In observance of Veterans Day the Cal Poly Pomona President's Veterans Services Initiative will host a a celebration on Nov. 10.
The event "Honoring All Who Served" begins at noon at the Univeristy Quad, 3801 W. Temple Ave., Pomona.
The event will include keynote speaker English professor Liam Corley who spent the 2008-09 academic year in Afghanistan, serving on a NATO base with the International Security Assistance Force.
Read more about him in Panorama, and watch his video in which he briefly discusses the role of literature in democracy and welcomes veterans to Cal Poly Pomona.
Information: www.csupomona.edu/~veterans/
Cal Poly Pomona professors and students will join dozens of people at the Leonard Transportation Center for a research conference.
The second annual educational symposium Nov. 6 at Cal State San Bernardino will include presentations on transportation-related projects from faculty and student researchers.
The symposium will include talks on intermodal-transit stations, transit villages and transit-oriented design titled "Going to San Bernardino?"
Cal Poly faculty member Richard Willson at 10:30 a.m. will talk about "Transit Oriented Development - Lessons Learned and Future Trends California TODs."
Faculty member Dohyung Kim will later discuss "The Impacts of Transit Oriented Development: From Regional Land Use Perspective."
"So far most of our country's policy is about automobiles," Kim said. "We want to develop the community with transit and automobiles, but with a focus on transit."
Jesus Barajas, graduate urban planning student at Cal Poly, will discuss "Regional Bicycle Planning in Los Angeles County: An Analysis of the Metro Bicycle Transportation Strategic Plan."
"The goal of this symposium is to educate and bring different research out into light," Barajas said. "The big topic is environmentalism and how transpiration fits into that whole puzzle."
Additional lectures will include Cal Poly faculty member Cornelius Nuworsoo disussing "Lessons for Transforming Planned California High-speed Rail Stations to Major Activity Hubs" and Cal Poly student Kevin Fang discussing "Accessibility of Rail Stations under Alternative Network Configurations and Potential for TOD in the San Francisco Bay Area."
Also expected to speak are representatives from Cal State San Bernardino, UC Irvine, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Caltrans, Southern California Association of Governments, Omnitrans, Metrolink and Southern California Edison.
IF YOU GO
A free transportation research conference is from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Cal State San Bernardino, Obershaw Dining Room - Commons Building, 5500 University Parkway.
The event is free and open to the public. Parking is $5.
People can RSVP on the Web site. Print out the invitation and place it on a dashboard to replace a parking pass.
The second annual educational symposium Nov. 6 at Cal State San Bernardino will include presentations on transportation-related projects from faculty and student researchers.
The symposium will include talks on intermodal-transit stations, transit villages and transit-oriented design titled "Going to San Bernardino?"
Cal Poly faculty member Richard Willson at 10:30 a.m. will talk about "Transit Oriented Development - Lessons Learned and Future Trends California TODs."
Faculty member Dohyung Kim will later discuss "The Impacts of Transit Oriented Development: From Regional Land Use Perspective."
"So far most of our country's policy is about automobiles," Kim said. "We want to develop the community with transit and automobiles, but with a focus on transit."
Jesus Barajas, graduate urban planning student at Cal Poly, will discuss "Regional Bicycle Planning in Los Angeles County: An Analysis of the Metro Bicycle Transportation Strategic Plan."
"The goal of this symposium is to educate and bring different research out into light," Barajas said. "The big topic is environmentalism and how transpiration fits into that whole puzzle."
Additional lectures will include Cal Poly faculty member Cornelius Nuworsoo disussing "Lessons for Transforming Planned California High-speed Rail Stations to Major Activity Hubs" and Cal Poly student Kevin Fang discussing "Accessibility of Rail Stations under Alternative Network Configurations and Potential for TOD in the San Francisco Bay Area."
Also expected to speak are representatives from Cal State San Bernardino, UC Irvine, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Caltrans, Southern California Association of Governments, Omnitrans, Metrolink and Southern California Edison.
IF YOU GO
A free transportation research conference is from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Cal State San Bernardino, Obershaw Dining Room - Commons Building, 5500 University Parkway.
The event is free and open to the public. Parking is $5.
People can RSVP on the Web site. Print out the invitation and place it on a dashboard to replace a parking pass.
