Latest News and Comment from Education

Friday, April 25, 2014

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Friday, April 25, 2014

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:



L.A. Unified can keep teacher ratings anonymous, judges say





FCMAT’s new website is coming soon! We will have a new look and better compatibility with mobile devices, making it easier to access information and resources. Look for our new site starting April 25.

Education Headlines

Friday, April 25, 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.

Yreka high board looks at bond measure for gym upgrades

Sports, drama and music may find new homes at Yreka High School if the Yreka Union High School District Board of Trustees approves a proposed facilities improvement project.

Lincoln Unified, teachers reach agreement

Lincoln Unified has reached a tentative contract agreement with its teachers union, a deal that will bring an 8 percent increase in compensation for teachers, Superintendent Tom Uslan said.

11 children, driver hurt in Anaheim school bus crash

Eleven middle school students and their driver were injured when a school bus jumped a curb Thursday and rammed into trees in Southern California, authorities said.

San Ysidro school board picks interim leader

San Ysidro School District trustees have voted to hire a retired South County school administrator to serve as interim superintendent until a permanent replacement can be found. The 3-0 vote came Thursday night during a regular school board meeting.

Bill backs lessons about Obama in California schools

A bill that passed the Assembly with unanimous bipartisan support Thursday encourages California schools to teach students about the racial significance of Barack Obama's presidency.

EdSource: Districts may have funding flexibility to repair and improve school facilities

To weather deep cuts in public school funding, many California school districts shifted much-needed dollars away from repairing and maintaining their buildings to keep teachers in the classroom and save instructional programs from being eliminated.

EdSource: Common Core now the common element in college-preparatory courses

Lesson plans and teacher training programs at the K-12 level aren’t the only things being updated to reflect the new Common Core State Standards. The requirements of the battery of courses – called “a-g” – that students must take to be eligible for California public university admission have also been revised to reflect the new standards.

L.A. Unified can keep teacher ratings anonymous, judges say

The Los Angeles Unified School District does not need to release the names of teachers in connection with their performance ratings, according to a tentative court ruling issued Thursday.
Thursday, April 24, 2014

Ex-lawyer is on a mission to keep schools fair

With the persistence of a gadfly, the zeal of a civil rights activist and the know-how of a lawyer, Sally Smith has made it her mission to challenge the San Diego public school system and many others across California that require students to foot the bill for basic school activities.

Stockton USD trustees terminate deputy superintendent

Stockton Unified School District trustees voted to terminate the contract of Deputy Superintendent Sheree Audet on Tuesday night, effective April 30.

EdSource: Transitional kindergarten teachers say they need more training

Ninety-five percent of the first transitional kindergarten teachers in California had previously taught preschool, kindergarten or 1st grade, but said they could have used more training on how to teach 4-year-olds,  according to a new report American Institutes for Research.

Residents critical of Santa Ana district's discipline efforts

The Santa Ana Unified School District board faced a packed house Tuesday, with a steady stream of local residents calling for a reshaping of student discipline in the wake of a controversial arrest of a 14-year-old boy.

New contract for Poway superintendent

The Poway Unified school board Wednesday night awarded Superintendent John Collins a three-year contract with a $63,000 raise in base pay — a pact the district says will actually save money.

Charter of Van Nuys’ CHAMPS in jeopardy over staffer’s $27,000 credit-card misuse

Charter High School of the Arts officials have 10 days to convince Los Angeles Unified they’ve fixed mismanagement that let a former staffer rack up $27,000 in personal expenses on her school charge card and quit without repaying it.

May 6 voting deadline looms for school parcel tax election

Just a little over a week remains for Lamorinda voters to decide whether to tax themselves for an indefinite period of time to continue funding local public schools.

Survey finds Californians back both Common Core and new funding formula

Resistance to the Common Core State Standards may be spreading in parts of Red State America, but Californians are learning more about the new math and reading standards and generally like what they have heard, according to a new survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.