This is the time of year when critics compile their 10 best and
10 worst lists. It used to be just movie critics and theater
critics who got to do this, but we now have top 10 lists for
everything from hotels and beaches to wine. Of course, these lists
are subjective.
This is the time of year when critics compile their 10 best and 10 worst lists. It used to be just movie critics and theater critics who got to do this, but we now have top 10 lists for everything from hotels and beaches to wine. Of course, these lists are subjective. Very often, a movie will show up on one critic’s 10 best list and another critic’s 10 worst list.
In keeping with this theme, I will give you my local top 10 list.
These are my picks for the top 10 issues for Gilroy Unified School District for 2002. In descending order they are:
10. Election of new School Board members. With the election of two new board members, maybe we will see a little excitement at the board meetings. The old board was getting a little too agreeable for my comfort zone. It was as if all discussion had taken place over dinner before the meeting started, and everyone had their script down. Those board meetings held almost no surprise.
9. The closure of San Ysidro School. It was sad to see the demise of the oldest school in town. This was the last of the small public schools in Gilroy. Bigger isn’t always better, but for safety reasons, I supported the closure of this school.
8. The No Child Left Behind Initiative. This federal law will impact Gilroy as soon as parents realize they can transfer their children out of schools which continually fail to educate their children. There won’t be any room at those schools in Gilroy which are doing an adequate job of educating children, so who knows where these transfer students will end up.
7. The Closure of El Portal Charter School. This charter school was a dismal failure by any measurement of academic standards. They suffered from bad press (entirely the fault of the school), lack of focus, staff turnover, inadequate planning and lack of a substantive mission in their charter. On the plus side, they did have some involved parents, some peppy students, and cute uniforms.
6. The Resurrection of El Portal. After a short break, the school decided that they did want to open this year under the auspices of Gilroy Unified. They are operating the school, seem to have hired some committed teachers, and the uniforms are still cute. We will have to wait until next year to see if they will ever graduate students.
5. The GATE debate. Having been intimately involved in this issue, I can tell you that the debacle is ongoing. The only thing going for GATE is that Arlando Smith is no longer associated with the program. Rucker School still offers self-contained GATE classes, but the pull-out program is a long way from serving the needs of GATE students.
4. High school exit exam. Gilroy High School has a majority of students who are not able to pass the high school exit exam. Too many students arrive at Gilroy High unable to do high school work. All evidence points to the weak link in our school district – the junior high schools. Can moving 6th graders to junior high save our schools? Stay tuned to find out.
3. Middle school alignment. Dovetailing nicely off the admirable job done on the attendance areas for elementary schools, we have a committee trying to figure out just how to divide the town up so that every middle school gets its fair share of “non-sociologically disadvantaged” students. And here I thought we were supposed to be shooting for the concept of neighborhood schools!
2. Principal change at Gilroy High School. The resignation of Wendy “I may not be principal but I’ve still got my principles,” Gudalewicz was the major school news of the summer. She opposed honors classes, but pushed kids not ready for AP classes to take them for the fun of it. It backfired when many of these kids were unable to pass the AP exam. The hiring of Bob Bravo was a winning move for GUSD, and he seems to be handling the job quite well. At least he acknowledges that honors classes should be an option. I am feeling good about the future of Gilroy High.
1. School bond passes. The biggest local news in the past year was the passing of the school bond. Even now, a few of the same people who didn’t mind George W. Bush winning on a technicality just can’t accept the fact that two thirds of the voting public said yes to public schools. A rebuilt Eliot School and the start of a new high school are just around the corner.
So that’s it folks, my top 10 GUSD moments of gaffes and glory. I have a feeling that 2003 will not be quite so eventful. Of course it’s only January, I could be wrong.
