Greater Orange News Service

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD


OUSD CONSULTANT GETS A HELPER CONSULTANT
In March 2006 the Orange Unified School Board approved $10,000 to pay business consultant Bob Sadler to conduct a three day workshop ($3,333 a day) for OUSD administrators and community members that led to the creation of the OUSD 3 year Strategic Plan. Among the plan's goals was a Facilities Bond Election for this November. Amid the state and national economic meltdown, a local Facilities Bond polled poorly and is at this time a no go. High priced consultant Sadler however is back, and his fee on the September 25, 2008 OUSD Agenda appears this time to be “only” $8,500 this time around. Could it be…a reduction in fees to local taxpayers? No, sorry. Following the Sadler $8,500 fee on page 13 of the OUSD Agenda is also a $5,500 fee for his “helper” Candace J. Simpson. The total hit to OUSD taxpayers for three days of the consultant duo is $14,000. That’s $4,666.66 a day in educational tax dollars for a three day workshop.

Sadler is an associate of consultant guru Dr. Alan Weiss who bills himself as the “The Million Dollar Consultant”. Weiss wrote the forward for a Sadler collaborative article that appears on the Weiss website (see links below) as one of Weiss’ Million Dollar Consultant Hot Tip articles. Weiss is the ultimate consultant; he is the consultant to the consultants! His advice includes advising consultants on how to get their “clients” to buy into the exorbitant consultant fees and how to consultant on “practically anything at any time”. He doesn’t boast being the “Million Dollar Consultant” for nothing.

Of course, the OUSD Trustees don’t do the direct negotiating with the high priced consultants, that is the job of the OUSD Administration. The OUSD Trustees just vote without question to continually spend the OUSD educational taxpayer money on these “million dollar consultants”. While new Superintendent Dr. Drier’s name is on the consultant request in the OUSD Board Agenda item, this is clearly parting shot to OUSD Taxpayers from former Superintendent Dr. Thomas Godley. Time will only tell if Drier buys into the ongoing taxpayer rip-off Consultant Culture that has seen OUSD Trustees vote to waste millions in educational tax dollars for at best mediocre state testing results that failed to produce any significant gains above the norm for Orange County or the state, while most other Orange County school district’s that did not invest their educational tax dollars in a Consultant Culture continue to out-performed OUSD on state testing.

For more information CLICK ON the web addresses below:

Bob Sadler article (with Weiss forward) on Weiss website:
Sadler Article

Weiss: How to Consult about practically anything at any time:
Consult on anything

Weiss: That’s more money than we budgeted
Bust the Budget

Weiss: Addressing Fee Issues in Sensitive Environments

Information on Alan Weiss “Million Dollar Club” meeting
At the Four Seasons Resort, Island of Nevis only “seven figure annually” are invited to the $15,000 per person:
MILLION DOLLAR CLUB

Weiss: From Six Figures to Seven workshop for consultants (with at least 2 years experience) to move up to million dollar salaries
Million Dollar Salary

Greater Orange Community Organization Metro Views editorial on Sadler fees: Metro Views

Bob Sandler’s Blog on his Cancer treatments:
Sandler Blog


INSIDE the September 11th OUSD Board Meeting
OUSD Administrative Presentation on Scores lacking

At the Orange Unified September 11, 2008 Board of Trustees Meeting, the OUSD Board and Greater Orange Community got the “spin” on the latest released 2008 California State testing scores for Orange Unified. While the presentation went over the details of slow progressive growth of OUSD scores, the presentation left out or glossed over some major issues facing OUSD. For starters, the graphs used by the OUSD Administration to compare OUSD to 10 other “compatible” Orange County districts failed to include the two top rated Orange County school districts- Los Alamitos Unified and Laguna Beach Unified. Using the OUSD Administrative “compatible” numbers, in English Language Arts and Math testing scores, OUSD is ranked 7th out of 10 in federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) scores. However, add the thousands of students in Los Alamitos and Laguna Beach (yes both in The OC, California, and the USA) and OUSD drops to 10th out of the 12 Orange County unified school districts, only slightly ahead of Garden Grove Unified and Santa Ana Unified, or in the bottom 20% of all Orange County unified districts.

