4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT
LAUSD: STUDENTS CAN’T TAKE SCHOOL-ISSUED iPADS HOME
by Michael Linder KABC NEWS/TalkRadio 790 | http://bit.ly/1dsnyFZ As the LAUSD prepares to roll out its first batch of iPads to students in 47 schools — a new development. The school district now says kids will not be allowed to take those tablets home. KABC’s Michael Linder has the latest. Undated report [presumed Aug 29th] :: The Los Angeles Unified School District’s plan to equip each of
AUG 29
Prop 39 Co-locations: MAKING ROOM FOR CHARTER SCHOOLS. Providing for them should not come at the expense of students in traditional public schools.
L.A. Times Editorial | http://lat.ms/1dwujYt August 28, 2013 :: When voters passed Proposition 39 in 2000, they surely had no idea of the headaches it would cause Los Angeles schools. Most Californians probably never even noticed the wording about providing space for charter schools, and if they did, they had little idea of what a charter school was. The chief purpose of the measure was to
Patt Morrison Asks Monica Ratliff, The New Teacher On Board
The fifth-grade teacher's improbable election victory brought her, and a new perspective, to the L.A. Unified School District board. By Patt Morrison, LA Times | http://lat.ms/15a9vws August 28, 2013 :: It was a spur-of-the-moment thing that became momentous. Monica Ratliff, outspent by nearly $2 million, improbably won election to the L.A. Unified School District board. She's a
California Student’S Test Scores Decline, Lausd’S Ekes Up
Find out how your local school or district faired on its API scores. Visit our searchable database containing all California schools. Test scores of state’s students decline as educators prepare for sea change By Rob Kuznia, LA Daily News/Daily Breeze | http://bit.ly/1a3ElPj LAUSD ekes gain on state API, other urban districts stumble
NEW LAUSD TECHNOWLOGY PANEL TACKLES DETAILS OF iPAD PROJECT
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1dvI35H 8/28/13, 7:17 PM PDT :: A day after LAUSD handed out iPads to kids at two of its campuses, the school board’s Technology Committee started its own deep dive into the program that will put a tablet computer in the hands of every student by this time next year. Chaired by Monica Ratliff, who gave up her teaching career after she
AUG 28
LAUSD ROLLS OUT iPAD-FOR-EVERY-STUDENT PROJECT IN THE SOUTH BAY
By Rob Kuznia, The Daily Breeze | http://bit.ly/17h6LU3 Third grade teacher Tiffany DeCoursey helps steer students in the right direction. Cimarron Elementary School in Hawthorne where all students received iPads to use in the classroom. First day of instruction with them in the LAUSD school. (Brad Graverson / Staff Photographer) Queron Bailey, 3rd grade, writes his first sentence on the
U P D A T E: FIRST L.A.UNIFIED SCHOOL(S) GET iPADS - LAUSD launches its drive to equip every student with iPads
Two elementary schools — Broadacres in Carson and Cimarron in Hawthorne — roll out the tablet computers. Some question if they will help learning. By Howard Blume, LA Times | latimes.com http://lat.ms/184sudY update of: FIRST L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOL GETS iPADS IN $1BILLION EFFORT: http://bit.ly/1cezN5S Avery Sheppard, left, views a smiling Tiannah Dizadare on his iPad at Broadacres
THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS: BOUGHT-AND-PAID-FOR BY THE GATES FOUNDATION – A Brief Audit of Bill Gates’ CCSS Spending
by Mercedes Schneider from her EduBlog deutsch29 | http://bit.ly/16QoQFB [ referred by DianeRav | About Mercedes Schneider ] August 27, 2013 :: This is a post about Bill Gates and his money, a brief audit of his Common Core (CCSS) purchases. Before I delve into Gates accounting, allow me to set the stage with a bit of CCSS background. It is important to those promoting CCSS that the
AUG 27
FIRST L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOL GETS iPADS IN $1BILLION EFFORT
By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/17kzS4R Tiannah Dizadare gives a big smile to schoolmate Avery Sheppard as they explore their new LAUSD-provided iPads at Broadacres Elementary School. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times / August 27, 2013) August 27, 2013, 9:58 a.m. :: An elementary school in Carson on Tuesday became a pioneer in a $1-billion effort to provide iPads to every
It isn’t how you take the test, it’s how it’s scored that counts: DECILE RANKINGS + MODIFIED SCORING FOR SPECIAL ED ON THE BLOCK
Plans emerge to replace decile ranking system By Kimberly Beltran, SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources http://bit.ly/18YkJH Feds propose eliminating scores from modified testing as part of AYP By Tom Chorneau, SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources http://bit.ly/13WE1Pt
La Unified Students Have Never Known High School Without Metal Detectors
