THE UNION Articles on
Schools --
January, February 2006
Charter school bill advances, Union staff, February 7, 2006
Shrinking enrollment raises future concerns, Union editorial board, February 7, 2006
County tackles teacher shortage, Soumitro Sen, February 6, 2006
Sharp decline in school enrollment, Soumitro Sen, January 31, 2006
The state of our children, Soumitro Sen, January 21, 2006
Housing costs lead to creative recruitment, Dr. Terence K. McAteer, January 20, 2006
New director hired at Sierra Montessori Academy, Union Staff, January 9, 2006
The Union staff
February 7, 2006Senate Bill 604 from Sen. Sam Aanestad is on its way to the State Assembly after passing out of the State Senate last month, just days before the legislative deadline.
The legislation, which benefits charter schools, received unanimous support during a final vote on the Senate Floor. The Aanestad measure allows charter schools to apply for and receive advanced state funding payments if it adds new grade levels from the previous school year. Public school districts already receive the same type of advanced funding benefit.
"My legislation will encourage charter schools to pursue deliberate and planned growth, while avoiding the need for costly, high interest, short-term loans," said Aanestad (R-Grass Valley). "This will give additional freedoms to charter school administrators, who will be allowed to direct a higher proportion of the school's budget to actual instruction, rather than paying off higher borrowing costs."
SB 604 would allow a portion of a charter school's advanced funding, also known as "advanced apportionment," to be based on enrollment estimates. If the charter school in question does not meet the targeted enrollment number, its normal apportionment would be reduced accordingly in the next funding cycle.
For more information about SB 604, or to schedule an interview with Aanestad, please contact Communications Director Bill Bird at (916) 651-4004.
Our View: Shrinking enrollment raises future concerns
The Union editorial board
February 7, 2006Are you wondering why we're seeing fewer children playing in the parks or fewer yards littered with toys?
According to statistics released last week, the Nevada County School District has 443 fewer students than it did at this time last year. Overall, western Nevada County has around 12,800 students, which means we've lost about 4 percent of our collective student body.
The largest decline was reported by the Pleasant Ridge School District, which consists of the Alta Sierra, Cottage Hill and Pleasant Ridge elementary schools. It lost 92 students.
The Twin Ridges Elementary School District, which includes a number of charter schools and the home school study program, lost 77 students.
Another big loser was the Nevada Joint Unified High School District, which saw its enrollment decline by 86 students.
Some have suggested that the losses may simply indicate that students are transferring from public to private schools.
Terena Mendonca, the assistant superintendent of business for Nevada County Schools, said, though, the enrollment decline means that we have fewer children in the county.
First, young families are moving out of the area, she said. Secondly, the incoming pool of students is getting smaller.
The trend in declining enrollment has been happening for the past 10 years.
The losses are most pronounced at the earliest grades. For example, Mendonca points to the Nevada City district, which has lost 30 students in the past year.
The smallest class, she said, is the kindergarten class that now has 112 students. The first-grade class has 125 students; the eighth-grade class 191 students.
This indicates to her that we have fewer young families in the area. The kindergarten class, however, will likely increase in size at the junior high level, which tells Mendonca that it is older or middle-aged families that are moving here, rather than young families.
Those who leave the school district are moving out of the county, or even the state, in search of better opportunities and more affordable housing, according to the school district, which is notified when students enroll in other districts.
This most recent decline in enrollment means that our school district could receive around $2 million less in state aid next year, which puts extracurricular programs at risk, according to Terry McAteer, the district's superintendent.
So far, our school districts seem to be performing well. But if these trends continue and shrinking schools cut programs, we'll cheat students seeking a great education and make it more difficult to recruit businesses that value a robust school system.
County tackles teacher shortage
Retirement offer leads to turnover in classroom
By Soumitro Sen, soumitros@theunion.com
February 6, 2006Nevada County School districts are faced with an urgent problem. By June 2007, approximately 50 teachers will retire from the high schools, and so will 25-30 teachers from the elementary schools.
And the school districts, which hardly hire more than 15 teachers countywide a year, is doing everything within its means to fill the yawning gap.
