Monthly Archives: September 2016

CPR Training Now Mandatory In High School Health Classes In California – Dixon, CA Patch

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Governor Jerry Brown signed into law Saturday AB 1719, a law that requires hands-on cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instruction, along with Automated External Defibrillator awareness in high school health classes, an American Heart Association spokeswoman said.

California is the 35th state to provide CPR training in schools, along with Washington, D.C., spokeswoman Robin Swanson said. State Assemblyman Freddie Rodriguez (D-Pomona) authored the bill.

Source: CPR Training Now Mandatory In High School Health Classes In California – Dixon, CA Patch

School board OKs $3,037 for San Diego, Orange County hotel stays – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Payments, including $2,677 for three Fairfield-Suisun School District administrators to stay at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront for three nights to attend an Association of California School Administrators leadership conference, were approved Thursday by the school board.

Board members did not comment about the payments before their unanimous vote.

The school administrators association website describes the November conference as its premier professional development event.

Source: School board OKs $3,037 for San Diego, Orange County hotel stays

Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees to review project labor agreements – The Reporter

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By Ryan McCarthy

A study session by Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees to review project labor agreements will take place Tuesday.

The trustees decided Sept. 8 to have sessions about the agreements and the $249 million school facilities bond voters passed in June. Trustees can ask questions and request information at the Tuesday session.

A second study session is scheduled Oct. 3 to hear information from representatives of local trade unions and other labor agreement advocates. A third session will occur Oct. 25 for opposition groups to present their viewpoint.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees to review project labor agreements

Hotel stays goes before Fairfield-Suisun school board – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Three Fairfield-Suisun School District administrators staying at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront for three nights at a total cost of $2,677 are among payments that go before the school board at its Thursday meeting.

An Association of California School Administrators leadership conference is scheduled in November at the site. The association website describes the conference at its premier professional development event.

“This annual gathering of educators at all levels of administration is a celebration of the profession,” the website states. “This event provides opportunities for invaluable networking and offers professional development on current critical leadership and educational issues.”

Source: $3,037 for San Diego, Orange County hotel stays goes before Fairfield-Suisun school board

Community members serve as principals for day – Daily Republic

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By Ian Thompson

Suisun City Councilman Mike Segala listened politely as Dan O. Root Elementary School parents talked about the need to establish a parent-teacher organization.

As Dan O. Root’s principal for a day, Segala agreed with the idea. He said it was important while the principal he was shadowing, Julie Reece, said she hopes to see it “up and running in the near future.”

The parents were part of the school’s coffee with the principal where they could bring up any subject they wanted with Reece.

Source: Community members serve as principals for day

Principal for the Day a chance to learn appreciation – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

The certificate of appreciation at morning’s end was a nice token, acknowledging my participation in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District’s renewed Principal for the Day program Wednesday.

When I walked up to receive the certificate, during a noon luncheon in the district’s central offices on Hilborn Road, Superintendent Kris Corey asked me what was the “bright spot” of my morning experience as acting principal at Cleo Gordon Elementary.

Source: Principal for the Day a chance to learn appreciation – The Reporter

Elementary P.E., music, new board policies on FSUSD agenda tonight – The Reporter

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By  Richard Bammer

Elementary music instruction and the review and possible approval of several policies are on the agenda when Fairfield-Suisun Unified trustees meet tonight in Fairfield.

The director of elementary education, Cindy Brown, will lead a discussion about the physical education, music and art programs in K-5 and K-8 schools. Her presentation will include information about the level of music and band instruction provided in the elementary schools. The district employs 39 specialists in physical education, seven in art and music.

The sprawling district, the county’s largest, has some 21,000 students across more than two dozen campuses.

 

Source: Elementary P.E., music, new board policies on FSUSD agenda tonight

Vacaville Unified leaders in budget workshop Thursday – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Budget numbers and more — that is what Vacaville Unified leaders will hear and discuss Thursday when they meet in a special governing board workshop.

Chief Business Officer Deo Persaud will lead a budget workshop for the seven-member board, during which he will lay out in detail the 2016-16 budget, at nearly $109 million, with $660,000 in red ink and an ending balance of $16.5 million. Nearly 15 percent of the budget will be held in reserve, for economic uncertainties, Persaud told trustees during a June meeting.

Additionally, Superintendent Jane Shamieh, during last week’s regular trustee meeting, said a Solano County Office of Education official also may offer information about budgets from other Solano school districts.

