The Burlingame Voice

High School and College Planning

Burlingame Recreation Course

High School and College Planning For Parents and Students

Preparing For College-What Parents & Students Need to Know

(age parents of 9th-10th graders ) This presentation is focused on helping 9th and 10th grade students understand the college admissions process taking into account one or two years of high school completed. Tuesday April 10 7:00-8:00 pm

Jean Marie Buckley, a professional school counselor for 21 years, has put together a series of lectures for parents and students who are interested in making good choices about education. Jean Marie has an extensive background in education and counseling including an M. Ed./Educational Counseling and Student Personnel, a Masters in Public Administration, Member of Independent Educational Consultants Association and Member of National Association of College Admission Consultants as well as expertise in post secondary and college planning and placements. Each lecture is one hour. Fee is a per family fee which includes either two parents or a parent and child where noted.

Fee: $18 Residents $20 Non-Residents per lecture

Link to online registration

I would strongly recommend this lecture series to all parents of current and prospective high school students. The college application process is becoming more complex and competitive each year. Jean Marie Buckley is an outstanding academic counselor and a very reliable source of up to date college information.

- Written by JC

Caltrain -- Speed or Convenience?

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Ana Morales is losing sleep over Caltrain. She used to get up at 5 a.m. to walk to the 5:30 a.m. train at the Broadway station in Burlingame. Now that the station is closed on weekdays, the San Francisco police officer has to get up at 4:30 a.m. and walk a mile to the Millbrae station to get to her shift on time. "The Caltrain shuttle from Broadway doesn't come that early," she explains. Nor does it run in the mid-afternoon, so she walks another mile home.

Judi Allen would like to take public transit from her Belmont home to her volunteer job as a cancer patient advocate at UCSF's Mount Zion campus, but it would take her at least two hours each way. Her day would begin with a brisk, 30-minute walk from the Alameda to the Belmont train station, where one train an hour runs to San Francisco during commute times. Fifty minutes later, she would need to catch a bus across town. Instead, she goes through a tank of gas every few days and pays $1.75 every 20 minutes to park.

The Caltrain schedule on the Peninsula, which emphasizes "Baby Bullet" express trains, is built around the philosophy that speed is more important than convenience. There's no question that the "reinvented" schedule emphasizing express trains has attracted new customers and has helped narrow Caltrain's shortfall from $13.5 million in 2005 to the current $5 million deficit. But other factors such as higher gas prices, more congested highways and the improved economy also account for increases in passenger counts. Ridership is up nationwide. The American Public Transportation System recently reported that Americans took more trips on local public transportation in 2006 than during any year since 1957.

At a time when people are eager to help the planet by getting out of their cars, Caltrain is failing to serve passengers who want convenience. Trains that used to come every 30 minutes during commute times now come only once an hour, weekday service has been suspended at two stations and shuttles only function during peak hours. It's impossible to travel between some points, such as Belmont and Sunnyvale, during commute times.

Eleven current and former City Council members from San Mateo County believe it is time to revisit Caltrain's schedule so that it better meets the needs of passengers and attracts more riders. It is entirely possible to add back some stops with minimal impact to express trains and provide more local service along with Baby Bullet trains. The Coalition to Expand Transit Service is urging city councils throughout San Mateo County to ask Caltrain to retain an outside consultant to optimize the schedule, to complete promised safety improvements and to work together with cities to improve connectivity among transit services.

Instead of moving toward a model of a few transit hubs ringed with acres of concrete and huge parking structures, we envision pedestrian-friendly transit in the heart of our cities. That's the model that has served the Peninsula well for more than 100 years. On the Peninsula, we have been transit oriented far longer than the term "transit-oriented development" was coined. As cities lose transit, they also lose their ability to attract new development near transit corridors, and businesses and residents in the vicinity suffer.

Click here to read this complete Open Forum piece in the San Francisco Chronicle.

- Written by Terry Nagel

Trees - El Camino

One item on the Council meeting this Monday is "CalTrain and El Camino Trees". For full agenda.

