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Show Home and School: District School Vital Links Board members by LILY ESKELSEN President, Utah Education Association day. And he did draw pictures You probably wouldnt have when I know he couldve done the noticed him. He was but not shy, painfully. He was quiet, but hed answer your questions. He didnt have good penmanship. He didnt always turn in his homework. He didnt make many friends, but he didnt have any enemies. There really wasnt any reason to pay much attention to Brian. And thats what made him the most special kid in my 6th grade. Its easy to remember the outspoken students. They demand your attention. They act up. They act out. They clown. They chatter. Energy clothed in jeans and sneakers and chewing gum cannot be ignored. Its easy to remember the brilliant students. They shine. They positively glow. They radiate everything that made a teacher want to become a teacher. Its easy to remember the students in pain. They hurt, and they cry for you. And you cry for them. Oh, but the kid who is simply there. The kid who is not too good, but not too bad. This is the child who presents our greatest challenge, because he, I am terrified to admit, is the child most at risk of falling through those ever widening cracks. Theyre the ones so easy to overlook. Personally, I liked Brian, although he did tend to whine when he talked. And he did come to class five minutes late almost every other work if hed only paid attention. He also hated P.E. He always had excuses why he couldnt play. Maybe thats why I noticed that day. He tripped during the soccer game. He went down hard and got upwithtarsinhiseyes. I offered to let him sit out. No, Im OK. He continued to play. Thenhe wasdownagain. Limp- ing, he went on. Once, maybe twice, he fell Brian wasnt exactly Olympic material, but he got up easier each time, dusted himself off and trotted toward the ball. At 10:35 I blew the whistle and the game was over. A day later no one remember who won or whether they were on the blue team or the red team. Brian wasnt the hero of the game. Hed never made a goal in his life. But I remember thinking how hard it must have been for him to keep playing. And I remember the look on his face when hed read the letter Id left on his desk that afternoon congratulating him on his courage and determination Brian will never come to us the way other children will. Our eyes must be more keen to recognize his efforts and his triumphs. Our praise must be sincere so that he begins to understand his own value. We, his paremsand teachers, must be ready to meet the demands that we will never hear him make. North Sevier High School News Angela Freeman Homecomings finally over and another week is here. Both the JV Game and Varsity game ended in big disappointing losses, Thursday and Friday, but the Wolves kept going. Saturday the volleyball team traveled to Kanab to play the Cowboys. Homecoming Dance was a success and many people had a good time. Also congratulations Canisha Gurr! On Tuesday and Wednesday Juniors are taking SATs at the Stake Center beginning a 8 p.m. each morning. Thursday, North Sevier hosts the JV football game at 4 p.m. Friday is volleyball at Beaver with games at 4:30, 5:30 and 6:30 p.m. Varsity football will be in Hurricane that night at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, the 8th, cross country will run in Millard at 4 p.m. and because of the early weekend next week, due to UEA, the JV football game will be that day here against Kanab at 4 p.m. The varsity football game will be held in Kanab on Wednesday nighL The volleyball team will go to Monroe to play against South Sevier. School will be dismissed at 1 p.m. that day. Utah high schoolers do well in all but Math Utah high school students scored higher than their counterparts nationwide in all categories of the 1991 American COllege test except math, according to results released last week. The national average for the overall ACT for 1991 was 20.6 out of a possible 36, the same as last year. Utah students scored 21 both years. Over the five year period from 1987-199the average ACT composite score ,in Utah increased slightly, while the national average has declined. 1, In 1991, the only testing area in which Utah students trail the national average is Math - scoring 19.7 to the nations 20. About 16,000 Utah high school students representing 68 of the states 1991 graduating class, took the national test which measures aptitude in English, Math, Reading and Science reasoning. While Utahs female students scored higher than males on the English portion of the test, the males scored higher on math, reading and science overall. Junior high students invited to enter contest All Junior High students through- out Utah are invited to participate in a state-wid- e essay contest in recognition of National Consumers Week, October 20-21991. The theme for the 10th annual convention is Todays Choice -Tomorrows Opportunity, stressing the importance of strengthening our nations future by developing good buying and saving habits at an early age. The theme of the essay contest is What you Learn About Buying Wisely Today Will Benefit You For A Lifetime. 6, All essays should be 200 words or less. Send your entry toDepLof Commerce, Attention: Heather Barney, 60 East 300 SOuth, SLC, UT 84111. Be sure your entry is postmarked by October 11. Three prizes will be a grand prize of $100 awarded savings bond, and two additional prizes of $50 savings bonds. For more information call Heather at or Gary Hansen, director of the Division of Consumer Protection at 1 . 