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Wednesday, March 26, 2014

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Meeting postponed again, Sweetwater teachers picket



Education Headlines

Wednesday, March 26, 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.

San Juan district selects Kern as superintendent

Kent A. Kern, interim leader of San Juan Unified schools, was named superintendent Tuesday night, closing a tumultuous chapter in district leadership.

School district, city begin negotiations for Pacific View sale

The first in a planned series of meetings about the sale of the Pacific View School site in Encinitas was held Monday as represents of the city and elementary school district sat together to discuss details of the transaction.

Meeting postponed again, Sweetwater teachers picket

Members of the Sweetwater Education Association picketed outside the high school district’s administration office Tuesday to call attention to their contract situation, a day when a school board meeting was canceled due to lack of a quorum.

Oceanside school board picks new superintendent

Duane Coleman will succeed Larry Perondi as the new superintendent of the Oceanside Unified School District, school board members announced Tuesday following a closed-session meeting.

San Jose Unified mulls reducing graduation credit requirements

With one-third of students failing at least one class in high school, the San Jose Unified School District is considering reducing the number of credits required to graduate by eliminating three years of electives.

Mt. Diablo school board to vote on teachers' union contract

The Mt. Diablo school board on Wednesday expects to approve a new teachers' contract that includes raises and higher district contributions to medical benefits.

Oakland mentor pushes for charter boarding school

Lee Brown has tutored, fed, comforted, encouraged and paid college bills for about 150 disadvantaged students. But now at age 68, the Oakland real estate agent wants something more.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Kern HSD trustees appoint two new assistant superintendents

The school board appointed Brenda Lewis, principal of Foothill High School, as assistant superintendent for instruction; and Dean McGee, principal of West High School, as assistant superintendent of a newly created department named Educational Services and Innovative Programs.

Fresno Unified talks plans to overhaul alternative programs

Education for the most at-risk students in Fresno Unified School District is set to change next year, as the district's community day school moves across town to southeast Fresno and DeWolf Continuation High switches to serve older students.

Report: School safety doesn't have to cost a lot

Tackling the issue of school security, the San Diego County Grand Jury issued a report Monday that recommended local school districts focus less on high-cost security barriers and give greater emphasis to training parents and students to recognize and report suspicious behavior and identify potentially violent individuals.

Poway superintendent up for $63K raise

Poway school board members are working to finalize a contract renewal for the superintendent that would increase his base pay by $62,735, while taking away a perk that helped place him at the top of a 2012 Watchdog survey of superintendent pay in the region.

Chico High's Lincoln Center opens

The center is part of a project that includes the cafeteria, an attached "field house" that will give the physical education department a large location for indoor P.E. classes, and a free standing "fitness lab" that provides wrestling facilities and other P.E. space.

Struggling charter school wins renewal, against recommendation of San Jose Unified

Against the recommendation of its staff and of the San Jose Unified School District, the Santa Clara County Board of Education has renewed the charter of a struggling charter school, Sunrise Middle.

Cell phones proving their usefulness in some Bay Area classrooms

Teens + cellphones = Instagram and Twitter. Or at least that's been the reason schools have banned the use of these mobile devices during class. But the ubiquitousness and power of these links to the Internet is turning them into more than a means for social networking as teachers harness the power of students' smart phones for their own purposes.

Teachers renewing California credential must sign abuse reporting form, bill proposes

Every five years when renewing their credentials, California school employees will be required to read and sign a document that lays out the requirements for them to report suspicions of child abuse, if newly crafted state legislation is approved.

Fensterwald: Mixed results for charter schools statewide in new study

Earlier this month, a research institute at Stanford University affiliated with the Hoover Institution that students at independent charter schools in Los Angeles performed a lot better than their peers in traditional Los Angeles Unified District schools. The Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) has now released a report for California as a whole, and the results are mixed.

California schools are rolling out new standardized tests

The exams are designed to demand more of students and give a clearer indication of how much they're learning. They'll be the first to be administered entirely on computers.