ReportWire

Tag: K-12 education

  • Letters: Betty Yee is our best choice to run the state

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    Yee is best choice to run the state

    Re: “Sparks fly at initial debate” (Page A1, Feb. 5).

    California doesn’t need a governor who “wins” a two-hour TV show. We need a leader who can fix the budget, steady our economy and make government actually work.

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  • Letters: One-time wealth tax won’t provide a long-term fix

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    One-time tax won’t provide long-term fix

    Re: “High-stakes wealth tax proposal roils uber rich” (Page A1, Jan. 25).

    The proposed Billionaire Tax Act, imposing a one-time 5% tax on the total wealth of Californians whose net worth is $1 billion or more, needs reconsideration.

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  • At the National Western Stock Show, Colorado 4-H teens hope to make the sale

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    Ever since Grace Kennedy met Quinn in May, the teenager’s goal has been to fatten the Hereford calf up — but not too much, not if she wants to auction it off at this month’s National Western Stock Show in Denver.

    Quinn, who is about a year-and-a-half old, weighed 460 pounds when Grace won the animal from the Stock Show’s Catch-A-Calf program. The calf weighed about 1,250 pounds as of early December.

    “They just want a good-looking carcass,” Grace, who lives just outside of Morrison, said of the judges who will determine how well she did in raising Quinn for beef.

    The 17-year-old is just one of Colorado’s 4-H youth members who will attend the Stock Show in hopes of making a sale. Teenagers from across the state will come to Denver to auction off cattle, goats and other livestock, with the goal of earning money for college, first cars or to reinvest in their farming endeavors.

    4-H student Grace Kennedy, 17, tries to convince her one-year-old steer, Quinn, to continue his walk around the property on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Morrison, Colo. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)

    The Stock Show began Saturday and will run through Jan. 25.

    “Being from Colorado, I feel like it would be really cool making a sale in a national show in your state,” 15-year-old Ty Weathers said.

    Ty, who lives on a cattle ranch outside of Yuma in northeastern Colorado, has been showing cows since he was about 7 years old. He will show a steer named Theodore at the Stock Show this year, and he hopes to sell the animal to earn money for a car.

    Unlike Grace, who received Quinn through the Catch-A-Calf program, which requires participants to sell their calves during the Stock Show, there’s no guarantee Ty will make a sale.

    “I like winning,” Ty said, referring to his hope he’ll be able to auction Theodore off for the highest price. “I’ve grown up in it, so it’s just a part of life.”

    Zemery Weber, who lives in Gill in Weld County, started showing goats when she was 8 years old to earn money, but this is her first time doing so at the Stock Show.

    “I got a goat this year that seems to be pretty good,” the 14-year-old said. “I’m excited, but I’m also nervous because it’s my first time.”

    Zemery will show a goat named Nemo. She plans to save part of the money she earns from selling the goat for meat for her first car and college.

    Zemery Weber, 14, leads her goat, Nemo, outside of the barn at her mother's home near Gill, Colo., on Dec. 15, 2025. Weber plans to show the goats at the National Western Stock Show. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
    Zemery Weber, 14, leads her goat, Nemo, outside of a barn at her mother’s home near Gill, Colo., on Dec. 15, 2025. Weber plans to show the goats at the National Western Stock Show. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

    “It has helped me become the person that I am,” Zemery said of showing goats. “It is a very good experience for students to have and kids to have to learn responsibility and reliability.”

    Showing animals is just one way students can participate in the Stock Show.

    In the Front Range, county 4-H programs — which have youth participate in agricultural, STEM and other projects — also put on a field trip for elementary school students to visit the show so they can learn about animals and where their food comes from, said Josey Pukrop, a 4-H youth development specialist with the Colorado State University Extension in Jefferson County.

    Last year, about 12,000 children participated in the field trip, she said.

    4-H has been operating nationally for more than 120 years, through it, children participate in programs that include showing livestock, gardening and building robots. The youth program is largely funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, according to the agency’s website.

    More than 100,000 Colorado students participate in 4-H via community clubs and other programming, said Michael Compton, the state 4-H program director at the CSU Extension.

    Like Ty, Grace’s family is in the cattle business, but it wasn’t until the pandemic that she began to take an interest and dream of owning her own ranch someday.

    Grace’s foray into cows began when the dance studio she attended closed because of COVID-19 in 2020. Grace, in search of a new hobby, got into horses and trail riding with her father.

    4-H student Grace Kennedy, 17, leads her one-year-old steer, Quinn, around the property as training for being shown at the National Western Stock Show next month, on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Morrison, Colo. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)
    4-H student Grace Kennedy, 17, leads her one-year-old steer, Quinn, around the property as training for being shown at the National Western Stock Show next month, on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, in Morrison, Colo. (Photo by Timothy Hurst/The Denver Post)

    Soon after, she took an interest in cows and worked on her grandfather’s cattle ranch in South Dakota during the summer. Grace’s parents have their own herd near Morrison, and the teenager has started breeding and raising her own cattle.

    “Animals are the coolest things,” Grace said. “They are here to teach us something, to teach us life qualities. They’re peaceful.”

    Grace has been a member of 4-H for six years, showing cattle for four.

    She is participating in the Stock Show’s Catch-A-Calf program, which loaned her a calf so she can learn cattle management.

    The Catch-A-Calf program started in 1935 and is open to teens ages 14 to 18 who live in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming, according to the Stock Show’s website.  

    “Sometimes it’s kids that haven’t raised these animals before,” Pukrop said.

    Zemery Weber, 14, cleans the pens for her goats, Theo, left, and Nemo, in a barn at her mother's home near Gill, Colo., on Dec. 15, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
    Zemery Weber, 14, cleans the pens for her goats, Theo, left, and Nemo, in a barn at her mother’s home near Gill, Colo., on Dec. 15, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

    Teens participating in the program have to rope a calf, feed it and return the cow to the next Stock Show to be judged on showmanship and carcass quality. The program’s Grand and Reserve Grand Champions get to sell their steers at an auction held on the final Friday of the Stock Show, according to the website.

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    Jessica Seaman

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  • Letters: Protesters should celebrate a new beginning for Venezuela

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    We should celebrate
    Venezuela’s new start

    Re: “Protests decry Trump’s actions” (Page A1, Jan. 5).

    How I would love to send the Bay Area protesters to South Florida, where residents are celebrating President Trump’s intervention in Venezuela. President Nicolás Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chávez, are responsible for “one of the most dramatic political, economic and humanitarian collapses in modern history,” according to a Miami Herald piece (“Venezuela left to grapple with wreckage Maduro leaves behind“) published Sunday.

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  • New York Regents meet LIA leaders on diploma requirement changes | Long Island Business News

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    THE BLUEPRINT:

    • Regents members Thomas-Williams and Tilles met leaders in Melville.

    • Meeting focused on changes to high school .

    • The “” model emphasizes academics, social-emotional skills, and more.

    • Strong partnerships between business leaders and educators highlighted as essential for preparing the future workforce.

