TUSD trustees approve budget, await further state cuts

After months of slashing expenses, negotiating new contracts, and cutting services and programs, the Turlock Unified School District finally has a budget for the 2009-10 school year ... at least for a few weeks.

Retiring teachers honored, voice their appreciation for district

Marsha Memmott has spent the last 30 years teaching English to Turlock eighth graders. She has spent 30 years correcting grammar, grading essays, and explaining when to use "who" and when to use "whom." After all of those years of dedication to Turlock students and their education, Memmott is retiring from her job at Turlock Junior High School.

Pitman High students earn semifinalist berth from National Merit

Pitman High seniors Adrian Leven and Simon Staley were selected as semifinalists in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship competition. Should either be selected as a finalist they would be in competition for 8,300 National Merit Scholarships worth more than $34 million. Leven holds a 4.46 GPA and plans to major in computer science once in college. He has applied to Stanford, Cal Tech, USC and Cal Berkeley. Staley has a 4.7 GPA and ...

Mobile science lab makes first trip to Turlock

Ag in Motion, a 53-foot state-of-the-art mobile trailer classroom, visited seventh grade students at Dutcher Middle School in Turlock this week. The mobile classroom was unveiled in late June of this year by the National Ag Science Center in Modesto. The free mobile classroom experience features 20 laboratory stations, complete with microscopes and lesson plans designed around the seventh grade science curriculum for California schools. The lab can hold up to 36 students ...

High school early assessment helps to improve college readiness

California State University Chancellor Charles Reed announced Monday that over the past six years there has been an increase in the number of high school students ready for college level English and math. While many forms of testing exist and requirements for admission into the CSU system have long been in place, Reed said that in the past even "B" average high school students have not been ready for college level math and ...

University employees protest layoffs

California State University, Stanislaus employees held a rally Monday to protest proposed non-teacher layoffs that they say seem excessive compared to those at other CSU campuses. "We decided to have a rally because the cuts at Stanislaus don't seem to fit the rest of the state," said Pat Gantt, CSUEU president. System-wide, 14 layoff or cutback notices were issued to CSUEU employees, set to take effect Sept. 30. Eleven of those notices ...

Denair students celebrate grandparents

The first Sunday after Labor Day is traditionally considered Grandparents' Day in the United States. This holiday celebrates the special role that grandparents play in families, and especially their relationships with their young grandchildren. Although this holiday is not as commercially popular as Mother's Day or Father's Day, it recognizes important parental figures in many children's lives. For that reason and many others, students at Denair Elementary School took Friday to celebrate their grandparents. ...

CSUS botany professor’s dream closer to realization

An arboretum intended to celebrate California's diverse collection of plant life – and a former California State University, Stanislaus professor – could break ground as soon as mid-October. But that's only if California State University, Stanislaus can raise the final $30,000 needed to pay for the project, more than 30 years in the making. The brainchild of former CSU Stanislaus botany professor Wayne Piece, the Trans-California Pathway Project would transform a vacant ...

Local children get a lesson in American history

School district lists accomplishments, goals for future

Turlock Unified School District Superintendent Sonny Da Marto is proud of the successes the district saw in the 2010-11 school year and is looking forward to an even better - and more tech savvy 2011-12. Da Marto submitted a report to the TUSD Board of Trustees Tuesday night that listed the district's accomplishments for the 2010-11 school year - 75 in all. "If I have to pick one that stands out I ...

Chemistry students get laptops instead of textbooks

The 160 Honors Chemistry students in the Turlock Unified School District each received brand new laptop computers this week as part of a pilot program. The netbooks are on loan to the students for the school year to aid in the online component of their chemistry class. "They can view tutorials, complete assignments and tests, download lecture notes and amend them as we go through the lecture. It is going to allow students ...

Turlock High students have good showing at debate tournament

The Turlock High School Speech and Debate Team had the following students place at the Delta Charter Novice Tournament on Aug. 27: · Giana Amador and Bryce Brenda: 1st place in Lincoln Douglas Debate · Corey Garcia and Bryce Brenda: 1st place in National Extemporaneous · Sidney Bragdon: 1st place in Original Oratory · ...

TUSD makes gains in test scores

The Turlock Unified School District saw another year of growth in test scores, as the newest Accountability Progress Report was released by the state on Wednesday. The district recorded a 13-point gain in its Academic Performance Index, or API, going from a score of 760 in 2010 to 773 in 2011. "I'm very, very pleased with that over the last three years, we've had growth over time of 8.7 percent in test ...

Turlock High puts learning on fast track

During the morning announcements on Friday, Turlock High principal Dana Trevethan read the answers submitted by students to Thursday's "Question of the Day." The question: Where did Turlock High rank among Stanislaus, Merced, San Joaquin and Tuolumne county high schools in regards to the recently released academic performance index scores? The answer: seventh. After reading the correct answer over the school's public address system, Trevethan went on to list the rank, ...

EDUCATION: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Turlock Unified School District recently released the names of students who scored perfect 600s on their California Standards Tests in the 2010-2011 academic year. TUSD had 132 students who got a perfect score on at least one subject and seven students who reached perfection in more than one subject testing area. The CSTs include testing for general math, English-language arts, geometry, algebra 1, algebra 2, summative high school math, integrated high school math, history-social ...

Parents get a chance to learn more about teachers, curriculum

Back to School Night was a trip down memory lane for many Turlock parents. They sat in child-sized chairs at child-sized desks surrounded by picture books and finger paintings. They sat quietly while teachers explained the year's curriculum, and some even had snack time. "Back to School Night is a time for teachers to connect with parents," said Janet Wheeler, a second grade teacher at Julien Elementary School. And what better way ...

eCademy opens doors to first class of students

eCademy Charter School is the newest addition to Turlock Unified School district, but it isn't your typical K-12 school. The school has a physical site at Crane - several classrooms and two mobile units under construction - but most of the high school level courses offered by the school take place online.