4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT
AQUINO IN THE REAR VIEW MIRROR: Broad Academy Class of ’08, Pearson employee, Teacher of the Year, Chapter Chair
More on Dr. Jaime Aquino, who resigned from the #2 post - “LAUSD’s Highest-Ranking Instructional Leader” - at LAUSD today. Aquino was the point person on the transition to Common Core and the Common Core Technology Program (iPads for All Initiative) This material is edited/word-butchered from a piece in California’s Children – ironically an article announcing the departure of
The first shoe drops: DEASY DEPUTY JAIME AQUINO RESIGNS
by Hillel Aron in LA School Report | http://bit.ly/UXHVhZ September 13, 2013 :: Jaime Aquino, LA Unified’s [Deputy]Superintendent of Instruction, has resigned, LA School Report has learned. <
“In an under-the-radar move…” MONICA GARCIA TAKES A JOB, BECOMES PART-TIMER ON THE BOARD + smf’s 2¢
by Hillel Aron, L.A. School Report | http://bit.ly/18WRcgX 12 Sept 2013 :: In an under-the-radar move, Monica Garcia has taken a job in LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina‘s office, which means she’s now a part-time member of the LA Unified school board. “For seven years, I did the LAUSD Board member job full time,” Garcia told LA School Report. “While I appreciated that intense focus on
SUPT. DEASY LOOKING TO HIRE 7 ADMINISTRATORS FOR $100K+ EACH TO COORDINATE WITH BOARD OF ED COMMITTEES + smf’s 2¢
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News 9/11/13, 7:43 PM PDT | Updated: 9/12/2013 :: LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy wants to hire seven experienced “administrative liaisons” for more than $100,000 each per year to be a link between his office and the new advisory committees created by school board President Richard Vladovic. The liaisons “will be instrumental in leading the review of topics
Friday the 13th -or- Meanwhile ….in Sacramento
briefly, from various sources Legislators pack it in -- Sac Bee/Capitol Alert | With lawmakers' work done, it's now time to figure out exactly what they did during the legislative session's final hours. As political junkies are also no doubt aware, Yom Kippur, the holiest of Jewish holidays, starts at sundown. In the meantime, Capitol Alert will be sorting through all the trees that got killed
State And Locals To U.S. Senate: Rewrite No Child Left Behind Act
By Alyson Klein | Politics K-12 - Education Week | http://bit.ly/13VPMn7 September 12, 2013 :: A collection of big-name state and local government groups really, really wants U.S. Senate leaders to bring a bill to the floor to reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, and soon. "State governments, localities, and schools need a long-term resolution for the issues raised by the
SEP 12
Agenda: TUESDAY SEPT 17 COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING :: An Overview of the Local Control Funding Formula + Student Attendance
by email Attached is the Order of Business for the Committee of the Whole meeting of September 17, 2013.For information or questions regarding this meeting, please contact Channa Scott at 213-241-7002 or via email at: channa.scott@lausd.net. You are also welcoto visit the meeting webpage at: www.laschoolboard.org/09-17-13COW is the meeting at 1:30 or 2 pm?
Sb 344: Bill Already Tinkers With School Funding Formula
By Tom Chorneau | SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources http://bit.ly/1emGCa4 Thursday, September 12, 2013 :: Legislative leaders and Gov. Jerry Brown struck a landmark agreement in June over restructuring state funding of K-12 schools – but lawmakers are already at work on changes. AB 344 AB 344by state Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, would enhance accountability requirements of
Lausd Moves To Facilitate Screening For Parent Volunteers, Delays Lcff Budget, Implements Arts Plan
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1eHOeS 9/10/13, 9:59 PM PDT | Updated: 9/11/2013 :: Trying to encourage more parents to volunteer at local campuses, the Los Angeles Unified school board approved a plan Tuesday to make it easier to get necessary fingerprinting and tuberculosis screenings, although the South L.A. representative asked that her schools be
3 Stories on AB 454: LEGISLATURE DEFIES FEDS, SENDS SCHOOL TESTING BILL TO GOVERNOR BROWN
coverage selected by Rough+Tumble Sept 12, 2013 :: California has been preparing to implement tests aligned to new national Common Core standards, but late bill amendments broadened the number of schools that can drop the current Standardized Testing and Reporting so teachers would not teach to new standards while old tests loom. California Legislature sends school-test bill to Gov. Jerry
LAUSD’s COMMON CORE BUDGET APPROVAL PUT OFF FOR ANOTHER WEEK
by Hillel Aron, LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1aEQoD5 Posted on September 10, 2013 :: The LA Unified school board voted, again, to delay its final decision on crafting and approving the $113 million Common Core budget for at least another week. The money comes from the state and is intended to help school districts transition over the next two years to the new curriculum. <<
