Jordan Middle School

Jordan Middle School volunteers were up early Saturday morning building tables and benches or setting plants in neat rows for the Betty Steinkolk Literacy Patio and Garden, dedicated to the beloved former principal who died in 2009. The 3 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony was the culmination of a yearlong partnership between the Burbank Business Partners, Burbank Assn. of Realtors Community Service Foundation and the Burbank Noon Rotary Club, said Sue Georgino, board member of the Business Partners.

It was a brisk spring morning, a Saturday. A crew made up of mostly adults had been asked to give up their precious nonworking time for a worthy cause. They were going to give Jordan Middle School a quick face-lift. It wasn't a cure, just a bandage, really. The facilities were in need of some long-overdue repairs and upgrades. But thanks to a donation of paint and materials, the group of more than 100 people picked up brushes and rollers and began to paint the hallways and restrooms.

When Sharon Cuseo began her career in education 18 years ago, she fostered no plans of becoming a principal. "It never even occurred to me," said Cuseo, who is scheduled to become David Starr Jordan Middle School's principal next semester. "It was kind of just a natural progression, but when I first started, that was not in my mind at all." But come July— when Principal Mary Margaret Kljunak retires after 16 years in the post — Cuseo will take the reins. Kljunak began her career teaching at Jordan Middle in 1969 and has worked in the Burbank Unified School District for 38 years.

The family of a Burbank teenager who had a sexual relationship with his middle school teacher has filed a lawsuit against the school district alleging that it failed to safeguard the student from an aggressive predator. In March, Amy Beck, a sixth-grade teacher at Jordan Middle School, shocked the Burbank community when she turned herself in to police for having sex with her then-14-year-old student, who has not been identified. The liaison took place from March to September 2009, and involved sex acts at the teacher's Burbank home and on the Jordan Middle School campus, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

A Burbank Unified School District teacher turned herself in Monday for having sex with a 14-year-old student from March to September last year, police said. Amy Beck, 33, a sixth-grade teacher at Jordan Middle School, surrendered Monday afternoon to Burbank police with her lawyer, and was being held on $400,000 bail, Burbank Police Sgt. Robert Quesada said. “We’re still trying to piece everything together, what happened, where, what kind of sex acts, how many, and how long it’s been going on,” he said.

The school board approved a grant from ALL Management Corp. to pay for career and college clubs at Jordan Middle School. Under the terms of the agreement, Jordan Middle School will host two career and college clubs during the school year with mentors for each. The grant will fund the clubs with three installments of $2,000, which will pay for teaching and indirect supplies, trips to colleges, refreshments for club meetings, promotional materials and stipends for teacher advisors that cannot exceed $4,000.

Board to decide contract approval The Burbank Unified School District board will discuss the collective bargaining agreement between the district and the Burbank Teachers' Assn. The Teachers' Assn. negotiators and district negotiators came to an agreement on a contract settlement March 9. Gabe Soumakian, the district's assistant superintendent of Human Resources Services, will recommend the board approve the agreement to officially end the salary negotiations. The raises consisted of a salary increase that varies between 4% to 7.25% over six pay columns, depending on teaching experience and education level, with the most experienced and educated teachers receiving the highest raises.

Amber Willard RANCHO DISTRICT -- Several homes were evacuated as the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department removed an inert grenade from a residential area near Jordan Middle School. A resident in the 500 block of South Mariposa Street called police at 1 p.m. June 6 after seeing the grenade on a retaining wall that separates her back yard from an alley, police said. It was removed by Sheriff's officials at 3 p.m. and placed in a protective case.

Applicants sought by city for commission The Burbank City Council is accepting applications for one open seat on the Heritage Commission, an advisory body concerned with preserving Burbank's history. The five-member commission is comprised of two members from the business community, two with experience in historical preservation and one person from the community at large. Applicants with historical preservation experience are preferred to fill the current vacancy. Committee members are not compensated and must be Burbank residents.

The two bodies will receive an update on the status of the joint-use facility improvement projects at Burbank High School, John Burroughs High School and Jordan Middle School. The projects include renovation of the infields at Burbank High and John Burroughs High School, installing eight-lane tracks at Burroughs and adding an additional 70 parking spaces at Jordan Middle School. Members of the council and the school board will also review several possible funding options for those projects.

