for the school since it moved into the neighborhood. i have been so fraud oaf -- proud of the nation's first chinese immersion program. i probably spend as much time playing tour guide as i did meeting with the district whenever positions were eliminated or cut from our budget. we have never fully funded the school but through our parents association we have been able to maintain the successful program financially. so successful is the program that the district has started to use our model in immersion programs at other sites. i was fortunate that my three durs -- daughters all graduated able to read and write cantonese. by introducing native speakers into an immersion program requires more instructional time and resources than is allocated due to continued budgetary reductions.

[applause] >> good evening. my name is ronnie chisholm. i'm a member of the black student union and i thank the board for taking the time to hear us. my concern with the proposed change is that i have five children that have attend -- attended the school, two girls are still there, but my three sons have graduate. one of my sons returned from china after receiving a scholarship to study in china abroad for a number of months. that opportunity would not have been afforded had he not been able to learn the language. the population of african-americans and latinos in the school is very low. african-american3% and dropping.

my concern is to keep the field -- is not level now, we should make sure we at least keep the numbers that are english learners, so please take the time and make the right decision, not based on what is right for the district of what is right for the community moving forward like equal access to all ethnic groups. thank you for your time. [applause] >> good evening. you have heard afy parents

express our objections. we need resources and services to maintain our successful program designed, of the one of our families signed up for, and we would like you to maintain the current design for all of our students. there are seven questions. why is the district changing and highly successful program without input from the community? how can an immersion program be successful with the 2/3 cantonese language population? of no. 3, what is the legal mandate for a 2/3 english learner who ratio? how can students be accurately plays without us? why change a program that has already been successful with educating the public?

seventh, shouldn't there be at least one school were non- chinese speakers can one go to learn chinese? thank you very much. [applause] >> i want to thank you the parents for covering our -- for coming out. any comments?

>> i am just curious, on the information, we need more information. i know that dual languages can go through, but offices an award winning school but we should continue to use -- this is an award winning school we should continue to support. [applause] >> i would also like the staff to also inform the board about the issue of zero students -- the issue of students, so if we could have an update on that.

>> we need to be clear that having a discussion is not ok. this was not on the agenda, so i think the appropriate thing, i would like the staff to tell us if they will commit some making it possible for us to put it on some agenda. we cannot discuss it this evening. >> that is the only way we can do it. we cannot have this discussion. >> we are making a request. >> i wanted to know which committee this issue would go. if you could address english

efficiencies. >> i have the same question, and i would like these questions answered before any decisions are made. parks we planned to have a meeting in january, so the meeting is scheduled for the 18th of january at 5:00. i just sent a note to miss desmond to ask if staff can be ready to talk to us at that meeting. we will post an agenda later, and my intent would be to put this item as an informational items so we can have a discussion either commit to a pure ego -- have a discussion

at another committee. >> i am a parent of two kids who went through this program, and i know the benefits of the program, so what i am asking is some of these questions they raise i would like to get some answers. good are we changing the model? what is the premise of changing it, and they talked about some legal issues. please give us some rationale of long-regions of russia now, and i am also concerned with sued -- please give us some r ationale. i am also concerned because i know this is a one-way immersion program. we have to be clear we are talking about one-way of merger

and a. we have to go make sure they are english sufficient to the end of program so it would meet their needs, -- to be in the program so it would meet their needs. are we not testing them? >> this has not been agenda iiz. the appropriate way would be to put this on an agenda at a committee meeting or at future board meetings, where all of this could be discussed in detail at an appropriate meeting. >> what i am requesting is i would like to get some answers. thank you very much.

[applause] >> thank you for coming. we have to move on. if you are planning to leave the room, can you leave quietly? the next group of parents are from paul revere. i will give you one minute speech. [list of names]

>> good evening. i am of parents of a first grader at paul revere, and i am also apparent of the building bridges partnership themeam. i have given copies of our mission statement and what we are trying to do to improve parent communication and and the culture and scclimate of the school. one thing to facilitate change of the school, and they collaborated to assess the

climate and culture of paul revere. the results are encouraging wheat toast the vast majority want to continue -- the results are encouraging because the vast majority want to continue. i really encourage you to read what steps are taken by the building bridges and team. [applause] >> [speaking spanish] fax hold on a second for translation.

