Budget cuts fail to cripple schools
By Sylvie Belmond belmond@theacorn.com

While more than 7,200 students returned to school Wednesday after a long summer break, Moorpark Unified School District leaders prepared for a year that will be marked by both innovations and limitations.

Current budget uncertainties won't dampen the efforts of the district's 334 teachers who've been making plans to maintain the quality of education that the district is known for.

Some services and programs had to be reduced or eliminated due to money shortages, but the district's popular magnet programs and specialized high schoocurriculums will continue to cateto the various needs and abilitieof local children.

In addition to providing flexibility and choices for Moorpark residents, these programs help to boost enrollment and thus preserve much-needed per-pupifunding.

Almost 400 students from neighboring communities applied for interdistrict permits to attend the district this school year, said Superintendent Ellen Smith.

"For younger students, the most common reasons parents request transfers are for magnet school opportunities or because parents work locally," she said. Older students transfer to the district to attend the High School at Moorpark College or to join one of two academies offered at Moorpark High.

The district also has much to offer local students. Teachers and administrators continually develop instruction, intervention and enrichment programs to challenge every child in the district, Smith said.

They also found ways to increase monetary resources through grants and collaboration with nearby colleges and universities.

The American history grant program coordinated by Moorpark High School teacher Larry Jones will sponsor historian guest speakers from California Lutheran University, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine. Teachers from Moorpark, Simi and Fillmore school districts will participate.

Another grant will be used to promote the use of drama as a tool to teach English, math and other core subjects in all elementary classrooms.

Coordinated by Nema Pierce of Walnut Canyon School, the grant involves collaboration between the district and California Lutheran University School of Education.

School leaders also plan to phase in a new character development program, "Second Step," which includes drug prevention education for students in all elementary schools. The program, Smith said, is designed to establish habits of good citizenship, empathy, impulse control, problem solving and violence prevention.

Smith emphasized the importance of a strong partnership between school and home.

"It's one of the most powerful supports we can put in place to assist all our students to achieve their full potential," she said.

Technology and career development will continue to be incorporated into the curriculum to prepare students for the workplace.

The small school district not only attracts students to Moorpark, but also draws back alumni like Michael Winters, the new principal at Flory Academy of Science and Technology. He attended Flory when he was a child.

Winters graduated from Moorpark High School in 1985 and went on to teach social science and technology at Mesa Verde Middle School. He then became an assistant principal in the Pleasant Valley School District, where he also served as an elementary principal for the past two years.

"It certainly is a pleasure to be back in the Moorpark Unified School District and especially meaningful to be back at the school where my education began," he said.

"Flory has always had a very special place in my heart and, to me, will always be a wondrous and magical place," said Winters, who plans to make the Flory experience special for the 500 students enrolled this year at the magnet school in downtown Moorpark.