 

Source: Vacaville Unified leaders in budget workshop Thursday

ECS Report Shows Growing Trend Toward Computer Science – Education News

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By Corwin Mollett

The Education Commission of the States, or ECS, has released the Education Trends report that examines graduation requirements regarding computer science classes. The report notes that many states have changed their graduation requirements to encourage districts to offer computer science courses.

The report:

“… identifies states that are allowing or requiring districts to apply computer science coursework toward completion of high school graduation requirements in math, science or foreign language. This report also highlights several states that require computer science courses to fulfill requirements for a specialized diploma or endorsement to the standard high school diploma.”

The report found that 14 states now require students to be allowed to fulfill a math, science, or foreign language credit with a computer science course. In an age where computer knowledge is nearly a mandatory skill for a growing number of jobs, this push for offering and requiring computer science courses is a strong starting point for students.

Source: ECS Report Shows Growing Trend Toward Computer Science

Auto shop in the 21st century: A new day – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

The Will C. Wood High School automotive technology classes, levels I and II, are not your grandfather’s auto shop, not in an age when cars contain microprocessors, often several dozen, GPS systems, video screens and the like, which may all be activated before backing out of your garage.

They are not even your father’s auto shop classes, said George “Chip” Reeves, the auto tech teacher at the Marshal Road campus, where five days a week he instructs more than 100 students, including some from Vacaville High, which does not offer an auto shop program.

Source: Auto shop in the 21st century: A new day

State gets $11M in fed grants to help poor kids take AP tests – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

In an effort to boost college and career prospects for California’s poor children, the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday announced it has awarded the Golden State more than $11 million in grants so low-income students can take Advanced Placement tests.

Federal education officials, pointing out the poor have been a historically underserved group, noted that California is one of 41 states and Washington, D.C., to receive a total of $28.4 million to help pay for the taking of AP tests by students from low-income families.

States receiving the next highest grant amounts were Texas ($3.5 million), New York ($2.7 million) and Illinois ($1.8 million).

Mark Frazier, the chief academic officer for Vacaville Unified, said the announcement did not come as a surprise, since the district has applied to set aside some money so poor students can take the AP tests if they wish.

 

Source: State gets $11M in fed grants to help poor kids take AP tests

Governor signs emergency allergy medicine legislation but rebukes Epi-Pen price hikes | EdSource

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Gov. Jerry Brown berated the manufacturer of a life-saving emergency allergy treatment on Friday for price gouging, even as he signed legislation to make it easier for afterschool programs, daycare centers, colleges and businesses to obtain the treatment.

The pharmaceutical company Mylan raised the price of a two-pack of Epi-Pen epinephrine auto-injectors from $100 in 2008 to more than $600 today, Brown wrote in his signing message. Epi-Pens, which reportedly face little competition in the market, deliver a dose of epinephrine to counteract anaphylaxis, a potentially life-threatening allergic reaction that includes difficulty breathing.

“State government cannot stop unconscionable price increases but it can shed light on such rapacious corporate behavior,” Brown’s message said.

Source: Governor signs emergency allergy medicine legislation but rebukes Epi-Pen price hikes | EdSource

California Department of Education Releases New In – Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education)

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The California Department of Education (CDE) today released new information about the nearly 70,000 foster youth in the state’s public schools as part of a coordinated effort to assist these vulnerable and academically at-risk students.

California’s groundbreaking Local Control Funding Formula, passed by the California State Legislature in 2013, significantly increased funding for high-needs students including foster youth, English learners, and economically disadvantaged students. School districts also received greater flexibility to meet student needs.

The law requires CDE to collect detailed information about educational results for foster youth annually.

Today’s reports are the first in a series and include the number of students in foster care at the county, district, and school levels. Details of student achievement are based on statewide test results. In the next few months, the CDE will release reports on suspensions and expulsions, graduation rates, and student mobility.

Source: California Department of Education Releases New In – Year 2016 (CA Dept of Education)

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson Honors Latino Heritage Month (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today honored Latino Heritage Month with a celebration at the California Department of Education (CDE) headquarters building.Torlakson recognized the many contributions of Latinos to California’s economy, society, government, entertainment, business, culture, and public education system and stated he is “Latino de Corazon”—Latino at heart. California has nearly 15 million Latinos in the state population.

Of the more than 6.2 million students in California public schools, 53 percent are Latinos and 1.4 million are English Learners.