Author: Sandra Emerson , Staff Writer
Incumbents Katie Roberts and Kathleen Brugger, easily secured their positions on the Chaffey Community College District board Tuesday.
Roberts, who is starting her third four-year term, received 12,971 votes. Brugger, a 16-year board member, received 12,114 votes.
Roberts said she and the rest of the board plan to work on getting the school through financially without losing students or faculty.
"We're a large entity, and we need to find ways to cut back on expenditures and find more money," Roberts said.
Coming in third, fourth and fifth were Ontario-Montclair school board member Paul Vincent Avila, Irene Hernandez-Blair and Christopher Agrella.
sandra.emerson @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-8555
Roberts, who is starting her third four-year term, received 12,971 votes. Brugger, a 16-year board member, received 12,114 votes.
Roberts said she and the rest of the board plan to work on getting the school through financially without losing students or faculty.
"We're a large entity, and we need to find ways to cut back on expenditures and find more money," Roberts said.
Coming in third, fourth and fifth were Ontario-Montclair school board member Paul Vincent Avila, Irene Hernandez-Blair and Christopher Agrella.
sandra.emerson @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-8555
Author: Sandra Emerson , Staff Writer
UPLAND - The 37-foot-tall "Scriven & Shafia" trebuchet sat like a giant on the outskirts of the Upland High School soccer field Wednesday.
The trebuchet, built by 17-year-olds Chris Shafia and Zack Scriven, launched pumpkins hundreds of feet across the pumpkin cluttered-field.
"Go big or go home," Scriven said.
A trebuchet is a lopsided see-saw with a weight on one end and a sling on the other, dating back to the Middle Ages.
About 200 physics and engineering students armed their trebuchets around the soccer field as part of the fourth annual Pumpkin Launch.
Scriven and Shafia's monstrous project was brought to campus on a trailer.
"It barely cleared all the lights," Shafia said. "We had to check them all last night to see if it'd clear all the street lights and telephone wires."
There were trebuchets of all shapes and sizes. Some launched pumpkins into the air, while others used smaller fruit such as oranges.
"It teaches you a lot about all the different physics you have to use," said Brad Schroeder, 17, who built the giant trebuchet with a group of other physics students.
This is Schroeder's first time launching pumpkins across the field.
"It's been launching pretty well," he said. "The first two launches we had, the first one went backwards and the second one went straight up, but since that we've fixed all those problems."
The trebuchet project allows students to actually apply physics theories to reality, physics teacher David Geller said.
"I love this project because we spend all year studying abstract physics theories that take place with no air resistance, no friction, and sometimes no gravity," Geller said. "It is not a law of physics that can be derived from the textbook."
Home Depot on Mountain and Eighth Street, the Cal Poly Pomona farm store and the University of La Verne donated money for supplies, making the event free to the school, Geller said.
sandra . emerson @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-8555
The trebuchet, built by 17-year-olds Chris Shafia and Zack Scriven, launched pumpkins hundreds of feet across the pumpkin cluttered-field.
"Go big or go home," Scriven said.
A trebuchet is a lopsided see-saw with a weight on one end and a sling on the other, dating back to the Middle Ages.
About 200 physics and engineering students armed their trebuchets around the soccer field as part of the fourth annual Pumpkin Launch.
Scriven and Shafia's monstrous project was brought to campus on a trailer.
"It barely cleared all the lights," Shafia said. "We had to check them all last night to see if it'd clear all the street lights and telephone wires."
There were trebuchets of all shapes and sizes. Some launched pumpkins into the air, while others used smaller fruit such as oranges.
"It teaches you a lot about all the different physics you have to use," said Brad Schroeder, 17, who built the giant trebuchet with a group of other physics students.
This is Schroeder's first time launching pumpkins across the field.
"It's been launching pretty well," he said. "The first two launches we had, the first one went backwards and the second one went straight up, but since that we've fixed all those problems."
The trebuchet project allows students to actually apply physics theories to reality, physics teacher David Geller said.
"I love this project because we spend all year studying abstract physics theories that take place with no air resistance, no friction, and sometimes no gravity," Geller said. "It is not a law of physics that can be derived from the textbook."
