More Valley Schools May Face Closure

Struggling Modesto, Turlock schools face dramatic changes
Robertson Road Elementary, Turlock High among state's lowest-achieving schools
From Modesto Bee

Officials confirmed Saturday that west Modesto's Robertson Road Elementary School and Turlock High School are among California's "persistently lowest-achieving schools" — a state designation that will trigger drastic action to try to improve them.

Rumors swirled Friday that that the schools were closing, and that state officials had already come to campus to lock up doors. Another rumor was that all teachers were given pink slips for next school year.

None of those are true, district and teachers union officials stressed Saturday.
DB RobertsonRd School 02.jpg
Modesto Bee - DARRYL BUSH/dbush@modbee.com The front entrance to Robertson Road School, in Modesto, Calif., on Saturday, March 6, 2010.

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The designation brings with it stiff action to turn the schools around, including replacing principals and half the schools' staff, converting to charter schools or closing the schools.

Administrators said Saturday they haven't decided which of four turn-around choices to use.

The state Department of Education is preparing a list of the bottom 5 percent of California's 10,000 schools — the rankings are based on student performance on state tests in English and math.

The full list of "persistently lowest-achieving schools" will be released Monday morning and more Stanislaus County schools could be on it. Friday, administrators started informing staff at schools on the list, including Robertson Road and Turlock High.

Anger Over Education Cuts in Central Valley Leads to Walkouts, Occupation, and Clashes With Police

Students, faculty protest at CSU Stanislaus in 'Day of Action'

Modesto Bee Article here.
Pictures here.
Taking Action article.
People rally in Merced.
Hundreds March in Stockton.
Students in Fresno Occupy their school. More info here. Video here.
UC Davis Students Clash with Police.
Report from Fresno Occupiers.

Upcoming Events!

MAC is working on two new upcoming events in March that we want you all to know about! On Thursday March 18th, we wil be hosting a speaking tour at Firehouse 51 featuring Dine (Navajo) organizer Elouise Brown on Thursday March 18th, from 7pm - 10pm. She will be speaking about native resistane to coal power plants on her land. She will also be showing films, so be sure to bring a donation and come out for a night of discussion and good times. Food will be provided, as well as copies of local and international publications. For directions to the Firehouse, email us at anarcho209@yahoo.com.

For more background information about native resistance to coal and energy plants on traditional lands, check out this Dooda Desert Rock website. You can also check out this youtube video with more background information.


Also, on Saturday March 27th from 12 Noon - 5pm, there will be a community BBQ and needle clean up at Cesar Chavez park in West Side Modesto. There will be various free literature tables on hand as well as free hot food, live music, and an open mike! Be sure to come out for a day of communiy fun and live music. Ceasar Chavez park is located on 4th and G Street.

There are also several court dates coming up for those facing charges from the needle exchange program in Modesto. Court dates will happen on March 1st, 15th, and the 23rd. More information here.


Finally, there will be a walkout at CSU Stanislaus on March 4th, a day of action across the state of California against job lay offs, fee hikes, budget cuts, and attacks on pubic educaiton. More info here.

For those on facebook, check out their site here.

Update on Eric McDavid's Case

The government has filed their response to Eric's opening appeal brief. Eric's support fund is running low... Dear Friends,

On Friday, February 19, the government filed their reply brief to Eric's appeal. The document they filed was 90 pages long - 90 pages of lies and slander in their continued effort to demonize Eric and justify their own inhumanity in locking a person in prison for 20 years for "thought crime." The document is full of continued attacks on Eric's character as well as misrepresentations and lies about the actual unfolding of events. All of this, combined with outrageous distortions of the law, make the government's reply a rather distasteful read. But, for those of you who are interested in such sour fare, we are posting a copy of the reply brief on Eric's website in the documents section. We recommend keeping something sweet nearby. Or perhaps something to settle the stomach.

More on infoshop.org.

View support site here.

"Be There and Be Angry!"

200 Stockton Teachers Laid Off

STOCKTON - In the fifth week of Stockton Unified's elongated budget-cutting process, the hammer came down Tuesday night.

Stockton Unified trustees voted 6-0, with an ailing Bill Ross absent, to send layoff notices to 200 teachers by the March 15 state deadline.

The layoffs would save the district in the neighborhood of $8 million. The district is looking to slash at least $28.5 million from its 2010-11 budget.

Some layoffs could be reversed if other teachers retire and if the district and teachers union can agree on furlough days or other measures that would reduce Stockton Unified's payroll costs.

Teachers did score one victory at the meeting. They convinced the board to remove a proposal by the administration that would have allowed the district to use some criteria other than seniority to determine who will retain their jobs and who will not.

In a strongly worded letter to members Monday, Stockton Teachers Association President Anne McCaughey asked them to come to the meeting and to "BE THERE and BE ANGRY."

Read more here.

Angry in the Valley Grows

Vandals in South Merced left anti-police and government slogans according to the Modesto Bee:

Someone upset with the Merced Police Department spray-painted graffiti messages across several businesses in South Merced.

The messages, which stretch down 12th street from Martin Luther King Jr. Way, include "M.P.D is useless" and "Police profit off the poor."

One of the messages, "Fascists eat here, go home pigs" was painted on the side of Sam Café, 235 W. 12th St., a popular eatery with law enforcement officers.

Read article and view pictures here.

In other news, the fifth person has died in a Stanislaus County jail in less than six months. Read the story here.

In Salida, parents and kids protested and marched around the Salida School District in protest of the school board trying to close a school.


View video and more pictures here.

Dismantle Bureaucracy - Not Education!

Download PDF here.

Across Stanislaus County - and the state of California, School Boards are laying off teachers, shutting down schools, and placing workers on furlough (unpaid) work days. In Salida, the School Board is considering shutting down Salida Elementary school, laying off teachers, and possibly placing them on furlough days. Workers at Modesto City Schools are facing a round of layoffs, and since March 3rd of 2009, the District has OKed $11.3 million in education cuts, despite internal and public protest. Meanwhile, 50 positions at the Sylvan Union School District that are also up on the chopping block while in Atwater, up to 30 teachers have been laid off in recent months. In Empire, Teel Middle School was closed down in 2009, which was home to 542 students. Also, substitutes, councilors, custodians, yard duties and others all are having a harder and harder time finding work - if they can manage to keep their jobs at all.

Read more at Occupy Central Valley.