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If you’re an older adult who’s always wanted to continue your education and you just haven’t had time to, or if you want to go back to college for that advanced degree but a full-time job keeps you from signing up for classes, you’re in luck. Today, online Schools afford nontraditional students, parents, those with full-time jobs, and others not able to go back to school full time in a traditional degree program setting the opportunity to continue their trainings on their own schedules.
It used to be that if you wanted to go back to class, you had to go to school part-time, at night, or otherwise arrange your schedule inconveniently, so that you could attend classes on campus. Alternatively, of course, you could quit your job if you had the means to do so and go back to class full time. However, today, you can keep your full-time job and your regular schedule intact and still get that degree you want. Got kids you need to be home for? No problem. An online community college lets you attend classes on your own schedule, be home for your kids and anything else you need to be there for — and oftentimes, you won’t have to step foot outside your door to do so until the latter part of your learning, at least. It’s likely that you’ll need some hands-on fieldwork study eventually outside your home, but you can get the early parts of your degree done completely at home and on your own schedule.
One of the first things you need to do is to look for a certificate program that is fully accredited. For this, check the school and make sure it has accreditation from the Department of education and the Council for Higher learning; the Distance schooling and Training Council is the accrediting organization for these types of schools, also called “distance learning” institutions. You can also ask the class itself for references and find other students who have attended a particular distance-learning program, to make sure that it provides the quality schooling you want. Of course, you’ll also want to check your field of study and find a distance-learning institution that specializes in that.
Another consideration for many students is financial assistance. Previously, students attending distance-learning programs were not offered financial assistance unless at least 50% of their schooling was completed on a physical campus. This is no longer true, which is perhaps as a result of both the improvement of distance learning training programs and the recognition that this type of schooling is, some say, the wave of the future. Today, it is often considered a indulgence to be able to go to school full time as a student, and these types of programs recognize that no longer can many people simply drop their lives and go to class full time. Many students these days are nontraditional students with other responsibilities beyond their own lives, so that they do not have the luxury to devote three or four years’ time exclusively to an schooling.
Perhaps the best place to help you determine your potential college’s accreditation is to look at the regional accreditation board in your class’s area. If your class is accredited by this board, it will be fully accepted by employers and other professional organizations as a legitimate class. This, in turn, makes it much easier to get employment and recognition. In fact, many organizations and employers will not recognize a degree unless it is from an accredited college. However, if you take the time to make sure your college is accredited, your distance learning training is every bit as valid as one you would obtain on campus.
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The following are compliments of SAUSD board member, John Education Stimulus Money Raising Cautions
For years, school officials have complained that the federal government hasn’t met what they say is its obligation to fully fund the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, which governs the education of 6.7 million students with disabilities.
Within the next few weeks, though, the federal tap will open up, releasing an extra $6.1 billion for districts to use for special education, with another $6.1 billion to come later this year. The money is part of the massive American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, passed last month to help stimulate the recession-battered economy.
That money is on top of the $11 billion appropriated for special education in the current fiscal year.
Though grateful for the largess, school leaders face restrictions with that money. The rules governing the use of federal special education money mean that it’s unwise for districts to use the added funding to start new programs or hire new teachers. If they were to do so, districts would have to continue to pay for those costs in two years, when the federal infusion goes away, under a provision in the IDEA that requires districts to avoid making large cuts in programs from year to year.
The U.S. Department of Education, in recently released guidelines, suggests that special education aid under the stimulus measure be used for one-time expenditures. (”Ed. Dept. Outlines Conditions for Stimulus Use,” this issue.)
“Generally, funds should be used for short-term investments that have the potential for long-term benefits,” such as professional development, the department’s guidance says.
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan reiterated the point when he testified before the House Budget Committee last week.
“There’s a huge opportunity to help train regular education teachers to better work with special education children,” he told the committee.
The extra $13 billion in Title I money for schools serving large numbers of low-income students should also be used for short-term investments, particularly in early-childhood education, the Education Department guidance says.