    Members of the New York Board of Regents met with business leaders at the Long Island Association (LIA) in Melville earlier this month to discuss upcoming changes to high school diploma requirements as plans to phase out move forward. These requirements are being restructured under a new model called the “Portrait of a Graduate.”

    Adopted at a Board of Regents meeting in July, the model is slated to launch in the 2027-2028 academic year after Regents exams are no longer required for graduation.

    In Melville Regent Felicia Thomas-Williams, who represents Nassau and Suffolk counties), and Regent At-Large Roger Tilles met with the LIA’s , Education and Not-for-Profit Business Committee to discuss the latest initiatives.

    The New York State Department of Education plans to release guidance by summer of 2027 to support the implementation of the model, including graduation requirements and learning standards. The model is designed to address all aspects of learning and whole-child development and demonstrates that students understand their subjects. This includes academic, social, emotional and cultural development to prepare students to demonstrate “creativity, critical thinking, communication, reflection and global awareness so they can be prepared to learn, grow, innovate, and contribute meaningfully to society,” according to a news release from the LIA about the meeting with Board of Regents officials.

    The model also integrates internships and work-based learning to equip students for college and careers.

    The region’s K-12 education system “is critical for a thriving economy so students can get quality jobs on Long Island and stay here after they graduate. I thank Regents Thomas-Williams and Tilles for coming to speak to the LIA and give an update on what the New York State Board of Regents is working on,” LIA President and Chief Executive Matt Cohen said in the news release.

    Strong partnerships between schools and businesses, Tilles said, are crucial to preparing the future workforce.

    “Like the many other times I’ve talked with LIA members, I find that educators need to have the input of business and that business needs to know what the education future will bring,” Tilles said in the news release.

    Thomas-Williams shared that sentiment.

    “The portrait of a graduate reflects what families, educators, employers, and communities have long told us – students must leave our schools with knowledge, purpose, adaptability, and a sense of belonging,” Thomas-Williams said in the news release. “This is not aspirational language; it is a call to action to build equitable systems that honor multiple pathways and ensure every student is prepared not just to graduate, but to thrive.”

    Regents exams may still be offered in the future but may take the shape of a series of exams over the course of the year, or by completing projects, according to published reports.


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    Adina Genn

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  • This math platform leverages AI coaching to help students tackle tough concepts

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    eSchool News is counting down the 10 most-read stories of 2025. Story #5 focuses on a math platform that offers AI coaching for maximum impact.

    Math is a fundamental part of K-12 education, but students often face significant challenges in mastering increasingly challenging math concepts.

    Many students suffer from math anxiety, which can lead to a lack of confidence and motivation. Gaps in foundational knowledge, especially in early grades and exacerbated by continued pandemic-related learning loss, can make advanced topics more difficult to grasp later on. Some students may feel disengaged if the curriculum does not connect to their interests or learning styles.

    Teachers, on the other hand, face challenges in addressing diverse student needs within a single classroom. Differentiated instruction is essential, but time constraints, large class sizes, and varying skill levels make personalized learning difficult.

    To overcome these challenges, schools must emphasize early intervention, interactive teaching strategies, and the use of engaging digital tools.

    Last year in New York City Public Schools, Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School (FDR) teachers started using a real-time AI math coaching platform from Edia to give students instant access to math support.

    Edia aligns with Illustrative Mathematics’ IM Math, which New York City Public Schools adopted in 2024 as part of its “NYC Solves” initiative–a program aiming to help students develop the problem-solving, critical thinking, and math skills necessary for lifetime success. Because Edia has the same lessons and activities built into its system, learning concepts are reinforced for students.

    FDR started using Edia in September of 2024, first as a teacher-facing tool until all data protection measures were in place, and now as an instructional tool for students in the classroom and at home.

    The math platform’s AI coaching helps motivate students to persevere through tough-to-learn topics, particularly when they’re completing work at home.

    “I was looking for something to have a back-and-forth for students, so that when they need help, they’d be able to ask for it, at any time of the day,” said Salvatore Catalano, assistant principal of math and technology at FDR.

    On Edia’s platform, an AI coach reads students’ work and gives them personalized feedback based on their mistakes so they can think about their answers, try again, and master concepts.

    Some FDR classes use Edia several days a week for specific math supports, while others use it for homework assignments. As students work through assignments on the platform, they must answer all questions in a given problem set correctly before proceeding.

    Jeff Carney, a math teacher at FDR, primarily uses the Edia platform for homework assignments, and said it helps students with academic discovery.

    “With the shift toward more constructivist modes of teaching, we can build really strong conceptual knowledge, but students need time to build out procedural fluency,” he said. “That’s hard to do in one class session, and hard to do when students are on their own. Edia supports the constructivist model of discovery, which at times can be slower, but leads to deeper conceptual understanding–it lets us have that class time, and students can build up procedural fluency at home with Edia.”

    On Edia, teachers can see every question a student asks the AI coach as they try to complete a problem set.

    “It’s a nice interface–I can see if a student made multiple attempts on a problem and finally got the correct answer, but I also can see all the different questions they’re asking,” Carney said. “That gives me a better understanding of what they’re thinking as they try to solve the problem. It’s hugely helpful to see how they’re processing the information piece by piece and where their misconceptions might be.”

    As students ask questions, they also build independent research skills as they learn to identify where they struggle and, in turn, ask the AI coach the right questions to target areas where they need to improve.

    “We can’t have 30 kids saying, ‘I don’t get it’–there has to be a self-sufficient aspect to this, and I believe students can figure out what they’re trying to do,” Carney said.

    “I think having this platform as our main homework tool has allowed students to build up that self-efficacy more, which has been great–that’s been a huge help in enabling the constructivist model and building up those self-efficacy skills students need,” he added.

    Because FDR has a large ELL population, the platform’s language translation feature is particularly helpful.

    “We set up students with an Illustrative Math-aligned activity on Edia and let them engage with that AI coaching tool,” Carney said. “Kids who have just arrived or who are just learning their first English words can use their home languages, and that’s helpful.”

    Edia’s platform also serves as a self-reflection tool of sorts for students.

    “If you’re able to keep track of the questions you’re asking, you know for yourself where you need improvement. You only learn when you’re asking the good questions,” Catalano noted.

    The results? Sixty-five percent of students using Edia improved their scores on the state’s Regents exam in algebra, with some demonstrating as much as a 40-point increase, Catalano said, noting that while increased scores don’t necessarily mean students earned passing grades, they do demonstrate growth.

    “Of the students in a class using it regularly with fidelity, about 80 percent improved,” he said.

    For more spotlights on innovative edtech, visit eSN’s Profiles in Innovation hub.

    Laura Ascione
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  • Chronic absenteeism could derail K-12 education

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    eSchool News is counting down the 10 most-read stories of 2025. Story #9 focuses on chronic absenteeism.

