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Saturday, February 2, 2013

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 2-2-13





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

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


SCHOOL SAFETY PLANS: Tougher …or “tough guy”?

SUPPORT BUILDS FOR TOUGHER SCHOOL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS 7 CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS PROPOSE TRAINING SCHOOL STAFF TO USE GUNS By Kimberly Beltran, SI&A Cabinet Report. Wednesday, January 30, 2013  ::  Bipartisan support appears to have coalesced behind a proposal to better enforce a state requirement that all schools

UTLA ENDORSES GARCETTI, FEUER

  --Jean Merl, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/14DdB2u January 31, 2013 |  6:38 pm  The teachers union for the Los Angeles Unified School District has weighed in on all but one of the City Hall races on the March 5 ballot. City Councilman Eric Garcetti got United Teachers Los Angeles' endorsement for mayor.  And it has decided to back past city councilman and former Assemblyman Mike Feuer for

GARCETTI QUESTIONS HONESTY OF GREUEL’S AUDIT CLAIMS + smf’s 2¢

- James Rainey - LA Times/LA Now |  http://lat.ms/WD4VWw January 31, 2013 | 10:36 pm -  South Los Angeles  ::  Los Angeles City Councilman Eric Garcetti continued to attack Controller Wendy Greuel, his rival for mayor, at a debate Thursday night in South Los Angeles, questioning the honesty of Greuel’s claim that she has uncovered $160 million in “waste, fraud and abuse” at City Hall. “And

L.A. UNIFIED STUDENTS FACE OFF IN HEALTHFUL COOKING CONTEST

Teams from six high schools whip up balanced meals following rules on calories, fat, sodium and simplicity. The winners advance to the national level, and their creations will join the district menu. By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/UJBktV West Adams Preparatory High students Maribel Sandoval, second from left, Esther Segura and Jose Landaverde celebrate their victory

SHERIFF BACA TO STOP TAKING CAMPAIGN DONATIONS FROM EMPLOYEES + smf’s teachable moment

The L.A. County sheriff also prohibits managers who are running for office from making job decisions based on political donations. By Robert Faturechi, Los Angeles Times |  http://lat.ms/WjLaUp L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca's announcement comes amid concerns that campaign contributions to sheriff's brass by department employees created potential conflicts of interest in promotions and other

Survey: CALIFORNIANS SAY MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ARE BEST WAYS TO PREVENT SCHOOL VIOLENCE

Voters Back Counselors over Cops by More Than 2-to-1; Oppose Arming Teachers from the office of Rusty Selix | by email Rusty Selix is the Executive Director and legislative advocate of the Mental Health Association in California and the California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies. For nearly 20 years, he has been one of the state's most successful advocates for increased

MAYOR TONY’S EDUCATION REFORMS QUESTIONED BY MAYORAL CONTENDERS

®eform Fatigue In L.A.? Joy Resmovits On Education, hUFFINgTON pOST | http://huff.to/12c2A8S 1/30/2013 8:30 am :: Antonio Villaraigosa Led The Way On Education Reform, But His Potential Successors Are Reluctant To Pick Up The Torch," reads the headline of an L.A. Weekly blog post.(following)  The two top mayoral contenders to replace Villaraigosa at the helm of the nation's second largest

TIME TO HARDWIRE FLORIDA SCHOOLS, SENATE ED CHAIR SAYS + comments + smf’s 2¢

Posted by Jeff Solochek  to Tampa Bay Times Gradebook | http://bit.ly/117THIi 2:30:51 pm on January 28, 2013  ::  The days of all-computerized state testing are fast approaching for Florida schools. The push toward digital textbooks and instructional materials also is moving quickly. But many schools built more than five years ago lack the infrastructure to make the move. They don't have

LAUSD TO COMPETE WITH CHARTERS TO RUN “PARENT TRIGGER” SCHOOL

by John Fensterwald | EdSource today | http://bit.ly/Wdeg82 January 29th, 2013   ::  The parents at 24th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles Unified will have plenty of choices for an operator to take over their school under the “parent trigger” process they initiated this month. One of the contenders will be the district itself. The school’s Parents’ Union announced Monday it had received

CRENSHAW HIGH GROUP OPPOSES REFORM PLAN AND SCHOOL CLOSINGS

Re-reforming ®eform: The school is about two years into its current reform plan Stephen Ceasar, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/11a02YE January 28, 2013 |  7:39 pm  ::  Parents, students and teachers rallied Monday in front of Crenshaw High School to protest a plan to restructure the low-performing campus and require teachers to reapply for their jobs. Under the plan, approved this month

