May 3 Park Commission Meeting – 

   On May 3, 2017, I attended a Park Commission meeting. The Commission gathers on the first Wednesday of every month. The meeting was to update the Commission on the status of the parks, including the Linda Kingston Triangle, the Hampton Park Master Plan, the Hall Fenway, the success of Arbor Day, and the monthly maintenance report.

    My addition to the agenda was my proposal to connect the Park Commission with the Piedmont High School AP Environmental Science class. I attended the class last year and really enjoyed it. The class assigns volunteer hours for homework and having attended a past Commission meeting, I had the idea to start a dialogue between the city and the class. Attending the Park Commission meeting I felt that what is taught in the class is brought into reality by the Commission, and students love real world examples. I hope that they can work together so that Piedmont can stay beautiful and educate its future generations.

    The Linda Kingston Triangle is nearing completion, with its ribbon cutting event planned for late May. All that needs to happen is the flip of a breaker switch to turn on the three lights illuminating the landscaping. Once completed, the triangle will add to Piedmont’s already lovely environment.

    I am happy to see Hampton Park coming along. Five of the six backboards were installed on the basketball courts, and a foul pole was installed for the baseball field. In order to streamline maintenance on the field, the Commission is developing a maintenance plan with PRZ. Gillian Peters and Emily Szerdy both spoke out on their concerns for the park. There is a planter built where a rogue base runner could make contact, mentioned by Emily. Gillian added that the lights illuminating the planter are too bright, proving a distraction for drivers. These concerns are likely to be addressed. I’m sure Hampton Park could have some AP Environmental Science students make their mark on this park, also.

    The most intriguing part of this meeting was the update on Hall Fenway. The small park on the corner of Wildwood and Crocker Avenue, was once a section of a commuter railway line, part of the Key System. Knowing that, I looked at a satellite image of Piedmont.  When I looked at the image, it is obvious that houses have been built on the railway, because of how straight and narrow their plots of land are. The Hall Fenway will have work done to replace struggling shrubs and groundcover, renew the mulch and adjust the irrigation system. This park was always a breath of fresh air walking home from school for me.

    After the meeting had adjourned, I had the chance to interview Chester Nakahara. He is the Director of Public Works in Piedmont and was at the meeting because the Park Commission is under his purview. He mentioned that the Park Commission has finally gotten a break from consideration of the winter storms and they are able to move forward. He is pleased that his staff performs “continually superlative work”, and that students like me are attending these meetings. Things are moving swiftly as Piedmont is recovered from the winter.  The meeting surprised Mr. Nakahara by how short and concise the meeting was.

By Mathison Richards, Piedmont High School Senior –

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

Students express disappointment in the decision process –

As reported > here, “PUSD has announced a groundbreaking ceremony on May 18 for the Wall of Honor at the Chris Stevens Memorial library, which will house a database recognizing past and current service members from Piedmont.”

According to reports, the installation in the library did not receive School Board consideration nor approval because funding was coming from outside sources.

Perhaps unknown to the School Board, a controversy over the installation existed amongst students, who wanted the matter publicly aired and considered based on a process prior to approval of the project by the Superintendent.

In an editorial published April 26, 2017 in The Piedmont Highlander, Piedmont High School’s student newspaper, the editors agreed to the following statement:

“As an editorial board, we once again feel that the school has decided to enact something that would directly impact the student community without adequate input from students. If we were to take a poll about the Wall of Honor (which we urge the administration to do) – not even just asking if students support it, but if they have every heard of it – we estimate that more than half of the student body would have no idea what we are even referring to. This lack of information concerns us, and it should concern students, teachers, and the community alike.”  The Piedmont Highlander

A statement made by a prior Piedmont Highlander Editorial Board stated:

“Proposals like these should have a standardized process for approval in order to fully consider the nuances and create opportunity for thoughtful community feedback.

“As part of a standardized process, a set of criteria needs to be established. One criterion that we should consider is whether a campus display honoring graduates should honor them only for activities that directly involve the school. PHS generally does not recognize its graduates for their service to society — no matter how admirable – and it would be highly impractical to honor every graduate who leaves a positive impact on the world.”  The Piedmont Highlander

Resignation, Public Involvement, Selection Process –

~~~ Community Engagement ~~~

It is important that the community of educators, students, and families have an opportunity to provide the District with input as to the desired traits and educational vision of the next MHS Principal.

Superintendent Booker will meet with administrators, staff, parents, and students during the month of May to gather their input as to the desired traits and educational vision of the next MHS Principal.

Staff: May 12, 2017 – 8:00am Staff Meeting

Students: May 5, 2017 – 1:20pm

Parents: May 16, 2017 – 7pm – Room #47

Recognizing that not all families, staff, and students can/will attend the input meetings, an online survey/feedback tool has been developed for all constituents to be able to provide input as to the traits, qualifications and educational vision desired in the next MHS Principal.

Click here to access the survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MHSPrincipal17-18
The input gathered from the meetings and the online survey/feedback tool will be provided to the Piedmont Unified School District Board of Education and the Interview Committee.

