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Friday, November 22, 2013

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California requests federal school testing waiver





Education Headlines


Friday, November 22, 2013
FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.

Oxnard Union school board not ready to vote on controversial union agreement

Debate on the construction plans for a new Camarillo high school got personal and political Wednesday as the Oxnard Union High School District board considered a labor agreement with union leaders.

Temple City's school board decides not to renew superintendent's contract

In a 4-1 vote the school board decided not to extend Superintendent Chelsea Kang-Smith's contract for another year. Kang-Smith has been Temple City Unified School District's superintendent since August 2008. Her contract will expire June 30.

California requests federal school testing waiver

State officials are expanding plans for this spring’s aggressive overhaul of standardized school tests, now planning to give most students new computer-based assessments in both English and math, instead of just one subject.

As San Juan inquiry drags on, board hires second replacement

The San Juan Unified School District board has named a second interim leader to run the district while existing Superintendent Glynn Thompson remains on paid leave amid complaints that he created a hostile work environment.

Top Sacramento City schools administrator tapped as interim superintendent

Board members for Sacramento city schools tapped a top district administrator Thursday night to serve as interim superintendent after Superintendent Jonathan Raymond leaves his post at the end of this year.

Grossmont District amplifying recycling efforts

Waste Management, the district’s trash pickup service, has given the district a recommendation in which “right sizing service” will save the district $40,000 a year. With additional revenue streams from paper recycling and glass, CRV bottles and cans, Grossmont could save up to $60,000 a year.

Alpine still trying to get a high school in town

A group that calls itself the Alpine High School Citizens Committee says it is closing in on reaching the number of signatures it needs to get another step closer to bringing a high school to the semirural town.

Alameda County superintendent race gets competitive

Sheila Jordan spent two years grooming a hand-picked successor to replace her as superintendent of the Alameda County Office of Education, but now that protege is confronting an increasingly competitive 2014 election.

State expands field tests of Common Core-aligned assessments

The field test of California’s new computer-based assessments will be expanded so that nearly every student will take exams next spring in both math and English, rather than being limited to one or the other, officials said Thursday.

Fensterwald: Torlakson seeks testing waiver to avoid conflict with feds

Faced with potentially tens of millions of dollars in fines, the state Department of Education has headed off a confrontation with the federal government over standardized testing.
Thursday, November 21, 2013

ABC Unified settles lawsuit, agrees to school board elections by district

Amid a lawsuit alleging violations of the California Voting Rights Act, the ABC Unified School District will change the way it holds school board elections, switching from an at-large model to a by-district model.

Arab anti-discrimination group prefers original Arab mascot

A representative of a national anti-discrimination group said Wednesday that the original “Arab” mascot, first introduced in the 1920s, is preferable to the current logo, which the group considers offensive.

O.C. schools receive energy efficiency funds

Orange County schools are among more than 2,000 campuses receiving more than $106 million to improve energy efficiency.

State releases more than $106 million to schools under Proposition 39

The state is releasing more than $106 million in funding through Proposition 39 to help schools start planning energy efficient projects, state Superintendent of Public Schools Tom Torlakson said Wednesday.

District denies retaliation against teacher who helped LGBT students

The High Desert’s largest school district sharply denies firing a teacher in retaliation for her helping LGBT students who complained about alleged administrator and teacher prejudice.

Fensterwald: Brown’s choice - California ignores annual survey on states’ use of ed data

California for the first time declined this year to participate in Data Quality Campaign’s annual national survey, creating a hole in the 50-state map marking progress states have made in collecting and effectively using educational data. The results of the 9th annual report were released Tuesday.