Monthly Archives: January 2021

SCOE begins submitting learning model data to state – The Reporter

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By Nick Sestanovich

As new guidance by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) indicates, local education agencies and private schools must submit their data regarding whether students are learning in person, at home or a combination of the two.

The Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) registered for the notification process, along with all school districts, private schools and charter schools in the county, according to a news release.

Per its Jan. 14 guidelines, the CDPH is requiring public and private schools to report all grade levels and instruction under any of the following four types of learning models: full-time in-person instruction, part-time in-person instruction — also known as a “hybrid model,” distance learning only, or in-person instruction and services provided only through what is allowed under the CDPH’s Guidance Related to Cohorts.

Source: Coronavirus: SCOE begins submitting learning model data to state – The Reporter

In FSUSD, some new fresh food added to the winter menu – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Amid winter blues and the ongoing pandemic, Fairfield-Suisun Unified leaders have partnered with two area businesses to make sure students get some additional fresh, locally sourced food and, in the process, improved nutrition and health.

In December, the district’s Child Nutrition Department added Woodland-based Micaela’s California Fresh, which supplies authentic, freshly made tortillas and salsa for use in weekly food boxes students receive, Director of Child Nutrition Dan Mitchell said in a press release issued Thursday.

The tortillas and salsas are made fresh daily using locally sourced ingredients and no chemical preservatives, he noted in the statement, adding that the salsa has been popular with district families and will be included regularly on menus.

Source: In FSUSD, some new fresh food added to the winter menu – The Reporter

Creating Leaders and Cultivating Greatness at Cleo Gordon Elementary – Daily Republic

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By Kris Corey

“Great Happens Here” is something you will hear from the Cleo Gordon community. The elementary school is in it’s fifth full year of implementing “Leader in Me.” This framework of study is based on principles of highly effective people that translates to leadership for students and staff. “Leader in Me” supports academic, behavioral, and social emotional development for all students.

“Leader in Me” unites students, staff, and families around a common goal to prepare students with college, career, and life-readiness skills that are necessary to thrive in today’s ever-changing, fast-paced environment. The model is rooted in highly effective principles such as “Change Starts with Me,” and “Everyone Can Be A Leader.”

Source: Press Release: Creating Leaders and Cultivating Greatness at Cleo Gordon Elementary

Creating a ‘culture of kindness’ – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

When we think of the word kindness, we may think of someone we know or remember, someone who was sympathetic, friendly, gentle, tender-hearted, someone who has all those qualities and shares them mainly by simply being their natural selves. In other words, their compassion made visible.

Right now, amid the pandemic, with its stresses and other unsettling news, kindness seems to possess an urgent currency unlike few other things, so Vacaville Unified earlier this week embarked on the Great Kindness Challenge, a weeklong program dedicated to creating “a culture of kindness” among students in district elementary and middle schools and, by extension, in the greater Vacaville community and beyond.

.Participation is optional for teachers but many have chosen to join in daily activities that, by all accounts, are fully embraced by students, giving them opportunities — virtually, of course — to practice kindness, among themselves, with their teachers, their families, and others, including complete strangers.

Source: Creating a ‘culture of kindness’ – The Reporter

Benicia High boys, girls golf teams ready for potential season – Times-Herald

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By Matt O’Donnell

No sport or activity is 100 percent shielded from COVID-19 transmission, but golf is as safe as they come.

“It should be really easy to maintain protocols,” said Benicia High’s boys and girls coach Bob Hall. “Kids will have to wear masks at all times, they’ll will have to keep at appropriate distances, there won’t be any handshakes and there will be no sharing of balls and equipment.”

Source: Benicia High boys, girls golf teams ready for potential season – Times-Herald

FSUSD’s Virtual Academy offers online option for K-8 students, families – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Shortly after the pandemic began last spring, Fairfield-Suisun Unified leaders, like their counterparts across the state and nation, began to offer virtual school experiences for families that wanted to make sure their children had consistent online learning.

Some years earlier, district educators had aired an interest in opening an online school, but the rapid spread of COVID-19 accelerated the creation of the district’s Virtual Academy, providing an option for students in grades K-8 to receive lessons through a virtual format.

In a press release, Superintendent Kris Corey, calling the academy a “high-quality” option for district families, wrote that students “take ownership” of their learning as they master subjects and meet personal goals.

Source: FSUSD’s Virtual Academy offers online option for K-8 students, families – The Reporter

VUSD board unanimously taps Santiago Serrato as newest trustee – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Endorsed by Vacaville Unified teachers and classified employees, Santiago Serrato, a naturalized U.S. citizen and unit supervisor at Napa State Hospital, saying among his goals is to provide the best for every student, was appointed on a unanimous trustee vote tonight to fill a vacant seat on the district governing board.

