One of the best kept secrets of the South Sacramento area is a small, private school tucked away in the Lanai Shopping Center on Freeport Boulevard, neighboring the Sacramento Executive Airport, where it has existed in rented space for 21 years. Over the years, most of the shopping center tenants have moved away. Meanwhile, countless hours of parent, teacher and student work have gone into transforming a run-down property into a school with colorful classrooms and playgrounds. It has an understated entrance, but Camellia Waldorf School is an oasis for children. The kindergarten yard is home to Mr. Mountain, a big pile of dirt, and Ms. Sandy, a big pile of sand. There are climbing struct

It was confirmed last week California Montessori Project's Capitol Campus will move from the Marshall School to Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in the College Glen neighborhood. Since August, CMP leased the Marshall School building from the Sacramento City Unified School District, which also oversees its charter. Next Thursday and Friday, the school will be closed for the move and will resume at the new campus on Nov. 16. SCUSD superintendent Jonathan Raymond met with CMP board members, students and parents Tuesday night at the campus' new location. After stating reasons for the move, he answered questions from parents. "The old Marshall School, although a very beautiful facility and

On Monday, October 19th, parents of the charter school California Montessori Project (CMP)-Capitol Campus where surprised to learn through a letter from CMP Director, Gary Bowman, that Mr. Raymond, the new Superintendent of the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), was requesting that the Capitol Campus be relocated from the Old Marshall School (2718 G Street), a facility the school had moved into only 3 months prior, because the building was now deemed unsafe. The Capitol Campus is to be relocated in the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School (in the College Glen area) far from the current location forcing hundreds of families on the roads. Moreover the campus has to leave the prem

A five-hour board meeting on the fate of California Montessori Project's Capitol Campus ended around 10:45 p.m. Monday night with a resolution: If an assessment says the Marshall School building in which the school resides is not compliant with state building codes, the school must move "expeditiously." If the assessment, which has still not been made public, says the building does meet minimum state codes, the board will reconvene to decide if the school will move or not. Nearly 100 people - parents, elementary school students and the California Montessori Project's nine board members, superintendent and a legal advisor - filled a multipurpose room at the Marshall School in Midtown to s

Sacramento Country Day School soon could become the only high school in the grid. School officials are close to signing a lease for the Newton Booth School, 2600 V St., according to Stephen Repsher, Country Day headmaster. It also would mark the first time since 1976 that the Newton Booth School is being used as a school. Since closing because of earthquake concerns, it has been home to a medical insurance group and an environmental consulting group. "It could be in the next few weeks," Repsher said. "However, we still have to go to the city's planning commission and raise $1.7 million. We've moved a long way forward, but we're probably coming up in the next two to three weeks on some so

Mayor Kevin Johnson announced he would be travelling everywhere from Sacramento Elementary Schools to New York City in a press conference Tuesday. Johnson made it clear that education is on his long term agenda. Johnson visited Oak Ridge and Sequoia elementary schools for their first day of school Tuesday to participate in back-to-school rallies. He also announced his desire to take a more active role in schools, perhaps even creating an "education liaison" position. The position would help work on five issues of reform for city's schools announced in his recent White Paper Document: improving school accountability, increasing school choices, supporting educators, engaging and empowering

Upon Mayor Kevin Johnson's invitation, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan came to Sacramento Thursday to discuss his views on charter schools and education reform. He also met with Sacramento legislators, students and teachers, before answering questions in a town hall forum. A little after 5 p.m., Johnson introduced Duncan to a public audience who gathered inside Sacramento's Central Library. In a five-minute speech, he outlined Duncan's resume as a Harvard graduate and superintendent of Chicago's Public Schools. "I'm more excited about the state and the potential of what we can do in this country with the leadership of President Obama and U.S. Secretary Arne Duncan," Johnson said.

  Reborn from the defunct North Area Teen Center, the after-school youth center serving young people across the area is now known as The Wall. With a new location at 5933 Sutter Ave. just off Fair Oaks Blvd, services will be expanding to include cooking classes, financial and insurance management, music and art programs. The celebration and Grand Opening Saturday August 1, 2009 brought supporters and friends to share the excitement at the new after-school youth service center. As parent’s thoughts turn to ‘back to school’ The Wall will be there to provide a safe, supervised place for kids in the ‘latch key’ hours between school’s end and parents coming home from work. NASCAR Star of To

“Well you roll on roads over fresh green grass.
For your lorry loads pumping petrol gas.
And you make them long, and you make them tough.
But they just go on and on, and it seems that you can’t get off…

 Well you’ve cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air.
But will you keep on building higher
til there’s no more room up there? …

 I know we’ve come a long way, 
Were changing day to day, 
But tell me, where do the children play?” Cat Stevens In the rush to make Sacramento a big city we seem to concentrate on the expanding bars, restaurants, basketball arena, high rises, and other superficial aspects of a big city. We forget that key components to a successful revitalized city are the ch

There is a Car Wash for the Woodcreek High School Marching Band and Color Guard! (In Roseville) Price: Donation (Normally $5-$10) But it is up to you! Location: Raley's Parking lot (Woodcreek Oaks BLVD and Pleasant Grove BLVD) NO CAR WASH WEEKEND OF 4TH OF JULY Day/Time: Every Saturday from 10:30a-2:00p Date: June 13, 2009 - August 7, 2009 ALL PROCEEDS: Go towards the Woodcreek High School Marching Band and Guard!

