More than half of suspensions are for “willful defiance” of school authorities - by Louis Freedberg
by Louis Freedberg
More than half of all suspensions and a quarter of expulsions in California schools are for “willful defiance” of school authorities, according to a new database that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson is scheduled to release this Friday.
Until now, only very limited data on school suspensions and expulsions by school were available to researchers and others attempting to understand and address school discipline issues. The database represents a major step forward in providing a detailed portrait of who is suspended and expelled, and for what discipline violation.
The new database shows that African American students, who make up only 6.5 percent of public school students, comprise 19 percent of all suspensions. By contrast, white students make up 26 percent of student enrollment, but only 20 percent of suspensions. Latino students are suspended at approximately the same level as their proportion of the total student enrollment.
California Department of Education officials provided a preview of some of the new data at a hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Delinquency Prevention and Youth Development
Under Common Core, leaders face big challenge of designing change - by Merrill Vargo / commentary
by Merrill Vargo / commentary
Over the past decade, many California teachers, especially in low-performing schools, were expected to teach a scripted curriculum. The advocates of this approach hoped to ensure that all students were exposed to high quality – or at least good enough – teaching. California’s choice of this strategy has left us with a generation of teachers who either never learned the skills involved in...
Upcoming EdSource symposium to tackle state education reform - by EdSource staff
by EdSource staff
As California embarks on a slate of reforms that could drastically change the face of public education, an upcoming symposium sponsored by EdSource will help the public and policymakers make sense of the complex issues facing educators. The May 4 symposium brings together a diverse group of experts to discuss the key issues facing California, from implementation of a set of uniform lesson plans...
