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Monday, January 28, 2013

UPDATE: FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team

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Failed DC Chancellor Michelle Rhee just getting started on shaping California education policy





Education Headlines

Monday, January 28, 2013

Teachers flip for 'flipped learning' class model

It's a technology-driven teaching method known as "flipped learning" because it flips the time-honored model of classroom lecture and exercises for homework — the lecture becomes homework and class time is for practice.

Novato charter school proponents say they are open to 'other options'

After announcing a one-year delay for a proposed charter school in Novato, the founder of the North Bay Educational Foundation said the group might withdraw the proposal altogether if the school district considers changes to its educational approach.

Sacramento schools will hold meetings on closures

From the moment the Sacramento City Unified School District named the 11 schools proposed for closure, parents with children at the affected campuses began questioning how their neighborhood schools ended up on the list. Beginning this week, community meetings will be held at each of the 11 campuses. Trustees are scheduled to vote on the closures Feb. 21.

Del Mar school district eyes spending cuts

Schools in Del Mar could have larger class sizes, fewer instruction days and fewer employees next year if officials move forward with some ideas on how to cut spending. Del Mar Union School District Superintendent Holly McClurg presented a list of potential budget cuts as part of the regular school board meeting Wednesday.

School officials say state budget is start of a long recovery

While Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed state budget could add $19 billion in education funding by the 2016-17 fiscal year, local school administrators aren’t predicting a real turnaround in their districts' finances in the immediate future. In fact, a number of districts are preparing to deal with deficits as they begin to wrap their heads around a proposal still facing potential legislative nips and tucks before it can become law in May.

Value, flaws of more school time debated

Did your kids moan that winter break was way too short as you got them ready for the first day back in school? They might get their wish of more holiday time off under proposals catching on around the country to lengthen the school year. But there's a catch: a much shorter summer vacation.

Alvord school board hears about new curriculum

New academic standards will bring “a very big change and a very big shift” to classrooms, a Riverside educator says.

Michelle Rhee just getting started on shaping California education policy

Michelle Rhee put the nation's education establishment on alert two years ago when she announced she would form an advocacy group focused on thwarting the power of teachers unions in state and local politics. Rhee, now married to Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, set up StudentsFirst's headquarters in California's capital and chose the Golden State as one of 17 she would target.

Students struggling with English not getting help, report says

More than 20,000 California students struggling with English are not receiving any legally required services to help them, setting them up for academic failure, according to a recent report by two civil rights organizations.

Kerchner: "I would prefer to trust our teachers …"

Instead of joining these conversations, or commenting on the literary allusions in the governor’s speech, please zoom in on one sentence that has revolutionary importance: “I would prefer to trust our teachers who are in the classroom each day, doing the real work—lighting fires in young minds.”

Firing a tenured teacher in California can be tough

Firing a tenured teacher who poses a threat to students takes too long and is too expensive, according to lawmakers, child advocates and teacher union representatives -- but none of them agree on how to fix the problem.

Days of small K-3 classes look done for in California

California embarked on an ambitious experiment in 1996 to improve its public schools by putting its youngest students in smaller classes. Nearly 17 years later, the goal of maintaining classrooms of no more than 20 pupils in the earliest grades has been all but discarded-- a casualty of unproven results, dismal economic times and the sometimes-fleeting nature of education reform.

Bill aims to limit schools' use of expensive bonds

To build classrooms and sports facilities, many districts have been relying on bonds that can require as much as $20 in payments for every $1 borrowed.

1,000 campus aides will be added to LAUSD elementary schools

The Los Angeles Unified School District plans to hire more than 1,000 campus aides to help boost security at elementary schools, a $4.2-million plan that will more than double the number of assistants employed by the district.
Friday, January 25, 2013

Justice Dept. helps soothe issues on Stockton USD campuses

The campus climates at Edison and at Chavez High were a central topic at the schools this week. At the request of Stockton Unified, a representative from the United States Department of Justice's Community Relations Service led daylong gatherings at each school aimed at addressing a full range of student concerns.

Board vote will result in closure of Bayside School in Sausalito

Despite protests, the Sausalito Marin City School Board voted 4-1 to move ahead with financing for modular classrooms Thursday night, a move that will result in the closure of the Bayside Elementary school campus in Sausalito.

Fensterwald: Brown lashes out at regulators and testers, makes case for his reforms

With a caustic critique of excessive testing and overregulation and a fervent call for respecting the “dignity and freedom of teachers and students,” Gov. Jerry Brown laid out the case for returning primary control of education to local hands and distributing state money equitably in his State of the State address.