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Monday, March 31, 2014

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Teaches union fights new plan by Sacramento and other school districts to address low-performing schools - Education - The Sacramento Bee





Education Headlines

Monday, March 31, 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.

More California children unvaccinated due to parental concerns

More than 16,000 California children entered kindergarten this school year without vaccinations because of their parents’ personal beliefs, up 15 percent from the prior year and more than double the number from six years ago, according to new figures from the California Department of Public Health.

School district's refinancing measures saves taxpayers

La Mesa-Spring Valley School District has been able to refinance a portion of the Proposition M general obligation bonds and save taxpayers more than half a million dollars.

After-school program goes out to bid

National School District officials reversed course this week and decided to put out to bid a $1 million contract to replace its before- and after-school program provider.

Modesto school safety patrols step up, but adults have to do their part

The need for someone to help young children cross busy streets as schools let out got a tragic underscoring this week. At some schools, professionals work the crosswalks. At others, staff members do extra duty as the school day starts and ends. But most campuses rely on the nearly century-old tradition of student safety patrols.

Modesto City Schools to weigh administrative help and plans for facilities

The Modesto City Schools board will consider adding administrators and approving the first steps toward a new facilities master plan tonight. Board members will also vote on a basic summer school and discuss after-school programs.

Personal losses fuel El Camino Real Charter decathletes

Under the direction of sixth-year coach Stephanie Franklin, Thasneem Syed and her eight colleagues on the El Camino Real Academic Decathlon team beat out 64 other schools to win the state title last weekend, earning the highest score in the country this year and the chance to compete at the nationals in Honolulu in late April alongside second-place, three-time defending national champion Granada Hills Charter High School.

Should Contra Costa school volunteers be trained to report child abuse?

Contra Costa school employees and possibly even volunteers who deal with students should be trained annually to report child abuse, according to recommendations by the Contra Costa Civil Grand Jury.

Fensterwald: Attorneys give final arguments in Vergara suit challenging laws for teacher hiring, firing

Attorneys in Vergara v. California made their final pitches Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The four hours of closing arguments paralleled opening statements two months to the day and 52 witnesses ago, with diametrically different views on whether teachers’ workplace protections harm  many – or any –  of the state’s most vulnerable schoolchildren.

California students' verdict on new tests: Tech is a breeze, content is tougher

he high-tech successor to California's annual STAR exam has been deployed, and the informal verdicts are in. Mastery of online graphing tools and directional arrows is no sweat, even for students who don't use computers at home. But the content is more challenging -- and at times intriguing.

Teachers union fights new plan by Sacramento and other school districts to address low-performing schools

Even as the district rolls out the plan, the teachers union – which never signed on – is fighting to stop it. The Sacramento City Teachers Association, in particular, objects to a promise that Sacramento City Unified and seven other districts made to link student test scores to teacher evaluations.

Maitre: Oakland Unified considering parcel tax to fund college, career readiness programs

The Oakland Unified School District is studying the feasibility of placing a parcel tax on the November ballot to help fund efforts to expand so-called linked learning, or career pathways, programs at its high schools.
Friday, March 28, 2014

Popular math and science program reaches compromise with school district

Months after supporters of the Monterey Academy of Oceanographic Science proposed the idea of becoming a charter school, they have reached an agreement with the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District that will give them some of the stability they were seeking.

Sausalito Marin City School District makes cuts, staff changes

Facing a sizeable deficit and an expiring grant, the Sausalito Marin City School District is making some cuts.

Attorneys argue value of California teacher tenure laws

Attorneys for a group seeking to eliminate tenure protection for California teachers argued Thursday that such iron-clad job security makes it almost impossible to fire an incompetent instructor.

Documents destroyed at Rialto Unified, interim superintendent says

After Judith Marie Oakes was arrested Aug. 7 on suspicion of embezzling more than a million dollars in lunch money, no one in Rialto Unified mentioned it in an email, a memo or even a Post-It Note, according to district officials.

Artesia residents concerned about ABC Unified trustee districts plan

Artesia residents expressed concern over developing districts for school board members in the ABC Unified School District at a public meeting Wednesday. In each of the three proposed maps dividing the district into seven parts, residents said Artesia wasn't well represented during the meeting at Ross Middle School.

Twin Rivers pays $225,000 settlement for 2010 incident

 Twin Rivers Unified School District has paid Ricardo Sazo $225,000 to settle a lawsuit filed in 2011 alleging excessive force and negligence by its Police Department and Officer Jason Smith.

West Contra Costa school leaders vote to boost reserves

With new state funding in the pipeline and an eye on past fiscal troubles, West Contra Costa schools trustees made a goal Wednesday night to maintain 6 percent of their budget in reserves.

Claim: Tracy principal uses parent's undocumented immigration status to keep her from reporting teacher molestation

According to a $10 million claim filed against Jefferson School District on Dec. 5, Principal Susan Moffitt said she had to protect her teacher's reputation and implied that a mother risked deportation if she reported her child's abuse to police. The mother, who is undocumented, kept quiet.

Fensterwald: Attorneys give final arguments in Vergara suit challenging laws for teacher hiring, firing

The future of tenure and other laws governing how teachers are hired and fired in California is now in the hands of Judge Rolf Treu.