Study Finds No Connection Between Eye Problems and Dyslexia – Education Week

By Christina Samuels

There appears to be no connection between vision or eye disorders and reading impairments, according to a study of about 5,800 children that will be published in the June issue of Pediatrics.

The sample of children was taken from a longitudinal study of families living in the Bristol, England area. The children were all 7 to 9 years old, and 3 percent tested as having severe reading impairments.

The researchers then tested the vision of those children. Four out of five had normal eyesight. A small minority of children displayed minor anomalies in depth perception and fusing abiilty, or the ability to use both eyes properly at the same time.

But theres no evidence from this study that therapies to improve eyesight will do anything to help with dyslexia, the researchers concluded. “The best evidence is for intensive interventions involving instruction on phonics, word anal

via Study Finds No Connection Between Eye Problems and Dyslexia – On Special Education – Education Week.

Child care service to move to Fairfield High School – Daily Republic

By Susan Winlow

The saga of the Fairfield-Suisun School District child care nursery, which is currently located at Sem Yeto High School, is over for the time being.

Trustees voted unanimously Thursday to move the service to Fairfield High School when Sem Yeto transitions over to that campus next school year while the former Dover site, its current location, is refurbished. The move is designed as a short-term situation.

The child care service, which district staff originally sought to eliminate, is a portion of two programs – the parenting program for parenting teens and the Career Technical Education Child Development program, which uses the nursery as a lab component.

via Child care service to move to Fairfield High School.

S Club concludes year, honors graduating seniors – Benicia Herald

By Donna Beth Weilenman

As the current school term begins drawing to a close, the S Club of Benicia High School has recognized its graduating senior members as well as its accomplishments of the past year, Susie Harper, S Club Liaison said.

S Club is a student organization sponsored by Soroptimist Benicia, of which Harper is past president.

Among its outgoing members are those who have been on its board, Harper said. They are President Mady Hahn-Smith, Vice President Natalie Leduc and Secretary Shelly Wilcoxen.

via S Club concludes year, honors graduating seniors.

Vallejo Scouting for Science STEM event Sunday – Times Herald

By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

A simple family outing to a Bay Area science fair motivated one Vallejo woman to create her own closer to home.

That event — The Boy Scouts of America, Mt. Diablo-Silverado Council’s first ever STEM Activity Day — is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday.

At $5 per family of four, the event is open to everybody, and is being held at the Vallejo Veteran’s Hall on Admiral Callaghan Lane, organizer Melissa Edwards said.

“I took my kids to the North Bay Science Discovery Day in Santa Rosa in October — a huge event with a committee that works on it year round,” Edwards said. “I lamented that we don’t have anything like this for the kids of Vallejo, so I decided to just do it myself — albeit on a smaller scale (at least initially).”

via Vallejo Scouting for Science STEM event Sunday.

Seven Vanden High School athletes honored for earning scholarships – The Reporter

By Matt Miller

Yvette Arca finally got the feeling of what it’s like to be a part of an athletic team at Vanden High School.

The Vikings senior spent her career swimming for a school that doesn’t have a team or a pool. On Wednesday night, she was on the stage in the Little Theater as one of seven Vanden student-athletes being honored for earning scholarships to colleges and universities.

“I felt like I wasn’t alone anymore,” said Arca, who is headed to UC Santa Cruz.

Five girls and two boys were honored by Vanden athletic director Kevin Ratterman, their head coaches, family and friends for earning a full or partial scholarship. Arca joined volleyball standout Meghan Herout (William Jessup), girls basketball stars Kayla Blair (Pepperdine) and Toni Taylor (Midland College, Texas), soccer standout Josey Breeden (New Haven), along with football standout Tony Terry III (Whittier) and boys basketball stalwart Jansen Smith (California State University, Maritime).

via Seven Vanden High School athletes honored for earning scholarships.

VUSD leaders expected to adopt 2015-16 LCAP on June 25 – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Vacaville Unified leaders on June 25 are expected to adopt the school district’s 2015-16 Local Control Accountability Plan, a document that guides district spending.

A key part of Gov. Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula, the LCAP is comprised of several key “priority areas,” from course access to parent involvement. It describes for the public how educators will meet annual goals for all students and identified subgroups, such as ethnic minorities and special needs students.

At the trustees’ May 21 meeting, Danielle Storey, the district’s assistant superintendent for educational services, told the seven-member governing board that the LCAP is a three-year projection and updated annually, “based on feedback” from stakeholders.

via VUSD leaders expected to adopt 2015-16 LCAP on June 25.

Dixon High School physics students put design, know-how into action – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Their floating devices would be no match, say, for the Persian navy during Battle of Salamis in 480 B.C., but their names were scary enough, battleworthy and might have made a Greek sailor proud (or certainly laugh in the face of danger): Shark Bait HooHaHa with “Nemo,” Team Icarus with “#lionswag,” and Vicious Pursuit with “The Determinator.”