Taking the oath of office administered by Superintendent Jane Shamieh, Santiago, who lives in the district’s Area 5, admittedly grew “emotional” during the swearing-in for the two-year post, which will complete the at-large term vacated by former trustee Michael Silva, who was elected to the Vacaville City Council in November.

Answering a series of questions during the 2 1/2-hour online special governing board meeting, Santiago, whose children attend Markham Elementary, often repeatedly returned to the issue of equity and underscored the need for all educators to enhance their cultural literacy as the 12,500-student district, like the state, becomes increasingly racially diverse.

Source: VUSD board unanimously taps Santiago Serrato as newest trustee – The Reporter

California schools report fewer homeless students, alarming advocates – The Reporter

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By Carolyn Jones, EdSource

After years of steadily rising numbers of homeless youth in California, schools saw a significant drop during the last school year in the official tally of homeless students — leading some advocates to warn that thousands of students may have gone uncounted during the pandemic and are not receiving services they need.

In 2019-20, California schools reported to the state that a total of 194,709 students lived at least part of the year on the street, in cars, shelters, motels or “doubled up” with other families in houses or apartments. That represents a 6.2% drop from the previous year, before the pandemic upended education in the state and nationally.

Source: California schools report fewer homeless students, alarming advocates – The Reporter

Solano County plans to purchase old Falls School site – Daily Republic

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By Todd R. Hansen

Solano County supervisors announced the county’s intent Tuesday to purchase the former Falls School site.

The county announced it will pay the Fairfield-Suisun School District $550,000, plus half of the closing costs, to purchase the property at 1624 and 1634 Rockville Road.

A public hearing on the matter is set for March 2.

The school closed in 1998.

The county did not indicate what its plans are for the property, and when asked what those plans are, the email response was ambiguous at best.

Source: Solano County plans to purchase old Falls School site

SCOE begins submitting learning model data to state – The Reporter

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By Nick Sestanovich

As new guidance by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) indicates, local education agencies and private schools must submit their data regarding whether students are learning in person, at home or a combination of the two.

The Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) registered for the notification process, along with all school districts, private schools and charter schools in the county, according to a news release.

Per its Jan. 14 guidelines, the CDPH is requiring public and private schools to report all grade levels and instruction under any of the following four types of learning models: full-time in-person instruction, part-time in-person instruction — also known as a “hybrid model,” distance learning only, or in-person instruction and services provided only through what is allowed under the CDPH’s Guidance Related to Cohorts.

Source: Coronavirus: SCOE begins submitting learning model data to state – The Reporter

Vets, Japanese-Americans given second chance at high school diploma – Times-Herald

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The Solano County Office of Education (SCOE) is accepting applications for “Operation Recognition,” a unique program that awards retroactive high school diplomas for Japanese Americans and United States veterans who were unable to finish school due to war-time circumstances or Jim Crow laws.

“Throughout 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,” said SCOE, noting that Japanese-Americans were forced into “relocation camps” during World War II and Black servicemen were denied diplomas due to systemic racism such as Jim Crow. “These individuals now have the opportunity to be granted diplomas as a gesture of gratitude for the sacrifices they made.”

Eligible people include veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Japanese-American citizens must show proof of being interned during the period of September 16, 1940 to December 31, 1946.

Source: Vets, Japanese-Americans given second chance at high school diploma – Times-Herald

VUSD leaders to appoint Vaca resident to fill Area 5 trustee seat – The Reporter

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By Richard Bammer

Vacaville Unified School District leaders will meet online Tuesday evening for a special governing board meeting to appoint a Vacaville resident to fill a trustee vacancy for Area 5.

The link to the 5:30 p.m. meeting is https://agendaonline.net/public/Meeting.aspx?AgencyID=59&MeetingID=81964&AgencyTypeID=1&IsArchived=False.

Members of the public must register in advance to view and/or participate in the meeting, which will be held via Zoom, at https://vacavilleusd.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_-qwTOh7cSXO-tip2jnGZ_Q.

Source: VUSD leaders to appoint Vaca resident to fill Area 5 trustee seat – The Reporter

SCOE resource development chief earns top administrator honors – Daily Republic

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Susan Labrecque, director of resource development and transition services for the Solano County Office of Education, has been named the Career Technical Education Administrator of the Year by the Association of California School Administrators.

The award is given to individuals for “significant contributions to education through outstanding performance and achievements,” according to a statement from the Office of Education.

Source: SCOE resource development chief earns top administrator honors

Cross country takes center stage during COVID – The Reporter

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By Matt Sieger

Until now, cross country has generally been the red-headed stepchild of high school sports.

