Monthly Archives: February 2014

Browns Valley Elementary sixth-grader wins city bee – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Richard Bammer

For the first time in two years, Vacaville has a new champion elementary school speller.

Browns Valley sixth-grader Francis Agbayani on Wednesday night correctly spelled “kiwi,” besting Jean Callison fifth-grader Anna Glynn, who stumbled on “census,” during the annual Grace B. Powell Citywide Spelling Bee at Brenden Theatres.

Clad in a saffron yellow sweatshirt over black pants, he raised his arms overhead after being declared the winner by judge Stephen Leonetti, a retired Episcopal priest.

via Browns Valley Elementary sixth-grader wins city bee – The Reporter.

Value of early education questioned at House committee hearing | EdSource Today

Posted on by

By Lillian Mongeau

House Republicans questioned the need for new early education programs and asked if the research showing the benefits of preschool has been oversold Tuesday at a Workforce and Education Committee hearing on early childhood programs.

“Serious questions remain as to whether these programs are producing positive results for the children they serve,” said committee chairman Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., at the hearing.

President Barack Obama first proposed a new federal grant program to help states establish or expand publicly funded preschool programs in his 2013 State of the Union Address. He renewed that call in his 2014 address. A bill, called the Strong Start for America’s Children Act, which codifies the president’s proposal, was introduced in both houses in November. When the bill was first announced, Kline promised he would hold hearings on early childhood programs, though not the bill specifically, in early 2014. Tuesday’s hearing was the first.

via Value of early education questioned at House committee hearing | EdSource Today.

Program warns teens against distracted driving – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Ian Thompson

When Armijo High School students were asked Wednesday what could be lethal, two of the answers were lip gloss and a cup of coffee.

California Highway Patrol Officer Chris Parker agreed that a teen driver would be distracted from his or her driving while either applying that lip gloss or taking a drink of coffee while driving.

via Program warns teens against distracted driving Daily Republic.

Kairos charter school accepting enrollment forms – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Mike Corpos

Administrators for the Kairos Public School Vacaville Academy are going forward with open enrollment now that they’ve met all the stipulations set forth by the school board in December.

School co-founder Jared Austin said the charter school is accepting intent to enroll forms through March 8.

“We started enrollment about a week ago,” Austin said. “Within about 72 hours (we) filled up all of our information sessions. So we got a really good response in a short period of time.”

via Kairos charter school accepting enrollment forms Daily Republic.

Volunteers give boost to Academic Decathlon – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Mayrene Bates

Our big North Bay Region Academic Decathlon has come and gone yet another year.

It takes a host of volunteers to make this big event for high school students from four North Bay counties happen. These dedicated volunteers from all walks of life get up bright and early to volunteer on two consecutive Saturdays and they always come through for us. Some will go on to work at the state competition in Sacramento in March.

via Volunteers give boost to Academic Decathlon Daily Republic.

Benicia school board to hear facilities need, prep for bond measure – Vallejo Times Herald

Posted on by

By Lanz Christian Bañes

The school board will hear Thursday about the Benicia Unified School District’s facilities needs.

This comes after a survey last month of likely June voters revealed that Benicians generally favor approving a potential bond measure.

About 58.5 percent of those surveyed said they would approve a $49.8 million bond measure, surpassing the 55 percent needed to succeed.

The five-year assessment of the district’s facilities shows a need of about $50 million for maintenance purposes, as well as new construction.

via Benicia school board to hear facilities need, prep for bond measure – Vallejo Times Herald.

Model Suicide-Prevention Policy Released to Guide District Efforts – Education Week

Posted on by

By Evie Blad

Four youth organizations released a model suicide-prevention policy Wednesday designed to inform district-level efforts around the country.

The groups hope the materials will help districts launch new prevention efforts or revamp existing policies with new research and ideas.

“When suicide is the third leading cause of death among youth as young as 10 through age-19, it is crucial that our school districts have proactive suicide prevention policies in place,” said a release from the organizations—The Trevor Project, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the American School Counselor Association, and the National Association of School Psychologists.

via Model Suicide-Prevention Policy Released to Guide District Efforts – Rules for Engagement – Education Week.