Jed Kim | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/16KMLTn David McNew/Getty Images - Los Angeles School Police officers watch students lining up to pass through a security check point in the aftermath of two apparent racially motivated student brawls at Thomas Jefferson High School April 21, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. The L.A. Unified School District has required all of its secondary
Commentary: TEACHERS DESERVE A SHOT AT RUNNING THEIR SCHOOLS
By Charles Taylor Kerchner | | EdSource Today http://bit.ly/1cdq93o August 27th, 2013 :: Ted Kolderie, the Minnesotan who had a large hand in drafting the nation’s first charter school law, is selling ideas again. This time he’s promoting teacher-run schools, or at least greatly enhanced teacher capacity to design their own jobs. As he has said, “in a real sense all the effort to
AUG 26
Webinar Tuesday 27 August: ROOT CAUSES OF CHRONIC STUDENT ABSENCES INCLUDE STUDENT HEALTH AND SCHOOL ENGAGEMENT
A webinar from WestEd, the California Department of Education and Attendance Works will showcase examples of schools, juvenile justice, law enforcement, and mental health agencies working together to help children get to school. WestEd writes that high levels of chronic absence can be a sign that families and students face significant health, social, and economic challenges. Tuesday, August 27,
School Bullying Prevention Efforts Falling Short, State Audit Says
By Jane Meredith Adams | EdSource Today http://bit.ly/144aNcl You Read it Here First: CALIFORNIA STATE AUDITOR SAYS SCHOOLS SHOULD MEASURE IF ANTI-BULLYING PROGRAMS ARE WORKING: Cites LAUSD ... http://bit.ly/15bdyfd August 26th, 2013 :: Responding to concerns that schools should do more to stop bullying, a new state audit found that most schools do not track whether their
MEETINGS BREED: More meetings for LAUSD Board
by Rick Orlov, L.A. Daily News from Rick Orlov’s Tipoff: Playing chicken at City Hall | http://bit.ly/17fzcjl Richard Vladovic officiated last week over his first full meeting as president of the Los Angeles Unified board, announcing assignments to seven standing and ad hoc committees that will have members trekking down to district headquarters at least three times a month. Yet even as he
L.A. County Foster Care Shortage Reaches Crisis Levil
A surge in demand for foster homes in L.A. County sends more children to chaotic holding rooms; the state is threatening fines. By Garrett Therolf, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/1djga0x Dr. Astrid Heger, center, talks with children's author Cornelia Funke, right, at the Chlldren's Welcome Center of the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center -- a key holding facility for young children
AUG 25
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO GOV. BOBBY JINDAL: “The Louisiana Voucher Program is Illegal”
Reposted by dianerav in the Diane Ravitch Blog | http://bit.ly/1dhjXvg August 25, 2013 // This post by one of Louisiana’s great bloggers [LaMar White, Jr @ Cenlamar.com] reports that the state’s voucher program undermines federal desegregation orders. Pesky things, the Constitution, the law, and court orders. smf chimes in: Gov. Jindal was on Meet the Press this
BEST HOPE FOR COMMON CORE IMPLEMENTATION? TIME TO PLAN WITH COLLEAGUES: UTLA survey shows that teachers want the chance to collaborate.
From the UTLA United Teacher | http://bit.ly/18U65kH Aug 23, 2013 :: UTLA’s online survey on Common Core preparation finds most teachers do not feel prepared to teach Common Core State Standards, and an overwhelming majority said more planning time and more time to collaborate with colleagues would be the most useful for helping prepare. During the three days the survey was available online,
AUG 24
Survey: MOST HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES NOT READY FOR COLLEGE
By Josh Dulaney, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/1dDIFDI 8/20/13, 8:54 PM PDT :: College is starting up again, but are local students ready for it? According to ACT, which administers one of the two major tests used by colleges to admit students, readiness for higher education remains a sore spot among the vast majority of graduating high school students. Just 39 percent of ACT-tested 2013
Supplement or supplant?: FEDS CITE CA SCHOOLS OVER POSSIBLE MISUSE OF TITLE III/ELL PROGRAMS
Question also arises over whether Local Control Funding Formula, which eliminates state categorical ELL funding per-se may unintentionally imperil qualification for federal ELL funding. By Tom Chorneau | SI&A Cabinet Report – http://bit.ly/17TQnFb Thursday, August 22, 2013 :: Regulators from the U.S. Department of Education have flagged California schools for possible misuse of Title
TO TEST OR NOT TO TEST?: Last-minute negotiations focus on bill to replace STAR system
By Tom Chorneau, SI&A Cabinet Report – http://bit.ly/17brjeE Friday, August 23, 2013 :: Three months ago, as the final details of the 2013-14 state budget were being negotiated, consensus between Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders seemed to also coalesce around how and when schools would move to a new student performance testing system based on common national standards. Today, key
