Mountain Views News          Saturday, November 13, 2010

7

EDUCATION & YOUTH

 Mountain Views News Saturday, November 13, 2010 

SCHOOL DIRECTORY

PUSD NEWS FLASH

VACCINES: The PUSD Health Programs 
office reminds parents that state law now 
requires students in who will enter grades 7 – 
12 in the 2011-2012 school year to receive a 
vaccine booster against the disease pertussis 
(otherwise known as whooping cough), by July 
1, 2011. The vaccine booster against pertussis 
is known as “Tdap.” The new law comes in 
response to a pertussis outbreak that started 
in California last spring. A Tdap booster is 
recommended for adults and children 10 years 
and older to protect infants who have not been 
fully immunized. Health officials urge middle 
and high school parents not to wait until the 
law takes effect. Tdap is available through 
healthcare providers and through the Pasadena 
Public Health Department at (626) 744-6012. 
For questions, please call the PUSD Clinic at 
(626) 396-3600 x 88181.

COLLEGE APPLICATIONS:

 PUSD reminds 12th grade students and 
their families that applications for admission 
to California State Universities (CSU) and 
University of California (UC) campuses is 
November 30, 2010. Applications can be 
submitted online at www.csumentor.edu 
and www.universityofcalifornia.edu PUSD 
students are also urged to attend “Admission 
Matters: What Students & Parents Need to 
Know About Getting Into College,” a free 
workshop Wednesday, November 17 at 6:30 
p.m. at Marshall Fundamental Secondary 
School. Flyer attached.

SCHOOL CLOSURES DOWN TO 2

Loma Alta and Burbank Elementary Remain On Chopping Block

Superintendent Diaz discusses his 
recommendations:

 
In developing my recommendation I relied 
heavily on the School Consolidation Committee 
report, and in the final analysis, supported their 
recommendation to identify Burbank and Loma 
Alta Elementary Schools for closure. A vast 
majority of the committee members supported 
this recommendation. Besides drawing from 
the School Consolidation Committee Report 
I also reviewed current fiscal information, the 
current size of our elementary schools, impact 
on students, families, and staff, programmatic 
needs, and other considerations including the 
closure of schools not recommended by the 
SCSC.

WHY CLOSE ANY SCHOOL?

The decision to close any school is difficult 
and emotional for everyone involved: students, 
parents, teachers and staff. But given the 
current and future realities of public education 
in California and Pasadena Unified School 
District I believe the following facts support my 
recommendation to close two schools in 2011-
12.

• FISCAL IMPACT

Pasadena Unified School District has cut over 
$32 million over the last two years. Important 
programs and services have been reduced or 
eliminated. Our current budget projections call 
for $8 million in further reductions in fiscal year 
2012-13. The District has used one time funds; 
(beginning balance, federal stimulus funds, 
federal jobs act fund and other grants) to balance 
our current budget and provide resources for 
instructional priorities. Compounding this 
problem is the expiration of furlough days in 
the next two years. The long term fiscal outlook 
for public school funding in California is bleak 
and the state budget recently passed is already 
reported to be $25 billion in deficit. This will 
surely result in reduced funding for Pasadena 
Unified School District.

• EFFECTIVE RESOURCE ALLOCATION

As our available funds continue to shrink, we 
can no longer afford to support schools with 
very small student populations. Loma Alta 
has 185 K-5 students and Burbank has 319 
K-5 students; 268 students without the Dual 
Immersion Program.

In LA County, similar sized school districts, 
such as Baldwin Park, Lynwood, Alhambra, and 
San Gabriel operate elementaries within a range 
of 400-700 students. Neighboring districts, 
including San Marino, South Pasadena, Glendale 
and Arcadia also have an average elementary 
school enrollment of 500-700 students. Even 
with the recommended closures, Pasadena 
Unified will continue to offer much smaller, 
more intimate learning communities for our 
elementary school students than most districts 
throughout the region and the county.

The savings from school closures can be used 
for other critical needs: CSR, library services, 
summer school, extended instructional time, 
counselors, school budgets, etc. All programs or 
services we reduced during the 2010-11 school 
year. However, in reality, the savings from school 
closures will result in the District not having to 
make a similar amount of program reductions 
in the future.

•PROGRAM/INSTRUCTIONAL QUALITY

Ensuring that students from any school 
scheduled for closure have access to a high 
quality instructional program has always been 
of primary concern to me. As mentioned before, 
even with the closing of two schools, students 
will still have access to a small, personalized 
learning environment. My recommendation 
also includes assigning resident area students 
to high performing schools as measured by API 
scores. Every school receiving students from a 
closed school has a variety of partnerships and 
programs available to meet the diverse needs of 
our student population.

• SCHOOL PROXIMITY/CHOICE

Providing schools located throughout the 
district and supporting choice for families was a 
primary consideration in my review.

The closure of Loma Alta and Burbank will 
impact all students attending those schools 
however, less than two hundred resident 
area students will be reassigned to a new 
neighborhood school. And because a high 
number of students attend through the

choice process, giving priority to students will 
help ease the impact of transferring to another 
school.

