 
# JUST SAYIN...

#### By Sandy Asper

##### Columnist/Author
Copyright Sandy Asper 2012

Published at Smashwords
Sandy Asper is still wondering what she's going to be when she grows up after 40 years of teaching in junior high school where she was affectionately called "The Great White". Constantly looking for relevance with an irreverent attitude, she has written one hilarious book on dying, YES, THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT I MIGHT DIE...SOMEDAY (A LIGHTHEARTED WORKBOOK). Sandy and Bruce (the bemused spouse) have three children and six grandchildren, two of whom have illustrated her three "Grammy" books: My Grammy is a Surfer, Grammy is a New York Cab Driver, and Grammy is a Rock Star.

Sandy is also is an opinion columnist for www.newportbeach.patch.com, writing about education; both local and national.

This is how it began...

It all started when an editor sent me the following email:

Hello Sandy,

Thank you for using Newport Beach Patch. I'm wondering if you'd have any interest in writing some sort of column about education issues in Newport-Mesa. Education coverage on the site is admittedly insufficient and i am looking for ways to bolster it. What I have in mind is a weekly, hyperlocal opinion column. Let me know if you have any interest and we'll talk.

Thank you,

Luke

SANDY

Hi Luke...let's talk..

LUKE

Great. Can I give you a call tomorrow? What time is good for you, and what number?

LUKE

Hello Sandy,

I am going to have to cover the Balboa Ferry marker re-dedication at 11 today. Can I call you around 1 p.m.?

SANDY

Hi Luke....how about around 11:00 a,m.?

Talk to you...

Sandy

Frankly, I couldn't believe that someone would actually pay me for my opinion, but they did. The thing is I have a million opinions; just ask me....and Patch.com did.

The following are all the columns for the first months. Although they are written about Newport Beach and Costa Mesa schools along with thoughts about education in general, these could be Anytown anywhere in the U.S.

## THE COLUMNS  
(latest column is first)

##  Opinion: Lesson Plan for Christmas

#### Sandy Asper gives readers a lesson plan.

##### December 19, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

**Objectives**

Students/readers will remember their favorite Christmas.

Students/readers will understand the concept that it really is better to give than receive.

Students/readers will learn to distinguish between character traits that are explicitly called out in a story and character traits that they infer from a story.

**Learning Outcomes**

Students/readers will understand the true meaning of Christmas through their own experiences.

**Lesson Procedure**

Students/readers will relate their own experiences in the comment section.
**Introduction**

I was 18 years old and it was my second or third year working at the Orange Belt Emporium, which was the best and only department store in Pomona, CA.

It was two or three weeks before Christmas and being crazy for the holiday, I thought it would be a great idea to talk the whole store into doing something great. Most of the women I worked with were old...not older...old, and sometimes pretty cranky. They worked on commission, and I had "street cred" with them because I gave them my sales so that they could get their impossible commission money.

Regardless, they were not enthusiastic about my big idea. The older women in cosmetics, lingerie, fabrics, household goods and even the elevator lady went negative. The boys in shoes were cautious but okay, and the guys in toys were all for it.

We found out that one of the gals who worked in the office had neighbors who were in trouble. One of their three kids was very ill and they had to go to a hospital in Los Angeles three times a week. They had no money and were not going to have a Christmas.

After hearing the story, my cranky crew in sportswear and the entire third floor said yes, and dug into their pockets. The guys in footwear were all over it. Cosmetics was in. The guys in toys started subtly making some toys "lightly used" and created quite a grouping. Even the greedy owners showed some mild enthusiasm and gave a small amount of cash. The small older woman in sportswear who lived in a trailer gave more than they did. Isn't that always the way?

By Christmas Eve, we had a crazy amount of money and purchased clothes, food, toys (the toy department had a lot of lightly-used toys), a tree, ornaments, and a cazillion brand new dollar bills. The lady who worked in the office got her neighbors out of the house Christmas Eve and five of us opened the door to one of the most depressing apartments I have ever seen.

It took us a few hours to decorate the tree with ornaments and dollar bills, nestle in the beautifully wrapped presents (thanks to the gift-wrapping department), and put the huge turkey and the rest of the food in the refrigerator before we tiptoed out.

We walked out kind of weepy but so happy and excited for this family, and went directly to church. It wasn't planned to go to church, but it seemed right.

The day after Christmas, the woman from the office told everyone at the store that her neighbors opened the door and couldn't believe what they saw. They laughed and cried, and we laughed and cried hearing about it.

But here's the best thing...the very best thing: They never knew who had made their Christmas. They never found out.

_Best Christmas ever._

**Student/Reader Activity**

Students/readers will evaluate their own favorite Christmas memories and write in the comment section if they are brave enough.

**Evaluation**

Students/readers will be evaluated on their comment's honesty, humanity, relevance, and humor following the precept that it truly is "better to give than receive."

**Homework**

Watch It's a Wonderful Life three times.

### Opinion: The Day I Met Nancy Rousseau

#### Sandy Asper talks about one of her educational heroes.

##### December 14, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Note: Please watch the video before you read this.

Watch video on YouTube

Nancy Rousseau wouldn't see me, she said she was too busy but I decided to drop by Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas anyway.

As I was talking to her secretary, Rousseau blew in, took one look at me and agreed to see me for just a few minutes. Rousseau was the principal of Central High six years ago, and she's the principal today.

I had traveled all over the country, talked to educators thinking that I was going to write a book about education tentatively called "What's Wrong With Education and How to Fix It". I never wrote the book, but I met the most fascinating people along the way and one of the most fascinating and my personal favorite was Rousseau.

Rousseau was distracted with planning the 50th reunion of the Little Rock Nine when I met her. It was the celebration of the integration of nine black students into Central High in 1957. She had reason to be nervous as there were going to be thousands of people there, and Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Governor Huckabee were coming to speak. And then of course were "The Nine" who were going to be honored.

Nancy told me yesterday that Clinton gave an "impassioned speech", and the nine students that walked through those doors in 1937 risking their lives were "very touching."

Here's the part that "knocked me out", as Holden Caufield would say, I walked with Principal Rousseau down the beautiful halls of Central High and what struck me was her relationship with the students. They clearly loved her and not only did she know their names, but she clearly loved them as well.

Nancy told me about the Katrina students that they had just integrated into the school a few months before. Ms. Rousseau anticipated problems between her students and with the Katrina kids, so she called them all to an assembly and told them they were all "Tigers" now, and that they were a family and that she expected no less of them.

Apparently, everyone fell in line except this one kid...the kind of kid that keeps teachers and principals up at night. You know the one that has such potential, but simply can't stay out of trouble and you have to let them go. That's what happened to this kid. They had to expell him. Rousseau had a personal relationship with him, talked to him a lot, but in the end, he had to go. He left Little Rock and went back to New Orleans. She found out later that he was shot and killed.

So yeah, Nancy is one of my heroes because she agreed to talk to a white haired pushy stranger in the middle of planning an amazing event, didn't take the normal route to the job that she "loves", knows all the kids names, and is so proud of her school and her kids. She says about her life in educataion "I adore the way I've lived my life". I also love the way she's lived her life.

I know Nancy Rousseau would kill me if I didn't mention that Central High School in Little Rock Arkansas is the only school in the nation that has been designated a national park.

Go Nancy Rousseau and the Tigers!

### Opinion: Amid Tragedy, Newport-Mesa Pulls Together

#### Sandy Asper writes about lessons to be learned from a sad death.

##### December 6, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Hundreds of people showed up at Fairview Community Church in Costa Mesa on Monday to lend support to Kimberly Claytor and her family.

They filled the church and spread out to the patio off the sanctuary. They stood quietly around the edges of the church for almost two hours: two of the saddest yet most joyful hours most of us had ever experienced in a memorial service. It was beautiful.

The service was for Korey Menden, a 30-year-old man who died suddenly last week. One outstanding thing about this memorial was the love that surrounded the family. The support from those attending was palpable.

Another thing that stood out was truth punctuated with raw emotion.

The family didn't hide the fact that Korey died because of drugs. They talked about it openly. Westley, the amazing younger brother, read a letter to Korey and joined other speakers in painting a portrait of an extraordinary young man. Korey had played football for Estancia and excelled in almost every sport. Westley said all he wanted in life was to be just like his older brother. When Westley cried and spoke, he was physically surrounded by his older sister and brother. Everyone who talked was physically surrounded by family members. It was tough.

Minister Sarah Halverson made it clear to everyone that it was perfectly appropriate to cry at this time and in this place. I don't know about the rest of the crowd, but my cheeks were wet throughout.

So why am I writing this column? Because I think there are two important things to say about this tragic event. One, Kimberly Claytor is the president of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers, and Korey was her son. Those who know Kimberly are not surprised she made the decision to be honest about Korey's death.

Kimberly has firm, unassailable beliefs about transparency and being secretive is just not in her DNA. As a result, the lesson to anyone in that room was that having a drug problem and possible dying resonates in a horrific way with everyone you know and people you have never met. I honestly think if a video of this service could be shown to people at risk, it would be an effective deterrent. A lesson for the living.

Sometimes, there are moments in our lives which transcend what has been going on. The atmosphere in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District has been nothing less than toxic, and Kimberly has been right in the middle of it. Yet this day, this service, this tragedy brought out the very best this district has to offer.

Sitting in the sanctuary were Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard, Assistant Superintendent John Caldecott, Trustee Dave Brooks, Trustee Katrina Foley, Trustee Yelsey, John Drake, CSEA President Cindy Means and many others from the district office, sitting together with teachers and the hundreds of others paying tribute to this extraordinary young man, his brave mother and her family.

Newport-Mesa always considers itself to be an outstanding district, and on this day it was.

### Opinion: I'm Embarrassed, Are You?

#### Sandy Asper feels sorry for the students that are growing up in this awkward and in some cases shameful society.

##### December 4, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

I'm embarrassed, I'm so embarrassed. I sit here in my warm bedroom, in my sweats, in a chair that is more comfortable than it should be, in a house just one block from the ocean (where I hear the surf every night) and the bay where our Duffy sits (which is only used sporadically), and I write my little column.

I do a little research, feel angry about the way that education is going; not just in this little corner of the world, but all over the country. I feel sorry for the students that are growing up in this awkward and in some cases shameful society. I feel sorry for teachers everywhere who go to work, deal with the kids in every possible environment, and are told every day that they don't do enough and are not good enough. They're told that they need to work harder, and are constantly under the thumb of administrators who have worked their way up by climbing over their friends and colleagues.

And that's it. That's all I do. I furrow my brow, whine about it, write the column and think I've done something.

I'm embarrassed for Administrator "A" who briefly worked as a semi-principal in the most embarrassing district in Orange County (south county), spent exactly two years getting his doctorate during school hours in this district, made his bones in Newport Mesa by being the "Newest Shiny Thing", and as a reward was promoted to a new job over more seasoned people, which is accompanied by the usual bloated salary.

I'm embarrassed that "educational cronyism" is rampant in Newport Mesa.

I'm embarrassed that the trustees (I think that I'm going to rename them just "The Ees" and leave the trust part out) are so dumb that they upgrade the superintendent's pay every five seconds, pay no attention to what is really going on in the district because it's easier to believe what the very expensive superintendent's and directors tell them instead of actually asking questions and doing some independent research, and really act like giddy school girls at board meetings.

At this point I'd like to once again recommend interns for each trustee (the current ones and trustees who might replace the incumbants). Research people! I'm embarrassed that you don't visit schools, unannounced and without the red carpet treatment. Do yard duty. Get to know the students. Do your job.

I'm embarrassed that my neighbors and my community, and the Costa Mesa community (where I loved teaching at Tewinkle), just sit there, thinking. I don't know what they're thinking when they read the paper and realize that their taxes are being spent to float a sometime vacationing superintendent, and support mega money spent on Assistant Superintendents and Directors who's apparent job is to make work for the already embattled teachers. Please tell...what **are** you thinking? Why aren't you **calling** , **writing letters** , and yes even **going to the meetings**.

Yeah, I'm embarrassed. Are you?

### Opinion: Full of Thanks and No Thanks

#### Sandy Asper "almost" recounts the things for which she's not grateful.

##### November 24, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

I started to write a short holiday piece about the things I'm not grateful for, such as  Superintendent Hubbard's legal woes, the dark atmosphere that pervades teaching in this district recently, the perfidy of some administrators, the ridiculous behavior of the school board (Trustee Foley excepted), the worship of professional learning communities (PLCs), the money spent on Solution Tree PLC, the out-of-this-world salaries paid to some administrators, and the stunningly large number of those same administrators. Have I mentioned the Hubbard thing and the unbelievable behavior of the board in its puzzling and very bad decisions.

But here's the worst thing: public inattention. It's hard to understand why in the world the Newport Beach and Costa Mesa community isn't holding its own Occupy N-MUSD. The misspent money alone is reason to rise up and march to Baker Bear. It's horrifying that N-MUSD has been mentioned in the national news several times and not in a good way. **Where are you, taxpayers?**

And then there are the students and teachers who just keep plugging along. Kids putting up with huge classes and outdated textbooks. Teachers putting up with the same things plus the enmity of society.

But after going through the proposed column–which I tentatively and creatively titled "Things I'm Not Thankful For"–I began recounting the things I am grateful for: the health of my three children and six grandchildren; my funny and loyal husband, who always lies and says everything I think and write is brilliant; the ability to ride my bike 20 miles a day (most days); friends; fun; and the warmth of my life.

I'm so glad I didn't write that negative column, aren't you?

### Opinion: The Ensign Challenge, Inspired by a Victim of Columbine

#### The inspiring story of Rachel Scott has prompted action by students in Newport Beach.

##### November 10, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Before you read this watch the video.

Watch video on YouTube

Sounds of teens quietly crying filled the gym at Ensign Intermediate School in Newport Beach a few weeks ago. Ali Nourbakhsh, the presenter for the program called Rachel's Challenge, spoke in a quiet voice about Rachel Scott, who was the first person to be killed at Columbine that horrible day. Nourbakhsh's words were punctuated with videos of Rachel's family and friends.

Rachel's diaries were found shortly after her death and in them she spoke of what she called her "ethics and codes of life", and they go like this:

  * Don't have prejudices before you know someone. Look for the best in others.

  * Treat others the way you want to be treated.

  * Choose positive influences.

  * Speak words of kindness not cruelty.

  * Forgive. Especially forgive yourself.

It's all de rigueur right? It's not that these are new to any of us, but when you are sitting on bleachers in a hot gym with Rachel and the other victim's photos juxtaposed on the screen, with videos of people talking about the wonder that was Rachel Scott, how she might have changed the world, and how you might change the world too, it doesn't feel old. It feels good and important.

Teens can be moved to tears one minute and a nanosecond later have completely forgotten about what that moment meant to them. Unless there are follow-up activities, it is quickly forgotten.

Laurie Rybaczyk, the counselor at Ensign, knows all too well about bullying. She hears about it every day, and understands how important it is to confront it **immediately** , so she and counselor Crissa Soto decided not to let it fade away, and is conducting discussions about the "Ensign Challenge" in all 7th and 8th grade Language Arts classes.

