Category Archives: Vallejo City Unified School District

Vallejo Regional Education Center renamed after Al Berenguer – Times-Herald

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By Thomas Gase

Al Berenguer used to tell his children Ike, Yvonne Berenguer and Therese, that as an educator “one can wear many hats.”

“You are the king of your own castle and teaching is a noble profession,” Ike quoted his father’s favorite saying on Saturday. “An educator has to learn so many things so he or she can possibly be a firefighter, police officer, nurse, educator or librarian.

On Saturday, the Vallejo City Unified School District added another item to that list: School name.

Source: Vallejo Regional Education Center renamed after Al Berenguer – Times-Herald

Vallejo’s Loma Vista Farm to hold spring open house – Vallejo Sun

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Loma Vista Farm, a five-acre outdoor classroom in North Vallejo that provides children with hands-on educational activities with plants and animals, will open its grounds to curious visitors on Saturday for its annual Spring Open House.

The open house will be held from 11 a.m to 3 p.m. and feature a puppet show, train rides, a plant sale and fiber arts demonstrations of spinning and weaving wool from the farm’s own sheep. Guests can buy food to feed the sheep, goats and alpacas. The farm is home to two horses, two cows, two pigs, and many birds: ducks, chickens, peacocks and turkeys.

Source: Vallejo’s Loma Vista Farm to hold spring open house

A joyride of a youth summit in Vallejo – Times-Herald

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By Jordan Baker

Eighth grade is a pivotal year for young adults. Between growing, learning and unwanted acne, it can often be difficult for new teenagers to navigate life and plan ahead.

To help with that, Kaiser Permanente hosted its fourth annual Empower Youth Summit at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom on Tuesday. The annual event aims to inspire Vallejo’s eighth graders — about 575 of them — to learn about “overcoming obstacles, developing leadership skills, mental health and wellness, career development, peer pressure, bullying and goal setting.”

Additionally, Kaiser Permanente Napa Solano leaders and physicians will also provide information about future careers in health care.

Source: A joyride of a youth summit in Vallejo – Times-Herald

Vallejo school district supports encampment ban near sites – Times-Herald

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By Chris Ramirez

The Vallejo City Unified School District is supporting city efforts to ban encampments near schools and daycares.

The district’s Board of Education unanimously voted Wednesday to support the Vallejo City Council’s plans to prohibit unhoused encampments up to 500 feet from its sites.

Superintendent William Spalding wrote in the resolution’s background section that the school district, while “sympathetic to the plight of the unhoused and urging all necessary steps to provide housing and support services to unhoused individuals,” seeks a ban to provide its students physically and emotionally safe learning environments.

Source: Vallejo school district supports encampment ban near sites – Times-Herald

Vallejo school district agrees to sale of Grant school – Times-Herald

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By Chris Ramirez

The former Grant School has been sold to the City of Vallejo for potential future development on the site.

The Vallejo City Unified School District owns two unused properties that the city is intent on purchasing. The Vallejo City Council voted last week to agree to the sale of both properties, prompting Wednesday’s school board vote on two resolutions that would accept those terms.

VCUSD’s board of education unanimously voted to sell the Grant School, built in the 1980s on a 2.63-acre property. The district sold the site for free because both options of renovating the current structure and rebuilding would cost more than its $300,000 appraisal.

Source: Vallejo school district agrees to sale of Grant school – Times-Herald

Building a LEGO bridge – Times-Herald

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By Jordan Baker

Ken, Ryan and Nina Sarna have already shown a ton of success with their NFL Flag Football league. Now the family is looking to show off its other playmaking abilities with LEGO.

The Coach Sarna League has progressed to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) learning.

The next step is Caliber: ChangeMakers Academy, says teacher Ryan Sarna, and the joy of LEGO.

“We wanted to do more. We’re big on creating community so let’s reach kids that may not be interested in football.,” Ryan Sarna. “LEGO is a lot of fun, but it increases their engineering capabilities. This is really an engineering competition. We wanted to start a low-cost league that was high quality.”

Source: Building a LEGO bridge – Times-Herald

Job fair sheds light on vacancies in Solano school districts – Daily Republic

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By Susan Hiland

Schools across the area are looking to fill multiple types of position, so the Solano County Office of Education hosted a job fair Saturday for people to seek jobs in a single setting.

“This is targeting the communities in Solano County,” said Mike Minahen, associate superintendent of Human Resources. “The goal for today is to provide an opportunity to recruit locally.”

Nearly all school districts in Solano County came out on a rainy Saturday.

