The Pasadena Star-News and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune are seeking local high school students to participate in a weekly student panel. Students who attend schools in the Tribune coverage area should contact Pia Abelgas Orense, weeklies editor, at (626) 962-8811, Ext 2669, or e-mail at pia.orense@sgvn.com.

Students who attend schools in the Star-News coverage area should contact Caroline An, education reporter, at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4494, or e-mail at caroline.an@sgvn.com

Rowland Unified sent the following email about the scores in their district.

Rowland Unified continues to outperform the state with the number of students proficient or above in English Language Arts and Mathematics.

"I am proud of our quality instructional programs and work by our teachers and school support staff that are showing academic growth at our schools," said Rowland Unified Superintendent Dr. Maria Ott. "We are especially excited to see the growth in our 4th and 7th grade writing scores that increased by 38 and 40%."

Seven schools in Rowland had API scores above 800 and many made double digit growth gains, such as Shelyn Elementary gaining 23 points and Hurley Elementary with 22 points. The two schools that received the highest API scores were Blandford Elementary with a score of 910 and Oswalt Academy with a score of 888. For the District as a whole, the District API is 764.

"Our mission at Rowland Unified is much broader than test scores," said Dr. Ott. "It is important to use these data, but we will also focus on the whole child. We will continue to provide our students with broad opportunities where they can excel. Our high schools both offer our innovative Career Pathways Program and the prestigious International Baccalaureate (IB) Program. We are now embarking on the (IB) Primary Years Program at several of our elementary schools, and remain committed to offering enrichment programs in the arts and technology."

For more information regarding the state 2007-08 Accountability Progress Reports, you can visit http://www.cde.ca.gov/nr/.

The Rowland Unified School District is proud to serve 17,500 students at 23 elementary and secondary schools in the communities of Rowland Heights, Walnut, La Puente, City of Industry, and West Covina.  For more information about Rowland Unified, call (626) 965-2541 or visit www.RowlandSchools.org.

Bixby Elementary's will be held in the cafeteria at 6 p.m., while Kwis Elementary's will be from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the cafeteria and classrooms.

Wilson High School hosts its Back-to-School Night in the gym at 6 p.m.

Rowland High School has its back to school night from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Looking for a good tuba?

Tonight's the annual band night  when local music stores come to Rowland High School to allow students to purchase or rent musical instruments.

The event will be held from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the gym.

Students can also enjoy a performance by the Rowland High School Band.

Instrumental music classes will begin at Rowland Elementary Schools next Monday, please check your school for exact schedules.

Wednesday night band classes will also begin on Sept. 10 and continue every Wednesday  at Rowland High School Band Room. Beginners meet from 6-7 p.m., while intermediate and advanced students rehearse from 7-8 p.m.

Nearby Mesa Robles Middle School in Hacienda Heights will hold its Back-to-School Night today.

The event will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the school's cafeteria and classrooms.

The second grade will meet from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, followed by the third grade from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The fifth grade will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, followed by the fourth grade at 7 p.m.

The first grade will gather from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday, followed by kindergarten from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.  

 Photo by Raul Roa / Staff

They're back!  Hacienda La Puente Unified School District began its new school year today.

Everyone seemed excited to be back for the new academic year, especially at Wilson High School in Hacienda Heights, where they have a new principal.

Welcoming Wilson students back are, from left, cheerleader and ASB member Sandy Ying,  Principal Elena Paul, ASB Activities Commissioner Yvette Flores,  Aftin Jaramillo as Willy the Wildcat, and Superintendent Barbara Nakaoka.

Paul previously was assistant principal at Cleveland High School of the L.A.Unified School District in the San Fernando Valley. 

The field game competition will begin at 10:20 Tuesday, followed by a barbecue lunch. Winners of the two days will be announced and prizes distributed.

Sounds like a lot of fun! We'll highlight the innovative design program in a future story in the Highlanders.

Photo by Raul Roa

Glad to meet ya! Blandford Elementary principal Mercedes Lovie greets students as they come in for the first day of school in the Rowland Unified School District.

Other schools beating the Labor Day rush include Mt. San Antonio College and the Walnut Unified School District.  

 How many lives have you saved?

Lily Eskelsen, vice president of the National Education Association, flew in from Washington DC to ask area teachers that question.

"Don't ever believe that tests are what teaching is all about. We care about the whole child," Eskelsen said at the kickoff rally for the Rowland Unified School District.

The leader of the association of 3 million teachers nationwide noted that teachers do much more than teach for standardized test scores.

"We'll give you the scientists, lawyers, mothers and fathers of tomorrow. We will give you the American dream," Eskelsen  said.

Read the whole story in the Highlanders. 

It's that time of the year. New teachers are receiving their orientation for the beginning of school.

New teacher Krystal Kawamoto, right, talks with a fellow teacher as they learn how to do thinking maps during the three-day orientation at Rowland Unified School District. 

Usually from 80 to 100 new teachers join Rowland Unified every year. But this year there were only about two dozens new instructors. Several of those had been laid off from other school districts as far away as San Diego.

"This year we have experienced less retirements -- people are working longer due to the uncertainty of the economy and it has affected many of their spouses as well. This has resulted in fewer openings and new hires," explained Superintendent Maria Ott.

What's happening in your school district? Are you seeing fewer new faces this year?

James Zant, 51, of La Habra - a government, English and history teacher at the school for the past 25 years - was headed to summer school when his Honda CRV slammed into a Toyota Tundra around 7:30 a.m.

Principal Larry Callaham tells me there is a somber mood at the school today as the news of the beloved teacher is reaching students and faculty members.

Zant was also a Head Football Coach in the 90s as well as a track coach.

It also came to light that teachers and students may have known that Black Student Union members had fake names such as  "Tay Tay Shaniqua," "Crisphy Nanos" and "Laquan White" in the yearbook before they were distributed.

Here is the beginning of my story that ran today:

COVINA - Students and teachers at Charter Oak High School may have known that racially offensive names were printed in the yearbook before all of the books were distributed, officials said Wednesday.

School Board President Joseph Probst said students may have alerted a teacher of the error when the first round of books was distributed to seniors.

"Some people discovered the error first and they didn't react as fast as they could have," Probst said. "They weren't sensitive to it and we need to make sure people are being responsible."

To read the full story click here

"SACRAMENTO -- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell held a news conference today at McClatchy High School with members of the education community to highlight the effect of budget cuts to education on summer school programs across the state.

"The elimination of summer school courses threatens to significantly affect students already behind in their schoolwork because they will miss out on the chance to catch up to their peers over the summer break," O'Connell said.

"Some districts that offer summertime intervention programs for English learners cannot afford to keep their classrooms open. Even schools that are just scaling back what they offer will begin offering classes only to students who need to complete courses in order to graduate. This means that students looking to get ahead or improve their grade point average will not be able to do so." "

No decision was made on how to correct the errors.

Click here to read the full story.

The Azusa Unified School District's Board of Education has selected Vincent Jantz as new Director of Student Achievement 6-12. He replaces Marlene Ministeri who is retiring this summer.

Prior to joining the District, Mr. Jantz was principal at Calabasas High School. He has also served as an assistant principal at Santa Ana High School.  In addition, he has taught grades 6-12 in the Santa Ana Unified School District and at Cal-State Fullerton, Western State University, Santa Ana College and the University of Redlands.

 After completing his bachelors' degree at Cal-State Fullerton, he received his master's from Georgetown University and his Juris Doctor from Southwestern University.

The position was approved at a June 24 board meeting. The salary for the Director of Student Achievement 6-12 is $111,907, according to district spokeswoman, Kathy Miller.