LATINO KIDS DISPROPORTIONATEY VICTIMIZED BY TEACHERS, LAWYER SAYS

BY Dalina Castellanos and Howard Blume, la tIMES/la nOW | http://lat.ms/14qjD5B January 28, 2013 |  2:44 pm  ::  A former state senator called Monday for an investigation into what she said was a disproportionately large number of Latino students believed to have been victimized by teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Martha Escutia, now an attorney working for a law firm that

FORMER STATE SENATOR MARTHA ESCUTIA CALLS FOR LAUSD PROBE INTO PERCEIVED PATTERN OF TEACHER ABUSE OF LATINO YOUTH

Escutia, who has an LA school named for her, is an attorney representing kids in Miramonte case. "We wouldn't even be here having this press conference if LAUSD would speak up," she said. "Their silence has frankly been deafening." By Rob Kuznia The Daily Breeze/lA  Daily News | http://bit.ly/YeSLC7 <<Former state Senator Martha Escutia, an attorney and child sex abuse survivors

VAN NUYS AIRPORT MECHANIC SCHOOL COULD STAY OPEN IF FAA APPROVES RENT CUT …and LAUSD gets it’s act together

"We've been waiting on LAUSD and hope they have finally put together the paperwork we need to save this proven job training program." By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/14ryiOW Arturo Sanchez, left, Stephen Miller and Allison Retig look at an inspection plate that allows mechanics to see the cables inside the wing of this Cessna 150. Students enrolled at the

BILL AIMS TO LIMIT SCHOOLS’ USE OF EXPENSIVE CAPITAL APPRECIATION 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. By Dan Weikel, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/14p8GBk Assemblyman Ben Hueso (D-San Diego) co-introduced the bill, which would bar school districts from using capital appreciation bonds that take longer than 25 years to mature or cost more

HIGHER-ED PRIMER: Paying for College

These websites help students and parents navigate loan and scholarship programs. By Reid Kanaley, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/X3OXkl Several websites can give loan and college cost information to parents. Above, Cal State Long Beach students head to classes as the spring semester gets underway. (Christina House, For The Times / January 28, 2013) January 28, 2013  ::  College acceptance

The myth of A-thru-G: L.A. UNIFIED’S COLLEGE-PREP PUSH IS BASED ON FALSE DATA

San Jose's school district, which requires all students to pass the classes necessary to apply to California universities, initially reported strong results. But its success was overstated. By Howard Blume and Sarah Butrymowicz, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/Yzqquj People outside an L.A. Unified school board meeting in 2005 protest a proposal that would require high school students to

Part Time Security without Benefits: 1000 CAMPUS AIDES WILL BE ADDED TO LAUSD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS + smf’s 2¢

Kate Mather, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/Wx1KMQ SEE: LAUSD PLANS TO ADD 1,000 NEW CAMPUS AIDES FOR SECURITY AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS + smf’’s 2¢...: By Mariecar Mendoza, Daily News, http://bit.ly/10Niu4s + Huffington Post http://huff.to/1127zIR January 27, 2013 |  4:43 pm  ::  The Los Angeles Unified School District plans to hire more than 1,000 campus aides to help boost security at

Opportunity Lost: 20,000 CALIFORNIA ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS NOT GETTING SUPPORT, 4,150 IN LAUSD

  Report: Opportunity Lost: The Widespread Denial of Services to California English Learner Students (follows) Students struggling with English not getting help, report says More than 20,000 California students struggling with English are not receiving legally required services to help them, setting them up for academic

CHARACTER EDUCATION - TEACHING KIDS TO BE RESPONSIBLE AND TO PERSEVERE - ISN'T ENOUGH TO BRING POOR STUDENTS OUT OF POVERTY OR CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP

Policymakers need to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and the significant obstacles poor children face. By Mike Rose / Christian Science Monitor |  http://bit.ly/X0qlZY Khadeeja Miller compares items with her daughters at the St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Indianapolis Nov. 27, 2012. Op-ed contributor Mike Rose says 'My worry is that we will embrace programs that

Student Discipline Policy: WHY PUNISHMENT DOESN’T WORK

EdWeeks’s Bridging Differences | bit.ly/10Pzgjf Bridging Differences is presented as  epistolary  dialog -  guest blogger Alfie Kohn blogs with Deborah Meier for the next month.  January 24, 2013 8:36 AM Dear Deb, Thanks for inviting me to join you on this forum so we can be overheard by people other than a waiter when we affectionately poke

