By Megan Burks
The New York Times Profiles Central Elementary
Michael Winerip of The New York Times chose Central Elementary School in City Heights to illustrate the impact that state budget cuts could have on class sizes. Kindergarten classes there have been kept at 17 students per teacher. Test scores have climbed as a result.
But state budget cuts in recent years have quietly inched the number of students per class higher. This year’s state budget threatened a leap to 30 students per class, a threshold parents say would shut the door on high achievement.
Follow The New York Times @nytimes.
Governor Trades Redevelopment for Schools
Unable to wait for lawmakers to agree on a state budget, the San Diego Unified School District did, indeed, pass an austere budget Tuesday that cuts 1,400 jobs and increases class sizes, according to voiceofsandiego.org’s Emily Alpert.
But tweets out of the Capitol offered modest hope for the district. Wednesday Gov. Jerry Brown passed legislation that dismantles redevelopment agencies, which use revenue from property taxes to fund construction in blighted areas. Doing away with the program means more property tax dollars can be routed to schools, said voiceofsandieo.org’s Liam Dillon.
I asked on Twitter and Facebook whether the governor’s action will help or hinder City Heights. Karina Danek of the City Heights Redevelopment Project Area Committee said it’s too early to tell how the decision will affect projects in the neighborhood. What do you think? Is redevelopment a fair trade for education funding?
Follow Emily Alpert @emilyschoolsyou, Liam Dillon @dillonliam and Gov. Jerry Brown @JerryBrownGov.
State Budget a Green Light to Rehire Teachers?
Small class advocates received more good news Thursday, when the governor signed a state budget that maintains last year’s funding levels for K12 education. It gave the district a green light to rehire teachers. Or so it seemed. Alpert explained why the budget, which relies on rosy economic projections, is actually a yellow light that has district officials sitting idle for now.
Follow Emily Alpert @emilyschoolsyou.
Student Web Designers Take Top Honors
Despite uncertainty over next year, SDUSD is celebrating this year’s achievements. The district linked to three websites created by Crawford Multimedia and Visual Arts School students that won awards at the San Diego County Fair. A website profiling residents in the Colina Park community of City Heights won Best in Class. The school’s own website took top honors.
Follow SDUSD @sdschools.
Soda Critics Thirsty for Change
The California Endowment set the tone for this week’s Childhood Obesity Conference in San Diego when it tweeted about a KFC promotion aimed at raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. It urges customers to add a 64-ounce “Mega Jug” of Pepsi to their meals in order to donate a dollar to the cause.
Anyone following the conference on Twitter quickly learned that soda plays a big roll in the nation’s obesity epidemic. According to the California Endowment, 13 percent of the daily caloric intake for teens comes from sugar-sweetened beverages. Americans consume 50 gallons of soda per person each year.
Mid-City CAN went to the KFC in City Heights and discovered that the location is not offering the promotion.
Convention attendees discussed ways to decrease the consumption junk food, including urging the Federal Trade Commission to enact guidelines for marketing food to children. The public can comment on proposed guidelines through July 14.
The conference culminated with the announcement of a new initiative that will double Women, Infant and Children funds spent on healthy foods. The initiative, spearheaded by the California Endowment, creates an incentive for WIC mothers to buy fruits and vegetables, but also for markets and liquor stores to stock the fresh options.
Follow the California Endowment @CalEndow and track tweets from the Childhood Obesity Conference by searching #COC11.
[Disclosure: Speak City Heights is funded by the California Endowment.]
Don’t want to wait until Friday for your Twitter news? Follow us @spkcityheights.