Monthly Archives: July 2018

Vacaville High School Bulldogs help fire relief effort with water bottle drive – The Reporter

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By Joel Rosenbaum

Even during the off season, the Vacaville High School football team is still scoring touchdowns.

With the Carr Fire burning in Shasta County for the past week, head coach, Mike Papadopoulos was contacted by Jason Lozano an alumni Bulldog who has a connection to the Redding area about putting out a call to help.

Papadopoulos put a plan in motion: to collect bottled water that will then be delivered to the Redding area to help out the fire relief effort.

Along with a post on Facebook Sunday evening, calls went out to players to come help out and earn some community service hours.

Source: Vacaville High School Bulldogs help fire relief effort with water bottle drive

Voters to decided three seats on Travis Unified School District board – The Reporter

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The Travis Unified School District (TUSD) will have three district board trustee vacancies on the Nov. 6 election ballot.

There will be one vacancy for Trustee Area 1, which consists of all areas within the boundaries of Travis Air Force Base and two vacancies for Trustee Area 2, which consists of the remaining TUSD area.

A local or regional board of education has one of the most important responsibilities in our society — connecting the will of the community to the education of its children. Its decisions affect the lives of students and their parents, the livelihoods of those the district employs and the economic well-being of the community.

Source: Voters to decided three seats on Travis Unified School District board

Seven pull papers for Vallejo school board – Times Herald

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By Times Herald Staff

Halfway through the month long nomination period and the Vallejo school board continues to generate interest as now seven residents have pulled candidacy paperwork, according to the Solano County Registrar of Voters.

Trustees Tony Ubalde and Ruscal Cayangyang joined the paperwork party on Friday, as they both seek re-election to the Vallejo City Unified School District Board of Education.

Board President Burky Worel, along with Ryan Messano, Allan Yeap, Clarence Martin, and John Fox have taken out candidacy paperwork to serve on the five-person board — none have submitted completed forms, yet, the county website states.

Source: Seven pull papers for Vallejo school board

Former Suisun police chief pulls papers for council race – Daily Republic

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By Ian Thompson

Former Suisun City police chief Tom Alder entered the race for Suisun City council this week, pulling candidate papers on Wednesday.

Alder had last considered running for the City Council in 2010, saying he has long been a resident of the town and government experience.

He joins a field of candidates who have pulled papers to run for council that includes Thomas Kamin, Wanda Williams and incumbents Jane Day and Mike Hudson.

It’s still a two-way race between Suisun City Councilwoman Lori Wilson and incumbent Mayor Pete Sanchez for Sanchez’s seat.

Source: Former Suisun police chief pulls papers for council race

Torlakson Reports 2017 High School Grad Rates – Year 2018 (CA Dept of Education)

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced California’s high school graduation rates today under a new methodology that was adopted in response to a federal audit.

As part of this new methodology, three significant changes were implemented for calculating 2017 high school graduation rates: (1) Students who receive an adult education high school diploma are no longer considered regular high school graduates, and (2) students who pass the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) are no longer considered regular high school graduates, and (3) students who transfer to adult education programs or a community college will remain in the denominator for the cohort calculation.

Using this new methodology, which reduces the number of students counted as graduates, 82.7 percent of California students who started high school as ninth graders in 2013–14 graduated on-time four years later in 2017. Under the old methodology, the statewide graduation rate was 83.8 percent in 2016.

Overall, the number of graduates increased from 2016 by over 900 for a total of 408,124 students. In addition, the number of students who dropped out in 2017 decreased by over 2,200 compared to last year.

Source: Torlakson Reports 2017 High School Grad Rates – Year 2018 (CA Dept of Education)

Fifth person pulls candidacy papers for Vallejo school board – Times Herald

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By John Glidden

The fifth person to show interest in the Vallejo school board pulled papers on Wednesday, according to the Solano County Registrar of Voters.

John Fox placed third during the 2016 Presidential Election for two open seats on the five-person Vallejo City Unified School District Board of Education. Fox received 12,895 votes — about 1,000 votes behind second place finisher Bob Lawson.

