James Logan High School alumnus Matt Leal (class of 2000) has been blogging about the deadly tsunami that hit villages in Samoa and American Samoa, killing at least 39 people, on Tuesday. Leal, 27, has been on a Peace Corps assignment in Apia, Samoa, since last October. His mom said that he and the other Peace Corps members are safe.

Here’s an excerpt from his blog (in blue):

Most of Apia evacuated to higher ground. Uphill roads became one-way highways for cars and buses, but most of us just walked. Tsunami sirens blared across Apia. Church bells rang. My school rang its bell. …

I walked with a couple girls from my 11.3 class and held an impromptu geology lesson.

There was much confusion as to where we were supposed t go and where we could stop. Students asked me where we were going, and I could only tell them we were going “Up.” A couple teachers also asked me. “I was following you,” I said. …

It’s unclear what this means for the rest of the school day. Since there’s no articulated evacuation point, students and staff were strewn across multiple villages and it seems impossible for us all to come back and spend the rest of the day as normally scheduled.

To read more of his first-hand accounts and view photos, visit diplomatt.blogspot.com.

Today, the state Department of Ed released its report about the number of sophomores who passed the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) this year. Students who did not pass have several more opportunities to retake the test their junior and senior years.

The exam tests students in their English and math skills. Students must pass the test to receive a high school diploma, although some special ed students may be exempt.

Click here for a chart showing the passage rate of first-time test-takers (i.e., sophomores) in each Tri-City school over the past three years.

Tonight, teacher Jaime Richards spoke before Fremont school board members, asking them to change a district policy that prohibits educators from using YouTube in the classroom. Richards said teachers should be trusted to use their judgment as to what materials are appropriate for students. I haven’t had a chance to confirm that this is the district’s policy or to get the district’s position, but Jaime raises an interesting point if it’s true:

Should teachers be allowed to show YouTube videos as part of their curriculum? Anyone know what the policy is in other districts?

The state ed department released 2007-08 high school dropout rates today. To compare how things look among Tri-City schools, click here.

If you want to check out the ed department’s database yourself, click here.

Washington High School teacher Matt Ballin performed a song he wrote about the negative impacts of budget cuts at tonight’s school board meeting. The song, “California Children,” was made into a video. Click here to check it out. For the lyrics (as submitted by the California Teachers Association), click here.

On a related note, this Friday — dubbed “Pink Friday” because some 20,000 California teachers will receive pink slips – educators and parents will “Stand Up for Schools” with local rallies.

In Fremont, community members will meet between 3 and 3:30 p.m. at La Pinata (39136 Paseo Padre Parkway) and march down the street to Assemblyman Alberto Torrico’s office (39510 Paseo Padre Parkway).

I understand a similar rally will take place on the corner of Mowry Avenue and Cedar Boulevard in Newark.

The Fremont and New Haven school districts don’t plan to issue teacher layoff notices, but the Newark district will be handing out pink slips.

The New Haven school board this week passed a resolution calling for legislators’ pay – which include their salaries, benefits and per-diem expenses – to be docked when they miss the annual June 15 deadline for passing a state budget.

I haven’t confirmed this, but I’ve been told that currently, legislators don’t get paid as long as the budget is late. However, once the budget is passed, they are eligible for retroactive pay. In other words, the pay is delayed but they ultimately receive full compensation. Under the NHUSD proposal, there would be no retroactive pay; the legislators would simply lose the equivalent of one day’s pay for each day they’re late in passing the budget.

Click here for the story.

A story in today’s paper mentions that the state may run out of funds for its school breakfast/lunch program before the end of the fiscal year unless the Legislature will appropriate more money.

By law, low-income public school children must be fed. With the sputtering economy, more families are signing up for the free and low-cost meals, which are subsidized by state and federal dollars. However, as our story reported, money is running out, and some districts are feeling the pinch.

What the article failed to mention is that neither the Fremont nor New Haven school district has seen a significant spike in new applicants. For some unknown reason, the stuff I wrote about Tri-City school districts was left out of the story, which was put together by our team of ed reporters. So here are a few highlights from my report: Read the rest of this entry »

Millions of people will sit around the dinner table tomorrow and give thanks — for the roofs over their heads, the fact that they still have a job (as much as they may grumble about it) and for their family and friends. And if you’ve heard about Charmaine Kawaguchi (New Haven Teachers Association president), you may even pause to give thanks for the hair on your head.

Inspired by a friend who is undergoing chemotherapy, Charmaine — who for many years sported a braid that ran past her waist — recently chopped off about four feet of hair to donate to Locks of Love, a nonprofit that makes wigs to give to low-income children who are losing their hair due to cancer or other illnesses.

Here are before and after photos of Charmaine:

Disclosure: I, too, have donated to Locks of Love. However, my hair was never as long as Charmaine’s, and I only donated 14 inches. That reminds me: it’s time for another hair cut.

The New Haven school board is expected to name a new superintendent Friday evening.

A special meeting has been called for 5:30 p.m. at the district office, 34200 Alvarado-Niles Road, Union City. The board will meet behind closed doors at first and, around 6 p.m., tentatively is scheduled to vote in public on the hiring of a new supe.

In all, 21 people applied for the position. The board, along with a panel of 20 community members, interviewed the top six candidates two weeks ago.

The new supe will replace Pat Jaurequi, who surprised everyone toward the end of summer when she announced she was leaving to become schools chief of San Juan Unified School District in Sacramento County. (Since school began, David Pava, last year’s deputy superintendent who was preparing to retire this month, has been serving as interim supe in New Haven.)

We’ll have a story in Saturday’s paper about the new leader.

Today’s story about local school board candidates raising money for their campaigns named Fremont’s Bryan Gebhardt as the top fundraiser, having amassed $34,296.

Well, he may be the biggest fundraiser among school board candidates in the Tri-City area, but he’s no match for the politicians in the West Contra Costa school district.

There, incumbent Karen Pfeifer has raised nearly $100K (about what the five candidates in Fremont have raised collectively), and Robert Studdiford has collected about $42K. Read the rest of this entry »