1 - 530-695- 5, 530-660- job. Those currently serving on the has board agree that anyone entertained thoughts of getting elected to the school board should understand how decisions are made. Most of all they should be prepared lor the time commitment involved. Besides attending regular board meetings and hearings, there are special work sessions planned by the administration to set goals and great issues in depth. There are annual state and national conventions to attend, and key communicators meetings where citizens express their concerns. A board member must also have the lime and interest to read and absorb the sometimes technical background material necessary to become informed before votes arc taken. Taking time to exchange ideas informally w'ilh constituents is also an important part of the job. A confidential Friday Report goes out weekly to board members to keep them abreast of new and ongoing district matters. If something comes up that requires more immediate attention, the superintendent makes personal phone calls. Of course, the ability to keep confidences is crucial. Some board members also lake an active part in the Utah School Boards Association, (US BA). This is a statewide support group geared to providing advice and training for board members. Some board members also taken on committee, regional or state assignments in connection with the USBA. Each board member has an assignment in association with Sevier Valley Applied Technology Center, Central Utah Educational Services, or district admin istrativc departments, and each is assigned to STEPHEN L. DONALDSON, MD Announcing the opening of his practice of OPHTHALMOLOGY (Eye Physician and Surgeon) Accepting New Patients Now located at Utah Valley Physician's Plaza 1055 North 300 West - Provo, Utah 1 tagirtiiUfftHrinTfitif -' ' J a irridyforifrifei Meet a local School Board member - Kirk Rasmussen Pam Williams Kirk Rasmussen, the newest member of the Sevier District School Board, is a Salina native. North Sevier high Class of 73 graduate, w'hosc four children are the main reason he sought to fill the vacancy created when Ross Marshall resigned. Hoping that maybe some decision I make will have an influence on my children, Rasmussen says he applied even though his work, with CommNet 2000 takes him out of town frequently, and his position on the Redmond Town Council, not to mention his young family, also keep him busy enough already. Although he is up for to the Town Council, Ras- - Weather Food Handlers class set for Oct. 8, 10 a.m. The Central Utah District Health Department will hold a food handlers class Tuesday, October 8, at lOa.m in the basement auditorium of the Sevier County Courthouse. Those needing a food handlers permit are invited to attend. The cost is $5 per person. Those with questions should call 896-545- ning of the new fiscal year, October 1, 1990, is 8.72 inches. This compares with 9.17 inches last year at this same time. Salinas average for this time of year is 9.78. 1. Newspapers are okay for use as textbooks Salt Lake City Newspapers are okay as textbooks, according to a new ruling from the Utah State Textbook Commission. After intense review, the commissioned New York and several other states in formally identifying newspapers as acceptable texts. The commission believes that fostering a new generation of newspaper readers is way to assure that young people grow up with an understanding of the broader world in which they live. In recent Washington, D.C. in Scholastic years, drops Aptitude Test scores in reading and English have become rotten news for newspapers, noted the Washing- - ton Post. tion of semi-litera- newspaper executives that worry print journalism may become obsolete. Thirty years ago 60 of people between 18 and 29 read a paper everyday: Today, fewer than 30 of that age group are daily readers. Those who dont read when they are young, likely wont read when they are older. The implications for our democracy are frightening, the article continues, even now half the electorate fails to vote in presidential elections, the same percentage that reads newspapers rarely, if at all. The implications for our economy are frightening. Local schools will have more say in decisions need for financial incentives to do it are also cited as reasons. What must the programs be? d The bill defines a decision making pilot program as one designed by a local school mussen says he probably wontrun again. He is thrilled with the professionalism and organization of the school board, feels that something valuable is accomplished at every meeting, and enjoys associating with the positive, smart, educated people who serve with him. His immediate agenda has been to listen and learn so he can contribute intelligently to the discussion of issues before decisions are made, and have an assertive, positive influence on his colleagues. There were several influential teachers in Rasmussens educational past, but those he remembers most are the ones who helped him develop maturity, communicate with others, and feel self worth. He is also grateful to those who gave him incentives and encouragement during the year and a half he was out of school battling rheumatoid arthritis. Involvement in student government during his senior year remains a highlight. Opportunities in the field od education arc endless, Rasmussen believes, and new fields are opening up all the time. "A people-oriente- d person who wants to be a teacher will always have a job, he predicted. Like other members of the board, Rasmussen recognizes that the majority of the population dont understand the function of the school board, but he tries to share with neighbors and friends the rationale for decisions. It makes a difference, he says, when people want to know and understand about whats going on in the schools from the point of view of the decision makers. ' He characterizes his colleagues as a unified board that likes to share ideas and is willing to talk They don t openly about them always agree on everything right from the start, but the