Monthly Archives: November 2018

Student exchange to Japan info meeting set – Daily Republic

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By Arletta Kelley Cortright

The Fairfield-Nirasaki Sister City Program is looking for local high school students with an interest in Japan to be part of next summer’s three-week student exchange visit to Fairfield’s sister city.

Interested students and their parents are invited to attend an information meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Fairfield Adult Recreation Center, 1200 Civic Center Drive.

Any high school student in the Fairfield-Suisun School District or Travis School District is eligible to apply to be part of the summer exchange delegation, as well as high school student residents of Fairfield who attend schools outside of the two districts.

Source: Student exchange to Japan info meeting set

A changed vote expected on charter high school petition – Times-Herald

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By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

Outgoing Vallejo City Unified School District trustee Ruscal Cayangyang wants to change his vote rejecting the Griffin Academy High School, so the board plans to rescind that decision and vote on the matter again, at Wednesday’s meeting.

At last week’s meeting, Griffin Academy’s petition to establish a charter high school associated with Vallejo’s MIT Academy, from which students could simultaneously earn a diploma and an AA degree from Contra Costa Community College, was defeated 3-2, with Cayangyang on the prevailing side.

A comprehensive review of the application found Griffin mostly in compliance with legal requirements, but some issues remained, including lackluster math scores among 11th graders at MIT, decreasing enrollment, and “differences in demographics of student enrollment between other school operated by petitioner and Vallejo City Unified School District.

Source: A changed vote expected on charter high school petition at Wednesday meeting – Times-Herald

Schools doing their part to improve Downtown Fairfield – Daily Republic

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By Brian Miller, Paul Nguyen and Tim Goree

Children are the future: future leaders, entrepreneurs, and workers.

Education and investment into schools are fundamental factors of a community’s economic and workforce development engine. A community that produces an educated and skilled labor force and features successful schools creates a more attractive place for residents, businesses, and future employers.

With the adoption of the Heart of Fairfield Plan in 2017, the city began a new effort to strengthen and enhance the traditional center of the city. The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District is an important partner in this effort, and is investing in local schools that serve the “Heart of Fairfield.”

Source: Economic Notes: Schools doing their part to improve Downtown Fairfield

Unofficial winners of Dixon Council races – The Reporter

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By Kimberly K. Fu

A Dixon city councilman and planning commissioner were triumphant Wednesday following Tuesday’s city council elections.

With all precincts counted, incumbent Scott Pederson kept his seat in District 1 while Commissioner Jim Ernest gained a new title in District 2.

“I’m doing great,” Pederson said Wednesday. “I’m just very grateful and very pleased that it turned out the way it did. It was a group and team effort.”

Now the work begins, he said, as Dixon’s next four years will be big.

He pointed to a new housing development in the southeast part of the city and development on the northeast side.

Source: Incumbent, planning commissioner unofficial winners of Dixon Council races – The Reporter

Torlakson Announces Approval of NGSS Materials – Year 2018 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that the State Board of Education (SBE) voted to approve the first-ever instructional materials which incorporate California’s groundbreaking Next Generation Science Standards for grades K–8. “California is the first state in the nation to adopt a science framework and approve instructional materials based on the Next Generation Science Standards,” Torlakson said. “I am excited about the new standards, which train students to act like scientists by posing questions and developing their own experiments. In addition, they emphasize climate change and environmental literacy, along with engineering and strategies to support girls and young women in science.”This was the largest state adoption for a content area with 34 programs submitted for review. The SBE approved 29 programs. Districts will have many options of curriculum resources to meet the needs of their students. The approval of instructional materials comes after the Science Framework was approved by the SBE in 2016.

Source: Torlakson Announces Approval of NGSS Materials – Year 2018 (CA Dept of Education)

Fantastic Field Conducting – Daily Republic

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On Saturday, November 3rd, the Rodriguez HS Entertainment Unit (REU) attended the 15th Annual Folsom High School Fall Festival. This competition featured the Field Show element only. The band did exceptionally well, especially in the Field Conducting category. The Drum Majors placed 1st in our Division (5A) for Field Conducting and also received the honor of High Field Conducting, which is the equivalent of a Sweepstakes award, overall. The band also earned three 2nd place trophies: Field Show Division 5A, Brass overall, and Woodwinds overall. The percussion unit, comprised of Drumline and Front Ensemble, earned a solid 3rd place overall. Color Guard placed 3rd overall although there was no trophy awarded for this particular placement at this specific competition. The REU took home a total of six trophies. Well done all!

Source: Good News: RHSEU: Fantastic Field Conducting

Travis school board to interview trustee candidates – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

Three applicants for the Trustee Area 2 vacancy will be interviewed Tuesday by the Travis School District board, which is then scheduled to make the appointment.

