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Thursday, June 7, 2012

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Education Headlines

Thursday, June 7, 2012

Norris, Taft school bond measures remain close calls

Representatives behind Kern's two school bond measures are watching closely the results of the roughly 20,000 provisional ballots left to be counted from Tuesday's election. That's because one percentage point -- just a few hundred votes -- means the difference between Norris and Taft City school districts' measures failing or passing.

Lucky lottery ticket led outgoing Camarillo superintendent to education

Were it not for a winning lottery ticket, Luis Villegas might never have made it out of the wilds of Panama. But thanks to his parents' luck, he eventually become a superintendent, leading two Ventura County school districts in the last decade.

State administrator to be replaced in south Monterey County school district

Daniel Moirao, a public speaking coach who has served as assistant superintendent of the South Monterey County Joint Union High School District for the past two years, will become its next state administrator.

Plan to expand Pomona school board, create trustee areas turned down

The Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization voted today to deny a Pomona resident's petition to expand the size of the Pomona school board and establish trustee areas.

Ex-Santa Ana Unified chief to lead O.C. schools

A former Santa Ana Unified superintendent was appointed Wednesday to serve the unfinished term of county Superintendent of Schools Bill Habermehl, who is retiring at the end of June. Al Mijares, who headed the county's largest school district for 11 years, was selected unanimously by the county Board of Education at the end of a nearly five-hour meeting in which trustees interviewed three applicants, trustee Ken Williams said.

Green Dot, teachers local reach accord on new evaluation tool

With efforts stalled in Sacramento to craft a new system for assessing teacher performance, Green Dot Public Schools announced Wednesday approval of a contract with its teachers that includes a sophisticated, multidimensional evaluation tool that some believe may serve as a model for the rest of California.

Fensterwald: Parcel taxes beat the odds

Voters remain up in the air about passing a statewide tax to help schools, according to recent polls. But given a chance to support local schools exclusively, more than two-thirds of voters in nine school districts said yes – a wide enough margin to pass a parcel tax.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012

One school bond appears to pass, another failing

Norris School District's $149 million bond measure to update and expand campuses for the next 20 years appeared Wednesday to have fallen just short of the 55 percent "yes" votes needed to pass.

Spanish immersion classes fantastico at Rorimer in Rowland Unified

Habla usted español? Paulo Ortega and Jasmine Melgar do. Muy bien, in fact. The sixth-graders are the first graduates of the dual immersion program at Rorimer Elementary in La Puente. Since kindergarten, the 12-year-olds have been taught in both Spanish and English.

Teachers protest proposed furloughs at Desert Sands Unified School District

Teachers showed up en masse Tuesday to the Desert Sands Unified school board meeting in La Quinta to demonstrate their opposition to proposed furloughs.

Parents demand answers for firing of Las Posas principal

Pleasant Valley School District officials would not discuss the reasons for the dismissal, citing privacy laws in personnel issues.