    Key points:

    The biggest problem in education is that kids aren’t showing up to school. Last year, 26 percent of students missed a month of class or more, leading to dramatic declines in academic performance. Chronic absenteeism accounted for 27 percent of the drop in math scores and 45 percent of the decline in reading scores from 2019 to 2022. Students who are chronically absent are 7x more likely to drop out before graduating, and while state and district leaders are scrambling for solutions, kids are falling further behind.

    Why chronic absenteeism is hard to solve

    In 2019, only 13 percent of students in the U.S. were chronically absent. Typically, these students missed school because of significant personal reasons–long-term illness, gang involvement, clinical depression, working jobs to support their families, lacking transportation, drug use, unplanned pregnancy, etc.–that aren’t easily fixed.

    However, since the pandemic, the rate of chronic absenteeism has doubled from 13 percent to 26 percent.

    The change is cultural. For the last hundred years, it was drilled into the American psyche that “school is important.” A great effort was made to provide bussing to any child who lived too far to walk, and the expectation was that every child should come to school every day. Cutting class was sure to land you in the principal’s office or potentially even lead to police showing up at your door.

    During the Covid-19 pandemic, this narrative flipped. As parents began working from home, their kids sat beside them. With lectures recorded and assignments posted online, attending class began to feel optional. When school doors reopened, many families didn’t fully come back. Common excuses like being tired, missing the bus, or simply not feeling like going were validated and excused rather than admonished. While students who skip school were once seen as delinquent, for many families it has become culturally acceptable–almost even expected–for kids to stay home whenever they or their parents want.

    Overwhelmed by the drastic rise in absenteeism, school staff are unable to revert cultural norms about attendance. And it’s not their fault.

    The root of the problem

    Each student’s situation is unique. Some students may struggle with reliable transportation, while others skip certain classes they don’t like, and others still are disengaged with school entirely. Without knowing why students are missing school, staff cannot make progress addressing the root cause of chronic absenteeism.

    Today, nearly 75 percent of student absences are “unexplained,” meaning that no authorized parent called or emailed the school to say where their children are and why they aren’t in class. This lack of clarity makes it impossible for schools to offer personalized solutions and keep students engaged. Unexplained absences only deepen the disconnect and limit schools’ ability to tackle absenteeism effectively.

    Knowing why students are missing school is critical, but also very difficult to uncover. At a high school of 2,000 students with 85 percent average daily attendance, 225 students will be absent each day without providing any explanation. In an ideal world, schools would speak with every parent to find out the reason their child wasn’t in class–but schools can’t possibly make 225 additional phone calls without 3-5 additional staff. Instead, they rely on robocalls and absence letters, and those methods don’t work nearly well enough.

    Normalize attendance again: It takes a village

    Improving attendance is about more than just allocating additional resources. It’s about shifting the mindset and fostering a culture that prioritizes presence. This starts with schools and communities making attendance a shared responsibility, not just a policy.

    First, schools must take the initiative to understand why students are missing school. Whether through modern AI-driven attendance systems or with more traditional methods like phone calls, understanding the root causes is critical to addressing the issue.

    Next, categorize and recognize patterns. Small adjustments can have big impacts. One district noticed that students who were 0.9 miles away from school were much more likely to not show up because their bussing policy was for families living 1 mile away from school or further. By changing their policy, they saw a surge in attendance. Similarly, pinpointing specific classes that students are skipping can help tailor interventions, whether through teacher engagement or offering additional support.

    Lastly, schools should focus resources on students facing the most severe challenges. These students often require personalized solutions, such as home visits for unresponsive parents or help with transportation. Targeted efforts like these create a direct impact on reducing absenteeism and improving overall attendance.

    When communities unite to make school attendance a priority, students receive the support they need to succeed. Tackling chronic absenteeism is not an easy task, but with focused effort and a culture of engagement, we can reverse this troubling trend and give students the foundation they deserve for future success.

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    Joe Philleo, Edia

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  • Letters: Fremont cricket field critics fear the unknown

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    Cricket field critics
    fear the unknown

    Re: “Neighbors up in arms over cricket field plans” (Page B1, Nov. 22).

    It was shocking to read that a few neighbors are opposed to having a cricket field in the proposed Palm Avenue Community Park in Fremont. The main fear is that flying cricket balls could injure a child or elderly person or damage homes or cars. Do baseballs ever fly out of the field and cause personal injury? Balls flying over to the street or neighborhood will be rare and can easily be prevented in the design and construction of the stadium.

    It is more likely the fear of the unknown. People here are not familiar with cricket. Both baseball and cricket trace their origins back to medieval European bat-and-ball games and are more like “cousins.” Cricket fields all over the world are in the middle of cities and residential neighborhoods, and they are safe. It is fun to play and or watch cricket, so let us go for it.

    Subru Bhat
    Union City

    Coal project is bad
    for Oakland’s health

    Re: “Coal project costs mounting” (Page A1, Nov. 26).

    The New York Times article about Phil Tagami’s proposed Oakland coal terminal is very misleading.

    The article says, “a state judge ruled in 2023 that the city had to uphold its deal with Tagami.” However, that ruling only provided Tagami with $320,000 in damages. The disappointed coal developers found a judge in Kentucky whose suggestion of hundreds of millions in damages was rejected by Kentucky’s district court on November 21.

    The article quotes Tagami as denying that the project “makes a difference in the world.” But several mile-long trains every day would be spewing unhealthy coal dust from Utah to Oakland. And when burned, that much coal would cost the world tens of billions of dollars in damages (using the EPA’s social cost of carbon).

    The article says, ”The coal project must now go forward.” Those of us who care about the livability of Oakland will continue to oppose this deadly project.

    Jack Fleck
    Oakland

    Mastering spelling
    unlocks many doors

    Re: “Spelling isn’t a subject we can afford to drop” (Page A6, Nov. 19).

    My attention was drawn to Abby McCloskey’s column.

    As this article asserts, a strong foundation in spelling in a child’s early learning years leads to reading and literacy proficiency down the road. My personal academic experience bears this out.

    In my elementary school years in the 1950s, I had a natural strength in spelling, which was nurtured by my teachers. I still have all of my certificates of achievement, which span local through regional spelling contests that I entered.

    Further, this skill led me toward my love of writing — whether it be in the form of a school essay, poetry or, as you are reading now, my penchant for submitting letters to the editor.

    While “spell check” is a helpful tool, our brains still rely on the visualization of words to connect the dots in our educational journey.

    Sharon Brown
    Walnut Creek

    Immigration judges’
    principles cost them

    As the season of gratitude, peace, joy and hope approaches, recently unbenched San Francisco Immigration Judges Patrick Savage, Amber George, Jeremiah Johnson, Shuting Chen and Louis Gordon have inspired this letter. Although no reason was given for their forced departures, I wasn’t surprised. Having seen several preside over mandatory immigration hearings restored my hope in this country’s future. Unfortunately, the very behaviors that gave me hope put them at risk of losing their jobs. Behaviors like being well-versed in immigration law, diligent in their efforts to fully understand cases from both immigrant and government perspectives, and exhibiting both kindness and respect to all present within their courtrooms.

