A thank you letter was read from Xenophon director, Judy Lazarus, for Lafayette Rotary’s donation to their charity that provides horse-riding therapy to disabled children (the donation was made in Leslie De Boer’s name in recognition of Leslie’s graphics help for the Concert at the Reservoir).   Another thank-you note was read from Bob Athayde for our club’s contribution to Stanley Middle School’s music program, as a result of our Concert at the Reservoir fundraiser.

John Sherry announced that the club’s trip to Golden Gate Fields is on December 5^th.  He also noted that the Orinda club has invited our club to join them on the Reno train trip (January 24-25, 2010) for a meal and socializing on the train.

There will be no lunch meeting on Thursday, 11/19.  Instead, we are joining the Lamorinda Sunrise Rotary Club at 7 a.m. on Friday, 11/20, at the Lafayette Veterans Memorial Building, for the Chamber of Commerce’s Community Thanksgiving Breakfast.  The guest speaker will be California State Controller, John Chiang.  The November board meeting for Lafayette Rotary will be on 11/19.

Mike Henn reported that he and Mike Heller and Chuck Vogel worked at polling places for the November 3^rd election, providing extra revenue for Lafayette Rotary.

Tom Henry announced that the speaker for this year’s Reno train trip will be Actress Rita Moreno. She is only one of eight people alive today that have achieved entertainment's grand slam, earning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony.

Happy dollars included:  Larry Blodgett for getting to see Chris Gardner, the character played by Will Smith in the movie The Pursuit of Happyness.  Bill Guthreau for the Concord Rotary Club’s grant to the We Care Center.  Maurice Williams for his son passing the exam required to become a fire captain.

Speaker:  Dr. Fred Brill

Fred Brill became the Lafayette School District Superintendent in September 2008.  Dr. Brill was previously with the Lafayette School District for 12 years; three as the Assistant Principal at Stanley Middle School and 9 as Stanley's Principal.  In 2005, Dr. Brill went to work for the Oakland Unified School District.  During that time, Dr. Brill also finished his doctorate at UC Berkeley.

According to Dr. Brill, the Lafayette school district has had great employment stability (below the Superintendent level) and is in much better financial shape than most other California school districts.  The district does face major budget challenges, however.  There is a $1 million structural budget deficit (out of a $25 million budget).  Next year, it may be a $2 million shortfall.  Since the majority of costs relate to personnel, the impact may be larger class sizes, if the number of teachers must be reduced.  Especially in the lower grades, the student-teacher ratio is a big factor in the quality of education.

What’s going on that is exciting:

The school district is pushing critical thinking.  An emphasis has been placed on developing thinking skills, beyond just the learning of facts.

Responsed Intervention – identifying kids with special needs early and addressing those needs proactively, allowing a higher percentage to remain in the classroom.  It saves money compared to dealing with a larger number of special needs kids later and separately.

Character Education – The “Character Counts” program, which teaches basic values, called the six pillars of character: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship.

Greg Vaisnor and Bill Eames were this week’s raffle winners.