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Larry Thoms May 10, 2013 at 03:44 pm
This is true I stand corrected, it did start in the 80s the point is that the work of those people…Read More got this done for our community and I wanted to make sure that a thanks was sent out it is awesome Larry Thoms
NovatoAVID May 10, 2013 at 03:24 pm
Great job and gret place to learn...all the schools in Novato are great places for kids to learn...
Mary Lynn Lucas May 10, 2013 at 01:31 pm
Actually this project started in the 80's when the parents and community had fund raising efforts to…Read More build a Multi purpose room and then when the school had to shut down because of the problems with the building, all efforts stopped so it is wonderful to see that there is finally a wonderful place for the kids. Mary Lynn Lucas
Kevin May 8, 2013 at 05:21 pm
My son and I participated as well. Loma Verde sent out lots of notification...
JAN May 6, 2013 at 11:32 pm
Hey Rex,
Good call. White Rich Males now inhabit the halls of Congress and you are on the mark. They…Read More are about as popular as crabs. Not the kind you cook either. However most White Rich Males have the money, resources and sophistication to buy their way clear of the poor and not so well off.
Hence, we have gated communities and exclusive enclaves where they can play and hang out. When you have money, you have choices. When your poor and broke, not so much.
Thanks for your comment, well done.
Novato Chess Club April 15, 2013 at 12:53 pm
Healthy communities have strong education and low crime
janna nikkola April 12, 2013 at 11:42 am
Well said, NovatoAVID! I'm weary of teachers being blamed when Johnny can't read or write or do…Read More elementary arithmetic. I think lack of effort is the root cause of poor academic performance, along with lack of parental involvement. If no one at home cares whether or not a student does his homework and watches over his performance at school, the student himself develops a lack of interest. Learning requires work and cannot be achieved just by sitting in the class room.
D. Sheppard May 7, 2013 at 03:33 pm
Lagunitas Elementary School had some truly great teachers when I was in school in the 1970s. Mrs.…Read More Kolanoski was definitely a memorable, caring, and dedicated teacher. Just as memorable were Mr. Brown, Ms. Bogardus, Mrs. Marcus, Mr. Gornbein, Mr. Lecklikner and Mrs. Smith!! A fantastic group of teachers, at one school during the same time. We were very fortunate!
D. Sheppard May 7, 2013 at 03:30 pm
Lagunitas Elementary School had some truly great teachers when I was in school in the 1970s. Mrs.…Read More Kolanoski was definitely a memorable, caring, and dedicated teacher. Just as memorable were Mr. Brown, Ms. Bogardus, Mrs. Marcus, Mr. Gornbein, Mr. Lecklikner and Mrs. Smith!! A fantastic group of teachers!
Craig Belfor May 7, 2013 at 01:46 pm
I was part of the Macafee study group, students from high school, chosen at random, and asked about…Read More their experiences in high school. This was a survey mailed out every year, starting in1968 (I graduated in 1967 from Terra Linda). Every year I said my most informative class, that prepared me the most for life, was shop class. in ally one year, someone called me and asked why. I told him that mistakes are not forgiven in shop class, planning is everything, and nobody cares why you cut it too short. All of the other classes, Latin ( I won the school Latin bee), science (I'd read the books in junior high already), English, etc. we're nice, but not of much help in the real world.
Gregory Mack May 8, 2013 at 03:05 pm
... and when there are fewer children to teach, there are also fewer schools. Correct? Which…Read More school would you propose we close first?
Tina McMillan May 7, 2013 at 04:13 pm
Riders choose which schools to support. Certainly there is room in Novato to have riders from Good…Read More Shepard pledge to support their school. There is no "siphoning" of funds. Parents have always had the choice of using public or private programs. When there are fewer children to teach there are fewer expenses to incur.
Gregory Mack May 7, 2013 at 02:31 pm
Why is a private school included in this public school fundraising event? Aren't they already…Read More funded by private tuition? As well, aren't they already siphoning off funds from NUSD in the form of lost ADA?
What am I missing here?
Julia Angel April 26, 2013 at 02:07 pm
I can tell that most people commenting here do not care if a high school is unhealthy. I am so happy…Read More that I am out of that entire mess!! For my family, I made our world safe and happy and left that whole thing way behind. I am not going to post again here because I am in a totally different world. I do not have to deal with any public education mess. Thank goodness!
Julia Angel April 26, 2013 at 02:02 pm
Tammy:
"People like Julia"?
What are do you mean Tammy? How rude of you to insinuate…Read More that telling the truth about what is going on at one high school in Novato is not good. I am not "categorizing" kids. It is about the people who work in the schools and make decisions about how things are done there. I am an astute observer here. I am not the decision maker. Why don't you focus your comments on those people in charge of the schools, Tammy.
