A new middle school will open in Oak Park in the fall – the neighborhood’s first stand-alone middle school since 1963. Oak Park Preparatory Academy (Oak Park Prep) is a St. Hope Public School and will open to seventh graders in August. Oak Park’s previous middle school – Stanford Junior High – was burned down by two teenagers in 1963. There are three middle schools in the district that serve Oak Park students – California, Will C. Wood and Kit Carson – but none are located within Oak Park. The Sacramento City Unified School District Board of Education trustees voted to approve Oak Park Prep’s charter Oct. 6, and the new school will serve 60 students the first year. The school’s attend

   When did you get the "writing" bug? That insatiable bug that you must write something, anything to tell and inform the world.  Was it when you wrote for your College paper? Maybe, it started in High school when you were in the Yearbook Club or writing for the the school newspaper. Whenever it was, it gave you the momentum to continue to write your stories or articles today.     This just may be true for a handful of students that are in the Journalism Club at Isador Cohen Elementary School. Yes,  I said elementary.  They are students ranging from third through sixth grades and they write the stories for the school newsletter. The Club is in its second year at Cohen and has seen an incr

The potential West Campus/Sacramento High School “swap” is off the table, but the budget and facility use problems that spurred the proposal still exist – leaving open the question, is this really the end of the conversation? “We have serious issues as far as our budget goes,” Sacramento City Unified School District trustee Patrick Kennedy said Monday. “We’ll have to look at all of our facilities. I won’t say there won’t be discussions of (school) closures in the future.” In an effort to save money and make more efficient use of district facilities, the SCUSD board recently considered swapping two school programs – the charter school program at the Sac High campus and the program at the

The Sacramento City Unified School District board is considering a potential campus “swap” for two central city schools – a move that has stirred up a storm of criticism from parents, students and education advocates in the city. The proposed swap would move the West Campus High School program from its current 58th Street location to the old Sacramento High School facility and replace it with the Sacramento Charter High School program, which is currently at the old Sac High campus. Proponents of the swap say the move will allow the popular West Campus program to expand and will create an opportunity to establish a non-college preparatory high school program for students in central city n

By Henrietta Cisneros, freelance correspondent. June 2, 2011 12:00 p.m., PST Dirty Pool: SCTA Style Members of the Sacramento City Teachers Association (SCTA) and a faction of teachers at Hiram Johnson high school are waging a new kind of warfare. Children at Hiram Johnson High School and throughout the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) are being misguided and manipulated by a group of teachers and union bullies as a means of ousting seasoned principal, Felisberto Cedros. Conflict erupted on the Hiram Johnson campus between Cedros and a group of teachers shortly after he was appointed principal last year. Cedros implemented new policies at the school ranging from a dress c

Representatives from over 80 arts organizations received tips on obtaining funding at an arts funding symposium hosted by the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission (SMAC) Tuesday moning at the KVIE banquet room with a speech by Congresswoman Doris Matsui. The free event titled “Where's the Money?” was a day full of speakers, panels and workshops with teachers, artists, grant writers and various other active participants for the arts in Sacramento in attendance. KVIE General Manager David Lowe opened the event by talking about the Public Broadcasting Station to note that KVIE also largely relies on funding from public grants, private grants, and donations like the attendees in the room.

Plans were announced at the Mayor's press conference Tuesday to construct a running track and community garden at Will C. Woods Middle School where U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius spoke to mark the one year anniversary of the “Let's Move” campaign. Initiated by First Lady Michelle Obama on Feb. 8, 2010, “Let’s Move” is a healthy lifestyle campaign to address childhood obesity. Sacramento City Unified School District was chosen as one of the 14 community sites in California, to receive a grant from the California Endowment with help through local partners The Sacramento Kings and UC Davis Health Services. California Endowment spokeswoman Marley Klaus said SC

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

The Black Parallel School Board discussed its plans for 2011, including addressing problems with the quality of teachers and underachievement of black students in the Sacramento City Unified School District. The meeting was held Saturday at the Oak Park United Methodist Church. The BPSB’s mission is to ensure quality education for African American students in the SCUSD. The board observes and critiques SCUSD performance and advocates for African American students. The BPSB was created in Jan. 2008. It was born of the frustration of Sacramento State professor Otis Scott with the SCUSD at a Sacramento Area Black Caucus meeting in 2006. According to Carl Pinkston, secretary of the BPSB ex

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

My Dear Friend, Just yesterday I was at the White House East Room with the President of the United States, Barack Obama, to witness him signing the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics. The initiative calls for the expansion of educational opportunities, improvement of education outcomes, and the need to deliver a complete and competitive education for all Hispanics, the Initiative shall, consistent with law, promote, encourage, and undertake efforts designed to meet the goals and objectives set forth in the document signed by President Obama on the 19th day of October in the year 2010. The initiative also calls for us to work across communities in partnership

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

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

Dear Colleagues: From magazine covers to movie screens to MSNBC’s Education Nation, public schools are a growing topic of national discourse. This interest is understandable. With economic recovery slow, unemployment high and a barrage of data about how American students stack up against their global counterparts, many across the country worry about the status of public education. On Saturday, I attended a screening of the documentary “Waiting for Superman” and participated in a panel discussion that followed. The film tells the story of five families fed-up with low-performing schools in their neighborhoods and their attempts to enroll their children in higher-performing charters. I c

Teaching and Learning New families welcomed: John Cabrillo Elementary School’s Back to School Night on September 29 was well attended and included an announcement of new Student Leadership Representatives for the year. Families new to the school were welcomed with a rose presented by the student leaders. Additionally, each classroom teacher gave a presentation to parents establishing the learning goals, student expectations and ways parents may help support student success at school this year. Achievement celebrated: More than 95 percent of parents attended Hollywood Park Elementary School’s Back to School Night. During the event principal Hamed Razawi shared the school’s 13 percent incr

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

     Greetings to all of the candidates:    My name is Lourdes Jimenez-Price, and I am the President of the District Advisory Council (DAC) for the Sacramento City Unified School District.  Please accept this e-mail as an invitation to join us this coming Tuesday, September 14, 2010, for the DAC General Meeting at the Serna Center.  I have attached a copy of our agenda. For those of you unfamiliar with the DAC, the purpose of the DAC is to advise the SCUSD Board of Education, Administration and the School Site Councils (SSC) on issues affecting the education of the students in SCUSD including, but not limited to, all matters pertaining to parental involvement in the review, planning a

  We teachers have all been sacrificing lately for the good of students and the financial solvency of Sacramento City Unified School District. I have an SCUSD-tested plan, however, to help us improve our financial and working condition, especially in light of the SCTA-generated concessions to our District. Here’s what we do. Apply to the SCUSD school board to use the title, “Chief”, in front of our employee classification. For example, I would take over the moniker, Chief 6th Grade G.A.T.E. Teacher of Phoebe Hearst (it’s better to use capital letters…more credibility). You can immediately see how much more grandeur it gives a lowly teacher. But there are a host of reasons why we all shou

 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

 SCUSD to create ‘Superintendent’s Priority Schools’ for six most academically troubled schools Bold leadership, effective teachers, additional resources for more than 4,600 students By Gabe Ross March 16, 2010 – Sacramento’s six most academically troubled schools will be put into a special grouping of schools—the Superintendent’s Priority Schools—with innovative principals, additional assistance and resources Superintendent Jonathan P. Raymond announced today. In a first-of-its-kind effort in Sacramento to intensely focus on improving underperforming schools, the Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD) will create the Priority Schools to help more than 4,600 students in six