Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, December 22, 2012

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 12-22-12



4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT

SEN. BOXER PROPOSES DEPLOYING NATIONAL GUARD AT SCHOOLS

By Richard Simon, LA Times |  http://lat.ms/Tc1AMQ Sen. Barbara Boxer presents legislation to strengthen school safety on Capitol Hill. (Michael Reynolds / EPA / December 19, 2012) December 19, 2012, 10:23 a.m.  ::  WASHINGTON — Federal funds would be made available to deploy National Guard troops at schools under legislation introduced Wednesday by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) in response

$6.9 Million Queen Anne Elementary Student Molestation Verdict: A HARBINGER FOR MIRAMONTE + TELFAIR?

LAUSD must pay $6.9 million in teacher molestation case Howard Blume  --  LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/Ud88uv December 18, 2012 |  5:16 pm  ::  A jury awarded $6.9 million Tuesday to a fifth-grader molested by a teacher in a case that could presage the outcome of more than 100 pending molestation and lewd conduct claims against the Los Angeles Unified School District. The damages may be the

A Lesson Plan for the Teachable Moment: THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS AND PASCAL’S TRIANGLE

Created by: Judy Ann Brown LP '92 | Rutgers university Leadership Program: Exploring Discrete Mathematics in the Classroom | http://bit.ly/RI1P3Q Materials: A copy of Pascal's triangle, colored pencils  Object of the lesson: Using Pascal's triangle, find the number of items given each day in the song, "The 12 Days of Christmas."

DISTRICTS FACE QUESTIONS IN SPENDING LONG-TERM BONDS FOR SHORT-LIVED TECHNOLOGY

By John Fensterwald, eDsOURCE tODAY | http://t.co/OdH5zLJw December 17th, 2012   ::  Is it legal to buy personal computers for students using school construction bonds? And if it’s legal, is it wise to pay interest long-term on devices with a short shelf life? Last month, the Bond Oversight Committee for  Los Angeles Unified balked at endorsing Superintendent John Deasy’s plan to buy tablet

DEASY PLEDGES SAFETY REVIEW OF L.A. SCHOOLS AFTER CONN. SHOOTING

-- Howard Blume, LA TIMES/LA Now | http://lat.ms/UGdDPI December 17, 2012 |  4:01 pm  ::  Los Angeles' top school official Monday pledged a strong response after the Connecticut shooting that claimed the lives of 20 children and seven adults, plus the 20-year-old shooter. Supt. John Deasy said that every individual school safety plan would be reviewed, a process that has already been launched.

GUN VIOLENCE MUST STOP: Here’s What We Can Do to Prevent More Deaths

by e-mail to 4LAKids from the Prevention Institute | http://bit.ly/VMY0FG Petition for Gun Control A petition urging President Obama to develop strong, bipartisan gun-control legislation and send it to Congress has collected more than 150,000 signatures in two days. You can view and sign it here. December 17th, 2012  ::  We are all

L.A. POLICE, COUNTY SHERIFFS, OTHER CITIES ANNOUNCE ADDED SCHOOL PATROLS, “GUN BUYBACK” PROGRAM

Chief Beck: “We’re a city that recognizes that our children are our most precious, precious resource. We can’t let a tragedy 3,000 miles from here affect the education of our children.”   LA Police Step Up "Gun Buyback" in Wake of School Shooting Gun owners can turn in their weapons anonymously for up to $200 in gift cards the day after Christmas By Jason Kandel, | NBC Southern

LAPD CHIEF CHARLIE BACK ANNOUNCES A PLAN TO HAVE OFFICERS PATROL KINDERGARTEN-THROUGH-8th GRADE SCHOOLS IN L.A.

LAPD Chief Wants Patrols at All LAUSD K-8 Schools Daily Chief Charlie Beck says Sunday that he wants every kindergarten, elementary and middle school to get a visit from an LAPD officer each day. By Anthea Raymond, Sherman Oaks Patch | http://bit.ly/Xz5oGl December 16, 2012   ::  Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said

ROCK ME, MERCY: a poem written in mourning

from npr/ read aloud at http://n.pr/TU38rZ The river stones are listening because we have something to say. The trees lean closer today. The singing in the electrical woods has gone down. It looks like rain, because it is too warm to snow. Guardian angels, wherever you're hiding, we know you can't be everywhere at once. Have you corralled all the pretty wild horses?

