Sutton’s recent editorial: Enough already!

Re: Marsha Sutton’s column of Sept. 11, 2008

As PTA president of Del Mar Hills Academy, and a former parent at both the Hills and the Heights, I found Marsha Sutton’s most recent editorial disturbing. Instead of offering a sincere welcome to our incoming superintendent, Dr. Sharon McClain, she seems intent on berating some undisclosed, apparently small group of parents for a lack of “open, civil discourse” in this school district. In fact, she says, “sneaky is the operative word...”

So I want to address hidden agendas and a lack of full disclosure regarding Sutton’s reporting on DMUSD politics. Specifically, has Sutton ever clarified in print the fact that two of her children attended Del Mar Heights and that, as a result, she is understandably biased in favor of the Del Mar Heights point of view? As Marsha has pointed out to me herself, she writes an editorial, so she has every right to air her own personal opinions. And I’m sure we can all agree that editorials have their place in news organizations. However, Marsha is listed in the Carmel Valley News and Del Mar Village Voice’s “masthead” as its “Senior Education Writer,” which would seem to contradict the very fact that she writes opinion pieces. I would thus suggest that Sutton’s editorial board take the steps necessary to clarify exactly what her official role is at the paper.

Another example of Sutton’s bias was her discussion of Del Mar Heights as “coincidental home to three school board members.” Two of these three school board members just COINCIDENTALLY ran together… with the express purpose of firing Tom Bishop, whom they felt had spent too much time attacking and undermining the efforts of their Del Mar Heights principal. Whether their concerns were justified or not could be debated endlessly, I’m sure, but the school board members’ efforts to get elected are hardly “coincidental.” Then this past spring, the board appointed a THIRD Del Mar Heights parent to replace former school board member Linda Crawford…another fairly well-orchestrated political maneuver, it would seem to me (although I believe that, at first blush, Mr. Doug Perkins is doing an admirable job of remaining fair and even-handed in his approach).

But as I’ve noted before in this paper, “seeming” is everything; what continues to be a source of discontent in this district is the PERCEPTION that the school board represents the views of only one school, because the majority of its members come from that school, and that the main journalistic voice on education in this community is also a Del Mar Heights parent. Surely Sutton can understand that.

And let me clarify a point that I think Marsha Sutton also manages to muddy in her article. Just because many of us in this community object to perceived biases among the school board and the local newspaper does NOT mean that we, ipso facto, despise or in any way wish the parents, administrators, or especially the children of Del Mar Heights ill. In fact, I believe I can speak for my own parent constituency at the Hills in saying that many of us know, like, and respect our counterparts at the Heights.

That is another reason that I find Sutton’s article so disturbing…and potentially damaging…to the community, particularly her comment about “the defamation of Del Mar Heights School, where parents and staff have been deliberately ostracized by principals, teachers, and parents from other schools in the district.” I know that parents at Del Mar Hills found Sutton’s above statement ludicrous. And I think it is an insult to the faculty members of every school in this district to suggest that teachers would let district politics get in the way of their professional dedication and their interactions with their colleagues at other schools.

And that goes for parent leaders as well; just yesterday, I had a great time sitting right next to the PTA president for Del Mar Heights, with whom I share a real friendship and an easy rapport, at a district strategic planning meeting. So I’m wondering where Marsha obtained her information and for what purpose her accusations are intended?

Now, with regard to Tom Bishop, I’ll tell you where “grudges die hard in Del Mar” – right here in Sutton’s columns. I’m pleased to report that most of Tom’s tenure was either before my time in the schools or during that blissful period when I was unaware of rancorous district politics.

So by watching his record denigrated again by Sutton and watching her complain again about his ex-supporters, I must note with bewilderment that the person who can’t seem to get over Tom Bishop is….Marsha Sutton. So here’s a Hot News Flash: the Tom Bishop era is over, a fact Sutton can celebrate (privately, please!) and MOVE ON! This pot doesn’t need to be stirred anymore, and I, for one, am tired of reading about it.