Solano County 2013-14 Teacher of the Year honored – SCOE | Facebook

Posted on by

Solano County 2013-14 Teacher of the Year Angelo “Ang” Bracco is honored, along with four other teachers, by State Superintendent Tom Torlakson and the California Teachers of the Year Foundation at the 2014 California Teachers of the Year Gala, held in Sacramento on February 3, 2014. Bracco is a Special Education Teacher at Solano Middle School in the Vallejo City Unified School District.

via Solano County 2013-14 Teacher of the… – Solano County Office of Education | Facebook.

Three Dixon musicians perform in honor band – Dixon Tribune | Facebook

Posted on by

Brianna Boyd, Editor

Three students from Dixon’s CA Jacobs Middle School were selected to perform last month in the North Bay Honor Band. Chase Furman, an eighth grade clarinet player, Kiarra Ko-Madden, an eighth grade oboe player and Tim Spencer, a seventh grade bass clarinet player, were three of 66 area musicians selected for the 2014 honor band.

Woodland School District hosted the North Bay Honor Band this year at the Pioneer High School theater. The students had two full days of rehearsals and performed a concert on Jan. 26.

via Three Dixon musicians perform in honor… – The Dixon Tribune | Facebook.

Promises kept at SCC – The Reporter

Posted on by

Published By Times Herald:

During the Measure Q Bond campaign, Solano Community College surveyed voters to determine if they would support a program that will allow students from ninth to twelfth grade to concurrently attend college classes.

The program, called Middle College High School or Early College High School, would serve motivated students who elect to complete both college and high school at the same time; at 17 or 18 years of age, these young people could be eligible to be juniors at a university or enter a profession with an Associate’s degree. Local voters surveyed overwhelmingly supported the proposal.

via Promises kept at SCC – The Reporter.

California schools chief visits Fairfield-Suisun classes – The Reporter

Posted on by

By Melissa Murphy

Instead of getting out a pencil and paper, students at Crystal Middle School are often told to pull out cell phones, iPads and other technology devices to contribute to the educational material in class.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson saw first hand how students in one English 8 honors class were using the latest technology with Chrome books to work together and write an essay about a central theme in a story they just read in class.

“There is fantastic teamwork and that’s really important,” he said. “It’s been a great experience.”

via California schools chief visits Fairfield-Suisun classes – The Reporter.

Apple, Microsoft Among Tech Companies Pledging to Improve Technology in Schools – Education Week

Posted on by

By Michele McNeil

President Obama is expected today to announce that major corporations will commit more than $750 million to improve technology access in schools and low-income households, as part of an overall federal push to increase students’ connectivity to the Internet.

Obama is scheduled to tout those efforts in a speech at the Buck Lodge Middle School in Adelphi, Md., in remarks that will help flesh out the details of a plan he previewed in his State of the Union speech last week.

The president has set the goal of providing 99 percent of the nation’s schools with access to high-speed broadband technology within five years. Yesterday, the Federal Communications Commission announced that it would expand funding on broadband through the E-rate program from $1 billion to $2 billion annually, for a total increase of $2 billion.

via Apple, Microsoft Among Tech Companies Pledging to Improve Technology in Schools – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

New ‘trauma-informed’ approach to behavioral disorders in special education | EdSource Today

Posted on by

By Jane Meredith Adams

They are the lowest achieving students in a field plagued by low achievement.

Students diagnosed as emotionally disturbed perform the poorest of all students in special education, although they have no cognitive deficits. More than two out of five students with emotional or behavioral disorders, such as severe depression or aggressive behavior, leave high school before graduating, research has shown, and four years after high school, nearly three out of five have been arrested.

Now a pilot program is hoping it can better help these children by addressing what may be the root cause of many of their behaviors: trauma they’ve endured at home or in their neighborhoods.

via New ‘trauma-informed’ approach to behavioral disorders in special education | EdSource Today.

