In a show of solidarity, an originally divided Board counted the votes and agreed to make it a 5-0 decision.

Newhall Land spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer pointed out that much of the land Gohlich is fighting for will remain the same, since 8,000 of the project’s 12,000 acres will be designated open space. That’s a lot of land that the public doesn’t have access to now, Lauffer said.

And about that: Any mountain biking Gohlich was doing on the property is illegal, since it’s private property. And Newhall Land does prosecute, she said.

“It’s a working ranch,” she said. “We don’t want anyone on there getting hurt.”

Far be it from me to doubt the motives of Awesometown’s creator, but come on. Newhall Ranch may be a working ranch, but it also happens to be some really beautiful country-side, and it’s in Newhall Land’s interest to keep it somewhat hidden and closed to the public until construction starts.

Which is what makes Gohlich’s covert project to document the landscape so powerful and cool. Check out his postcard shots (which by the way, were taken from North of Highway 126):

A few years ago, I embarked on a similar project, though I never crossed into the forbidden areas. I just drove up on some farm roads off Highway 126 to peek into Potrero Valley. You can see my photos on Flickr.com And if you want to explore without Newhall Land’s big bad lawyers coming after you, check out Bing.com’s Bird’s Eye photos of the rancho; it gives you some sense of the landscape and what the ultimate cost will be of our desire to live the suburban lifestyle.

Perhaps 100 years from now, when future SCV Bloggers look back in time to see what the Newhall Ranch area looked like prior to 27,000 new homes and 60,000 people, they’ll find Gohlich’s pictures.

Which makes Gohlich’s work important documentary history and Newhall Land’s veiled threat all the more silly and lame.

Yes, dear SCVTalk readers – while we were loading up on home equity, trading in Excursions for Hummers and squabbling about traffic on the Newhall Pass, little Merced bagged the UC system’s tenth campus.

A few months ago, SCVTalk drew out comparisons between SCV and Irvine, CA.  Chief among the differences, we argued, is Irvine’s enviable 3:1 jobs:housing ratio – driven mainly by the presence of UCI, a gift from the City and developers to the Regents five years before the town sprouted up.

Before you pack up for that spread in Turlock… of course, having a research institution in one’s own backyard isn’t an instant job creator.  The planted seed needs time to germinate. Universities continuously enrich a community with new, smart blood guided under the tutelage of seasoned research leaders.   Their innovations hasten entrepreneurialism, which flows benefit back to the school, and the virtuous cycle continues.  Jobs are the sweet nectar of the investment, which will take leadership, wrangling, back room deals, private money, cheap or free dirt, and a hell of a lot of patience.

But oh, the result.

I’d argue that we’ve gotten great mileage out of City’s pro-business stance – perhaps as much as the initiative can give, Disney’s nascent presence notwithstanding.  But gains from here will for the most part be incremental.  To jump the 1:1 jobs:housing hurdle in this Valley, we need something beyond Cash for Cell phones.  This isn’t a novel concept for our valley, but it’s a curious omission from the draft General Plan guiding OVOV.

With our educated populous, an immediate pipeline of gifted students (backed up by some of the best primary, secondary and vocational education systems in the region), a notable base of leading edge companies (Advanced Bionics, Specialty Labs, Boston Scientific, Woodward HRT all come to mind), ideal geography (equidistant to UCSB and UCLA), SCV has a platform and environment that would make a fine campus for a research institution.

Sure, California’s university systems are a complete shambles.  That will get sorted out – this is a long term play for both of us.  And who said it has to be a branded UC?  We can be a research-focused extension of the UCLA campus, go totally private – Scripps-style, or even a hybrid of sorts.  There are startup costs, but what about diverting some of the taxpayer’s business boondoggle money for seed funds, perhaps matching local dollars?  The Regents also committed over $1B in capital improvements over the next 10 years.  We’d only need a slice of that to get something going.

Where can we put it?  That’s the easy part.  We have dirt. We have gobs of empty office space.  We can start small, perhaps in some of the University Center’s sweet digs. We can even call it UCDVH if necessary.  As I think about it, in true SCV fashion, the hardest part will be picking a mascot.

Thank God “Anteater” and “Banana Slug” are already taken.

West Creek Academy

Mrs. NickelDime attended one of the informational meetings on West Creek Academy tonight.  The meeting was held at Bridgeport Elementary; both the attendance and content validated the buzz surrounding this unique school.

