Administrators at John F. Kennedy High School organized a mega fieldtrip this week: They brought every freshman student – all 500 – on a college campus tour. The JFK ninth graders visited Sacramento City College on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. While college visits are not uncommon for Sacramento City Unified School District high school students, this is the first time a large campus has ensured that every member of a class gets to see a college in action before graduation. “We want every student to know that they can go to college if they choose,” said JFK Principal Chad Sweitzer. “No matter what academic achievement level or income level you’re at, there are opportunities open to you

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson unveiled the preview of his Strategic Plan for Gang Prevention (SPGP) this past Monday morning in the Hearing room of the Historic City Hall. “I am committed to a paradigm shift away from only enforcement and incarceration with more emphasis put toward prevention and intervention,” stated Johnson during his opening remarks. “There is a lot of frustration in the community,” stated Johnson as he referenced the recent community meeting in the Del Paso Heights neighborhood in response to the recent death of Tyrone Smith. Smith died in the custody of the Sacramento Police Department in the aftermath of the shooting of a Twin Rivers officer after a routine traff

Gang violence took what officials described as a drastic drop since July 2010, attributing the drop to Mayor Kevin Johnson’s gang-prevention programs initiated in June of 2010 and again after last December’s fatal barbershop shooting. Since implementing some of the measures, Lt. Bill Champion of the Sacramento Police Department said that the results have been effective. The number of gang-related firearm assaults has dropped by 60 percent, and the overall rate fell by 39 percent. In addition, there has been a 75 percent drop in homicide rates, and a 100 percent drop in non-fatal shootings. Community leaders gathered at City Hall Monday morning to discuss the mayor’s plan. Speakers, inc

Mayor Kevin Johnson announced Tuesday at his weekly press conference that the Third Grade Reading Campaign to bring up Sacramento’s standard reading level will kick off Wednesday with a community resource fair and a press conference. Sacramento County third grade reading proficiency rates are well below California standards, according to Stand Up, a nonprofit education program that is a featured initiative of Johnson. Statewide, 44 percent of third graders are reading at grade level, while Sacramento County is at 37 percent, based on the 2011 education statistics. “When we think about Sacramento, our literacy rates are not what they need to be. We have far too many of our children that a

School superintendents from across the state convened on the west steps of the Capitol on Monday to urge lawmakers to get tax extensions on the ballot in a June special election, which they said is necessary to avoid a $4.6 billion reduction in public school funding. Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Johnathan Raymond  said time has run out and that legislators need to get the tax extensions put on the ballot this week, since county clerks need 88 days to prepare for an election. “We are here because we represent children in California, and that, I think, is a point getting missed in our message,” said Raymond. “I look right in front of me and I see two yellow school buses. We all

Elementary school Principal Robert Sullivan will be taking over Rosa Parks Middle School to help turn it around after it was added to a list of schools needing improvement last week. According to the district office, Sullivan began with SCUSD at age 17, when he landed a job as a custodian at Tahoe Elementary School to help pay for college, eventually working his way up to instructional aide and then teacher. He was an assistant principal at John Still K-8 School until taking over as principal at John Sloat seven years ago. Under Sullivan’s tenure at John Sloat, student test scores have risen dramatically. The school improved its state-measured Academic Performance Index (API) base from 6

  By fall, Sacramento's Susan B. Anthony Elementary School may be the first public school in California and the second nationwide to implement a Hmong/English dual-language program. The only thing that may prevent such a program from taking off is a lack of interest among parents and students, so Lee Yang, Sacramento City Unified School District administrator of elementary curriculum and professional development has reached out to Hmong elders and clan leaders about appealing to the Hmong community. “We can have the program, but if there are no kids, you can't really have it, right?” Yang said. “We are expecting there will be interested folks out there because this is not only designed

The Sacramento City Unified School District board unanimously voted to balance the district's projected “worst-case” budget shortfall of $22.35 million by eliminating financial support for sports, drama, yearbook, newspaper, marching band, cheerleading and speech and debate. The proposal is to eliminate “extra pay for extra-duty stipends,” uniform replacements funds, athletic trainer funds and co-curricular transportation funds for a savings of $1.26 million, according to the district. Board members also voted to reduce the district’s counseling staff by 37 percent, eliminating one assistant principal position at each high school and raising K-3 class sizes at two grade levels. The boa

Sacramento City Unified School District is getting some national help to renovate and make some of its more than 80 campuses more eco-friendly. A full-time sustainability officer will help schools meet LEED standards as part of a program through the U.S. Green Building Council, said Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools, which is based in Washington, D.C. “(We) were impressed by your community’s enormous undertaking to become the greenest region in the country,” Gutter said, adding that beginning districtwide sustainability measures takes a large amount of time and money. The Green Schools Fellowship Program aims to help improve school sites to make them more environme

Local artist Kim Grace faces a unique challenge each week: how to teach visual arts to the visually impaired. Grace is one of 75 artists who work with students in the Sacramento City Unified School District through the Very Special Arts program, teaching art to both students in special education and students in general education. “It’s been a real experience for me,” she said. “Most of these students don’t get a lot of opportunity for art in schools, so when you walk in with a box of paint, it’s like you’re the biggest rock star around.” When it came to working with blind and visually impaired students, Grace said she had to rethink her teaching process, focusing on how the artistic med