~~~ Interview Process ~~~

The first round of interviews will include representatives from teachers, classified staff, administrators, students, parents, and a Board Member. The interview committee is comprised of the following participants:

(1) Superintendent
(3) MHS Teachers
(1) MHS Counselor
(1) MHS Classified Staff (2) MHS Students

(1) Director
(1) School Site Administrator
(3) MHS Parents
(1) Adult Education Representative (1) Board Member
___________
14 Members

The District will work with the MHS Parents’ Club Presidents to determine which parents serve on the committee. The District will also work with union leadership to determine which teachers and classified staff serve on the committee. Lastly, the District will work collaboratively with the MHS Associated Study Body (ASB) Leadership Class to determine which 2 students serve on the committee.

This first interview will occur on May 26th and typically lasts a full day. Prior to the 1st interview, when the interview committee has been selected, the District will send out an email to the group, giving them the executive summary from the community/student/staff feedback survey and asking each of them to bring sample interview questions that we can discuss as a full interview team. The first part of the morning will be spent jointly developing interview questions for the candidates.

At the end of the 1st round of interviews, the committee will make a recommendation to the Superintendent of their top candidates.

Wall to honor Piedmont military service members.

“PUSD has announced a groundbreaking ceremony on May 18 for the Wall of Honor at the Chris Stevens Memorial library, which will house a database recognizing past and current service members from Piedmont.

“In 2015, Katie Korotzer and Terisa Whitted, Piedmont residents and parents of PHS alums who entered the armed forces, began their initiative to honor service members. With the help of the Piedmont Historic Society and other community members, Korotzer and Whitted collected a list of over 1,200 PHS alumni and residents who have served in the US military or the foreign service. The committee plans to incorporate this database of names into the Wall of Honor.

“The Piedmont Education Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, currently fiscally sponsors the Wall of Honor, so all donations made towards the $50,000 goal are tax deductible. As the Wall of Honor proposal called for funding through community donations and not the school’s general fund, it never appeared before the school board for a vote or discussion, Pearson said.”

Read the full report from The Piedmont Highlander student newspaper by clicking here.

Community input provides ideas for the High School building projects. – 

by Samantha Merigold, Piedmont High School Senior –

The Piedmont Unified School District held three Town Hall meetings to get the community’s input on the options for the new high school facilities.  I attended the third meeting on Tuesday, April 18.  The purpose of the meeting was to get feedback on the three proposed options for new facilities at the high school.

In Piedmont’s last election, Bond measure H1 passed, and as a result we have funding for new high school facilities, as they are the oldest of all the schools in Piedmont.  These meetings are held to hear from the community so the Board of Education can take these opinions into account when making a decision on the new designs in May.  The meeting started with a quick presentation and overview.  They described all three options, and then we moved on to table group discussions about the pros and cons of each option.

Option 1 included a new three story STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) building located behind the gym where the portables are currently.  Option 1 would have a completely new theater, and a 20s building remodel and office relocation.  The benefits of Option 1 are that it is the least expensive, it does the minimum of what is needed, and the STEAM building blends in with the topography well when it is located down the hill.  Some challenges include student flow going to and from upper and lower campus, and the tradeoff with the loss of view from the quad but the nice views from within the STEAM building.

Option 2 places the new STEAM building where Alan Harvey Theater is currently located and a new theater.  The PHS offices would be in the STEAM building and the 20s building would undergo a remodel.  Option 2 would provide a new face for the school, the STEAM building would be central campus, and there would be a clear entrance to the school that the PHS offices could oversee.  Some additions that would be nice for Option 2 would be some rooftop student space, because with the new building a lot of lunch spots are lost.  A drawback is it takes an extra ½ a year.

Option 3 would place the new STEAM building where Binks Gym is currently located, replaces the 10s building with a new gym, and places the PHS office in the 40s building.  Benefits of option 3 include a good location of the gym, it is very clear and easy to find for visitors.  The amphitheater is removed because no one really used it anyways, and the PHS offices are at the entrance.

