Latest news with #LodiUnifiedSchoolDistrict
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
'Let's do something great': Community weighs in as Lodi Unified rolls out early plans for new school
May 8—Lodi Unified School District teachers on Tuesday questioned why preliminary plans for a new campus did not include rooms designed for specific subjects such as art, music and science. Tokay High School science teacher Susan Heberle told the district's board of education that the proposed construction of Samuel M. Gantner School was exciting, and that this was an opportunity for staff to create something extraordinary for students. "Because it's going to be an elementary school, it's okay to put in a science room, or a project room, or even an art room," she said. "Because students need that. It's about looking to the future, something we can do that will help our kids flourish. Maybe if we used (the room) as a role model, we could add it to other schools." District staff presented the new campus' specifications to the board Tuesday, and while the plans proposed outdoor learning areas and "collaboration flex space" to give students more room to work together in smaller groups, there was no mention of rooms where students could play instruments or undertake scientific experiments. The school, to be located on an 11.5-acre site west of GracePoint Church at Vine Street and Westgate Drive, will focus primarily on TK-6 grades, with the possibility of accommodating seventh- and eighth- grade students in the future, if necessary. The school's capacity would be 650 students in TK-6 and 850 students if it were to accommodate seventh- and eighth graders. Preschool through third-grade classes would have about 24 students each, while grades 4-6 would have 30 students in each class. Staff added that the campus' design would prioritize flexible, adaptable spaces; combine mobile furniture with built-in storage; have a sink in every classroom; and include backpack storage needed at all grade levels. "Whether it's including middle school students or not, we want to continue to have these thriving middle school programs," music teacher Mary Guida said. "Tokay is a powerhouse because we have these feeder programs. So we need to make sure we have guaranteed space for every teacher that is going to be on that site." Former board member Ron Heberle said he liked the idea of Gantner becoming a K-8 campus, but only if it's planned well. He said the district should build the school with the intention that 850 students will be attending on day one. "If you're planning a school, you need to plan growth and build for growth," he said. "The population will increase, because Lodi's population is going to increase during the lifespan of the school. Don't build it for what you have now, build it's for what's coming down the road." The school's name was unanimously chosen by the board in 2003 to honor the first Lodian killed in World War II. Gantner was a Lodi High graduate and a young father who was stationed on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor when Japanese forces attacked on Dec. 7, 1941. As planes approached, Gantner raced to his battle station, a 5-inch anti-aircraft gun on the deck. He fired at the attacking planes but was wounded and taken to the ship's hospital. Soon after arriving though, medics noticed he was no longer in the treatment area. He was later seen back at his battle station with his crew, firing at the enemy. An official citation read, in part: "He maintained an effective fire with his gun, in local control, despite heavy casualties on his gun, bomb hits, exploding ammunition on deck, and serious fires, and was killed at his station." He was 21. His remains were buried at the Punch Bowl military cemetery in Hawaii. Board member Sherry Alexander said the district should take Guida's suggestions, as well as Susan Heberle's, into consideration. "A science, music and art, or even a STEAM area would be hugely beneficial," she said. "When we have a chance to do something great, let's do something great."
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New school planned for Lodi's growing west side
( — An empty 11.5-acre lot at Vine Street and Westgate Drive in Lodi may soon transform into a new school following years of community demand and growing populations in the Lodi Unified School District. District officials say the new school, which is still in the planning stages, will be named Samuel M. Gantner Elementary School. Gantner, a Lodi native considered a hometown war hero, fought and died during the attack on Pearl Harbor. 'Like many of our parents, we are anxious to get this school built,' said Lodi Unified Superintendent Neil Young. The school, Young said, will be built to accommodate the growing number of students on the city's west side. 'Several of our campuses on the west side continue to grow and the number of students is greater than the capacity of the school,' Young said. 'So that we can balance out our schools and make sure we have enough space for all students in our district, that's why the board has decided to move forward with building that school.' The school is planned to serve K-6 students with the flexibility to expand to 7th and possibly 8th grade if needed. In total, the campus would accommodate up to 850 students. 'Safety will be a number one priority for our families and our students, but we also want to look at the flexibility of the spaces that we have, whether they are outdoor spaces that are covered or indoor classrooms, so students have the room to move around,' Young said. The Samuel M. Gantner campus is one of two schools the district is planning to build. The design and structure of Gantner would serve as an example for a future school in Stockton. 'As we build Gantner, it'll give us a model of what we can build on the west side of Stockton,' Young said. The school board is scheduled to discuss educational specifications during a public meeting on Tuesday to finalize how the project would move forward. Once plans are set, Young says the district would move next into the architectural design phase. If plans stay on track, the district estimates the school could be up and running in the next three years. Young says the new school would mean opportunities for new jobs, and opportunities for staff and students to move around. District officials say they will be working closely with the county and the city to ensure the new school is a fit for the surrounding community. The Board of Education meeting will take place at 7 pm at 1305 E. Vine Street. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Lodi Unified to receive funding for zero-emission buses
