Mr. Burnham was named Middle School Principal of the Year by WCCUSD! Nominated by his peers in the district, he was selected by the members of the administrators’ union as THE Middle School Principal in the district. He is now in the running for best Middle School Principal in the county. Congratulations Mr. B!
Saturday, September 29, 2012Help us create some green space at the Portola Middle School campus!
Go Portola and the Portola PTSA are creating a green oasis in the middle of this black-top campus. We will be holding a work day on Saturday, September 29, from 2-5 pm, digging holes, building boxes, and doing some planting, and we could use your help!
How you can participate:
Thanks everyone, and hope to see you there!
Go Portola!
Reacting to the defeat of Measure K in June, parents and community members across the West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) have created a grassroots group to try again.
On July 2, the WCCUSD board voted to fund a survey to determine the viability of a November parcel tax initiative.
On Sat, July 7, the grassroots community group decided to organize now to move forward with a November timeline in the event that the survey results show a positive climate for another parcel tax initiative. The research firm will present the telephone survey results to the Board at a special meeting on July 23, and the board will vote August 1 on whether to put another parcel tax initiative on the November ballot.
The grassroots group, which included community members from Pinole, Richmond, El Cerrito, and Kensington, also identified key requirements for a successful campaign. These include a leadership structure, campaign strategy, and funds on the scale of $100,000 to $150,000. Ben Steinberg, a parent at Mira Vista Elementary, agreed to lead the group through the August 1 vote.
If you would like to be involved in this constructive response to the crisis in our schools please consider attending and speaking up at the following meetings:
Monday, July 23, 6:30 pm: At this special meeting of the board, the research company will present the results of the parcel tax telephone surveys, and the board will discuss the results.
Wednesday, August 1, 6:30pm: At this WCCUSD School Board Meeting, the board will vote on whether to put an education measure on the November ballot.
All of these meetings will be held at Lovonya DeJean Middle School, 3400 MacDonald Ave, Richmond.
For more information about the Board’s actions on the possible parcel tax, see the articles in the Contra Costa Times and el Cerrito Patch.
With the failure of Measure K, the district’s plan is to have class sizes in K-3 at 28 kids for each teacher. At the most recent board meeting, however, Board President Charles Ramsey noted that new funds have become available that could be used for keeping class sizes close to their current level. Parents who want to see this happen should contact school board members and attend the June 27 meeting: 6:30 p.m. Lovonya Dejean Middle School. Sign up at the entrance to address the board during the public comment. Tell them what smaller class sizes mean to you.
At the same time, you can ask your elected school board about their plans in the wake of Measure K’s defeat: Will they put another measure on the ballot in November? If so, how do they convince voters in Hercules and Pinole to vote for its passage? What are they doing to push the state to lower the Yes-vote threshold for parcel taxes?
A special school board meeting has been called for Monday, July 2nd to “discuss the prospects for a November revenue generating election – parcel tax, or bond measure or both or neither.” In the wake of the narrow loss of prop. K, should the district try to put a similar measure on the ballot this November?
Superintendent Bruce Harter and four of the School Board members will be attending the Monday meeting.
Parents – you are encouraged to attend both meetings & participate in the discussion!
Along with the games and carnival food, Saturday’s festival at Portola Middle School in El Cerrito event was a chance to invite the community to share the school’s renaissance.
Madera Elementary is hosting the next Go Portola meeting – Wednesday, March 7 at
7 pm in the Multi-Purpose Room. Portola principal Matthew Burnham will
be there. Hope to see you there!
Meeting Agenda
The WriterCoach Connection pilot at Portola Middle School needs more
volunteers to be effective. One training remains in El Cerrito, and coaching
begins in less than two weeks!
If you have thought about it, but haven’t gotten around to it, we need you
to register for the following training through this link
http://www.writercoachconnection.org/volunteer-registration.html
:
ELC6, Thursdays, 1/26 and 2/2, 12:00-3:00 pm.
Other training dates are also available.
If we are to fulfill this vital program’s full potential, our entire
community must embrace this challenge. If you can help us find coaches, you
will be making a significant contribution.
If you have questions, call 558-8018 or email volunteer.ecwcc@gmail.com .
Portola Middle School invites you to attend our Information Night on
Thursday Nov. 17th at 6:30 in our school cafeteria.
You will:
Hope to see you there!
Elementary Schools in WCCSD are poised to see our lower grade class sizes increase up to over 30 students per class. Most studies show kids benefit from low class sizes in every possible respect – - they perform better in school, they have less chance of falling behind and needing additional help, and they see more success in the future. Our school board has a chance to keep class sizes low in their upcoming budget. We’re calling on them to stand up for students and education and keep class sizes low!