LOMA ALTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 
RECOMMENDATIONS

Loma Alta’s current enrollment is 185 (K-5 
students) and has been declining. Loma Alta 
is the smallest school in the District. Thirty 
percent of resident area students attend Loma 
Alta and demographic projections indicates that 
number is likely to decrease. Loma Alta’s API 
score is 692. Specific recommendations include:

• Close Loma Alta Elementary School effective 
with the 2011-12 school year.

• Continue to offer the LA Up County Pre-
school program and investigate expanding pre-
school and other early childhood education 
programs at the Loma Alta site.

• Revise Loma Alta’s attendance area and assign 
students to Franklin (API 786) and Altadena 
Elementary (API 755).

• Implement the mitigation measures 
recommended by the School Consolidation 
Committee to ensure smooth transition for 
students, families and staff. Included in these 
mitigation measures is priority in the Open 
Enrollment process.

BURBANK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 
RECOMMENDATIONS

Burbank’s current enrollment is 319 (K-5 
students). Without the Dual Language 
Immersion (Mandarin) program enrollment 
falls to 268 (K-5 students) making Burbank 
one of the smallest schools in the District. I am 
recommending the DLI (Mandarin) program 
be relocated to Field Elementary School for 
programmatic reasons. Thirty three percent 
of resident area students attend Burbank and 
demographic projections indicate that number 
is likely to decline. Burbank’s API score is 777. 
Specific recommendations include:

• Close Burbank Elementary School effective 
with the 2011-12 school year.

• Determine the recommended use of the school 
site during the same time frame as the District 
Office feasibility study (April 2011).

• Revise Burbank’s attendance area and assign 
students to Longfellow Elementary (API 817) 
and Webster Elementary (API 848)

• Relocate the Dual Language Immersion 
(Mandarin) program to Field elementary School.

• Implement the mitigation measures 
recommended by the School Consolidation 
Committee to ensure smooth transition for 
students, families and staff. Included in these 
mitigation measures is priority in the Open 
Enrollment process.

SAVINGS

Anticipated savings of on-going general fund 
revenues are estimated between $400,000 to 
$450,000 per school per year. There will be some 
relocation costs and we may experience a loss 
of ADA (Approx. 6% based on the last round of 
school closures). Estimated savings in the 2011-
12 school year and following two years equal 
$2.3 million.

Alverno High School

200 N. Michillinda Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-3463 Head of School: Ann M. Gillick 

E-mail address: agillick@alverno-hs.org

Arcadia High School

180 Campus Drive Arcadia, CA 91007

Phone: (626) 821-8370, Principal: David L. Vannasdall

Arroyo Pacific Academy

41 W. Santa Clara St. Arcadia, Ca, 

(626) 294-0661 Principal: Phil Clarke

E-mail address: pclarke@arroyopacific.org

Barnhart School

240 W. Colorado Blvd Arcadia, Ca. 91007

(626) 446-5588 Head of School: Joanne Testa Cross

Kindergarten - 8th grade

website: www.barnhartschool.com 

Bethany Christian School

93 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-3527 Principal: James Lugenbuehl

E-mail address: jml@bcslions.org

Carden of the Foothills School

429 Wildrose Avenue, Monrovia, CA 91016 626/358-9414 
626/358-5164 fax office@cardenofthefoothills.com

The Gooden School

192 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-2410 Head of School: Patty Patano

website: www.goodenschool.org

High Point Academy

1720 Kinneloa Canyon Road

Pasadena, Ca. 91107

626-798-8989

website: www.highpointacademy.org

LaSalle High School

3880 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626) 351-8951 Principal: Patrick Bonacci

website: www.lasallehs.org

Monrovia High School

325 East Huntington Drive, Monrovia, CA 91016 

(626) 471-2000, email: schools@monrovia.k12.ca.us

Norma Coombs Alternative School

2600 Paloma St. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626) 798-0759 Principal: Dr. Vanessa Watkins 

E-mail address: watkins12@pusd.us

Odyssey Charter School

725 W. Altadena Dr. Altadena, Ca. 91001

(626) 229-0993 Head of School: Lauren O’Neill

website: www.odysseycharterschool.org

Pasadena High School

2925 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626) 798-8901 Principal: Dr. Derick Evans

website: www.pasadenahigh.org

Pasadena Unified School District

351 S. Hudson Ave. Pasadena, Ca. 91109

(626) 795-6981 website: www.pusd@pusd.us

St. Rita Catholic School

322 N. Baldwin Ave. Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-9028 Principal: Joanne Harabedian

website: www.st-rita.org

Sierra Madre Elementary School

141 W. Highland Ave, Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-1428 Principal: Gayle Bluemel

E-mail address:gbluemel220@pusd.us

Sierra Madre Middle School 

160 N. Canon Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 836-2947 Principal: Gayle Bluemel

Contact person: Garrett Newsom, Asst. Principal

E-mail address: gbluemel220@pusd.us

Weizmann Day School

1434 N. Altadena Dr. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626) 797-0204

Lisa Feldman: Head of School

Wilson Middle School

300 S. Madre St. Pasadena, Ca. 91107

(626) 449-7390 Principal: Ruth Esseln

E-mail address: resseln@pusd.us

Pasadena Unified School District

351 S. Hudson Ave., Pasadena, Ca. 91109

(626) 795-6981

Website: www.pusd@pusd.us


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com