The certification by the U.S. Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency is based upon an international standard for energy efficiency.  Buildings that earn the Energy Star use 35 percent less energy and generate 35 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than similar buildings nationwide.

Read the rest of Energy Conservation Efforts Save $29M For LBUSD

The article, ‘On the Way to Great,’ notes that Fortune 500 Research Firm McKinsey and Co. last year included LBUSD among the world’s 20 leading school systems.

Read the rest of Success of Long Beach Schools Featured in National Journal Article

The competitive funding expands the reach of the innovative Family Literacy – Community College Partnership Initiative supported by MetLife Foundation. Long Beach Family Literacy Program and the other nine recipients will use the support to implement plans for outreach to families about going to college, including use of a comprehensive set of interactive, bilingual resources available online.

Read the rest of LBUSD’s Family Literacy Program Receives $25,000 Grant

The Long Beach Unified School District remains committed to providing high quality music programs.  Developments in the law prohibiting public schools from charging students most educational fees, however, are changing the way instrumental music instruction is offered statewide.

Read the rest of Join The Arts Council For Long Beach And Help Support LBUSD’s Music Programs

Parents of middle schoolers can now sign up their children for a series of innovative online math tutorials provided by the nonprofit MIND Research Institute.  The Spatial Temporal (ST) Math® tutorials use a visual approach and games to teach math concepts, with lessons aligned to state standards.

Siblings of middle schoolers will gain access to the free lessons, too.

The MIND Research Institute helps elementary and secondary students to reach their full academic potential through math instructional software and systems.  The institute also conducts basic neuroscientific, mathematics and education research to improve math education and advance scientific understanding. 

Read the rest of LBUSD Introduces JiJi the Animated Online Math Tutor

Read the rest of Renaissance High School for the Arts Presents Bye Bye Birdie at the Center Theater

Read the rest of Added Safety For Local Students; Councilman Dee Andrews Reveals New Traffic Signal

Read the rest of Laid Off LBUSD Teachers Offered Support From CSULB Through Single-Subject Credentials

Senator Alan Lowenthal

Governor Jerry Brown has signed SB 650, the Long Beach College Promise Act, authored by State Senator Alan Lowenthal. The legislation was sponsored by both Long Beach City College and the Long Beach Unified School District to support the Long Beach College Promise: a seamless education program designed to increase college success for students in Greater Long Beach.

Read the rest of Governor Signs Senator Lowenthal’s “Long Beach College Promise Act” Bill

Read the rest of CAMS Among 304 Schools Honored With National Blue Ribbon Award

Photo by Matt Pascarella

Eastman/Fairfield Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach will host a backpack giveaway on August 17, 2011. The giveaway is being sponsored by Fluor Corporation as a community service project. Fluor employees will be distributing backpacks to youth who attend the Clubs. 500 back packs are expected to be delivered and will be filled with school supplies that will give each youth a great start to the new school year.

Read the rest of Boys & Girls Clubs of Long Beach Giveaway Backpacks Tomorrow

Read the rest of 14 Long Beach High School Students “Explore, Dream, & Discover” at “Camp Justin!”

Sixth District Councilman Dee Andrews, along with Redevelopment Agency, and Poly High School will be honoring a few famous Poly Alumni. International Tennis Champion Billie Jean King, Grammy Award Winner Thelma Houston, Former NFL Player Willie Brown and Former Mayor Beverly O’Neill will receive a star on Saturday, July 9, 2011, from 10:30 am – 12:00 pm, at the Poly Walk of Fame Ceremony, located at Polytechnic High School, 1600 Atlantic Avenue, Long Beach, CA.

Read the rest of Poly Grads To Be Honored at Walk of Fame Ceremony Saturday

Team members Kyrene Aganon, Michelica Balajadia, Christina Le and Rose Chelsea Lubang

After months of designing, creating and competing, a team of students from Hudson Magnet Middle School walked away as national champions of a grueling engineering competition.

The group beat out 14,000 other students in California at preliminary and regional competitions, as well as teams from seven other states to triumph at the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) National Engineering Design Competition held at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond, Washington June 24 – 26. The four-student team came out on top by designing the best wind energy device.

Read the rest of Hudson Magnet Middle School Students Earn National Engineering Championship

Earlier this year, Long Beach Police Juvenile Detectives began working with the City Prosecutor’s Office on a new law that went into effect January 1, 2011, regarding chronic student truancy (Penal Code Section 270.1.) This new law covers students attending Kindergarten through 8th grade, where parents must ensure regular attendance in school. Students may not have more than 10% of unexcused absences in the school year, which is 175 days.

Read the rest of Habitual Truancy Leads to Mother’s Arrest

A Long Beach Poly student races the team’s solar powered boat during the competition.

Last weekend, 15 students from Long Beach Poly High School competed against 40 other Southern California teams in the Metropolitan Water District’s Ninth Annual Solar Cup Boat Race Competition at Lake Skinner, located in Temecula Valley.

The Poly High team put in a strong performance, taking second place overall and winning a number of other awards

Read the rest of Poly Students Take 2nd Place in Solar Boating Competition

Jordan High joins the Newsweek list for the first time.

Breaking its own record again, the Long Beach Unified School District now boasts an all-time high of eight schools on Newsweek’s annual listing of America’s Top High Schools.

Joining the elite ranking of the top 6 percent of public schools in the U.S. this year for the first time is Jordan High School in North Long Beach. Jordan’s rigorous International Baccalaureate college prep program helped the school to secure a coveted spot on the list. International Baccalaureate high school courses are honored at the best universities throughout the world as indicative of outstanding academic training.

