Schools Approve New Classes, Safety Measures

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By Marilynn Young | LB Indy

Come spring, as students peruse their list of class choices, they will find for the first time Mandarin Chinese among the language courses offered at Thurston Middle School and Laguna Beach High School.

The school board approved adding the class to spring registration in order to assess interest in the course for fall. Whether Mandarin becomes part of the foreign-language curriculum depends on whether the district can hire a credentialed teacher, but as envisioned new courses would include Beginning Mandarin, Mandarin I and Mandarin II.

“I would totally recommend this course,” said Margaret Warder, a parent who also represents the district’s non-teaching staff at board meetings.

She said her daughter was one of the first students to enroll in an after-school Mandarin class, even though it conflicted with other outside activities. By offering Mandarin during the regular class day, more students will sign up, Warder told board members during the Tuesday, Jan. 26, meeting.

Board President William Landsiedel agreed. “There is a lot of interest. We can subsidize it if we have to because it’s worth the investment”.

Currently, Mandarin can be taken after school through the Berlitz Language Center, but the curriculum does not satisfy school district standards for world language courses or the foreign language graduation requirement.

LBHS has not received significant requests to add any other language course in recent years, according to a curriculum committee recommendation from Darlene Messinger, the assistant superintendent of instructional services.

Two other new courses in different academic disciplines also received approval for the next school year: a computer-aided design and drafting class and an engineering technology elective, with appeal to students interested in physical sciences.

In other matters, the board gave final approval to a policy on bullying that will now extend to school district staff.

The board also reviewed a 10-year facilities master plan presented by Facilities Director Jeffrey Dixon.

The plan included recommendations for each campus, some of them yet to be approved. They included $300,000 for shade structures at El Morro as a substitute to replace trees that have died and $2.1 million for a permanent music building at Top of the World to replace portable units. Both projects are to be completed by summer, 2016.

Two additional classrooms would be added to Thurston for $2 million to be completed by summer 2018.

And the LBHS stadium could get a new $1.1 million restroom and concession building by summer 2019 if approved.

Efforts to improve security measures will go forward with the board approving the installation of a camera monitoring system throughout the district at a cost not to exceed $10,000.

“We have discussed this and want employees to know we are concerned with the safety of our employees and not monitoring our employees,” Warder said. “We are totally in favor with protection of the property and safety.”

“Thank you, we want to keep everyone safe,” Landsiedel said in reply.

The board next meets Feb. 9.

 

 

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