Three seats are open this November with Board President Burky Worel and trustees Tony Ubalde and Ruscal Cayangyang up for re-election.

Fox joins Worel, and community members Ryan Messano, Allan Yeap, and Clarence Martin in pulling papers. None have submitted completed candidacy paperwork.

Source: Fifth person pulls candidacy papers for Vallejo school board

Solano County’s education gap by gender is smallest in the nation – The Reporter

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By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

Solano County is the 115th most educated area in the country, out of 150 areas measured, according to a newly released WalletHub study.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is that Solano County’s gender education gap is the nation’s second largest favoring women, after Anchorage, Alaska.

“With the fall semester drawing near and higher levels of education correlating with higher median weekly earnings, the personal-finance website WalletHub this week released its report on 2018’s Most & Least Educated Cities in America,” the announcement said. “To determine where the most educated Americans are choosing to settle, WalletHub compared the 150 largest U.S. metropolitan statistical areas, or MSAs, across 11 key metrics. The data set ranges from share of adults aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher to racial education gap to quality of the public school system.”

Source: Solano County’s education gap by gender is second smallest in the nation

FSUSD in need of resource fair volunteers, supplies – Daily Republic

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By Daily Republic Staff

The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District is seeking volunteers to assist with the annual School Resource Fair on Aug. 11 at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.

The event will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The church is located at 1600 Union Ave. in Fairfield.

The district is also seeking volunteers for the week of Aug. 6 to assist with backpack stuffing. Volunteers will stuff hundreds of backpacks with school supplies to be distributed on the day of the event to students in need.

Source: FSUSD in need of resource fair volunteers, supplies

Students Seeking Equal Access To Education May Find Federal Help Harder To Come By : NPR Ed

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By Alexis Arnold

During their daughter’s freshman year of high school, Paul and Joy Orton spent afternoons describing biology diagrams and illustrations to her. She is blind, and the materials given to her in class were not in a format she could read.

Their daughter had no trouble understanding the material, but she was dependent on her parents. She wanted to learn on her own, like her classmates did.

Her parents successfully lobbied their northern Alabama district for a Braille biology textbook.

“She put her hands on the diagram and said, ‘Oh! I get it now,’ ” Joy Orton says. “It was a really powerful moment that the diagram was helpful to her, but only if it’s tactile or accessible.”

Source: Students Seeking Equal Access To Education May Find Federal Help Harder To Come By : NPR Ed : NPR

Has Inclusion Gone Too Far? Weighing its effects on students – Education Next

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By Allison F. Gilmour

The model of special education known as inclusion, or mainstreaming, has become more prevalent over the past 10 years, and today, more than 60 percent of all students with disabilities (SWDs) spend 80 percent or more of their school day in regular classrooms, alongside their non-disabled peers (see Figure 1). This is not the full inclusion favored by some disability advocates, wherein all SWDs would be educated in inclusive classrooms all day; however, many supporters celebrate the increasing acceptance of differently abled students in general education as an opportunity to improve the academic and long-term trajectories of these traditionally underserved learners. In theory, inclusion provides SWDs with access to the grade-level curriculum and the same educational opportunities as their peers.

Unfortunately, research has yielded only weak evidence that inclusion confers benefits on SWDs. Studies that report better academic and behavioral outcomes for SWDs who are taught in a general-education setting suffer from methodological flaws. Even less evidence suggests that general-education teachers are adequately prepared to meet the unique academic and behavioral needs of SWDs. Further, studies of inclusion seem to assume that SWDs are educated in a vacuum; that is, they fail to examine the experiences of non-disabled classmates.

Source: Has Inclusion Gone Too Far? Weighing its effects on students with disabilities, their peers, and teachers – Education Next : Education Next

Former BHS teacher chosen to direct Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park production – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park is going deep— in more ways than one— for this year’s play, which is directed by a well-known forner Benicia educator.

