The state Wednesday recommended sanctions against 96 school districts and one county district, including 11 Kern County districts, that have failed to make Adequate Yearly Progress, AYP, toward the goals of the federal No Child Left Behind Act for at least five years.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ranked the districts in level of severity of the problems: Intensive, Moderate, Light or other, the governor’s office said.

About 1.9 million students will be affected, according to the California Department of Education.

Arvin Union and Fairfax elementary districts are ranked intensive and will be assigned a state-approved education assistance provider to analyze the district and make recommendations to the state. Those recommendations could include sanctions such as replacing school district staff to closing the district.

Bakersfield City, Richland Union, Taft City, Vineland, Wasco Union and McFarland Unified districts were classified moderate and will be allowed to choose an assistance provider to create a plan of action that the district will have to implement.

Delano Union, Greenfield Union and Kern High districts are ranked Light and will also choose an assistance provider who will help the district develop a plan.

The districts will have a chance to make alternative suggestions at the state’s March board meeting.

Schwarzenegger said he intends to commit $45 million to help the districts improve.

Brandt Scholarship:
High School seniors heading to a four-year college this fall can apply for a Brandt Scholarship. Established by Henry and Pearl Brandt, it has given over $330,000 in scholarships to local graduates for the last 50 years.  The renewable four-year scholarship can be applied to tuition and books.  Contact Charlotte Brandt at 663-9889 for an application by May 1.

The Friends of the California State Fair Scholarship:
High school seniors and college students can apply for The Friends of the California State Fair Scholarship through March 21. More than $27,000 will be awarded to up to 32 applicants. For more information contact the scholarship committee at 916-263-3636 and koneil@calexpo.com or www.bigfun.org.

Please check back for more notices or drop me a note if there are other scholarships we should highlight.

Andrejah Johnson, a Buttonwillow Elementary School student, lost her 8th grade pre-algebra book more than a month ago. Her mom, Natalie Chamblee, said she is trying to gather up the $50 to replace it.

In the mean time, Johnson's teacher, John Caulfield, has been loaning Johnson a book in exchange for "collateral."

Students hand over something (the school says its a pencil or another book but Chamblee said its supposed to be something of value like a necklace, iPod, cell phone or watch) and the teacher hands over the text for her to use in class.

Chamblee isn't thrilled with the practice.

"You shouldn't have to give collateral for anything," Chamblee said. "We're talking about a book that she needs to learn."

But the school said there's a lesson to be learned here.

"All the teacher’s trying to do is teach responsibility," Jim Murphy, Superintendent of Buttonwillow Union School District said, adding that the teacher doesn't take anything of value. "It’s temporary. It’s for the duration of the class. The motivation is responsibility building."

But Caulfield says he does ask for valued things, not pencils.

"I want it to be something they want back," Caulfield said. If it’s meaningless to them it doesn't do anybody any good.

Another student, Joey Milan, needed to borrow a pencil, he said, so he had to hand over jewelry or money (nothing less than a dollar).

I would guess that the pricier the collateral, the better my memory would become about remembering to bring a pencil and where I left my math book.

Does holding onto high-end items or money for a class period cross a line or is this just another lesson for the disorganized students to get into shape?

What kind of "life lessons" did your teachers offer up? I think I had to pay a quarter for pencils if I forgot mine - and that's buying, not borrowing.

Just wanted to put out a reminder this week that if you, your kids, anyone you know, planned on applying to CSUB and hasn't done so already, get a move on. Deadline is March 1. That's Saturday.

The Center on Education Policy, a D.C.-based public education research group, did some more work on a report that basically says elementary schools have added more than an hour of instruction in reading and math each week since NCLB was enacted sacrificing time from social studies, science, the arts, recess and gym.

I've heard anecdotally as well that this is also individualized with some students doubling up on math and reading.

I don't think this surprises anyone but I was wondering what people think.

Does this intensive math and reading work help students improve, catch up to peers or is it just keeping them from a well-rounded education?
 

Assemblywoman Jean Fuller introduced a bill today to give school districts the power to yank the driver's licenses of "habitual truants."

The juvenile court system can already do this but Fuller says it takes too long so schools don't typically go that far.

Would this really deter kids set on getting out of school?

