School Year Starts With Upgrades

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The Laguna Beach Unified School District started the 2016-2017 year with a relatively stable enrollment of 3,056 students, 7 percent fewer at Top of the World Elementary and 7 percent more at Thurston Middle School as compared to a year ago, school officials said.

The newly renovated Guyer Field, used by athletes for track and field, football and soccer, reopened prior to the opening bell last week in time for the Breakers football team to take advantage of their new turf.

Popcorn chicken, burgers and other hot meals returned to the school lunch menu for students at Thurston, which now has a fully functioning cafeteria. Gas line repair and retrofitting underway during the last school year finished up during the summer, said district spokeswoman Leisa Winston.

Two new teaching positions added this year are for science specialists, off to a fresh start in rooms at each of the elementary schools designated for science, technology, engineering, arts and mathamatics, known as STEAM labs, said Winston.

Jacquie Cohn, a genetics major from UC Berkeley, won the assignment at El Morro, where enrollment is 526 students in kindergarten through fifth grade. Kathleen Margaretich is teaching at Top of the World, where attendance is 610 students.

Altogether, the district employs 185 teachers and certificated support staff and 164 employees known as classified staff, including management, Winston said.

The PTAs at both schools donated $15,000 to provide flexible furniture and supplemental materials to enhance instruction for the STEAM labs, Superintendent Jason Viloria said in a statement.

“Our other teachers and staff hired were generally replacements for retirements or resignations,” said Winston, though a less than full time math teacher was also added at the high school due to increased enrollment. Attendance at LBHS this year is 1,144 students, she said.

Other improvements completed include new playground shade structures at El Morro and new roofing for TOW’s office, library, multipurpose and kindergarten rooms. Thurston’s new library features new flexible furniture, computers and a wall size monitor for projection and touch screen capabilities, Winston said.

Alysia Odipo is the sole new administrator, who replaced Darlene Messinger as assistant superintendent of instruction, she said.

 

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