AP Environmental Science students are exploring the gym at Grant Union High School--and they’re shooting lasers at the ceiling. Handheld laser distance meters are just one of a few specialty tools Pacific Gas & Electric energy specialist Keith Smith is teaching the students to use. The lasers allow them to measure distance from each lighting fixture to the floor of the gym. The class is taking baseline measurements as part of a larger project to make the gym at Grant High School dramatically brighter, thanks to a $10,000 Bright Ideas grant to the Twin Rivers Unified School District from the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. Greenwise Joint Venture and the U.C. Davis’ California Lighting T

The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) recognized linguistic accomplishments on May 6, honoring students who attained a high level of proficiency in English plus at least one other language. SCOE officially presented dozens of students from throughout the county with the California State Seal of Biliteracy, which was established by California Assembly Bill 815. Throughout Sacramento County, a total of more than 280 students earned the Seal of Biliteracy in 2013. It is awarded to seniors who have demonstrated English competency, as well as competency in another language by meeting specific criteria. "Each of these students met rigorous state criteria and has demonstrated his or

A C.K. McClatchy High School debate team has won the national Tournament of Champions, becoming the first team ever from a California public high school to win the nation’s top high school debate competition. McClatchy seniors John Spurlock and Keenan Harris took first place in the policy debate division at the University of Kentucky tournament. In the 42-year history of the Tournament of Champions, no team from a California public high school has ever won. (In 2003, a team from College Preparatory School, a private high school in Oakland, took top honors.) McClatchy Debate Coach Seth Blackmon compares winning the Tournament of Champions to winning the Super Bowl or the NCAA Basketball f

It is always exciting when a new media organization starts up and provides readers and listeners with news you are truly interested in and entertainment to lighten your day. The new Sac Pride Media Group led by Tyler Edwards will launch the first ever live LGBTQ weekly radio show, “Sac Pride Live” on local Talk 650 KSTE Radio as well as worldwide on iHeartRadio, by app on your Smartphone or online at www.iheart.com/live/Talk-650-KSTE-229. The first show will air live Saturday, April 27 after the River Cats game between 10:00 PM and 12 midnight. On-air hosts for Sacramento’s newest source for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer community, will be realtor Tyler Edwards and we

In the past decade, distance education, specifically online courses, has steadily increased in popularity among college students as a convenient, more affordable means to a degree. In fact, the U.S. Department of Education reported that the number of students adding online courses to their college schedules increased 150 percent from 1998 to 2008. However, distance learners are less likely to do as well as traditional learners, according to findings reported by Columbia University Teachers College research associates Di Xu and Shanna Smith Jaggars in a paper, “Adaptability to Online Learning: Differences Across Types of Students and Academic Subject Areas.” In their study, Xu and Jaggars

To follow up “National Day of Silence”, an event held in Junior and High Schools all across the nation, the local Sacramento LGBTQ Youth Task Force is hosting a “Breaking the Silence” rally on the west steps of the California State Capitol (1314 Tenth St., Sacramento, CA 95814) Friday, April 19, 2013 between 5:00pm and 7:30pm. Originally organized by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) in 1996, the “Day of Silence” is a day of action in which “hundreds of thousands of students across the country take some form of a vow of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying, harassment and peer-abuse in schools. Through their activities students can sp

Sacramento area students learned lessons in green technology and social consciousness on March 16 and 23 when they participated in green technology workshops at Cosumnes River College. Approximately 40 local students built solar suitcases which will provide portable lighting to an orphanage in Uganda and a medical center in Haiti. The suitcases will be delivered directly by the organization Green Tech (Green Technical Education and Employment). The lack of light and electricity is a reality in many parts of the world and the non-profit, for-public-benefit Green Tech organization has made this dilemma its mission. “We provided a learning opportunity for youth and young adults to experienc

Fans had more than basketball to cheer about at Sleep Train Arena on Friday, March 8. Education took center court that evening as Sacramento County's Teachers of the Year 2013 were honored during the Sacramento Kings/Phoenix Suns game. All of the Teachers of the Year were featured during a special halftime ceremony witnessed by the crowd at Sleep Train Arena. The two reigning Sacramento County Teachers of the Year, Jennifer Ellerman, who teaches 7th Grade Language Arts at California Middle School, in the Sacramento City Unified School District, and Bob Crongeyer, who teaches 5th – 6th grade GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) at Taylor Street School in the Robla School District, North Sa

On February 21, Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools David W. Gordon moderated a webcast announcing the release of a national study that summarizes results in several subjects from multiple states, including California. The report, “Mega-States: an Analysis of Student Performance in the Five Most Heavily Populated States in the Nation,“ is a National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report card. Decades of data and long-term trends collected in reading, mathematics, and science from the "mega-states" – California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas – provide a wide-ranging portrait of student achievement in the midst of America's shifting demographics. "While this Meg

While Washington Elementary School is the smallest school in the district, you wouldn't know it by the amount of impassioned community members that spoke up Wednesday night to oppose a plan to shut its doors.  Hundreds of parents, teachers, students and education supporters criticized the Sacramento City Unified School District's plan, calling it unfair and a direct blow to a school that's primarily comprised of low-income, minority students. Tears were shed by several students and parents, who say many parents don't have cars and would be hard hit if their children have to go out of the area.  "You can't put a price tag on fracturing communities like this move would do," said Pennie Tay