The SCUSD Board of Education voted 5 – 1, with 1 abstention, to drastically reduce summer school programs for the next two years - effective immediately. The decision eliminates all programs for elementary and middle school students, and reduces summer school for high school students. In addition, special education programs will be reduced and adult school programs will either be reduced or converted to a fee based system. The decision will also impact almost 300 district employees, some of whom planned to report to work as early as today. In her opening statements, Interim Superintendent Susan Miller stressed that the budget for this and next fiscal year was balanced as of May 14th, but

Here in Sacramento, we are fortunate enough to have access to many, many parks, lakes and rivers. We are minutes from the Sierras and a couple of hours from the Pacific Ocean. Living and playing in this area affords us the unique opportunity to discover and play locally in our aquatic environment. To date, there are more than 17 Parks and Recreation centers that have a pool for our neighborhoods. Activities that are often overlooked in these environments are snorkeling and scuba diving. For me, scuba diving and snorkeling uniquely offers the ability to transform a person in four ways: immersion, active participation, environmental relationships and emotional well-being. Immersion is a th

Come Fall 2010, Sacramento State University’s student, staff, faculty and alumni will enjoy a wealth of recreational activities and health services from one facility: The Well. The Well, originally called Recreation and Wellness Center, will combine a multitude of departments in Sacramento State to deliver a healthy lifestyle to those in the campus. The Well will join the University Union, the Riverfront Center and the Hornet Bookstore as the main facilities at Sacramento State that give the students of the support they need. The Well is Environmentally Friendly Norma Sanchez, the Public Information and Leisure Service Manager at the University Union says The Well “will be a state of th

On Wednesday a wild turkey was spotted in the Newton Booth neighborhood...and not the sort you find at the Round Corner, but the feathered kind, at the corner of 27th and V in the field across from the old Newton Booth school. According to neighborhood resident Morris Lum: "a turkey was spotted at the vacant lot at 27th Vst it flew up the tree and walked across the freeway ramp and back he's peck'n around the grass watch out for the big claws wed 6pm I put out a plate of mashed potaoes and cranberries for it to eat . . . : )" Wildlife isn't unknown in Midtown, mostly creatures like opossums, skunks, and the occasional raccoon. A wild turkey is something kind of unusual around here, and

About 150 worried parents crowded into the Washington Elementary School auditorium Wednesday night to voice their concerns to the school board over the possible closure of their children's school. The meeting was held by the Sacramento City Unified School District and was open to the community to discuss options for the usage of the school, as funds dry up and the State Legislature looks to make deep cuts into schools. Superintendent Tom Barrenston and Assistant Superintendent Nancy Purcell addressed the crowd and explained that they were there to gather input and suggestions on not only facility use, but revenue generation. The meeting started with the grandfather of a student asking a

SCUSD to Meet with Residents In Lincoln Village Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), which includes the schools of Abe Lincoln, AM Winn, Einstein, and Rosemont, has been facing serious budget problems this year. The district has already cut over $20 million from this year's budget and may be looking at mid-year cuts of up to $30 million more. The district is even looking at closing some school sites in an extreme effort to cut costs. A special community meeting is being held by SCUSD officials on Tuesday, January 13th, at AM Winn Elementary School located at 3351 Explorer Drive. This meeting is being held to inform the public about options the district is considering and to s

The first article in this series discussed the mixed reactions from community members regarding the decision to turn Sacramento High School into a charter school. You can read this story by clicking here or by clicking on the green storyline tab to the right. For those of you who don't know, Sacramento High School became a charter school in 2003. This surprised me, because I had always thought, "Once a charter, always a charter.” But, in learning more about the current Sacramento High School, there is a unique story.  The current school is a collaborative project put together by Kevin Johnson and St. Hope. Concerned with low academic performance, Johnson returned to his former Oak Park

Don't Take Your High School for Granted If having an adequately equipped high school in the nearby vicinity is something that's always been available to you and your children, perhaps you should consider yourself lucky -- for students in the downtown Sacramento area, the push for a comprehensive high school continues. Community members from downtown and extending through East Sacramento, McKinley Park, Tahoe Park, College Greens, Oak Park and River Park are not taking no for an answer: their children need a school nearby, with all the music, sports, arts and other goodies that every high school student is entitled to.   A Multi-Layered Problem The story behind the debate goes as follows