More than 40 of Irvine’s brightest teaching stars were honored Friday night during the 24th annual Excellence in Teaching Awards Dinner at The Irvine Marriott.

Hundreds of Irvine’s best and most committed student-musicians are preparing to take center stage for the 28th annual Donald Bren Honors Concert, set for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 27.

It’s official. Eight elementary schools in the Irvine Unified School District have earned the state’s highest level of recognition for public schools, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell announced today.

For the second time in two years, the City of Irvine is discussing a potential pledge of nearly $900,000 in matching funds to help IUSD mitigate the impacts of larger class sizes – a consequence of the state budget crisis.

The Irvine Unified School District has never really put much of an emphasis on school rankings.

The Woodbridge High School Percussion Ensemble is ranked No. 1 in the nation following a weekend regional competition in Temecula. Performing at the WGI Sport of the Arts Temecula Regional, the Warriors drummed up an impressive score of 95 – even after factoring in a timing penalty.

Capping months of discussion, the IUSD Board of Education reluctantly voted to make a number of budget reductions and adjustments Tuesday night to resolve the projected deficit for the 2010-11 school year.

Far be it from us to take sides in the Leno vs. Conan Controversy of 2010, but IUSD NewsFlash does encourage you to check out “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” this Wednesday, March 17, to see a pair of young inventors from IUSD.

Lights, camera, accolades. Northwood High School students recently earned first-place honors in four separate divisions of a national competition that recognizes excellence in filmmaking, video production and broadcast journalism.