Clark Magnet High School

Clark Magnet High School students are getting ready to return to school. Teachers and administrators are having their staff meetings and getting their classrooms ready for another successful year. Clark is a magnet school with a United Nations type of feel, where each area of Glendale and Crescenta Valley is represented. Eighth grade students who are interested in attending Clark place their name in a lottery-type system. The only criteria is that you live within the Glendale Unified School District.

Glendale Unified School District will have a lottery Thursday to select students entering Clark Magnet High School. The selection begins at 9 a.m. in the district administrative offices, 223 N. Jackson St., Room 203. The lottery is open to the public. The lottery is necessary because the number of applicants to Clark has exceeded the number of spaces available. About 500 applications were submitted for 300 spaces. Each student's name drawn will be assigned a number and a waiting list will be established.

Clark Magnet High School robotics team took first place last week at the FIRST [For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology] San Diego Regional competition. Their challenge now is to raise funds to travel to the finals competition in Atlanta, Georgia. "We estimate the net cost of flights and hotel rooms is $20,000," said Emily Burke, Clark robotic member. The team won second place recently at the Los Angeles Regional, but has never taken first place. With the conquest at San Diego, the team is excited, Burke said.

On Monday, a Clark Magnet High School teacher busily prepared a presentation of his pet project, Alice, an educational software program that allows students to stretch their imagination and hone computer skills in a 3-dimensional environment. The program is something Roger Smith is passionate about and he was nervous as he gathered his students and paperwork. “I noticed Dr. [Michael] Escalante was there [at the presentation at Clark],” said Smith. But he didn’t think anything was unusual, he just assumed he was there for a meeting or to join the staff for lunch.

NORTHWEST GLENDALE — Hundreds of prospective students who filled the hallways of Clark Magnet High School on Saturday got a lesson in cost-benefit analysis — yes, more stringent academic standards and college preparatory atmosphere would mean sacrifice and hard work, but the payoff could be worth it. While school administrators said the campus is not better, just different from Glendale Unified’s three other high schools, Clark...

When Henrik Kantarchyan was a student at Theodore Roosevelt Middle School, he participated in Project ABCD, a Glendale Unified School District program that teaches students about the dangers of tobacco use. On Wednesday, Henrik returned to Project ABCD as a high school student and mentor, and gave students the same message about tobacco products that he had heard at their age. Henrik was one of about a dozen Clark Magnet High School students who...

School officials in Burbank and Glendale may not have to absorb hundreds of thousands of dollars in transportation costs after the state Legislature on Thursday restored $248 million for student busing operations. Gov. Jerry Brown, who eliminated the funding last month after state revenues fell short of projections, has indicated that he supports the move, according to the Los Angeles Times. Glendale Unified stood to lose about $750,000, including $350,000 in reimbursements for home-to-school busing of special education students.

What gratifying and happy news to read of Clark Magnet High School's recognition and much deserved nomination for Blue Ribbon accolades (“Clark gets another Blue Ribbon nomination,” Jan. 10). Doug Dall, Clark Magnet's principal, and his outstanding, dedicated and professional teachers and staff are a true and shining jewel and treasure in the Glendale Unified School District. Dall's brilliant vision, incredible energy, unwavering commitment to students, strong and devoted trust in his teachers and staff, and his strong and dynamic leadership are a model and an inspiration for other educators throughout California and the nation.

Clark Magnet High School was one of 35 California schools nominated Tuesday for the 2012 National Blue Ribbon Schools Program, widely recognized as a gold standard in public education. The school will have to wait until September to learn if it will receive the honor, which is contingent on hitting all of its 2012 standardized testing targets, including its scores for the overall Academic Performance Index. Last year, Clark earned a score of 909 out of a total 1,000, making it the highest-performing high school in Glendale Unified, despite a large population of low-income students.

Editor's Note: Numerous instances of plagiarism have been discovered in Dan Kimber's “Education Matters” column, which ran in the News- Press from September 2003 to September 2011. In those columns where plagiarism has been found, a For the Record specifying the details will be appended to the piece. Some of you reading this will be voting on April 5 for or against Measure S, the proposed school bond. To that elite group - likely under 30% of eligible voters - I want to say thank you for being involved; thank you for having a stake in your community, instead of just being an occupant in it; thank you for seeing beyond your present needs and looking to the future, especially where our children are concerned.

When twin sisters Ani and Armineh Mikaelian were hired at Clark Magnet High School four years ago as math-teaching pair, colleagues had such a hard time distinguishing them, the two teachers were referred to by their classroom locations. “The biggest difficulty for the office staff is both first names start with an ‘a’ — Ani and Armineh,” said Barbara Melone, secretary to Clark Magnet Principal Doug Dall. “Bless the principal, he had one in this building and one in the other building.

Clark Magnet High School students injected a bit of color into the Glendale Unified School Board race, quizzing candidates during a forum on Friday about program cuts, creationism in the classroom and tuition-based summer school. The questions came during a biannual forum hosted by Clark Magnet history teacher Nick Doom and his students. Launched during the 2005 school board race, it allows students direct access to those who will be setting the policy that shapes their educational experience in Glendale, Doom said.

It's first period at Clark Magnet High School in La Crescenta, and Kevin Ramponi is sitting on a stool in front of a neon-green backdrop waiting for his cue. A year ago, this 16-year-old cinematography student didn't have a clue about video production, but now he is the anchor of the school's daily television bulletin. "When you step into this class, you are learning," Kevin said. "I had never used a Mac before I came into this classroom. I didn't know how different it was. I didn't even know how to turn the computer off. " Under the leadership of teacher Matthew Stroup, the school's cinematography program takes students from media production novices to pros.

GLENDALE — Despite fewer students enrolling in Glendale Unified schools in recent years, the number of students passing advanced placement exams rose last year to a new five-year high, officials said. More than 2,280 students, almost double the number of total students at Clark Magnet High School, passed an AP exam last year. The number of tests taken and the number of students enrolled in AP classes also reached new five-year highs. Expanding access to the college-level AP courses began in the last several years, and has been a source of some controversy, said Joylene Wagner, vice president of the Glendale Unified Board of Education.

G raduation time is always fun, and it is so inspirational to watch and hear the students talk about their future goals. The Glendale Kiwanis Club for many years has recognized graduating students and given scholarships to help them reach their next goals. This year, the Kiwanis Club gave eight students each a $2,500 scholarship. Selecting those students from the many very qualified scholarship applicants was certainly no easy job for the Kiwanis scholarship committee. The committee interviewed and reviewed student scholarship applications from five area high schools and Glendale Community College before making the decision.

G raduating from Clark Magnet High School and becoming an adult were intimidating for senior Colette Zakarian. Even so, it became reality for the 17-year-old Glendale resident and more than 200 of her classmates who graduated Friday. "As much as people say they want to leave high school, this year has just been major for me," Colette said. "Everyone is like a family, so that's the hardest part." Colette graduated with a community service honor after volunteering 100 hours at a senior living home.