Tag: Education

  • Marten’s Biggest Task: Defining ‘Quality’ Schools

    By Will Carless Incoming San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten believes taxpayers have the right to know how their schools are doing. She thinks everyone should have access to fair and wide-ranging assessments of local schools, so the public can know that their money is being well-spent, and so parents can make well-informed decisions about…

  • SD Unified Approves Free Bus Passes for Low-Income Students

    Alfredo Mendez, 18, says buying a monthly bus pass to get to school and internships is a heavy burden for his mom, a single parent who makes minimum wage. | Photo Credit: Megan Burks By Megan Burks “SD Unified Approves Free Bus Passes Program,” Aired April 10 on KPBS News [audio:http://speakcityheights.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/FREEBUS1-meb.mp3] City Heights youths chanted…

  • SD Unified Ranks Well in Suspension Study

    By Kyla Calvert A new report finds middle and high schools across the country have increased their use of out-of-school suspensions since the 1970s. The increase has disproportionately affected African-American students and those with disabilities. Nearly a quarter of black students across the country were suspended during the 2009-10 school year compared to just 7.1…

  • Fact Checking ‘Record’ Test Scores at Central Elementary

    By Will Carless At the San Diego Unified School board meeting announcing the appointment of Cindy Marten as the district’s new superintendent, news reporters were handed two pieces of paper. One was a transcript of the statement board President John Lee Evans was about to read. The other was a press release detailing Marten’s bio…

  • Slideshow: The Relationship Between Schools and Health

    By Jena Olson Students at Crawford High School in City Heights recently spent time using photography to explore how their school influences their social, physical and mental health. They identified key health influencers and then created photo essays on issues such as having more nature on campus, the benefits of diversity and the importance of…