Monthly Archives: August 2012

Vallejo Times-Herald: Solano Community College progress touted by college president

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By Sarah Rohrs/ Times-Herald, Vallejo

With the fall semester just days away, Solano Community College President Jowell Laguerre said Friday the school is sowing hearty fields, though much work still needs to be done.

As part of his regular speeches to staff, students and board members before a new school year, Laguerre said the college is making progress toward numerous goals.

“I feel our college is making progress because of the stability we’ve had and the achievements that we’ve obtained. Now it’s time to make a statement that we are good,” Laguerre said.

One immediate goal is getting the college out of “warning” status on its accreditation, Laguerre said.

via Solano Community College progress touted by college president.

Vallejo Times-Herald: Vallejo school board prepares for start of 2012-13 school year

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The Vallejo school board on Wednesday will hear reports about both the Vallejo City Unified School District’s summer programs and the upcoming start of the school year.

Students will return to school Aug. 20.

During Wednesday’s meetings, trustees will learn about the summer programs at Jesse Bethel High School and the Vallejo Adult School.

The board cut traditional summer school during the last two years due to the state’s continuing budget crisis, but managed to preserve some credit recovery programs in part through the Vallejo Adult School.

via Vallejo school board prepares for start of 2012-13 school year.

The Reporter: Vacaville Unified School District’s session starts next week

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By Richard Bammer/ RBammer@TheReporter.com

Janitors waxed and buffed floors. Groundskeepers pruned shrubs and cut grass. Maintenance workers applied touch-up paint to whatever needed it. Teachers straightened desks, chairs and made sure all their books, supplies and computers were in place and working.

Facing increasingly racially diverse student bodies, high student-teacher ratios, the unsure outcome of November tax initiatives, reduced state budgets and declining enrollments, Vacaville Unified School District staff and some instructors this week prepared for an annual American rite: opening day of a new school year.

via Vacaville Unified School District’s session starts next week.

Education Week: Romney’s VP Pick of Paul Ryan Puts Spending Debate in the Spotlight

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by Alyson Klein

Gov. Mitt Romney this morning announced that he’s tapping Rep. Paul Ryan , R-Wis., for vice president, a move that puts the debate over how best to put the nation’s fiscal house in order front-and-center in the presidential campaign.

Ryan’s controversial budget blueprint, which has been passed by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives, would seek big cuts to discretionary spending (which includes most education programs). In fact, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said the budget could have “disastrous consequences for America’s children.”

via Romney’s VP Pick of Paul Ryan Puts Spending Debate in the Spotlight.

Daily Republic: Developer sues to recoup fees paid to support Fairfield-Suisun schools

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by Jess Sullivan

FAIRFIELD — Inaction by the Fairfield-Suisun School District Board of Trustees may cost the district hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The board passed a resolution June 9, 2011, effective for one year, setting the developer fees charged builders when they obtain building permits for new construction in the city.

In June 2012, just a few days after the resolution lapsed, West Coast Homes staff walked into City Hall and paid for building permits to construct 35 new homes in the Garibaldi Ranch subdivision in Cordelia.

The cost of each of those 35 permits included a fee of $3.01 per square foot on each home to help underwrite school construction and other district costs. The estimated total amount of those fees adds up to between $250,000 to $300,000 depending on the total square footage for all of the 35 homes.

via Developer sues to recoup fees paid to support Fairfield-Suisun schools.

Daily Republic: Fairfield-Suisun district sues to keep child out of school

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by Jess Sullivan

FAIRFIELD — Lawyers for the Fairfield-Suisun School District have turned to the federal courts in Sacramento trying to keep an expelled seventh-grader out of school.

One day in November 2011, the 12-year-old student at Suisun Valley Elementary School, identified only as B.S. in the lawsuit, got a hold of a female classmate’s notebook. B.S. scrawled a message in the notebook threatening to rape, torture and kill the girl.

B.S. was promptly suspended and within days, expulsion proceedings were initiated.

A week before, B.S. got into trouble for making a death threat against his teacher by soliciting classmates to join him in killing the teacher. The day after the threat, about a week before the boy penned the rape-torture note to a classmate, the boy’s mother told school staff she had concerns about her son’s psychotic thinking, his browsing the Internet for handguns and his access to guns at his father’s house.

via Fairfield-Suisun district sues to keep child out of school.

Daily Republic: Solano College president hopes to see Solano college shine

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by Danny Bernardini

FAIRFIELD — When he was approached by a headhunter this summer recruiting for a college president, Jowel Laguerre said he was told he was being offered an “ideal” situation at a new school.

