One of the goals of the Board of Education of the Oak Park Unified School District is to do a better job communicating and reaching out to our community-at-large. There is a lot of communication with parents who

have children attending our schools, but it is more challenging to engage people in Oak Park who do not have children attending the schools. So, we bring you SchoolWatch. We used to publish this newsletter regularly but had to cease due to state budget cuts. Well, the cuts haven’t eased, but we feel the link with the community is essential. To help with the costs, the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) will be sharing the costs of two of these publications each year and this will give them a chance to also communicate directly with you. The School District values the community we serve and recognizes it is the community that brought Oak Park USD into existence 35 years ago and sustains the world-class educational program that is provided to all of our students.

SCHOOLWATCHC O M M U N I T Y N E W S L E T T E R

The Community Outreach Committee and the Oak Park Unified School district invite you to be a part of a Community Day of Service, in conjunction with Big Sunday, on May 6. There will be community service projects throughout Oak Park, coordinated at each of the school sites, with a celebration following at Oak Park High School. If you are interested in volunteering for the service projects, donating supplies, recommending service projects, or want to know more about the Community Outreach Committee, please visit www.oakparkusd.org/communityoutreach. The projects can include, but are not limited to, helping Oak Park neighbors in need, such as: mowing lawns, disposal of waste, debris removal, a fence that needs mending, or something small that needs to be repaired in the home. The projects can also be at specific school sites or anywhere else you may have an idea within the Oak Park Community. The school district is eager to give back to the community, and hoping you will want to be included in a day celebrating community service in Oak Park. If you need any further information, please contact us at Community@oakparkusd.org.

Dr. Tony Knight, Superintendent

COMMUNITY DAY OF SERVICE

EDUCATING TOMORROW’S LEADERS

www.oakparkusd.org

SchoolWatch | Spring 2012 Edition

OAK PARK HIGH SCHOOL ROBOTICS TEAM WINS FIRST PLACE IN L.A. COMPETITIONThe OPHS Robotics Team along with their partner team from Viewpoint School took First Place over 70 teams at the VEX Robotics Tournament this fall. They will next compete in the World Robotics Championship later this spring. Congratulations to Ken Paulson, Dave Nelson, Debby West, parent Steve Gutterman, and all of the amazing students who are putting Oak Park USD first in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math).

GARDENS ARE GROWING IN OAK PARK SCHOOLSInspired by the beautiful community garden, several schools now operate impressive gardens of their own. There are many benefits of school gardens, but mainly they just give kids a chance to get dirty and have fun growing their own food. Research tells us that children are more apt to eat healthy fruits and vegetables if they have a part in growing them. The one in longest operation is at Oak Hills Elementary. The garden is 100% organic and produces high yields of lettuce, cabbage, kale, onions, and celery all winter long. The greenhouse provides a never-ending supply of fresh herbs. Oak View High School and Oak Park High School are also adding active garden programs and there are more in the works.

The District has won a couple awards recently for environmental education and practices. The United States Green Building Council awarded the District the Green School Award and the District also won the Green Schools California Leadership Award for the entire state. Some of the practices that benefit our students and the community include the use of organic fertilizers for our turf and landscape to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus run-off. New parking lots have included bioswale infiltration systems that capture storm run-off and allow the filtered water to penetrate into the watershed. New roofs completed with Measure R bond funds are ‘cool roofs.’ These are white and reflect sunlight and have an excellent insulation quality. These save us thousands of dollars a year in energy costs and help reduce our carbon footprint too. We are installing new sprinkler systems at all of the schools that will include WeatherTRAK controllers. This new technology will link the irrigation controllers with weather satellites so that the correct amount of water is dispensed and only when the landscape needs it. These controllers are expected to reduce our irrigation water usage by 23%, or an annual savings of over $43,000. This is equivalent to 10 million gallons of water per year!

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE CLIMBS TO THE TOPThe Academic Performance Index (API) is one of three components of the Public Schools Accountability Act. The API measures school performance, sets academic growth targets, and monitors growth over time based on state testing results. The state target for schools is an API of 800. With a District API of 918 for 2011, Oak Park Unified School District has the highest API of any school district in Ventura County and one of the highest in the state. Oak Park schools are all ranked in the top 1% in California. In the Similar School Rankings that compare schools of similar demographics, all Oak Park schools are ranked a 9 or a 10 out of 10.

OAK PARK SCHOOLS RECOGNIZED FOR

ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP

SchoolWatch | Spring 2012 Edition

From left to right – Science Specialist, Debby West, Board Member, Sepideh Yeoh, Environmental

Education and Awareness Chairperson, Keyla Treitman, Director of Business Operations,

Julie Suarez, Superintendent Tony Knight