Malibu Schools Are All Spruced Up for Their Close-Ups

• Many Unsung Heroes Worked Behind the Scenes So Campuses Would Be Ready

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

The weather is hot and sunny, the ocean warm and inviting, but it’s time for Malibu’s students to pack up the beach gear and dust off the text books and notebooks, as the 2009-2010 school year gets underway at Malibu’s public and private schools.
“I actually like school,” one Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School student told the Malibu Surfside News, “So it’s OK.”
Students at Our Lady of Malibu Catholic School have already transitioned into fall routine. Classes at the parochial elementary and middle school started last Wednesday. In the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District public schools, classes started Wednesday, Sept. 9.
At Webster, Malibu’s largest elementary school, teachers are adapting to larger class sizes. “Our teachers have to adjust to having a few more students because of budget cuts,” Webster principal Phil Cott told The News. “We’ve been working hard to make sure classrooms will have enough supplies, chairs, desks and equipment.”
“We have two soon-to-be-completed model technology classrooms that will be ready for students within the next two months,” Cott said. “I’m excited about that. Students will have eight laptops and a Smart Board, the teachers are getting special training. Every school in the district will be getting two rooms equipped with the new technology as part of Measure BB.”
Webster parents, students, school personnel and community volunteers have worked to erase all signs of fire damage on the grounds of the Webster campus from the 2007 Canyon Fire. This fall, after two years of bureaucratic red tape, the rebuilding process for a classroom that was destroyed in the blaze will finally be complete. Cott anticipates that the room will be ready for its teacher and a new class in October.
Teachers, staff and administrators at Cabrillo Elementary, Malibu’s westernmost grade school, are also working to minimize the effect of the budget crisis on students. “
“We’re doing the best we can under the current budget constraints,” Juan Cabrillo principal Barry Yates said. “Because of cutbacks we had to lose two teachers. Our enrollment hasn’t dropped but our class size went up. We’re starting the year with full enrollment, which is a situation that we haven’t been in before.” The school is now in what Yates described as overflow mode, meaning there may not be room for additional students.
Yates said the cutbacks are an added burden on the school’s PTA, which has been scrambling to raise funds to keep programs in place.
The school is getting more aggressive at raising money and has created the Dolphin Club to be a PTA fundraising arm.
Steve Soboroff, former Malibu shopping center owner and Los Angeles activist has donated $10,000 to the group.
The Dolphin Club has a fundraising goal of $350,000. A mailer will be sent to all Malibu residents asking for “contributions, of any amount, to help support programs that are vital to the success of Cabrillo students.”
Yates said, “We are extremely grateful for the generous contribution of Mr. Soboroff, who recognizes the need for the community to come forward and support our school. We are optimistic that others in the Malibu community, whether they are alumni, neighbors, or friends of Cabrillo, will give their support and help us to continue to provide a top notch education for the children in Malibu.”
More information is available at the Dolphin Club Website at juancabrillodolphinclub@yahoo.com
“Districtwide enrollment is where we anticipated it to be,” Tim Cuneo, SMMUSD superintendent of schools, told The News. “We’re well prepared for school opening. We’ve been making sure classes are ready.” Cuneo said that district teachers have had special education and language arts training over the summer and that student achievement in literature and math continues to be a goal.
Cuneo cautioned that the budget deficit will continue to be a serious concern. “I’m very proud that any reduction was done through attrition not layoffs this year, but we’re still facing a $10 million deficit. We’re going to have to look at it carefully. I don’t want to lose staff and cut programs. I’ve been in districts before where programs were cut. It’s hard to build back later.”
Cuneo also expressed optimism. “Our students have performed very well [on state testing],” Cuneo said. “We’ve been seeing steady growth.”
At Malibu High School, last-minute repairs are being made to classrooms damaged by a fire in one of the science labs. Flood damage caused by a faulty air conditioning unit in the band practice room and instrument storage area is also being repaired. Otherwise, school officials say the campus is ready to welcome back students.
Officials also say that traffic and parking improvements on Morning View Drive in Malibu Park, including crossing guards provided by the City of Malibu, should help to reduce the level of chaos that usually accompanies the start of the school year at MHS and Juan Cabrillo schools.
Malibu’s youngest scholars are also heading back to school. At Malibu Meth-odist Nursery School the first day of class on Tuesday was marred by a small tragedy —the death of a beloved pet chicken. A weasel is the suspected culprit, or possibly a snake. “It’s sad but real,” Kay Gabbard, the school’s director, said. “[The children are] figuring out how to say goodbye.”
“We’ve been here all summer,” Gabbard said. “But we’re looking forward to welcoming new kids who have moved here from out of state and welcoming back all of our returning children.
At the Malibu Jewish Center and Synagogue, sustainability and the environment are important focuses.
“Our rooms now have natural materials,” MJCS assistant director of education Lauren Abramowitz told The News. “And 90 percent of our artwork is made with recycled materials. We also have a recycling program. We’ll be planting our fall vegetables in the garden here and looking forward to eating them.”