Vallejo superintendent vows district will attempt another bond – Vallejo Times Herald

By John Glidden

Vallejo City Unified School District Superintendent Ramona Bishop vowed Wednesday night that one day city voters will approve a new bond measure for the district.

During Wednesday night’s board of education meeting, Bishop praised the efforts of the committee organized to get the measure passed and said that 60 percent is still a good number.

As of Wednesday, the district’s Measure E — a $239 million general obligation bond, which would have helped to renovate various school district sites if approved — had received more than 9,000 votes. That is good for 59 percent, but failed to garner the 66 percent voter approval required, according to unofficial results listed on the Solano County Registrar of Voter’s website.

via Vallejo superintendent vows district will attempt another bond – Vallejo Times Herald.

Fairfield-Suisun students celebrate at midyear graduation – Daily Republic

By Susan Winlow

The school district governing board room gave off a different vibe, a different feel Wednesday night as several high schoolers collected diplomas, an opportunity missed for various reasons for some in June, during the Fairfield-Suisun School District’s midyear graduation for the Class of 2014.

There was standing room only as friends and family came to fete the new graduates. Cameras snapped, balloons waved and the regular whoops and hollers of any graduation were definitely present.

“I feel great,” said James Adams Jr., 20, who completed his diploma at the Fairfield-Suisun Adult School. “I feel like I accomplished something.”

via Fairfield-Suisun students celebrate at midyear graduation Daily Republic.

Vallejo school district set to approve tentative agreement with teachers – Vallejo Times Herald

Times-Herald staff report Posted:

The Vallejo City Unified School District Board of Education will be asked Wednesday to approve a tentative agreement between the district and the Vallejo Education Association, which represents all district teachers.

The tentative agreement includes a 1.5 percent salary increase, elimination of current steps in rows 15, 17, 19, 21 and 22 and an increase in the district’s contribution to single employee health care benefits to $500, retroactive to July 1, 2014 for the 2014-15 school year, according to a district staff report.

via Vallejo school district set to approve tentative agreement with teachers – Vallejo Times Herald.

Ubalde, Porter and Worel elected to school board; Wilson out – Vallejo Times Herald

By John Glidden

Richard Porter expressed disbelief Tuesday night as he kept tabs at the unofficial voting results for the Vallejo City Unified School District Board of Education election.

Porter, who earlier in his campaign accepted a teaching position with the district and dropped out of the contest, captured second place with 5,646 votes.

“I don’t know what to say,” Porter said incredulously over the phone late Tuesday night. “I did not campaign and I actually supported (VCUSD candidate Brisbain) Pucan.

via Ubalde, Porter and Worel elected to school board; Wilson out – Vallejo Times Herald.

Measure E falls flat – The Reporter

By John Glidden

Vallejo voters closed their checkbooks Tuesday night.

Despite receiving over nine thousand votes, good for 59 percent, the Vallejo City Unified School District’s Measure E failed to garner the 66 percent voter approval required, according to unofficial results listed on the Solano County Registrar of Voter’s website.

Measure E is a $239 million general obligation bond, which would have helped to renovate various school district sites, if approved.

“It’s an excellent start,” said Deborah Dickson, chair of the Committee to Fix Our Schools — Yes on Measure E, after seeing the vote-by-mail numbers, which gave the measure a then 58 percent approval. “We ran a hard race.”

via Measure E falls flat – The Reporter.

Familiar faces, new ones join board – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Two Vacaville Unified School District incumbent trustees late Tuesday appeared to have easily retained their seats while two new faces will join the board.

At midnight, with 39 of 39 precincts reporting amid a relatively low voter turnout countywide, (reflecting statewide trends), re-elected were incumbents Shelley Dally, a longtime public school educator; and Whit Whitman, a retired Air Force pilot and for many years a staunch advocate for public education; while challengers Jeremy Jeffreys, a Fairfield middle school teacher; and Shawn Windham, a Vacaville police officer, appeared to have won the third four-year term and a single two-year term, respectively.

 

via Familiar faces, new ones join board – The Reporter.