"We created a guidance presentation that would inspire and empower students to take a united stand against bullying. Handing out the "See a bully, Stop a Bully" wrist bands was the perfect way to end class," Rybaczyk explained. &;dquo;They needed to be reminded that they CAN make a difference and be an everyday hero just by reporting bullying to an adult."

Rybaczyk also reminds students to think of Rachel and her ethics, and her wonderful humanity. She shows a video called "Hero" (included in this column) which is incredibly moving and reminds the kids that they can be heroes as well. All they have to do is tell an adult when they see bullying.

Rybaczyk is changing the world at Ensign and Rachel would have approved.

### Opinion: Two Issues, No Decisions From School Board

#### The Newport-Mesa Unified School District's board of education met Tuesday

##### November 10, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

It was an evening of tension at this week's Newport-Mesa Unified School District's board of education meeting.

The vote of no confidence in  Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard—taken by teachers on Nov. 3—was presented to the board by Newport Mesa Federation of Teachers' President Kimberly Claytor. Ballots were cast by 379 teachers, and of those, 91.2 percent voted no confidence in Hubbard. Several people spoke on behalf of the vote including Sarah Auwarter, fourth-grade teacher at Pomona Elementary School.

She pointed out how much money was being diverted from her students as a result of the finances surrounding Hubbard, saying it "was not an appropriate way to spend resources."

It was unclear at the end of the meeting how the issue would be resolved.

Trustee Katrina Foley discussed the problem that some Costa Mesa schools have raising the money for children to attend sixth-grade science camp. The individual school sites are charged with coming up with the funds for their pupils to attend outdoor science camp. Although the N-MUSD promises science camp for all, there is an inequity in the length of time students are allowed to stay, which can vary from two days and one night, to five days and four nights.

The price per student can be as little as $74 and as much as $446. The money is raised by parents, various forms of fund-raising activities and foundation contributions. There was no argument about the importance of the camps. Patrick Botero, who attended the camp while a student at Davis, told the board that he "never knew how dark it could be and he could see the stars."

Foley expressed her profound disappointment with the district, citing the money that is spent on programs and personnel that have little to do with student needs. She asked for a motion to place on the agenda a waiver of transportation money to support the camps and said she felt the district should fund the camps.

Tracey Batero, a parent at Early College High School, spoke emotionally about "putting the children first" and accused the board of not understanding the plight some students face.

### The Teachers Are Finally Speaking Out

#### The president of the teachers' union calls for a vote of no confidence.

##### November 2, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

In December 2010, news broke about the charges against Jeffrey Hubbard, the head of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. The teachers said nothing.

Not long after, the  amorous emails were disclosed in a report by the Orange County Register. The teachers said nothing.

Hubbard then took administrative leave with full pay, meaning that Paul Reed, the assistant superintendent, had to take the helm asking for and receiving a raise that equaled Hubbard's salary. Again, the teachers said nothing.

In June, Hubbard decided (unilaterally) to  return.

Just last month  a new charge was added that involved Nora Roque, a transfer to N- MUSD in 2008, who was hired as coordinator of administrative services and in 2010 was made director of classified personnel, ostensibly with the proper vetting and procedures. Finally, the teachers decided to speak.

This is a tricky situation for the teachers because they believe in "innocent until proven guilty," so they have heretofore said nothing.

Because of Hubbard's behavior in taking five months off to "prepare his case" (which would be impossible for any other district employee), his lack of concern for the financial position in which he has put the district and succeeding in making N-MUSD a joke, the teachers are finally speaking.

Last week Kimberly Claytor, president of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers, presented Hubbard with the resolution calling for a vote of "no-confidence." She didn't really have to give him warning, as he certainly didn't discuss any of his odd events with the executive board of the federation, nor did he apologize to the teachers directly, althoughhecontinuestoshowerpraiseandhumbleness allovertheboard,andthe PTA. Ms. Claytor alerted him because it was the right thing to do.

The "No-Confidence Resolution" reads as follows:

NMFT RESOLUTION

CALLING FOR A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE OF SUPERINTENDENT JEFFREY HUBBARD

Whereas, Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard was and is required to prepare and defend criminal charges filed against him by the Los Angeles District Attorney based on allegations stemming from his actions while serving as Superintendent of Beverly Hills Unified School District: and Whereas, Hubbard admittedly authored explicit and inappropriate electronic mail and exhibited a history of showing favoritism toward high-level administrators, setting a low standard of conduct for all students and employees of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District: and

Whereas, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District's Board of Education has provided executive level compensation and leave of absence to Hubbard to prepare his legal defense concerning these allegations from his previous employment: and

Whereas, Hubbard's paid leave of absence may well turn out to be a gift of public funds, but regardless is contrary to the interests of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District's core educational mission: and

Whereas the (approximately) $125,000 paid to Hubbard while on leave was diverted from benefiting students in the classroom and instead was used for work unrelated to the district's educational mission: and

Whereas, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District's Board of Education preference for Hubbard far exceeds any reasonable benefit that he or any other district employee could or should expect: and

Whereas, the multiple felony counts Jeffrey Hubbard is on trial for have been and will continue to be a distraction that hinders his job performance: and

Whereas, the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers is the appropriate forum for a referendum of these essential issues to provide a collective voice to the concerns of our membership: and

Whereas, the leadership of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers has been petitioned by members throughout the district to publicly express the collective voice of the membership.

Therefore, be it resolved that the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers Executive Board and Site Representative Assembly recommend a vote of no-confidence for Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard.

Be it further resolved that the findings of the vote be presented to the NMUSD Board of Trustees

Hubbard sent an email to the employees of the district that can only be defined as self- serving. In his email, he blames the vote of no-confidence on the NMFT 's unhappiness over the last contract, (completely exonerating himself). He goes on to brag about the district's successes (even though he was gone for most of the school year). In his hurry to flaunt his accomplishments, he forgot to mention that the teachers have taken a cut in pay up to $2,000 out of pocket for benefits. They have experienced layoffs and the multitude of human resource errors connected to those layoffs. He then finally talks about how great the employees are, which he has previously neglected to do, and ends with a tip of the hat to religion.

Sadly, this letter is a perfect example of the man himself.

In my opinion, he should have resigned after the email debacle, or, at the very least, taken a cut in salary and apologized to the entire community, including the excellent employees.

The cautious support of the CSEA (California School Employees Association) and the principals is understandable considering that the leadership of the CSEA resides at the district office, and the principals answer directly to the superintendent. Can you say "awkward and "retaliation"?

So the teachers' leadership has spoken, and although the vote has not been counted at this time as it takes place next week, the administration is already spinning it, but they won't be able to spin it enough. The confidence in Hubbard is gone.

### Opinion: Questions to the N-MUSD School Board

#### Sandy Asper poses new questions in light of a Daily Pilot article.

##### October 25, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

TO TRUSTEES: Walt Davenport, Judy Franco, Karen Yelsey, Dana Black, Dave Brooks, Martha Fluor, Katrina Foley

Dear Trustees,

In light of your  recent interviews with the Daily Pilot, and your support for  Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard, I have a couple of follow-up questions for you. I will publish them exactly as you write them without any comment from me, nor will I comment in any later column. Before the column is published, I will email them to you, and will make any changes you would like. Patch.com will publish your answers or lack thereof.

1. When were you made aware of potential charges against Supt. Hubbard?

2. What evidence can you cite regarding the charges against Hubbard that convinces you of his innocence?

3. What auditor did you use with what specific results?

4. Do you feel that superintendents have the right to act without the approval of the school board?

5. Have you had any contact with Beverly Hills regarding this issue before or after the indictment?

-Sandy Asper

www.newportbeach.patch.com

TRUSTEE DAVENPORT

Sandy - My reply at this time is to echo Karen Yelsey's reply.

TRUSTEE BROOKS

Decline to answer

TRUSTEE BLACK

Decline to answer

TRUSTEE FLUOR

Decline to answer

TRUSTEE FOLEY

1. When were you made aware of potential charges against Dr. Hubbard?

I was informed by the press first sometime before I was sworn in as a school board trustee after the election in November 2010.

2. What evidence can you cite regarding the charges against Dr. Hubbard that convinces you of his innocence?

I don't know one way or the other because I have not been briefed on the evidence by either the prosecution or the defense counsel.

3. What auditor did you use with what specific results?

I'm not certain as to what this question relates. Other than the normal audits performed for the District, no specialized formal audit has been conducted to my knowledge.

4. Do you feel that superintendents have the right to act without the approval of the school board?

It depends. Certainly there is discretion by the superintendent as to daily operations and management. The NMUSD board of trustees however are responsible for approving employee contracts, establishing district policy and programs, overseeing budget expenditures, deciding settlements and claims, adopting standards for both curriculum related and personnel matters, assessing financial stability and measuring progress toward accomplishment of key district objectives, amongst other things.

5. Have you had any contact with Beverly Hills regarding this issue before or after the indictment?

I served a public records request on the Beverly Hills attorneys and received a copy of the deposition in the civil matter.

TRUSTEE YELSEY

Sandy,

I will answer any of your questions after Dr. Hubbard's trial which is set for November 10. At this point, I don't think his right to a fair trial should be jeopardized by any remarks I may make prior to the trial. I hope you can understand and respect that.

On the other hand, I would be happy to meet you for coffee to talk about NMUSD. I enjoyed working with you back in 2006 during the election and don't think we've gotten together since then. Let me know if you have some time.

Best,

Karen

TRUSTEE FRANCO

I respectfully decline to comment until Dr. Hubbard's trial is over. Thank you for understanding.

THE BACK STORY...

This column was written because I wanted to reference Salinger. As you can see it was a stretch.

### Opinion: White Flight and J.D. Salinger

#### Everyone is Salinger's "Fat Lady."

##### October 14, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

_In Salinger's short novel Franny and Zooey, the Glass family kids were on a weekly radio show called "It's a Wise Child." When they complained that it was a radio program and no one would see them, so why dress up, their older brother Seymour tells them to shine their shoes for the "Fat Lady." They didn't know what it meant but shined their shoes and dressed up for every show. Franny's nervous breakdown was resolved when Zooey told her that "Everybody is Seymour's Fat Lady."_

The Daily Pilot's series about  White Flight in Costa Mesa was excellent, although white flight is certainly not new in Newport Mesa. Scott Paulsen showed us the answer when he became the principal of Tewinkle in the '80s, and the answer is... wait for it...

LEADERSHIP; leadership and the cooperation of parents who are dedicated to a neighborhood school.

Tewinkle had just begun its version of the white exodus when Paulsen was placed there in one of the smarter moves by the administration of that time. He made Tewinkle fun. He knew every student. He called upon parents, and although almost every principal worth their salt knows how to pick PTA leaders, he had a real knack for it. He made Tewinkle a destination for parents who had already left, and ones who were considering leaving. He created an atmosphere where children felt at home and enjoyed a great education, and the parents came in droves to support him.

He did the same thing at Ensign when the administration moved him from Tewinkle for the same reason. There he created the Ambassadors and Ethnic Forum, who's motto was "To know me is to love me," and once again played Hans Brinker with a finger in the dike.

So we know how to solve White Flight. It has to do with leadership and parents who want to have community schools and not run in fear to another district.

But I have seriously digressed. The part of these articles that stuck out for me was the mention of the "Motel Kids" as being one of the reasons for the flight from Costa Mesa to Huntington Beach. I had never considered this a possible reason.

Families who live in cheap motels are there for varied reasons, and lately these reasons have a lot to do with the economy. The kids who live in these motels face many problems. They constantly are moving around. Family problems including alcoholism often plays a part. It's embarrassing. They can't have friends over, and fitting in is very hard.

I understand parents who don't want their kids exposed to a situation which they don't fully understand and don't trust. In addition, parents worry about the ability of these kids to keep up in school, which they feel puts their own students at risk for not getting a good education.

I get it.

I don't know the answer, but to me, these kids are Salinger's "Fat Lady" ... the poor, the hurt, the ignored, the shunned, and the kids that desperately need the help of a warm, friendly neighborhood school and a wonderful education.

Salinger actually says it best, when he says "Everyone is the Fat Lady, Buddy".

So parents, shine your shoes, dig in, trust the professional teachers, get to know your neighbors, the family in the motel, and figure out a way to help everyone have an excellent education.

### Opinion: What About the Bully?

#### The bully has been left out of the solution equation.

##### October 4, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Bullying is a pandemic.

It's in small towns you've never heard of like New England villages, large cities like Buffalo, New York, where 14-year-old Jamey Rodemeyer hung himself, Massachusetts where Phoebe Prince, an Irish immigrant, committed suicide, Marshall, Minnesota, where two 14-year-olds, Haylee Fentress, and her best friend, Paige Moravetz, completed a suicide pact, Tyler Clementi, a  Rutgers University freshman jumped off a bridge and Minnesota's Anoka-Hennepin School District, where six students committed suicide in less than two years.

All of these suicides were linked to bullying.

We can no longer say that kids have always done this, and then in that cranky, old voice say, "Kids should learn how to deal with the bullying themselves, that's what we did. Why I remember when...."

We now have the Internet and the general overall acceptance of meanness in society. Don't kid yourself that everything our kids are exposed to doesn't seep into the psyche of a kid.

Sadly, Orange County is not immune to this phenomenon. But you've heard all this; read all this. There are many ways we've been conditioned to handle bullying as a parent, how the schools should handle it, and what part the police and courts should play. But I would propose that one group has been left out of this equation: the bully.

In my experience as a student (yes, I can actually remember that far back), and more importantly as a teacher, one of the victims in a weird way is the bully.

I don't care if the bully is a really large fourth-grade kid, the quarterback of the football team, the kid that's been voted "the cutest" in his/her middle school, president of a club, the high school prom king, head of the cheer squad, homecoming queen, or what color or religion he/she is. If they bully people, they are in trouble themselves. They are being neglected or abused at home, some psychological things are playing out in their home, they are horribly insecure or something else is wrong.

Kids who are **happy and secure do not bully!**

In my classes I often drew this picture on the board: **The story of a bully**.

One small dot is the bully. He starts out bullying the victim. The other dots around him, and his fake circle of security, are the insecure followers.

In the bully's twisted theory, he makes himself larger by making fun of and hurting the victim.

The small dot (the victim) becomes significantly smaller (sometimes so small that it goes away) as the bullying goes on.

So here's what I think: We should focus on the bully, make signs and bracelets that say BULLIES ARE WEAK! or BULLIES ARE INSECURE! BULLY=WEAK. Kids do not like to be considered weak or troubled. It will work.

Then get the bully help.

### Opinion: A Tale of 2 Superintendents

#### Fresno County district is fortunate. And Newport-Mesa?

##### September 27, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

One is a superintendent of 35 school districts with 195,000 students. The other is a superintendent of one school district with 22,000 students. One's original salary was $235,000 plus benefits. The other's current salary is $300,000 plus benefits. One is putting more than $800,000 of his salary and benefits back to the district. The other is continuing to receive his $300,000 plus benefits even while his felony trial continues into November.

