Focus on Education: Sylvan superintendent search

The Sylvan Union School District Board will hold a special meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the district boardroom, 605 Sylvan Ave. Trustees will hear and review presentations from four superintendent search firms. Superintendent John Halverson will retire June 30.

COAT DRIVE: New and gently used coats are being accepted at Denair High School through Dec. 19 for a coat drive by the DHS Library Club.

ADVENTURE THEATRE: The Modesto State Theatre Youth Education Program is offering free showings of "Kenn Adams' Adventure Theatre" on Thursday. There is room at the 11 a.m. showing for classes to attend. Respond by Tuesday at http://ccsesaarts.k12oms.org/411-63688.

SCHOOL BUS SAFETY: The Traffic Safety Coalition provided school bus safety tips in honor of last week being National School Bus Safety Week. Every day, 26 million children ride buses to school. In the decade from 2001 to 2010, there were more than 1,300 fatalities in crashes related to school transportation, about 40 percent of them for children ages 5-7, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The TSC offers safety tips for drivers: 1. Never pass a school bus with its stop arm extended. 2. Stop a safe distance away from a stopped school bus. 3. Wait until the stop arm fully retracts and red lights stop flashing before proceeding. 4. Proceed with caution when driving by a school zone or school bus stop. 5. Exercise extra caution around stopped buses, as a child may dart into the street without looking.

DYSLEXIA TOOL KIT: October is Learning Disabilities Awareness Month, and the National Center for Learning Disabilities is launching interactive, Web-based tools for parents at http://ncld.org. NCLD created a dyslexia tool kit, as well as an animated video and e-card to portray the emotional journey of a child with learning disabilities.

SCIENCE TEACHER: A new episode in the American Chemical Society's popular "Prized Science" video series features a teacher speaking about engaging the next generation of scientists, who must discover tomorrow's lifesaving medicines and clean fuels and help solve other global challenges. Videos are available at www.acs.org/prizedscience.