"We have quite a high number of baby boomers in our district," said Maggie Deetz, superintendent of the Nevada Joint Union High School District. "Combined with that, we have a retirement incentive ending in June 2007. So when we look at this large number of teachers, in order to capitalize on the retirement incentive they have to retire next June."
The incentive, Deetz said, is two-fold. The retiring teachers get two year's service credit with a state teacher's retirement benefit. Also, the school district will pay for their health benefits for five years.
"That's a lot of money you are talking about between an increase in their retirement check and medical benefits," Deetz added.
No doubt, teachers approaching their retirement age are grabbing the offer.
Creating solutions
The county's school districts are addressing the problem of hiring new teachers in various ways.
"I'm networking with all the universities and credentialing programs in the entire state," said Marty Mathiesen, principal of Nevada Union High School, which will have the maximum number of teachers retiring by June 2007. "Our teaching staff has taken the time with me to profile Nevada Union, our community, our positive assets to promote our area and profile the challenges, one being the cost of living."
The median price of a single-family house in the Nevada County, according to the national research company DataQuick Information Systems, is $460,000. The total monthly payments for such a property, as calculated by mortgage loan officer Janice Bree of Citizen's Bank in downtown Grass Valley, comes to $2,725.
The starting average salary for a high school teacher in Nevada County is $38,800. For a middle school teacher, the starting salary averages to $36,800 and an elementary school teacher starts at an average of $36,900. With the average starting salary being $37,500 a year, buying a house is certainly not easy, especially for a single-earner.
To counter the issue of expensive housing, the county is planning to offer better salary packages to new teachers.
"We've already set aside money for recruiting," Deetz said. "We've been talking to principals for several years about going to job fairs and connecting with the colleges. Not all teachers will be brand new; we want to lure experienced ones from the other districts. For that, we have, for the last few years, focused on getting our teachers' salary schedule competitive."
The problem is also being tackled by training local people to become teachers. Terry McAteer, Nevada County superintendent of schools, arranged for National University to offer classes in the area for prospective teachers. Within 15 months, the university will get the students their teaching credentials. About 47 students are now doing their student-teaching at different schools in the county. A similar number will go through the same process the next semester.
"I think it is good. It's effective. It's an advantage because we get the first look at these teachers," Mathiesen said. "If I see good potential instructors, I'm ahead in the recruiting process. This state and the U.S. have a shortage of teachers and getting quality teachers is a competitive process now. It's not only recruitment that I'm going to do statewide, it's support, training and retention.
"I have the opportunity of building a quality team. I inherited, a year and a half ago, a quality team of teachers, and what that team needed was ... stability, trust and a common vision. But now with the significant number of teachers leaving, I have the opportunity to select teachers with skills and personality that fit into my vision of Nevada Union for the next 20 to 30 years."
Change of course
Kerry Arnett, 50, a Nevada City councilman, has finished his coursework for the National University and is now student teaching. After working as the general manager in Express Video in Nevada City for 17 years, Arnett is finally about to realize his dream of being a teacher.
"It's something I always wanted to do, but something led to the other and I never got around it," Arnett said, about his new career. "Then Dr. McAteer offered this excellent opportunity to get a teaching credential right here at the Nevada County and I just felt this was the time."
Arnett is happy about the program he is in.
"It's just been extremely valuable, the education that I've received in this program," he said. "It has been excellent. It was a good combination of both the theory of teaching and practical hands-on aspect."
Arnett works with seventh graders in the morning and teaches U.S. history to 11th graders in the afternoon.
"One of the things I am looking forward to is the challenge of sharing information with young people," he said. "My specialty is history for which I have a passion for. I'm looking forward to learning from my students as much as they will learn from me."
Arnett, however, is aware that the National University is giving him a teaching credential not a job. After graduation, he will have to compete with applicants - who may have several years of teaching experience - to get the job he is looking for.
Mathiesen wants to maintain the quality of teachers when he recruits new people. The pool of applicants will include graduates of National University as well as people from areas where cost of living is higher than in Nevada County.
"There's nothing more important than the quality of teachers in the classroom," he said. For the first couple of years, he wants to observe the new teachers before they are tenured.Will it work?
