4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:
4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit
LAUSD BOARD MEMBER STEVE ZIMMER WANTS TO STRENGTHEN OVERSIGHT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS
By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, L.A. Daily News | http://bit.ly/P3BMiA 9/7/2012 | 7:35:18 PM PDT :: School board member Steve Zimmer is taking aim at two of the most contentious issues facing Los Angeles Unified, with separate proposals to exclude high-stakes test scores from teacher evaluations and to strengthen the oversight of charter schools. Both resolutions on Tuesday's board agenda
THREE ED REFORMS PARENTS SHOULD WORRY ABOUT MOST
By Carol Burris from Valerie Strauss’ Answer Sheet/The Washington Post | http://wapo.st/Q9oCjn 8/23/2012 :: As summer comes to a close, students are preparing to go back to school. I find that most of them enjoy returning. Certainly, our daughters did. There is something exciting about a new beginning. Kids look forward to seeing their friends and meeting their new teacher. Teachers matter a lot
‘WHY ARE CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS SUSPENDING MORE STUDENTS THAN THEY GRADUATE?’: Statewide hearing examines the problem and offers solutions
WITH KEYNOTE ADDRESS BY RUSSLYNN H. ALI, ASST. SECRETARY OF CIVIL RIGHTS, U.S. DEPT OF EDUCATION California Endowment Press Release | http://bit.ly/OVNN9r LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- On September 10, The California Endowment will join the offices of California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris in sponsoring a statewide hearing
Horace Mann: THOUGHTS ON TEACHING FROM THE “FATHER OF PUBLIC EDUCATION”
Horace Mann, circa 1850. Daguerreotype by Southworth & Hawes. Source: the Metropolitan Museum of Art. “…it is earnestly to be hoped, that teachers will soon deservedly win so much of the confidence of the community, that they will no longer feel constrained to practice methods they know to be valueless, in order to harmonize with
®eform…? What ®eform?: AS OBAMA IS NOMINATED, DUNCAN SPEECH FINESSES TOUCHY ISSUES
By Alyson Klein, EdWeek Politics K-12 | http://bit.ly/RSRzz9 September 6, 2012 1:15 AM - Charlotte, N.C. :: On the night President Barack Obama's name was formally placed in nomination for re-election, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan used his high-profile Democratic convention speech to tout the president's work to avert teacher layoffs and revamp student loans. But the education
CalSTRS: STUDY EXPOSES TEACHER PENSION SCAMS. State Controller finds teacher retirement fund lax on anti-spiking efforts
by JUDY LIN Associated Press, North County Times | http://bit.ly/P1o8N1 from the sco’s review: CalSTRS did not provide adequate oversight of the reporting entities it monitors. For example, at the rate at which audits currently are being performed, each district would be audited only once every 48 years. In addition, CalSTRS’ audit process
HEAT WAVE COSTS LAUSD MORE THAN $400K IN A.C. REPAIRS + smf’s 2¢
By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/NPCLWK Los Angeles Unified maintenance crews racked up more than $400,000 in overtime repairing overloaded air-conditioning units during the heat wave that swamped the region during the opening days of school, LAUSD officials said. (Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News) Los Angeles Unified maintenance crews racked up more than
Study: SPECIAL EDUCATION SPENDING REDUCTION TO NATIONAL MEDIAN COULD SAVE DISTRICTS $10 BILLION + COULD CUTTING SPECIAL ED. SPENDING IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT?