Another fact not mentioned was that while in 2007 OUSD failed to meet 3 of 6 AYP Grade Span Criteria in English Language Arts and Math, in the latest 2008 AYP Grade Span Criteria for English Language Arts and Math, OUSD failed in 5 of the 6 criteria (for the state report CLICK ON: OUSD REPORT ).

While other omissions were evident in the OUSD Administrative report, the most glaring omission was no reporting on the 9 OUSD schools (representing 21% of the 43 OUSD schools) now identified by California as Program Improvement Schools. In Orange County unified districts (“compatible” or fully inclusive of all districts), only Santa Ana Unified has more state identified Program Improvement schools than Orange Unified. The presentation also failed to mention that this year’s scores from OUSD’s Taft Elementary now qualify it for the first time as a state identified Program Improvement School. The presentation also did not report that this year’s OUSD scores failed to remove any of the other 8 OUSD schools from the Program Improvement designation, including five OUSD schools that have been in Program Improvement since the millions of educational tax dollars spent on the failed OUSD Focus on Results consultant program. The never mentioned Program Improvement schools and the time as Program Improvement are: Elspanade ( 5 years); Fairhaven (5 years); Handy (3 years); Lampson (3 years); Prospect (4 years); Sycamore ( 5 years); Taft (1 year); Portola (5years); Yorba (5 years).

Lissa Smith vs .Steve Rocco: ROUND THREE
OUSD Trustee and Board Vice President of the Board Lissa Smith continued filling in for an ill Board President Wes Poutsma and continues spar and provoke lame duck OUSD Trustee Steve Rocco. When Rocco questioned the duties given to Superintendent Dr. Drier in a Consent Item that would appoint Drier as “Board Secretary”, Drier answered that it was a technicality. Pressing Drier, Rocco found it hard to believe it was a technicality as Drier repeated it was a technicality. Rocco asked for clarification from the on-the-clock OUSD Attorney Spencer Covert sitting in the audience, but was shut down by Smith who refused to let the attorney earn his keep by as she lectured Rocco that he got his answer. Later, Smith kept her recent record of abruptly adjourning the OUSD Board meeting as Rocco spoke. This time it was over Rocco’s monologue about his lawsuit appeal loss to OUSD over the Rocco Censure.

INSIDE the September 22, 2008 Board Meeting
Agenda Item 9 D (page 3): Walk to School Day Proclamation- read more about it CLICK ON: WALK TO SCHOOL

Consent Item 14L (page 50): Authorizing to pay the ill Wes Poutsma for missing the Sept 11th, 2008 meeting.


INSIDE the OUSD Budget

INSIDE’s EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH 2008:
$789,000 Total

2008 Attorney Fee Tally:
6/19/08 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
6/05/08 Miller, Brown & Dannis $ 40,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $150,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $200,000
2/07/08 Parker & Covert $100,000
11/15/07 Parker & Covert (for 1/08 to 6/08) $200,000
TOTAL $750,000


2008 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
7/24/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 10,000
4/17/08 Dr. Kenneth Stichter Speaker Fee $ 6,500
3/7/08 Dr. Kathleen Weigel Speaker Fee $ 8,000
9/25/08 Bob Sadler Consultant Fee $ 8,500
9/25/08 Candace Simpson-Sadler Helper $ 5,500
$ 39,000
2008 TOTAL $789,000

Former Superintendent Godley’s “golden handshake” bonus total (beginning 8/2008):
$3,630*

