martinez unified school district minutes of the regular meeting of the ...

Member McLaughlin mentioned that after the recent meeting where the Board adopted a resolution regarding “No
on Proposition 32”, a man from the Union of Unemployed Workers was in her neighborhood talking about that
very subject. She was happy to share with him that the Board just passed a resolution regarding this topic.
Member Gordon clarified that $51,000 was the total amount made at the MEF Run on Sunday.
She also mentioned she stopped by JME this afternoon and saw Dora Dome’s anti-bullying presentation. It was
very impressive and everyone was engaged. She added it is wonderful to see everyone on board.
Member Elsken thanked Superintendent Muth for the time she puts in for the MEF Run for Education. She added
the run is complicated and “under new management.” She was pleased to see 120 Alhambra High School, Vicente
and Martinez Junior High students there bright and early helping. There were over 200 participants in the 10K. All
the kids handled themselves well during the race; they’re awesome.
She asked Ms. Lee if the District is going to develop some kind of approval process for all the on-line programs
being used at MPE that Jonathan Eagan mentioned in his presentation.
Ms. Lee answered that many are on the instructional materials matrix already. Others are supplemental, free
programs and are not a major part of classroom instruction.
Max Eissler added they are mainly for drill and practice, not as part of the core instructional materials.
Superintendent Muth explained we will be looking into this more in the future – i.e. how discretionary funds are
used for this purpose.
Ms. Lee mentioned they talked about this subject recently at a Technology Advisory Committee meeting – what
qualities are they looking for regarding strong instructional technology, best practices, etc.
Member Elsken agreed that was important but also felt it would be great if each site could place information on
their websites regarding what programs they’ve used, a brief description, and the cost. It would be good to have a
place to see all the educational programs being used; it could save teachers from exploring a program that has
already been used by another teacher.
Chief Technology Officer Max Eissler added there is also a form that pilot teachers have used to give this type of
information to others. He was concerned that gathering this information might be too time-consuming for teachers.
President Horack attended the recent parent meeting at Las Juntas Elementary regarding bond projects. She was
impressed with the child care available and the Spanish translation. Parents were happy about the changes being
made and Aaron Jobson was applauded. Parents were glad someone was listening to their concerns about the safety
issues at LJE.
It was also mentioned that the new principal of John Swett Elementary, Adam Welcome, came in first place in the
10K run Sunday with his daughter. It’s great to see new administrators participating.
ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 8:28 p.m. The next regular meeting will be held on October 22, 2012 at 6:30 p.m.
Signed _________________________________
Secretary/Clerk, Board of Education
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