WORLD California: California news from a Christian perspective.

Losing transitional kindergarten Mary Jackson

January 27, 2012 With state education funds dwindling, the future of transitional kindergarten is uncertain

California kindergarten teacher Kim Solomon remembers the days when kindergarten meant finger painting, block building, and nap time. But now with mounting expectations placed on 4- and 5-year-olds to meet state standards, Solomon supports a new state-funded grade level dubbed "transitional kindergarten" to ease children into school, slated to begin this fall.

Pulling the "parent trigger" again Jordan Lee

January 24, 2012 For the second time, California parents use a law that allows them to petition changes to their children's school

A group of concerned parents mutinied against Desert Trails Elementary in Adelanto, Calif., earlier this month, invoking their rights granted by California's "parent trigger" law to demand change in their children's school.

'All nations have come to USC' Jordan Lee

November 29, 2011 USC has the most international students in the nation, and churches and ministries are reaching out

Touqi Zhang, a Chinese Christian studying animation at the University of Southern California, believes Christians in Los Angeles have the greatest opportunities to fulfill the Great Commission.

UC Davis's protest policies investigated Mary Jackson

November 22, 2011 A campus task force looks into whether the police's use of pepper spray was necessary

UC Davis students reinstated tents and voiced opposition of the school's protest policies Tuesday after police officers used pepper spray on the students last Friday.

CSU looks to replace 5 presidents Mary Jackson

November 17, 2011 Prospective Cal State presidents have budget cuts and tuition hikes to look forward to

Amid looming budget cuts and growing resentment over tuition hikes, California State University officials also face the task of filling five presidential vacancies.

San Diego State's LGBT major Melody Karpinski

November 11, 2011 SDSU's new LGBT major raises economic and religious concerns.

The approval of San Diego State University's new Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender major last month set in motion a wave of similar decisions across the state, causing concern among students, politicians, and religious leaders.

UC schools drop SAT subject tests Laura Vaillancourt

October 27, 2011 Applicants to University of California schools are no longer required to take SAT subject tests

Just weeks before the deadline for University of California applications, the state school dropped the requirement for students to take SAT subject tests.

Efforts to repeal gay history law fail Mary Jackson

October 25, 2011 But backers of the repeal say they will continue to work on getting the issue on the ballot

A group trying to repeal California's new law requiring public schools to include LGBT history in their curriculum was unable to get enough signatures to put the referendum on the June 2012 ballot.

Parents push for change in LAUSD Bethany Miller

October 17, 2011 Parents are creating their own unions to bring change to their children's schools.

For years, overcrowded classrooms, low test scores, and high dropout rates have plagued the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the second largest public school system in the nation. Tired of failed government-funded initiatives, parents of LAUSD students are gathering together in "parent unions" to demand changes in their children's schools.

Anaheim high schools end incentive program Anna Anderson

October 14, 2011 Kennedy and Cypress high schools end a controversial program that tiered students based on test scores

After complaints from students and parents last week, Kennedy and Cypress high schools in the Anaheim Union High School District terminated a controversial incentive program that tiered students based on their test scores.

Teachers protest education reform summit Mary Jackson

October 14, 2011 Protesters marched outside as Murdock, Bush talked education reform in San Francisco hotel

About 100 teachers and activists protested Thursday outside a San Francisco hotel where over 750 people had gathered for a conference on education reform.

Free speech defined Jill Nelson

September 26, 2011 Ten Muslim college students are found guilty of disrupting a 2010 speech by the Israeli ambassador

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif.-After more than two days of deliberation, an Orange County jury announced its verdict in a case that sparked national debate over free speech rights: All 10 Muslim students were found guilty of criminal charges for disrupting a speech by Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren at the University of California in Irvine (UCI) last year.

University of California Essentials Marvin Olasky

July 19, 2011 Budget reflects questionable priorities

"Cut to the bone." That's how the University of California system's budget vice president described his empire's financial condition. Not quite.

Queer Priorities for California Schools Tiffany Owens

July 7, 2011 Cutting classes and expanding curriculum

This summer, thousands of financially stressed public school districts across the nation are gutting programs. This fall, many are cramming classes into four-day weeks or cutting days off the school year. All this is happening despite Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's declaration in 2009: "Our school day is too short, our school week is too short, our school year is too short."

Getting religion Alisa Harris

November 21, 2009 Secular groups like Teach for America are finding fruitful partnerships with faith communities

When Tiffany Moore's parents moved from Los Angeles for better schools and a safer community, Moore left her cousins in the schools she left behind. As she grew up and saw her own family's education gap widen-she looked ahead to college while her cousins struggled with reading and writing-she decided one day she would go back to Los Angeles and right this wrong.

Charter Course Lynn Vincent

September 6, 2008 How to turn around a gang-infested inner-city school? It isn't easy, but a small, aggressive group of teachers and parents can make it happen

Summoned by an old-fashioned, hand-rung school bell, 630 uniformed seventh- and eighth-graders line up at the chain-link gates to the interior campus of a college preparatory junior high school in San Diego. Separate lines form for boys and girls, boys on the left. Posted just inside the gates are school director Vince Riveroll and science teacher Rob Charleton.

Some Assemblies Required Lynn Vincent

March 17, 2007 California high school draws fire by having racially segregated academic pep rallies

A series of racially separate public-school assemblies in Concord, Calif., late last month angered some parents, sent "weird" messages to kids-and may have violated state law.

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