A buffet luncheon with superintendent Dr. Steven Keller—September 14, 2016
A buffet luncheon with superintendent Dr. Steven Keller—September 14, 2016
Posted by Andrea Mosmann on Sep 15, 2016
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(REDONDO BEACH, California September 14, 2016—At today’s luncheon, we heard from Dr. Steven Keller, Superintendent of the Redondo Beach Unified School District.
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Dr. Steven Keller has spent thirty years in public education, beginning as a middle and high school history and language arts teacher, a middle school assistant principal and principal, a Director of Student Achievement, and an Assistant Superintendent, before becoming the Superintendent of Schools in the Redondo Beach Unified School District, the finest school district in the South Bay!
Announcements:
Remember that “Portofino Gives Back” every Tuesday at Baleen Kitchen. Drink purchases directly support Rotary!
Camp Pendleton donations, cash or gift cards, can be brought to the October 11th District Breakfast.
Club President Alexis Sheehy reminded members to "please turn in the raffle tickets that you sold in support of the October 22 Foundation Celebration aboard the Battleship USS Iowa."
James Jackman announced that our Club is responsible for Shogo Oseogawa, an exchange student from Japan. We need to find a home for him from approximately Thanksgiving 2016 to March 2017.
Chuck Anderson promoted the “Reading by 9” program.
Pearl Davis is comfortable at home and would likely appreciate a phone call or two from fellow Rotarians.
Jeremy Godokiss announced an ocean conservation event this Sunday at Seaside Lagoon; there will be paddleboard races, paddleboard yoga, and games especially for the kids.
Dean Reuter told us about the USC/UCLA event on November 16th at the Torrance Marriott. Tickets are $60 each.
Guests were Athena Marano and Betsy Ryan, and visiting Rotarians were Bob Peterson and Dean Reuter.
Music accompanying lunch was “Quintet for Guitar and Strings in D” by Luigi Boccherini.
The Flag Salute was led by Bill Gard. The Inspiration was given by Jim Sheehy. Our greeter for the day was Bill Gard. Meals on Wheels were delivered by George Schane and Vera Jimenez.
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Dr. Keller announced “Purpose” as the theme of the Redondo Beach Unified School District. The District has over 2000 more students than it did just 10 years ago. This is in part because of the number of families moving into Redondo Beach, but it is also because it’s the best school district in the South Bay. Where other schools may talk a good game, RBUSD is all about action. For example, the children’s safety is a key issue, he said, and they are taught to “run, hide and fight” in the event of an attack.
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As another example, RBUSD is committed to preparing each child to attend college. Whether they do so is of course up to the child and his/her parents, but every child who attends RBUSD is on track to go to college.
Just a few of the important elements of the educational program that Dr. Keller spoke of were test scores, the social aspect of school, accepting others, emotional resilience, health and academics.
Dr. Keller then turned to what he believes is what the RBUSD does best: Hire good people. Because 85% of the budget pays for employees, the RBUSD is all about people, including a thorough interview process, high expectations, and firing individuals who are not good for the kids. Simply put, if there’s not a match, you have to let them go.
The Redondo Beach Unified School District prides itself on actively minimizing its carbon footprint. It is important to “go green” and there is solar power throughout the district as well as gardens at every school.
In conclusion he noted, "We should remember that as great as our students are, there are some academically at-risk children in any school. YOUR HELP teaching kids to read would be greatly appreciated!"