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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

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Gov. Brown again takes aim at testing overload in schools | EdSource Today






Education Headlines

Tuesday, March 11, 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.

Alpine teachers, district 'getting back on track'

Healing and reconciliation have officially begun in Alpine.

As scrutiny intensifies, Centinela Valley school board will hold public meeting Tuesday

Amid heightening scrutiny from school officials and lawmakers across California, the Centinela Valley school board tonight will hold its second meeting since the furor over Superintendent Jose Fernandez’s employment contract erupted in early February.

Rialto Unified has not started search for Cebrun's replacement

Harold Cebrun will remain the superintendent of Rialto Unified for almost three more weeks, and the search has not yet begun for his successor.

Officials: No active chemicals found on Kings County school bus

 The children who got sick last month while riding in a school bus in rural Kings County apparently didn't get sprayed with dangerous pesticides, county officials said Monday.

Dutch educators take tips from San Diego schools

Although international rankings show United States schools below their European equivalents, a group of Dutch educators are in San Diego this week to learn some teaching techniques from their American equivalents.

Denair Unified looking to reduce teachers at charter school, hire chief business officer

The Denair Charter Academy, serving mostly at-risk high school students, would lose 12 hourly teachers next year under a proposal to be voted on tonight at a special meeting. The Denair Unified School District board also will convene Thursday night for its regular meeting, expecting to hire a permanent chief business officer.

Modesto City Schools votes to to send layoff notices, end elementary library course

Modesto City Schools will send out pink slips to eliminate the equivalent of 29 full-time teaching and counseling positions, which could create a domino effect of shifting jobs but likely will result in few actual layoffs.

Freedburg: Gov. Brown again takes aim at burdening students with tests

Governor Brown took aim at excessive testing in the schools – an ongoing theme of his governorship – and warned lawmakers in Sacramento and Washington not to burden teachers with more demands than they are already experiencing in forceful remarks at the California Democratic Convention in Los Angeles over the weekend.

Fensterwald: San Jose Unified, teachers to ask State Board for waiver from tenure law

In the ongoing trial, Vergara vs State of California, lawyers for the state and the California Teachers Association have been defending the state’s two-year probation for teachers as a sound law that protects teachers’ and students’ interests.

Adams: State attorney general backs legislation to fight truancy

State Attorney General Kamala Harris and a team of legislators Monday introduced a package of bills to battle chronic student absenteeism, in yet another sign of the growing reexamination of school attendance and discipline policies.
Monday, March 10, 2014

Lodi Unified starts security upgrades

Lodi Unified risk manager Jill Davis and other district office employees are in the testing stage of a $20,000 technology upgrade that will grant access to most offices in the three-story building only to those who work there.

Tam High embroiled over teacher firings and new teaching methods

The dismissal of three teachers at Tamalpais High School has ignited a bitter controversy on the Mill Valley campus and called into question new Tamalpais Union High School District teaching methods that claim to "transform schools into innovative learning environments."

Pomona Unified has buyer for first piece of surplus property

A more than 3-acre parcel in southern part of the city that has been in the hands of the school district will soon have a new owner.

Centinela Valley schools lag in academic performance despite paying superintendent $663K

The tiny Centinela Valley Union High School District employs one of the most expensive superintendents in the state of California, if not the nation. But the district’s test scores — while on the rise — remain the lowest among all 80 school districts in Los Angeles County.

Embattled Rialto Unified superintendent to retire

Bringing six months of uncertainty to an end, the Rialto Unified school board accepted the retirement of embattled superintendent Harold Cebrun on Friday, saving the district 18 months of salary — $360,900 — that they would have owed him if he were fired.

Gaston, Fresno High construction almost done

Bubble-gum pink insulation foam now covers what soon will be walls at Rutherford B. Gaston Middle School in southwest Fresno. The school's concrete floors are now polished, the windows are in their frames, but there still are a few months left of work on the $36.7 million project before next school year.

Attorney urges appeal of Corona del Mar expulsions

Arguing that the expulsion agreements signed by 11 Corona del Mar students accused of cheating were fraudulent and coerced, an attorney is urging the Orange County Board of Education to listen to the appeals of at least two students implicated in the cheating scandal.

Candidates vying to lead UTLA reflect recent teacher woes

The 10 candidates running for president of United Teachers-Los Angeles seek to lead a dispirited and divided teacher corps with common grievances but who lack consensus on how to move forward.

News group's fight to obtain district documents heading to court

The jury trial for former Woodside Elementary teacher Joseph Martin -- who has been charged with 150 counts of molestation involving 14 former students while he taught at the Concord campus in the Mt. Diablo school district -- has been postponed until May. But, the Bay Area News Group lawsuit seeking district records related to an internal report about suspicions of abuse raised in 2006, along with any other relevant documents, is set to be heard March 19 in Contra Costa County Superior Court.