15-year-old girl arrested in stabbing incident at Vallejo high school – Contra CostaTimes

Times-Herald Posted:

A Vallejo High School student suffered non-life-threatening injuries Thursday afternoon when he was stabbed with a knife in the forehead by a fellow student, a Vallejo Police Department spokesman said.

Officers responded to a report of a stabbing at the high school at about 12:30 p.m., and met with the 15-year-old female suspect and the 16-year-old male victim in the school office, Lt. Kenny Park said.

via 15-year-old girl arrested in stabbing incident at Vallejo high school – ContraCostaTimes.com.

Dixon, you’re an amazing community! – Dixon Tribune | Facebook

Dixon, you’re an amazing community! At a bone marrow drive at Dixon Montessori today, 192 people were added to the national bone marrow registry! All of these people, as well as many other adults and children, were at the drive to support and honor Jacy Franceschi, a Dixon Montessori teacher diagnosed with leukemia last month.

via Dixon, you’re an amazing community! At… – The Dixon Tribune | Facebook.

Dixon Unified says farewell to departing Board Members – Dixon Tribune | Facebook

Brianna Boyd, Editor

Dixon Unified welcomed new leadership Thursday night, while also saying farewell to three people who helped to steer the school district in the right direction during four very turbulent years. “It feels a little bit tonight like both graduation day and the first day of school as we say goodbye to some folks who have served with us and welcome in some new friends as well,” said Dixon Unified Superintendent Brian Dolan.

A council chambers packed to capacity with Dixon teachers, classified staff, students and community members applauded as Dolan recognized outgoing board members Gil Pinon, Irina Okhremtchouk and Herb Cross. All three are stepping down from the board after completing a four-year term. Andy Bloom, John Gabby and Caitlin O’Halloran were automatically appointed to the board in November in lieu of an election in Dixon because they were the only ones to qualify for the ballot in a race that had only three open seats. They were administered the Oath of Office by State Senator Lois Wolk.

via Dixon Unified says farewell to departing… – The Dixon Tribune | Facebook.

Children enjoy morning at Christmas tree farm – Daily Republic

By Amy Maginnis-Honey

A 20-plus-year tradition continued Friday as the Silveyville Christmas Tree Farm welcomed more than 170 children with disabilities, their families and staff to its annual Happy Holidays Celebration.

Kerry Purcell started the event with the goal of giving special needs children a place to call their own, albeit for a few hours, during the holiday season.

Victor Romualdi, senior director for special education with the Solano County Office of Education, stood in the warm morning sun and smiled while he talked about how heartwarming it was to see everyone having a great time.

via Children enjoy morning at Christmas tree farm Daily Republic.

No easy fix to high school traffic… – Dixon Tribune | Facebook

Brianna Boyd, Editor

Parents and students who access Dixon High School in the morning and afternoon hours through Hall Park may soon be seeing increased police presence and new speed bumps to help mitigate the traffic situation in the area.

Following a nearly one-hour public hearing Tuesday that included input from high school students and residents from both the Old Town neighborhood and Country Faire subdivision, the Dixon City Council directed its staff to look into using Community Development Block Grant funds to install speed islands, or speed bumps, as soon as possible on Chestnut Street and other streets in that area. The hope is that those speed bumps, as well as increased police patrol in the neighborhood, will slow down the vehicles that use those side streets to access Hall Park Drive to drop off or pick up students from Dixon High.

via No easy fix to high school traffic… – The Dixon Tribune | Facebook.

Fairfield delays Peabody Road closure for a year – Daily Republic

By Barry Eberling

The Big Shutdown for Peabody Road will be delayed one more year.

Fairfield intends to build a Peabody Road overpass over the train tracks near Vanden Road as part of its $68 million train station project. It will shut down Peabody Road at the tracks for one year. The closure was to begin in June 2014.

But the city a few months ago failed to get a $9 million federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant. That put the project timeline at risk.

via Fairfield delays Peabody Road closure for a year Daily Republic.

