December 21, 2012, 12:05 AM
The Oakland Unified School District failed to follow federal regulations in doling out taxpayer money to benefit local private schools and must pay some of it back, a state review has found. The state Department of Education cited Oakland Unified for not meeting federal requirements in its...
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October 23, 2012, 12:05 AM
Since the start of the 2010 school year, thirsty students at Turlock High School can visit a “hydration station,” a state-of-the-art drinking fountain that provides filtered and chilled water. The high-tech fountain, which has also filled nearly 9,000 water bottles at Turlock...
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July 20, 2012, 12:05 AM
Update, July 20, 2012: This story updates with information about when the new BART policy changes would take effect. BART leaders have decided to alter the transit agency's free speech-related policy after discovering that a private school and church in West Oakland used unaccompanied...
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March 28, 2012, 12:05 AM
At the Blue Oak School in Chico, where 60 percent of the charter school's student body comes from low-income households, it’s a source of school pride that the soft tacos and chicken pot pies served at lunch are made from organic and locally sourced ingredients. The meals are...
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February 24, 2012, 12:05 AM
Fewer California children are living in very poor communities than there were in 2000, according to an analysis released yesterday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. But while the analysis [PDF] shows California has seen a decrease, there’s been a 25 percent growth nationwide, to a...
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December 23, 2011, 12:05 AM
It’s one of the biggest debates going on among early childhood development experts: Is it more important for kindergartners to focus on academics and learn their ABC’s and numbers? Or spend more time on social and emotional issues, like how to play nice and pay attention? ...
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September 8, 2011, 12:05 AM
The state agency charged with developing and editing a new environmental curriculum for California’s schoolchildren said it will conduct a review of a textbook chapter on plastic shopping bags that includes suggested edits and additions from the plastics industry. In a letter to Sen...
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August 29, 2011, 12:05 AM
Furious about the chemical industry’s footprint in a state-sponsored environment curriculum, a librarian at Santa Cruz High School has started a petition to have the industry’s influence removed. As of this morning, Veronica Zaleha had garnered nearly 24,000 signatures on the...
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June 23, 2011, 12:05 AM
A new website launched this month weaves together multiple sources of education data into a single place, allowing parents, students and researchers to quickly size up schools. The site, www.EdBudgetProject.org, includes information for both K-12 school districts and colleges. Every...
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May 6, 2011, 12:05 AM
Among the first organizations in California to feel the pain of Washington's drive to slash federal spending is the Berkeley-based National Writing Project, which has issued layoff notices to 60 percent of its employees. As California Watch noted in March, the project was dealt ...
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May 4, 2011, 12:05 AM
A new California law that cuts off Cal Grants to colleges whose students default on federal loans at high rates will produce less than half of the previously expected budget savings – thanks to a data mix-up by the U.S. Department of Education. An analysis of the new, corrected data...
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April 28, 2011, 12:05 AM
A new federal education commission aimed at reforming school financing recently launched its public outreach with a first stop in California. The 27-member Equity and Excellence Commission, established in February, is focused on closing the achievement gap that separates poor,...
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April 27, 2011, 12:05 AM
Five California institutions are among the top 120 community colleges in the United States, according to a new ranking from the nonprofit Aspen Institute. The colleges on the list – selected from 1,200 institutions nationwide – are now eligible to compete for the first-ever Aspen...
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March 15, 2011, 12:05 AM
March 15 has become an annual ritual marked by pain and distress for thousands of California teachers who will receive pink slips by the end of the day today, or will be waiting to receive them in the mail. The last time most school districts did not have to issue layoff notices was in 2007-08...
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March 14, 2011, 12:05 AM
State officials are moving to revamp educational classes in prisons across California following widespread complaints that the programs are poorly designed and could leave some inmates ill-prepared for life after release. A draft report released last week by the California Rehabilitation...
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