Henry Molina from John F. Kennedy High School, in the Sacramento City Unified School District, is the winner of the Sacramento County Poetry Out Loud competition for 2013. He finished first from a field of 15 during the Sacramento County finals, held Thursday, February 7, at Rosemont High School in Sacramento. Henry earned the right to represent Sacramento County in the State Finals, March 25-26 in Sacramento. Carinn Candelaria, from Pleasant Grove High School in the Elk Grove Unified School District, is the Sacramento County runner-up. California's overall winner will receive $200 and an expenses-paid trip to compete in the National Finals in Washington, D.C., held April 28-30, 2013. A

Things are warming up in the Oak Park area. The Salvation Army officially opened the “Hot Spot” drop-in center at its Ray Robinson Oak Park Community Center on February 1. Every Friday night, from 7 to 11 pm, the “Hot Spot” will provide teens, ages 13-19, an opportunity to utilize the multiple activities—like basketball, board games, art projects, video games and a computer lab—at the community center. Snacks are also given to the teenage attendees. “People can come down and play instead of being on the streets,” said Oshe, a 17-year-old high school student who came to the opening night of the drop-in center to play basketball. “You always hear about kids getting shot, but this is a plac

In celebration of Black History Month, KVIE Public Television will broadcast local and national programs that honor the spirit, creativity, and determination of significant heroes of the Civil Rights Era, as well as important individuals in history and today. KVIE will air three documentaries from its original series, ViewFinder, that highlight African Americans in the region. The first examines Sacramento during the Civil Rights era, and the many significant, yet unknown, heroes during this turbulent time. African Americans in California’s Heartland – The Civil Rights Era, airs Tuesday, February 5, at 10:30pm and explores the issue of equality in education, housing and job opportunities,

Western Electrical Contractors Association, Inc., is excited to unveil a 116-foot-long indoor mural at the WECA Apprenticeship and Training Program’s new facility in Rancho Cordova, (Mather), California. The educational mural visually conveys the story of an electrician’s job by showing how electricity is applied, from its derivation from natural sources, through the process of electricity generation, through transmission and distribution, and finally through the process of converting it for use in public, commercial and residential spaces. The mural, painted by local artist Viktor Verhovod, is the culmination of a vision that began with the WECA Apprenticeship and Training Program’s expa

(Continued from Part I) The DFER and USCM vision of education reform prioritizes high-stakes standardized tests that set teachers on a path of drilling pupils in preparation throughout the school day and year. Schools with low test scores are at risk of takeover when student scores on standardized tests do not measure up. Here is a little-discussed fact: High-stakes testing is a thriving business. It involves so-called “learning companies” like Pearson, which owns the Financial Times and Penguin Books. Pearson profits from test materials for American education reform. Mayor Johnson co-wrote an editorial with members of the black church: “If we truly believe that education is the civil ri

Last December 3, the California Fair Political Practices Commission recommended fining Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, a Democrat, $37,500 for improperly reporting donations to his multiple nonprofit groups. The political watchdog agency agreed to this penalty at a Dec. 13 meeting. The donations included a total of $500,000 between Jan. 19, 2012, and June 5, 2012, from the Walton Family Foundation to Stand Up for Sacramento Schools, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit school reform group that Johnson founded in 2009 with a commitment of $500,000 from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation. The money trail, however, goes beyond Mayor Johnson’s untimely reporting of donations to his nonprofits. His local

Sacramento-based nonprofit California Food Literacy Center is launching its inaugural Food Literacy Academy in February. The call for applications is now open and the deadline is Monday, Jan. 28, at noon. The Food Literacy Academy is an intensive 10-week training program that will prepare community volunteers to become certified Food Literacy Advocates, equipping them with the skills needed to teach food literacy in their community. “Right now, demand for food literacy classes outpaces the number of trained teachers,” said Amber Stott, founder of California Food Literacy Center. “We created the Food Literacy Academy to build an army of certified advocates to be critical players in our re

The transition from prison life to life beyond prison is a challenging one for many men and women on parole. The struggle to find success is not easy and those who find success are worthy of special recognition. On January 16, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Sacramento, the Sacramento Community Based Coalition (SCBC) Awards Gala Celebration honored 160 Sacramento County parolees and their families who are committed to making a successful reentry into their communities, and improving their lives, as well as the lives of their families. During the Awards Gala Celebration, 13 SCBC clients were recognized for earning their GEDs with another 25 were recognized for completing three of the five GED s

The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) is now accepting submissions for an essay contest designed to honor local military veterans. The winning high school student will receive a $500 college scholarship, courtesy of SAFE Credit Union. Every year, SCOE honors the many contributions of local veterans who left high school to serve in the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War or the Vietnam War through the Operation Recognition program. Qualifying veterans who received an honorable discharge may contact SCOE to receive their high school diplomas. Diplomas are also presented to Japanese American citizens who were forced to leave high school due to WW II internment. The

To help local schools and districts in reviewing and refining plans for responding effectively in a crisis, the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) hosted a Refresher Crisis Response Plan Workshop on January 8. The goal of the workshop was to help districts “tune up” their crisis response strategies and interventions to reflect current best practices. Workshop participants reviewed effective strategies for developing a crisis response plan and working with first responders. Experts also reviewed best practices for helping students, families and staff in the event of an incident. “Threats to school safety make it vital that our schools and districts have up-to-date plans for prev