CalTrain - as written in City agenda

- Written by Fiona

ASK FOR IT II

The emperor has no clothes. Who is going to tell him?

There is no leadership left in SMUHSD Superintendent Sam Johnson. The teachers and staff will not follow his lead. A dark cloud has fallen over the schools, despair is in the air and STRIKE is on the lips of teachers. At Johnson's last visit to the schools, the teachers asked him serious questions about the future of the district that either could not or refused to answer. This is not leadership.

Johnson has not truthful about the SMUHSD's financial situation, which has grown worse since the beginning of the year. At first it was the financial shortfall and the teachers who were paid too much. Johnson argued that the teachers needed a 3% salary cut to balance the $3.5 million shortfall. Next it was the illegal deductions from teacher's paychecks to pay for health benefits. Finally, it is the $80 million consolidation loan needed by the district to pay for the 65% cost overrun on school renovation project. This $80 million debt was suppressed from the public during the Measure M election to ensure the passage of the bond. All of these problems have come from Johnson's inability to manage the finances of the district.

The SMUHSD school board has abdicated its responsibility to efficiently run the schools by leaving Johnson in power and allowing the environment to deteriorate. While the board may have initially declared itself a Team of Six,? it is now ignoring the fact that the Superintendent does not have control over finances or the teaching faculty of the district. The board must act!

The board's first action in cleaning up this mess should be to settle the teacher's contract dispute where the teachers are asking for a 0% salary increase. The board should then begin to look to the future and articulate to the public how they plan to re-establish the trust and respect between the district and its teachers that have been destroyed as a result of fiscal mismanagement and a serious departure from ethical standards of leadership.

- Written by JC

And What do you Make?

This is not about Burlingame per se but this was emailed to me today and because the Voice has had its fair share of teacher bashing, it is very appropriate for Burlingame:

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education. He argued, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminded the other dinner guests what they say about teachers: "Those who can, do. Those who can't, teach." To stress his point he said to another guest; "You're a teacher, Bonnie. Be honest. What do you make?" Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness replied, "You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began...) "Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can't make them sit for 5 without an I Pod, Game Cube or movie rental... You want to know what I make?" (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them criticize. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions. I teach them to write and then I make them write I make them read, read, read. I make them show all their work in math. I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know in English while preserving their unique cultural identity. I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe. I make my students stand to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, because we live in the United States of America. Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life. (Bonnie paused one last time and then continued.)

"Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant... You want to know what I make? I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make?"

- Written by Fiona

La Corneta is OPEN!

from the San Mateo County Times - March 27, 2007

La Corneta whets Burlingame's appetite
By Aaron Kinney, STAFF WRITER
Article Last Updated: 03/27/2007 06:28:15 AM PDT


JOEL CAMPOS, OWNER of La Corneta Taqueria, opened his new Burlingame Avenue eatery over the weekend. (Ron Lewis - Staff)BURLINGAME
THE SIGNS were there last week that La Corneta Taqueria would have a strong opening week of business.

As owner Joel Campos sat and talked at a table Thursday, a teenager walked in through the open doors at 1123 Burlingame Ave., his sunglasses resting on the back of his neck.

"Are you guys open yet?" he asked.

"No, I'm so sorry," Campos replied. "Tomorrow."

"All right, I'm coming back tomorrow," the boy said as he turned away. "I'm so excited."

"Tomorrow, buddy," Campos called out.

The lunch-hour line Monday wasn't quite out the door, but it was close, and Campos seemed well on his way to replicating the success of his first two restaurants in San Francisco's Glen Park and Mission neighborhoods.

The recipe for that success, which has made La Corneta one of San Francisco's most popular taquerias and garnered rave reviews on the Internet, appears to consist of equal parts business savvy, customer service and community involvement, with the requisite handful of high-quality food.

For Campos, 47, who grew up in the town of San Juan de los Lagos in the Mexican state of Jalisco, the first step toward this success occurred shortly after he moved to San Francisco in 1990, when he recognized that Glen Park was perhaps the only neighborhood in the city without a taqueria.

