Attention teachers and educators...the  Historic Old Sacramento Foundation is pleased to present the first-ever “Teacher’s Day at the Sacramento History Museum” on Thursday, September 20 from 4 to 7 p.m.!  In an effort to share information about the interactive and fun hands-on programs and educational exhibits on display at the Museum, knowledgeable docents will be available for area educators interested in learning more about new ways to help make California’s fascinating history come alive for their students.   After all, visitors to the Sacramento History Museum can explore the region’s rich history from the days before the Gold Rush to the present. Plus, each educator who attends the

Commencing Fall 2012, Liberty Towers Church (5132 Elkhorn Blvd, Sacramento, CA) will once again host a pre-school and K-12 educational facility dedicated to teaching children in a Christian environment. It was only three years ago that Liberty Towers shuttered operations for its school, succumbing to the pressures of a failing economy. According to Terry Schneider, recently installed Lead Pastor of Liberty Towers, “it was very sad for our long standing church members to witness the school close after having successfully operated for over three decades.” Just a few miles east (along Interstate 80) at 143 Clinton Ave in Roseville, Cornerstone Christian School had been operating continuously

Exactly how far will parents, families and the community go to support local kids?  That question will be answered later this month when the Loomis Unified School District, ultra-marathoner Greg Bomhoff and the “Go the Distance” team present a 24-Hour Run, Team Relay and two Family Fun Runs that begin with activities on Thursday, May 24, at 8:50 a.m. and continue through Friday, May 25, ending at 8:50 a.m.  While the series of events will kick-off at Franklin School in Loomis, special health and fitness activities and spirited rallies will be happening at all seven elementary schools in the Loomis School District.  As background, two years ago Greg Bomhoff created a local sensation when h

American River College (located at 4700 College Oak Drive in Sacramento) is exhibiting a collection of photos from the Andy Warhol Photographic Legacy Program through March 30. The collection will be on display in the school’s Kaneko Gallery in its Fine & Applied Arts Area. The gallery’s hours are 11am-4pm Monday-Thursday and 11am-2pm Friday. Parking permits are $1 for the day. ARC is the only community college in the state to receive such a gift, which includes 150 portraits, celebrity snapshots, couples, nudes, painting ideas, party photos, still lifes, and outdoor images. Art faculty Ken Magri and ARC Foundation Executive Director Kirsten DuBray worked to secure the collection, which

If you had told me I would be doing homework at this point in my life, I would have been either amused or horrified. Given that, had you told me I would find it just as loathsome as I did in high school, I’d have offered no resistance. I can’t help but appreciate the Karmic humor in the fact that currently I am enrolled in a class that compels me to study a text called “Orientation to College.” The curriculum requires that I write weekly essays on topics such as “Why Go To College?” and “The Value of Being Civilized,” when what I’d really like to present are topics like, “Why I Know I Definitely Won’t Need Algebra” and “The Case for Allowing People Over 40 to Earn Credits for Life Experie

A new independent bus service aims to solve a problem facing many Sacramento State students: how to get to the central city restaurants and bars from the campus area on the cheap. Laura Allen, 26, said she, her sister and father are working through their family business, Allen Transportation, to provide a bus that will make a circuit with several stops around the school, downtown and Midtown on Friday and Saturday nights, starting this week. “The Sactown Hopper is a service we’re providing mainly for Sac State students right now because the pickups are around that area,” Allen said. “We’re stopping at three locations around Sac State and four locations downtown.” A list of the stops can

Lance Briggs, NFL linebacker of the Chicago Bears and comic book writer, visited his hometown on Friday, March 2, to celebrate the life of a legend.  At 3:30 p.m. you would have found an army of toddlers, a sprinkle of teenagers, and parents promptly at the Elk Grove Library, listening to one of the most memorable books of our time—“Green Eggs and Ham.”  “Green Eggs and Ham” was one of 44 books that Theodor Seuss Geisel, more commonly known as Dr. Seuss, wrote and illustrated before he died in 1991.  Over his lifetime, his books have been purchased by around 200 million people worldwide and translated into 15 different languages, according to DrSeussArts.com.  As an acclaimed children’s b

On Thursday, March 8, St. Anna’s Greek Orthodox Church will host a special forum discussion that will feature Rev. Joseph Mumita of Kenya, East Africa. He will discuss efforts to help feed and enrich the lives of some of Kenya’s poorest children and how people can become involved. “It’s not often that we host someone from East Africa who is so involved in helping God’s poorest children,” said Father Christopher Flesoras. “We are very pleased to be hosting Rev. Joseph and look forward to hearing about what is going on in Kenya.” Projects Rev. Joseph will discuss include: Daily lunch feeding of more than 400 school children who would otherwise only get one meal a day. Efforts to support

Q. Is it legal to carry a wooden sword in public in California? Also in schools? Sincerely Yours, Daniel A. The basic answer to your first question is “it depends.” Simply carrying around an unconcealed wooden sword is legal in California. In fact, there’s no law prohibiting carrying around a metal sword, either. A number of laws restrict or prohibit carrying concealed weapons, such as cane swords, switchblades, pen knives, and even lipstick case knives, but openly carrying a sword or stick is not expressly prohibited. It is a misdemeanor to carry a deadly weapon with intent to assault. California Penal Code § 17500. It seems likely that a sturdy wooden sword could be considered a dead

