Tagged With "School Crisis Recovery and Renewal"
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16,000 California K-12 Students had Shootings at Their Schools Since Sandy Hook [mercurynews.com]
By John Woolfolk, The Mercury News, November 14, 2019 The sight of another school shooting like the latest mayhem Thursday at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita has become sadly familiar. Since the horror unleashed in 2012 by a deranged gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, about 16,000 California students have experienced some sort of shooting at 15 schools in the Golden State. “This is every student’s worst nightmare,” Julia Runkle, 17, a volunteer with Students Demand...
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An Alternative to Suspension with Trauma-Informed Dynamic Mindfulness: Building Stress Resilience, Emotion Regulation and Empathy
At the November 2019 Northern California Safe and Healthy Schools Conference at UC Berkeley, Niroga Program Managers Sam Weiss and Fatima Ahmed facilitated a session incorporating the theory and practice of Dynamic Mindfulness (DMind) to a standing room only crowd.
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California Advocates Celebrate as Governor Signs Law to Address Overuse of Suspensions in Schools! [fixschooldiscipline.com]
By Fix School Discipline, September 16, 2019 SB 419 will help keep students in school, increase student success, and increase high school graduation Governor Gavin Newsom signed legislation to eliminate suspensions for minor misbehaviors and protect California students from discriminatory and harmful school climates. Under Senate Bill 419, which was introduced by Senator Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley), school districts will no longer be permitted to use defiance or disruption, as justification...
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California colleges undaunted by Trump's decision to phase out DACA [EdSource.org]
Undocumented immigrant students will remain welcome at California colleges and universities, regardless of President Donald Trump’s decision on Tuesday to roll back legal protections for so-called “Dreamers,” education leaders said. “Our doors will be wide open for all eligible undocumented students. They are welcome and wanted,” said Long Beach State President Jane Close Conoley. “And we will continue to offer state financial aid to those who are eligible.” Following up on a campaign...
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California may start next school year sooner if coronavirus is under control [sfchronicle.com]
By Alexei Koseff, San Francisco Chronicle, April 28, 2020 California schools could reopen this summer to help make up for a “learning loss” that early closures forced by the coronavirus pandemic caused this year, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday. Schools typically start the academic year in mid- to late August, but the governor said that might be moved up to as early as July if the pandemic is under control. “We recognize there has been a learning loss,” Newsom said at a news conference. “We...
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What California Parents and Students should know about the Coronavirus: A Quick Guide [edsource.org]
By Theresa Harrington, EdSource, March 16, 2020 This Q & A is being updated to reflect latest developments. It was last updated March 17 at 2:08 pm. Q:How many districts have closed schools in California? A: More than 99 percent of the state’s school districts (939 districts) announced they will close this week due to the coronavirus as of noon on March 18. Schools will be closed for at least 6,065,337 students in California, about 99 percen t of all K-12 students in the state. Gov.
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When California schools reopen, Gov. Newsom envisages major changes in how they are run [edsource.org]
By Louis Freedberg, EdSource, April 14, 2020 Gov. Gavin Newsom says it is too soon to ease up on restrictions keeping millions of students out of school, but when they do return, possibly in the fall, they would likely come back to schools organized in radically different ways in order to protect students, staff and families. Currently over 6 million students in California are out of school, and school districts are struggling to provide them with “distance learning” that will hold their...
Ask the Community
Call for Presenters: Early Education Conference
The California Council of Parent Participation Nursery Schools (CCPPNS) hosts the premier early education conference for the cooperative preschool community in California. The 2018 Conference, "Time to Connect," will be coordinated by the the San Francisco Council of Parent Participation Nursery School (SFCPPNS). When: March 9 & 10, 2018 Where: Hotel Kabuki, San Francisco CA This early education convention draws parents and teachers from around the state of California and is open to all,...
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Shared Use in the Summer: Opening school spaces to the public when classes are out [changelabsolutions.org]
By ChangeLab Solutions and Merced County Public Health Department (CA), November 20, 2019 How can communities use school spaces during vacation times? Schools are more than just places of learning for children. They serve as centers of connection for families from surrounding neighborhoods and have many facilities and resources that can benefit the wider community. Opening school spaces during times when students are not on campus can significantly improve health and equity for those who...
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Smaller classes, more novice teachers: the 'tradeoff‘ for low-income California schools [EdSource]
By John Fensterwald, August 8, 2019 Former Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature law, the Local Control Funding Formula, has frustrated researchers and advocacy groups that have wanted to verify how much of the extra money intended for targeted students has actually gone to the schools they attend — and how the funding was used. Consistent with his view of local control, Brown insisted that district offices, not schools, should control money under the formula, and he fought efforts to make it easy to...