Home Depot on Mountain and Eighth Street, the Cal Poly Pomona farm store and the University of La Verne donated money for supplies, making the event free to the school, Geller said.
sandra . emerson @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-8555
Author: Monica Rodriguez , Staff Writer
POMONA - Voters of the Pomona Unified School District on Tuesday chose to keep two current Board of Education members and replace two others.
Board President Andrew Wong and board member Adrienne Konigar-Macklin will return for four-year terms.
Board members John Avila and Steve Lustro will be replaced by Roberta Perlman, who was elected to a four-year term, and Jason Rothman, who will fill a two-year term.
The 22-year-old Rothman said Wednesday that first on the list of tasks the new board must address is the appointment of a new superintendent, and he will prepare for that.
To do so "I need to meet with all the candidates for superintendent," Rothman said, adding he and Perlman should have an opportunity to meet with the six candidates for the job.
As for the 2009-10 budget, which district administrators have predicted will require more deep cuts, Rothman said: "I'm not making any decisions until I fully understand the budget and then take it from there."
Lustro, who came in second for the two-year seat, said he's disappointed but never presumed he had the race nailed down.
However, in speaking with members of the public during meetings related to the superintendent search, people seemed satisfied with the school district and its leadership, he said.
"The community was pleased and supportive of the direction the district is going in," Lustro said. "So seemingly everybody is on the same page and then two new board members are elected."
Board member John Avila, who was fourth in the race for one of three four-year seats, said groups such as the Associated Pomona Teachers played a role in the election.
"The teachers union had a position in there to change the direction of the vote," Avila said.
All though he wasn't re-elected, "I'm certainly not bitter," he said.
The new board will not have an easy time, Avila said.
"The future is going to be a challenge," he said adding that regardless of who supported the candidates' campaigns, "I hope they keep the best interest of the kids at heart. ... I hope they all vote their conscience."
Board President Andrew Wong said there is a great deal of work ahead.
"I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work," he said.
monica . rodriguez @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-9336
Board President Andrew Wong and board member Adrienne Konigar-Macklin will return for four-year terms.
Board members John Avila and Steve Lustro will be replaced by Roberta Perlman, who was elected to a four-year term, and Jason Rothman, who will fill a two-year term.
The 22-year-old Rothman said Wednesday that first on the list of tasks the new board must address is the appointment of a new superintendent, and he will prepare for that.
To do so "I need to meet with all the candidates for superintendent," Rothman said, adding he and Perlman should have an opportunity to meet with the six candidates for the job.
As for the 2009-10 budget, which district administrators have predicted will require more deep cuts, Rothman said: "I'm not making any decisions until I fully understand the budget and then take it from there."
Lustro, who came in second for the two-year seat, said he's disappointed but never presumed he had the race nailed down.
However, in speaking with members of the public during meetings related to the superintendent search, people seemed satisfied with the school district and its leadership, he said.
"The community was pleased and supportive of the direction the district is going in," Lustro said. "So seemingly everybody is on the same page and then two new board members are elected."
Board member John Avila, who was fourth in the race for one of three four-year seats, said groups such as the Associated Pomona Teachers played a role in the election.
"The teachers union had a position in there to change the direction of the vote," Avila said.
All though he wasn't re-elected, "I'm certainly not bitter," he said.
The new board will not have an easy time, Avila said.
"The future is going to be a challenge," he said adding that regardless of who supported the candidates' campaigns, "I hope they keep the best interest of the kids at heart. ... I hope they all vote their conscience."
Board President Andrew Wong said there is a great deal of work ahead.
"I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work," he said.
monica . rodriguez @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-9336
Author: Neil Nisperos , Staff Writer
CHINO - With Chino Valley Unified expecting state cuts to education, it is busy looking to boost revenue by looking outside of the box.
This has meant the recent consideration of a variety of alternative revenue sources, which includes the possibility of lucrative advertising partnerships with companies looking to sell their product and the potential for corporate sponsorships.
John Lynde, school district revenue committee chairman, recently presented a host of these options to the school board.
"One of the reasons we're doing the (alternative revenue) presentations is to make everyone aware of the budget situation, not only in reducing our programs and staff, but raising revenue (in) an attempt to enlist everyone in the campaign," said John Lynde, school district director of media services and chairman of the district Revenue Committee.
