San Diego Free Press

Grassroots News & Progressive Views

You are here: Home / Archives for Education

Is It Gerrymandering? Final Vote at Grossmont-Union High School District

by

By Miriam Raftery / East County Magazine

Grosssmont-Union High School District’s board is expected to cast a final vote Thursday at 4 p.m. on controversial redistricting maps. The board will also vote to seek a waiver from the state from a requirement that would ordinarily requiring putting the redistricting measure on the ballot, and waiver from a state requiring that new trustee area plans be in effect at least 120 days before the next election in November. (View meeting notice. The meeting will be at the East County Regional Education Center, 924 East Main Street, El Cajon.)   [Read more…]

Roger and Norma Cazares: ‘Action Matters’

by

Norma and Roger Cazares together and individually have helped change San Diego. They usually share the same political views although there have been a few exceptions. Norma supported Hillary, Roger supported Obama. Once again they are split with Norma once again supporting Hillary and Roger supporting Bernie.

Roger says that he is totally amused with the Republican party. They’re destroying the Republican party similarly to what Pete Wilson did in California. He is concerned that we will not have a two party system. Roger believes this is dangerous. Both agree there needs to be a two party system in order to hold each other accountable. Roger says both Trump and Cruz have helped bring the closet racist out of the closet.   [Read more…]

Human Activity Ushers in New Geologic Epoch

by

(And it’s not very pretty.)

By mid-twentieth century, humans had altered the Earth to such an extent as to mark the start of a new geologic epoch named the Anthropocene, concluded an international consortium of researchers in a January issue of the preeminent journal Science.

Scientists divide Earth’s 4.5 billion year history into so-called epochs or time units based on major shifts in the composition and state of the planet as recorded in distinct stratifications in rocks, sediments and glacier ice. Previous transitions from one geologic epoch to the next were triggered by either cyclical drivers of climate change, like variations in the Earth’s orbit or solar radiation, or irregular events like volcanic eruptions. The most recent epoch for example, the Holocene, spanned ~12,000 years and was ushered in by a period of interglacial global warming.   [Read more…]

Readers Write: Assess Risks Before Reducing Charter School Permitting Requirements

by

By Justin DeCesare

Recently, current 7th District City Councilman Scott Sherman released a brief description of a measure he intends to champion that is meant to speed the permitting process for charter schools attempting to open throughout the city.

The Conditional Use Permits (CUPs) charter schools need to obtain in order to open a facility are in place in order to ensure the city is making a proper land use decision as to whether or not the school itself is in a viable location.

As this proposal makes its way through the city decision-making process, it’s imperative we look at the ramifications far beyond just talking points and rhetoric about how the permitting process is unfair.   [Read more…]

San Diegans Join ‘Walk Ins’ Aiming to ‘Reclaim Our Schools’

by

Educators and parents at EB Scripps, Oak Park Elementary and Claremont High Schools in San Diego staged ‘walk-ins’ just prior to the start of the school day on Wednesday. The local actions were part of a nationwide day of action, with events at 800 schools in over 30 cities urging communities reclaim their schools from misguided reform efforts.

The idea behind the ‘walk in,’ which gained prominence with parents and teachers in Chicago, is to bring teachers, parents, and students together for a gathering outside of their school. They then walk in their schools together, a gesture aimed at building unity in the desire for educational justice and equity in access to school resources and opportunities.

Organizers with the Oak Park group said they were participating to show support for public education, and to call on the District to reduce time spent on testing and instead use the time for more instruction.   [Read more…]

Let’s Make Peace

by

NCRC Does It One Neighbor At A Time

By Barbara Zaragoza / South Bay Compass

Why can’t we all just get along?

For the times that we can’t, there’s a fascinating local San Diego organization called the National Conflict Resolution Center. I stumbled upon NCRC while attending a first reading of Raul Castillo’s Border Crossing play. NCRC was looking into collaborating with artists; in particular, the dramatic play would stop during certain moments and the audience would engage in conflict resolution conversations. This intrigued me enough to look at their website where I found they have a community center in the South Bay–specifically, in San Ysidro.   [Read more…]

The Blind Spots of Dead White Men

by

Black history must be remembered all year long.

