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Parent Trigger group wins another legal battle

By Vanessa Romo at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

Parents in the desert community of Adelanto have won a critical victory in their mission to take over Desert Trails Elementary School under the “parent trigger law.” A San Bernardino County Superior Court judge has upheld a ruling that allowed the Desert Trails Parent Union to move forward with plans to convert the failing elementary school into a charter school. The judge also ordered the Adelanto School District to halt efforts to stop the changeover. In August, district officials announced they would not relinquish control of the school. Cynthia Ramirez, a lead petitioner and ... more »

Compton High School students walk out of class

By Vanessa Romo at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

About 70 students marched out of Compton High School shortly before lunch Tuesday. They protested recent budget cuts that have led to a failing school system that graduates students who can barely read and write. Topping their list of demands: hire more teachers and reduce class size. Some students report that the teacher student ratio is 60-to-1. Patricia Ryan, a retired teacher and a Compton High School graduate who works at the Compton teacher’s union office, said students organized the demonstration on Facebook Monday night. Compton Unified School District officials declined ...more »

Compton superintendent on student walkout: Student protests should be before or after school

By Vanessa Romo at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

* Credit: University of the Pacific/Flickr* District officials didn’t have much to say after Tuesday’s student-led protest during which approximately 70 students walked out of class and marched several blocks from Compton High School to district headquarters. On Wednesday, Superintendent Darin Brawley released the following statement encouraging “stakeholders” to voice their concerns: *"…However, it should not be at the expense of valuable instructional time for students. We encourage that in the future, any and all protests by students be conducted before or after school."* S... more »

Majority of CA schools reach API test score goals: How did they do it?

By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

[image: Mercer 4313] * A student walks past a LAUSD school bus. Credit: ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images* Academic Performance Index scores for public schools are out Thursday. California education officials say that for the first time, a majority of schools reached the coveted 800-point goal. The search for what’s working can lead to Benito Juarez Elementary School in Cerritos. Last year it fell four points short of the 800 API goal. This year the school scored 815. There’s no stopping now, says principal LuAnn Adler. “Well, we just keep moving our goal up. So our new saying is ‘850 ... more »

$4 million fund drive puts LAUSD arts education on center stage

By Tami Abdollah at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

[image: Arts education] *The LA Fund for Public Education kicked off Monday a $4 million campaign — and the largest initiative in city history — to revitalize arts education at the Los Angeles Unified School District. About a dozen city buses will feature L.A.-based artist Barbara Kruger's work produced for this effort. Credit: Tami Abdollah/KPCC* With song, dance and star-power tweets by Justin Bieber and Ryan Seacrest, the LA Fund for Public Education launched a $4 million campaign — and the largest initiative in city history — to revitalize arts education at the Los Angeles Uni... more »

Portrait in numbers of LAUSD's decline in arts education

By Tami Abdollah at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

[image: Graffiti Artist] *L.A. plans to unveil a major initiative to save public arts education. Meanwhile, L.A. Unified's school board is looking at a measure that would make arts a "core subject." Credit: Grant Slater/KPCC* In the last three years, Los Angeles Unified has had to cut nearly $1.5 billion from its annual operating budget, which is now roughly $6 billion. "Arts education is one of the most impacted components of LAUSD instruction as a result," according to the district. I'm still working on getting specific breakdowns on arts education funding from L.A. Unified, but... more »

API scores: An educational horse race that will soon change

By Tami Abdollah at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

*The California Department of Education will release the Academic Performance Index numbers Thursday in an annual tradition that is perhaps the closest equivalent to educational horse racing — parents and schools obsess over the scores and districts work to make them higher. Credit: L.A. County Fair* The California Department of Education will release the Academic Performance Index numbers Thursday in an annual tradition that's the educational equivalent to horse racing — like oddsmakers poring over a racing form, parents and schools obsess over the meaning of scores; like train... more »

LAUSD arts funding cut 76% in five years

By Tami Abdollah at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

[image: arts education budget cuts] *In the last five years, funding for arts education at L.A. Unified has dropped from a budgeted high of $78.6 million in 2007-8 to $18.6 million this year. The district has committed to returning funds to the 2007-8 levels. Credit: L.A. Unified* In the last five years, funding for arts education at L.A. Unified has dropped from a budgeted high of $78.6 million to $18.6 million. The 76 percent drop in funding equates to about $60 million, and is the result of a dramatic decrease in state support and the district's need to constrict its budget in ... more »

