ON THE AGENDA

Measure A update

The school district requires that McCarthy Building Co., the project

manager for the $163-million school bond repairs, report to the board

quarterly.

To keep the board up to date, members also passed a resolution stating

that the citizen’s oversight committee would give them quarterly updates.

What to expect: Both parties will make presentations to the board

tonight. Rob Ragland, the project manager for McCarthy, will update the

school board on any progress in the implementation of Measure A. Tony

Petros, chairman of the oversight committee, will then update board

members on what the group has been doing since they began meeting in

February.

Pregnancy prevention program

The Newport--Mesa Unified School District and the Orange County Social

Services Agency have collaborated to develop a grant to promote the

positive growth and development of individuality, relationships and

families resulting in the reduction of teen pregnancy, school retention

and increased academic performance. The grant may be renewed for up to

three years if it is successful. The program is based on promoting

abstinence.

What to expect: The board will consider approving the agreement

between the district and the social service agency.

Test assessment

Students take a plethora of tests and assessments to evaluate their

knowledge and academic process. These assessments are tracked manually,

which makes analyzing the data, especially from year to year, difficult.

It is one of the board’s goals to support student learning by

analyzing such data. District staff has studied seven software programs

for data storage, analysis and reporting of multiple assessments.

What to expect: After evaluating the seven software programs, district

staff has found that a program called Datawise is best suited to the

district’s needs. After a district discount, the software cost just less

than $100,000. The board will consider signing an agreement with

Datawise.

Student scholarships

The board has a tradition of recognizing students for their

achievements.

What to expect: Tonight 11 students will be recognized for having

received scholarships and awards.

The recipients of the Norman Stillwell Awards are Maggie Nelson from

Corona del Mar High School, Jacqueline Havens from Costa Mesa High

School, Jessica Womble from Ensign Intermediate, and Chase Raymond from

TeWinkle Middle School.

Whitney Rempp of Newport Harbor High School is the Norman R. Loats

Scholarship recipient. Andrew Curiel, also from Newport Harbor, is the

recipient of the Robert L. Wynn Scholarship. Karee Meeks from Estancia

High School is the recipient of the John W. Nicoll Scholarship. And this

year the California School Employees Assn. Scholarship recipients are

Brynn Rybacek, Crystal Amend, Jennifer Jonas and Laura Zingg.

FYI

* WHO: Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education

* WHEN: 7 p.m. today

* WHERE: District Education Center, 2985-A Bear St., Costa Mesa.