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Monday, March 17, 2014

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Education Headlines

Monday, March 17, 2014

San Juan considers shutting 76-year-old Sylvan Middle School

The aging, deteriorating Sylvan Middle School campus in Citrus Heights would close in 2016 under one proposal before San Juan Unified School District trustees.

Modesto Teachers Association weighs split with CTA

The Modesto Teachers Association will vote on breaking away from its statewide affiliate in April, President Doug Burton announced. The Modesto City Schools union will hold a series of meetings for its members before the vote.

Pact reached in Tracy Unified

Negotiators for teachers and the Tracy Unified School District broke their three-month impasse late Thursday, reaching a tentative contract agreement calling for a 3 percent raise, a 1.65 percent one-time payment and several changes in working conditions teachers had requested.

Stanislaus Union District special education changes unsettle families

Changes are being made to cut costs, but families say some siblings will have to go to separate schools and others students will be forced to walk farther to their bus stops.

Beverly Hills principal cleared in sports camp probe

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has concluded its investigation into Beverly Hills High School Principal Carter Paysinger and the for-profit summer sports camp he owned — clearing him of any criminal wrongdoing, authorities said Thursday.

California schools issue few pink slips

This year, many fewer teachers than before are receiving the tentative pink slips. The California Teachers Association, which represents the majority of the state's K-12 teachers, on Friday estimated that just over 1,000 members would be told they risk being laid off.

Parents see "sexting" discovery at middle schools as learning tool

As police continue to investigate allegations that more than a dozen East Contra Costa middle school students shared sexually explicit pictures on their cellphones, school officials and parents said Friday the case reinforces the importance of teaching kids to act responsibly on the Internet.

Galt Joint Union High School District approves layoffs

At the end of the school year, the Galt Joint Union High School District will likely lay off the equivalent of five employees, including an assistant principal. The decision was made by the school board at its regular meeting this week.

Centinela Valley school district spends more than double the state average on administration

The same school district that made Jose Fernandez perhaps the most highly compensated superintendent in California last year also spends two-and-a-half times the state average on its administration as a whole.

How much should your school districts spend on disadvantaged students?

As the July 1 deadline for creating district spending plans is looming under the state's new Local Control Funding Formula, school officials should be asking parents how they believe money should be spent to best serve their children.

Deadline passes with few teacher layoffs in Southern California

Although California public school districts aren’t exactly flush with cash, the Ides of March appears to have passed without major layoffs in Southern California school districts.

Frey: National report highlights racial disparities in suspensions

In schools across the nation, African American boys receive harsher penalties than white students for the same offense; there is no evidence that “bad” students need to be removed from class so “good” students can learn; and poverty does not fully explain racial disparities in discipline, according to the findings of a series of reports  released Thursday.

Fensterwald: State Board makes it official: No API scores for next two year

With federal approval finally in hand to give a Common Core-aligned practice test this spring, the State Board of Education took the inevitable next step this week. It suspended the Academic Performance Index, the chief measure of schools’ academic growth or progress, for this year and next.

Wave of retirements could reshape SD schools

By eliminating some of the most seasoned teachers from the district payroll, San Diego Unified would shave millions off its looming multiyear budget deficit.

Mayor Garcetti’s top education deputy Thelma Meléndez leaves City Hall

Just seven months after joining Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s administration, his top education deputy Thelma Meléndez is leaving to take a position at Los Angeles Unified School District, a district spokesman said Saturday.

Baron: Online test will challenge students’ computer savvy

Even with seemingly innate technical aptitude, many students will be stymied when they sit down to take the computer-based aligned to the Common Core standards starting this month.

Baron: Are schools ready for the new online Common Core tests?

California is just weeks away from learning whether its test of the test will pass or fail. For nearly 12 weeks, beginning March 25, more than 3 million students in grades 3 through 8 and 11 will take the computer-based Smarter Balanced field, or practice, test aligned to the Common Core State Standards in math and English.

Program will help cash-strapped teachers fund their projects

The L.A. Fund for Public Education will announce a groundbreaking initiative that will give teachers access to hundreds of millions in funding opportunities.

L.A. Unified's decision to move students sparks furor

Officials didn't take into account long-standing rivalries when they decided to transfer about 280 students from Boyle Heights to Lincoln Heights, critics say.
Friday, March 14, 2014

Ventura school officials prepare for computer testing

Beginning early next month, as many as 1,000 Ventura students each day will sit before computers and take a new standardized test. There will be another test during those six weeks for the Ventura Unified School District: whether the technology works.

Fewer teachers get layoff notices across Sonoma County

For the second year in a row, Sonoma County has seen a dramatic drop in the number of layoff notices issued to teachers whose jobs are vulnerable to being cut for the 2014-15 school year.

Alisal board debates security needs

In a much improved political climate, the Alisal Union School District Board of Trustees took care of business Wednesday night.

Galt Joint Union High School District remains on state's financial watchlist

Galt Joint Union High School District remains on a state Department of Education financial watch list due to its budget.

Extent of high-paid Centinela Valley superintendent Jose Fernandez’s self-imposed pay cut unclear

Two days after a raucous school board meeting where embattled Centinela Valley high school district Superintendent Jose Fernandez offered to cut his hefty compensation, it’s still unclear just what, exactly, he is giving up.

West Contra Costa school board approves harassment policies without reviewing new procedures

The West Contra Costa school board on Wednesday unanimously approved policies intended to help prevent harassment without asking to review or approve the procedures staff must follow to implement and enforce them.

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