Education Headlines
Monday, May 13, 2013
Azusa Unified board airs concerns over Rosedale development school
Before the housing bubble that led to the Great Recession and crippled construction, the fanfare of the Rosedale development wooed many interested buyers. One of the biggest selling points of the 1,250-home master-planned community was a brand-new school built specifically for the development.Gaps appear present in 2nd set of Alisal USD credit card documents
A second set of Alisal Union School District Visa credit card statements, receipts and documents delivered Friday appears to pose more questions than they answer.Contract talks continue with choice for Twin Rivers
Contract negotiations continue between a consulting company hired by the Twin Rivers Unified School District and Steve Martinez, whom the board selected to be the next superintendent, according to district officials.San Juan trustees will revisit complaints about superintendent
The San Juan Unified school board on Tuesday will privately discuss employee complaints that Superintendent Glynn Thompson created a hostile work environment for some female administrators, according to district officials.Details of severance fail to materialize
Promised details of a severance package for ousted San Ysidro School District Superintendent Manuel Paul did not materialize at the school board meeting Thursday in San Ysidro.Sweetwater is underwater on land deal
What began eight years ago as a deal to develop a new administration complex for Sweetwater schools has cost the district $40 million, with no new district headquarters in sight.MORENO VALLEY: Schools aim to boost graduation rates
Increasing high school graduation rates takes efforts on many fronts, say Moreno Valley educators, who are making it a priority.Arroyo High School principal wrongly accuses student of bullying a peer at anti-bullying assembly
A freshman attending an anti-bullying assembly at Arroyo High School last week was wrongly accused by the principal of being a cyberbully in front of more than 400 peers.Parents want Martinez school district to reduce pesticide use
A group of concerned parents is urging the Martinez Unified School District to limit the use of potentially harmful pesticides on landscaping and inside classrooms.Some Santa Rosa schools explore alternatives to student suspensions
A confrontation between father and son was not a private talk behind closed doors but an exchange in front of an audience of school administrators, teachers and strangers who agreed to participate in a restorative justice conference with the boy who was on the brink of expulsion from high schooLAUSD letters warned Wilmington teacher to stop touching students
A former Wilmington teacher accused of molesting 11 students was warned in writing by his elementary school principal to "keep his hands off students," a prosecutor said in court Friday.LAUSD fighting for zero-tolerance on teacher cheating
The school district says a decision by a state panel — determining there was test-score cheating but the teacher shouldn't be fired — sends the wrong message.The LAUSD misconduct files, teacher by teacher
In a series of interviews, Superintendent John Deasy chronicled the cases of classroom employees in Los Angeles Unified fired for misconduct over the last 15 months.LAUSD cracks down on teacher misconduct; 100 fired, 200 resign, 300 'housed'
Under the zero-tolerance policy that Superintendent John Deasy enacted after the Miramonte Elementary sex-abuse scandal erupted in February 2012, the school board has voted to dismiss more than 100 teachers for misconduct, and accepted the resignations of at least 200 others who were about to be terminated. Nearly 300 additional teachers accused of inappropriate behavior remain "housed" in administrative offices while officials investigate the complaints.Schwartz: You reach more kids when you use the arts to teach
It’s ironic that many of us adults have come to view the performing arts as an inefficient use of class time. The California State Standards actually call for their implementation, and point to their importance in providing a balanced curriculum.Limerick Elementary makes Breakfast in Classroom program a success
Five months after signing on to Los Angeles Unified's new Breakfast in the Classroom, the staff and students at Limerick Avenue Elementary School have it down to a science.LAUSD board could ban suspensions for 'willful defiance'
Backers of the resolution say "zero tolerance'"is harming kids. "Instead of punishing students, we're going to engage them," says one supporter.Funding formulas a top budget issue
After years of cuts, state finances have brightened significantly thanks to voters’ passage of Prop. 30 last fall and the improving economy. Gov. Jerry Brown’s January budget proposal would increase funding for schools by $15.3 billion over seven years while, administration officials contend, simplifying the state’s school-funding system and funneling additional money to poor and English-learning students. Lawmakers and other officials, though, have said they are concerned that some individual schools or districts will lose out.Walters: Love could kill Jerry Brown's school plan
Dozens of school finance players, including Gov. Jerry Brown's fellow Democrats in the Legislature, have expressed conceptual support for Brown's plan. However, they attach caveats that their full support would depend on his accepting some changes. The net effect of all those demands, if granted, could be to leave the present system – one that no one defends – largely intact.Fensterwald: Lower-income districts would benefit from 55 percent parcel tax threshold, study suggests
Only about one in eight school districts in California have passed a parcel tax, and they predominantly have been wealthier and smaller districts. But if the threshold for passing a parcel tax were dropped from a two-thirds majority to 55 percent, an EdSource analysis suggests more districts with larger enrollments of low-income students would pass them.Villaraigosa-backed school board candidate leads money race
The money race among two remaining candidates for the Los Angeles Board of Education is competitive, but outside spending has skewed resources decidedly toward the one backed by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.Friday, May 10, 2013