FLORIDA REJECTS ‘PARENT TRIGGER’ BILL FOR FAILING SCHOOLS
By Michael Peltier, Reuters |http://reut.rs/Arf2nA TALLAHASSEE, Florida | Fri Mar 9, 2012 5:20pm EST - (Reuters) - Florida's state Senate narrowly killed a bill on Friday that would have allowed parents with children in failing public schools to leapfrog their local school boards and take control. The controversial "Parent Trigger" plan that backers said would empower parents by allowing them
NO EDUCATION RECOVERY IN SIGHT
Themes in the News by UCLA IDEA | Week of March 5-9, 2012 | http://bit.ly/xcu8s1 3-09-2012 :: It is almost upon us—March 15. March 15 is the now annual ritual when tens of thousands of teachers and other school employees will be notified that they may be laid off because school districts lack sufficient funds to guarantee their employment in the coming school year. The original purpose of
A CRY FOR HELP!: “When the District leadership is failing to support schools, you cannot label schools as failing without calling yourselves failures.”
“On top of the financial chaos, the District is reorganizing into a model that makes little sense to many of us in the field.” Associated Administrators of Los Angeles Weekly Update: Week of March 12, 2012 | http://bit.ly/xDp7jw On Thursday, March 1, 2012, Michelle King, Dr. Jaime Aquino and Dr. Donna Muncey issued a memo to all principals and Local District Superintendents entitled, ―FY 2012-
CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS SEX ABUSE SUITS AGAINST SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Ruling in a Santa Clarita case, it says students may sue districts for alleged sexual abuse by school employees if administrators ignore warning signs or fail to monitor the workers. By Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/xBTJyX School principals and other supervisors "have the responsibility of taking reasonable measures to guard pupils against harassment and abuse from
These are the Headlines: LAUSD SCHOOL BOARD CALLS FOR FASTER TERMINATION OF ACCUSED TEACHERS, ADULT STUDENTS STAGE PROTEST OVER PROPOSED CUTS, LAUSD PREPARES TO ISSUE 11000 PRELIMINARY PINK SLIPS + LA SCHOOLS CHIEF PUSHES PARCEL TAX TO MEET BUDGET. What’s wrong with this picture?
headlines From Google News LAUSD school board members call for faster termination of accused teachers Los Angeles Daily News - 24 minutes ago LOS ANGELES - Three Los Angeles Unified School District Board members called today for changes to the state Education Code to make it faster and easier for the school district to fire teachers for "unprofessional, immoral or criminal conduct. LA
WHEREAS, THE LAST TIME WE RESOLVED NOTHING HAPPENED; THEREFORE WE ARE FURTHER RESOLVED (AGAIN)…
From the LAUSD Board of Ed Agenda for March 13, 2012 | http://bit.ly/xKzSYy ●●smf: The following two agenda items and resolutions recount a litany of previous resolutions where nothing happened. They call for the superintendent to report back in thirty and sixty days with new plans of action. No more reports. No more plans, no more waiting. Action. The kids can’t wait.
WITH 83 NEW CASES, STATE AGENCY SCRAMBLES TO DEAL WITH FLOOD OF LAUSD MISCONDUCT REPORTS
By Tami Abdollah | KPCC 89.3 Pass/Fail | http://bit.ly/w0MlFb AFP/AFP/Getty Images - Protestors march near Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles, California February 6, 2012. 1:21 p.m. | California's teacher credentialing commission is scrambling to deal with a major increase in teacher misconduct reports that has forced staff to work weekends, restructure its processes, revamp its
Radio Interview: LAUSD MISSTEPS IN CHILD ABUSE SCANDAL
Politics or pedagogy? TOPIC: LAUSD Missteps in Child Abuse Scandal GUEST: Scott Folsom, Los Angeles PTA KPFK 90.7 FM / online @ kpfk.org ( connection with PTA for identification only) EDUCATION REPORT with John Cromshow "Smiley and West" 11:00 a.m. Saturday, March 10, 2012 (Following hosts' introduction)
Tamar Galatzan: LAUSD parents can't afford budget denial
by Tamar Galatzan | OpEd in the Daily News | http://bit.ly/wfsUOO ●●smf: This Op-ed was retweeted by DrDeasLAUSD at 6:23 this AM – so I think it’s safe to assume that it reflects the company line. Ms. Galatzan has positioned herself previously as a questioning fiscal maverick – unfortunately here she is throwing in with the “we have no choice but to continue to
L.A. UNIFIED BOARD GAMES: In the once-in-a-decade redrawing of school board districts, some close to the current process see the mayor's guiding hand.
By Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/xaJ0Li Bennett Kayser won election to L.A. school board District 5 last May. He's been a thorn in the mayor's side ever since, and now his district may be redrawn. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times / July 1, 2011) THE GERRYMANDER’S TALE?: Graphic - Proposed changes for district 5 March 9, 2012 :: For the last 10 months, Los Angeles
SURVEY: Teacher Job Satisfaction Hits a Low Point + 28th annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher
By Liana Heitin, Education Week | http://bit.ly/xrRQD8 Teacher job satisfaction is at the lowest it's been in more than two decades, likely as a consequence—at least in part—of the economic downturn and resulting cuts to education budgets, according to a national survey. The 28th annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, released today, finds that 44 percent of teachers are "very satisfied
Calif. Supreme Court: SCHOOL DISTRICTS LIABLE FOR HIRING MOLESTERS + AP Story + Opinion
By Tami Abdollah | KPCC Pass/Fail | http://bit.ly/ygPWJu Steve Rhodes/Flickr (by cc-nc-nd) 3/8/12 4:08 p.m. :: The California Supreme Court ruled today that a school district can be held liable for administrators who hire or supervise an employee who molests children. The ruling, reported by the AP, overturns an appellate court decision that upheld dismissing a lawsuit filed by a student
BRIEFLY: Headlines from L.A. Now
Brawl at Carson High was not racially motivated, L.A. Unified says 03/07/2012, 9:15 p.m. Adelanto parents resubmit petition for charter school 03/07/2012, 5:17 p.m. Officials urge caution on teacher porn video allegations 03/07/2012, 3:32 p.m. Audit of L.A. Unified sexual-misconduct policies authorized 03/07/2012, 1:59 p.m. Israeli flag defaced at UC Riverside 03/07/2012, 1:54 p.m.
ACCUSED MOLESTER KEPT AT LAUSD DESPITE CLOUDED HISTORY
By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer | LA Daily News |http://bit.ly/w0KcaK Telfair Elementary School in Pacoima, Calif., photographed on Tuesday, March 6, 2012. (John McCoy/Staff Photographer) 3/06/2012 07:16:12 PM PST | A teacher charged with sexually abusing four children in LAUSD's unfolding misconduct scandal had been prosecuted 15 years earlier for molesting a young neighbor, but he was
CHANGES SOUGHT IN TRACKING, DISCIPLINE FOR CHILD ABUSE OFFENDERS IN LAUSD
By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer , LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/zxWjnS 3/06/2012 10:30:36 PM PST :: Two San Fernando Valley school board members are calling for aggressive action in creating a comprehensive tracking and notification system in misconduct cases and crafting tougher laws for disciplining offenders. During next Tuesday's school board meeting, members Tamar Galatzan and Nury
TECH TITANS FUND UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS
By MIRIAM JORDAN, Wall Street Journal |http://on.wsj.com/x2MjBa March 6, 2012, 11:59 a.m. ET :: A group of Silicon Valley technology leaders, impatient with attempts to rewrite immigration laws, is funding efforts to help undocumented youths attend college, find jobs and stay in the country despite their illegal status. The group includes Jeff Hawkins, inventor of the Palm Pilot; and the
JACK SCOTT: Former Pasadena legislator, PCC president, to retire as head of state community college system
By James Figueroa, Staff Writer Pasadena Star News | http://bit.ly/A6tUCo 3/06/2012 06:07:27 PM PST :: Jack Scott, chancellor of California Community Colleges who retains deep ties to the Pasadena area, said Tuesday he will step down as head of the nation's largest system of higher education on Sept. 1. Scott, a former state senator and assemblyman representing the Pasadena area and a
NEW DATA FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS EDUCATIONAL INEQUITIES AROUND TEACHER EXPERIENCE, DISCIPLINE AND HIGH SCHOOL RIGOR
US Dept of Education Press Release | http://1.usa.gov/A5Don4 Contact: Press Office, (202) 401-1576, press@ed.gov Español March 6, 2012 :: Minority students across America face harsher discipline, have less access to rigorous high school curricula, and are more often taught by lower-paid and less experienced teachers, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights
L.A. UNIFIED MISSED WARNING SIGNS ON ACCUSED TEACHER
The district has no record of whether it investigated earlier molestation allegations against Paul Chapel, who is charged with 16 counts of lewd acts and sexual abuse. By Rick Rojas and Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/wqWGtb March 7, 2012 :: A teacher who faces molestation charges continued to work in Los Angeles schools despite a record that should have raised warning
In Memoriam: RUSH KIDDER
Rushworth Moulton Kidder (1944–2012) Ethicist Founder and President of the Institute for Global Ethics Writer “He dropped into the Potomac, ever so casually, a few great thoughts. One can only hope their ripples will reach out to all the limousined and tuxedoed policymakers.” “Honesty matters, responsibility matters, respect matters, fairness matters and compassion matters.
