By Kimberly K. Fu
A group of Vacaville teens are in the midst of a revolution and they’re hoping to recruit other youths to the cause.
The goal — youth empowerment.
The method — the 2016 Operation Representation Youth Summit, bearing the theme “Stereotypes, Gender Roles & the Media and How it Affects You.”
The event, set for 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. April 30 at Ulatis Cultural Center in Vacaville, is all about bringing awareness to issues facing youths and how to deal with them.
via: The Reporter
By Ryan McCarthy
Out-of-state travel to St. Pete Beach, Florida, by the director of child nutrition for the Fairfield-Suisun School District goes before the school board Thursday.
Margan Holloway’s trip May 8-11 to the American Commodity Distribution Association Annual National Conference will be paid for by the Schools Linked In Commodities Cooperative and will not cost the school district any money, a staff report said.
School meal programs are partially funded by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s commodity foods program and Holloway will gain better understanding of commodity foods use in school district meal programs, the staff report said.
Source: Fairfield-Suisun school board to consider Florida trip request
By Daily Republic Staff
Expect at least 76 trombones and many other musical instruments filling the air with familiar tunes May 7 at the Northern California Marching Band Festival in downtown Fairfield.
Some 20 high school and middle school marching bands from Solano County and beyond will perform at the all-day event.
The festival kicks off at 8 a.m. with a jazz concert at the Downtown Theatre at the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts, followed at 10:30 a.m. by a marching band percussion competition along Texas Street. A concert performance at the Fairfield Community Center, 1000 Kentucky St., is planned later in the day.
Source: Northern California Marching Band Festival set in Fairfield
People often talk about the ghosts of the past.
On Saturday at Bethel High School, there were no ghosts — just living reminders of Vallejo’s greatest athletes over the years.
Vallejo High graduate Brett Moye helped organize the Vallejo’s Greatest Athletes Media Mixer from 1 to 5 p.m. inside the Jaguars’ gym. Moye recorded the event for a possible future film.
“This is a good start; I didn’t think so many people would be here so early,” Moye said around 1:30 p.m. “I just want to see as many people as possible so we can celebrate all of the great athletes. I’ve never seen a lot of these people before. I keep in touch with them but I haven’t met a lot of them.”
Moye said he was glad to see a number of former male and female athletes at the event.
via: Times Herald
By Matthew Adkins
As schools bands around the county wrap up their winter season, students are holding one last performance to showcase their talent.
Jesse Bethel High School played host on Friday to the annual Winter Drumline and Colorguard Exhibition.
The high school’s gymnasium was standing-room only as hundreds of students in full costume put on their winter shows for the crowd.
Eight teams from area high schools took turns playing percussion instruments and performing elaborate choreographed dances with props.
Source: Drumlines, winterguards hold exhibition at Jesse Bethel
School in eastern Solano County will end in early June, but low-income children’s hunger and their need for healthy meals will not.
Schools, camps, nonprofits, Indian tribal governments and government offices among many entities and groups are being urged by state education leaders to apply to become Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sponsors. It is a way to make sure poor children get nutritious meals once school is out.
Applications are due before June 1, said Peter Tira, a spokesman for the California Department of Education, which issued a press release.
“Summer for our students should be a time of discovery, fun, and making memories,” said state schools chief Tom Torlakson. “For many California children from low-income families, however, summer can represent just the opposite, with limited opportunities for educational enrichment, a lack of safe places for social activities, or a time without healthy meals to eat.”
Source: CDE seeks summer meals sponsors for low-income students
A bill by Assemblyman Bill Dodd, D-Solano, to protect students and teachers during earthquakes took an important step forward, receiving unanimous bipartisan support from the Assembly Education Committee. Dodd’s bill would require school districts in California to ensure that the contents of their classroom, like heavy bookshelves or hanging light fixtures, comply with state earthquake safety guidelines.
“Earthquakes are a part of life in California and we cannot wait for tragedy to strike to take common sense precautions to ensure our children and teachers are as safe as possible,” Dodd said. “I’m thankful to have the unanimous support of the Assembly Education Committee and look forward to working with my colleagues in the legislature to advance classroom earthquake safety.”