* The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00
2007 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
4/30/07 Debra Ford Speaker Fee $ 4,090
4/30/07 Danny Brassell Speaker Fee $ 3,500
3/8/07 Dr. Daggett Speaker Fee $ 9,000
9/27/07 Dr.Daggett Speaker Fee $ 35,000
11/15/07 OCDE High Priority Consultants $115,000
Total $166,590

2007 Attorney Fee Tally:
1/18/07 Parker & Covert (1/07 to 6/07) $175,000
(6/07-12/07) $200,000
2/08/07 Miller, Brown, and Dannis $ 7, 500
2/22/07 Parker & Covert $ 45,000
5/10/07 Miller, Brown and Dannis $ 50,000
7/19/07 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
Total $537,500

2007 Administrative Conference/Travel: hidden since 6/8/06**

**JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to APPROVE Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*
2006 Consultant Fee Tally: Total $176,400
2006 Attorney Fee Tally: Total Approved $655,000
2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *
* JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:
Total 2005 Conference Administrator/Board Fees: $ 7,500.00
2005 Attorney Fee Tally: $730,600.00
Total Watched 2005 OUSD Consultant spending: $ 270,200.00



Next OUSD Board Meeting September 25th, 2008
for more information CLICK ON: OUSD Sept 25

OUSD CLOSED SESSION STARTS 6:30 PM, Regular Session: 7:30 pm
For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015


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eLECTION Watch 2008
an Orange Net News Special News and Analysis Series

ORANGE UNIFIED TEACHERS ENDORSE
TWO SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATES
This week the Representative Council of the Orange Unified Educators Association (OUEA) voted to endorse two candidates for two Orange Unified Trustee seats in the November 2008 Orange Unified School Board election. In OUSD Trustee Area 3, the teachers' association is endorsing Florice Hoffman. In OUSD Trustee Area 6, the teachers' association voted to endorse Airanna Barrios.


eLECTION Watch 2008
is an independent news service of /O/N/N/
Orange_NetNews@yahoo.com
“Independent Local Insight”

OUSD’s win of Rocco Lawsuit Appeal to be discussed at September 11th Board Meeting Closed Session

At their September 11th meeting, the Orange Unified School Board will receive a Closed Session report on their September 4th, 2008 California 4th Appellate Court of Appeal (Court) victory over OUSD Trustee Steve Rocco and his allies at Californians Aware and California First Amendment Coalition. That victory affirmed OUSD’s right to the Resolution of Censure against Rocco that he had sought to nullify and confirmed the lower trial court order for OUSD to recover the $37,000 in attorney fees for the original lawsuit. In addition, the Court ordered Rocco pay an undetermined amount for OUSD’s attorney fees to defend against the Appellate Court appeal.

In the original lower trial court legal case that Rocco and his allies lost, Rocco challenged the OUSD Resolution of Censure passed by the OUSD Board majority concerning remarks Rocco made at the September 14, 2006 OUSD School Board meeting regarding the reassignment of then Villa Park High School Principal Ben Rich as a violation of his free speech. Rocco sought to nullify the Resolution of Censure. OUSD defended itself by arguing the OUSD Board majority had not violated Rocco’s free speech because they had done nothing to prevent Rocco from making the statements for which he was he was censured. OUSD further argued that Rocco by seeking to nullify the Resolution of Censure would amount to an invasion of the Board’s free speech to express an opinion about Rocco’s conduct and comments. The court ruled in favor of Orange Unified and upheld the $37,000 in OUSD attorney’s fees the lower trial court had ordered Rocco and Californians Aware to pay.

In the appeal, the Court sided with OUSD that Rocco’s appeal violated California’s Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) laws. Those laws are designed to protect from lawsuits aimed at silencing free speech on public issues. On Rocco’s allegations of Brown Act violations, the Court sided with OUSD that the Resolution of Censure was based on OUSD Board Policy requiring personnel matters only be discussed in Closed Session , not the Brown Act. The Court ruled that it was Rocco’s refusal to discuss personnel matters in Closed Session “which subjected him to censure” and the court ruling added:

“And that censure was likewise not in violation of the Brown Act. As the District points out, the censure did not prohibit Rocco from making his comments, nor did it include any provision which prevented him from doing so in the future. It thus did not run afoul of either Government Code sections 54954.2 or 54954.3”

The Court also ruled:
"Further, we conclude the censure resolution was not based upon the content of Rocco’s speech, but its location. We cannot even discern from the record before us whether any of the other board members agreed or disagreed with the substance of Rocco’s comments."

