THE UNION Articles on
Schools -- August-September
High schools upgraded by Measure A, David Mirhadi, September 29, 2005
Appeal dropped against Montessori school, Becky Trout, September 27, 2005
County's test scores provide good news, David Mirhadi, September 9, 2005
Charter coming to Wolf Road, Becky Trout, September 2, 2005
Changes await students attending Sierra College, David Mirhadi, August 29, 2005
Montessori school move temporarily delayed, Becky Trout, August 19, 2005
Turn lane, landscaping for Montessori, Becky Trout, August 19, 2005
Montessori school seeks temporary home, Davis Mirhadi, August 3, 2005
Money well spent - High schools upgraded through voter-approved Measure A
David Mirhadi, davidm@theunion.com
September 29, 2005
It's amazing what it can do for a school when you get a fresh coat of paint, doors that close quietly and windows that actually open to the fresh air.
Just ask Park Avenue Alternative campus Principal Trisha Dellis, who believes the former Grass Valley High School's changes are giving her students a positive makeover, as well.
"We're not the stepchild of the district anymore," Dellis said Tuesday, reflecting on a $1 million upgrade to the Sierra Foothill High School campus that anchors the alternative-school cluster for the Nevada Joint Union High School District.
New construction on the 66-year-old campus rounds out the most ambitious building project in the district since Bear River High School opened in 1986. The construction is being made possible by the passage of Measure A, a $15 million bond approved by 61 percent of voters in the high school district in March 2002.
Maggie Deetz, superintendent of the high school district, said she believes the physical improvements may lead to subtler changes, too.
"I'm a firm believer that having clean facilities provides for a better learning environment. These were badly needed modernization projects."
That the bond passed in a county where 82 percent of voters don't have school-age children is a testament to Nevada County's commitment to education, said Terry McAteer, Nevada County's superintendent of schools and part-time government instructor at Bear River High.
"We're grateful to the community for their support, and we feel we've used the money in a well-balanced way that benefits each campus," said Karen Suenram, the high school district's assistant superintendent for business services.
Major improvements provided by Measure A include a performing arts theater and aquatics center at Bear River; cosmetic and structural upgrades to more than four dozen classrooms at Nevada Union; and new bathrooms, windows and remodeled classrooms at Sierra Foothill.
Phase II of Measure A improvements will begin this summer, with $5.4 million in upgrades to Nevada Union's cafeteria, new bleachers and a floor at Ali Gym, and handicapped access to Hooper Stadium.
After a yearlong classroom shuffle that displaced teachers in three wings, some of the affected Nevada Union teachers have praised the new look of their rooms.
"I am in heaven," said Nevada Union Partnership Academy teacher Louise McFadden, who has been at Nevada Union for a quarter-century and teaches in the remodeled D Wing.
"With all the moves, there are glitches, there are frustrations. But
now, I have a classroom that's clean. I have a classroom that's painted for the first time in my career. What's not to love?"
"It's nice to be able to stay in one place," said English instructor David Kline, who moved from the E Wing to portable classrooms last year during construction. For the first time in his eight years at Nevada Union, Kline has his own classroom.
Rose Murphy, an English teacher at Sierra Foothill High, is partial to the new windows at her remodeled campus.
"Last year, you'd open the windows and they'd fall back down," she said.
Paul Palmer, the district's director of faciltiies who is in charge of the construction of Measure A projects, credited the teachers for weathering a yearlong shuffle as construction crews worked around them.
Perhaps the biggest reason for optimism sits on a former trap-shooting range at Bear River High. There, workers are making up for lost time building the school's new 412-seat performing arts center and 25-yard competition lap pool. Both are being built for the school and for the south county's community use.
The $9.6-million project was delayed for more than a year as the district had to excavate, remove and transport lead and arsenic-laced soil to toxic waste dumps. High construction costs and the soil removal added $1 million to the construction costs.
Bear River Principal Dave Wiik said he is starting to realize his school will soon have the same amenities Nevada Union has enjoyed for years.
Several hundred students recently signed a beam for the performing arts center's "topping out" ceremony, signifying the assembly of the center's highest point, he said.
Now, parents who come to a swim meet or choir performance at Bear River will actually have a place to cheer the home squads, said Deetz, whose tenure with the high school district includes 18 years at Bear River.
"They've been sitting in those hard plastic folding chairs for so long, but they've always supported us."
