rhsnewswire.net

Richmond high school newspaper

http://rhsnewswire.net/home/

No child left alone: Volunteers mentor children of inmates – CSMonitor.com

http://www.csmonitor.com/The-Culture/Family/2012/0325/No-child-left-alone-Volunteers-mentor-children-of-inmates

Transition from Preschool to Kindergarten

Getting Ready

By mid-November of the school year prior to kindergarten transition, an informal conference should be scheduled to:

exchange information with you about the transition process, including the general timeline for transition activities;

interview you/discuss your educational priorities for your child;

allow educational staff to discuss their priorities for your child and develop an action plan outlining the specific process for your child (desired outcomes, target dates, personnel responsible);

explain possible program options available at that level (not specific to your child).

Remember that your child’s progress during the current year will be included in the decision-making process about appropriate kindergarten options.

http://www.fsusd.k12.ca.us/education/special_ed/transition.html

Special Education

http://www.fsusd.k12.ca.us/education/special_ed/

Specialized Programs (CA Dept of Education)

Specialized Programs

Responds to the unique needs of California’s diverse students.

via Specialized Programs (CA Dept of Education).

Parents’ Rights – Quality Assurance Process (CA Dept of Education)

Parents of children with disabilities from ages three through twenty-one have specific educational rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). These rights are called procedural safeguards. Individuals serving as surrogate parents and students aged eighteen receiving special education services, are also entitled to these rights.

via Parents’ Rights – Quality Assurance Process (CA Dept of Education).

MCOE – SELPA Parent Information – /selpa/parent_info

Parents now have the opportunity to participate in meetings for identification, evaluation, placement and FAPE (free appropriate public education). Parents are included in eligibility and placement decisions. Schools are required to report to parents at least as often as they do to parents of non-disabled students. IDEA 97 recognizes the importance of parent/school partnerships and non-adversarial dispute resolution. Parents must be offered mediation as a voluntary option for dispute resolution.

via MCOE – SELPA Parent Information – /selpa/parent_info.

The Assayer

California Initiative for Free Textbooks

Motivated by the California state budget crisis, Governor Schwarzenegger has announced a Free Digital Textbook Initiative, which is producing a list of free, online high school math and science textbooks that are aligned with state content standards. The list will be announced June 16, and the intention is to have the books used in classrooms in fall 2009. The idea seems to be to look for preexisting free books put out by individuals. This article has some useful background, but it mistakenly suggests that the arduous state adoption process will be an obstacle to the FDTI; statewide adoption only applies to K-8, but FDTI is doing high-school books. There was a previous, unsuccessful effort called COSTP, which tried to produce a history textbook using Wikibooks. Here is a BBC article about the present effort, and here is a newspaper opinion piece by the Governor. This is a transcript of a speech by the Governor, with some interesting Q&A at the end. Twenty books were submitted (press release, links). The four books from traditional publisher Pearson are consumable workbooks, not actual textbooks.

June 16, 2009

via The Assayer.