Sign the petition!

Dear DRA Members,

We hope you have a really great job on Tuesday, March 16, 2010; however, if you don't, we would very much appreciate your presence at the West Valley College Academic Senate meeting at which the Court Reporting Department will present its case for continuance. The presentation will take place in Rm. 120 of the new Fox Center located on the Fruitvale Avenue side of campus. The meeting will begin at 2:10 p.m. with presentations from the college administration and the Court Reporting Department. Comments from the public will begin at approximately 3:00. Each side will have approximately one-half hour for comments from the public, up to three minutes each. No need to RSVP. We're working on free parking and I will update as soon as I get confirmation.

The outstanding petition signed by so many DRA members will provide extremely significant evidence in our favor. On behalf of our students and staff, I thank you for your strong support.

Sincerely,

Linda Lawson
Court Reporting and Related Technologies Department
West Valley College
14000 Fruitvale Avenue
Saratoga, CA 95070
408-741-2439
408-499-6862

Free parking will be available for our presentation on March 16: Parking Lot 4 located at the front of the college.

Sign the petition!

PLEASE HELP SAVE THE WEST VALLEY COLLEGE [WVC] COURT REPORTING DEPARTMENT IN SARATOGA, CALIFORNIA!

Letters/email needed to help keep this wonderful program from getting shut down! (Everything you need to send your letter/email is below)

DRA MEMBERS -

It has come to DRA's attention that in December of 2009, a recommendation was made to the WVC Academic Senate that several programs be discontinued, including the court reporting program.

One hundred percent of WVC students sitting for the California Certified Shorthand Reporters examination in the last five years have passed the rigorous Department of Consumer Affairs exam and went on to become successful members of our court reporting team.

Please support WVC by sending your letter/email out immediately.

Two court reporters have made it easy for you. Below is the contact information you will need and two sample letters; one from Carol Karen of San Francisco Superior Court, CSR 8189, RDR, CRR, and the other from Patricia Dowling of San Francisco Superior Court, CSR 5388.

Please act today! The court reporting industry is a vital and vibrant part of our California judiciary. We need schools like WVC to teach promising men and women the necessary skills to keep California court reporting at its best!

CONTACT INFORMATION

Please send email or letter correspondence to:

Mr. Jim Henderson
Business Division Chair
West Valley College
14000 Fruitvale Avenue
Saratoga, CA 95070
jim.henderson@wvm.edu
cc: linda.lawson@wvm.edu

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Sample Letter One

From: Carol Karen
Sent: Thursday, January 21, 2010 10:30 AM
To: 'jim.henderson@wvm.edu'; 'linda.lawson@wvm.edu'
Subject: West Valley College Court Reporting Program

To West Valley College Academic Senate:


It has come to my attention West Valley college is considering closing its court reporting program. As a reporter for over ___ years, I have been able to witness firsthand the skill and professionalism of graduates from your school. Your institution is in a unique position to provide this quality education. The loss of the program would be realized not only by the potential court reporters who would study at your school, but also the Bay Area legal community and the public utilizing the court services, the hearing disabled, and television networks, churches and schools/universities that offer captioning.

It’s undoubtedly a goal of your school to educate people for thriving occupations that will enhance the quality of life in the Bay Area. With that in mind, I would like to bring to your attention a sampling of articles that address the recession-proof nature of the court reporting field:

www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/special_report/Court_reporter_recession_proof_job

www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1858773,00.html

www.prlog.org/10176783-local-portland-school-offers-recession-proof-career-training.html

At a time when people are losing their jobs in record numbers, I would encourage you to continue to educate students for meaningful employment opportunities that will be available for them when they graduate. If I can assist in any way, please feel free to contact me.

Thank you,

NAME, CSR No. 0000, AAA, BBB

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Sample Letter Two

To whom it may concern:

I have been a certified shorthand reporter (CSR) in the Bay Area for ___years. There is a critical need for court reporting services in the Bay Area and in Northern California, and that need has not changed and will not change in the foreseeable future.

The demand for vocational careers is on the rise. The Court Reporting profession offers a stable, well-paying career. Court reporting has been very good to me. I have been able to buy a home and I am well-respected in the legal community. My income is much more than many of my friends with twice the years of education. I am forever grateful to (name the school you attended) where I was able to lay this wonderful foundation for my life.

The West Valley College Court Reporting Program is well-known in the court reporting community as a dedicated and well-run program for court reporting students. The loss of this program would be devastating for the Bay Area legal community and all of the other arenas where court reporters are utilized. Please reconsider this very drastic measure.

Thank you for your consideration.

NAME, CSR No. 00000