Transitional kindergarten boosts school readiness in math, reading | EdSource

By Ashley Hopkinson

California students who attended transitional kindergarten were more engaged in the learning process and better prepared for math and reading when they entered kindergarten than children who did not, according to a new study by the American Institutes for Research.

The study, released Wednesday, compared the skill levels of kindergartners who had attended transitional kindergarten with those who had attended preschool or had not been in formal preschool the year prior.

“Transitional kindergarten gives students an advantage of three to six months of learning in literacy and mathematics skills at kindergarten entry, which is quite notable, especially given that a large majority of the students attended preschool,” said Heather Quick, principal researcher of the study.

Source: Transitional kindergarten boosts school readiness in math, reading | EdSource

Vallejo school supply drive for teachers is in gear this summer – Times Herald

By Katy St. Clair

Ah, summer. A time for teachers and students to sleep in, enjoy the sunshine, and refuel for another semester in the fall. But for former school board member and passionate education advocate Hazel Wilson, summer is a time to dig in and think ahead.

That’s why she’s spearheading “Pack The Bus,” a season-long drive to collect classroom supplies for Vallejo teachers.

“Teachers do it for the love of the job, not the money, so that’s why this program is so important,” she said.

Her office is a converted old classroom on the grounds of Vallejo High School, and already it’s chock full of … well, chalk, but also binders, erasers, colorful charts, and snazzy pencils all waiting to be “shopped” by teachers in the fall. Once the makeshift store is open, any teacher can come in, get a cart or a hand basket, and load up on anything they need for the school year, for free.

Source: Vallejo school supply drive for teachers is in gear this summer

Governor signs 2017-18 budget allocating more money to schools | EdSource

By Theresa Harrington

Gov. Jerry Brown signed the $183 billion state budget on Tuesday, after announcing he had reached an agreement on the details with legislative leaders earlier this month.

“California is taking decisive action by enacting a balanced state budget,” Brown said. “This budget provides money to repair our roads and bridges, pay down debt, invest in schools, fund the earned income tax credit and provide Medi-Cal health care for millions of Californians.”

The 2017-18 budget allocates more money to K-12 schools and community colleges, expected to increase by $3.1 billion over the 2016-17 level to $74.5 billion. School districts’ share of the increase will include $1.4 million more for the Local Control Funding Formula, bringing its full implementation to 97 percent complete.

Source: Governor signs 2017-18 budget allocating more money to schools | EdSource

New Early Education and Support Division Director – Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced that he has appointed Sarah Neville-Morgan as Director of the California Department of Education (CDE) Early Education and Support Division.

Neville-Morgan will oversee a division that provides leadership and support to the early learning and care community, providers, and contractors statewide, ensuring high-quality early education programs for young children.

Neville-Morgan most recently served as Deputy Director of Program Management at First 5 California, and she worked as a CDE Child Development Consultant from 2011 to 2013.

“I am pleased to have such an experienced and dynamic early education leader back on the CDE team,” Torlakson said. “Sarah brings tremendous knowledge, dedication, and teamwork that will help provide top-quality services for our earliest learners.”

Source: New Early Education and Support Division Director – Year 2017 (CA Dept of Education)

Friends of the Fair ward six ag scholarships – The Reporter

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Not many organizations can say, “We have given away $175,000 in college scholarship funds over the last 17 years.”

The Friends of the Dixon May Fair can.

The Friends of the Fair, the service-oriented and fundraising arm of the Dixon May Fair, just presented a total of $12,500 in scholarships to six Solano County residents majoring in an agricultural-related field. The Friends’ philanthropic contributions now totals $175,000.

“We totally support our college students majoring in ag,” said Donnie Huffman of Vacaville, president of the Friends of Fair. The organization raises funds primarily through the sale of beverages sold at the Dixon May Fair.

He and Carrie Hamel of Dixon, the scholarship committee chair, presented the awards to the winners at a recent end-of-the-year barbecue on the fairgrounds.

 

Source: Friends of the Fair ward six ag scholarships

VUSD leaders expected to nix charter school petition – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

A possible denial of a charter school petition, several large contracts, from auditing services to crossing guards to food services, and formal approval of two Local Control Accountability Plans and the 2017-18 budget are on the agenda when Vacaville Unified leaders meet Thursday.

According to agenda documents, the seven-member governing board will vote to deny or approve a petition to establish the Pacific Valley Charter Academy, currently called Heritage Peak Charter School, an independent study learning center housed at 354 Parker St.

There will be a staff presentation, a presentation by Paul Keefer, executive director of the school’s parent organization, the Sacramento-based Pacific Charter Institute, which operates several charter schools, followed by trustee questions and comments.

But the district already appears ready to deny Keefer’s petition, as a formally worded resolution to do so was included as part of the agenda.

