The Barron Park Association

by Greta Gize Olbrich, Barron Park School PTA President

Not everybody’s aware that Barron Park School is a special place. But apparently someone at MIT Technology Review got wind of this and is now singing Barron Park’s praises! Barron Park School was highlighted in an MIT Technology Review article for its use of technology at the school. Every fifth-grader at Barron Park has been issued an iPad to use for classroom work such as math problems, making videos, and other core curricula. Barron Park is the first elementary school in PAUSD to pilot this program allowing each student to bring an iPad home to complete homework assignments. PAUSD hopes to roll this program out to all elementary 5th grades, but as of now, it’s unique to Barron Park School.

“It’s simply amazing to see the level of engagement and excitement with the children,” says Barron Park’s Educational technology teacher Smita Kolhatkar.Tablet computers are growing in use in K-12 schools with the spread of digital text books and plethora of free educational software. Kolhatkar is Barron Park’s Ed Tech TOSA (Teacher on Special Assignment), and she’s not just for the 5th grade classes. She spends time in each grade level room on a weekly basis, using technology as part of the instructional materials. She also leads a SCRATCH club, where students create their own interactive games, videos, music, art, etc. This extremely popular club is open for 3rd-5th graders and meets Mondays/Wednesday at lunch.

To read full MIT Technology Review article, click on the link: Tablet Makers Pursue Public Schools.

BPA Board Meeting Minutes – provisional until voted on at next Board Meeting : Jan 15, 2013

Attendees: Markus Fromherz, John King, Lydia Kou, Art Liberman Gwen Luce, Lynnie Melena, Doug Moran, Linda Elder

Absent: Nancy Hamilton, Christian Kalar (arrived but due to family issue had to leave during #3.)

Guests: Greta Olbrich (Barron Park School PTA President), Winter Dellenbach (BP resident – LaPara), Bob Moss

1. Agenda Additions: None.

2. Minutes for October 16, 2012: Approved unanimously. Art proposed that future Board meeting minutes be posted on the website after email changes, but before final approval at the next Board meeting.

3. Buena Vista Mobile Home Park (BVMHP) Redevelopment (Lynnie and Art)

At the last meeting we voted to host a community meeting to which we would invite the developer, Prometheus, to present their plans. Lynnie and Art met with the developer. For a summary of the meeting, see Update on Buena Vista Mobile Home Park. Art and Lynnie also posted on the website recent information from Curtis Williams (City of Palo Alto Planning Department Director), Update: City Process on BV Closure Application.
The timing and format of the community meeting needs to be clarified. Markus pointed out that the issue of the proposed development and closure of the BVMHP are really two distinct issues and should be handled in separate meetings. Doug motioned that we not plan a meeting about the closure until we hear from the people at BVMHP or other supporters and that we should plan to have the community meeting on the proposed development before the City Council study session on the Prometheus’ pre-application. Art seconded it and added that we set the date by email. Approved unanimously. Mary Ann Welton notified us that she may have a conflict of interest and cannot facilitate the community meeting regarding the proposed development. The Palo Alto Mediation Program Project Sentinel would be another option meeting facilitator. Winter will pass the information along to the BVMHP residents/organizers. The tenants are organized and meeting regularly with the help of concerned supporters in the community. Greta said that the Barron Park School (BPS) PTA facilitated the use of BPS rooms for these meetings. Remarkably, 16% of the students at BPS live at BVMHP.

Background:
Note: The following is to the best of our knowledge and has come from multiple sources, some second-hand.

Earlier this fall, Perry was attacked twice by the same dog, first on Sept 24 and then again on Nov 6, both times in the evening. There may have been a third incident where the dog was chasing the donkeys in the pasture. The dog, a German Shepherd mix, had been adopted as a rescue from a shelter in San Jose in August. After the second attack, the owner chose to surrender the dog back to that shelter rather than have it euthanize. In the second attack, the dog had been let off-leash near the Gunn parking lot and took off for the donkey pasture. Consequently, the shelter has been instructed (by Palo Alto Animal Services) that the dog is not to be adopted out into the greater Palo Alto area.

The owner was cited by Animal Services, part of the Police Department, and has paid for the medical care for the first attack. Settlement on the second attack is pending.

Injuries:
Niner does not seem to have been injured in these attacks, although there might have been minor bites that we did not detect. The attacks focused on Perry, whether because Niner being bigger was better able to defend himself, or because the dog chose Perry because he was smaller, or …

In the first attack, Perry had a 1×2-inch strip torn on his right cheek, which was stitched back on, and lesser bites on his legs. In the second attack, he had bites on his legs, belly and neck and had severe damage to much of his right cheek. These injuries were too severe to be treated in the pasture and he was transported to a veterinary facility for stitching, medication and to be closely monitored. He returned to the pasture after 4 days. His stitches were removed last Tuesday (Nov 20).

Current status:
The bites on the body are healing nicely. On the cheek, one patch of skin did not reattach and the skin will have to regrow over that area and there are some gaps between the other patches. These areas is very red and has been described as looking like “raw hamburger”. The Vet looked at it on Friday (Nov 23) and said that although it looked bad, it wasn’t — that the surface has developed a good protective covering as the first step in regrowth of the skin.

On occasion, Perry may appear to have a swollen cheek. Not to worry. This is in fact food getting stuck between in the gap between the cheek and the teeth. Normally, a donkey uses their cheek muscles to clear this, but Perry is favoring his injuries and this allows for accumulation. A side-effect of this is that sometimes food will drop out of his mouth. The donkey handlers are monitoring this situation.

