Parents of Castaic District Students

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Comment by Premier Music Lessons on June 30, 2010 at 10:56am

Hello,
Does anyone here know who I may speak too about group guitar classes? I've taught at Meadowlark in Acton and Gorman in Newhall and would like to teach at more schools.

Thanks :)

Comment by Miss Mindy on June 7, 2010 at 6:58pm

Hello Moms! :)

I just wanted to let you it's not too late to sign up for SUMMER MUSIC CAMPS & CLASSES at Little School of Music! The fun begins in 2 weeks and lasts all summer long. :)

• Half-day & Full-day Music Camp
• Preschool Music Classes (3 months-4 years)
• Music for Little Mozarts Camp (4-6 years)
• Beginning STRINGS Camp (5+ years)
• Beginning PIANO Camp (6+ years)
• SINGING Camp (6+ years)
• Songwriting & Music Video Camp (7+ years)
• Jam Band (Jr High & High School)
• Private Lessons: piano, violin, voice, guitar, trumpet, recorder, percussion, and more!

Check it out online at: www.LittleSchoolofMusic.com
OR call: 661-222-2239

Thanks!
Miss Mindy :)


Little School of Music
Music • Motivation • Memories

Comment by Laura L. Pearson on April 1, 2010 at 10:26pm

Hart made the decision to send our current 8th grade class to West Ranch High School (that was already decided) and each 8th grade class after that will go to Valencia High School until Castaic High School is built. Just a couple more years of having to make choices for our community, then we will all be in one high school again. Please know that if you have a child at another high school in the Hart District and would like to apply for a transfer the year your younger child enters high school you can do that and the transfer will be granted. A Connect Ed Telephone message will be going out to the families in our district explaining the decision sometime soon.

Comment by Kristin Hampton on April 1, 2010 at 9:35pm

Did anyone attend last nights Hart meeting? What was the decision re: which schools our middle school kids will feed into? We couldn't make it. Would love an update if anyone has one.
Thanks!

Comment by Todd Hampton on March 8, 2010 at 10:48pm

Alyssa,
Thanks. I wish there were some solace to be found, but there really isn't. This is the new face of public education, We haven't registered a complaint, and probably won't. This is just how things are, and is part of why we signed him up for the charter school. The other public schools just don't get it, and probably never will. My spiteful part is just hoping he gets pulled in the lottery and this becomes a non-issue. I am SO done with the red-tape at this point.

Comment by Alyssa Williams (Reinhardt) on March 8, 2010 at 9:36pm

Todd and Kristin,
That entire story is just beyond comprehension. I'm so sorry you had to go through that and was forced to defend your parenting! Good lord! I hope that you registered a complaint with the district about the VP, maybe even the board of ed. as well. Schools should be grateful that they have parents who are active and involved in their child's education. Take solace in knowing what caring, proactive parents you are. You should be commended, not scolded by the face jewelry toting VP!

Comment by Kristin Hampton on March 8, 2010 at 8:07pm

It is so frustrating being a parent in a district who has to answer to "higher powers." Being a student in Public Administration, I completely understand the purpose of much of the bureaucracy that guides the public school system, and had this meeting gone how I had hoped, it would have simply been a matter of, "We are required to do this by law." To which we were prepared to give the needed documentation and been able and willing to move forward. In reality, however, we were insulted, threatened and belittled by the administration.

What really irks me about this entire situation, aside from the obvious do NOT send your kids to school SICK, is the history we have had with the school this year.

We had to reach out to the administration several times this year due to bullying and the response was lacking. When we brought issues to the school, we were told they would prefer to work internally, they showed more concern for the bullying parties then have to get 'legal' under the auspices of concern for the potential backlash punishment would bring to offending parties. I understand that, and worked within that framework to solve the problem.

For us to be threatened with legal action, brining the DA and CFS involved was outright insulting. We are good parents, we have good kids, high functioning students and are proactive in their education. The treatment we got today was unacceptable.

I understand the red tape, I do not accept the treatment we got. Period.

