Monthly Archives: January 2018

Retirement incentive program, two special ed contracts on VUSD agenda – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

A teacher retirement incentive program, a substitute classified employee salary schedule for the current year, and two major contracts for nursing services for two special-needs students are on the agenda when Vacaville Unified leaders meet Thursday.

The Vacaville Teachers Association has agreed to offer an early retirement program to members. If they submit nonrevocable resignation letters between Friday and Feb. 12, they will receive an extra $1,000 in their June 30 paycheck.

Trustees will consider the matter as a memorandum of understanding, dated Dec. 14, and are expected to approve it.

The seven-member governing board also likely will approve an adjustment to the substitute classified employee pay schedule, with pay rates, depending on the job (student monitor to payroll technician, for example), to range from $12.40 per hour to $18.90 per hour. It will take effect Thursday.

Source: Retirement incentive program, two special ed contracts on VUSD agenda

Solano County education staff recommends Elite Charter School denial – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

Elite Charter School’s petition should be denied, the Solano County Office of Education staff recommends in citing potentially devastating budgets cuts for the Vallejo City School District.

The staff also states that programs Elite Charter proposes are already available.

The Board of Education meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Pena Adobe Room at 5100 Business Center Drive in Fairfield.

Ramona Bishop, former Vallejo City School District superintendent, is the petitioner for Elite.

Source: Solano County education staff recommends Elite Charter School denial

Central Labor Council opposes Elite Charter School petition – Daily Republic

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By Ryan McCarthy

The Napa-Solano Central Labor Council opposes the Elite Charter School petition that Solano County Board of Education members take up Wednesday.

Executive Director Jon Riley said Monday that the labor council voted unanimously to oppose this “privately run regulated charter for many reasons” – including laws that do not ensure adequate transparency and financial oversight of tax-funded charter schools in California.

“Do we really want or need privatization of our education system?” Riley asked. “And do we want the decision to do so taken away from the individual school districts and their elected boards, who all have different needs, further eroding the say the voters have in how their taxes are spent?”

Source: Central Labor Council opposes Elite Charter School petition

Board of Supervisors to recognize BMS campus supervisor as Classified Employee of the Year – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

The Solano County Board of Supervisors will present and adopt a resolution recognizing Benicia Middle School campus supervisor Angie Porter as the county’s Classified School Employee of the Year at today’s meeting.

“The Classified School Employee of the Year program is designed to highlight the contributions of classified school employees who support the education of our public school students in pre-kindergarten through grade twelve and to pay tribute to the tireless efforts of outstanding classified school employees,” according to the resolution. “They are vital members who play key roles in creating a school environment that promotes student achievement, safety and health.”

Porter has served as Benicia Middle’s campus supervisor for seven years where she has often been cited as the first person that students see when they arrive in the morning. She supervises students before and after school as well as during lunch and passing periods. She also provides support for teachers in their classrooms. Beyond her role as campus supervisor, she also is a co-facilitator of the student anger management group and a team member of Sources of Strength, in which students meet in peer groups to foster positivity for students dealing with anxiety or depression; and the school’s Positive Behavioral Intervention and Support program, a framework aimed at creating an educational climate to help all students achieve and learn.

Source: Board of Supervisors to recognize BMS campus supervisor as Classified Employee of the Year

Teach an adult to read, improve your community – Times Herald

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By Times Herald Staff

The Solano County Literacy Program seeks Adult Literacy Volunteer tutors, library officials announced.

Despite the fact that “literacy is vital for a healthy and thriving community,” more than 60,000 Solano County adults are functionally illiterate, meaning their reading and writing skills are inadequate to manage their daily living and employment tasks beyond a basic level, they said.

Children whose parents struggle with reading and writing are more likely to struggle in school and have low literacy skills themselves, officials said.

“Teaching an adult to read, write, and/or improve their English speaking skills can have far-reaching effects in our community,” they said. “A recent study found that adult literacy students realize an increase of about $10,000 dollars in their annual income after receiving 100 hours of literacy instruction.”

Source: Teach an adult to read, improve your community

Travis USD school-support employees to “sunshine” contract proposals – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Contract proposals between the district and school-support employees, the teacher work calendar for the 2018-19 school year, and approval, using a variable term waiver, to hire a teacher to teach medical science at Vanden High are on the agenda when Travis Unified leaders meet tonight.

A public hearing will be held to air the contract proposal, part of a so-called “sunshine” process, between the district and members of Chapter 454 of the California Service Employees Association, which represents the district’s classified employees, which includes bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodians, some clerical staff, groundskeepers, and the like.

No specific pay raise percentages were mentioned in agenda documents, but the agreement to sunshine is the public notification of what will be discussed during pending negotiations for the 2017-18 school year contract.

Union officials could not be reached for comment at press time, but it is likely they will petition for what Travis teachers are seeking after many months of wage-and-benefit talks: a 5 percent across-the-board salary boost and possibly benefits that may boost their total package by a couple more points.

