Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, August 10, 2019

8


Mountain View News Saturday, August 10, 2019 

CITRUS COLLEGE’S NEW APPROACH TO TEACHING 
MATHEMATICS ELIMINATES MAJOR OBSTACLE TO COLLEGE 
COMPLETION 

By Dr. Edward C. Ortell, Citrus College Governing Board Member

New placement strategies and innovative teaching methods in Citrus College’s mathematics program 
have been making headlines. In fact, a May 2019 episode of PBS NewsHour, titled “Making the Grade: 
Rethinking College,” highlights the college’s efforts to increase college completion rates by modifying 
math education.

These changes align with state legislation that took effect in January 2018. AB 705 requires California 
community colleges to maximize the probability that all students will enter and complete transfer-level 
coursework in English and math within a one-year timeframe. As part of this requirement, colleges 
must now use one of three measures to place students into English and math courses: high school 
coursework, high school grades and/or high school GPA.

At Citrus College, the placement of students in math classes is now dependent upon self-reported 
high school GPA and the last math course completed in high school with a “C” or better. All students, 
including those without a recent high school record, are provided access to entry transfer-level math 
in their first semester.

Of course, adjusting placement methods is only one aspect of AB 705. The legislation’s ultimate goal is 
to eliminate the need for remedial classes, which many believe are a hindrance to college completion. 
Prior to AB 705, students could only enroll in transfer-level English and math if their placement scores 
were high. Those with lower scores were placed in remedial classes to ensure that they were sufficiently 
prepared for the more advanced material.

Before AB 705, 80 percent of California’s incoming college freshman were placed into remedial and 
less than 20 percent of students completed their math requirement within one year. While the remedial 
courses were designed to get students ready for transfer-level coursework, they were actually preventing 
many from completing their college degrees.

Last fall, Citrus College was the 
first local community college to 
completely eliminate remedial 
courses. Those students in need of 
remediation now enroll directly 
into college-level courses, while 
being provided with concurrent 
academic support. Known as 
the co-requisite support model, 
this approach enables students 
to bypass traditional remedial 
courses. In place of these classes, 
the students enroll in their 
college-level math course and in a 
support course at the same time.

One year after the changes were 
implemented, the results have 
been promising. College-wide, 
first-time student completion of 
transfer-level math has doubled – 
from 28 percent during the 2017-2018 academic year to 59 percent during the fall 2018 semester. These 
numbers are only expected to increase as the program evolves. In fact, the college will soon introduce 
co-requisite support for business calculus and precalculus. When fall 2019 classes start this month, all 
students will have access to transfer-level math courses relevant to their programs of study.

As the Duarte area’s representative on the Citrus Community College District Board of Trustees, I 
am proud that Citrus College is leading the way in transforming remediation and supporting student 
completion. The college will continue to do all it can to nourish the success of all students.

SCHOOL DIRECTORY

Alverno Heights Academy

200 N. Michillinda Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 355-3463 Head of School: Julia V. Fanara

E-mail address: jfanara@alvernoheights.org

Arcadia High School

180 Campus Drive Arcadia, CA 91007

Phone: (626) 821-8370, Principal: Brent Forsee

bforsee@ausd.net

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: Ethan Williamson

Kindergarten - 8th grade

website: www.barnhartschool.org

Bethany Christian School

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

(626) 355-3527 

Preschool-TK-8th Grade

Principal: Dr. William Walner

website: www. bcslions.org

Clairbourn School

8400 Huntington Drive

San Gabriel, CA 91775

Phone: 626-286-3108 ext. 172

FAX: 626-286-1528

E-mail: jhawes@clairbourn.org

Foothill Oaks Academy

822 E. Bradbourne Ave., Duarte, CA 91010

(626) 301-9809

Principal: Nancy Lopez

www.foothilloaksacademy.org

office@foothilloaksacademy.org

Frostig School

971 N. Altadena Drive Pasadena, CA 91107

(626) 791-1255

Head of School: Jenny Janetzke

Email: jenny@frostig.org

The Gooden School

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

(626) 355-2410 

Head of School, Jo-Anne Woolner

website: www.goodenschool.org

High Point Academy

1720 Kinneloa Canyon Road 

Pasadena, Ca. 91107 

Head of School: Gary Stern 626-798-8989

website: www.highpointacademy.org

La Salle College Preparatory

3880 E. Sierra Madre Blvd. Pasadena, Ca. 

(626) 351-8951 website: www.lasallehs.org

Principal Mrs. Courtney Kassakhian

Monrovia High School

325 East Huntington Drive, Monrovia, CA 91016 

(626) 471-2800 Principal Darvin Jackson

Email: schools@monrovia.k12.ca.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) 396-5880 Principal: Roberto Hernandez

website: http://phs.pusd.us

St. Rita Catholic School

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

Principal Joan Harabedian (626) 355-9028 

website: www.st-rita.org

Sierra Madre Elementary School

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

(626) 355-1428 Principal: Lindsay Lewis

E-mail address: lewis.lindsay@pusd.us

Sierra Madre Middle School 

160 N. Canon Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024

(626) 836-2947 Principal: Garrett Newsom

E-mail address: newsom.garrett@pusd.us

Walden School

74 S San Gabriel Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91107 (626) 792-6166 

www.waldenschool.net

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) 396-3600 Website: www.pusd@pusd.us