— Bob Frost, lead Donkey Handler

Lynnie Melena, BPA President
Art Liberman, BPA Vice-President

We have just received the following information from Curtis Williams, Planning Director of the City of Palo Alto, regarding the status of the Buena Vista mobile home park. The application for closure from the owner was received by the City several weeks ago and the City’s Planning Department staff (led by Jason Nortz) is following the procedures outlined in applicable City Ordinances to insure compliance by the owner.

1. Notices to residents: Early next week, staff expects to send a notice (bilingual) to residents that the closure application has been submitted. Staff also has someone who can translate documents into Spanish for those residents who prefer. If others don’t understand English or Spanish, staff will retain other translation services.

2. Group Meetings with residents: The owner expects to schedule meetings with the residents as a whole, or in groups, likely the week of December 10^th. The relocation specialist will be introduced at this meeting and staff will attend to be sure information is accurate and City processes are understood. Staff is encouraging the owner to retain either the Palo Alto Mediation Services or the Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center to facilitate the meeting, but that is ultimately their call.

3. Selection of Relocation Specialist: Key criteria for selecting a Relocation Specialist will be bilingual capabilities, sensitivity to resident concerns, and confidentiality, as well as their technical competence. Staff interviewed two “relocation specialist” firms, and has recommended one to the owner; staff was very impressed by their sensitivity to the mobile home residents and think they will provide considerable assistance to the residents. Staff also checked with cities where they had worked before and found they were highly regarded and had gained a strong level of trust with residents. The preferred firm further indicated that, if there were persons who are trusted by a resident, they may be included in the individual meetings.

4. Resident Questionnaires: Staff will be sending out the Resident Questionnaires to residents shortly following the group meetings. The relocation specialist will meet individually with each resident/family to help complete the questionnaire and prepare information for the relocation assessment. Staff anticipates that the individual meetings between residents and the relocation specialist will begin in January.

5. Appraising the mobile home properties: Staff is awaiting word from the Administrative Services Department regarding the proposed appraiser, but expect that the owner’s recommendation will be satisfactory.

6. Relocation Impact Report (RIR): The Relocation Impact Report must be prepared by the relocation specialist and owner and submitted with an appraisal for each unit to the City. Staff anticipates a RIR being submitted sometime in the Spring. The City has 30 days to determine if the information is “complete,” and may then request additional information until completeness is determined.

7. Final Determination: Not later than 60 days following completeness, a hearing must be conducted on the adequacy of the RIR and appraisal and relocation approach. The City has not yet determined who that person will be, but Staff will work with the City Attorney’s office to identify someone. Any resident(s) who wish to challenge the adequacy of the decision may appeal the decision to the City Council, which would then make the final determination. Once a final action is taken, a minimum of 6 months is allowed for relocation. The entire process is likely to take a year, at least.

Agenda: BPA Board Meeting: Tuesday, 11/20/12, 7:15 p.m.

Location: Barron Park School Room 2 (former kindergarten room)

1. Agenda Changes (3 minutes)

2. Approval of Minutes (2 minutes)

3. Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Redevelopment (15 minutes) (Lynnie Melena and Art Liberman) As a follow-up to the Board’s decision last month to host a community meeting on potential redevelopment of Buena Vista, Lynnie and Art have met with the developer (see previous post on this web site for complete summary and update on impacts on tenants). Based on timing of other activities, this meeting should be scheduled for January. Discuss date, format and Board participation.

4. Annual Meeting Date and Topic (10 minutes). (Lynnie Melena) Set meeting date (Superbowl is February 3) and possible topics for annual meeting. Discuss Board participation.

5. New Board Members and Officers (20 minutes) (Lynnie Melena) This was continued from the last meeting, as Lynnie and Linda wish to resign from their offices.

6. Email Lists (15 minutes) (Lynnie Melena) This is to clarify policy on use of our email lists, stemming from a request for Board feedback in September on whether it is appropriate to use BPA-news for disseminating opinions. Or should “purpose” be changed?

7. Agenda Setting (5 minutes) (Christian Kalar) This is a request to discuss how the agenda is set for each meeting. Practice is for the president to send out a draft to the Board on Friday or Saturday and request additions and corrections by Sunday evening.

8. Newsletter Articles (5 minutes) (Nancy Hamilton) Deadline is December 1.

9. Status reports and updates on these items are being handled primarily through e-mail. Opportunity for direction and interactions. (5 minutes)

Zoning and Land Use, Traffic, Civic Affairs, Environmental, Native Planting
Green Team: Doug Graham gave a talk on Barron Park creeks on November 8 with about 50 people in attendance. And the Green Team planted more native plants at Bol Park on November 10.

10. Introduction of items for future agendas (5 minutes)

11. Adjourn: NEXT MEETING January 15, 2013.

12. Total scheduled time: 85 minutes

Guests are welcome, but are requested to notify the BPA President so that arrangements can be made to accommodate you (seating and possibly reordering of the agenda).

Questions and comments about agenda items should be directed to the person/people whose name is next to that entry: email addresses are here: BPA Board Members
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The Barron Park Association

Barron Park School’s 5th Graders Get a Technology Treat

BPA Board Meeting Minutes: November 20,2012

Update on condition of Perry the donkey (after attack by dog)

Update: City Process on BV Closure Application

BPA Board Meeting Agenda