4 teams out of 12 nationally: FOUR LAUSD/BEYOND THE BELL CYBERPATRIOT TEAMS ADVANCE TO NATIONAL FINALS!!!

from the Beyond the Bell LA(USD) blog | http://bit.ly/WnvvCR   1/25/2013  ::  This is the third year in a row that LAUSD high schools sponsored by Beyond the Bell will have teams competing in the national championship round of CyberPatriot V. The National High School Cyber Defense Competition will be held from March 14-16 in the Washington, DC. Created in 2008 by the Air Force

LAUSD PLANS TO ADD 1,000 NEW CAMPUS AIDES FOR SECURITY AT ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

By Mariecar Mendoza, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/WayNZK 1/25/2013 09:02:39 PM PST  ::  The Los Angeles Unified School District plans to make more than 1,000 new hires to bolster security at hundreds of campuses in a move some critics have called "security on the cheap." More than 400 LAUSD elementary school campuses are slated to receive 1,087 campus aides - a minimum of two on

Westside Forum - THE A v. Z DEBATE: CHARTERS, EVALUATION, DEASY

by Hillel Aron in LA School Report News | http://bit.ly/Y50oLr Left to right: Kate Anderson, Steve Zimmer, moderator Kaci Patterson January 25, 2013  ::  There were roughly 100 audience members at Thursday night’s School Board candidate forum in District 4, which featured incumbent Steve Zimmer and challenger Kate Anderson. Over all, the event was polite and informative, showing off both

THE IMPORTANCE OF SCHOOL MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES

By Pia Escudero in the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles Jan 28 Weekly Update | http://bit.ly/WWR4Ii AALA thanks Pia Escudero, Director of School Mental Health (SMH), for submitting the following letter in response to our recommended New Year’s Resolutions for District leadership. Jan 24, 2013 :: It was with great inspiration and hope that I read about AALA’s call for identifying and

Los Angeles’ School Nightmare: ANOTHER SEX ABUSE SCANDAL

After years of complaints were apparently ignored, a former LAUSD teacher has been arrested on suspicion of molesting 20 kids.  Superintendent ‘very angry’. by Christine Pelisek, The Daily Beast | http://thebea.st/WZ0VMf Jan 25, 2013 4:45 AM EST   ::  In yet another embarrassment for one of the nation’s largest public-school systems, a fourth-grade teacher is in custody today on suspicion of

SADIES’S DREAM FOR THE WORLD: 11-year-old transgender girl’s essay in response to Obama's inauguration speech

by Sadie from Huffington post | http://huff.to/VnlFCZ "The world would be a better place if everyone had the right to be themselves, including people who have a creative gender identity and expression. Transgender people are not allowed the freedom to do things everyone else does, like go to the doctor, go to school, get a job, and even make friends. Transgender kids like me are not

LAUSD PRINCIPAL FAILED TO REPORT MOLESTATION BY TEACHER

The De la Torre Elementary principal first heard accusations of sexual misconduct a decade before the instructor's arrest this week, the L.A. schools chief says. By Howard Blume, Adolfo Flores and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/Txrmh9 Robert Pimentel appears at his arraignment in Los Angeles County Superior Court in Long Beach. (Jeff Gritchen / Pool photo / January 24,

ROOSEVELT’ HIGH SCHOOL’S FUTURE UNCERTAIN: School Scrambles to Meet LAUSD Deadline + smf’s 2¢

Superintendent Deasy: “After much consideration and discussion we have determined that Roosevelt High School has not demonstrated adequate progress overall.” Lea esta nota EN ESPAÑOL: Trabajan para Crear un Plan de Reorganización para Roosevelt By Gloria Angelina Castillo, EGP Staff Writer [Bell Gardens Sun, City Terrace

Today’s Civics Lesson IV: TONIGHT’S A v. Z DEBATE FOR LAUSD SCHOOL BOARD DISTRICT FOUR

see http://bit.ly/XzdkXc United Way & Families That Can and “other community organizations”  are sponsoring a debate between the candidates for school board in LAUSD Board District Four tonight. FAIR+BALANCED? United Way should not be confused with its former self, The Community Chest - which was a alliance of The Red Cross and PTA and Boys and Girls Clubs, The Salvation Army,  Goodwill