Apr. 26—Lodi Unified School District is one of four in the county that will be receiving funding to purchase zero-emission electric buses in the near future. Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Wednesday that $500 million was awarded to educational agencies to buy zero-emission school buses and chargers through the Zero-Emissions School Bus and Infrastructure project. The project aims to invest $500 million to deliver 1,000 buses to some 133 school districts across the state by 2035. Clean school buses funded by the state are expected to reduce 18,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually, which is equal to taking more than 4,000 cars off the road for a year. More than 70% of the current zero-emission school buses in operation are in California's most pollution-burdened communities, the state said. "Cleaning up the state's school bus fleet is central to California's efforts to provide clean transportation in priority communities that are disproportionately hurt by air pollution," California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph said. "The vast majority of these grants will go to local educational agencies that serve these communities." To date, the state has provided more than $1.3 billion in incentives to fund more than 2,300 zero-emission school buses at school districts, of which 1,100 are already in use. More than 300 districts and local education agencies have purchased at least one zero-emission school bus — and some have made the switch to a 100% clean fleet. Monique Fraticelli Esparza, Lodi Unified's director of transportation, said the district has applied for the Zero-Emissions School Bus and Infrastructure grant, as well as a San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District grant. The district is currently awaiting notification that it qualifies and how much in funding it will receive, she said. "As of now, we do not have any zero-emission buses in our fleet," she said. "These grant applications were submitted with the goal of replacing 20 of our older school buses with 20 new electric buses to support our efforts toward cleaner, more sustainable student transportation." "California has set important benchmarks for removing internal combustion vehicles from our roads and replacing them with clean transportation," California Energy Commission Chair David Hochschild said. "CEC is helping school districts move in that direction by funding ZESBI." The state hopes that the buses will help its efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 and help protect children who are particularly vulnerable to the health impacts from diesel exhaust. Linden, Manteca and Stockton Unified school districts will also benefit from the state's allocation. Newsom also announced on Wednesday that California saw a 177% increase in its Clean Truck and Bus Voucher Incentive Project from 2023 to 2024. The program is funded primarily with proceeds from the cap-and-trade program and provides point-of-sale discounts to make zero-emission trucks and buses more accessible for fleets and businesses. In February alone more than 200 HVIP-funded zero-emission trucks and buses were deployed with $31 million in incentives, the state said.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lodi Unified board says policy for performance evaluations needs work
Mar. 20—A Lodi Unified School District policy regarding teacher performance evaluations has gone back to the drawing board after employees and parents raised concerns about its language. The district's board of education was presented with a revised policy during its Tuesday meeting with language that Superintendent Neil Young said was recommended by the California School Board Association. Young said the language would align the district's existing policy on teacher evaluations with state law. One of the revisions to the district's policy states that the superintendent or designee will assess the performance of certificated instructional staff as it reasonably relates to "students' progress toward meeting district standards of expected achievement for their grade level in each area of study and, if applicable, towards the state-adopted content standards as measured by state-adopted criterion-referenced assessments." Teachers and parents who spoke during public comment said the language made it seem like the district would be using standardized test scores to evaluate an employee's performance. Christopher Anderson, a resident in Lodi Unified's District 5 and a teacher with the Stockton Unified School District, said the revised policy was "wholly misguided" and not supported by research, adding its implementation would have unintended consequences. "While student assessments can provide valuable data, relying on them for teacher evaluations is problematic, potentially unfair, and student outcomes are influenced by numerous factors beyond a teacher's control." Anderson and Chris Munger — an English teacher in Tracy who also lives in Lodi — said those factors include socio-economic background, family support and access to resources. Munger said he understood the importance of tracking student progress and adapting to instructional changes, but tying test scores to teachers' evaluations was not an effective way to improve student achievement. He said that when the No Child Left Behind Act was implemented two decades ago, teachers ended up teaching to the tests instead of curriculum, and some districts were caught manipulating student scores so they wouldn't be penalized when test scores were low. Signed into law in 2002, the NCLB aimed to improve public education by increasing accountability for schools and