Architects present revised Benicia Middle School campus remodel plans at board meeting – Benicia Herald

By Nick Sestanovich

Lee Pollard of HY Architects delivered a presentation on plans to modernize the Benicia Middle School campus at Thursday’s school board meeting.

The project is one of many to be funded by Measure S, an initiative approved by Benicia voters in 2014 to provide $49.6 million in bond funding to be spent on facilities at district schools. As noted in an earlier presentation by Bond Director Roxanne Egan, 11 projects have been completed so far with another currently under construction: the renovation of the track and field at Benicia High School.

There are three projects that are scheduled to begin this summer: fire alarm upgrades at Benicia High, districtwide solar updates and the first phase of a remodel of the BMS campus. Egan had presented initial plans at a November board meeting, and after district staff met with architects to determine the best fit for a new campus, revised plans were presented on Thursday.

Source: Architects present revised Benicia Middle School campus remodel plans at Thursday’s school board meeting

Kimme Academy looks to move into Alamo Peabody Shopping Center – The Reporter

By Jessica Rogness

The Ernest Kimme Charter Academy for Independent Learning is looking to renovate a vacant office on Peabody Road for its teachers and students.

The Vacaville Planning Commission will consider Tuesday granting a conditional use permit to the Vacaville Unified School District to transform a 6,600 square-foot office building in the Alamo and Peabody Shopping Center into a facility for its independent studies program.

The applicant, Daniel Banowetz, project coordinator for the school district, is proposing to remodel the building’s interior and to remove existing plant trellises located on the south and north of the building, located at 1949 Peabody Road.

The district would be building out a reception area, 16 offices, two storage rooms, four restrooms, a break room, conference room and two small classrooms at the site.

 

Source: Kimme Academy looks to move into Alamo Peabody Shopping Center

Suisun Elementary teach wins “Oscars of Teaching” honor – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Suisun Elementary teacher Jessica Villanueva gasped, then placed her hands on her cheeks, her eyes widening when she heard her name announced during a morning school assembly, its purpose known only to a handful of people who gathered Friday in the gymnasium at the Golden Eye Way campus in Suisun City.

Clearly surprised and shocked, her feelings perhaps mixed with elation and humility, Villanueva was named the recipient of a Milken Educator Award, an excellence-in-teaching honor that comes with a $25,000 check from the Milken Family Foundation in Santa Monica. She is the first Fairfield-Suisun Unified teacher to receive the award, dubbed some years ago as the “Oscars of Teaching” by Teacher magazine.

Source:  Suisun Elementary Teacher wins ‘Oscars of teaching’ honor

VUSD trustees OK Kindness Challenge video contest – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Aesop, the supposed author of a collection of Greek fables, is credited with a famous saying: “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”

It is a lesson two Solano leaders whose families have been affected by bullying want to impart to county secondary students and have a plan to do so.

During the early portion of Thursday’s Vacaville Unified governing board meeting, Supervisor John Vasquez of Vacaville and Tonya Covington, representing District Attorney Krishna Abrams, presented information about a pending Kindness Challenge video contest, which asks students, through video, to illustrate positive behavior and show others the power that kindness can have on their school and community.

Source: VUSD trustees OK Kindness Challenge video contest

Assist-a-Grad opens scholarship applications – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

The Assist-a-Grad Scholarship Foundation is accepting applications for this year’s awards.

The scholarships are for graduating seniors from the Fairfield-Suisun and Travis school districts as well as students graduating from other Solano County schools.

This year’s application deadline is March 1.

For application information, go to www.assist-a-grad.org. Students from the Fairfield-Suisun School District can also contact the career and college technician at their schools.

Source: Assist-a-Grad opens scholarship applications

Scholarship money awaits Solano students majoring in agriculture – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

It pays to major in agriculture.

Friends of the Dixon May Fair will award a total of $12,500 in college scholarships to Solano County students enrolled in a California university or community college who are majoring in agriculture or an agricultural-related field.

The deadline to submit scholarship applications is March 1.

The organization will award four scholarships for those enrolled in a four-year college, and three scholarships for those enrolled in a two-year college.

Source: Scholarship money awaits Solano students majoring in agriculture

Solano high school students give their all in Academic Decathlon – Daily Republic

By Bill Hicks

Super Bowl Sunday has finally arrived.

But throughout the day Saturday at Solano Community College, high school students from across the region gathered to take part in a Super Bowl of a different sort as 14 teams and 255 total participants took part in the North Bay Regional Academic Decathlon Super Quiz.

