#marquez-elementary

#marquez-elementary

Parents allege that the Sequoia Union High School Board circumvented the state's open meeting laws by discussing the school's closure in private text messages, which they claim violates the Brown Act.

The district promised to spend its money on 'neighborhood schools.' Now, the district is preparing to close five elementary schools, displace one and break neighborhoods apart through rezoning.

There's a lot of evidence that indicates that teacher morale has been declining nationwide and is at, by some measures, the lowest point in recent memory. California teachers scored 16 on the Teacher Morale Index, which is based on three questions from the Education Week survey. The morale score for U.S. teachers overall was 13.

Workers will reconfigure roughly 72,700 square feet of existing space into classrooms and advanced learning labs. A brand new 16,600-square-foot gymnasium will complement the campus and bring the total size to nearly 89,400 square feet. The school will also feature around 100 staff members along with a summer session lasting six to eight weeks.

Louisiana comic Pharis was a failed NFL lineman who went on to teaching, realizing that nobody hits harder than a 3rd grader. This Breakfast Club of teachers, born out of students who know what detention is, but can't spell it, relates to everyone who has ever suffered being a teacher, or student.

Protecting students from immigration raids was a priority for state legislators this year, resulting in several new laws, including one prohibiting school staff from allowing immigration officers to enter campuses or providing student or family information. The most controversial of the new laws is one meant to target antisemitism, although amendments made during the legislative session resulted in a bill that defines discrimination more broadly.

On Nov. 21, three children, ages 4 and 5, asked to leave Cragmont's cafeteria, where the program is primarily held, and were allowed to go to the bathroom unattended, according to a parent of one of the children, who spoke to Berkeleyside on condition of anonymity. The parent said the kids left the campus through an unfenced and poorly lit area sometime between 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., heading downhill toward Marin Avenue and Spruce Street.

These numbers look stark, but in context they reveal far more about the conditions California children are growing up in than the quality of classroom instruction. California educates a disproportionate share of children experiencing housing insecurity. A 2024 analysis found that 4% of California students were homeless, with some counties reaching 16%. The California Department of Education reports 230,443 homeless students statewide, a 26% increase over five years that mirrors broader trends in affordability, overcrowding and displacement.

Teachers have almost no authority over student behaviors or academic grading, and are given little, if any, respect from administrators, parents or even students. Instead, students have all the authority but no responsibility for their success. Students do (or don't do) whatever they wish, while empty-handed teachers are left to take the blame. Teachers no longer have the ultimate tool of flunking students.

The effort to get a snapshot of kindergarten readiness is part of the National Survey of Children's Health, which collected information from thousands of parents and guardians about their child in five areas - early learning, motor skills, social-emotional development, self-regulation and health. The goal was to answer an overall question: Is your child ready for school? Readiness in California is on par with the nation's average, which also puts kindergarten readiness at two-thirds of 3- to 5-year-olds.

Now, Gary, repeat after me: Quiero una margarita, por favor, my Spanish tutor instructs. I cringe at the butchered Spanglish my estuary accent produces. Like Del Boy Trotter ordering a cocktail: Key yeah row oon margari'a, pour far four. It's 2023, I'm 41, living in Argentina and battling the frustration and disempowerment of learning a new language at this age, longing for my elastic 11-year-old brain over this husked-out mush.

Los Alto School District board trustee Vladimir Ivanovic is resigning in protest over the district's plan to build a new campus for Bullis charter school, a move he believes will impose a large tax burden on residents and jeopardize future bond measures. The long-time trustee announced his decision at the board's meeting on Jan. 12, and submitted his resignation letter. Ivanovic, whose four-year term was set to expire in December, will stay in the position until March 11.

The union last week reportedly rejected a three-year deal dubbed a "stability package," which included a 6% raise spread over three years. The union is also seeking contract language protecting undocumented students and those from mixed-status families, and a reduction in case loads for paraeducators. The union is seeking 9% raises for certified teachers, spread over two years, and 14% hikes for paraeducators.