Superintendent Larry Powell, the superintendent of Fresno County schools, is now taking a salary of $31,000 with no benefits and will give even that salary to charity. N- MUSD Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard will continue with his $300,000 salary as he has for the entire year, even though he was on his own requested "administrative leave" for five months until he unilaterally decided to return.

It's true that Superintendent Powell will receive $200,000 a year when he retires, and it is also true that his wife, a former principal, receives a salary in retirement and they will both be using her benefits, but in this economy, giving up 800,000 is a huge deal.

According to Katelyn Carter, Powell's daughter, this is just de rigueur for the Powell family, which among other good deeds (and there have been plenty of them), adopted nine Hmong girls and their families, tutored them and took them on trips, and God knows what else. As a result, all nine girls are in college. Carter says that growing up in this family she understood that "if you don't make things better for those around you, you haven't done your job."

We don't know Hubbard's financial situation: what his wife makes, what money he's given away or what good works he's done. What we do know is that his salacious e- mails have been published, and he is the leader of 22,000 students, most of whom can read. Clearly the differences between these two men are stark.

Hubbard's salary is more than Powell's, yet there has been no such gesture on Hubbard's part. It would have been pretty wonderful had he offered to give up at least part of his salary during the five months he was home "preparing for his defense" and also getting married, but he didn't offer. Instead he asked for and got his entire salary while the board of education jacked up the assistant superintendent's salary.

So there you have it. The tale of two superintendents: one who cares about children and teachers, and the other?

### Opinion: It's All About Where You Sit in N-MUSD

#### The school board's seating arrangement sends a clear message -- the wrong message.

##### September 19, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

The seating is all wrong at Newport-Mesa Unified school board meetings.

Board members sit a few feet above the crowd in very comfortable swivel chairs (which Dr. Jeffrey Hubbard seems to especially enjoy), with computer screens that create a barrier between them and the rest of the room.

The seating chart goes like this: From left to right as you face the board, the first comfy chair is occupied by the superintendent's secretary, then Dr. Hubbard, then Walt Davenport, Dave Brooks, Dana Black, Judy Franco, Martha Fluor, Katrina Foley, Karen Yelsey and one of the student representatives. Continuing around and down a bit from the board are the student representatives from different schools.

Below them, also in a comfortable chair and at a very cool desk, sits the Harbor PTA President. Directly behind her and to the right sit representatives from the CSEA (California School Employees Association) and - to their left - the president of the NMFT (Newport Mesa Federation of Teachers) ... in straight–back chairs at what appear to be student desks. Parenthetically, Kimberly Claytor, the president of the NMFT, has the best posture in the room (so even in those severe chairs, she looks pretty regal).

The assistant superintendents - Chuck Hinman, Susan Astarita, Paul Reed and John Caldecott - also sit in comfortable swivel chairs and have a desk which does not look like it has been taken from a high school classroom.

The symbolism of this seating arrangement fairly screams who is important in the district and, more importantly, who isn't. Just in case I haven't spelled it out clearly, the superintendent and board trustees are the superior people in the room, then the students, the Harbor PTA President and the assistant "supers." Way down the list of importance are the presidents and representatives of the two unions for the 2,000+ people who actually make this district work and have held it together since its inception.

These representatives should have equal seating with the superintendent and school board members. They should also have equal time to speak and enlighten not only the audience, but the trustees.

As long as we are interested in changing the educational climate, we might consider the way the district has been run, complete with the administration calling the shots from those very comfortable swivel chairs.

It's time the board gives the people who do the hard work of educating children and supporting educators respect for their knowledge. Give them a seat at the table.

### Opinion: Summertime and the Livin' Ain't Easy

#### Summer for teachers is not what it's cracked up to be.

##### September 10, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

To the uninitiated, a teacher's real work begins around Labor Day. The two months leading up to that are commonly viewed as "vacation."

Sure, there are teachers who spend summers going to interesting places, hanging out at the beach and catching up with loved ones they haven't seen and barely know from being so busy during the previous 10 months.

But it's hard to explain teacher vacations to "civilians" (and I call them civilians because in so many ways teaching has become a kind of war).

A little background...

In the current environment, teachers are walking around with targets on their backs-- from school administrators, the public, parents and students.

Few understand the problems of the profession.

Let's start with classroom size. Having 27 students in a first-grade class might not seem like much. But, believe me, it doesn't matter how smart Mark is, how many words he can read and how many math facts he has under his little belt. He's still a little 6-year- old who can only sit still for 15 minutes max (unless he has his DSS in front of him). Here's the rub: His 15 minutes of calm never happens at the same time as Sally, John or Samantha's 15 minutes.

The last few years I taught, I had an average of 37 students in my classes and usually at least one with 40 students. So, I saw 175+ students per day. Can I just say: IMPOSSIBLE!

"Expectations will kill you" is my mantra, which I repeat to myself over and over about my own ridiculous expectations. But those aren't the only expectations teachers face. Administrators, from the superintendent on down, expect you to raise test scores, make the district look good, and not cause trouble by making annoying requests for things like smaller classes, fewer cuts, more materials or to occasionally be valued.

Principals expect all of the above, plus personal loyalty and taking on extra jobs that are often meaningless to students but very meaningful to administrators seeking advancement and pats on the behind. They also expect you to handle anything that comes up in the classroom, and I mean anything: the kid who simply walks out of the room, fights, mysterious crying, texting under the desk (occasionally and oddly to parents) and intermittent interruptions such as drills, announcements, assemblies and more.

One year, some of us had to move to temporary buildings so classroom improvements could be accomplished. The problem was that moving an entire classroom mid-year was a relatively impossible job that entailed soothing 175+ savage beasts during the move and after, when we were serenaded by jack hammers, loud pounding and workmen who apparently were never told they were working in a teaching environment.

Parenthetically, I never knew workmen talked (yelled) that much, nor did I realize how funny they all thought they were, and how much they gossiped. Why these improvements had to be made during the school day was unclear.

Parent expectations run the gamut from "I expect my child's intelligence will be challenged, and that he'll ace all tests, be exposed to the arts, have excellent coaching and be appreciated and nurtured" to "I hope he will stay in school all day without getting kicked out of class, swearing, fighting, hiding in the bathroom, talking back to the teacher and generally doing everything that he does at home."

Nevertheless, outside expectations are nothing compared to what teachers expect of themselves.

Which brings us back to "vacations." Here's the huge secret about teaching: You're never done. There is never a time when teachers think they have done enough, planned enough or executed enough. And it has nothing to do with the expectations of the people listed above. It has to do with caring about students.

Teachers running around all year with those targets on their backs (I swear I'm going to make T-shirts) return to school weeks early to prepare because the two paid days they get to do lesson plans, count books, decorate classrooms, organize dwindling materials, lift and move boxes, and countless other tasks are never enough. Very little of the two- day period is allotted for organizing a classroom.

Teachers also frequently spend the summer taking classes, going to PLC (Professional Learning Communities) training, getting advanced degrees and attending "voluntary" meetings at their schools.

Vacation? On any given summer day, if you drive by a school, check out the parking lot. I guarantee you will see teachers' cars there.

So welcome back y'all. It's almost as if you haven't been gone.

### Longtime Leader of N-MUSD Dies

#### Carol Berg passed away on Wednesday.

Carol Berg, a longtime administrator in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, died Wednesday, according to her family members.

Berg, of Newport Beach, began her career in the district in 1969 as a science teacher at the former Davis Middle School. She later served as principal at the now-closed Corona del Mar Elementary School, then became director of certificated personnel and assistant superintendent.

She was made deputy superintendent in 1989, and held the job when the district was rocked in 1992 by a $4-million embezzlement scandal. Following the resignation of Superintendent John W. Nicoll, Berg became acting superintendent and ran the district on a day-to-day basis until Mac Bernd was hired in the summer as superintendent.

Berg was instrumental in the creation of two language assessment centers, which assist families that do not speak English but need to get children registered for classes. She was also influential in staff development, parent education and in getting added instruction for some students during summer or Christmas vacations.

"Everyone I've spoken with who knew her said she was amazing, strong and had a incredible vitality and zest for life," said Laura Boss, district spokeswoman.

She resigned as the second-highest-ranking administrator in Newport-Mesa to accept a job in Sacramento with School Services of California, a private consulting firm. Berg also served as deputy superintendent in administrative services for the Anaheim Union High School District.

The cause of Berg's death was not disclosed.

### Opinion: Carol Berg Was a Force of Nature

#### "I hear her loud laughter each time I think of my friend Carol Berg."—Bill Nunan

##### September 2, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Berg began her career in the district in 1969 as a science teacher at Davis Middle School. She later became principal at Corona del Mar Elementary School and then director of certificated personnel and assistant superintendent in Newport-Mesa. Carol served until 1994, when she resigned for another job in Sacramento.

It was hard for me to wrap my mind around such a strong and vital woman leaving. I liked Carol a lot, and I was not alone.

**From Donna Ewing:**

While I was at Davis Middle School working with hearing-impaired teens in the 1970s, Carol was on the staff. I mainstreamed my students in her science class. She was an incredible teacher; I picked up some valuable skills just watching her in that role.

**From Paul Jordan:**

Carol Berg, as an elementary school principal, was on the district's negotiating team in Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers' earliest, very difficult years as the new bargaining agent for teachers. (You can't even imagine how toxic it was at the table in those days).

I was on leave, living in Japan (1983-86) when I learned that Carol had been appointed the district's new assistant superintendent for personnel. I sent a heartfelt personal letter of congratulations to Carol because she had always been so civil toward us and also supportive of teachers while serving on the district's negotiating team.

**From Jan Fisher:**

I think Carol meant more to me than to a lot of others because of our intern program. That was her baby. She always talked about how she wrote the proposal while she was skiing at Brian Head, and it was the best work she'd ever done. I will never forget the night Carol informed me that I was going to coordinate the intern program. This was to be Bill Nunan's first solo responsibility, so he needed some help, and I would be it. I told her I could not do it, that I already had three jobs and could barely keep my head above water. This was my first year as a master teacher, and I had Joi as my intern, my first year at Kaiser, and my first year in staff development. You know how Carol was, "Oh no problem, you can do that easily," and that was the end of the story. I went home and called Jackie, crying. Jackie said, "She cannot give you that job. You can't do it all; it's impossible." I said, that, yes, I knew all that and had told her so, but I was still the coordinator of the intern program.

The next morning was a rainy one, and Joi and I were standing at the front of that little portable classroom we were stuck in at Kaiser. Joi was just getting ready to launch into her lesson. All of a sudden, the door flew open, and there she was, bigger than life: Carol! Umbrella and brief case in hand, she filled the room with her presence. The kids were enchanted. I remember saying, "Oh, my God," and I looked at Joi, who was white as a ghost. Carol beckoned for me to come to the back table. She was already sitting down with her notebook open to the "plan" she had for the intern program. She said Jackie had called her and she was just shocked that I would think I could not add this fourth job, so she had worked it all out on paper and wanted me to see it. She said, "You can get Dave Brees to help, and the two of you can just get this program launched." I was still crying, but, you know, a few tears didn't bother Carol. She gave me the plan, assured me this would be a wonderful experience for me, and, just like she arrived, she flung open the door and left!

I was now the coordinator of the intern program, and my first task was calling Dave to co-coordinate the intern program. Looking back, of course, that was a gift Carol gave me that turned out to be the most rewarding of almost anything I did in education. Dave Brees and I had a ball with that program, and it certainly was a mighty one, with statewide recognition. Nothing had more support by John Nicoll than that one, either, as we remember by his uncharacteristically sentimental statement, "We can never destroy the seed corn.... We will always have a teacher training program like this one." Carol never let me forget that she was the one who insisted I involve myself with that program and wasn't I glad that she had stuck to her guns about it.

**From Liz Meyer:**

I most definitely felt a deep sadness upon hearing Carol Berg died. Over the years of meeting with her, negotiating against her, I came to have a deep respect for Carol. She could be tough and carry the district banner, but deep down in her heart she was a true teacher, and she never forgot that. When we negotiated, and demands became hard to agree to, and sides became bolted to their ideals, she would always come up with something that would make us all relax and realize we would all be successful if we just kept working, and we would come to an agreement. Her laugh or something she said would bring all of us back to reality, and the negotiation would proceed. Someone else could of caused a huge calamity, but Carol, being an educator and professional, just kept us going, and we solved the problem. No matter what happened with Carol, you always knew you would be able to reach an equitable solution. All this was accomplished without anyone ending up destroyed. This was a true act of a leader.

NMUSD lost a fine leader when Carol left, and educators lost a person who respected them and whom they in turn respected. This last statement was so strongly in evidence when you saw the way educators volunteered to assist Carol when she was in need.

Carol will be missed because she was a fine person and everyone knew this and enjoyed her.

**From Bill Nunan:**

I had the great good fortune to know Carol Berg for 25 years and work with her for 18 years. The years we worked together in the NMUSD were probably the high point of my 33 years in education. Carol started out in NMUSD as a physics teacher. She later became an elementary school principal, assistant superintendent of personnel and finally the deputy superintendent of the district. She was what I would term a "lighthouse educator." She was a beacon for others to follow and always stood straight and tall in everything she did.

I worked directly for Carol for 10 years at the district office. She started out as my mentor and evolved into a trusted friend and colleague. She was always the "brightest kid in class," but nobody minded. She never, ever, spoke down to anyone nor did anything to make them feel less special. This was her hallmark. Bright and beautiful, inside and out! She made other people feel bright and strong. She always treated professional educators as professionals. I admired that skill set so much that I made it my own goal throughout my career. Any success I had in this area I owe to Carol.

You know, I, and so many others, took so much from her and received so many gifts of insight that I never really realized I never gave her anything in return—although she would say that I gave her many insights, ideals—maybe a few good laughs. I never felt I was giving her anything she didn't already have or know.

Her character was such that she set her expectations for people very high. If I fell short on occasion, she would let me know what I had missed and let me work through the issue to resolve the problem—never blurting out the answer but gently guiding me along the path if I appeared lost. And what was so great was that she never made you feel that you let her down. She set high expectations but allowed a person to realize those expectations. It took hard work to meet those goals, but you always knew why you were called upon to respond and how much your efforts made to the good of the order. That is a true mentor, colleague and friend.

I don't think Carol ever had any idea what an impact she made on so many people: literally hundreds of educators, parents and students. She never sought recognition nor platitudes. Just do the job the best you can, don't hurt people along the way, and have a lot of fun and laugh till it hurts. We spent many days and evenings at work or at dinner just laughing at all the fun things that were happening around us in education.

I will miss her so very much, but I will never miss a second in remembering the great times I had with Carol at the office. What a friend! The pain of her loss is devastating, but I hear her loud laughter each time I think of my friend Carol Berg, one in a million!