 

Source: VUSD leaders expected to nix charter school petition

Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee to hold organizational meeting – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

Dixon Unified’s Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee will hold its organizational meeting Wednesday at Dixon High School.

The committee, formed in May, will review procedures, policies and guidelines; Brown Act provisions that stipulate the state’s open meetings laws; elect officers (chair, vice chair, secretary, etc.); and set dates for future meetings.

The $30.4 million bond, which will pay for upgrades to the district’s aging schools, passed by more than 55 percent of district voters in November. The money will be used to upgrade the district’s eight campuses, but especially the oldest, such as Old Dixon High, built in 1940, and Anderson Elementary, built in 1949. By law, none of the bond money can be used for administrator or teacher salaries or school operating expenses.

Source: Measure Q Citizens Oversight Committee to hold organizational meeting

SCC to host cybersecurity summer camp – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

The Stuxnet worm entered Iran’s nuclear facilities through hacked suppliers in 2010, the first cyber strike distributed by the Internet. Some 40 million people were affected by a hack that stole credit and debit card data from Target stores on or before Dec. 22, 2013.

Elite North Korean cyber warfare agents are believed to be behind the November 2014 Sony Pictures hack. More recently, American intelligence officials are convinced Russian state actors, via a computer hacking, meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

In a new world of cyber warfare and crime, governments, corporations and individuals are increasingly forced to secure their sensitive data, and cybersecurity skills are becoming a valuable self-marketing tool, say organizers of the Cybersecurity Summer Camp at Solano Community College in Fairfield.

 

Source: SCC to host cybersecurity summer camp

VUSD summer feeding program well underway – The Reporter

By Richard Bammer

For dozens of Vacaville children, school is out but lunch in still in.

Vacaville Unified’s annual free summer feeding program, dubbed Free Lunch with Friends, is well underway at several citywide locations Mondays through Fridays.

Funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the program, organized by the district’s child nutrition department, is open is open to all children, infants to 18. No registration is required.

Food distribution dates, times and locations are as follows:

• 11 to 11:45 a.m., through July 14: Hemlock Elementary, 400 Hemlock St.

• 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., through Aug. 11: Vacaville Public Library, downtown branch, 1 Town Square Place.

 

Source: VUSD summer feeding program well underway

State officials cool to school districts’ request to become ‘Innovation Zone’ | EdSource

By John Fensterwald

Four years ago, eight California schools districts that banded together in a nonprofit organization called CORE received federal permission under the No Child Left Behind Act to create their own school accountability system. Now the districts want the state’s permission to continue their experimentation with measurements of student growth, school climate and high school readiness. And CORE wants to let potentially dozens of other California districts participate in their work.

That may not happen, at least not anytime soon. In a letter last month, Karen Stapf Walters, the executive director of the State Board of Education, was skeptical of granting CORE’s request for special status as an “Innovation Zone” under the state’s accountability plan and called the idea “premature.” As a result, there is no plan to place CORE’s proposal on the agenda of the July meeting of the state board.

Source: State officials cool to school districts’ request to become ‘Innovation Zone’ | EdSource

Comprehensive sports concussion team aims to advance care and education – Daily Republic

By Chyresse Hill

When an athlete suffers a concussion, a form of traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, a blow or jolt to the head, the brain experiences an energy crisis, a depletion of power similar to a cellphone on low battery.

“At the time of a concussion there is a sudden shift in energy use. Injured brain cells consume energy at a rapid pace and the brain can’t keep up,” said Crystal Hnatko, D.O., with the Sports Medicine department at Kaiser Permanente Vacaville.

This is why the seconds, minutes, hours and even a few days after a concussion are critical. It is important to decrease the fuel the brain requires, in hopes of minimizing cell injury, Dr. Hnatko said.

Source: Comprehensive sports concussion team aims to advance care and education

Solano College 4-year degree program represents wave of the future – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

The wave of the future is upon us and it is happening at a unique intersection that has Solano County on the cutting edge of technological and academic development.

Existing manufacturing companies in a range of fields are finding a lack of qualified workers to fill numerous positions across the country. As a result, government, industry and academia have collaborated to help fill that employment void.

That’s where a newly developed biomanufacturing degree program offered through Solano Community College comes in. The degree program is a new frontier – a four-year degree option at a traditionally two-year setting. Students graduating from the program will learn how to grow living cells that can then be applied to a range of purposes, from health care to beer making.

Source: Solano College 4-year degree program represents wave of the future

U.S. Falls Behind Other Developed Countries in Early Childhood Education Enrollment | US News

By Lauren Camera

States across the U.S. are taking more seriously the importance of early childhood education and ramping up their offerings, but compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. has a long way to go.

