Focus on Education (10/03/12)

BANNED BOOKS WEEK: The Association of American Publishers this week is celebrating the freedom to read. See authors and fans reading excerpts at www.youtube.com/bannedbooksweek. For more, visit http://bannedbooksweek.org.

CHARTER EXPANDS: Great Valley Academy, an independent public charter school with campuses in Modesto and Manteca, expanded this year to include home schooling. Although the expansion was turned down by the Stanislaus County Board of Education, Great Valley applied through its Manteca school to the New Jerusalem School District in San Joaquin County and received approval. It has 22 home-school students enrolled to date, said home-school director Sherry Smith.

MEETING CANCELED: The Oct. 10 meeting of the Schools Infrastructure Financing Agency board has been canceled. The next SIFA board meeting is set for Nov. 14. For more information, call Becky Meredith, secretary to the board, at (209) 576-4032.