Desert Messenger

September 17, 2014 www.DesertMessenger.com 17 Across from McDonald's • Quartzsite NEED CASH? Jim Buys STERLING SILVER! All Silver Coins, .999 Bars, Sterling Silverware, etc. 1240 W. Main Street By Dinice Ross We are short participants for the up-coming 'Walk With The Past' put on by the Cemetery Board, at the Hi Jolly Cemetery, November 1st from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. This year's event theme is "Remembering our Veterans". Each participant (actor, player) will portray a Veteran, or family member, in the Pioneer section of the Hi Jolly Cemetery. This year's event will be bigger with more players – hence the shortage of ac- tors to play the veterans. If you are interested please call me at 928- 927-6593 and ask for Dinice. Actors wanted • Birth • Obituary • Anniversary Place it FREE in the: Desert Messenger! 928-916-4235 Got something to share? The TOPS AZ 0078, Quartzsite Chapter will continue on thru the summer...at the site on Desert Vista....same time, same place... Those interested can still weigh in, and get the support from each other of attending, thanks. We have year-round folks, the rest of us go to cooler climes until the fall! Thanks for all you do for us.... Hugs, V Ruth McAlister...Chapter Co-Leader For information during that time, please call Zee @ 928- 927-5075 . TOPS summer schedule Desert Messenger E-edition www.MyQuartzsite.com 800-656-HOPE By Shanana "Rain" Golden-Bear During another heated meeting Tuesday, Sept. 9th, Quartzsite Elementary School (QES) Board President Theri Hearne stated, "If our reading scores are down, the parents need to step up." Superintendent Jacque Price had explained that QES received "D" ratings for the past 3 years. Price explained the state website is miss- ing scores from 5th graders in 2012 which in turn affected the scores in 2013 & 2014. She said, "They used data points from the prior school years for the student growth percentile. Every- thing was a zero in 2013 and the state has yet to satisfy my needs." Regarding a letter received from the state, Price warned, "If a school has three D's it will go into an F," but also noted the state has said nothing about QES receiving an "F" in the future. Timberlake argued that the Dis- trict AIMS scores also have been dropping over the past 3 years; in all categories, except Science, which showed an increase. Board President Hearne said, "I'm sorry; I'm tired of the com- munity pointing their fi nger at the teachers, because the parents need to step up. The parents need to start doing their job at home. Because these teachers only have so many hours. It's time, this com- munity needs to step up and these parents need to be responsible par- ents. And I'm tired of us pointing the fi nger at our teachers and the superintendent. These letter grades refl ect on the whole community, not just on Jacque and not just on teachers." Board Member Monica Timber- lake responded by sharing statistics from an Arizona Unifi ed School District which has a high percentage (28%) of Special needs students, is located in a poor, rural area, but over the same 3 years has risen from a "D" rating to the number one district in the state. Timberlake said, "It's not our job to fi x the par- ents; it's our job to fi x the school." Price stated, "The key is fi nding out which classes, grade levels, and school has been going down. The teachers have been working on that." Timberlake responded those are all broken down in the report. 10% of Arizona schools are rated D. Excluding tribal and charter schools, Superintendant Price said, "We are rated 6th from the bot- tom of those public school systems. When kids come to school and they are rude and disrespectful, and cause chaos in the classroom, my teachers cannot teach." Suspensions are way up this year due to Zero Tolerance policies. Both Price and Timberlake agree those policies need to be revisited. Price stated, "We are trying to maintain an instructional atmo- sphere in every single classroom." On the district's website Price states, "Our District faces a major challenge in complying with the minimum attendance require- ments. Last year our attendance rate fell below 90%, which in- dicates that the majority of our students missed more than 18 days of school. The school's ability to meet the Federal recommendation of 95% attendance depends greatly upon parents and your support. The La Paz County Attorney's Offi ce has made a commitment to vigorously enforce school atten- dance laws." Timberlake said, the students "need to succeed in spite of their parents." Price also announced Arizona Western College (AWC) will be partnering with volunteers to help students who are strug- gling. The school is looking for volunteers to help at AWC or at Town Library. Mrs. Pamela Fink- beiner, who teaches Kindergarten in Quartzsite is the contact person. Email: pfi nkbeiner@qsd4.org. ASBA website states, "School board members are responsible for broad, futuristic thinking, minute analysis and decisive action in all areas that affect students and staff in their schools. Some roles and responsibilities are implicit. Others are specifi cally mandated (A.R.S. §15-341) or allowed (§15-342) by Arizona law. Everything board members do is focused on provid- ing the best education possible for the children in their community." School board president blames parents for falling scores

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