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La. educators turn to trades to cut dropout rate
Beginning next year, a lot of Louisiana high school classrooms could look like Wes Sebren's: equipped with welding gear, safety goggles and circular saws.
Sebren, a teacher at West Ouachita High School near West Monroe, is at the forefront of public schools' response to a 2009 law passed by the Legislature that encourages teaching skills that students will need in the work force.
The law created a "career diploma" that - in an effort to reduce the dropout rate - will go to students who opt for lower academic standards in math and English, while taking classes such as welding, woodworking and small engine repair.
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Valley sophomores trail state exit exam trend
With the exception of students in Clovis Unified School District, 10th-grade students in the Valley continue to lag behind the rest of the state in passing California's high school exit exam, the state Department of Education said Wednesday.
Statewide, an increasing number of students are passing the exam -- a graduation requirement since 2006. In the 2008-09 school year, 80% of California 10th-graders passed the math portion and 79% passed the English portion.
Overall, slightly more Fresno County sophomores passed California's high school exit exam -- 76% passed the math portion and 75% passed the English-language portion, compared to 75% and 74% in the 2007-08 school year.
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TWELFTH GRADE: PETER JACOB MERSINO
Peter Jacob Mersino feels most comfortable in the air: both while at the controls of a glider plane and soaring over the bar in the pole vault.
"Flying makes you look at the world in a different way," he said.
Jacob, who goes by his middle name, carries a 4.08 grade-point average, including four semesters of college math. He has a private pilot's license for soaring and is ranked among the Valley's top pole vaulters.
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Parts of suit against Clovis Unified, teacher tossed
Portions of a lawsuit against Clovis Unified School District and one of its teachers alleging sexual harassment, emotional distress and other violations were dismissed by a federal judge in a decision issued Monday.
Judge Anthony W. Ishii dismissed several causes of action in the case, which involved a former Reyburn Intermediate School math teacher and student.
Student Krista Garcia said the teacher, Douglas Burns, lifted her upside down in math class and also smacked her in the buttocks with a crossing sign after school while she was with other students.
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Third Grade: Eric Manzo
Eric Manzo dreams of becoming a teacher, and he's already helped his little sister catch up and excel in kindergarten.
Eric's grades and work ethic led to him being chosen as the third-grade Academic All-Star. His helpful nature led him to tutoring his sister, 5-year-old Isela, in reading and math. He works with her at home.
"I did it so she could learn more," said Eric, a student at American Union Elementary, a country school southwest of downtown Fresno. Isela started kindergarten last fall lagging in literacy skills, and now she's reading at a first-grade level and is at the top of the class, said her teacher, Michelle Blackburn.
Jeffrey Wong, who spent the first few years of his life in China, could not speak English when he started kindergarten at Forkner Elementary School in 1996. But that initial communication barrier has not prevented him from becoming the top student in his class at Edison High School.
Jeffrey has a 4.32 grade-point average, competes in singles on his school's varsity tennis team, plays the piano and violin, and still finds time to do volunteer work for the drowning prevention program at Children's Hospital Central California and for the Tzu Chi Foundation's monthly medical clinic for needy families.
Mary Jo Quintero, a nurse at Children's Hospital, said she nominated Jeffrey for the Academic All-Stars because of his academic excellence and ability to work with people.
"He could be president of the United States," she said. "He's going to be successful in whatever he does."
Jeffrey wants to attend medical school and become an allergist.
"I really enjoy math and I love biology," he said. "A lot of people have allergies and I'd like to do something to help them."
Jeffrey said his most satisfying achievement was placing first with a perfect score at the 2004 Fresno Unified School District's Math-O-Rama competition. He also was pleased to get 35 out of 36 questions right in the math portion of his ACT college entrance exam and to place second in the state at the 2006 Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement competition.
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2008 Academic All-Stars
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