Monthly Archives: November 2013

Nominations are being accepted for Community Advisory Committee – SCOE

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Nominations are being accepted for Community Advisory Committee Special Education Recognition Awards

The Solano County SELPA Community Advisory Committee (CAC) is now accepting nominations for potential recipients of the 2013/14 Special Education Recognition Awards. Nominations are due February 14, 2014.

The Solano County SELPA is seeking nominations for individuals representative of three categories who may have demonstrated outstanding service to special education children and/or adults with special needs.

via Solano County Office of Education.

Parent’s school protest brings police, support – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

A parent says his protest Thursday at Rolling Hills Elementary School – about what he says are traffic-related dangers to children that he tried to address by ending parking violations and other problems before the school principal ended his work – brought a threat to have police remove him.

Stephen Feudner, 53, said Principal Robin Stewart told him Thursday morning to remove a sign reading “Please ask me if I think my children are safe at Rolling Hills School” before he went on school property.

via Parent’s school protest brings police, support Daily Republic.

Vacaville school board OKs raises for union employees – Daily Republic

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By Mike Corpos

Trustees of the Vacaville School District approved new contracts and raises Thursday for the district’s employee unions. The action was taken with very little discussion and positive comments from the board members.

Both the Vacaville Teachers Association and the Service Employees International Union received a 3.78 percent raise, replacing some of the pay concessions that have been made in recent years as the district weathered the recession. The new contracts are for the 2013-14 school year and pay increases are retroactive to July 1, when the new fiscal year began.

via Vacaville school board OKs raises for union employees Daily Republic.

Vacaville school board to approve contracts, raises – Daily Republic

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By Mike Corpos

The Vacaville school board is set to approve contracts for the 2013-14 school year for all of the district’s employees when the board meets at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Educational Services Center, 401 Nut Tree Road.

Members of both of the district’s collective bargaining units – the Vacaville Teachers Association and the Service Employees International Union – are set to receive a raise. Both unions under the proposed contract will receive a 3.78 percent raise for the current school year. The raises are retroactive to July 1, which is the beginning of the district’s fiscal year.

via Vacaville school board to approve contracts, raises Daily Republic.

Bank’s financial program for students earns praise in Fairfield – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Mayor Harry Price had three questions Wednesday for an Armijo High School student who drives a car – and the teen responded with a trio of “no’s.”

He didn’t make the car payment, cover the cost of insurance or know the cost per mile to drive a car.

Price said those “no’s” become “yes” in a very short while – and praised the Financial Scholars Program students completed and that First Northern Bank in Solano County along with the education technology company EverFi provided.

via Bank’s financial program for students earns praise in Fairfield Daily Republic.

Several speak out against college’s proposed labor agreement – Daily Republic

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By Susan Winlow

The Solano Community College board of trustees remained relatively silent but still got an earful Wednesday night from those opposing a proposed project labor agreement.

Some decried it as discriminatory against the nonunion labor force while others put a more personal face to the issue, stating that they have homes and families and this type of agreement denies them a fair shot at jobs.

via Several speak out against college’s proposed labor agreement Daily Republic.

Vallejo High mascot, pay raises dominate school board meeting – Vallejo Times Herald

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By Lanz Christian Bañes

Passions flared Wednesday at a packed Vallejo school board meeting as some voiced their opinions on the Vallejo High School mascot while others demanded a fair raise for the district’s unions.

“If we want to honor (native people), put them in our history books. Put them up in our classrooms, but don’t sit there and use them as a rallying cry for fun and games,” said Kathi Hill of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People about Vallejo High School’s Apache mascot.

The decades-old mascot, along with the debate surrounding its possible removal, resurfaced last month when school board President Hazel Wilson asked Principal Clarence Isadore to report on what the school was doing surrounding changing the mascot.

via Vallejo High mascot, pay raises dominate school board meeting – Vallejo Times Herald.

Nelda Mundy, Oakbrook schools invited to apply for state honor – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Nelda Mundy and Oakbrook elementary schools have been invited by the California Department of Education to apply for recognition with prestigious California Distinguished School awards, the Solano County Office of Education says.

Both schools have previously been so recognized. Oakbrook was honored in 2002 and Nelda Mundy in 2007.

via Nelda Mundy, Oakbrook schools invited to apply for state honor Daily Republic.

Students celebrate at midyear graduation – Daily Republic

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By Mike Corpos

For 16 students – 14 in attendance – Wednesday night was the culmination of their high school careers at the Fairfield-Suisun School District’s midyear graduation.

Commencement took place in the school board chambers at the district headquarters. The ceremony lasted about 20 minutes, but it gave the handful of students and their families a memory to last. It was an emotional night for some, but for all it marked the end of a chapter of their lives.

via Students celebrate at midyear graduation Daily Republic.

Vacaville Unified School board to talk contracts tonight – The Reporter

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By Reporter Staff

New employee contracts, an update on the state of Markham Elementary, and formative assessments are on the agenda when Vacaville Unified leaders meet tonight in open session in Vacaville.

Trustees are expected to approve pay hikes for teachers, classified, or school support, and nonunionized management employees.

Negotiated within the last two weeks, the new accords call for a 2.25 percent wage increase and a one-time, 1.5 percent salary adjustment after the 2.25 percent hike goes into effect. The salary increases, the first of their kind in six years for members of the Vacaville Teachers Association and Local 1021 of the Service Employees International Union, are retroactive to July 1 and will be paid in December.

via Vacaville Unified School board to talk contracts tonight – The Reporter.

Richard Bammer: At Browns Valley, the kindness curriculum – The Reporter

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By Richard BammerPosted:

National Bullying Prevention Month, October, has come and gone, but, at Browns Valley Elementary in Vacaville, the times have segued into mindfulness about the importance of kindness in our lives.

