OCDE Education in the News

Tuesday, January 24, 2023

VOICE OF OC

These Community College Retirees Say Bad District Leadership Put Their Healthcare in Peril

When Pam Hernandez retired in 2019 after working for nearly forty years, she and her husband Mike planned to stay on the same healthcare plan they’d had through her job until they died. That changed when officials with the Rancho Santiago Community College District decided to push all retirees age 65 and older off their current private healthcare plans and into the Medicare system last year.

https://voiceofoc.org/2023/01/these-community-college-retirees-say-bad-district-leadership-put-their-healthcare-in-peril/

SAN DIEGO UNION TRIBUNE

Hundreds of millions in child care funds go unused, even as some providers wait months for money

California has set aside money to expand subsidized child care to serve more than 100,000 more children — but just allocating money doesn’t guarantee it can go to use.

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/education/story/2023-01-22/child-care-funds-going-unused-long-wait-providers

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

Oakland’s abrupt decision to keep schools open slammed in staff report

The Oakland school board’s decision this month to keep five underenrolled and low-performing schools from closing at the end of the school year will have dire financial and academic consequences on classrooms across the district, according to a staff analysis of the last-minute reversal.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Oakland-s-abrupt-decision-to-keep-schools-open-17736864.php

FRESNO BEE

More chefs? Tapatío? Fresno Unified looks to make school cafeteria lunches better

More chefs? Cooking from scratch? Tapatío? These were just a few of the ideas tossed around at a recent Fresno Unified board workshop where the district discussed how to improve the quality of meals and reduce food waste in the district — a concern that’s top of mind for many students and their families.

https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/education-lab/article271329222.html

EDSOURCE

Critics say Newsom's proposal for low-performing students fails most Black students

Coalition wants money to target Black students, but Proposition 209 bars state from affirmative action funding.

https://edsource.org/2023/critics-say-newsoms-proposal-for-low-performing-students-fails-black-students/684148

Complaint filed over ongoing staff vacancies at San Francisco middle school

The non-profit law firm Public Advocates filed a complaint Monday with San Francisco Unified over unfilled staff positions at Marina Middle School that it said are disrupting students and teachers who must cope with the vacancies. The complaint said the “staffing instability and chaos” at the school “are some of the worst we have seen.”

https://edsource.org/news-updates#complaint-filed-over-ongoing-staff-vacancies-at-san-francisco-middle-school

DAILY BREEZE

In aftermath of Monterey Park shooting, students return to school and new reality

Resources such as mental health counselors at school sites and even safe spaces such as a "calming room" are being put to the test.

https://www.dailybreeze.com/2023/01/23/in-aftermath-of-monterey-park-shooting-students-return-to-school-and-new-reality/

VENTURA COUNTY STAR

'It's been a disaster': Post-pandemic test scores erased decades of progress

Here are key takeaways about test scores across Ventura County and their long-term effect on student achievement, including students' social and emotional well-being after lockdown.

https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/education/2023/01/20/learning-loss-and-mental-health-caaspp-test-scores-covid-19/69803984007/

OTHER NEWS OUTLETS

In Los Alamitos, students will need a permit to ride e-bikes to and from school

Los Alamitos Police Traffic Sergeant Shaun Krogman said it's only a matter of time before a severe accident with a child on an e-bike happens. Children using e-bikes are a growing concern for the police department, he said. "I don't want to go to a traffic accident scene and have to tell your parents that you are either in a hospital with a serious injury or dead," said Krogman to a room full of students at Oak Middle School in Los Alamitos.

https://spectrumnews1.com/ca/orange-county/public-safety/2023/01/20/in-los-alamitos--students-will-need-a-permit-to-ride-e-bikes-to--from-school

No more nuggets? School lunch goes farm-to-table — for some

As the fine-dining chef at her high school served samples of his newest recipes, Anahi Nava Flores gave her critique of a baguette sandwich with Toscano salami, organic Monterey Jack, arugula and a scratch-made basil spread: “This pesto aioli is good!” Classmate Kentaro Turner devoured a deli-style pastrami melt on sourdough and moved on to free-range chicken simmered in chipotle broth with Spanish-style rice. “Everything is delicious!” These are not words typically uttered in school cafeterias.

https://apnews.com/article/school-lunch-menu-farm-table-c8578122bf8d40351cc4eb99c94d9dbb

‘Nail in the coffin’: LAUSD parents and employees predict disaster if workers strike

If LAUSD workers, parents, and administrators agree on one thing it’s that nobody wants a strike. Earlier this month, the union representing Los Angeles Unified’s service workers — including 30,000 custodians, bus drivers, cafeteria workers, and special education assistants — issued its clearest threat to date in its years-long contract negotiations with LAUSD, announcing that it would hold a strike authorization vote this month.

https://www.laschoolreport.com/nail-in-the-coffin-lausd-parents-and-employees-predict-disaster-if-workers-strike/

Civil rights law firm files complaint for staffing violations at Marina Middle School

A civil rights law firm filed a complaint against the San Francisco Unified School District for inability to address the needs of multilingual and disabled students at Marina Middle School, following an investigation by The Examiner on the school’s disciplinary and staffing problems. Public Advocates, a nonprofit law firm and civil rights advocacy group, filed a Williams complaint on Monday that alleges a failure to hire special education resource teachers, a counselor, a social worker and a nurse, as well as unlawfully assigning full-time educators to classes they are not qualified to teach — all to the detriment of Marina Middle School students’ education and well-being.

https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/williams-complaint-filed-for-staffing-violations-at-sfusd/article_62c728ca-9b58-11ed-b177-f70d7fde0587.html

Inaccurate rumors spur pushback against new Wellbeing Center at Jordan High

An unlikely topic has taken over recent meetings of the Long Beach Unified School District’s Board of Education: abortion. Community members have shown up in force to the last two board meetings to speak out against a forthcoming “Wellbeing Center” at Jordan High School after inaccurate rumors spread online that the center will provide abortions. District staff, though, have been clear that the center is intended to offer support and information to students about substance use prevention, mental health and sexual health—but not abortions. Planned Parenthood staff will be involved at the center, and it appears that the organization’s reputation as an abortion provider may have helped the rumors gain traction.

https://lbpost.com/news/inaccurate-rumors-spur-pushback-against-new-wellbeing-center-at-jordan-high

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