Luther Burbank

BURBANK — State Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell stopped by Luther Burbank Middle School Monday to deliver some good news: It was named a California Distinguished School for 2007. "In order to be a California Distinguished School you really have to be the best of the best," O'Connell said. "You really have to exceed our expectations in the Academic Performance Index." It is the third time Luther Burbank received the award, the first two times in 1994 and 1985.

Gary Moskowitz NORTHWEST DISTRICT -- Diana Reynolds, a sixth-grade teacher at Luther Burbank Middle School, said she and her students work in preparation for the Future Problem Solving Event all year long. "It's very exciting," said Reynolds, the school's problem-solving coach. "These kids will make decisions that affect us all in the future." One participant, Byron Weiss, finished first in the individual junior cometition and will be representing California in the junior division at the International Conference this June in Athens, Ga. Reynolds and sixth-grade teacher Barbara Weiss coached their Gifted and Talented Education students at the Future Problem Solving State Bowl Saturday at Luther Burbank.

Moms and dads will have the opportunity to attend back-to-school programs at Burbank public schools next week. Teachers will speak with parents about course outlines and will review state curriculum standards for the various grades. Additionally, teachers and parents will review classroom behavioral guidelines, including attendance and discipline. At middle and high schools, parents will follow their children's schedules, as they go from one classroom to the next.

Gary Moskowitz BURBANK -- Volunteers are needed to mentor Burbank middle school students in improving their reading skills. The Warner Bros. Time To Read Program, which began in 1992, integrates a five-step reading process designed to improve the reading skills at Burbank's three middle schools -- David Starr Jordan, Luther Burbank and John Muir. Volunteers will be asked to donate one hour each week, excluding school holidays. A three-hour tutor training seminar will be from 6 to 9 p.m., Sept.

Burbank Unified School District overall: 751 -- 2004 API base 2004 statewide rank 2005 API target ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS Walt Disney 779 7 780 Elementary Thomas Edison 789 8 790 Elementary Ralph Emerson 818 8 A Elementary Bret Harte 807 8 A Elementary Thomas Jefferson 837 9 A Elementary William McKinley 747 6 750 Elementary Joaquin Miller 787 7 788 Elementary ...

Laura Sturza BURBANK -- Residents irked by traffic, cable television, airport noise or any other concern can attend one of the city's town hall meetings. The first in this series was Thursday at John Muir Middle School with two more scheduled in the coming weeks. "At last year's goal setting for fiscal year 2001-2002, one of [council members'] goals was to improve communication with the public," said Vida Wolfe, assistant to the city Mmanager. By being less formal than council meetings, council members hoped to reach new people, Wolfe said.

Eighth-grader Spencer Malden’s only experience building things is with Legos. But three days into a lesson at Luther Burbank, he donned mechanic gloves and disconnected a sparkplug from an engine while explaining how its piston worked. “I’ve been trying to take it apart, and I’m getting better at it,” he said. “I don’t know [if I want to be a mechanic], but it’s better than math.” Spencer is in the Exploring Technology Lab elective at school, providing hands-on learning opportunities in 16 roughly two-week courses, ranging from robotics, forensic science, applied physics, audio broadcasting and microbiology.

Irma Lemus BURBANK -- Posters created by nine Burbank middle school students on the theme water use in the 21st century will be considered for a Metropolitan Water District of Southern California 2001 Calendar. The nine students, three from each of Burbank's public middle schools, were winners in the local "Water is Life" contest. Their artwork was submitted to the calendar competition, said Pat Rude, a conservation advisor with the city of Burbank.

SECURITY GRANT The council unanimously approved a resolution accepting a $92,500 federal homeland security grant. The funding is dispersed through the Department of Homeland Security's Urban Areas Security Initiative, providing monetary assistance to certain urban areas in the United States. The funds go toward equipment, training and operations related to preventing and responding to potential acts and threats of terrorism. WHAT IT MEANS The grant requires no matching funds from the city and will address three distinct areas: $35,000 will be applied to personal protective equipment; $50,000 will go toward tactical equipment; and $7,500 will be used for training.