Or would this just push these kids further out of society? Make it harder to get a job? Would they drive anyway without the license creating other issues?

Kern County in the 05-06 school year appears to be very near the top of the list for highest dropout rates.

Granted - educators I've spoken with say dropouts are tricky if not impossible to track accurately given the trouble finding out if students actually dropped out or moved to another district, state or country.

The Legislative Analyst's Office today along side its projections for a bigger state deficit, came up with an alternative to education funding.

The state ed department's not particularly thrilled since it takes aim at programs.

But in the end the LAO's plan would keep funding for next year equal to this year and shrink the ed deficit to $800 million from $4 billion.

Schools are in a tough spot though having to weigh how deep this thing will go when they have to notify their staff of layoffs in just a few weeks - March 15. But once those pink slips go out, how many teachers will want to stick around and see if things really are as bad as they seem or if they'll get called back once the final budget comes in.

For the teachers out there lower on the ranks, is this the time to start looking elsewhere or are you in a holding pattern? Does this new recommendation mean much to you?

More on the topic in tomorrow's paper.

Earlier story:

Teacher layoffs may result from budget cuts

During the investigation into Orangewood principal, Mark Holmes, the school board discovered that at least three teachers "retaliated" against Person-X who filed a complaint against Holmes.

The retaliation included spreading rumors that Person-X was being investigated for child abuse.

The teachers were dealt with and it seems a pretty normal thing that people would want to stand up for a friend the way anyone would.

I once had a friend who lost her job at a company that also had a food and beverage establishment. Incidentally that company found itself facing several safety violations thanks to her friends in high places.

We've probably all had - "I swear I would if I could get away with it" thoughts. But acting out on these thoughts generally speaking seems a bit childish.

But it's got me thinking, is workplace revenge (on any level) common?

The state department of education recognized 12 schools that help at-risk kids stay in school.

And Bakersfield made the list.

There were more than 71,000 students attending 519 continuation schools in 2006-07.

1.     Broadway High School, 4825 Speak Lane, San Jose, CA 95118-3769, Lauretta Del Curto, Principal, 408-535-6285.
2.     Independence High School, P.O. Box 1450, Diamond Springs, CA 95619, Don Buchheit, Principal, 530-622-7090 x 130.
3.     Ortega High School, 520 Chaney Street, Lake Elsinore, CA 92530-1230, Kathy Longe, Principal, 951-253-7065.
4.     Pacific High School, 501 College Drive, Ventura, CA 93003-3413, Peter Aguirre, Principal, 805-289-7950.
5.     Palomar High School, 480 Palomar Street, Chula Vista, CA 91911-3098, Denise Harter, Principal, 619-407-4800.
6.     Pinnacles High School, 690 Main Street, Soledad, CA 93960, Linda Coyne, Principal, 831-678-6300.
7.     Roselawn High School, 312 South Roselawn Avenue, Turlock, CA 95380-9166, Norma Grijalva, Principal, 209-634-9311.
8.     Salisbury High School, P.O. Box 1507, Red Bluff, CA 96080, Barbara Thomas, Principal, 530-529-8766.
9.     Silverado High School, 25632 Peter A. Hartman Way, Mission Viejo, CA 92691-2499, Barry Lietz, Principal, 949-586-8800.
10. Valley High School, 410 North Hidden Trails Road, Escondido, CA 92027, Saundra Uribe-Silverman, Principal, 760-291-2240.
11. Village High School, 4645 Bernal Avenue, Pleasanton, CA 94566-7499, Greg Giglio, Principal, 925-425-4260.
12. Vista High School, 200 P Street, Bakersfield, CA 93309-3051, Chris Dutton, Principal, 661-327-8561.

Schools should be getting the final go-ahead to get rid of the beef products they've been holding in their freezers since the end of January.

Full story in tomorrow's paper.

One of the more curious comments of the day's reporting came from environmental health officials who said they will instruct school districts on how to get rid of the bad meat so that "dumpster divers" wouldn't want to eat it.

That entails adding color or scent to the burger meat. They are warning away from bleach (so as not to cause an even bigger problem) but they may suggest coating it with soap.

It's not funny, I know, but I sort of have this vision now of folk burping bubbles or crashing the ER after having eaten a burger with laced with Dove from out behind a school.

