Education Headlines
Monday, January 7, 2013
Escalon man takes post as S.J. assistant schools chief
Escalon Unified Superintendent Ron Costa has accepted a new position to be the San Joaquin County Office of Education's assistant superintendent of educational services.District hopes online program will net diplomas
Stockton Unified had a 26.5 percent dropout rate in 2010-11, according to the California Department of Education. Superintendent Steve Lowder believes technology is part of the solution to addressing that troubling statistic, so San Joaquin County's largest school district may take an online approach to cutting into the problem before the end of the current academic year.School change in Sausalito, Marin City renews racial equality issues
There is concern that a racial divide and a school system for the "haves and have-nots" may result from a current push by the Sausalito Marin City School District to merge schools, while supporters say the change would benefit students' education.Lynwood school district business officer sentenced for diverting funds
A former chief business officer for the Lynwood Unified School District was sentenced Friday to eight years behind bars for diverting more than $700,000 in public funds for his own use.Interim superintendent soon to take over Upland Unified School District
Budget cuts and student achievement will continue to be a priority in the Upland Unified School District when Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources Sherri Black takes over as interim superintendent this month.College of the Desert prepared to pay back millions, restore trust
College of the Desert officials will begin 2013 by working out a repayment plan for $5.3 million the community college owes the state for false financial reporting.Costa Mesa police to restart school-officer program
Costa Mesa police announced Friday that they plan to restart their school officer program in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. shooting. Chief Tom Gazsi said the department and the district will split the cost for a reserve officer to return to the city's two high schools.Some bonds allow prepayment, others don't
Among capital-appreciation school bonds that have become controversial across California, some allow prepayment as an escape hatch and others do not. The bonds generally allow school districts to pay nothing for decades, then require large balloon payments with accrued interest that can eventually cost more than $10 for every dollar borrowed.LAPD, sheriff's deputies begin patrols at L.A. schools on Monday
Police officers and sheriff's deputies who have simply cruised by elementary and middle schools in the past will add campus visits to their daily patrols beginning Monday, the first day that LAUSD students will be back in class since the Dec. 14 school shootings in Connecticut.Fraud allegations swirl around firm run by two L.A. candidates
Clients say firm run by James T. Law and Analilia Joya, both candidates for city office, broke agreement to get enough signatures to put the clients on school board ballot. Law denies the allegations.Vargo: Creativity in the classroom is what’s really at stake with accountability
Many readers of EdSource know that a variety of factors have combined to put rethinking accountability on state leaders’ to-do list. But most people don’t understand what is really at stake.Baron: Districts pay more for special ed, feds underfund
California school districts are shouldering a bigger share of the cost of special education, reflecting a further shift of the burden from state and federal governments, according to a new report from the state Legislative Analyst’s Office.EdWatch 2013: Head Start funding and transitional kindergarten
Transitional kindergarten, a program for students on the youngest end of the kindergarten spectrum, began in 2012 as a result of the Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010. It is set to hit its first expansion target in the fall of 2013.
Friday, January 4, 2013