And as for Sutton’s new DMUSD school board —one that includes the candidates she championed personally — the jury remains out on whether they can or will tackle the litany of difficult issues Sutton rightly noted that they face. To date, the only policies of note they’ve managed to promulgate are the firing of one superintendent and the hiring of another…plus the sale of the Shores property at a price far beneath what they could have realized. Meaningful, multi-year decisions on enrichment funding? Support for the Del Mar Schools Education Foundation? The mounting budget deficit? Finding a new district office? On theseissues, we’ve come up empty-handed so far. In fact, as parent leader of Del Mar Hills, I can tell you that they have even stymied DMUSD management attempts to draw up a timeline for hiring a new principal at the Hills this fall. They apparently can’t decide…six weeks into the school year…if they’re going to let us hire a new permanent principal…or a second interim at the Hills.

But enough already…from all of us nay-sayers. What this cranky old parent is looking for is some real journalistic integrity about Sutton’s biases and some serious reporting about the BRIGHTER, more positive side of our school district. I challenge Sutton to write an article about the cooperative and united efforts to improve the education of our children that are going on by the dozens among schools in our district right now! Let’s put the past behind us and REALLY help Sharon McClain be successful, starting with a clean-up of the journalistic atmosphere in which she has to work! Sutton’s biases and divisiveness should simply no longer be tolerated.

Kerry Traylor
PTA President, Del Mar Hills Academy

Regular Board Meeting • September 24, 2008

Regular Board Meeting
Del Mar Hills Academy – Multi-Purpose Room
14085 Mango Drive
Del Mar, CA 92014
Wednesday, September 24, 2008, 5:45 pm
(Click here for map)

CALL TO ORDER - OPEN SESSION – 4:00 pm

1. Board president calls for blue speaker slips
2. Public input concerning items on the closed session agenda

Adjourn to Closed Session (In the Del Mar Hills Academy - Administration Office Conference Room, 14085 Mango Drive, Del Mar, CA 92014)

CALL TO ORDER - CLOSED SESSION

Closed Session Agenda:

1.1    Public Employee Performance Evaluation (G.C. 54957)

1.2    Public Employee Performance Evaluation, Title: Superintendent (G.C. 54957)

Adjournment of Closed Session:

RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION

3. REPORT OF ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION:

CALL TO ORDER, REGULAR MEETING OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES - 5:45 P.M.

More Information:

• Full Agenda and Board Packet

Wishing Sharon McClain best of luck — She’ll need it

Source: Carmel Valley News

By Marsha Sutton

Those who remember when Alan Bersin took over as head of the San Diego Unified School District will recall the intensity of the rancor and little else, thanks to the media’s voyeuristic, almost exclusive reporting of sideshows and sound bites.

Bersin’s concentration on literacy, teacher training and principal accountability has been all but forgotten – although these back-to-basics reform efforts are now recognized across the country as the hallmark of improvement for struggling urban schools.

Because Bersin’s management style could sometimes be abrasive, what’s remembered is not the success of his ideas but rather the ways in which these changes were implemented.

Board meetings became circus acts as trustees, parents, teachers and union representatives engaged in legendary fiery interactions. The board, split 3-2, even at one time hired a psychologist to mediate, to try to restore dignity and order to the divided governing body.

But in an odd sort of way, the colorful players in that melodrama were honest. There was genuine dislike among factions that no one tried to hide. At least you knew where everyone stood; no one could be accused of duplicity.

When you compare the openly acrimonious climate during the Bersin years to the insidious divisiveness in the Del Mar Union School District, the public battles at SD Unified seem in hindsight refreshingly transparent.

What makes the situation so bad in Del Mar is the covert nature of the attempts at disruption. Sneaky is the operative word – ironic, given that some of the same people regularly attack the DMUSD school board for being too secretive.

The genesis of this unhealthy situation began during the 2006 election. After a long-reigning school board majority lost power, the anti-reform education establishment went into shock and took the “sore loser” label to new heights with a fearsome determination to discredit the victors and their supporters.

Take, for example, a blog that was established just after former superintendent Tom Bishop’s contract was bought out earlier this year. Begun as a sort of chat room for pro-Bishop extremists to vent against the new board, the site was revamped after the rhetoric became so inflamed that liability issues were a concern.

