Education Headlines
Friday, April 27, 2012
Upland Unified issues layoff notices to some bus drivers, custodians
The Upland Unified School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday agreed to send layoff notices to three custodians and seven bus drivers and reduced the hours for an additional eight bus drivers.ACEL keeps charter when FUSD board deadlocks
The Fresno Academy for Civic and Entrepreneurial Leadership will keep its charter under the Fresno Unified School District for another five years. The good news for ACEL was a twist in Wednesday night's events, which seemed to indicate that Fresno Unified's Board of Trustees would deny the charter for the downtown school.Galt school board holds off on vote to halt busing
Families in Galt will have to wait a little longer to find out if their children will have a ride to their elementary or middle school come August. Board members for the Galt Joint Union Elementary School District decided Wednesday night to postpone a vote that would have ended busing for all but its special education students next school year.West Contra Costa school district rescinds decision to close continuation school
West Contra Costa schools Superintendent Bruce Harter withdrew a decision to close Vista Continuation High School in Richmond on Thursday morning after listening to a group of angry speakers and their supporters at the district's board meeting Wednesday night.Parents who sued school over son's punishment for cheating receive hate messages
Jack Berghouse doesn't dispute that his son, a sophomore at Sequoia High School, copied someone else's homework. But the Redwood City father believes the school district was wrong to kick his teenager out of an English honors class for the offense, and his decision to sue has embroiled the family in a public, opinionated debate.Divided Fremont school board approves dogs to sniff out drugs on campus
Police dogs soon will be sniffing lockers and cars for drugs on high school campuses, though trustees are divided on the new policy. The Fremont school board voted 3-2 Wednesday night to approve the measure, joining several other districts around the area in ramping up efforts to curtail drug use.CA home to nation’s most run-down public schools serving military families
Seven of the nation’s 24 most dilapidated public schools serving military families are located in California, according to disclosures made this week by state officials.Baron: It’s a bill’s life
California school buses won’t be wearing anything but yellow for the foreseeable future. This week, the state Senate Education Committee killed SB 1295. Introduced by Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff, it would have permitted school districts to selling advertising space on the outside of buses to raise revenue.Fensterwald: No more dodging Algebra dilemma
For nearly two years, California’s unwieldy eighth grade math standards have lain untouched like an unexploded IED, a roadside bomb of the math wars. But with middle and high school math teachers clamoring for guidance and new assessments two-plus years away, the Legislature and State Board must soon answer the question, What about Algebra I in eighth grade?Thursday, April 26, 2012
BCSD moves forward with transitional kindergarten, talks suspensions
The district is moving forward with transitional kindergarten because it will be able to get state funding. There will be one T-K classroom at 30 of BCSD's elementary school sites, officials said.Superintendent defends McLane High leadership
The leadership of McLane High School came under fire at Wednesday's Fresno Unified school board meeting when teachers and students faulted the school's administration for dismantling programs, cutting teachers and bullying students.Police probe Twin Rivers superintendent's computer
Sacramento Police Department officials copied files and information from the district-issued computer of Twin Rivers Unified Superintendent Frank Porter as part of an independent investigation into alleged misconduct by the district's Police Department.Barnidge: Why all the rush to extend superintendent's contract?
Deep in the Mt. Diablo school board's lengthy agenda Monday night, buried beneath student expulsions, contract approvals and budget transfers, was a topic that was arguably the most important of all.After seeing the fiscal impact, Oakland school board rejects charter conversion
The Oakland school board voted Wednesday night to block the Fruitvale-area Lazear Elementary from becoming a charter school. Lazear is one of five elementary schools slated to close in June as part of a school district downsizing plan. To keep it open, parents submitted an application to become an independently run charter school at the same location.Senate panel rejects bill on school-bus advertising
The Senate Education Committee on Wednesday rejected a bill that would have opened the door to advertising on the sides of school buses, prompting outrage from the legislation's author: GOP leader Bob Huff.Baron: Heavy editing on textbook publishers
It’s a sure sign that an issue has hit crisis mode when Republican and Democratic legislators are on the same page about what needs to happen. In this case, it’s a fraying page from a textbook industry that needs some help embracing change.Vargo: Designing evaluations of teachers starts with trust
If we began the redesign of teacher evaluation with the goal of creating a shared vision of what excellent teaching looks like and how teachers will be supported to achieve it, we can take a step toward re-inspiring teachers.Fensterwald: ICLow marks for Brown not his ideas
California voters give Gov. Jerry Brown low marks overall for the way he has handled K-12 education. But, at the same time, they support some school reforms that he’s championing, including directing much of new revenue to poor students, according to a Public Policy Institute of California poll.LAUSD slashes summer school, smallest offerings ever
Facing unrelenting budget pressure, Los Angeles Unified has pared its summer school program - again - to its smallest size ever, with only a limited number of courses available to failing high school students who need to make up classes to graduate.Poll: More back Brown’s tax plan than Munger’s
Almost two-thirds of California’s likely voters favor raising income taxes for the state’s wealthiest residents to pay for public schools, but most oppose increasing the state sales tax for the same purpose, according to a new Public Policy Institute of California poll.Wednesday, April 25, 2012