Monthly Archives: June 2019

Bond funds banked, millions must be cut- Vallejo school budget – Times-Herald

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By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

With millions of Measure S dollars in the bank, the Vallejo City Unified School District must still find a way to cut millions from its budget, it was learned at Wednesday’s school board meeting.

At the meeting, trustees learned both that the first sale of Measure S bonds, which will help pay for facilities repairs and upgrades, went better than expected and will cost slightly less per taxpayer to repay, but also that projected enrollment declines are expected to wreak havoc on the district’s budget.

Nearly $39 million came in from the bond sale – some $600,000 more than expected — and is in the bank and ready to use. The next bond sale should happen in 2021.

Source: Millions in bond funds banked, millions must be cut from Vallejo school budget – Times-Herald

Sick Life car show at Jesse Bethel this Saturday – Times-Herald

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By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

Growing up in Vallejo, Ezequiel Martinez, AKA “EZ,” said he’s been shot, stabbed and sent to jail, and hopes he can help keep some other local kids from traveling that path to nowhere, with his Sick Life Car Club and its second annual car show, planned for Saturday, June 8.

The free event is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Jesse Bethel High School parking lot, he said.

“There will be face painting for the kids, jump houses, activities, raffles, food, vendors, a DJ, even a mechanical bull,” Martinez said, adding a kick-off ceremony at about 11 a.m. will feature Aztec dancers – a rare sight in Vallejo. And, naturally, there will be all kinds of cars and other types of vehicles, he said.

Source: Sick Life car show at Jesse Bethel this Saturday – Times-Herald

Graduating class bids farewell to Solano College – Daily Republic

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By Bill Hicks

Graduation season saw its official kickoff Thursday with the commencement celebration at Solano Community College.

The graduation ceremony was one of the most special in school history for a number of reasons.

First, with nearly 500 students claiming degrees, it was one of the biggest graduating classes the school has seen.

That class included about two dozen students from Early College High School, who technically earned their degrees before earning their high school diplomas – which they will do in June during the Rodriguez High graduation.

Source: Graduating class bids farewell to Solano College

Speaker challenges Sem Yeto grads to tell their story – Daily Republic

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By Bill Hicks

The graduates who took part in the 2019 Sem Yeto High School graduation ceremony have something in common: They were all supposed to graduate somewhere else.

The students find themselves, at some point in their high school journey, off track with their credit requirements due to health issues, family problems, disciplinary problems or any of a range of other reasons.

Source: Speaker challenges Sem Yeto grads to tell their story

TGIF Cooper to commence summer camp activities Monday – The Reporter

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By Nick Sestanovich

The last day of school is coming up fast, which means “afterschool program” will soon have a whole new meaning.

The Vacaville Community Services Department’s Thank Goodness It’s Fun (TGIF) program is aimed at providing an array of activities for first through sixth-graders, both during the school year and as a summer camp. The latter will begin Monday and run for nine weeks, but students were already celebrating Wednesday in Cooper School Park.

This summer will feature a variety of games, trips to the pool twice a week, camp songs and field trips.

Source: TGIF Cooper to commence summer camp activities Monday – The Reporter

Browns Valley students experience BMX show for Fun Field Day – The Reporter

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By Nick Sestanovich

The X Games aren’t until August, but Browns Valley Elementary School students didn’t have to wait until then to see incredible stunts performed by professional BMX riders. They got it right on their own campus Wednesday morning for the school’s annual Fun Field Day.

And given the weather, it might as well have been August.

The heat did nothing to diminish students’ enthusiasm though, with teachers walking by with spray bottles to keep students misted as the Go Green Live Clean BMX Show pedaled into Browns Valley for a show of awe-inspiring stunts mixed in with important lessons for the kids. Principal Lynn Benevides said it was the first time a bicycle motocross show had come to Browns Valley.

Source: Browns Valley students experience BMX show for Fun Field Day – The Reporter

Fairfield-Suisun Adult School grads celebrate accomplishments – Daily Republic

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By Susan Hiland

Dina Aldana Leon’s mortar board was bursting with pink and white flowers, a visible expression of what was going on inside her. The 41-year-old mother of three was bursting with joy at finally becoming a high school graduate.

The Fairfield-Suisun Adult School graduation Wednesday saw a portion of the year’s graduates cross the stage and into their future.

“I had to drop out of school when I was 18 years old, because of some issues,” Leon said.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun Adult School grads celebrate accomplishments

Vacaville Unified offering free lunches throughout summer – The Reporter

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By Nick Sestanovich

With children often depending on their schools as the primary source for healthy meals, the Vacaville Unified School District’s nutrition department will be working to ensure that students continue to have access to such meals when school is out for the summer. The district will once again be offering its Seamless Summer Feeding Program at four sites in Vacaville this summer.