Established in March 2008, it’s now been transformed into a sophisticated presentation of DMUSD issues. It even appears, falsely, like a legitimate arm of the district, with its header: “Del Mar Union School District News.”

Postings are timely, complete and extensive. Just days after the DMUSD board approved the contract for newly appointed superintendent Sharon McClain, the blog added information from her former district, Hermosa Beach, that was critical of her – and appeared to call into question the board’s judgment in selecting her.

Behind the site’s benign façade, the same people, with the same agenda, rule. Grudges die hard in Del Mar.

Try to find out exactly who’s behind the blog and you run into a solid brick wall. All the casual observer can uncover from the site is the following explanation of the bloggers and their objective: “About Me -- Just the parents of kids in Del Mar schools. We were asleep at the wheel but now we're awake.”

Awake, but in hiding behind electronic curtains of anonymity. It’s a stealth attack on public figures – a cowardly way to run an offensive.

Some individuals have certainly been upfront about their anti-board positions. Let’s give some credit to incoming DMUSD board member Comischell Bradley-Rodriguez, who at least has the guts to sit next to vocal board critic and long-time Del Mar resident Mary Farrell at the last school board meeting, showing her allegiance, in case anyone had any doubts, to the old world order.

Bradley-Rodriguez has made it abundantly clear in numerous public statements that she disagrees with many of the new board’s decisions, calling Bishop “our beloved superintendent” in a recent letter to the editor. No hidden agenda here.

Bishop was hardly beloved by the majority of voters in this district who in 2006 voted out of office a rubber-stamp board whose unconditional support for Bishop kept trustees from properly analyzing his proposals and made them unable or unwilling to recognize that a corrosive culture of fear had infected the district.

The long-shot victory of a new board majority was like opening the windows on a dank house that had been closed for far too long. The airing was refreshing, exhilarating and way overdue.

Those who would criticize this current board for a lack of transparency and unwillingness to listen to the public would do well to remember that it was one of Annette Easton’s first acts as board president to move Public Comment to the beginning of every board meeting, rather than at the end where Bishop placed it on every agenda.

Easton told me years ago that making people wait for hours before they could address the board was disrespectful of their time – not to mention the number of people who were so sleepy by the time Public Comment rolled around that they had left the meeting long before they were permitted to speak.

So those who choose to speak at board meetings today and level harsh criticism at school board members can thank Easton for allowing them to vent at a reasonable hour. If not for her, they’d be sitting there until 10:45 p.m. – waiting, rather impatiently I’d venture to guess – to bash her, with few if any members of the public still there to hear them.

No one expects 100 percent agreement. But when documents posted on the DMUSD Web site from the district’s superintendent search firm reveal parents and teachers slinging mud while simultaneously demanding re-spect, it seems a glaring double standard.

School board members were rewarded for their insistence that the postings be made public with vicious attacks on their character by critics who refuse to divulge their names.

Is it too much to ask for open, civil discourse in these communities known for highly educated parents whose command of the English language certainly goes beyond juvenile name-calling and lame characterizations?

Democracy is messy

Some might long for the days when things seemed to run smoothly under Bishop. Dictatorship is an efficient form of government. In contrast, democracy is messy, especially when its people are just learning how to function on their own after years of autocratic rule.

As much as this board has been unfairly attacked, I’ll be the first to admit that there are legitimate complaints. There are times this past year when we’ve winced at the maddening inefficiency – unsteady zigzagging, meetings that sometimes drift and ramble, an excessive number of last-minute special meetings, lots of questions, lengthy deliberation and uncertainty.

But open government, no matter how sloppy, is far better than a repressive regime.

Thank goodness the children run on auto-pilot – achieving at astonishing levels, thriving intellectually and socially, and blessedly oblivious to the two polarized camps fighting for the hearts and minds of the undecided and uninitiated. Exceptional teachers and high standards for academic excellence are so far insulating students from the conflicts.

But just as Alan Bersin’s personality dominated the other, more important, story of progress in the classroom, Del Mar risks being looked upon in 10 years’ time as a district where bitter upheavals characterized the culture, one where politics overshadowed achievement and student success was lost amidst the chaos of strife and sabotage.