John Dickerson, Lisa Eckhoff and Russel Barrington are the finalists for the position that came open with the death Sept. 26 of Angela Weinzinger. The trustee area covers the district boundaries except for Travis Air Force Base.

The term runs through November 2020. The winning applicant will be sworn onto the board at 6 p.m. Dec. 11.

Source: Travis school board to interview trustee candidates

Fairfield, Benicia trade center tour focus on Solano, Napa high schoolers – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

More than 150 Solano and Napa high school students will tour trade training centers Friday, including two in Fairfield and one in Benicia.

The Carpenters 46 Northern and Sheetmetal Workers Local 104, both in Fairfield, and the Heat and Frost Insulators Local 16 in Benicia are stops on the tour.

“This partnership is based on a commitment to make graduating students aware of excellent career options in our area. The tour is a great experience for them, as they are able to use specialized tools and ask questions directly to labor leaders and trainers,” Solano County Superintendent of Schools Lisette Estrella-Henderson said in a statement released Thursday.

Source: Fairfield, Benicia trade center tour focus on Solano, Napa high schoolers

Newcomers highlight local school board races – Daily Republic

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By Bill Hicks

The one certainty in Tuesday’s Fairfield-Suisun School District Board of Trustees race was that a candidate named Wilson would emerge victorious.

As it turned out, the victorious candidate appears to be Craig Wilson, who was on his way to defeating incumbent Chris L. Wilson and will take over as the Area 4 trustee once the vote count is completed and the results certified.

The incumbent Wilson had served on the board for four years and was a trustee as the district had to navigate through some rocky financial waters, which it has since emerged from.

Source: Newcomers highlight local school board races

FHS grad Peyton Bailey adds spark to Briar Cliff Chargers – Daily Republic

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By Paul Farmer

Teams for whom Peyton Bailey plays just seem to do better.

The Fairfield High football team was 5-5 his senior year in 2015, when he made the All-Solano County Athletic Conference first team on defense, second team on offense. The Falcons have gone 2-26 since.

Sacramento City College was 6-5 in 2016 and 8-3 in 2017 in his two years with the Panthers, 3-7 the year before he got there, 4-5 this season.

Prior to 2018, Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa, had never had a winning season in football since beginning play in 2004. Its high-water mark was 5-6 in 2006, its longest winning streak two games – attained four times.

Source: FHS grad Peyton Bailey adds spark to Briar Cliff Chargers

Fox, Gross, Ubalde elected to Vallejo school board – Times-Herald

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By John Glidden

The people of Vallejo have entrusted one of the five Vallejo school board seats to teacher John Fox.

It wasn’t much of a contest as Fox has received 15,731 votes — establishing a comfortable lead over the seven other candidates vying for three board seats up for grabs, according to unofficial vote totals reported on the Solano County Registrar of Voters’ webpage.

“Thank you citizens of Vallejo for believing in my campaign, my message and in me. Though the election results aren’t final, I am humbled by the show of support,” Fox wrote on his campaign’s Facebook page. “We have a lot of work to do to bring about needed positive change to the Vallejo School Board, that which we were all promised two years ago.”

Source: Fox, Gross, Ubalde elected to Vallejo school board – Times-Herald

Kearney-Brown’s status to be discussed at VCUSD meeting – Times-Herald

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By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

Agreements with its unions, approval of the Griffin Academy High School, and a possible changing of the guard on the dais are scheduled for discussion at the Vallejo City Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday.

The issue of whether Marianne Kearney-Brown, who ascended to the board president position when Burky Worel resigned a few meetings ago, will be able to retain that post, is on the meeting’s agenda. Trustees will also discuss electing a new vice president in case there is a change.

The approval of Griffin Academy, which is connected to the MIT Academy charter school, would have no impact on the current budget but will likely negatively impact revenues beginning in the 2020-2021 fiscal year, due to loss of student average daily attendance.

Source: Kearney-Brown’s status to be discussed at VCUSD meeting – Times-Herald

2 of 3 incumbents out in Suisun; incumbents carry day in Fairfield – Daily Republic

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By Glen Faison

The Latest on results of Solano County elections as the polls close on Election Day and vote counts continue. County elections officials report the next update to the vote count will come at the end of the workday Wednesday.

1:55 a.m.

Fairfield Mayor Harry Price maintains a commanding lead in his race for re-election based on the latest Election Day results posted by the Solano County Elections Office.

Price has 61.3 percent of the vote with all of the city’s 35 precincts reporting at 1:15 a.m. Wednesday. Challenger Aneta Wise has 37.88 percent.