Arcadia Unified School District

234 Campus Dr., Arcadia, Ca. 91007

(626) 821-8300 Website: www.ausd.net

Monrovia Unified School District

325 E. Huntington Dr., Monrovia, Ca. 91016

(626) 471-2000 

Website: www.monroviaschools.net

Duarte Unified School District

1620 Huntington Dr., Duarte, Ca. 91010

(626)599-5000 

Website: www.duarte.k12.ca.us

Arcadia Christian School

1900 S. Santa Anita Avenue Arcadia, CA 91006

Preschool - and TK - 8th Grade

626-574-8229/626-574-0805

Email: inquiry@acslions.com

Principal: Cindy Harmon

website: www.acslions.com


FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


THE REAL COST TO YOUR FAMILY: NOT 
UPDATING YOUR PLAN

If you’re like most people, you probably view estate planning as 
a burdensome necessity—just one more thing to check off life’s 
endless “to-do” list.


You may shop around and find a lawyer to create planning documents 
for you, or you might try creating your own DIY plan using online 
documents. Then, you’ll put those documents into a drawer, mentally 
check estate planning off your to-do list, and forget about them.
The problem is, your estate plan is not a one-and-done type of deal. 
In fact, if it’s not regularly updated when your assets, family situation, and/or the 
laws change, your plan may be totally worthless when your family needs it. And 
believe it or not, failing to regularly update your plan can create its own unique set of 
problems that can leave your family worse off than if you’d never created a plan at all.
Keep your plan up to date
We recommend you review your plan at least every three years to make sure it’s up to date, and 
immediately amend your plan following events like divorce, deaths, births, and inheritances. We 
have built-in systems and processes to ensure your plan is regularly reviewed and updated, so you 
don’t need to worry about whether you’ve overlooked anything important as your life changes, the 
law changes, and your assets change.

You should also create (and regularly update) an inventory of all your assets, including digital 
assets like cryptocurrency, photos, videos, and social media accounts. This way, your family 
will know what you have and how to find it when something happens to you, and nothing 
you’ve worked so hard for will be lost to our state’s Department of Unclaimed Property.


We’ll not only help you create a comprehensive asset inventory, but we’ll make sure it stays up to 
date throughout your lifetime.

Properly title your trust assets

When you create a trust, it’s not enough to list the assets you want it to cover. You have to 
transfer the legal title of certain assets—real estate, bank accounts, securities, brokerage 
accounts—to the trust, known as “funding” the trust, in order for them to be disbursed properly. 


While most lawyers will create a trust for you, few will ensure your assets are properly funded. We’ll not 
only make sure your assets are properly titled when you initially create your trust, we’ll also ensure that 
any new assets you acquire over the course of your life are inventoried and properly funded to your trust. 
This will keep your assets from being lost, as well as prevent your family from being inadvertently 
forced into court because your plan was never fully completed.

Keep your family out of court and out of conflict

As your Personal Family Lawyer®, our planning services go far beyond simply creating documents 
and then never seeing you again. Indeed, we’ll develop a relationship with your family that lasts not 
only for your lifetime, but for the lifetime of your children and their children, if that’s your wish.
We’ll support you in not only creating a plan that keeps you family out of court and out of conflict 
in the event of your death or incapacity, but we’ll ensure your plan is regularly updated to make 
certain that it works and is there for your family when you cannot be. Contact us today to get 
started with a Family Estate Planning Session.

Dedicated to empowering your family, building your wealth and defining your legacy,

A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a mission to help 
parents protect what they love

most. His office is located at 55 Auburn Avenue, Sierra Madre, 
CA 91024. Schedule an

appointment to sit down and talk about ensuring a legacy of 
love and financial security for your

family by calling 626.355.4000 or visit www.GarlettLaw.com 
for more information.

 
STARTING A NEW BUSINESS ? 
FILE YOUR DBA HERE 
Doing Business As, 
Fictitious Business Name Filing 
Obtain Street Address - Business Stationary - Flyers 
Rubber Stamps - Business Cards - Mailing Service 
80 W. Sierra Madre Blvd., Sierra Madre 
626-836-6675 
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