    The current administration has rendered these judges easily disposable obstacles to any campaign promises conflicting with this nation’s laws, Constitution and system of checks and balances. Fortunately, obstacles like integrity and allegiance to oaths of office can’t be as easily disposed of.

    Linda Thorlakson
    Castro Valley

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  • Investigation into removal of superintendent reveals misuse of public funds, Santa Clara County Office of Ed says

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    At a contentious meeting Wednesday night, the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s board delivered the results of a lengthy investigation into an alleged misuse of public funds by the county’s former superintendent of schools — but conflicting claims by county office of education leaders made it clear that many questions still swirl around the findings.

    They come more than a year after former Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan was unexpectedly removed from her position in a 4-2 vote; the action was classified as “without cause.” The board declined to expand on the reasoning for Dewan’s mysterious removal for months, but says now the decision stemmed from her handling of several complaints regarding the county’s Head Start program, which helps low-income children under the age of five access critical resources.

    The report did not cite specific examples of wrongdoing, or include the names of the two law firms that conducted the independent review. But it contained 14 findings, including that under Dewan’s leadership, the Santa Clara County Office of Education misused public funds and violated several board policies, that the county superintendent’s segregated account was used to redirect grant funding for unrelated purposes and that public dollars were used for legal expenses and investigations of the board of education.

    A federal audit released earlier this year said the county office of education misused more than $135,370 in federal Head Start funds under Dewan, an error the board called a failed cover-up and an intentional effort to undermine the board’s authority — but which Dewan said was a communication error.

    The county office of education said Wednesday that the board and staff were not aware of any charges being filed by law enforcement or the district attorney’s office.

    The report’s summarized findings presented Wednesday were written by board counsel and the board’s governance committee — comprised of board president Maimona Afzal Berta, vice president Victoria Chon and trustee Jessica Speiser as well as current county superintendent David Toston — the board’s legal counsel said Wednesday and the findings stemmed from multiple investigations and reports conducted in the last two years.

    The report’s findings also said several office of education contracts were awarded in a manner that suggested personal favoritism and that “ethical safeguards” were ignored, with several county office of education employees allegedly using “public resources” to show support for their superior.

    In a statement Wednesday, Dewan condemned the board’s findings, calling them “meritless, malicious and baseless attacks unsupported by any evidence.”

    “I have no knowledge of any wrongdoing and fulfilled all of my duties with integrity and within the statutory framework of my role,” Dewan said. “This pattern of public attacks, mischaracterizations and personal targeting is harmful to the institution and discourages talented educators from serving our students.”

    Dewan also pointed out that whether appointed by the board — in the case of Santa Clara County — or elected by the community, a county superintendent has independent authority under the law to enter into agreements and contracts. She also said that employees, like all individuals, have First Amendment rights and the board’s effort to frame employee free speech as misconduct is troubling.

    At Wednesday’s meeting, a handful of community members and head start staff expressed their gratitude to the board for investigating the misuse of funds and Dewan’s “unethical” requests.

    “The findings are astonishing but not surprising given that I and Head Start staff have been saying this for the last two years,” said Mercedes Hill, a Head Start office specialist within the county office of education.

    But Riju Krishna, the president of the Association of County Educators — a group of local teachers unions — pointed out that the amount of improperly misused funding alleged in the investigation’s findings “cannot possibly be the work of one single superintendent” in a system that requires multiple checks and balances, and called on the current county superintendent Toston to implement significant policy reform.

    “What is your plan…to rebuild the school oversight, repair the damage and ensure that this never happens again?” Krishna asked. “How will you repair this harm?”

    The board of education presented several suggested policy changes in response to the investigation’s findings Wednesday in an effort to prevent the misuse of funds from reoccurring.

    But Tara Sreekrishnan, who said she was speaking as an individual member of the board and not on behalf of the board itself, expressed concerns about the proposed board policy changes, which she said centralizes authority in the board president, restricts speech, reduces transparency and moves the county office of education toward “punitive, politically motivated governance.”

    She also expressed deep concerns about the investigation’s findings.

    “The findings raise broad and serious concerns but they are presented without evidence or specific examples, which makes it difficult for the public trustees or any oversight agency to fully evaluate them,” Sreekrishnan said in a statement Wednesday.

    The report’s findings come amid several other investigations into the county office of education and board over the last year, which have pointed to an alleged history of tension between the county office of education leadership and board members and found that the board failed to follow its own management policies.

    Several other former county office of education leaders came to the defense of Dewan Wednesday, including former board president Claudia Rossi and former trustee Kathleen King.

    “Countless public dollars have been poured into this two-year witch hunt and still not a shred of evidence of wrongdoing has been produced,” Rossi said in a statement Wednesday.

    But current board member Don Rocha cautioned the community that in his more than 30 years of public service, he’s never seen an agency as unconcerned with serving community interests as the Santa Clara County Office of Education was under Dewan.

    “The evidence speaks for itself unless you choose to look the other way,” Rocha said.

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    Molly Gibbs

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  • Truth vs. risk management: How to move forward

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    Key points:

    In the world of K-12 education, teachers are constantly making decisions that affect their students and families. In contrast, administrators are tasked with something even bigger: making decisions that also involve adults (parents, staff culture, etc.) and preventing conflicts from spiraling into formal complaints or legal issues. Therefore, decisions and actions often have to balance two competing values: truth and risk management.

    Some individuals, such as teachers, are very truth-oriented. They document interactions, clarify misunderstandings, and push for accuracy, recognizing that a single misrepresentation can erode trust with families, damage credibility in front of students, or most importantly, remove them from the good graces of administrators they respect and admire. Truth is not an abstract concept–it is paramount to professionalism and reputation. If a student states that they are earning a low grade because “the teacher doesn’t like me,” the teacher will go through their grade-book. If a parent claims that a teacher did not address an incident in the classroom, the teacher may respond by clarifying the inaccuracy via summarizing documentation of student statements, anecdotal evidence of student conversations, reflective activities, etc.

    De-escalation and appeasement

    In contrast, administrators are tasked with something even bigger. They have to view scenarios from the lens of risk management. Their role requires them to deescalate and appease. Administrators must protect the school’s reputation and prevent conflicts or disagreements from spiraling into formal complaints or legal issues. Through that lens, the truth sometimes takes a back seat to ostensibly achieve a quick resolution.

    When a house catches on fire, firefighters point the hose, put out the flames, and move on to their next emergency. They don’t care if the kitchen was recently remodeled; they don’t have the time or desire to figure out a plan to put out the fire by aiming at just the living room, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Administrators can be the same way–they just want the proverbial “fire” contained. They do not care about their employees’ feelings; they just care about smooth sailing and usually softly characterize matters as misunderstandings.

    To a classroom teacher who has carefully documented the truth, this injustice can feel like a bow tied around a bag of garbage. Administrators usually err on the side of appeasing the irrational, volatile, and dangerous employee, which risks the calmer employee feeling like they were overlooked because they are “weaker.” In reality, their integrity, professionalism, and level-headedness lead administrators to trust the employee will do right, know better, maintain appropriate decorum, rise above, and not foolishly escalate. This notion aligns to the scripture “To whom much is given, much is required” (Luke 12:48). Those with great abilities are judged at a higher bar.

