Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, January 14, 2010

SAC CHARTERGATE: Judge Blocks Strong Mayor Initiative from June Ballot


SAC CHARTERGATE: Judge Blocks Strong Mayor Initiative from June Ballot



Judge Blocks Strong Mayor Initiative from June Ballot

In a preliminary ruling issued today, the court declared that the initiative process cannot be used to revise the Sacramento City Charter, embracing a key argument brought by former Johnson backer Bill Camp. 
The Sacramento Bee has the story. Strong mayor backers will work to seek a reversal at a hearing tomorrow afternoon.

The 
Sacramento Press reports Johnson's reaction:

“I think it was a temporary setback,

Mayor Kevin Johnson Statement regarding tentative ruling on strong mayor initiative

Mayor Kevin Johnson  Statement regarding tentative ruling on strong mayor initiative



Good Evening-

As you may know, a judge issued a tentative ruling this afternoon blocking the strong mayor initiative from appearing on the June ballot. 

Click here to read the Sacramento Bee article on Judge McMaster’s ruling
.

Sacramentans for Accountable Government legal counsel, Tom Hiltachk, released the following statement:

“We are disappointed with the court’s tentative ruling but we are confident that this is only a temporary setback and that the strong mayor initiative will still be on the June ballot. Our first step will be to appear in court tomorrow and try to convince the judge to reverse this tentative ruling.”

Click here to read Tom Hiltachk’s statement in its entirety.

The next step is a hearing tomorrow afternoon. Please check the Sacramentans for Accountable Government website for updates.

Sacramento City schools facing "devastating" cuts | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News

Sacramento City schools facing "devastating" cuts | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News



SACRAMENTO, CA - The Sacramento City Unified School District is looking at huge budget cuts, described by its new superintendent  as "devastating."
Supt. Jonathan Raymond said after studying Gov. Schwarzenegger's budget proposal, the district's target for cuts went from $18.5 million to what could be $28-$30 million.
"Those are devastating figures on top of $144 million which we've cut over the last six to seven years," said Raymond "All bets are off. Everything is on the table."
Raymond said SCUSD is seeking ideas from the community. A community forum was held this week, and next Tuesday, Jan. 19, the district will launch an online survey to get ideas from members of the community. Raymond is also talking with teacher and staff unions as he works to come up with a balanced budget plan.

Collaboration leads to new direction for SCUSD charter school petitioners


Sacramento City Unified School District
Collaboration leads to new direction for SCUSD charter school petitioners
Yav Pem Suab Academy sets asides petition to work with district



Sacramento City Unified School Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond today announced that organizers for the Yav Pem Suab Academy agreed on Tuesday to set aside their petition to start an independent charter school in the district.
At a special board of education meeting on Tuesday night, petitioners said they would work with the district to create a school that remains part of the district as a “dependent” charter school, a charter that would remain under district governance, but would be allowed greater flexibility to use a longer school day or other departures from traditional school practice.
Independent charters are schools that also enjoy variances from traditional school practices but are not governed by school district boards of education.
Raymond praised the collaborative effort and the opportunity the petitioners, mostly from the Hmong community, are offering the district. “We haven’t served the needs of all our kids, especially our Hmong, Latino and African American students,” Raymond said. He noted while many details remain to be worked out with the district and Sacramento City Teachers
Association, the new opportunity will allow the district and petitioners to create a “win-win.” Raymond added, “This is an exciting opportunity for us to be bold and move in a direction that can set the model for closing the achievement gap for all students. This decision will let the district better serve the needs of students with an innovative program and allows us to retain students who might wish to attend such a charter program.”
He added, “Hope is not a strategy. We will need to all work together to make this dream a reality for our community.”



Distinguished School Nominees - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education)

Distinguished School Nominees - Year 2010 (CA Dept of Education):
"O'Connell Nominates Two California NCLB Title I Schools for National Honor"


SACRAMENTO — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced the nomination of two California public schools for the 2009-10 National No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Title I Distinguished Schools Recognition Award.

The California schools are the American Indian Public Charter School in the Oakland Unified School District, Alameda County; and Camino Elementary School in the Camino Union Elementary School District, El Dorado County.

"I am proud of both of these schools for beating the odds through a genuine respect for education and a true belief in their students," O’Connell said. "The American Indian Public Charter School is a remarkable place that holds clearly expressed high expectations for all students. Camino Elementary School maintains a tradition of rigorous instruction and high achievement."

Each state may nominate two schools, one in each of two categories: (1.) for having the greatest percentage of students at or above the proficient level for Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in English-language arts and mathematics, and, (2.) for making the most progress in closing the achievement gap among numerically significant subgroups. These subgroups consist of students who are poor, minorities, disabled, or have limited-English proficiency.

The American Indian Public Charter was nominated as the California Title I school with the greatest percentage of students at or above the proficient level. Camino Elementary was nominated as the California Title I school with the most success in closing the achievement gap between its student groups.

The two California schools will be recognized January 21–24, 2010 in Washington, D.C. at the National Association of State Title I Directors annual conference. National Association of State Title I Directors will honor the 57 Title I schools that have been nominated by 36 states. The award has been given since 1996.

