a goal to expand your PTA andremit per capita regularly.All PTA units are eligible and no application is required. Award certificates will be distributedthrough PTA districts to all “30 by October 30” qualifying units. California State PTA is hereto help! Email questions regarding the membership challenge to Gretchen Doughty.Here's how to receive one free registration tothe 2013 California State PTA Convention inSan Jose on May 2-5: 100 percent of your full-time, home-basedcredentialed teachers join your PTA; Your PTA increases membership abovelast year's membership total; and A completed application form is receivedin the California State PTA office no laterthan midnight, January 31, 2013.How do you determine if your unit has increasedyour membership? A unit has increased membership whentheir January 31, 2013 year-to-date membershiptotal exceeds their June 30, 2012 end-of-year membership total.District PTA leaders can provide membershiptotals for each unit in their district.What makes this membership challengeunique?This challenge has two important focuses.California State PTA honors the support andloyalty of teachers—the "T" in PTA. We alsocontinually strive for increased membership.Each qualifying unit that meets all criteria willreceive one free convention registration.Gretchen Doughty,23rd District Membership Vice President

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2P A G E 5Our Safe Routes to Schoolprogram has really takenoff! Nine schools in MorenoValley will be formallylaunching their programssimultaneously. They are:Mountain View M.S.Time (7-8:20 am)Armada ElementaryTime (7-8:20 am)Honey Hollow ElementaryTime (8-9 am)Cloverdale ElementaryTime (7-8:20 am)Palm M.S.Time (8-9 am)Badger Springs M.S.Time (8-9 am)Chaparral Hills ElementaryTime (7-8:20 am)Hendrick Ranch Elementary Time(7-8:20 am)Sunnymead M.S.Time (8-9 am)Bear Valley ElementaryTime (7-8:20 am)We meet once per month atBob's Big Boy in MorenoValley. They sponsor ameeting/breakfast for all theSafe Routes to Schoolvolunteers in Moreno Valley.The City of Moreno Valley hasgiven great support withbackground checks andvolunteer training, as well asofficially adding Safe Routes toSchool to their city volunteerprogram. The City of MorenoValley, Moreno Valley CouncilPTA, and the MVUSD haveteamed up to providevolunteer city crossing guardtraining at the parent resourcecenter Thursday, September20th at 9:00 a.m.This great volunteer program ishelping to keep our childrensafe while encouraging ahealthy lifestyle of walking andbiking to school. With cuts toeducation/transportation theneed for a safe route to school isever more important. Look intoa program for your school/community at the National SafeRoutes to School website http://www.saferoutespartnership.org/or contact Moreno Valley'srepresentative for MorenoValley information.Shor DennyMoreno Valley Council2nd VP Community ConcernsIMPORTANT: Every PTAmust have a CharitableTrust number.The State AttorneyGeneral's Office requiresthat all PTA units must beregistered with the AttorneyGeneral's Office, Registry ofCharitable Trusts and muststart filling the RRF-1 formannually, beginning no laterthan December 2012.PTAs that do not register bythis date will be required bythe Attorney General'sOffice to provide five yearsof information filings, feesand possible fines. If you donot have a CT number yet,FILE NOW as the processtakes approximately 90 daysto complete.If your PTA has alreadyapplied for/received a CTnumber—please make sureyour district PTA knowswhat it is!Reprinted from LeadershipEssentials, California State PTA,OCT 2012

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2P A G E 6The first priority for the start of anew school year is to assure thatyour end-of-the-year financialresponsibilities were fulfilled.Make sure the financial bookswere audited before the newboard conducts any newbusiness.Three Keys for SuccessfulAuditing*Complete a review of all financialdocuments to ensure your PTA is infull compliance with alldocumentation requirements. Clickhere to download a FinancialDocument Review Checklist.Complete an end-of-the-yearfinancial report. This will beessential in completing any taxfilings (due on the 15th day of thefifth month after the end of yourfiscal year). According to state andfederal laws, all PTAs must file taxreturns. Click here for a sampleannual financial report.File new signature cards at yourbank so the new officers authorizedto sign checks are able to do so.Check the status of yourCharitable Trust (CT) numberapplication (if you do not alreadyhave a CT number).PTAs must now have a charitabletrust number.The State Attorney General's Officerequires that all PTA units must beregistered with the AttorneyGeneral's Office, Registry ofCharitable Trusts and must startfiling the RRF-1 form annually,beginning no later than December2012. PTAs that do not register bythis date, will be required by theAttorney General's office to providefive years of information filings, feesand possible fines. If you do nothave a CT number yet, FILE NOWas the process takes approximately90 days to complete.Be sure to discuss and developgoals; plan programs andactivities to meet those goals; andcreate a budget that includesadequate fundraising to hold theprograms and activities you haveplanned.Remember, PTA is not a fundraisingassociation. PTAs should only raisemoney to meet annual activities andprojects as outlined in your budget.Also, remember: Copies of youraudits, end-of-the-year financialreports, budgets and tax filings areto be submitted, through channels,to your council or district PTA.Reprinted, Leadership Essentials,Back-to-school EditionThe Ready, Set…RemitAward is earned by unitswho remit membershipdues through channelsfor at least 30 membersthat reach the state officeby October 30.Please check with yourcouncil and/or district forthe due dates they have setthat allow them to submityour membership dues ontime. Membershippromotion is a year-roundactivity but every PTA mustremit membership for aminimal amount of membersthat reaches the state officeby December 1 in order tostay a unit "in goodstanding."Every PTA should include amembership report at everyboard meeting and promptlysubmit membershipsreceived during the month.

