■ Benicia schools to get $978,800 from state

By Keri Luiz
Assistant Editor

Trustees of the Benicia Unified School District last week approved the plan to implement Common Core standards in the district and use state funds to prepare staff and students for the shift.

The Common Core State Standards Implementation Fund Expenditure Plan presented by Assistant Superintendent Marie Morgan was approved unanimously. Of the $1.25 billion appropriated to districts statewide by Assembly Bill 86, $978,800 has been allocated to BUSD, Morgan told the board last Thursday.

“Benicia Unified School District has been immersed in the implementation of Common Core Standards for the past year and a half,” she said.

She said the funding may be used for a number of purposes, including:

• Training for teachers, administrators, paraprofessional educators or other classified employees involved in the instruction of students.

• Instructional materials, including new technology.

• High-speed, high-bandwidth Internet connectivity for the purpose of computer-based student assessments.

“Benicia Unified School District’s goal is to develop our educators’ deep knowledge of the Common Core State Standards by developing Common Core units of study for English language arts and mathematics; implementing and providing professional development including coaching support for our teachers; purchasing instructional materials and resources that are aligned to the Common Core Standards; and integrating technology to the classroom study,” Morgan wrote in a report to the board.

“I have to say many districts are not nearly as far along as we are,” Superintendent Janice Adams told trustees. “They’re way behind, and they may not have the money to get it done.”

As a condition of the funding, the board was required to hold a public hearing; last week’s meeting served as that hearing, and no members of the public spoke on the matter.

The board’s next meeting will be Dec. 19.

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