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Tuesday, February 19, 2013

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Los Angeles Unified school board election has nation's attention




Education Headlines

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

LAUSD to count student test scores as 30% of teachers' evaluation

Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy announced Friday that student test scores will make up 30 percent of a new teacher evaluation system, sparking a dispute with union leaders who say that isn't what he promised.

Tom Torlakson honors Hughes Middle School in North Long Beach for environmental efforts

State Superintendent Tom Torlakson paid a visit to the North Long Beach school to announce Hughes as one of four schools in the state nominated for the second annual Green Ribbon School Awards presented by the U.S. Department of Education.

Program reaches out to parents of migrant students

Last week, Stockton Unified's school board approved a program provided by the county office that will instruct parents of 20 McKinley migrant students in a variety of techniques targeting behavioral problems.

Deasy wants 30% of teacher evaluations based on test scores

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy announced Friday that as much as 30% of a teacher's evaluation will be based on student test scores, setting off more contention in the nation's second-largest school system in the weeks before a critical Board of Education election.

The bank, the school and the 38-year loan

The fliers touted new ballfields, science labs and modern classrooms. They didn't mention the crushing debt or the investment bank that stood to make millions.

Latino voters gain more clout in Pasadena school board races

Now, new voter districts debuting in the March 5 school board elections — including a northwest Pasadena district where 56% of residents are Latino — have made the working-class Latino vote an emerging force at the ballot box.

Judge rejects sex harassment claim against ex-L.A. Unified chief

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ruled against a midlevel manager who had sued former L.A. schools Supt. Ramon Cortines, alleging sexual harassment.

Los Angeles Unified school board election has nation's attention

The race for three Los Angeles Unified school board seats has drawn more than $4 million in donations - as well as the attention of education leaders nationwide - as the district's powerful unions and the reform movement battle for control of public education.

California Gov. Jerry Brown wants local control for school districts

Jerry Brown is pushing an appealing idea: Local control for local schools. Bucking a national trend, the governor wants to back the state away from making schools account for their spending and for punishing them if their students lag in achievement. But, perhaps surprisingly, school officials aren't jumping up and down about the proposal.

'Flipping' class gaining momentum among educators

Flipped classrooms are possible because of students' greater access to technology such as computers, iPads and smartphones. Teachers like flipping because they can focus on students' problems individually in the "homework" sessions at school. The kids like not having to spend so much time on schoolwork at night.

Frey: Second effort to limit ‘willful defiance’ as cause to expel and suspend

Assemblymember Roger Dickinson (D-Sacramento) is reintroducing his bill to limit the use of willfully defying authorities or disrupting school activities as a reason to suspend or expel students.

3 top Oakland schools at risk of closure

Three of the highest-performing schools in the state are on the verge of being shut down by the Oakland school board, a decision that will pit passionate students and parents against district officials trying to safeguard taxpayer cash.
Friday, February 15, 2013

Teachers picket Eureka City Schools district office

Eureka Teacher's Association members picketed outside of Eureka City Schools district office on Walford Avenue in Eureka on Thursday morning before the second round of 2013-2014 contract talks.

Turmoil grips San Jose charter high school

It was a good week at ACE Charter High last week: The Internet finally got hooked up for students at the fledging school. Access to the Web is both a triumph and an indicator of the bumpy start for the charter, which hoped to do "blended learning" of technology and traditional teaching for kids in one of San Jose's toughest neighborhoods. But ACE opened in August without textbooks, student Internet access or lunch tables -- and chaos in some classes.

Affeldt: Shame on districts seeking to perpetuate funding advantages

Kudos to Jerry Brown for proposing to end the inequities in California school funding – and shame on the districts that seek to fossilize the advantages they have enjoyed for decades now.