Instead of leaving, the president and superintendent said he stayed at Solano Community College to make it the ideal college. That’s the story he told faculty, staff and other guests Friday as part of his State of the College address in the Solano College Theatre.

Laguerre told the group he has seen his share of achievements and shortcomings in his three years here, but said a staff that can work together for a common goal will be able to lead Solano to greatness.

“I believe our college continues to move forward to the ideal college I imagined,” Laguerre said. “I told you I would be committed to the college.”

via President hopes to see Solano college shine.

Daily Republic: Fairfield church donates more than 1,200 backpacks

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by Heather Ah San

FAIRFIELD — School hasn’t started for most students, but children of all ages were seen carrying their backpacks Saturday at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.

For several years, St. Mark’s has been providing students in need with new backpacks to start their school year.

Local organizations like Kaiser Permanente and the Fairfield Police Officers Association also donated entertainment and free food.

Organizations, church members and individual donors teamed up with the church to buy more than 1,200 backpacks.

via Fairfield church donates more than 1,200 backpacks.

Daily Republic: FSUSD parents buying more supplies during back-to-school rush

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by Heather Ah San

FAIRFIELD — Priscilla Sena-Cavalli starts her back-to-school shopping for her two children in August before school begins and ends when the school year is over.

Her son Steven Cavalli is entering the fifth grade at Laurel Creek Elementary and her daughter, Marie Cavalli, is entering the sixth grade at K.I. Jones Elementary.

Sena-Cavalli rushes to stores like Target and Walmart for all the school essentials like binders, pencils, paper and folders.

She said she doesn’t mind picking up the occasional Kleenex box to donate to her children’s classrooms. The teachers, she said, already donate so much.

via Parents buying more supplies during back-to-school rush.

Daily Republic: Armijo marching band students start school a little early at camp

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by Heather Ah San

FAIRFIELD — It’s days before Armijo High School is back in session. The campus stands quietly and peacefully, while students spend their last precious days of summer vacation anywhere but campus.

That’s not the case for members of the marching band.

Students in grades nine through 12 gathered in the school’s band room as five members stood at attention.

They raised their arms as if holding an invisible horn. Then they walked forward, deliberately in sync, eyes focused forward as they counted the beat of their steps.

via Marching band students start school a little early at camp.

SCOE’s Facebook Wall: Ready or Not, Here they Come! Ready or Not, Here they Come! SCOE’s California Common Core State Standards Training of Trainers Math K-12 workshop coming up on August 20 and 21.

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Solano County Office of Education’s Facebook Wall

Ready or Not, Here they Come! This is a reminder SCOE has a California Common Core State Standards Training of Trainers Math K-12 workshop coming up on August 20 and 21. We can extend the registration until Friday, August 10, if you would like to register. There is space available for the other trainings coming up in the next few months. Please contact us if you have any questions or need any additional information.

CCCSS Training of Trainers for ELA and Math – REGISTER at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/cctot
• Gain an understanding of the CCCSS for ELA and the CCCSS for Mathematics
• Receive Training and Instructor Guide tool kits for site and district roll-out trainings

via Ready or Not, Here they Come! This is a reminder SCOE has a California Common Co….

Dan Walters: Censorship rears its ugly head in California Senate

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Let’s not mince words about what the state Senate’s Democratic leader did Wednesday. It was self-serving censorship, the sort of thing that one expects from tinpot dictators, not from those who fancy themselves to be progressive civil libertarians.

Someone acting for Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg suddenly cut off cable television access to a legislative hearing to air facts and arguments about pending ballot measures.

The Senate Governance and Finance Committee called the hearing – as required by law – into three tax increases (Propositions 30, 38 and 39) and altering the state’s budgetary procedures (Proposition 31).

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/10/4712081/dan-walters-censorship-rears-its.html#mi_rss=Dan%20Walters#storylink=cpy

via Dan Walters: Censorship rears its ugly head in California Senate.

KQED MindShift: What Makes Educational Games Work?

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By

As the gaming in education continues to grow, one of the foremost experts in the field, Constance Steinkuehler, makes the case for why it’s important to pay attention to what works in gaming and how it could be applied to learning.

At the recent Aspen Ideas Festival, Steinkuehler, who’s now a Senior Policy Analyst at the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President, spoke with author and researcher John Seely Brown about some of the more prominent issues in gaming and education.

via What Makes Educational Games Work?.

Vallejo Times-Herald: Vallejo students refuse to give up, snag high school diplomas

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By Lanz Christian Bañes

Yeah, they were a little late.

