Latest News and Comment from Education

Monday, November 2, 2009

Catch Emily Alpert @ voiceofsandiego.org. for the Best in Ed News




Bright and Early


Stop raiding the leftover Halloween candy for a minute and catch up on all the education news you missed while you were trick-or-treating:


The Union-Tribune writes about the dreamed-of high school in Alpine.

Schools could begin inoculating children against swine flu as early as next week, KPBS reports.
San Diego News Network fields more questions from parents about how their kids can meet the standards to apply for the University of California and California State University systems.

A Julian parent created a "green party kit" to replace disposable plates and cups used for classroom parties and got profiled in National Geographic for her work, the North County Times reports.

Also in the North County Times: Escondido high schools are preparing for more construction.
A San Jose-area school district has ousted their superintendent after questions cropped up about his spending, the Mercury News reports. The problem is that it cost them another $120,000 to do it -- plus his health benefits.

Parcel taxes and school construction bonds will be popping up on ballots for voters to approve or deny across Southern California as school districts try to gather more funds, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Merc zeroes in on two such school districts with parcel taxes going before voters in their area.

The LAT also profiles a Pasadena high school that is trying to turn itself around.
The San Francisco Chronicle tells the appalling story of the gang rape of a teenage girl in Richmond and her classmates who did it. I'd like to think that the headline -- which says that the attack is seen as "nearly inevitable" -- isn't true.

The Educated Guess, a blog on school policy, writes about a hearing today on another bill aimed at helping California snap up a second batch of school stimulus funds. This one would give researchers access to state data systems.

States and school districts are beginning to worry about what happens when the stimulus money runs dry, Education Week reports. It's called the funding cliff. San Diego Unified, for instance, has used some stimulus money to pay salaries for teachers in a program to reduce class sizes. But when the federal money disappears, it must figure out how to cover those costs.

The Washington Post writes that tumult over education reform in the nation's capitol is nothing new.

The Chicago Tribune reports that schools there found an interesting way to get around No Child Left Behind requirements: Don't count struggling students as juniors so their scores don't count against them under the federal law.

Crib some notes on all things educational in San Diego, from the latest and greatest classroom innovations to scuffles on the school board, from school lunches to the teachers union.Reporter Emily Alpert hits the books, dials the decision makers and navigates the bureaucracy so you don't have to, keeping you posted throughout each day on the education beat.
Contact her at

Monday, November 2, 2009 6:45 AM PST