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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

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Education Headlines

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Rancho Mar Monte residents want neighborhood moved into Carmel school district

A group of residents at Rancho Mar Monte near Carmel want to carve out their neighborhood from the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District to join the Carmel Unified School District.

SD Unified to sell old schools, surplus property

The most controversial cost-cutting measure to come from the San Diego school board this year might just be plans to sell off some of its most valuable assets: Southern California real estate.

Grossmont charity ties questioned

Relationships between school officials and contractors are under scrutiny, as District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis is prosecuting several in the South Bay for accepting entertainment and gifts and then handing out multimillion dollar contracts. The officials have pleaded not guilty to bribery.

Charter school operator Steve Barr to partner with L.A. Unified

Steve Barr, the founder of a well-known group of unionized charter schools, announced Tuesday a new project to develop innovative academies within the Los Angeles Unified School District.

Union, school board president question use of low-cost interns

The West Contra Costa school board president and the head of the district's teacher's union are questioning the continued use of low-cost teaching interns from the Teach For America program when credentialed teachers can't get jobs, but others say the district cannot afford to let it go.

Sacramento teachers sue over layoff policy

Educators and advocacy groups across the state are eyeing a class-action lawsuit filed by dozens of laid-off Sacramento teachers who say their school district unlawfully deviated from strictly following seniority-based layoffs.

Sac City Unified students don't get summer lunch program this year

Sacramento County has about 40 fewer sites serving free meals to needy children this summer than it had last year. The local program was greatly reduced after the county's largest sponsor – the city of Sacramento – pulled out of the program, shuttering its 64 summer meal sites.

Feds say state needs greater assurances on charter performance

Prompted by federal regulators, California may be forced to make a fundamental change in how charter schools are evaluated for renewal by putting student achievement for all subgroups as the most important factor.

Fensterwald: Two years plus and counting - teachers prep for Common Core

Replacing the California state standards in math and English language arts with Common Core will require not merely learning new standards but also adopting a new mindset and approach to teaching essential concepts in depth.

CalPERS earnings fall way short

California's big public pension funds are continuing to swim in choppy investment waters, leaving the state and local governments gasping for air. CalPERS reported a 1 percent annual profit on its investments Monday, following CalSTRS in delivering disappointing results for the latest fiscal year.
Monday, July 16, 2012

Database: Agency disciplined 74 local educators over last five years

Seventy-four Kern County educators were stripped of their teaching credentials by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing in the last five years for crimes or misconduct on and off campus.

Bond firm gives Lodi Unified slight downgrade

Fitch Ratings has assigned the Lodi Unified School District with a AA- bond rating, which is a slight downgrade for the district but also notes "strong management practices" and a reliable financial outlook.

Stockton USD's plans for all-male programs dropped

Stockton Unified has scrapped plans to establish all-male programs at several schools in the new academic year, in part because of insufficient interest among students but also due to legal concerns about single-gender learning raised recently by the American Civil Liberties Union.