San Diego trip surprised Travis School District trustee – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

A one-day $845 trip by Travis School District trustee Ivery Hood to San Diego for a conference surprised school board member Angela Weinzinger.

“For our district, that’s not a usual thing,” Weinzinger said Thursday. “I had no idea he was going.”

Hood spoke at Tuesday’s board meeting about attending part of the Annual Education Conference and Trade Show conducted by the California School Boards Association and held Dec. 5-7 at the San Diego Convention Center.

via San Diego trip surprised Travis School District trustee Daily Republic.

Orchard Elementary takes on science challenge – Daily Republic

By Ian Thompson

The diabolical Dr. Brainy McSmartypants had captured all of Orchard Elementary School’s owl mascots and it was up to the students to get them back.

It was up to about three dozen students such as J.C. Martinez, with the help of their parents, to pass a series of science-oriented challenges Thursday night to collect the points needed to get the fictional villain to release the school’s mascot.

Martinez felt the evening was pretty cool with challenges that ranged from forensic science where the youngsters had to identify the right fingerprint from six candidates to testing their reaction time by seeing how fast they could catch a falling yardstick.

via Orchard Elementary takes on science challenge Daily Republic.

School trustee praises clean audit – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

The clean audit for the Fairfield-Suisin School District in 2012-13 won praise Thursday from Trustee Perry Polk.

“This is a marvelous report,” he said.

Referring to the absence of any findings of problems, Polk remarked at the school board meeting that “one of the most boring things you can read is an audit that says nothing.”

via School trustee praises clean audit Daily Republic.

School board receives Wood stadium cost study – Daily Republic

By Mike Corpos

A football stadium at Will C. Wood High is still just an idea, but that idea took a major step toward coming to fruition Thursday when the Vacaville school board received the final cost and feasibility study on the potential stadium.

Conducted by HMC Architects, the study resulted in two options for a potential stadium on the southeast corner of the Wood campus, at the corner of Peabody and Marshall roads.

What HMC and the stakeholders committee deemed the preferred option included a full-width football/soccer field inside and all-weather track and a concrete bleacher system built into a hillside that overlooks the site.

via School board receives Wood stadium cost study Daily Republic.

Alumni push to keep Vallejo High School Apache mascot – Vallejo Times Herald

By Lanz Christian Bañes

Vallejo High School alumni on Wednesday pushed back against a recent school board decision to abandon the decades-old Apache mascot.

“Who would have ever thought that the board would take such action, unprecedented in its speed?” said Harry Diavatis, Class of 1962 and organizer of a crowd that overflowed the Vallejo City Unified School District board room.

via Alumni push to keep Vallejo High School Apache mascot – Vallejo Times Herald.

School board to elect new officers, receive Wood stadium report – Daily Republic

By Mike Corpos

The Vacaville school board has a busy night planned Thursday for its regular meeting as its members prepare to wrap up the 2013 calendar year.

On the agenda is the election of new officers for 2014 as well as a major milestone in the potential construction of a football stadium at Will C. Wood High.

First on the agenda, the board is scheduled to elect a new president, vice president and clerk for 2014. David McCallum now serves as board president, Jerry Eaton as vice president and Sherie Mahlberg as board clerk. Superintendent Ken Jacopetti is also expected to be reappointed as secretary of the board in accordance with board bylaws.

via School board to elect new officers, receive Wood stadium report Daily Republic.

Fairfield-Suisun board meets tonight – The Reporter

By Reporter Staff Posted:

Like other California school districts typically do in December, Fairfield-Suisun Unified will reshuffle its governing board when it meets tonight in open session in Fairfield.

In other matters, the seven trustees likely approve the first interim budget report, as presented by Kelly Morgan, the district’s assistant superintendent of business services, and Laneia Grindle, director of fiscal services.

They project revenues to be nearly $160 million, expenses $168 million, with $8 million in deficit spending.