>> i am here to make a clarification that this is not a personal matter regarding the principal who. i am here for the impact it might cause for those children and families and other changes. is now they are developing of program where the kids are being successful, who my question is what is the reason behind this change, and this being a public institution, the parents have

the rights. we would like to know the reason regarding her teaching of this school -- regarding the teaching at this school, considering if it is not going to benefit the majority of the population of students at paul revere, it would be a lack of responsibility of equity and the respects of the right speech and children in california has -- the rights teach children in california has, so i would much

appreciate if the priority is education of the children and nothing else but has not the same importance as education. thank you. >> [speaking spanish] >> good evening, i am a mother of a son in kindergarten, and the reason why i am here isn' i would like to let you know what made my son advance in his

education. especially for my son, his priorities are to play and be with friends and to learn, but basically for made it is his saves the, so learning respect -- it is safety, so learning respect for his peers. as we know, last year paul

revere had great results in their test scores, so i would like that to continue in school, and above all, i am very grateful of the administration at paul revere. thank you. >> [speaking spanish] >> i have a daughter in kindergarten, and i am here to support our friends of both, --

support our principal, and i would like to know if she is going to be moved. i do not have of our friends -- why do not have a preference. when she applied for schools, she was not excepted because she was speaking spanglish. for the time that she has been at paul revere, she has advanced quite a lot, and now she knows how to differentiate between

spanish and english. thank you. >> my name is eric car, and i am the proud parents of a spirited kindergartner at paul revere and a member of the organization. i am here to represent the families who could not be here because finding child care presents a hardship. if you want to meet these families or any other families in our schools, please come to paul revere. come to our school. see our academics drives. see are enthusiastic kids in their classrooms.

i cannot pretend to know all of the politics of play in your decision. i am focusing on my daughter and her kindergarten class. please know that any decision that is not based on what is the for our students and families is not a decision of us. i hope you will come to the school. thank you very much. >> i am the proud parents of a third grader at paul revere. this is our fourth year at paul revere, so we have gone through a lot of change, and i am proud to say we haven't haven't an engagement, and we are actively reason we have had an active engagement, and we are actively involved in writing a grant, and

we want to make sure it meets our needs. and we have been actively involved in overseeing how the money is spent in our schools. we have lively discussions, so by now, i think we have earned the right, and we should be involved in decisions that affect our schools. last year we were celebrating success. as the beginning of the school we were celebrating our progress, and we were upset to learn the district was considering the removal. we would like to learn how this is going to justify paul revere. we want to continue to believe this district has paul revere's death interested in mind. now we have asked for a meeting

-- paul reveres best interest in mind. we have eyes for a meeting to have them come and work with us. we need as much support as they do, because we deserve it. thank you. >> good evening. i am in my fourth year as a parent at paul revere and my first year as a community coordinator at paul revere. i want to bring you an example of our latest updated and expanded newsletter. this is one part of the response of her parents about communication at the school. the newsletter highlights some of the problems. we will be starting a free english as a second language

class this month. that is something our spanish- speaking students have been asking for. another is parenting classes as well as apparent leadership program that is helping parents learn to partner with teachers and the school in the education of their children, so i would like to say i would not wish to the crisis we have been through on anyone, but it has caused us to be stronger and to dig deeper about how to engage our families and the education of their children to regard we have been doing that work, and -- of their children. we have been doing that work, and we ask him to continue. >> good evening. i am the proud principle. i am also proud to serve in a district judge has explicitly developed the following three

goals, and to make social justice a reality, and to engage high achieving learners, and to keep our promises to students and families. both improvement data and results support that paul revere is making significant progress towards these goals. our student achievement data is available for your review. i would like to share briefly a few more results from a survey that over 200 of our family is completed recently. 83% of families believed their children atenjoyed attending paul revere. 87% believed teachers have the best intentions in mind when making decisions, and 90% feel students are treated respectfully and valued at paul

revere. although we have some concerns we continue to address, i will personally commit to working on improving communication, and aging parents, and working towards meeting our goals of equity and high achievement for all. thank you. >> good evening. my name is meghan williams. i believe i am the last person to speak tonight, and i know we are all exhausted. i know you have sat here patiently and listened so much over the last couple of months. i know you have all the information you need to make a decision based on students' needs now as well as their future, and i want to end on a positive note and convey my believes we can do this, and that is based on the assumption

that leaders on all levels make decisions based on students and nothing else, and i heard you speak about that commitment that we make decisions based on students' interests above all others, so we are going back to school to do that work we have shown is working, and i trust you will support that. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. >> kellie smith, did you speak? >> my son has gone to paul revere for four years now, and just a fact i would like to

point out, if you were an eighth grader, you would have had five principles. that is ridiculous to think the school is working well with that much administration change. the fractures of the principles being removed again is like taking an organ from a human body in my mind. my son has been there only four years. he has had a second principle and a second vice principal, and the vice principal has continually not shown up this year, so i am asking you to really look as the facts of our school and support gittinit wite care of these children need. thank you. >> that ends our public comments

for today. let's move on to the next item, which is k. advisory committee reports and appointments by board members. any appointments by board members? seeing none, let's move on to the next item, l > is there a motion and a second? >> i move that item. >> second. goo>> you will do the reading.

>> good evening, commissioners. i am going to be reading into the record the approval of interdistrict attendants' agreement. the request of the board of education approved the attendants' agreement and authorize the superintendent to enter into an agreement with neighboring school districts. those have already been signed by neighboring district as well as the approval of the agreement that may be used in the future, including but not limited to oakland unified school district. would you like me to read the background?