Fairmont celebrates Gold Ribbon honor, statewide recognition – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Principal Deanna Brownlee called the occasion “rare,” the first time all Fairmont Charter School students had gathered in the multipurpose room for an assembly.

“I’m excited,” she said mid-morning Wednesday, beginning a schoolwide celebration for being named a California Gold Ribbon School, recognition given by the state Department of Education for the school’s “signature practices.”

“We’re on the map,” she added.

In Fairmont’s case, the staff and teachers at the Marshall Road campus were cited not for standardized test scores but for their positive behavior interventions and student-support programs, or PBIS, noted Marnie Lynch, director of district and school support for the Solano County Office of Education.

Source: Fairmont celebrates Gold Ribbon honor, statewide recognition

Kairos board seats new trustee; school ready for facilities upgrades – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

With little fanfare or comment, leaders of Kairos Public School Vacaville Academy voted unanimously to appoint a new trustee during the governing board’s meeting Tuesday.

Ginger Holguin of Vacaville, the director of operations for an Inglewood dental firm. replaces Ron Mitchell, who cited work conflicts upon the taking of a new job, noted Jared Austin, co-founder and executive director of Kairos, as it’s called for short.

The vote came during the trustees’ regular once-monthly gathering in the Elm Street school’s library/media center at the independent TK-8 charter school.

In her letter to Austin expressing her interest to serve, Holguin, the mother of three, including a first-grader at Kairos, cited her work on several local boards. She was one of three people who applied for the vacant trustee seat.

Source: Kairos board seats new trustee; school ready for facilities upgrades

Nine student athletes for Vanden honored at athletic scholarship ceremony – Daily Republic

By Marcus Lomtong

Talk about a whole lot of success.Between the nine athletes honored at the athletic scholarship ceremony at Vanden High, Wednesday, was a combined 2015-16 record of 107-40, three league championships, a section championship and six playoff berths.

And with all of that success behind them, the soon-to-be former Vikings look to add more success and more memories as they each will sail off to different parts of the state and country, continuing their academic and athletic careers.

Being honored at the ceremony were Kiana Moore and Brittney Livingston of the girls basketball team, Kevin Smith and Jose Ochoa of the football team, Kiwi McDaniel and Nadia Young of the softball team, Jordan Williams of the boys basketball team, Alejandro Lara of the baseball team and Kamra Jackson of the girls volleyball team.

Source: Nine student athletes for Vanden honored at athletic scholarship ceremony

Armijo artist chosen for Washington showcase – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

Devin Cox, an Armijo High junior, is the first runner-up in Congressman John Garamendi’s annual Congressional High School Art Competition.

More than 90 entries were received. Cox’s “The Jaw of Politics” will be displayed in Garamendi’s Washington, D.C., office.

Davis High sophomore Hoda Balla was the grand prize winner with “Glimpse.” Her art will be exhibited at the United States Capitol.

She has also been awarded a free flight for her and a guest to the nation’s capitol where she will participate in a reception honoring the nation’s winners.

Source: Armijo artist chosen for Washington showcase

Music students featured at annual ‘Black Tie Gala Concert’ – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

Black ties, gowns, symphony and the promise of excellence are on tap June 5 at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre.

Select student artists from the Young Artists Conservatory of Music will perform in the annual “Black Tie Gala Concert.”

The student artists were chosen by Young Artists Academy of Music artistic director, Wanda Cook.

The concert is preceded by a 5:30 p.m. reception. Solano Music Conservatory students will perform.

Source: Music students featured at annual ‘Black Tie Gala Concert’

Kairos board to seat new trustee, hear updates on home-schooling, LCAP – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Seating a new trustee, and updates on a new home-school program and the Local Control Accountability Plan are on the agenda when the Kairos governing board meets tonight in Vacaville.

Among the first orders of business will be the likely seating of a new trustee, Ginger Holguin of Vacaville, the director of operations for an Inglewood dental firm. She will replace Ron Mitchell, who cited work conflicts upon the taking of a new job, said Jared Austin, co-founder and executive director of Kairos Public School Vacaville Academy, the full name of the TK-8 independent charter housed in the old Elm Elementary campus.

In her letter to Austin expressing her interest to serve, Holguin, the mother of three, including a first-grader at Kairos, cited her work on several local boards. She was one of three people who applied for the vacant trustee seat, Austin said Monday.