The American Indian Public Charter School is a locally funded charter middle school serving students in grades six through eight. Nearly 98 percent of its students come from a minority background and more than 95 of its students live in poverty. Yet the school has outstanding student achievement. For five consecutive years, the school has been named as a Title I Academic Achievement Award School. For more information about the American Indian Public Charter, please visit American Indian Model Schools (Outside Source).

Camino Elementary serves kindergarten through grade eight students in a one-school district in rural El Dorado County. About 43 percent of its students live in poverty. Camino Elementary School provides a family-centered environment dedicated to academic success for its diverse student body. Camino Elementary has been recognized as a 2002 California Distinguished School, and is the winner of the 2002 Early Intervention for School Success Award for Innovation. For more information about Camino Elementary, please visit Camino Union School District (Outside Source).
Both schools were nominated based on their 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic achievement data. California has about 6,000 Title I schools.

Title I is the largest federal-aid program in K-12 education with more than $14 billion awarded annually through formula and discretionary grants. Title I funds are used to improve the education of all students in high-poverty Title I schools. Since 1965, the Title I program has served more than 150 million children in need of extra academic support in reading, writing, and math.

The Title I program, a part of the federal NCLB law, is designed to give academically at-risk children equity and access to a high-quality education in order to reach proficiency on state content standards as measured by state academic assessments.

The Title I Distinguished School Program is sponsored by the National Association of State Title I Directors, and is designed to recognize outstanding Title I schools that are considered to be national models of excellence.

Mulgrew calls for panel meeting to be on school closings only | GothamSchools


Mulgrew calls for panel meeting to be on school closings only | GothamSchools:

"Teachers union chief Michael Mulgrew does not want to spend a whole night at a meeting in Brooklyn.


Mulgrew is asking the city to clear a long list of scheduled discussions at the upcoming citywide school board meeting at Brooklyn Tech in order to focus on his priority: protests against school closures.

Right now the agenda includes, on top of the proposed closures, a long list that ranges from approval of 37 contracts to new rules about how schools involve parents and teachers in setting plans and budgets. Some of those changes are themselves contentious and could prompt lengthy discussion."

Sacramento Press / Sacramento Urban Search & Rescue Team Deployed to Haiti


Sacramento Press / Sacramento Urban Search & Rescue Team Deployed to Haiti



The Regions Urban Search and Rescue Team, California Task Force 7, was activated late last night and they are now on their way to help out with the rescue efforts in Haiti. Firefighters from Fire Agencies in the Sacramento region and some civilians make up the 72 person team. These individuals are highly trained in search and rescue, specifically in building collapses. The team has rescue dogs, Doctors, Nurses, Rescue Specialists and many other highly trained individuals. This team, like every other USAR Team across the nation are able to be fully self sufficient for a minimum of 3 days.
They left their storage facility at McClellan Air Park very early this morning and headed off to Travis AFB to await their flight to Haiti. It is not known at this time how long their deployment will be. They train for these missions constantly and always look forward to being called so that they can serve what ever community needs their help.
This activation was a little bit different than most. Most USAR activations are initiated by FEMA, but this is an International disaster and the orders come from the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance. There are many USAR Teams across the Nation, but only two teams are designated as International Teams, They are Fairfax County, Virginia and Los Angeles County. All other teams can be deployed to respond to international incidents, but the orders have to come from O.F.D.A. Sacramento’s team received these orders along with 5 other USAR Teams.

Kids' Worksheets and Printables | Education.com


Kids' Worksheets and Printables | Education.com:

"Kids' Worksheets and Printables

Make learning fun with these colorful worksheets for kids! Browse by grade or topic to find the perfect printable worksheet to support learning at home."

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Odd Word Out: Rhyming Words With "Bug"

Does your child need help with his rhyming skills? In this worksheet your child will need to look at the different objects pictured and decide which one does not rhyme with the others.
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Color Me! Addition with Carrying 6

Your child will beg you to let her practice her addition facts once she gets a peek at this adorable snail coloring page and math worksheet.
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Dog Day! Identifying Subject in a Sentence

Every dog has his day, and every sentence has its subject. This worksheet will give your child practice with identifying the subject of a sentence.
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Biome Buffy

Does your child have a passion for the environment? This worksheet is a perfect aid to practice her reading skills, and learn about different ecosystems.
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Math Salad 4

If your little one needs some help with addition, you've come to the right place! As he digs into some "math salad," he will fine tune those important addition skills and strengthen his ability to perform basic mental math.
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Follow the Number Path 2

The hungry monkey wants a snack! On this prekindergarten math worksheet, kids draw a line along the path that shows the numbers 1 to 10 in sequence to get to the bananas. Careful! There are many numbers in the maze, but following them in order is the right path to the bananas.
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Problem Solving: Subtracting Sea Life

How many fish are left if three of them swim away? In this worksheet your child will solve 4 story problems like this one.
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Complete the Leafy Patterns

What's the order of these leafy shapes? In this worksheet your child is asked to discover the pattern in each sequence of alternating shapes.
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Donut Division!

Donuts are just a "sometimes" food, but you can practice "Donut Division" anytime! Kids completing this worksheet solve division problems in which a single or multidigit number is evenly divided by a one-digit number.
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Paint by Number Sudoku 2

Paint a pretty portrait of a completed Sudoku puzzle! This challenging number game is a great way to boost your child's critical thinking skills and strategic ability.