In the era of Zoom our greeter was Bret Bradigan who welcomed members as the joined the call.

 

President Michael Scar opened the Zoom meeting with a warm welcome.

After the Salute to our Flag, Matt Clements shared an invocation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were no visiting Rotarians.
Diane Duncan of the Humane Society of Ventura County was introduced.

Greg Webster his guest Candace Alexander of Allstate Insurance.

Upcoming Programs

Therese Brown informed members of upcoming programs.  For details, click here...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheree Edwards informed members that the Challenge Walk for Polio Plus would be changing and promised more information in the near future.

Cathy Yee informed members of a “counterculture” group for walkers meeting Sundays at 6:30 am at Soule Park. The group strides to Rotary Park and back.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Candace Alexander shared that her son turned one and was willing to pay a fine for getting to that milestone.

 

 

 

In the absence of a fine master, confessions were made by:

Haady Lashkari touted the highly successful ROSA Total Knee Replacement System. Dr. Golden and his team have recently performed the 50^th knee replacement surgery. The surgeons report enhanced outcomes and decreased recover times.

 

 

 

 

Matt Clements shared that he and wife Ronda have sold their house and are moving to the Finger Lakes region of New York to help care for Ronda’s parents.  The house was on the market for five days, had 23 showings and five offers, and sold for over asking price. He and Ronda leave October 23^rd to drive to NY. He plans to return quarterly to Ojai to see clients and will continue to be a member of the Club.

 

 

 

 

 

Cheree Edwards let members know that the Rotary Club of Ventura unexpectedly lost a very active member Staci Ingram who was last year’s Rotarian of the Year. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Therese Brown introduced today’s speaker OVUSD Superintendent Tiffany Morse.

 

Tiffany began with the understatement that this has been quite a year and that she missed interacting with students. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She introduced the School Board’s newly developed areas of focus. Goals have been developed for the first time in each of these areas:
 

 

Under the facilities heading, the district has entered into an exclusive right to negotiate with a developer regarding District office property. The agreement allows a 6-month time frame to come up with a concept for the property. A comprehensive safety audit has also been conducted of all campuses and Measure J projects have been completed. Tiffany shared some pictures of updated areas and described the “Designing for Joy” concept.

 

 

 

In the area of student achievement, the District has increased overall enrollment and implemented a new math curriculum in 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th grade. Additionally, a Curriculum Council and a Gate program have been created.

 

Under the Whole Child heading, a Family Fund has been created that has so far donated bicycles created a clothing closet for needy families.

 

In the area of innovation, the District has implemented a new communication vehicle called Parent Square. Laptops were distributed to 4^th through 8^th grades.  Summit School has reopened as a personalized learning school with 115 students – 85 of those from outside the district.

 

Under community values, the District has reduced the use of single use plastics and launched a summer school program that enrolled 200 students in 14 classes. And, in the fiscal health category, implemented a Home-buy assistance program for employees. In the time of economic insecurity, District reserves have doubled to 6.8 %. 

 

Currently, the District is watching the numbers of COVID cases carefully as they consider when to safely open schools. In the meantime, small groups are being brought back to campuses such as special education students, English learners, K and 1^st graders, students who have not been successful in distance learning, athletics and some clubs.

 

The District just completed a survey with a 27% response rate asking how distance learning was going. In general, one third of the responders said OK, another third said really good and another third said terrible. The District has strengthened its mental health support for students and created parent support groups. Free meals are distributed daily. Other support includes tutoring and technology assistance in the form of Tech Tent Fridays.

 

Looking forward, the Board will be developing a strategic plan from the goals outlined in today’s presentation.  One remaining coalition, the Diversity, Inclusion and Equity Coalition, will continue to offer input. The Curriculum Council will begin to reassess curriculum and identify needs. Opportunities for teacher development that were eliminated due to budget cuts will be reinstated. Each school will be encouraged to develop one new program annually. And, the District will focus on providing information to the public regarding Measure K that will be on the ballot in November. 

 

A brief question and answer session followed the presentation.

 

 

President Michael Scar adjourned the meeting at 1:00 pm with a quote from Benjamin Franklin