A 14-year-old Jesse Bethel High School student was the reported victim of a strong-arm robbery at the school Wednesday afternoon.
Police were called to the 1800 Ascot Parkway school around 2:12 p.m. after the teenager called his father, who contacted police, to report he had been beaten up by four 14- to 16-year-old boys and his cell phone stolen, Vallejo police Lt. Sid DeJesus said.
via Vallejo schoolyard robbery turns violent over cell phone.
FAIRFIELD — The Solano County Board of Education is looking to fill a board vacancy for Trustee Area 3.
Existing representative John Galvan submitted his resignation during a board meeting Jan. 9.
Trustee Area 3 includes Benicia, Glen Cove, portions of south Fairfield, Travis Air Force Base and Collinsville. By law, a mid-term replacement must reside in the trustee area in place at the start of the departing board member’s term – in this case November 2009. New trustee area boundaries approved last year will be in effect after the upcoming November election.
Without a lot of fanfare, great things are happening at the Fairfield Adult School.
In addition to regular classes, there is a new program in the Parent Education Department chaired by Cheryl Stumbaugh. The acronym PEP is for both Parent Education Program and Parent Education Preschool. The program educates parents on parenting skills. At the same time, it helps build family relationships by having parents and children share learning experiences and many more benefits than I have room to tell you about here.
Residents of Benicia and other parts of Solano County are encouraged to apply for a vacancy on the Solano County Board of Education.
The board is looking to fill the Trustee Area 3 vacancy that will be left by John Galvan, who submitted his resignation on Jan. 9.
Residents can apply starting on Friday at the Fairfield office of the Solano County Superintendent of Schools.
Principal Cliff Hong knew that too many students missed class at his Oakland, CA, middle school, but it was not until he analyzed the data that he saw the picture clearly. Every day, 50 to 60 Roosevelt Middle School students were absent and as many as 15 percent of students were missing nearly a month of school every year. The absences were costing the school money because California bases its state aid formula on average daily attendance.
Within a year, however, Hong and his attendance team cut his absentee rate in half and saw his school’s standardized test scores climb by 30 scale points. How did he do it? A data-driven focus on attendance, engagement from the full community, and support from school district leadership were the keys to his success. His story is part of a growing national narrative of schools that are improving student achievement by reducing chronic absenteeism.
With a caustic critique of excessive testing and overregulation and a fervent call for respecting the “dignity and freedom of teachers and students,” Gov. Jerry Brown laid out the case for returning primary control of education to local hands and distributing state money equitably in his State of the State address.
Brown used the 20-minute speech on Thursday to call on the Legislature to adopt his Local Control Funding Formula, which would phase in substantially more money for low-income students and those struggling to speak English proficiently. This is needed, he said, in order to help districts “based on the real world problems they face.”
via Brown lashes out at regulators and testers, makes case for his reforms – by John Fensterwald.
Gov. Jerry Brown uttered more than 3,000 words in just under 25 minutes Thursday, telling the Legislature – and 38 million other Californians – that the state is in good shape, getting better every day and can look forward to a bright future.
“Two years ago,” Brown concluded his State of the State speech, “they were writing our obituary. Well, it didn’t happen. California is back, its budget is balanced, and we are on the move. Let’s go out and get it done.”
And what would “it” be?
via Dan Walters: If Jerry Brown wants a legacy, he’ll have to work for it.
Since 2001, the prevalence of asthma among children increased at a rate of 1.4 percent per year, rising to 7 million children by 2010, a report published late last year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Overall, the rate of asthma increased 2.9 each year, from 20.3 million people in 2001 to 25.7 million in 2010.
Asthma, a common childhood illness, has been linked to higher rates of school absenteeism, and from there to lower grades and test scores, my colleague Sarah D. Sparks has written over at the Inside School Research blog. Sarah noted that asthma itself may not be the sole reason behind low student achievement. The illness, more common among children living in poverty and from minority groups, may be a symptom of those children’s living conditions. These kids are also disproportionately more likely to attend schools with lower indoor air quality.
via Asthma, Linked to Reduced Achievement, Rising Among Children.
Like many of her classmates, Luwie Villapana hopes to someday enter the medical field and perhaps save a life.
But for now, the 17-year-old Jesse Bethel High School junior is content to chop away at her cow eyeball.
“I’m really enjoying this,” Villapana said as she attempted Thursday to remove the whitish fat surrounding the preserved eyeball.
The dissection was part of a lesson in how organisms communicate, both internally and externally, said Jackie Kearns, teacher and director of the Biomedical Academy at Bethel, which has about 70 students.
via Vallejo students get eyeful at Bethel High School academy.
Vallejo parents advocating for their bullied children say they’re pleased that district officials are finally meeting with them — but cautioned that much remains to be done to address the problem.
Superintendent Ramona Bishop and board members have been meeting with parents of bullied children in private two weeks after frustrated parents aired their grievances at a special school board meeting.
Among them was LaDonna Williams, whose daughter was attacked last year at Hogan Middle School. The incident was videotaped and posted to social media.
via Vallejo parents push for better response from schools, district.