Source: Kairos board to seat new trustee, hear updates on home-schooling, LCAP

BHS For Fun Concert – Benicia Patch

By Cindy McNutt

The Benicia High School bands will have their annual For Fun Concert on Wednesday, May 25th, in the Benicia High School Gym at 6:30 p.m. This is the last concert of the year and all of the high school bands will perform a wide variety of music. In addition, the current year’s march is retired and the color guard will perform its award-winning Winter Guard Show. Admission is free.

Source: BHS For Fun Concert

Everyone’s a winner at Vallejo Special Olympics – Times Herald

By Irma Widjojo

The intermittent gusty winds and chilly weather Friday did not stop nearly 200 Vallejo students from having fun and being winners.

The Vallejo school district’s special education students, along with their teachers and families, gathered at Vallejo High School’s Corbus Field for the 44th annual Vallejo City Unified School District Special Olympics.

“It’s great for them to be part of a community event,” said Kathy Hellfeier, Widenmann Elementary special education teacher. “It makes them feel like stars and (helps them) be active for the day.”

via:  Everyone’s a winner at Vallejo Special Olympics – Times Herald

Vallejo school district bonds close to reality – Times Herald

By John Glidden

The placement of two Vallejo school bonds on the November ballot became more of a reality this week.

A divided Vallejo school board authorized staff to continue working with consultants and district legal counsel for placement of the bonds on a fall ballot.

Vallejo City Unified School District Board Vice President Ruscal Cayangyang and trustee Burky Worel voted against the motion.

Adoption of a resolution officially placing the bonds on the November ballot will take place at the July 13 board meeting, district staff said.

A polling firm recently hired by the district concluded that a single large bond amount of about $285 million for this November “is not viable.”

Source: Vallejo school district bonds close to reality

Vacaville Unified leaders hail higher grad rates, decreased dropout rates – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Vacaville Unified School District leaders Thursday noted an increase in high school gradation rates and a decrease in dropout rates in 2014-15.

“We are moving in the right direction,” and Vacaville educators are “diligently” pursuing students at risk of dropping out, accounting for the good-news changes, a smiling Mark Frazier, the district’s chief academic officer, said in his remarks to the governing board in the Educational Services Center.

His report, delivered early in the meeting, came as State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson earlier in the week reported California’s cohort graduation rate climbed for the sixth year in a row in 2015, a record high, with the biggest jump taking place among English language learners and migrant students.

Source: Vacaville Unified leaders hail higher grad rates, decreased dropout rates

First Northern Bank certifies 216 Armijo seniors – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

First Northern Bank celebrated the certification of 216 students May 11 in the First Northern Financial Scholars Program at Armijo High School in Fairfield.

To date, 1,867 Armijo High School students have taken the course and 1,081 have successfully completed the program since 2012.

Armijo High School teamed with First Northern Bank to incorporate the EverFi Financial Literacy online learning course into students’ existing curricula.

Source: Good News: First Northern Bank certifies 216 Armijo seniors

Willis Jepson School earns national recognition – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

Willis Jepson Middle School in Vacaville, the school’s staff and students have been named one of 56 middle schools in the country to be added to the 2016 National Forum Schools to Watch list.

Jepson teachers and administration have also been asked to travel to Washington, D.C. this summer to teach other middle schools about teaching and social support strategies that have shown positive results for Jepson students.

Schools to Watch is an initiative launched by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform in 1999.

Source: Good News: Willis Jepson School earns national recognition

District eyes Oakbrook Elementary name change – Daily Republic

by Ryan McCarthy

Establish a panel to consider changing the name of Oakbrook Elementary to reflect the school’s focus on visual and performing arts, the Fairfield-Suisun School District staff recommends.

The school on Oakbrook Drive in the Cordelia Villages area of Fairfield began in school year 2014-15 to expand from kindergarten through sixth-grade to kindergarten through eighth-grade, a report to the board of trustees said.

School district policy on names, mascots and colors requires a citizen advisory committee to review name suggestions and submit recommendations for the school board’s consideration.

Source: District eyes Oakbrook Elementary name change

Job fair lucky break for a few good teachers – Daily Republic

By Susan Hiland

It was a busy 24 hours for Erik Core of Vacaville.