What they’re writing about at SI&A + ED SOURCE

School Innovations & Achievement Cabinet Report | The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet http://bit.ly/R0cHsr State board approved three out of four ed waivers in 2011 (Friday, December 14, 2012) School districts submitted nearly 900 applications for waivers from various elements of the state’s Education Code in 2011 with the California State Board of Education

MORE TEST RESULTS AND (UN)COMMON SENSE SOLUTIONS

Themes in The News Week of Dec. 10-14, 2012by UCLA IDEA | http://bit.ly/UIFVdt 12-14-2012  ::  New test results:  American students performed slightly better than average in reading and math, compared to other countries. But those numbers are still likely to feed America’s obsession with test scores that lag behind top-performing countries like Korea, Singapore, or Finland (Huffington

THOUGHTS ON THE REORGANIZATION

From the AALA Update | Week of December 17, 2012 On December 6, 2012, six LAUSD administrators met with ten educators associated with the Aspen Institute to discuss the reorganization of the District. The Aspen Institute is an educational policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C. Dr. John Deasy, Superintendent, was able to select the District’s reorganization as a “problem of

Crisis Guide :: CARING FOR KIDS AFTER TRAUMA, DISASTER AND DEATH: How Much Media Coverage is Too Much?

Chapter 6: MEDIA EXPOSURE AND TRAUMATIC EVENTS: How Much Media Coverage is Too Much? From NYU Child Study Center • www.AboutOurKids.org | http://bit.ly/SuCYAw Media coverage of natural disasters and other traumatic events is often exhaustive. Parents need to ask themselves how they want to regulate their children’s consumption of this coverage, whether it is via television, the internet,

L.A. AREA SCHOOL DISTRICTS REACT TO CONNECTICUT SCHOOL SHOOTING

Several school districts around the Greater Los Angeles area are releasing statements in the wake of a school shooting in Connecticut that left 27 dead. By Sara Fay, Eagle Rock, CA Patch http://bit.ly/UvyB3G  Credit Hoa Nguyen December 14, 2012  ::  Representatives from school districts in Greater Los Angeles are reacting to the news of a deadly elementary school shooting in Connecticut

PRESIDENT OBAMA ON THE SHOOTING IN CONNECTICUT

to smf Fri, Dec 14, 2012 3:16 pm December 14, 2012 This afternoon, President Obama made a statement from the Briefing Room on the shooting at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. THE PRESIDENT This afternoon, I spoke with Governor Malloy and FBI Director Mueller. I offered Governor Malloy my condolences on behalf of the nation, and made it clear he will have every single

JUDGE ALLOWS LAWSUITS AGAINST LAUSD TO PROCEED IN MIRAMONTE TEACHER ABUSE CASE, SETS TRIAL DATE

By City News Service, from the Contra Costa Times, http://bit.ly/VFffsL 12/13/2012 05:18:32 PM PST  ::  A judge Friday lifted a hold on lawsuits filed by former Miramonte Elementary School students and their parents after lawyers for the plaintiffs complained the Los Angeles Unified School District was not making realistic offers to settle the cases. The suits allege that negligence by the

The Board Meeting of Tuesday, Dec. 11, 2012: DEASY UNDONE?

smf: It began with Board Vice-president Tamar Galatzan inexplicably in the chair even though President Garcia was present. Eventually Ms. Garcia took the chair back  after moments characterized below as “controversial”, “a shouting match” and “name calling” – with the words “raucous” and “angry” sprinkled throughout . When last seen Garcia was angrily bouncing a green rubber ball on the dais –

LA UNIFIED FOREIGN TEACHER PROGRAM ENDING; INSTRUCTORS HEAD HOME + smf’s 2¢

“It appears that the district is allowing competent, well regarded teachers to be treated as disposable based on their immigration status” Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | Pass / Fail : 89.3 KPCC  - http://bit.ly/ZaQsDB Mae Ryan/KPCC : LAUSD hired Roda Mongen from the Philippines six years ago during a shortage of math and science teachers. She claims that a subjective evaluation from her principal

OBESITY IN YOUNG IS SEEN AS FALLING IN SEVERAL CITIES

+ Study: Declining childhood obesity rates—where are we seeing the most progress? By SABRINA TAVERNISENew York Times | http://nyti.ms/VQC4zC Jessica Kourkounis for The New York Times | At William H. Ziegler Elementary in Northeast Philadelphia, students are getting acquainted with vegetables and healthy snacks. December 10, 2012 PHILADELPHIA :: After decades of rising childhood obesity

U.S. STUDENTS STILL LAG GLOBALLY IN MATH AND SCIENCE, TESTS SHOW

By MOTOKO RICH, New York Times | http://nyti.ms/TSOow1 Dave Sanders for The New York Times - Melanie Holder helps her fourth-grade class prepare for a standardized exam at P.S. 257 in Brooklyn, N.Y. December 11, 2012  ::  Fourth- and eighth-grade students in the United States continue to lag behind students in several East Asian countries and some European nations in math and science,