LOWER LAKE — Konocti”s Director of Information Technology and former district student Michael Schenck is among a cohort of 23 technology leaders who were recently certified by the state as Chief Technology Officers.
The Konocti Unified School District Board of Trustees acknowledged Schenck”s accomplishment at its Wednesday, Nov. 7, meeting.
According to the California Educational Technology Professionals Association (CETPA), the CTO training program produces qualified California school district CTOs. The program raises the bar for technology leaders and creates a community of support through mentorship and collaboration.
The first group of participants attended Friday and Saturday classes once a month and were honored with a graduation ceremony on Wednesday, Oct. 10, in Indian Wells.
CETPA is taking applications for candidates, mentors and instructors for its 2008 classes, which will be held in downtown Sacramento. Completed applications and resumes are due by Friday, Dec. 7. For more information, see se visit www.cetpa-k12.org/cto/.
In other matters Wednesday before the Konocti school board:
* During his report to the board, Konocti Educators Association President John Lee calculated that district educators donate $2.5 million in unpaid labor across a 180-day school year. Lee said that calculations were based on a rate of $30 an hour, which was what the district would offer its teachers in extra-duty pay. Several sheets of butcher paper contained contributors” estimates in dollars of the work that they donate to the district.
* Susan Thompson, prevention coordinator for the Lake Family Resource Center and the Lake County Domestic Violence Council, reported that the recent “All That” wellness camp was a success. The camp took place this summer and was offered to Lake County middle-school girls. KUSD provided a bus to assist with transporting Clearlake and Lower Lake girls to attend the camp, which took place in Lakeport. Individual contributors, including Board Clerk Anita Gordon, also donated money for scholarships.
* The school board acted upon a finding in the Year 3 Corrective Action Plan for Pomo Elementary School by funding an intervention teacher to teach during the school day during the remainder of the current school year. The board voted 4-1 to approve the use of $45,000 to fund this intervention support for English language learners and other struggling readers.
Board member Mary Silva, who cast the dissenting vote, explained that district protocol has always been to first go through its management team and that she wanted to see this action first come before the board as a management-team recommendation. Wednesday”s action appeared on the agenda at the request of Board President Carolynn Jarrett.
* A draft of district responses to earlier KEA member complaints came before the board on Wednesday. Lee and local educators had compiled comments at each school site, which were written on sheets of butcher paper that were assembled into a scroll and presented Oct. 3 during public session for negotiation openers. District staffers transcribed the comments, with administrators” and board members” responses, into a point-by-point report that can be downloaded as a PDF from Konocti”s “Agendas Online,” https://konocti.csbaagendaonline.net/. Acrobat Reader software, available free from www.Adobe.com, is needed to view the document.
Contact Cynthia Parkhill at cparkhill@clearlakeobserver.com.
