Local Habit Burger Grills Join ‘No Kid Hungry’ Campaign – Benicia, CA Patch

By Susan C. Schena

Habit Burger Grill restaurants, with several nearby locations in the North Bay, is partnering again with No Kid Hungry to raise funds to provide healthy meals to kids across the nation who are unsure of their next meal.

Customers who donate $2 or more to the No Kid Hungry campaign will receive a free Charburger with Cheese certificate, good on a return visit now through the end of September.

One in five kids in the U.S. struggles with hunger, company officials said.

Source: Local Habit Burger Grills Join ‘No Kid Hungry’ Campaign – Benicia, CA Patch

Test scores, updates on Measure Q, school farm on Dixon Unified agenda – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

State standardized test scores, and updates on Measure Q and the School Farm at Dixon High are on the agenda when Dixon Unified leaders meet Thursday night.

Mike Walbridge, assistant superintendent for educational services, will update the five-member governing board on the recently released results from the 2015-16 California Assessment of Student Proficiency and Progress, or CAASPP, an all-computerized test in its second year of use and based on the new Common Core State Standards.

Releasing test data Aug. 23, the state Department of Education indicated that math scores grew by 1 percent, to 32 percent, with the 1,700 students tested meeting or exceeding state standards.

Source: Test scores, updates on Measure Q, school farm on Dixon Unified agenda

Vacaville USD leaders to hear test score results, nutrition program update – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Vacaville Unified leaders, when they meet Thursday night, will hear a report on the most recent state standardized test scores, hear an update on the school district’s student nutrition program, and likely approve support for Proposition 51 on the November ballot.

Mark Frazier, chief academic officer, and Kim Forrest, director of instruction, curriculum and assessment, will note results of the 2015-16 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, or CAASPP.

Released to the public Aug. 24, the tests scores indicated that 37 percent of those taking the all-computerized tests last spring — some 6,200 students in grades three to eight and 11 — met or exceeded state standards in mathematics, an increase of 1 percent over last year.

Source: Vacaville Unified School District leaders to hear test score results, nutrition program update

Confusion Over Purpose of U.S. Education System | US News

By Lauren Camera

There is no consensus among the public about the role of the public school system in the U.S., according to a new poll that also shows widespread discontent with some of the education policies that have been a major focus of the reform movement.

“This really calls into question in many ways whether the agenda that has been set over the last 16 years, in particular over the last two administrations, is really what parents want to see,” said Johsua Starr, CEO of PDK, the education organization that’s released the poll annually for the last 48 years.

Notably, the poll shows that only 45 percent of respondents thought the main goal of public education should be preparing students academically, while the rest was split between the main goal being preparing students for work or preparing them to be good citizens.

Source: Confusion Over Purpose of U.S. Education System | US News

California must move ahead on new approach to school accountability – EdSource

By Michael Kirst

The State Board of Education has been working for several years to develop a new accountability system based on the Local Control Funding Formula, which the Legislature and governor passed in 2013. In September, the state board will take an important step forward by establishing a new way to measure progress and identify problems in our schools and districts, giving parents, teachers and community members a better idea of what is happening at their schools.

Accountability systems serve multiple functions, including providing guidance to parents, highlighting schools’ strengths and diagnosing their weaknesses, and helping educators design and implement strategies to assist schools.

For 15 years, California evaluated schools and districts largely by looking at a single number that relied exclusively on test scores – the Academic Performance Index (API). This gave us a narrow view. A single number is not sufficient to evaluate an employee or buy a house. Similarly, we shouldn’t depend on just one indicator to understand school performance. Furthermore, the API said nothing about other essential components of a successful school such as high school graduation rates, attendance, suspension rates, career and college readiness, and English learner progress.

Source: California must move ahead on new approach to school accountability

Fairfield-Suisun school leaders headed to D.C. for summit on “reinventing” high schools – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

For the second time in two years, Fairfield-Suisun Unified Superintendent Kris Corey will return to Washington, D.C., to discuss and share ideas about 21st-century high schools.

The Vacaville resident and also Kristen Witt, the school district’s director of secondary education, will attend the White House Summit on Next Generation High Schools, Sept. 12, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.

There, they will meet with state and district education leaders, researchers and philanthropists who have developed or funded models for high school “redesign,” a proposal President Barack Obama laid out in his 2013 State of the Union address.