After a three-year wait, a spot opened up on Diamond Street, right across from the BART station. Then Campos, never trained as a chef, set out to learn how to make the best burritos and tacosin town.
He applied for jobs at some of the finest taquerias in the Mission, but Campos, who has a business degree from a Mexican university, was told he was overqualified. When he asked an owner of one taqueria to show him the ropes as an apprentice, the owner suggested, in a profanity-laced retort, that Campos consult the Yellow Pages.

"It was humiliating," recalled Campos, who responded by using his savings and some help from his family to hire away employees from some of the most highly regarded taquerias in the Bay Area, offering them higher wages to help him start a restaurant from scratch.

The team set to work in Campos's kitchen, where the new owner drew upon his experience growing up in a large Mexican family, where food was in a constant state of preparation. His mother, aunts and sisters cooked meals for gatherings of 40, 60 or even 80 people and compared notes on their favorite recipes, Campos said.

"We come from a big, big family," said Campos, the eldest of 12 siblings. "I am not trained as a chef, but I can taste the food and I can notice right away if I like it."

La Corneta quickly became a Diamond Street institution, which led Campos to open a second taqueria in the heart of the Mission district in 2000. He also began cultivating close community ties, providing free or discounted meals for schools and charitable causes.

Campos provided a free lunch Thursday for 400 people at San Francisco City Hall, where Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval was co-hosting a reception with Mayor Gavin Newsom for the Mexican-American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. http://www.maldef.org/index.cfm

That day, Campos accompanied San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin on a trip to Davis to discuss a North Beach property that Campos recently purchased and is looking to renovate.

In an e-mail, Sandoval described Campos as a "businessman actively engaged in the Latino community."

"Joel Campos gives back to the community in

Chicken cooks on the grill at La Corneta, the newest addition to downtown Burlingame's restaurant scene. more than one way," Sandoval said. "He supports community organizations either by catering their special events, free of charge, or by sponsoring certain programs."
Campos doesn't give away free quesadillas at his restaurants, but the food is reasonably priced, which is one of La Corneta's attractions, said Burlingame Councilman Russ Cohen, who stopped by the restaurant Sunday.

Cohen said he enjoyed the meal, which he called a "cross between fast food and fine dining." "We don't have a lot of venues (on Burlingame Avenue) where it's good, it's reasonably priced and it's convenient," Cohen said. "And I think that's the market that he's covering."


Staff writer Aaron Kinney can be reached at (650) 348-4302 or by e-mail at [email protected].

- Written by Constance

Schools - API Scores

API scores by school (see full list in Daily Journal)

The API scores were taken from the 2006 Accountability Progress Report prepared by the California Department of Education. On March 27, 2007 the Department of Education released the state and similar school rankings, as well as the 2007 API goal. API scores range from 200 to 1,000, with 200 being far below basic, 500 being below basic, 700 being basic, 875 being proficient and 1,000 being advanced. The statewide API performance target for all schools is 800. The scores are shown for each district as well as for the individual schools within the district. The first number is the 2006 API score, the second is the 2006 statewide rank, the third is the 2006 similar schools rank and the fourth number is the 2007 growth target. Some schools may have an A? in the fourth column. A means the school surpassed the statewide goal last year and wasn't given a goal.

Burlingame Elementary School District - 874

Franklin Elementary - 936 / 10 / 5 / A
Lincoln Elementary - 911 / 10 / 5 / A
McKinley Elementary - 815 / 8 / 4 / A
Roosevelt Elementary - 890 / 10 / 6 / A
Washington Elementary - 888 / 9 / 10 / A
Burlingame Intermediate - 851 / 9 / 2 / A

San Mateo Union High School District - 774

Burlingame High - 796 / 9 / 2 / 800

Additional article

- Written by Fiona

A Net Gain of 25 New Units Per Year

New luxury condos pushing poor out of city (Daily Journal)

Development of fewer, higher priced multi-unit facilities in Burlingame has the City Council and Planning Commission advocating for a plan to create an increase in housing options particularly more affordable ones. Lately, new and attractive multi-unit buildings have been built in Burlingame to replace aging facilities. While the trend betters the neighborhood, the new buildings aren't providing the same number of units as was previously available on the site. That's causing concern for city officials interested in maintaining a range of housing options in the community, while not decreasing the available choices.