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STATE HEALTH CARE STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS CHILDREN’S TRAUMA, EXPOSURE TO VIOLENCE AND ACEs
I found this document by Futures Without Violence to be a useful resource. From the forward: The health care system plays an important role both in identifying children who may be exposed to extreme adversity and violence, currently and in the past, and in providing the evidence-based interventions that can help children heal from trauma and prevent health conditions and other poor outcomes associated with trauma and ACEs. The health care system is also central in supporting the greatest...
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Students, Teachers, Administrators Soar Above Challenges at Las Plumas [chicoer.com]
By Natalie Hanson, Enterprise-Record, December 18, 2019 As Oroville students continue to face social and economic hardships, high schools are working to improve their experiences and access to opportunities as adults. Staff at Oroville Union High School District’s schools say they are working to address the effects of widespread adverse childhood experiences. In the last decade, Butte County has been reported with the highest number of adverse childhood experiences in California in the...
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Study: Black Students Face 'Accumulation of Disadvantage' [educationdive.com]
By Naaz Modan, Education Dive, October 10, 2019 Dive Brief: A new study from the University of California, Los Angeles' Center for the Transformation of Schools finds a student's quality of life is linked to his or her academic performance. Where they live, access to healthy food, and quality of air and healthcare are among factors that influence academic performance and the schools they attend. Black students in Los Angeles — who are already faced with higher suspension rates, attend...
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Richmond High School students confront demands of social distancing [edsource.org]
By Marina Knowles, EdSource, April 9, 2020 Shutting down California to control the spread of the coronavirus requires everyone to cooperate. Gov. Gavin Newsom urged young people to take the crisis seriously and stay indoors and at least six feet from others after commenting on the tragic loss of a Lancaster teenager who died of COVID-19. He went on to say: “Young people can and will be impacted by this virus. In fact, young people disproportionately are the ones testing positive in the state...
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Santa Barbara County taking steps to reduce juvenile incarceration (santamariatimes.com)
A snapshot of 597 juveniles placed under probation supervision in Santa Barbara County in 2017 shows 53 were incarcerated in juvenile hall, a number 38 percent higher than the average in nearby counties. The reason, according to Probation Department officials, is that the county uses fewer alternatives to incarceration for low-level offenders than comparable counties like San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Ventura. Incarcerating misdemeanor offenders, and exposing them to serious,...
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Scholarships are Plentiful for Students in Nevada County [theunion.com]
By Jill Haley, The Union, November 13, 2019 As the cost of college continues to skyrocket, many families are scrambling to find ways to fund their children’s college education. Federal and state scholarships and grants can be of tremendous help, but usually don’t fund the total cost, and not everyone qualifies. This is when families look for outside scholarships to help with college costs. Students in Nevada County are extremely fortunate to be part of a generous community who donate...
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Schools Fail to Identify Thousands of Homeless Children, State Audit Finds [edsource.org]
By Carolyn Jones, Ed Source, November 27, 2019 California schools undercounted their homeless students by at least 37 percent in 2017-18, according to a recent state audit. The state failed to provide those students with transportation, counseling, connections to social services and other benefits they’re entitled to under state and federal law. The audit, conducted by the office of State Auditor Elaine Howle, found that schools and districts reported only 270,000 homeless children, although...
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Search and Compare Data from the California School Dashboard, 2019 [edsource.org]
By Justin Allen, Daniel J. Willis, and Yuxuan Xie, EdSource, December 12, 2019 On Dec. 12, 2019, the California Department of Education updated the official California School Dashboard with the latest data for schools and districts. View results for 2018 here and 2017 here. The dashboard shows progress, or lack of it, on multiple measures. This database shows measures of achievement on six measures, in color codes selected by the state. To find indicators from a school or district, enter a...
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Senate HELP Committee schedules hearing on April 11 on draft opioid bill with key provisions addressing trauma and seeks stakeholder comments
Key provisions that are closely aligned with sections the Heitkamp-Durbin “Trauma-Informed Care for Children and Families Act (S. 774)” are included in opioid legislation that is advancing in the U.S. Senate. A draft bill, “The Opioid Crisis Response Act,” is the subject of a hearing on Wednesday, April 11 in the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) Committee and a mark-up of the legislation is expected over the next several weeks. Senator Heitkamp’s office highlighted three...