And what would Greek scientist Archimedes have said if he spied the 85 Dixon High School physics students, juniors and seniors, in teacher Kim McGreevey’s class, who, on Wednesday, put the legendary ancient inventor and mathematician’s principle into action during the 13th annual Walk on Water Event at the Granucci Aquatic Center in Dixon?

via Dixon High School physics students put design, know-how into action.

Fairfield-Suisun school board to discuss new state budget numbers – Daily Republic

By Susan Winlow

The Fairfield-Suisun School District governing board will hear a presentation Thursday on the effects of Gov. Jerry Brown’s May budget revision for 2015-16 and how it relates to education.

District staff will report to the board for the first time since the May budget revision brought in the good news of more money to school districts, including community colleges, instead of the less-money, bad-news that led to severe program and staff cuts over the previous years.

The positive shot in the arm primarily comes from an additional $3.1 billion in one-time education funds for 2014-15, which is on top of the $4.75 billion already provided in the budget from the Local Control Funding Formula, which is the new way the state funds local districts.

via Fairfield-Suisun school board to discuss new state budget numbers.

Board to consider options to maintain on-campus child care program – Daily Republic

By Susan Winlow

Members of the Fairfield-Suiusn School District governing board will consider plans Thursday to salvage the district’s child care service for teen parents and move it from Sem Yeto High School to Fairfield High School.

The child care agenda item is a return topic, ready for a vote from the school board.

School staff initially sought to end the child care service portion of two programs – the parenting program for parenting teens and the Career Technical Education Child Development program, which uses the nursery as a lab component. Board members overwhelmingly disagreed and sent staff back to the drawing board to find a way to keep the child care service viable for both programs.

via Board to consider options to maintain on-campus child care program.

Air Force base, city, school district prepare for Peabody Road closure – Daily Republic

By Ian Thompson

Fairfield, Travis School District and Travis Air Force Base officials have geared up for the 14-month-long closure of Peabody Road that starts June 12 with detour routes, an expanded school busing program and open-for-business signage for affected businesses.

Peabody Road between Vanden Road and Huntington Drive is being closed for approximately 14 months during the construction of the Fairfield/Vacaville Train Station and Peabody Road Overcrossing Project.

There are no plans at the moment to change gate times at Travis Air Force Base because of the closure, according to the base’s Public Affairs Office. The base is publicizing a detour route that runs west from Peabody Road along Cement Hill Road and then turns south along Clay Bank Road to Air Base Parkway. There is also the route to the base’s North Gate via Canon Road.

via Air Force base, city, school district prepare for Peabody Road closure.

Seven Vikings set sail to new four-year adventure – Daily Republic

By Marcus Lomtong

Seven Vikings will be embarking on their next voyage.

Yvette Arca, Kayla Blair, Josey Breeden, Meaghan Herout, Jansen Smith, Toni Taylor and Tony Terri III all signed letters of intent to their respective schools at Vanden High, Wednesday, with coaches, family and friends all in attendance to witness the unforgettable moment.

For girls basketball coach Allison Johnson, it was bittersweet seeing Blair and Taylor go as they were part of a historical Lady Vikings team which won the schools first-ever Sac-Joaquin Section title for girls basketball.

via Seven Vikings set sail to new four-year adventure.

How Schools Can Help Nurture Students’ Mental Health | MindShift

By Linda Flanagan

By the time he entered second grade, Eric had already witnessed graphic violence and watched as his family fell apart. He’d been moved to a new state and a new home, but he wasn’t thriving, especially in school. Eric’s reading level was measured in single digits — that is, below the 10th percentile for children his age.

“He was so preoccupied by the trauma he’d experienced that it was impairing his learning,” says Steve Lepinski, who followed Eric’s progress.

Lepinski runs the Washburn Center for Children, a mental health provider in Minnesota that handled Eric’s case. After receiving intensive therapy, Eric (not his real name) saw his reading level jump to the 90th percentile for his age group. Now “he’s just doing normal third-grade things,” Lepinski adds.

via How Schools Can Help Nurture Students’ Mental Health | MindShift | KQED News.

Career guidance helps students figure out their paths | EdSource

By Michelle Maitre

San Diego high school student Sharon Tamir is spending four weeks of her junior year in Vancouver, Canada, interning at an historic school for girls and delving into the teaching practices surrounding project-based learning.

Her classmate Dayyan Sisson is spending his internship month at Birch Aquarium at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Dayyan will intern as a biotechnology researcher, studying the prehensile tails of seahorses, sea dragons and pipefish to discover lessons that can be derived from the creatures’ natural biology and applied to technological advances in the human sphere. Think advances to fine-tune robotic tentacles used by underwater sea rovers or improve the design of stents, the thin tubes used in medical procedures.

via Career guidance helps students figure out their paths | EdSource#.VWX7_GfbLGg#.VWX7_GfbLGg.

Travis USD superintendent deals with more issues than the average administrator – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

She bears the standard burdens of most California school district superintendents, then bears some more because Travis Unified, with a sizable population of military dependents, includes three schools on nearby Travis Air Force Base.