Overshadowed by its fall counterparts like football and girls volleyball, long-distance runners sometimes went under the radar. But all that changed when the California Interscholastic Federation classified sports by COVID-colored tier.

Cross country, one of a handful of sports CIF said could start if a county was in the purple tier, was suddenly thrust into the spotlight. The CIF had divided the January through June calendar into two seasons. Cross country was the only purple-tier sport in season one, which is slated to begin competition on Jan. 25.

Source: Cross country takes center stage during COVID – The Reporter

Major improvements, hospitalizations in California prompt lifting of stay-at-home order – The Reporter

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By Evan Webeck

Following widespread and sustained reductions in COVID-19 hospitalizations throughout California, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday lifted the regional stay-at-home order that had placed the majority of Californians under some of the nation’s tightest restrictions for much of the past two months.

Hospitalizations have fallen substantially in nearly every region of California to the point where, this past weekend, there were fewer COVID-positive patients being treated in hospitals around the state than any point since the week prior to Christmas. Cases, too, are coming at their slowest rate since the second week of December. However, the hardest-hit regions are still averaging more infections and have more patients hospitalized and in intensive-care units than before the order was put in place, according to data compiled by this news organization.

Source: Coronavirus: Major improvements in cases, hospitalizations in California prompt lifting of stay-at-home order – The Reporter

School district completes $5.1M in projects at Mary Bird campus – Daily Republic

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More than $5 million in work to upgrade the Fairfield-Suisun School District’s designated preschool center has been completed, the district has announced.

Mary Bird Early Childhood Education Center has, since it opened in 2016, served as what district officials describe as a model preschool program to districts across the state and has received recognition and awards for how it serves children ages 3 to 5 years old.

Three classrooms were added to the site, in addition to other projects.

Source: School district completes $5.1M in projects at Mary Bird campus

Virtual Academy of Fairfield Suisun Offers Innovative K-8 Learning Opportunities – Daily Republic

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By Kris Corey

In April of 2020, the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District took the bold step to open a K-8 virtual school for families who wanted to ensure their children had a consistent online learning opportunity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years, the District had discussed an interest in opening an online school. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the timeline for creating a Virtual Academy was accelerated to address the needs of many FSUSD families.

The Virtual Academy of Fairfield-Suisun provides an option for students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade to receive instruction through an online learning format. The Virtual Academy is a high quality educational option for Fairfield-Suisun families. Students take ownership of their learning as they master academic content standards and meet personal goals. Students and families are encouraged to attend the fun and engaging Virtual social engagement opportunities scheduled each month.

Source: Press Release: Virtual Academy of Fairfield Suisun Offers Innovative K-8 Learning Opportunities

Solano educator earns statewide honor – The Reporter

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By Kimberly K. Fu

Susan Labrecque with the Solano County Office of Education has been named California’s Career Technical Education Administrator of the Year by the Association ofCalifornia School Administrators (ACSA).

The ACSA’s award program, according to a press statement, “honors individuals for their significant contributions to education through outstanding performance and achievements.”

Labrecque joined the SCOE in 1995 as a vocational specialist to support the employment needs of students with different abilities and is now the director of resource development andtransition services.

Source: Solano educator earns statewide honor – The Reporter

Benicia school seizes poet laureate’s wisdom – Times-Herald

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By Richard Freedman

The nation’s newly-minted and celebrated poet laureate, 23-year-old Amanda Gorman, inspired many adults with her “The Hill We Climb” inauguration message.

Christina Moore hopes Gorman’s words are equally admired by Robert Semple Elementary’s 460 students.

Moore, the Benicia school’s sixth-year principal, barely waited for Gorman to finish her presentation before rushing an excerpt from the historic poem onto Semple’s vintage marquee: “There is always light. If only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”

“Not only has this generated some great interest, we might be getting a new marquee out of it,” said Moore.

Source: Benicia school seizes poet laureate’s wisdom – Times-Herald

More school organizations urge revising Gov. Newsom’s reopening plan – The Reporter

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By John Fensterwald, EdSource

Five statewide organizations representing school districts and county offices of education that had refrained from commenting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to entice school districts to begin reopening are urging major revisions they say would make the plan feasible.

They issued a letter to Newsom outlining the revisions on Tuesday, two days before the state Senate will begin hearings that will determine if or when the governor can move forward with the plan.

Newsom is proposing $2 billion in incentives to districts that adopt a safety and health protection plan, comprehensive Covid testing procedures and a schedule to phase in the return of elementary students. Starting with transitional kindergarten through 3rd grade, they would commit to bring back students for in-person instruction starting Feb. 15, if infection rates in their counties have fallen by then — or to postpone until they do.

Source: More school organizations urge revising Gov. Newsom’s reopening plan – The Reporter