Welcome to Jefferson School!

If you are new to Jefferson and would like to learn more about our school—its climate and culture, click here.

Upcoming Events

A great way to get to know the community and get your child more involved with school is to attend school events.

Don't miss these upcoming events:

• May 10 - Mayfair
• May 10 - Silent Auction

To find out what's coming up and to find the date, time, and location of an event, check out the PTA Events Page and the Calendar.

Bid on the Zenn!

Place your bid on May 10th between 11:00 am - 2:00 pm at the JEFFERSON SCHOOL MAYFAIR, 1400 Ada Street in Berkeley.

To find out how to test drive this car at Green Motors, click here.

Fight the Proposed Budget Cuts

To fight the governor's proposed 4.6 billion dollar cut to education, here are some suggestions from Jefferson parents and the Berkeley Federation of Teachers.

1. Join the Jefferson contingent in Sacramento on Thursday, April 24!
   A statewide PTA mobilization will take place in Sacramento on Thurs. April 24 to protest budget cuts. Buses are being reserved, and it would be great to have a strong showing from Jefferson. The time frame is approximately 10 AM - 2 PM. We need a headcount from each school to know how many buses to reserve, so please RSVP ASAP if you want to ride up with other Jefferson parents & guardians. A donation per rider may be requested to cover the cost of the bus rentals.
   
   Please RSVP by April 4. Contact
   Suzanne Teran ( or 527-9805) or
   Katie Whitty ( or 548-8097)
2. Join other Jefferson parents to fight the budget cuts.
   We are organizing a group of Jefferson parents & guardians to coordinate outreach and efforts related to this at our school. If you'd like to participate, please contact us! It won't be too much work, and it's really critical at this time. Also keep checking the PTA board at school where we'll post more information.
   Contact
   Suzanne Teran ( or 527-9805) or
   Katie Whitty ( or 548-8097)
3. Go to the BFT website at berkeleyfederationofteachers.org and use the sample letters and other resources to write your legislators and the Governor.
4. Write to the legislators listed below. A hand written letter is best, an email is considered least "weighty". For every letter a legislator receives, they assume that there are 100 more people out there who are concerned but not writing letters.
   Not sure what to write? See suggesions and sample letters below. IMPORTANT: Since the Republican legislators have signed a "no new tax" pledge, it is very important that both Democratic and Republican legislators hear from large numbers of people who support a tax increase.
5. If you know anyone who lives in Southern California, contact them and ask them to write letters. The So Cal legislators especially need to hear from their constituents. And if you know any Republicans who are against the proposed budget cuts, it is especially important that they write to their legislators and identify themselves as Republicans.
6. Call the legislators.
7. Send faxes!

Let's to pull together and fight these cuts.

Suggestions for Writing Letters

Written in your own words, a personal, thoughtful and well-written letter to your elected officials is powerful and can make a difference. In your letter, educate your elected officials on the impact the governor's budget proposal will have on you and your students by sharing specific local concerns and examples. Alert them to the types of programs that would be cut if education funding is taken away.

Letters should be no longer than one page.

Sample Letter

(Date)

The Honorable (Full Name of Legislator)

California State Assembly or California State Senate

State Capitol, (Room #)

Sacramento, CA. 95814

Dear Senator (Last Name) or Assembly Member (Last Name):

As a parent of a child in (grade level) I know that Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed funding cuts would severely damage the quality of public education. Our students need and deserve the best education possible so that they can be active participants in our democracy. We call upon you to work to increase state revenues so that these devastating cuts are not needed.

The Governor's proposed $4.8 billion budget cut will severely damage the quality of education in our state and decimate the voter-approved minimum-funding guarantee for schools. The proposed cuts are the equivalent of laying off more than 107,000 teachers and reducing per- pupil spending by more than $800 per child. California is already 46th in the nation in K-12 per-pupil spending. Clearly, we do not have a spending problem, but rather a revenue problem.

In Berkeley the proposed cuts could lead to the loss of all of our Professional Development coaching positions, and 11 of our 19 counselors, including the two College Advisors at our high school. Over 50 teachers will likely receive layoff notices. The progress we have been making in math and reading will likely disappear.

As a parent, I understand the challenges inherent in balancing a budget, but I strongly oppose Governor Schwarzenegger's 2008-09 budget proposal and plans to eviscerate funding for students and schools. Our kids and our schools did not create this budget problem, and their education and future progress shouldn't be undermined because of it. My child, my student, deserves better than this. We urge you to consider progressive tax policies in order to solve the state's structural budget problem. Close loopholes, not schools!

Sincerely,

(Your Name)

(Your School)

(Your City

Contact Information for Elected Officials

Note: Most of the elected officials listed are strong supporters of public education, but we need to communicate our need for support to all of them, so that they can say they are hearing from their constituents.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger

State Capitol Building

Sacramento, CA 95814

Phone: 916-445-2841

Fax: 916-558-3160 ( new number )

http://gov.ca.gov/interact

The Honorable Barbara Lee

The United States House of Representatives

1301 Clay Street, Suite 1000 North

Oakland, CA 94612

510.763.0370

510.763.6538 (f)

Enter: https://forms.house.gov/wyr/welcome.shtml into your browser and complete the form.

The Honorable Don Perata

Senate President pro Tempore

California State Senate

1515 Clay Street, Suite 2202

Oakland, CA 94612

510.286.1333

510.286.3885 (f)

Senator.Perata@sen.ca.gov

The Honorable Loni Hancock

California State Assembly

712 El Cerrito Plaza

El Cerrito, CA 94530

510.559.1406

510.559.1478 (f)

Assemblymember.Hancock@assembly.ca.gov

The Honorable Sandre Swanson

California State Assembly

1515 Clay Street, Ste. 2204

Oakland, CA 94612

510.286.1670

510.286.1888 (f)

Assemblymember.Swanson@assembly.ca.gov

Mayfair Needs You!

It's an Ohana Luau for this year's Mayfair! Work is already underway to bring the community many fun prizes, new carnival games, tasty food, and great entertainment. As you know, Mayfair is a big event and cannot be put together without the support of the entire community. We need you!

Mayfair Support

Get in on the ground floor of Jefferson's biggest community event. We are short-staffed for this year's Mayfair.

If you would like to support Mayfair or if you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Kira Reoutt at .

Mayfair Carnival Prize Drive

In an effort to reduce costs, and maybe even to reduce the carbon footprint of Mayfair, we are collecting trinkets and party favor items as prizes for the "every one wins" games.

What are we looking for?

Only small, typical party favor items that are in mint condition, e.g. little containers of bubbles that have never been open, decorative pens and pencils that have not been used, super balls, little yo-yos, bracelets, rings, little animal figurines, stickers, tatoos, you name it. As long as it is not used, broken, or potentially dangerous. Basically, if you would not want your child to be given the item, please don't donate it.

Where to Donate

In the main office is a box labeled "Mayfair Carnival Prize Drive." Please put your donations in the bucket. And you're done—we'll handle the rest.

The PTA Wants You!

The activities of the PTA are too numerous to list. A partial list of what the PTA does for Jefferson school includes:

• puts on community events every month
• spnonsors after-school classes
• offers scholarships for after-school classes
• raises funds for classroom supplies and field trips
• helps organize volunteers and room partners

The PTA could not do all the things we take for granted without the parents and guardians. The PTA wants you to join.

Membership in the PTA costs $5.00 this year. However, no family should hesitate to join for financial reasons. Contribute what you can.

To join:

1. Download the membership form in English or
   download the membership form in Spanish.
2. Turn it in to the green box in the main office or your child's teacher.

Questions? Contact the membership coordinators.