VUSD voters approve Measure A – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

With 39 of 39 precincts reporting at midnight Tuesday, Measure A, the $194 million Vacaville Unified school bond measure to upgrade several aging campuses and enhance technology, passed the 55 percent threshold and will be enacted.

Yes votes for the measure totaled 9,064, or 60.73 percent, while no votes were 5,862, or 39.27 percent.

Leaders of the successful voter campaign, officially known as the Community Supporting Vacaville Schools and Measure A 2014, were hopeful, if not cautious, during the run-up to Election Day and continued to be so after early returns indicated a 60 percent voter approval.

via VUSD voters approve Measure A – The Reporter.

Benicia challenger may take seat in school board – Vallejo Times Herald

By Irma Widjojo

The race for the three seats in the Benicia Unified School District board was still undecided by the end of Tuesday night.

All three incumbents and the sole challenger received almost equal votes, with incumbent Rosie Switzer leading with about 27.7 percent. Switzer has been on the board for nine years, serving as president for the past two years.

In an interview at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, Switzer said she’s happy with the early numbers. However, she said they don’t mean much yet.

“It’s still early in the night,” she said.

Switzer also said she will be happy with whatever the outcome.

via Benicia challenger may take seat in school board – Vallejo Times Herald.

Vacaville voters pass $194M school bond – Daily Republic

By Susan Winlow

Nolan Sullivan, Vacaville School District governing board member and co-chairman of the political action committee for Measure A, was beginning to breath a sigh of relief at about 11:30 p.m. on election night.

That’s when his anxiety began to ebb, he said.

By midnight, with all precincts reporting, Measure A was a done deal based on unofficial election results. The $194 million bond put on the ballot by the Vacaville School District board passed with 61 percent of the vote, more than the 55 percent needed.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Sullivan said, with more than half the precincts reporting at about 11:30 p.m. “I don’t think things are going to change but crazier things have happened.”

via Vacaville voters pass $194M school bond Daily Republic.

Vacaville school board race a nail-biter to the end – Daily Republic

By Susan Winlow

It was a nail-biter. The race for the three open long-term seats on the Vacaville School District governing board came down to the wire at the midnight hour with all seven candidates in a close race.

The seven candidates vying for the three long-term seats were neck-in-neck since write-in votes popped up in the Solano County Registrar of Voters website at 8 p.m., shortly after the polls closed.

“I think it can go any way at this point,” said Shelley Dally, an incumbent who was sitting in the third position at 11:16 p.m. with more than half the precincts reporting. “I hope I remain in the top three.”

via Vacaville school board race a nail-biter to the end Daily Republic.

Safety 1st: School board eyes site plans – Benicia Herald

By Keri Luiz

Superintendent Janice Adams will ask Benicia Unified School District trustees on Thursday to approve the safety plans for all school sites and the district office, 350 East K St.

“The safety of students and staff is of utmost importance and an essential component of ensuring student and staff safety in the annual development and review of the Comprehensive School Safety/Emergency Operational Plan for the district and for individual sites,” Adams wrote in a report to the school board.

Each site in the district establishes a School Safety Committee. This committee can either be a part of the School Site Council SSC, or be an independent committee that reports to the SSC.

via Safety 1st: School board eyes site plans.

How Can States Use College Entrance Tests for NCLB Accountability? – Politics K-12 – Education Week

By Alyson Klein

As states and school districts begin to revisit the number of standardized tests students must take, some states—particularly Connecticut—are contemplating replacing Common Core aligned assessments with college-entrance exams at the high school level.

The rationale is that most high school juniors have to (or should) take those tests anyway, so why not use them for accountability? (Check out this story for a rundown of how states use college-entrance tests in their accountability systems.)

But there are some limits to this approach. For instance, Kansas wanted to give its districts the option of allowing students who scored at a level considered “college-and-career ready” on entrance exams the chance to opt out of state assessments.

via How Can States Use College Entrance Tests for NCLB Accountability? – Politics K-12 – Education Week.

Pathway Trust Grants – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education)

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today invited school districts and community colleges to apply for $250 million in California Career Pathways Trust grants for programs that provide skills and practical experience to help students prepare for success in college and careers.