Principal Cory Pak spoke to a standing room only crowd of 150-200 parents; he gave a 30 minute PowerPoint presentation entitled “West Creek Academy – Gateway to the World.”  The talk was followed by a solid hour of Q&A with Mr. Pak and SUSD Superintendent Dr. Judy Fish.

Mr. Pak, who is currently serving as Principal of Rosedell Elementary, gave a heartfelt presentation that revealed more details on the program than we’ve seen to date.

Early in his discussion Mr. Pak showed this video to provide insight on his vision for the West Creek Academy cirriculum:

Mr. Pak, a first generation immigrant and US Citizen, attended elementary school in his native Korea (more about this later).  He shared that this school has been a personal dream for him for the past 9 years.  His aim is to make WCA a “premier music academy.”

Here are the details on the cirriculum:

General

• Textbooks, cirriculum will meet the standards of SUSD
• Reading / Writing / Arithmetic will not be sacrificed for the innovative aspects – in fact, learning in these subjects will be enhanced
• No special needs students on campus despite 2 rooms that were built for that purpose
• No preschool offered initially; but before and afterschool will be offered
• Computer lab room will be converted to a music room; instead, they will have a “mobile computer lab”
• Mr. Pak is currently the only guaranteed staff member at WCA; SUSD is actively recruiting teachers within the district

Music

• Music will be a required subject, similar to math/reading/science etc., all grades
• All students will learn to read music, starting in kindergarten
• Grades K – 2 students/parents can choose between violin and the cello
• Grades 4 - 6 will have the option to continue with their instrument, or focus on voice or performing arts.  The students will also have a choice of a brass or percussion instrument in the upper grades in place of string.
• Parents have to provide instruments — rent or buy
• School orchestra for grades 4-6; auditions will be held
• Possible “Music Concours” – a voluntary music competition held annually

Language/International

• The world is getting smaller – it is important to teach our children about the awareness of other cultures and use technology to engage them
• Mr. Pak has reached out to his elementary school alma mater in Korea to partner with them as the first connection to WCA.  He expects other schools in other countries will be connected, as well.  Korea is only a starting point, not the end game.
• Mr. Pak gave an example of a class writing a play about an American holiday, send the costumes and script to their foreign counterparts, who would translate the play into their native language and stream the vid of the performance to WCA students.  WCA students would reciprocate with the foreign school play.
• Another example, integrating music/technology/international, having a concert simulcast with the sister international school – the sister school will join via video conference, and WCA with their concert via video conference
• Foreign language will be more conversational than formal – proficiency reserved for high school
• 5 minute oral language practice in the morning – with the principal, “over the loudspeaker”

Enrollment & Logistics

• Targeting 450-500 kids
• No pre-test involved, no fees
• Priority to West Creek and West Hills communities (approx 80 students)
• Also priority: Emblem and Bouquet Canyon — polling revealed only one third expressed interest in the academy, the rest will likely attend the next closest school
• All other students – including outside the district and the valley – are welcome to apply, provided they have a district transfer
• Once a student is enrolled, they are guaranteed in subsequent years
• As West Creek/Hills is built out, allotment for students outside the area will be reduced accordingly
• Bring your tents: signups start February 22 9am at the SUSD district office, though Bouquet/Emblem/Tesoro schools will have the forms on site for the convenience of those with priority status
• Signup period runs through 3/12
• All signups will be date and time stamped
• It was not clear if this would be lottery or first come/first served – it sounded like there was a desire to wait to gauge demand
• SUSD web site would be updated with a WCA-specific section, FAQs

I was particularly keen on my wife’s opinion given this information.  Mrs. NickelDime, who has a BS in Child and Adolescent Studies–and more importantly–a highly accurate BS detector, has been part skeptical, part excited thus far to have our little ones attend the school that would be a 5 minute walk from our abode.

Her take:

“This is fundamentally a different way to think about public school education.  Music and the arts are just as important as math, reading, writing — it will enhance the way the kids learn the basics.  I don’t think it will work for every student, but if parents that are excited about it and interested in this way of learning, their kids will succeed.  If you want a traditional approach, this is not the school for you.”

My opinion?  It’s bold, aggressive and different.  I fully expect the more ambitious, blue sky aspects of Mr. Pak’s dream will take many years to fully materialize.  West Creek Academy has the potential to be best elementary school in our valley, or one of the biggest educational debacles in SCV history.

Since we’re sending our little guys, we’re counting on the former.