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Suisun Elementary (CA) makes ACEs science intrinsic to everyday life
Students start each day with meditation During her first year as principal of Suisun Elementary in Suisun City, Calif., in 2014 Ann Marie Neubert suspended 102 students — out of a student population of 550 —for disrupting their classes. It was a serious problem, but the school’s teachers didn’t know what to do. “[Teachers] felt like they were using all the tools in their toolbox and it wasn’t changing behavior,” she recalls. Ann Marie Neubert Too many students were spending too much time out...
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Summer Reading (and Listening) List for Sidelined Students [aafp.org]
By Margaret Miller, American Academy of Family Physicians, May 14, 2020 I'm sitting on my back porch in sunny South Carolina, where I recently experienced virtual graduation from my medical school in Tennessee, and I'm having a hard time writing this blog post. There are moving boxes to be unpacked in the kitchen, our mattress is lying on the bedroom floor, and the only place we have to sit in the living room is a giant recliner from Big Lots that we're forced to share until our couch...
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The Beginning of the End of Random Searches: Students Know What They Need Next [fixschooldiscipline.org]
By Ashley Ruano, Fix School Discipline, October 1, 2019 The #StudentNotSuspects coalition has long worked in Los Angeles to end the random searches policy that discriminate against students and create a hostile campus environment for students to learn. For many years, Los Angeles Unified School District implemented mandatory random metal detector searches in middle and high schools. The searches did not make campus environments more secure. Instead, the policy targeted, and criminalized...
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TIC, MTSS and everything in between!
Join us! Offered April 9th or May 7th in Sacramento California! Addressing Social and Emotional Learning by using research-based, behavior-focused strategies for staff, students & families, building resilience in our schools and communities. Anxiety and depression in students is running rampant. Workplace stress for educators and staff as well as rising litigation costs for schools are also top concerns for communities across the country. How can we reduce tension and improve how staff,...
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Trauma Response Workshop Comes to San Benito Schools [benitolink.com]
By Carmel de Bertaut, Benito Link, September 16, 2019 On September 5, the San Benito County Office of Education hosted Jessie Fuller of Collaborative Learning Solutions for a three-hour workshop on trauma-informed responses in schools. Fuller, a California League of Schools’ Teacher of the Year, spoke to a room of principals, teachers, therapists, and school staff about the causes of stress, ways it can manifest, and solutions to deal with it. With the message of “hurt people, hurt people,”...
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Trump's Food Stamp Cuts Threaten Children's Potential [sfchronicle.com]
By Kim Newell, San Francisco Chronicle, December 17, 2019 As a pediatrician, I know that one of the most powerful tools for ensuring the health of my patients and of all our nation’s children is nutritious food. As such, school lunch in particular is vital, not only to their health but also to their learning capacity. The Trump administration has recently proposed changes to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Nearly a million students may lose automatic eligibility for...
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Undocumented students react with fear and anger to election results [EdSource.org]
Marcos Mohammad, a senior at Berkeley High School, had a question the morning after Donald J. Trump was elected president of the United States: “How will he find me?” asked Mohammad, an undocumented immigrant from Peru. He walked along a wooded path on the UC Berkeley campus with six of his high school friends, all of them undocumented immigrants, all members of the small Newcomers Program for immigrants at Berkeley High and all of them anxious. They carried signs — “Love still trumps hate”...
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DHCS Expands Medi-Cal Young-Adult Eligibility, Restores Benefits, Adds Childhood-Trauma Screening in 2020 (DHCS)
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Norman Williams NUMBER: 19-03 (916) 440-7660 DATE: December 30, 2019 www.dhcs.ca.gov DHCS EXPANDS MEDI-CAL YOUNG-ADULT ELIGIBILITY, RESTORES BENEFITS, ADDS CHILDHOOD-TRAUMA SCREENING IN 2020 SACRAMENTO – Medi-Cal, California’s health care program for low-income individuals and families, will extend full coverage to tens of thousands of additional young adults statewide effective January 1, 2020, another step toward building a California for All. The young adult...
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Disaster Days: How Megafires, Guns and Other 21st Century Crises are Disrupting CA Schools [capradio.org]
By Ricardo Cano, CalMatters, September 17, 2019 Each year, millions of Californians send their children to public K-12 classrooms, assuming that, from around Labor Day to early summer, there will be one given: A school day on a district’s calendar will mean a day of instruction in school. But that fixed point is changing, according to a CalMatters analysis of public school closures. From massive wildfires to mass shooting threats to dilapidated classrooms, the 21st century is disrupting...
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Disconnected: Internet Stops Once School Ends for Many Rural California Students [edsource.org]
By Sydney Johnson, EdSource, December 6, 2019 Walk into any classroom in Alpaugh Unified and you will see teaching and learning using the latest technology. Students collaborate on digital documents, give presentations on interactive whiteboards, conduct research and even apply to colleges on Chromebooks. But for many students in Alpaugh, a small rural town about an hour north of Bakersfield in Tulare County, that online connection stops once the school day ends. “We have a disadvantage...