But spending on short-term projects may leave school administrators in the position of buying equipment with one pot of money, while laying off teachers at the same time, said Bruce Hunter, the associate executive director of advocacy and policy for the American Association of School Administrators, in Arlington, Va.
Though the Education Department is trying to balance competing needs, “the statutes are prescriptive, and the regulations are prescriptive, and there’s not a lot of latitude,” Mr. Hunter said.
Like many superintendents, Mr. Hunter wasn’t critical of the Obama administration’s efforts: The economic crisis “is just bigger than anyone thought it was going to be.”
Long-Term Implications
The IDEA allows some flexibility in spending federal aid. Every federal special education dollar must be spent on special education, but the law allows districts to reduce their local contribution to special education when they receive an increase in federal funds.
That flexibility means that Judith Johnson, the superintendent of the 3,000-student Peekskill, N.Y., district, will be able to use stimulus money to preserve about five teaching positions in next year’s proposed budget. However, the stimulus measure didn’t prevent the district from sending layoff notifications last week to some 50 staff members, including teachers, clerical employees, and custodians. The employees who may end up being laid off at the end of this school year represent about 10 percent of the district’s staff.
Ms. Johnson said the stimulus money is welcome, although it’s unclear when districts in New York state will see it. She said the stimulus could prompt discussion of other important funding issues.
“I would just want to ask them, ‘Have you thought about the implications down the road? Have you thought about the fact that the rules that govern IDEA need to be changed?’” she said. “We feel very comfortable raising the questions, because we feel we’re finally being listened to.”
Michael P. Benway, the superintendent of the 6,400-student Valparaiso, Ind., district, is more fortunate than some of his colleagues. Several years ago, the district started cost-saving measures, including eliminating some positions by attrition and increasing the class loads of newly hired teachers.
The measures were not popular at the time, Mr. Benway said, but they left the district in a position where the stimulus dollars can be used to enhance programs, instead of filling a large budget gap. His special education money is tentatively slated to go toward training paraprofessionals and strengthening the district’s response-to-intervention program.
He doesn’t expect to start any new programs with the money, however. “That is very traumatic, when you introduce a program, and then you have to reduce it,” he said.
With a special education population constituting about 25 percent of the 4,600-student Salem, Mass., district, Superintendent William J. Cameron Jr. said he isn’t as concerned about starting new programs, because the district was going to be facing those costs anyway. Traditionally, Salem has paid for many special education students to attend programs outside the district.
The stimulus money can be spent increasing the district’s capacity to serve those students, he said.
Vol. 28, Issue 25, Pages 6-7
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Special Eduation: Charting a Course After High School
The Individuals With Disabilities Education Act calls for schools to help students develop a plan that will carry them to college or the workplace, but the requirement remains a challenge for families and educators alike.
By Christina A. Samuels
Kathy Eckert-Mason doesn’t think she’s an unrealistic mom.
Yet as she worked with school officials on a plan that would provide a smooth path from high school to college for her son, Rick, she wondered if teachers saw her that way.
Rick Mason, now 20, has autism. He had always been included in regular classes, but with an aide providing support to him and other classmates with special needs. His mother wanted his high school to help him attain the self-sufficiency to handle classes at an out-of-state university.
His teachers, she believes, saw his prospects as less expansive. They suggested he could attend community college in their hometown of Corvallis, Ore., while living at home.
For students with disabilities, planning for life after high school is regulated by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, just like other aspects of special education. But despite tweaks to the federal law over its 34-year history—including a relatively recent change that requires schools to give students a summary of their strengths, skills, and needs when they graduate—developing a solid transition plan remains one of the most challenging parts of the IDEA to carry out.
Ms. Eckert-Mason said that in her situation, “I walked away kind of disillusioned by it all.”
Through her own professional contacts as a vocational-rehabilitation counselor for the state of Oregon, Ms. Eckert-Mason arranged job-shadowing opportunities for her son, assisted him during college visits, and now offers support as he attends the University of Utah, in Salt Lake City, where he is a sophomore majoring in health education.
