September 2, 2005

Willow Glen back-to-school information

Elementary (K-5)
Booksin Elementary (San Jose Unified)
1590 Dry Creek Road 95125
(408) 535-6213

Sharon Roddick—principal
Ruth Jauregui—assistant principal
Madeline Yaussi—school secretary

2004-05 Enrollment—730
2005-06 Expected enrollment—710

Booksin has three new teachers this year. Howard Gipstein and Shelley Parsons are special education teachers and Carol Toney is teaching fifth grade.

Booksin has had significant modernization work over the summer on existing buildings. New windows, case goods, some flooring, painting and other miscellaneous projects have been completed. A new structure is in progress, which will open in late January. It will house eight classrooms, the library and a technology lab.

Canoas Elementary (San Jose Unified)
880 Wren Drive 95125
(408) 535-6391

Carol Garcia—principal
Maureen Dudley—school secretary

2004-05 enrollment—400
2005-06 expected enrollment—400

Canoas, which is a Blue Ribbon School, has three new teachers this year; Margarita Hardin in first grade ALA; Tanya Wilson in third grade and Michelle Reeves is teaching the school’s special day class.

Starting in September, the school is planning an intervention program for children who have tested low. The children will be pulled out of their classes for extra help in language arts and reading by resource teachers.

The administrators at Canoas continue to increase the schools computers. Each year, school officials buy eight to 10 new computers so that now there are at least three computers per classroom plus 20 in the media lab and other computers in the resource lab.

Last February, the school started a new program of tutoring Spanish-speaking parents in English. It worked out so well that this year administrators hope to offer a couple of six to eight week twice per week classes for the parents, one in the fall and one in spring.

Galarza Elementary and Hammer Montessori (San Jose Unified)
1610 Bird Ave. 95125
535-6671

Diane Hemmes—principal
Angelic Ruiz—assistant principal
Sue Avila—school secretary

2004-05 enrollment—470 (Galarza) 280 (Hammer)
2005-06 expected enrollment—450 (Galarza) 240 (Hammer)

While the two schools have separate school plans and budgets, the students do all the same events.

Galarza has a new bilingual fourth/fifth grade teacher and a new English only teacher for grades one and two. Hammer has two new kinder and primary Montessori teachers.

Last year Galarza and Hammer started a Peace Builders program to unite the students from both schools. The school also offers tutoring in English language arts and math with small group instruction after school.

Galarza and Hammer at Galarza will hold a back-to-school night on Sept. 20. It has scheduled a walk-a-thon for Oct. 29.

The school has a monthly meeting with parents called a Second Cup of Coffee. It meets the second Thursday of every month. All parents are invited. The September topic is about how to get Spanish-speaking parents involved in reading in the classroom, with Linda Silvius from the district’s Project Cornerstone.

Gardner Elementary (San Jose Unified)
502 Illinois Ave. 95125
(408) 535-6225

Janice Hubbs—principal
Concepcion DeTagle—school secretary

2004-05 enrollment—470
2005-06 expected enrollment—500

Gardner School opens this year with everything new, including the school buildings, which suffered from a fire a couple of years ago. All of the teachers had to reapply to teach at the school, which has become a professional development school. Two of last year’s classroom teachers and two special education teachers from last year applied and were accepted. The school now has 22 classroom teachers, four resource teachers and two special education teachers.

A professional development school entails cycles of inquiry around focal students who have skill gaps to provide increased achievement in these students. The teachers collaborate with each other with plans to improve not only their students’ work but also their own. They watch each other teach and provide feedback with each other allowing the teachers to improve their methods, which in turn improves the children’s ability to learn.

All teachers receive an extra 17 days of staff development during the summer. This not only helps them with the new program, it also increases bonding among the teachers. This bonding is essential because it’s difficult to have someone watch a teacher and provide pro—and especially con—feedback. The teachers have to suspend their egos and build trust and relationships to allow this bonding.

“It’s awesome that our staff is willing to do this. Not everyone is open to feedback. You have to have a very positive attitude and a nurturing environment, but it must be totally structured,” said Hubbs, who has worked as a teacher and principal for SJUSD for 42 years.

The district is providing a high degree of support through Mary Ann Rokovich, the director of the professional development special project. Applied Materials Corporation pays for the stuff development and a group of dedicated substitutes, who are required to know and do everything the teaching staff does.

In addition, through a link by the Knight Foundation, Gardner’s pre-school and Estrella Family Services pre-school will work to improve English language development.

Gardner School also is collaborating with two university programs. One of these is San Jose State University’s intern program of student teaching, in which the student teachers will learn along with Gardner’s newly taught teachers. The other is a tutoring program from Santa Clara University in which the college students with work with Gardner students.

Other college student/school programs are in the planning stages. For example, Hubbs noted that sometime within the next 18 months, the school plans to work with UC Santa Cruz’s new teacher center.

While many of the buildings are still under construction, with some classes still in portable buildings, Hubbs expects to have a professional development room and a community room upstairs in the main building.