Myles Grene, 11, of Burbank is a sixth-grader at Luther Burbank Middle School. "Rugrats Go Wild" was a decent movie, definitely geared toward smaller elementary school, if not younger, kids. I didn't think it was very good. For a smaller kid, it would be very good and funny. Bruce Willis did a good job as the voice of Spike. Combining the characters of both shows was kind of abrupt, since on TV they never mention each other. For example, Nigel Thornberry is suddenly Tommy Pickles' idol.

Bits and pieces from the local sports scene . Boys' basketball players earn all-league honors : Boys' basketball players from Burroughs High, Burbank, Providence and Bellarmine-Jefferson were honored with all-league awards in their respective leagues. Leading the Burbank area in scoring this past season was Pioneers junior Christian Ware-Berry , who was an All-Liberty League first-team selection. The junior averaged 22.2 points a game to go along with 5.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals.

Home. A sacred place. Imagine you found out it is being threatened, along with your long-term health, by something that your city council recently decided was a good idea. For the first time ever in Burbank, a cellphone tower is slated to be installed in a residential neighborhood, on your street. Imagine you learn more and more about the effects of these towers so close to homes and schools. You learn that the EMR Policy Institute recommends a buffer zone of 1,500 feet between towers and schools, that children are the most vulnerable to tower emissions, that studies show many types of health effects, that two schools, Bret Harte and Luther Burbank, as well as a day care center, are within this 1,500 feet of the proposed tower.

A bare flower bed at Luther Burbank Middle School was transformed Thursday when students, staff and community volunteers marked Earth Day by installing a native-plant garden designed to capture rain water. The 3,900-square-feet plot near the front entrance of the school was a collaboration between the middle school and Woodbury University's Arid Lands Institute. "It creates a good environment for learning," Luther Principal Anita Schackmann said of the beautification project.

Take a dilapidated motorbike and an enthusiastic science teacher, add a half-dozen enterprising students and some expert volunteers, and what do you get? An engaging, two-month engineering lesson and one seriously tricked-out ride. The Luther Burbank Middle School mascot mini-bike project was born out of teacher Joe Reed’s Exploring Technology class, where students study in a hands-on atmosphere of physics, robotics, electronics and forensics. Included in the coursework is disassembling and assembling a 5 1/2-horsepower engine.

A Burbank middle school is on a list released Thursday of schools that have not met federal proficiency targets on standardized tests. Luther Burbank Middle School in Burbank Unified and Roosevelt Middle School in Glendale Unified were among the roughly 2,500 schools statewide that are being monitored for not meeting either math or English student achievement standards two years in a row. If the campuses do not meet their benchmarks within...

Liam Taylor surveyed a large pile of conked-out computers, televisions and cell phones like a fisherman admiring his catch. As the founding president of Imagine Green Eco Club, he spent weeks imploring the community to drop off unused or spent appliances at the club’s inaugural e-waste collection and recycling event Saturday at Luther Burbank Middle School. The goal, he said, was to prevent toxic and hazardous materials from clogging landfills and polluting the environment.

Eighth-grader Spencer Malden’s only experience building things is with Legos. But three days into a lesson at Luther Burbank, he donned mechanic gloves and disconnected a sparkplug from an engine while explaining how its piston worked. “I’ve been trying to take it apart, and I’m getting better at it,” he said. “I don’t know [if I want to be a mechanic], but it’s better than math.” Spencer is in the Exploring Technology Lab elective at school, providing hands-on learning opportunities in 16 roughly two-week courses, ranging from robotics, forensic science, applied physics, audio broadcasting and microbiology.

Students danced, posed and strutted their way down a red carpet in front of Luther Burbank Middle School on Friday to celebrate their recent progress on pivotal statewide tests. A few students made several trips down the red carpet, and two students intentionally tripped on the celebrity matting as students, faculty, parents and administrators praised their achievements. The school’s results have increased by about 100 points the last five years, pushing Luther Burbank past an important threshold in the Academic Performance Index.