Jordan Middle School volunteers were up early Saturday morning building tables and benches or setting plants in neat rows for the Betty Steinkolk Literacy Patio and Garden, dedicated to the beloved former principal who died in 2009. The 3 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony was the culmination of a yearlong partnership between the Burbank Business Partners, Burbank Assn. of Realtors Community Service Foundation and the Burbank Noon Rotary Club, said Sue Georgino, board member of the Business Partners.

Straight-A student Rami Makarem, 11, had three words to say as his fork was poised over two pancakes on the paper plate Friday morning before class. “They taste delicious,” said the Jordan Middle School sixth-grader. The event was the annual “A's Breakfast,” and 750 students who earned an A on their report card were treated to a pancake breakfast beginning at 6:45 a.m., said Principal Stacy Cashman. Administrators, teachers, secretaries, instructional assistants and custodians all did their part to make the students feel special.

More than a decade of planning and fundraising came to a head Monday as elected officials and community leaders crowded John Burroughs High School Memorial Field to break ground on a long-awaited $12-million renovation of the site. "It is a wonderful feeling, especially for the school district and the community who have worked on this for such a long time," said Burbank Unified Supt. Stan Carrizosa. The renovation of Memorial Field is the third in an $18.5-million, three-phase capital improvement project designed to modernize decrepit athletic facilities at Jordan Middle School, and Burbank and Burroughs high schools.

The family of a Burbank teenager who had a sexual relationship with his middle school teacher has filed a lawsuit against the school district alleging that it failed to safeguard the student from an aggressive predator. In March, Amy Beck, a sixth-grade teacher at Jordan Middle School, shocked the Burbank community when she turned herself in to police for having sex with her then-14-year-old student, who has not been identified. The liaison took place from March to September 2009, and involved sex acts at the teacher's Burbank home and on the Jordan Middle School campus, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

T he Foothill Civitan Club of Burbank's Philanthropy Fundraising Event on May 8 at the Castaway Restaurant was a great success. The fashion show, "Pretty as a Picture," with members of the club and families as the models was very well done and the clothes were marvelous. The Foothill Civitan Club is extremely proud to have previously underwritten the cost of three Canine Companions for Independence (CCI), assistance dogs, at a cost of $10,000 per dog. Proceeds from this year's event will enable them to continue to support projects like this, along with their other philanthropy projects including: scholarships at local high schools, continued support of Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy, contributions to the Salvation Army's various programs, sponsoring three families in the Burbank Coordinating Council's Holiday Basket, sponsorship of the Annual Girls Ponytail Jamboree, which includes a parade, hot dog lunch and trophies and continued support of the BCR "a place to grow" and Tierra Del Sol, as well as many other charities.

DOWNTOWN – A former Burbank middle school teacher was sentenced Friday to two years in state prison after turning herself in to authorities for having sex with a 14-year-old student. Amy Beck, a 33-year-old former English and social science teacher at Jordan Middle School, pleaded no contest March 25 to charges of unlawful sex with a minor. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. Los Angeles County Superior Court judge Patrick Hegarty also ordered Beck to register as a sex offender for the charges that included one count each of unlawful sexual intercourse and committing a lewd act on a child.

DOWNTOWN – A former Burbank middle school teacher was sentenced Friday to two years in state prison after turning herself in to authorities for having sex with a 14-year-old student. Amy Beck, a 33-year-old former English and social science teacher at Jordan Middle School, pleaded no contest March 25 to charges of unlawful sex with a minor. A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt, but is treated as such for sentencing purposes. A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge also ordered Beck to register as a sex offender for the charges that included one count each of unlawful sex with a minor and performing lewd acts on a minor.

CITY HALL — A counseling program serving thousands of troubled youths is expected to receive crucial funding for the 2010-11 fiscal year under a proposal approved this week by the City Council. On Tuesday, the council voted unanimously to set aside $250,000 for youth programming, with most of it expected to go to school-based counseling and support services offered through the Family Service Agency of Burbank. Parents, counselors and Burbank Unified School District officials lobbied on behalf of the school-based programs designed to address self-esteem, anger management, substance abuse and family issues.

BURBANK — Amy Beck, the former Burbank middle school teacher who turned herself in earlier this month for allegedly having sex with a 14-year-old student, faces up to two years in state prison as part of a plea deal announced in court Thursday. Beck, a 33-year-old former English and social science teacher at Jordan Middle School, pleaded no contest in Los Angeles County Superior Court as part of a deal in which she faces up to two years in state prison, in addition to registering as a sex offender for two charges related to sex with a minor.