Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Open Board of Directors Meeting
Norton Event Center
1601 E. Third St., Suite 138
San Bernardino, CA 92408
Minutes
Present: Patti Arlt, Deborah Barmack, Peter Barmack, Carole Beswick, Tom Brickley, Ann Bryan, Mike Burrows, Rachelle Bussell, Ken Coate, Kevin Dyerly, Ashley Gaines, Carrie Gilbreath, Scott Hofferber, Lowell King, Pam Langford, Dale Marsden, P.T. McEwen, Dan Murphy, Brian Reider, Michael Rivera, Kristine Scott, and Paul Shimoff.
Guests: Adam Eventov, Scott Huber, Matt Liebman, Frank Reyes and Joe Richardson.
Announcements: 1) Please inform the Inland Action staff if you are planning on attending the Sen. Feinstein lunch tomorrow as we have been asked about our members’ attendance to this event. 2) Next week the meeting will be at our West End location in Ontario. Congressman Pete Aguilar will be our speaker and guests are welcome.
M/S/P: Minutes from October 3, 2017.
Ashley Gaines introduced Dr. Dale Marsden, Superintendent, and Ginger Ontiveros, Exec. Director of Community Engagement, San Bernardino City Unified School District.
The San Bernardino City Unified School District (SBCUSD) serves over 50,000 students with 76 schools in a 98 mile radius. The District has a 91% poverty rate and is comprised of 73% Hispanic and 14% Afro-American students. The District has had continued success improving graduation rates increasing from 66.8% in 2012 to 86.1% in 2016 (surpassing county, state and national averages). Foster youth are the most at-risk group with a State graduation rate at 54%. The SBCUSD has a foster youth advocate (a prior foster child) who works directly with these students. The district recently attained a graduation rate of 78% in this group.
Changes in the District include increased cooperation and positive leadership by the Board, as well as continued and growing community engagement and business support. Programs liked Linked Learning, and Hope Happens Foundation have all had a positive impact. The SBCUSD has embarked on a mission to move their Community Engagement Plan to a new level and use it as a catalyst for hope and increased student engagement. Studies have indicated that as early as 3rd grade students will achieve if they see a future. Far more important than academics, hope is fundamental for students to succeed. Gallup’s report shows that students who believe their school is committed to building strengths in each student and have at least one teacher who makes them excited about the future are much more likely to be engaged at school. The District’s new motto, “Making Hope Happen,” is also their mission.
High schools in the District have Linked Learning academies where students select an education pathway based on their personal and career interests. The pathways reflect California’s largest economic industry sectors, ranging from arts, media and entertainment, engineering and design, health science and medical technology. Students gain real-world experience and make connections with professionals in their field of interest through paid internships, job shadowing, and apprenticeships. Currently over 88% of students are enrolled in this program. The curriculum includes a college-preparatory that helps meet the necessary requirements for admission to a UC or CSU. Rather than determine a student’s lifelong career it enhances the high school experience by exposing students to a range of professions and develops students’ skills and confidence, which are needed in all professions. The Linked Learning program includes these components:
- Rigorous academics that include English, mathematics, science, history, and other pertinent courses.
- Real-world technical skills: A technical component of three or more courses that help students gain the knowledge and skills that can give them a head start on a successful career.
- Work-based learning: Students engage in job shadowing, apprenticeships, and internships, before they leave high school, helping them understand all the possible choices available to them.
- Personalized support: Personalized support services, including resume and interview counseling and supplemental instruction in reading, writing, and mathematics, that help students master critical academic and technical components of their education.
One SBCUSD high school, Middle College High School, works in partnership with and is across the street from San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC). This high school is focused on high achieving students that are not reaching their full potential. Students are offered the opportunity to attend and complete college courses while working toward their high school diplomas. Most students graduate with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree.
The Making HOPE Happen Foundation supports SBCUSD with donations & scholarships. Their advisory board works with ideas and innovations like a “shark tank.” Their Infant-Toddler Development fund helps equip parents to maximize brain development within their children before they reach school, giving them the best hope for success in life. The program has offered classes for low-income parents of children up to three years old. Classes focus on parenting approaches to advance a child’s cognitive and social skill development. To help assure school readiness, parents are called back three times a year until the child enters kindergarten. For more information: http://www.makinghopehappenfoundation.org/
The success for the SBCUSD is not only good for the students and our community but helps raise and change negative perceptions of San Bernardino.
A Q & A period followed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:30 a.m.