Ms. Eckert-Mason said she thinks high school administrators “have this one mold, and this is what you do. Sometimes, the special education staff gets stuck in that.”
Moving Into Adulthood
The U.S. Department of Education is funding an extensive study of students who were ages 13 to 16 in 2000, as they moved into adult roles. In 2004, researchers released a report that focused specifically on students with disabilities. Among the findings:
• School staff members reported that about 70 percent of students with transition plans participated actively by providing input into the plans. Twelve percent of those students took a “leadership role.”
• About 6 percent of secondary school students with disabilities reportedly did not attend their individualized-education-program meetings that dealt with transition planning, and about 15 percent had parents who did not attend.
• Overall, about half of students with disabilities planned to go to college, but that intention varied from 10 percent of students with mental retardation to more than 70 percent of students with visual impairments.
• Students from upper-income households were more likely than those from lower-income families to plan on attending a college or university, and to have schools make contacts with colleges and universities on their behalf.
• Low-income and African-American students were more likely to have vocational training, placement, or support identified as post-school needs.
SOURCE: “Transition Planning for Students with Disabilities: A Special Topic Report of Findings From the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2”
As the IDEA has moved from mainly ensuring compliance by school officials to promoting positive outcomes for students with disabilities, lawmakers have added rules that require schools and students to look to the future.
For example, the law says postsecondary goals should be a part of students’ individualized education programs, by at least the time they turn 16, along with measurable steps to achieve those goals. Students are to be involved in creating their own IEPs as much as possible, and community organizations should be part of the planning if a student will need continuing help after leaving school. The IDEA allows students to remain in school until at least age 21.
There is evidence that the changes have created better postsecondary outcomes for students with disabilities. A federally financed long-term study of such students, released in 2004, showed that almost 90 percent had started transition planning as outlined by the IDEA. School personnel reported that about three-quarters of students with disabilities were following a course of study that would help them achieve their goals.
But the very nature of the IDEA requires students, parents, and teachers to make a significant mental shift as students near the end of their time in high school. When students are covered by the IDEA, they can be relatively passive recipients of federally mandated services. Students will not lose out on services for not showing up to an IEP meeting, for example, even if they’re invited to come.
But all that changes when high school ends. Students have to actively pursue the accommodations they need for success at work and in higher education, and without the ability to advocate for themselves, pushing for those accommodations could be a struggle. Teachers and parents, who have spent years supporting a student, also have to learn to take a hands-off role, particularly if a student plans to go to college.
“Colleges and universities don’t want to hear from Mommy,” said Stan Shaw, a professor at the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, and the co-director of the university’s Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability.
What the Law Requires
For precollegiate students with disabilities, transition planning is governed by the federal Individuals With Disabilities Education Act.
Among the provisions:
• Individualized education programs are to include “appropriate measurable postsecondary goals based upon age-appropriate transition assessments related to training, education, employment, and, where appropriate, independent living skills.”
• Transition planning is to begin no later than the first individualized education program in effect when the student turns 16.
• The school must invite the student to participate in any IEP meeting that includes discussion of postsecondary goals.
• Districts must complete a “summary of performance” for a student leaving school that “includes recommendations on how to assist the child in meeting the child’s postsecondary goals.” The summary should include “academic achievement and functional performance,” but otherwise the law does not make requirements on the states.
NOTES: The IDEA does not apply to students who are attending college or other postsecondary institutions. Those institutions are governed by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Generally, those laws do not require institutions to modify their curricula, though they are required to offer accommodations, which could include extended testing time, sign-language interpreters, or a reduced course load.
Students are also not required to inform their postsecondary schools of their disabilities, and colleges are not required to assess students for their special needs.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education
Another complication is that the IEP—which is the key documentation of a disability for a precollegiate student—has no sway over postsecondary institutions. Instead, colleges and universities often require an independent evaluation of a disability, and the IDEA has made clear that local school districts are not required to provide testing for that purpose, said Larry J. Kortering, a co-principal investigator with the National Secondary Transition Technical Assistance Center and a professor of special education at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.