    In essence, administrators do not care about feelings, because they have a job to do. The employee with higher integrity is not the easier target but is easier to redirect because they are the safer, principled, and ethical employee. This is not a weakness but a strength in the eyes of the administration and that is what they prefer (albeit the employee may be dismissed, confused, and their feelings may be hurt, but that is not the administration’s focus at all).

    Finding common ground

    Neither perspective (truth or risk management) is wrong. Risk management matters. Without it, schools would be replete with endless investigations and finger-pointing. Although, when risk management consistently overrides truth, the system teaches teachers that appearances matter more than accountability, which does not meet the needs of validation and can thus truly hurt on a personal level. However, in the work environment, finding common ground and moving forward is more important than finger-pointing because the priority has to be the children having an optimal learning environment.

    We must balance the two. Perhaps, administrators should communicate openly, privately, and directly to educators who may not always understand the “game.” Support and transparency are beneficial. Explaining the “why” behind a decision can go a long way in building staff trust, morale, and intelligence. Further, when teachers feel supported in their honesty, they are less likely to disengage because transparency, accuracy, and an explanation of risk management can actually prevent fires from igniting in the first place. Additionally, teachers and administrators should explore conflict resolution strategies that honor truth while still mitigating risk. This can assist in modelling for students what it means to live with integrity in complex situations. Kids deserve nothing less.

    Lastly, teachers need to be empathetic to the demands on their administrators. “If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens, and so complete Christ’s law. If you think you are too good for that, you are badly deceived” (Galatians 6:1-3). This scripture means that teachers should focus less on criticizing or “keeping score” (irrespective of the truth and the facts, and even if false-facts are generated to manage risk), but should work collaboratively while also remembering and recognizing that our colleagues (and even administrators) can benefit from the simple support of our grace and understanding. Newer colleagues and administrators are often in survival mode.

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    Dr. Yuvraj Verma, Bessemer City Middle School and William Howard Taft University

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  • In wake of report, John Youngquist accuses DPS staff of trying to ‘intimidate and diminish me’

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    For the second time this year, Denver Public Schools board members on Wednesday took John Youngquist to task for his behavior toward district staff, but the director was defiant in the face of his colleagues’ criticism as he reiterated his belief that district employees are retaliating against him.

    Youngquist called the allegations of racism and creating a hostile work environment made by Superintendent Alex Marrero and other district staff in recent months an attempt to “intimidate and diminish me.”

    “It has become clear certain members of the board and district leadership have attempted to impeach my credibility,” he said during Wednesday’s board meeting.

    School board members called the meeting to discuss the results of a third-party investigation that found Youngquist displayed “belittling, dismissive and condescending behavior” toward DPS staff. As directors weighed in on the findings, which were released Monday, they called for a moment of reflection, but did not say what action they might take in response to the report.

    John Youngquist, right, looks at Superintendent Alex Marrero as he speaks with the board during a special Denver Public Schools board meeting on Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

    Directors are considering whether to censure — or formally rebuke — Youngquist and plan to continue the conversation during a Nov. 13 meeting, which could result in such a vote.

    “There’s definitely something that’s not working well in board interactions with staff, so we would want to talk about what would be next steps,” board President Carrie Olson said. “…This is something we don’t want to rush.”

    The investigation was conducted by attorneys with the Denver-based firm Garnett Powell Maximon Barlow and Farbes, which the board hired to look into Marrero’s allegations.

    In the spring, Marrero accused Youngquist of hostile behavior toward DPS employees — especially staff of color — and of wanting his job, in an email sent to Olson. Marrero, in his email, requested that the board take the rare step of censuring Youngquist for his actions.

    A censure is the strongest step the school board can take to formally reprimand a colleague. The board does not have the authority to remove a member.

    A DPS board last censured a member in 2021 after a third-party investigation found former director Auon’tai Anderson flirted online with a teenage student and made intimidating social media posts.

    Wednesday’s meeting was the second time in 10 months that school board members have publicly scolded Youngquist for his behavior toward staff. While recent DPS boards have become known for infighting in recent years, they rarely air grievances openly as they did during the meeting.

    “This is concerning repetitive behavior that may or may not change,” board member Xóchitl Gaytán said of the investigation’s findings. “I’m still working through the findings of the report. Thinking about how I want to deconstruct the white privilege that I read in it and how it is playing out.”

    Youngquist, who last week accused DPS leaders of retaliating against him, has repeatedly found himself in conflict with district employees.

    Staff, most of whom are people of color, told investigators that Youngquist cuts them off in conversations, has refused to shake hands and declines to meet with them. Employees said Youngquist questions them to such an extent that it appears the director believes they are lying or incapable of doing their jobs, according to the report.

    “We conclude it is more likely than not that Mr. Youngquist exhibited bias in interactions with some district leaders of color,” investigators wrote in their findings.

    Director Michelle Quattlebaum, right, speaks during a special Denver Public Schools board meeting to discuss a third-party investigation into Superintendent Alex Marrero's allegations against Director John Youngquist, in Denver on Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)
    Director Michelle Quattlebaum, right, speaks during a special Denver Public Schools board meeting to discuss a third-party investigation into Superintendent Alex Marrero’s allegations against Director John Youngquist, in Denver on Oct. 29, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

    In his statement to the board, Youngquist, a white man, emphasized the investigation did not determine his behavior was driven by overt racism — even as it also found that his actions were the result of biases, including when interacting with employees of color.

    “I hold biases as each and every one of us,” Youngquist said. “Our biases may or may not be represented in our behavior.”

    Youngquist’s comments fell short of the accountability that several of his colleagues said they were seeking from him, and spurred board member Michelle Quattlebaum, who is Black, to tears.

    “I am heartbroken,” she said. “I have experienced racism, discrimination and oppression almost every single day of my life. Mr. Youngquist, as I listen to your statement, my heart broke.”

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    Jessica Seaman

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  • Teaching isn’t about perfection, it’s about showing up–here’s how to do that

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    Key points:

    When I walked into my first classroom almost a decade ago, I had no idea how many “first days” I would experience–and how each one would teach me something new.

    Growing up–first in the Virgin Islands and then later in Florida–I always felt pulled toward teaching. Tutoring was my introduction, and I realized early that I was a helper by nature. Still, my path into the classroom wasn’t straightforward–I changed majors in college, tried different things, and it wasn’t until six months after graduation that a friend pointed me toward Teach For America. That leap took me all the way to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, far from home and family, but I was fortunate to find a strong cohort of fellow teachers and mentors who grounded me.

    Those early years weren’t easy. Being away from home, balancing the demands of teaching, and later, raising two kids of my own–it could feel overwhelming. My mentors kept me steady, reminding me that teaching is about community and connection. That lesson has never left me. 

    As I started this school year–my eighth first day of school at the front of the classroom–I’m reflecting on other lessons learned that help me help my students thrive.