Read the rest of Eight LBUSD High Schools on Newsweek’s List of America’s Top High Schools

This year’s winners are Addams, Alvarado, Burbank, Burnett, Fremont, Lafayette, Longfellow, Madison and Willard elementary schools.

“Congratulations to our STAR schools, which represent a wide variety of geographic areas in our school district,” said Jill Baker, assistant superintendent for elementary, middle and K-8 schools. 

Read the rest of Nine Elementary Schools Honored

LBUSD budgets cuts will result in larger class sizes — 35 students per class in grades six through 12 and an average of 30 students in grades K-3.

The Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education approved nearly $27 million in cuts this week, including the closure of two schools and the elimination of 429 teaching positions due to increased class sizes. In all, the number of certificated positions affected by layoff notices could rise to more than 620 as the school board considers further cuts in the coming weeks.

The school board is facing well over $100 million in cuts to be made over the next two years in response to the state’s ongoing fiscal crisis, which LBUSD Superintendent Christopher J. Steinhauser describes as the worst he has seen in his more than 30 years in education. The school district already has cut more than $170 million in the past three years.

The cuts approved this week are part of preparations for a worst-case scenario at the state level, which could occur if the state Legislature and California voters do not OK the extension of certain temporary tax increases in the coming months. Even under a best-case scenario budget, the school district still must cut about $53 million over two years. So even if California voters decide to extend current taxes, the 429 eliminated teaching positions here would likely not be restored.

Read the rest of LBUSD Approves$27M in Budget Cuts; Will Consider on Additional $45M

“The schools I have nominated to the U.S. Department of Education have stepped up to the challenge of closing the achievement gap and are deserving of this prestigious national honor,” said O’Connell. “They were selected because of their success over the last five years in increasing the percentage of their students achieving at the proficient and advanced levels in mathematics and English-language arts. I heartily congratulate all those who contributed to this success, including parents, teachers, staff, and administrators and, of course, the students themselves.”

California Academy of Mathematics and Science (CAMS)

The California Academy of Mathematics and Science (CAMS) is a public magnet high school that opened on the California State University at Dominquez Hills campus in 1990. It’s the third best high school in California based on API test scores. The school has one of the highest rates of admission to Stanford and UC campuses and virtually all CAMS graduates go on to college. Most pursue math or science—disciplines that have traditionally been underrepresented among women and some minority groups.

Read the rest of CAMS Nominated as 2011 National Blue Ribbon School

Verizon President Tim McCallion shares what he learned while visiting Cleveland Elementary School as Superintendent for a Day. The visit was part of LBUSD's annual Principal for a Day event.

Nearly 200 guest principals shadowed principals in the Long Beach Unified School District during the annual Principal for a Day event. Held in November, this is the largest single-day involvement of business and community leaders in local schools.

As Superintendent for a Day, Verizon President Tim McCallion shadowed LBUSD Superintendent Christopher J. Steinhauser.  Also shadowing Steinhauser was Long Beach City College Superintendent and President Eloy Ortiz Oakley, and Cal State Long Beach President F. King Alexander.  The education leaders joined business leaders in reporting their experiences at a “State of Education” debriefing at the Center Theater in the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center.

Read the rest of Local Execs, Community Leaders Become Principal for a Day

The report by McKinsey & Company, a trusted advisor and counselor to many of the most influential businesses and institutions in the world, was released last week during an interactive webinar in which international participants listened to expert panelists and engaged in a question and answer session.

“We’re delighted and honored to be part of this landmark study,” LBUSD Superintendent Christopher J. Steinhauser said. “This report is the clearest sign yet that Long Beach schools are making extraordinary progress and that our efforts deserve to be supported and replicated.”

Read the rest of LBUSD Makes Top 20 List of World’s Best School Systems

Cal State Long Beach Gets Nearly $1 Million CPEC Grant to Work with Local Algebra Teachers, Increase Students’ Achievement

The California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC) has awarded Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) a four-year, $996,284 grant for a project that will have university professors working with algebra teachers from five Long Beach high schools in an effort to increase mathematics achievement among students, particularly those from underperforming groups.

“Project EQALS: Evidenced-based, Quality Professional Development in Algebra for Learners’ Success” is a partnership between the College of Education and College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at CSULB and the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD).

Co-principal investigators (PIs) Babette Benken, associate professor of mathematics and statistics, and Cara Richards-Tutor, associate professor of advanced studies in education and counseling, are directing the project.  Participating LBUSD high schools include Cabrillo, Jordan, Polytechnic, Millikan and Lakewood.

Read the rest of Grant will Help LB Math Teachers Improve Student Learning Experience

The grant program helps schools, day-care centers and other youth facilities to install air-filtration systems and additional improvements that can control pollutants. The grant recipients include Long Beach Unified School District campuses, private schools, preschools, and community youth centers.

The largest single grant, nearly $546,000, will purchase an air-filtration system for Long Beach Polytechnic High School.

Read the rest of Port Grants $4.7M to Schools, Youth Centers for Cleaner Air

The grant, which was awarded jointly to the CSULB History and English departments and College of Education, will provide teacher training during summer institutes and release days to enable teachers to deepen their content knowledge, learn discipline-specific literacy and pedagogical strategies, and collaborate within and between departments in refining instruction.

Improving Teacher Quality grants are designed to increase student achievement by enhancing teacher effectiveness.

“The grant focuses on professional development,” said Project Co-Director Dave Neumann, director of CSULB’s History Project, housed in the History Department.

Read the rest of CSULB Will Lead Teacher Development at Jordan, Cabrillo High Schools