A 2004 addition to the IDEA requires that students receive a “summary of performance” from their school that outlines the students’ strengths, weaknesses, and need for accommodations. Those who backed the creation of such a document said the information would help students be active advocates on their own behalf. At its most useful, the document could also serve as the proof of a student’s need to receive accommodations from a college or university, if the postsecondary institution chose to accept it.
But districts have not used the potentially powerful document to its fullest, said Mr. Shaw, the University of Connecticut professor.
Because the IDEA and its accompanying regulations do not clearly define what has to be in a summary of performance, Mr. Shaw organized a task force of representatives of national professional organizations and disability advocacy groups to develop a model template. The template includes a clear identification of a student’s disability, a list of postsecondary goals, a description of the student’s current performance along with any accommodations or modifications to the curriculum used by the school, and a set of recommendations for how to achieve success after leaving high school. Depending on the student, the recommendations could be for adaptive devices, assistive services, or compensatory strategies.
“The attempt was to make something useful and practical and not difficult to fill out,” Mr. Shaw said. However, some states have responded to the requirement “with something that can be filled out on a postcard.”
Mr. Shaw and his colleagues at the university’s center on postsecondary education and disability tracked the adoption of the model template in states. Of 43 states surveyed, 90 percent had created state forms that included all the elements required by the federal special education law. Nine states had adopted the model template directly.
Seventeen states required attaching test scores to the document, which is not recommended under the federal law, but is included in the model template because colleges typically want such information. But only 12 states require students to complete any part of the document, which Mr. Shaw said is an important element.
“The law, unfortunately, was not very prescriptive. But everything we know says that self-determination is critical for these students,” he said.
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Even without a summary of performance, some problems could be improved by better communication between school districts and colleges, experts say. Unfortunately, the two aren’t always used to talking to each other, said Mr. Kortering, with the national transition center.
“Higher ed has got to quit being this ivory tower where we say we have all the answers. We’ve got to say, ‘What do we need to do to help these kids be successful?’” he said. By the same token, he added, “public school folks have got to do a better job of talking.”
Transition planning doesn’t pose a challenge just for the college-bound. For students who will rely on community support after they end school, the depth of transition planning can end up being dependent on where they live.
Elsie May Gladding, a retired minister with the United Methodist Church, ran into the issue when looking for services for her daughter, Emily Thompson, 20, who has autism.
Ms. Gladding said she was happy with the services available to Emily when the family lived in Frederick, Md., located about 50 miles from Washington and Baltimore. The program she was enrolled in spent half of a school day training students in “life skills,” and Emily, then 18, worked as a volunteer assistant in a medical center for the rest of the day. The transition coordinator for the program was plugged in to the community, and could direct students to the different vocational options available.
The students involved in the program were thriving, Ms. Gladding said. “We didn’t know anybody who was sitting on the couch.”
A move two years ago to rural Alton, Va., just north of the North Carolina border, was a shock for her. The community “had nothing of substance for these kids,” she said.
“The high school worked really hard at trying to put together something that would work, just trying to give her things to keep busy,” Ms. Gladding added. Eventually, the high school modified Emily’s IEP to include a private school placement that provides job and life-skills training similar to the program Emily attended in Maryland.
“We’ve been able to receive services, but we had to work very hard for it,” Ms. Gladding said. “It’s totally inconsistent across the state. The local school districts just do what they can.”
While the IDEA offered parents of college-bound students a helpful document through the summary of performance, the 2004 re-authorization of the law took away a requirement that schools follow up multiple times with outside community-support agencies.
The U.S. Department of Education, in explaining the change, said dropping that requirement would ease the paperwork burden on schools and allow them to focus on “active strategic partnerships” with agencies that provide support to people with disabilities. The change also saves districts money, the department said.
