I sort of groaned internally when I heard the English (translated) word "lie" used because I think Superintendent Goldman's and Principal Lambert's efforts and intent are pretty purely 'educational.' It is the Cultural and the informational problems (and 'realistic strawman') that remain.
This process - although not yet concluded - is so much better than the one that was started in January/February. Who promised you easy democracy? Easy processes for very hard societal problems is just not possible. This MVWSD Board is not the 2005-6 Board. So, I think, we will not be rushed to agree with 'the staff recommends.' We have a very good staff. Like myself however, they are not perfect.

Steven Nelson is a MVWSD Trustee (1 of 5) and was mentioned in this article.
-standard disclaimer-

We are fortunate that turning around schools is no longer a guessing game. There's abundance of case studies of how to do this.

The $2,000 per pupil number is a number from a study by the Hamilton Project that looked at the best charter schools in the nation, and then examined the effect of applying those strategies (high expectations, just-in-time use of student data, and after school tutoring) to traditional districts, the results were very compelling (Pg 15), study here
Web Link

The most successful schools with at-risk students work in homogeneous settings like Rocketship in San Jose, results here Web Link While much better funded heterogeneous schools like PAUSD are stagnant, read here Web Link

Social justice in the 21st century is not about diversity, diversity in itself does little to address the needs of poverty, and at its worse, mask the greater social justice: an inadequate education and wrap around services.

If one needs an even greater list of schools that lead the way, here's a list of 100 schools that are changing lives, an inspiring list (with hyperlinked resources) Web Link

Christopher Chiang
Mountain View Whisman School Board Trustee

The views expressed herein are my own and do not necessarily represent the views of the Mountain View Whisman School District or the school board.

@Mr. Nelson and Mr. Palmer,

So you listen to a few voices who know noting about educating children and are led by a community activist and you both are swayed? You almost sound like you enjoy the hard work of the task force being wasted so you can gloat. What about for the greater good of everyone who remained silent and trusted the process and the board and district to do the right thing? And then when the same critics are asked for a solution, they also don't have one. Why? Probably because they are not qualified to speak on the solving the issues, just as you both are not. The standard answer then becomes that you and they don't really know enough about it or feel someone must be deliberately lying, misleading or not performing enough for you all!?! Of course. It always has to be that, and then it becomes really easy to roll out claims of racism and segregation.

Go ask Nelly Gomez, Blandia Diaz, Ira Beltran and the beginning teacher Brooklyn Cook what they really know about education and improving student achievement. What are their solutions as novices since they are so heavily quoted here? You can report their answers back here since you are not satisfied with what the task force and district and school staff have recommended after spending hours and hours of time and effort. In the meantime, take comfort in the fact that you are wasting valuable time and attention from everyone's ability to focus and do their jobs and provide the best education possible to all children, something that has clearly not being provided to the poor Latino children at Castro.

And lastly explain YOURSELF why the district has been "masking the poor test results of the traditional program by combining results with the DI program for a 'very long time'", as the only parent with common sense has pointed out.

@Chritopher Chiang,

Quite frankly, your constant lurking about on these forums and bombarding us web links with supposedly easy solutions is getting old.

You were elected to lead and make decisions. Focus on that. If you've got all the idea, put them into action even if it means setting up a charter school at Castro.

I am relatively new to this whole discussion for restructuring. It appears the task force has done a lot of work to come up with their best recommendation on how to improve the academic situation at Castro School. Is their a better solution? Maybe. Is it going to make everyone happy? Doubtful. Is it going to be a good thing for the students? Yes.

The one point that clearly and unequivocally rings out, is the TEACHERS are nearly unanimous in the support of the 2 separate school concept. What other motive or interest would they have other than improving the education of their students? They certainly aren't going to get more money. They know they will be able to do their job better and the kids will will reap the benefits. This fact alone tells me the proposal is on the right track.

Yes, there are a lot of details and logistics to work out, but let's give the proposal a chance and see what can be worked out. The teachers seem to think it's the right thing to do...so that's good enough for me.

OMG! First, they are all for the split. But, somehow they expected to be the ones who decided exactly how it was done and how much money the District would spend???

Now, because they did not get their way, they say they were "lied to".

HA. This sounds a bit like Bullis vs LASD.
Castro parents - stop acting like Bullis entitled parents.

Hard to change. Harder for other cultural people. M.V. community were manipulated by some interested conspiracy. Only denial. No constructive suggestion.Will get what they deserve.

Trustee Nelson,
This is the same proposal you favored weeks ago. The reasons that led you to support it are still there. All you heard at the meeting were unsubstantiated rumors. Quick, get on the right side of history and vote for it!

So now the board makes decisions and throws out almost a year of hard work and study based on unsubstantiated community fears and allegations stemming from a few individuals whipped into hysteria by a "community activist" with no direct ties to the school? Wow. The task force that represent the split was composed of diverse representatives from throughout the Castro School community. This is just sour grapes from a few individuals that aren't getting their way and who have no problems slinging arrows without any data behind them. We know who they'll blame when student achievement falls flat again for the poor Latino population. It won't be themselves. It will be the school district and teachers who have argued for the split.