McAteer feels the strategy of home-growing teachers is working.
"The reason ... is because these people in the program have basically stopped their lives for a year and entered the credential program because they have a passion for teaching," he said. "Most of the people (in the program are) in their mid 30s, so they bring a lot of life experiences into the classrooms which is very valuable."
Besides, new teachers are expected to bring new energy to their work.
"You would assess the difference between teachers in their mid 50s and teachers in their early 20s," Mathiesen said. "The older teachers have the expertise. Younger teachers are going to have a lack of experience but, to generalize, more energy and enthusiasm."
The present problem of having a large number of teachers retiring, all at once, should not recur in the near future, according to some.
"The last big student growth period was in the 70s and 80s, and therefore those hired in the 70s and 80s are close to retiring," McAteer said. "It is a unique situation that we have. It is unlikely to occur in a long time to this extent."
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To contact staff writer Soumitro Sen, e-mail soumitros@theunion.com or call 477-4229.FACTS AND FIGURES
Approximate number of teachers in Nevada County - 450
The overall payroll - $27 million a year
Average starting salary - $37, 500
Average salary - $58,000
Average tenure - 30 years
All the above figures were provided by the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools' Office.
Sharp decline in school enrollment
By Soumitro Sen
Staff writer, soumitros@theunion.com
January 31, 2006Nevada County Schools Superintendent Dr. Terry McAteer says declining enrollment is a trend of which his office has long been aware, but the latest numbers to reach his desk depict a dire scenario for area schools.
The 2005-06 attendance reporting for the Nevada County schools indicates a decline in student enrollment with the greatest reduction in numbers within the Pleasant Ridge Union School District, followed by the Nevada Joint Union High School District.
"We've had a decline for a number of years, but this year we see a sharper decline than any other year," said McAteer. "Declining enrollment is having a significant impact on the quality of programs the schools are able to offer children and families - those being recreation and enrichment programs.
Changes in enrollment
The following is the change in Nevada County school district enrollment figures from
2004 to 2005:
Chicago Park +15
Clear Creek -3
Grass Valley -70
Nevada City -30
Pleasant Ridge -92
Pleasant Valley -50
Ready Springs -68
Twin Ridges -77
Union Hill +18
NJUHSD -86
Source: Nevada County Superintendent of Schools office"We'll be reducing, laying off teachers and staff (to tackle the problem). If the drop in enrollment continues at this rate, schools will start considering closing sites."
The impact of declining enrollment will be felt in the next year's budget, McAteer said. This is because schools receive funding according to the previous year's enrollment. The Nevada Joint Union High School District has already reduced its expenditure by $3 million, said Superintendent Maggie Deetz."A lot of it is staffing," she said. " We'd had to raise the class size a bit, but our quality of teaching has not gone down at all. Teachers are real fanatics for their profession. It's a way of life (for them), and they are dedicated to do their job regardless."
One of the reasons for the decline, according to some, is the high cost of housing in the county.
"A lot of the declining enrollment is because of the cost of housing, as well as the employment market," Deetz said. "Families are just moving away, and we still get retirees moving here."
McAteer agreed.
"We are a responding entity, which means if the public does not want moderate-priced houses, we will just have less students," he said.
Linda Kramer, superintendent of the Pleasant Ridge Union District, which has 92 less students enrolled this year, is more optimistic about the situation.
"We need to creatively work as a team with foundations, parents' clubs, boards of trustees and district staff to preserve our excellence," Kramer said.
"There's always going to be creative solutions to problems, which could be legislatively addressed coming from the state department of education working together locally and statewide to solve problems and all combination of these approaches."
To contact staff writer Soumitro Sen, e-mail soumitros@theunion.com or call 477-4229.
- copy of report includedBy Soumitro Sen
Staff writer, soumitros@theunion.com
January 21, 2006The word is out. People in Nevada County now know what’s going on with matters related to children in the county, thanks to Nevada County’s 2006 “State of the Children Report,” released by the office of the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools Friday morning.
This is the first time such a comprehensive report has been shared with the public.
