December 18, 2003

Electives and sixth period at stake for Almaden middle schools

By Lorraine Gabbert
Staff Writer

The sixth period of the school day—as well as elective courses—are in jeopardy at San Jose Unified School District’s middle schools, due to the district’s financial shortfalls. By ending these programs, the district hopes to save $2.5 million, which would be the largest single portion of the proposed $10 million cuts. However, the parents of Almaden middle school students affected will not ‘go gently into that good night.’

Castillero Middle School is a Visual and Performing Arts Magnet, which offers extensive elective courses in instrumental and vocal music, visual and theatre arts, and dance. It also offers technical drawing, science, Spanish and computer.

Cut electives, cut performing arts
“If the electives were cut, it would be devastating to our school because we have such a huge performing arts program,” contends Principal Sandy Engel. Students at Castillero may audition for 34 sections, including music (band, piano, strings, Mariachi and jazz band), dance (tap, ballet, jazz and creative dance) and drama (theatre history, acting, directing, stagecraft, costuming, makeup, video, lighting, sound and song and dance).

Engel believes that the Performing Arts Program draws many students to attend Castillero and makes it such an extraordinary school. For the past 15 years, with the financial aid of the Music Boosters, the students have put on an annual Broadway-style musical stage production at San Jose’s Center for the Performing Arts. Many consider these productions on par with professional stage productions. This would all come to an end if the school lost its electives.

“It would be horrible to lose our programs,” Engel says. “If they’ve got to cut something, I just hope it’s not sixth period and the electives because that affects so many students.”

Engel contends it’s the electives that make connections for the students and help them to achieve overall. “The students are here practicing daily, even before school starts, and the sound of music sets a tempo for the school through the day,” she says. “It would be a shame if that were gone.”

Parent Joanne Crinion feels Castillero’s electives offer a good opportunity for her daughter and is averse to seeing them cut. “My daughter, Sophie, has had the chance to play violin everyday. If that’s not an option next year, after she’s worked on it all year, we would be very disappointed,” she says. “She would also miss the social aspects of it and the motivation to continue.”

Bret Harte parents also concerned
Losing electives and their sixth period is also of concern to parents at Bret Harte Middle School.
“I’m appalled they’re considering cutting electives,” says parent Colleen Hirano. “To remove sixth period, or reduce their time in each class, endangers the education they are entitled to. California already ranks low in education nationally. This is just setting them up for a greater challenge competing to get into colleges and universities.”

Hirano believes that electives provide a much more balanced education and help the children to think in different ways. “Music classes help students to excel in math and science,” she notes. “It also gives many children a reason to go to school—they look forward to the electives.” If cuts have to be made, Hirano would prefer those that have less impact on the classroom. “That needs to be pursued much more strongly,” she states.

Among the electives Bret Harte currently offers are music, Spanish and computer for sixth graders; drama, video journalism and SOAR (study skills, self-esteem, responsibility) for seventh graders; and drama, home economics, aviation and space science, robotics, band, leadership and mock trial for eighth graders.

Parent Denise Aitken appreciates the opportunity taking drama at school has provided for her son R.J., “He’s learning to express himself in front of an audience. The electives are fabulous.”

“A lot of Bret Harte parents want to preserve sixth period,” said Aitken. “They are concerned with having their children unsupervised on the street, and if it’s the electives they take away, their child may lose interest in school. If it’s the academics they take away, how will they meet the standards for the tests and be ready for high school?” she adds.

Aitken is also concerned that losing sixth period may result in the loss of a teaching practice the San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD) upholds—the theory of multiple intelligences and styles.

Happened before
Another parent, Barbara Camacho, who has two sons 10 years apart, has experienced the loss of electives and sixth period at Bret Harte before, and she’s concerned it may happen again. “It made school a real grind for all the kids,” she says. “They just had core classes without anything fun. It’s particularly important at an age when they’re hard to motivate.”

Camacho believes that a lack of electives detracts from a well-rounded education. “I was devastated to hear they’re thinking of going back to that. It gave the students choices, when they have so few, and if they didn’t like a course, they could choose something else.”

Aitken believes elective courses let students get a feel for possible types of careers. “In high school there is little room for electives in the curriculum,” she notes. Camacho agrees. Since her son took college prep courses in high school, he didn’t have an opportunity to take many electives then either.

“It left him without any concept for what he wanted to do or study,” Camacho comments. She is also concerned with having the students on the street as a result of losing sixth period. “There were issues with PW Market and Round Table Pizza with the kids causing a lot of problems,” she recalls.

San Jose Unified School District’s School Board President Gary Rummelhoff, does not want to see the middle schools lose electives and sixth periods. However, he admits it is a possibility given the current financial situation.

“At this point, we’ve put an exhaustive list together of alternative ways to save money, due to the budget crisis in the 2004-2005 fiscal year. Some are less pleasant than others,” Rummelhoff says. By publishing their list of possible budget cuts, the school board hoped to elicit feedback from the community on a series of alternative cuts, he says, and the community reaction has been vocal.

“We take that to heart and try to avoid taking such draconian steps,” he says. In March or April the final decisions will be made regarding the middle school programs. In the end, they may depend upon continued community input and the governor’s budget, which will be released in January.

Although there are six middle schools in the district, only two are located in economically solvent Almaden Valley, which has led to another issue. Many parents with children at Bret Harte and Castillero Middle Schools consider these programs so essential they would gladly financially support their children’s school in order to retain the sixth period and electives.

According to Aitken, a number of Bret Harte parents are asking, “How much does it cost for my child? I’ll write you a check right now.” However, they may not be able to separately finance Almaden middle schools due to a fairness issue regarding the district’s other middle schools. To address this issue, parents have suggested partnering with these schools, as well as aiding them through donating computers and other needed supplies.

A community information meeting will be held on Thursday, Dec. 18, at noon at the San Jose Unified School District building, 855 Lenzen Avenue, off the Alameda, to discuss this issue.