The school now has a new playground, for kids five and under, was funded by the Knight Foundation.

Shallenberger Elementary (San Jose Unified)
1280 Koch Lane 95125
(408) 535-6253

Margie Payne-Graves, principal
Dorothy Carroll, school secretary

2004-05 enrollment—
2005-06 expected enrollment—

The school has a new building housing the library, computer lab, media center and eight new classrooms that were completed over the summer. It also has a new special education classroom for disabled students. This year, the room is only for kindergartners, but it’s likely to grow one grade each year.

Shallenberger’s new speech teacher Leslie Kramer will pull students out of class. Dayle Moore is the new head of the media center.

The school recently announced it will hold its annual fall festival on Friday, Sept. 30. It will be Shallenberger’s 50th anniversary celebration. Held from 5 to 8 p.m. on the school grounds, it will feature a silent auction, a raffle, dinner and snacks. All alumni, neighbors, students and parents are invited to attend.

Willow Glen Elementary (San Jose Unified)
1425 Lincoln Ave. 95125
535-6265

Dayle D’Anna—principal
Debby Burrgraff—school secretary

2004-05 enrollment—570
2005-06 expected enrollment—570

Willow Glen Elementary has five new teachers. Linda Jensen is teaching kindergarten, Karen Shah is teaching first grade, Catherine Miller is sharing a contract with another teacher for second grade. Radel Swank is teaching third and Fran Vargas is teaching fourth/fifth ALA.

The kindergarten classes all have been moved near the new circle drive and parking lot on the Lincoln side of the school. The district also has added a new kindergarten play area. Kindergarten classes are now 8:30 to 12:30 eliminating the staggered start times at the school.

The next phase is the two-story building. Construction is expected to begin within the next six weeks. That project will be completed by winter break in 2006, which will be followed by reorganizing and working on the cafeteria. The entire project will be finished by the summer of 2007.

From Principal De’Anna’s perspective, the new drop off seems to be working well, although there are some logistical items still working out. Pick up seems a lot busier, she added.

PTA members are organizing after school programs, for example, the PTA is establishing a choir and the music teacher will extend her time to after school. There also will be science, computers and math after school in early September. The school will continue its Art Docent program and currently is putting together a Science Docent program.

This year, there will be an all-school picnic/ice cream social on Sept. 6 at 6:30 p.m. to get the school community together.

River Glen (K-8) (San Jose Unified)
1088 Broadway Ave. 95125
(408) 535-6240

Mildred Arellanyo, principal
Virginia Ortiz, school secretary

2004-05 enrollment
2005-06 expected enrollment

River Glen, a Spanish immersion school, will continue its two-way program. Five new teachers join new principal Mildred Arellanyo. Rosa Coss is a new kindergarten teacher. Lucia Rosha-Nestlar will be teacher third grade, Jason Dufenhorst will teach fifth and Luis Talomares will teach sixth. Deborah Schacker is a new science teacher for grades seven and eight.

Over the summer, all the school’s bathrooms were remodeled.

Willow Glen Middle School (6-8) (San Jose Unified)
2105 Cottle Ave. 95125
535-6277

John Tavella—principal
Kitty Iwamoto—associate principal for eighth grade activities
Sharon Norris—associate principal for seventh grade instruction
Mike Baxter—associate principal for discipline
Charlotte Caciopo—attendance secretary
Eltelvila Torres—school secretary

2004-05 enrollment—1100
2005-06 expected enrollment—1100

This year, Willow Glen’s middle school has six new teachers. Efrem Fornoles is teaching pre-algebra to seventh graders and Sandra Handly is teaching computer. Andrea Larned is teaching seventh grade girls PE and Clifford Pattadakis is teaching PE to seventh grade boys. Tony Schifano is teaching language arts and social studies to seventh graders and Jocelyn Sertich is teaching music appreciation and drama.

Willow Glen High School (9-12) (San Jose Unified)
200 Cottle Ave. 95125
535-6330

Elaine Farachi—principal
Jackie Zeller—assistant principal/instruction
Alfonso Gallegos—assistant principal/discipline
Tina VanLaarhoven—assistant principal/guidance
Melissa Foster—director of activities
Marty Burns—school secretary

Willow Glen High School has 10 new teachers this year. In the math department, Megan Hatashita is teaching algebra I, Marlene Horwitz is teaching algebra I and II, Michael Pejic is teaching algebra II and geometry and Anu Satyapel is teaching calculus. Todd Sherrett will be teaching physics. Aaron Rubenstein is teaching U.S. history and world geography while Cathleen Deppe is teaching sophomore and junior English. Michele Bauer is teaching French I-IV and Linda Guevara-Grey is teaching Spanish I. Jocelyn Sertich is teaching vocal music instruction.

Over the summer, the district started construction projects redoing all the bathrooms, putting in a new staff parking lot in front of the girls’ gym and working on a bus turnout.