California high school football: Concussions spike, participation drops – EastBayTimes.com

By Matthias Gafni and Joyce Tsai

As high school football teams around the Bay Area kicked off their season this weekend, new statistics show the king of all prep sports is drawing fewer players than it did a decade ago amid a dramatic increase in concussion diagnoses.

High school football participation in California is down 7 percent over the past decade, with some schools dropping teams or even their entire football programs, according to hospital and high school athletics statistics compiled by this newspaper. Every other major high school sport has seen participation grow over that period, and for the first time, track and field has more athletes, knocking football off its pedestal.

Campolindo High School quarterback Jacob Westphal, 17, of Moraga, runs a drill during practice at the school in Moraga, Calif., on Wednesday, Aug 24, 2016. Westphal says he loves the game and that he focuses on the game, not concussions.  But the reason for the trend is not clear. Are parents more reluctant to let their sons play the hard-hitting game? Has a tipping point been reached where waffling fathers and mothers are now pointing their kids toward safer sports?

Source: California high school football: Concussions spike, participation drops – EastBayTimes.com

2 more seek Solano College board seat – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

Chris Fickes and Alvina Sheeley are running for the Solano Community College District board of trustees seat that Monica Brown has represented.

Brown is running for the Solano County Board of Supervisors and the two candidates – along with Quinten Voyce, who had already announced his candidacy – seek election Nov. 8.

Fickes was born and raised in Fairfield and graduated from the University of California, Davis.

Source: 2 more seek Solano College board seat

Tolenas teachers get generous gift from Solano’s custody officers – Daily Republic

By Amy Maginnis-Honey

Christmas came a little early Friday for teachers at Tolenas Elementary School.

A contingent of officers from the Solano County Sheriff’s Custody Association came to the school with five plastic totes filled with pencils, paper, glue, Kleenex – and even some colorful portable charging devices – to name a few.

The school supply drive was organized by Correctional Officer Melissa Guglielminetti, who put collections bins at the downtown, Clay Bank and Stanton correctional facilities. Then, she watched as they began to fill up. The goal was to give back to the community, she said.

Source: Tolenas teachers get generous gift from Solano’s custody officers

Solano College brings quality education home to area residents – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

With more than 11,000 students walking through its doors this year, Solano Community College offers the county’s students many paths to vocational careers and a solid stepping stone to higher college degrees.

Along with its main campus on Suisun Valley Road, Solano College also has smaller satellite campuses in Vacaville, Vallejo and on Travis Air Force Base.

The college district offers a wide variety of opportunities for its students, such as giving them the ability to earn a certificate, a degree or transfer to a four-year institution. In addition to core academic classes, it offers programs in criminal justice, fire technology, nursing, emergency medical services, cosmetology and horticulture.

Source: Solano College brings quality education home to area residents

Schools rebound after Great Recession’s lull – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

After the major economic downturn in 2008, local school district’s were forced to make critical cut in services for many school years.

Now, with an improved economic forecast, the Fairfield-Suisun, Vacaville and Travis school districts have all regained much of what was lost in those years and are looking forward to years of coming growth.

Fairfield-Suisun School District was able to replace some services that were cut under budget shortfalls, including middle school sports programs. Serving more than 21,000 students, the district felt the pinch from forced teacher layoffs as much as any district in the area during those tight budget times. However, through a series of job fairs and other employment events, the district was able to hire several teachers and add needed support staff.

Source: Schools rebound after Great Recession’s lull

How to register children for school – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

Kindergarten is the start of a child’s journey into adulthood. It is a time of transitions for both the parent and child.

The changes may not be easy, but here is a list of suggestions for getting started:

• Find a school: A child’s school is typically determined by where his or her family lives. Some districts post maps online to help parents locate their school. But if parents have questions, they can call the district to make certain they have selected the proper one.

Source: How to register children for school

Place proposed textbooks at library, trustee suggests – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

Placing proposed textbooks, including Positive Prevention Plus for sex education classes, at the Suisun City Library would expand the opportunity for the public to review the books, Fairfield-Suisun School District Trustee Chris Wilson said Thursday.

He said having the books at the library will allow review after 5 p.m., when the school district offices in Fairfield close and textbooks on display in the lobby are not available.

“We’ll see what we can do,” Superintendent Kris Corey told Wilson.

Source: Place proposed textbooks at library, trustee suggests

School board names 8 to Measure J oversight panel – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

Eight people were appointed Thursday to a citizens Bond Oversight Committee for the $249 million Measure J bond.