**From Phyllis McKown:**

Carol Berg gave me hell for not going back to school, right there in the Mesa lunch room during a salary schedule discussion. She knew me well enough to really give me the right kind of talking-to that got me back into a master's program and then on to UCLA for my doctorate. Several years later she brought Princess Alexandra and her husband, the British ambassador, the head of the British consulate in Los Angeles, and a mob of other people to Costa Mesa High, where they attended an English class taught by Michele Lindfors and a history class taught by me. She could have had them go to Corona or Newport Harbor, but she chose Mesa. That took guts. And, as far as I know, we are the only teachers in the United States who have taught in front of royals until this year. I still have a hard time believing that happened! Several months later, Carol and Eleanor Anderson made me practice the Social Studies Framework presentation to the school board until they thought I had it perfect. The board adopted the Framework and purchased texts, K-12, which was, Carol told me, a first. I know that my career would have been somewhat ordinary if Carol hadn't given me the encouragement to take off and fly. I have been and will continue to be so glad she was my boss.

**From Judy Franco:**

Carol Berg was a remarkable woman. She was a teacher, a principal, an assistant superintendent, but she was much more than that. She cared deeply about the students in the districts where she worked. She will be deeply missed by those who knew and worked with her over the years.

**From Jim Rogers:**

I first met Carol at Maude B. Davis Middle School in 1971 when she returned from a leave of absence. She taught seventh-grade life science, while I taught eighth-grade physical science. We eventually shared an office when the science rooms were remolded before the start of the 1972-73 school year. I was a struggling 23-year-old, second-year teacher when we met. Like many second-year teachers, I was seriously considering leaving teaching, but over the next two years, Carol helped me begin to develop my teaching style and discipline strategies. I give her a lot of credit for encouraging me to remain in education. I worked with her in writing one of the first "Hot Idea" projects to be funded in the district. I remember staying up into the early morning hours putting the finishing touches on the grant. Carol's goal was always to find a better way to improve student achievement. Carol attended my wedding and provided encouragement to my wife and me as we went through the difficult process of adopting our son.

In my role as president of the N-MFT, I would occasionally run into her while attending a schools services seminar, for which she was one of the presenters. Our careers took different paths—hers into top district administration and private industry, mine into representing teachers. Our friendship endured, even though it was challenging at times over professional issues. I retired in 2008 after 38 years with Newport-Mesa, and I will always consider Carol one of my mentors and friend.

**From Linda Thompson:**

My husband and I are saddened to hear this news. Hard to believe. Carol was such a special part of our life, especially during the years I taught at Andersen. I have so many memories, some of them humorous, some caring, many life-altering. She was the best storyteller in the world (even when the tales were about my boys! Or when she was a child and snuck out the window to get Grandma's lemon meringue pie!) I am so pleased that she was a part of my life. The world has lost a very special lady. Carol was amazing.

**From Phyllis Pipes:**

As president of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers, I worked with Carol Berg back in the mid '80's. We didn't always agree, but we were able to come to agreements that were fair for both sides. As a former teacher and principal, she was able to see situations from both sides. She was the one who urged me to go back to school and get my master's degree. I understood that she was an administrator and was expected to represent the administration's point of view. However, I found her always available, easy to talk to and was able to get her to understand my point of view. I liked her very much as a person. She always respected my position, and I respected hers. This is not always so in many administrators I have worked with in my career. She was truly a class act!

### Opinion: Dear Newport-Mesa IT Department: I'm Sorry!

#### A meeting with Alan Engard and Asim Babovic changed Asper's mind about the IT department.

##### August 26, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Before I retired, I was not a big fan of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District IT (information technology) department.

I thought it was slow in responding to teacher issues, and in the case of the district's pushing of PalmPilot handhelds a few years ago, it was not just slow, but support was virtually nonexistent.

I was a big fan of those handhelds and saw them as a perfect way to communicate, work with homework, test, read books and keep records, but without tech support, the program died an almost violent death (teachers were upset that they had spent hours being trained and then spent hours trying to fix the darn things). I was even so crazy about them that I was in several newspapers and magazines, including the L.A.Times, touting the program before its untimely death.

There is a huge backstory to the Palm PDA situation, complete with naked ambition and nepotism, but that is a long and familiar story in Newport-Mesa and too long to discuss here.

In addition, when tech guys did come out, there was a certain vibe toward the teacher that clearly said, "What did you do to create this mess which I now have to fix? Why can't you fix your own stuff? and the ever-popular "Why are you so dumb?" Usually this was not a pleasant visit with your 37 students looking and judging.

But that was then, and this is now!

A few weeks ago I met with Alan Engard (director), his sidekick, Asim Babovic (assistant director)—whom everyone seems to call "Awesome" (believe me, this guy lives up to his moniker)—and Laura Boss (the district's PR person) and asked a lot of questions; many of them revolving around IT support for teachers, condition of computers, and problems they encounter.

Boy, have things changed! To begin with, the old Macs represent only 20 percent of the computers in the district and are being phased out. Alan and Awesome's goal is to have unanimity of computers, making it much easier to monitor and repair.

Whereas in the past it was incredibly difficult to get help from the IT department (having to do with the budget and not to Engard) it now has a help desk, and anyone calling in will immediately speak to a technician. (Doctors' offices, are you listening?) They also have the ability to solve some problems by actually physically being able to take over the computer from the district office.

Because of the current economy, the district depends to a great extent on donors and grants. It will come as no surprise that the schools that receive money from donors reside on the Newport/Corona del Mar side, but they assured me that Costa Mesa schools are generally covered by the government. How fair that ends up being is unclear to me, but Engard and Awesome seem to be secure in the knowledge that it's OK.

The IT department doesn't just work on teacher and administrators computers, but with a relatively slim group of techies also takes care of:

  * Aeries (don't ask me, but it's a super-important program for the district)

  * School Messenger

  * Check donations

  * Software approval process Running tech classes

  * Staff forms

  * Elementary report card and grade book

  * School websites

  * Network connections Wireless access

  * Genesea (special education) Data backup

  * E-mail

  * Automated attendance calling

It does a lot, AND it does it with only 24 people.

I have been calling for iPads for all students, and while Alan and Awesome agree with me regarding the concept, they reminded me that iPads do not have Flash ability, which would make them virtually useless in the classroom. They are currently looking at HP and Android with some interest.

They also would love to see all textbooks on a tablet for each student, but, interestingly, it's not the cost that is prohibitive (although significant) but the lack of e-textbooks available from publishers.

So dear IT department,

There is so much more that I can say about the Newport-Mesa IT department, and I will at a later date. But in the meantime ...

I apologize for my past negative thoughts and congratulate you on what the IT department has become and what it plans for the future.

Bravo!

### Opinion: A Chat With One of My Heroes

#### Linda Sneen talks about her family, community work, time on the board of education and cancer.

##### August 21, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Linda Sneen is one of my heroes, and I don't think that I'm alone. Who wouldn't admire this woman who has done so much for her community, cared so much, and when confronted with cancer has behaved as we all wish that we would, with strength and humor? Who better to interview?

Sandy

Hi Linda...shall we get started?  
Where were you born?

Linda

Garden Grove, California

Sandy

How many in your family?

Linda

Five while we were growing up. My husband of 30 years and I have two boys.

Sandy

Where did your kids go to school?

Linda

My kids were in all public schools in Costa Mesa. There were no inter district transfers and the friends they made in kindergarten are still friends today.

Sandy

How were you involved with their schools?

Linda

I volunteered daily somewhere and always held a PTA officer position. I was a stay at home mom, enjoyed giving time to fundraising, putting library books away, and attending field trips.

Sandy

How did you happen to run for the board?

Linda

I had been kicking it around for years, principals, parents were telling me I should run. I really had done every PTA position with the exception of treasurer, so it sounded like a logical next step. I served on the board from 2002-2006. To clarify, I pulled papers, and no one else did. I was automatically appointed, no name on the ballot and no campaign funds to raise. It was a truly a refreshing way to avoid the stress of wondering if I have to use my savings to write a ballot statement, and purchase yard signs.

Sandy

Describe your experience while on the board?

Linda

I am grateful for the experience though it did require much more time away from my family then I anticipated. I still have many friendships from the time served. You meet some incredible people who are innovator thinkers, compassionate, who are gifted in making kids future leaders, successful citizens, and proud alum. My term being four years, I personally wanted to see more efficiency, grant writing, and more focus on music and arts. In that period I did witness all those things. Public school system is not flawless, it's human. If it's State or Federal regulated, not much a school board member can do, I learned early on, focus on the kids and you can't go wrong.

Sandy

When were you diagnosed?

Linda

I was diagnosed in the middle of November 2010. It was stage 2 breast cancer, totally a shock-a-roo because I had mammograms yearly. This news was two months before my 50th birthday.

Sandy

Linda, can you characterize your last 5 months?

Linda

Not so bad with family, friends, neighbors all praying for you, sending cards, and taking you out for lunch. That really helped me feel support and love. Facebook has helped in a big way; with a connection to high school friends. My love of recipes, restaurants, and other food sites has kept me busy maintaining my own Facebook food page called Sneen Cuisine. I would forget I had cancer, or was going through treatments because I needed to post my crock pot photo, or my club sandwich from a local restaurant. I'm finished now with chemo, surgery, radiation, and I'm waiting for my hair to get a little longer so I can show my new chic style!

Sandy

Now for the fun questions. What living person do you most admire?

Linda

If I only get to pick one, that would be my husband, Bill. Life has had it's ups and downs and he has weathered the storms very well.

Sandy

What if you could pick two?

Linda

I'm not exactly sure of the year, 2000 I'm guessing, I got to meet Erin Gruwell, who was speaking to a class of students at Costa Mesa High School. I was an immediate fan. After reading her book the Freedom Writers Diary, I purchased several copies and gave them away to friends, my son's teachers. If you don't know Erin Gruwell she has a website freedomwritersfoundation.org. Humanitarian is the best word I can use to describe such a person.

Sandy

What book are you reading?

Linda

Just finished Cutting for Stone and I just loaded Heaven is for Real on my Kindle. I will usually read books from the Best seller List.

Sandy

What do you most like to do?

Linda

I like to go out to lunch with girlfriends, visiting wineries, and supporting community events.

Sandy

Do you have anything that you would like to say?

Linda

Every day may not be good, but there's something good in everyday-author unknown.

### Opinion: Should Capitalism be Applied to Public Schools?

#### Sandy Asper and her brother-in-law clash over education.

##### August 16, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

**Note:** _In this column, Sandy talks education with her brother-in-law Richard "Rick" Asper._

Sandy

Hi Rick, I have questions. How was your experience in public education as a student and the son of a respected/revered principal different than you think public education is today?

Rick

My generation—you know, the one after yours—was blessed with our reverence for education and educators in our Ozzie & Harriett world. I was so very lucky to be in a family of educators during that era. But what I did not know then was that we were cursed with the beginning of the then-gentle (now precipitous) slippery slope of failing to include, within the field of cold war era education, our country's greatest strength. The "Sputnik stimulus" did a fine job of adjusting our thinking about redefining student performance and expectations.

But we completely failed to stimulate the institution of education. We forgot to embrace the cornerstone of our market-oriented republic; we did not measure the results of our educators and schools, and reward those who succeeded better than those who failed.

Sandy

Just for the record, I didn't experience the same Ozzie and Harriet World that you did, and you are not quite a generation after me, but granted it was a happier time. I wonder what it would have looked like if your desire for school and educator measurement would have been implemented then. Hmmm...what would Jepp's (honors English teacher at Pomona High School) class look like with multiple tests, constant criticism, and vagaries of administrators (some as crazy as Mr. Churchill who burned down the school)? I doubt that her Shakespeare week would have happened. She wouldn't have had time. Her choices in books would have been questioned, and just as surely her sarcasm and humor would have come under scrutiny from parents. My guess is that she would have been called in for an unfavorable review by both Mr. Nelson and Mr. (snaggletooth?). Mr. Stevens would have been fired for talking about sex in Senior Problems (which probably did more for kids than any other class), Mr. Spaugh would have been pushed out long before I had him because he would have been too old and Stan Acres would have been fired for yelling and declaring his love for political parties (before Mr. Acres, I had no idea what the political parties were.

Rick

For those of your readers unaware of the teacher names or the school from which your examples devolve (Pomona High School), I'll affirm that the above-named educators still teaching in my generation were great teachers. And sadly, I cannot guarantee that they would have survived in a system of measured performance and incentives. But can we afford to keep the same system that has failed us so miserably in the 56 years since you graduated from PHS (or the 4 plus decades since I did)? We have tried throwing money at our history of poor academic performance, with math and reading scores staying essentially flat during these decades, while cost per pupil, adjusted for inflation, has nearly tripled to $10,000 per student per year today. My adopted state, Florida, has only just signed a merit pay statute. And our school grading system is only about a dozen years old. But the latter program has already shown demonstrable results in improving school performance, particularly in our least advantaged schools and districts. We now have a way to measure student and school performance in Florida, and a method to provide economic incentives to teachers and schools based upon those improvements. So to answer your question, Sandy, had we had this program 50 years ago, I think it is far more likely that Jepp would have been paid far closer to what she was worth as an educator, than that she would have been fired by a capricious school administration. I know that it is hard for you liberals to acknowledge this, but capitalism is a system that seems to work. You would know that if your history teachers were not spending so much time at union meetings, fighting for the failed _status quo_.

Sandy

I may have spoken too soon about your sterling education as you seem to believe that that a decade is a mere two years instead of 10 years usually ascribed to a generation, but I shall continue even with my doubts. Florida! Why is it that everything bad happens in Florida; hurricanes, insects, your governor Rick Scott your senator, Marco Rubio, the inability to run an legal election, and now your "Merit Pay" statute (how exactly does a state sign a statute?). Jepp wouldn't have had a chance in your current status in FL. She believed as did your favorite teacher, Mr.Selke, that teachers were the professionals in the room and they alone should decide how the curriculum should be taught. Wasn't it the Socratic Method that you admired about Mr. Selke? In the present atmosphere... gone!

Capitalism may work in the private sector, but as I pointed out in my column entitled  "Is a Student Like a Can of Tomatoes?" it DOES NOT work in education. There are too many variables: the veracity of the testing itself, the home situation, poverty, attendance, class size, special education, and I could go on forever (but I'll leave that to you:). And the specter of professionals being publicly graded and their jobs being at risk because of testing is almost criminal.

And by the way the Florida Merit System is for new hires and the more experienced teachers retain tenure.

Rick

You do realize, do you not, that I only enjoy tweaking you about our generational difference because of how much you then rail against the concept? Make no mistake about it, Mrs. Asper, we likely agree about the sanctity of the classroom, and a teacher's command of that important space. My appreciation for the grass roots of the schoolroom transcends my political conservatism and becomes downright libertarian. But to suggest that there is no equitable way to measure performance of a creative arts instructor and a math teacher is naïve. That is like saying that all of my employees must be judged equally, since I would not be able to assess a value of a receptionist over that of a regulatory law expert. And I test my employees all the time; and my client's test all of us. Is that criminal (or would it only be criminal if we were teachers)? Each and all of your vaunted classroom variables can be measured and assessed by reasonable administrators. And if you then don't like the administrative results elect a new school board and throw the bums out; because they too don't have tenure, they have elections.

