Unified School District

Josh Kleinbaum Not happy with any of the 20 applicants for the vacant seventh- and eighth-grade principal position at La Canada High School, the La Canada School District went for one of its own. At the district's school board meeting Wednesday, Supt. Sue Leabo announced that Cynthia Keech, who spent the past year as an assistant principal at the school, will take over the seventh- and eighth-grade principal job. "She has wonderful people skills, she's dedicated to everything she does, she's hard-working, she has a sense of humor -- all the things you look for," Leabo said.

Erik Boal My, what a difference eight days make. On Sept. 8, the Crescenta Valley and St. Francis football teams both woke up 1-0, having defeated Thousand Oaks and Arcadia, respectively, in their 2001 season openers. On Saturday, both teams stepped on the brand new Field Turf of St. Francis' Jack Friedman Field to renew their intercity high school football rivalry, a game which the Falcons won, 21-10. But the events that transpired in those eight days have and will forever change the way those athletes, their coaches, the schools' administrators and this reporter look at not just high school football, but life in general.

This week, we asked our parent panelists: Next year, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District will provide expanded preschool classes to children at College Park Elementary School and Pomona Elementary School, two of the community's poorest performing campuses, although it did not get additional funding. Do these classes help prepare students for school? Should the district try to start even more? Pre-schools aren't the best. Mom is. I would rather see the tax money go for a learning center where English would be taught exclusively.

After a long battle, the California Legislature voted yesterday to approve a budget. Through tax increases, spending cuts and borrowing, the budget, in theory, is designed to close the state’s deficit that is now estimated in the excess of $40 billion. “I am still kind of curious as to how all of this will affect Glendale [Unified School District],” said Eva Lueck, chief business and financial officer for the district. Lueck had yet to examine the approved budget but said that with what had been released by Sacramento previously, the district is preparing for a cut of over $4 million.

Gary Moskowitz The city's public schools are not legally segregated, but blonde-haired, blue-eyed Katelyn Murphy knows she would probably take flak from her peers if she dated a boy who is a minority. In an Advanced Placement American government class discussion on school segregation Wednesday at Crescenta Valley High School, Katelyn said students integrate more freely in the classroom than they do out on the courtyard at lunch. "I think it's kind of sad in a way," said Katelyn, 16. "At CV, it's like taboo to hang out with or date someone of a different background.

Middle and high school students and their parents will want to make plans to attend this year's College and Career Fair, set for 5 to 8 p.m. Oct. 30 at the Glendale Civic Auditorium, 1401 N. Verdugo Road. Recruiters from more than 140 colleges, universities and occupational fields will be on hand to answer questions and provide information. Representatives from business and industry, law enforcement, the military, vocations and trades also will be there to talk with students about opportunities in their respective fields.

Amid the bustle of students registering for classes, posing for identification card pictures and filling out forms, Kathy Fundukian almost blends in with her petite stature, shoulder-length brown hair and youthful enthusiasm. But once Glendale High School's new principal sets her sights on a particular person, her energy and decisiveness are immediately apparent. "I really like her," Associated Student Body President Lilit Nalbandyan said. "She has a very warm attitude and she's very welcoming.

The school district's recent summer school session gave students a chance to catch up on subjects. -- But absenteeism and tardiness persisted, according to a 2005 Summer School Report for the Burbank Unified School District. The report, presented at Thursday's School Board meeting, included information on attendance figures and program effectiveness and teachers' and principals' suggestions for improvement for next year's sessions. One suggestion included in the report was that children in the elementary school program be grouped according to their learning needs.

Shannon Barber The effect that Average Daily Attendance numbers have on our schools was discussed by JoAnne Merrick, deputy superintendent of the Glendale Unified School District, at a lunch meeting sponsored by the Montrose-La Crescenta Kiwanis. After teaching in Alhambra for a number of years, JoAnne moved to Glendale and became director of elementary education before accepting her present post. The Glendale district is responsible for educating 30,000 students every day. Attendance numbers is one of the biggest issues a district faces, Merrick said.

A Glendale Unified educator who began teaching in the district 23 years ago will take on a new leadership post in July as assistant superintendent of educational services. Kelly King will take the position that was held by John Garcia, who left Glendale Unified in March to become superintendent of the Downey Unified School District. "There were amazing candidates for this position," King said. "I'm honored and humbled that I was selected. " King began her career as a kindergarten teacher at Balboa Elementary in 1990 before becoming a teacher specialist at Glenoaks and Dunsmore elementary schools.