“This program is a great example of teamwork among educators and employers,” said Torlakson. “By giving students a taste of the working world before they graduate, these programs motivate and excite students, reduce the drop-out rate, and increase the college attendance rate.”

via Pathway Trust Grants – Year 2014 (CA Dept of Education).

5 Educational Buzzwords That Are Losing Their Buzz – The Edublogger

By Dan Leeman

There will always be the latest pedagogical or technological trend in education. Whether it’s research-based or just the latest fad, educational buzzwords crop up at every education conference or professional development session.

Here are five educational buzzwords that I think have outlived their usefulness. It’s not that the core concepts themselves are bad, but rather that the term has been overused, overhyped, or we’ve just simply moved on.

Student-centered

Sage on the stage or guide on the side? There is very little chance that you’re still gainfully employed in an educational institution if you’ve never considered whether your learning activities revolve around students. After all, if we were in it for the glory, there are hundreds of other career paths better for this than teaching.

via 5 Educational Buzzwords That Are Losing Their Buzz – The Edublogger.

Torlakson stops for rally in Fairfield – Daily Republic

By Amy Maginnis-Honey

California’s superintendent of public education stopped by the California Teachers Association building Monday afternoon, rallying a group of about 40 people, many of them teachers, to get out the vote for him Tuesday.

Tom Torlakson even sat down and made a few calls to voters to remind them of Election Day.

Torlakson and challenger Marshall Tuck are in what appears to be a dead heat for the top education spot in the state. Some polls show that 44 percent of voters are undecided.

via Torlakson stops for rally in Fairfield Daily Republic.

Doug Ford: Preserve what is best by moving away from the extremes – The Reporter

Vacaville Reporter posted:

Election time has stimulated me to think back over the past more than sixty years since I first became eligible to vote in 1952. Neither of my parents had been voters so I had to figure out who I should vote for without following their example.

I was in basic training in the Air Force, and the Korean War was going on. I registered as a Republican and decided to vote for Eisenhower for president even though I also admired Stevenson. I thought Ike was more likely to deal best with the Korean situation.

As for all the other offices, I was poorly informed and don’t remember who I might have voted for although I did vote for some who were Republicans and others who were Democrats. It was the same in 1956, by which time I was stationed at Dow AFB near Bangor, Maine (the home town of Hannibal Hamlin, vice-president in Lincoln’s first term). I was becoming a bit more informed by taking courses in U.S. history at the University of Maine.

via Doug Ford: Preserve what is best by moving away from the extremes – The Reporter.

VUSD candidates divided on key issues; all agree on Measure A – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Local voters on Tuesday will have a chance to determine, conceivably for at least two years, a majority voting bloc on the Vacaville Unified governing board, with nine candidates vying for four of seven trustee seats.

Seven seek three four-year terms; and two seek a two-year term.

Those seeking the four-year seats are incumbent Michele “Shelley” Dally, a longtime public school educator; Jeremy Jeffreys, a teacher at Green Valley Middle School in Fairfield; incumbent David McCallum, a KUIC-FM account executive and public school advocate; Deloris Roach, a small-business owner and former East Bay school district trustee; Judi Ruggiero, a U.S. history and government teacher at Vanden High in Fairfield; Tracee Stacy, publisher of Prime Time Living magazine and a district volunteer; and incumbent Whit Whitman, a retired U.S. Air Force pilot, commercial airlines pilot and longtime public school advocate.

via VUSD candidates divided on key issues; all agree on Measure A – The Reporter.

Students learn healthy cooking in heart association program – Daily Republic

By Susan Winlow

Applesauce with seeds gives just a little bit of added protein.

Really, it does, the middle school student said, convincingly.

Chef Robert Edwards hurried around to the various tables of Matt Garcia Learning Center students cooking homemade applesauce on Wednesday. He lifted up the lid of a pot simmering on a mobile single-burner propane stove and saw something else swimming around with the finely chopped apples.

“You want the seeds?” he asked, chuckling, to the group of middle schoolers.

They peered into the pot, clearly pleased with the pleasant aroma coming from their quickly cooking apples.

via Students learn healthy cooking in heart association program Daily Republic.