Had I known, in advance of this recent assignment you gave to me, that you had previously skewered the tomatoes of teacher incentives in the August Newport Beach Patch I would not have had the courage to accept this challenge (kidding). There are very few societies left that I can point to where they still cling to an egalitarian notion of reward not being related to performance. And I'm sure that teaching in Cuba must be rewarding cosmically. But I ask you to contemplate the teaching candidate of tomorrow, here in Florida, with its new incentive system. Will a different sort of candidate be attracted to a school system in which said teacher can excel and profit by his or her excellence? Contrast that candidate with the ones drawn to education because they cannot be fired except for cause. I'll take my chances here in Florida. And of course I realize that we did not make the new system retroactive. That would have been unfair to the teachers in the aforementioned latter category.

Sandy

I am happy for you in Florida that you all have found a way to measure student and school performance, and will be rewarding teachers based on that ("formula"?), and your faith in "reasonable administrators". There is such pressure on administrators that I believe and I repeat from my own quote from the  Lara Asper Sellers/Sandy Asper article "In a system without tenure, if we aren't careful, we will have a public school system in which there is an ever-moving conveyor belt with new teachers rolling in and then rolling out when they become too expensive. The administration, when not constrained by the rules of tenure will attempt to get rid of the more experienced teachers as they can hire two teachers for the price of one" I will give you the last word... (What a mistake...)

Rick

Lest your readers be misled, Sandy, the final entry in this exchange is not even remotely "the last word", as would be attested by your family and your thousands of former students. Speaking of those fortunate pupils, I find it incongruous that you, one of the finest teachers and creative educators I've ever met seemingly clings so tenaciously to the failed status quo. Several decades ago you singlehandedly invented the concept of a "shared classroom", where you and a fellow teacher split the salary of one teacher, and worked a fresh and invigorated half day each. And you sold that creative solution to one of the most conservative school districts in the state of California. That is but one of the many reasons that your lack of faith in the fidelity of education administrators so mystifies me.

Your argument that teacher evaluations will lead to "conveyor belt" treatment of teachers by administrators ignores the fact that this evolving performance measurement process does not only make teachers accountable. Individual schools are also to be graded, A to F. And as a former public school educator you know perfectly well that administrators are not going to achieve or retain their "A" school grade if they don't keep and encourage their best and most seasoned teachers.

I admit that the concept of measuring and incentivizing performance of teachers and schools is a relatively new concept, and thus does not yet have statistical support, except for some modest positive results measured here in Florida. But what is scientifically proven is that our current system of non-incentive tenure-protected education has resulted in an education system that is inferior to the majority of the other 20 or so industrialized nations of the world. By almost every measurement done in the recent past, the status of the USA, the leader of the industrialized world, finds us, at best, at the midpoint in ranking of education performance. Measuring and rewarding accomplishment has worked in virtually every endeavor in this extraordinary country of ours. Absent alternatives, why would you not want to at least try what has worked in so many other industries and institutions, when our current system is so obviously failing us; unless, of course, you take some perverse joy in being ranked educationally behind Latvia.

Sandy

I so disagree with you.

**Richard A. Asper** grew up in Pomona (as did this writer), son of an elementary school principal. After college and the military Rick moved to Orange County, and lived in Laguna Beach after graduation from law school. He moved to Fort Lauderdale Florida in 1980 where he opened his aviation regulatory practice, the Aviation Professionals Group, which organization he chairs. He speaks at international aviation events with some frequency, and represents several Caribbean countries' worldwide aviation interests. Rick and his wife Carol love travel, particularly to the islands of the Caribbean that they visit with Rick flying his airplane.

### Asper: Dear Principal Smith ...

#### A fictitious teacher shares her disappointment with her fictitious principal.

##### August 6, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

**Note from writer:** _This in no way is a representation of any one principal or school, but a combination of some principals I've known or heard about. Thank God, most principals and administrators are not like Dr. Smith._

Dr. Smith,

Yup, for me, it was love at first sight. You were not the first choice of the selection committee, but you had personality and ideas, and you told us of your love for children, especially those who were at risk.

I believed you.

Boy, did you have ideas! There were amazing new programs that none of the staff had ever heard of: STARS, BIG BANG, DIZ, and the unfortunately misspelled LOOPING AND GROOPING. They all seemed to start right away. I wanted to ask you about them, but I could never seem to find you as you were working on your doctorate and absent for about one third of the year. I didn't realize that one could do that during work hours. Isn't that called double dipping?

I had to get my Masters Degree at night.

I was almost as enthusiastic as you at first (although that was pretty hard as you were a virtual cheerleader for all programs). Soon it became clear these programs had the double whammy of helping you with your doctorate and making teachers work twice as hard on what eventually became failed programs.

You were great to me at first, but after the first year, it became clearer and clearer that the "older" teachers (people over 40) were not getting the classes that they once had, and they were moved to other classrooms further away from the office. They were given the "problem students". The department heads were selected by you as opposed to elected by those in the departments.

As for those "at risk" students you were so worried about, they seemed to be just a problem for you. They tended not to test well.

I asked some kids on the yard today if they knew who the principal was. Out of five of them, one actually knew. He remembered because he saw you the first day of school at the only assembly we've had in two years.

Yesterday I was called to the office. I was called to talk about my problems in the classroom. This was not the first time. Last month there was something about my not checking a student on the roll sheet. The month before that, I had been five minutes late for a meeting. Three months ago, I had forgotten to sign my name on the payroll sheet.

I think there is a pattern here.

Other over forty teachers have reported similar experiences.

I need to tell you Dr. Smith, I'm confused.

I cannot believe that this obvious harassment is happening because I've questioned some things you've done; or that I represented the staff when you wanted us to tutor during our lunchtime; or that I sat in on an awkward meeting that you had with another over-forty teacher; or that I signed a petition for the students to have more electives; or that I advocated for an "at risk" student; or that I tried to talk to you on many occasions about the class sizes of some of the core classes; or that I said the data you used when talking about a pet program of yours was wrong; or when I suggested that we have assemblies.

Surely, you are not that insecure to let these things bother you.

Here's what I want: to believe in you again.

Just in case you have forgotten, here's my resume:

UCLA 1985  
M.A. UCI 1992  
Teacher of the Year 1998  
Bob Kern Award for excellence in teaching 2001 PTA Person of the Year 2002

Sincerely,

A Disappointed Teacher

### Asper: Retired Teacher Builds Her Perfect School

#### There would be no principals at Liz's school.

##### July 30, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

"Things need to be changed," Liz yelled over the phone. "Education is a mess!"

This eruption was the result of yet another discussion of education with my friend Liz. These conversations usually end with Liz using unsavory language and promising to "straighten it out." How she is planning to accomplish that is always unclear to me. So on this particular day I asked this question: What would the perfect school look like in Liz World?

Normally, when people are confronted by asking what they would do they hem and haw, not really having an adequate response; not really having thought that deeply about a solution, only wanting to vent.

Not so with Liz.

She didn't hesitate for a nanosecond and launched immediately into her prescription for the perfect public school.

Before I reveal her answer, I need to tell you something about Liz. She was a teacher for what she says was "a million years." As a teacher, she was innovative, creative, funny and generous. She had complete knowledge of her subject, and a special way to connect with her students. She was a bit of a legend. Occasionally, only occasionally, she had a little trouble communicating with adults, and it manifested itself in her talking in a loud gravelly voice pointing out where you had been wrong.

So when Liz began her completely extemporaneous notion of a perfect district/school, I just folded my hands like a school girl, put the phone on speaker and sat back to be informed.

These were her main points:

The individual schools should be on their own.  
The principal would be the provider of information, materials and occasionally, although not always, be the face of the school in the community.

(Liz was torn about whether or not a school actually needed a principal. I also wonder whether schools need principals or vice principals for that matter. There is a great case to be made that schools do not really need a "principal." Individual teachers could take over the work of a principal. Different teachers could handle discipline etc.)

All teachers in the school should work together as one. They should meet often about curriculum and especially about individual students. Schedules should be fluid. If one of the teachers needs more time for a lab let's say, they could work it out as a group. They all would have the same students. Art, music, drama, band, glee club, shops and other electives should be offered. Evaluation of teachers would be done by the teachers on an informal basis. Teachers would meet daily or whenever they decided and discuss what they are doing, schedules, students and yes, parents.

Students who are in trouble would meet with all their teachers and parents would be included in those meetings. If a student needed counseling for something more serious, counseling would be available.  
Teachers should do their own staff development specific to their school's situation.

There was a lot more Liz wisdom which I'm sure she would love to share with you. I'm not saying that I agree with all or even some of this, and it sounded a little too professional learning community to suit me, but since Liz has no idea what PLC's are (by the way most of the teachers in the district don't either) then I can't blame her for that. The thing that's important about this is that this is a retired teacher who still cares about students and teaching, and will be glad to not only tell you where it's all gone wrong, but show you the way it should be.

You go, Liz!

### Asper: Test Your Newport-Mesa Unified IQ

#### Why is the community so quiet on school district issues?

##### July 22, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

After a recent Newport-Mesa Unified Board of Education meeting, I was talking to one of the 24 people who were there (around 10 of them were principals) This person was saying that if this particular meeting (with the superintendent returning a few weeks before his trial date) were to happen in Huntington Beach or most other districts, the room would be full and there would be many people in line to speak. We both were at a loss to explain the silence from the community.

I've been wondering for some time about the lack of attendance/interest in not just board meetings, but the issues of the district as well. The lack of interest in this particular meeting was especially peculiar in that is was the first meeting Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard had attended since returning from paid administrative leave while preparing for his trial in the middle of August.

Wouldn't some people turn out just out of curiosity alone?

It's not hard to understand why teachers don't show up: Many, in my experience, are scared to death in the current environment. But it's hard to understand this extended silence from the community regarding all things Newport-Mesa Unified.

Is it that it's summer?

Is it that there is too much going on in the embattled Costa Mesa?

Or ...

Is it that the community has been asleep regarding the serious issues in the district because they don't really understand much about it?

Let's see how much you know...

**The Test**

(if you're smart, you'll study: web.nmusd.us)

1. Who is the current superintendent?

a. Reed  
b. Hinman  
c. Hubbard

2. How many electoral areas are there? (Don't cheat and look below)

a. 5  
b. 6  
c. 7

3. Who are the trustees? (match Area with trustee)

**Areas**  
Area 1  
Area 2  
Area 3  
Area 4  
Area 5  
Area 6  
Area 7

**Trustees**  
Yelsey  
Franco  
Brooks  
Black  
Fluor  
Foley  
Davenport

*** Extra credit: What's your Area?

4. Which Area are up for election in November?

a. Areas 4,5 and 7  
b. Areas 1, 3 and 6  
c. Areas 1, 2 and 6

5. How many schools in Newport Mesa?

a. 22  
b. 41  
c. 33

6. How many students? (approximate)

a. 16,000  
b. 21,000  
c. 34,000

7. How many teachers? (approximate)

a. 1,600  
b. 1,200  
c. 3,600

8. What is the total expenditure per student?

a. $9,000  
b. $2,000  
c. $11,000

9. Who is the Newport Mesa Federation of Teachers' president?

a. Astarita  
b. Claytor  
c. Novack

10. How many administrators (assistant superintendents, directors, and principals) are there?

a. 40  
b. 25  
c. 78

**Answers**

1. Hubbard  
2. 7 (you cheated didn't you?)  
3. Area 1 -- David Brooks, Area 2 -- Katrina Foley, Area 3 -- Martha Fluor, Area 4 -- Karen Yelsey, Area 5 -- Judy Franco, Area 6 \-- Dana Black, Area 7 -- Walt Davenport  
4. Areas 1, 3 and 6  
5. 33  
6. 21,450  
7. 1,625  
8. Kimberly Claytor  
9. 78 total administrators: 32 principals, 12 assistant principals, 2 superintendents, 1 deputy superintendent, 2 executive directors (HR and Special Ed), 1 superintendent, 19 directors, 9 coordinators  
10. Hubbard

**Score**

If you missed:

1-2: You are brilliant and should be in Mensa...or do you work for the district?  
3-5: You are doing great, and if you scored this way without the website, you are also a genius.  
6-8: You clearly didn't even try by going to the website.  
9-10: Dumb de dum dum! Go immediately to: web.nmusd.us

### Asper: He Lived and Died by His Own Lights

#### Lucas Campanaro knew that life was something to be done on your own terms.

##### July 15, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Lucas Campanaro died on his 18th birthday a few years ago. You might think that is all one needs to say about someone so young, but you would be wrong.

Lucas was one of those kids/old souls who knew something that the rest of us either don't know or forget along the way. He knew that life was something to be done on your own terms.

At 13, in eighth grade classes at Ensign, he was already clear about what was important, and it wasn't always the teacher's agenda. Very often in wasn't the teacher's agenda.

Lucas wasn't like most of the students. He really didn't care what other people thought about him. So, of course, everyone loved Lucas, with his easy manner, and his inevitable good sense. During class, his answers were thoughtful and always of the common sense variety. Lucas talked about books and stories in an adult way, and always with a slightly different take than anyone else. He read a ton of books. In fact, he was always reading.

He begged to be my aide in the eighth grade. He begged me day after day until finally I gave in. That was the thing about Lucas; he never gave up if he wanted something.

He would always tell me that he was the best aide that I ever had. Truthfully, he was the worst. He would talk to everyone around him, and when sides were taken over an assignment or something that I said, he would side with the class against me. It was pretty funny. I would remind him almost daily to enter my grades into the grade book, but he would just laugh and promise me that he would definitely do that, continue to not enter my grades, and just charm everyone around him.

That was Lucas.

At the end of the year when he was one of the MC's for the Golden Seabee Awards Ceremony, he was the best kid onstage, and definitely the funniest. He actually stole the show that year.

Lucas promised me that he would get his hair cut, and when I saw him before the production with his tux on, all dressed up, I asked him why he hadn't cut his hair. Very insulted, he informed me that he had a haircut. My guess was that it was about an eighth of an inch ... if that. He was great that night, with his hair hanging in his face, and had a great time.

He always had a great time.

In retrospect, it was almost as if Lucas knew that he only had a certain time to have fun, so he did his level best to fit it all in.

Did I mention what a kind heart he had? He was always the guy sticking up for the kid that was being bullied, or the kid with a disability.

Did I mention his family, with his mom, his dear brothers JJ and Cole? I know that because of his fiercely individualistic personality, he was not the easiest kid to live with, but I also know he loved his mom and brothers more than anything, and they loved him. It was an extremely close family who dedicated their lives to those last years with Lucas. His brother JJ left UC Santa Cruz in his senior year to come home and help Lucas.

Lucas lived and died by his own lights, and I think we are just beginning to realize what a blessing he was to everyone around him. His 18 years were more important than any of us realized.

