the VOLUME XXXII, ISSUE 7
Budget Cuts Strike Again
arrow Westlake High School
100 N. LAKEVIEW CANYON ROAD, WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA 91362
March 19, 2010
Track Reaches New Heights
Dashiell Young-Saver Sports Editor
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
George Deng ‘10 and Vivian Shen ‘11 were part of the WHS Science Olympiad team that qualified for State Competition to be held in Long Beach on April 10.
See CENTER.
PHOTO BY SAM WEXLER
The CVUSD budget board proposed $1.8 million in budget cuts during a meeting Feb. 5 to help alleviate a $7 million deficit. The budget cuts now await approval from the district. The high schools will cut $648,000 if the proposed budget passes. These cuts will come in the form of reduced work experience, coaching stipends, and staff. Over 50 pink slips will be handed out to secondary teachers in the District. More than half of these teachers work at the middle schools. “The goal is to hopefully keep the cuts as far away from classrooms as possible, so the students will be the least affected,” said Principal Ron Lipari. According to Lipari, no programs will be completely cut, but the student to teacher ratios in some classes may increase. The District is also considering taking five days off the beginning of the school year and reducing energy funding to schools. Governor Schwarzenegger’s budget proposal will try to bridge California’s $20 billion budget gap. However, if it passes, the District’s deficit will increase to $11.7 million. “I am drawing this line because our future economic well being is so dependent upon education. I will protect education funding in this budget,” said Schwarzenegger in his final State of the State address. The governor promised to make no direct cuts to K-12 classrooms; however, many are skeptical that he can reduce California’s debt without making these cuts. Critics are also worried because of the state’s history with education cuts. According to the California Teachers Association, $17 billion have been cut from California schools in the last two years, and 16,000 educators have been laid off within the same time frame. In addition, California’s spending rate per student and student to teacher ratio are far from the national average. Both the State’s and District’s budget proposals are not finalized yet and will not be implemented until approved.
RAISING THE BAR: Brian Brousseau ’11 competed in the high jump at last week’s track meet against Birmingham High School. On Saturday, the Warriors placed first in the Varsity Boys Distance Medley Relay at the Ventura Invitational Meet. See PAGE 19
Intervention to Help Struggling Freshmen Max Avruch Copy Editor School to Career Counselor Dr. Laurie Looker paired 36 mentors with 36 students in an effort to improve the students’ academic abilities in the new Intervention program. Since its beginning in the last week of February, the Intervention program has brought mentors and “mentees” together each week to help students with a 2.6 G.P.A. or lower develop better grades and improved attitudes toward school work. The students meet alternating Mondays and Wednesdays or Tuesdays and Thursdays at lunch. Looker asked for mentors in
10th-12th grades who had strong academic records and a willingness to volunteer and help ninth graders who “were struggling and in need of intervention,” said Looker. “There are two goals to this program. First is to positively connect the students at Westlake High. Two is to improve each of the students academically and get their grades up in their freshman year,” said Looker. Before the program began, Looker met with around 40 students who showed an interest in volunteering for the program, and she trained them during the Monday after fall semester finals on how to become a mentor. “It is a good way to help some freshmen who are stug-
gling in school and to help improve their chances of getting into college,”said Alex Bale ‘11, a mentor. “The mentors wanted to work with students at school. When it came to choosing a mentor, it was pretty random, except some students requested a male or female mentor. “But these students are passionate about their mentees and their results,” said Looker. By next year, Looker hopes to implement a class period devoted to one-on-one help. The class would be called Organized Academic Supplement in School (OASIS) and “would bring the mentors and mentees together on a daily basis,” said Looker. Looker has arranged for the
students to attend a conference at Moorpark College on Friday, March 26 called Connecting to Success “to make the most of their potential,” said Looker. “My expectations have not been met yet, but by the end of the year, I hope to get the students’ grades up to at least a B or higher. “And that would be an unbelievable accomplishment,” said Bale. “I am really impressed with the interactions between mentor and mentee. Each of the mentors takes pride in his mentee,” said Looker. The program will continue until school ends and most likely will reconvene in Fall 2010 as an actual class.
8 New Classes To Be Offered in Fall 2010 Celine Flores News Editor Students who would like to hone their software skills before entering the job market, or who wish to animate films for Disney, or become the next Wolfgang Puck may want to consider signing up for one of the eight new classes to be offered in Fall 2010. Students at WHS are being offered the opportunity to expand their understanding of career fields with these courses that were added for the 2010-11 school year. Many of the classes being offered—AP Art History, Microsoft Office, Web Page Design, Cabinet Making, Advanced Computer Graphics CP, Culinary Arts, Digital Photography and—focus on
skills applicable to careers and “real life,” said Assistant Principal of Instruction Jason Branham, substituting for Nicole Funfar who is on maternity leave. Providing additional classes, Branham notes, proves useful in integrating students into the community following high school graduation. PE Lacrosse will also be offered next year. “The intention was to offer more electives. As we cut into our budgets, electives are the first thing to go,” said Branham. ”We wanted to let students grow and develop more.” Many classes build on prerequisites and others replace advanced classes; Cabinet Making is replacing Wood 3, and Culinary Arts is essentially Advanced Foods. Classes are offered based on student
requests. Branham included that as counselors, “anytime we can offer classes based on the number of requests, we love to. Just talk to your counselors.” The effects of budget cuts have reached teachers and students; $17 billion was cut from the CVUSD last year, and the possibility remains that funds will drop another $2.5 billion by August. Despite these cuts, Branham explained, “All the budget does is tell us how many sections we can offer. The budget has no impact on schedules; what the budget has an impact on is the size of classes and staffing.” American Sign Language teacher Tina Carlisle participated in the March 4 demonstration against the government’s cutting of education funds. “I do think [adding new classes] is a good use of the
school’s money,” stated Carlisle. “If we stunt the growth of programs, we are not providing opportunities for our students.” To lessen the impact of spending cuts, current teachers will be assigned to teach the new courses although the schedule will not be finalized until approximately July. Space is currently limited to 38 students per classroom and if the number of requests grows, more sections may likely be made available. The expansion of choices will allow for students to further their knowledge and understanding in each field. “We like when students want to broaden their horizons,” said Branham. For more information and indepth descriptions of each course, students can contact a counselor and pick up a Course Directory in the Counseling Office.