Transition planning for students with disabilities continues to be the focus of several initiatives. For example, the National Association of State Directors of Special Education, in Alexandria Va., heads a “community of practice” around the issue that links several states that are working to improve their planning for students with disabilities. Ten states, more than a dozen national organizations, students, and federal agencies like the U.S. Departments of Labor and Justice are involved in that effort.
The federal Education Department also funds technical-assistance centers nationwide to help districts on the topic. One of the newest, the Transition Education Network, will provide professional development to districts in Florida. The network, with headquarters at the University of South Florida’s campus in St. Petersburg, will also work with preservice and current teachers, said Lyman Dukes III, the principal investigator and an associate professor of special education at the university.
Transition “is a challenge and it remains a challenge. There are so many pieces of the puzzle that it is very easy to drop one,” Mr. Dukes said.
Parents are also seeking out their own sources of information. Alison Thomas has six sons, two of whom—Zackary, a 17-year-old junior and Christopher, a 16-year-old sophomore—are in the beginning process of planning for life after high school. Their disabilities include Asperger’s syndrome.
Ms. Thomas, who lives in Allen, Texas, and is the director of communications for a church, worries that the academic bar has been set too low for her children. She recently attended a transition conference in Austin and came back armed with ideas, including pushing for a student-led IEP process. Through that process, she hopes the school will learn more about her sons’ hopes for their lives after they leave high school.
“Here’s what I’ve learned: It’s all about networking,” Ms. Thomas said. “You have to tap every avenue you can possibly identify.”
Coverage of pathways to colleges and careers is underwritten in part by a grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.
Vol. 28, Issue 25, Pages 18-21
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SmartBrief: Report: Elementary schools have preserved arts, music programs
GAO finds school arts curriculum not hurt by standardized testing
12:00 AM CDT on Wednesday, March 18, 2009
By MATTHEW HAAG and HOLLY YAN / The Dallas Morning News
A government report found that elementary school time devoted to art and music curriculum hasn’t changed despite the ongoing pressures of standardized testing in core subjects such as math and science.
The report, prepared by the Government Accountability Office, allays the possible fears of art and music teachers that increased emphasis on high-stakes tests – such as the TAKS test in Texas – has reduced students’ exposure to the fine arts.
“Amid concerns about possible elimination of arts education, the national picture indicates that the vast majority of schools have found a way to preserve their arts education programs,” the GAO report stated.
The report found that 90 percent of elementary teachers surveyed indicated that art and music curriculum remained the same during three school years starting in 2004-05 and ending in 2006-07. Only 7 percent of the teachers reported that instruction time decreased. The survey didn’t address instruction time changes in junior highs or high schools.
“Our study identified a more likely reduction in time spent on arts education at schools identified as needing improvement and those with higher percentages of minority students,” the report stated.
The GAO, a federal agency that reports to Congress, conducted its study in response to concerns that the No Child Left Behind law’s annual yearly progress reports, which grade and compare schools’ math and English scores, would deprive students of art and music instruction.
However, the report concluded that additional research would be required to determine NCLB’s impact.
In the Dallas area, some fine arts teachers said their instruction time hasn’t decreased in recent years. But some said they feared that students would be exposed to less art and music education as schools increasingly focus on standardized testing.
“I feel like, in my class, they get a good exposure to music,” said Joyee Foster, a music teacher at Williams Elementary School in Garland. “But I think they are starved for art. They don’t even have time in the classroom to even spend on art.”
However, she said, instances occasionally arise in which she wonders if her instruction time is being whittled away.
In previous years, the principal required her to take her music students on bathroom breaks so they would not ask to go during English or math classes, she said. That problem was corrected, she said, but this year her Friday music class meets in the school’s gym so the students can fulfill their physical education credit while dancing to music.
A few years ago, Foster said, students were routinely pulled from her class for six weeks for TAKS remediation.
