SERVICE WORKERS UNION LOOKING TO EXPAND L.A. UNIFIED ROLE + smf’s 2¢
by Hillel Aron- LA School Report http://bit.ly/1byMuMk October 4, 2013 :: For years, the SEIU Local 99 has been “the other union” in LAUSD. Representing custodians, cooks, bus drivers and other “classified” workers, the union is just as politically influential, if not more so, than the teachers union, UTLA. And yet its voice is rarely heard in policy debates. That might be about to change.
CHARTER SCHOOL OPERATOR SENTENCED TO PRISON AS INDUSTRY GROUP FIGHTS ON HIS BEHALF; Judge critical of California Charter School Association
Annie Gilbertson| Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/192oNX4 Annie Gilbertson/KPCC | Judge Stephen Marcus complained that there were far too many lawyers involved. A total of six spoke during Friday's sentencing hearing. October 4th, 2013, 5:12pm :: At the end of a four hour hearing, a Los Angeles judge sentenced the founder of a San Fernando Valley charter school on Friday to 4 years and
L.A. UNIFIED STUDENTS NEED iPAD KEYBOARDS TO TAKE STATE TESTS
L.A. district officials had said keyboards were not essential, but the new state standardized tests will require them, at a cost of about $38 million. By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1fQoeag Beautiful Morris smiles as she explores her new iPad. Although L.A. Unified originally said keyboards weren't essential, new state tests can't be taken on iPads without them. (Bob
YESTERDAY
CHILDREN’S HEATHCARE + PUBLIC HEALTH: "Some Things Should Be Beyond the Reach of Politics—Prevention Funding Is One"
by EMail from The Prevention Institute :: Health Reform Rapid Response | http://bit.ly/18YTIW1 How the Government Shutdown Affects Public Health October 4, 2013 :: The shutdown has far-reaching implications for public health agencies and services, from halting the majority of the FDA’s nutrition and safety inspections, to slowing the CDC’s annual seasonal influenza and outbreak detection
DEASY’S S iPAD P.R. PITCH GOES ON
I hope all 4LAKids readers got a chance to see the superintendent’s TV “spectacular” (the title from a tweet from the virtual peanut gallery) on KLCS last night. If it becomes available online I will post a link here. A few questions were answered but more were raised that remain to be addressed. THE FOLLOWING RAISES NEW DOUBTS about the iPad rollout and the charm offensive. I have
OCT 03
What Superintendents Really Think: SUPES WARY OF SCHOOL BOARDS, POLL FINDS
…though it is the approval of superintendents by school boards that really matters By Lesli A. Maxwell, Education Week | http://bit.ly/175em36 Published in Print: October 2, 2013 :: Most of the nation’s superintendents do not issue strong approval ratings when it comes to judging the ability of school boards to govern districts, according to new results from a Gallup/Education Week survey.
IT’S TIME FOR iPAD ANSWERS SAYS L.A. UNIFIED BOARD
Annie Gilbertson | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1fLJP3y flickingerbrad via flickr IOctober 1st, 2013, 7:29pm :: t’s been a rocky rollout for the iPad project at the Los Angeles Unified School District - students got around internet filters, some tablets have gone missing - and some board members complain they've been left in the dark. L.A. Unified board member Monica Ratliff said
Brown Ignores Federal Threats, Signs Bill Dumping Star Tests And Sets Up Trial Of New Exams
from Rough&Tumble | http://bit.ly/GBpxtk 10/2/13 :: Ignoring a threat from the U.S. Department of Education to withhold federal funds from schools, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed a bill to create a new testing regimen for K-12 schools and to allow them to abandon the STAR tests that have been the pillar of California's school accountability system for a decade and a half. Sharon
Utla Nixes Lausd Bid For $30 Million Federal “Race To The Top” Grant
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1a2Wc4f Posted: 10/02/13, 8:16 PM PDT :: For the second straight year, the Los Angeles Unified teachers’ union refused to endorse the district’s application for a prestigious federal grant, which officials said would have brought in $30 million to fund counselors and instructional coaches at high-needs middle schools. Superintendent John
The Atlantic: STUDENTS ARE ‘HACKING’ THEIR SCHOOL ISSUED iPADS. GOOD FOR THEM!