    Connection is the key to everything. If students know you believe in them, they’ll start believing in themselves. I think of one student in particular who was failing in my class repeatedly, and finally passed–not because I’m a miracle worker, but because we built trust. I bought into him, and eventually, he bought into himself. Those are the moments that make the long days and sacrifices worth it.

    Make your classroom a safe space to learn. I teach 10th-grade biology and 11th-grade dual-enrollment engineering; these are subjects that can seem intimidating to young people. I tell my students that I want to hear each and every one of their ideas. No one’s brains are alike. My brain isn’t like yours, and yours isn’t like your neighbor’s. Listening to everyone’s thoughts, processes, and ideas helps us expand our own thinking and understanding. Especially with a subject matter like science, I want students to know that there is no shame in exploring different ideas together. In fact, that’s what makes this kind of work exciting.

    Lean on your network. We preach the importance of continuous learning to our students, and rightfully so. There is always room to grow in every subject. I believe teachers need to model this for our students. I lean heavily on my support system: my mentors, my master teacher, and other educators and coaches. They are always there to bounce ideas off of, helping me continue to strengthen my lessons and outcomes. This also builds community; two of my mentors, Sabreen Thorne and Marie Mullen, are Teach For America Greater Baton Rouge alumnae who still work for the organization and still make the effort to keep in touch, invite me to community events, and offer me words of wisdom.

    I’m proud that these approaches have been working. This past year, our school, Plaquemine High School, saw the most improved test scores in the Iberville Parish School District. It wasn’t magic–it was the collective effort of teachers and students who decided we could do better, together. I was also honored to receive the Shell Science Lab Regional Makeover grant, which provides us with resources to upgrade our science lab. We’ll be able to provide the equipment our students deserve. Science classrooms should be safe spaces where every idea matters, where students feel empowered to experiment, question, and create. This grant will help us bring that vision to life.

    Eight years in, I’ve learned that teaching isn’t about perfection. It’s about showing up, reflecting, leaning on others, and never losing sight of why we’re here: to open doors for kids. Every year, every day, is another chance to do just that.

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    Gelisa Patin, Plaquemine High School

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  • Transcend Releases Beyond Fine Report: Data From 70,000+ Students Reveals School Experiences Significantly Associated With Academic & Behavioral Outcomes

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    Press Release
    •

    Sep 15, 2025

    As AI reshapes the world and our schools, this report suggests student experience surveys can provide real-time impact data that correlates with long-term outcomes and can help schools redesign learning faster


    NEW YORK, NY, September 15, 2025 (Newswire.com)
    –
    Transcend, a national nonprofit that works with communities to create and spread extraordinary learning for all students, has released the report Beyond “Fine”: How Students Really Feel About School and Why It Matters, analyzing more than 70,000 student responses to their validated Leaps Student Voice Survey. The survey data reveals that:

    • How students experience school is significantly associated with a range of important outcomes including test scores, GPA, attendance, and disciplinary incidents.

    • Students who report better school experiences achieve better outcomes.

    • Students at schools which regularly seek and incorporate student feedback into how they “do” school have more positive school experiences and outcomes than the norm.

    “AI is re-writing the world we live in, yet step into most schools, and you’ll see a different story: rigid schedules, siloed subjects, and little space for relevance or real-world connections,” says Aylon Samouha, CEO of Transcend. “Transcend’s Beyond Fine report shows us that many students are feeling locked in place by their learning experiences, and they’re asking, ‘How is this preparing me for what’s next?’ By understanding how students experience school and what’s important to them, educators can gather near-term data to fuel rapid improvement, giving more students the strong academic and behavioral outcomes they deserve.”

    Beyond “Fine”: How Students Really Feel About School and Why It Matters finds that:

    • Students who report higher quality learning experiences perform better on key learning and behavioral outcomes.

    • Most students report that they are not having great experiences in school. School feels irrelevant, boring, and offers them few opportunities to take charge of their learning.

    • The longer students spend in school, the less they like it. Middle and high school students are particularly dissatisfied with their school experiences.

    • Innovative communities across the country are adopting new models that create extraordinary learning experiences. Many schools and districts with strong student experiences and outcomes feature design choices that differ from the “traditional” approach to school.

    The report highlights successful examples of schools using student experience feedback to drive improvement:

    • A Massachusetts school cut chronic absenteeism from 28% to 12% by adapting to student feedback.

    • A North Dakota school adopted student-advocated “studios” to make instruction feel more relevant to the real world, growing from 18% of students reporting school felt relevant pre-studio to 89%.

    Because student experience data is highly responsive to changes in instruction and culture, listening tools like Transcend’s Leaps Survey allow educators to make decisions about data-driven improvement in ways that important, but lagging, outcomes cannot. While it can take months or years for interventions by a school or district to influence standardized assessment scores, the Beyond Fine report suggests that educators do not need to wait that long to test impact±or make informed changes to learning.

    Source: Transcend

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  • Campbell student leads her peers in Breaking Down the Walls

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    Breaking Down the Walls

    Westmont High School student Kaylee Garcia was among 25 student leaders who helped their peers from Silicon Valley Career Technical Education (SVCTE) center in the Breaking Down the Walls (BDTW) on Aug. 29.

    Garcia and the other student leaders completed a three-hour training to prepare them to guide their peers through a full day of activities designed to build meaningful connections. More than 100 students participated in the BDTW event, organized by ignite2unite.

    “What inspired me to step into this student leadership position was I felt it was a really great opportunity to put myself out there in a way that I wasn’t really familiar with, and I just felt like it was a really great chance to get to know my peers and people that I maybe kind of recognized but never got a chance to talk to otherwise,” Garcia said in a release.

    Run by the Metropolitan Education District, SVCTE provides career technical education for high school students in Santa Clara County.  Mobile apps and web development teacher Jesus Correa, who co-led the event, said the goal in bringing in BDTW was to “create an opportunity for students from all of our different courses and from the 45-plus schools that attend SVCTE to come together in a meaningful way.”

    Correa said student leaders were nominated by their teachers and staff for their leadership potential, positivity and willingness to support their peers.

    “Their role was crucial because they set the tone for the activities, encouraged participation and helped create a safe environment for honest conversations,” he added.

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    Anne Gelhaus

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  • Denver Public Schools defies Trump administration deadline for removing all-gender bathrooms

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    Denver Public Schools has not complied with the Trump administration’s request that the district convert all multi-stall, all-gender bathrooms in its schools into separate facilities for female and male students by the agency’s Monday deadline.

    In a five-page response dated Sunday, DPS general counsel Kristin Bailey accused the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights of “intransigence,” a failure to adequately communicate and a “startling” lack of clarity surrounding the alleged Title IX violation levied against the school district.

    “We write to rebut the stated presumption that the District and the Office for Civil Rights (“OCR”) are at an impasse,” Bailey wrote. “We are not. In fact, as the District has shared throughout this Directed Investigation, we want to discuss resolution options with OCR, and at this stage, the District remains interested in doing so.”