states, mandating standardized testing and ensuring all students, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, met academic standards. "If (the district's) policy is enacted, the result would be very similar," Munger said. "I think it's important for the district to bargain with the (Lodi Education Association) to create a policy that is both beneficial for students and is effective in bringing test scores up." Rob Reynolds is a parent of a neuro-divergent student, and said how his child performs on a test depends on a number of factors, from including what color pants they wear, or if they don't have waffles for breakfast. "My kids hate state testing," he said. "They hate going to school, sitting in front of a computer and doing something just because they were told that they have to. Children — I know they do their best at school — but during these two weeks (of testing), they are just phoning it in, and to put that on teachers is extremely unfair." Teacher Michelle Orgon said district staff and teachers spent years working to develop a pilot evaluation model in the past, but it was ultimately scrapped without an official vote from the board. She admonished staff for not discussing Tuesday's revised policy language with the LEA, which she said was required by state law. "We know our current evaluation system is archaic in its model," she said. "But to put this in a policy, knowing that you threw something out and did not continue it with evaluation, with any kind of feedback, or coming to the table as a sunshine item, and bringing it through the back door seems deceptive." Young said district staff is always available if the community is concerned that tests are being used to evaluate a teacher's performance. "There is no intention that we are tying in the outcome of a (state test) and using that to evaluate a teacher," he said. "The evaluation process is completed long before we receive the outcome of the (state tests). In fact, we don't get the complete information until teachers are on summer break. I just wish people had come to us before the meeting." Other policy revisions included assessing performance based on the instructional techniques and strategies used by the employee; the employee's adherence to curricular objectives; and the establishment and maintenance of a suitable learning environment within the scope of the employee's responsibilities. Board member Courtney Porter said assessing a teacher based on techniques and strategies was vague language, and questioned what staff meant by curricular objectives and a suitable learning environment. He added that in his nearly four decades as a teacher, he had never once seen a list of district standards that employees are supposed to meet as described in the first topic discussed. "This whole thing is written very poorly," he said. "You're asking people to do evaluations, yet we have nothing about how they're being trained or what they're doing. My biggest concern is that we have never established assessments for all teachers, for teachers in certain subjects, to be used by an assessment board." The rest of the board agreed that the proposed policy should be rewritten and brought back to a future meeting, and that staff discuss the changes with district teachers. "I feel this shouldn't be brought forward until we really have a chance to go through it with a committee where we can fine-tune this," trustee Sherry Alexander said. "I don't like this being thrown out here and having people upset. Because if I were a teacher, I'd be upset too."
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Feeding the need for nutrition services
Mar. 6—Once the Lodi Unified School District incorporates a seven-period day at its high schools, there will be a need for more employees in its food nutrition services division. During the district's board of education meeting Tuesday, division director Betty Crocker proposed adding some 31 new positions to ensure students receive meals at every campus, as well as during after school programs. Crocker said six of the new positions would be supervisors, and 22 would be cafeteria managers and assistants. Other proposed positions include a buyer, an equipment technician and a child nutrition technician, she said. In addition, 20 existing positions will be extended to 12-month employees. "We want to synchronize our staffing and extend some of our calendars to 12 months to support program growth,' Crocker said. "This is directly to establish career pathways and professional development for team member advancement, and with this, comes a naturally sustainable staffing and consistent coverage for all of our programs." Crocker said existing staff will be given first priority in applying for the positions, which will be funded through AB 130. The bill was adopted in 2021 and requires all public and charter schools to provide free breakfast and lunch to all students. The positions are estimated to cost about $2.8 million, which will be taken out of $7.8 million from the Universal Meals Program implemented under AB 130 and allocated to the district. Crocker said failure to invest in the program would result in that $7.8 million being returned to the state, "These positions are much needed for our district and for nutrition services," employee Robin Turner said. "These are great positions and they will provide advancement opportunities for current employees." Last month, the board unanimously approved implementing a seven-period schedule at Lodi, Tokay and Bear Creek high schools, beginning in the 2025-26 school year, in an effort to boost student achievement. "I think its so important, nutrition for kids," board member Courtney Porter said. "The data is there, that well-fed kids do better in school. And (Crocker) is a big part of that. You and your team. I also like the fact we're not giving $7 million away. We're putting it back in the system and keeping it local." Board member Joe Nava agreed. "It's a monumental job that you have," he told Crocker. "And as long as you get all these kids fed, we're on top of things. I know it's being done. I've visited some of the schools, and what a nutritional service they have."