SPECIAL EDUCATION SPENDING REDUCTION TO NATIONAL MEDIAN COULD SAVE DISTRICTS $10 BILLION Huffington Post | http://huff.to/TslPFc 09/05/2012 2:46 pm :: A study released Wednesday by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute has found that if high-spending public school districts reduced their special education staffing levels to align with the national median, the country could save $10 billion
NEW ACCOUNTABILITY DEMANDS COMING FOR CHARTERS – STARTUPS AND RENEWALS
By Tom Chorneau, SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/OdAMeL Thursday, September 6, 2012 :: Legislation pending before Gov. Jerry Brown seeks to resolve long-standing concerns of the U.S. Department of Education that not enough emphasis is placed on student achievement for all subgroups when it comes to charter school renewal in California. The issue, which dates back more than two years,
Stay tuned: CALIFORNIA SPENDING, OUTCOME IN SPECIAL ED WELL BELOW NATIONAL AVERAGES
By Kimberly Beltran SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/TnbGuY Thursday, September 6, 2012 :: California spends substantially less than other states on special education services, and the academic outcomes for students in those programs is well below the national average, according to a new report unveiled Wednesday. In a comparison of special education spending and outcomes across 49 states
TAKING CARE OF TRUANTS: L.A. Unified's new, gentler plan emphasizes counseling over handing out tickets + smf’s 2¢
LA Times Editorial | http://lat.ms/OSthq0 Jaime Bonilla, 15, left, and Jessica Contreras, 14, demonstrate in favor of changing Los Angeles' daytime curfew rules. The council voted unanimously to curtail the courts' role. (Los Angeles Times / February 22, 2012) September 6, 2012 :: City and school officials in Los Angeles had a good idea a few years back when they began ticketing students
PARENT & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN THE “SUPERINTENDENT’S DISTRICT”
by smf 6 September 2012 :: In the redesign/restructuring/reform/slicing+dicing/whatever of LAUSD into four five Educational Service Centers (as opposed to eight Local Districts with numbers - or thirteen with letters; or Clusters, Areas, Zones, Regions or Administrative Zones) authority and accountability have been further divided between Instructional Operations, and Parent and
It isn’t all Democrats in the Tarheel State: N.C. COURT OF APPEALS UPHOLDS MANDATE ON PRE-K FOR AT-RISK CHILDREN
in NEWS FROM THE ACCESS NETWORK | http://bit.ly/Q0kpkw 4 September 2012 :: A North Carolina appeals court held on August 21, 2012 that the state must admit any eligible at-risk child who applies to its pre-kindergarten program, despite the legislature’s attempt to severely limit enrollment as a budget savings device. A unanimous three-judge panel held that Superior Court Judge Howard Manning
Law Review Article: SAFEGUARDING SOUND BASIC EDUCATION IN TIMES OF FISCAL CONTRAINT
“Constitutional rights cannot be put on hold because of a recession”… …is the legal conclusion reached by every federal and state court that has considered this issue in years past and since the 2008 recession, writes Michael A. Rebell in an extensive treatise that was just published in the Albany Law Review. From The National Access Network at Teachers College, Columbia University| http:/
HOW WILL EDUCATION PLAY AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION?
By Alyson Klein, EdWeek Politics K-12 Blog | http://bit.ly/PXOeC8 September 3, 2012 8:28 AM | Charlotte, N.C. ::The Democrats officially nominate their presidential standard-bearer here this week, with the convention officially kicking off tomorrow. And, unlike four years ago at the party's convention in Denver—when everyone was trying to read the K-12 tea leaves on the Democratic
Compare+Contrast: THE EARLY START CALENDAR & THE HEAT WAVE EMERGENCY IN FACE OF THE RIFs IN M&O
LAUSD correspondence smf: It all looks so easy when you control the story. Tweets: FROM @DRDEASY@LAUSD Subject: FW: HVAC Personnel OT report - August 2012 14 Aug John Deasy John Deasy @DrDeasyLAUSD LAUSD employees have done great work preparing for this early start to school. I'm happy to see our
PENSION REFORM: Top-paid administrators to take biggest hit
By John Fensterwald, Ed Source Today | http://bit.ly/T659Dl August 29th, 2012 :: The retirement age for new teachers will be pushed back two years; they’ll have to fork over about another 1 percent of their pay into the retirement system. And their bosses – principals and administrators – will see a ceiling of $132,120 as the portion of their pay used to calculate retirement pay. Those in the
THE SHORT RUN. THE LONG RUN. AND THE RUN AROUND.
Themes in the News by UCLA IDEA, Week of Aug. 27-31, 2012 | http://bit.ly/T3fHV4 "I tried to find classes online, but most of them were full. So I decided to come the first day to find any free space." "It's hard to get into anything. But I'm going to keep trying because I don't want to wait another year." "...there are so many students trying to get classes; it's chaotic."1 8-31-2012
OBAMA AND ROMNEY EDUCATION POLICIES ARE LEFT UNSAID: 8 Questions Americans Need Answered
By Frank HaglerPolicyMic | http://bit.ly/ObMwtG “Romney made his most detailed remarks at a private fundraiser in Florida, where he said he would combine and eliminate federal departments, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and would either consolidate the Department of Education with another agency or make it a ‘heck of a lot