    Education Department representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Denver Post on Monday.

    On Aug. 28, the Education Department announced that it had found DPS discriminated against girls by creating a gender-neutral bathroom at East High School and by adopting a districtwide policy allowing students to use facilities corresponding with their gender identities.

    DPS Superintendent Alex Marrero issued a statement the following day, vowing to protect Denver students and families from an administration hostile to the LGBTQ community.

    The department’s Office of Civil Rights said DPS’s all-gender restrooms violated Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, enacted to allow girls and women to participate in educational activities in school, including sports, without sexual harassment.

    The office gave the district 10 days to agree to a proposed resolution — which included converting all-gender restrooms back to single-sex facilities — or “risk imminent enforcement action.”

    The findings come after the Education Department announced in January that it was investigating DPS over the East High’s conversion of a girls restroom into a bathroom for all genders last academic year.

    The Denver high school created the gender-neutral bathroom at the request of students who wanted another facility, choosing to convert a girls bathroom because it was more cost-effective, district officials said.

    The all-gender bathroom has stalls that offer more privacy than other facilities, with 12-foot walls that nearly reach the ceiling and metal blocks that prevent people from seeing through.

    In response to the January investigation, East High recently renovated a boys bathroom into a second all-gender restroom — a move the district said it made to address any disparity. The district has two other all-gender facilities, at the Denver School of the Arts and the Career Education Center Early College.

    In the federal agency’s letter alleging DPS violated Title IX, the Education Department also said the Denver district created “a hostile environment for its students by endangering their safety, privacy and dignity” through its use of all-gender restrooms.

    The Trump administration has repeatedly threatened to cut K-12 and higher education funding from schools with policies that the federal government calls discriminatory, particularly those that relate to gender identity, the LGBTQ community and race.

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    Elizabeth Hernandez

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  • Letters: Battle over Prop. 50 is a fight that’s worth having

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    Prop. 50 is a fight
    that’s worth having

    Re: “Passing redistricting plan will be uphill battle for governor” (Page A16, Aug. 31).

    This opinion piece lists the difficulty of getting voters to the polls for an off-year election, but this is one very special election. For one thing, voting for redistricting is almost as critical as voting for a president. It impacts the entire nation, not just Californians.

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    Letters To The Editor

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  • Colorado’s legislature has filled a third of budget shortfall by slashing tax breaks. Here’s what comes next.

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    More than $250 million down, another $530 million to go.

    That’s how much of a projected $783 million state budget hole the Colorado legislature filled by the time a special session called to address the impact of the federal tax bill ended Tuesday afternoon — and the larger amount that still remains. Erasing the rest of the red ink will fall to Gov. Jared Polis, who plans to rebalance this year’s budget in the coming days through a mix of cuts to state funding and a big dip into the rainy-day fund.

    Over six days, the legislature’s majority Democrats fulfilled their part of a plan worked out with the governor’s office: to pass legislation that is expected to generate enough revenue to close about a third of the shortfall projected for the state’s budget in the current fiscal year, which began July 1. They ended tax breaks and found other ways to offset declining state income tax revenue, while leaving spending cuts largely for Polis to decide.

    “What we did here in this special session is soften the blow,” said Sen. Jeff Bridges, a Greenwood Village Democrat who chairs the legislature’s budget committee. “But when the federal government cuts $1.2 billion in revenue from the state with a stroke of a pen, after we’ve already cut $1.2 billion (from the budget) in the regular session, that’s a tough deficit to come back from in a way that doesn’t impact the people of Colorado.”

    The special session ended with 11 bills going to Polis for final approval. Five sought to fill the budget gap, largely by ending tax incentives for businesses and high-income earners.

    The single largest revenue-raising measure, House Bill 1004, will auction off tax credits that can be claimed in future tax years for a discount. Backers expected that bill to bring in an additional $100 million to state coffers this year, at the expense of about $125 million in future years.

    Together, those measures add up to $253 million in revenue to reduce the projected deficit — money that Democrats say represents averted cuts to Medicaid, schools and hospitals.

    “Colorado legislators stepped up and helped protect children’s food access and minimized the devastating cost increases to health insurance premiums across the state, to the best of our ability,” Polis, who signed two of the new bills earlier Tuesday, said in a statement.

    The legislature’s Joint Budget Committee expects to meet Thursday to hear Polis’ plan to address the remaining $500 million or so, including mid-year spending cuts. 

    As part of his call for a special session on Aug. 6, Polis announced a statewide hiring freeze. He said in an interview before the session started that he hoped to avoid cuts to K-12 education, but he has left all other options on the table, including Medicaid program spending. 

    The plan also factors in a significant use of reserves to offset some of the remaining gap.

    Partisan debates

    Over the past week, Republicans fought the Democrats’ bills, but strong Democratic majorities in both legislative chambers all but preordained the outcome. 

    “Not only did we increase taxes, we’re balancing the budget on the back of small businesses,” said Sen. Barbara Kirkmeyer, a Brighton Republican on the budget committee.

    One of the bills heading to Polis would erase a fee paid by the state to businesses for collecting sales taxes — an outdated subsidy, according to Democrats, and an unnecessary new burden now put on businesses, according to Republicans.

    Republicans said before the session that they’d likely challenge several bills in court over allegations that they violate provisions in the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights that require voter approval for tax increases. Kirkmeyer and Rep. Rick Taggart, a Grand Junction Republican who’s also on the budget committee, said bills going to the governor that would eliminate some tax credits and allow the sale of tax credits against future collections seemed particularly vulnerable to a challenge under TABOR.

    Debate throughout the special session took a distinctly partisan edge. Democrats laid the cuts on congressional Republicans and President Donald Trump and called the federal tax bill a de facto theft of benefits from the poorest Coloradans to benefit the wealthiest.

    Republicans countered that the federal bill delivered much-needed tax cuts, and they said Democrats sought to yank those away instead of cutting partisan priorities.

    Legislators begin to gather in the Senate Chambers before the start of another day of the special legislative session at the Colorado State Capitol in Denver on Aug. 26, 2025. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/The Denver Post)

    Bills on wolves, artificial intelligence

    Other bills passed sought to respond to different aspects of the federal bill, formerly known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” as well as other priorities.

    Lawmakers stripped general fund money away from the voter-approved program to reintroduce wolves in the state, though releases are expected to continue this winter. They tweaked ballot language for a measure about taxes for universal school meals to allow that money to go to general food assistance, as well, if voters approve it in November.

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    Nick Coltrain, Seth Klamann

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  • San Jose schools’ new buildings provide lessons in history

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    Hillbrook School — a Los Gatos-based institution that goes back 90 years but is just in its third year of high school — cut the ribbon on a new classroom building in downtown San Jose on Friday that is steeped in history.

    The three-story brick-and-sandstone Moir building at 227 N. First St. is a real beauty from 1894, with a massive skylight that rains sunshine into its interior and charming bay windows. It was one of the original work-live buildings downtown, with tenants who lived on the upper floors running businesses out of the storefronts on the ground floor. It served as a hotel for most of its life and, most recently, housed the offices of the Robinson & Wood law firm.

