Recent Articles
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Education Matters: SOUL given two years
After covering education for the past 20 years, I thought nothing would surprise me any more. Then along came the Feb. 6 San Diego County Board of Education meeting. With depressing regularity, education leaders continue to circumvent what’s best for students and create impossible barriers for...
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Education Matters: County to decide on SOUL renewal
The future of the School of Universal Learning (SOUL) Charter School is in the hands of the San Diego County Board of Education, as board members meet Feb. 6 to consider SOUL’s request to renew its charter. Because SOUL chose to operate within the boundaries of the San Dieguito Union High School...
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Education Matters: The question of ballot language legality, Part 2
Two letters sent to Michael Vu, registrar for the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, from a number of individuals both locally and statewide claimed several county school districts violated election and education code laws in the Nov. 6, 2018 election. All parties agree that school districts...
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Education Matters: The question of ballot language legality
Many ballot statements for local tax measures presented to voters last November were illegal, according to a letter signed by a coalition of 22 individuals statewide. The group challenged the legality of ballot language in San Diego County and 34 additional California counties. Dated November 28,...
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Education Matters: Oversight committees, salaries, and school start times
One of the factors that school districts and their consultants use to encourage voter support for General Obligation bonds is to emphasize that school districts must create an Independent Citizens Oversight Committee. ICOC members are entrusted to watch how bond money is spent. This is intended...
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Education Matters: The definition of dysfunctional
The word “dysfunctional” has been used repeatedly to describe the San Dieguito Union High School District’s Board of Education. It’s even been said that dysfunction at the board level is the biggest problem facing San Dieguito. But there is a difference, a significant difference, between a board...
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Education Matters: The bullied and the bored: Tips for victimized students and for innovative teachers [Part Two]
In addition to live-action role-playing strategies for academic learning, discussed in last week’s column, other panels at San Diego’s 2018 Comic-Con presented fascinating information about using comics and graphic novels to teach students core curriculum lessons. There’s an “endless array of opportunities...
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Education Matters: The bullied and the bored: Tips for victimized students and for innovative teachers
Comic-Con’s mission statement begins: “Comic-Con International San Diego is a nonprofit educational corporation …” Although pop culture is integral to its overall mission, Comic-Con’s educational component looms large, beyond the film and television stars and glitz and cosplay. Many Comic-Con panels...