Risha Shukla, a Sierra Vista Middle School eighth-grader who co-founded an organization that brings cheer to children with serious medical issues, was recently named California’s top middle school volunteer for 2010 through the Prudential Spiri

University High Athletic Director Mark Cunningham has been named a 2009-10 CIF Model Coach Award winner – a distinction earned by only 13 coaches in the state.

Just a reminder that Monday, Feb. 15, is a federal holiday in honor of President Washington's Birthday, and that means all Irvine Unified School District campuses and offices will be closed. We’ll see you back at school on Tuesday, Feb. 16.

While Connie Fritsch, Kris Linville and Jeanne Jelnick

And IUSD's High School Teacher of the Year is ... Jeanne Jelnick, the popular English teacher at Uni.

Our next stop is Sierra Vista Middle School, where Kris Linville has just been named IUSD's Middle School Teacher of the Year. This time the reveal came during a mock fire drill.

Connie Fritsch, a second-grade teacher at Northwood Elementary School, has just been named IUSD's Elementary Teacher of the Year. Mrs.

You'll find out very soon. The Exchange Club of Irvine, the Irvine Teachers Association and the Irvine Unified School District have selected a trio of top educators to receive Teacher of the Year honors for 2009-10. Today, we're surprising each of the honorees at their schools.

Missed the Feb. 2 meeting of IUSD's Board of Education? You can read the highlights by clicking here.

The state budget crisis continues to take its toll on public education, creating a $23.8 million shortfall for the Irvine Unified School District alone.