Breaking down Measure A
Measure A is a $15 million bond approved by the voters in the Nevada Joint Union High School District in March 2002. Here's a look at what the bonds are paying for:
Nevada Union High School
New air conditioning/heating units
Renovated locker rooms
42 classroom renovations
Cafeteria remodel
Replace floor, bleachers at Ali Gymnasium
Handicapped access to Hooper Stadium
Restrooms in performing arts center
Bond covers $6.7 million
Bear River High School
25-meter lap pool
Shower/restrooms
412-seat performing arts theater with restrooms
"Green room" for changing costumes
Bond covers $7.2 million
Sierra Foothill High School
8 complete classroom renovations
New restrooms
New elevator
New heating/air conditioning
Bond covers $1 million
Source: Nevada Joint Union High School District
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To contact staff writer David Mirhadi, e-mail davidm@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
Appeal dropped against Montessori school
By Becky Trout,
beckyt@theunion.com
September 27, 2005
An effort to stop the Sierra Montessori Academy from moving into its southern Nevada County location has been called off.
Laura Christofk of the Friends of Wolf Road group said the south county residents have rescinded their appeal because their primary remaining concern is the charter school's financial stability.
The Nevada County Board of Supervisors would not be able to verify the school's finances, so Christofk said she plans to take her concerns before an educational board.
"We're not trying to block the project; we just want to know (they) can really do this," Christofk said Monday.
The school's neighbors want to ensure the new school doesn't go bankrupt, leaving a vacant school site, she said.
They also want to know how the public school plans to provide fire protection and pay for the construction of two turn lanes the Planning Commission has required, Christofk said.
Sierra Montessori School, a K-8 charter school, is operating under the guidance of the Twin Ridges Elementary School District of North San Juan. Its 100-plus students are currently attending class in Grass Valley's Elks Lodge and other facilities.
Supporters of the new school purchased the 35-acre Wolf Road property this summer. Since then, school organizers have been working with the county to receive permission to occupy the site.
The more than 70 members of Friends of Wolf Road challenged the school's permit, which was granted by the Planning Commission in early September. The permit gives the public school permission to begin work on its 35-acre property.
The school plans to convert a single-family house into classrooms and offices, install modular classrooms and add landscaping and play equipment.
Organizers of Sierra Montessori Academy were not available for comment Monday.
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To contact staff writer Becky Trout, e-mail beckyt@theunion.com or call 477-4234.
County's test scores provide good news
By David Mirhadi, davidm@theunion.com
September 9, 2005
Nevada County schools continue to exceed federal and state requirements on state standardized tests, according to recently released statistics.
Nearly every school in Nevada County has met growth targets in the Academic Performance Index statistics released by the California Department of Education.
The accomplishments mean those schools are eligible to receive cash awards.
The county's strong showing on the Academic Performance Index is a direct result of the combination of dedicated teachers, motivated students and a strong parental role in education, said Terry McAteer, Nevada County's superintendent of schools.
The accomplishments of local schools, McAteer said, are even more remarkable considering that Nevada County ranks 44th out of 58 California counties in per-pupil funding. Adding to that, he said, is the fact that California itself ranks 38th out of 50 states nationally in per-pupil spending.
"You're getting a huge bang for your buck in terms of what's happening in your child's classroom," he said.
The Academic Performance Index rates on a 1,000-point scale each school's performance. Standardized tests are given to students in grades 2 through 11. The state Department of Education has set 800 as a benchmark score for all schools to meet.
Fifteen of Nevada County's 34 schools meet or exceed this state standard, according to CDE statistics.
Chicago Park School scored an 867 on the 2005 API index, the second-highest score in Nevada County.
Chicago Park Superintendent/Principal Dan Zeisler credited the school's community for 18-point jump from last year's results.
"We feel that the numbers validate that we're doing the right thing," said Zeisler, who acknowledged that the school's relatively small size of 115 students in grades 2-8 played a role in the high score. "We could lose three top performing kids (this year) and our numbers could change," he said.
Alta Sierra Elementary School, a K-5 school operated by the Pleasant Ridge district, was the highest-scoring school in the county, with a 889 score.
However, the statistics show a small number of county schools that failed to meet their growth targets between 2004 and 2005 testing periods.
Earle Jamieson High School, a school governed by the Nevada Joint Union High School District for those in the juvenile justice system, and Silver Springs High School, which provides high school education for students with infants and toddlers, failed to meet their targets.
Forest Charter School, operated by the Twin Ridges Elementary School District, also missed the target.
Every school in the Pleasant Ridge Union and Nevada City School districts exceeded the 800-point threshold set by the state.
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To contact staff writer David Mirhadi, e-mail davidm@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
Montessori gets county's stamp of approval
By Becky Trout,
beckyt@theunion.com
September 2, 2005
After three lengthy meetings, the nascent Sierra Montessori Academy won the Nevada County Planning Commission's approval Thursday.