P A G E 7CALENDAROCTOBER1 Resolution drafts due to CAPTA4 District President’s Roundtable 6:00 PM RCOE - RiversideDistrict Association Meeting 7:00 PM RCOE-RiversideMembership Remittance due to District18 Leadership/Executive Committee Meeting 11:00 AMHead Start Policy Council MeetingRCOE-Board Room24-31 Red Ribbon Week31 Expiration of previous year’s PTA membershipsNOVEMBER1 President’s Roundtable 6:00 PM RCOEConvention Meeting 6:00 PM RCOEMembership Chair Meeting 6:00 PM RCOEDistrict Board Meeting 7:00 PM RCOE100% Teacher’s Matter Membership Application due to District12 Office Closed – Veteran’s Day15 Head Start Policy Council Meeting RCOE-Board RoomGrant & Scholarship Applications due in State PTA officePTA tax filings due to IRSLeadership/Executive Committee Meeting 9:00 AM TBA22-25 Office Closed - Thanksgiving“Money can'tbuy youhappiness... butit does bringyou a morepleasant formof misery.”~ Spike MilliganThe insurancepremium for 2013 is$199.00 for PTA unitsand it is payable anddue, through channels,to the state office byDecember 20 eachyear. Our PTA insurancepolicy covers the periodof January 5 to January 4of the next year.Units do not receive"bills" for thispayment; they areexpected to submit thepayment to their councilor district that willforward it on to the stateoffice.Please check with yourcouncil and/or district forthe due dates they haveset that allow them tosubmit your insurancepayment on time.There is no need to waitto remit this payment – itcan be remitted now.Leadership Essentials, California StatePTA, OCT 2012

O C T O B E R 2 0 1 2P A G E 8This November,a great way toensure studentshave access to aquality artseducation is bysupportingProposition 38.California State PTAhelped write thisinitiative, whichguarantees an averageof $10 billion per yearin funding to localschools over the next12 years. The newfunding will restorevital programs andservices like the artsthat our students needand deserve.Proposition 38 is theonly initiative thatspecifically recognizesthe importance of thearts. Local parents,educators andcommunity memberswill have more inputinto how thenew schoolfunds are spentto improvestudentoutcomes,including"instruction in thearts."Click here (clickcontrol button first) tosee how much newfunding your localschool will receivewhen Prop 38 passes.100,000 Membership Card Activations!Thank you, PTA leaders!A big “thank you” to all PTAleaders who have encouragedactivation of the new 2012-2013PTA membership cards. We justpassed the 100,000 mark, andthe number is still climbing!Your hard work to promote thecard activation process hasbeen a key to our success. As oftoday, there have been morethan 100,000 card activationsfrom more than 7,100 PTAunits, in 51 states. Georgia, Texas,Florida, and Virginia areleading the pack with morethan 50,000 combined activations.PTA membership card activationsshow the strength of today’sPTA and help us to increaseour voice with schools,communities, legislators, andcorporate sponsors. Your commitmentto this new process isgreatly appreciated.Continue to encourage yourunits to use online activation.Show your units how easyonline card activation is bysharing this instructional video.Ask PTA members to visitpta.org/activate to sign-uptoday!Reprinted, National PTA, Partners inLeadership, Sept. 2012

P A G E 9Students sit on the floor, attentivelylistening as the storyteller readsaloud. Several hands shoot up,without further prompting. Studentstook on the various roles in thestory, dramatizing what they werereading and now they are talkingabout how acting out the storyhelped them feel the narrative andunderstand it better. Thoughtfulanswers to questions are given,prompting more discussion.This is not just a teacher’s dream,but a real DREAM — theDeveloping Reading Education withArts Methods (DREAM) project.Funded through the Arts inEducation Model Development andDissemination Grant Program(AEMDD) in OII, the four-yearproject uses visual arts and theaterto teach students about reading andto improve how they read.DREAM is headed by the SanDiego County Office ofEducation, in partnership with theNorth County ProfessionalDevelopment Federation andCalifornia State University SanMarcos. It consists of professionaldevelopment of third- and fourthgradeteachers, along with a oneweeksummer institute and inclassroompairings of teachers andteaching artists.The teaching artists and summerinstitute help teachers learn anddevelop the ability to use visual artsand theater activities to improvestudents’ reading and language artsskills. “It is so great to see teacherslearn new things, embrace newideas, and realize that they can dothis,” says Patti Saraniero, aDREAM project researcher.Results of the DREAM project werepresented at the AmericanEducational Research Association'sAnnual Meeting in April 2011. Year-end state tests demonstrated gainsin reading comprehension,vocabulary acquisition, andcharacter analysis via artsintegration. The AEMDD projectmeasured student progress bydividing teachers’ classrooms intothree categories: teachers who onlyattended the summer institute,teachers who attended the summerinstitute and received weeklycoaching by teaching artists, andteachers who did not receive anytraining or coaching.Student progress was measuredusing the California Standards Testfor English Language Arts – bothbefore and after participation in theDREAM project. Those studentstaught by teachers who had notreceived any training averaged anincrease of 25 points over the year.Students in classrooms with theteachers who only attended thesummer institute had an average 51-point improvement. The students inclassrooms with teachers who bothattended the institute and received in-class coaching averaged animprovement of 87 points.Because of the in-classroommentoring from teaching artists andreceiving support in improving theirskills, teachers who were coachedused arts integration morefrequently in their instruction. Theyalso were more likely to implementarts-integrated lessons based on theCalifornia visual and performingarts standards, and they felt moreconfident in integrating the arts withother subjects such as Englishlanguage arts in their classrooms.The benefits of the DREAM projectgo beyond what can be measured bytest scores, according to MerrylGoldberg, DREAM project artisticdirector. “The arts teach creativethinking, innovative thinking,critical thinking, teach how to thinkoutside the box, how to problemsolve, (and) how to work withothers,” she noted. “These are skillsthat are fundamental to what weneed in the 21 st century.”