And the good news is: GRANADA HILLS CHARTER, WEST HIGH WIN REGIONAL ACADEMIC DECATHLONS
The four highest scores in the nation are from LAUSD: Granada Hills, Marshall, El Camino Real + Franklin By Rick Rojas, Los Angeles Times |http://lat.ms/xNC2ob West High's coach, Ann Cortina, hugs student Vidya Premkumar. The team from Torrance won the Los Angeles County regional academic decathlon for the fourth year in a row. (Katie Falkenberg / For the Los Angeles Times / February 9,
OUTRAGE/STONEWALL/COVER UP SPREADS TO TELFAIR ELEMENTARY IN PACOIMA: 4 stories
Parents, faculty at Telfair Elementary in Pacoima learn of ex-teacher's arrest last Oct 8th By Barbara Jones and Christina Villacorte, Staff Writers LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/y6avuO 2/10/2012 :: A former third-grade teacher at Telfair Elementary School in Pacoima is in custody on charges that he molested four children, the latest suspect to be named in an unfolding sex-abuse scandal in
My View: HOW TO HELP STUDENTS COPE WITH CHANGE
By Betsy Landers, Special to CNN | http://bit.ly/wMEGoq Betsy Landers is president of the National PTA. When students return to Miramonte Elementary School on Thursday, they will be met by a new staff. February 9th, 2012 - 7:02 AM ET :: There is no excuse for the child abuse that the police say happened at Miramonte Elementary School in
Sandy Banks: NOT BUSINESS AS USUAL AT LAUSD
* L.A. Unified's swift action in response to the alleged sex abuse at Miramonte Elementary is a striking about-face for a district known for trying to contain scandals by sweeping them under the rug. *smf: The above headline is correct only if one inserts “After a year…” at the asterisk and strikes the word “swift”. By Sandy Banks | LA Times columnist | http://
MIRAMONTE TEACHER WAS PAID $40K BY LAUSD TO DROP APPEAL
LAUSD says it paid Mark Berndt to settle his challenge because it was blocked from investigating and defending its firing of the Miramonte Elementary teacher accused of sexually abusing students. By Howard Blume, Angel Jennings and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/xTYp0T Students arrive at Miramonte Elementary on Thursday, when the school reopened after a two-day closure. New
COMMUNITY GROUP SCORES COURT VICTORY AGAINST L.A. COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT TRUSTEES
For Immediate Release| http://bit.ly/wAWD1v Board’s Defiance of Judge’s September 12, 2011 Decision Likely Triggered Court’s Action Granting Relief Requested By VDK Coalition Lease of Van de Kamps Campus Building By Charter School Run By Former Mayor Richard Riordan, Eli Broad Foundation, and Alliance Public Schools Ordered Invalidated February 8, 2012 Los Angeles, CA ::
WITH LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES, COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO PASS COLLEGE-LEVEL MATH COURSES
By Dan Fost ~ EdSource Extra | http://bit.ly/zl5ciD Math instructor, David Ellingson, teaches a course in differential equations at Napa Valley College. Photo by Deanne Fitzmaurice. February 7th, 2012 | Large numbers of community college students are struggling to pass the college-level math classes they need to complete a degree or transfer to a four-year institution, with
LAUSD'S ADULT SCHOOLS MAY BE CUT FROM BUDGET ENTIRELY: Protesters Rally in Defense of 350,000 Endangered Students
By Simone Wilson, LA wEEKLY | http://bit.ly/zWjwaS KCET - Evans' marquee may go blank next year.>> Thu., Feb. 9 2012 at 10:15 AM :: By far the most concerning cut on the Los Angeles Unified School District's most recent budget proposal: The entire Division of Adult and Career Education. If all the adult schools and career centers are eliminated, as planned, close to 350,000 students will
Outrage at Miramonte - UTLA PRESIDENT: “LAUSD IS MAKING TRAGIC SITUATION WORSE” – SUPERINTENDENT DEASY: “UNION CLAIMS ARE ‘LUDICROUS,’ ‘FACTUALLY INACCURATE’”
KPCC Episode: Patt Morrison For February 9, 2012 | http://bit.ly/xxPp1u [ Download Program MP3/Podcast ] Krista Kennell/AFP/Getty Images - L.A. Unified Superintendent John Deasy speaks during a press conference at South Region High School #2 in Los Angeles, California Feb. 6, 2012. Deasy earlier informed parents at a community meeting that the district is replacing the entire staff of
MIRAMONTE TEACHERS TO FILE GRIEVANCES AFTER REMOVAL FROM SCHOOL
by Howard Blume, Samuel Allen and Angel Jennings at Miramonte Elementary School | LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/ytLTXc This post has been updated. See the note below for details. February 9, 2012 | 9:50 am :: The 85 Miramonte Elementary School teachers who were removed from their classrooms as part of the investigation into the school's sex-abuse scandal will be filing grievances
Leaving NCLB Behind: TEN STATES GRANTED WAIVERS BY PRESIDENTIAL ORDER
By The Associated Press | http://bit.ly/yKo64C Originally published: February 9, 2012 6:16 PM - WASHINGTON (AP) :: It could be the beginning of the end for No Child Left Behind. The goal was lofty: Get all children up to par in math and reading by 2014. But the nation isn't getting there, and now some states are getting out. In a sign of what's to come, President Barack Obama on Thursday
LAUSD DEFICIT SWELLS TO $557 MILLION
By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer | LA daily News | http://bit.ly/Atpqka 2/7/2012 09:01:30 PM PST :: Los Angeles Unified's budget deficit has swelled to $557 million, and the district faces layoffs of up to 7,500 employees and cuts to some of its most successful programs without a revenue trifecta to bring in cash, officials said Tuesday. An outline of the 2012-13 financial plan set for a vote
PARENTS, TEACHERS PROTEST PLAN TO SCRAP TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN: Gov. Jerry Brown wants to eliminate the new grade to save money, but opponents call it unfair to 4-year-olds and a hardship on parents.
