Education

President Joe Biden has met his goal of having most elementary and middle schools open for full, in-person learning in his first 100 days in office, according to new survey data, but the share of students choosing to return has continued to lag far behind.

On April 23, Secretary Cardona held a virtual roundtable with U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin (WV) and Patty Murray (WA) where they spoke with students who have experienced homelessness. The conversation came on the heels of the Department of Education (ED) announcing plans to distribute $800 million in American Rescue Plan funds to states to support students experiencing homelessness, particularly those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. ED will distribute $200 million of the total funding to states on Monday.

In honor of Earth Day 2021, fifteen members and family members of Division 33 (Hemet/San Jacinto) of the California Retired Teachers Association spent a cold, drizzly morning scouting the grounds surrounding the Hemet-Ryan Airport in southwest Hemet for trash, packing at least fifteen Earth Day plastic bags with bottles, cans, fast food packaging and a variety of miscellaneous refuse tossed along the roadway.

Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC) has been named a "Military Friendly Spouse School" for 2021-2022 for its efforts in creating sustainable and meaningful education paths for military spouses.

A high school math teacher from Lake Elsinore and a first grade teacher from Hemet were each selected to receive a $100 Teacher Grant from Division 33 of the California Retired Teachers Association (CalRTA). John Chung, who teaches math at Ortega High School in the Lake Elsinore Unified School District, and Nicole Flanagan, a teacher at Hemet Elementary School in the Hemet Unified School District were each randomly selected from nearly 40 applicants to receive the grant money.