There’s a long list of critical issues confronting McClain – the budget deficit, preserving Basic Aid, enrichment staffing and programming problems, solidifying the reputation of the Del Mar Schools Education Foundation, equity among schools, the sale of the Shores property, finding a new district office, the implementation of a foreign language program, boundary and under-enrollment concerns at the schools west of the freeway, as well as the usual number of unexpected emergencies.

But there are issues she should not have to confront. One of the most toxic is the need to address the defamation of Del Mar Heights School where parents and staff have been deliberately ostracized by principals, teachers and parents from other schools in the district.

As the coincidental home to three school board members, and with a maverick, independent-thinking principal at the helm, Del Mar Heights has been perceived as a hotbed of insurgency. Yet Heights parents are hard-working and dedicated, teachers are loyal and devoted to the needs of the children, the principal’s drive to support the quality of her instructional team is unquestioned, and student success is well-documented.

What will McClain do when she learns that many teachers from other Del Mar schools refuse to sit near teachers from Del Mar Heights at staff and in-service meetings? How will she address the unspoken, tacit approval some of the district’s principals give to their staff and parents for this kind of unacceptable behavior? Will she allow the underground smearing to continue?

Every political body has its dissenters. But what makes this case so unique, and rancid, is the acrimony that lives and breaths just below the surface, undercutting efforts to move forward, fostering tension and conflict, exacerbating the discord, and effectively keeping old grudges alive. It’s hard to know friend from foe when so many people smile through gritted teeth.

As this new superintendent prepares to take the reins, she’ll begin to address a monumental list of daunting educational priorities. But over-riding the budget, staffing, enrollment and facilities issues will be the urgent need to calm the unrest, expose those who seek to destabilize the district and its school board at every opportunity, overcome the political friction from within the ranks of her own staff, and bring principals and teachers together as a team.

Expectations and attitudes start at the top. McClain will need to work hard to defuse built-up animosity and mistrust. Hopefully, she will have zero tolerance for staff dissension, which filters down to parents.

What Del Mar sorely needs now is to become one united district, intolerant of anything less than full cooperation, support and mutual respect – because what the children have built up through hard work and academic excellence, the adults can tear down with unfounded gossip, suspicion and fear.

Into this morass comes Dr. Sharon McClain, by all accounts a skilled administrator who is fair, self-assured, experienced and intelligent. But all that may not be enough.

We wish her lots of luck as well. She’ll need it, to clean up this mess.

Del Mar Union School District approves new superintendent’s contract

Source: Carmel Valley News

By Matt Liebowitz

At its Sept. 3 meeting, the board of trustees of the Del Mar Union School District unanimously voted to approve the contract for new superintendent Dr. Sharon McClain.

McClain’s effective date of employment will be Sept. 17, allowing her time to transition from her current position as superintendent of Hermosa Beach City School District, a post she’s maintained since 2003.

Under the contract, McClain will be paid $168,000 for the 2008–2009 school year. Her salary will be $178,000 for the following year, $183,000 for the 2010-2011 year, and $188,000 for the year beginning in fall 2011.

If the board, in its year-end evaluation, deems McClain’s performance “superior,” they may approve an additional merit-based salary increase up to 6 percent of her annual salary.

To further aid in her transition to Del Mar, the board, at the beginning of her contract, will provide McClain with a stipend of $1,500 per month for six months for temporary housing while she relocates.

The board will also reimburse McClain for expenses tied to relocation to the county of San Diego or San Clemente within 24 months, not to exceed $10,000. The reimbursement covers only moving expenses, and cannot be applied to any costs associated with the purchase of a new residence. Per contract requirements, one of McClain’s first orders of business will be to submit an initial analysis to the board regarding district needs to be addressed during the first year. McClain must turn in the analysis within two months of her date of employment.

Though she’s in the process of tying up loose ends in Hermosa Beach—including hiring a new superintendent to replace her—McClain was present at the meeting, and also made rounds of the district’s schools on the first day of school, Aug. 25. “We appreciate the fact that even though she’s in transition, she’s giving us her time here,” said Interim Superintendent Janet Bernard, who also said that McClain had already scheduled several meetings this week to get up to speed.