This week, Nelda Mundy Elementary School music students presented a recital featuring their concert band, string orchestra and woodwinds ensemble. Music classes are held on campus through the Music Matters program.
via Music Matters at Mundy
This week, Nelda Mundy Elementary School music students….
Students with disabilities must be afforded an equal opportunity to participate in school athletics, says guidance released today from the U.S. Department of Education.
The rights of students with disabilities are protected under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Many students with disabilities won’t need any modifications at all, said Seth M. Galanter, the department’s acting assistant secretary for civil rights, in a press briefing introducing the guidance. Coaches should also avoid stereotypes and generalizations when it comes to evaluating whether any student can participate in a sport, he said.
via Schools Must Accommodate Students With Disabilities in Athletics, Ed. Dept. Says.
Brianna Boyd
Editor
With California set to bring its public school curriculum, instruction and state assessment system into alignment with the new Common Core State Standards in just under a year and a half, the local and state educational worlds are buzzing with what this means for students, teachers, schools, parents and the overall community.
California is one of 47 states to formally adopt the CCSS for mathematics and English language arts. The state’s existing STAR Program assessments are set to sunset on July 1, 2014 and the CCSS will be assessed through the Smarter Balanced Assessments.
via Dixon Unified prepares for new Common Core standards
FAIRFIELD — School board trustees began interviews last weekend to find a successor for Superintendent Jacki Cottingim-Dias, who is retiring in June.
The Fairfield-Suisun School District Board of Trustees spent all day Saturday interviewing candidates for the position that will be vacated June 30, said Perry Polk, board president. The meeting was closed session and nothing was reported.
Polk said he couldn’t discuss many details of the search process, given it is a personnel issue. He did say that three people were invited to interview, but couldn’t confirm how many actually were interviewed.
John Festerwald
The American Civil Liberties Union of California and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center threatened yesterday to sue the state within 30 days if it doesn’t ensure that school districts provide more than 20,000 students with limited English proficiency the services to which they’re legally entitled.
In a letter sent to state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and State Board of Education President Michael Kirst, the ACLU charged the state with a “long-standing abdication of its responsibility” and gave the state a month to indicate how it would notify districts that aren’t following the law and track the services they should be offering.
via ACLU warns it will sue state over 20,00 unserved English learners – by John Fensterwald.
On January 22, the Solano County Office of Education and the Napa County Office of Education co-hosted 45 educators from Solano and Napa counties in a workshop exploring the new Common Core State Standards for Career Technical Education. Presenters included Sheryl Ryder, ROP Manager from Napa ROP, and Polly Farina, CTE Instructional Support Specialist from SCOE. The new CTE Model Curriculum Standards and easy steps for integrating the new standards and Common Core into lessons and key assignments were discussed.
via On January 22, the Solano County Office of Education and the Napa County Office….
Suisun Elementary 3rd and 4th grade students were honored at BUG (Bringing Up Grades) Awards for Benchmark 2 results at the Kroc Center. “Needless to say, it was great,” said Principal Monifa Williams. “The facilities are wonderful and the Kroc Center staff was very gracious.” More than 75 parents attended the event which was followed by refreshments on the patio. Way to go, Ducks! Thanks, Kroc Center!
via Suisun Ducks Get the BUG
Suisun Elementary 3rd and 4th grade students were honor….
There’s no sign of a bell curve in the latest scores of state teacher preparation programs. California received an overall grade of D on the 2012 State Teacher Policy Yearbook released by the National Council on Teacher Quality. No, that’s not great, but it may be easier to bear knowing that the national average was a whopping D+.
“With so much attention on the issue of teacher effectiveness, the relative lack of attention to how candidates for teaching are prepared for the job in the first place is puzzling,” said Kate Walsh, president of the Council.
via State’s D in teacher prep nearly average – by Kathryn Baron.
By David Gordon
California has been a national leader in passing state legislation to improve educational outcomes for foster youth and in recognizing the importance of sharing education data. Now, with the passage of the federal Uninterrupted Scholars Act and Governor Brown’s focus on the education needs of foster youth, the time is right for California to support the use of a statewide foster youth education database. We are in a unique position to serve more foster youth and literally save lives in the process.
Collaboration and data sharing is what the California Legislature had in mind when it passed the landmark Assembly Bill 490 (AB 490), also known as the Educational Rights and Stability for Foster Youth Act, in 2003. The bill authorizes the release of educational records to child welfare workers for purposes of educational case management. Unfortunately, the ensuing debate as to whether data sharing provisions in the bill conflicted with federal law (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) resulted in compliance that varied from county to county. That led to delays and, in some cases, refusals to share data needed to improve the educational outcomes for foster children.
via Time for a statewide database to better serve foster youth – by David Gordon.
Everyone knows that California’s public schools are in financial trouble. Between outright cuts and being forced to exist on IOUs from the state Legislature, a record number of districts — including four of Solano County’s six — are on a state watch list because they aren’t sure they can remain solvent during the next three years.
In many districts, programs have been cut, furlough days have been instituted and teachers and staff members have seen reduced benefits, if not smaller paychecks.
And yet, in too many of those same school districts, the pay for superintendents has been rising, according to a California Watch report this week from the nonpartisan Center for Investigative Reporting.