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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

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Fensterwald: Proposed initiative would give school districts back their property taxes



Education Headlines

Tuesday, February 18, 2014
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.

Voter apathy costs Centinela Valley Union High School District

Election turnout has typically hovered around 10 percent of the more than 50,000 registered voters who live in the district, which encompasses the working-class communities of Hawthorne, Lawndale, Lennox, Del-Aire and nearby areas.

District, teachers duel with website surveys at Rowland Unified

Each side has launched its own online survey asking how the district is performing and how it can do a better job.

Bassett Teachers Association asks for three percent bonus, increased work days

The leadership in the Bassett Teachers Association has presented few demands in this year’s negotiations in the hopes of a pay bump next year.

Long Beach area parents choose cyberschooling for their kids

The Copelands belong to the roughly 200 families in Long Beach with children in California Virtual Academies.

Bellflower teachers lock horns with district over pay raise

Hundreds of teachers, students and parents came to the Bellflower Unified school board meeting Thursday night to request a pay raise for educators as negotiations between the district and union stall.

Centinela Valley breaks silence on superintendent's $663K compensation package

The district’s official response took the form of a letter to the editor, signed by school board President Maritza Molina, spelling out the 54-year-old leader’s accomplishments at the district since he arrived six years ago.

Santa Ana dual-immersion charter school gets some breathing room

In January, dual-immersion charter school El Sol Science and Arts Academy of Santa Ana on 1010 N. Broadway opened its first multiclassroom building. Students in second, fourth and fifth grade moved into the new two-story 19,000-square-foot building after winter break on Jan. 13, said Monique Daviss, executive director of El Sol.

Old disciplines, new tech help top elementary school soar

Math movies. Yoga. Thanksgiving e-books. Don’t expect the typical at Stonegate Elementary, where teachers are told to try anything that might kindle the flame of student success.

Teachers still see need for cursive writing

The latest brewing controversy in public schools isn’t about evolution, creationism, classroom prayer or perceived historical revisionism. It’s penmanship.

California school district sued over tug-of-war lost fingers

Two former high school students who lost fingers in a tug-of-war accident have sued a Southern California school district.

Bill seeks to ban use of school bond money for iPads

A new bill introduced Friday would prohibit California school districts from using voter-approved construction bonds for non-facility related items -- a move spurred by the Los Angeles Unified School District’s $1-billion plan to purchase iPads for every student, teacher and administrator.

Nine-hour school day is the norm -- and a national model -- at Oakland middle school

Thinking bigger is part of the culture at Elmhurst Community Prep, a middle school in East Oakland that has expanded the school day to 5 p.m. with a variety of after-school offerings, such as Ashur Bratt's class on building self-confidence. Students can choose robotics, music or dance.

Fensterwald: Proposed initiative would give school districts back their property taxes

A San Francisco-based parent organization is circulating an initiative for the November ballot that it says would sever budget machinations that have contributed to school districts’ and community colleges’ financial distress since the Great Recession and leave them vulnerable when the next economic downturn comes.

Common Core curriculum now has critics on the left

The Common Core has been applauded by education leaders and promoted by the Obama administration as a way to replace a hodgepodge of state standards with one set of rigorous learning goals. But the newest chorus of complaints is coming from one of the most liberal states, and one of the earliest champions of the standards: New York. And that is causing supporters of the Common Core to shudder.

Fensterwald: Great year for CalSTRS won’t alter need for big increase in contributions

The Assembly committee that will decide how to fix the multibillion-dollar funding shortfall for teacher and administrator pensions will get good – and some sobering – news when it holds its first hearing on the issue this week.

San Diego students adjusting to new expectations for GED

The GED Testing Service, the company that designs the exams, revamped the tests this year to put them more in line new expectations for high school graduates under the Common Core standards 45 states have adopted for math and English.
Friday, February 14, 2014

Solar panels pay off for Scott Valley schools

A recent review showed that the devices are exceeding expectations for energy collection.

Monterey Peninsula USD working through its math problem

Math scores throughout the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District show that students are struggling mightily.

Long Beach charter New City Public Schools avoids California Dept. of Education disciplinary action

New City Public Schools will not be disciplined by the state for failing to meet targets on standardized tests.

Rialto Unified board: Superintendent's fate to be decided soon

The top two administrators in the Rialto Unified School District being out on paid leave for the past five months have cost taxpayers the equivalent of three veteran teachers during that time. But the pair won’t be in limbo much longer, according to board members.

Fresno Unified says teacher contract talks are at impasse, teachers union disagrees

Over the objections of the teachers' union, Fresno Unified School District on Thursday unilaterally declared an impasse in negotiations for a new labor contract.

Teacher put on leave after massage allegations

A veteran third-grade teacher at Salt Creek Elementary School in Chula Vista who was placed on leave for allegedly soliciting massages from her students in exchange for “class dollars” will not finish the school year after more parents complained when she returned to the classroom.

Grossmont school board discusses members' rights

Tension among Grossmont Union High School District trustees was evident Thursday when the board passed a resolution to limit trustees' attendance at meetings of the district's Bond Oversight Committee.

LAUSD food effort makes local farms healthier too

The district is working with local farms that produce vegetables, a program that offers relief as growers switch from fruit over worries about an invasive and deadly citrus pest.