Thanks reporter Kevin, for a good-news story about the initiative of a MVWSD teaching staff. I hope readers note, this is at a school that anonymous commenters continue to misunderstand and misrepresent. It is a local elementary that former Trustee Lambert, even as a former parent, continued to support with his volunteer effort, time, and comments.

The Monta Loma multi-purpose room, built with Whisman School District bonds, has been one of the largest in MVWSD's set of elementary MURs. The facilities plans of the last several years - and the last MVWSD bonds - have started the building of new and similar Right-Sized MURs at Bubb, Huff and Landels. The two new campuses (TH & @SL) and an enlarged TH MUR will be easily able to accommodate a large fraction (1/3?) of the students in a school at one time. I think the Superintendent and CBO have done a good job at listening closely, to the priorities of the community, as expressed by community-involved district committees and the direction of elected boards.

But in the end, it is the drive of the education staff, the teachers, that make these programs Happen! How many STEM programs are being funded by LCFF (LCAP) so economically disadvantaged kids, with no parent-transportation can visit NASA? With the DO 'enable' this at the two Title 1 schools (CA, TH)?

This was a thrilling event for our school, and a great use of our new multipurpose room. If you got to see the event in-person, or televised, you'd notice that as each student got up to ask the astronauts a question, all the other students applauded and cheered for the question-asker. The staff and school leadership have done a lot to make ML an inclusive, supportive community, so it's especially important that there's space for them to celebrate that community and learn together as a big group. I'd be willing to bet $100 that at least one or two ML Leopards will go to space someday, based on how inspiring that morning was.

It must be nice to have a principal. Monte Loma’s test scores are low for the Hispanic students and have not been rising but this principal still have a job. It must be her status as a former board member and support from current board member Wheeler.

The whole district continues to have an Hispanic achievement GAP. Not just Higgins responsibility. And I hope that former Board member/ Principal Higgins is not getting any special political favors (from the Administration) via her friend Wheeler or ... (check the past political endorsements of candidates during board elections for other Higgins endorsements.)

The Soviet Union had a great space program, the Chinese communist party's new Lifetime Great Leader also has had space program successes. Success in space is nota measure of other than that.

teachers connected to kids:
But - kids having fun with space studies, is just about as popular a kid topic as "dinosaurs" of any type. It draws them in, it gets them hooked with interest. But STEM education is also measurable by academic proficiency. The Smarter Balance test, of the Common Core Curriculum is 21st century. It requires an understanding - and a deepness of understanding enough for kids to start to draw conclusions from inference, deduction and incomplete (or hidden) information in Math. (the M of STEM)

Gloria Higgins deserves to be judged on her ability to close the academic achievement gap - one of her principal jobs as principal - by the results of her school's academics going forward (she has not been at the school for long). She should have her academic administrative leadership proficiency judged by a standardized, well vetted, nation-wide test. Let's also see how her 'academic leadership' shows up on the new NGSS test (and not on if the Congresswoman or Mayor shows up to her school).

I'm glad the ML community got the good publicity it deserves. It has had one of the very best 'parents actually involved' School Site Councils in the entire district, under the former principal.