Source: Job fair sheds light on vacancies in Solano school districts

Vallejo school district facing $5M in budget cuts – Vallejo Sun

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By Ryan Geller

The Vallejo City Unified School District is planning to cut $5 million, including $4.1 million in staff and educator positions, from the coming year’s budget in an attempt to alleviate this years’ budget deficit of $13 million and a projected $7 million shortfall for the 2024-25 school year.

The budget deficits are primarily tied to the district’s declining enrollment. Districts across the state have seen student enrollment drop and Vallejo has lost additional students to the city’s charter schools in recent years.

Source: Vallejo school district facing $5M in budget cuts

Kids celebrate Black Excellence in Vallejo – Times-Herald

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By Thomas Gase

There is no age limit for learning about Black History.

Whether it was 6-year-old Ashton Keller performing as Dr. Martin Luther King or Jesse Bethel High School senior Ashley Willis-Drones singing “At Last” by Etta James, Vallejo’s youth were the stars Friday night for a Black History Month presentation at Vallejo High’s theater.

The Ninth annual African-American Parent Network Black History Month — Celebrating the Legacy of Black Excellence — featured 22 acts by young women and men focusing on important Black leaders, musicians, advocates and themes.

Source: Kids celebrate Black Excellence in Vallejo – Times-Herald

New state data paints grim picture of Vallejo schools’ performance – Vallejo Sun

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By John Glidden

Vallejo City Unified School District students’ performance was poor or very poor in every metric, well below statewide standards in both English language skills and math, as the district had an absenteeism rate and suspension rate double the statewide average, according to new data released on the California School Dashboard.

It’s the first set of data to be released on the state dashboard since it was suspended for two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The five-person Vallejo school board will review the data, which includes the district’s graduation rate and student academic performance, during the board’s meeting Wednesday.

Source: New state data paints grim picture of Vallejo schools’ performance

Griffin Technology academies granted CIF Associate membership for sports – Times-Herald

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BY Thomas Gase

Athletic teams are coming to Griffin Academy High School and Mare Island Technology Academy High School.

Both schools were granted California Interscholastic Federation Associate Memberships in the Oakland Section of the Bay Area Charter School Athletic Conference (BACSAC) this week, starting the process for both schools to have teams for the winter and spring seasons. Founded in 1999, Griffin Technology Academy schools now serve 1,050 students (growing to 1,900 by 2023).

“We are grateful and excited to be accepted by BACSAC as a CIF Associate Member in the Oakland Section,” said Chris Owens, the athletic director for both schools, in a news release. “The BACSAC staff are quite familiar with the infrastructure of charter schools and have provided immediate guidance since we began building our program from scratch. Our student-athletes are eager to represent our schools in strong and healthy competition.”

Source: Griffin Technology academies granted CIF Associate membership for sports – Times-Herald

Vallejo adult school to be renamed for former teacher – Vallejo Sun

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By John Glidden

The Vallejo City Unified School District voted to rename a school catering to adult learners to honor a former teacher on Wednesday, despite one school board trustee calling the move “rushed,” and part of “dirty politics.”

The Vallejo school board voted 4-1 to rename the Vallejo Regional Education Center to the Vallejo Adult School at Al Berenguer Educational Center.

The lone ‘no’ vote came from Trustee John Fox who argued Berenguer’s name shouldn’t be added because the school has a 70% Hispanic student population. Berenguer, a beloved Filipino educator, died in April 2018 at the age of 89. He taught in the district for 50 years, including at the adult school, which currently has a Filipino student population of 2%.

“Changing the name to a Filipino name at the Vallejo Adult School would not promote any student achievement for Filipinos,” Fox said. “But it would not represent the 70% Hispanic students that go there daily, that person does not represent them, they have no connection to that person.”

Source: Vallejo adult school to be renamed for former teacher

Vallejo Police Department says ‘no’ to schools at 2 X 2 commission meeting – Times-Herald

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By Sharon Pearce

Despite safety remaining an issue at Vallejo schools, the Vallejo 2 X 2 Commission was told at its Wednesday meeting there would be no additional staff or funding coming from the city or the police department.

The 2 X 2 Commission — composed of two representatives from the city and two from the school district tasked to find answers within the city’s school system — heard directly from the school district. Vallejo City Unified School District Superintendent William Spalding explained that he had heard concern over safety issues from the public on a number of occasions. He offered suggestions such as closing Nebraska Street between Amador and Broadway streets near Vallejo High School during the day to help the school deal with gunfire and infrastructure problems.

Source: Vallejo Police Department says ‘no’ to schools at 2 X 2 commission meeting – Times-Herald

Schools election picture coming into focus after Day 2 of count – Daily Republic

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By Todd R. Hansen

Jack Flynn held a majority lead over incumbent Jonathan Richardson for the Trustee Area 5 seat on the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District board.

