by Tom Port
“Arriba, abajo, a centro, a dentro” says Terry as he opens the meeting to an unfortunately small crowd. Yes, Shekar Mehta is still the R. I. President.
Greeter Michael Roberts, the Presidential understudy, led us in the Flag Salute. He also had some words of wisdom which can be approximated as: “Develop success from failure”; “Action is the key to success”, and “the difference between success and failure is not strength, or knowledge but lack of will”. Michael is married with two kids. His daughter plays soccer and his son is a senior in High School. Michael still works at Sunflower Hill.
Announcements:
April is “Bring a Guest Month”. Let’s all make an extra effort to bring a guest to our Rotary luncheons this month. This is part of the District 5160 Rotary Club Membership Challenge.
Six Club Dinner is coming up Tuesday, April 19, 6:00 to 8:00 P.M. The guest speaker is Kevin Adler, a Ted Talker.
Educator of the Year is now set for April 21.
Scholarship Program is set for April 28.
The Spring Assembly is May 7.
Art and Wine Fair Rotary Beer Booth is being staffed. Contact Norbert Walz.
Our annual Smoke Alarm Project set for Saturday, April 20 needs 21 club members to sign up. Dennis Harvey is again in charge. Please calendar the date. You do not have to be mechanically inclined as there will be experts to assist. Donuts and related refreshments will be served.
Ukraine matching funds: The District will match up to $2000 any funds sent to Rotary Foundation by April 30. You can donate on-line if you prefer. Just advise Karen McNamara.
Crow Canyon Gardens (the old Mudd’s restaurant) needs six people to help pull weeds and do related chores on June 11. Contact Karen.
Recognitions: Glen and Ginny Webber celebrate their 48th Anniversary. Also, Chris Lofaso celebrated a birthday. It cost each of the $50.
PROGRAM:
Dr. John Malloy, Superintendent of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, delivered a spirited and informative lecture on current developments and future goals of the district
While relatively new to San Ramon Dr. Malloy has been an enthusiast for public education his entire life. He began his education career teaching high school English and rose to become the Superintended of Schools in Toronto before coming to San Ramon two years ago.
The San Ramon District has 30,000 kids at 36 separate sites and employs 3,500 staff. It is, however, facing a long term decline in enrollment over the next four years by as much as much as 400 students. It is always somewhat of a struggle to attract and retain staff due in part to the fact that the District does not know for sure what its funding will be until July of each year whereas staffing decisions have to be made much earlier. The State funds schools based on three levels: A base grade and then supplemental payments based on the income levels of the various districts. Due to San Ramon being a relatively affluent area it does not participate in the top two tiers of funding. There is an Assembly bill, #1614, that could address this issue, but its future is uncertain.
Meanwhile, Dr. Malloy is pushing the district forward on the newest concepts in education. They have adopted a broad definition of success. Academic excellence remains important, but high test scores are not the only measure. The District wants to be innovative and inclusive and the students to be personally thriving, i.e. healthy inside. They should learn to set and achieve goals and to love learning. To Dr. Malloy “equity” means all kids are successful in their schools and future jobs; it also relates to social and emotional well-being. He is personally happy that California universities have abandoned the use of SAT scores in favor of a broader definition of learning. Rigor does not have to mean boring, or uncreative. It is important to be flexible and to address the student’s true interests.
Dr. Murray says the teachers in the district are very supportive of the new directions in education, but he notes parents are not necessarily on board as yet.
All-in-all he presented a very enlightening and optimistic view of public education here in the Valley.
Raffle: Terry was either very lucky or someone failed to shuffle the deck. He won a bottle of Wente wine and a chance at the Progressive, but his luck ran out when he tried, but failed to draw the white ball.
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