Race to the Top: LAUSD BOARD OK’s APPLICATION FOR $30M FEDERAL GRANT + smf’s 2¢
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1g4wnCP 9/11/13, 9:31 AM PDT :: Los Angeles Unified is finalizing its application for a $30 million Race to the Top grant after last year’s effort for a $40 million award was rejected by federal officials because the teachers union refused to endorse it. Without discussion, the school board gave its OK Tuesday to apply for the
Polishing The Old Apple
by Kay Martin, CityWatch LA | http://bit.ly/14ItuYJ 6 Sep 2013 :: We knew that the old apple was going to get polished. When we first heard that the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) approved a $30 million contract with Apple Inc. to buy iPads for every student in the first phase plan to have 700,000 students supplied with iPad tablets we just knew this was only the beginning and
L.A. School Board Approves New Parent Trigger Rules
By Teresa Watanabe, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/1atlEkU September 10, 2013, 9:59 p.m. :: Pioneering guidelines to help Los Angeles Unified school staff and parents navigate the complex and controversial process to overhaul failing schools under the state parent trigger law were approved Tuesday by the school board. The 2010 state law gives parents at low-performing schools the right to force
No Statewide Testing Could Delay Parent Trigger Drives
by Vanessa Romo, LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1elMmRv Posted on September 11, 2013 Sometime in hour five of (Tuesday’s) marathon LA Unified school board meeting, the board approved a new set of guidelines to help principals, teachers and parents navigate the complex Parent Trigger process. That’s the state law allowing parents to take over a failing school and force a complete
SEP 11
Board Orders La Unified To Produce Budget For Arts Education Plan
Mary Plummer| Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/17Qou2N Mary Plummer/KPCC - Danielle Brazell, executive director of Arts for LA, speaks during the public comment period for the Steve Zimmer's arts education resolution at the September 10 LAUSD school board meeting. September 11th, 2013, 6:30am :: In a vote of 5 to 2, the Los Angeles Unified School Board voted to require district
SEP 10
Federal meddling? ….or an effort to avoid a conflict? DUNCAN THREATENS REPERCUSSIONS IF CALIFORNIA ENDS STATE TESTS FOR ALL STUDENTS
^ Secretary Duncan’s Bus, touring the Western States. By John Fensterwald, EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/1fV9AJJ September 9th, 2013 :: It looks like “High Noon” again for California and the Obama administration over education.
Duncan Threatens California If Ab 484 – Which Eliminates Some Standardized Testing - Passes
Duncan’s statement, from EdSource | http://bit.ly/1fV9AJJ smf: Secretary Duncan is currently barnstorming the West on a Back to School Bus Tour. Some of Arne’s Buses. How much does a bus cost? How much does painting a bus cost? Hopefully the bus stops at all railroad crossings because
SEP 09
Deasy Pulls Support For Speedup Of Standardized Testing Overhaul
L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy changes his mind about a plan to accelerate the changeover in standardized testing over financial issues Deasy’s objection is unlikely to derail the plan …but the Feds & Arne Duncan are another matter By Howard Blume, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/17mhpX4 L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy changed his mind when he learned that the
SEP 08
Los Angeles Teacher to Diane Ravitch’s Blog: “WE DON’T NEED iPADS, WE NEED HELP”, smf responds
By dianerav | http://bit.ly/1dTcNNb September 8, 2013 :: A letter from a teacher in Los Angeles about the decision to spend $1 billion to buy iPads. “How could the bond oversight committee actually approve this deal when we (a specific school in LAUSD) still have classrooms with chalkboards, desks from the 1950s, an internet infrastructure that constantly lets us down – we can NEVER play
What Apple is wading into: A SNAPSHOT OF THE K-12 TEXTBOOK BUSINESS + smf’s 2¢
By Laura Hazard Owen, PaidContent | http://bit.ly/1829pNB Jan. 21, 2012 - 9:00 PM EDT :: The battle for the college digital textbook market — including startups like Inkling and Kno — gets a fair amount of attention. But the K-12 textbook business that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) now seeks to revolutionize is much less talked about outside of education circles. Apple announced (in January 2012) that
SEP 07
School Is A Prison – And Damaging Our Kids
Longer school years aren't the answer. The problem is school itself. Compulsory teach-and-test simply doesn't work By Peter Gray Salon.com | http://bit.ly/1802BAd (Credit: wavebreakmedia via Shutterstock) Monday, Aug 26, 2013 04:45 AM PST :: Parents send their children to school with the best of intentions, believing that’s what they need to become productive and happy adults. Many
Twitterpated: POLLS SHOW THAT PEOPLE THINK POLLS SUCK
