Central Unified School District

I'll point out to a few of them.

Central Unified has now 90% of their primary teachers trained in the science of reading.

They're starting to see it.

We have teachers so excited about their classrooms, and you can see it with the kids.

But you bring up an extremely important point because I'm very aware that teachers are...

Really struggling and under a lot of stress right now with the amount of expectations that are on them, whether it's, you know, in terms of academics, but then also trying to manage a classroom with what are being called extreme behaviors.

And we dealt with that in, you know, when I was a superintendent in Clovis Unified and actually during my short time in Central Unified.

And I think you come at it from a multi-pronged approach.

District 1 encompasses much of central West Fresno, including Fresno High neighborhood, the Shaw Avenue corridor, and many neighborhoods west of Highway 99.

Singh is the executive director of non-profit advocacy group Jakara Movement and is a board member with the Central Unified School District.

He advanced to the general election alongside opponent Rob Fuentes.

GV Wire will hold a one-on-one discussion with Fuentes on October 8th.

Recently it's gotten better, but you've been very critical of county supervisors, especially recently.

How do you plan on being able to work with the county to get actual goals done in

West Area? I have a track record in Central Unified, honestly, and in probably all my other endeavors with the Jakara movement and others, I always bring people together.

So yes, I can be absolutely critical, but I can also be a partner when necessary, so long as our values align, our goals align, and we're in mission alignment.

... uh, particularly on the issue of immigration, I think it, it played a part with some of the folks.

Um, Mr. Singh's, you know, he's, he's a, a board member out at Central Unified.

He's got a-

Mm

Let's talk about something involving a school that isn't just objectively terrible.

News partner ABC 30 describing how just weeks into the new school year, Central Unified administrators, teachers, and students saying the district's new phone-free campus policy is already changing behavior inside and outside the classroom.

Over at Central East High, kids in a sports medicine class were, uh, focusing on how to properly tape an ankle during the lesson.

One notable difference, nobody playing on their phone.

There's also the belief that a kid getting caught once should just be directed to go ahead and lock their phone up, that you don't automatically jump straight to writing them up, calling a, a- an administrator or giving them detention.

But they have put teeth behind this, and administration, and I think this is really important, administration is supporting the teachers.

If you get somebody who just refuses to comply, either straight up oppositional defiance, "No, I'm not doing it," or a kid who every single day shows up with their phone in their hand, administration is actually gonna come in and deal with that so the teacher is able to focus on teaching, and I think that that was a very smart move by Central Unified to make sure that everybody has a role in enforcing this thing.

Uh, the, the...

All right, Action News Time 526 coming up in our next half hour.

Keeping students off their phones at Central Unified.

Yeah, the new policy that's in place limiting or banning them from their devices.

Also, they've got rhythm on and off the court when you can check out the Harlem Globetrotters in action here in Fresno.

In our next hour, new fallout after officials reopen the case of an alleged rape at Cornell University.

Plus, why the DA is defending his decision not to bring the charges when the accusations were first made.

And the new policy by Central Unified to keep students off their smartphones on campus.

That's next.

Correct.

And when I, for example, was the district superintendent in Clovis Unified, and later actually I served in Central Unified, I was held accountable by those boards for the success of the kids, our students in the district and many other things, fiscal and facilities and things like that.

But always academic achievement is the number one job of a district superintendent.

Where the county superintendent comes in is to bring everybody together to set countywide goals and initiatives to support all those district superintendents in achieving their goals.