30 districts join DonorsChoose program to supplement classroom resource budgets | Education Dive

By Shawna De La Rosa

Many organizations — and even some individuals — have turned to crowdfunding to raise money for specific causes and projects. Educators are beginning to turn to this source, as well, to compensate for the lack of funds available for classroom projects and supplies. Over the past decade, hundreds of millions of dollars have been raised for classrooms through crowdfunding efforts.

The initiative is often a win-win, as schools and teachers can request money for specific projects, and donors both large and small can select to support the projects they are drawn to. The GoFundMe and EdCo crowdsource sites also are in the education market.

While the practice is gaining in popularity, however, some districts, like the Metro Nashville Public Schools, forbid teachers from participating over concerns teachers may misuse or keep the raised money.

Source: 30 districts join DonorsChoose program to supplement classroom resource budgets | Education Dive

Vanden robotics team prepares for China trip – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

The Vanden High School robotics team will head to China starting Nov. 22 and returning home Nov. 30, traveling to Beijing Economic Management School, Meilong Middle School and Shanghai Jiao Tong University with the intent of sharing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math curriculum, according to a press release.

While in China, the students will also tour the sites of Shanghai and Beijing, including the Great Wall. The trip is the third time robotics team members have visited China, with the trip coordinated by Paul Cheng of the U.S. Education Foundation and Doug Green of the Vanden Robotics Foundation.

Source: Vanden robotics team prepares for China trip

Solano College receives upgrade in credit rating, refinances bonds – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

The Solano Community College District earlier this month received an upgrade in its credit rating from Moody’s Investors Service.

The district then refinanced bonds Nov. 13 to save taxpayers almost $21 million, according to a press release.

Moody’s raised its rating on the district’s general obligation bonds from AA3 to AA2, meaning “high quality and very low credit risk.”

Source: Solano College receives upgrade in credit rating, refinances bonds

Solano, Napa students see futures in the trades – Daily Republic

By Todd R. Hansen

More than 200 students got a firsthand look Thursday at what work in the trades could mean for their futures.

The groups from Solano and Napa counties took a tour of training centers that included sheet metal workers in Fairfield, plumbers and steamfitters in Vacaville, iron workers in Benicia and electrical workers in Napa.

The students also visited carpenter trade centers in Fairfield and Napa.

The tour is an annual event sponsored by the Napa-Solano Central Labor Council, the North Bay Apprenticeship Coordinators Association, the Napa-Solano Building Trades and the Solano County Office of Education.

Source: Solano, Napa students see futures in the trades

New Charter Schools Division Director Named – Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced today that he has appointed Stephanie Farland as the Director of the Charter Schools Division for the California Department of Education (CDE).

The Charter Schools Division oversees State Board of Education-approved charter schools throughout California and administers the Federal Public Charter Schools Grant Program.

Currently, Farland is the Executive Director and Founder of Collaborative Solutions for Charter Authorizers, a private consulting firm dedicated to assisting school districts and county offices of education in their work as charter school authorizers. In that position, she works on all aspects of charter authorizing and oversight to ensure that a fair process is being implemented in California.

Source: New Charter Schools Division Director Named – Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

Willis Jepson Middle School students share the warmth – The Reporter

By Joel Rosenbaum

For the past two weeks, students in Samantha Dubs’ leadership class at Willis Jepson Middle School have been collecting warm clothes, jackets, hats, gloves, scarves and even blankets for the “Share the Warmth” program that was stared by the city of Vacaville a couple of years ago.

For extra incentive Thursday, the students passed out hot chocolate to anyone that stopped by to make a donation.

“We were looking for some good community involvement opportunities, and this just fell into our laps,” Dubs said Thursday as she supervised her students collecting clothing before school. “I have some very motivated students it’s nice to be able to give them an idea and have them run with it.”One of those students was Sada O’Hanlon. The 13-year-old eighth-grader oversaw the collection drive and was on hand passing out flyers to students as they arrived Thursday morning, reminding them that there was one more day left in the clothing drive.

Source: Willis Jepson Middle School students share the warmth – The Reporter

Senate bill would require schools to monitor student social media | Education Dive

By Shawna De La Rosa

A U.S. Secret Service study found students who commit school violence often showed interest in violence, were bullied by peers and regularly found themselves in trouble. Further evidence shows about 78% of school shooters hinted at plans to commit a school shooting before following through.

However, trying to monitor a students’ social media existence could be like trying to track a survivalist through a forest. Many teens know how to navigate digital spaces, avoid detection, keep their accounts private and make fake, or “finsta,” accounts that don’t have their real names attached. They let people see what they want them to see.