As mistress of ceremonies and Solano County superintendent of schools, Lisette Estrella-Henderson told the gathered competitors, “This is the real Super Bowl.”

Source: Solano high school students give their all in Academic Decathlon

Career and Technical Education Advocates Pushing for Changes Under Trump – Education Week

Andrew Ujifusa

Career and technical education advocates have started their push for a facelift to the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act under President Donald Trump.

On Thursday, a coalition of 85 advocacy groups and businesses, ranging from AASA, the School Administrators Association, to Boeing and IBM, sent a letter to the four leaders of the respective House and Senate CTE Caucus urging them to make career and technical education a priority.

“As we consider how federal policy proposals can achieve President Trump’s promise to ‘make America great again’ we urge Congress to support the Perkins Act and allocate adequate resources to ensure our country’s CTE programs can take full advantage of a newly reinvigorated CTE law,” says a portion of the letter, which was written to Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., and Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa.

Source: Career and Technical Education Advocates Pushing for Changes Under Trump – Politics K-12 – Education Week

Vallejo school board approved safe haven resolution – Times Herald

By John Glidden

Applause erupted during Wednesday’s Vallejo City Unified School District Governing Board meeting after trustees unanimously approved a resolution designating the district’s schools as “safe haven zones.”

Formed in direct response to the recent presidential election, the resolution directs VCUSD Superintendent Ramona Bishop, and/or her designee, to not cooperate with Federal Immigration authorities, except required by law.

The resolution also gives Bishop authority to “protect the data and identities of any student, family members, or school employee who may be adversely affected by any future policies or executive action that results in the collection of any personally identifiable information,” by the Trump administration.

Immigration officials must receive written approval from Bishop before entering district grounds, unless agents present a warrant signed by either a federal or state judge, according to the resolution.

 

Source: Vallejo school board approved safe haven resolution

PACE still powerful force in studying state education – The Reporter

By Doug Ford

Last Friday I attended the PACE Research and Policy Conference at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento. PACE is the acronym for Policy Analysis for California Education. When the founders decided to start it in 1983, “there was an urgent need for objective, non-partisan information about the condition of California’s education system. Following the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978, which indirectly limited public education funding, the state’s schools were thrown into turmoil. …” (from the PACE brochure: “Looking Back, Looking Forward, 25th annual celebration, 1983-2008”).

Since 1983, PACE has “remained a powerful force in analyzing policy and disseminating information for policy-makers in Sacramento and school administrators throughout the state.” Most of the participants in PACE are professors in schools of education at California universities. One of the founders was Michael Kirst, president of the California State Board of Education during Governor Jerry Brown’s first two terms as governor and again now. He is professor emeritus at Stanford University and has been a leader in improving knowledge about education in California for more than fifty years.

 

Source: Doug Ford: PACE still powerful force in studying state education

Solano high school students compete for national poetry honors – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

Students from five Solano County high schools will compete next week in a national poetry recitation contest.

The competition, presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation, is part of a national program that encourages high school students to learn about great poetry through memorization, performance and competition.

The Poetry Out Loud county finals begin at 1:30 p.m. Feb. 11 at the Fairfield Civic Center Library, 1150 Kentucky St. Contestants will recite works they selected from an anthology of more than 900 classic and contemporary poems.

Source: Solano high school students compete for national poetry honors

Applications for Summer Food Service Program – Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that applications are available for the Summer Food Service Program, a federally funded, state-administered program that serves meals to California’s low-income children.

“Providing nutritious meals to students during the school year helps students stay alert and focused in class,” Torlakson said. “Making sure children have access to healthy food during the summer is just as critical. Those students will return to school in the fall ready to learn.”

The Summer Food Service Program reimburses participating organizations that provide free meals to children 18 and younger when students are on summer vacation or when those students who attend year-round schools are out of school for 15 or more consecutive school days.

Source: Applications for Summer Food Service Program – Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

Vallejo parent symposium scheduled on Feb. 16 – Times Herald

By Times Herald Staff

Parents of children in the Vallejo City Unified School District are invited to participate in a special symposium on Feb. 16.

Hosted by the Vallejo Parent Leadership Committee, the Healthy Opportunity for Parent Education (HOPE) event will celebrate school spirit, and the parent, teacher, classified and administrator of the year, according to a news release from the committee.

Breakout sessions for parents will include several topis: school attendance matters, early childhood learning, navigating resources available and using online tools, assisting your child with homework, and peer counseling for parents.

