Monday, August 13, 2012

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Education Headlines

Monday, August 13, 2012

East Bay school bans social media in student campaigns

Although technology is king on campuses these days, student government campaigns at Heritage High are strictly old-school. Leading up to this week's election of freshman class officers, candidates put up all the usual posters and handed out fliers around the Brentwood campus, but one communications tool was missing: social media. No Twitter. No Facebook. No Instagram.

Baldwin Park Unified celebrates completion of $21 million science building

A 10-year effort came to fruition on Friday as the community celebrated the completion of Sierra Vista High School's new science and classroom building.

Beltran: Bill would force creation of standards for transitional kindergarten

Even as hundreds of California schools prepare to launch transitional kindergarten for the first time this year, a bill awaiting a Senate vote would create standards for what and how the program’s not-quite 5-year olds should be taught.

New South Gate high school is finally opening

Los Angeles Unified's South Region High School No. 9 has been more than 25 years coming to fruition. First, its contaminated site had to be cleaned up.

Fired charter school executive receives $245,000 in settlement

Crescendo charter schools founder John Allen sued for wrongful dismissal after he was fired for allegedly ordering staff to cheat on state standardized tests.

Novato school officials plan regional technology center

With laptops, iPads and other devices becoming more popular in schools, Novato school officials hope to build a new center that would train teachers from throughout the Bay Area on using technology in the classroom.

LAUSD rolls out new batch of healthy menus

After last year's failed experiment with exotic vegetarian fare, LAUSD has revamped its lunch menu with healthful dishes that officials hope will also appeal to the kids' palates. Instead of unexpected dishes such as hummus and chick-pea stew, cafeterias will be serving up pulled-pork sandwiches, hamburger sliders, whole-grain spaghetti and meatballs and the like.

Moir: Surefire way to know if a teacher evaluation system will succeed or fail

Whether a district’s teacher evaluation system works or not will depend on a few things: whether the system is correctly conceived of and designed, how well the system is implemented, and, after evaluation, the district’s level of commitment to ongoing teacher learning.

Frey: Summer programs turning struggling students into readers

Lori Carr’s program is one of several across the state that are focusing on turning struggling readers into lifelong bookworms. With the demise of district–supported summer school during the past few years, these programs are trying to fill the gap, though they serve a small fraction of the state’s 6.2 million students. More than half of those students live in low-income families, making them particularly vulnerable

State moving forward on plan to upgrade schools, seek 2014 bond

State officials have set to work on an ambitious plan to upgrade California’s aging and outdated school facilities and, in doing so, lay the groundwork for a 2014 bond measure to help pay for it.

Fensterwald: Court backs union, sends LAUSD layoffs case back to judge

Handing United Teachers Los Angeles a significant procedural victory, a state appeals court has overturned a landmark ruling challenging the contractual rights of teachers in Los Angeles Unified.
Friday, August 10, 2012

Do-or-die time for teacher evaluation bill

After lying dormant for a year, a bill to overhaul the state’s teacher evaluation law will resurface Monday, subject to continuing negotiations over its cost and some disagreements over its content.

Alvord to keep police on campuses

Riverside police officers will be stationed at La Sierra and Norte Vista high schools when classes start Monday, the Alvord school board decided in a 3-2 decision.

Security cameras to roll at Novato high schools

A presence at most of Marin's high schools for several years, security cameras will roll at Novato's two main high schools for the first time this fall after the district completes a $177,000 installation project.