I am a parent of 3 sons. I am not an administrator. I am only doing what I feel is right by telling the truth. I do not cover it up. I saw what I saw. What is your opinion on that? Do you tell the truth or just let it go . People want to know the truth and not just your opinions on things. I will continue to tell the truth until things are done the right way. I have no problems with that now.
NovatoAVID April 26, 2013 at 01:19 pm
The way I see it; everyone in Congress was a high achieving student. Academic success must be…Read More measured against ethics, morality,and values. If it were we would have a measure that truly finds the highest and brightest
Novato Chess Club May 6, 2013 at 01:42 pm
Save the Date: next "Fishing in the City" September 21 (Scottsdale Pond)
NovatoAVID April 26, 2013 at 11:01 am
or contact Rotary Club of Novato Sunrise (http://www.novatosunriserotary.org/)
Looking forward to…Read More seeing over a 100 youth and their parents at Scottsdale Pond @ 8:00AM tomorrow!
Looking for work in Novato April 10, 2013 at 06:48 pm
AWESOME JOB!!!
It's great to know you guys are "getting it".
Novato Chess Club April 22, 2013 at 12:26 pm
Rotary Club Novato Sunrise 7th Annual Laws of Life Contest was a wonderful opportunity to hear the…Read More voices of our youth. Thank you Robert Kuchem for your leadership
NovatoAVID April 19, 2013 at 02:07 am
What a wonderful evening at Hill Educational Center tonight. Laws of Life essays were inspiring and…Read More heartfelt
Active Thinker April 3, 2013 at 11:04 pm
The large sports might bring in more people to watch but they spend way more...only a handful of…Read More team make any money at all...and most of those sports don't graduate athletes at all...it's ajoke.
Leland Vandiver April 2, 2013 at 02:41 am
Jeffrey,
Actually, we (the federal government) pay for particle accelerators...with some left over.…Read More Universities NEVER get the short end of the funding stick when it deals with DARPA, NIH, etc. In fact, sometimes universities become piggish (e.g., Stanford in the mid-1990's). I agree, if you do not search for the truth...you are a pawn of some factor or person. We need fewer pawns...
Jeffrey Bottaro April 1, 2013 at 08:09 pm
Green Flash: All of your statements make sense to me, and I fundamentally agree. Unfortunately,…Read More the incursion of ANY industry into the University marketplace has a way of corrupting it in proportion to the financial size of the outside presence. This is not to renounce such things; it is merely a plea to scrutinize them in proportion to their influence. Athletes are not asked to finance the particle accelerator; why should physicists be made to finance the gridiron?
The University was born of communities of cloistered priests and monks. Its interface with the world will always be a thing with contradictions and complexities that defy simple solutions. BUT, anyone who succumbs to the pressure NOT to look behind the wizard's curtain is not only denying himself the indulgence of a universal human impulse; he is also BETRAYING HIS OWN INTEGRITY.
Joe March 21, 2013 at 10:13 am
You people will vote for it as they lie to you every time and you say yes, Tax Me . When will we…Read More say NO MORE ? Look at the county and the money they are spending on the new computer system. They then sued the maker of the system and lost millions in legal fees . Was it, San Mateo and three other cities who said "NO" to them last year and forced them to quit spending. Wake up People, sip the coffee,enjoy the fresh air as they will be coming after that next for a special tax
Tina McMillan March 21, 2013 at 05:46 am
Edwin
While I share similar frustrations I do not separate the responsibility of the Board from the…Read More decisions of the Superintendent.
I do believe we have exceptional teachers and administrators that have educated and cared for our children for many years and in some cases decades. The dysfunction, like problems in any family system, gets worse when you lack effective leadership.
What we need is a leader that will work cooperatively with parents and teachers. Someone who is willing to explore controversy and doesn't shy away from unpopular decisions. We need a board that is willing to do more than pander to constituents and that would step out from behind the glass door and actually talk with individual community members in a spirit of exploration of new ideas.
I don't know how the board and the superintendent can let the 21.5 acre parcel sit idle at a time when creating revenue, providing teacher housing and securing zoning are all important aspects of protecting that investment.
As frustrating as it has been seeing the board and the district usurp state regulations with regard to charters it worries me far more that their solution to the structural budget deficit is an increase in class size in K through 3 and to retire long term teaching staff.
A better, longer term solution would be to examine districts with similar demographics to ours and see how they have survived and thrived academically and financially.
