by Zonelle Maharaj
Newark Patch
A former James Logan High School teacher was arrested Thursday on suspicion of having sex with a student, police said.
Peter Kolesnikov, 38, faces 22 counts of sexual assualt, including charges of statutory rape, oral copulation of a minor and communicating with a minor with criminal intent, according to Cmdr. Ben Horner of the Union City Police Department. He was arrested without incident by Union City police while en route to meet with the juvenile victim at an undisclosed location in Hayward.
Police received information on Tuesday morning alleging that Kolesnikov, an English teacher who also taught some art, had engaged in sexual relations with a 16-year-old girl over a nine-month period, starting last year in March and ending in November. Investigators then served search warrants at Kolesnikov’s residences in San Francisco and Berkeley.
According to the New Haven Unified School District, Kolesnikov has been on leave since the beginning of the school year and has not worked for the district since last June.
The victim, now 17, told police that the relationship began with kissing and grew into sexual encounters in private homes and motels in Alameda County.
Kolesnikov is being held at Santa Rita Jail on $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned at 2 p.m. Jan. 17 at the Fremont Hall of Justice.
Authorities in Union City have worked with the New Haven Unified School District to ensure the safety of all students in the district, Horner said.
Police believe that there may be additional victims and our urging parents to speak to their children about the incident.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Union City Police Department’s Press Information Officer Ben Horner at 510-675-5225. Anonymous tips may also be made by calling 510-675-5207 or emailing tips@unioncity.org.
Kolsenikov becomes the third Bay Area teacher arrested in a sex scandal this week.
On Wednesday in Livermore, Marie Johnson, a 40-year-old Granada High School teacher, was arrested on suspicion of committing 24 counts of sexual assault on a 14-year-old boy. On Tuesday in San Jose, 35-year-old Whaley Elementary School teacher Craig Chandler was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting a student.
With word of Kolesnikov's arrest spreading rapidly Friday, former students have taken to social media to voice their support for the former Logan teacher, whom many refer to as "Mr. K."
"That was my teacher! No way he would do that. Best teacher I had," one former student wrote on Twitter.
Another student, however, wrote that Kolesnikov "was always talkin bout sex" in art class. "He was the coolest teacher ever though!," the student added.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
ARDENWOOD FARM SEE MONARCH BUTTERFLY BOOM
By Jonathan Bloom, KGO
FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- Monarch butterflies flock to California's coastline each winter and right now, they're here in record numbers. There's a big surge among the butterfly that is one of nature's great mysteries.
At first glance, they look like clumps of leaves, hanging high in a eucalyptus grove. However, if you look closely and you'll see what may be the biggest population of Monarch butterflies that Ardenwood Historic Farm has ever seen.
"We had 4,188 butterflies," said Ira Bletz, a supervising naturalist. That count is about 10 times the amount from the year before. "And more than we've had in the past 10 years."
Naturalists say it's possible last year's rainfall caused a spike in the growth of the milkweed plant where monarchs lay their eggs, which looks like a little white pinprick that will hatch into a caterpillar. Those caterpillars will eat the milkweed nonstop for 15 days, before starting its transformation.
Most Monarchs live only a few weeks, but each year, one generation will live for six months -- migrating across the country to where the climate is just right. These butterflies have come from as far east as the Rocky Mountains and as far north as British Columbia.
To survive the winter, Monarch butterflies need a ring of trees that's shielded from the wind, but lets in just enough sunlight to keep them warm. And the thing is they don't go looking for it, they just seem to know where it is.
"They've never been here before, they've never seen any other butterflies coming here, but somehow they find their way to specific spots, and they come there to spend the winter," said Bletz.
Because they come from all over, the population surge tells a story far bigger than this grove in Fremont.
"Monarch butterflies are really an indicator of a healthy environment. A good population indicates that things are going well all across the western us," said Bletz.
And in February, they'll head back out across the country to lay their eggs and let the cycle begin again.
These butterflies will not return here, but their great-great-grandchildren will come back next fall to spend the winter here in our eucalyptus grove," said Bletz.
FREMONT, Calif. (KGO) -- Monarch butterflies flock to California's coastline each winter and right now, they're here in record numbers. There's a big surge among the butterfly that is one of nature's great mysteries.
At first glance, they look like clumps of leaves, hanging high in a eucalyptus grove. However, if you look closely and you'll see what may be the biggest population of Monarch butterflies that Ardenwood Historic Farm has ever seen.
"We had 4,188 butterflies," said Ira Bletz, a supervising naturalist. That count is about 10 times the amount from the year before. "And more than we've had in the past 10 years."