By Audrey Watters, The Atlantic Monthly | http://bit.ly/15NXcGZ AP Thurs, Oct 3, 2013 :: Almost immediately after receiving their new school-issued iPads this fall, students in Indiana and in California (and probably elsewhere) managed to bypass the security on the devices, “hacking” them for “non-schoolwork” purposes: listening to music, checking Facebook, surfing the web. The news made
L.A. SCHOOL BOARD VOTES TO MEET ON iPAD ISSUES
By Howard Blume. LA Times | http://lat.ms/172GSBr October 2, 2013, 5:53 p.m. :: The Los Angeles Board of Education has scheduled a special Oct. 29 meeting to review efforts to provide iPads to every student and teacher in the nation's second-largest school system. .The meeting was proposed by board member Monica Ratliff, who chairs a district committee that is overseeing technology in L.A.
L.A. SCHOOLS DIDN’T DO iPAD HOMEWORK
by Laura Edghill, World Magazine | http://bit.ly/GAXrPE Associated Press/Photo by Scott Roberson/The Daily Journal | Center Grove High School sophomore Michaela Caito, 15, uses her school-supplied iPad to write a journal entry in Kelly Scholl's science class in Greenwood, Ind. Oct. 3, 2013, 09:25 a.m. :: Just one week into the
L.A. Unified Can’T Afford $1-Billion Budget Wish List, Official Says
By Teresa Watanabe, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1hmt8Y7 October 1, 2013, 9:58 p.m. :: L.A. Unified will need more than $1 billion to pay for additional teachers, a longer school year and other items favored by Board of Education members -- but the chance of acquiring such funds is zero, the district’s financial chief said Tuesday. Board members had passed a measure in June asking the district to
OCT 02
If LAUSD can’t afford the Board of Ed’s $1 billion wish list how can it afford Supt Deasy’s $1 billion iPad wish list?
2 Oct 2014 :: Apples v. Oranges. I know it’s not a fair comparison. Dr. Deasy’s wish list spends $1 billion to buy 3 years of iPads and maybe ten years of wireless connectivity hardware. Dr. D’s wish list spends bond funds. I remain convinced that the use of bond funds is legal – but it remains to be seen whether a panel of appeals court judges will agree. If Dr Deasy is right about the
It’s Official – Brown signs AB 484: CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS SWITCHING TEST PROGRAM FROM STAR TO MAPP
By Kimberly Beltran, SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources http://bit.ly/16HATsF Thursday, October 3, 2013 :: Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday officially ushered in California’s transition to new computerized student testing when he signed into legislation authorizing the use of the Common Core-aligned assessments. The governor also approved several other education bills, including one
THE L.A. SCHOOLS’ EXCELLENT iPAD ADVENTURE
By Michael Hiltzik, LA Times business columnist | http://lat.ms/18RAP5z Arne Duncan explains why Johnny can't read. Does he know he's the problem? (Bryan Bedder / Getty / October 2, 2013) October 2, 2013, 2:42 p.m. :: ... Well, maybe not so excellent. In the latest installments of the Los Angeles Unified School District's $1-billion marketing venture with Apple Inc. -- excuse me, I
Lausd To Hold Public Meetings On 2014-15 Local Control Funding Formula/Prop 30 Budget Plan
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/GAhddg 10/2/13, 4:14 PM PDT | Updated: 5:22 PM :: San Fernando Valley residents can weigh in next week on Los Angeles Unified’s budget for next year, as the district opens a series of five public hearings on how it should spend an influx of revenue expected from a voter-approved sales-tax hike. 6-7:30 p.m
COMMON CORE TECHNOLOGY PROJECT/“iPADS FOR ALL”: Superintendent Deasy to Answer Questions Live on TV Talk Show Thursday Evening
Date: 10/3/2013 Time: 6:00 PM–7:00 PM KLCS Call-in Special: "Technology in the Classroom" Airs Thursday at 6 p.m. Do you have questions about the Common Core Technology Project? Tune in to KLCS on Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. and call in with your questions. This live one-hour special will focus on the District’s plan to provide every student and teacher with 21st century technology tools for
$1 BILLION iPAD GIVEAWAY AT L.A. SCHOOLS: Bad idea or poor execution?
