Santa Clara County’s landmark resolution supporting ethnic studies is being challenged by some who claim it is un-American, prompting supporters to launch a petition to save the school board’s efforts to bring race-related education to classrooms. Eight months after the Board of Education passed the resolution, supporters believe it has come under fire from what...
East San Jose education leaders at odds with push to reopen schools
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo’s efforts through his new advocacy organization to reopen San Jose schools is sparking frustration for some — particularly communities of color. Liccardo launched a petition through Solutions San Jose — sending two emails within 24 hours — to gather signatures demanding COVID-19 vaccines be prioritized for teachers and to reopen...
County to reinvestigate Black student’s death, SJSU president says
San Jose State University President Mary Papazian announced this week the county coroner and district attorney will reexamine the suspicious death of student Gregory Johnson Jr., according to an email obtained by this news organization. “SJSU recognizes that for many members of our community, the circumstances surrounding Gregory’s death are emblematic of longstanding systemic racism...
New Alum Rock district bilingual program helps students learn Vietnamese
Thu-Hong Tran ended a recent Zoom class by asking 14 kindergartners to count to 100 in celebration of 100 days of school. “In Vietnamese please,” she said. In East San Jose, Ben Painter Elementary is the first school in Alum Rock Union School District to launch a Vietnamese dual immersion program, allowing students to learn both English...
San Jose school district accused of hiring allegedly shady contractor
A labor watchdog organization is accusing the San Jose Unified School District of hiring contractors and subcontractors that allegedly skirted California labor laws. The labor watchdog Foundation for Fair Contracting wrote letters to district Superintendent Nancy Albarrán in December accusing Glendora-based California Commercial Pools Inc., a contracting firm, of failing to comply with the state’s skilled and...
Pressure mounts for San Jose Unified School District to remove police from campuses
After community activists said their recent rally against police on San Jose Unified School District campuses fell on deaf ears with school board members – they mobilized a second time on Thursday. This time, the crowd did not shrink. “It’s actually pretty exhausting and heart-wrenching for these families to have to continue to do this,” said...
Alum Rock school district appoints new trustee
After its newly-elected trustee ditched the job before taking office, the Alum Rock Union School District selected a replacement — Minh Pham. The district’s four sitting trustees voted unanimously to accept Pham as their fifth member late Thursday night. “While we had two good candidates, Mr. Pham’s depth and breadth of experience made him the better...
San Jose teachers could be next in line for COVID-19 vaccine
Some San Jose educators, anxious to return to in-classroom teaching, are eager to get the COVID-19 vaccine after Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed teachers be next in line. Vaccinations are one part of the Newsom’s $2 billion “Safe Schools for All Plan” that takes effect this month. The plan aims to open California elementary schools as soon as...
Grand jury accuses San Jose Unified of misleading public and its own board about lobbying efforts
San Jose’s biggest school district left the public and its own governing board in the dark about lobbying activities that were carried out on its behalf — and possibly violated government ethics laws in the process, according to a new grand jury report. San Jose Unified School District hired a consulting firm to help it with a...
South Bay nursing students create COVID-19 book for kids
After COVID-19 scrapped their clinical rotations in 2020, five South Bay nursing students turned their focus to educating children about the virus. Elaine Pham, Liz Nguyen, Elaine Fu, Vivian Doan and Tina Tran created the 15-page book “Let’s Learn About COVID-19” containing coloring diagrams, crossword puzzles and other activities that explain the virus. Nguyen, Fu,...