Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Wednesday, October 31, 2012

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:





Education Headlines

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Fate of ex-school site awaits board's guidance

The future of the former Peralta Junior High site is still unknown as the Orange Unified School District's Board of Education decides what to do amid uproar from neighbors who don't want the campus converted into apartments.

Sweetwater defendant fronts homecoming parade

National School District Superintendent Chris Oram was invited to grand marshal Sweetwater High School’s homecoming parade, but it was instead a criminal defendant school board member who waved from the red Mustang convertible on Friday night. School board president Pearl Quiñones, running for re-election, is one of two school board members charged by the District Attorney's Office with accepting bribes and failing to report meals, theater tickets and other gifts received from contractors while awarding millions of dollars in bond money to those contractors.

Student journalist questions ad sales for credit

A course requirement that called for students to earn grades on commission — by selling ads or subscriptions for the school newspaper — has raised concern among some student journalists and parents at Mt. Carmel High School.

Exit interview is now a graduation requirement

In an effort to better prepare them for life after high school, the Murrieta Valley Unified School District is now requiring students to complete a senior exit interview before they graduate from high school.

Women file $30 million claims against Moraga school district over sex abuse scandal

Two women have filed claims against the Moraga School District and three former district administrators, saying the employees' repeated inaction regarding abuse allegations against a former teacher allowed that teacher to molest the pair over four school years in the 1990s.

Fensterwald: San Jose Unified, teachers reach breakthrough evaluation, pay plan

The superintendent of San Jose Unified and leaders of the district’s teachers union have agreed on an innovative evaluation and compensation system that, if implemented, would be significantly different from any in California.

If taxes fail, Republicans say they can help avoid cuts to schools

Republican leaders in the California Legislature are already planning their next steps if voters reject Gov. Jerry Brown's tax-hike plan next week. In a Tuesday letter to school leaders, the Republicans said they want to work with Democrats to prevent nearly $6 billion in cuts if the taxes are voted down.

Walters: What to do if Proposition 30 fails?

As the political odds turn against Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown's tax measure, political insiders are turning their attention, however reluctantly, to the fallout should, indeed, voters reject the sales and income tax hike on Tuesday.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012

New charter school proposed in Yreka

Hope Charter School would hold classes three days a week from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. for instruction on the core subjects – mathematics and language arts.

One class nullifies Westside School's API scores

An eastern Coachella Valley elementary school’s entire student body, composed of nearly 600 children, saw its standardized test scores thrown out this year after a third-grade teacher helped at least some of the kids in her class correct their answers, state documents show.

Natomas charter school one of six opening this year in Sacramento area

Leroy Greene Academy in Natomas was among 109 charter schools that opened in California this school year, pushing the number to more than 1,000 charters, according to the California Charter Schools Association.