FAIRFIELD — The Solano County Office of Education and Solano Community College will co-host the inaugural Out-of-the-Darkness Campus Walk in March at the Fairfield college campus.
The 5K walk will raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s research and education programs aimed to prevent suicide, increase awareness about depression and suicide, advocate for mental health issues and assist survivors of suicide loss.
For nearly 30 years, Vacaville High School instructor and coach Steven Green’s annual reading of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have A Dream” speech has been a tradition, always coming one day after the national holiday honoring the slain civil rights leader’s birthday.
But Tuesday’s stirring reading, held under a sunny sky on the quad at the West Monte Vista Avenue campus, may be remembered for several milestones and some welcome personal news from Green himself.
via Vacaville High instructor keeps ‘Dream’ alive by giving annual.
Join SCOE at Solano Community College on Saturday, March 9, for the Out-Of-The-Darkness 5K Walk to Save Lives. The Event will raise money for suicide prevention, mental health, and community program resources. For more information: http://www.solanocoe.net/apps/news/show_news.jsp?REC_ID=289146&id=0
via Join SCOE at Solano Community College on Saturday, March 9, for the Out-Of-The-D….
Through a concerted effort over the past five years, California is on track to meet a national requirement that 50 percent of Head Start lead classroom teachers hold a bachelor’s degree by the end of September. While only 27 percent of Head Start lead teachers held a bachelor’s degree in the 2007-08 school year, 48 percent now hold one, and an additional 11 percent are enrolled in a baccalaureate program.
“Most [program] directors are feeling confident that they’ve reached the 50 percent mark,” said California Head Start Association executive director Rick Mockler.
via Head Start requirement boosts college degrees for early childhood educators – by Lillian Mongeau.
The Vallejo school board will consider Wednesday the restoration of furlough days that effectively shortened the school year by five days.
The Vallejo City Unified School District’s unions agreed to the furlough days last year as public schools across California prepared for the possible failure of Proposition 30 in November and the institution of widespread cuts.
However, voters passed the sales tax and income tax hikes, staving off the cuts and bringing the district and its unions back to the table to discuss rescinding the furlough days.
via Vallejo board could restore school days that were furloughed.
With California’s public school system facing economic uncertainties – even with the passage of a tax increase under Proposition 30 – some of the most financially troubled districts have been elevating the payroll for top administrators, a review of district data shows.
Salaries for school administrators started to rise significantly in the flush early 2000s. At the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, for example, administrators saw their compensation soar by as much as 74.5 percent between June 2001, when teachers began a 10-day strike over pay, and July 2006, according to the California Teachers Association.
Teachers received a 2 percent pay increase during the same period. For Melanie Driver, president of the local teachers association, the relatively meager increase for teachers compared with the substantial raise for administrators is unfair.
by Keri Luiz, Assistant Editor
Roy Owens, supervisor of maintenance and operations for Benicia Unified Schools District, last week presented to trustees the latest bids for four major projects at the building shared by Liberty High School and the district office, 350 East K St.
Bids on the projects — toilet room alterations, re-roofing, window replacement and landscaping — were rejected in October when the Board of Trustees followed the advice of Chief Business Officer Tim Rahill, who said the bids “unfortunately … all came in above our budgeted amount, and we would like to go out and rebid those four pieces and do an expanded advertisement to solicit additional interested parties.”
Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal is perplexing advocates of foster youth, who are worrying that these children could be left behind in the governor’s push to overhaul the state’s school finance system.
Under the governor’s proposed “local control funding formula,” districts would get at least 35 percent more dollars – more than $2,000 per child – for educating their share of the state’s English learners, low-income children, and the approximately 42,000 school-age foster students. Districts would have to account for their use of the funds to their local community.
via Advocates worry foster youth will be left behind under Brown’s budget – by Susan Frey.
Chris Flask, Vacaville
Last weekend, I had the distinct pleasure of judging the annual Academic Decathlon speech competition for the North Bay Region. In eight hours, I heard 16 of Northern California’s bright, young thinkers present on diverse topics, such as immigration, Russian politics and even the perils of poor toast. When asked why I would sacrifice a Saturday to do this, my reply is that I don’t see it as a sacrifice at all. It invigorates me to see so much promise, hope and intellect on display.
We often focus on the failures of our education system and poor examples of our youth. Each year, I am reminded that there are some incredibly bright kids who are working hard and really succeeding. The speech competition is just one of 10 events that thousands of students participate in during the competition, though the speech is often the scariest.
Jesse Bethel High School officials are hoping more students sign up for its after-school tutoring program to help them pass the critical state exit exam.
“We are strategically giving pathways for students to pass the first time,” Vice Principal Absylom Sims said Wednesday as he and dozens of students held up signs in the parking lot encouraging teenagers to enroll in tutoring.
