Welcome from San Joaquin
David Cohen, Section President
I would like to personally thank the San Joaquin Section Executive Board, our CASCWA colleagues, all presenters, and the 48 attendees for making our November 19th Fall Workshop a resounding success.
The San Joaquin Section’s very own Dr. Dennis Wiechmann, Sanger Unified School District’s Director of Children’s Welfare and Attendance, and Marie Totten, an Education Consulting Manager from School Innovations and Advocacy (SI&A) presented valuable information on improving school attendance.This collaborative presentation offered practical strategies for increasing student learning, test scores and how to maximize ADA.
Dennis’ and Marie’s presentation was followed by Sloan Simmons and Ruth Mendyk, attorneys from the Law Firm of Lozano Smith. Two hour-long sessions included useful information on search and seizure and special education discipline. We concluded the day with a Q and A format.
Workshop participants directed a variety of questions of to the Lozano Smith attorneys and Dr. Wiechmann. Questions included information regarding student government surveys regarding teacher performance, child abuse, the Romero Bill, kindergarten enrollment, interdistrict transfers, student fees, and interviews of students at schools by law enforcement. The open dialogue approach of the Q and A allowed for a relaxed yet extremely informative conversation to develop. I believe even the presenters walked away from the conference with a broadened perspective.
Overall, the Fall Workshop provided an excellent opportunity for professional growth as well as raising funds that will be explicitly used for scholarship purposes. Following the workshop, the San Joaquin Section immediately began soliciting ideas towards the planning of our Spring Workshop to be held in May of 2011.
Again, thanks to all who participated for helping create such successful workshop.
On behalf of the San Joaquin Section, we wish a happy holiday season to all our colleagues.