A Sacramento school board member’s recent political campaign is being investigated by the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission, a spokeswoman for the commission confirmed Monday. The FPPC is investigating allegations against Darrel Woo’s campaign for a seat on Sacramento City Unified School District’s board, according to FPPC spokeswoman Tara Stock. Shane Singh, who unsuccessfully ran against Woo for the school board seat, complained to the FPPC about Woo’s campaign. Woo won his race for a school board seat in November. In a Dec. 22 letter to Singh, the FPPC said it would investigate his claims about Woo’s campaign. The letter also pointed out that it has not yet “made any deter

Sure, you see the Kings everywhere in the community donating either time, money or tickets to a future home game. But this time it was different. And, according to Kings President of Business Operations Matina Kolokotronis, it was one of the most important community-minded event the Kings have ever had the chance in which to participate. On Thursday, the Sacramento Kings, The California Endowment and the Sacramento City Unified School District gathered at Earl Warren Elementary School in South Sacramento to announce their partnership in creating the new “Get Fit with the Kings” program that is intended to boost the overall health of Sacramento-area youth. On-hand for the festivities wer

When the new B Street Theatre is completed, Sacramento will have something rare in regional theater – a full-size professional theater for children. “We’re building the region’s only professional theater for kids,” said Productions Artistic Director Buck Busfield. “The next-closest one is in Los Angeles.” The current theater, located at 2711 B Street, will move to a new complex at 27th Street and Capital Avenue, but will retain the current name. Both the adult’s and children’s theaters will be at that site, but the adult’s theater will remain an intimate space, with a gain of 50 seats to bring the total to 250. The children’s theater – officially dubbed the Sutter Children’s Theatre –

Teaching and Learning Priority School Professional Development: Staffs of the six Superintendent’s Priority Schools gathered at the Serna Center this week for training with Rochelle Herring-Peniston, president of Transformation By Design. Faculty learned the use of Data Wise inquiry protocols, which assist in analyzing student work, and learned how to identify learning goals and teacher learning needs. The sessions used the teachings of Harvard researchers such as Kathryn Boudette, Richard Elmore and Brent Stephens as well as the work of Nancy Love, Linda Darling-Hammond and Walter Doyle. Every Day Counts: Charlotte Chadwick, principal at John Bidwell School, is throwing down the gauntl

Mayor Kevin Johnson announced his picks for school board races on Wednesday. He endorsed Andrea Corso for the Area 2 seat, which includes the Meadowview neighborhood; Shane Singh for Area 6, which includes the Pocket neighborhood; and Paige Powell for the Area 1 neighborhoods, which include Land Park. Johnson praised the candidates at a press conference held at the Robbie Waters Pocket Greenhaven Library. These candidates for the board of the Sacramento City Unified School District “understand that everything isn’t OK,” Johnson said. “And they don’t want business as usual.” Corso is the deputy director of Stand Up, Johnson’s education non-profit. The group formed four years ago, but Jo

Metro PAC, the Sacramento Metro Chamber  political action committee, was joined by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson on Oct . 13 to announce the PAC’s support for candidates in the November 2 General Election for Sacramento City Unified School District Board seats. Metro PAC is endorsing Paige Powell (Area 1), Andie Curso (Area 2) and Shalend Singh (Area 6). “The Sacramento Metro Chamber has long held an interest in reforming SCUSD schools,” said Metro PAC Vice Chair Frank Washington of Crossings KBTV - Comcast Channel 238. “Our local businesses need qualified, skilled employees for the many jobs available to students after graduation from high school. And we need to send more of our local

The slate is diverse, ranging from a higher education teacher to a retired Naval commander. All are vying for one thing: the chance to represent the Pocket neighborhood on the SCUSD School Board. Five candidates met at a forum on Tuesday evening at the School of Engineering and Sciences to make their case as best representative for SCUSD District 6 Board Member. The forum was organized by the Didion/Lewis Park Recreational Center Committee and moderated by Michael Langley, editor of Pocket Online. The biggest topic of reform referred to teachers. "Everything is in instruction," said Sharon Owens-Thomas. "We probably have one-third high performing teachers in the district, another third

Residents of the Pocket and Greenhaven neighborhoods will have a chance to hear from candidates running for Trustee Area 6 of Sacramento City Unified School District at a forum on Tuesday, October 12, 2010. Photo by MikkiPiper. Five candidates are running for the position since two-term incumbent Roy Grimes declined running for a third term. Grimes served as SCUSD board president three times during his eight year tenure. The slate of candidates is diverse: Rob Gunn is a transportation engineer. Darrel Woo is a higher education teacher and City Parks & Recreation Commissioner. Robert Bartron is a retired Naval Commander and education administrator. Shane Singh is a community vo

School district superintendents should find ways to gain political support from community members, according to Washington, D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. At a Sacramento Press Club luncheon Monday, Rhee urged the city’s businesspeople, media professionals and politicians to back Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond in his efforts. These groups should “give this man some cover,” Rhee said. Superintendents are not elected to their positions, but they can benefit from making alliances with groups, she said. “When you are a superintendent and you want to do bold things that might not be popular, you have to have some political capital," she said.

 Sacramento, Calif. – Two Sacramento City Unified School District elementary schools – Matsuyama and David Lubin – were named 2010 California Distinguished Schools by the California Department of Education on Monday. The award recognizes academic excellence and efforts to narrow achievement gaps. Schools are identified for eligibility on the basis of state and federal accountability program test scores. Applicants are then required to describe two “signature practices” that have led to an increase in student achievement and a reduction in test score disparity between ethnic, racial and socio-economic groups. At David Lubin, Principal Lynne Soto and her team have raised the test scores o