Math

BURBANK — The Board of Education discussed its progress Thursday night with meeting a 2010 statewide mandate to enroll all eighth-graders in Algebra I. News of the requirement reached the district in July, and since then staff members and teachers have been working to alter the curriculum to transition more eighth-graders into Algebra I. In the past, high school students typically finished algebra by the end of 10th grade by taking one...

The Burbank Unified School District saw significant gains in standardized test scores when results were released Friday. The state's Standards Testing and Reporting (STAR) program evaluates student comprehension of English, math, science and history through multiple-choice tests administered during the school year. Student scores are ranked as “advanced,” “proficient,” “basic,” “below basic” or “far below basic.” At a Friday morning press conference in Pasadena, state Supt.

Mary Wall, a trained civil engineer and mother of three, knows too well the pain of teaching a range of students the oft-vexing subject of mathematics. Her eldest, 14, is highly gifted. Her middle child, 13, must work hard to excel. And her 11-year-old, who has Down’s syndrome, struggles with simple concepts and memorization. “The doctor explained, ‘You have to expect that she’ll never do long division,’” Wall said. “We tried memorizing songs, poems.

Students' good head for figures Burbank students proved they know their multiplication tables and much more at the Los Angeles County Math Field Day June 4 at Torrance High School. The teams of fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh-graders were tested in five areas, including math reasoning, algebra and statistics and data analysis. The school district honored the following students at Thursday's school board meeting with math certificates for their exceptional performanceL: Laina Do and Dana Elliott (Jefferson Elementary)

Molly Shore Test scores throughout the Burbank Unified School District are on the rise, but students still have room for improvement, according to California Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) results released Friday by the state Department of Education. The range of performance levels assigned districts throughout the state ranged from "far below basic" to "advanced." Districtwide, Burbank students achieved basic performance levels in English Language Arts, but second-, third- and fourth-graders achieved proficient levels in math.

Molly Shore Seeking to increase Stanford 9 test scores, Burbank educators got new math textbooks aligned to test standards last year, and started utilizing math specialists in middle and secondary schools. Their efforts paid off -- the 2002 tests show hefty percentage increases in math. For example, Emerson Elementary School second graders went from a 60th percentile rank in 2001 to a 74th percentile rank this year. Emerson fourth graders jumped 19 points, from the 58th to the 77th percentile.

High school faculty to take on L.A. Breakers John Burroughs High School Cheer Squad hosts an evening of competition as the high school faculty takes on the Los Angeles Breakers, professional dwarf basketball players. The activity is a fundraiser for the cheerleading squad and starts at 7 p.m. March 18 Friday in the gym, 1920 W. Clark Ave. Pizza, popcorn and refreshments will be for sale. Tickets are $6. For more information, call (818) 558-4777.

Debi S. Malouf , the daughter of Chuck and Nickie Malouf of Burbank, and Derek A. Dodds , the son of Isabel Dodds and the late Derek Dodds of Citrus Heights, Calif., were married at St. Nicholas Orthodox Christian Cathedral in Los Angeles. A formal reception was held following the ceremony at the Hilton Glendale hotel. The bride graduated from Burbank High School in 1989. She received her bachelor's degree in math from Cal State Northridge in 1993, her teacher's credential in 1994, and her master's degree in math education also from CSUN in 1997.

Molly Shore Burbank public schools have exceeded federal standards for reading, writing and math, according to new academic performance indicators released this week. Nearly 39% of Burbank Unified students tested last year were proficient in English-language arts, and nearly 42% were proficient in math, according to the Adequate Yearly Progress Report, a component of the No Child Left Behind Act. The baseline numbers for students statewide were 12% for reading and writing and 12.8% for math.

The Burbank Unified School District saw significant gains in standardized test scores when results were released Friday. The state's Standards Testing and Reporting (STAR) program evaluates student comprehension of English, math, science and history through multiple-choice tests administered during the school year. Student scores are ranked as “advanced,” “proficient,” “basic,” “below basic” or “far below basic.” At a Friday morning press conference in Pasadena, state Supt.

Three of Burbank's five math teams received medals after competing in the Mathematics Field Day on June 2 at Wilson Middle School in Glendale. They will be honored during the Burbank Unified School District board meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at Burbank City Hall. The annual math competition is coordinated by the Los Angeles County Office of Education. The teams competing are made up of top math students from school districts throughout the county. Nineteen school districts sent a total of 75 teams from grades four through eight to the competition.

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.

UNIVERSAL CITY — Teachers from Burbank and Glendale celebrated their teacher of the year awards Monday at the Universal Hilton. Melissa Ann Pamperin, a fifth-grade teacher at Miller Elementary School in Burbank, and Roxanne O’Rourke, a kindergarten teacher at Mann Elementary School in Glendale, were named teachers of the year for the respective districts. Teachers are nominated by school, and go through district vetting before a county, state and national competition.

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.

Mary Wall, a trained civil engineer and mother of three, knows too well the pain of teaching a range of students the oft-vexing subject of mathematics. Her eldest, 14, is highly gifted. Her middle child, 13, must work hard to excel. And her 11-year-old, who has Down’s syndrome, struggles with simple concepts and memorization. “The doctor explained, ‘You have to expect that she’ll never do long division,’” Wall said. “We tried memorizing songs, poems.

CITY HALL — Burbank Unified School District administrators Thursday proposed giving some middle school students two math classes to help improve performance. The suggestion came during a report presented to the Board of Education showing strong midyear eighth-grade algebra scores during the first year of an effort to enroll all students in algebra classes before they reach high school. All eighth-graders this year are enrolled in algebra courses, at the least, following a two-year effort to transition sixth- and seventh-grade curricula to incorporate more algebraic principles in advance of formal algebra courses, said Jan Britz, assistant superintendent for instructional services.

Here?s a math conundrum that only a grammar person can explain: If one person has one grammar question, how many grammar questions do 100 people have? Mathematically speaking, it would make sense to guess 100. Statistically speaking, it would make sense to guess somewhere between one and 100. But only in the grammar world does one times 100 equal zero. Allow me to explain. On Nov. 6 I had the honor of serving as a guest speaker at the Sacramento conference of the California Assn.

BURBANK — The Board of Education discussed its progress Thursday night with meeting a 2010 statewide mandate to enroll all eighth-graders in Algebra I. News of the requirement reached the district in July, and since then staff members and teachers have been working to alter the curriculum to transition more eighth-graders into Algebra I. In the past, high school students typically finished algebra by the end of 10th grade by taking one...