As of Wednesday, Flynn had tallied 963 votes, representing 51.5% of the ballots cast, while Richardson had 907 votes (48.5%), the Solano County Registrar of Voters Office reported.

The unofficial result is with all 10 precincts counted, but with mail-in and provisional ballots left to count.

Source: Schools election picture coming into focus after Day 2 of count

Citizens committee recommends renaming school to Vallejo Adult School – Vallejo Sun

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By John Glidden

A special citizens advisory committee recommended that the Vallejo City Unified School District Board of Education rename a school catering to adult learners as the Vallejo Adult School, 10 years after the district changed the name.

The five-person committee appointed by the district to recommend a new name formally presented its recommendation during the Nov. 2 Vallejo school board meeting. The school was previously called the Vallejo Adult School until the district changed the name to the Vallejo Regional Education Center a decade ago. But school board trustees and administrators expressed an interest in renaming the school again in 2021.

Source: Citizens committee recommends renaming school to Vallejo Adult School

Vallejo students learn about healthy career choices – Times-Herald

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By Thomas Gase

It’s not hard to imagine: The person who finally cures cancer could be from Vallejo.

Or the person who rehabilitates you through a tough injury or conducts a successful surgery on your friend could be from Vallejo.

Now, more than ever, people are being sought for positions in the field of health care. On Tuesday and Wednesday representatives and workers from Kaiser Permanente partnered with schools in the Bay Area for Youth Career Day 2022 to let students know that job opportunities in the health care industry are there for them if they choose to pursue them.

Source: Vallejo students learn about healthy career choices – Times-Herald

Vallejo native Rear Adm. Dollaga visits Mare Island, Vanden High – Daily Republic

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By Todd R. Hansen

Navy Rear Admiral Leonard “Butch” Dollaga on Wednesday took a tour of the Mare Island shipyard, and visited some Junior ROTC students at Vanden High School.

Dollaga, chief of Legislative Affairs for the Navy, grew up in Vallejo and graduated from Hogan High School.

“The more you interface with your people, the more you train them, the more effective they will be. Just trust those people,” Dollaga told the nearly two dozen cadets of the Vanden Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training program.

Source: Vallejo native Rear Adm. Dollaga visits Mare Island, Vanden High

Loma Vista Farms harvests fun family time in Vallejo – Times-Herald

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By Thomas Gase

Per usual, Loma Vista Farms in Vallejo was full of animals, apple cider, train rides and puppet shows on Saturday. However, when Loma Vista Farms Events Chair Jennifer Shinar was asked what her favorite part about the farm’s annual Harvest Festival was, she didn’t hesitate.

“Oh, the kids. No doubt. Seeing their faces light up when they see everything here,” Shinar said. “That’s what keeps me coming back year after year. I especially like seeing them with the old-school cider house. I love watching the kids crank it up and then crush it and then taste it. We do it every year and I love watching the kids’ reaction to it.”

Source: Loma Vista Farms harvests fun family time in Vallejo – Times-Herald

Griffin Technology Academies has new MOU with VCUSD – Times-Herald

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By Thomas Gase

Griffin Technology Academies and the Vallejo City Unified School District announced a memorandum of understanding in response to the school district’s notice of violation issued to the academy last spring.

According to GTA news release, this provides “benchmark remedies to guarantee transparency, accountability and a strong academic program.”

Last spring the district sent out draft Notices of Violations and Opportunity to Cure to GTA last month. A Notice of Violations is the first step in initiating charter revocation proceedings against the four charter schools.

Source: Griffin Technology Academies has new memorandum of understanding with Vallejo City Unified School District – Times-Herald

Fund-raising effort begins for Joe Pastrana, Vallejo High coach who was shot – Times-Herald

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By Thomas Gase

A gofundme account has been set up for Joe Pastrana, the Vallejo High School football coach shot Tuesday afternoon outside the school after he helped break up a fight.

Pastrana has been released from a hospital and is in stable condition at home with his family. According to his sister, Jocilee Pastrana, “proceeds donated will go directly to Coach Joe, his wife, son Joey, as well as his daughter on the way to help support and cover all legal/medical expenses being occurred as we’re faced with the aftermath.”

The gofundme page has already received more than $3,000 of its $15,000 goal. As of 4 p.m. on Friday, 55 people had made donations to the page. The site is www.gofundme.com/f/wrongful-shooting-at-vhs-of-coach-joe.

Source: Fund-raising effort begins for Joe Pastrana, Vallejo High coach who was shot – Times-Herald