HEALTH CENTERS AT SCHOOLS GET A FUNDING BOOST
by Kelley Weiss, NPR All Things Considered | http://n.pr/wzJ41h Listen to the Story (mp3) [4 min 37 sec] Kelley Weiss/NPR April Casanova-Rios (second from right) visits the school health center at Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles with her family. Her son, Isaiah Casanova (to her right), is a sophomore at the school. March 6, 2012 | 3:27 pm :: Under the federal health care law
OPPOSITION TO CALIFORNIA’S SCHOOL RANKING SYSTEM GROWS
By Louis Freedberg ~ EdSource Extra | http://bit.ly/yq0YrI March 6th, 2012 | Opposition at the highest levels of state government is emerging against the more than decade-old system of ranking California’s schools on a scale of 1 to 10, based on how they score on the state’s Academic Performance Index. <Photo by Klesta Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento,
LAUSD SURVEYS PARENTS ON PROPOSED HOMEWORK POLICY | The survey is here: http://svy.mk/xdSkDl
By Daily News | http://bit.ly/weKtPw 03/05/2012 :: Los Angeles Unified School District has launched an online survey for some 170,000 parents in an effort to get as much input as possible about its proposed homework policy and other curriculum-related issues, officials said Monday. The link to the survey will be sent to parents who have registered their email with LAUSD and also can be
BANNING BLINDFOLDS: Sexual abuse, and LAUSD's overreaction
L.A. school officials and parents are understandably wary after allegations of sexual abuse at Miramonte Elementary. But some new policies are just overreactions. LA Times Editorial | http://lat.ms/xZ2VhZ March 6, 2012 :: The allegations of sexual molestation involving two teachers at Miramonte Elementary School have rightly rocked the Los Angeles Unified School District. Now that the
Letters re: Food Trucks: FAT KIDS, DUMB BILL
Letters to the Editor of the LA Times Re "A food truck stop?" 3/4 |http://lat.ms/ywYMI3 March 6, 2012 The bill to limit food trucks from parking "within 1,500 feet of elementary, middle and high schools from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on school days" is simple lunacy and demonstrates what is wrong with society's focus on human problems. If food trucks are pushed away, will someone else propose to close
BLACK STUDENTS IN L.A. SUSPENDED AT PROPORTIONALLY HIGHER RATE, (OLD) DATA SHOW
African American students in Los Angeles are being suspended at a proportionally higher rate than in the nation's other largest school systems, according to U.S. Department of Education data. By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/xh5LRM March 6, 2012 :: Black students in Los Angeles are being suspended at a proportionally higher rate than in the nation's other largest school
SUPT. DEASY 'WELCOMES' STATE AUDIT INTO HOW LAUSD HANDLED ABUSE CLAIMS
By Tami Abdollah KPCC Blog: Pass / Fail | http://bit.ly/xsrqOp Krista Kennell/AFP/Getty Images | Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy speaks during a press conference at South Region High School #2 in Los Angeles, California February 6, 2012. March 5, 2012 :: L.A. Unified Superintendent John Deasy released a statement today saying he "welcomes a legislative audit" into the recent
RAND Study: PRINCIPAL TURNOVER BODES POORLY FOR SCHOOLS
By Christina A. Samuels, Education Week, Vol. 31, Issue 23 | http://bit.ly/zDyEy6 Published Online: March 2, 2012 :: About 20 percent of principals new to a school leave that posting within one or two years, leaving behind a school that generally continues on a downward academic slide after their departure, according to a study released last week by the RAND Corp. on behalf of New York
Linda Darling-Hammond: VALUE-ADDED EVALUATION HURTS TEACHING
Commentary By Linda Darling-Hammond | Education week Vol. 31, Issue 24 | http://bit.ly/wNDZub Joanna Cannon, executive director of the New York City Department of Education's Office of Research and Data, speaks to reporters about the release of individual performance rankings of 18,000 public school teachers while New York City Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott looks on at the Tweed Courthouse
San Diego Unified Board Member on Insolvency/Armageddon: “SHOULD SDUSD WAVE THE WHITE FLAG, ADMIT FAILURE AND RUN ITSELF OUT OF MONEY?”