"Instead, the problem was that he insisted upon making those comments – which concerned a sensitive personnel matter – during the open session of the Board meeting. In our view, Rocco’s unwillingness to participate in closed session, and to instead air his views regarding personnel matters during the Board’s open session, is a matter about which both Rocco and the Board have a right to express an opinion."

Rocco’s suit also argued that Godley’s censorship of the video over cable television violated California’s open meeting law, the Brown Act. In 2006 Orange Net News broke the story that the video of the September 14th video that was broadcast over local cable had been censored on Dr. Godley’s instructions. Orange Net News published the transcripts of the portion of the meeting that was censored. OUSD had argued that the public could buy an uncensored CD copy of the meeting so that the broadcast was not an official record. Since the meeting censorship controversy, OUSD has included a “disclaimer” at the beginning of each OUSD School Board meeting cable cast that the program may be edited, but that an unedited version maybe purchased. The Appeals Court ruling addressed Rocco’s contention that the censored broadcast was a violation of the Brown Act by ruling:

"Nor was the District’s production and distribution of its videotape, which intentionally excluded Rocco’s remarks, a violation of the Brown Act. The videotape, which was produced in the wake of the meeting, for later broadcast on cable television, was not itself a meeting of the Board. (Gov. Code, § 54952.2, subd. (a).) Consequently, the Brown Act had no application to it."

The Court also ruled because the meeting was open to the public “Indeed, any person who had chosen to attend the meeting on September 14, 2006, would have had the opportunity to hear Rocco’s controversial remarks”.

The Court further ruled:
First, we must emphasize the undisputed fact that the District was under no legal duty to produce or distribute any video depicting the events of the meeting to the media. Absent a request under the Public Records Act in the wake of the meeting, it would have been entitled to file away the original video in a dark place, and never think about it again.

The Court ruled that the District’s edited videotape was akin to a press release and “such as the District voluntarily seeks to publicize certain events or information to the newspapers or other media, than it is to a newspaper, which is a communication produced by a third party. Like a press release, and unlike a newspaper, the edited video in this case constitutes the District’s own communication, and it is thus the District which is responsible for, and has the concomitant right to determine, its content"

"Moreover, the petition includes no allegations that the media, including local cable television outlets, were in any way prohibited from sending representatives to the Board’s meetings if they chose; from reporting freely on what transpired during those meetings; or from obtaining copies of any public records associated with the meetings pursuant to the Public Records Act. Nor does the petition allege any facts suggesting the District did anything to interfere with the right of any media outlet to report its own version of what occurred at the public portion of the meeting; or comment on any of those occurrences"

The Court stated that censoring the videotape did not constitute altering a public record because the full uncut version was distributed to those who requested it including Richard McKee.

The Court also rejected all of Rocco’s supporting case law examples as not applying to this particular case and concluded:

"Based on all of the foregoing, we conclude CalAware and Rocco have failed to demonstrate a probability of success on their claim that the Board’s censure resolution improperly infringed on Rocco’s constitutionally protected freedom of speech. The Board’s act was merely an expression of its own opinion regarding Rocco’s refusal to comply with its policies and procedures – and not the content of his speech. The Board had a right to express that opinion, and did not impose any restrictions on Rocco’s ability to exercise his constitutional rights in the future. And to the extent that the Board’s negative feedback might, as a practical matter, discourage Rocco from engaging in such conduct in the future, that effect is too slight to outweigh the Board’s right to express its views"

In ruling for OUSD the Appeals Court ruled that OUSD was entitled to not only the $37,000 in attorney fees for the original lawsuit, but also for the attorney fees for the appeal. The Appeals Court returned the case to the lower trial court to determine the amount of attorney fees that OUSD would be able to claim from Rocco and Californians Aware.