Vanden High robotics ranked 10th in state – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Ryan McCarthy

The Robovikes, Vanden High School’s robotics team, is preparing for competitions in Riverside and at the University of California, Davis, ranked 10th in California after a breakout year last season.

Teams are challenged to build a robot that can pass, toss, catch and shoot a 24-inch exercise ball into an 8-foot-high goal autonomously – and while under the control of human drivers, the school said. The more assists that teams can make with other robots, the more points teams receive.

via Vanden High robotics ranked 10th in state Daily Republic.

State schools chief tours local schools – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Barry Eberling

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson came to the local Public Safety Academy on Monday and apparently liked what he saw.

He bade a few hundred students good morning as they stood for the 7:45 a.m. outdoor morning assembly in military style – all dressed in school uniforms, no slouching, no daydreaming. The Public Safety Academy is part of the Fairfield-Suisun School District.

“Sir, good morning, sir,” the students responded to Torlakson in merged voice.

via State schools chief tours local schools Daily Republic.

Vallejo schools continue water savings efforts as drought intensifies – Vallejo Times Herald

Posted on by

Lanz Christian Bañes

The Vallejo City Unified School District had been working for years to reduce its water usage even before last month’s drought announcement, a district official said Friday.

“Our behaviors that we’ve been changing over the years are going to be an advantage for us. At this point, we’re ahead of the curve,” said Mel Jordan, the district’s assistant superintendent for administrative services.

For example, Corbus Field near Vallejo High School was remodeled in 2003 to include synthetic turf, eliminating the need to water the grass.

via Vallejo schools continue water savings efforts as drought intensifies – Vallejo Times Herald.

New Vallejo High mascot to be revealed Wednesday – Vallejo Times Herald

Posted on by

Lanz Christian Bañes

After months of controversy, Vallejo High School is scheduled to present its new mascot to the school board on Wednesday.

The five-member board unanimously voted in November to abandon the decades-old Apache mascot after several heated meetings in which Native Americans and their supporters told trustees the offense and indignation the mascot caused to indigenous people.

But the move to abandon the decades-old mascot has not been without opposition.

Notably, many Vallejo High School students walked out of classes in protest the day after the decision, and alumni pressed back against the board in a meeting where they defended the Apache mascot as an honor to the tribe and the Vallejo High spirit.

via New Vallejo High mascot to be revealed Wednesday – Vallejo Times Herald.

FSUSD Teen creates campus art – Daily Republic

Posted on by

By Amy Maginnis-Honey

Fairfield High School junior Kahlid Walker is about to make a lasting impression on the campus.

Outside the visual arts classroom will hang a mural of five 2-foot-by-5-foot panels he has put together, as well as painting the focus of the piece, a reclining woman whose face was inspired by the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s artwork on their CD, “Mother’s Milk.” Her positioning was influenced by Manet’s “Olympia.”

via Teen creates campus art Daily Republic.

California schools have $37 billion in unissued bonds – Capitol and California – The Sacramento Bee

Posted on by

By Jim Miller

California’s pot of school bond money may be empty, but school and community college districts have more than $37 billion in authorized – but unspent – school-construction bonds, according to a report by the state’s debt commission.

Since November 2002, there have been 681 school and community college elections that yielded about $90.1 billion in voter-approved borrowing authority to build and modernize schools. Yet only about $52.6 billion of those bonds have actually been issued, according to the California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission report last week.

via California schools have $37 billion in unissued bonds – Capitol and California – The Sacramento Bee.

Education Department Official Reaffirms Commitment to Grade-Level Testing – Education Week

Posted on by

By Christina Samuels

Students with disabilities should be taught to rigorous academic standards, said Deborah S. Delisle, the education department’s assistant secretary for elementary and secondary education, in a press conference with reporters on Thursday.

Delisle’s comments came in response to a question from Joy Resmovits of the Huffington Post, who asked department officials about a proposal in New York to test certain students with disabilities up to two grades below their chronological grade level. This request is part of the state’s renewal of its waiver from No Child Left Behind standards.

via Education Department Official Reaffirms Commitment to Grade-Level Testing – On Special Education – Education Week.