In recent months, the district has cut about $33 million from its budget.
Meanwhile, it is engaged in debate over how it should solicit advertisers to market products at school sites, stadiums and athletic equipment.
Among the places product advertising could be found at district schools are lunch-tray liners, floor mats, educational materials, assembly programs and stadium banners as well as on the side of school walls and buses, officials said.
Board member Michael Calta expressed reservation over the exposure of advertising material to children in the classroom.
"I don't want to target the kids," he said. "It doesn't make any sense. They're not the ones the advertisers want. They can see it outside the fence. They don't need to see it in the classroom, which to me is a sacred place."
Lynde said the committee will take the board's concerns into consideration before they present a follow-up report at the next board meeting.
"A couple of the board members had preferred not to target students, but to aim advertising campaigns at parents, and that's something we can take into account," he said.
Lynde said the committee is unsure of exactly how much money could be raised for the cash-strapped district.
"Hopefully, it will be beyond our wildest expectations," he said.
Chino Valley Unified Superintendent Wayne Joseph said he believes there are more "dark days" ahead when it comes to the budget.
"It is incumbent on us to look for other streams of revenue," Joseph said.
Other alternative revenue source ideas include:
The solicitation of financial sponsorships for students, schools and programs.
Solicitation of donations from the public.
Corporate naming opportunities for district buildings or school programs.
The rental use of district facilities for the purposes of law enforcement training, film and television productions, youth sports organizations and use by community or career colleges.
neil . nisperos @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-9356
This has meant the recent consideration of a variety of alternative revenue sources, which includes the possibility of lucrative advertising partnerships with companies looking to sell their product and the potential for corporate sponsorships.
John Lynde, school district revenue committee chairman, recently presented a host of these options to the school board.
"One of the reasons we're doing the (alternative revenue) presentations is to make everyone aware of the budget situation, not only in reducing our programs and staff, but raising revenue (in) an attempt to enlist everyone in the campaign," said John Lynde, school district director of media services and chairman of the district Revenue Committee.
In recent months, the district has cut about $33 million from its budget.
Meanwhile, it is engaged in debate over how it should solicit advertisers to market products at school sites, stadiums and athletic equipment.
Among the places product advertising could be found at district schools are lunch-tray liners, floor mats, educational materials, assembly programs and stadium banners as well as on the side of school walls and buses, officials said.
Board member Michael Calta expressed reservation over the exposure of advertising material to children in the classroom.
"I don't want to target the kids," he said. "It doesn't make any sense. They're not the ones the advertisers want. They can see it outside the fence. They don't need to see it in the classroom, which to me is a sacred place."
Lynde said the committee will take the board's concerns into consideration before they present a follow-up report at the next board meeting.
"A couple of the board members had preferred not to target students, but to aim advertising campaigns at parents, and that's something we can take into account," he said.
Lynde said the committee is unsure of exactly how much money could be raised for the cash-strapped district.
"Hopefully, it will be beyond our wildest expectations," he said.
Chino Valley Unified Superintendent Wayne Joseph said he believes there are more "dark days" ahead when it comes to the budget.
"It is incumbent on us to look for other streams of revenue," Joseph said.
Other alternative revenue source ideas include:
The solicitation of financial sponsorships for students, schools and programs.
Solicitation of donations from the public.
Corporate naming opportunities for district buildings or school programs.
The rental use of district facilities for the purposes of law enforcement training, film and television productions, youth sports organizations and use by community or career colleges.
neil . nisperos @inlandnewspapers.com
(909) 483-9356
From State Supt. desk:
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell Wednesday released the following statement after the California State Senate passed SBX5 1 which will help California compete for $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009:
"Race to the Top presents California with an unprecedented opportunity to boldly reform our public education system so that we can improve student academic success and further our efforts to close the achievement gap.
"I congratulate the California State Senate for its passage of SBX5 1, and I applaud Governor Schwarzenegger for his leadership and partnership as we advocate for education reforms that will benefit California students and strengthen California's competitiveness for Race to the Top funds.
"While last night's Senate approval of this bill is a major step forward, we should not lose sight of the hard work that remains ahead of us to win the Race to the Top. I look forward to working with the California State Assembly to gain approval of this measure. I also remain committed to working closely with the Governor, the Legislature, the State Board of Education, and our education community to develop an innovative and effective Race to the Top application."
