The Willow Glen Resident School District boasts a record of successes In the Nov. 25 edition of the Resident, another letter from the second-time unsuccessful candidate for Board of Education, Michael Johnson, appears ["Hard questions for the SJUSD."] As is his habit, Mr. Johnson has used the question format to implant misinformation which I would like to correct. * Test scores have been rising, not falling. Our scores in College Board SAT's and Golden State Examinations have been rising yearly. The new SAT9 statewide test shows our district scores to be well about state and national average. Since that test was given for the first time this year, we have accepted the challenge to make improvements which our community will be able to measure in 1999, when the second year of scores are issued. * San Jose Unified has reported back to the taxpayers about the results of the $165 million bond in numerous media stories, in open Board of Education meetings, on the district's Web site, and in district publications, including a just-issued Annual Report which will be broadly disseminated. A community-based Bond Oversight Committee meets openly to review the process--Mr. Johnson has never attended. * Parents are integrally involved in decision-making throughout the district, serving on advisory boards providing input on decisions about budget, standards and policies. Parents sit on school site councils, which make key decisions at each school. Parent, teacher and student focus groups told us they wanted more rigorous curriculum--their input led to the revision of our graduation requirements--now the most rigorous in the state. * The proposed site of the new elementary school was originally at the Tamien station, but as the cost of the land, after more than a year of negotiation, was finally quoted at over $7 million, it became an unfeasible option. Statewide and county-wide, our K-12 population is stabilizing and will not continue to grow at recent rates. Mr. Johnson's proposal of opening the four "possible schools immediately" and taking back the site currently leased to the Center for Employment Training would be ridiculous and fiscally irresponsible. The current plan to reconstruct Horace Mann Elementary and to build a brand new school on existing property in those neighborhoods where enrollment has exceeded capacity will provide us with capacity where we need it--without incurring the prohibitive cost of land downtown. The parent community of all affected schools has been consulted. Not every parent agrees, but we continue to work with our community to come to agreeable solutions for all. * Arts and music programs vary in each school, but at least two middle schools, Castillero and Hoover, have exemplary, award-winning arts and music programs. * Each middle school has an accelerated program--Bret Harte's status as California Distinguished School has just been extended; Castillero has won numerous awards for its academic excellence and arts programs; Burnett Academy has been accepted as a candidate for the International Baccalaureate Middle Years program; Hoover was awarded the National Magnet School of Distinction award last year. John Muir has been acknowledged as an outstanding Science and Technology-based program. Steinbeck is a Stanford Accelerate School. Willow Glen Middle School has expanded to an eight period day and offers extensive academic enrichment programs. The last four of these middle schools are considered models for school reform throughout the Bay Area. * The return to neighborhood schools does not disqualify the district for desegregation funding. Such funding has provided great benefits for all students in the district and will continue to do so. Mr. Johnson continues to raise his banner as advocate of parent rights, but once again the voters have seen through his misinformation to re-elect officials who have represented the parents in this district with exemplary leadership. We welcome your scrutiny--watch us as we continue to improve. Maureen Munroe Public Information Officer, San Jose Unified School District [ Back to Contents Page | Willow Glen Resident Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Willow Glen Resident, December 2, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.