COMMUNITY FORUMS were held three evenings in May at Sierra County schools. Loyalton High School hosted the first one held Tuesday, May 15th. The other two were held Tuesday, May 22nd at Loyalton Elementary and Wednesday, May 30th at Downieville School. Each forum treated attendees to dinner, prior to the presentation. At Loyalton High School, Superintendent of Schools Dr. Merrill Grant and site principal Tom Jones led the discussion. Dr. Grant talked about school enrollment. He said Downieville School is at 54 students and holding steady. Loyalton High School is at 154 students, which Dr. Grant stated is at the highest it’s been in a while and Loyalton Elementary School is at 195 students, with 39 Kindergarten/Pre-K coming in next year.
Dr. Grant stated they use a Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and was happy to report they were back to funding levels of 2008 and received Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funding for another two years at $400,000 a year. He said the budget shows stability with a $2 million balance for Sierra Plumas Joint Unified School District and a $2.3 million balance for Sierra County Office of Education for 2017-2018.
Dr. Grant said he was proud of what they have to offer. He stated teachers individualize instruction in a small setting with good response to intervention. Dr. Grant said four-year placement was at a high percentage with career technical education as a focus for the 2018-2019 school year.
As far as safety in Sierra County schools, Dr. Grant said many light enhancements have been made to be proactive and better prepare for threats both natural and manmade. Site principals will have had ALICE (alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate) training by start of school in August. There will be a California Highway Patrol walk through this summer as well as a Sierra County Sheriff’s collaboration. Dr. Grant stated they have a renovated camera system and working on visitor entry and classroom security. He called relationships with students a key piece of proactive behavior.
Loyalton High School Principal Tom Jones went over the WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) report, which was preformed at LHS recently. He called WASC a very healthy process, which lets them know what is going well and what needs impro-vement. Jones said WASC looked at leadership, curriculum, instruction, assessment and accountability, and school culture and gave strengths and key issues on each category. The report showed strengths in all areas and included open communication, superior agriculture program, wide variety of course offerings, four-year planning, future focus support, technology infused instruction, discussion oriented instruction, Powerschool, teacher collaboration on test scores, personalized approach to learning, extensive community involvement, and tutoring opportunities. Key issues included updated mission/vision, continue to seek out the curriculum to meet standards and support 21st century learning opportunities, continue collaboration on essential standards and critical thinking strategies, align curriculum to assessment and standards, and access to nutritional lunches on campus. In summary, Jones said they were building off a firm foundation and will establish learning goals, provide learning opportunities, assess student learning and use the results.
Dr. Grant stated they use a Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and was happy to report they were back to funding levels of 2008 and received Secure Rural Schools (SRS) funding for another two years at $400,000 a year. He said the budget shows stability with a $2 million balance for Sierra Plumas Joint Unified School District and a $2.3 million balance for Sierra County Office of Education for 2017-2018.
Dr. Grant said he was proud of what they have to offer. He stated teachers individualize instruction in a small setting with good response to intervention. Dr. Grant said four-year placement was at a high percentage with career technical education as a focus for the 2018-2019 school year.
As far as safety in Sierra County schools, Dr. Grant said many light enhancements have been made to be proactive and better prepare for threats both natural and manmade. Site principals will have had ALICE (alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate) training by start of school in August. There will be a California Highway Patrol walk through this summer as well as a Sierra County Sheriff’s collaboration. Dr. Grant stated they have a renovated camera system and working on visitor entry and classroom security. He called relationships with students a key piece of proactive behavior.
Loyalton High School Principal Tom Jones went over the WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) report, which was preformed at LHS recently. He called WASC a very healthy process, which lets them know what is going well and what needs impro-vement. Jones said WASC looked at leadership, curriculum, instruction, assessment and accountability, and school culture and gave strengths and key issues on each category. The report showed strengths in all areas and included open communication, superior agriculture program, wide variety of course offerings, four-year planning, future focus support, technology infused instruction, discussion oriented instruction, Powerschool, teacher collaboration on test scores, personalized approach to learning, extensive community involvement, and tutoring opportunities. Key issues included updated mission/vision, continue to seek out the curriculum to meet standards and support 21st century learning opportunities, continue collaboration on essential standards and critical thinking strategies, align curriculum to assessment and standards, and access to nutritional lunches on campus. In summary, Jones said they were building off a firm foundation and will establish learning goals, provide learning opportunities, assess student learning and use the results.
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