Ever considered making a contribution to IUSD, but you're not exactly sure who pays for what? There are, after all, a number of organizations that exist to support Irvine schools, including the Irvine Public Schools Foundation and our local PTAs.

Over the course of the next nine and a half months, there will be essay questions, reading assignments, science projects and word problems. There will also be field trips, football games, high school dances and, ultimately, commencement exercises.

In recent years, IUSD has engaged in an ambitious campaign to harness solar power, cut electrical consumption, reduce waste and promote sustainability while adding an 18-lesson curriculum on sustainable energy in grades five and six.

The Irvine Public Schools Foundation recently announced that it's received grants from both Google, Inc. and Montessori International to provide additional educational opportunities for Irvine students.

Congratulations to Hari Garg of Rancho San Joaquin Middle School and Rae Holcomb of South Lake Middle School.

Students in the Irvine Unified School District continue to earn high marks on state standards tests while narrowing racial and ethnic achievement gaps, according to results released Aug. 15 by the California Department of Education.

The California Department of Education released the results of its 2011 Standardized Testing and Reporting program this morning, and IUSD once again has reason to be proud. We'll post a story on what the STAR tests indicate about Irvine soon.

The Assistance League of Irvine has announced that its annual Operation School Bell program will kick off on Aug. 22.

The U.S. Department of Education has made some big changes to a key component of the No Child Left Behind Act that was signed by President George W. Bush in 2001.

Lisa Howell, IUSD’s assistant superintendent of Business Services, was recently interviewed by KPCC (89.3 FM) radio reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez to talk about the disconcerting news that California’s revenue i