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For many Sacramento families summer is a time of fun as school-year schedules give way to more leisurely days. But for school officials on tight budgets, summer can be a time of high anxiety as worry sets in over the safety of vacant campuses.

Vandals, arsonists and thieves are of particular concern, especially those who cripple school air-conditioning and electrical systems by stealing copper and aluminum parts – crimes that cost taxpayers money and take away needed school resources.

Rosa Parks Middle School has been named Sacramento’s seventh Superintendent’s Priority School, expanding Â鶹¹û¶³´«Ã½â€™s bold school improvement effort that is already seeing positive results on six other campuses, Superintendent Jonathan Raymond announced Thursday.

As a Priority School, Rosa Parks will get extra resources and innovations to boost learning though improved teaching, engaging curriculum and strong family and community connections.

Students at Hubert H. Bancroft Elementary School will honor local veterans with patriotic songs, poems and tributes at a ceremony on Thursday – the day before Veteran’s Day.

The tribute, an annual event at the school, helps connect children to the community and helps them to develop an appreciation for the men and women who have served in the military, said choir teacher Eileen Boyd, who is organizing the event.

WHAT:  Hubert H. Bancroft Tribute to Veterans

WHEN:   8:30 a.m. on Thursday, November 1

With Veteran’s Day approaching, a C.K. McClatchy High School alumnus killed in Iraq will be honored on Saturday with the announcement of a scholarship in his name.

Sgt. Arnold Duplantier II was killed by sniper fire while on patrol in Baghdad on June 22, 2005 – just days after his 26th birthday. Sgt. Duplantier had previously served in Kuwait in 2002. He left behind a wife, two children and his mother and father.

Teenagers from John F. Kennedy High School’s student government class will distribute more than 300 toys and other presents to Cesar Chavez Intermediate School on Thursday, December 22, giving every student a wished-for gift.