FAIRFIELD — A new charter school in Vacaville and a new life for Sullivan Middle School are among the local educational highlights.
Kairos Public School Vacaville Academy opened its doors with the new school year. It’s located at the former Elm School on Elm Street.
It serves students kindergarten through eighth grade. About 465 students are enrolled, with another 300 on the waiting list.
Sullivan Middle School in Fairfield didn’t sit empty for long after board members voted to close it in 2012. Now it’s called the Sullivan Interagency Youth Services Center.
It opened in late 2013 and offers Fairfield, Suisun City and Travis teens a place for homework, recreation and learning life skills.
Faces on local school boards may be changing in November. Posts are open in Fairfield-Suisun and Vacaville.
In Fairfield, for the first time trustees will be elected not at large, but by geographic areas. Three seats are open.
In Vacaville, voters will choose four candidates to serve on its school board.
Vacaville voters will also vote on a $194 million bond. If passed, the funds will be used for repairing and replacing roofs, plumbing systems and upgrading athletic fields.
The Travis School District kept its election in odd-numbered years. The next election is in 2015.
Fairfield-Suisun School District students will also embark on their first year of early college, in partnership with Solano Community College.
The program allows high school students to have a curricula that allows them to complete high school while earning college credit. Vacaville School District is offering the program for the second year.
Two Fairfield schools, Nelda Mundy and Oakbrook, earned California Distinguished Schools recognition this year.
Benicia’s Matthew Turner Elementary also earned the recognition.
The Vacaville School District has about 14,000 students in 10 elementary, two middle schools, two high schools and two other schools.
The Fairfield-Suisun School District has about 22,000 students in its schools.
The Travis School District has about 5,500 students.
A recent news story noted projections that United States public schools are projected to have more minority students than non-Hispanic whites. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, when added together, minorities will make up the majority.
That appears to be true for Solano County. The California Department of Education shows that whites make up about 29 percent of the students in Solano County schools.
Black students comprise almost 17 percent of the county’s student population; Hispanics almost 34 percent.
Academic Performance Index scores show Fairfield-Suisun students leading their county peers over a four-year period ending 2010-2013. Vacaville was second and Travis and Benicia third.
Solano County ranks higher than the state average with the number of dropouts. More than 16 percent of students will leave school before high school graduation. The state average is 13 percent.
The Solano County Office of Education reports there are about 64,000 students in the county. Fairfield-Suisun is the largest district and Vallejo is second in enrollment figures.
The Solano County Office of Education has about 540 students in its programs. It offers services to ages infant through 22 and operates a community school for 95 at-risk youth.
Reach Amy Maginnis-Honey at 427-6957 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/amaginnisdr.