INSIDE the OUSD September 11th Agenda
OUSD’s Final Revised Budget for 2008-2009

While the California State Legislature and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger continue to battle over the two-month late state budget, in accordance with state law, OUSD will approve it’s final budget at the September 11th Board meeting. The 2008-2009 budget is consists of $15,832,291 in educational tax funds. The total includes: a required 3% reserve of $7.4 million; $2 million in the Supplementary Retirement Program fund; and an “unappropriated” account to spend during the year of $5.2 million.

New SACBE Reps
This year’s new Student Advisory Council to the Board of Education (SACBE) members will be welcomed to their first OUSD Board Meeting. This year’s representatives are: Canyon H.S.- Paul Loeffler; El Modena H.S.- Katherine Trinh; Sergio Sorza- Orange H.S.; Joshua Bender- Richland CHS; Daniel Duel- Villa Park HS.

Community Donations
Running Springs PTA- $3,000 PE Teacher salary; Albertsons Stores to Imperial ES- $156 in supplies; Lampson PTA- $10,000 Canopy/Elmos/Benches; Villa Park Women’s League to Serrano ES- $2819-PE Program and supplies.
For a complete list of the $117,459 in Community Donations see OUSD Agenda page 10.

INSIDE the OUSD Budget

INSIDE’s EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH 2008:
$774,500 Total

2008 Attorney Fee Tally:
6/19/08 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
6/05/08 Miller, Brown & Dannis $ 40,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $150,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $200,000
2/07/08 Parker & Covert $100,000
11/15/07 Parker & Covert (for 1/08 to 6/08) $200,000
Attorney Fee Total $750,000

2008 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
7/24/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 10,000
4/17/08 Dr. Kenneth Stichter Speaker Fee $ 6,500
3/7/08 Dr. Kathleen Weigel Speaker Fee $ 8,000
Consultant/Speaker Fee Total $ 24,500

2008 TOTAL Watched EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH
$774,500


Former Superintendent Godley’s “golden handshake” bonus total (since 8/2008): $2420*

* The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00
2007 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
4/30/07 Debra Ford Speaker Fee $ 4,090
4/30/07 Danny Brassell Speaker Fee $ 3,500
3/8/07 Dr. Daggett Speaker Fee $ 9,000
9/27/07 Dr.Daggett Speaker Fee $ 35,000
11/15/07 OCDE High Priority Consultants $115,000
Total $166,590

2007 Attorney Fee Tally:
1/18/07 Parker & Covert (1/07 to 6/07) $175,000
(6/07-12/07) $200,000
2/08/07 Miller, Brown, and Dannis $ 7, 500
2/22/07 Parker & Covert $ 45,000
5/10/07 Miller, Brown and Dannis $ 50,000
7/19/07 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
Total $537,500

2007 Administrative Conference/Travel: hidden since 6/8/06**

**JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to APPROVE Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*
2006 Consultant Fee Tally: Total $176,400
2006 Attorney Fee Tally: Total Approved $655,000
2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *
* JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:
Total 2005 Conference Administrator/Board Fees: $ 7,500.00
2005 Attorney Fee Tally: $730,600.00
Total Watched 2005 OUSD Consultant spending: $ 270,200.00



Next OUSD Board Meeting September 11th, 2008 for more information
CLICK ON: SEPTEMBER 11th AGENDA

OUSD BOARD MEETING CLOSED SESSION STARTS 6:30 PM, Regular Session: 7:30 pm
For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent insight into OUSD
is an independent news service of /O/N/N/
Orange_NetNews@yahoo.com