Christine Mani, who taught theater at Benicia High School for 17 years, is directing “Measure for Measure,” which kicks off a four-week run in multiple cities Friday. William Shakespeare’s dark comedy, written in either 1603 or 1604, is set in Vienna when its duke, Vincentio, decides to go on a break from ruling. He puts the strict Judge Angelo in charge, who enforces harsh immorality laws, sentences a man named Claudio to death for impregnating his fiancee and offers his sister Isabella a deal where he will spare Claudio from death if she has sex with Angelo.

While the play is not as universally known as other Shakespeare titles like “Romeo and Juliet” or “Hamlet,” it is one that has a lot of relevance in today’s political and cultural climate.

Source: Former BHS teacher chosen to direct Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park production

Two Local Students Earn Soroptimist Scholarships – The Reporter

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By Soroptimist Vacaville

To further their education, two college students from Vacaville earned a collective $5,000 in scholarships from Soroptimist International of Vacaville, it was announced in June.

Caitlyn Neitz and Sadie Maria Cunning were honored during a Soroptimist luncheon in downtown Vacaville June 26.

SI Vacaville is a nonprofit volunteer service organization dedicated to improving the lives of women and girls through programs leading to social and economic empowerment. The Vacaville charter was established in 1960.

Source: Good News: Two Local Students Earn Soroptimist Scholarships

Fairfield-Suisun schools to issue $80 million in bonds | Bond Buyer

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By Imran Ghori

The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District in Northern California plans to issue $80 million in bonds as part of its effort to modernize its campuses.

The general obligation bonds are the second series to be issued since voters in the district in Solano County, 50 miles northeast of San Francisco, approved a $249 million bond measure two years ago.

A bond-funded school construction project at the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District in California.

The school district issued $84 million in bonds that year and will have $85 million in authorized bonds remaining following this issuance.

Source: Fairfield-Suisun schools to issue $80 million in bonds | Bond Buyer

2018–19 Advance Apportionment Letter – Principal Apportionment (CA Dept of Education)

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Towards the end of July, county treasurers will receive a warrant that reflects state aid for programs included in the 2018–19 Advance Principal Apportionment (Advance) for local educational agencies (LEA). The California Department of Education (CDE) certified the Advance on July 20, 2018, pursuant to California Education Code (EC) Section 41330. The statewide total was $38,946,148,465. County superintendents of schools should advise school districts and charter schools immediately of this apportionment.

The 2018–19 Advance is apportioned on the basis of an LEA’s Second Principal Apportionment (P-2) funding from the preceding fiscal year pursuant to EC Section 41330 and funding appropriations provided in the 2018–19 Budget Act and related trailer bills (Assembly Bill 1808, Chapter 32, Statutes of 2018, and Assembly Bill 1825, Chapter 39, Statutes of 2018).

A summary of the Advance calculations is described below. This letter, as well as Excel files that provide funding and monthly payment amounts, are available on the CDE website at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/pa1819.asp. Additionally, the CDE has posted 2018–19 funding rates and updated the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Gap and cost of living adjustment (COLA) percentages on the Funding Rates and Information web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/ratesandinfo.asp.

Source: 2018–19 Advance Apportionment Letter – Principal Apportionment (CA Dept of Education)

Farmar PTA to raise funds for music program with benefit concert – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

Lucca Beer Garden is generally not open Wednesdays, but to help raise money for a good cause, the stage will be filled with the sounds of music for a special concert benefiting the music program at Mary Farmar Elementary School.

The Mary Farmar PTA Music Committee will be hosting its Gimme a Beat! Benefit concert next week to finance music education at Farmar. Committee Chair Shelley Rice said the group was formed as an offshoot of the school’s Parent Teacher Association after the music program lost a private donor.

“We were left with no funds and a program we wanted to continue, so we put this committee together,” she said.

Source: Farmar PTA to raise funds for music program with benefit concert at Lucca

Vallejo school board approves bond measure for site repairs – Times Herald

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By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen

There will be a $194 million bond measure on the November ballot, as the Vallejo City Unified School District Board of Trustees voted for it 4-1 on Wednesday.

