For those wanting to opine about Washington Elementary School's potential closure, Wednesday night is the time, and the Midtown public school is the place. As the decision to close 11 Sacramento schools draws near, parents, educators and students have rallied to keep the schools open, calling the Sacramento City Unified School District's plan short-sighted. The plan was announced in mid-January and, if approved, will save the district $10 million over a four-year period. Washington School's closure would represent about $1.1 million of that total over the same time period, according to the Sacramento City Unified School District.  Superintendent Jonathan Raymond has deemed the plan "rig

During his recent bus tour across America, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan met with a group of mayors and superintendents in Sacramento and noted during comments that they (USDOE) had "dropped the ball" when it came to family engagement. This could have been a seminal moment for Mr. Duncan to shine the light on the Parent/Teacher Home Visit Project. Started in Sacramento over a dozen years ago, the program was developed to improve relationships and communication between schools and families in an effort to end the cycle of teachers and parents blaming each other for a lack of student success. A partnership between Sacramento City Unified School District, Sacramento City Teachers Asso

Administrators at John F. Kennedy High School organized a mega fieldtrip this week: They brought every freshman student – all 500 – on a college campus tour. The JFK ninth graders visited Sacramento City College on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. While college visits are not uncommon for Sacramento City Unified School District high school students, this is the first time a large campus has ensured that every member of a class gets to see a college in action before graduation. “We want every student to know that they can go to college if they choose,” said JFK Principal Chad Sweitzer. “No matter what academic achievement level or income level you’re at, there are opportunities open to you

School superintendents from across the state convened on the west steps of the Capitol on Monday to urge lawmakers to get tax extensions on the ballot in a June special election, which they said is necessary to avoid a $4.6 billion reduction in public school funding. Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Johnathan Raymond  said time has run out and that legislators need to get the tax extensions put on the ballot this week, since county clerks need 88 days to prepare for an election. “We are here because we represent children in California, and that, I think, is a point getting missed in our message,” said Raymond. “I look right in front of me and I see two yellow school buses. We all

Elementary school Principal Robert Sullivan will be taking over Rosa Parks Middle School to help turn it around after it was added to a list of schools needing improvement last week. According to the district office, Sullivan began with SCUSD at age 17, when he landed a job as a custodian at Tahoe Elementary School to help pay for college, eventually working his way up to instructional aide and then teacher. He was an assistant principal at John Still K-8 School until taking over as principal at John Sloat seven years ago. Under Sullivan’s tenure at John Sloat, student test scores have risen dramatically. The school improved its state-measured Academic Performance Index (API) base from 6

School district superintendents should find ways to gain political support from community members, according to Washington, D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. At a Sacramento Press Club luncheon Monday, Rhee urged the city’s businesspeople, media professionals and politicians to back Sacramento City Unified School District Superintendent Jonathan Raymond in his efforts. These groups should “give this man some cover,” Rhee said. Superintendents are not elected to their positions, but they can benefit from making alliances with groups, she said. “When you are a superintendent and you want to do bold things that might not be popular, you have to have some political capital," she said.

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