Shenandoah Elementary School

1. Polite Students - appropriate "sound" levels in all classrooms (including PE, Art and Music), hallways, media center, cafeteria, and arrival and dismissal; careful consideration of materials, furniture, floors and walls; respectful attention to other's space and property.

2. Amazing Attitudes - students demonstrating a pawsitive attitude, respect, kindness, and consideration toward all.

3. Winning Work - students ready and happy to learn; producing quality work; a focus on continuous improvement; and a pledge to always do your best work.

4. School Safety - anti-bullying behavior; learn and practice appropriate bathroom, playground, arrival and dismissal rules

October 15, 2008

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E-News from Orange County Public Schools

Superintendent Ronald Blocker is one of eleven superintendents nationwide nominated to receive the Richard R. Green Award in Urban Excellence. The award is bestowed upon a district superintendent in recognition of exceptional urban school leadership. The winner will be announced October 25 in Houston, Texas by the Council of the Great City Schools.

OCPS Newsroom
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Wednesday, November 5
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Attorney named to state ethics commission

Frank Kruppenbacher, attorney to the Orange County School Board, was recently appointed to the Florida Commission on Ethics by Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio.

Budget study committee to look at where to best use less money

School districts throughout Florida will face even more serious budget cuts next year than in the current year. Orange County Public Schools Superintendent Ronald Blocker is taking the proactive step of forming a Superintendent’s Budget Study Committee.

Experts and community stakeholders will review the recommendations for budget cuts in order to balance the budget for 2009-2010 while still serving the purposes and goals of the district’s strategic plan. The Citizens Team will focus on budget recommendations from district staff to examine congruence with the strategic plan and the impact on the community. A Technical Team comprised of budget and finance experts from local businesses and institutions is being gathered to look at the cost analyses of the recommended cuts and the impact on district operations.
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Superintendent Blocker is requesting names from 20 organizations around Orange County to serve on the Citizens Team along with three School Advisory Council representatives. It is a model similar to the recent School Board Governance Study Committee which recently provided findings that were accepted and supported by the board.

According to Superintendent Blocker, “I am confident that with many good minds looking at the budget we will do the best we can to advance our effort “to lead students to success with the support and involvement of families and the community.”

The committee should be selected by October 22, 2008.

The organizations being asked to submit nominees for the Citizens Team are Apopka Chamber of Commerce, Arts Education Alliance, Asian American Chamber of Commerce, Citizens Commission for Children, Classroom Teachers Association, Community Organized to Rescue Education, East Orlando Chamber of Commerce, Florida Citrus Sports, Florida High School Athletic Association Board, Foundation for Orange County Public Schools, Haitian Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters, Orange County Association of School Administrators, Orange Education Support Professional Association, Orange County Council of PTA’s, Orange County Homeowners Association Alliance, Society for Human Resource Management, Superintendent’s African American Advisory Council, Superintendent’s Hispanic Advisory Council and the West Orange Chamber of Commerce. Three additional representatives will be selected from among School Advisory Councils; one each from elementary, middle and high school.

School board governance study committee critical of proposed district wide elected chair idea

The school board empanelled a committee of community group representatives chaired by community advocate Fran Pignone in March to study school board governance in Florida and around the country. An executive report was released in July and the school board voted to support the committee’s findings on September 23. The findings are listed below and the executive summary and much more can be found here.

Those findings pertaining specifically to the proposed district wide elected chair idea are in bold type.

Governance Study Committee Findings

Community criticism of current school board governance requires acknowledgement and thoughtful consideration;
The constitutionality of the proposed district-wide elected school board chairperson position must be resolved prior to inclusion on the ballot; [Note: A circuit court ruling denied the school board what it believes is its right to challenge the law as unconstitutional. It is still not clear whether the law is constitutional and the school board has directed its legal counsel to appeal the ruling to a higher court.]
There is no demonstrated correlation between student achievement and any type of school board governance model;
Governance structure changes must not jeopardize Orange County Public Schools’ ability to comply with the federal court order to achieve unitary status;
Consideration must be given to formalizing a rotating chairperson position to strengthen school board harmony and improve opportunities for minority leadership;
Expanding school board membership from seven to nine single-member districts in conjunction with district reapportionment as a result of the 2010 census would provide representation opportunities to underrepresented groups;
School board member participation in county and regional organizations will increase Orange County Public Schools’ visibility;
There was no evidence established to support a district-wide elected school board chairman utilizing an additional vote to break a tie; and
There was no fact-based evidence established to support a district-wide elected school board chairperson as a best practice.

The League of Women Voters in Orange County encouraged the school board to form the Governance Study Committee last spring. This fall the League outlined pro and con arguments about the district wide elected chair which can be viewed here. They subsequently took a formal position against it ( see it here ).

Two Web sites that represent opinions on both sides of the issue can be seen at the following locations:
www.noelectedchair.com and www.letusvoteorange.com.

Florida school grades for the 2007-08 school year were released on July 8th. Shenandoah Elementary continued our all-A streak, earning our tenth "A" in a row!

Congratulations to our staff and students for their hard work and continued success!

Renovations to the school and new construction continues. New windows that will keep out the noise from airplanes are replacing the old windows in the school. The south wing where the Media Center, Computer Lab, Cafeteria, and Front Office were is being renovated. Classrooms in the south wing will get new carpet, new windows, new furniture, new audio and video equipment, and new computers.

Construction and final details on the news building also continue. The exterior is being painted, new sidewalks are being poured, and paving the driveways and parking lots has begun. You are going to be amazed when you see the completed work once the new school year begins! Click here to see photos of the progress that's being made.

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Mr. and Mrs. White from the Audubon Birds of Prey Center in Maitland brought a special guest to our school on Tuesday, March 25. The guest was 17 years old, weighed 6-7 pounds and was nicknamed Frankie. Shenandoah students learned how to “bird clap’ by making a beak with their hands and opening and closing them. The students had to do the " bird clap" instead of excitedly screaming, squealing or clapping because Frankie is not used to and very sensitive to, loud noise. The children also learned many new facts about eagles. Mrs. White told the Shenandoah Bobcats how truly lucky they are to have an eagles' nest with 2 eaglets right on our campus. By now, you have probably figured out our guest, Frankie, was an injured bald eagle who has lived at the Birds of Prey Center since he was 2 days old and fell from his nest. Since he will always live in captivity, Frankie is expected to live another 40-50 years. All of Shenandoah thoroughly enjoyed the Whites' visit to Shenandoah with, of course, Frankie the Bald Eagle.

Mrs. Rhonda Jones, a 4th Grade Teacher and OCPS Superintendant, Ronald Blocker, pose for a photo at a recent awards dinner. Mrs. Jones has taught at Shenandoah for twenty consecutive years. She has taught 1st, 3rd, and now 4th grades. All five of her own children are Shenandoah graduates as well. Mrs. Jones feels that "teaching comes as naturally as breathing" since she grew up with teachers in her family and her father as her principal her entire school career. Her basic principle in her classroom is that “Students do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care!"

Her current class says that she won this award because "she is funny, organized, and loving and strict at the same time." Congratulations Mrs. Jones!

If you look closely at the nest, you can see the head of one of the eaglets. Our sincere thanks to Mr. Wiley who provided us with these wonderful pictures.