Newport-mesa Unified School District Board Meeting Preview

Here are some items the board will consider tonight:

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Three schools in Newport-Mesa — Pomona Elementary School, Wilson Elementary School and TeWinkle Middle School — entered year three of the federal Program Improvement list in August and must take corrective action this year or face sanctions.

Last Tuesday, a seven-member hearing panel presented its final report to the board regarding changes to make at the schools.

The panel, consisting of Newport-Mesa teachers, principals and others, suggested lengthening the school year or day at all three schools, changing the elementary English-learner curriculum and appointing outside administrators at Pomona and TeWinkle. Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard has recommended that the board accept the panel's decisions.

Tonight, after a month of public hearings, the board is finally set to vote on the matter. The trustees have three choices: accept the report, rejec it or send it back to the panel for changes. If the board votes to accept the changes, Hubbard has promised to present an implementation plan at the March 13 meeting.

WHAT TO EXPECT

During the public hearings, many parents and teachers criticized aspects of the hearing panel's report; the final version presented last week featured some changes from the original. Board members, though, voiced few complaints and will likely either accept the report in full or send it back for minor changes.

COSTA MESA SCHOOLS

More than 100 parents from the Costa Mesa Zone brought a petition to the board last March asking the district to reconfigure schools in their neighborhood. Three of the sites — College Park, Paularino and Sonora elementary schools — go up to the third grade, while Davis Elementary School serves the fourth through sixth grades and Costa Mesa High School takes all secondary students.

Many parents have asked that the elementary schools extend through the fifth or sixth grades, saying a single elementary campus is less jarring for children.

The district held community meetings at each of the schools during the fall to hear parents' input. On Jan. 9, the school board heard comments on the matter during an afternoon study session but opted to scheduled another public hearing so more parents could attend.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The board does not plan to vote on the item tonight.