It’s still several weeks before the school season begins, but at the most recent meeting of the Burbank Unified School District on Thursday evening, three important matters were made clear.
The first item is that member Charlene Tabet wasn’t at the meeting and despite the call for her to resign her position, she hasn’t.
Tabet, who has been censured by her peers over a conflict-of-interest incident, has been absent from several meetings.
Also, acting BUSD Superintendent Dr. Oscar Macias was approved 3-0 with President Dr. Armond Aghakhanian, Dr. Emily Weisberg and member Laurette Cano, all voting yes, has officially been named interim superintendent but also said it’s time to concentrate on the more serious matters at hand.
“I thank the board for this, but it is not a day of celebration. I want to be centered because we have a lot of work to do,” he said.
The third item to come from the two-hour and forty-four-minute meeting is that there are going to be budget cuts.
“We need to focus on getting back to school,” said Weisberg of Wednesday, August 13, which will kick off the school year.
For Dr. Aghakhanian, the students are the most important concern for the board.
“Let the investigation [of Tabet] take its course. We need this community united for the sake of our children,” he intoned.
Also approved 3-0 was 11 D on the agenda in which the Burbank Unified School District and the Los Angeles County of Education (LACOE) will enter a memorandum of understanding for the beginning teacher program interns.
The district intern program represents a collaborative effort between district/schools, employee organizations, representing teachers and institutions of higher education.
This program is designed to ensure high-quality induction and support for new educators entering the profession, in alignment with California Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CCTC) standards.
The program is designed to accomplish eight main points. They are as follows:
1) Reduce the number of non-Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) compliant teachers employed in California.
2) Improve the educational performance of pupils through improved training, information and assistance in the local context for developing teachers.
3) Enhance the developing teachers’ learning by interweaving theory with the contextual experience of teaching in developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate bias-free practices. Ensure professional success and retention of new teachers.
4) Ensure intensive individualized coaching from a practicum supervisor.
5) Improve the rigor and consistency of individual teacher performance and the usefulness of assessment results for teachers.
6) Utilize an effective, coherent system of performance assessments that are based on the teacher performance expectations.
7) Provide an alternate path to a California Preliminary Credential.
8) Recruit candidates into the teaching profession. Discussion/Issues this MOU represents a strategic partnership aimed at advancing the professional growth of beginning teachers and facilitating their successful integration into the classroom.
Through this collaboration, BUSD and LACOE are committed to providing new educators with the mentorship, training and resources essential for their development and for fostering positive student relationships.