School district begins search for a new home

Source: Del Mar Tmes

11:54 AM
By Jim Kerr

Prompted by the sale of its Ninth Street or Shores property to the city of Del Mar, Del Mar Union School District trustees have taken initial steps to find a new home for their district offices.

At their Sept. 3 meeting, board trustees received a report from Carmel Valley architect Frisco White, mapping out in detail, estimates of space requirements for various district components and departments.

The district is somewhat under the gun to find a replacement site for its current headquarters. Under its purchase agreement with Del Mar, the district will have up to three years to relocate.

"We have to get going on this," said Trustee Janet Lamborghini.

White interviewed all members of district departments, gathering information on their functions and space requirements.

White acknowledged space was at a premium in the aging Ninth Street buildings. He found one employee working in a converted closet. White ascertained the district would need at least triple its current 12,000-square feet. He presented two options one that included the district's employee daycare center, which is located next to district offices, and another without the daycare center. White also said the district should be looking at either taking over or sharing space with one of the district's current school sites.

"Buying new land is very difficult in Carmel Valley," said White, "and Pardee would probably charge an arm and a leg."

Under a Carmel Valley master plan developed by Pardee, land has been set aside in the Pacific Highlands Ranch area for a possible ninth Del Mar district school.

Rodger Smith, the district's director of facilities and planning questioned the viability of that site for district offices.

"We don't own the land, but it has been set aside for us," he said. "But I'm not optimistic Pardee would let us use it for another use."

Smith said the master plan also calls for a community joint-use park. White also noted a lack of proper access to the site and issues with a yet-to-be-completed State Route 56 interchange project.

The trustees will reexamine what several agreed has become a complicated topic at their October board meeting with additional input from their new superintendent Sharon McClain.

No school board election

Trustees had little difficulty in filling two upcoming vacancies on the school board, that of Janet Lamborghini and interim Trustee Doug Perkins. As has been the case in several other area elections including the Del Mar and Solana Beach city council races, the same number of people filed, equaled the vacancies. With little fanfare, trustees accepted Comischell Rodriguez and Perkins as trustees for the next four years.

Rodriquez is a Carmel Valley resident with three children, one in the Del Mar district and two attending high school in the San Dieguito Union High School District. A realtor with Keller Williams Realty, Rodriguez is a former bilingual classroom teacher and has a degree in music. She is also a past PTA president in both local school districts.

Perkins was chosen as an interim board member in May after the departure of Linda Crawford, who resigned from the board in March following the contract buyout of former district superintendent Tom Bishop.

Lamborghini, a 16-year veteran of the board was also a critic of the Bishop buyout.

Not holding an election this November is expected to save the district up to $10,000.

McClain contract approved

The meeting also featured the introduction of Bishop's replacement, Sharon McClain, whose official first day in office will be Wednesday, Sept. 17. Trustees approved a four-year contract with the former Hermosa Beach superintendent that will pay her $168,000 for the first year and $178,000 the following year. McClain's salary will increase $5,000 in each of the contract's final two years. Performance evaluations could increase the yearly salary up to 6 percent. McClain will also receive full health and insurance benefits and 30-days of paid vacation per year.

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Jim Kerr
Jim is the editor for the Del Mar Times, Carmel Valley Leader and Rancho Santa Fe Record. Jim can be reached by e-mail.

Family and friends gather to celebrate the life of beloved 7-year-old Max Mikulak

Source: Carmel Valley News

By Catherine Kolonko

Young Max loved power and strength like any little boy. It gave him inspiration.

And so when a large contingent of his family and friends gathered at a Del Mar park Sunday to celebrate his short but full life, two biplanes plowed through the sky in a show of might that would make Max smile. Their engines roared and the crowd cheered and applauded for 7-year-old Max Mikulak who died recently after a 4-year battle with cancer.

Max Mikulak (center) with his family.

“He was just a really sweet, nice little boy,” said Max’s mother Melissa Mikulak, who wore his Indiana Jones ball cap that he received in June for his birthday.

“It was a beautiful day,” the boy’s father, Andy Mikulak, said about the gathering in Max’s name. “Everything we wanted to happen obviously happened. It was the right way to honor him.”

In 2004 Max was diagnosed with high-risk Stage 4 neuroblastoma, an aggressive pediatric cancer that is difficult to cure. For about a year after traditional treatment the disease disappeared, but it returned in 2006.