### Asper: Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard's Return to Work a Problem

#### Hubbard had been on leave as he faces charges of misappropriation of funds in another district.

##### July 6, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Newport-Mesa Unified Superintendent Jeffrey Hubbard  has returned. It's hard to determine what the most disturbing part of this surprising turn of events is.

Is it that he has continued to receive his florid salary during this time of his  preparing for his defense? Is it that he put HIMSELF on paid leave, and now, for whatever reason, he has decided that this is the special time for him to return even though his trial is set for the middle of August? Is it that the board simply accepted his unilateral decision and seems to believe that, since he decided to take administrative leave, he should be allowed to decide when to return?

Is it the school board's relationship to Hubbard throughout this latest debacle?

Board President Walt Davenport's relationship with Hubbard is the most peculiar, and was spectacularly evident in January when, according to  emails obtained by the Daily Pilot, he held off on telling the board about Hubbard's request for administrative leave saying: "I am not forwarding it to other board members because I would have to include [school board member] Katrina [Foley] or face a charge of Ed code violation. I'm holding back so it doesn't appear on Facebook or at the Pilot before we even get to take action".

He also apparently was speaking for the board when he  told the Pilot "[Hubbard] was busy with his defense before. He has time now to come back"

Walt, Walt, Walt.

Do you know what's missing in all your statements? Certainly not your worship of Hubbard, there is plenty of that going on. What's missing is ANY mention of the 22,000 students and the 1,100 teachers. The community is left out of your short "Ode to Hubbard" remarks as well.

You know, Walt, the taxpayers ... remember them? Have you forgotten why you are on the board in the first place?

We don't know whether Hubbard is guilty or innocent, and we all are presuming innocent—not only because that's the way it is in America, but because that's the way it is in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, and we would all want that for ourselves.

What Hubbard and the board are guilty of, in my opinion, is neglect. Neglect of our financial woes in paying two ...count 'em ... two enormous salaries for two superintendents (Hubbard's while on leave, and acting Superintendent  Paul Reed's, who was covering for Hubbard). Neglect of their own promises of transparency. Neglect of the recognition of the community's combined intelligence and patience regarding your strange capers.

I see two problems in our district. One is the Hubbard Problem. The other is the Board Problem.

Sorry Dr. Hubbard, but you need to resign. It's not because we assume you are guilty, and perhaps not even because of the  semi-salacious emails stupidly written on your district account. It's because of your unbelievable arrogance in thinking only of yourself, and forgetting that you are not the CEO of a business, but the superintendent of children (who by the way can read those emails, thanks to their teachers).

Newport-Mesa Board, you need to grow up. The clique aspect of the board has to go. This and other gigantic mistakes that the board has made in the past, should have taught you that your co-dependent ties to the administration are extremely detrimental to the students and teachers. It's time for you to break up.

Breaking up is hard to do, but I have faith. You can do it.

### Opinion: Solution Tree: Neither a Solution, Nor a Tree

#### A Newport-Mesa Unified staff development specialist for 14 years gives her opinion about PLC's and Solution Tree.

##### July 1, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

**Note:** _This week, Sandy has a discussion with educator Jan Fisher._

Sandy

I bow to your wisdom regarding professional learning communities (PLCs) and Solution Tree as you were a classroom teacher for 15 years, and Newport-Mesa Unified staff development specialist for 14 years. You have written articles for various educational journals, and a book published by ASCD, "Key Elements of Classroom Management" (published in English, Chinese, and Arabic).

Jan

Thanks, Sandy. Before we start, I want to emphasize that my responses here are not a criticism of Newport-Mesa or the specific situation currently in the district. Regarding the recent training in Las Vegas, I don't know enough about the district's plan, implementation or assessment of student achievement resulting from PLCs to give an opinion one way or the other. I do know, however, that during the time I was in Newport, both as a teacher and a staff development specialist, this district had a deep belief in the continuous and ongoing learning of teachers and committed whatever resources were necessary to maintain a quality program.

At that time, there would have been both a start-up and implementation plan for any initiative like PLCs. More importantly, there would have been clear plans for monitoring implementation and for assessing the results based on increased student achievement. I would hope all of that is in place for this PLC initiative, but I have no information about that. Because of that, my comments today will be based on generic principles of good staff development, not on the specific situation here in Newport.

Sandy

I have titled this article Solution Tree; Neither a Solution, Nor a Tree. Do think that title is applicable?

Jan

I think that the company sees the tree as a good analogy for the idea that learning has different components (branches), but must come from a core of beliefs (trunk). The cproblem is that many schools jump on the bandwagon of school renewal and adopt only one part of it ... one branch and attempt to implement it. PLC's are one branch of school renewal.

Sandy

Most of the teachers I've talked to, some administrators, and perhaps even some trustees don't completely understand PLC's. Can you make it simple for us?

Jan

In the school renewal process, PLC's are one kind of support for teachers. If the school is organized around small teams of teachers working together to study teaching and learning, to plan with good assessments, to coach each other and to develop curriculum then that is the goal. The key is that PLC's are SUPPORT for other curricular and instructional initiatives. They are NOT by themselves the "Solution"

Sandy

Solution Tree is very expensive, and not just the company at $609 per person, but the recent trip to Caesars Palace in "Clark County" cost $53,000. Do you think that this kind of training is worth that kind of money?

Jan

Let me say right now, that the consultants are the best in the business, but having said that, if there is one thing we know, it's that one–shot staff development has no impact. The history of this kind of staff development shows dismal results.

The idea that a few teachers will attend a conference and come back and teach others has been almost entirely unsuccessful. No one returning after a single conference on a subject has the expertise to even implement it, let alone teach it to others.

A much better plan would have been for the consultants to be here working with the school sites on an ongoing basis for a year or so. It would have been less expensive as we have two presenters who currently work for NMUSD now.

Sandy

Jan, considering the number of programs instigated by NMUSD throughout the years you have been her, which have basically started off well, but within a few years and sometimes months, have faded off, or ended abruptly. What do you think is the reason?

Jan

There are two reasons. The first is a change in leadership. New administrators have their own priorities they want to implement. To ask them to devote time and energy to the priorities of a former administrator is not only unfair, it won't work.

The second is a lack of understanding about the amount of effort and resources that must be put into maintaining a program.

People tend to think that once a new initiative is launched and implemented, we can move right on to something new and the old will just continue on in full force. It will not happen. If we want initiatives to continue, we must leave the leadership who began it and who was committed to it stay, and we must provide both effort and resource to maintaining programs already in place.

Sandy

What do you think of the subtle and not-so-subtle criticism of teachers now?

Jan

Grossly unfair! We all want to have someone to blame when one of our beloved institutions is not performing like it should, but this is not the fault of the teachers, the administrators, the parents or the superintendent. It is a massive system failure and, until, that failure is corrected, nothing will change.

Sandy

Thanks Jan ....

### Opinion: Educators Working for an Education Company ... Is there a Conflict?

#### Follow the connection between Solution Tree and Newport-Mesa Unified.

##### June 24, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Let's be clear: I am not opposed to making money—in fact, I would love to make more money. I do not think that Solution Tree is a horrible company (see my last column for some background). It is a company that makes a lot of money from its "institutes," its 240 books and DVD's and its speakers. It is one of a number of companies that are making big money on education. In the case of Solution Tree, we can't know how much because it is a privately-held company.

Even so, the money that Solution Tree makes is not the problem for me. It's that Newport-Mesa Unified spends so much money with this company. Some of the money comes from the school district itself. Some comes from individual school sites. And some comes from individual school foundations. Because the exact sources of the money is not clear, we are unable to know exactly how much Newport-Mesa Unified has spent on Solution Tree's products.

What we do know is that it's a lot (factor in the institutes, the books, the substitutes, the hotels, transportation, food and the purchased material).

Acoording to Dr. Hinman, Assistant Superintendent of Newport-Mesa Unifed, two administrators in the district currently work for Solution Tree. George Knights and Rich Rodriguez continue to consult for some other school districts and conferences, and Dr.Hinman worked for Solution Tree four years ago.

There is nothing wrong with administrators working in their spare time, however, in my opinion, when they are associated so closely with a company in which the district is so financially involved is a problem.

The legal definition of conflict of interest is:

Term used to describe the situation in which a public official or fiduciary who, contrary to the obligation and absolute duty to act for the benefit of the public or a designated individual, exploits the relationship for personal benefit, typically pecuniary.

In certain relationships, individuals or the general public place their trust and confidence in someone to act in their best interests. When an individual has the responsibility to represent another person—whether as administrator, attorney, executor, government official, or trustee—a clash between professional obligations and personal interests arises if the individual tries to perform that duty while at the same time trying to achieve personal gain. The appearance of a conflict of interest is present if there is a potential for the personal interests of an individual to clash with fiduciary duties.

You be the judge. Is the association between Newport-Mesa officials and Solution Tree a conflict of interest?

There is another thing about our district's version of Solution Tree. People apparently come back from the institutes with an understandable excitment, and are asked to describe their very expensive trip (to Las Vegas which the principals oddly refer to as Clark County) in site meetings. Because it only involves the people that have gone to the institute, these meetings leave a lot of people out, which is probably not the philosophy of Solution Tree ... at least I hope not.

Focusing on this special group of teachers plays into the divide and conquer strategy which defines "who is in and who is out" at the individual school sites.

That kind of leadership never really works and causes real hardships among the "resisters". Resisters are those people who do not yet have the enthusiasm for this program. Being a "resister" is sometimes not pleasant.

The discrimination that this strategy incurs is clearly not a way to improve anything, let alone education of the 22,000 students in Newport-Mesa Unified.

### Opinion: Is a Conference in Las Vegas the Best Way for School District to Spend $50,000?

#### Thirty people from Newport-Mesa Unified recently attended a three-day "institute: in Las Vegas at a total cost of more than $53,000.

##### June 15, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Thirty teachers and others from the Newport-Mesa Unified School District recently traveled to Las Vegas for three days. They didn't go for the gambling or the shows or the buffets. They went to attend an "institute" put on by a private company called Solution Tree.

Transportation expenses were about $400 per person. The fee to attend the event was $609 per person. Each attendee had a room of their own at  Caeser's Palace costing about $170 per room. The food allowance was about $36 per day per person. And the district paid substitutes more than $8,000 to cover for the teachers while they were in Las Vegas.

It all added up to $53,192, according to district spokeswoman Laura Boss.

That the teachers and others went on this trip is NOT the problem. But that the district decided to spend more than $50,000 on this particular activity in time of crisis for schools—when at every board meeting gloom and doom rears its ugly head, when class sizes are ridiculous in many schools, and when teacher cuts are always imminent—is hard to justify.

How many schools need new computers? How many schools would benefit from an after-school tutor program? How many schools would benefit by having more counselors? How many teachers would benefit from a professional learning community in-service in their own backyard, by the person that was hired for that purpose, for about an 1/8 of the cost of going to Las Vegas?

In this "Armageddon" budget crisis, this money would be better spent on a sustainable project which would directly benefit the students, not a for-profit company like Solution Tree.

The rationale which I've heard from some administrators is that these representatives come back and lead the way toward better teaching—a notion which heretofore has not been proven with data.

Is the benefit of something like the Learning Tree institute worth the cost of more than $50,000?

We'll talk more about Solution Tree later.

### Opinion: We Remember Linda Mook

#### Linda Mook, a former president of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers, was a professor of action, humanity and power.

##### June 9, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

If Linda Mook had been a graduate course, we would all still be in kindergarten.

Linda Mook was her own graduate school for How to be a Union President. Before she became one of the Daily Pilot's 101 Most Influential People, Linda grew up in small town in Missouri, graduated from University of Missouri, went to graduate school, became a great journalism teacher and then president of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers for nine of the best years this district has ever seen.

One of the mandatory classes in the Linda Mook Graduate School would be called Action 101. She acted, and when she did, things happened! When our insurance was in trouble she acted, and because of that we have the best insurance plans to be found. She acted!

When a teacher was having a problem with an administrator, one phone call to Linda, and she would be there talking to the principal with that inevitable smile and a solution to the problem. She acted!

When one of the 1,200 teachers in the district was in trouble because of alcoholism over the Christmas break, she called Hoag Hospital, made the arrangements, and he was taken there for therapy as an in-patient for a month. She advocated for this teacher with the district and he returned to the classroom. She acted!

Another mandatory class in the Linda Mook Graduate School would be Humanity 101. One time when we were on a trip to DC and were packing to leave, I saw her packing up all the lotions, shampoos and things in the hotel room, which she apparently had been lifting for the entire time that we were there. I had no idea what she was doing. I thought maybe she had fallen on hard times. As it turns out, Linda collected all those things kept them in a big bag in her office, and when the bag was full, she donated them to the Women's Shelter.

Also, there was always money at the office for any teacher that was in an emergency situation, like not being able to make the rent, pay a hospital bill, or to finish paying for tuition. The money was always repaid. And by the way, the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers continues that practice in Linda's name.

The last class to take would be How to Scare the District with a Smile. Linda would almost never raise her voice, and always smile when scaring everyone to death. I watched her do this many times. One time she made one of the assistant Superintends tear up. I personally loved that. Linda's power came from being smart, asking the tough questions and having the data. It was a beautiful thing to watch.

There are a thousand classes that Linda could teach us if she were here. We miss her action, her humanity, and her power more than we can say.

When the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers was having a hard time trying to decide between two teachers to award the Linda Mook Memorial Scholarship, in the end we asked ourselves, "What would Linda do?" We all said immediately "She would give them both the scholarship".

So, of course we did the right thing because that's what Linda always did.

**Note:** _Linda Mook died of cancer in late 2004._

### Opinion: Mother, Daughter Offer Opposing Views on Teacher Tenure

#### Sandy says teachers need to be protected from administrators. Daughter Lara argues that teachers need to continue to prove themselves each year.

##### June 1, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

**Editor's Note:** _This week Sandy's daughter, Lara Sellers, is joining her._

Sandy

Hi, Lara. Since we don't agree on much involving education, why don't we start with the one of the hottest topics of all: tenure.

Tenure actually began in the 1900's to protect academics from unfair pressure, and it's primarily intended to protect teachers when they dissent from prevailing opinion, and openly disagree with authority. There is a three year period before a teacher is granted tenure in which the principal/administration can make the decision not to grant tenure, and I think that would seem enough to make an informed decision.

This may surprise you, sweetheart, but there are some principals who would get rid of teachers who don't agree with them, and there are some districts that would fire some teachers in order to save money.

I called the EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunities Commission) in DC last week and they told me they are overwhelmed with calls for investigations of school districts that are targeting older teachers (over 40), trying to get them to retire or just plain quit.

Clearly, the districts are trying to balance their budgets on the backs of more experienced teachers and, frankly, the students. It's just wrong.

Lara

You're right, we don't agree on much involving education. Tenure is another example of this. I would actually vote to eliminate tenure altogether. As you say, it began in the 1900's and I believe we've progressed since then. Please name one other profession where someone is protected from losing their job after only three years?

While there are some fantastic teachers who work hard and go above and beyond for their students regardless of the fact that their job is safe-guarded, there are just as many or more who do not push themselves to do better each year and improve upon their teaching methods because they can coast and know they will not be fired.

