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Thursday, September 20, 2012

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, September 20, 2012

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The space shuttle Endeavour took off atop a modified transport plane from a Houston airport Thursday, continuing its journey to retirement in California, where it will be put on permanent display in a museum.
Along the way, Endeavour is due to pass low over several places, including Tucson, Ariz., the home of the last person to fly a shuttle, retired astronaut Mark Kelly, and his wife, former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.


Education Headlines

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Monterey school district reduces suspensions by rewarding positive behavior

Using rewards rather than punishment is one of the main components of Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, an approach to managing student behavior that administrators at the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District credit with a dramatic reduction in school suspensions.

District lets coach go, disciplines two in kickback scheme

A Saddleback Valley walk-on football coach has been let go and two other high school coaches have been formally reprimanded after being accused of receiving thousands of dollars in gifts and checks via an elaborate kickback scheme involving an athletic supply company.

Principal on medical leave after harassment inquiry

Crocker Riverside Elementary School Principal Carl Westphal will take a medical leave for the remainder of the school year, a move that comes after a sexual harassment complaint and two investigations into his recent actions.

No concessions for SD principals - yet

The 250 principals and vice principals who run San Diego public schools have seen their pay raised and then cut in the past few weeks under a contract that has yet to be adjusted to incorporate the same concessions that teachers accepted. But this is not the sign of labor strife in the San Diego Unified School District. Rather, some argue the mix-match labor contracts are a sign of a divided school board.

Chino Valley USD union cautions against combo classes

Chino Valley Unified union officials said a school board proposal to reduce combination classes may cause more of a problem than a solution.

State flags 4 Sacramento-area districts over blacks in special education

Sacramento County's four largest school districts are among dozens in California that have gotten letters from the state saying they have a disproportionate number of African American students in their special education programs who are designated as emotionally disturbed.

Rosenblatt: Why 21st century education is not just about technology

Just adding more technology into a 19th century classroom doesn’t make it a 21st century learning experience. We must understand the implications of our new context.

Fensterwald: Skeptical unions pose challenge to districts’ Race to the Top

Nearly 900 districts nationwide, including 76 districts and charter schools in California, have told the federal government that they plan to compete for the final $400 million Race to the Top district competition. But with local unions having in effect a veto over their districts’ application, that number could dwindle.

Fensterwald: Brown kills bill establishing study committee on school finance

Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would have created a task force to explore options for school finance reform, thus ensuring that his own weighted student formula won’t be drowned out in a marketplace of ideas when the Legislature convenes in January.

Gov. Jerry Brown's tax measure teeters as undecided voters grow, poll finds

Public support for Gov. Jerry Brown's ballot initiative to raise taxes has slipped to just more than 50 percent, a precarious majority with a growing number of voters now undecided, according to a new Field Poll.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Good news at Bret Harte

Bret Harte Union High School District’s Board of Trustees heard good news on a variety of fronts Monday as staff gave updates on standardized test scores, construction projects and the district’s better-than-expected financial position.

El Monte City School District superintendent to retire after long career

Over the course of his more than four-decade career, Jeff Seymour has become a fixture in the El Monte City School District.

City College near bankruptcy, audit says

City College of San Francisco is perilously close to bankruptcy, in part because it employs nearly twice as many faculty as similar colleges and pays them better - yet educates no more students on average, says a new financial analysis of the state's largest public school.