San Francisco Unified School District

"This school sponsored by . . ." is an increasingly popular refrain that San Francisco's school board doesn't want to hear anymore. The Commercial-Free Schools Act bans textbooks that unnecessarily mention brand names. It also prohibits exclusive contracts with soda and snack companies, bans the sale of any product made by tobacco company subsidiaries, and mandates that no student be required to wear a corporate logo for any school activity, including sports.

Brea students got a half-day off from classes Friday so their teachers could learn a lesson about AIDS. About 450 teachers and other employees of the Brea-Olinda Unified School District gathered in the performing arts center of Brea-Olinda High School to attend a seminar on AIDS awareness led by Beverly Bradley, supervisor of health programs for the San Francisco Unified School District and former health consultant for the Orange County Department of Education.

An estimated 400 teachers packed the regular meeting of the Long Beach Board of Education on Monday to protest stalled contract negotiations with the district. They also criticized the $90,000 salary the board will pay its recently hired superintendent, E. Tom Giugni. His district includes Catalina. Giugni, head of the Sacramento City Unified School District, was appointed at a special board meeting last Thursday. His four-year contract, effective Feb. 1, calls for an annual salary of $90,000.

About 2,500 teachers, counselors and nurses on Tuesday rejected the Sacramento City Unified School District's offer and went on strike on the first day of classes after negotiations that stretched into the early morning. In the nearby San Juan School District, however, teachers earlier agreed to postpone their threatened strike while they seek the help of a mediator in their talks. And in San Jose, a tentative contract settlement was announced shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday.

An estimated 400 teachers packed the regular meeting of the Long Beach Board of Education Monday to protest stalled contract negotiations with the district. They also criticized the $90,000 salary the board has agreed to pay its recently hired district superintendent, E. Tom Giugni. Giugni (pronounced Junee), head of the Sacramento City Unified School District, was named superintendent at a special board meeting Thursday. His four-year contract, effective Feb.

Myth: All Asian Pacific American students are spelling-bee champions and science-fair winners possessing 4.0 grade point averages and 1600 SATs. Reality: Many Asian Pacific American students struggle with the most basic of subjects, especially English. According to the 1997 Language Census report for California public schools, 40% of all Asian Pacific American children are designated as Limited-English Proficient.

An emergency $88-million bailout for the Los Angeles Unified School District to help avoid layoffs of 1,900 teachers was sent by the Assembly to Gov. Pete Wilson's desk Wednesday without a vote to spare. A spokesman for the governor said Wilson was still studying the bill and had not yet taken a position on the legislation sponsored by Assemblyman Dave Elder (D-Long Beach). The bill received a 41-30 lower house vote, the exact number required for approval.

Amid criticism from parent activists, a majority of Santa Ana school trustees gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a far-reaching plan to boost test scores by focusing almost exclusively on reading, writing and mathematics in elementary and middle schools.

Arguing that after-school programs are the way to keep children out of trouble, President Clinton announced $40 million in grants for 315 rural and inner-city school systems and individual schools--to provide learning havens after school, on weekends and during the summer. "For millions of Americans, 'Home Alone' is not a funny movie; it is a serious risk that children and parents undertake every day all across this country," Clinton said Wednesday.

The idea of corporate support for public schools is nothing new in the Bay Area, where a program encouraging corporate involvement began in 1979 and has become a model for similar projects around the country. The effort got under way after a state report showed that many districts were struggling along without help from their communities. A group of concerned citizens reacted by establishing the San Francisco Educational Fund.