“Students are often pulled out of courses – especially music courses – so additional TAKS remediation can take place,” said Karen Kneten, communications manager for the Texas Music Educators Association. “We’re hearing that from instructors across the state.”
Plus, Kneten said, the state’s new graduation requirements, which call for high school students to take four years of math, science, English and social studies to graduate, have the potential to hinder music education.
“Because of all the academic requirements, maybe they used to be in basketball, choir and theater,” Kneten said. “Now they potentially have to make a choice of two or one of those.”
Jeff Turner, instrumental music coordinator for Plano ISD, said his district has tried not to deprive students of fine arts curriculum despite the test pressure and an additional physical education requirement in middle school.
“There is some pullout in the middle schools for TAKS remediation in Plano, but it’s hard to say how many students,” Turner said. “Our school district has done a good job.”
Karen Young might be bucking the trend.
Only about 4 percent of the elementary teachers in the GAO survey said their instruction time increased. Young, a music teacher at Stephens Elementary School in Garland ISD, is among them.
This school year, she has incorporated music into a weekly fourth-grade math course she teaches to advanced students. Lately, she’s taught fractions using music notes.
“Rhythm is basically the division of the beat,” Young said. “It’s been wildly successful at my school. It’s very exciting.”
The teachers said that not all students learn the same way and that fine arts shouldn’t be seen as expendable or unnecessary. Sometimes, they said, music and art is the best way for a student to learn.
“Fine arts classes teach kids to use a different part of their brain and teaches them to be creative problem solvers and work together in teams, which is what we’re finding employers are looking for in the workforce today,” Turner said. hyan@dallasnews.com
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High school student saves teacher choking on almond
Cypress High ninth grader Sam Barrera, left, used the Heimlich maneuver to dislodge an almond his teacher Judy Rader, right, was chocking on during third period freshman English. ARMANDO BROWN, FOR THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Thursday, March 19, 2009
High school student saves teacher choking on almond
Freshman Sam Barrera uses lessons he learned in online health course.
By ERIC CARPENTER
The Orange County Register
CYPRESS – Judy Rader expects her students to remain attentive during her English lessons. But she’s even more thankful that one of her students was paying close attention in health class – it may be what saved her life.
The third-period bell for her freshman English class at Cypress High School was about to ring at 10 a.m. Wednesday and Rader needed a snack to make it through to lunch. So, she reached into a plastic bag on her desk and popped a few whole almonds.
One stuck in her throat.
As the bell rang and students settled into their desks, they noticed Rader hopping up and down and grasping her throat.
Mrs. Rader, are you OK?! students shouted.
She couldn’t breathe.
A senior teacher’s aide threw his arms around her abdomen and gently pumped her stomach. But no luck. The almond remained.
That’s when freshman Sam Barrera, 15, knew he had to act.
“I could see he wasn’t doing it quite right,” Barrera said. “He was going in and out with his hands, not in and up.”
Barrera – part of the school’s AVID program that helps students with average grades get on a track toward pursuing college – had taken an online health course over the summer and a hands-on workshop that taught the Heimlich maneuver.
So Barrera jumped out of his seat while the aide ran for help.
Nearly a minute had passed and Rader wasn’t getting any oxygen to her brain.
Barrera remembered the basics: He put his arms around his teacher’s abdomen, felt for her belly button with his finger, went up two inches, clasped his hands together and pulled in and up.
Once.
The second time harder.
The third time, he lifted his teacher off the ground. The almond popped out.
Rader began to cough. And much-needed oxygen flooded into her lungs.
“I just kept saying, ‘I’m OK, I’m OK,’ ” Rader recalled.
Her students were worried about her. Two girls were so shaken, they began to cry, Barrera said.
Rader was so anxious to reassure her students that she was fine, she quickly moved on with her lesson plan and forgot to thank Barrera.
“I thought about it and had to stop what I was doing and go give him a hug for saving my life,” Rader said.
Emergency officials did not have to respond because of Barrera’s quick aid. Capt. Greg McKeown, a spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority, applauds Barrera for jumping into action.
