Tag: San Diego Unified School District

  • Suspensions, Expulsions Down In San Diego Schools

    A student runs up stairs at Monroe Clark Middle School in City Heights. | Photo Credit: Cecia, The AjA Project By Megan Burks A new law aiming to limit school discipline measures that take students out of class went into effect Jan. 1. But new data from the California Department of Education shows districts have…

  • Teach for America Schools SD Unified On Recruiting Diverse Teachers

    David Lopez is executive director of Teach for America in San Diego. | Photo by Sam Hodgson By Mario Koran Apparently, it’s just not cool to be a teacher these days. Far fewer young people are setting out to become teachers. In recent years, the number of students in California teacher preparation programs has plummeted.…

  • 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…

  • 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.…

  • 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…