Source: Senate bill would require schools to monitor student social media | Education Dive

CAASPP Results and Achievement Gap Data Roundable – Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

On November 5, 2019, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond and the California Department of Education (CDE) hosted a Data Dive Roundtable. The panelists shared insights about patterns, trends, and root causes for the 2019 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) results. They also shared suggestions for actions to take to close achievement and opportunity gaps for each and every one of California’s students.

Participants included notable experts and practitioners such as Linda Darling-Hammond, President and CEO of the Learning Policy Institute and President of the State Board of Education; Pedro Noguera, Distinguished Professor at UCLA; Elisha Arriaga Smith, Executive Director of The Education Trust—West; Joe Johnson, Executive Director of the National Center for Urban School Transformation and Dean of the College of Education at San Diego State University; Adela Jones, Superintendent of Sanger Unified School District; Cynthia Glover Woods, Chief Academic Officer at Riverside County Office of Education (RCOE); Melissa Bazanos, Executive Director at RCOE; Trevor Painton, Superintendent of Romoland School District; and Laura Hill, Policy Director and Senior Fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California.

Source: CAASPP Results and Achievement Gap Data Roundable – Year 2019 (CA Dept of Education)

2017 Fairfield High grad works for NASA – Daily Republic

By Lorena Anderson

Like many young women, Calista Lum absorbed the message that she was not as capable as her male peers when it came to science, technology, engineering and math.

She wanted to pursue physics, engineering and data analysis because she enjoyed them.

When she enrolled at the University of California, Merced, she joined the Merced Nanomaterials Center for Energy and Sensing. She’s mentored by physics professor Sayantani Ghosh and graduate student William Delmas, whom she credits with a great deal of her success thus far.

Source: 2017 Fairfield High grad works for NASA

VUSD to consider new proposal for Country High School – The Reporter

By Nick Sestanovich

Vacaville Unified School District has decided not to move forward with a plan to create two smaller credit recovery campuses at the Will C. Wood and Vacaville high school campuses.

Instead, the school board will be considering a new proposal to move Country High School to the Buckingham Charter Magnet High School campus, move Buckingham to the current Country High campus and merge Country High with the Ernest Kimme Charter Academy for Independent Learning, which will move into the building across the way, the district announced in a Facebook post.

The goal is for both programs to work together to bring more resources to students.

In September, the district announced that it was considering establishing smaller continuation campuses on the general education high school campuses for Country High students to take classes in self-contained classrooms. However, Country High students, parents and staff expressed concerns about this proposal — namely that Country High students benefited from being in a smaller campus away from the larger comprehensive campuses — at the Sept. 28 school board meeting and on social media.

Source: VUSD to consider new proposal for Country High School – The Reporter

Solano program offers high school diplomas to war veterans – Daily Republic

By Daily Republic Staff

Veterans and Japanese-American citizens who did not receive a high school diploma because of war-related reasons can get one now as part of the “Operation Recognition” program through the Solano County Office of Education.

“We are privileged to honor and recognize local veterans with diplomas. Our veterans have made sacrifices for the freedom and the safety of our country, and this is one way that we can recognize our veterans for all they have done for of us,” Superintendent of Schools Lisette Estrella-Henderson said in a statement.

Source: Solano program offers high school diplomas to war veterans

Travis school trustees ‘go into the kitchen’ Wednesday – Daily Republic

By Todd R. Hansen

Trustees of the Travis School District will be spreading around the kudos for a number of accomplishments when they meet Wednesday.

Among the recognitions is for the winners of Sodexo’s Future Chef Culinary Competition held Oct. 23 at Center Elementary School.

The school board meets at 5:30 p.m. in the Travis Education Center, 2775 De Ronde Drive, in Fairfield.

Seven students from the five elementary schools in the district participated, said Ana Martinez, a child nutrition consultant who works for Sodexo at the Travis School District.

Source: Travis school trustees ‘go into the kitchen’ Wednesday

Solano Co. Veterans Can Receive Retroactive High School Diplomas | Benicia, CA Patch

The Solano County Office of Education, located at 5100 Business Center Drive in Fairfield, is participating in “Operation Recognition” which honors U.S. Veterans and Japanese-American citizens who were unable to finish high school due to wartime circumstances with retroactive high school diplomas.

During the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, thousands of young men and women left high school and the comforts of home to serve in the United States Armed Forces. During World War II many Japanese-American citizens were interned in relocation camps in various locations across the United States. After these wars, many of these individuals were not able to finish high school and receive high school diplomas. Veterans and Japanese-American citizens now have the opportunity to be granted diplomas as a gesture of gratitude for the sacrifices they made.

Source: Solano Co. Veterans Can Receive Retroactive High School Diplomas | Benicia, CA Patch

Vallejo school board approves new trustee-area map – Times-Herald

By John Glidden

Starting in November 2020, Vallejo residents will elect board members on Vallejo City Unified School District by geographic area.

The school board voted 3-2 on Wednesday to adopt a final trustee area map, which creates five different areas with a governing board member elected by the residents living in that particular area.