Charles Wood, Jana Modena, Rochelle Sherlock, Barbara Pisching, LeRoy Purvis, Nicole Mallari, Rick Wood and Robert C. Thomas Sr. will serve on the panel.

They will meet every other month once Measure J expenditures have begun, a school district staff report said.

Source: School board names 8 to Measure J oversight panel

Frazier nomination as legislator of the year wins Fairfield-Suisun board support – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

Nominating state Assemblyman Jim Frazier for the legislator of the year award by the California School Boards Association won approval by Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees meeting Thursday.

Given his commitment to public education, and specifically the Fairfield-Suisun School District, Frazier is worthy of this recognition, a school district staff report said.

Source: Frazier nomination as legislator of the year wins Fairfield-Suisun board support

Trustees OK conference, hotel costs of $25,705 – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

Conference and hotel costs of $25,705 – including events at UCLA and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas – were among payments Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees approved Thursday.

School district spokewoman Sheila McCabe said before the meeting that the district misstated that $2,793 of the total was spent for Superintendent Kris Corey and a trustee to attend a two-day leadership institute in Sacramento.

Source: Trustees OK conference, hotel costs of $25,705

Chronically Misbehaving Kids Suffer Mental and Social Disease – Education News

By Julia Steiny

Naturally, Faina Davis, a lawyer and head of Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth (RJOY), would have a happy-ish story about what happens when troubled kids connect with adults who practice Restorative Justice. Far more often, kids misbehave, get punished, misbehave, get punished, in an endlessly destructive cycle. But Restoration works to interrupt this cycle by solving whatever was driving the misbehavior in the first place.

An 11th grader, whom Davis calls Cameron, transferred into a Restorative Oakland high school. He’d already become, as she put it, one of those “scary-dude kids” with saggy pants, a black hoodie and a horrible attitude. Such charmers come to her through the Oakland’s schools, which have become demonstration sites for restorative justice.

On his first day at the new school, Cameron met with the school’s Director. Cameron probably expected, per usual, to get yelled at, berated, and threatened with dire consequences for any more misdeeds. Instead, this Restorative Director put aside the thick folder of records of Cameron’s academic failures, suspensions and arrests. Start fresh. Cameron couldn’t suddenly become an angel. But together he and the Director would deal with the obstacles in the way of building a brighter, healthier path for this angry adolescent.

Source: Chronically Misbehaving Kids Suffer Mental and Social Disease

Area students show progress on state tests – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Thousands of Vacaville-area public school students, like their counterparts statewide, showed across-the-board progress in the second year of new state standardized tests, the California Department of Education reported Wednesday morning.

State schools chief Tom Torlakson made the state results known in a 9 a.m. public announcement while visiting a Los Angeles elementary school and in the afternoon at San Leandro High School in the East Bay.

Vacaville Unified

In Vacaville Unified, 37 percent of those taking the all-computerized tests last spring, some 6,200 students grades three to eight and 11, met or exceeded state standards in mathematics, an increase of 1 percent over last year, said Mark Frazier, the district’s chief academic officer.

Source: Area students show progress on state tests

Two new school openings, Measure J bond sale on Fairfield-Suisun district agenda – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Presentations on project labor agreements, the opening of two new schools, and possible approval of Measure J projects for a bond sale are on the agenda when Fairfield-Suisun Unified leaders meeting tonight in Fairfield.

The seven-member governing board will hear from Phil Henderson, a partner in Orbach Huff Suarez & Henderson, a Southern California-based firm specializing in construction project planning for public agencies, about PLAs.

His remarks will be related to Measure J, the $249 million bond passed by district voters in June that will be used to upgrade schools in the county’s largest district, with more than 21,000 students across more than two dozen schools.

Source: Two new school openings, Measure J bond sale on Fairfield-Suisun district agenda

$25,704 in conference, hotel costs go before Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

Conference and hotel costs of $25,705 – including events at UCLA and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas – are among payments going before Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees when they meet Thursday.

Eleven administrators attended the summer institute for new and aspiring principals hosted at UCLA by the Association of California School Administrators. The cost to the Fairfield-Suisun School District for June 27 to Aug. 1 event is $15,045.

Superintendent Kris Corey and a school district trustee attended a July 15-16 governance workshop in Sacramento by the California School Boards Association. The cost to the district is $2,793.

Source: $25,704 in conference, hotel costs go before Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees