Monthly Archives: November 2016

Future of Wood stadium up for discussion tonight at Vacaville Unified meeting – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Approval of the Will C. Wood High School Stadium EIR, several Measure A contracts, and a revision to the Kairos charter are on the agenda when Vacaville Unified trustees meet tonight.

Two weeks after a public hearing on the Wood Stadium environmental impact report (EIR), the seven-member board is ready to approve, perhaps approve with amendments, or possibly disapprove the document, which is required by law before construction of the $14 million stadium can begin.

District officials believe significant environmental impacts, such as noise, parking and lighting, were considered, that the report is adequate and complies with the California Environmental Quality act, or CEQA.

However, during a governing board meeting two weeks ago, trustees gave no indication how they would vote tonight.

 

Source: Future of Wood stadium up for discussion tonight at Vacaville Unified meeting

Out of Darkness, comes light – Frank Somerville KTVU – Facebook

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Out of darkness comes light.

These notes were posted today at Will C. Wood High School in Vacaville.

“Dear Mexican students, you are not rapists or drug dealers…. In this school You matter and you are loved.”

“Deal Muslim students, we know you are not terrorists. You are loved.”

“Dear undocumented students. In this school there are no walls. You belong here. You are loved.”

“Dear white students. At this school you are not the enemy. You are loved.”

Source: Frank Somerville KTVU

School board to mull options for Benicia Middle School lower campus renovation – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

The Governing Board of Benicia Unified School District will hear a discussion on options for Benicia Middle School’s lower campus redesign at Thursday’s meeting.

Roxanne Egan, the Measure S bond director, will be leading the discussion. Measure S was approved by Benicia voters in June 2014 to provide $49.6 million in bond funding for projects that would improve student life at each of the district’s seven schools. Projects include an upgraded stadium at Benicia High School, upgraded playgrounds at all the elementary schools, improved phone systems at all the schools and improving the PA system at all the schools.

At the Oct. 6 meeting, the school board voted to approve Oakland-based HY Architects for Benicia Middle’s lower campus renovation project, another item on the Measure S bond’s Facility Master Plan. The project will largely consist of replacing the portables on the lower end of campus with new buildings and replacing the tennis courts.

Source: School board to mull options for Benicia Middle School lower campus renovation

Robert Semple Elementary receives grant from SF Giant – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

Although the San Francisco Giants were unable to extend their even-year World Series streak in 2016, shortstop Brandon Crawford is using his power to help schools win. In conjunction with KNBR and Wells Fargo, Crawford founded the Step Up to the Plate Foundation in which $100,000 in grant money is provided to be evenly distributed among 25 Bay Area schools which have a specific academic or athletic need.

This year, Robert Semple Elementary was one of the recipients, and it was largely due to one second-grade teacher.

Chelsea Masters, a self-proclaimed Giants fan, had heard about the grant and thought Robert Semple could benefit from it.

“I’d heard about their Step Up to the Plate grant, where they were trying to get sports equipment, art supplies or technology into schools,” she said. “The deal was, you just had to explain in 500 words or less why your school would need it.”

Source: Robert Semple Elementary receives grant from SF Giant

Solano rates poorly for education in statewide scorecard – Daily Republic

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By Todd R. Hansen

Solano County rates poorly in the education of its children, and only slightly better in the categories of health and of child welfare and economic well-being, according to an Oakland-based research and advocacy group.

“Leaders across California need to take a hard look at the scorecard data and work together on policy solutions to improve the well-being of children,” Ted Lampert, president of Children Now, said in a statement released with the report Tuesday.

“We need to invest more in quality early childhood programs, increase access to the health screenings and quality mental, oral and physical health supports that children need, and make sure that all kids, especially kids of color, have access to excellent schools and teachers from the very start,” Lampert said.

Source: Solano rates poorly for education in statewide scorecard

Post-election, local educators report ‘minor incidents’ of bullying, discrimination – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

From Vacaville-area school hallways to the offices at the California Department of Education in Sacramento, educators say they will not tolerate bullying or discrimination in the wake of Donald Trump’s election as president.

Kris Corey, superintendent of Fairfield-Suisun Unified, and Jane Shamieh, superintendent of Vacaville Unified, and Brian Dolan, superintendent of Dixon Unified, said they have heard reports of “minor incidents” of bullying and racially-tinged comments at their respective campuses.