But so what?

“We may not have done it on time, but walking on this stage today just goes to show we never really gave up, and all our hard work really paid off,” Vallejo High School’s Ahury Martinez said, dressed in a white cap and gown.

Martinez was one of 34 Vallejo students who graduated Thursday from the Vallejo City Unified School District’s summer school program. They spent the last several weeks finishing classes and making up credits.

via Vallejo students refuse to give up, snag high school diplomas.

EdSource Today: Do-or-die time for teacher evaluation bill

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By John Fensterwald
After lying dormant for a year, a bill to overhaul the state’s teacher evaluation law will resurface Monday, subject to continuing negotiations over its cost and some disagreements over its content.
AB 5’s prospects have improved with the support of the California Teachers Association. CTA expressed reservations a year ago, but the bill’s author, Assemblymember Felipe Fuentes, a Democrat from the San Fernando Valley, agreed last summer to a few key changes, so now the union favors it, CTA lobbyist Patricia Rucker said this week. One amendment would require training administrators to do uniform and knowledgeable evaluations.
The bill, which would require that all districts evaluate every teacher based on a set of attributes and practices outlined in the bill, is similar to an evaluation framework that the union adopted earlier this year, Rucker said. AB 5, she said, “is a clear and good policy document.”

via Do-or-die time for teacher evaluation bill – by John Fensterwald.

EdSource Today: Joan Buchanan to chair Assembly Education Committee

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By John Fensterwald

Assemblymember Joan Buchanan, a Democrat from Contra Costa County who served on the board of the San Ramon Valley Unified School District for nearly two decades, will run the Assembly Education Committee, as of tomorrow. Assuming she wins reelection to a third term in November, she’ll chair the committee when the Legislature returns in January.

Buchanan will replace Julia Brownley, a Santa Monica Democrat who’s in a tight race for Congress. Assembly Speaker John Pérez announced changes in Assemby leadership and committee chairs yesterday.

via Joan Buchanan to chair Assembly Ed – by John Fensterwald.

Daily Republic: Green Valley Middle School after-school program falls to budget cuts

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by Danny Bernardini

FAIRFIELD — Budget cuts in Fairfield have forced the discontinuation of The Place 2 Be program at Green Valley Elementary School for the 2012-13 school year.

The after-school program at Grange Middle School, which is funded through a California Department of Education After School Education and Safety grant, remains unaffected.

The Place 2 Be program provides a homework club, academic enrichment activities, physical play and sports, arts and crafts and other services.

via Green Valley after-school program falls to budget cuts.

Daily Republic: Fairfield-Suisun school board OKs developer fee hike

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by Danny Bernardini

FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield-Suisun School District Board of Trustees unanimously approved raising developer fees Thursday for new houses and additions to existing homes.

With the 6-0 vote, the fees jump from $3.01 per square foot to $4.03 per square foot, starting immediately. Trustee John Silva did not attend the meeting.

The board also passed a resolution that allows the district to collect the fees at the time an occupancy permit is issued, rather than at the time a building permit is pulled.

via Fairfield-Suisun school board OKs developer fee hike.

KQED MindShift: Is it Time to Reconsider AP Classes?

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By Katrina Schwartz

Advanced Placement courses have long been the standard for high achievement in high school. The classes are modeled on college courses and are meant to represent the difficulty and breadth of material that students are expected to handle when they get to college. For that reason, some colleges give in-coming freshman credits or allow them to pass out of introductory courses if they score a three or above on the AP test (it’s scored from one to five).

In many schools, AP classes are more popular than ever, as students seek a leg up in the competitive college admissions process. But now, some of the most elite schools in the country are opting out of the AP frenzy, saying they can design better and more rigorous courses on their own that won’t force them to adhere to someone else’s curriculum and timeline and force teachers to teach to the test. And, instead of replicating a college level course in high school, they say they can go one better – partnering with local colleges so their students get the real deal.

via Is it Time to Reconsider AP Classes?.

The Reporter: Solano Community College’s Vacaville Center to host welcome-back barbecue

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Solano Community College’s Vacaville Center will host a welcome-back barbecue for students and the public on Aug. 22 and 23.

During the barbecue, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. both days, representatives from financial aid and counseling will be available to answer questions. Also, students from the math, engineering, science achievement department and the Student Development Office will talk about clubs offered at the college.

“There are many community members who are unaware of the array of services we provide at the center,” said Shirley Lewis, dean of the Vacaville Center, 2001 N. Village Parkway.

via Solano Community College’s Vacaville Center to host welcome-back ….