Howard Blume @howardblume 3 Sep Poll gives middling marks to Calif schools, writes @larrygordonlat of PACE/USC Rossier release. http://ow.ly/owSaT ●●smf took on “middling” here: http://bit.ly/17Nwdge Barbara Jones @LADNschools 5 Sep New poll finds people mistrust polls. I wonder if the results are skewed? http://bit.ly/
CALIFORNIA LIFTS ONE-YEAR CAP ON TEACHER-PREP PROGRAMS: Biggest single change made to teacher preparation in the Golden State in more than 40 years
By Stephen Sawchuk, Education Week | Education Week| http://bit.ly/15Ht061 Published Online: September 6, 2013 :: California lawmakers have approved legislation giving teacher education programs more flexibility in the amount of preparation they provide prospective teachers. Though the bill was signed into law last month with little fanfare, it may be the biggest single change made to
State Allocation Board Subcommittee Continues Work To Preserve Ca’S School Construction Program
By Kimberly Beltran | SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources http://bit.ly/15LYl0l Friday, September 06, 2013 :: A plan hatched just last week to seek urgency legislation needed to free up a restricted pot of school construction money apparently did not resonate with Gov. Jerry Brown nor legislative leaders. Sen. Loni Hancock, representing the State Allocation Board which hatched the plan,
TEACHER MISCONDUCT BILL SIGNED BY GOVERNOR+ smf’s 2¢
Bill in response to an L.A. Unified scandal, requiring timely reporting of teacher discipline, is among 55 signed by Gov. Jerry Brown By Patrick McGreevy, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/17NeBkz << Other measures Gov. Jerry Brown approved — 55 in all — are aimed at providing the public with more information on local government actions and at protecting animals. The bills take effect Jan.
Textbookgate: INGLEWOOD UNIFIED SAYS MORE EMPLOYEES UNDER INVESTIGATION
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/18D62Jn Grant Slater/KPCC | Students exit Inglewood High School as the bell rings on February 28, 2012. September 6th, 2013, 5:12pm :: A day after the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced the indictment of staffers from the Inglewood Unified School District [and other districts] for participating in a school
Promise Neighborhoods: SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, HOLLYWOOD FAMILIES TO GET TECHNOLOGY, JOB-TRAINING PROGRAMS TO BREAK CYCLE OF POVERTY
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/14AdyCz The nonprofit Youth Policy Institute has received a $30 million grant to create services to support families in Hollywood and the Pacoima-San Fernando neighborhoods. Here, cheerleaders at San Fernando Institute for Applied Media practice a routine August 27, 2013.(Andy Holzman/Los Angeles Daily News) Youth Policy Institute
CALIFORNIA ACCELERATES SHIFT TO COMMON CORE TESTING: Deasy, “a bit greedy”, balks
CALIFORNIA ACCELERATES SHIFT IN STUDENT TESTING: The plan to hasten use of computerized exams would upend LAUSD effort to use scores to evaluate teachers. By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times, http://lat.ms/1580bwT L.A. Unified's Deasy sounding a bit greedy on new tests Commentary by By Karin Klein,
LAUSD HIRING PROFESSIONAL INVESTIGATORS FOR ABUSE CASES + Educator Gives Glimpse Inside "Teacher Jail"
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LAUSD STUDENT RECOVERY DAY 2013: Attendance counselors, volunteers and administrators visit the homes of of habitually truant kids
PSA counselors meet with the parents of a student who has been truant from Grant High School Friday September 6, 2013. Friday was Student Recovery Day, when teams of attendance counselors and administrators knock on the doors of chronically truant kids. They try to get to the root of whatever problem is keeping them out of the classroom and resolve it so the kids can get back on track.(Andy
Lausd Hit By Unfair Labor Practice Complaints By 12 Teachers
Huffington Post from Los Angeles Daily News | By Barbara Jones | http://huff.to/15DkleT 9/6/2013 1:35 pm EDT :: The teachers union filed unfair labor practice complaints Thursday against Los Angeles Unified, claiming the district improperly reassigned 12 teachers from their posts at two schools because of their union activity on campus. The complaints filed by United Teachers Los
13 School Workers, Librarians Indicted In Textbook Theft Ring
Prosecutors say the districts – Los Angeles, Inglewood, Lynwood and Bellflower Unifieds, including the Mayor’s Partnership and Green Dot – so lacked any organized tracking system that they cannot say with any certainty how many books were stolen By Richard Winton. Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/19sHkMN <
FUNDING “EDUCATION REFORM”: The Big Three Foundations
By Jonathan Pelto | Public School $hakedown | http://bit.ly/17fdtqS The Gates Foundation, The Walton Foundation and the Broad Foundation could easily be called the un-holy triad of the education reform complex. While exact numbers are hard to pin down, since 2008 the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has spent at least $2 billion, the Walton Foundation at least three-quarters of