L.A. school officials bill the iPad giveaway as a 'major capital investment in technology-enabled classrooms,' but under fire from parents and teachers they have temporarily halted the program. By Gloria Goodale, Staff writer /CSMonitor.com http://bit.ly/18trthk Students photograph themselves with an iPad during a class at Broadacres Elementary School in Carson, Calif., Aug. 27. Los
LAUSD’S iPAD ROLLOUT MARRED BY CHAOS: Confusion reigns as L.A. Unified deals with glitches after rollout of ambitious an-iPad-for-every-student project
By Howard Blume and Stephen Ceasar | http://lat.ms/1fJ6DRM Eliazith Lorenzo, a senior at Maya Angelou Community High School, talks about his class losing their district-supplied iPads soon after initially receiving them. He said he'd mostly used his to play a soccer game at home. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times / October 1, 2013) October 1, 2013, 9:19 p.m. :: At a taco truck near Maya
Deasy, Apple, Pearson, and Gates: A POST WORTH HACKING INTO
by Mercedes Schneider/deutsch29 | http://bit.ly/19lLyDh October 1, 2013 :: Thirty million dollars is a lot of money for a single school district to shell out for the sake of Common Core. That is what the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) under the direction of reform-minded, unaccredited Broad Superintendents Academy graduate John Deasy decided to do in June. The purchase: Apple
OCT 01
L.A. Unified’S Backlog Of Broken Musical Instruments ‘Like A War Scene’
Mary Plummer | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/15GP00m Grant Slater/KPCC : Edwin Barer is one of two string instrument repair technicians remaining at Los Angeles Unified School District's Music Repair Shop. October 1st, 2013, 6:00am :: As his third period beginning band students sat and waited, teacher Dan McNamara pulled a plastic lighter out of his pocket and lit the flame over
What Would (Ok: …Will) Federal Shutdown Mean For California Education?
By Jane Meredith Adams |EdSource Today http://bit.ly/1g0k6lA September 30th, 2013 :: Federal money for education will continue to flow into California, with some caveats, even with a government shutdown. The big-ticket federal education programs in California – $1.8 billion a year for low-performing schools and $1.4 billion a year for special education – will be unscathed, according to a
After-school/Beyond the bell: YOU CAN’T WORK AND WATCH THE KIDS TOO
After-school care is a juggling act for full-time employed parents. School Districts must and Employers should do more to help. Op-Ed in the LA Times By Rosalind C. Barnett and Caryl Rivers Students are reflected in the windows of an L.A. Unified school bus as they leave the Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies. Shorter school days can be difficult for parents who cannot leave work
Deasy: iPAD DEBACLE AND THE DISTRICT’S (MIS)HANDLING THEREOF ARE “GLITCHES IN THE ROLLOUT”
Letters to the Editor of The LA Times: LAUSD AND ITS iPAD PROGRAM 1 October 2013 ●● smf: The Times’ editors printed two letters re the iPad issue today and ranked them in the following order: :: Re “LAUSD project: ‘whyPads,' ” Column, Sept. 29 As Steve Lopez demonstrates, once again our tax dollars are at work in an efficient, intelligent way. Of course, I am joking. The Los Angeles
SEP 30
Pacific Grove Unified In Monterey County Will Ask Taxpayers To Pay For Classroom Technology With Short-Term Bonds Strictly Designed For Such Uses
BY hOWRAD bLUME, l.a. tIMES | http://lat.ms/1bYYTIT A Southern California student uses an iPad to create an animated cartoon story in a 2011 file photo. In Monterey County's Pacific Grove Unified School District, voters will be asked to pay for such technology with a $28-million bond. (Mark Boster, Los Angeles Times) September 29, 2013, 10:02 p.m. :: A small Monterey County school
Dearth Of Teacher Librarians Poses New Challenges To Common Core Transition
By Carrie Marovich, SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources http://bit.ly/18InLkV Monday, September 30, 2013 :: Districts that slashed jobs for teacher librarians in recent years may soon regret that decision – especially as schools in California transition to the Common Core standards, which put new emphasis on students developing good research skills. “We have many schools, districts, a
DIANE RAVITCH & THE REIGN OF ERROR TOUR IN L.A.: Oxy on Tuesday, CSUN on Wednesday, both at 7PM
Tuesday, October 1, 2013 Reign of Error: A Talk with Diane Ravitch Diane Ravitch will be giving a talk about her new book, "Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools." Info Location: Thorne Hall, Occidental College Time: 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
THE CHARTER SCHOOL MISTAKE: 'Reforming' schools by giving tax money to corporations is a distraction from the system's real problems — poverty and racial segregation.