He graduated Friday night from Sacramento State University. Then he interviewed Saturday for a teaching position with the Fairfield-Suisun School District. He had a new job by noon.

Core’s life had changed in the blink of an eye.

“I got my B.A. yesterday. I didn’t even get to celebrate much because of the interview today,” Core said. “But I am going out with my friends tonight.”

Source: Job fair lucky break for a few good teachers

Sorority honors female graduates of color at annual event – Daily Republic

By Amy Maginnis-Honey

Their accomplishments ranged from being the first member of her family that will attend college to serving as her high school’s valedictorian.

That was just the beginning as the Tau Upsilon Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority honored young women, all graduating local high schools, with a baccalaureate ceremony Sunday.

Ria Rabun-Persinger, president of the chapter, reminded the young women that the national sorority began more than 100 years ago, launched by young women who were about the same age.

She added that poet William Blake once said, “what is proved now was once only imagined.” “We can’t wait to see where your imagination takes you,” Rabun-Persinger said.

Source: Sorority honors female graduates of color at annual event

Imagine That! Vacaville primed for new science, art center – Daily Republic

By Amy Maginnis-Honey

When Lauren and Chris Runow asked their then-5-year-old son Mason where he wanted to go for his birthday, there was no indication the destination he chose would launch something similar in Vacaville.

Mason, with choices that included Lake Tahoe, Six Flags and San Francisco opted for an “explore day.” The destination was the Sacramento Children’s Museum.

Once the family was inside and their young sons were enjoying the exhibits, Lauren Runow felt pretty confident Vacaville needed, and would welcome, such a museum.

Source: Imagine That! Vacaville primed for new science, art center

Solano College graduates Class of 2016 – Daily Republic

By Ian Thompson

Solano Community College graduate Talia Champion-Benjamin’s graduation cap artfully announced with glitter that she was bound for California State University, Monterey this fall.

Monterey is where a proud Champion-Benjamin said she will be taking her next step to getting a business management degree.

“I feel good. I feel excited,” Champion-Benjamin said. “I could not have done this without my family.”

Not far away, nursing graduates Danelle Novales and Tabatha Anderson were also getting ready to take that walk onto Doc Hollister Stadium to get their diplomas Thursday at the college’s 70th commencement ceremony.

Source: Solano College graduates Class of 2016

Dixon High senior earns major college scholarship – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

A 17-year-old Dixon High senior has been awarded a major scholarship and will attend the University of California, Davis, in the fall.

Jacob Smith received the David Robben Memorial Scholarship, 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.

Administered by the Solano Community Foundation, the scholarship, is intended to reward students whose families do not have the financial means to support the student at a campus within the University of California system, widely considered to be the nation’s premier public university. Secondly, it is awarded to a Dixon High graduate who shows promise of being able to have a professional career that will contribute to the betterment of American society.

Source: Dixon High senior earns major college scholarship

Teachers Association gives $12K in scholarships to seven high school seniors – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Shouldn’t we tweet #ThankATeacher everyday?

In no small way, the Vacaville Teachers Association and others would urge us to do so, and, to encourage the class of 2016 to pursue teaching careers, union leaders have awarded $12,000 in scholarships to seven local high school seniors.

The cash awards come as California continues to grapple with “unprecedented shortages in the teacher preparation pipeline,” Moira McSweeney, president of the 650-member teachers union, wrote in a press release issued today.

The seven scholarship recipients are from Vacaville, Will C. Wood, Buckingham Charter and Country high schools.

The scholarships were funded by voluntary contributions from union members and other Vacaville Unified employees, McSweeney noted.

Source: Teachers Association gives $12K in scholarships to seven high school seniors

Armijo High School party 125 years in the making – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

The Armijo Alumni Association will celebrate the school’s 125th anniversary with a fundraising concert, Armijo Rocks.

The event is scheduled from 4 to 8 p.m. May 29 at the Downtown Theatre, formerly the Fairfield Center for Creative Arts, 1350 Texas St.

The Malibus, which started playing in the area 50 years ago, are the headliners. The band features bassist and vocalist Dana Byerley; rhythm guitarist, Scott Lockwood; drummer Dean McMillen; and lead guitarist Rick Lowe. Byerley and Lockwood are Armijo Class of 1966 members. McMillen and Lowe, who plays with The Time Bands, graduated from Armijo in 1967.

Source: Armijo High School party 125 years in the making