Jose Pacheco was a cherubic 12 year old with a troubled past and an uncertain future when he arrived at Blue Ox Community School’s doorstep eight years ago. Not even a teenager, he was already at a crossroads in life. “I remember how scared I was because the old building had barbed wire around it,” […]
education
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‘A Family to Be With’
Tiffany Strango’s philosophy is to love all children who enter her home as if they are her own. In her Eureka house, children are not pieces of paper and beds are not numbers. They are people and sanctuaries, respectively. Tiffany Strango never had the overwhelming urge to birth children but she and her husband George […]
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Charter Schools, Unions Call a Truce in an Epic Battle as Newsom Brokers a Deal
Gov. Gavin Newsom brokered an agreement Wednesday on a high-profile charter-school regulation proposal at the center of this year’s contentious battle between teachers unions and charter advocates, removing a key hurdle for its passage this session. The compromise on Assembly Bill 1505 comes after months of lobbying by the state’s two most influential education interest […]
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Late HSU Professor Honored for LGBTQ Work
Humboldt State University professor of education Eric Rofes, who died of a heart attack in 2006, was honored at the National LGBTQ Wall of Honor at the historic Stonewall Inn in New York City on June 27. “Eric was a whirlwind of energy and brilliance at HSU and in the world, and I miss him […]
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The Graduate
As the Northern California sunset sinks beyond razor wire fencing and panopticon-style guard towers, David Nguyen reflects on the past 14 years of his life and contemplates the choices that led him to prison. If it wasn’t for his attire and surroundings — and the subject of the day — you probably wouldn’t suspect he […]
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‘Encroachment:’ Inadequate Special Education Funding Leaves Local Districts Stretched Thin
A bill introduced earlier this year by North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman would make good on long-promised funding for special education. It also puts a spotlight on the issue in Humboldt County, where disproportionate rates of students need special education services and inadequate state and federal funding streams leave districts’ budgets stretched thin. Take Northern […]
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Frustrations Mount in Klamath-Trinity School District
It’s pouring rain in Hoopa. The roads are slick with ice and snow is about to fall as roughly half a dozen people shuffle into a small room for the Klamath-Trinity Joint Unified School District Board meeting in mid-February. The crowd is small but those attending carry the voices of their children, their community and, […]
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San Francisco Gives Kindergartners Free Money for College. Could it Work Statewide?
Emelyn Jerónimo is only 12 years old, but she already has $3,000 saved toward college. Socked away by her mother in chunks of $100 or less since Jerónimo was in kindergarten, the money may not seem like much, but it’s helped fuel the San Francisco sixth-grader’s dreams of becoming a pediatrician. Jerónimo’s nest egg is […]
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Wood, McGuire Applaud Gov.’s Budget Plan
California Gov. Gavin Newsom released the first budget proposal of his tenure today, proposing a $209 billion spending plan that would increase funding for schools, healthcare programs and the fight against homelessness. The budget proposal — which came in at about $8 billion more than Gov. Jerry Brown’s last spending proposal — also would increase […]
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What Humboldt Students Have to Say About School Shootings and How to Stop Them
Students in high school classrooms across the North Coast walked out at 10 a.m. on March 14, taking part in a national walkout day organized to bring awareness to gun violence and school shootings. The 17-minute walkout took place in solidarity with students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, with each minute […]
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Local Students on School Shootings, Unabridged
Editor’s note: This week’s cover story featured excerpts from opinion pieces written by local high school students on the topic of school shootings and gun violence. Here are all the submissions we received from them, posted in their entirety and only lightly edited for style and grammar. Read them and join the conversation in the comments below. […]