Naturalists say it's possible last year's rainfall caused a spike in the growth of the milkweed plant where monarchs lay their eggs, which looks like a little white pinprick that will hatch into a caterpillar. Those caterpillars will eat the milkweed nonstop for 15 days, before starting its transformation.
Most Monarchs live only a few weeks, but each year, one generation will live for six months -- migrating across the country to where the climate is just right. These butterflies have come from as far east as the Rocky Mountains and as far north as British Columbia.
To survive the winter, Monarch butterflies need a ring of trees that's shielded from the wind, but lets in just enough sunlight to keep them warm. And the thing is they don't go looking for it, they just seem to know where it is.
"They've never been here before, they've never seen any other butterflies coming here, but somehow they find their way to specific spots, and they come there to spend the winter," said Bletz.
Because they come from all over, the population surge tells a story far bigger than this grove in Fremont.
"Monarch butterflies are really an indicator of a healthy environment. A good population indicates that things are going well all across the western us," said Bletz.
And in February, they'll head back out across the country to lay their eggs and let the cycle begin again.
These butterflies will not return here, but their great-great-grandchildren will come back next fall to spend the winter here in our eucalyptus grove," said Bletz.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
As Class Size Grows, More Chaotic Classrooms
by Richard Lee
New America Media/World Journal
FREMONT, Calif. -- "Guys, I almost can't hear myself," exclaims teacher Jenna Kelly to her large class of third graders at Ardenwood Elementary School in Fremont. She felt torn between paying attention to individual students and controlling the classroom. Whenever she tried to help one student with his class work, the rest of the class clamored for her attention.
Class size is a huge issue at Ardenwood Elementary, which is located in northern Fremont and serves about 900 students, over 70 percent of whom are Asian, largely Chinese and Asian Indian. Each class this year has an average of almost 30 students.
Big budget cuts at the Fremont Unified School District level are to blame. Ardenwood itself did not suffer any dramatic funding. But the district budget dropped from $273 million in 2007-2008 down to $251 million in 2010-2011. Seven teacher positions were cut.
Because there was a no-layoff clause written into the contract for permanent teachers, layoffs targeted temporary teachers. Attrition made up for the rest. To compensate, each classroom was required to absorb more students, raising student-teacher ratios across the district. In FUSD, class size for first and third grades went up 40 percent from 20 in to 28.
"It's just more chaotic," says Kelly, who spends a lot more time keeping students quiet before she can teach. Kelly is grateful there are more parents volunteering in the classroom. But she's also seen a dramatic increase in students. She winds up spending less time with each student.
"It's just not the same," she explains. "They are louder, they are not reading as fast, and their scores aren't as high (as before)," she says.
Teacher workloads outside the classroom are also heavier because there are more papers to grade. Kelly says her class usually has two to three tests per week and it takes an average of 45 extra minutes to grade each test, not to mention the time to prepare learning materials for more students. "If you are talking about planning and preparing, that's a couple of hours more." She takes work home about three nights a week and often works on weekends.
Paula Rugg, principal of Ardenwood, recalls that it was difficult when teachers needed to absorb eight more students into their classes for the first time. But, she says, teachers slowly learned to be more creative to help students adjust to more crowded classrooms.
"Teachers learned to manage the class by having children in groups," Rugg says. "There's a lot of group work now. If you walk into a classroom, you'll see kids sitting in table groups." Ying Lu, a Chinese mother of a fifth grader at Ardenwood, says she was concerned about classroom sizes at first, but was glad that her son was able to adapt quite well. "He makes more friends in the class, and his test score is about the same," she says.
Rugg says teachers are doing a great job to minimize the impact and school data suggest English learners' performance hasn't been impacted. English language learners account for 17 percent of the entire student body, many of whom are Chinese.
Ivy Wu, a FUSD board member, says Chinese parents, like other parents, are stressed about declining school funding levels and don't understand how school budgets are made. She thinks Chinese-English learners are doing alright because their parents -- while not necessarily wealthy -- "spend their money on education purposes."
In fact, Ardenwood parents overall have been donating to the school to reduce class size, but the deficit was too big to be covered by parental donations.
Apart from class size, the school district has also eliminated a variety of services over recent years, including cutting school bus services, eliminating teachers' positions in fine arts, music and sports, shortening the last school year to 177 from 180, as well as reducing school library hours.
"(Back in 2010), I only worked two and a half days a week," says Sandhya Sharma, Ardenwood's librarian. The result is that students come only once every other week, she says, losing the chance to learn research skills and check out books.