1 of 5

Inside the newly renovated building for Hillbrook School in San Jose, Calif., on Friday, Aug. 22, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)

Expand

I’m glad that instead of building something brand new — which it could have done pretty much anywhere — Hillbrook decided to bring its students to downtown San Jose and specifically to two historic but vacant buildings near St. James Park that required millions of dollars of renovation.

“That was a very intentional decision to have a school in downtown San Jose and have this idea of the city as a classroom,” Head of School Mark Silver said. “We have these two buildings, which represent 70,000 square feet, but we have a classroom that is an entire city.”

Having both that building and the old San Jose Armory on North Second Street transformed into classrooms, maker spaces, art studios and a gym should keep those spaces vibrant for decades to come. While they’ve been modernized inside, the exteriors have kept their classic charm.

“The historical character of the building has been updated but hasn’t been lost,” Silver said. “The idea of bringing a historical building back into use is one of the most green and sustainable things you can do. Our ability to take these two buildings and reenergize them is a huge benefit to the city, and it’s a huge benefit to us.”

Hillbrook’s already been a good neighbor, helping to host the National Night Out event for the residents in surrounding buildings this month and asking the relatively new Hobee’s restaurant on North Second Street to provide its student meals. Of course, there’s another historic structure — the dilapidated First Church of Christ Scientist — between Hillbrook’s two buildings. Wouldn’t it be great if the school found a way to make that part of its campus, too?

CELEBRATION BELLS: Meanwhile, Bellarmine College Prep had its own dedication event Wednesday for the Wade Academic Center, a 43,000 square-foot building with 21 classrooms, a courtyard and and administrative offices. While this is an entirely new campus building, Bellarmine — which celebrates its 175th anniversary in 2026 — still paid homage to the school’s history.

The Wade Academic Center at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose was dedicated Aug. 20, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group)
The Wade Academic Center at Bellarmine College Prep in San Jose was dedicated Aug. 20, 2025. (Sal Pizarro/Bay Area News Group) 

It’s named after the Rev. Gerald Wade, Bellarmine’s former president and chancellor emeritus, and his parents, lifelong Santa Clara resident Clara Wade and Walter Wade, whose family had deep roots in Alviso.

And in a touching gesture, the school’s Class of 1983 raised money to dedicate a classroom in honor of Rev. Peter Pabst, the chancellor of Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School. Pabst taught at Bellarmine in the mid-1970s and when he returned to campus from 1981 to ’83. They were among the hundreds of donors who contributed to the capital campaign, “Legacy, Inspiration, Innovation.”

An interior hallway in the Wade Academic Center at Bellarmine College Prep, which was dedicated Aug. 20, 2025, welcomes students in several languages. (Courtesy of Craig Cozart Photography)
An interior hallway in the Wade Academic Center at Bellarmine College Prep, which was dedicated Aug. 20, 2025, welcomes students in several languages. (Courtesy of Craig Cozart Photography) 

To fit the new building on campus, Bellarmine could have gone the easy route and torn down everything in its way. But instead of demolishing the 109-year-old Berchmans Hall, the school moved it, with plans of repurposing it for for offices and a welcome center.

CHAMBER’S SMOKIN’ BBQ: There were more than 850 movers and shakers at the San Jose Chamber of Commerce’s annual barbecue Thursday evening at History Park in San Jose, but the sweltering temperature kept the moving and shaking to a minimum.

People flocked to grab a popsicle from Paleta Planeta, which normally serves up its artisan Mexican frozen treats from its storefront on Fourth and Santa Clara streets, and the booth staffed by downtown accounting firm PP&Co., which was pouring ice-cold Moscow Mules in light-up plastic cups shaped like a boot. (And for those not feeling the love for Moscow these days, they also had bourbon and tequila versions.)

As predicted, the Waymo self-driving car was a hit with the crowd, and — also as predicted — it did not move nor was a start date announced for San Jose service. But testing continues and sooner or later, we won’t have to drive ourselves around town.

PROVIDING A BOOST: Rigo Chacon, who was the longtime face of KGO-TV’s newscasts in the South Bay, founded his scholarship program Abrazos & Books in 1990 to help Santa Clara County students in need. But he says the program is going through its toughest fundraising period in its 35-year history, and he hasn’t been able to promote it as much as he’s recovering from major back surgery.

Chacon launched a GoFundMe last fall to raise $15,000 but it lost steam about six months ago with only about 40 percent of the goal raised. With the start of the school year, he’s hoping there are more generous folks out there with education on their minds. You can find out more about the campaign at www.gofundme.com/f/support-rigo-chacons-legacy-of-giving.

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Sal Pizarro

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  • Denver area school closures and delays for Nov. 8, 2024

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    On days with severe weather, school closures and government office closures will be updated throughout the day.

    A status of “Other” means there is an early closing or some cancellations — check the website by clicking the name in the list.

    Get more Colorado news by signing up for our daily Your Morning Dozen email newsletter.

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    Tynin Fries

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  • Letters: Reinstate superintendent | College trustee | Israeli retaliation

    Letters: Reinstate superintendent | College trustee | Israeli retaliation

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    Submit your letter to the editor via this form. Read more Letters to the Editor.

    County board should
    reinstate fired Dewan

    Re: “Ousted school leader files suit” (Page A1, Oct. 10).

    I am deeply concerned about the recent termination of Dr. Mary Ann Dewan, a respected leader with 33 years of dedicated service to education. Her abrupt dismissal, behind closed doors and without public explanation, undermines the transparency we expect from elected officials and raises questions about the Santa Clara County Board of Education’s adherence to California’s open meeting laws and whether they violated the terms of her contract.

    As a parent in the Santa Clara Unified School District, I witnessed Dewan’s commitment to improving outcomes for all students, particularly the most vulnerable. The community deserves to know why such an effective leader was removed without cause or public input.

    I urge the board to reinstate Dewan and ensure transparency in decisions that affect our schools. Our students, families and teachers deserve leadership that prioritizes accountability and openness.

    Jenny Higgins
    San Jose

    Vote for Bernald for
    college trustee

    With enthusiasm, I heartily recommend Mary-Lynne Bernald, incumbent Area 5 Trustee, for election to the West Valley-Mission Community College District Board of Trustees.

    As a 46-year resident of Saratoga, a former Saratoga city councilmember and mayor, a former 10-year planning commissioner, and former three-time elected chair of the Santa Clara/Santa Cruz Community Airport Roundtable, Mary-Lynne Bernald will continue serving the entire West Valley-Mission College District community, with a strong focus on responsibility, fiscal management, transparency and effective communication. She will continue to contribute meaningfully to the greater community while maintaining integrity and trust in her role.

    Vote for Mary-Lynne Bernald for West Valley-Mission Community College District Area 5 trustee, short term.

    Cindy Ruby
    Saratoga

    Time to stop a year
    of Israeli retaliation

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