Source: The Latest: 2 of 3 incumbents out in Suisun; incumbents carry day in Fairfield; Vacaville selects next mayor

Silva newest member of Vacaville school board – Daily Republic

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By Susan Hiland

Incumbents were positioned to carry the day Election Day along with one newcomer in the race for three seats on the Vacaville School District’s governing board.

Michele “Shelley” Dally and John Jansen will retain their seats on the board for the next four years based on unofficial results from Tuesday’s elections. Michael Silva will join them.

Dally had 10,369 votes (23.6 percent), Silva had 10,075 (22.94 percent) and Jansen took 9,641 votes (21.95 percent) as of 11 p.m. with 22 of 42 precincts reporting.

Source: Silva newest member of Vacaville school board; Dally, Jansen retain seats

Local residents ready to go to the polls – Times-Herald

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By John Glidden

Election day is finally here as local residents decide on City Council races in Benicia and Vallejo, as well as positions on the Vallejo City Unified School District board as well as the Benicia school board.

Vallejo City Council incumbents Pippin Dew, Katy Miessner, along with Jess Malgapo are all seeking re-election to the seven-person City Council.

All three were elected in 2013. On that same ballot, Vallejo residents approved an amendment to the city’s charter moving the council elections from odd to even years.

Source: Local residents ready to go to the polls – Times-Herald

Video skills are a valuable gateway to digital literacy | Education Dive

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By Lauren Barack

At Armstrong Jr-Sr High School in Pennsylvania’s Armstrong School District (ASD), students who take video production classes learn far more than how to interview people, use TV equipment and edit video — they’re learning to look critically at the world around them.

“I feel we’re teaching them real life skills, how things are created, why interviews are conducted the way they are,” Chris Garritano told Education Dive. “But we’re also teaching them how to interpret what they see in real life.”

Students can start taking some of the classes their sophomore year of school and continue through senior year. There’s a weekly TV show, shot with a three-camera setup in the district’s TV studio, that runs about 25 to 30 minutes. Students also produce a live show called Talent Talk that’s shorter, often seven to 10 minutes, said Garritano, ASD’s multi-media technician, whose primary responsibility is running the TV studio and equipment.

Source: Video skills are a valuable gateway to digital literacy | Education Dive

CA Schools Nationally Recognized for Success – Year 2018 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today congratulated two California schools for receiving national recognition for achievement in 2018. A.J. Cook Elementary School in Garden Grove and Adams Elementary School in Santa Barbara are two of up to 100 schools throughout the country being recognized as National Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Distinguished Schools—formerly known as National Title I Distinguished Schools.

“Congratulations to Principal Sandi Ishii and Principal Kelly Fresch, as well as the entire team of educators, administrators, staff, parents, employees, and of course, students at these schools,” said Torlakson. “They are shining examples of positive changes underway in California’s education system, and what happens when everyone works together to achieve student success.”

A project of the National Association of ESEA State Program Administrators, the ESEA Distinguished Schools Program publicly recognizes qualifying federally funded schools for the outstanding academic achievements of their students. It highlights schools across the country achieving exceptional student performance, as well as those closing the achievement gap between student groups.

Source: CA Schools Nationally Recognized for Success – Year 2018 (CA Dept of Education)

Rodriguez art students conceive, create first mural – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

Rodriguez High has a new mural, thanks to the efforts of AP art teacher Lynne Larsen and her students.

It’s the first student-painted mural at the high school.

Each student had the opportunity to be part of the work by completing the mural class assignment. Larsen presented the finished works to the administration and owner of the proposed mural location.

The concept from Nyla Fukushima, a 16-year-old junior, was chosen.

Source: Rodriguez art students conceive, create first mural

Travis School District Area 2: Forbes looks to make experience pay off – Daily Republic

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By Bill Hicks

Life, very often, is about being in the right place at the right time. That’s the case behind Janet Forbes’ run for the Travis School District Board of Trustees.

Forbes, who brings to the table a bachelor’s and master’s degree in business administration along with 30 years of experience in marketing and another 10 years in administration with a private university, might not have been in a position to make a run at a school board seat in the past.

Having started a business with her husband, which she said is now thriving, Forbes has the time and opportunity to serve on the board – and as coincidence has it, Travis board seats came available.

Source: Travis School District Area 2: Forbes looks to make experience pay off

Travis School District Area 2: Experience on ‘inside’ key for Barrington – Daily Republic

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By Bill Hicks

Russ Barrington has a plan to get elected as a Travis School District trustee and said he has something in his background that might just help him earn a seat – experience.

Trustees often start out as a parent or someone connected with the “user experience” end of things. For Barrington, his run to win an Area 2 seat on the board is something of an inside job.

His background as an analyst working directly with the Travis district, as well as other area school districts, has familiarized him with the inner workings of school district business.

Source: Travis School District Area 2: Experience on ‘inside’ key for Barrington