education

Schools in the Fresno area recently ranked among the top 50 in the nation when it comes to economic segregation. That’s according to a new report from the national group EdBuild, a school reform organization that advocates changing the way schools are funded, and supports redrawing school district boundary lines.

Over two dozen non-profit groups and local governments, from school districts to local hospitals have pooled their attention and resources together as part of a new effort - the Cradle to Career partnership. It links efforts from early childhood education to jobs readiness and efforts to keep kids out of the criminal justice system. A key part of the effort is the on-going tracking of data in eight key categories - from kindergarten readiness to health.

It’s back to school season, and that means there’s a lot of news right now about local school districts. None more so than the Kern High School District, which serves more than 35,000 students in Kern County. Harold Pierce of the Bakersfield Californian joined us on Valley Edition to give us a recap of the latest news around KHSD.

Some Valley residents may remember Measure E, a bond passed in 2002 that funded repairs and improvements at community colleges in Fresno, Madera, Kings and Tulare Counties. Now, 14 years later, the community college district is asking for money—on an even bigger ballot measure.

A popular Fresno State professor is the subject of a blistering audit from the California State University, including conflict of interest allegations. 

Professor Tim Stearns teaches students at the Lyles Center For Innovation and Entrepreneurship how to start their own businesses. But it’s Stearns own business interests that ran afoul of the CSU Chancellor’s Office. The audit accuses Stearns of hiring a business partner to work as a consultant for the center, and using university resources to benefit his own company.

It’s Sunday morning in downtown Fresno, and a classroom full of 10-year olds is about to meet an important visitor: a 2-foot-tall, red and white robot.

“Hello, my name is NAO,” says the robot, standing up on a table.

He looks like a mix between a Transformer and a Power Ranger: big head, square shoulders, and what looks like thick gloves and boots. He can wave his arms, walk, dance, and blink his eyes—just like a tiny human.

“I can recognize your face, answer questions, and even play soccer like a pro,” he continues.

New data from researchers at UC Davis and Fresno State present a disturbing picture about disconnected youth in Central California. As many as 17 percent of valley teens are either not in school and don't have a job. That's more than double the statewide average of 8.2 percent. Left unaddressed, the disconnect could worsen the valley's poverty problem and contribute to other social ailments from crime to health issues. 

As students head back for another year of school, one small district in the valley is on the cutting edge of education. The Lindsay School district has eliminated grades and grade levels. School leaders say the scheme has transformed education.

Its 7:30 a.m. on the first day of school and students at the Lindsay High School re-connect with friends and wait for the bell to ring.

The roughly 1,000 students are part of just a handful of districts in the country using a system called Performance Based Grading.

When UC Merced first opened its doors in 2005, campus enrollment was just 875 students. Now a decade later, over 6,000 students attend the newest University of California campus, and thousands more are being turned away. As the only UC campus in the San Joaquin Valley, campus leaders hope to expand the number of available slots to over 10,000 by the year 2020 to meet growing demand.  

Floyd Buchanan, the man who built the Clovis Unified School District into an educational powerhouse has died at age 91. FM89's Joe Moore reports his work not only helped shape thousands of young lives, but also both the cities of Fresno and Clovis.

Known by many as "Doc" - Floyd Buchanan was a charismatic and visionary leader. The first superintendent of Clovis Unified, he saw the district grow dramatically during his tenure from 1960 to 1991. 

Buchanan emphasized both academics and athletics, but regardless of the venue his personality set a tone for the district. 

There’s a controversy brewing in Fresno that has school districts up and down the state watching very closely. It all has to do with how districts spend taxpayer money when they build a new school. Traditionally districts would build up reserves or bond money for a new school, and then put the project out to bid for design and construction. The lowest bidder typically would get the job.

Latinos make up the largest segment of California’s population. Yet they have one of the smallest voter representations. But, as Katie Orr reports from Sacramento, one organization is trying to change that equation.

A group of Latino high school students stands on the steps of the state Capitol and yells out its identity.

“California’s future leaders! Who are you? California’s future leaders!”

A free public science education center is officially open in Northwest Fresno. The Highway City Science Center is moving into a community center that has been closed for 5 years since deep Recession era budget cuts.

The center is moving into one of the most underserved areas of Fresno off highway 99 in an area known as Highway City.

It will host science programing for children and adults, such as a fully assembled whale skeleton and electrical workshop.

Manuel Hernandez with the Fresno Parks Department says the center is a huge boost to the area.

Parents often wonder how they can get their children to read and at the same time have their kids enjoy doing so. As FM89’s Diana Aguilera reports, one library in Clovis is inspiring children to open up books with the help of a four legged friend.

“So who’s going to read first today? This is Atlas,” says Mary Catalano.

Catalano is at the Clovis Regional Library with her yellow Labrador named Atlas. The nine-year-old dog is laying on the ground surrounded by kids. 

Talk to most education leaders about the biggest challenges and opportunities in America’s public schools and the issue of so called STEM courses is sure to come up. It’s a fancy acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. According to the US Department of Education, job growth in STEM fields is projected to outpace the rest of the economy, in some areas like software and biomedicine, by more than double.

President Obama says STEM is a big education priority, in a speech to education leaders in 2010: