Hundreds of Irvine Unified students were snowed in at science camps in the San Bernardino mountains this weekend—but some are now beginning to return home, according to district officials. About 500 students from Irvine Unified’s Cadence Park, Oak Creek, and Stone Creek schools were expected to return from Running Springs’s Camp Pali Feb. 24—but heavy…

Commentary The Irvine Unified School District (IUSD) in Orange County, Calif., has a plethora of advisory committees devoted to advising the board and administration on a wide variety of matters. Intertwined with all these committees is the “Continuous Improvement Council” charged with oversight of the district’s “Continuous Improvement Efforts.” This Council has been in place…

It’s lunch period at Irvine’s Northwood High School, and the roar of student chatter is punctuated by the sound of woodwind instruments’ fluttering scales. Music teacher Ben Case—who was recently recognized as one of five California Teachers of the Year—was overseeing some students as they rehearse for their Dec. 1 winter performance. “My philosophy is…

The Irvine Unified School District won top recognition as the best district in the state last month regarding standardized testing, according to a press release from the school district. The ranking was based on results from last spring’s testing of students in grades 3 through 8 and those in 11th grade for science, mathematics, and…

The Irvine Unified School District recently removed a paragraph from its website describing the creation of a committee to “develop a curriculum that is antiracist” and links to a website that makes controversial claims about race after a parent brought the language to the board’s attention last month. During an Oct. 25 board meeting, several…

IRVINE, Calif.—The Irvine Company Oct. 18 donated $4 million in honor of the Irvine Unified School District’s 50th anniversary. The donation represents a $2 million annual increase in the development company’s 20-year, nearly $50 million support of the district’s arts, music, and science education programs, Irvine Co. officials said. “Education has always been at the…

The three candidates running for the Irvine Unified School Board displayed three very different approaches to board policy and parent rights in a forum hosted by the Irvine Unified Council Parent Teacher Association Oct. 12. Business owner Marlene Bronson, Irvine Unified parent Katie McEwen, and education and health advocate Debra Kamm are vying for the…

Irvnie teacher and parent Katie McEwen is running to represent Area 2 on the Irvine Unified School Board to contribute to the school system in a “significant and meaningful way.” “I want to make a positive contribution to the public school system that has provided such a strong benefit to our family,” McEwen told The…

Marlene Bronson, a candidate for the Irvine Unified School Board in the upcoming Nov. 8 election, said she felt prompted by her faith to run for the board because she believes in “being a voice for children and parents.” Bronson, a mother of two adult children, describes herself as a business owner, former homeschooling educator,…

Irvine Unified Education Board candidate Debra Kamm is a longtime education and health advocate and a champion of informed consent for parents. When her son was born with a rare heart condition, the mother of two—who has one child in the district—co-founded California Heart Connection, a nonprofit that provides support for parents whose children have…