School Trustees OK Restructuring Plan

Thousand Oaks school trustees have approved restructuring plans for Newbury Park High School, Sequoia Junior High School and Meadows elementary school.

The board unanimously agreed Thursday to make permanent a program at Newbury Park High that features a block schedule with three core 95-minute classes and two 45-minute elective classes. The schedule was started in the fall of 1993 as a pilot program.

Students, teachers and counselors have embraced the new format, which officials say has reduced class size and allowed more students to take advanced placement and higher level classes.

The board voted 4 to 1 to continue a similar pilot program at Sequoia Intermediate School. Trustee Mildred Lynch cast the dissenting vote.

In other action Thursday, the board narrowly approved the continuation of a pilot program at Meadows School for next year.

The 2-year-old program is designed to improve student performance and communication, and uses reform-minded techniques such as team teaching.

Trustees Elaine McKearn and Lynch voted against extending the program’s pilot status, saying its progressive approach to learning strays too far from traditional schooling. “In my judgment, the teaching of basics seems to be loose,” Lynch said.

Supporting the Meadows program, Trustee Richard Newman said the board needed to be open-minded to new ideas and instructional approaches: “The face of education is changing. I don’t think we should be a district of cookie-cutter schools.”

Voting to support the Meadows program, Trustees Dolores Didio and Dorothy Beaubien cited its popularity among parents. About 75 parents have applied to have their children admitted to Meadows next fall through the district’s school choice program, officials said.