When we started the final recommendations portion of the meeting, we came up with the suggestion that it would be nice to have the location of the Wellness Center, counselors, and College and Career Center all near each other and easy to find.  We thought a helpful alteration to option 3 would be to put the PHS offices in the STEAM building, and keep MHS in the 40s building.  Also a major concern for students is parking, but they have already explored possibilities for parking and they are far too expensive.

After the meeting, I had the opportunity to speak with Eileen Ruby, a member on the board of the Piedmont Education Foundation.  She attended this meeting because she voted for this bond and wanted to see where it was going.  She said what happens at this school is part of the District, so it is important for her to be there.  She is also often asked for her opinion on the new facilities so she comes to these meetings so she can have an educated response to give them.

This meeting consisted of table group discussions, so I was able to speak on several different topics.  For Option 1 I brought up my past experience from the middle school, explaining that the classrooms there had nice views, but the windows were always closed and classrooms far too warm, so the view from the quad is more valuable than the views from the rooms in that building.  I also spoke on the challenge of student flow to and from the STEAM building.  The only way to get to it would be down several flights of stairs, with narrow walkways and too many students moving through.  I mentioned the fact that there are always several injured students at PHS and there is no way someone would be able to maneuver their way there on crutches.

For Option 2, I mentioned that PHS does not look like a school and a lot of people don’t even realize it’s a high school when they drive past.  Option 2 would provide a new face for the school, and make it easy to find as well as showcase our beautiful new STEAM building.  I also talked about the benefit of having a clear entrance to the school.  It is better for safety, and the PHS offices can oversee who comes in and out of the school.  For Option 3 I talked about how the gym is very hard to find, I constantly get asked by random drivers if they are in the right place when looking for the gym.  Having the gym in the front would make it easier to find and also showcase Piedmont’s athletics, something that is a huge part of our student body.  I explained that the amphitheater gets very little use, you can hear everything that everyone says in there so not a lot of people eat lunch there, so we are not losing much by getting rid of it.

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.

[To view the Piedmont Highlander student newspaper report on the 3 proposals for the High School click here.]

Students should determine the direction for the rebuilding of the High School.

by Cade Becker, Piedmont High School Senior –

The Piedmont Unified School District continues to receive feedback on their various plans to rebuild the Piedmont High School (PHS) campus using part of the $66 million funds provided by Bond Measure H1. On April 18th, I attended one of the New School Facilities Advisory meetings to see where the direction of the school was headed.

Architects and engineers hired for this rebuilding process came together and produced 3 potential plans with estimated total costs. Option 1 was to tear down and rebuild the theater, and to add in a new math, science and art 3 story building in the parking lot next to the gym. Option 2 was to tear down the theater and build the new 3 story building there, and afterwards tearing down the 10s building and adding the new theater there. Option 3 took on the idea of moving the gym. It throws the idea out to tear down the gym and build the new 3 story building in its place and move the gym to where the 10s building is now.

The overall majority of the meeting participants enjoyed Option 2 the best, however there was no set agreement on any option. Option 1 and 3 would compromise the view that the student body of PHS holds so dear, but Option 2 would create a 3 story building at the face of our campus looming over the rest. Most of the questions came from parents or other community members present.

After the controversial voter denial of Measure H, a plan to rebuild the theater, my assumption that the theater would be a sore subject was correct. There seemed to be many supporters for taking down the theater, but there were still others who did not deem it necessary.

As a member of the Piedmont High School Acting class, having performed in the PHS musical all four years in my high school career, participated in many other short plays and two Acapella reviews, I understand better than most that the theater is high priority. I am a strong advocate for the creation of the new theater. It is worn down, dangerous, not wheelchair accessible and more. Buildings can only be renovated so much before they need to be taken down completely, I believe the theater has reached this point. Option 2 is the best of the three because it solves the most issues within the school and creates a face that Piedmont High School lacks.

In an interview with Donna Meir, a parent who has children in the Piedmont schools, I was able to grasp an alternative view on the subject. Intending to continue her involvement with the process, she said, “This is a great process. These options sparked a dynamic conversation between community members, and I appreciate the discussion. It was a great thing to see the community so involved.” Fortunate to be a part of the conversation, I gave my opinions to her as well as others at my table.

 I believe that the direction of the High School should largely come from the student body. The students attending the High School should be more involved in the conversation than parents, or other community members because they are directly affected. The students present at this meeting gave the best opinions and ideas for the rebuilding of the school. This process needs to be more in their hands rather than the community itself.

Editors Note: Opinions expressed are those of the author.