opposition helps bring out the best. As a member of the districts strategic planning committee, a group that met for three days in June to come up with a five-yemap for education reform, Rasmussen was impressed that not only were they from all walks of community life expressing the same ar desires and goals for education, but that the plan they came up with fit so closely with the America 2000 plan set forth by President Bush. It will take lots of discussions of the main features of the strategic plan to help the entire community understand all its aspects, Rasmussen noted. At the top of his list of the best things weve done Rasmussen predicts the rotation of principals in the elementary schools will have as positive effect, ultimately revitalizing teachers with new ideas and methods. He cautions that people need to be patient and cooperative to give these good things time to develop and happen. What about the future? Reform is something weve just got to do, Rasmussen said. Whether we like it or not, the world is changing. To ignore those changes would be to saddle ourselves with some unpleasant consequences, Rasmussen believes. With all the principals and teachers supportive of the strategic plan and working toward its goals, the with a public that understands and does its part, the district has a better chance for success. one-on-o- Faced with a generad, s, - site-base- W IT'S GOOD TO CALL IT TO MIND ONCE IN A WHILE: Most of the time we take our freedoms for granted. However, Governor Norman Bangerter has declared this week "Freedom of the Press" Week. It's good to remember and be thankful that we live in a country where the press is free of governmental control. visit certain schools on an informal basis in order to maintain a more visible presence and be accessible to students and employees. ar SunNews Classifieds Phone:371-771- Duties of school board members Pam Williams Everybody knows the school board exists, but not everyone is aware of the many facets of their Whats new in 1991-9- 2 and why? The 1991 Legislature is providing $800,000 for Site Based Decision Making Pilot Programs (Senate Bill 30) over a three-yeperiod to help local school communities function with greater autonomy and flexibility while holding them accountable for results. This means that more power is being given to local schools to make decisions which will be best for their own situation - instead of having local and state school boards make those decisions. The eagerness of schools to raise their own expectations for excellence and their Don't starve your Piggybank!! Shop the . are kept busy group of teachers, classified employees, administrators and parents who will make decisions on the school level on matters critical to reaching goals they have set for their school. How are the funds being distributed? Sixteen pilot schools have been selected by the State Office of Education to participate in a pilot program. Each school will receive an initial $25,000 as start-u- p money. Senate Bill 30 calls for additional 1992-9- 3 grants of $15,000 each, and the following year each will receive $10,000. Manti High, under the principalship of Lewis Mullins, is one of the sixteen schools chosen. The bill requires that each pilot school set specific schoolwide academic and student-learnin- g goals. Should we use income tax to support the state's higher education? Will income tax revenue eventually be used to help support higher education in Utah? That question was posed by Utah Foundation, the private, nonprofit tax research organization in an analysis of tax earmarking in Utah. Earmarking is the practice of dedicating or allocating receipts from a particular revenue source for a specific function. For many years it was believed that the state constitution earmarked all revenue from the state individual income tax and the income based corporation franchise tax for public school purposes. Last December the State Attorney General ruled that revenue received from taxes on income may be used for both the public education system and higher education system as defined by the Constitution if authorized by the Legislature. Foundation analysis point out that state income tax has been growing faster than other revenue sources in Utah. There are signs that public school enrollments are beginning to level off, while there is an increased demand for access to Utahs colleges and universities. The 1991 Utah legislature directed the State Board of Regents to consider limiting access to the higher education system... in order to solve a growing higher education financing problems. The other alternative to this restriction on higher education enrollment, according to the Foundation report, would be to begin Financing a portion of higher education costs from income tax revenues. The Foundation points out, however, that such an action would generate considerable opposition. The income tax has been considered a public school revenue source for nearly 45 years. The governor says he would oppose using income tax revenues for anything other than the support of public education In addition, public school interests have announced that they would take legal action to prevent the diversion of income tax revenue away from public schools. Many tax authorities criticize the practice of earmarking because it adds complexity to state budgeting and makes it difficult to concentrate on spending priorities. Defenders of the practice, on the other hand, content that it can be helpful by requiring those who receive the benefit from a particular governmental service to pay for it. The Foundation study concludes by noting that Earmarking may be an arbitrary procedure leading to budgetary rigidity, or it may be a helpful device for approximating benefit taxation. The ' different how and where it is depends upon being used. |