Maybe these same individuals can stop all the over-development in Mountain View as well using the same unsupported claims or fear in the community. Maybe they can have rent control imposed. Maybe they can have Google thrown out of the town as well. Let's justg go back to the old days when California Avenue was a real ghetto and low student achievement at Castro among the poor Latinos was completely ignored.

My children go to Castro school. They are taught by Castro teachers. They are cared for by those same teachers and the administrative staff. My community includes those teachers, the administrators, members of the task force, and all the parents quoted in the article, who are on both sides of this issue.

As hard as it is to see our beloved school potentially split in two, it is the recommendation of the teachers whom I trust to educate my children. The parents and staff that I trust to recommend this school change. Superintendent Goldman, quoted at the end of this unfortunate article said it best – “Every person involved in this is trying to do what's best for all our students."

Of course not everyone is happy about the potential change. But to say the process was a conspiracy and parents were lied to is an over-statement. All Castro families were invited to take an anonymous school survey to address the split last spring, and there were many coffees and meetings where parents were invited to give their opinions, provide feedback and often, just vent. Did the task force and district do a perfect job executing this process? No. However feedback was solicited regularly and honestly. Most Castro families (and that includes Spanish and English families) I know did not feel lied to, although I think many of us believed that the recommendation of the task force would inevitably include a two school solution.

What has swayed most in our parent community to support the task force’s recommendation, and I hope will have a considerable impact on the board, is that the teaching staff is all in favor of this change. The seasoned Traditional Program teachers AND the Dual Immersion teachers ALL say this is what is best for the students academically. from what I can tell, they are really passionate about this two-school recommendation. Any counterpoint to this recommendation is not taking what is best for the students into account and is only addressing some overblown egos in our community.

Is there a solid plan for what the two-school split looks like yet? No, and I am disappointed by that and a little scared too. But I trust that the next part of this process will continue to solicit input from the community to ensure that all the potential downsides to this split are addressed. Regardless of where we come from in the Castro community, we all value the special and unique relationships that we have formed through this school and none of us want to lose that. But I would give it up in a minute if it means just one socio-economically deprived Castro student had a better chance to advance academically and ultimately graduate from college.

To all the school board members: Before you vote on this school split next week please, please, consider the work of the task force very carefully, the support of the teachers, the support of most in our the community. Look at the data and where there are comments and reactions from the school community, dig deep to find the facts to substantiate these comments. This school split is a huge emotional issue for many, but when deciding the fate of our most precious Castro students it’s imperative to base your decisions on the facts only. Thank you.

@Observer et al, there was an interesting comment Camile Townsend, PAUSD Trustee, made to a detractor in a public Policy Subcommittee meeting - Board members are the elected representatives in a democratic legislative body. She empasized elected. I know I got over 10,000 citizen votes, and I know Trustee Chiang got over 11,000. Mr. Palmer is his own man - and I doubt he will be rushed to judgement by any comments such as posted here.
Please show up at the meeting (for Public Comments) at around 7:20 PM next Thursday and/or send an email to Trustees@mvwsd.org over the weekend.
I believe many people voted for Chris Chiang exactly because he is an extremely well informed educator on some of the most recent developments. You can read his background papers - or not - as you choose. I usualy do.

@Steve Nelson,

People might have voted for you, but we were not expecting you to act like such an opinionated bully that avoids seeking compromise and solutions. That fact seems to be lost on you. The other two board members you mentioned even censured you for it, so how can you now invoke their names here? Who do you think you are fooling?

This comment is on the role of money in this choice.

Recently California changed its formulas for funding schools to provide extra money to schools with high concentrations of under-achieving or at-risk students.

I looked at the difference in state money that Castro and Bubb receive under 2 senarios: 1) No change; 2) Divide Castro into 2 schools and bring many at-risk students to Castro from Bubb.

If Castro is divided and at-risk students are concentrated there, the new funding structure would provide about $900 per Castro student per year. $900 buys most of the cost of summer school, or a substantial amount of tutoring.

The Superintendent and the Principal of Castro have been unwilling to be frank and clear about the incentive structure they face. They very much want to help at-risk students. They seem to feel that segregating the students has three advantages: 1) the necessary extra money; 2) the desire to have a more homogenous school that is therefore "easier" to direct; 3) the desire to have a more homogeneous school where either success or failure cannot be masked as it can by a relatively few high achievers.

@Annonymous, thanks for studying the details of the LCFF (Local Control Funding Formula) which is the largest change in public school funding in over 40 years (CA Legislative Analyst Office). I do not think "the Superintendent and Principal" have been unwilling to be frank. But there is no public fiscal plan for operations of this new, seperate DI school.

The "LCFF Suplementary Grant" money is a part of our district Budget - independent of separation or no separation. The money goes )I hope) with the "Target Student". (that also is a political fight, "proportionally" in the LCAP).

Really hope to hear from you, who haven't spoken before, through official channels. Trustees@mvwsd.org

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