TUSD one step closer to trustee area elections

Turlock Unified School District trustees have always been selected through city-wide elections, with a candidate's place of residence in town not a factor. That might soon be changing as the Stanislaus County Committee on School District Organization and Reorganization unanimously voted on Wednesday to accept a proposal by the TUSD to create trustee areas for the 2013 elections. <font face="Times New ...

Dennis Earl students walk like an Egyptian

Sixth graders at Dennis Earl Elementary School went back in time on Friday to 2600 BC, transforming their classrooms into ancient Egypt with mummified chicken legs and gold jewels on display.

College students present study of Turlock’s bike paths

Five Geography majors at California State University, Stanislaus spent the semester biking around Turlock to help make the community a safer place. They surveyed existing bike routes and areas around town that could use bike paths to measure Turlock's bikeability and propose new bikeways.

Tools for learning

Wakefield Elementary School first graders took home Christmas boxes filled with literacy tools ranging from pencils to books. The College of Education from California State University, Stanislaus put together 110 literacy boxes that were delivered to all the first grade classes at Wakefield on Tuesday. The college wanted to provide the literacy tools for students to use over Christmas break so they can continue to learn ...

A step back in time

Turlock Junior High School students from the 7th grade GATE and Honors classes put on their best Victorian outfits on Thursday to dress the part for their Christmas activity of "A Christmas Carol." Students used district-adopted materials to show other students from their school, Walnut Elementary School and Brown Elementary School sixth graders what times were like back in the Victorian days. Turlock Junior High band ...

Bringing civility back to Denair

Civility has been in short supply in Denair over the past month, but the Denair Unified School District is looking to actively change that with the formation of a new committee.

More Turlock students staying in school

Keeping kids in school is a continuous goal for local educators. To accomplish that goal, the Turlock Unified School District has implemented a number of initiatives in the past few years to address high school drop outs including curriculum assessments, pacing calendars and benchmarks. TUSD's hard work has made a difference, according to the newly released 2008/2009 California Dropout and Graduation Rates report. <p style="margin: ...

TUSD receives grant money to enhance school technology

Technology plays a strong role in daily life now more than ever. As recipients of the Enhancing Education Through Technology American Recovery and Reinvestment Act competitive grant for one-time funds of $240,000 for students in seventh grade to 12th grade, the Turlock Unified School District can now give students, teachers and staff about the most up-to-date technology training.

TUSD budget committee prepares for mid-year cuts

The Turlock Unified School District is hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, as a new governor will soon take office with a $6 billion state deficit.

Pre-school program gives children tools they need to succeed

As the 20 Head Start pre-school students in Maria Marques' classroom at Osborn Elementary finished their lunches, parent volunteers Victor Sanabria and Christine Berlin helped the kids throw away their disposable plates and head to the reading carpet.

A real life lesson in First Amendment rights

A couple of weeks ago, Denair Middle School student Cody Alicea rode his bike to school like any other day with an American flag flapping in the wind behind him. At the time, he was learning about the United States Constitution and the freedom of speech guaranteed to all Americans under the First Amendment.

Turlock high schools come together to fight cancer

High school students all over Turlock are looking to make a difference this academic year.

Students gather pennies for schools in Middle East

First, second and third graders at Denair Academic Avenues Charter School had the chance to look at things they would miss at their school if they weren't available during a Pennies for Peace campaign kick-off rally last week.

Reactions to flag incident disrupt classes in Denair

Daily routines at Denair Unified School sites have been disrupted, to say the least. A community and media maelstrom has surrounded Denair Middle School and eighth grade student Cody Alicea after he was told by a campus employee to remove the American flag from his bicycle on Nov. 8.

Community demands answers at heated school board meeting

The Denair Unified School District adopted the new "Choose Civility" initiative led by the county office of education at their Thursday board meeting, despite the lack of civility shown by a few audience members.

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 &ndash; and a former California State University, Stanislaus professor &ndash; 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: &middot; Giana Amador and Bryce Brenda: 1st place in Lincoln Douglas Debate &middot; Corey Garcia and Bryce Brenda: 1st place in National Extemporaneous &middot; Sidney Bragdon: 1st place in Original Oratory &middot; ...

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.

Stanislaus students start new year with higher costs

It may not seem like fall, with leaves still on trees and thermometers showing numbers reminiscent of video game high scores.