Education
On a Thursday afternoon at Lincoln Elementary School, about 15 fifth graders are standing in the front of the classroom. There’s a nervous energy and some giggling. “Hands at your sides. Nice and loud,” says their instructor, Maribel Lopez. She encourages them with a smile. One by one, they step up and say their names. They’re part of a new after-school program at the school that teaches students what it’s like to speak in front of a room full of…
After a 12-hour bargaining session Tuesday, United Teachers of Richmond reached a tentative agreement early Wednesday with the West Contra Costa Unified School District, ending a weeklong strike. Teachers will return to the classroom on Thursday. Union President Francisco Ortiz said in a news release that the agreement “lays a foundation for the safe and stable schools our students deserve.” The next step is for the union to take the contract to its members for a vote, ratifying it. According…
This story was co-published with KQED. Bundled against the morning cold, teachers marched outside the Nystrom Elementary School entrance in Richmond early Thursday, cheering as passing cars honked, and carrying yellow and red picket signs reading “We Can’t Wait.” Educators at all 56 West Contra Costa Unified School District sites picketed before and during school drop-off on the first day of an open-ended strike, marching for higher pay, smaller class sizes and a reduction of the use of long-term substitute teachers and outside…
The Pinole Valley High School Marching Band will perform at the halftime show of the Golden State Warriors game Tuesday at the 18,000-seat Chase Center in San Francisco after months of preparation. The 33-member band will perform a two-song mashup of “This is Berk” by John Powell and “Locked out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars. Under the supervision of rotating substitute teachers, the students have been running their own rehearsals since September, when the band director went on administrative leave. …
Teachers will go on strike Thursday in the West Contra Costa Unified School District, but the superintendent says schools will remain open. United Teachers of Richmond announced at 7 p.m. Monday that it had rejected the district’s latest offer of a 3% salary increase, and 90% coverage of health care benefits beginning in 2027 “Striking is the last resort — we want to teach,” UTR President Francisco Ortiz said in an email to members. “But we know this truth: The status quo…
Leaders from United Teachers of Richmond updated parents and community members Tuesday evening on contract negotiations between the union and the West Contra Costa Unified School District. WCCUSD and UTR have been negotiating a new three-year teaching contract since January and declared an impasse on Aug. 19, triggering third-party mediation and a fact-finding process. “This is more than just a contract fight for us,” UTR President Francisco Ortiz told an audience of about 50 people at CoBiz Richmond. “We’re in…
Cuts to SNAP has Joseph Agredano feeling anxious. He is one of more than a quarter of a million community college students enrolled in CalFresh, the state’s version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. That assistance has been paused since Saturday, because the Trump administration stopped sending states money during the government shutdown. SNAP funds are expected to flow again soon, after two federal judges on Friday ordered the administration to resume the payments. In the meantime, Contra Costa…
Three years after California launched a savings program to help children pay for college, most families still haven’t claimed the money — and many don’t even know it’s there. The more than $2 billion program is designed to close the college access gap, especially for low-income families. But many Californians are missing out simply because they haven’t heard of it, said Cassandra DiBenedetto, executive director of the state-run ScholarShare Investment Board, which oversees the program. “Our biggest challenge is also…
With 98% of its members approving, the union representing teachers in the West Contra Costa Unified School District voted Tuesday to authorize its leaders to call a strike. Since January, United Teachers of Richmond has been negotiating a new contract with the district. On Aug. 19, the UTR declared an impasse, triggering third party mediation from the California Public Employment Relations Board. Since then, the sides have been in mediation sessions and are currently in the midst of a fact-finding…