Health officials with the American Red Cross say a person can lose consciousness within three to five minutes unless the air passage is cleared.
Rader and Barrera said that they lost track of time during the incident, but they think that her blockage was cleared within two minutes.
“A blocked airway will lead to death. It’s great that he didn’t hesitate,” McKeown said. “He showed huge leadership and his efforts definitely helped this teacher survive.”
Barrera’s efforts didn’t go unnoticed at school. As word spread across campus, he heard a common refrain as he walked the halls.
“Everybody was like, ‘Hey, hero. What’s up?’” Barrera said, grinning.
He was paying close attention to the lessons over the summer because he’s decided he wants to be a firefighter, Barrera said.
His life-saving efforts likely just boosted his résumé, said Ben Carpenter, principal at Cypress High.
Rader said she wanted to make sure Barrera’s family knew how thankful she was, so she put in a call to his mom.
“I got home and told my mom what I did,” Barrera said, “and she was like, ‘What? No you didn’t’
“I told her, ‘Check your phone,’” he said. She was so proud of her son, she began to cry.
Rader said she’s still trying to figure out a proper thank you.
“People keep asking me if I’m going to give him some kind of extra credit,” she said. “That doesn’t seem like enough.”
For more information about local CPR and Heimlich classes, look online at or the writer: 714-704-3769 or Union recognizes three Teachers of the Year
Recipients include two science teachers and a reading instructor.
By ERIC CARPENTER
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ANAHEIM Two science teachers and a reading instructor have been named Teachers of the Year in the Anaheim Union High School District.
The three teachers received their awards during a surprise visit this week from Superintendent Joseph Farley and other administrators who brought banners and balloons into their classrooms.
The recipients are: Dean Elder, science teacher at Anaheim High School; Phyllis Fukumoto, science teacher at Dale Junior High School; and reading teacher Karen Pollack from Brookhurst Junior High School.
At Anaheim High, Elder was surprised by his wife, Meg, who teaches dance at the school, and the couple’s daughter, Natalie, who is a junior there.
His students applauded his accomplishment – and suggested that Elder share the good fortune by giving them a night without homework.
At Brookhurst, Pollack was stunned into silence by the surprise ceremony.
“I don’t have the words, which is unusual, because I talk all day,” Pollack said.
At Dale, Fukumoto was the school’s third consecutive winner of a district Teacher of the Year award. Last year, it was history teacher Rob Gaudette, and the year before, AVID teacher Andra Schwartz.
In the classroom, Fukumoto’s award was greeted with rousing applause from students.
Their response was no surprise to Dale Principal Kirsten Levitin.
“Phyllis is here until 5:30 or 6 at night – over the summer. She’s amazing,” Levitin said. “She is always changing her lessons, saying that kids change, so she needs to change the lessons.”
The three teachers will represent the district at the Orange County Teacher of the Year Awards program, sponsored by the Orange County Department of Education, later this year. From there, they could go on to compete for California Teacher of the Year honors.
Last year, two Anaheim Union teachers were honored at the state competition.
CONTACT THE WRITER: 7 1 4-704-3769 or
COURTESY OF THE ANAHEIM UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
Anaheim High School science teacher Dean Elder is caught by surprise in his classroom by Superintendent Joseph Farley, his wife, Meg, and daughter, Natalie, from left.
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Friday, March 20, 2009
School’s iPod Day a fundraising iDea that rocks
By FRED SWEGLES
The Orange County Register
It isn’t every day that Gabby Cullen, 12, gets to take her iPod to school and listen to the Jonas Brothers.
Before this week, she never could. iPods were, and are, taboo on campus.
But Thursday was a special day at Vista del Mar Middle School in San Clemente. Gabby was one of 200 kids, teachers and staff members who paid $5 each to get to listen to tunes during select times in the school day.
About three-fourths of Vista del Mar’s 500 middle-schoolers own iPods, the staff figures, so iPod Day seemed a swift way to raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in memory of former VDM student Katie Westland, who died of leukemia in 2006.