Source: Post-election, local educators report ‘minor incidents’ of bullying, discrimination – The Reporter

Changes to admission preferences, update on special ed on Kairos agenda tonight – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Revisions to admission preferences and an update on special programs are on the agenda when Kairos Public School Vacaville Academy leaders meeting tonight in Vacaville.

Directors at the Elm Street independent charter school will be asked to consider several amendments to the school’s charter, in accord with state law, as they relate to admission preferences.

Among the changes, as noted by board secretary Anna Rivera in agenda documents, are preferences given to current students; siblings of current students; children or grandchildren of Kairos employees or members of the board of directors; the students of other Kairos programs; and students on the waitlist from the previous year (who submitted an application during the open application period for current-year enrollment).

Source: Changes to admission preferences, update on special ed on Kairos agenda tonight

Child Haven to open testing, evaluation clinic for special ed children – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Solano County families and parents with special education children will get a little more help with the opening of a new early assessment and intervention program for youngsters suffering from ongoing developmental, social, emotional, behavioral and communication challenges.

The Solano Comprehensive Assessment Research and Evaluation (CARE) Clinic will open Thursday at Child Haven, 801 Empire St., Fairfield.

There, children ages 2 years, 9 months to 5 years, 6 months (and their caregivers) can experience an intensive, early assessment and intervention program, Jodie Phan, director of Personnel Development and Consultation Services for the Solano County Office of Education’s Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA), wrote in a press release issued Monday.

Source:  Child Haven to open testing, evaluation clinic for special ed children – The Reporter

Fairfield High School hosts Special Olympics soccer event – The Reporter

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By Jessica Rogness

More than 400 Fairfield students of all abilities gathered Thursday for a Special Olympics soccer event.

Schaefer Stadium at Fairfield High School was packed with K-5 students from Anna Kyle, Center, Crescent, Dan O. Root, K. I. Jones, Laurel Creek, Nelda Mundy, Oakbrook and David Weir.

The event opened with a Special Olympics torch rally. A student from each school’s special education program ran to pass the plastic torch to the next, guided by officers from the Fairfield Police Department and California Highway Patrol.

Source: Fairfield High School hosts Special Olympics soccer event

Smith, Gaut, Silva lead Fairfield-Suisun School District races – Daily Republic

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By Susan Hiland

Bethany Smith was leading in the Fairfield-Suisun School District Trustee Area 1 race as of 12:30 a.m. Wednesday with 1,676 votes compared to 1,279 for Spencer Marks and 1,075 votes for Mike Wright.

Smith was optimistic about the results but remained guarded until the final count comes in later.

“I am feeling very good about where things are at,” Smith said, “but don’t want to count it done yet.”

Joan K. Gaut was clearly the winner for the Area 2 seat with 3,356 votes. Melvin L. Cockhren II had 1,037 votes.

Source: Smith, Gaut, Silva lead Fairfield-Suisun School District races

Travis district announces another key retirement – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

A second top administrator in as many weeks has announced that he’s retiring soon from the Travis School District.

The district’s chief business officer, Ken Forrest, will retire effective Nov. 30, the district announced Wednesday.

Forrest has worked as the CBO for Travis School District since July 2008. He helped manage the district’s finances through the Great Recession and helped the district finance a number of improvement projects during his tenure.

Source: Travis district announces another key retirement

$13,194 in hotel costs get OK from Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Hotel stays costing a total of $13,194 – including lodging at Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, the Resort Inn of America in Florida and the Renaissance Atlanta Midtown Hotel – won approval Thursday by Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees.

The school district paid $941 for two teachers to stay two nights at the Hyatt Regency and attend the California Association of School Psychologists conference Oct. 27-29 in Newport Beach about “Advocacy and Intervention for Traumatized Youth.

”Two teachers from the Fairfield-Suisun School District stayed three nights at the Resort Inn of America for a total cost $1,044 to attend a Florida Association of International Baccalaureate Schools conference.

Source: $13,194 in hotel costs get OK from Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees

Fairfield-Suisun School District eyes apprenticeship programs for project labor pact – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

A project labor agreement for construction funded by the $249 million Measure J bond should allow high school students from the Fairfield-Suisun School District to participate as apprentices, the president of the board of trustees said Thursday.

“I would really like to see that,” Judi Honeychurch said.

She spoke as the school board reviewed initial terms for a labor agreement. Trustee Jonathan Richardson agreed with Honeychurch about student apprentices participating.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun School District eyes apprenticeship programs for project labor pact

Email advice among lessons for new Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Be careful what you say in emails, individual school board members have no power and trust the record of meetings rather than people’s memories about what was said.