What scents will turn rodents away from a tasty pile of free meat, I wonder?

Anyway, here's to cheerful thoughts of tons of meat making its way to local dumps and landfills across the state. Thank goodness no kids have been harmed in any of this.

Bakersfield College Sponsors 23rd Annual Engineering Competition

The Bakersfield College Engineers Club, in conjunction with the American Society of Civil Engineers, welcomes all comers to test their ingenuity and skill at the 23rd Annual Engineering Design Competition, “Bombastic”, to be held at 10 a.m., Saturday, February 23 in the East Hills Mall’s Central Foyer, with a practice hour from 9 – 10 a.m.

The challenge this year is to design a device that will travel along a track of steel box tubing and drop or shoot a ball onto a target. Competitors select the location of their target from a variety of “difficulty zones”, and they are judged based on the difficulty level as well as shooting accuracy.

“This will be the final event in our celebration of National Engineers Week,” BC Engineer Club advisor Liz Rozell. “This year awards will include trophies, plaques, and cash. Individuals, teams of individuals, and teams representing schools, companies, and organizations are eligible to enter.”

Awards will be given to first place and second place in each division, as well as superior engineering design for both amateur and professional, artistic design, engineering design challenge school of the year and The Rube Goldberg Award.  Spectators are welcomed and encouraged.

Device should fit in an 18-inch cube and not weigh more than 10 pounds.  Device must be activated by cutting a string.  A complete list of rules and entry information can be obtained by calling 395-4622 or by visiting the Bakersfield College Engineers Club website at http://www2.bakersfieldcoll....

Fruitvale's associate superintendent Dan Peeler will retire at the end of the school year. He's been in public education for more than 30 years, a news release said.

So, retirement ... Want do you want to do when the time comes to hang up the time card?

Was having a chat with a woman from the state education department today about the number of kids taking AP classes and then taking the optional exam that can get them college credit if they score a 3 or higher on a scale of 1-5.

Marjorie McConnell, CDE education programs consultant, said there's a problem she has tried to fight with regard to teachers telling students they shouldn't take the test.

She says some teachers are held accountable to a certain degree for the rate of students receiving a 3 or higher on their AP test. So if a teacher thinks the student won't do well, the teacher tells them not to take the test. That way a low score doesn't water down the teacher's "passage" rate. (even though it's not a pass/fail test.)

This is a disservice to the kids, she said.

I don't have any data saying where this happens, how often it happens etc.

Have you all heard of this, found yourself wanting to do because you are getting hammered by your bosses about the test, had kids who said their teacher did this?

I took AP English in high school (1993.) I seem to recall, although my memory is prematurely faltering, that that was the only AP class at my little high school.  Not to say other schools didn't have more, but these days there are nearly 40 classes in a couple dozen subjects. Even Chinese - that's so cool.

Anyway ... the College Board, the folks who deal in Advanced Placement, put out its '07 report this week. It's attached here if you feel so inclined.

According to John Dirkse, Cal State Bakersfield’s interim associate vice president for academic programs, high schoolers have a leg up on college kids studying the same material cuz they  have more time to delve into things, work in groups, do projects, really take their time getting into the material. College kids doing the same work only get a dozen weeks to get it.

That means when both move on to upper level college classes, the AP kids have a better foundation.

Go get 'em, AP'ers.

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So I'm a dork for holidays, got my red shirt on and everything.

I am flooded with memories of picking out the box of little rectangle Scooby Doo Valentines to slip into my classmates red-construction-paper-cut-out-heart-shaped-envel opes taped to the front of our desks.

And thank goly jeepers that those little candy hearts are still cool.

Anyway, happy Valentine's Day to all the readers of The Grade.

Attached are several documents.

The first link here titled "Edison" is a copy of the district's  Notice of Unprofessional Conduct and Holmes' response.

The second link is Holmes' full statement to the media.

Earlier post:

I'm going through a stack of documents about an inch thick of records relating to the investigations into Mark Holmes, principal of Orangewood Elementary in the Edison district. In case you missed our earlier reports, he'd resigned in January and is being paid through the end of his contract in June.