Voters approved a FUSD parcel tax in 2010, which school officials believe will generate about $3 million a year over the next five years. By using the property tax levy, Ardenwood was able to restore the school library hours and bring back their arts and music teachers.
"With more budget cuts looming, we are still very concerned about the future," says Wu.
Fremont Unified School District:
Class Size: 28 in Kindergarten to 3rd grades, 30 in 4th and 5th grades. In high schools, classes were staffed at 27.5 to 1, but some core academic classes (English, Math, Social Science and Science) were as high as 36 to 1.
Teacher Layoffs: None. However, 202 temporary teachers were laid off.
School Year: 180 Days, restored from 177 days in 2010-2011.
New America Media/World Journal
FREMONT, Calif. -- "Guys, I almost can't hear myself," exclaims teacher Jenna Kelly to her large class of third graders at Ardenwood Elementary School in Fremont. She felt torn between paying attention to individual students and controlling the classroom. Whenever she tried to help one student with his class work, the rest of the class clamored for her attention.
Class size is a huge issue at Ardenwood Elementary, which is located in northern Fremont and serves about 900 students, over 70 percent of whom are Asian, largely Chinese and Asian Indian. Each class this year has an average of almost 30 students.
Big budget cuts at the Fremont Unified School District level are to blame. Ardenwood itself did not suffer any dramatic funding. But the district budget dropped from $273 million in 2007-2008 down to $251 million in 2010-2011. Seven teacher positions were cut.
Because there was a no-layoff clause written into the contract for permanent teachers, layoffs targeted temporary teachers. Attrition made up for the rest. To compensate, each classroom was required to absorb more students, raising student-teacher ratios across the district. In FUSD, class size for first and third grades went up 40 percent from 20 in to 28.
"It's just more chaotic," says Kelly, who spends a lot more time keeping students quiet before she can teach. Kelly is grateful there are more parents volunteering in the classroom. But she's also seen a dramatic increase in students. She winds up spending less time with each student.
"It's just not the same," she explains. "They are louder, they are not reading as fast, and their scores aren't as high (as before)," she says.
Teacher workloads outside the classroom are also heavier because there are more papers to grade. Kelly says her class usually has two to three tests per week and it takes an average of 45 extra minutes to grade each test, not to mention the time to prepare learning materials for more students. "If you are talking about planning and preparing, that's a couple of hours more." She takes work home about three nights a week and often works on weekends.
Paula Rugg, principal of Ardenwood, recalls that it was difficult when teachers needed to absorb eight more students into their classes for the first time. But, she says, teachers slowly learned to be more creative to help students adjust to more crowded classrooms.
"Teachers learned to manage the class by having children in groups," Rugg says. "There's a lot of group work now. If you walk into a classroom, you'll see kids sitting in table groups." Ying Lu, a Chinese mother of a fifth grader at Ardenwood, says she was concerned about classroom sizes at first, but was glad that her son was able to adapt quite well. "He makes more friends in the class, and his test score is about the same," she says.
Rugg says teachers are doing a great job to minimize the impact and school data suggest English learners' performance hasn't been impacted. English language learners account for 17 percent of the entire student body, many of whom are Chinese.
Ivy Wu, a FUSD board member, says Chinese parents, like other parents, are stressed about declining school funding levels and don't understand how school budgets are made. She thinks Chinese-English learners are doing alright because their parents -- while not necessarily wealthy -- "spend their money on education purposes."
In fact, Ardenwood parents overall have been donating to the school to reduce class size, but the deficit was too big to be covered by parental donations.
Apart from class size, the school district has also eliminated a variety of services over recent years, including cutting school bus services, eliminating teachers' positions in fine arts, music and sports, shortening the last school year to 177 from 180, as well as reducing school library hours.
"(Back in 2010), I only worked two and a half days a week," says Sandhya Sharma, Ardenwood's librarian. The result is that students come only once every other week, she says, losing the chance to learn research skills and check out books.
Voters approved a FUSD parcel tax in 2010, which school officials believe will generate about $3 million a year over the next five years. By using the property tax levy, Ardenwood was able to restore the school library hours and bring back their arts and music teachers.
"With more budget cuts looming, we are still very concerned about the future," says Wu.
Fremont Unified School District:
Class Size: 28 in Kindergarten to 3rd grades, 30 in 4th and 5th grades. In high schools, classes were staffed at 27.5 to 1, but some core academic classes (English, Math, Social Science and Science) were as high as 36 to 1.
Teacher Layoffs: None. However, 202 temporary teachers were laid off.
School Year: 180 Days, restored from 177 days in 2010-2011.