On Friday, Gary Xavier, a speaker for Think Kindness, a Reno, Nev.-based nonprofit that strives to inspire “measurable acts” of kindness, challenged the school’s 960 students to do two things by Nov. 15: Collect 1,500 pairs of shoes — all kinds — for needy people around the world; and, secondly, pledge to commit more than 9,000 random acts of kindness, noting them in a handwritten journal, one for each day, until they have reached a total of 10.

via Richard Bammer: At Browns Valley, the kindness curriculum – The Reporter.

Will C. Wood stadium study goes public next week – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Even as another Black and Blue Bowl will be played Friday night at Tom Zunino Stadium, the issue of possibly building a stadium at Will C. Wood High School continues to percolate among those with a stake in the matter, from city officials and coaches to administrators and the public.

Many in the Wood community would like, one day, to see the annual cross-town football rivalry played in alternating years at the Marshall Road campus rather than, year in and out, at Zunino Stadium on the Vacaville High campus.

 

via Will C. Wood stadium study goes public next week – The Reporter.

Benicia school board to weigh bond measure – Vallejo Times Herald

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By Lanz Christian Bañes

The Benicia school board will discuss Thursday the possibility of pursuing state and local bonds in order to fund millions of dollars worth of improvements.

The Benicia Unified School District’s five-year facilities assessment plan shows that the district has about $52 million worth of deferred maintenance, ranging from classrooms and laboratories that must be modernized, to sports fields and performing arts facilities that must be renovated.

The district has not had much luck in recent years in getting the public to pay more for schools. In 2010, the district’s Measure C, a parcel tax proposal, fell just shy of the 66-2/3 percent needed for passage. It received 63 percent backing.

via Benicia school board to weigh bond measure – Vallejo Times Herald.

Two new faces for Travis Unified School District governing board – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Two new trustees will take their seats on the Travis Unified School District governing board after their swearing-in ceremony in December.

Based on unofficial election returns, incumbent Donna Bishop on Tuesday lost out in a three-way race for two seats for Trustee Area No. 2. She was bested by challengers John Dickerson and Riitta De Anda.

By 10:15 p.m., with 15 of 51 county precincts reporting between the Travis and Vallejo City Council elections, Dickerson received 748 votes, or 44 percent; De Anda, 598 votes, or 35 percent; and Bishop, 356 votes, or 21 percent. Throughout the night, the percentages held steady.

via Two new faces for Travis Unified School District governing board – The Reporter.

Dan Walters: Conflict hits California’s new school finance plan – The Sacramento Bee

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By Dan Walters

When Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature overhauled the distribution of state aid to California schools this year, their stated purpose was to improve the educations of poor and “English-learner” students.

Spending more on those kids to improve their subpar academic skills had wide support, not only in the educational establishment but also from civil rights groups and business leaders worried about having competent employees.

via Dan Walters: Conflict hits California’s new school finance plan – Dan Walters – The Sacramento Bee.

What Do Tuesday’s State and Local Elections Mean for K-12? – Education Week

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By Michele McNeil

Colleague Andrew Ujifusa kept you up to date over at State EdWatch on the key state and local elections that were decided last night. And over at District Dossier, colleague Lesli Maxwell tracked the Boston and New York City mayoral elections. What does all this mean for K-12?

1. Big change could be coming to Boston and New York City. Both New York City’s mayor-elect Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, and Boston’s newly annointed Martin J. Walsh will get to appoint new superintendents. In New York City, de Blasio is likely to scrap Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s A-F school grading system and may not be as friendly to charter schools. Meanwhile, Walsh, a Democrat, supports the lifting of an existing state cap on charter schools and has called for a longer day for the school system. Both new mayors champion early education.

via What Do Tuesday’s State and Local Elections Mean for K-12? – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

California Teachers of the Year for 2014 – Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education)

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SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today named five outstanding educators as the 2014 California Teachers of the Year. He further named one of them as California’s nominee for National Teacher of the Year.

“These outstanding teachers have my thanks and admiration for the work they do every day to provide our students with the knowledge, skills, and opportunities they need to succeed,” Torlakson said. “They bring talent, dedication, and more to a job that is as critical as it is challenging—and even more rewarding.”

via California Teachers of the Year for 2014 – Year 2013 (CA Dept of Education).

Solano students shine; Realtors prep for good deeds – Daily Republic

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By Glen Faison

A number of area students are making names for themselves in academic circles both at the regional and state levels. Meanwhile an active group in the Solano County business community is gearing up to help others this holiday season.

Here’s a sampling of the good news that’s happening in Fairfield and the surrounding area.

via Solano students shine; Realtors prep for good deeds Daily Republic.

College trustees to discuss controversial building contract – Daily Republic

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By Susan Winlow

The divisive subject of project labor agreements pitting union versus nonunion labor issues will be back before the Solano Community College Board of Trustees on Wednesday.

Trustees during a study session will review a draft copy of the project labor agreement designed to steer the $348 million Measure Q – and select Measure G projects – through myriad renovation projects on the college district’s three campuses.

via College trustees to discuss controversial building contract Daily Republic.

High school students in Fairfield can apply for trip to Japan – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

High school students interested in visiting Japan as part of Fairfield’s ongoing Sister City Program with Nirasaki, Japan should apply by Jan. 23, 2014.

High school students in Fairfield travel every year for three weeks, are officially hosted by the city of Nirasaki and represent Fairfield as student ambassadors. Selected students live with Japanese families, participate in school and community activities and travel to important historical sites. Students must be in grades 9 through 12 in 2013 to apply.

via High school students in Fairfield can apply for trip to Japan Daily Republic.