Note: The next West Creek Academy informational session will be held Tuesday February 16 at 6 PM at Rosedell Elementary (map). On-site tours will be held March 3.  If you can’t wait until March, SCVTalk did its own on-site tour late last month.

We’re big fans of College of the Canyons here on SCVTalk and that’s why it’s worth mentioning that today begins the Spring 2010 semester.

Like every other high education system in California, College of the Canyons has had a rough go of it lately. There are widespread reports among students that many classes are impacted while others have just been canceled. The winter session was even worse, with scores of classes canceled due to a lack of funds.

Statewide, funding for California’s community colleges has been cut $520 million, or 8% in the current fiscal year, but COC somehow keeps chugging along, now enrolling over 20,000 students at two campuses.

Late last year the Dianne Van Hook University Center opened and it seems to be attracting some post-grad students, judging by its sprawling parking lot south of the main campus.

Speaking of parking, it’s really the only perpetual complaint anyone has about COC. Last week the college tweeted:

The spring semester begins MONDAY! Please arrive early. The first few weeks take extra time to find parking & get to class.

Allow me to retort in my standard, annoying bicycle-advocacy-nag sort of way. Did you know there are complete bike lanes to COC all the way from Wiley Canyon in Newhall? That’s right, you can bike up Tournament to Rockwell Canyon and enjoy a bike lane to yourself the entire way. From Valencia, you can likewise cycle up the wide paseo path on the north side of Valencia Blvd to COC.

There have even been improvements made to walking infrastructure around COC. A sidewealk now extends from the Valencia Blvd/I5 overpass all the way down to COC, meaning the kids in West Ridge can get there easily.

Yes, parking is truly terrible at COC. It’s probably the worst place to park in the SCV, considering how crowded it is and that most of the drivers are barely out of high school. But you can avoid all that nonsense, get fit, and save gas money at the same time by riding your bike there.

My bicycle advocacy quota has been filled for the month, I’ll shut up now. (But seriously it couldnt’ be simpler, I ride there all the time now, it’s wonderful)

West Creek Academy

Saugus USD will hold a series of three informational meetings, along with 2 on-site tours, to provide prospective parents with more information on the forthcoming West Creek Academy, a new $35M elementary school in the West Creek / West Hills communities of Valencia. 

Informational meetings will be held:

• Tuesday February 9 at 9 AM at Skyblue Mesa Elementary School
• Tuesday February 9 at 5 PM at Bridgeport Elementary School
• Tuesday February 16 at 6 PM at Rosedell Elementary School

On-site tours March 3, at 9 AM and 10 AM at West Creek Academy.

Maps of all SUSD schools are on the SUSD web site.

Interest in the school has escalated since SUSD Superintendent Dr. Judy Fish provided more insight into the proposed cirriculum, which would center on music as a platform for learning.  The school may also integrate international and cultural awareness; there have been discussions about a connection with Korea, both in culture and language.  There is also a possibility the school will be open to students outside SCV.  In more ways than one, this is a one-of-a-kind treasure right in our valley.

As a West Hills parent whose mello-roos are paying for the school, I’m bullish on West Creek Academy.  SUSD has open enrollment at most of its campuses, which gives us a local choice of Tesoro or West Creek.  I’ll also admit I don’t exactly like the idea of writing a check for something that other parents enjoy (hell, we can move to an Alta Vista nabe and just sent our kids to WCA).  In the end, though, having my little ones sit next to (but not cheat off of) the best and brightest from our valley and beyond leads to better educational and life experiences.  Care to split my tax bill, fellow West Creek Academy parents?

Now-a-days, SCV students and their parents face a plethora of private school choices in town. There’s Legacy Christian Academy (K-12), Trinity Classical Academy (K-?), Monticello Preparatory School (K-8), and, perhaps, soon Albert Einstein School, the Hebrew-language-but-not-quite-Jewish K-12 charter school under discussion in the Hart District.

There’s so many private schools in the SCV that public schools are feeling the pressure. The Saugus District,  for instance, is starting up an elementary school-cum-arts academy to attract students who might otherwise be sent to a private school.

I’m all for marketplace freedom, but I don’t understand what’s driving this. The schools mentioned above didn’t exist in Santa Clarita just 5-7 years ago. Our public schools are still some of the best in the state and they’re free. So what is it that’s driving the demand for private, often religious, schools? Obviously these schools wouldn’t be set up if it wasn’t profitable for the operators.

Is it a disdain for “government-run schools?” A desire for more religious education? Or, dare I say it, a 21st century version of white flight? Or is it related to a more macro trend in which parents seek specialized rather than general education early on?

