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Friday, June 15, 2012

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Education Headlines

Friday, June 15, 2012

Stockton USD may OK early start for Lowder

The school board has scheduled a special meeting for 3 p.m. today that could result in moving up the starting day for incoming Superintendent Steve Lowder to Monday. The contract Lowder signed in April begins July 1.

San Gabriel's superintendent pick drops out

The school board announced Tuesday that the candidate it unanimously selected and announced last month to fill the vacant superintendent position has declined the board's offer.

Fortuna UHSD cuts full-time principal at Academy of the Redwoods

Wrangling with a deficit of about $680,000, the Fortuna Union High School District Board of Trustees passed a budget that eliminated a full-time principal position at Academy of the Redwoods, a high school with an accelerated curriculum where students can receive college credits.

California Department of Education releases new public school rankings

The California Department of Education on Thursday released its latest round of public school rankings, from one to 10, based on how well students performed on standardized tests they took more than a year ago.

Natomas school district cracks down on employees

Omega Brewer was fired from her job as a secretary at Inderkum High School last month for a long list of alleged infractions that included insubordination, doing union business during work hours and improper handling of confidential information. Natomas Unified School District officials said the district has taken a more aggressive approach to alleged problem employees – and that Brewer fell into that category.

District: Antioch High bond would have passed with clearer language

A bond measure to improve Antioch High School may get another shot this November. With a few votes left to be counted, Measure J appears very likely to have fallen just short of approval. It has received 54.4 percent of the 8,451 votes, according to the most recent figures from the Contra Costa elections office. It needed 55 percent to pass.

Oakland's Lazear Elementary wins charter school appeal, will stay open

Oakland families who have been trying to save their closing school by turning it into an independently run charter school won a major victory Thursday.

Oakland Unified board orders investigation of church school

Oakland's school board has ordered a formal investigation of a church school, a school board member confirmed today, following a meeting last night where angry parents of former students accused the school of exploiting and abusing children.

Fensterwald: API has served its purpose (if it ever did)

A court decision this week involving Los Angeles Unified has raised again the contentious issue of evaluating teachers using standardized test scores. But a recent report for the think tank Education Sector recommends adopting the same method developed by Los Angeles Unified to replace the Academic Performance Index as a statewide way of measuring schools’ progress.

L.A. teachers face new evaluations

In the past three years, at least 30 states have begun to use student achievement to evaluate teachers, spurred in part by President Barack Obama's Race to the Top education initiative as well as by some Republican governors. California isn't one of them. That could change after a ruling by a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. At a hearing Tuesday,
Thursday, June 14, 2012

Report: Adult school programs face major budget cuts

Adult school doors across our state are in danger of closing as school districts try to stay afloat during state budget crunches, according to a new report from EdSource, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit group focusing on education issues.

Sonora High to try for bond?

Sonora Union High School District will consider placing a bond issue on the ballot this November to raise funds for renovating school facilities. The general obligation bond issue would place a $25 to $30 tax on every $100,000 of assessed value on homes within Sonora Union High School District boundaries.

Parents say Coast Union just too far from Cayucos

It makes more sense for high school students living in Cayucos to go four miles south to school than 15 miles north, say petitioners who want Cayucos students transferred from Coast Unified School District to San Luis Coastal Unified School District.

Celerity charter school gets approval in Pasadena

A new charter school targeting at-risk children in Northwest Pasadena was approved by the Pasadena Unified School District on Tuesday night, but