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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

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Education Headlines

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Students will read more nonfiction, but schools won't ignore classics under new standards

Students from kindergarten through high school will soon be reading more nonfiction — biographies, speeches, even a government publication on insulation — under new national standards that are changing what and how children learn.

School budgets looking better

Three local school districts that risked being unable to pay their long-term expenses — Calaveras Unified School District, Sonora Union High School District and Curtis Creek School District — are on more solid footing than they were last year.

School district unification forum draws a crowd

The discussion was narrowed to unification of the four largest school districts in Salinas — Alisal Union, Salinas City, Santa Rita Union and Salinas Union High School.

Monterey Peninsula USD postpones hiring controversial new superintendent; board president resigns

Alain Guevara came to Monterey to take over as superintendent of the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District. Instead, he walked away from the board room of MPUSD refusing to talk to the press after a roomful of community members pleaded with trustees not to hire a man so tainted by controversy.

Coachella Valley Unified School District aims to hike graduation requirements

The Coachella Valley Unified School District has pledged to increase graduation requirements so more graduates will be eligible to apply to California’s four-year universities.

Ramona imposes teacher pay cuts

The Ramona school board Monday night approved across-the-board compensation cuts for its teachers, a move that follows 18 months of unsuccessful contract negotiations between the district and union.The cuts take effect immediately, Superintendent Robert Graeff said.

Suit seeks to change ABC Unified to trustee system

Not one Latino sits on the seven-member ABC Unified District school board in southeastern Los Angeles County, even though a quarter of the district's registered voters share that ethnic background. Every board member is from Cerritos, even though the district also encompasses Artesia, Hawaiian Gardens and parts of Lakewood, Long Beach and Norwalk. So Olga Rios is doing what plaintiffs across California have done: suing under the 2001 California Voting Rights Act.

Oakland school board member Gary Yee seeks to temporarily replace outgoing Superintendent Tony Smith

Oakland Unified School District board member Gary Yee said Monday he will give up his District 4 seat in order to temporarily replace outgoing Superintendent Tony Smith, whose last day is June 30.

State officials to decide penalty for Burbank school breach of test security

Burbank Unified may be punished by the state after a teacher allegedly helped students answer questions on a high stakes test. The incident took place last week in a third grade classroom, officials said.
Monday, April 22, 2013

Monterey Peninsula USD's choice for superintendent named in sexual harassment lawsuit

Monterey Peninsula Unified School District trustees are confident they picked the right man for the superintendent's job, even though he has been named in a sexual harassment lawsuit.

Palm Springs Unified School District harder on black students

The Palm Springs Unified School District suspends black students almost twice as often as their white or Latino peers, an inequality that has persisted at least a decade.

Racial balance still issue for Menifee, Perris districts

Menifee Union School District's push for unification still faces a number of roadblocks, including securing racial balances, according to a report that Assistant Superintendent Robert Wolfe will present to the governing board Tuesday.