Comment by Todd Hampton on March 8, 2010 at 11:41am

The meeting in question was between me, the vice principal, our son's counselor, and our son. I have several problems with this meeting, which the rant below will demonstrate...
The meeting was set for 8:00 AM. The office door was locked until 8:02, and then I sat there until 8:08. Thank you, Castaic Middle School, for the utter lack of respect for my time. Part of the problem, of course, is that the school double booked the appointment time. The other lady who was in there for the 8:00 appointment got to wait, so she could be “squeezed in if I can” with the other appointments... Nice. The Vice Principal kindly threw the receptionist under the bus while explaining to the other parent the problem...
So, she starts by explaining how this meeting isn't punitive in any way, and calling our son “Jeff.” This is a bit of a pet peeve, since he hates being called Jeff, but I guess I shouldn’t expect his school to bother to find out about that. He sat there politely, I corrected her, and, to her credit, she apologized and told me she understood, because she hated when people misspelled her name as well. Whatever. Wrong foot, I guess. It was at this point I noticed the facial jewelry, which I though a bit unprofessional for a school administrator, but that’s just my issue too.
The meeting continues, and she tells me that he’s been absent for nearly half of the school year (bad math, but why would an educator bother to do the math first), and they have legal requirements, etc. She wants to help us, and avoid getting the DA and Child and Family Services involved here. I stopped her at this point, handed her the papers documenting doctor visits from the beginning of the school year, along with a letter from his pediatrician explaining that Jeffrey had, in fact, been under the care of his physician for multiple illnesses, and that every absence is to be considered excused. After the cursory glance, she set them aside. It was here that the meeting became annoying…
I quote here, “Mad props to you, Jeffrey, for getting straight A’s even though you’ve missed this much school. Frankly, though, 6th grade is pretty flippin’ easy. If this were 7th or 8th grade, it wouldn’t happen”
Are you kidding me? “Mad props” and “6th grade is easy” are not at all acceptable. If 6th grade is so easy, let’s make it a little harder, and, I don’t know, push kids to learn a bit? Way to do the minimum job you can.
The outcome? If he misses another day of school, I have to get a doctor’s note immediately, that says what is wrong with him, and how long the doctor thinks he might be out, before he’s allowed back in. It doesn’t matter that I brought a note this time, but every single absence now has to come with a note from a doctor with a guess as to when he’ll be better. Further advice, “I know we scare parents and tell them not to send their kids to school when they are sick, but you really should. He needs to be here so we don’t have to escalate this to the DA and CFS.” I about snapped here, and said “Well, he was out Wednesday through Friday of last week. He had a fever, and the doctor told me not to send him back until the fever had been gone for 24 hours. It broke Thursday afternoon, would you have preferred I had sent him in on Friday, against his physician’s orders?”
“Oh, no. In that case, he should be out.”
“Frankly, the problem is, parents DO send their kids to school sick. And when that happens, it makes other kids sick. Maybe if you weren’t encouraging parents to send their sick kids to school, Jeffrey would have a chance to fully recover instead of getting sick again every couple of weeks.”
Silence…
So, the meeting ends. She tells me she’s going to document what was said, and put it in the file. I asked for a copy before it happened, she assured me I would get one, but it hasn’t happened yet. We’ll see if she manages to follow through with that.
I went from that meeting to SCVI, and put him on the waiting list. Talking to 3 parents there, they all love it. The kids learn, are put in groups with kids of similar abilities, have hands-on education, and active relationships between parents and teachers. After their first year in operation, their API is higher than Castaic Middle School specifically, and the entire district in general. CMS is concerned only with their FTE and API numbers, and it’s obvious. They are afraid to not have the smart kids there to take the stupid state test, and try to browbeat the parents into making poor choices in order to make that happen. I did a little research on them this morning – They did NOT meet their overall improvement goals last year, and while their API is above state minimum, I’m sure they want to hit those numbers. The ONLY subgroup that improved last year is the one our kid belongs to, so they certainly don’t want to see a drop there, do they?

Comment by SCV Moms Team on March 5, 2010 at 1:49pm

Hi Castaic District parents, We're looking for a leader of this group. If you're interested in keeping the conversation going and being highlighted, we want to hear from you! Thanks!

Comment by Shawna Suffredini on March 5, 2010 at 9:15am

That last comment was meant for Kristin...sorry.

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