By Carla Rivera, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/AxhES8 Emily Chun creates some artwork in her transitional kindergarten class at George Washington Carver Elementary School in Long Beach. The Long Beach district has been offering the grade in a pilot program. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times / February 7, 2012) February 8, 2012 :: The children painted Valentines, formed hearts with
Letters to the editor: TURMOIL AT MIRAMONTE ELEMENTARY
LA Times: Turmoil at L.A.'s Miramonte Elementary School | http://lat.ms/zuYX5M February 8, 2012 Drastic action Re "New staff at troubled school," Feb. 7 I am more than horrified by the alleged actions of the two Miramonte Elementary School teachers accused of child abuse. But as a retired L.A. Unified School District teacher and former officer in the teachers union, I am appalled by
Steve Lopez: WILL L.A. UNIFIED’S RESPONSE TO ABUSE ALLEGATIONS PASS MUSTER?
Administrators removed Mark Berndt from the classroom last year, long after complaints were first raised. Now, parents are mixed on transferring the entire staff as the investigation continues and upset that information was kept from them. Steve Lopez | LA Times columnist | http://lat.ms/w1UmbJ Children and parents protest L.A. Unified plans to transfer all faculty and staff after
Outrage, updated: STAFF OF MIRAMONTE REPLACED PENDING SEX ABUSE INQUIRY
L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy seeks to assure angry parents, who demonstrated at campus over allegations against two teachers. Officials say no other instructors are under suspicion. BY Howard Blume, Sam Allen and Angel Jennings, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/yIaKPF Angry parents demonstrate outside Miramonte Elementary on Monday. (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times / February 6, 2012)
L.A. YOUTH SCHOOL CUTS SURVEY RESULTS: More than 1,850 students told us how budget cuts have hurt their schools.
—Felix Ruano, 16, Ambassador School of Global Leadership | L. A. Youth | http://bit.ly/wv5f4I FEB 7, 2012 | In October L.A. Youth asked readers about budget cuts at their schools and more than 1,850 teens responded. I could relate to the students who took the survey because I’ve seen similar bad conditions at my school. We don’t have working light bulbs in some overhead projectors and when
ENTIRE STAFF AT MIRAMONTE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL REPLACED
Schools chief announces entire Miramonte staff to be replaced By Howard Blume | LA Times/LA NOW | http://lat.ms/zpBCIh February 6, 2012 | 6:56 pm :: Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy told parents Monday evening that the district is replacing the entire staff of Miramonte Elementary School in the wake of the arrests last week of two teachers on lewd conduct charges. The
WHY FRENCH PARENTS ARE SUPERIOR – or - Why American Parents are Inferior
by Edit Barry in re-Education in Baltimore | http://bit.ly/wOqoKZ It’s remarkable how social supports for the middle class are shrugged off in this new article in the Wall Street Journal about middle class parenting anxiety in America and what dumb Americans can learn from the French. (“Why French Parents Are Superior” by Pamela Druckerman, author of Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother
JERRY BROWN'S CALL FOR FEWER SCHOOL TESTS CONFLICTS WITH STATE'S NEW EDUCATION BLUEPRINT
by Diana Lambert, Sacramento Bee | http://bit.ly/yX0aN0 Published Sunday, Feb. 05, 2012 :: Want to make a public school teacher cringe? Say the words high-stakes testing. Tests, test and more tests. Teachers unions rail against them. Parents complain about the time their kids spend taking them. Academics disagree over their value. Gov. Jerry Brown joined the clamor, saying he wanted
PARENTS PROTEST HAZING-RELATED SUSPENSION OF LONGTIME L.A. HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL COACH
Bob Cook, Contributor Forbes | http://onforb.es/wHqOFs 2/06/2012 @ 4:18PM :: At 7:30 a.m. today (Feb. 6), a group of parents marched outside of Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, Calif., to show their displeasure with the three-week suspension of baseball coach Manny Alvarado, who is being sent home a second time over an alleged hazing incident. It’s not that the parents are pro-hazing.