Q. My brother is going to get out of jail soon, and we were planning on him moving in with me, but his parole officer told him he couldn’t because he has to register as a sex offender and I live too close to an elementary school, which is against “Megan’s Law” or “Jessica’s Law” or something like that. Isn’t there anything we can do? I’m afraid if he doesn’t live with me he will be homeless. Jerri A. California’s Megan’s Law requires anyone convicted of a wide range of crimes, including forcible sex crimes involving non-consenting adults and most sex crimes involving children, prostitution, and child pornography, to register as a sex offender upon release on parole or probation or discha

Two years ago, Camellia Waldorf School’s Winter Faire was hit by something unexpected: rain. It flooded the parking lots, turned a dry creek into a creek and threatened the good spirits of the day. Participants shifted into the school for cover, while vendors put up their canopies and served hot chocolate and soup. Despite the rain, it was one of the busiest fairs that school has hosted, with reportedly 1,000 visitors. “It didn’t seem to dampen anyone’s feelings,” event co-chair Sarah Rucker said. “It’s a reflection of the norm at Waldorf School. If it were snowing, we’d still have a blast.” This year, the Winter Faire began under a cloudless sky on Saturday, December 10th, on the school

Q: My 7-year-old daughter is dealing with a bully at school. She comes home almost daily and relates stories about how another girl in her class makes fun of her. Apparently she is making fun of her clothes, the words she uses, her school work... anything she can think of. I have always thought my little girl was pretty outgoing and strong, but lately she seems to be breaking under the weight of the bullying. I have given her all the pep talks I can think of (kill her with kindness, avoid her at all costs, and compliment her when she bullies you). Nothing has changed and I feel like I need to step in on a more parental level, but I don't know where to start. A: I am sorry for the trouble

Students and advisers from five Sacramento area high schools joined in a virtual rally Wednesday – with kids from Los Angeles, Fresno and Oakland schools – as part of the National Week of Action to raise awareness about the overuse of extreme school discipline. The rally connected more than 100 students, parents and community activists via live video feed to discuss recent trends in suspensions, expulsions and other harsh punishments in California schools. According to data from the California Department of Education, there were 235,033 students enrolled in public schools in Sacramento county in the 2010-11 school year. There were 47,678 suspensions and expulsions issued that same year

Q: My son is 7 years old and currently attending a public school in the first grade. It has been obvious to my husband and I for some time that he has some kind of learning disability and some behavioral issues, but he has never been diagnosed with anything, and we aren't really sure what to do. His teacher tells us that he isn't reading at a first -grade level and that his actions in class not only prevent him for learning but disrupt the entire classroom environment. We don't really know what to do or where to begin. I haven't received any support from the school in this situation, so right now I am just frustrated. I don't want my son to fall behind, but I think he needs help. His dis

“Well you roll on roads over fresh green grass. For your lorry loads pumping petrol gas. And you make them long, and you make them tough. But they just go on and on, and it seems that you can’t get off… Well you’ve cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air. But will you keep on building higher til there’s no more room up there? … I know we’ve come a long way, Were changing day to day, But tell me, where do the children play?” Cat Stevens In the rush to make Sacramento a big city we seem to concentrate on the expanding bars, restaurants, basketball arena, high rises, and other superficial aspects of a big city. We forget that key components to a successful revitalized city are the childr

Many school and district administrators relate that they lack the specific skills and knowledge to help teachers with English Language Development (ELD). I interviewed Kevin Clark (Clark Consulting) about the ELD Program. Kevin Clark, Clark Consulting says, "Those assigned to ELD coaching roles tell us over and over again that they took the assignment with little guidance and no clear goals." Check out my video!   <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EACEmys9Shc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Sacramento City Unified School District is getting some national help to renovate and make some of its more than 80 campuses more eco-friendly. A full-time sustainability officer will help schools meet LEED standards as part of a program through the U.S. Green Building Council, said Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools, which is based in Washington, D.C. “(We) were impressed by your community’s enormous undertaking to become the greenest region in the country,” Gutter said, adding that beginning districtwide sustainability measures takes a large amount of time and money. The Green Schools Fellowship Program aims to help improve school sites to make them more environme

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

Marni Rubin took her guests on a journey through the tastes, textures and pairings of specialty cheeses, chocolates, ports and dessert wines Saturday. C’est le Cheese owner Jody Lagorio and her husband, Dan Hague, hosted the event at the Lofts on L street. Rubin is a wine educator by trade, teaching class through Wine One One, but she said this class is her favorite to teach, especially around the holidays. She is self educated and she is also a certified wine specialist by the Society of Wine Educators. Before teaching she worked as sommelier. “I enjoy bringing people together to enjoy and share food and elevate their knowledge of all aspects of food,” Lagorio said. The guests are gree