BY ELI WOLFE CalMatters Earlier this year, the California State Teachers Retirement System issued an ominous statement: teacher retirements in California are projected to hit nearly record-breaking heights in 2021. The statement, which came in the form of a February blog post, said that the numbers will be almost as...
Local Teachers, School Staff Will Get Vaccine Priority Starting March 1
About 2,000 Fresno County school staffers and child care workers will be pushed to the front of the COVID-19 vaccination line starting March 1, county public health officials said Friday afternoon. Fresno County's weekly allotment is expanding to 21,000 doses starting next week. Per the directive announced Friday by Gov....
Newsom's Budget Plan Aids Teachers, Expands Healthcare for Those in US Illegally
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to give $20,000 stipends to teachers at high needs schools in California and extend health care to older low-income immigrants who are in the country illegally. He outlined the plans during an announcement Friday of his $222 billion state budget proposal. The Democratic governor...
Lessons for Teachers and Students From Coach Vince Lombardi
This Dec. 21 marks the 50th anniversary of the last football game Vince Lombardi ever coached. Remembered primarily as the helmsman of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s and namesake of the Super Bowl trophy, Lombardi has been ranked as one of the top 10 greatest coaches in the...
Accidental Shootings Raise Questions About Arming Teachers
SEATTLE — As the country looks for ways to deal with mass shootings at schools, some have responded by saying more people should carry guns, including teachers. “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” President Donald Trump told the...
California Adopts Broadest US Rules for Seizing Guns
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a law that will make the state the first to allow employers, co-workers and teachers to seek gun violence restraining orders against other people. The bill was vetoed twice by former governor Jerry Brown, a Democrat, and goes beyond a measure that...
Fresno Teachers Get a Do-Over Vote On Union Fee Proposal
A plan by the Fresno Unified teachers union to charge members an extra $5 monthly to bankroll a new union-run foundation will be up for a revote this month after a legal challenge by dissident members put the plan on hold. The Fresno Teachers Association was ready to start collecting...
Kaiser Permanente Grants Help Local Schoolkids Get Fit, Stay Hydrated
There's a whole lot less sitting around in after-school programs at Fresno Unified School District these days after a $75,000 grant from Kaiser Permanent Fresno helped buy new equipment and hire staffers to help kids get fit — and stay there. Earlier this month students at Jefferson Elementary got to...
Why California Should Close Failing School Districts
School has begun for the 40,000-plus students of Sweetwater Union High School District. But the district’s crisis never ends. Sweetwater rarely makes the statewide news, but it’s California’s largest secondary school district. Sweetwater's high schools and middle schools serve oft-forgotten communities near the U.S.-Mexico border—Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City,...
Why California Should Close Failing School Districts
School has begun for the 40,000-plus students of Sweetwater Union High School District. But the district’s crisis never ends. Sweetwater rarely makes the statewide news, but it’s California’s largest secondary school district. Sweetwater's high schools and middle schools serve oft-forgotten communities near the U.S.-Mexico border—Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City,...