While enrollment rates for children under age three hover just below 30 percent – the middle of the pack compared to other countries – the U.S. falls significantly behind when it comes to enrollment rates of 3- and 4-year-olds, according to a new report from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

“Giving all children access to high-quality early education and care will lay the foundations for future skill development, boost social mobility and support inclusive growth,” said Gabriela Ramos, OECD chief of staff, in a statement. RELATED CONTENT Best Countries for Education [RELATED: Best Countries for Education] The report assessed early childhood education enrollment, access, funding, staffing and its impact on academic performance in later years across 36 industrialized countries.

Source: U.S. Falls Behind Other Developed Countries in Early Childhood Education Enrollment | Best Countries | US News

2017/18 Brings New Principal to Crescent Elementary School – FSUSD.org

Over the previous nineteen years, Ms. Jodie Phan has provided exceptional service to the students of Solano County in a number of capacities, and has steadfastly remained focused on improving academic environments for all students, as well as for the teachers and support staff that directly connect with children.

Ms. Phan currently serves as the Solano County Special Education Local Plan Agency (SELPA), where she is completing her third year. In this role, she has built and led programs such as the Alternative Dispute Process, and Community Advisory Committee for the SELPA, and though extremely successful has made a personal decision to return to FSUSD as a Principal in order to serve more directly with educators impacting students at the elementary school level.

Ms. Phan preciously worked in the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District as both an Assistant Principal, and then Principal of Dan O. Root II Elementary School (2003-2010), prior to serving Vacaville School District as both a Principal, and as the Director of Special Education Services (2010-2014), when she began her work at the SELPA.

Trustees OK $220M Fairfield-Suisun school budget- Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

A $220 million budget for fiscal year 2017-2018 won approval Thursday by Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees as officials forecast future budget cuts.

Superintendent Kris Corey said in her budget message that districts throughout California will receive less revenue from the state than forecast – and the proposed federal budget also reduces funding for schools.

“The decreased revenues along with the increased costs, particularly in employee benefits, will cause our district to make future budget reductions,” Corey wrote.

Source: Trustees OK $220M Fairfield-Suisun school budget

Vallejo public asked to give input on next supt. – Times Herald

By Times Herald Staff

Vallejo residents wishing to give input on finding a permanent school superintendent have a chance this month.

The Vallejo City Unified School District has released a survey seeking public participation that will be used to assist the Board of Education in identifying the desired qualities and characteristics for a new superintendent, according to a district press release.

“The survey is being conducted by Leadership Associates, an executive search firm, hired by the board to engage staff, community, and students in the search process, recruit qualified candidates who match the position description and conduct thorough reference checks, and assist the Board with candidate interviews,” the same release states.

Source: Vallejo public asked to give input on next supt.

Enjoy vacation, but make time for reading – Daily Republic

By Mayrene Bates

Reading has been called the gateway skill for learning. Many teachers tell us that when a student is underachieving, the underlying cause is many times lack of reading skills. Most research studies agree that poor preschool children hear fewer words than wealthy children.

Growing up in the South, my siblings and I were expected to be seen but not heard, and when visitors came, my mom always asked us to leave the room. I hated that, because I loved listening to the adults talk, plus, there wasn’t anything interesting to do outside. So, when it was our turn to make home visits, I preferred to stay home alone and read old newspapers that my mother brought home from work.

Source: Enjoy vacation, but make time for reading

School board eyes costs for Tahoe, New York City stays – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

Lodging and training in Tahoe City and a New York City hotel stay – along with costs for catering by the Buckhorn restaurant – are among payments trustees for the Fairfield-Suisun School District take up Thursday.

The $8,750 for Granlibakken in Tahoe City covers registration for seven teachers for four nights of lodging, including all meals, to attend training Saturday through Wednesday with the California Association of World Schools International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, the school district said.

Source: School board eyes costs for Tahoe, New York City stays

$220M budget goes before Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees – Daily Republic

By Ryan McCarthy

A $220 million budget for fiscal year 2017-2018 goes before Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees Thursday with a message from Superintendent Kris Corey that districts throughout California will receive less revenue from the state than forecast – and the proposed federal budget also reduces funding for schools.

“The decreased revenues along with the increased costs, particularly in employee benefits, will cause our district to make future budget reductions,” Corey wrote.

Trustees in June 2016 approved a $209 million budget for the school district.

Source: $220M budget goes before Fairfield-Suisun School District trustees

How the 2017-18 funding increase for California education will be spent | EdSource

By Justin Allen, Daniel J. Willis and John Fensterwald

The Legislature passed a $183 billion state budget for 2017-18 last week that includes a $3.2 billion increase in funding under Proposition 98, the formula that determines how much of the General Fund will go to K-12 school, community colleges and state-funded preschool programs. The additional $3.2 billion represents an increase of 4.4 percent over last year’s allocation, bringing Prop. 98 next year to $74.5 billion.

Source: How the 2017-18 funding increase for California education will be spent | EdSource