MSN_091219

10 | September 12, 2019 | Malibu surfside news school
malibusurfsidenews.com
School News
Alumni invited to Samohi
celebration
Santa Monica High
School’s All-Class Alumni
Day is Saturday, Sept. 14.
From 11 a.m.-2 p.m.,
all graduates and students
are invited to come to the
Samohi Quad. Family and
friends are welcome at this
free event.
Celebrate 128 years of
Samohi history with performances
by the marching
band, cheerleaders and
choir. Attendees can purchase
a barbecue lunch hot
off the grill, or bring a favorite
picnic snack.
Disabled parking is
available via the Olympic
Boulevard entrance to
Samohi. Regular parking is
available in the 333 Civic
Drive structure.
For more information,
visit facebook.com/
events/488091765256810/.
School News is compiled
by Editor Lauren Coughlin,
lauren@malibusurfsidenews.
com.
visit us online at
www.MalibuSurfside-
News.com
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SMMUSD Board of Education
Expanded Chromebook rollout penciled in for this month
Michele Willer-Allred
Freelance Reporter
Students and teachers in
the Santa Monica-Malibu
Unified School District can
expect new technology and
software this school year.
As part of the Digital
Learning Program, more
students will soon receive
Chromebooks.
Bertha Roman, the district’s
director of educational
services, gave a technology
services update to the
SMMUSD Board of Education
during the meeting on
Thursday, Sept. 5.
Last year, the district expanded
the use of Chromebooks
at all school sites, and
rolled out to different grade
levels at different times.
With earlier approval of a
$1 million allocation by the
board, Roman said the district
is planning to deploy
1-to-1 Chromebooks for
students in grades 9 and 11
by the end of September.
Another part of the district’s
program is professional
development for
staff, and the district is encouraging
and providing
stipends to staff to pursue
McDermott
certifications, such as the
Common Sense Educator
Certification and Google
certifications.
Two different softwares
— by GoGuardian and
Hapara — also are being
piloted in classrooms by 27
teachers this month.
Roman said the software
is being offered because
the district heard from staff
that they wanted the ability
to have more control of students’
Chromebook use. She
said this software allows
teachers to monitor what
students are doing with their
Chromebooks in the classroom,
and also allows for
more efficient learning.
Roman also noted that
the district has adopted the
Common Sense Education
curriculum, which she said
supports K-12 schools with
everything educators need
to empower the next generation
of digital citizens.
Roman said the district
encourages teachers to become
Common Sense educators
and utilize the free
Common Sense Digital
Citizenship curriculum.
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Middle schools, as well as
Webster Elementary, are
among the nine district
schools that are Common
Sense certified.
One parent expressed displeasure
with the district’s
technology use.
Ann Thanawalla, a Santa
Monica parent, said she is
“shocked and awed by the
amount of digital technology
that’s being forced upon
[her] child and other children
in all formats.”
Thanawalla also had concerns
that her family’s private
information is being
sold and used by outside
companies.
Board Member Oscar de
la Torre also questioned access
to students’ data, and
said students should understand
the possibility that
their data can be used to
market and promote. Contracts
with these companies,
he said, should include that
no data should be sold.
District Superintendent
Ben Drati said every school
district now contracts with a
company that handles student
information.
“The only way to avoid
safety
From Page 7
tors in case PSPS impacts
traffic signals. Staff also is
working with telecommunication
companies to acquire
backup cell networks for
City field personnel and cell
service for residents. Staff
also is working with radio
station KBUU to enhance
broadcast radio throughout
Malibu, and with Malibu
CERT to increase handheld
radio capabilities.
Duenas said residents
need to also pre-plan in the
all that is to go back to paper,
but I don’t think we’re
in that space in the world
right now,” Drati said.
Drati added that with every
organization that the
district goes through, there
is an understanding and
agreement that information
is not to be shared out to
anywhere else.
Board Member Jon Kean
said he wasn’t too concerned.
“I don’t have this Big
Brother attitude where I
think everyone is out to
steal my information and
profit off of me,” Kean said.
“I don’t love the fact that
everything is [online] … but
it’s the world that we’re in.
I don’t think we as a district
are going to slam the brakes
on technology.”
Board Member Ralph
Mechur said the board
should do whatever they can
to protect students’ information.
He said the district also
should be asking students
what digital tools are and
are not working for them.
Kimya Afshar, a Malibu
High School student and
board student representative,
said students love their
Chromebooks, which have
made learning a lot easier.
Afshar did say that while
working with the Chromebook
on a class project, she
was unable to access many
websites needed for the assignment.
She asked how
the district differentiates
between explicit and nonexplicit
websites, and how
that can be changed to accommodate
students.
Roman said the district
will need to gather feedback
from teachers as to
what websites are appropriate
for student use, and that
appropriate websites can be
unblocked by teachers on
command.
Roman said she was happy
to hear Google Classroom is
being used on Chromebooks
at Malibu schools.
“I know that last year after
the fires there was a big push
that all teachers in Malibu
Middle and High schools
have Google Classroom so
that they can communicate
with students,” said Roman,
adding that Santa Monica
High School also is looking
to utilize Google Classroom.
event that they don’t have
access to their phones. That
could mean proactively removing
themselves from
the area before a PSPS.
Longtime resident Chris
Jackson, who said she lost
her home in the fire, spoke
during public comment.
“So, all these wonderful
plans and ideas, why are
they being implemented
now after the fact?” she
asked. “Why not two years
ago? Why not last year?”
Duenas said preparation
efforts were going on in the
past, but people didn’t really
hear about it or pay attention
because it wasn’t top
of mind. She admitted that
there’s still a lot of work to
be done with regard to preparedness
and safety.
“I can work 24 hours a
day, 365 days a year, and I
still wouldn’t be able to do
everything that needs to be
done,” Duenas said. “That’s
why the volunteers and
CERT team are so critical.”
“It’s going to get better
in the future; it will,”
Public Safety Commission
Chair Chris Frost assured
residents.