William S. Hart Union High School District is in the early stages of qualifying contractors for the long-anticipated high school in Castaic.  The District is in the Request for Qualification process, apparently to establish relationships with qualified architects and engineers for a number of high profile projects in the District, as articulated in a recently posted Hart RFQ:

Construction of a comprehensive high school that includes classrooms, administrative and counseling office, library, gymnasium and locker rooms, performing arts auditorium, athletic facilities, football stadium, and food services for a large student body of 2,600 students. The school will also include a central power plant, sustainable materials and mechanical systems, and green school applications.

These projects will include both modernization of existing facilities as well as construction of new classroom buildings, library, and other core facilities. Improvements to hardscape and landscape as well as irrigation systems will be included. Particular attention must be given to phasing these projects to accommodate the instructional program and minimize impact.

Performing arts auditoriums that will seat at least 400 people are planned for each of two existing high schools. Each auditorium will seat a minimum of 400 people and include, stage rigging for theater arts, sound and lighting for a wide variety of performing arts, a set construction shop, dressing rooms, foyer, ticket booth, and restrooms. These facilities will include professional quality sound and lighting systems and will be designed to accommodate a wide variety of school and community events.

Main entrance at West Creek Academy

Summary of the high points from SCV Moms Blog live podcast with SUSD Superintendent Judy Fish (please correct/add in comments as this is from memory)

• Reiterated school closings for Emblem and Bouquet, clarified Emblem students will attend Highlands (with a few nabes feeding Foster)
• Was noncommittal on teacher pink slips
• Discussed Bridgeport being impacted with over 900 students, but that there is a “general over capacity in the district”.  Bridgeport, along with a handful of others, will not have ‘open enrollment’ but the balance of SUSD will be open enrollment
• New school will be named “West Creek Academy” not “West Creek Music Academy” with an initial focus on music but will extend to other performing arts (SCVTalk’s inside look at West Creek)
• Supe Fish defended the focus on music vehemently, citing UCI research on the subject linking music proficiency to math, language, and other key subjects (they do some cutting edge stuff with music @ UCI, like this)
• West Creek will have a significant focus on international / cultural awareness, including foreign languages — TBD on which
• Will “absolutely not” drain fine arts resources away from other SUSD schools
• Enrollment priority given to West Hills / West Creek kids, but open to SUSD — possibly open to residents outside SCV (wow)

More detail at tonight’s SUSD Board Mtg, public session starts @ 8pm.  AGENDA

Great job, SCV Moms, for arranging this discussion with Superintendent Fish and channeling the many questions from the community during this critical time!

Main entrance at West Creek Music Academy

Part three of a Seven-Part SCVTalk Series, chronicling Valencia’s Final Residential Developments.

After a dramatic, almost comical series of starts and stops, the school formerly known as West Creek Elementary is set to open this fall as West Creek Academy.

It is SCV’s most ambitious, expensive elementary school yet.  The $35 million campus, developed by Newhall Land / Lennar, is likely to be the last new public school in Valencia for the foreseeable future.  Its branding as a Music Academy marks a significant change in Saugus Union School District’s strategy for attracting and keeping the district’s best and brightest in the public system.  SCVTalk’s Timothy Myers discussed the impact of home schools and private schools on demographics; by opening the school to the entire district, SUSD also resolves the question of attendance for soon-to-be-shuttered Bouquet Canyon Elementary and the temporary closing of Emblem.

Tammy Marashlian of The Signal has more in today’s edition:

The West Creek Music Academy would be unlike any other school in the Saugus Union School District.

“I believe public education is at a crossroads,” Superintendent Judy Fish said. “West Creek is the beginning of an opportunity to refocus ourselves and respond to the challenges we’re facing.”

Parents criticized the district for closing two schools and shuffling students while opening West Creek.

The district hopes to open the school with about 500 students next year. More details about the school’s curriculum will be made public during a Feb. 2 board meeting.

I toured the campus on a recent Sunday morning; here’s an inside look at the campus Superintendent Fish called “the most beautiful school in the valley.”

Facing north toward the quad area.

The use of multi-story structures allows for plenty of play areas at West Creek.

Inside one of the rooms - note the interior improvements completed.

Elevator allows for disabled access to the second floor of the campus.

Two park-scale jungle gyms await the little ones at West Creek.

Next, an in-depth look at storied West Creek residential community, the largest in West Creek / West Hills.