Trustees are expected to approve a motion to postpone more expansion at Laurel Creek and Suisun Elementary schools until the potential impacts of class-size reduction can be studied in greater detail.

via Fairfield-Suisun board meets tonight – The Reporter.

Vacaville school board to deal with several issues – The Reporter

By Reporter Staff Posted:

Vacaville Unified will reorganize its governing board when it meets tonight but trustees also will deal with several financial and educational matters, including the findings of a Will C. Wood High School stadium feasibility and cost study.

As scheduled on the posted agenda, the report on the study will come toward the end of the meeting.

HMC Architects, a design firm with offices in Sacramento, prepared the study, a Measure V item that cost nearly $30,000, an amount approved by trustees at their July 18 meeting. Since then, two community gatherings, one of which drew 900 people to the high school’s Marshall Road campus, were held to give the public a chance to offer input and hear about the stadium design options, of which a stakeholder committee eventually settled on two.

via Vacaville school board to deal with several issues – The Reporter.

Head Start funding partially restored in federal budget deal | EdSource Today

By Jane Meredith Adams and Lillian Mongeau

Head Start received a reprieve Tuesday under the new Congressional budget agreement that would restore some, if not most, of the funding cut from the national child care program last spring.

Head Start lost about 57,000 slots for children, including more than 5,600 in California, because of cuts under federal sequestration, a program of automatically triggered, across-the-board spending cuts. These cuts have continued to ripple through Head Start operations month by month as they cycle through their federal grant processes.

via Head Start funding partially restored in federal budget deal | EdSource Today.

School board leader calls for open mind about Common Core – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

California appears to be ahead of the country in putting Common Core in place, according to the new Travis School District board president, who attended a San Diego conference that included workshops about the education standards.

“I’m just going to ask the community to keep an open mind,” Ivery Hood said.

Hood said he made a day trip Friday to attend part of the Annual Education Conference and Trade Show conducted by the California School Boards Association. The event took place Dec. 5-7 at the San Diego Convention Center.

via School board leader calls for open mind about Common Core Daily Republic.

Budget Deal Could Offer School Districts Relief from Sequestration – Education Week

By Alyson Klein

School districts would get some relief from the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration under an agreement announced Tuesday by a bipartisan pair of House and Senate negotiators.

The plan would roll back most of the so-called sequester cuts for the next two years, leaving the door open for federal lawmakers to boost spending on disadvantaged children and students in special education.

via Budget Deal Could Offer School Districts Relief from Sequestration – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

Protest against Apache mascot change set for Vallejo board meeting – Vallejo Times Herald

By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

A Vallejo High School graduate said Monday he is organizing a protest against the school board’s recent decision to change the school’s Apache mascot.

Saying he thinks the word “mascot” may be the only thing derogatory about the high school’s longtime Apache “symbol,” protest organizer Harry Diavatis said student and alumni feelings on the matter were ignored before board members voted for the change.

via Protest against Apache mascot change set for Vallejo board meeting – Vallejo Times Herald.

State lawmaker praises Fairfield students for activism – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

Freshman state Assemblyman Jim Frazier visited eighth-grade students who petitioned the Fairfield-Suisun School District for a post-Halloween holiday and praised them Tuesday for their activism.

He told students in the U.S. history class at Green Valley Middle School that they’re making their voices heard.

“Right on,” Frazier said. “Don’t hold back.”

“The only way people can hear you is if you tell them,” the state assemblyman said.

via State lawmaker praises Fairfield students for activism Daily Republic.

Charter school spurs questions for Travis district – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

Two teachers, a school employees union representative and a parent questioned a home school and independent study charter academy’s petition to be part of the Travis School District during a public hearing Tuesday.

Jerry Fillingim, labor relations representative for the California School Employees Association, said the belief that “business can do it better than government” is wrong.

“It’s just not true,” he told trustees.

via Charter school spurs questions for Travis district Daily Republic.