MVLA candidates on school lunch, 8:30 start time, online forums, their priorities, speed of response (part 2)

Part 1 can be found here http://patch.com/california/losaltos/mvla-candidates-school-lunch-830-st... MVLA candidates on school lunch, 8:30 start time, online forums, their priorities, speed of response

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Joe Mitchner response time 5 days +

1. I believe what students eat does affect their performance during the day. This includes breakfast as well as lunch. Schools should provide healthy lunches, and the MVLA lunches meet the improved state standards.

2. My children bring a lunch from home every day.

3. I’m reading more and more about the benefits of later start times. The majority of MVLA students currently start at 8:10. If an additional 20 minutes would be beneficial, and if it were supported by the majority of our community, then we could have that discussion.

4. I believe we can improve Board accessibility, and would be supportive of webcasting meetings. I’m also open to exploring other avenues for communication.

5. What are your top 3 priorities?

- Improving academic achievement for all students at all levels.

- Ensuring financial plans are responsible, sustainable, and aligned with District goals.

- Increasing support programs and outreach to under-represented students and families.

As you mention the Los Altos Town Crier, listed below are my responses to the Crier questionnaire on their topics of priorities:

What are the top priorities for the district in the next ten years?

• Improving academic achievement at ALL levels:

Provide classes for students at all ability levels, with a support structure to ensure success. This priority goes hand-in-hand with ongoing increases in college and career-readiness.

• Ensuring financial plans are responsible, sustainable, and aligned with District Goals:

As a Basic Aid District receiving 85% of its income from property taxes, MVLA is effected by a cyclical economy, as well as other financial challenges.

• Increasing support programs and outreach to under-represented students and families:

Building on successful programs like homework clubs and bilingual counseling, MVLA will introduce two new initiatives in 2014-15: the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), and the Equal Opportunity Schools venture. Effectively serving under-represented students requires long-term commitment.

• Providing classes and programs that meet the evolving needs of students, with an openness to innovative new approaches:

The pace of new course introductions has increased in the past five years, expanding students’ breadth of opportunities. The future will likely include content delivery using technology (e.g., online, blended learning).

• Planning proactively for District growth:

Classroom space has been well-planned. Continue to explore solutions for other impacted facilities (libraries, tutorial centers, gyms).

What immediate issues should the board be addressing?

• Common Core Implementation and Testing:

Ensure that teachers continue to receive the professional development and support they need and that students are well-prepared for new computerized testing.

• LCAP Implementation:

This new plan describes MVLA’s goals and strategies to increase academic achievement for under-represented students.

• Curriculum and Assessment Alignment:

Ensure consistency across courses.

• Board Communication:

Consider webcasting and other ideas.

• “Cloud Computing”:

Ensure student and teacher success in this innovative program.

• Student Stress:

Explore additional ways to reduce anxiety and develop resiliency strategies.

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Debbie Torok - response time 10 days

1. Do you think that school lunch affects academic performance?

· I do believe that lunch affects academic performance.

· Some additional background on the MVLA Union High School District main comprehensive campuses.

o They are open which means students are not required to stay on campus for lunch. A majority of the students do leave campus either to go home for lunch or purchase food nearby. As the school year progresses more students obtain their driver’s license and a greater number tend to leave campus in the spring.

o The High Schools do have a cafeteria and provide students with an option to purchase lunches and for qualifying students free or reduced price plans (FRPM). The link to the MVLA website can better explain the qualifications of the staff and menu selections. http://www.schoolnutritionandfitness.com/index.php?page=menus&sid=1908131605284815

1b. Should schools role-model and provide healthy lunches?

· Yes and a nutritionist should provide oversight/review of menu options.

1c. and provide healthy options?

· Yes

2. If you have/had kids in the district, how many days a week do you/ did you order lunch?

· As a parent of 3 children who attend Mountain View High School, I made their lunches every day for four years. I know you might think that they could have made their own lunches by High School; but by doing this I knew that they were getting a healthy lunch, they wouldn’t be rushed in the morning to throw something together or worse forget. (FYI a note on the door reminds them to take it as I would be at work before they left.) Additionally, I enjoyed doing it and knowing they were having a healthy lunch as well as a snack. My best guess is they ate it most of time and occasionally slipped off campus to get a Safeway or Alotta’s sandwich on occasion of course at their own expense.

3. What do you think of an 8:30am start time per American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation? http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/school-starts-too-early/

· It’s the board job to ensure that we are offering our students the best possible learning environment which includes start and end times.

· The current high school bell schedule http://www.mvla.net/MVHS/1570-MVHS-Bell-Schedule.html has a full academic day ending at 3:30 which then is typically followed by sports, music, drama, etc. programs for most students. Note that sport programs typically are aligned with other districts to accommodate game times, etc. adding to the degree of difficulty.

· The challenge is to find a way to accommodate the needs and desires of all our students and ensure they are adequately prepared.

· I would like to start some conversations with other local districts to see what they are doing as well as look for model high schools in the state for examples of their successes with later start times to educate myself .

4. Do you think the MVLA board could/should be more inclusive by allowing online forums rather than just in person meetings? (May I suggest the Bigtent platform or something like it)

· Very interesting idea. I do believe the board needs to find ways to be more inclusive.

· The MVLA board meetings are open to the public and there is an agenda item for public comment; however, as you stated you must attend to comment. I’m not sure what the best method is but if re-elected you can count on me to find ways to ensure the board is more inclusive.

5. What are your top 3 priorities?

Below are the top current priorities I have which I submitted to the Town Crier.

a. Continuing to improve core curriculum course quality and enrichment meeting the needs of all our students

b. Implementation of Common Core in English language arts/literacy and mathematics

c. Providing personal development, prep time, lower class sizes and support teams for teachers

d. Integration of Chromebooks into the curriculum as a teaching tool not a teacher replacement

e. Support the development of Parent Education on emotional and life issues common to high school students

f. Ensuring our budget is balanced with clean audits

g. Implementation of the Local Control Accountability 3 year plan, focusing on unrepresented students

h. Ensuring every student is equipped with the same tools for enhanced learning at school and home