Turns out the district had drafted a recommendation to dismiss him without pay before he resigned. It outlined 17 areas of dismissible behavior including discrimination and sexually charged misdeeds toward four female employees and sharing confidential subordinates' information with other subordinates.

Complaints against Holmes go back to Nov. 2006 soon after which he was placed on paid administrative leave, found to have behaved inappropriately although not constituting sexual harassment and required to attend a sexual harassment training program. It was his second, at least.

But other complaints followed.

There also seems to have been some retaliatory actions by three other employees against one of those who complained about Holmes.

Holmes, in notes and letters to the district, did not agree with several of the findings, including feeling that his statements had been taken out of context and denial of playing favoritism.

I'll post more once I get through everything. There'll be a more detailed story on the web in a little bit and in tomorrow's paper. I'm hoping to get a big chunk of this stuff up online soon too so you can see for yourself.

Word on the street is that the virus that seems to be ick'ing everyone up this flu season wasn't covered by the flu shot.

Health officials say picking the three strains from millions to include in a vaccine is a gamble since they're doing it many months in advance of the season. And this year, there wasn't a great match. The CDC tracking shows 60 percent of the cases seen were not covered by the flu shot in the week of  Jan. 27 – Feb. 2.

So it's got tons of people feeling the aches and pains.

An email tip to the paper said one high school had a big chunk of teachers out with the flu.

A school nurse said she's seeing a lot of kids out AND a lot of staff out because they are sick or home with their sick kids.

It's that time of year but this year's a bit extreme, she said.

what's goin' on out there? did you and your kids get the shot and still get sick? never take the flu shot and healthy as pie always? Got those pesky sickos in your office that refuse to go home so inevitably gets everyone else sick? Worse yet, got a job you could lose if you go home sick so you stay?

Oh, and wash your hands - prevention, the best medicine.

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This has everything to do with education, right? :)

I just had to share this pic of my cousin's dog - he takes in rescue dogs now and then. I want to hug him!!!

Teachers: got a program focused on energy conservation?

BP's A+ for Energy program is accepting applications for $5,000 and $10,000 grants and  scholarships for preK-12 teachers, and not just science teachers.

Programs can be for the classroom, after-school, extra-curricular or summer and they can range from reading and mathematics to history and the arts.

Applications have been mailed to your schools so you can check there or go to www.aplusforenergy.org. They have tips for grant writing there as well.

Deadline: March 7

Winners announced: May 12

Stumbled across this article today and whudduhyaknow, turns out ol' Darwin is 199 years old today.

And while I'm sure everyone sticks a candle in a cupcake each year for their favorite naturalist, the more interesting news is a vote in Florida's ed department on the 19th to consider new science curriculum.

The big controversy seems to have erupted from a handful of counties who came out against it.

A story in the Miami Herald  said this would be the first time the word "evolution" would be included in the standards. Nay sayers want origins-of-life theories taught along side evolution.

And so the debate still percolates.

It reminds me of one of those email chain mails i got back in college (back when computer screens were black and type-face was orange.) It said, in school you realize that biology is really chemistry, chemistry is really math, math is really physics etc...

Is science really religion?

It happens every now and then when the life of a young child comes to an end. Teachers, who see these children every day, face a loss not unlike that of family and students lose a friend.

I recently heard of a young child who passed away, his the teacher was very upset, and I wondered how do teachers cope with this, how do they help their students (if they are old enough) understand what has happened? Do they leave it up to parents?

Maybe these are rhetorical questions. I know it's a bit morose but I was really moved by this teacher's grief and wondered if others had stories to share.

Crazy weather late January that brought tropical storm-force wind gusts and closed roads around the county gave a pretty solid beating to Fremont, an 800-student K-5 school in Delano.

On one building, wind blew a third of the roof away making room for rain to seep into two classrooms and directly onto twelve brand new computer stations, vice principal Darrell Hennessee said. All but two of the computers were saved.

"It's kind of a freak accident," he said. That building, separate from the main school, is flanked on two sides by other buildings that came through the storm unscathed. "I walked into the classroom and thought, why are there florescent lights in the attic. It was sunlight coming through the rafters."

