WCCUSD pays off debt

By Spencer Whitney | June 18, 2012 |

After 20 years, on June 1st,  West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD) was able to pay off its $47 million state loan to the state of California four years ahead of schedule. WCCUSD, previously known as the Richmond Unified School District, filed for bankruptcy in 1991 and became the first district in the state to…

Read More

Fingerprinting parties make it easy for parents to volunteer

By Spencer Whitney | November 3, 2011

It was a brisk Saturday morning at Dejean Middle School when Kelli Tharpe stepped into Room B102 at the seventh annual Parents as Partners and Leaders Conference. She waited in line patiently and made small talk with other anxious parents. “I’m out here to support my children in Helms Middle School,” Tharpe said. “I think…

Read More

District encourages parental involvement in education at conference this Saturday

By Julia Marshall | October 28, 2011

With all that goes on in the adult world, relating to a miniature version of one’s self is a lot harder than the uninitiated might think. Something as simple as helping a 9-year-old with a writing assignment can be daunting after a day’s work; the “simple” one-sentence instruction often reads as if it were some kind of esoteric answer to the meaning of life. Even relating to educators, especially one who spends the day explaining long division, can be challenging…

Read More

District seeks to close achievement gap

By Spencer Whitney | October 11, 2011 |

During the Board of Education meeting last Tuesday night, one of the primary concerns among administrators was the results from elementary schools on closing the achievement gap. “This year we plan to focus on the language arts skills and writing comprehension,” said Mimi Melodia, Principal of Lincoln Elementary. Lincoln Elementary was one of six schools…

Read More