Source: Vallejo parent symposium scheduled on Feb. 16

Bullying, elementary school configurations on Dixon Unified agenda tonight – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

The beginning of the annual review of LCAP goals, discussion about the harmful effects of bullying, and configuration models for elementary schools are on the agenda when Dixon Unified leaders meet tonight in Dixon.

Mike Walbridge, assistant superintendent for educational services, will lead the discussion about the district’s first and second goals under its Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), the document in California districts that typically guides all spending, particularly for English learners, poor students, and foster youth.

Goal No. 1, according to agenda documents, is providing “a well-rounded, relevant curriculum,” with a specific focus tonight of K-8 intervention programs. Goal No. 2 is an effort to “engage all students in continued learning” based on state standards.

 

Source: Bullying, elementary school configurations on Dixon Unified agenda tonight

On Vacaville Unified agenda: Kindness Challenge, governor’s budget, LCAP and accountability updates

By Richard Bammer

A Kindness Challenge video contest, Gov. Jerry Brown’s 2017-18 state budget proposal, and an update on the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan and the state’s new school accountability system are on the agenda when Vacaville Unified trustees meet tonight in Vacaville.

Vacaville Supervisor John Vasquez and Solano County District Attorney Krishna Abrams will present information about the Kindness Challenge video contest, which asks students, through video, to illustrate positive behavior and show others the power that kindness can have on their school and community. Later in the evening, the board likely will pass a resolution to support the contest.

The presentation comes after a 2015 report, “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance — United States,” and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicated that nearly 8 percent of public school students in grades 9 to 12 during 2014 were in a physical fight on school property; 20 percent were bullied on school property; nearly 16 percent, the vast majority girls, were electronically bullied; and nearly 6 percent did not go to school because of safety concerns.

 

Source: On Vacaville Unified agenda: Kindness Challenge, governor’s budget, LCAP and accountability updates

Not All Fun And Games: New Guidelines Urge Schools To Rethink Recess : NPR Ed

By Sophia Boyd

What’s the best time for students to have recess? Before lunch, or after? What happens if it rains? If students are misbehaving, is it a good idea to punish them by making them sit out recess?

Those are just a few of the issues addressed in new guidelines designed to help schools have good recess. The recommendations come from a group called SHAPE (Society of Health and Physical Educators) America and from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Recess might seem simple — just open the doors and let the kids run free. But only eight states have policies that require it, according to last year’s Shape of the Nation report. And when researchers started looking, they found very little consistency or guidance about what makes recess effective.

Source: Not All Fun And Games: New Guidelines Urge Schools To Rethink Recess : NPR Ed : NPR

Court ruling will hinder some charter schools’ right to cross district borders | EdSource

By John Fensterwald

The California Supreme Court has let stand a 2016 appeals court decision that will restrict some charter schools’ ability to expand and jeopardize the status of an estimated 38,000 students studying under charter school arrangements that the appeals court declared illegal.

The case involved a small but growing number of charters, called “nonclassroom-based” charter schools or “independent study charters” – schools that don’t operate in a traditional bricks-and-mortar setting. They serve a range of students, among them children home-schooled for religious reasons, students who struggled in a regular school environment, and child actors and athletes needing a flexible schedule. Some of these schools, like for-profit K12 Inc., operate only online, while others offer limited face-to-face services in satellite offices or “resource centers,” where the schools run science labs, tutor students, give standardized tests and serve special education students.

Source: Court ruling will hinder some charter schools’ right to cross district borders | EdSource

Fairfield-Suisun’s ‘best-kept secret’: Adult School – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

If you drive too quickly between the 800 and 1000 block of busy Travis Boulevard in Fairfield, you will miss what James Woods calls “the best-kept secret in Fairfield-Suisun Unified.”

As principal of the district’s Adult School program, he is naturally a booster of all that his campus, at 900 Travis Blvd., has to offer adults 18 and older.

“A wide array of classes,” Woods, 56, said during a brief interview Monday in his office just a few steps from the school’s main entrance.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun’s ‘best-kept secret’: Adult School – The Reporter

KI Jones offers helping hands for Heather House – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

Children from K.I. Jones Elementary emptied a cargo trailer Tuesday stacked with paper towels and other supplies to help Heather House.

Fifth-graders from the class taught by Michela Ward and Jennifer Jenness formed a human chain to hand the supplies from the trailer to representatives of the homeless shelter on Ohio Street.

“It’s really nice to help,” said Eli Hall, 10.

Ward said the assistance started in 2001 and involves the whole school contributing supplies to the shelter.

Parent Christ Cox has three children who have participated in the assistance over the years.

Source: KI Jones offers helping hands for Heather House