“This is a terrific day to recognize the outstanding accomplishments that Latinos have achieved, and continue to achieve, throughout every part of California life. Latinos have added so much to the rich cultural diversity that makes California such a great and dynamic place to live,” Torlakson said.

Source: Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson Honors Latino Heritage Month

School board hears LCAP update at Thursday’s meeting – Benicia Herald

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by Nick Sestanovich

Trustees of the Benicia Unified School District heard an update on the second goal for BUSD’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), which includes modernizing instruction and infrastructure, at Thursday’s school board meeting.

The LCAP is a plan that is required by all public schools in California to receive funding provided through the Local Control Funding Formula, which was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in 2013. The LCAP outlines three goals, the first of which is to create a team of engaged staff to support the success of all students so they are ready for college and careers. Ruben Fernandez, the director of technology, gave an overview on the second goal which was to “modernize and improve infrastructure to provide a learning environment that offers opportunities for 21st century teaching and learning.”

Source: School board hears LCAP update at Thursday’s meeting

Buckingham senior aims to make teens more socially aware – The Reporter

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By Kimberly K. Fu

So many societal ills are swirling and teens don’t know how to deal or where to turn.

Which is why a Buckingham Charter Magnet High School senior created a safe place to land — her Social Awareness Club at the school.

“I was looking around my school and there were all these clubs, but nothing about what’s happening in the world, in the media, about how women are being treated or how men are being treated,” the 17-year-old said. “The point of my club is to talk about issues.”

Now 20-people strong, a diverse group of 10 young men and 10 young women, the group gets together to talk about all manner of issues facing them in the world today and to fully discuss their feelings in a safe, non-judgmental environment.

Source: Buckingham senior aims to make teens more socially aware

Trustees hear detailed update on career tech ed – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Decades ago in U.S. high schools, it was called “voc ed,” for vocational education, perhaps best exemplified by auto shop and wood shop classes for boys who were largely disinterested in college and perhaps disinterested in behaving well in traditional classrooms, too, the programs serving sometimes as a catch-all for boys deemed discipline programs, their GPAs hovering at 2.0 and lower.

But in recent years high school voc ed has morphed into “career technical education,” or CTE for short, and it is a lot more complex these days, specifically in its scope, offerings and goals, as explained by Mark Frazier, Vacaville Unified’s chief academic officer.

CTE is a program that mixes traditional academic subjects and knowledge with technical and job-related know-how, giving students a way to succeed in college or in a post-high school career.

 

Source: Trustees hear detailed update on career tech ed

Travis Unified hangs out its “Help Wanted” sign – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Seen on the internet certainly, a symbolic “Help Wanted” sign hangs in front of Travis Unified these days, but not a real one visible while driving by the school district’s main offices, at 2751 De Ronde Drive, in Fairfield.

During Tuesday’s once-monthly governing board meeting, Superintendent Kate Wren Gavlak referred to numerous openings in the 5,300-student district with two elementaries in Vacaville.

Her remarks came after trustees approved the hiring of Karen Gibb on a provisional intern permit after no fully credentialed first-grade teacher at Scandia Elementary could be found to fill the position at the Travis Air Force Base school, which the district oversees.

Source: Travis Unified hangs out its “Help Wanted” sign – The Reporter

Dixon Student Makes List of National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists – Dixon, CA Patch

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By Susan C. Schena

The National Merit Scholarship Corporation has announced the names of approximately 16,000 semifinalists in the 62nd annual National Merit Scholarship Program, including a Dixon student.

The local student: DIXON H. S. – Immel, Bradley D.

The high school seniors are competing for some 7,500 National Merit Scholarships worth about $33 million that will be offered next spring. About 90 percent of the semifinalists are expected to become finalists, and about half of the finalists will win a National Merit Scholarship.

Source: Dixon Student Makes List of National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists – Dixon, CA Patch

Measure Q committee views Solano College library, theater, airport projects with skepticism – Daily Republic

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by Todd R. Hansen

The committee charged with reviewing how Measure Q bond funds are spent at Solano Community College raised several concerns in its report to the board of trustees while offering a generally positive opinion.

“I think the first thing, as far as we can tell, things have been done above-board,” said Lyman Dennis, chairman of the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee, who is at the end of his second and last three-year term.

The one exception, perhaps, is the committee had hoped to sit in on the performance and financial audits involving the measure, and Dennis said that members were put off several times until learning the audits had been completed.

Source: Measure Q committee views Solano College library, theater, airport projects with skepticism