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Friday, March 15, 2013

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Parent volunteers help kids get safely to school after crossing guards cut





Education Headlines

Friday, March 15, 2013

Students protest at Coachella Valley Unified School District board meeting

Dozens of protesters gathered at tonight’s Coachella Valley Unified School District board meeting, but there wasn’t enough room for them inside the board room.

Madera Unified issues notices to cut 36 positions

More than three dozen Madera Unified teachers have received layoff notices, notifying them that their jobs could be in jeopardy for the upcoming school year.

Ocean View district, teachers settle on contract

This year's teaching contract at Ocean View School District finally is headed to a vote after the district and union negotiators came to a tentative agreement on March 5.

Ex-Capo schools chief's $1.6 million lawsuit tossed out

An Orange County judge on Thursday dismissed a $1.6 million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by former Capistrano Unified schools chief James Fleming, ruling that the man who once maintained lists of his parent critics was four years too late in filing his legal claim.

Have charter schools grown too fast?

After two decades of offering educational choice to families, leaders of the charter-school movement in California are touting accomplishments but also calling for higher standards in light of some underperforming and mismanaged schools.

Denair school board fires superintendent

The Denair Unified School District board fired Superintendent Ed Parraz on Thursday night, saying the vote was unanimous though it took the action "with deep regret."

Hayward principals, vice principals get a reprieve -- no new pink slips

Principals and vice principals will not receive pink slips as had been feared after the Hayward Unified School District superintendent sent an email earlier this month saying that the school board was considering more layoffs.

Four full-time teacher positions to be cut in John Swett school district next year

Four full-time equivalent teaching positions are scheduled to be eliminated next year in the John Swett Unified School District.

Parent volunteers help kids get safely to school after crossing guards cut

When the Concord City Council began phasing out school crossing guards to save money, parents started worrying about how their children would safely walk to school. At three Mt. Diablo district campuses, parents have stepped up fill the void. They don brightly colored safety vests, wield hand-held stop signs, and step fearlessly into dangerous intersections to halt traffic for students scrambling to class.

Fensterwald: Most State Board members back districts’ NCLB waiver

A majority of State Board of Education members expressed strong support at their meeting Thursday for a consortium of districts’ unconventional request for a waiver from constraints of the federal No Child Left Behind law.

EdSource: Dramatic dip in ‘pink slips’ given to teachers

Districts have issued dramatically fewer preliminary layoff notices to teachers this year, signaling an end to five years of high budgetary anxiety and providing one of the first concrete examples of the immediate benefits of Proposition 30.
Thursday, March 14, 2013

School modernization creates headaches for parents, cities

With most of its buildings more than half-a-century old, the school district, composed of 68 schools stretching across neighboring cities such as Fountain Valley and Westminster, placed Measure A on the June 2010 ballot. It passed on a 59.2 percent vote. The bond measure created $250 million in local funds – and paved the way for the district to receive state matching funds – to upgrade its schools.

Ocean View district, teachers settle on contract

This year's teaching contract at Ocean View School District finally is headed to a vote after the district and union negotiators came to a tentative agreement on March 5.

Most Ventura County school districts are not sending pink slips to teachers this year

For the first time in several years, most local school districts aren't planning to send teachers pink slips this month.