Once modular classrooms, a slow-down road sign and some type of temporary water storage system are installed and a few other issues are resolved, the public charter school can move into its 35-acre Wolf Road property.
It will be months before the move, however, said a gleeful Executive Director Jason Marsh following Thursday's meeting. Until then, the school's 146 students in grades K-8 will remain at the Grass Valley Elks lodge, where they take occasional excursions to Condon or Dow Alexander parks, Marsh said.
The five-member commission ironed out details Thursday that had been divisive at previous meetings. The commission agreed to give the school two years to construct a left-turn lane off Wolf Road and one year to install all landscaping. The commission also gave the school flexibility to resolve its fire-safety water needs, which may be met with an on-site pond or a neighbor's pond.
The commission agreed to rely on the word of Terry McAteer, the county's superintendent of schools, that money will be available to pay for the turn-lane. Previously, the commissioners had intended to require a bond.
A trail easement was also part of the package. It will only be invoked, however, if it is part of a larger trail system along Wolf Creek.
McAteer, sporting a red bow tie, kicked off the meeting by stressing that the charter school has a very limited amount of money.
"The buck stops here and the buck says there are no bucks," McAteer said.
The school, which is under the jurisdiction of the North San Juan-based Twin Ridges Elementary School District, will adhere to the Montessori philosophy, which stresses participatory education, independent learning, and respect.
Several parents purchased the south county property that has a 5,000-square-foot-home and a barn this spring.
Marsh and others have spent the summer seeking approval for the project. For additional information, visit www.sierramontessori.org on the Web.
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To contact staff writer Becky Trout, e-mail beckyt@theunion.com or call 477-4234.
Changes await students attending Sierra College
Semester is not 16 weeks; new dean begins at Nevada County campus
By David Mirhadi,
davidm@theunion.com
August 29, 2005
Students returning to Sierra College's Nevada County campus today will experience changes they won't immediately see and ones that they'll notice right away.
The first thing students are likely to notice is a change from an 18-week to a 16-week semester, with most class offerings held twice a week.
The change will allow the college to provide more classes between semesters and allow more instructional time for each class, Dean Neal Allbee said.
One of the biggest changes at the college most likely won't be felt directly by the students at all.
On July 1, Tina Ludutsky-Taylor, the Nevada County Campus' founding provost, assumed the position of interim associate vice president for facilities development for the four-campus Sierra Community College District. Now based at the district's headquarters in Rocklin, Ludutsky-Taylor will be chiefly responsible for overseeing more than $100 million in construction projects in Rocklin, Truckee and at the Nevada County Campus.
Her position is effective until June 30, 2006, when she has the option to return as provost to the school she opened in 1996.
"I love this campus, I love this community, and my plan is to return," she said.
Ludutsky-Taylor said she's excited to serve what has become an increasingly high profile position, with the November passage of bonds for the Truckee and Grass Valley campuses.
"I have a great love for this campus and this community," Ludutsky-Taylor said. "By taking on this assignment, I can ensure the projects for the Nevada County Campus get off to the right start."
More than 100,000 square feet of space for new classrooms, physical education activities and a public-safety academy are planned for the Nevada County Campus as part of the $44 million Measure G bond package.
The change in administration from Ludutsky-Taylor to Allbee, the new dean of the Nevada County campus, is one that students shouldn't notice, Allbee said.
Allbee, 59, is beginning his 25th year with the Sierra Community College District. A 24-year resident of Nevada County, Allbee is a former Flint, Mich., police officer and Sonoma County sheriff's deputy.
He's been a criminal justice instructor as well as dean of Sierra College's public safety programs in the past.
"It's going to be an exciting challenge for me," Allbee said of his new assignment.
Allbee said he and Ludutsky-Taylor will continue to push for more class sections at the Nevada County Campus, so students living here won't have to make the 45-minute drive to the Rocklin campus as often as they do now.
"We want the students coming here to be able to achieve the same quality of education at this campus as they do in Rocklin," Allbee said.
It will be important, Allbee said, to find the programs that students at the Nevada County Campus are specifically interested in so they won't have to drive to Rocklin, though it's not certain if a Nevada County student will ever see the day they won't have to make the drive down Highway 49 and west on Interstate 80, Allbee said.
"It's my goal to minimize disruptions as much as we can."
Administrators are also heartened by an increase in students this semester.
For the fall semester, overall enrollment is up 24 percent over this time last year, said Ludutsky-Taylor. Full-time student enrollment, meaning those students who take at least 15 units a semester, is up 13 percent from this time last year.
