As National Poetry Month comes to a close, read below submissions from We ‘Ced youth.
If you could write a poem to COVID, what would you want to tell it? Read More
Students from multiple Merced Union High School District (MUHSD) schools gathered at Merced High School on May 8 to address the school board regarding decorating graduation caps, frustrated with a lack of policy that was inclusive of all students. Read More
Over the last decade, school districts throughout the state have begun to reevaluate “black-and-white policies that would discipline students automatically regardless of individual circumstances,” she said.
Much of this coincided with the passing of Assembly Bill 1729, which allowed superintendents and principals more discretion to provide alternatives to suspension and expulsion for students, said Mike Richter, associate principal at Golden Valley High School (GVHS) in Merced.
Teachers and staff are now encouraged to look at a student’s complete behavioral pattern before determining an appropriate course of action.
The event was a joint effort by BHC and partner groups like Cultiva La Salud, Healthy Equity Project and the Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) that provided dozens of MCSD parents with a chance to air concerns over the district’s spending. In total, more than two-dozen families were in attendance, speaking four different languages and representing a wide swath of the community concerned over the lack of transparency in the district’s Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP).
The LCAP is a statewide requirement for school districts that must show how each agency plans to spend money provided through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Like many districts, MCSD relies on LCFF dollars for a majority of its budget and the state funds accounted for 75 percent of the district’s $134 million 2016-2017 budget. About $21 million of those LCFF funds are considered equity-based and intended specifically for high-need populations like foster youth, low-income students and English Learners.
Unfortunately, there are many situations in schools throughout the country where students are discriminated against because of what they wear, who they love, and who they are. These students are bullied and they are humiliated, resulting in both physical and emotional scars that will haunt them for a long while.
It’s very upsetting to see schools turn away from the kind of progress made in recent years when it comes to things like LGBTQ+ rights and gender stereotypes. More and more, students are again becoming afraid, keeping their identities and their views in the shadows.
Since taking office, Trump dramatically expanded the definition of who can be prioritized for deportation. Immigration attorneys say that under the expanded definition, nearly any undocumented immigrant could be considered a target.
The first thing to understand, Ruch said, is what undocumented means.
“Visa overstayers, as well as people who came without a visa, are undocumented,” Ruch explained on a recent national press call organized by New America Media and Ready California.
Legal immigrants, especially those who have criminal issues or travel internationally, may want to check with an attorney to find out their options and risks, Ruch said.
Students at Yosemite do the same work as students at non-continuation schools like Golden Valley or Merced High. The only major difference I noticed was Yosemite students don’t receive homework. I think this might be for the better - and a study by Concordia University showed that homework does not help students effectively in just about any way.
I am a senior at Yosemite Continuation High School in Merced, one of two continuation schools within the Merced Union High School District. While I’ve had a good experience here – compared to my previous school – Yosemite is still considered the ‘school no one wants to go to.’
Escobedo was in middle school when his family settled in the mostly agricultural town of Atwater, located 8 miles north of Merced up Highway 99, six years ago. His father landed a job that offered better benefits and a better salary, he explains, allowing his mom to remain at home and focus on helping Escobedo and his younger sister with their studies. The effort paid off. When it came time to apply for college, Escobedo received acceptance letters from three UC schools – Davis, Irvine and Merced. He chose the latter, he says, for a variety of reasons, including the school’s smaller size and its proximity to a community he was just then beginning to discover.
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