Education
The West Contra Costa Unified School District board unanimously approved a $306,000 contract this week to fill teacher vacancies with substitutes. Under the contract with Scoot Education, TeachStart (Scoot’s nonprofit arm) will place one to two “high quality” substitute teachers at four schools: Kennedy High, Stege Elementary, Peres K-8 and Helms Middle. If those placements work out, the following year, the district can hire these teachers full time. In the contract, Scoot Education calls this a “two for one deal”…
On Sunday mornings, preschool children gather in a small classroom in Richmond and listen to a teacher sing songs akin to nursery rhymes with Tibetan characters. A toy yak, paper mache nomads and pictures of snow-capped mountains in the room help the students imagine the Tibetan homeland. The Tibetan Association of Northern California runs the school on Dalai Lama Avenue, inviting students to come away for a couple of hours to learn writing and speaking in their native language. It…
Nearly 40% of 11th graders in the West Contra Costa Unified School District have reported “chronic sadness,” according to a recent California Healthy Kids Survey. The survey says chronic sadness has been on the rise in the county and the state, across grade levels, since 2017. “This is definitely shocking,” said LaShante Smith, the district’s director of positive school climate, after presenting the survey results at the Sept. 6 school board meeting. Smith said the district is hoping to turn…
Gina Saechao is sitting at a cafeteria table where she might have eaten lunch in high school, only this time she’s sketching out plans for the upcoming “College and Career Night.” On Thursday, Saechao and other event organizers will welcome area students and their families to meet over 70 representatives from colleges, universities, trade schools and nonprofits at Richmond High School. “As a student who came to the school, I never saw these opportunities for us here in Richmond,” said…
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…