Category Archives: Education

Articles, Community News, Education

DNUSD’s Classified Staff Reject Tentative Agreement; District, DNTA Begin Mediation Process

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Thumbnail image includes the DNUSD and CSEA logos taken from the district’s Facebook page and Great Northern Chapter #178’s Facebook page.

Negotiations between Del Norte Unified School District and the union that represents its classified employees are set to start over after members of the union’s local chapter rejected a tentative agreement.

The rejection of the proposed agreement between DNUSD and the California School Employees Association Great Northern Chapter #178 comes as contract discussions between the district and the Del Norte Teachers Association head toward mediation.

It also prompted Jenna Lussier, lead negotiator for CSEA Great Northern #178, to step down from the union’s negotiating team.

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Articles, Community News, Education

Law Enforcement Report ‘Non-Credible’ Threat Concerning Crescent Elk; DNUSD Superintendent Fields Questions About Jan. 7 Lockdown

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Thumbnail: DNUSD logo

Hours after two parents confronted the school board over last week’s lockdown, Del Norte County law enforcement investigated another threat they ultimately deemed non-credible.

A report came to the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office concerning a possible threat of violence at Crescent Elk Middle School, Del Norte Unified School District announced on Facebook at about 9:30 a.m. Friday.

The child that allegedly made the threats had been speaking with a friend from Humboldt County who was concerned enough to notify the Fortuna Police Department, Del Norte County Sheriff Garrett Scott told Redwood Voice Community News.

Continue reading Law Enforcement Report ‘Non-Credible’ Threat Concerning Crescent Elk; DNUSD Superintendent Fields Questions About Jan. 7 Lockdown →
Articles, Community News, Education

Contract Negotiations Between Del Norte Teachers Association, DNUSD Stuck Over Salary Increases

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Thumbnail: Del Norte Teachers Association and Del Norte Unified School District logos.

Contract negotiations between the union representing local teachers and Del Norte Unified School District have hit an impasse with a dispute over salaries being the primary roadblock.

DNUSD is offering a one-time cash bonus of $750 per certificated employee. Del Norte Teachers Association negotiators are pushing for ongoing salary increases for union members. But with COVID dollars having run out and the potential for millions in budget cuts in the next few months, DNUSD officials say the district can’t afford the union’s ask.

DNTA President Amber Tiedeken-Cron, who teaches seventh- and eighth-grade history and math at Smith River School, doesn’t buy that explanation.

Continue reading Contract Negotiations Between Del Norte Teachers Association, DNUSD Stuck Over Salary Increases →
Articles, Community News, Education, Transportation

DNUSD Transportation’s ‘Monsters’ Include An Aging Fleet, Dearth of Drivers

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Photo by Persephone Rose

Though she thanked trustees for taking her concerns seriously, Lisa Sedgwick rejected the idea that implementing a digital system for reporting and tracking mechanical issues in district vans would cost $70,000.

Sedgwick, a teacher at Mary Peacock Elementary School, told Del Norte Unified School District trustees on Thursday that free electronic tools exist that allow people to fill out forms that are dated and time stamped and QR codes can make them available when a van is returned after hours.

“If you’re really stuck on having a paper form, which they never tell you when you make a complaint in person [that there’s] this form to fill out — it was never handed to me when I complained about the rotors two years ago — that could be handed to you when you’re handing over the keys,” she said. “There are so many tools that are easy to use and they’re free. There’s no reason to spend $70,000 when you have these tools available.”

Continue reading DNUSD Transportation’s ‘Monsters’ Include An Aging Fleet, Dearth of Drivers →
Articles, Community News, Education

From Broken Axles to Warped Brake Rotors, DNUSD Staff Raise Concerns Over Vehicle Breakdowns

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Photo by Persephone Corvid Rose

A trailer’s broken axle added more drama to the Del Norte High School marching band’s tale of triumph at the Festival of Bands field show in Eugene earlier last month.

But Music Director Dan Sedgwick says the axle is an example of several concerns he and other faculty have raised regarding the safety of vehicles transporting students to and from activities outside of Del Norte County.

Sedgwick, his wife Lisa Sedgwick, who teaches at Mary Peacock Elementary School, and his colleague in the music department at Del Norte High, Collin Kirkwood, described warped brake rotors, leaking brake fluid, a bus that ran out of diesel exhaust fluid and seat belts held together with duct tape.

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Articles, Arts & Culture, Community News, Education, Youth

DNHS Band of Warriors Breaks Personal Record At Eugene Field Show

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Del Norte High School performs at the Pride of the Northwest field show in Grants Pass on Oct. 12. | Thumbnail photo courtesy of Dan Sedgwick, video courtesy of Danielle Wood.

Self-competition may be cliché in some circles — a motivational mantra personal trainers use to get clients off the couch. 

But it’s why the Del Norte High School’s Band of Warriors triumphed despite coming in last in their category at the Festival of Bands field show in Eugene on Nov. 1.

“Even though we did get last place, the students didn’t feel that way because we had a massive point increase from where we were and the best score we’ve ever gotten in a competition,” DNHS Music Director Daniel Sedgwick told Redwood Voice Community News on Wednesday. “I’m talking [about] any year before this.”

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Articles, Community News, Education, Elections, Infrastructure, Local Government

Measure H Will Allow DNUSD To Chip Away At Facilities Master Plan, Advocates Say

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To make her case for why voters should favor Measure H, Coleen Parker drew the Crescent City Council’s attention to another proposed bond — this one aimed at improving school facilities statewide.

If Del Norters approve the $59 million general obligation bond Del Norte Unified School District placed on the ballot this presidential election, DNUSD stands a better chance at receiving state facilities money should California’s Proposition 2 succeed, Parker told councilors on Monday.

“The way the Office of Public School Construction works is … if you are in a community that has passed a bond, now your community says, ‘Yes, schools are important to us.’ They help with matching dollars in a variety of things,” said Parker, who retired from DNUSD about two years ago and is part of the Support Our Kids — Yes On Measure H Committee. “If our [Measure] H doesn’t pass and the state bond does, the chances of Del Norte seeing any of that money is very slim.”

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Education, Health

Improving Outcomes for Youth Through the Klamath River Promise Neighborhood – An Interview with Initiative Lead Josh Norris

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In September of 2021, The U.S Department of Education accepted the Yurok Tribe’s Promise Neighborhood grant application for $30 million, which created the Klamath River Promise Neighborhood, one of only seven in the nation. 

Through a five year initiative, the tribe and their 16 partners will administer the $30 million throughout Del Norte County and its school district, and bring together tribes, schools, community-based organizations, local government, and parent & resident groups with the plan to improve outcomes for children and students.

Redwood Voice spoke with Josh Norris from the Yurok Tribe Education Department. He is also the initiative lead for the Klamath River Promise Neighborhood.

The Yurok Tribe has many goals to aim toward during these five years, and as the only indigenous tribe with a Promised Neighborhood Grant, they are trailblazing a better future.