Both Board President Bob Lawson and Trustee Christy Gardner opposed selection of the map, known as Scenario 2, in favor of a fourth map submitted by Lawson. Both will be up for election in 2020. Lawson was first elected to the school board in 2016 and Gardner was appointed earlier this year to fill the vacancy created when Marianne Kearney-Brown resigned from the board.

Source: Vallejo school board approves new trustee-area map – Times-Herald

Film shot by differently abled adults debuts at VPAT – The Reporter

By Nick Sestanovich

For a few hours Wednesday night, Vacaville Cultural Center felt like Hollywood as actors attired in tuxedos and fancy dresses paraded down a red carpet and cameras flashed while they made their way to the premiere of their new movie.

While it may have looked like a smaller scale premiere of the new “Star Wars” movie, it was actually the debut of a film by students at Joey Travolta’s Inclusion Films camp, which took place at Golden Hills Community School in Fairfield this past summer.

Travolta — a veteran filmmaker, producer and actor from a famous show-business family that includes his younger brother John — founded Inclusion Films in 2007 to teach filmmaking skills to individuals with developmental disabilities. His organization currently hosts a variety of film camps throughout California, and Solano hosted its first this past summer largely funded through donors like NorthBay Healthcare, Soroptimist International of Vacaville Twilight Club, Solano County Office of Education and Dutch Bros. Coffee of Fairfield.

Source: Film shot by differently abled adults debuts at VPAT – The Reporter

Third graders in Vallejo not lost for words – Times-Herald

By Richard Freedman

Implicate: To show or suggest that someone is involved in something illegal or morally wrong; implicate someone in something: Three top officials have been implicated in the scandal.

Perhaps a bit above a third graders play grade, Derrick Karimian nonetheless asked about 105 students at Wardlaw Elementary School to locate and define the seemingly complex word.

Fortunately, they had some help — besides their teachers: Brand new MacMillan dictionaries, compliments of the Vallejo Rotary Club. And not just at Wardlaw, but at 15 other Vallejo schools during the annual distribution.

Source: Third graders in Vallejo not lost for words – Times-Herald

SCOE Film camp opens doors to young adults with disabilities – Daily Republic

BY Amy Maginnis-Honey

There was a red carpet premiere Wednesday in Vacaville.

The almost 50 adults involved in the film showed up in suits, ties, dresses and hats. They sat in the first few rows at the Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre to see the first Inclusion Films project done in Solano County.

“The Bizarre Zone” was played before a packed house. In the crowd was Joey Travolta, older brother of actor John Travolta. He’s also a former special education teacher.

“It takes a village,” he said. “This is an unbelievable village.”

Source: Stories to tell: Film camp opens doors to young adults with disabilities

Solano College ceremony paves way for new library – Daily Republic

By Bill Hicks

Like many of the well-worn books housed inside it, the Solano Community College library has some visible signs of aging.

Opened in 1971, the venerable Building 100 at the school’s main campus in rural Fairfield will soon be replaced by a nearly 60,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art library building that is expected to be ready in time for the fall 2021 school term.

School officials participated Wednesday in a ceremony to break ground at the campus to announce the replacement of the current library with a new library and learning center, which comes with a construction cost of nearly $39 million, funded jointly through Proposition 51 – a $9 billion statewide bond, passed in November 2016, to fund K-12 and community college projects – and Measure Q – the $348 million bond passed by local voters by November 2012.

Source: Fully booked: Solano College ceremony paves way for new library

Orchard Elementary School salutes Solano County first responders – The Reporter

By Joel Rosenbaum

Bill McCune, a captain with the Valero Refinery Fire Department in Benicia sprays water into the air and onto the students of Alison Epperson’s fifth-grade students as he participates in First Responder Day at Orchard Elementary School Wednesday in Vacaville. McCune was on hand with first responders from around Solano County including, Vacaville Police and Fire Departments, Solano County Sheriff and the California Highway Patrol to speak with the students about their careers. The objective of the assembly according to Orchard Elementary School principal Anne Silva was to teach students not to be afraid of first responders as well as celebrating them and recognizing their sacrifices to the community.

Source: Photo: Orchard Elementary School salutes Solano County first responders – The Reporter

Vanden JROTC students learn more than military skills – The Reporter

By Nick Sestanovich

Being in a school district largely consisting of children of military families, it is no surprise that Vanden High School offers a Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) program.

However, the class provides a lot more than just military skills. It provides life skills, including encouraging students to be better citizens of their communities.

“They do it for a belonging but not necessarily wanting to be in the military,” Master Sgt. Hollis Huvar, JROTC instructor and program co-founder, said. “We’re not recruiting. We’re here to provide the kids to be better citizens.”

Source: Vanden JROTC students learn more than military skills – The Reporter