San Jose leaders say a new state law that allows students to redo a disastrous year of distance learning could be a “godsend” for struggling South Bay students. On July 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 104, which allows students to request a redo of the 2020-21 school year, substitute Pass or No Pass...
Lack of light rail affects San Jose State University students
Classes start next week at San Jose State University, but with VTA’s light rail still out of service, some students and workers could face daunting commutes. Before the pandemic, Suzie Bahmanyar, an academic librarian at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, said she took the light rail from her Camden home to downtown San...
UPDATE: Largest San Jose school district brings back cops as security
Six weeks after the largest school district in the city kicked cops off campus, its school board unanimously voted to bring them back for after-school events. The San Jose Unified School District renewed terms and conditions Thursday for police officers while they’re on campus. The agreement allows the district to hire SJPD officers as “private...
San Jose school district cuts bus service at numerous schools
Many San Jose students will be left behind this upcoming school year as officials cut critical bus services. The San Jose Unified School District, the largest district in the city, decided to cut bus service to more than a dozen elementary campuses as well as Willow Glen Middle School and Willow Glen High School to...
Santa Clara County Board of Education picks new trustee
The Santa Clara County Board of Education this week filled an almost two-month vacancy on the dais after appointing Tara Sreekrishnan, deputy chief of staff for state Sen. Dave Cortese. Approximately 40 county residents and colleagues of the one-time Cupertino City Council candidate called into Wednesday’s meeting to support her appointment to Trustee Area 2, which...
Santa Clara County Board of Education looks to fill vacant seat
The Santa Clara County Board of Education will appoint a new trustee next month to fill a seat recently left vacant. “There are families even in District 2 which need services just as much as any families in the county,” said Anjali Kausar, CEO of the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce and a candidate for the...
Masks mandatory for Santa Clara County students
The excitement of returning to school may be dimmed for Santa Clara County students, as they’ll have to wear masks when they go back to the classroom this fall. On Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended indoor masking for all teachers, school employees, students and visitors to K-12 schools, regardless of vaccination status....
How San Jose schools fared during COVID-19
New report cards on Santa Clara County’s public schools during COVID -19 show most high school seniors graduated, suspensions disproportionately hurt students of color and some teachers are being priced out of the region. These are the findings of San José Spotlight’s analysis of the latest school accountability report cards, despite those reports omitting data about student test scores and absenteeism...
Lack of hybrid learning leaves some San Jose students behind
Before the COVID-19 pandemic forced school districts to move to remote learning, Polly Ferguson said her fifth grade grandson could not read or grasp basic math concepts. That changed after 15 months of one-on-one tutoring and online school. But as school districts phase out online learning in favor of returning to in-person instruction, Ferguson worries all...
Teachers can’t afford to live in San Jose
Affordable housing remains elusive for young teachers in San Jose, leaving them with long commutes or forcing them to look for jobs elsewhere. The high cost of living in the Bay Area is challenging for new teachers and other employees, including cafeteria workers and groundskeepers, said San Jose Unified School District spokesperson Jennifer Maddox. “It’s...