Appeals Court rules against Orange Unified Trustee Steve Rocco

Late Thursday September 4th, the California 4th Appeallate Court threw out the appeal of Orange Unified School District Trustee Steve Rocco against the $37,000 in legal fees he was ordered to pay to Orange Unified by an Orange County Superior Court. The original $37,000 judgment against Rocco stems from a lawsuit Rocco initiated against Orange Unified when the Board majority passed a Resolution of Censure against Rocco over his remarks during a 2006 OUSD Board Meeting about former Villa Park High School Principal Ben Rich. Orange Unified placed a lien on Rocco’s Santa Ana home to collect the judgment.

Richard McKee, President of the California First Amendment Coalition and co-founder of Californians Aware, had supported Rocco’s legal case and claims that OUSD was violating Rocco’s free speech. McKee has a history of legal battles with OUSD’s legal firm Parker & Covert in OUSD and other districts.

The Appeals court ruled that Rocco’s case was without merit because the Orange Unified Trustees had a right to issue the Resolution of Censure as an expression of the Board’s majority joint opinion as a “communication in connection with a public issue”. The court further ruled that the appeal violated the California’s Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) laws. Those laws are designed to protect from lawsuits aimed at silencing free speech on public issues.

In addition to placing a lien on Rocco’s house, in a border realignment known as the Nichols Realignment, Rocco’s house was removed from his Trustee Area effectively preventing him from running for re-election when his term is up in November. Rocco has filed to run for a city council seat in Santa Ana.


For More Information CLICK ON:


California First Amendment Coalition


Californians Aware


Rollyo Search Engine on ROCCO/ RICH stories:
ROLLYO ROCCO

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

Orange Unified 2008 Academic Performance Index (API) Scores Show Mixed Results

While the California statewide scores soared 14 points, Orange Unified scores crept up a mere 4 points in overall growth in the latest 2008 Academic Performance Index scores released by the California Department of Education on Thursday, September 4th. The scores represent a formula driven composite number from a variety of statewide student assessments that are presented as a school's numerical number. The state goal is for schools to reach the magic 800 score of improvement and, in accordance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act, have all the schools “significant” subgroups of students score “proficient”.

Orange Unified 2008 scores presented district administrators with a rollercoaster ride of scores with the released data showing very strong leaps of scores as well as very deep losses in schools across Orange Unified. The wide ranging scores failed to present any pattern of consistant improvement or failure.

Over all, Orange Unified had 66% (25 total) schools increase or meet API target goals. The OUSD API score grew, but not enough to make their target goal growth number, in 13% (5 total) of district schools. A total of 21% (8 total) of OUSD school scores remained the same or declined. Those 13 OUSD schools that failed to meet API Schoolwide and Subgroup targets are: Cambridge; Fletcher; Palmyra; Prospect; Riverdale; Sycamore; West Orange; Cerro Villa MS; El Rancho MS; Portola MS; Santiago MS; El Modena HS; Orange HS; Villa Park H.S.

Two OUSD schools moved up past the magic 800 score for the first time. Olive Elementary School improved its API score a whopping 41 points moving from a 774 API score to an 815 API Score. Villa Park High School move back into the 800 scores as that school increased its API score by 10 points and went from a 792 API score to an 802 API score. Over all 21 OUSD schools are above the magic 800 mark. Three OUSD schools have topped 900 in their scores: Chapman Hills Elementary increased its API by 16 points moving up to a 925 API score; Nohl Canyon Elementary increased its 924 score by 2 points to a 926 API score; and Panorama Elementary improved its scores by 9 points to move from 909 to a 918 API score. One school fell below 900, Serrano lost 2 points to go from 901 to a 899 API score. Silverado Elementary is in a special category called “Small Schools” had a 4 point increase to an API score of 808.