The board Tuesday passed a resolution to declare a state of emergency. Typically, work costing more than $15,000 must be bid out. But the resolution circumnavigates the bidding process, which can take months, Superintendent Ron Garcia said.

A few classes were shuffled while repairs are made, which could take a few weeks and tens of thousands of dollars, he said.

"That weekend we had quite a bit of damage at different sites," Garcia said, although none were as bad as Fremont.

Wind also blew a couple of power lines into the road near the district office and junior high causing power and safety issues on a school day, he added.

"That weekend was very busy," Garcia said. On top of that, a hit-and-run accident did a number on 110 feet of perimeter fencing around the school, recently.

 

What do you think of policies that don't allow kids to dye their hair?

Demetre Ortiz is 14 years old, in 8th grade at Walter Stiern Middle School, and for a couple of days he had blue hair. Well, blue highlights in his black hair.  And that's what got him in some trouble, his mom Cara Smith said.

Ortiz was sent home Tuesday with a letter saying he couldn't come back to school until his hair was a natural color. (Blue isn't natural? - I once dyed a braid in my hair blue, then again I also dyed the tips of my hair red and then once I was platinum... anyway that was all in and after my college days).

KHSD doesn't care if your hair's a rainbow of unnaturalness (is that a word?).

"That would be (encroaching) on individual expression," said spokesman John Teves.

So next year when Ortiz heads to BHS  you can bet some of his hairs will be blue, his mom said.

But BCSD  parents are supposed to sign and return to the school at the beginning of every school year a guideline for appropriate school behavior including things like beepers, pagers and ... the cut and color of hair.

Smith said she probably signed it although she can't remember exactly what it says. In reading the page that addresses such things, my guess (a call into the school will hopefully yield some clues at the bottom of this hue hype) would be that it's number 3 on the list of reasons why hair dying is bad.

Here's the language:

Schools will not allow any clothing, hair cuts, hair coloring, jewelry, etc., that is likely to lead to disciplinary problems at school or a school-related activity because it:

1. Threatens the health or safety of others or
2. Prohibits full participation in the educational program or
3. Distracts and keeps students from learning or
4. When the school determines there is a threat to disrupt or a disruptive gang presence on a school campus, clothing, indicative of gang membership or association may be prohibited through the adoption of a schoolwide dress code prohibiting pupils from wearing gang-related apparel.
5. For outdoor use during the school day, students are allowed to wear sun-protective clothing, including but not limited to hats.
6. Advocates illegal drug use or paraphernalia associated with illegal drugs or
7. Encourages prejudice against others on the grounds of national origin, ancestry, ethnic group, race, color, religion, gender, marital or parental status, sexual orientation, age or physical or mental disability.
Education Code 35183, 35294.1, 35183.5/California Administrative Code Title V, Section 302/(1984), Arcadia Unified School District v. State Department of Education.

So, #3 seems the most likely culprit. I read the list to Smith and she said she just doesn't get it.

"My kids not disrespectful, he’s not rude, he doesn’t get in trouble, is blue hair really a disruption?" she asked.

But Smith is a bit of  a trend-bucker. She has consistently sent her kids to school without following the dress code. You can sign waivers for that she said.

Anyway, Demetre Ortiz is back in his seat at Stiern -- hair dyed black (because black is natural - but is it really? With my fair skin and freckles I doubt anyone would tell me black was MY natural color).

So if you made it all the way to the end of this post and didn't see the question up top, I was just wondering what you all think about dyed hair. Does dyed hair distract students (after the first 15 seconds anyway)? Should districts have policies that tell kids what colors they can dye their hair? Does it encroach on individual freedoms? Any thoughts?

Went to a musical today put on by elementary kids. It was a pretty spiffy production of Alice in Wonderland.

But the reason I was there was the young lady dressed in a green ballet costume sitting relatively still in the corner, stage right.

Eleven-year-old Lisa Williams of Juliet Thorner School signed the entire musical for 10 deaf students from Henry Eissler School.

It was really a treat to watch this young girl throw the emotions of the performance into her interpretation and then see the reaction of the students she was signing for.

The young deaf students said they really enjoyed the production. Their eyes had to bounce between Lisa in the corner and the action center stage. Their teacher said it was good for the students to see that there are members of the hearing community who can communicate with them.