The state of California has already invested time and resources into creating guidelines for securing the contents of classrooms in the event of an earthquake. However, there is currently nothing in state law that requires school districts to adhere to the established guidelines produced by the Division of the State Architects. Inspections of Napa schools following the South Napa Earthquake revealed significant damage inside classrooms, totaling millions of dollars. These concerning results have been identified following other serious earthquakes throughout the state. The shifting contents and blocked exists could have been life-threatening had the earthquake occurred during school hours.
via: The Reporter
By Richard Bammer
Applications are being accepted for a major scholarship for a Dixon High School graduate to attend the University of California, it has been announced.
Administered by the Solano Community Foundation, the David Robben Memorial Scholarship is worth about $80,000, paid out over four years, at $20,000 each year. It is intended to cover tuition and all required fees, books, supplies, and some incidentals. A modest contribution toward room and board also may be included.
In its second year, the scholarship was established to provide financial support to students who achieve academic excellence but might not otherwise be able to earn a college degree without the support.
Last year’s recipient was Alejandro Sanchez, who is currently taking pre-med courses at the University of California, Los Angeles. Applications are available from the school counselor’s office or online at SCF’s website, www.solanocf.org.
Source: Applications being accepted for major Dixon High scholarship
By John Glidden
A proposed water rate increase in Vallejo will likely not receive support from the school district.
Wednesday night the Vallejo school board called for a special Friday meeting so it could officially direct staff to submit 26 protest letters, one for each piece of district property.
If the increase is approved by the Vallejo City Council, the district will be required to pay more than $1.3 million annually for water by 2020, according to a Vallejo City Unified School District staff report. Currently, the district pays over $500,000 annually.
The money would come from the district’s general fund, district staff said.
The harshest critic of the increase has been VCUSD Trustee Burky Worel, who contends the city council “could care less” about the district.
By Tim Roe
Mark Wudel is working overtime, but it’s worth it.
Will C. Wood High School’s athletic director is overseeing Wood’s Wildcat Night fund-raiser Saturday at the Ulatis Cultural Center.
The evening promises to be another huge success for the program, although the itinerary is a little crowded.
The Wildcats also will induct their first-ever hall of fame class as part of the ceremony.
“It’s OK. It’s something that’s been necessary,” Wudel said. “It’s a great first group. Hopefully it will get the discussion going about the future as well.”
Never mind that Wudel will coach a group of seniors in tonight’s Monticello Empire League vs. Solano County Athletic Conference all-star basketball game at Vanden.
Source: Will C. Wood High School will honor first Hall of Fame Class Saturday night
By Todd R. Hansen
Anyone who meets Ana Zanabria or Samantha Ryan are likely to feel a lot better about the next generation.
But ask those two community-active Vacaville High School students about the future, and they are worried. Top on their lists of concerns, the lack of available jobs.
“I do come from a low-income family and I do think about how I’m going to be able to go to college (without) a scholarship,” Zanabria said during an interview last fall.
Ryan, at the same family policy forum in Suisun City, said not being able to find jobs is one of the biggest frustrations she hears from her peers.
By Byrd Pinkerton
“Discuss, monitor, and educate.”
That’s Kortney Peagram’s advice to parents and teachers who want to help special needs teens lead an online life. She wrote up some of her experiences as a psychologist working to reduce cyberbullying in Chicago for our friends at NPR’s All Tech Considered.
Students can definitely benefit from social media, Peagram says. For kids who can’t be touched, or who can’t look people in the eye, digital networks are a chance to share pictures and interests, and an opportunity to have a social life.
But the internet can be a dangerous place, especially for kids who may struggle with communication.
Source: What Special Ed Teachers and Parents Need To Know About Social Media : NPR Ed : NPR
By Linda Flanagan
After years of dealing with school bullying through traditional punishments, Carolyne Quintana, the principal of Bronxdale High School in New York City, introduced restorative justice approaches at her school because she wanted students to feel trusted and cared for.
“It wasn’t just about bullying incidents, it was about the whole school culture,” she said.
To build community and handle “instances of harm” among the students, teachers bring the kids together to talk in “restorative circles,” where everyone has an opportunity to listen and be heard. Bronxdale uses circles for most of its group communications, including parent meetings and ninth-grade orientation. The circles are a natural outgrowth of the Socratic method teachers use in class, Quintana said.