SBX5 1 is a bipartisan measure that deletes the prohibition of using data to evaluate teachers and administrators and implements other strategies to help low- performing schools.
ARRA was signed into law in February by the President. The entire ARRA spending and tax package to benefit the nation's schools includes more than $100 billion for elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education. California already is eligible for $7 billion in ARRA funding to benefit prekindergarten through grade twelve public education in the state. Race to the Top is a competitive grant program of ARRA that will provide the largest amount of money the federal government has ever offered specifically geared toward education reform. The funding is specifically intended for selected states to use in order to make systemic changes at the state level that would improve teaching and learning statewide. For more information on Race to the Top and ARRA, please visit http://www.cde.ca.gov/ar/er/.
Senator Bob Huff (R - Diamond Bar) announced Wednesday his measure Senate Bill 1-5X, was approved by the State Senate. Jointly authored with three other Senate Education Committee members, the bill calls for bold and innovative reforms to California's public education system and makes California competitive for much needed federal Race to the Top (RTTT) grants.
SB 1-5X's major provisions include:
n Establishing a plan for turning around the bottom 5 percent of California's persistently lowest-performing schools.
n Removes the cap on the number of charter schools authorized to operate in California and establishes a working group to make recommendations on charter school financial reporting and audits.
n Authorizes open enrollment options for students stuck in schools that are identified as low-performing, defined to be those in Program Improvement and ranked in deciles 1 to 3. This provision was modeled after Senator Huff's SB 266 (2009).
SB 1-5X now moves on to the Assembly.
Senator Bob Huff is the Vice-Chair of the Senate Education Committee and serves as the Senate Republican Caucus Chair. He represents portions of Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties. You can follow Senator Huff on Twitter @bobhuff99.
From the desk of the Center for Education Reform:
WASHINGTON, DC - In response to President Barack Obama's remarks today on his Administration's education reform initiatives and Race to the Top competition, Center for Education Reform president Jeanne Allen released the following statement:
Today, President Obama championed his administration's education reform initiatives in a Wisconsin speech, focusing on states that he claims are leading the charge for education reform.
The Obama Administration has jumped on board the charter school bandwagon and, in doing so, is telling states they must do better and create or fix laws in order to compete for their share of $4.3 billion in federal "Race to the Top" funds.
As admirable as the Obama administration's policy on charters may appear to be, the President and his Education Secretary are, too often, giving states credit for talking about charter schools rather than actually changing laws to improve the likelihood that children will have real school choice.
For example, Education Secretary Arne Duncan's description of reforms in Tennessee, Rhode Island, Indiana, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois has been misleading. While the Secretary has said that 'numerous states have adopted reforms that would have been almost unthinkable a year ago,' this is simply not the case.
No state cited in this popular mythology has revoked limits on the number of charters allowed to open this year. Several, in fact, merely fulfilled budgetary promises of charter funding after having first wiped them off the books.
In reality, most of the nation's 40 charter laws will need dramatic legislative changes to develop robust charter laws that actually allow for the growth of the types of schools both President Obama and Secretary Duncan routinely credit with raising academic achievement and turning around students' lives.
We want to see states get bold and adopt strong charter laws - which everyone knows how to do, but often aren't courageous enough to buck the status quo, the unions, and even continued ignorance of what precisely a charter school is. But that isn't happening.
For President Obama and his Education Secretary to claim victory before "Race" participants have even reached the starting gate is disappointing.
It is time that President Obama and Secretary Duncan stop championing half measures and start demanding real results and bold changes in state laws.
Listen up live theater lovers, Colony High students are putting on a comedy performace of "Leading Ladies" for two weeks.
Performances begin at 7 p.m. Nov. 5 and 6 followed by 8 p.m. performances on Nov. 7 at the school, 3850 E. Riverside Drive, Ontario.
The show goes on again at 7 p.m. Nov. 12-13 and 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. Nov. 14.
Tickets are $10.00 at the door, presale at Colony for students with ASB card is $6 without ASB is $7.
Information: (909) 930-2929 or via email arik.boles@cjuhsd.k12.ca.us
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