Organizers said iPod Day generated $1,000 in donations – more than double the $400 raised a day earlier selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
This is the third year Vista del Mar has held a two-week fund drive to fight blood cancers. The first effort raised $12,000 in 2007, when memories of 14-year-old Katie’s death were fresh. In 2008, the school raised nearly $7,000.
This year, teacher Sue Puccinelli and the 18 students in her sixth-grade leadership program faced a bigger challenge – raising money in a recession at a school where most kids now are too young to have known Katie.
Donut Day and iPod Day were part of a bigger effort, “Pennies for Patients.” Each classroom gets a donation box. Students are asked to give spare change, scrape up coins from the floor of their car or find pennies under the couch.
“The kids have really stepped up,” Puccinelli said. “I’ve had kids come in with baggies full of all different change. I’ve had kids come in and drop a $20 bill in there.”
Totals will be tallied March 27.
The first year’s $12,000 was boosted by a school assembly where Katie’s mom, Carolyn Westland, “really touched the kids,” Puccinelli said. “A lot of (those) kids knew Katie. We also had a lot of matching donations from businesses.”
Carolyn Westland is back on campus this year, helping the fund drive. Students and staff got “Katie’s Pennies Make Sense” bracelets, and Thursday, students who donated got to listen to their iPods during morning break, lunch and a special in-class period.
“I gave the kids a little 10-minute period in each of my classes,” Puccinelli said. “I was amazed. It was so quiet in here when they were listening. I’m thinking, ‘Man, iPods really do help some of the kids focus better!’ So it was good.”
“It actually helps me write,” said Tatum Reddington, 10.
Teachers pulled out their own iPods. “I was listening to John Mayer,” Puccinelli said.
“I don’t know who he is!” one of her students exclaimed.
Contact the writer: or 949-492-5127
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Anaheim Union recognizes three Teachers of the Year
Recipients include two science teachers and a reading instructor.
By ERIC CARPENTER
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
ANAHEIM Two science teachers and a reading instructor have been named Teachers of the Year in the Anaheim Union High School District.
The three teachers received their awards during a surprise visit this week from Superintendent Joseph Farley and other administrators who brought banners and balloons into their classrooms.
The recipients are: Dean Elder, science teacher at Anaheim High School; Phyllis Fukumoto, science teacher at Dale Junior High School; and reading teacher Karen Pollack from Brookhurst Junior High School.
At Anaheim High, Elder was surprised by his wife, Meg, who teaches dance at the school, and the couple’s daughter, Natalie, who is a junior there.
His students applauded his accomplishment – and suggested that Elder share the good fortune by giving them a night without homework.
At Brookhurst, Pollack was stunned into silence by the surprise ceremony.
“I don’t have the words, which is unusual, because I talk all day,” Pollack said.
At Dale, Fukumoto was the school’s third consecutive winner of a district Teacher of the Year award. Last year, it was history teacher Rob Gaudette, and the year before, AVID teacher Andra Schwartz.
In the classroom, Fukumoto’s award was greeted with rousing applause from students.
Their response was no surprise to Dale Principal Kirsten Levitin.
“Phyllis is here until 5:30 or 6 at night – over the summer. She’s amazing,” Levitin said. “She is always changing her lessons, saying that kids change, so she needs to change the lessons.”
The three teachers will represent the district at the Orange County Teacher of the Year Awards program, sponsored by the Orange County Department of Education, later this year. From there, they could go on to compete for California Teacher of the Year honors.
Last year, two Anaheim Union teachers were honored at the state competition.
CONTACT THE WRITER: 7 1 4-704-3769 or
COURTESY OF THE ANAHEIM UNION HIGH SCHOOL DISTRICT
Anaheim High School science teacher Dean Elder is caught by surprise in his classroom by Superintendent Joseph Farley, his wife, Meg, and daughter, Natalie, from left.
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