Author: admin
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The School District’s Plan for English Learners, in One Graphic
By Mario Koran Parents of English-learning students showed up to the San Diego Unified school board meeting Tuesday night – angry. They felt manipulated, stepped on and ignored, they told Superintendent Cindy Marten and the school board, because of Marten’s decision late last year to cut back the teachers who supported English learners. Despite the…
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Changes in Voting Process Could Benefit Non-English Speakers
By Jill Replogle Voting advocates hope several recent changes will encourage more of California’s non-English speaking citizens to vote this November. First, as of this year, legal permanent residents can sign up to be poll workers in California. Proponents of the change hope it will help counties expand the pool of potential bilingual poll workers.…
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Mid-City Rapid Bus To Start Running Sunday
By Megan Burke, Maureen Cavanaugh and Peggy Pico After years of planning and construction, a new rapid transit bus service is about to get up and running in San Diego. The Mid-City Rapid will run between San Diego State University and downtown San Diego along El Cajon and Park boulevards in 39 minutes. The more…
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Another Blow for English-Learning Students
By Mario Koran It just keeps getting worse for English learners in San Diego Unified. This past summer the district started cutting a program for English learners – who already have the highest dropout rate in the district – and parents are now wondering what happened to the teachers who used to help their kids.…
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The End of ‘Willful Defiance’ School Punishments (Sort of)
When a child gets in trouble at Cherokee Point Elementary School, Principal Godwin Higa, talks quietly to the student to sort things out. | Photo Credit: Jane Stevens By Mario Koran On this, most school officials agree: “Willful defiance,” a kind of catch-all reason for ejecting students from class is overbroad and problematic. But for…