Edwin Drake March 21, 2013 at 02:26 am
It's time to pull the plug on a dysfunctional administration, now led by Shalee Cunningham. For…Read More years and years parents and teachers have battled with an district administration that has made every mistake possible. Has there been a decision on recent topic that hasn't made parents pull out their hair? (I offer, for example, the decision to close but not close the Hill Middle School campus, which was handled in the worst way, leading to the smallest savings possible with the largest disruption possible.) The list goes on and on, Rancho, the boundary study, the charter school, etc. etc, No matter your feelings about the eventual decisions, the manner in which this district operates is gravely broken. And, this is NOT the school boards fault, It's the district staff, many well-meaning but mostly incompetent.
Leslie Crabbs March 11, 2013 at 03:54 pm
Thanks so much for the post - I love the way the Patch supports our community! As a community…Read More supports one another - the stronger we grow! Thank you!
Jeffrey Steven March 5, 2013 at 06:27 pm
Will they be discussing home drug testing at the event? Teen addicts in treatment tell…Read More myteensavers parent involvement like this event and home drug testing can prevent teen abuse. Thankfully Ms. Wandzilak has a forum to talk to these parents. Hopefully they will be open minded and listening.
MillValleyMom February 27, 2013 at 06:50 pm
Good work, you two. Please post and keep us informed about future events..
Sylvia Barry February 20, 2013 at 02:16 am
email sylvia@sylviabarryre.com if you need that email address.
Sylvia Barry February 19, 2013 at 03:02 pm
What's amazing about Mrs. Gates is that she does this year-in and year-out. She is all-inclusive and…Read More continues to draw and develop talents. She offers classes in the evenings so her students can take advantage of most of what the department can offer. She even teachers classes for free when the budget was cut; and now she is leading a mothers group (no charge, of course) to sing and perform at local nursing home. Not to mention all the cast parties and semester end parties at her house for her students and parents.
In addition, she supports many other local volunteer organizations - Gary Gates Memorial Foundation, which rebuilt the San Marin High's softball field, Frankie Poulos Foundation, Novato Theater, ..., to name just a few ...
She loves music, people, life, her students, the community.
She Inspires!
Jerry February 15, 2013 at 04:42 am
What needs to change is the discrimination in school funding the State gives to Novato schools. My…Read More recall is that for decades Novato has been getting 30% less in education funding than most Marin County districts and 30% less than the average of all state-wide school districts -- and that is after including the special local taxes we voted for . This has gone on for decades.
As for teacher pay, all school districts should be paying teachers top dollar. We need the best and the brightest teaching our young. Look at sucessful foreign countries - good educators make the top dollar. Here we spend our top dollars for politicians and breaurcrats ...and we all know how well that's worked out for us.
Tina McMillan February 15, 2013 at 02:40 am
http://novatonft.org/
2009-2012 NUSD/NFT Contract
I am not sure how much the increase to the…Read More teacher's salaries in 2012 made a difference, but the discrepancy between teacher's pay and administrator's pay has always been a problem in Novato. When you compare our district based on the revenues we receive, our administrators are paid far more and are teachers far less than similar districts.
Novato teachers finally got a 2% raise. 25% or more of new teachers come to Novato to get training and then move to other districts to find jobs. This may be due to pay but also due to difficulties within the district itself.
Families use to move to Novato for the public school system. It was the one place you could find affordable housing and great public education and still be in Marin. If you read the district's own Strategic Report since 2003 the impacts to each school have been significant.
NUSD has yet to find a curriculum that can meet the needs of impacted learners. The mentality within the district is to turn a blind eye to change. The recent boundary study didn't address curriculum problems. It didn't look for new sources of revenue. It just redistributed student population. Change is needed on many levels. It begins by paying teachers a living wage.
Avanti Monty February 15, 2013 at 12:44 am
Having a solid education is the most important thing we should provide for everyone that wants it…Read More and/or is required to have it.. Having a well educated populous would alleviate problems concerning race, religion ,finances, social issues and politics ( well 4 out of 5 is 80% politics will never be alleviated). Good teachers equal good students that's a proven our teachers be paid well. However as usual its all about money who can afford to pay higher salaries aka taxes. We continue to hear lagging and infuriating made up number comparisons from our water department empire, our competing utility companies, monopoly internet servers, our gargantuan garbage dynasty, and designer gas stations, Parochial school tuition's are so outrageous they require endowments and charitable contributions to provide scholarships to fill desks as well as giving up your first born.. Novato is not Ross, Belvedere, Corte Madera , Mill valley or the like when it comes to expendable money. We do have good schools and good teachers maybe we should cut the salaries and perks of the administration thereby freeing up more money for our teachers. No more bond issue's that go towards everything but the intended recipients Just say'n
Alex Horvath February 14, 2013 at 11:47 am
Love it that the film center holds a environmental youth forum!
Judy Schriebman February 13, 2013 at 03:05 pm
What fun--thank you Sam for sharing your catchy tune with the kids.
San Marin Plays Host to Redwood in MCAL Softball Semis
3 Recommend Gideon Rubin