Santa Monica, a Lifelong Learning Community

• Julia Brownley, California State Assembly Member:  A View from Sacramento on the Policies & Funding of Education in Our State
• Kathy Wisnicki and Oscar de la Torre, President and Vice President, Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education: Santa Monica-Malibu The Top Ten Things You Should Know about our Schools
• Dr. Dianne Talarico, Superintendent of Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District:  The State of Our Schools
• Teachers & Students & Principals:  Perspectives and Experiences

Reception and refreshments to follow the presentations.
The entire community is welcome!

Save the Date: This year we will also have our first ever “Public Schools Week.” The entire community is invited to join the principal and teachers at each of our District Schools at 10am for coffee, a short presentation and then tour of the school. Across the District all our schools are ready to host anyone who wants to see inside A Working School. Public Schools Week was originally scheduled for early November but has been pushed back due to the fires. Please plan on visiting your local schools the week of December 3rd .  Here’s the schedule:
• Elementary Open School: Wednesday Dec. 5
• Middle Open School: Thursday Dec. 6
• High Schools: Friday Dec. 7
 
For more information on The State of Our Schools and Public Schools Week, please go to www.smmpta.org.

Thursday, November 8, 7pm-9pm
LWV Forum: A Safer, More Compassionate World
Santa Monica College Bundy Campus, Multipurpose Room,
3171 South Bundy Drive
Free. Free parking.
Refreshments will be served.
 
Join the League of Women Voters of Santa Monica and Our Voices Together for a "Safer, More Compassionate World Forum” and a panel discussion on what ordinary citizens can do to generate a less fearful, more informed debate about national security threats.
 
Panelists are Santa Monica Fire Chief Jim Hone, Santa Monica Red Cross Executive Director John Pacheco, Santa Monica Bay Area Human Relations Council Member Dr. Jody Priselac, Santa Monica Deputy Police Chief Philli0p Sanchez, and Santa Monica College Political Science Professor Dr. Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein. For more information, please call (310)394-4661 or email anitav.lwvsm@gmail.com. Rsvp at 310-395-0835 or email shfield@roadrunner.com.

Saturday, November 10, 8:30 am – noon
RAND Community Conference on Early Childhood Issues:
Learning What Others Are Doing
The RAND Corporation
1776 Main Street
Free with free parking
RSVP required! Go to http://www.rand.org/events/2007/11/10/invitation.html to register or call (310) 393-0411, ext. 7304. Kindly reply by November 5th.
 
I would like to strongly encourage everyone to attend this year’s Rand Community Conference on Early Childhood Issues.  This year’s conference will focus on Grow Up Great, a comprehensive program in Pittsburgh to enhance the effectiveness of early childhood programs and ensure school readiness for all children.
 
Dr. Rebecca Kilburn, Director, RAND Child Policy, will discuss the results of a thorough, objective review and synthesis of research that addresses the potential for various forms of early childhood intervention to improve outcomes for participating children and their families.
 
Sally McCrady, Vice President, PNC Financial Services, and Program Manager, PNC Grow Up Great, will describe their ten-year, $100 million investment in families and early childhood programs.
 
Grow Up Great sounds like it has been creating the kind of comprehensive, family-friendly, communitywide environment to support lifelong learning that we hoped to establish here in Santa Monica to support our youngest learners and their families. That vision remains elusive for us (and for most of the nation) and I believe that this inability to reach children and their families before they fall behind accounts in large part for the persistent achievement gap we continue to see in our schools. Please make every effort to attend this conference. Perhaps we can be re-inspired and learn how to actually make a model lifelong learning community happen!
 
Rand is one of, if not the, premier research and development organizations in the world. It is an enormous benefit to us that they make their resources and expertise available to our community. The public is welcome and encouraged to attend but advance registration is required.

Speaking of community visions and priorities.... “Can We Talk?”
 
City Manager Lamont Ewell will be attending a series of neighborhood meetings to discuss Santa Monica's needs and priorities as the 2008-09 budget planning cycle begins. Please attend one of the following meetings to make sure that your priorities are remembered as the City develops its next budget.
 
“Can We Talk?”
Tuesday, November 6, Montana Avenue Library, 1704 Montana Ave.
Monday, November 12, Virginia Ave. Park, Thelma Terry Center,
Monday, November 19, Ken Edwards Center, 1527 4th St.
Tuesday, November 20, Grant Elementary School Auditorium, 2368 Pearl St
 
All meetings begin at 7:00 p.m.

Just for the holidays....
 
Wednesday, November 21,
Outdoor Ice Skating Rink Will Open!
5th & Arizona
Probably NOT free!
 
The parking lot on 5th & Arizona will be turned into an outdoor ice skating rink, open to the public from November 21 to January 20.  For more information, please go to http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2007/October-2007/10_11_07_Fantasy_on_Ice.htm

Thanks, Cheers, and Onward,
Louise Jaffe

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