The program, done in conjunction with the California Department of Education and U.S. Department of Agriculture, aims to bridge the hunger gap that students often face in the summer, according to a VUSD news release. Children ages 18 and under will be able to receive free meals Mondays through Fridays at the following locations, times and dates:

Source: Vacaville Unified offering free lunches throughout summer – The Reporter

Thurmond Appoints New CDE Deputy Superintendent – Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today that he has appointed Stephanie Gregson, EdD, as the Deputy Superintendent for the Performance, Planning, and Technology Branch (PPTB) at the California Department of Education (CDE).

Dr. Gregson is the former Director of the Curriculum Frameworks and Instructional Resources Division at the CDE. During her tenure as Director, her division developed frameworks for history and social science and health education. Dr. Gregson also led the largest state adoption of instruction materials for kindergarten through grade twelve science and the development of standards updates, including the first-ever state kindergarten through grade twelve Computer Science content standards.

“Stephanie is a dedicated and dynamic educator who brings a tremendous level of knowledge and expertise to her new role,” said Thurmond. “Her guidance was critical to the success of the Department’s most recent curriculum updates and adoptions, and she will bring that same leadership and experience to her new branch. I am pleased that she will take the helm and continue the innovative work that the branch is doing to improve student success throughout the state.”

Source: Thurmond Appoints New CDE Deputy Superintendent – Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

Dress for Success’ fifth year draws 100-plus high school students in Vallejo – Times-Herald

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By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

The idea behind the Dress For Success Global Education Foundation’s annual high school event is to present students with “the soft skills necessary so they can further their education and career goals,” foundation CEO, founder and Vallejo native Tony Santos said.

These are the skills that aren’t always taught in the classroom, but are nevertheless essential to success in the real world. Often, these types of lessons come from trial and error over time. This program hopes to cut down on some of the more painful and time consuming avoidable mistakes.

The fifth outing for the event was held Tuesday at the Vallejo High School auditorium, though it was the first time all juniors, in all the academies, were invited, organizer and bio-tech academy director, Twila Jackson said. The event launched five years ago, as one directed toward the Law Academy at Bethel High School.

Source: Dress for Success’ fifth year draws 100-plus high school students in Vallejo – Times-Herald

Vallejo school district to discuss how to use bond money – Times-Herald

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By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

Vallejo City Unified School District officials will discuss how to spend the millions of dollars coming in from bond sales, even as they prepare for deep cuts to compensate for continued declining enrollment.

Items dealing with having enough teachers are also on the agenda during Wednesday’s meeting.

One of the items on Wednesday’s meeting agenda would make it possible to sell the district offices if needed. Right now, the district is leasing the site for $1 per year from Lennar Mare Island, which has yet to draw up the required paperwork conveying ownership to the district for the agreed-upon price of $1.

Source: Vallejo school district to discuss how to use bond money – Times-Herald

Friends of Dixon May Fair dish out scholarship funds – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

Cameron Kemper, a 2019 graduate of Dixon High School and an incoming student at California State University, Chico, received the $3,000 Ester Armstrong Memorial Award as part of the Friends of Dixon May Fair agricultural scholarship awards, according to a press release.

Kemper, an Eagle Scout who plans to become a forest ranger, earned the group’s top honor, which is named after the fair’s former director.

Donnie Huffman of Vacaville, president of the friends group, and Carrie Hamel of Dixon, scholarship chairwoman, presented a total of $12,500 in scholarship awards to seven students, all of Dixon, at a recent barbecue on the fairgrounds.

Source: Friends of Dixon May Fair dish out scholarship funds

Hogan Middle School students create new mural with a message on campus – Times-Herald

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By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

An entire wall at Hogan Middle School — visible from anywhere in the quad — is nearly finished as it has become the site of a student-designed and painted mural with that message.

P.E. teacher and longtime wrestling coach Jason Guiducci, and Vice Principal Erin Riley are the two school officials most involved with the project, which they say is the first mural painted since the campus became a middle school. It was built as a high school but the school district closed Hogan High for good in 2010.

“We needed a mural,” Guiducci said. “I took the wrestling team to Castlemont High School in Oakland, and they have some great murals, and I got to talking with leadership/year book, and I started with saying, ‘let’s do a mural,’ and four amazing kids ran with it. Ninety-nine point nine percent of it is student centered. It was great to see the ownership and leadership from these kids.”

Source: Hogan Middle School students create new mural with a message on campus – Times-Herald

Adult school gives Fairfield man second chance at high school diploma – Daily Republic

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By Amy Maginnis-Honey

Omar Walton, who celebrated his 20th birthday Thursday, has attended nine schools in California and Arizona.

A new start begins Wednesday as the young man receives his diploma from the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School.

Originally from Vallejo, Walton was sent to live with family in Arizona when he was in middle school.

Source: Adult school gives Fairfield man second chance at high school diploma

Free Meals for Children 18 and Younger All Summer! – Daily Republic

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By Tim Goree

Sponsored by the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, children in the Fairfield and Suisun City area have many locations to choose from to receive free meals from breakfast to lunch time! Don’t miss this opportunity to get together with friends and have something free to eat. English and Spanish flyers attached list locations, dates, and times.

For more information, call the FSUSD Child Nutrition Office at (707) 399-5011.

Source: Free Meals for Children 18 and Younger All Summer!