For Kate Wren Gavlak, who has served in the top job for 10 years, keeping students “on track to graduate,” she said, is a primary concern, an effort compounded by some 1,800, or more than 30 percent, of 5,500 TUSD students who are, essentially, a transient population because their parents are active-duty or reserve members of the United States Air Force.

“I try to make sure that those students are not penalized for their parent’s military service,” she said during an interview at her De Ronde Drive office in Fairfield, just south of Vacaville and literally a stone’s throw from fenced-off air base property.

via Travis Unified School District superintendent deals with more issues than the average administrator.

Armijo student artists to have artwork displayed – Daily Republic

By Ian Thompson

The artwork of an Armijo High School 11th grader will be among several student-created piece of art that will be displayed in Rep. John Garamendi’s office after earning an honorable mention in the annual Congressional High School Competition in Garamendi’s 3rd District.

That local honorable mention went to Armijo High School Junior Chloe Tortai whose artwork, “Appropriation of Color,” will be featured at Garamendi’s Open House from 4 to 6 p.m. at 412 G St. in Davis.

Tortai’s work is also one of five that were chosen by the Pence Gallery to be part of a teen exhibit scheduled for January 2016 as part of the Davis-based gallery’s Teens Take Charge Program.

via Armijo student artists to have artwork displayed.

Community urges school board to act on teen suicide risk – Benicia Herald

By Keri Luiz

At last week’s meeting of Benicia Unified School District trustees, many members of the community spoke about Board Policy BP 5141.52, which addresses suicide prevention.

First to speak was Barbara Gervase, the mother of Kyle Hyland, the Benicia High School junior who took his own life Dec. 22, 2014.

Gervase first commended the district on the positive changes being planned for mental health services for students. But she said she believed that there was more that could, and should, be done.“

The rate of suicide attempts is on the rise since Kyle passed, with one per week in January and February versus the historical rate of one per month,” she said. “This indicates that real sweeping change is urgently needed.”

via Community urges school board to act on teen suicide risk.

Quake interrupts VUSD meeting, but not before ‘positive’ budget news – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

The 4.3 temblor Thursday forced Vacaville Unified leaders to suspend their board meeting for five minutes, but, nearly an hour before the 8 p.m. quake, the governing heard the school district’s chief business officer say Gov. Jerry Brown’s “May revise” budget was “very positive” news for local schools.

Saying she attended Tuesday’s School Services of California meeting, Jane Shamieh told the seven trustees that the governor’s updated state budget for 2015-16 included several billion more in revenues than was projected in January, when his budget was first announced. Most of the money, nearly $5 billion, will be earmarked for K-12 schools, Shamieh said during the meeting in the Educational Services Center.

Standing at the lectern and often smiling as she spoke, Shamieh noted that the increased revenues, brought on by increased property values and Proposition 30, means that “Proposition 98 funding has gone up,” from $66.3 billion in 2014-15 to $68.4 billion for the coming fiscal year. Proposition 98 requires a minimum percentage of the state budget to be spent on K-12 education.

via Quake interrupts VUSD meeting, but not before ‘positive’ budget news.

Benicia school district launches partnership with local businesses – ContraCostaTimes.com

By Irma Widjojo

The education community is developing a collaborative project aimed at pairing businesses and school projects to benefit the future generation.

b-Cubed, a pilot program, was recently introduced as a model to allow special projects developed by Benicia teachers to receive funding from Benicias business community.

“Often, teachers raise the money on their own,” said Adriene Rockwell, Benicia Unified School Districts grant writer. “This is a way to let them focus on what they do best, teach.”

Still in its early stages, b-Cubed features innovative projects that have been selected by the school and district administrations, which would hopefully be adopted by a local business for funding.

via Benicia school district launches partnership with local businesses – ContraCostaTimes.com.

Solano College sends off Class of 2015 – Daily Republic

By Susan Winlow

It might have been sullen and moody above with gray, overcast skies but it was vastly different on the Solano Community College grounds Thursday morning with 360 soon-to-be graduates lined up waiting for the cue of “Pomp and Circumstance.”

Friends and families bearing balloons, flowers and gifts, many bundled up because of the biting wind, poured into Doc Hollister Stadium before the 69th commencement began – they filed into the seats, as the graduates waited off to the side.

“I’m so ready,” said Donnell Marshall, as he stood in one of the alphabetized lines of students.

via Solano College sends off Class of 2015.

Students shine in the Fairfield-Suisun School District – Daily Republic

By Susan Winlow

The Fairfield-Suisun School District recently selected a new group of Students of the Month to honor at the recent board meeting – this time honorees are at the high school level for the month of May.

Esther Emenalom is a senior at Rodriguez High School. She is involved in the homeless and battered women’s shelter, Global Center for Success, and is a summer camp counselor for children.

Esther keeps busy at school in leadership roles. She has been committee leader in leadership class, the historian/treasurer in Music council, a treasurer for the National Honor Society and the business manager for the yearbook. Esther is also captain of the Rodriguez entertainment unit colorguard.

via Students shine in the Fairfield-Suisun School District.