In the private sector, I am sure, there are many cases of employees dissenting from prevailing opinion and many may get fired as a result. Should they all have tenure also?

Do you really believe that all principals and administrators are so unprofessional that they would fire someone based on a difference of opinion? Let's give our principals a little more credit than that. I'm sure there are some just as there are some crazy people in the private sector but that's life and, as Dad likes to say, "life is not fair," right?

I don't agree that older teachers should be targeted if they are performing well. My kids have benefited greatly from many "older," more experienced teachers and they've had some great young ones, too. For me, it's about performance, not about age. We need the absolute best teachers in our classrooms for the benefit of all students.

Sandy

Dad's actual quote, which has been repeated at the dinner table over and over again through the years, is "It's a cruel world" which we finally titled (rolling our eyes) "IACW ".

The so-called "educational failure" is not the fault of the teachers, but instead it is the fault of our politicians who try to make political gain from declaring "education" as their primary issue, society for buying into targeting teachers because it's easier, and parents and families who have been curiously left out of the discussion.

Whereas principals have historically come from within, understanding the districts and communities, now more often than not, they come from outside the districts and many of them use their principalship as a way to a better job, leaving behind, in the wake of their upward mobility, the students and the teachers. The investment in the students is often just not there. When principals are confronted with opposition from their teachers, coupled with pressure from the main office, if not constrained by tenure and seniority, they will target the teacher.

In a system without tenure, if we aren't careful, we will have a public school system in which there is a ever-moving conveyor belt with new teachers rolling in and then rolling out when they become too expensive. The administration, when not constrained by the rules of tenure will attempt to get rid of the more experienced teachers as they can hire two teachers for the price of one

Lara

How can teachers be left out of the "educational failure" equation? By saying this you are basically admitting that teachers play no part—ood or bad—in the education of our children.

I believe that teachers play a huge part in determining the success of our next generation of citizens which is why the teaching profession is so important. We should pay teachers more (the ones who are performing well) because of the fact that this job is one of the most important jobs in our country and the future success of our country relies on well-educated, smart and responsible citizens. School-age children spend 6.5 hours a day with their teacher, which is arguably more than a child spends with her parent. They have an incredible influence on our children and that is why we cannot take the under-performance of teachers lightly by granting a life-time protected job after only 3 years of teaching.

Just as in any other profession, teachers need to be able to prove themselves and their abilities each and every year they are in the classroom. There is too much at stake. The truly talented teachers would not be afraid to lose tenure as they know they are capable of improving and extending themselves each year.

You have a lot of angst about the "administration" and clearly you don't have much confidence in their ability to evaluate teachers who are effective in the classroom. While I don't agree with you that every administrator or principal is incapable of being professional and putting the students interests first, I would argue you should focus your efforts on recruiting and retaining effective leaders rather than safe-guarding the jobs of thousands of teachers, some of whom are doing more harm than good in the classroom but can't be fired simply because they have tenure.

**Lara Sellers** , formerly Lara Asper, graduated from Newport Harbor High and went on to graduate from Stanford University. Most recently she was a vice president on the regional operations team for Teach for America. She lives in Menlo Park with her husband, their three children and dog.

### Opinion: A Speech to Middle School Teachers

#### Learn "the secret" of being a teacher.

##### May 27, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

We were at the races in Del Mar with friends of ours a few years ago. One of them, Molly, was the new PTA president for her son's middle school. She was freaking out because she had to give a speech to the staff the next morning and had no idea what to say.

I offered to write it for her, and then missed the first three races while doing it. She gave the speech almost verbatim the next day. She reported that she received a standing ovation and not a few of the teachers cried. One of them said that it was the first time anyone had ever said these things and understood what teaching in middle school is really all about.

**The Speech**

I was going to give the usual speech about this year: how good the year is going to be, and what a great staff you are. But as I was thinking about this speech that I was going to give, I started thinking about the nature of the junior high teacher—with the help of my friend who is a junior high teacher—and how unique you are.

As I stand here this morning, I know that some of you have:

  * Taken a phone call at home from a distraught student.

  * Helped a parent find a job, house or apartment.

  * Bought groceries for a student's family.

  * Brought Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, or just plain dinner to a family.

  * Taken a phone call from a distraught parent.

  * Saved a kid from abuse.

  * Put your head down on your desk and cried over a student.

Further, I know your big secret—the secret that many of you know but haven't articulated to anyone else, and maybe not to yourself. The secret is that, because of the peculiar nature of the middle school student's classic non-relationship with his family, if you care (and you so obviously do), these strange students know it. Kids always know your intent, and THEY ARE YOURS FOR LIFE.

If I were to ask you to number the students on your fingers who return to you year after year to check on who they were as opposed to who they are now, you would not have enough fingers or toes to show these numbers. And those of you who are new to middle school, this secret is what you have to look forward to:

  * To have the coolest kid's eyes light up when they see you in the market, the movie theater or the mall.

  * To have that deaf kid that had huge hearing aids, that everyone hated because he was so easily upset, graduate from high school, college and come back and give you the credit.

  * To have an ex-student call you from another country just to say hi, that he's a sou chef and has a new baby.

  * To have ex-students bring their husbands and wives around to meet you, invite you to their weddings and christenings.

  * To have even the toughest kids, who you hounded to do their best, call you years after they graduated.

  * To have that big guy who gave unmitigated grief all year, have tears in his eyes when he says goodbye to you at the end of the year, and hug you as if he can't let go.

This is the secret!

The other, more confusing part of the secret is that your influence cannot be measured or predicted. It comes up at unexpected times and 99 percent of the time you don't even have the pleasure of knowing when that happens. You never know when the admonishment to be yourself clicks in, the moral of the book they read and you discussed until their eyes were red with the pressure of it, is thought of later in a relationship. You will never know when the the history lesson, the time you spent on the Holocaust, the discussion about sexuality in health, the environmental project, the joke at just the right time, or even just your demeanor alone—your grace under pressure— will be a part of some ex-student's person.

The pleasure must be for you that when you touch the lives of the 180 students that you have daily, that you know, if not specifically, then generically that you are affecting the world. Not many professors can make that statement.

You must feel, in your rare moments of quiet, very, very proud that you do what you do for a living and for the living of all the children in your care.

You don't get enough money, very little respect from society, sometimes have to fight for the respect from students, and somehow the intrinsic value of all that you do isn't quite enough, but we parents have a SECRET too. WE value you. We know in our hearts that we couldn't do it, and we thank you for it over and over.

We want you to know that this PTA isn't here to criticize you, to gossip about you, 0r to change what you do. We are here to support you in very tangible ways ... any way you want us to.

We welcome you back to school. Your home.

### Ten Great Reasons to Love Newport-Mesa Teachers!

#### Newport-Mesa teachers, you do magic every day of the year.

##### May 21, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

  1. Teachers

  2. Teachers

  3. Teachers

  4. Teachers

  5. Teachers

  6. Teachers

  7. Teachers

  8. Teachers

  9. Teachers

  10. Teachers

Let's face it people, teachers are under fire. Apparently the rule is that when things are tough, we target the most vulnerable—a little like predatory animals—and although teachers have always been targets, this year it's worse.

The schoolteachers are not only the best thing about the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, they are the best thing about public schools everywhere.

Do me a favor. Sit back, close your eyes, and remember the three best teachers you ever had. What did they look like? How did they speak? What were their classrooms like? How did you feel in their class?

_"Good teaching isn't about technique. I've asked students around the country to describe their good teachers to me. Some of them describe people who lecture all the time, some of them describe people who do little other than facilitate the group process, and others describe everything in-between. But all of them describe people who have some sort of connective capacity, who connect themselves to their students, their students to each other, and everyone to the subject being studied."_ —Philosopher, Parker Palmer

Teaching isn't about test scores and remembering dates, times, formulas, and other things students will forget sooner than some think. It's about learning to think, to look at things differently, to see what others see and feel, to put what you are learning in perspective, to know that you have a place in the world and begin to understand that place, and to feel relevant.

Teachers show you how in many ways: They have passion for their subject, compassion for their students, confidence, understanding, and infinite patience.

Did I mention a sense of humor?

They can turn a classroom of 37+ students into a place where it is safe to have fun, think outside the box, and to hope for the future and their role in that future.

Newport-Mesa teachers, you do magic every day of the year!

_Some say that my teaching is nonsense._ _  
_ _Others call it lofty but impractical._ _  
_ _But to those who have looked inside themselves, this nonsense makes perfect sense._ _  
_ _And to those who put it into practice,_ _  
_ _this loftiness has roots that go deep._ _  
_ _I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. Simple in actions and thoughts,_ _  
_ _you return to the source of being. Patient with both friends and enemies, you accord with the way things are. Compassionate toward yourself,_ _  
_ _You reconcile all being in the world._ _  
_ _—Lao-Tzu_

### Opinion: Are Local Schools Ready For the Big One? Mostly

#### Contributing columnist Sandy Asper tours some Newport-Mesa Unified schools and finds them to be adequately prepared for disaster. But they could do better.

##### May 13, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Drills always come right in the middle of a great lesson. And, if teachers know in advance, they have to wait to start something, or finish it early.

Then there is the lining up, grabbing the emergency backpack and taking the motley crew out to the field ... and then having to stand there with squirrely kids for 40 minutes. In the case of an earthquake drill, it's the getting under a desk that is the most annoying. That's when some teachers discover that they're not quite as flexible as they thought (and they absolutely know that Max in the back row is going to do something unacceptable).

Principals hate drills. Everyone in the office hates drills. Custodians hate drills.

Everyone hates drills.

(With the exception of the kids, of course, who love drills for obvious reasons. Drills mean getting under the desk and pinching each other and not having to do work; there also is the possibility of being able to fool around in line.)

But, hate them or not, we need to drill just a little deeper, anyway.

Newport-Mesa Unified spokeswoman Laura Boss and  Kent Ramseyer, a facilities manager for the district, were generous enough with their time to escort me around to four schools (my random choices) to check out the emergency plans and the bins.  In a prior column, I focused on earthquake preparedness, which I believe is currently the most important danger, since half the district is sitting on top of the Newport-Inglewood Fault.

All four schools were prepared: They had a plan, had conducted an earthquake drill in the fall and were going to have another one this spring.

One school stood out.

I want to be at College Park Elementary when the big one hits.

Principal Julie McCormick and her team of preparedness gurus—Carl Stone and Michelle Hanscom—held "The Disaster Drill" (in this case it was an earthquake with numerous aftershocks) last month.

It had all the elements of a real emergency: death, injury ... blood and gore.

The search-and-rescue people did their jobs; communication was excellent; and the triage was successful. The school was even prepared for the reunification of kids with hysterical parents. They also understand that they might have to be a destination for their neighborhood. All personnel had access to the bin, which contains water, first aid supplies, stretchers and everything that the school would need for three days. If ... God forbid ...

Yup, I want to be at College Park.

Although I only visited four schools, I have the sense that these schools are pretty representative of the level of preparedness. Parenthetically, I have to say that this level of preparedness is an improvement over four years ago. And, although the jury is still out on district Superintendent Dr. Hubbard (literally), his pledge to make the preparedness a priority has happened. So, good for you, Dr Hubba

I do however have some suggestions:

  1. More earthquake drills. In a perfect world Newport-Mesa Unified would have four drills a year, with one of them being the "Big Shake" drill including the worst scenarios with all the attendant unintended consequences. Drill until they're satisfied that the drills have become boringly de rigueur.

  2. Communication has to be perfect. There must be planned and rehearsed communication to teachers, students, police, fire departments and hospitals.

  3. Everyone has to be in on the plan and have access to the bin and awareness about what is actually in the bin.

  4. Many teachers and staff have had CERT Training. Everyone should have CERT training. Some early out days could be devoted to this.

  5. High school students, who will no doubt, leave the campus on their own, should be given instructions regarding what they might encounter on their way, and when they arrive home. They should be taught how to turn valves off, etc. All high school students should have CERT training as well.

  6. There should be standardizations of plans as much as is possible for all schools.

Those suggestions notwithstanding, congratulations to Newport-Mesa Unified for taking this seriously ... and getting most of the way there.

### Opinion: Is a Student Like a Can of Tomatoes?

#### A student's ability to pay off is unclear and it has no expiration date.

##### May 6, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

How often have we heard the old canard? No, not the one that says, "Those who can do and those who can't teach," but the ever-proffered, "What's the deal with teachers? They should be in my business for a day; they would know what real work is."

At parties, soccer fields, Vons, intermission at the movie (The Hangover is the favorite destination for this line of thinking), over dinner, and random people in line at the DMV, these comments are ever present. How many times have you heard "Schools should be run more like a business. It would save money and the kids could get a great education at the same time"?

So let's examine this thinking, is a student really like a can of tomatoes? Can a student make a profit? Can we sell them and make some money? Can we convince people that this particular can of tomatoes is the best, that the company has mixed it correctly, it contains nothing toxic, and the taste comes from really superior seed?

We are to believe that the money put into concocting this wondrous tomato mix which was canned with loving hands in a factory in Oregon, Ohio or China, is the same as canning up a student. That's what the guy at the DMV told me.

While it's true that students are a huge financial investment, the outcome does not come merrily off the canning line. The student does not have the benefit of a few perfect ingredients. The mix of parents, experiences, teachers, very unlovely and hard- to-explain-feelings during puberty, can produce something completely different that no one anticipated. I'm sure that the parents and teachers of Captain Mark E. Kelly did not anticipate that he would become an astronaut and a hero; nor did Hinkley's parents and teachers forecast his assassination attempt. And yet, both happened.

So, can we sell the student and make money? Will they be productive? Whereas the valiant tomatoes are somewhat predictable in their ability to make $1.29 more or less a can, the student's ability to pay off is unclear and it has no expiration date.

Occasionally toxic substances are found in the intrepid tomato, but once identified reluctantly by the FDA, it can be quickly rectified. Not so the student. Oh, you can send the student to the office, the principal, sit them outside the classroom, call their parents, and give them time after school (which they now call Zap or Zip or something), but the consistency of the student, considering all the various ingredients, is pretty hard to determine.

The tomato can be tested with some accuracy. The student cannot.

And then there is the question of the "seed". In growing tomatoes, there is control of the seed. Ostensibly, the best ones are chosen to breed the best tomatoes. Of course they are genetically engineered tomatoes, but it remains a controlled process.

Many teachers go to bed every night and wish with all their hearts that they could control the student's families. If the standardization of families could be controlled, this is what the selling ingredients might be: a cup of discipline, a cup of understanding, a measure of vision, a cup of focus, a little play, and a quart of love & time. Sadly, we have no machine that can get those ingredients just right every time.

The ingredients that go into the mix called "the student" cannot be measured, counted, or really controlled.

The tomato can has no feelings, and a case could be made that neither does the public that believes that a STUDENT IS LIKE A CAN OF TOMATOES.

### Opinion: The Moments Teachers Live For

#### The secret about teaching is that teachers are blessed to be witnesses to special and silly student moments almost every day.

