Middle+School+Transition+from+Lawson+to+Miller

=Issues and Discussion Concerning the CLIP Middle School Site=

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Background
After a facilities assessment, the School Board voted to move Middle School CLIP from Lawson to Miller Middle School starting Fall 2010. A task force will be created to help the transition. Many issues have not been sorted as parents face an upcoming open enrollment deadline (2/5/10-2/11/10).

Transition Period:
2010-2011 Transition Begins - current 5th graders will go to Miller as 6th graders - current 6th graders will continue at Lawson as 7th graders - current 7th graders will continue at Lawson as 8th graders

2011-2012 - current 4th graders will go to Miller as 6th graders - current 5th graders will continue at Miller as 7th graders - current 6th graders will continue at Lawson as 8th graders

2012-2013 Transition Complete - current 3rd graders will go to Miller as 6th graders - current 4th graders will continue at Miller as 7th graders - current 5th graders will continue at Miller as 8th graders

Task Force:
The structure and time table of the transition task force has not been determined.

Zero Period:
It has not been determined whether CLIP is granted its necessary Zero period at Miller.

Teachers:
It has not been determined who will teach the 6th grade class at Miller. Options include:
 * One existing Lawson teacher move to Miller to teach 6th grade. //Mr. Kuan already teaches Mandarin at Miller.//
 * One existing Lawson teacher commute to Miller to teach 6th grade. //No teacher need commute to Miller since Mr. Kuan is already there.//
 * Hire new teacher to teach 6th grade. //There is no need to hire a 6th grade teacher since Mr. Kuan is already at Miller teaching Mandarin to the neighborhood students.//
 * Move existing Meyerholz teacher to Miller to teach 6th grade (pending decision to increase classroom sizes). //Depending on the bumping due to the class size reductions, the list of teachers that will be affected will need to be in the District office by 2/22/10. Skipping and tie-breaking criteria will be presented at the CUSD meeting on 2/20/10.//
 * Existing Chinese Language teacher at Miller to teach 6th grade. //Mr. Kuan is the existing Mandarin teacher at Miller.//

Articulation and Curriculum:
It has not been determined if the same curriculum will be used at Miller.

Library and Resources:
It has not been determined how resources will be initially shared or divided between Lawson and Miller during the transition period.

Middle School CAC:
It has not been determined how the CLIP Advisory Committee for Middle School will be structured. Options include: = = = =
 * Create a single Middle School CAC with representatives from each grade.
 * Transition the Task Force into the Middle School CAC to ensure transition action items are satisfied.
 * Create a separate CAC for the Miller site while maintaining the LCAC.

Below is background information leading up to the School Board decision to move CLIP to Miller.

Board of Education Meeting Agenda - January 11, 2010
... Lynn Plecque, School Secretary, Meyerholz Elementary School – December 2009 Classified Employee of the Month Jennifer Kan, School Secretary, Miller Middle School – January 2010 Classified Employee of the Month ... ... 10.2 Approval to Relocate the CLIP Program, Grades 6-8, from Lawson Middle School to Miller Middle School
 * 4. BOARD RECOGNITION – CLASSIFIED EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH**
 * 10. ACTION ITEMS**

=**Mandarin program could relocate if enrollment jumps at Cupertino school**= By Matt Wilson Cupertino Courier Posted: 01/06/2010 03:36:00 PM PST Updated: 01/06/2010 03:36:01 PM PST

The Cupertino Union School District could relocate its Mandarin immersion program at Lawson Middle School rather than add modular classrooms to the campus to make room for a projected enrollment jump in 2012.

The district is preparing for 254 additional students at Lawson by the start of the 2012 school year, according to enrollment projections, which show a population shift among district schools.

"Schools that are on [the Lawson] side of Stevens Creek Boulevard are generally showing growth while some schools on the other side of Cupertino are showing a decline over time," says Linda Denman, assistant superintendent. At 12 acres, Lawson is one of the district's smaller middle school campuses, and the district expects the projected influx of new students to strain resources there.

If the Mandarin program remains on site, the district would have to add as many as three modular classrooms to the small campus, which would most likely take away outdoor play space, Denman said.

Lawson Middle and Meyerholtz Elementary schools are the current homes for the language program, which mixes English and Mandarin instruction with regular district curriculum.

"We have a very successful program in our community. We want to make the best decision possible that can help sustain this popular program well into the future," Denman says.

On Nov. 10, the school board looked at possible alternatives to adding modular units at Lawson, which currently has 1,060 students. The options included moving the language program to Miller or Kennedy middle schools. Miller is 22 acres and enrollment is expected to drop there by about 200 students in 2012. The district could accommodate the Chinese Language Immersion Program in two modular units without eating away at play space on campus, according to officials.