By Jill Richardson /Other Words

As the rest of the nation celebrates Black History Month this February, I’m taking a graduate-level course I call “Dead White Men.”

It’s actually a classic theory class that covers a number of influential thinkers, like free market theorist Adam Smith and the famous French observer of American democracy, Alexis de Tocqueville.

It’s a good class. But the thinkers we’re studying are all dead white men.   [Read more…]

Michael Moore Says His New Movie Will Change America

by

“Free universal health care, free university, free day care, taxing and policing hedge fund millionaires—have already happened in nearly every other industrialized country in the world! And I have the evidence—and the film—to prove it!”

By Lauren McCauley / CommonDreamsWhere to Invade Next, which is said to be both his happiest and “most subversive” movie yet.

In the film, Moore travels to countries throughout Europe and also Tunisia to “pry loose from them the tools they’ve been using to make their countries happy, shiny places,” he writes, with the goal of “show[ing] millions of Americans what these countries have been hiding from us.” Such tools range from eight weeks paid vacation in Italy, to a year of paid maternity leave in Scandinavia, to women with “true equality and power” in Tunisia, to trusting prisons in Norway.

Moore, who is known for such works as Bowling for Columbine and Capitalism: A Love Story, penned an open letter to supporters last week explaining how a recent bout of pneumonia and subsequent hospital stay forced him to cancel all television appearances promoting the film.   [Read more…]

North of the Fence: Chargers Give South Bay Schools Money, Sirhan Sirhan Lives In Otay Mesa

by

… and the Olympic Training Center Will Transfer To Chula Vista

Two South Bay school districts might feel the financial pain if the Chargers move up North, according to The Star News. The Sweetwater Union High School District estimates that their schools have received close to $500,000 in funding from the San Diego Chargers, including for facilities and wellness programs. The Chula Vista Elementary School also says their contributions from the Chargers might go away if they leave up North.   [Read more…]

San Diego Women’s Museum of California: “Women in Action”

by

By South OB Girl/ OB Rag

Tucked in Liberty Station, across the street from Slater’s 50/50 Burgers, Ace Hardware, and Con Pane Bakery on Historic Decatur Road is a hidden gem of the peninsula and beach community — the Women’s Museum of California. Little did you know that in the second story above the first floor exhibit hall lies an extensive archive and collection devoted to women’s history.

Opening on Thursday evening Feb. 4th was the museum’s new exhibit, which showcases the history of the United Nations commitment to global equality and women’s issues, and celebrates the 70th year of the U.N.’s Commission on the Status of Women.   [Read more…]

Declining Enrollments In Three South Bay School Districts: What Does It Mean?

by

Declines in class sizes could be positive, especially when over 80% of students qualify as low-income or English language learners, but administrators are left constrained

By Barbara Zaragoza

While the decades-old stereotype may be that illegal aliens are fleeing over the border and saturating American schools, three districts in the South Bay are currently experiencing declining enrollments: San Ysidro, South Bay Union and National School District. Of these three, two lie directly along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Over 80% of students in all three districts are classified as either English-language -learners, low-income students, or both (also referred to as the unduplicated pupil percentage or UPP). All three also have high percentages of students classified as homeless.   [Read more…]

Dump Dumanis: A Quest for Justice in San Diego

by

I don’t expect a massive crowd at the Hall of Justice in downtown San Diego on Friday afternoon, but symbolism will be large, non-the-less.

Activists motivated by the apparent injustice involved in the officer-involved shooting death of Fridoon Nehad, an unarmed Afghan refugee whose life was shattered following imprisonment by the Taliban, will stage an event calling for a sustained campaign to “Dump” County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis.

This rally and press conference should be seen as the local manifestation of nationwide dissatisfaction with the criminal justice system. Organizers are calling for the DA to be indicted, saying Dumanis has “abused her power, withheld evidence, misled the media, persecuted innocents under the guise of a “gang injunction” and failed her public responsibilities related to the unjustified killing of Fridoon Nehad.”

[Don’t forget! Friday’s Starting Line includes the Weekly Progressive Calendar]   [Read more…]

©2010-2017 SanDiegoFreePress.org

Code is Poetry