Burlingame is built out, meaning the last major subdivision to bring housing options was built on a dairy farm in the Trousdale area in the 1960s, said City Planner Meg Monroe. What we're left with today is the replacement of existing buildings. If something wasn't well built originally; or a house was built on two lots, it's removed and two houses were built. In-fill development is when the situation of aging causes things to be replaced and you're fitting it into the existing situation,? she said. In the past, these developments were replaced with a similar number of units, if not more, than were originally there. Lately, however, less units are being built to replace an aging building. When a multiple-unit older building is torn down with 16 units, for example, it's rebuilt and only eight units go up, said Councilwoman Ann Keighran. These new options are bigger, which comes with a larger price tag. The goal is to create more housing options, rather than less, at a more affordable rate.

Mayor Terry Nagel cited Chateau Primrose, a newer condominium development just across the street from City Hall. A three-bedroom condo in the building is currently listed for sale for more than $2 million. We don't need more $2.5 million condos. We need more mid-range choices for housing. We need to look at some sort of strategy for making that happen,? she said. People are now willing to pay upward of $1 million for a condominium, but also expect more when doing so, said Monroe. On average, the city has a net gain of 25 new units per year, said Monroe. City officials worry the trend will create less overall housing options in the long run. Since more than half the city's housing options are multiple-family units, Burlingame isn't ready to change that, said Monroe.

A subcommittee of planning commissioners will most likely be assembled to identify the cause of the building trend and how to address it so that the city isn't decreasing its housing options.

- Written by Fiona

Two Immersion Teachers Wanted

Immersion teachers yet to be found (Daily News)

The Burlingame School District's search for teachers for its Spanish immersion program planned for next year has so far yielded "nada," officials say. The district approved Spanish immersion over a Mandarin Chinese immersion program in January and has spent the past couple of months searching for two instructors to teach the program to kindergartners and first-graders. The search has included posting ads on the Internet and a trip to Long Beach earlier this month for the California Association for Bilingual Education, or CABE, annual conference, which included a job fair. Now the district is expanding its search to colleges that offer bilingual education programs. The district also plans to post an ad for the position on its Web site and contact the National Association for Bilingual Education.

Superintendent Sonny Da Marto said the high cost of housing in the area makes it a challenge to fill all positions, including those of the immersion teachers. "I knew it was going to be difficult," he said. "There is not a lot we can do." Da Marto said at a recent school board meeting that the district has to find someone for the job by May 15 in order to have time to put the program together. If someone is not hired by that date, the district will need to talk to the parents who have enrolled their students for the program and go from there, he said. The program will not work if it is not started at the beginning of the year, he added.

The candidate for an immersion teaching position must be literate in both languages and be familiar with the cultures of Spanish-speaking countries, Da Marto said. One parent who wants to enroll her daughter in the kindergarten program within the next few years said she is concerned but optimistic. "I do worry, but I have been trying to put the word out because I know a few bilingual school teachers," parent Linda Hall said. "I would be sad (if the program can't start) because of all these people who have signed up." Hill, who has a 3-year-old daughter she wants to enroll in the program in 2008, said friends of hers who are teachers have told her that educators do not start looking for jobs until April. "I think they will find a teacher - the concern is whether they will find two," Hall said. CABE officials said that although there are 197 language immersion programs in the state, finding teachers is usually not hard. "As far as finding teachers, what we find ... is once bilingual teachers know about these programs, it is not a really hard thing to recruit these teachers," said Marcia Vargas, director of CABE's Two Way, which specializes in immersion programs.

- Written by Fiona

Meeting with PG&E

You're invited to a Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, March 27, to meet with officials from PG&E regarding any questions you have about power reliability, tree trimming, customer service or other issues.

The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. in the Lane Room at the main Burlingame Public Library, 480 Primrose Road.

- Written by Terry Nagel