“We needed to highlight the three major areas about which we have concerns … children’s health, opportunity for teens, and recreation,” said Dr. Terence K. McAteer, the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools. “We wanted to reach (out) to most of the people in the county who don’t have children at home.”
McAteer feels an improvement will take place only when the community gets actively involved in childrens’ affairs.
“We did a survey of 1,700 students and parents and involved community leaders, who work with children, to come up with the grades (which appear in the report),” McAteer said.
Of the seven categories that were graded, recreation for youth received a D plus, the lowest grade in the report. Opportunities for teens got the next low grade, a C minus, children’s health got a C, and local support for children was graded a C plus.
Quality of K-12 education, enrichment opportunities for children, and quality and quantity of services for children, newborn to the age of six, received a B+, B-, and a B, respectively.
“We need to do better,” said Dotty Schmidt, board member of the Child Advocate of Nevada County. “Academically we are wonderful, but we need to do better in these areas. Recreation is one of the areas in which we need to focus our attention so that our kids have better opportunity healthwise and in all areas to do better. Recreation is so important. We have to give them something to do.”
Marty Mathiesen, principal at the Nevada Union High School, thinks the report is a valuable insight into the present challenges facing childrens’ issues.
“It gives us a perspective into what strategies we need to improve the status of our kids’ health,” he said. “The job of education is much more difficult when you are attempting to teach a kid that may have substance abuse problems, or, sleep, eating problems.”
So what’s the next step, now that the problems have been identified and rated?
“We will now be putting together action teams to focus on those three areas (children’s health, opportunity for teens, and recreation),” McAteer said. “Those action teams will start coming up with plans (to address the issues).”
To contact staff writer Soumitro Sen, e-mail soumitros@theunion.com or call 477-4229.8-MB Download: Nevada County 2006 State Of The Children Report
Other Voices: Housing costs lead to creative recruitment
By Dr. Terence K. McAteer
January 20, 2006During the next five years, nearly half of our existing teachers in Nevada County schools will be retiring. These dramatic changes will certainly alter the landscape of our schools. Most of these educators have been long-term employees who will leave with a wealth of talent. Therefore, our schools have taken some unique steps to insure that we are able to attract and retain our next crop of teachers.
Our biggest concern was in attracting teachers to move into this county, which has an average housing price of more than $400,000. Starting salaries for teachers is about $38,000, far short of affording a home in our community.
Therefore, district superintendents and I took the most logical step in recruiting from within our county. We believe that many of our local residents have wanted to be teachers, but the commute to Sacramento for credentialing classes was unrealistic. We contracted with National University - the largest trainer of teachers in the state - to bring its credential program to Nevada County and stock it with local educational leaders to teach the classes.
The response was overwhelming. More than 100 local residents, who all possess a variety of life experience and talent, have enrolled in the program. The class work began in April and, having taught a couple of the courses, I can attest to the superb quality of these individuals. In fact, throughout the next couple of weeks, 47 of the 100 will begin student teaching in many schools in the county.
The student teaching experience is a win-win situation for the county. First of all, students benefit from having two teachers in the classroom (the regular "master" teacher and the student teacher). Master teachers - the finest of this county's teachers - will help to train these individuals, which will allow for more personalized student learning. Secondly, master teachers will be transferring many years of knowledge and skills to our next generation of teachers. Finally, by training this local crop of teachers, Nevada County is insured of an ample supply of qualified teachers who are vested into the success of our students, because they themselves are vested into this community.
With the rising cost of housing and the need for middle class housing for our police, fire, and educators, it will take a variety of creative solutions to ensure a place for our valued service employees. Home-grown employees has proven to be very successful for us. Welcome to our new student teachers.
Dr. Terence K. McAteer is the Nevada County Superintendent of Schools.
New director hired at Sierra Montessori Academy
January 9, 2006
The Sierra Montessori Academy's Council of Directors voted unanimously Tuesday to recommend to the Twin Ridges School board the hiring of Susan Turof as the academy's new executive director.
Turof brings experience as both a public and private Montessori school leader, a public school special education teacher and has trained and certified Montessori educators for several years.
Turof has served as a trainer for the Sierra Montessori Academy staff since last summer. According to a press release, she will begin work as executive director immediately.
- The Union Staff