Op-Ed By Diane Ravitch in the L.A..Times | http://lat.ms/1boh73w Students look for their classrooms on the opening day of instruction at the Westchester Secondary Charter school. (Los Angeles Times / September 3, 2013) October 1, 2013 :: Los Angeles has more charter schools than any other school district in the nation, and it's a very bad idea. Billionaires like privately
California Truancy Is At ‘Crisis’ Level, Says Attorney General
Kamala Harris' report says one-quarter of elementary students are truant, jeopardizing their academic futures and adding to school funding problems. By Teresa Watanabe, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/19SD4G7 California Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris says the truancy rate for elementary school students has reached a crisis
L.A. UNIFIED TAKES BACK iPADS
By Howard Blume, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/18mV4cm Students at Theodore Roosevelt High School use iPads. The tablets were taken back until the L.A. Unified School District strengthens security measures. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times / September 17, 2013) September 30, 2013, 4:53 p.m. :: Los Angeles school officials have taken back iPads from students at Westchester and Roosevelt high
L.A. DISTRICT OFFICIAL ADDRESSES ISSUES RELATED TO HUGE CONTRACT FOR APPLE COMPUTING DEVICES “…the district ‘forced a marriage’ between Apple and the education publishing giant Pearson…”
Q&A: HOW LAUSD NEGOTIATED A 1-TO-1 DEAL WITH APPLE By Benjamin Herold, Education Week | http://bit.ly/15GwO1K The Los Angeles Unified School District is providing iPads to students like Tiannah Dizadare (smiling as she works with classmate Avery Sheppard) at Broadacres Avenue Elementary Schools in Carson, Calif. Proponents hope an emphasis on technology will boost achievement and
SEP 29
“We’ll have to get back to you on that.”: QUESTIONS ASKED AND NOT ANSWERED AT THE CURRICULUM & INSTRUCTION + COMMON CORE TECHOLOGY COMMITTEES
from LAUSD,NET “I’m taking the answers to your questions with me as I leave!” -or- Who knew we’d miss Jaime Aquino so soon? The Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee Meeting of Sept 24, 2013 Common Core Technology Project Ad Hoc Committee - September 25, 2013
Sat Scores Stagnant, Many Unprepared For College, Officials Say
A College Board report finds that scores remain steady for high school seniors in reading, math and writing. Minority representation was the highest in history. By Stephen Ceasar, LA Times | http://lat.ms/18BQUOz Visitors walk on the UCLA campus in Westwood. The College Board has reported that fewer than half of the students of the high school class of 2013 who graduated were prepared
SEP 28
FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS, SEGREGATION THE, SEGREGATION SINCE: Education and the Unfinished March
By Richard Rothstein | The Economic Policy Institute August 27, 2013 Press Releases | http://bit.ly/16AGPDL News from EPI: Education Goals of the March on Washington Not Yet Met - Proposals That Ignore Segregation and Inequality Are Doomed to Fail August 27, 2013 The goal of racially integrated schools of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom has yet to be met. As a result,
UTLA President’s Perspective: VAM/AGT – STILL A MEANINGLESS, DANGEROUS NUMBER
"It doesn’t matter whether the proponents of VAM/AGTare wealthy or powerful; they are still wrong,and they are pushing a teacher evaluation system that is at best meaningless and at worst dangerous to instruction" By warren Fletcher, From the UTLA United Teacher | http://bit.ly/1dPYmXH The original version of this column was published in November 2011, before UTLA and LAUSD negotiated th
STUDENT HACKERS LEAD L.A. SCHOOLS TO HALT MAJOR iPAD INITIATIVE
By Valerie Strauss, Washington Post/Answer Sheet | http://wapo.st/1fRQOWs (David Paul Morris / Bloomberg) September 27 at 4:23 pm :: The $1 billion initiative by the Los Angeles public schools district to give an iPad to all 650,000 students and teachers for home use has hit a snag that, in hindsight, someone should have seen coming: student hackers. According to a report in the Los
Steve Lopez: GoodbiPad? - NEW PROBLEMS SURFACE IN L.A.UNIFIED’s iPAD PROGRAM
Hacking by students and missing iPads are only part of the problem. Did anyone ask if the teaching software is any good? By Steve Lopez, L.A. Times Columnist | http://lat.ms/15Cp9kV Students at Theodore Roosevelt High School receive iPads as part of L.A. Unified's program. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times / September 19, 2013) September 28, 2013, 12:00 p.m. :: Don't worry, L.A.
iPad fallout continues: FROM THE HUFF POST + MORE MAIL TO THE LA TIMES
LA Students Outfox Apple, Pearson and School Board by Alan Singer, ocial studies educator, Hofstra University in the Huffington Post | http://huff.to/163086 09/27/2013 2:30 pm "Following news that students at a Los Angeles high school had hacked district-issued iPads and were using them for personal use, district officials have halted home use of the Apple tablets until further notice.