At Kennedy, which is 25 acres, the program would require two to four portable classrooms.

Like Lawson, Hyde and Cupetino middle schools have size issues.

Attendance at Hyde Middle School is expected to remain stable at about 929 students, but the 10-acre campus would require about four to six modular units to house CLIP. District officials said the additional classrooms would have a significant impact on athletic fields and hard court.

A move to the 21-acre Cupertino Middle School would require the same amount of modular units and also would cut into playing field space. Each modular unit will cost about $120,000, according to the district.

An extreme alternative would see the elementary and middle school CLIP programs merge into a single site either by creating a new site or moving operations to Meyerholtz Elementary School. Such proposals could require eliminating a school and readjusting school boundaries.

Denman called these ideas "very unlikely" and "not a viable alternative." The immersion program began in 1998 with one kindergarten class. There will be close to 500 elementary and middle school-aged students enrolled in the program in 2010. Students are selected to attend the program on a lottery system upon enrollment. The program is open to all students in the district.

The district provides no transportation for students to get to the CLIP campuses. The CUSD school board will review how to approach the issue in coming weeks. Denman said the district is still gathering information.

= CUSD Board Meeting Agenda, December 8, 2009 = = =
 * Online Petition - CLIP Middle School Priority Issue **

This is the online petition for the CLIP Middle School Concerns. It's a collective effort that represent us as a community, regardless of site preference. The school board decision will impact us all. Please join us and voice your support for CLIP by electronically signing the petition.

Background
CLIP expanded to middle school in August, 2006 at Lawson Middle School. The debate surrounding the initial decision was that parents wished to have the site at Miller, but the School Board decided on Lawson due to available space at the time.

Arguments in Favor of Continuing at Lawson

 * Avoid problems with transitioning to a new site.
 * Lawson staff are committed to CLIP and have made strides in terms of integration.
 * Misconception of extra elective at Miller. 6th graders use zero period and 1st period for Mandarin which is currently not an option at Miller. Periods and electives will be same at both middle schools.
 * Mr. Kuan and Ms. Robinson can help each other out by having combo classes if necessary (as seen by the current 6th grade overflow into the 7th grade class). Come next year, Mr. Kuan can be moved to Miller for the 6th graders; however, who will assist Ms. Robinson with the overly large 7th grade class (40+ students) and the 8th grade class (30+ students)? Will another teacher need to be hired to assist at Lawson in order to breakup the 7th grade class? Or will Ms. Robinson need to just deal with a large 7th grade class?
 * As far as curriculum is concerned, transitioning from grade to grade is easier if the teachers are at the same school. There is currently a large disparity between the 5th grade and the 6th grade. In part, this is due to the teachers being on two different campuses run by two different principals who gives CLIP an extremely different priority due to the size of the CLIP population on their respective campuses (as seen by Ms. Alfonso's overwhelming involvement in CLIP at Meyerholz and Mr. Sonntag's passing CLIP to Mr. Bowman). Will having CLIP on three campuses create a more cohesive program? Probably not, probably just the opposite.
 * Regarding lack of space, it would be the district's responsibility to redraw the boundary for Middle Schools. CLIP should not move around like a foster child. The district made a decision and should follow through with their commitment. Overcrowding issues may occur at Miller 3-4 years from now. One parent suggests to have Lawson take over the CUSD office that is next to campus, and relocate CUSD offices and bus depot to another location.

Arguments in Favor of Transitioning to Miller

 * Meyerholz students will all funnel into one school.
 * Trend of declining neighborhood enrollment. Please see Linda Denman's CUSD Board presentation below. This means less crowds (projected 900+ students by 2013 vs Lawson's 1500+), less traffic (better safety), better chance for enrichment activities.
 * Larger campus to accompany modular classrooms (22 acre vs Lawson's 12 acre), if needed.
 * All the great things at Lawson can be achieved at Miller with committed district administrators and parent community. Zero period can be permitted to CLIP 6th graders with district backing.
 * Short term instability with the program at 2 middle schools, however transitioning to Miller will create longer term stability.
 * Effects of transition for 5th graders moving to 6th will be the same. Current students at Lawson will not be affected and will finish CLIP at Lawson.
 * Regarding redrawing the Middle School boundary lines, it may take a long time to sort out as neighborhood parents may not want to redraw for our modest program.
 * Zero period starts at 7:45 at Miller as opposed to 7:20 at Lawson.


