School Construction, Consulting Firm Issues Raised at Board Meeting

This story was written by Lauren Urban.

Resident Michael Aberni said that teachers should better educate students on efficient studying methods and test-taking skills, which may increase students' confidence and test scores at Thursday night’s Long Beach Board of Education meeting at Lindell School.  

Aberni’s comments came in the context of the district's review of academic performance for the 2011-12 school year, which was the focus of the meeting. The following are some other highlights: 

• Board members remained divided over the need for AuSSI, a private elementary and secondary education-consulting firm involved in the district's elementary school literacy curriculum. Some believe the firm is needed to help improve the capacity of the staff to work with the common core curriculum, while others think it is an economic drain on the district.

• Steve Freeman, president of the Long Beach Classroom Teachers Association, said that there’s a “slew” of construction issues in the schools that should be addressed immediately, including missing fire alarms and doors that randomly lock students in or out.

• William Snow, president of the Long Beach School Employees Association and the Head Custodian at Lindell Elementary School, said that construction issues are being worked on. He also thanked and congratulated the entire custodial staff on a smooth back-to-school opening.