AUTHORITIES ID MAN KILLED IN FREMONT HIT-and-RUN
By Chris De Benedetti
Fremont Argus
FREMONT -- Authorities have identified the 56-year-old man who died in a hit-and-run accident involving two vehicles near the Newark-Fremont border Monday night.
Ralph Huerta was crossing Ardenwood Boulevard about 7:42 p.m., when he was struck by the vehicles, an Alameda County Coroner's Bureau official said.
Police said Huerta was first hit by a silver or light-colored sport utility vehicle going southbound on Ardenwood Boulevard, near Highway 84.
The SUV knocked him to the pavement and drove away, police said.
A car behind the SUV also ran over Huerta and kept going. Based on physical evidence found at the scene, police believe a 2003 to 2007 four-door Honda Accord was the second vehicle and sustained damage to its right front wheel area.
Huerta, a transient, was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley where he died.
Anyone with information about the incident are asked to call police at 510-790-6760 or 510-790-6972.
Fremont Argus
FREMONT -- Authorities have identified the 56-year-old man who died in a hit-and-run accident involving two vehicles near the Newark-Fremont border Monday night.
Ralph Huerta was crossing Ardenwood Boulevard about 7:42 p.m., when he was struck by the vehicles, an Alameda County Coroner's Bureau official said.
Police said Huerta was first hit by a silver or light-colored sport utility vehicle going southbound on Ardenwood Boulevard, near Highway 84.
The SUV knocked him to the pavement and drove away, police said.
A car behind the SUV also ran over Huerta and kept going. Based on physical evidence found at the scene, police believe a 2003 to 2007 four-door Honda Accord was the second vehicle and sustained damage to its right front wheel area.
Huerta, a transient, was taken to Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley where he died.
Anyone with information about the incident are asked to call police at 510-790-6760 or 510-790-6972.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
FATAL HIT AND RUN ACCIDENT IN ARDENWOOD
By Harry Harris
FREMONT -- Police on Tuesday continued to search for the drivers of two vehicles who fled after hitting and fatally injuring a 56-year-old man Monday night as he crossed a busy street.
The man's name was not released pending notification of relatives.
The hit-and-run happened about 7:42 p.m. Monday on Ardenwood Boulevard just south of Highway 84.
Police said the man was crossing southbound Ardenwood Boulevard in an easterly direction outside a crosswalk when he was first struck by a light-colored mid-sized sport utility vehicle going southbound on Ardenwood.
The SUV knocked the man to the pavement and kept going, police said.
A second vehicle behind the SUV ran over the man and also kept going.
When police arrived on the scene some passers-by were administering CPR to the man. He was taken to Eden Hospital in Castro Valley where he died.
Anyone with information about the motorists who struck the man are asked to call police at 510-790-6760 or 510-790-6972.
FREMONT -- Police on Tuesday continued to search for the drivers of two vehicles who fled after hitting and fatally injuring a 56-year-old man Monday night as he crossed a busy street.
The man's name was not released pending notification of relatives.
The hit-and-run happened about 7:42 p.m. Monday on Ardenwood Boulevard just south of Highway 84.
Police said the man was crossing southbound Ardenwood Boulevard in an easterly direction outside a crosswalk when he was first struck by a light-colored mid-sized sport utility vehicle going southbound on Ardenwood.
The SUV knocked the man to the pavement and kept going, police said.
A second vehicle behind the SUV ran over the man and also kept going.
When police arrived on the scene some passers-by were administering CPR to the man. He was taken to Eden Hospital in Castro Valley where he died.
Anyone with information about the motorists who struck the man are asked to call police at 510-790-6760 or 510-790-6972.
Monday, November 28, 2011
BUTTERFLIES ALL AFLUTTER ALONG EAST BAY SHORE
From the Fremont Argus...
Butterflies all aflutter along East Bay shore
By Matthew Artz
The Argus
FREMONT -- Unlike recent years, Christina Garcia needed a pen, paper and a fair amount of time Friday to count all the monarch butterflies dangling in clumps high atop the eucalyptus trees at Fremont's Ardenwood Historic Farm.
Garcia, a naturalist with the East Bay Regional Park District, counted 4,176 butterflies -- the most since 1998 and way more than the 224 she counted last year.
"It's great to see so many of them," she said. "We thought they were going to keep dropping in numbers and maybe not come at all."
The butterflies, which spend their winters along the Central and Southern California coast, also can be seen at San Leandro's Monarch Bay Golf Course and for the first time since 2004, at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline in Richmond.
The Xerces Society, a butterfly conservation group, began the Thanksgiving week butterfly count more than a decade ago to monitor the dramatic decline of monarchs wintering in the state. Counters last year spotted 129,460 butterflies, down from nearly 400,000 a decade earlier.