San Diego Unified: A lose-lose situation - District and its teachers union battle over an evaporating pool of education money By David Rolland/Illustration by Scrojo | San Diego Citybeat | http://bit.ly/xhHFpq Wednesday, Feb 29, 2012 :: Scott Barnett is considering the nuclear option. “I haven’t decided that that’s what I’m going to do,” he told CityBeat, “but I have to say, I’m seriously
Aljazeera: THE DISMANTLING OF CALIFORNIA’S SCHOOLS - The most populous US state spends more than five times as much on its prisoners than on its students.
by Rose Aguilar | Opinion - Al Jazeera English http://aje.me/zDt6Az Last fall, University of California students struck in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement [GALLO/GETTY] 05 Mar 2012 13:34 | San Francisco, CA - I recently invited University of California-Davis sophomore Sarena Grossjan-Navarro to join my radio show - focusing on the Occupy Education actions taking
Details: LETTER REQUESTING PERFORMANCE AUDIT ON LAUSD HANDLING OF ABUSE CLAIMS
By Tami Abdollah | KPCC Pass/Fail blog | http://bit.ly/w0MlFb March 5, 2012 3:15 p.m. :: Here are some more details on Democratic Assemblyman Ricardo Lara's request for a performance audit of the Los Angeles Unified School District's handling and documentation of abuse claims against children. Lara asks that the state auditor evaluate the district according to at least eight possible areas
STATE AUDIT LOOMS IN WAKE OF MIRAMONTE ARRESTS + Background + AB 1564
by Howard Blume, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/zn2k4n March 5, 2012 | 6:00 am :: A state legislator plans to launch an audit of the Los Angeles Unified School District in response to the lewd conduct arrests of two Miramonte Elementary teachers and other recent sexual abuse allegations, The Times has learned. Miramonte attracted widespread attention with the January arrest of former
CUTS PUSH LA UNIFIED SCHOOLS TO BREAK AWAY FROM DISTRICT + smf’s 2¢
By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | KPCC | http://bit.ly/zZOGU6 Tony Pierce / KPCC March 5, 2012 : 6:00 a.m. | Hamilton High School is one of several schools in the district considering transitioning to become a charter school. A few months ago, the Los Angeles Unified school board approved hundreds of thousands of dollars in cuts to the budgets of schools with mixed populations of middle-class and
EDUCATION LOST IN ADMINISTRATION
By Paul D. White | Op-Ed in the Long Beach Press-Telegram | http://bit.ly/yOTBCg smf: This Op-ed appeared in the March 4th Sunday Daily News and was referred to but not included in the March 4th 4LAKids e-newsletter and blog because it wasn’t available online . I agrre with some but not all of of Mr. Whites Premise. I agree
Lopez: LEARNING LESSONS FROM A FATHER’S PRIDE IN HIS SON - A visit with a respected instructor shows how success can be nurtured – in a classroom, and in a family.
By Steve Lopez, LA Times columnist :http://lat.ms/yjX78I Patrick Gordon, a teacher at Gahr High School in Cerritos, is the 2012 winner of the Jaime Escalante Advanced Placement Award. (Gary Friefman / Los Angeles Times / February 29, 2012) March 3, 2012, 5:50 p.m. :: Harry Gordon wasn't exactly pushy in the email he sent me, but he made his point. He said he understood the Miramonte
PTA IS MOBILIZING FOR $10 BILLION FUNDRAISER: OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE
By Carol Kocivar | Thoughts on Public Education http://bit.ly/w2l5C0 3/2/12 • In towns and cities throughout California, something quite remarkable is happening. Parents and family members are organizing for the largest PTA fundraiser ever. They are not selling gift wrap or candy or washing cars. They are organizing to support the Our Children, Our Future education initiative for the November
¿Verb?: INTERVIEW BY TV NEWSWOMAN WITH MAYOR TONY
From CNN transcript: http://bit.ly/wWQHWM 16 Feb 2012 1PM EST ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The [Democratic National] convention in Charlotte will be a three-day pep rally for President Obama. And leading the cheers will be this man, Antonio Villaraigosa, the L.A. mayor. << Ashleigh Banfield Congratulations. I'm excited to hear that you're going to be at the helm. At the same time, I don't