Welcome back from the week-long spring recess. Just a reminder that the next IUSD Board of Education meeting is at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 13.

One of IUSD's own was honored this morning as Educator of the Year by the California D.A.R.E. Officers’ Association during the organization’s annual conference.

In the latest step to resolve a projected budget deficit caused by California's fiscal crisis, IUSD has scheduled eight furlough days for the 2010-11 school year.

Brywood Elementary School held its sixth annual Cultural Festival on Friday, March 26, drawing an estimated 1,500 attendees. As in years past, Brywood students performed songs and dances and shared artwork representing an array of cultures from around the world.

The Irvine Unified School District has never really put much of an emphasis on school rankings.

Over the course of his 22 years in IUSD, Paul Mills has developed and implemented a vision for alternative education, based on the core principle that all students can succeed. And his work hasn’t merely impacted Irvine.

The Woodbridge High School Percussion Ensemble is ranked No. 1 in the nation following a weekend regional competition in Temecula. Performing at the WGI Sport of the Arts Temecula Regional, the Warriors drummed up an impressive score of 95 – even after factoring in a timing penalty.

With all the budget news of late, IUSD NewsFlash hasn’t had much time to get to other happenings around the district. So let’s play a little catch-up.

A Lakeside Middle School student recently won first place in the art category of the 11th annual Holocaust Art and Writing Contest, while a classmate was named one of five finalists.

Capping months of discussion, the IUSD Board of Education reluctantly voted to make a number of budget reductions and adjustments Tuesday night to resolve the projected deficit for the 2010-11 school year.