Southland doctor uses Frida Kahlo paintings to recruit more Latinos to medical school

By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

*Frida Kahlo, Autorretrato con collar de espinas y colibri (Self Portrait with Torn Necklace and Hummingbird), 1940 Credit: Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin* In his effort to increase the number of Latino doctors, surgical pathologist Fernando Antelo organized his first workshop titled "Frida Kahlo - The Forgotten Medical Student” six years ago. When he carries out the workshop on Saturday at UC Irvine, Antelo will show students the 1945 Frida Kahlo painting titled “Without Hope.” ““Without Hope” is a self-portrait of the artist lying in ... more »

South LA Schools team up to fight reconsitution

By Vanessa Romo at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

The conflict between activists and LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy over the district’s reconstitution of Dorsey High School is coming to a head. Just as the final deadline to prevent a school takeover looms for Dorsey (it has until Oct. 31 to submit a school reform plan), Crenshaw High School faces a similar process. That’s why the two South LA schools joined forces and organized a public meeting tonight to inform Crenshaw parents and students about the disctrict's effort to reform underachieving schools. LA Unified can reconstitute a school when it fails to meet state-manda... more »

LA Unified makes arts education a 'core subject'

By Tami Abdollah at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

[image: Cheech Marin at LAUSD on arts ed] *Actor Cheech Marin of Cheech & Chong fame addresses the L.A. Unified school board about the importance of arts education and why it should be a 'core subject.' The board agreed unanimously. (Oct. 9, 2012) Credit: Tami Abdollah/KPCC* The L.A. Unified school board unanimously approved a measure Tuesday that will make arts education a "core subject," prohibit further cuts to the arts, and ultimately restore some money to arts programs. The measure, sponsored by board member Nury Martinez, is a recommitment to the arts by a district that has ... more »

LAUSD board votes to extend superintendent's contract through June 2015

By Tami Abdollah at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

[image: John Deasy] *John Deasy, head of the Los Angeles Unified School District, has had his contract extended for one more year through June 2015. Credit: Nick Ut/AP* The L.A. Unified board Tuesday unanimously approved extending Superintendent John Deasy's contract for one more year through June 2015. The vote was 6-0 with board member Richard Vladovic absent because of a "hardship," according to a release from school board President Monica Garcia's office. The formerly two-year contract was set to expire in June 2014. “Dr. Deasy and his administrative team helped move our distr...more »

API scores: School Quality in Snapshot Format

By Vanessa Romo at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

In addition to releasing state Academic Performance Index numbers on Thursday, the California Department of Education is also debuting an easy-to-read School Quality Snapshot It’s a brightly-colored report – full of graphs and pie charts – designed to simplify and aggregate key information about a school in one place. Deb Sigman, Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, said the purpose of the snapshot is to gather a set of data that would have previously required parents to visit multiple websites to compile. She added: “This will be a great tool for schools and districts to ... more »

API: Scores up 10 points statewide, gaps between elementary and high school

By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

[image: An empty classroom] * Credit: BES Photos/Flickr (cc by-nc-nd)* California public schools officials released the yearly Academic Performance Index on Thursday, and for the first time in the 13 years since the state started using the index, a majority of schools scored the state goal of 800 points. That’s good news and bad news. The good news is that scores are up: Schools can score a maximum of 1,000 and a low of 200. Statewide, scores rose 10 points. The index consists mostly of standardized test scores taken by students from second to eleventh grade. State Superintende... more »

LAUSD school CHOICES window opens today; deadline is Nov. 16

By Vanessa Romo at Blog: Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC - 4 hours ago

[image: Mercer 15435] * Credit: MGShelton/Flickr (by cc_nc_nd)* The window for applying to a school outside your area starts today, Monday, Oct. 8, and runs through Nov. 16. That's an earlier closing date than in previous years. It used to be that if you went to public school, you only had one choice — go to the school nearest your home. Now, students and their parents in the Los Angeles Unified School District have a variety of options. But don’t take too long to think about them. Parents may submit applications online, through the mail or in person. This degree of choice appl... more »