Bright and Early: The Education Newsblitz

Are you a student named Jose Garcia? Do you know him? You might just — it’s the most common name in San Diego Unified. Help us put together an unusual project to show the many faces and stories within the schools by putting us in touch with the Jose Garcias in your life. And now for the newsblitz!

• We blog that San Diego Unified school board member Shelia Jackson is bowing out of the race for county supervisor — but she says rumors that she’s also leaving the school board are false.
• We also write about why San Diego Unified hasn’t joined up with a statewide effort to make California more likely to get a second dose of school stimulus money. That could mean that if California wins the dollars, the school district won’t get a slice of the funds.
• Curious for more on why school districts are signing on with the stimulus race and what it means? Educated Guess breaks it down here.
• The Union-Tribune reports that a long-running case about hazardous materials in wood shops and science labs in San Diego Unified has resulted in the school district agreeing to spend $750,000 on fines, employee training, new hires and audits to solve the problems. Unfortunately, this isn’t exactly a good time for spending.
• On the opinion side, the UT editorializes that the San Diego Unified board is ready to do away with the superintendent position entirely and argues that doing so would be a power grab. I’ll be at the board meeting today to see whether they’re headed that direction.
• KPBS follows up on the North County Times story about Fallbrook high schools settling a censorship case for $27,500.
• SDNN reports on budget cut protests by community college students at Gov. Schwarzenegger’s San Diego office.
• California legislators are poised to pass a bill that advocates say will give it a better shot at winning stimulus money under Race to the Top, a competition for more federal funds for schools. The San Francisco Chronicle breaks down what would change under the law, such as allowing parents to prompt overhauls of failing schools.
• Ouch: Chino schools are bracing to lose $8 million for accidentally missing instructional minutes at two elementary schools. They’re trying to get the state to relent by pointing out high test scores, the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin writes.
• A new report from the Census Bureau shows that U.S. kids are more engaged in school and more involved outside of school than roughly a decade ago, the Record reports.
• Want to know what the Obama Administration version of No Child Left Behind is going to look like? Take a look at Race to the Top, Education Week reports. That means a focus on school turnarounds, teacher quality and better data systems for schools.
• The Associated Press zooms in on a unique educational method called paideia that dials down lectures and tests in favor of debate and the Socratic method. Public schools in Cincinnati, Chicago and Chattanooga are the only ones that provide it from kindergarten to graduation.
• Change.org blogs that new studies are debunking the idea that children have dramatically different learning styles. (Hat tip to blogger Alexander Russo for the link.)
• And Eduflack asks: Where is the love for education reporting?

— EMILY ALPERT