##### May 1, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

In a time when Newport-Mesa Unified is in such a state of flux, with teachers and principals are afraid for their jobs and superintendents sometimes worried about other things, it might be a good time to reflect on the people that matter the most: the students, and how endearingly funny and unchanging they are. The secret about teaching is that teachers are blessed to be witnesses to special and silly student moments almost every day.

Here are just some:

  * One rainy day at  Ensign Intermediate, I spotted a tall girl walking down the halls with that grace that some girls are born with—the posture and gait that just says: "I know who I am and I'm almost grown up." Balancing on the wall going the other way and passing this girl, was a slight boy holding an umbrella skipping across the wall holding the umbrella aloft and seemed to be singing totally oblivious to the girl passing beside him. There they were, the two faces of middle school.

  * Kevin, one of my second grade students at College Park Elementary was lying in the nurse's office one morning. In those days, all the schools in Newport-Mesa had "Flag Decks," a time when all the students and teachers stood while the National Anthem played. This particular day, I was late. As I rushed through the nurse's office to take my place on the yard, I glanced at Kevin, who was lying with his hand over his heart, staring at the ceiling, and singing quietly. It was too sweet to even laugh. I have thought of Kevin so often, and wondered if he is still that patriot.

  * The first year that I taught, I was teaching my first grade students how to hold their scissors by the blades while they walked around the classroom. It was a pretty important lesson to me, as I have always been a freak about safety. Things were going pretty well as we practiced and then went on to the project, when I heard someone crying. It was the little red-haired girl in the back of the room.When I asked her why she was crying, she sobbed (still holding the scissors by the blades) and declared loudly: "I can't cut anything like this!"

  * Middle school kids are so much like first graders in so many ways: They talk out of turn; sometimes fall out of their chairs for no reason; stare out windows for long periods of time; want your attention every minute; tell you long stories; and do hilarious things.

  * Middle school principals sometimes do hilarious things as well, and, when they conspire with kids, it is just the best. Every year taking the TeWinkle school picture, with the 500 students involved, was just a nightmare. It was usually hot and the kids were restless and inattentive. This time it took the photographer a long time to get it just right while standing on a very tall ladder.

Scott Paulsen (I promise I'll quit talking about him soon) was standing on a ladder as well. Scott knew every student's name and was yelling through the bull horn for them to stop talking, take the gum out, sit up straight, change seats.

Finally, we were apparently ready and he called out the following: "Okay you're ready, so sit up and smile. And forget doing anything that would look bad in the picture. In other, words no inappropriate gestures!" Then looking up at the top row, he yelled to the sweetest girl in the school, "Brandi what would an inappropriate gesture look like?" Brandi showed him, much to the amusement of the students, and the horror of the teachers. Then Scott said, "All right let's get it out of our system."

Five hundred strong showed him what an inappropriate gesture looked like. Then Scott said "All right now that's over. Let's do it. Smile!"

It turned out to be a great picture.

Teachers live for moments like these.

### Opinion: Many Students Could Use an 'Angel'

#### With many students facing difficulties outside of school, having a person within the school to turn to can work wonders.

##### April 22, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Out of the 5,000 plus students who have trooped through my classes in my career, I would say that about 1/3 of them would have been helped by having an advocate.

In the CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) program, the job of the advocate is to not only represent the child in court, but to be his friend in life for a time, and it's a great idea for the student population who need an "angel" in the Newport-Mesa Unified School, District.

All of our attention regarding education has been focused on testing and targeting teachers in the debacle of so-called public education, completely ignoring the reality that is many children's lives. There were times in a class when I stopped for a minute at the beginning of class and wondered how, with their horrific circumstances at home, they were able to actually be there, smiling (well, some of them) at me and ready to start their day.

I actually started class fairly often by saying "You are all miracles ... really!"

A few years ago, Scott Paulsen, who was then the principal of Ensign Intermediate School, devised a program that he called "our angels," or something like that. He proposed to a group of very tired teachers in a faculty meeting, that each of them mentor a student who was not doing well, and, oh by the way, he just happened to have a list of those students.

There were the usual few groans—okay a lot of groans—from teachers at the prospect of adding to their already heavy loads, but most of the staff accepted the challenge knowing that Scott would take on at least five of these students himself. (May I say this about Scott Paulsen? Scott asked his teachers to do a lot, but never ever more than he did himself. This might serve as a template for other principals ... Just sayin'.)

It's true that we have no data to prove that Paulsen's "angel" program was a help, or that grades improved astronomically, but I know these kids were no worse having someone who met with them every day for a few minutes to help them with their homework, give some advice, advocate with another teacher on their behalf, or just someone who would listen to them.

Our family had our own experience with the one-on-one strategy when we fostered and then adopted our daughter Gaby. Within her situation there were so many kids who could have benefited from just one person on their side. Gaby would tell you, now, that it literally "saved her life" to have a family who was on her side, had her back and helped her through life, and parenthetically, we have a great daughter in our family who has brought us much joy.

Mrs. Tangeman, the vice principal of my own junior high, was my savior. I'm not sure how things would have gone for me if she hadn't been my friend and my advocate. But I know absolutely, it wouldn't have gone nearly as well.

My guess is that test scores would soar if Newport-Mesa Unified instituted a program whereby troubled students were given a chance to have an "angel".

And that person might not necessarily be a teacher.

Who knows? It could be one of the trustees, perhaps a principal, a deputy superintendent or even the superintendent.

I picture a scenario that would go like this: "Hi ___, my name is ____ and I'm here to help you with WHATEVER you need help with, AND here's my phone number. You can call me anytime about anything. I am basically yours for as long as you need me."

Just Sayin ...

### OPINION: What Is the 'Value Add' of Administrators?

#### Contributing columnist Sandy Asper comes up with her own formula to determine the value added by administrators and trustees.

##### April 14, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

Ever since the value-added system was mentioned in the Los Angeles Times a few months ago, I've been obsessed with the concept. Just to remind you, value-added is usually manifested as a formula (which almost no one understands) that is said to determine the value of individual teachers.

So, continuing my obsession with the notion of value-added and other applications of the idea, I asked Bruce, my annoyingly-neutral husband, what he would consider to be my value add. He pondered this for quite awhile and then came up with a completely unacceptable formula (which will remain forever secret). So much for personalizing this concept for me ...

Then my mind turned—actually, it spun away from Bruce's formula—to what could be the value-added formula for Newport-Mesa Unified administrators and trustees, and what their grade would be. I paired these groups because, clearly, they are as one. I came up with the following formula:

**2Spr@300K X 2=$600K/1/4Mil + 2Xsch/LV=40K+plc/admin@ 100K+ (SolTree?)+ 6- 1X48wks/yr+lgl$/neg. + G &D + ? Admn 200Kplus = You tell me!**

Unlike the formula we saw last week and others, mine is fairly easy to comprehend.

Two superintendents at around $300,000 a year comes to around $600,000 a year. (although salaries are public information, the salaries plus the perks are difficult to find) The two groups of teachers who will attend the Solution Tree convention in Las Vegas will cost a significant amount of money. The two schools involved are traveling by plane, staying at Caesar's Palace (not sharing rooms), meals, and the convention itself at $500 a person, costing about $40,000. This in no way is a condemnation of the teachers involved, but the decision to spend district money in this way.

A newly-hired administrator to train district teachers in the wonders of professional learning communities is apparently still employed by the The Solution Tree. So the question is: Shouldn't he be doing all the training, and should he still be employed by the company that Newport-Mesa Unified is doing business with?

6-1 seems to be the way the important and significant votes are going on the board, and it looks like that "formula" will continue for the 48 weeks of the yearly meetings, with Katrina Foley always being the the lonely dissenter.

More attorney hours.

Attorney paid to negotiate when that is normally the administration's job.

Gloom and Doom for the future budget, while administrators receive large salaries plus perks.

I know, I know, this is not the sum total of what the administration does, nor is it in any way a complete picture of administrators and trustees. It is, however, enough to ask the question: What is the value added by Newport-Mesa Unified administrators and trustees?

### Asper: 'Value-Added' System for Teachers Falls Short

#### Teachers do much more than just prepare students for standardized tests.

##### April 7, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

**y = X? + Zv + ? where ? is a p-by-1 vector of fixed effects; X is an n-by-p matrix; v is a q-by-1 vector of random effects; Z is an n-by-q matrix; E(v) = 0, Var(v) = G; E(?)=0,Var(?)=R;Cov(v,?)=0.V=Var(y)=Var(y-X?)=Var(Zv+?)=ZGZT +R**

That is an actual formula for evaluating teachers. I'm not kidding!

A few weeks ago one of the Newport-Mesa Unified school board member mentioned using the "value-added" system to evaluate the Newport Mesa teachers. Interesting idea ...

Value-added is the latest, but certainly not the best, idea that the body politic has concocted to evaluate teachers—not administrators, not parents, but teachers!

This type of analysis involves looking at each student's test scores to predict future scores. The difference between the prediction and a student's actual scores each year is the estimated "value" that the teacher added or subtracted. Please note that almost no one understands the formulas, like the one above, used to determine the value of a teacher.

It seems to me that a few things have been left out of these formulas. Please consider:

The classic untold story about teachers is that they are the most generous and caring people in the world. Society has always taken for granted what teachers do. That teachers bring clothes for poor kids, that they feed families, that they pay the rent for families when they are going to be thrown out in the street goes unnoticed. We, in Newport-Mesa Unified have many of these teachers; here are some of their stories.

  * A male middle school PE teacher has a boy in his fourth period class who is so poor that he shoes are threadbare and have been for weeks. As you would expect, the other kids make fun of him. This PE teacher, who has three young children of his own, bought a pair for him ... and made sure they were very cool.

  * One of the boys in a social studies class at a local middle school lived with just his mother in a motel. She went to work very early and was not there to wake him up in the morning. As a result, he was late to school about half the time. His social studies teacher hated that he was late so often. When she heard his story, she decided to buy him a clock. She didn't just buy him a clock; she bought him a clock radio. When he opened the gift, he couldn't believe it. He hasn't been late since.

  * It was graduation day at a middle school and the students had been told that they had to adhere to the fairly stiff dress code for the event. They were supposed to be there at about 11:00 a.m. Danny was there at nine. His language arts teacher saw what he was wearing torn, dirty, jeans, and a white t- shirt, and asked if his father could come and bring a change of clothes with him. Danny said that not only could his dad not do that, but also his dad was not coming to the graduation. This teacher took him on the clothing splurge of his life, and he didn't pick anything cheap. He wanted black pants, and great looking shirt, very nice shoes, and got them. He looked great at graduation and was beaming the entire time, but his father wasn't there.

  * One of the middle schools in town had a vice principal who along with dispensing his own brand of discipline, which contained both abject fear and loving attention. One student in particular caught the attention of this unique administrator. This boy was called "road kill" by half the school, because he was unfailingly and consistently filthy. He lived with his father, an unrepentant drunk, in one of the motels on Newport Boulevard that housed the poorest and most troubled of our citizens. Child Protective Services had been called so often about this boy, that they ignored most of the calls. The boy had spent some time in group homes and even a small stint at juvenile hall.

The vice principal and one of the boy's teachers felt that he had a chance, so, after making a deal with him to shower in the boys locker room before school, he would attend four classes and then be an aide to a sympathetic teacher. This arrangement worked out pretty well, and the boy loved the aide's job because he was able to work with the computers in the classroom. If the boy didn't turn up by 8 a.m., then the vice principal would drive to the motel and pick him up. The boy was doing so well, that the vice principal called a prestigious private school that accepted a few troubled kids, and provided scholarships for them, and got them to accept the boy, who would live on campus with the other boys.

The vice principal called the father in and told him the good news. Instead of being grateful and happy for his son, the father stood, swore at the vice principal and stormed out of the office with the boy. The boy was absent from school for a day or two, and then we heard the father had taken him to Oregon.

These are not unusual or unique stories.

So my question is: what is the "value add" for these teachers?

### OPINION: Are Local Schools Prepared for Disaster?

#### Former Newport-Mesa Unified teacher Sandy Asper is concerned that students and faculty don't receive enough training to prepare for emergencies.

##### March 3, 2011 - By Sandy Asper

**Editor's Note:** _Newport Beach Patch welcomes columnist Sandy Asper, a Newport Beach resident who worked as a teacher in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District for 37 years. Ms. Asper, a one-time candidate for the Newport-Mesa School Board, will share her take on what is happening in local schools and the district in this column each Thursday. The views expressed in this column are those of Ms. Asper and do not reflect the views of Newport Beach Patch._

Okay, I admit it: I'm a chicken.

I was the first one off the peninsula on the day of the recent tsunami alert. One could say that I was disoriented by the 4:00 a.m. phone call, but that wasn't it. I have been prepared for that call for years. We have a large bag ready in the event of such a warning, and backpacks complete with dog food for Buster for "right now." In addition, I have a cadre of crank-powered radios and first aid equipment. And, every once in awhile, I even put one of the cars outside ... just in case.

Clearly, I'm a worrier.

That admission aside, I have been concerned about Newport-Mesa Unified's ability to handle a large earthquake forever. It was one of my clarion calls when I ran for the School Board in 2006. At TeWinkle Intermediate School a long time ago, we made a very dramatic earthquake video for schools called "California Earthquake Take One," and we all took the preparation for earthquakes very seriously. We even staged full-on rehearsals, complete with pretend victims, fake blood and "worried" parents. As a result, most of the students and many of the families were actually prepared.

Is Newport-Mesa Unified prepared now?

The truth is some schools are ready and some are not. The district's list of supplies for individual schools is quite long. Buckets and backpacks in the classroom should be filled and on hand all the time, "the bin," a large metal container that every school has on campus, should be filled with everything that a school would need for at least three days. Does every school have all this? Is there an administrator on campus at all times? Who has the key to the bin? What if the key holder or holders is injured? Does everyone know the combination to the lock? How often does the school practice? How serious are these practices? Do the school personnel know what their individual jobs are? Are they trained? Do the parents know EXACTLY what to do? Does the school district have a plan coordinated with the police, fire department, and the hospital? If so, who knows the details of this plan?

Captain "Sully" Sullenberger had 40 years of practice, practice in gliders, practice in safety reliability methods, and thousands of hours of practice in a trainer. The rest of his crew had hundreds of hours of training, which allowed for the positive outcome of the 2009 water landing of Flight 1549 and saved 155 lives. The police and fire boats appeared almost immediately, but so did the New York ferries. When asked about his part in the event, Vincent Lombardi, captain of the ferry Thomas Jefferson, said that they spent hours each week training for all kinds of emergencies. So, when they realized what had happened, the training just took over.

The lesson is clear: When disaster strikes, training saves lives.

Even though Newport-Mesa Unified hired a company to train schools in emergency procedures a few years ago, and even though there are mandated fire and emergency drills, more training is needed. Monthly 20-minute drills are not enough for children to slip immediately into emergency procedures. There will be a major earthquake. The district's 22,000 students need more practice and training.

I'm worried ...