Source: How to Develop a School Culture That Helps Curb Bullying | MindShift | KQED News
By Susan Frey
A survey of after-school program providers found that 29 percent of respondents – including large programs such as LA’s BEST and THINK Together – say they are likely to close in the next two years without an increase in the daily reimbursement rate from the state.
More than 86 percent of providers said they were having trouble providing quality staff, and two-thirds said their programs had a waiting list, according to the survey by the Oakland-based advocacy group Partnership for Children & Youth.
Each year, more than 400,000 students in over 4,000 elementary and middle schools participate in these programs, which are located primarily in high-poverty neighborhoods. The programs offer tutoring, sports and enrichment activities such as arts and science projects. They also provide a safe place for elementary and middle school children while their parents are working.
Source: Some after-school program providers say flat funding may cause them to close | EdSource
By Kimberly K. Fu
Kids and their plants are blooming at the Vacaville Neighborhood Boys & Girls Club and the community is asked to continue the growing season with a simple click.
By going online to http://bit.ly/2090L7A and clicking the “vote” button, community members will put the club in the running for a Seeds of Change grant that can make a huge difference in the lives of Club children.
“We get that we are reaching for the stars,” said Susan Schwartz, club volunteer extraordinaire and head of the club’s garden projects. “But our goal is we’re going to try to get to the Farmers Market this year, we want to feed the homeless. … We want to give the kids produce to take home. We want all of that. We just don’t have enough.”
Source: Vaca youth seek Seeds of Change
By Daily Republic Staff
The Suisun Valley K-8 Parent Club will host a fiesta and auction rom 6 to 10:30 p.m. April 30 at Wooden Valley Winery.
There will be dinner, dancing, an auction and plenty of fun, according to an announcement for the event. Proceeds will provide supplemental funding for many programs at the school, specifically for technology to use in the classrooms.
By Alyson Klein
We know. The Every Student Succeeds Act is over 1,000 pages long. And it’s not exactly a thrill ride to read. Couldn’t Congress have just put that thing on YouTube?
Sorry, that’s not exactly what the Founding Fathers envisioned when it comes to legislation.
But, luckily, Education Week has you covered with this ESSA explainer video. Enjoy!
Source: The Every Student Succeeds Act Explained! Now in Video! – Politics K-12 – Education Week
Vallejo High School shines: In the midst of all of the negative publicity that Vallejo High School receives on a regular basis, it is sometimes easy to us to forget that the lives and educations of VHS students continue on whether or not we are reporting—and believe me when I say that remarkable things are happening! Back on Jan. 13, Iand a group of 56 of my students, along with English teacher, Matt Boyd; counselor, Rhea Brooks; new administrator, Dr. Angela Walker; and two chaperons bussed down to Bakersfield, CA for the 17th Annual California International Virtual Enterprise Trade Show and 2nd Annual Business & Entrepreneurship Conference.
Source: April 7 Vallejo A&E Source: Always Something To Celebrate
By Irma Widjojo
Brianna Kleinschmidt isn’t a stranger to the classrooms and halls of Benicia High School.
In fact, it’s like walking through memory lane.
Kleinschmidt, 36, was once a Panther, graduating from the high school in 1997. Nowadays, she’s walking through campus as the school’s principal.
The Benicia-raised woman was named principal last month after Damon Wright left the post at the end of 2014-15 school year. Wright led the school since 2012.
“I think she’s the right person for the job for a bunch of reasons,” Benicia Unified School District Superintendent Charles Young said. “She’s a very brilliant person, and very passionate about her work. … She has strong leadership qualities, and an insight into the school.”
By Kristin DeCarr
A recently released report from the Community College Research Center examines the effectiveness of “transition courses” in use across the country to prepare students for college-level math and English coursework.
The report, “Improving the Transition to College: Estimating the Impact of High School Transition Courses on Short-Term College Outcomes,” discusses the recent use of “transition courses” by many states, districts, and individual high schools, which are implemented as a result of the increasing number of students who graduate high school unprepared for college coursework. These students typically enroll in remedial courses upon entering college, which are associated with lower progression and college completion rates.
Outcomes for the study were measured by observing which students did not have to enroll in remedial courses once they entered college as a result of receiving a passing score on a placement exam.
Source: Transition to College Marred by Remedial Need, Report Says