The Mikulaks of Carmel Valley chronicled Max’s struggles and triumphs with his disease on an Internet blog read widely by family and friends and even strangers in other states. A video clip captured happier times of Max cheerfully singing “Ring of Fire” into a karaoke microphone. Then, sadly the couple posted this entry less than a week before he died on Aug. 31.

Family and friends gathered Sept. 7 at Seagrove Park to celebrate Max’s life.

“Max is dying. He has been dying for some time, of course. Since 2004, he has been battling a cancer that had a terrible cure rate to start with, then he relapsed in 2006, then progressed this summer. Now, the neuroblastoma seems to be spreading rapidly to soft-tissue areas of his abdomen (liver, kidneys), despite continual treatment.”

Another post was a quote from Max’s sister Hannah.

“If I had a wish, I would wish that Max's cancer would go away and stay away forever.”

The wish, no doubt, of everyone who came to Seagrove Park and shared laughter and some tears as they remembered Max that day. Most importantly, Max’s parents wanted a celebration of Max’s life and his good and loving nature, maintained until the end despite his painful struggles.

Two large photographs of a beaming Max flanked a microphone where several people spoke about the boy and how he touched their lives. Lisa Sturt, Max’s teacher at Solana Highlands Elementary, told the crowd that everyone who met him immediately fell in love with him.

“And how could one not? He was light and goodness and joy… an angel in our midst,” she said.

His enthusiasm and smile were infectious, she said.

“If asked to do something, he’d respond, “Aye, aye Captain!”

The day after the celebration for Max, hundreds of people participated in a walk in Balboa Park to raise money for the MagicWater Project. Just over $18,000 was collected from the fundraiser, which was sponsored by RealAge.com, Andy Mikulak’s employer.

All around the gathering there were symbols of Max and the things he loved. Many who attended wore orange, his favorite color. Others wore references to his favorite movies, “Star Wars and Indiana Jones.” A table held model airplanes, a toy train, treasure chest and dinosaur and photographs of a happy Max, including one with famous skater Tony Hawk in motion.

In another display of might, a trained hawk flew over onlookers and then perched in a nearby tree. For a finale, the meat-eating bird flew to its trainer and snatched a morsel from his hand. Earlier, Max’s fellow cub scouts performed a mock aerial salute. Each hoisted a toy jet above his head and marched as if in a missing man formation traditionally flown in memory of a fallen pilot.

Wanting to save his son and other children from cancer’s awful clutch, Andy Mikulak cofounded the MagicWater Project with Neil Hutchinson who also has a son with the same disease. It is a foundation dedicated to working with cancer researchers and oncologist to accelerate discoveries of potentially life-saving new drugs for children with relapsed neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma. The project funds clinical trials and other research on innovative, low toxicity treatments.

The day after the celebration for Max, a few hundred people participated in a walk in Balboa Park to raise money for the MagicWater Project. Just over $18,000 was collected from the fundraiser, which was sponsored by RealAge.com, Andy Mikulak’s employer.

More money is still coming in from the fundraiser and it will go toward the purchase of new imaging equipment at Rady Children’s Hospital that could provide quicker scans and results in the detection of cancer.

Andy Mikulak said he will turn his attention to raising the additional money needed to buy the scanner for Children’s Hospital, he said. While the money raised from the walk is symbolically significant it is only about 10 percent of the roughly $1.5 million estimated cost.

The Mikulaks plan to continue their efforts in the battle against childhood cancer and say they want their son to be remembered most of all for his loveable character.

Although Max could behave like a typical boy there was never any meanness to him, recalled his father. Throughout his struggles Max was always happiest when everyone around him was happy.

For Melissa, Max had a purpose that she wants others to remember: To live life to the fullest “because time is precious” she said. Then she repeated the words of encouragement so familiarly linked to their good-natured son, “We really did encourage him to live life to the max,” she said.

More information about Max and his family’s fight against childhood cancer can be found at the internet site magicwater.org.