SCOE trustees set to vote on ELITE charter – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

An action sure to draw a large crowd, the Solano County Office of Education governing board will vote Wednesday to grant or deny the proposed ELITE Public Schools Countywide Charter School petition submitted by Ramona Bishop, the former superintendent of Vallejo City Unified who was fired from her post last March.

With county staff urging trustees to deny the petition, the board’s decision will come about one month after a contentious December board meeting that saw several dozen speakers address trustees in support of and opposition to the petition, which would establish a charter school first in Vallejo, then other charters in Fairfield and Vacaville in the coming months and years.

Just how much sway the county staff recommendation will ultimately have remains an open question, but it will certainly be on the minds of opponents, who likely will drive home the point during their remarks to the seven-member board before the vote.

Source: SCOE trustees set to vote on ELITE charter

A challenge to solve problems at Travis – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Solano County Office of Education leaders, in a partnership with Travis Air Force Base, are launching an event, believed to be the first of its kind in the United States, that will enlist the help of Solano County high school students to tackle real-world problems at Travis Air Force Base.

The Phoenix Spark Challenge — described as a strategy used by the military to problem-solve among military operational experts, academia, and government agencies — will take place May 18 at the sprawling base south of Vacaville.

The academic challenge calls for students “to design, solve, and innovate in resolving real-life problems facing Travis Air Force Base,” Gethsemane Moss, senior director of community engagement, wrote in a press release.

Source: A challenge to solve problems at Travis

Vallejo school district opposes ELITE charter – The Reporter

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By John Glidden

Vallejo school district officials are asking the Solano County Board of Education to deny the ELITE Public Charter School petition because the lead petitioner is “unlikely” to be successful in implementing the program.

That petitioner is former Vallejo City Unified School District Superintendent Ramona Bishop, who submitted the petition to the county last fall.

Bishop was the VCUSD Superintendent from 2011 until last March when she was fired, without cause, by Vallejo school district trustees.

In a scathing 11-page letter sent Dec. 22 to the county board, Vallejo officials argued the petition fails to meet the legal standard for the establishment of a countywide charter, and that the petition does not contain comprehensive descriptions of all the elements required of a petition under Education Code.

Source: Vallejo school district opposes ELITE charter

VPEF opens Teacher of the Year contest – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Know a gifted Vacaville teacher and want to honor him or her?

Officials at the Vacaville Public Education Foundation seek to recognize a primary and secondary teacher in Vacaville Unified or at the Kairos Public School Vacaville Academy.

They have started a “Community Choice” Teacher of the Year Award contest on social media. It allows Vacaville students and families to nominate and vote for their favorite Vacaville educator.

For those interested, go to www.facebook.com/VacavillePublicEducationFoundation, like the page, and post the teacher’s nomination.

The contest permits local residents to post a picture and story of their favorite teacher and to state why he or she was selected. The community then has the ability to like and share the post.

Source: VPEF opens Teacher of the Year contest

Travis Unified begins registration for new students – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

For the 2018-19 academic year, registration for new students living within the Travis Unified attendance boundaries, which includes two Vacaville elementaries, is underway.

Parents must complete a two-part process: 1, complete online enrollment; and 2, submit all required documents (immunizations, proof of residence, birth) to officials at their child’s respective school site.

 

Registration has already been completed at Scandia and Travis elementaries, which are housed on Travis Air Force Base.

Source: Travis Unified begins registration for new students

Nearly 1k students took part in RCD’s education program during past year – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Reliable research shows that we remember field trips long into adulthood — journeys to museums, state and national monuments, state capitols, major libraries, seashores, national forests and the like — enriching visits that offer real educational value.

That, in part, is the mission of the Solano Resource Conservation District and its Suisun Marsh Watershed Education Program as it intersects with the missions of county school districts, which, like districts across the nation, are increasingly hard-pressed to fund.

But just ending its 10th year, the RCD program — which uses Rush Ranch, just south of Suisun City, and the massive adjacent marsh as an outdoor classroom — continues to flourish, thanks to its partners: the Solano County Water Agency, the Solano County Department of Resource Management and the Fairfield-Suisun Sewer District.

Source: Nearly 1k students took part in RCD’s education program

Suisun City 11-year-old battles bullying with kindness – The Reporter

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By Kimberly K. Fu

Ani Kinsey is sweet, smart and spunky.

The 11-year-old Suisun City youth is also a victim of bullying who turned the hurtful experience into a campaign against hate.

Sitting in her kitchen Friday, the double pig-tailed youngster with the shy smile shared the beginnings of her anti-bullying project.

Last year, the sixth grader at the Fairfield-Suisun Public Safety Academy was waiting for her turn onstage at a school talent show. She had been practicing and practicing Mariah Carey’s “Vision of Love,” excited to perform in front of her mom, Anisa.

Source: Suisun City 11-year-old battles bullying with kindess