OUSD Elementary Schools play API Chutes and Ladders
OUSD’s 29 regular elementary schools grew and fell in a hodgepodge of inconsistent elementary API scores. Big API score increases included: Anaheim Hills E.S.-up 38 points (888); California Elementary-up 28 points(789) ; Esplanade Elementary-up 38 points (741); Olive Elementary up 41 points (815); McPherson Magnet-up 24 points (883); and Handy Elementary-up 38 points (712). On July 24th 2008, despite a California fiscal emergency, the Orange Unified School Board Trustees approved to spend $10,000 of educational tax dollars to hire consultant Dr. Dennis Parker from the Orange County Department of Education to conduct workshops at Handy Elementary School this school year in a program called the Strategic Schooling Initiative. The Orange County Department of Education website promises that the Strategic Schooling Initiative will increase a schools API score by 30-40 points. That said, this year Handy Elementary, without the $10,000 consultant had a 38 point increase, so next year Handy’s scores should be increasing by an unheard of 78 points with the Dr. Dennis Parker’s $10,000 “Magic Pill” consultant program. If Parker fails to produce a 78 point increase at the school it will be another example of the OUSD Administrative Consultant Culture that has wasted millions of local educational tax dollars on wasteful consultant spending that this year only produced a 4 point increase in the district-wide scores while the state average jumped 14 points.

OUSD elementary schools with falling API Scores were: Crescent Elementary- dropped 35 points (834); Fletcher Elementary- dropped 29 points (744); Palmyra Elementary- dropped 13 points (782); Prospect Elementary – dropped 4 points (725); Serrano Elementary dropped 2 points (899); West Orange Elementary- dropped 7 points (802).


Orange High School leads dropping scores in most of
OUSD Secondary Schools
Orange High School scores reversed years of growth with a 15 point drop in API Scores falling from 695 to 680 despite leading OUSD in implementing retired OUSD Superintendent Dr. Godley’s “personalization” approach as part of the OUSD Strategic Plan. Other OUSD secondary schools with dropping scores include: Canyon High School-dropped 3 points (812); El Modena High School-dropped 6 points (764); Santiago Charter Middle School-dropped 1 point (768); Portola Middle School-dropped 1 point (683).

Leading OUSD Secondary Schools that had score improvements for the second year in a row was Yorba Middle School with a 14 point jump in API Scores (710) as the consultant leery school instead focused on Best Teaching Practices, student reading and moving second language speakers into English all on a taxpayer friendly shoestring budget. Villa Park High School, enjoying a year of stability after suffering from district inflicted administrative turmoil, was the only OUSD high school able to achieve an increase in scores as they jumped 10 points to once again pass the magic 800 score to move up to 802. Cerro Villa Middle School posted a 5 point increase (822) and El Rancho Charter posted a three point increase (865). Richland Continuation School fell 61 points (443).

OUSD's No Child Left Behind Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
As a whole, OUSD failed to make the federal benchmarks called Adequate Yearly Progress by missing three of the 21 federal criteria in student “subgroups”. OUSD missed the mark in the number of proficient (grade level) students in English-Language Arts and math for the subgroups: Hispanic or Latino; Socioeconomically Disadvantaged; and English Learners. Nineteen OUSD schools also did not meet one or more of the 2008 Federal Criteria. Those OUSD schools not meeting the federal mandates are: Cambridge; Esplanade; Fairhaven; Fletcher; Jordan; La Veta; Lampson; Linda Vista; Palmyra; Prospect; Riverdale; Sycamore; Taft; West Orange; Cero Villa; Portola; Santiago; Yorba; El Modena; Orange H.S.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on OUSD District scores CLICK ON: OUSD District API

FOR MORE INFORMATION on individual OUSD School scores CLICK ON:
OUSD SCHOOL API


ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent insight into OUSD
is an independent news service of /O/N/N/

Orange_NetNews@yahoo.com
“Independent Local Insight”

Ecast on the
INTERNET COMMUNITY GROUP i/))) cg


Produced by the
Orange Communication System /OCS/
A 21st Century Communications System