Parents and staff want same values in a new principal

Source: The Beach Reporter

by Eric Michael Stitt
(Updated: Thursday, September 4, 2008 4:19 PM PDT)

In the wake of an administrative shuffle, a public meeting was held to discuss the qualities the community would like to see in new Hermosa Beach school hires.

After school Superintendent Sharon McClain took another job near San Diego, news also broke that the View principal was retiring and that the Valley principal would replace her. Also, the assistant principal at Valley moved to Rhode Island.

So, McClain will be hiring a new Valley principal and an interim superintendent before she leaves this month. But she wanted to get opinions from school staff and community members on what characteristics they would like to see in a new principal before she hires one.

Much to McClain and the School Board’s delight, the suggestions were very similar from both parents and teachers.

Last week, McClain invited the entire school staff to give their opinions for what makes a good principal and the kind of traits they’d like the new one to have. She said about 60 to 70 staff members shared their thoughts with her. Later that day, a little more than 10 community members and parents gave their suggestions, too.

“It’s important to involve the school community with hiring a new person,” McClain said. “I feel that’s important. Their concerns will help guide me.”

The staff and parents said they’d like the principal to have good listening skills, a sense of humor, quick problem-solving skills, be a team player, able to multitask, be a good communicator, honorable, passionate and have integrity.

School Board President Lance Widman said he was very pleased to see that the community and school staff have the same expectations of a new principal, which will help in the hiring process.

“We have a pretty good idea of the type of talent that could work well,” Widman said. “I was just very pleased to know what the people’s ideas are.”

McClain said school staff also wants her to find someone who has had teaching experience and is already a principal somewhere else. She said the most highly qualified people will be considered for the position.

“We’ve put it out there for people across the United States,” McClain said. “It will be somebody who has these qualifications, been a teacher, is already a principal and works well with people, and is interested in keeping the kids at the center of what’s being done.”

A committee made up of teachers, parents and School Board members will interview between five and 10 potential principals Sept. 15. Then McClain will interview the two or three applicants the committee preferred the most. This way the hiring is a joint effort with her having the final say on who will become the next principal.

“There is going to be a match between the person and the job,” McClain said. “The right person will display all the characteristics that are important.”

Once the new Valley principal is hired, he or she will have to hire an assistant principal, something McClain said should be done by that person only. Meanwhile the School District will continue to look for a permanent superintendent while the interim one takes over. A permanent one might not be hired until December, she said.

In the wake of an administrative shuffle, a public meeting was held to discuss the qualities the community would like to see in new Hermosa Beach school hires.

After school Superintendent Sharon McClain took another job near San Diego, news also broke that the View principal was retiring and that the Valley principal would replace her. Also, the assistant principal at Valley moved to Rhode Island.

So, McClain will be hiring a new Valley principal and an interim superintendent before she leaves this month. But she wanted to get opinions from school staff and community members on what characteristics they would like to see in a new principal before she hires one.

Much to McClain and the School Board’s delight, the suggestions were very similar from both parents and teachers.

Last week, McClain invited the entire school staff to give their opinions for what makes a good principal and the kind of traits they’d like the new one to have. She said about 60 to 70 staff members shared their thoughts with her. Later that day, a little more than 10 community members and parents gave their suggestions, too.

“It’s important to involve the school community with hiring a new person,” McClain said. “I feel that’s important. Their concerns will help guide me.”

The staff and parents said they’d like the principal to have good listening skills, a sense of humor, quick problem-solving skills, be a team player, able to multitask, be a good communicator, honorable, passionate and have integrity.

School Board President Lance Widman said he was very pleased to see that the community and school staff have the same expectations of a new principal, which will help in the hiring process.

“We have a pretty good idea of the type of talent that could work well,” Widman said. “I was just very pleased to know what the people’s ideas are.”

McClain said school staff also wants her to find someone who has had teaching experience and is already a principal somewhere else. She said the most highly qualified people will be considered for the position.

“We’ve put it out there for people across the United States,” McClain said. “It will be somebody who has these qualifications, been a teacher, is already a principal and works well with people, and is interested in keeping the kids at the center of what’s being done.”

A committee made up of teachers, parents and School Board members will interview between five and 10 potential principals Sept. 15. Then McClain will interview the two or three applicants the committee preferred the most. This way the hiring is a joint effort with her having the final say on who will become the next principal.