Those were among lessons Thursday when Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees met in special session for a new board member orientation.

Joan Gaut and Bethany Smith, first-place finishers by wide margins in two trustee areas, attended the session where they heard Trustee David Isom advise them to do all school district business through the district email.

Source: Email advice among lessons for new Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees

Benicia Teen Center provides fun adolescent activites, volunteer experience – Benicia Herald

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By Jasmine Weis

On Jan. 22, the Kyle Hyland Foundation raised enough money to open up the Benicia Teen Center, a designated teens-only zone that’s hard to come by in small towns like Benicia. The foundation, created in honor of Kyle Hyland, a Benicia High School junior who died by suicide when he was 16 years old, aims to establish a safe space for kids to hang out and be themselves. I visited the center through an event it hosted for the Interact Club, and I was so impressed with the place, and those that ran it, that I was signed up as a volunteer the very next day.

As a fellow teenager, I know how we can be turned off by events or services aimed at “relating” to youth. I firmly believe that there is the urge to rebel embedded in the DNA of all adolescents. It’s the same force that drives us to ignore our mom’s pleas to bring a sweatshirt on cold days, even though we know they’re right (I learned that one the hard way). Because of this quirk in the teenage brain, I was skeptical before I visited the Teen Center, convinced that adults would never be able to format an informal setting that teenagers would actually feel comfortable in. So I have to give credit to the Teen Center, and those that designed it, for proving me wrong.

Source: Benicia Teen Center provides fun adolescent activites, volunteer experience

Vallejo school board postpones RFQ on PR consultant – Times Herald

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By John Glidden

The Vallejo school board agreed to postpone its search for a public relations consultant until it could hold a discussion on the job duties for the position.

Suggested by Vallejo City Unified School District Trustee Ward “Ace” Stewart, the board in a 3-2 vote tabled approving releasing a request for qualifications for the consultant.

VCUSD Board President Tony Ubalde and Vice President Ruscal Canyangyang voted against.

According to a staff report, the district was asking the board to spend $1,000 from the general fund to advertise for a public information consultant.

The consultant would support the VCUSD by “providing feedback on press release, newsletters, reports and brochures and ensure dissemination of positive stories about VCUSD to local, state and national media outlets,” district staff said in the same report.

 

Source: Vallejo school board postpones RFQ on PR consultant

A one-time payment to teachers, $1.4M portable classroom contract on TUSD agenda – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

A one-time, off-schedule payment to teachers and confidential employees and a $1.4 million contract to build and install portable classrooms at an aging Travis Air Force Base elementary school are on the agenda when Travis Unified leaders meet tonight in Fairfield.

The 282 members of the Travis Unified Teachers Association and a small group of confidential district employees, that is, those who have access to confidential personnel, contract and labor relations documents, will receive a 1.7 percent one-time payment.

Union negotiators and district officials agreed on the employee compensation, plus money that will upgrade district safety systems, such as fire alarms, said Shari Herout, president of TUTA.

Source: A one-time payment to teachers, $1.4M portable classroom contract on TUSD agenda

4-H program seeks Solano high school students for training – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

Local high school students are invited to join the Solano County 4-H Science, Engineering and Technology program.

Teens will be trained to teach science in teams to elementary school children in after-school programs. Training sessions are from 7 to 9:30 p.m. Nov. 19 and 1 to 8 p.m. Nov. 20 at the 4-H office, 501 Texas St.. Teens must participate both days.

Source: 4-H program seeks Solano high school students for training

Terms for project labor pact go before Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Proposed terms – including a good faith requirement that contractors employ residents of Solano and Napa counties, with a participation goal of up to 30 percent – for a project labor agreement covering the $249 million Measure J bond go before Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees Thursday.

The labor agreements would only apply to contracts of more than $5 million and not to subcontractors with less than $500,000 in work, according to other proposed terms.

Source: Terms for project labor pact go before Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees

What the Heck Is Service Learning? | Edutopia

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By Heather Wolpert-Gawron

According to Vanderbilt University, service learning is defined as: “A form of experiential education where learning occurs through a cycle of action and reflection as students seek to achieve real objectives for the community and deeper understanding and skills for themselves.”

Wikipedia explains service learning as: “An educational approach that combines learning objectives with community service in order to provide a pragmatic, progressive learning experience while meeting societal needs.”

That second definition is easier to comprehend, but it still feels more complicated than it needs to be. How about this: In service learning, students learn educational standards through tackling real-life problems in their community.

Source: What the Heck Is Service Learning? | Edutopia