"I'm feeling pretty good about that," she said.
Approximately 500 students take a full course load each semester at the Nevada County Campus. On average, 3,000 students take at least one class each semester, Ludutsky-Taylor said.
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To contact staff writer David Mirhadi, e-mail davidm@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
Montessori school move temporarily delayed
Becky Trout,
beckyt@theunion.com
August 19, 2005
Sierra Montessori Academy will not be able to move into its 35-acre Wolf Road property for weeks or even months, Executive Director Jason Marsh said Friday.
Until then, the K-8 schools 146 students will remain at the 5,000-square-foot Grass Valley Elks Lodge, Marsh said.
The public charter schools proposal to add five modular classrooms and educate up to 220 children on the south county property was extensively reviewed by the Nevada County Planning Commission Thursday.
Several issues remain, however, including plans to secure the right to construct a trail along Wolf Creek sometime in the future at the request of the commission, said Uma Hinman, a planner with Nevada County.
The school also needs to finalize landscaping plans and move several of the modular classrooms.
Although there is no outdoor space at the Elks lodge, Marsh said the students have room to move and will be able to begin visiting parks next week.
Turn lane, landscaping for Montessori
By Becky Trout,
beckyt@theunion.com
August 19, 2005
The Sierra Montessori Academy's 146 students may have to spend a few more weeks cooped up in the Grass Valley Elks Lodge, parents and students learned Thursday evening.
The fledgling public charter school still has several issues to address before it can move into its 35-acre Wolf Road property, the Nevada County Planning Commission indicated Thursday at a meeting that lasted into the night.
The commission's vote came after The Union's deadline, but the commissioners pointed out the school's leaders still need to finalize landscaping plans, move two modular classrooms, obtain adequate water for fire safety, and iron out other details to ensure the K-8 school can coexist peacefully in its south county neighborhood.
More than 40 people addressed the commission. Neighbors stressed the dangers of the roadway and the importance of beautifying the modular classrooms, and school parents - and their children - emphasized the school's many benefits.
"I've never been really excited about going to school until I heard (the Montessori school) was opening," said the young Adam Morris of Grass Valley. "We really need to go to the Wolf Road site so we can do all the really great stuff we planned to do."
Many residents in the neighborhood are not opposed to the school, said Robert Waldman, they just want to make sure the school is well-designed and safe.
To improve the safety of Wolf Road, the school's leaders agreed to construct a left-turn lane in front of the school that will hold four cars. That will probably not be constructed for two years, however.
Until then, the commission imposed limits on the number of vehicles that can access the school during certain time periods.
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To contact staff writer Becky Trout, e-mail beckyt@theunion.com or call 477-4234.
Montessori school seeks temporary home
Sierra Montessori Academy may move to Elks Lodge
By David Mirhadi,
davidm@theunion.com
August 3, 2005
The Sierra Montessori Academy plans to open Aug. 17, most likely in a spot away from its proposed - and debated - Wolf Road home.
Jason Marsh, executive director of the K-8 school, said Tuesday he's working on a plan that could temporarily house the school's 164 students at the Grass Valley Elks Lodge while improvements are made to the school's permanent campus.
Last week, the Nevada County Planning Commission directed the school's founders to move the school's modular buildings farther away from Wolf Road and build a second driveway to accommodate cars pulling into and out of the campus.
Marsh said he's confident those changes can be made in as little as six weeks.
"We will have a place for the students to go when school starts," he said.
If the Elks Lodge plan falls through, Marsh and Twin Ridges Elementary School District Superintendent Stan Miller said the school has other options, which both declined to disclose.
The Sierra Montessori Academy is a charter campus administered by the North San Juan-based Twin Ridges Elementary School District. When it opens, it will be the first free Montessori program in Nevada County.
Montessori education is based on a principle of grouping students by ability, as opposed to age. It began in the early 20th century by Italian physician Maria Montessori. In a Montessori school, teachers are often used as a guide in the learning process, as opposed to directing a learning approach, Marsh said previously.
Plans for the south county school hit a snag when residents and Nevada County planning commissioners questioned the school's location in a residential neighborhood of large lots on Wolf Road.
Neighbors complained that the speed of cars traveling around blind curves near the school would create traffic hazards, and they asked the Planning Commission to add safeguards that would protect the cars entering and exiting the school.
The campus is housed in a 5,000-square-foot home purchased in May by local and outside investors for $1.45 million.
Marsh said he's working diligently to appease concerns from those living near the proposed school.
"I think we really can build some good relationships with our neighbors," he said.
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To contact staff writer David Mirhadi, e-mail davidm@the union.com or call 477-4229.