”
Hello Red Phone, I read with great interest the article that
came out in Friday’s Dispatch entitled, Schools Meet State Goals
but Falter on Federal Measurement.
Sstudent transfer process
“Hello Red Phone, I read with great interest the article that came out in Friday’s Dispatch entitled, Schools Meet State Goals but Falter on Federal Measurement. My interest in particular was the part that mentioned students that attend PI schools must be given the opportunity to transfer to a non-PI site school. Since Gilroy High has now officially made the PI list, can you please, dear Red Phone find out the particulars of how a student goes about transferring out of Gilroy High School? What schools can a student transfer to? In other words, what is the whole entire process of transferring out and into another school? I would go directly to the source, ie the school district but, don’t have time for the run-around. Thanks so much for your help Red Phone.”
Red Phone:
Yes, dear caller, GHS, along with Rucker and Eliot elementary schools, entered into their first year as Program Improvement schools for not meeting federal requirements. Brownell and South Valley middle schools are also PI schools.
Under the federal law, as you stated, the district must give students the option of transferring to a non-PI school. While a second traditional high school does not exist in Gilroy, the district is exploring other potential options, such as using the continuation or charter school as options.
Mt. Madonna High School actually beat out GHS, receiving a 700 Academic Performance Index score while GHS netted a 693. But the school doesn’t have to have a higher API to satisfy the federal requirement, it just has to be a non-PI school, said Superintendent Edwin Diaz.
That’s why El Portal Charter School, although its API was only 510, may also be used as an option. Diaz said the district is looking at the two alternatives. Hope that helped, thanks for calling.
noise ordinances
“Good morning Red Phone, I have a question regarding noise ordinances. I had read sometime back in the Dispatch that the city council was contemplating a noise ordinance which would raise the time to start on weekends to eight-o-clock instead of seven. I’m very curious to know where that went. I have a neighbor whose gardeners show up at seven-o-clock every Saturday morning and do their thing and wake up the entire neighborhood instead of using that time for travel. I’m curious as to where that went so I hope you can help me.”
Red Phone:
Well caller, your timing on this question was impeccable.
After a two-month summer break, the council will be getting back to work Monday and the final draft of the noise ordinance is at the top of their to-do list. Some minor pieces of the ordinance have been tweaked, but it’s largely the same as originally proposed. Basically, it gives city officials a lot more teeth when trying to crack down on loud residents and businesses.
You can speak out in support – or opposition of the ordinance; if you’re the noisy neighbor, at 7pm Monday in City Hall. You also can flip to a story on A3 to see what else they’re up to.
Thanks for reading caller, and if you don’t make it to the meeting, check the Dispatch next week for a re-cap on what happened at the council meeting. Hopefully this weekend will be the last one you don’t get to sleep in, until then, Red Phone suggests ear plugs.