 * Other Alternatives:**
 * K-6 at Meyerholz, 7-8th continue at Lawson The District was planning on closing Meyerholz before CLIP moved there. Their enrollment was too small that it wasn't worth keeping open. One of the options given to the neighborhood Meyerholz was that if CLIP moved there, Meyerholz would be able to remain open to them. Many of the neighborhood families at Meyerholz would not appreciate being forced out of Meyerholz because CLIP needed space for 1-2 classrooms of 6th graders.
 * K-8: Please see Wiki page on CLIP Campus

Periods and Electives at Middle School
Both Lawson and Miller have 7 periods, one of which is a //Zero// period (before school) that is primarily available to 7th & 8th graders. 6th graders have the following 6 courses: language arts, math, science, social studies, PE and one elective (band, choir, exploratory wheel). 7th & 8th graders are allowed an additional elective during the Zero period.

The CLIP program requires 2 elective periods, and Lawson allows CLIP 6th graders to use the Zero period as a special case to satisfy the requirement. There would not be any other electives for CLIP students (though some parents point out that CLIP's Mandarin is a great elective). Richard Taylor, previous principal of Miller, would not make the same exception for CLIP 6th graders if the program had moved there. According to parents, Mr. Taylor had stated that he did not want to open the door for other interested groups to ask for the Zero period. However, we do not know if it is the same policy under the new principal. With district support and community pressure, Miller may open up the Zero period for 6th graders.

(Very Rough) Example of Middle School Schedule, regardless of location:
 * Period 0: CLIP
 * Period 1: CLIP
 * Period 2: language arts
 * Period 3: math
 * Period 4: science
 * Period 5: social studies
 * Period 6: PE

**Presentation at CUSD Board Meeting, November 10, 2009 by Linda Denman, Ass. Superintendent:**


Additional Notes, courtesy Tiare Lee:
 * Issues with moving to Miller:**
 * no zero period for 6th graders
 * flexibility of schedule for 7th and 8th graders
 * continuity from Meyerholz to Miller


 * Issues with keeping CLIP at Lawson:**
 * come 2010 - need 1 additional modular for CLIP
 * expense of modulars
 * those at Lawson currently will graduate from Lawson (current 6th and 7th graders)
 * upcoming 6th graders will go to new Middle School thus splitting the resources between two Middle Schools
 * continuity and stability of program

December 2009 District Board meeting to discuss demographic report Board must come to a decision at January 2010 meeting since February 2010 is open enrollment month


 * Summary:**
 * 1) greatest amount of usable acreage
 * 2) least amount of modulars needed to be built (lowest facility cost to District)
 * 3) lowest number of projected enrollment
 * 4) least impact to all Middle Schools (less intra-district transfers)

Miller looks like the answer as far as the facility-side of the equation is concerned. Since this meeting was a facility-information meeting, no decisions were made.

Miller Transition Committee



The **CLIP middle school budget** proposal submitted to CLIPCO by Linda Denman, Pam Gaderlund and the Lawson and Miller Middle School administrators was approved with a few exceptions (see latest CLIPCO Newsletter for details). Since CLIPCO had a few questions about the technology budget and how it is split between Lawson and Miller, Linda and Pam will clarify their technology proposal and resubmit it to Clarissa in time for the June 12 CLIPCO meeting. The intention is to place orders over the summer and have all necessary curriculum, textbooks, workbooks, resource materials, and computers in the classroom when school starts in August.

Pam Gaderlund clarified the decision by the joint Elementary-Middle School CLIP team regarding **traditional vs. simplified characters**. The elementary school curriculum will use traditional characters (supported by Bo-Po-Mo-Fo) for all instruction through 5th grade. In middle school, the texts will continue to use traditional characters. Simplified characters will be introduced in middle school. This decision was announced at an MCAC meeting earlier this year, but has not been widely communicated. Linda recommended that this decision be communicated broadly at the back-to-school meetings in August.

Pam Gaderlund reported that the **sixth grade social studies curriculum development** meetings are scheduled for the summer. The plan is to develop detailed plans for the first one or two units and well-developed outlines for the first three or four units. This will provide the material needed for August through December in a format that will allow refinement as the first units are tested in the classroom.


 * Master scheduling** at Miller is underway. Although scheduling for nearly 1200 students is never an easy task, there are no challenges specific to CLIP students. So, CLIP 6th grade program implementation is expected to go forward as previously reported.

CUSD will send an announcement out in all the elementary school newsletters that there are **openings for new 6th grade CLIP students for the 2010-2011 school year**. New students will be tested before being placed into CLIP.

This team will define the structure of a **new Miller CAC** in the fall once we have gained some experience with how things are running at Miller and understand what the ongoing needs will be.