VALLEY SCHOOL JANITOR ACCUSED OF LEWD CONDUCT
by Victoria Kim | LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/zRRqUC February 6, 2012 | 12:53 pm :: A janitor at a Chatsworth elementary school was arrested early Monday on suspicion of committing a lewd act on a student at the school, police said. Paul Adame, 37, was arrested at 1:15 a.m. after the mother of a student at Germain Street Elementary School went to a police station Sunday afternoon to
LOS ANGELES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CLOSES FOR SEX ABUSE INVESTIGATION: Miramonte Elementary School will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday for authorities to investigate a sex abuse scandal involving two teachers.
by Talia Ralph - Global Post | http://bit.ly/zcGFtU Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Patrick Gannon (2nd L), Los Angeles Unified School District's Steve Zipperman (2nd R) and Gardena Police Chief Ed Medrano (L) hold a news conference. The LAPD and LAUSD district officials are closing Miramonte Elementary School this week to investigate allegations of sexual abuse. (Kevork
BUSING MONEY RESTORED: All districts cut $42 per student instead
By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess | http://bit.ly/ypguTX 2/02/12 :: With unaccustomed speed and bipartisanship, the Legislature restored a $248 million midyear cut to school transportation Thursday, agreeing to an alternative plan to spread the pain equally among all school districts by cutting funding by about $42 per student. Through his staff, Gov. Jerry Brown signaled that he’d sign SB 81
VALUE-ADDED TEACHER EVALUATION ON TRIAL: A Groundhog Day hypothetical
from Valerie Strauss’ Answer Sheet in the Washington Post | http://wapo.st/yixgzY Posted at 12:00 PM ET, 02/02/2012 :: This was written by David B. Cohen, who has been a teacher since 1993 and is in his 13th year of teaching in California public high schools. He is National Board Certified, and is associate director of the Accomplished California Teachers group. This is part of a post that
HOMEOWNERS CONSIDER SUING LAUSD OVER WALGROVE LAND LEASE AGREEMENT
BY GARY WALKER, The Argonaut |http://bit.ly/xNd0QS Wednesday, February 1, 2012 5:19 PM PST :: A group of Mar Vista residents are mulling over the possibility of filing a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Unified School District to stop the construction of a charter school. On Jan. 20, the LAUSD Facilities Management Division awarded Ocean Charter School a 2-acre plot at Walgrove Avenue
FAILING GRADES IN SCIENCE STANDARDS FOR US SCHOOLS: Only California gets an “A”.
by Kristina Chew, Care2.com | http://bit.ly/ze2CPQ February 4, 2012 | 10:13 pm :: The Thomas B. Fordham Institute has issued “The State of Science Standards 2012“ report (FOLLOWS - smf: any report with a T Rex on the cover eating the Science Standards and a volcano erupting in the background can’t be all bad!) and the results are not encouraging. Only one state, California, was given an “A”
FOSTER YOUTH DESERVE TO BE LEFT OUT OF BROWN’S PLAN TO COMBINE CATEGORICAL FUNDS
By Daniel Heimpel | TopEd – Thoughts on Public Education | http://bit.ly/wloSeC 1/30/12 :: In 1981, the California State Legislature launched the Foster Youth Services program to address the educational needs of foster children, putting California at the vanguard of a national movement to level the educational playing field for students in foster care. But dramatic changes to how K-12
OUTRAGE
I have been biting my tongue here, caught between too-much and not-enough information. But I’m afraid there is no room for consensus or middle ground, no midpoint between the two levels of outrage described in the missives below. No explanations to parents in 140 characters or less will fix this. This is not an opportunity for “Crisis Communications”. There’s no room for Press Release/
A Tweet and a Letter to All Staff from The Superintendent re: Miramonte Elementary School
DrDeasyLAUSD John Deasy My letter to LAUSD staff regarding Miramonte ES http://www.lausd.net/lausd/offices/Office_of_Communications/Miramonte_ES_Ltr_to_All_Employees_2-1-12.pdf smf: from the above: “When I was notified of the investigation by the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department (LASD) more than a year ago on January 7, 2011, Berndt was immediately removed from the school that same