Garcia said this year's resurgence might be due to the especially wet spring. Late rain is good for the milkweed plant, which serves both as the monarch's egg repository and a major food source.
Most monarchs live less than six weeks, first as caterpillars chomping on milkweed and later as butterflies that mate and produce hundreds of eggs.
But the current crop of monarchs lead a very different life.
Advertisement Instead of rushing to mate, they expend their energy flying at speeds as high as 25 miles per hour to the same select shoreline locales where they'll live for months before mating in February.
Much of their winter is spent huddled in trees with their wings overlapping like shingles to protect them from wind and rain. But when the sun comes out, they'll cascade down toward the ground foraging for nectar.
"It's awesome," Garcia said. "You can even hear their wings fluttering." This is the first year that visitors to Ardenwood are allowed to visit the butterfly grove unattended. The district also runs weekend butterfly walks throughout December and January. The park is located at 34600 Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont. For more information, visit www.ebparks.org/parks/ardenwood or call 510-544-2797.
Butterflies all aflutter along East Bay shore
By Matthew Artz
The Argus
FREMONT -- Unlike recent years, Christina Garcia needed a pen, paper and a fair amount of time Friday to count all the monarch butterflies dangling in clumps high atop the eucalyptus trees at Fremont's Ardenwood Historic Farm.
Garcia, a naturalist with the East Bay Regional Park District, counted 4,176 butterflies -- the most since 1998 and way more than the 224 she counted last year.
"It's great to see so many of them," she said. "We thought they were going to keep dropping in numbers and maybe not come at all."
The butterflies, which spend their winters along the Central and Southern California coast, also can be seen at San Leandro's Monarch Bay Golf Course and for the first time since 2004, at Point Pinole Regional Shoreline in Richmond.
The Xerces Society, a butterfly conservation group, began the Thanksgiving week butterfly count more than a decade ago to monitor the dramatic decline of monarchs wintering in the state. Counters last year spotted 129,460 butterflies, down from nearly 400,000 a decade earlier.
Garcia said this year's resurgence might be due to the especially wet spring. Late rain is good for the milkweed plant, which serves both as the monarch's egg repository and a major food source.
Most monarchs live less than six weeks, first as caterpillars chomping on milkweed and later as butterflies that mate and produce hundreds of eggs.
But the current crop of monarchs lead a very different life.
Advertisement Instead of rushing to mate, they expend their energy flying at speeds as high as 25 miles per hour to the same select shoreline locales where they'll live for months before mating in February.
Much of their winter is spent huddled in trees with their wings overlapping like shingles to protect them from wind and rain. But when the sun comes out, they'll cascade down toward the ground foraging for nectar.
"It's awesome," Garcia said. "You can even hear their wings fluttering." This is the first year that visitors to Ardenwood are allowed to visit the butterfly grove unattended. The district also runs weekend butterfly walks throughout December and January. The park is located at 34600 Ardenwood Blvd., Fremont. For more information, visit www.ebparks.org/parks/ardenwood or call 510-544-2797.
Monday, November 14, 2011
MONARCH BUTTERFLY PROGRAMS AT ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARMS
Monarch Butterfly Programs
Hundreds of monarch butterflies gather annually to spend the winter at Ardenwood Historic Farm. Discover the amazing migration of these tiny creatures and how they survive the long cold season in the eucalyptus trees.
Ardenwood Historic Farm, Fremont
Entry Fee applies.
Return of the Monarchs
November 25, 26
1 – 2:30 PM
Marvelous Monarchs
December 10, 18 and 31
11 am – 12: 30 pm
Monarch Butterfly Walks
December 10, 18 and 31
1:30 – 2:30 pm
Monarchs for Kids
December 11 and 17
11 am – 12:30 pm
Monarchs in the Morning
November 26, 27 and December 24
11 am – 12 pm
Hundreds of monarch butterflies gather annually to spend the winter at Ardenwood Historic Farm. Discover the amazing migration of these tiny creatures and how they survive the long cold season in the eucalyptus trees.
Ardenwood Historic Farm, Fremont
Entry Fee applies.
Return of the Monarchs
November 25, 26
1 – 2:30 PM
Marvelous Monarchs
December 10, 18 and 31
11 am – 12: 30 pm
Monarch Butterfly Walks
December 10, 18 and 31
1:30 – 2:30 pm
Monarchs for Kids
December 11 and 17
11 am – 12:30 pm
Monarchs in the Morning
November 26, 27 and December 24
11 am – 12 pm
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