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Do You Have a Story to Tell? Speak at the 2018 Fall Trauma-Informed School Conference
Beyond Consequences is excited to announce that our Call for Proposals for the 2018 Fall Trauma-Informed School Conference has been extended. If you have a great story to share about your experience in working with students who’ve had adverse childhood experiences, we would love to hear from you! Here are some examples of sessions that fit in at our nationally recognized conference: Administrative/School-Wide Track • Mindfulness Instead of Suspension • Special Education Law & Advocacy •...
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During COVID-19, how does a trauma-informed school pivot to distance learning?
Antioch Middle School seventh-grader Alyssia Garcia was accustomed to scanning the cafeteria during lunch for kids who might need her assistance. “I’d look for kids who looked sad, kids who were sitting alone, kids who looked angry,” says Garcia, a peer advocate at her school. Alyssia Garcia When she’d spot students sitting alone or looking sad, she’d approach them and ease into conversation. “If it’s a sad person, I’ll try to cheer them up or ask them what the problem is,” she says. “If...
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Education Matters: Learning From School Shootings [yourcentralvalley.com]
By Dom McAndrew, YourCentralValley.com, September 10, 2019 Since the Columbine tragedy in 1999, there have been more than 220 school shootings, killing 144 people and injuring more than 300, according to research by the Washington Post. After the Fresno County Superintendent of Schools held it’s second safety meeting in Downtown Fresno, educators and law enforcement discovered that school shootings can be prevented. “You pray that it doesn’t happen but you do in some cases take a not if but...
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Fearing Deportation, Parents Worry About Undocumented Kids In Medi-Cal [California Healthline]
Luz felt relieved and grateful when she learned that her 16-year-old son qualified for full coverage under Medi-Cal. Now, she worries that the information she provided to the government health program could put her family at risk of deportation. Luz’s son is one of nearly 190,000 children who have enrolled in Medi-Cal since California opened it to undocumented children last year. Luz, her husband and her son came to Merced, Calif., from Mexico without papers about 10 years ago. Luz asked...
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Fentanyl Epidemic: A Father's Love Starts his Fight [myvalleynews.com]
By Jeff Pack, Valley News, February 11, 2020 When he took to the podium at the Temecula City Council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 4, Alex Capelouto’s father looked shaken, but he took a deep breath, adjusted his glasses and began to read from a speech he had written. “I’m Alex’s dad,” the man said. “I’m here on behalf of Jacob Alexander, 2017 graduate of Chaparral High School. Dec. 3, 2019, dead. I’m here on behalf of Caleb Dunlap, senior at Great Oak High School, Dec. 15, 2019, dead. I’m here on...
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From ASM Kevin McCarty: DACA Renewal Workshops
From ASM Kevin McCarty: https://a07.asmdc.org/event/daca-renewal-workshop DACA Renewal Workshop As you may know, the Trump administration recently announced plans to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) federal program which allows immigrants who came to the United States as children to apply for temporary protections from deportation and to receive work permits. As a result of the President's decision, only DACA recipients whose benefits expire on or before March 5, 2018...
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Kaiser Permanente Seeks to Address Trauma in 25,000 Schools by 2023 [modernhealthcare.com]
By Steven Ross Johnson, Modern Healthcare, December 12, 2019 Oakland-based Kaiser Permanente on Thursday expanded its multi-year effort to provide tens of thousands of schools across the country with resources to help students and staff members cope with trauma and stress. The Resilience in School Environments, or RISE, project, will reach at least 25,000 schools by 2023, Kaiser said, as it provides mental health and wellness support to staff and students. The initiative began in 2017 to...
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Lawmaker Pushing Mental Health Reform: It's 'More Needed Than Ever' [khn.org]
By Samantha Young, Kaiser Health News, April 28, 2020 During the first week of school closures in San Jose, state Sen. Jim Beall’s office received more than a dozen phone calls from distressed parents and caregivers. The problem: They couldn’t get free lunches because school district rules required children be present to receive a meal. A grandmother caring for at least seven children couldn’t fit them all in her car. One parent had a sick child who needed to stay at home, and another was...
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New Grant Lends Helping Hand [thelumberjack.org]
By Jerame Saunders, The Lumberjack, December 12, 2019 A new $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education will be placing Masters of Social Work students at Humboldt State University in Eureka City Schools and Del Norte County schools as stipend workers. “The grants themselves are funding positions at Eureka City Schools and also the Del Norte Unified School District,” Director of Field Education at HSU’s Department of Social Work Yvonne Doble said. “It’s actually a full time...