“There is going to be a match between the person and the job,” McClain said. “The right person will display all the characteristics that are important.”

Once the new Valley principal is hired, he or she will have to hire an assistant principal, something McClain said should be done by that person only. Meanwhile the School District will continue to look for a permanent superintendent while the interim one takes over. A permanent one might not be hired until December, she said.

Regular Board Meeting • September 3, 2008

Regular Board Meeting
Del Mar Hills Academy – Multi-Purpose Room
14085 Mango Drive
Del Mar, CA 92014
Wednesday, September 3, 2008, 5:45 pm
(Click here for map)

CALL TO ORDER - OPEN SESSION – 4:00 pm

1. Board president calls for blue speaker slips
2. Public input concerning items on the closed session agenda

Adjourn to Closed Session (In the Del Mar Hills Academy - Administration Office Conference Room, 14085 Mango Drive, Del Mar, CA 92014)

CALL TO ORDER - CLOSED SESSION

Closed Session Agenda:

1.1    Conference with Labor Negotiator – (Government Code 54957.6) Agency Designated Representative: Ricardo J. Soto, Best Best & Krieger, Unrepresented Employee: Superintendent (Permanent)

1.2    Conference with Labor Negotiator (G.C. 54957.6) Agency Designated Representatives: Janet Bernard, Interim Superintendent and Rodger Smith, Director of Personnel and Facilities; Employee Organization: Del Mar California Teachers Association

1.3    Conference with Legal Counsel – Existing Litigation (Government Code section 54956.9(a); One Case

Adjournment of Closed Session:

RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION

3. REPORT OF ACTION TAKEN IN CLOSED SESSION:

CALL TO ORDER, REGULAR MEETING OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES - 5:45 P.M.

7. CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION
   1. Preliminary Report, 2008 STAR Testing Results

10. BUSINESS AND FINANCE
    1. Board Approval, Contract Between Del Mar Union School District and Sharon McClain

More Information:

• Full Agenda
• Board Meeting Packet
• Item 10.1 - Sharon McClain contract
• Complete September 3 Meeting Audio
  

Good Night Sweet Max

As you rush around in the morning trying to get the kids ready for school, I ask you to keep in mind one Carmel Valley family, the Mikulaks.

Their 7-year old son, Max started second grade last week at Solana Highlands school.

He seemed to be doing well despite a relapse, but on Sunday night he died.

The type of cancer that Max had has a 50% survival rate, despite recent advances.

The type of cancer that Max had is essentially 100% curable in its early stages, but in the early stages there are no symptoms.

If all newborns were screened so that neuroblastoma could be caught early enough, the death rate would be nearly zero.

Max isn't the only child in our area with cancer.

• Noah Severns is a fourth grader at Del Mar Hills school with relapsed osteosarcoma.
• Carson Cloyd is a second grader at Ashley Falls school with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
• Steven Bell is a former Torrey Hills student, now at Carmel Valley Middle school, with brain cancer.

Today, September 1st, marks the first day of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

I encourage you to consider a donation to an organization that funds research into the causes and cures for childhood cancer.

Chili's Restaurants made a $50 million pledge to St. Jude Children's Research Hospitals. On September 29 of this month, if you dine at Chili's, they will donate 100% of their profits to St. Jude.

MagicWater Project, the organization that Max Mikulak's family co-founded, is a group of parents whose children have cancer who are bypassing the bureaucracy and trying to directly fund cancer research they believe has a chance to cure their children now.

The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation funds research into treatments for pediatric brain tumors, which are the number one cause of cancer death in children.

There are other organizations out there, but many of them fund adult as well as pediatric research, and most new drugs are available to adults sometimes years before the research is done for children. Children don't pay taxes and when it comes to doling out money, they stand at the end of the line.

And please remember the Mikulaks in your thoughts and prayers as they navigate the web of grief that awaits them in the coming days, weeks, months and years.

Good night sweet Max, and may flights of angels sing thee to thy rest...

More information:

• MagicWater Project
• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• Carmel Valley News Article about Max
• Mashed Potatoes for Breakfast - photos of Max
• Max's Cancer Blog
• The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation