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Published on 11/24/1999 All articles from this issue

Foothill's Innovation Center gives first award

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By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Schools Roundup

Los Altos band

takes home honors

Los Altos High School's Eagles Marching Band took home first-place awards during its final competition of the season, Nov. 6 in Pacific Grove.

The band placed first in the field show category and second in the parade category at the Pacific Grove Marching Band Festival. The color guard placed third.

Shawn Hines arranged the field show music, which consisted of songs from the musical "West Side Story."

The band performed similarly Oct. 9 at the Cupertino competition, ranking third for performance, second in its class during the parade competition and third in music and brass in the competition's field show. The auxiliary took first place.

Drum major Scott Hayman, who has been a band member all four years of high school, said the band fared well this season considering some transitional difficulties in the department. New music director Ted Ferrucci took over the high school's music department last August, and band teacher Shawn Hines left midseason.

The band's next performance is at the Festival of Lights parade at 7 p.m., Sunday in downtown Los Altos.

LASD changes

transfer policies

The Foothill College Center for Innovation awarded its first annual Smart Valley Innovation Award and $5,000 to San Jose teacher Cheryl Markham Nov. 10 in recognition of her efforts to integrate technology into the classroom. The annual award showcases one exemplary technology program each year that benefits the area's education community.

The Burnett Academy teacher developed Poetry Pals: The K-12 Poetry Publishing Project Web site, a program designed to increase the literacy technology and global communications of the San Jose Unified School District's at-risk population.

The site, www.geocities.com/enchantedforest/5165, features more than 2,000 poems from around the world, along with lesson plans, activities and templates.

Gay Krause, executive director of the center, said Markham's program is an excellent example of the type of teacher-training activities that the center encourages.

She said the innovation center was developed in response to educators' concerns about how to effectively incorporate technology into the classroom. The center focuses on the scholarship of teaching, collaboration and mutual exchange of teaching practices, as well as development of technology tools for the K-14 educational system.

For more information about the Center for Innovation, call 949-7113.

The Los Altos School District Board of Trustees approved the final piece of its plan to implement boundary changes among its seven elementary schools at the regular meeting Nov. 15. The new attendance areas are scheduled to go into effect for all students in 2001 when Covington reopens as the district's seventh elementary school.

Under the new regulations:

The boundary changes will not apply to students from residential developments that were not completed or occupied prior to last October, when the district approved the new boundaries.

The superintendent will designate a school for students from each new development, using school size as a primary criterion.

Students in grade 6 during the 2001-2002 academic year, may choose to remain at their current schools when the new boundaries go into effect.

Current Almond School students reassigned to Covington or Springer schools and their siblings may choose to remain at Almond.

Current Springer School students assigned to Almond and their siblings may choose to stay at Springer.

District students may not choose to transfer to Almond. The superintendent may assign students to Almond if the grade at their neighborhood school is full. Those students would attend Almond until room is available at their grade level in their own school.

Students outside of the district wishing to transfer to Almond would be limited to grade levels with 70 or fewer students.

For more information, call the district office at 941-4010.