Lisa is not deaf. She began learning sign language when she was six months old because both her parents are deaf.

What a young inspiration.

The full story will be up on the web today and in print tomorrow.

For all you Election Music fans, I heard this "Ode to Super Tuesday" on the way in to work in the mornking. It's kinda fun. Happy super Wednesday!

Sorry, taking a detour from the ed beat for a minute.

Covering some pieces of the election last night and in my down time I was trying to keep tabs on coverage around the state. I read a couple of articles on the L.A. Times and the San Jose Mercury News that some polling places were running short of Democratic ballots because of the high number of Independent voters, or "decline to state" voters, asking for a crossover ballot. (Did anyone actually just want the indy-ballot? but anyway)

I mentioned this to an election official who went on a bit of a lecture about how independents shouldn't even have the right to vote in a party election. If they don't want to be in the in-crowd 365 days of the year, they shouldn't have the right to hop onto another party's bandwagon and influence the outcome. (She then followed up by saying she had done just that herself but only because it was available, she didn't think it was right.)

Clearly she's not alone otherwise the Republican primary would have been open as well.

What do you all think? Should people who "decline to state" a party affiliation have a say in which candidate represent a party in the primary elections?

Oh man, when I was a student, this is the kind of thing I would have prayed for...

A transformer failure at West High ended the school day early for 2,500 students today as the heating and other systems shut down, according to a statement by Kern High School District spokesman John Teves.

Students should be dismissed by 8:30 a.m and those who came by bus will be brought back home by bus.

PG&E officials are working on the problem but have no estimated time of completion. School is expected to be open on Thursday.

For more information, contact Teves or Cindy Duff in the Public Information Office at 827-3171.

 

In case any of you are keeping tabs or want to weigh in on the goings on of the Kern High School District, tonight (7 p.m.) at the board meeting (5801 Sundale Ave) but didn't see the preview in Saturday's paper, here's what the board will take up tonight.

Two that will likely draw the most attention:

1. Should schools, if they want, be able to offer single-sex gym classes? The kids don't seem to think it's a huge priority but some people say that's becaus they don't know any better. And some of the teachers who used to know p.e. in the days of all-boys and all-girls classes say this way just puts some people at ease and allows for more involvement.

2. And what about drug-sniffing dogs. Lots of districts use these little labs to sniff the air around lockers, desks and cars. No sniffing of people. But some say it's too hard to know if this really works as a deterrent. Would drug sniffing dogs have any impact on the number of kids who bring drugs and alcohol to schools? Here's our coverage.

Other issues:

3. And while we're on the subject of drugs, another item up for a first hearing is whether the district should impose a pre-employment drug screen on teachers, staff and administration.

4. Next concerns expanding opportunities for career tech programs - possible night classes, lobbying for more dollars, one long-term consideration could even be swapping out one of the comprehensive high schools in the pipe for a career-tech school.

(These proposals, if approved, would come up for a vote at the March 3 board meeting)

Policies up for vote
• Equitable services at Title I funded schools compared with non-Title I schools: a districtwide salary schedule,  student-teacher ratios and per-student funding for materials.

• A policy to encourage greater opportunities for parent involvement.

• A wellness policy to create a fitness and nutrition program in line with federal law.
 

So it looks like NCLB will get another day in court.

Pontiac (MI) School District et al. v. U.S. Department of Education alleged the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is an “unfunded mandate” and on Jan. 7, 2008, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 decision against the Department  of Education.

But the DOE sent out a press release today saying it was filing for "rehearing en banc."

So what do people think about NCLB?

Pros/cons from teachers out there?

Do parents care about NCLB?

Except for those directly involved, the case of Marshall David Neal is technically closed. He pleaded no contest to a felony- oral sex with a 17-year-old student.

Last night was the first night of Neal's one-year jail sentence. He'll register as a sex-offender on his birthday for the rest of his life. Emotional consequence for both parties is another story.

I'm wondering what you think of the end result of this case?

Were the consequences here too lenient? Too stiff?

Where does the fault lie when a situation involves two willing parties?

Is something like this especially egregious if a situation involves a figure of authority?

Had this gone to trial, what do you think would have happened?

Whether this is a legal distinction or not, do you think a willing participant is a victim?