Education
Cristal Banagan, a mother of four and longtime Richmond resident, thinks public libraries are becoming “obsolete.” None of her four kids has visited the library. “At the stage we are with technology in this world, they’re unnecessary” Banagan said. “And these kids, that’s what they know.” That, however, may not be true, now that Richmond is introducing reforms to help people engage more with the library’s resources through new programs and community outreach. The management is drafting plans to renovate…
With its newly passed budget, the West Contra Costa Unified School District barely averted financial catastrophe for another year. But cuts and layoffs are likely coming. Money troubles — due in part to the slowing economy, declining enrollment, expiring funds, and increasing costs — have long plagued the district. The new $521.5 million budget, which the school board approved on June 14, includes a plan to cut $24.3 million in the next two years. If not, the district could face…
Applications are now being accepted for the Reporter in Residence program at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. The program, offered in partnership with Richmond Pulse, will run from Aug. 23 to Dec. 8 and is open to Contra Costa County residents interested in a journalism career. Up to two resident reporters will be selected. Each will receive a $2,000 stipend and one-on-one mentoring, and will participate in an Introduction to Reporting class. Applications are due on July 14. More information…
Wellness centers. Mental health counseling. Youth leadership development. These are examples of community schools initiatives in practice. With passage of a new contract that specifically endorses community schools, the West Contra Costa Unified School District is poised to become a model for the strategy. United Teachers of Richmond considered community schools a must in the contract, alongside salary increases. According to UTR, community schools lead to lower absenteeism, better student work habits, grades, test scores and behaviors, higher enrollment in…
Prospective teachers are interviewing on the spot and some are getting offers at winter and spring job fairs across Contra Costa County. Last month, dozens of candidates met recruiters at Alhambra High School in Martinez, where many districts competed for prospective employees amid a national teacher shortage. And from 9 a.m. to noon this Saturday, West Contra Costa Unified School District will hold a job fair at DeJean Middle School. WCCUSD has been hit hard by the shortage. At the…
On a cloudy Saturday morning, Carmen Román and her husband, Pierr Padilla, filled the basement of the Golden Gate Library in Oakland with a symphony of sounds, using their feet, hands and traditional Afro-Peruvian instruments. A small group of children shrieked with glee and bumbled around the room, dancing as their parents nodded to the beat being created by Román and Padilla opening and closing the top to their cajitas, a box-shaped Latin percussion instrument, and hitting it with a…
A potential strike and district-wide shutdown has likely been avoided after West Contra Costa Unified School District and the United Teachers of Richmond reached a tentative three-year contract agreement Friday, the union said in a newsletter Monday. On Friday, 73% of the 1,182 members casting ballots voted to ratify the deal. Since negotiations began a year ago, WCCUSD and UTR have been unable to agree on salary and on contract language regarding Community Schools, a strategy that focuses on partnerships…
“Thirty-eight schools have better stuff than us — why do y’all always put us in the bottom?” “Can you please help the school? Because we really need a good school because I think having a good school helps me learn.” “I feel like you guys don’t care about our school.” That’s what Stege Elementary School fourth graders wrote in letters to the West Contra Costa Unified School District Board last school year. Other students wrote letters, too, citing a variety…
Viva Millan-Alioto has six children, two of whom have special needs and qualify for transportation to and from school in the West Contra Costa Unified School District. But a bus driver shortage has stressed the system, making the service less reliable. Millan-Alioto has had to get on the phone with school officials to ensure pickups, or do the driving herself. “You have to be very active to get things done,” she said. As with the teacher shortage, the school bus…