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Orange County Human Relations Campaign Provides a 'Toolkit' for Schools to Prevent Hate Crimes [latimes.com]
By Ben Brazil, Los Angeles Times, November 14, 2019 In response to increasing hate crimes and incidents, Orange County Human Relations is rolling out its first statewide anti-hate program to equip schools with the resources to launch their own educational and awareness campaigns. The nonprofit will provide schools with a “toolkit” that contains the necessary components for an anti-hate campaign, including templates, documents, posters and digital content. O.C. Human Relations staff will hold...
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Principals to Get Specialized Training to Tackle Racial Inequities in Their Schools [blogs.edweek.org]
By Denisa R. Superville, Education Week, November 5, 2019 The country's second-largest school district—where 82 percent of students are Latino and African American—is tapping principals to root out racial bias and inequitable practices in their schools. Los Angeles Unified School District and the Race and Equity Center at the University of Southern California have partnered to train principals and other school leaders to tackle systemic inequities. The Racial Equity Leadership Academy for...
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Program offers hundreds of young men, boys safe space to heal from ACEs
Dennis McCollins recounts some of the experiences that caused him to harden against the world as a teenager. “There were times I went to more funerals than birthdays,” says McCollins, who is the clinical director of the School Based Health Center at Greenwood Academy in Richmond, Calif. And it took its toll: “I spent time homeless. I got expelled [from school]. I was so angry and upset and mad,” he says. Dennis McCollins Then a man that he met when he was sent to Job Corps as a teen turned...
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Quincy Charter School Participates in Trauma Responsive Training
Plumas Charter participates in trauma training January 22, 2020 Ingrid Burke, Special to Feather Publishing Facebook Twitter Email Share In response to growing awareness of the ways trauma can lead to behavioral problems and poor academic achievement in children, Plumas Charter School’s staff recently participated in a two-day Trauma-Responsive Schools training. Held on Nov. 25 and Dec. 20, the sessions were led by Julie Hatzell, an advanced certified trauma practitioner with Plumas Rural...
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[Re-Post] "Building Violence Free Schools & Communities " ONE DAY CONFERENCE!
Please join Tulare County CAPC on November 13, 2019 as they are proud to provide this ONE DAY conference on "Building Violence Free Schools & Communities" featuring 3 nationally know speakers with first hand experience and expertise in the field of violence prevention. Dr. Melissa Reeves (Columbine, CO shooting) Scarlett Lewis (Parent of a child lost in Sandy Hook shooting) and Clayton Douglas (former student who planned a shooting) will provide us with critical knowledge and skills in...
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Reopen schools when it's safe for students, not for the convenience of adults [calmatters.org]
By Vernon M. Billy, Cal Matters, May 15, 2020 School trustees and educators serve our public schools because they care for children and are committed to their learning and growth. We’re eager to welcome students back to campus when we can do so in a safe and supportive environment – and not a moment sooner. We don’t want to resume school at any cost or for the wrong reasons. We cannot jeopardize the safety of students because of the adult desire for a return to normalcy. And when we reopen...
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Chronic absence is widespread in California schools
Educators consider chronic absenteeism a red alert — a blaring sign that a student might be academically at risk. Chronic absence is defined as missing 10 percent or more of school days for any reason, a level educators say puts students at risk of falling behind academically, failing classes, and dropping out. Schools and parents now have a new tool to investigate the problem, in the form of open-source data from the California Department of Education. The patterns that emerge from this...
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Cities Take Issue With Unsettling Smoke [thesungazette.com]
By Reggie Ellis, The Sun-Gazette, October 23, 2019 After decades of declines in underage tobacco use, flavored vape juice is fueling a resurgence in teen smoking; forces cities to consider bans as school districts struggle to deal with vaping epidemic. When Sara Morton became an educator 20 years ago, underage cigarette use was at an all-time low. Kids who had grown up watching well-funded anti-smoking commercials on television seemed to have gotten the message. During her first few years as...
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Coronavirus Prevents Kids from Going to School for Class right now, but They can go to Pick Up Food [sfchronicle.com]
By J.K. Dien, San Francisco Chronicle, March 18, 2020 Elvida Arriola showed up at Mission High School Wednesday morning with her daughter, Gloria, a junior at John O’Connell High School. At the school’s side door on Dolores Street, San Francisco Unified School District security guard Pesalili Havea was handing out grocery-sized brown paper bags full of food. A steady stream of families lined up to take them. “It’s free food,” said Havea, greeting the mother and daughter. “It takes a load off...