Trustee Ruscal Cayangyang was the only dissenting vote.

It was the second vote at the same meeting for a bond to get the money needed to repair crumbling school facilities. Even this is nowhere near the amount needed to do everything that needs to be done, district officials say.

Cayangyang offered a compromise measure, for a $50 million bond, since the nearly $200,000 one had failed once before but, no trustee would second that motion. Following several comments from other trustees and community members, Cayangyang amended the amount to $100 million and then, $110 million, which got a grudging, provisional second from trustee Tony Ubalde. But the alternative lost in a 4-1 vote, with Cayangyang the only “Yes.”

Source: Vallejo school board approves nearly $200 million bond measure for school site repairs

Potential candidate comes forward; incumbent trustee will not seek re-election – Benicia Herald

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By Nick Sestanovich

The filing period for Benicia’s school board election is not until tomorrow, but if a panel at Thursday’s Progressive Democrats of Benicia (PDB) meeting was any indication, the race has already begun. Among other things, the panel saw the emergence of a potential challenger and the announcement by an incumbent that she would not seek re-election.

What remains to be seen is if the election will be a repeat of 2016, in which no election was held since only three candidates ran when three seats were available. One thing is for certain though: No matter the outcome, there will be new faces on the school board.

This year, three seats are up for grabs: those belonging to President Diane Ferrucci and trustees Celeste Monnette and Peter Morgan. Morgan announced at a previous school board meeting that he does not intend to seek re-election, and Monnette— a social worker who has served on the board since 2016—made the same announcement at Thursday’s PDB meeting.

Source: Potential school board candidate comes forward; incumbent trustee will not seek re-election

Candidacy period opens Monday for local contests – Times Herald

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By John Glidden

This year’s Vallejo City Unified School District Board of Education election has the potential to shift the balance of power on the school board as three of the five seats are open.

Board President Burky Worel and trustees Tony Ubalde and Ruscal Cayangyang are up for re-election. A longtime school board member in the 1990s — Worel was re-elected in 2014.

First elected to the school board in 2011, Ubalde was selected by the electorate to serve out the last two years of Cris “Oggee” Villanueva’s term.

Villanueva died from lung cancer in early June 2011 in the middle of his second term.

Ubalde received a second term of his own during the 2014 election.

Source: Candidacy period opens Monday for local contests

Solano County school board member declines re-election bid – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

His has been a life of service, in the U.S. Air Force, as a teacher, as a Reporter columnist, and as a longtime Solano County Office of Education governing board member.

But Dixon resident Doug Ford, who represents rural District 6 on the county school board, has announced that he will not, after 17 years as a trustee, seek re-election in November.

With a caveat, however:

If no one declares their candidacy by the Aug. 10 filing deadline at the county Registrar of Voters, “Then I’ll run” and file by the close of business on that day, he said during a brief interview Friday to confirm his intentions.

If he is the sole candidate, Ford will be automatically re-elected; but, he noted, he will have the remaining board members search for a replacement shortly after he begins a fifth term.

Source: Solano County school board member declines re-election bid

State ESSA Plan Approved – Year 2018 (CA Dept of Education)

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California State Board of Education President Michael W. Kirst and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has approved California’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) plan.

“Given the differences between federal and state law, the plan approved by Secretary DeVos today represents the best possible outcome of our discussions with U.S. Department of Education staff,” Kirst said. “California is a national leader in supporting students with extra needs, providing local control over spending, encouraging community participation in schools, and releasing critical information on measures that indicate student success. Our ESSA plan allows that work to continue.”

Torlakson agreed: “California has the most ambitious plan in the nation to give additional resources to students with the greatest needs as we prepare all students for college and 21st century careers. The ESSA plan approved today will support those efforts.”

Signed by President Obama in 2015, ESSA requires every state that receives federal money for low-income students and English learners to submit and receive approval of a plan for managing and using the funds.

Source: State ESSA Plan Approved – Year 2018 (CA Dept of Education)