Students must pass the California High School Exit Exam, often referred to as CAHSEE, in order to receive a diploma. They have multiple chances to do so beginning in their sophomore year.
via Vallejo’s Bethel High seeks students for academic ‘boot camp’.
Around the world in 240 minutes?
Well, that is what the IES Language Foundation hopes to do Jan. 26 at Browns Valley Elementary School.
Teachers from the Pleasanton-based nonprofit group, a language-immersion teaching system founded in 1982 in San Rafael by John R. Coons, plans to briefly instruct students in several languages: Spanish, French, Mandarin, Portuguese and Hindi.
via Get immersed in languages during event at Vacaville school.
Solano County is hosting its 3rd Annual “Give Kids A Smile Day” event on Saturday, February 2, 2013 from 9 am to 3 pm. Solano County Health & Social Services and its Dental Clinic have partnered with La Clinica de La Raza and the Napa-Solano Dental Society to provide free dental exams, fluoride varnishes, sealant applications, and toothbrush kits to children 1-18 years old. This event aims to increase awareness of the importance of access to dental care and provide preventive dental exams for children from low-income families. Our volunteers are Dentists, Registered Dental Hygienists, and Registered Dental Assistants from Solano and Napa Counties. Our goal is to provide education, community outreach and treatment in all 3 major cities of Solano County; Vallejo, Fairfield, and Vacaville.
via Solano County is hosting its 3rd Annual “Give Kids A Smile Day” event on Saturda….
At the California State Board of Education meeting held Wednesday, January 16, the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District’s request for a waiver to move to by-trustee area elections was approved. Beginning with the November 2013 elections, school board trustees will be elected from each of the seven trustee areas.
Three trustees’ terms are expiring in November 2013: Dave Gaut, David C. Isom, and Perry W. Polk. Vacancies will need to be filled from Area 4, Area 5, and Area 7 on the attached map.
via By-Trustee Area Elections for Governing Board Members to Begin November 2013….
B. Gale Wilson School Announces
Dual Immersion Selection Process for 2013-2014
via B. Gale Wilson School Announces
Dual Immersion Selection Process for 2013-2014.
President Barack Obama, who was officially sworn in today for his second term as the nation’s 44th president, put training more math and science teachers and taking big steps to boost school safety high on his second-term wish list.
Inaugural addresses are rarely heavy policy speeches, so including these two K-12 initiatives sends an important signal about the priority the president places on preventing another massacre like the one in Newtown, Conn., last month.
Both lauded and maligned—and perhaps occasionally violated—the Brown Act has been an integral part of California politics for over half a century. The Ralph M. Brown Act, often referred to as California’s “open meetings law,” was first passed in 1953 to ensure that work of publicly elected bodies was done openly and transparently. It also remains one of the most confusing pieces of legislation, particularly for “amateur” politicians such as school board members, because of its non-obvious provisions and multiple exemptions.
The California School Boards Association’s annual conference has multiple sessions every year devoted to explaining the Brown Act to school board members (and CSBA publishes a 63-page book to explain the law), but even attorneys specializing in the area disagree on the application of some of the law’s provisions, particularly in the modern era.
via Let’s bring the Brown Act into the 21st century – by Seth Rosenblatt.
President Barack Obama’s second term officially began yesterday when he took the oath of office in a private ceremony surrounded by his family, using a Bible given to First Lady Michelle Obama’s grandmother by her father. Today, as he is publicly sworn in on the day the nation also celebrates the life of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., the president will place his hand on a Bible that belonged to Dr. King, which itself will be stacked atop President Lincoln’s inaugural Bible.
The symbolism of this act goes beyond the obvious. For all three leaders, public education has been one of the leading civil rights issues of their time.
via Presidential lessons in education as a civil right – by Kathryn Baron.
Monica Brown, Green Valley Middle School, Fairfield
Parents and other community members, are you aware that the five furlough days that the classified staff took to save jobs have not been restored as student days?
This means that our students will have five fewer school days. I have been told that parents do not want these days restored, so families can go on vacation. Community members, this means that, as a teacher, I have five fewer days to get your child ready for the state test. High school teachers have five fewer days to get students ready for AP tests and SATs, for example.
FAIRFIELD — When Solano College replaced its police chief in August, college leaders claimed someone with experience would replace him and make significant changes.
That man was retired Vacaville police Lt. Ed Goldberg, who was quickly named interim chief after the dismissal of former Chief Steve Dawson.
Jowel Laguerre, president and superintendent of the college, said at the time that the decision was his and he was looking to make changes after evaluating the service of the department. That change in leadership has now given way to upgrades in equipment, procedures and the hiring of new officers.
via Shakeup to Solano Community College police shows results.
FAIRFIELD — The planning stages for Measure Q will begin this week for the $348 million bond voters passed in November for Solano College.
The Solano Community College Board of Trustees will meet at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday for a board study session that will center around Measure Q. They will meet at in the Board Room in the Administration Building at 4000 Suisun Valley Road in Fairfield.