4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT
THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF LAUSD’S FINANCES + (there’s no accounting for) smf’s 2¢
by Richard J. Riordan and Tim Rutten | LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/1hDk3gs 11/01/13, 3:15 PM PDT | Updated: 9AM 11/2/13 9AM :: Now that the drama over the Los Angeles Unified School District’s superintendent is behind us, there are some other, deeper issues worth exploring. For example, ask anybody who’s looked at the budget for one of America’s urban school districts how much money
LAUSD BOARD SET TO TACKLE iPAD PROJECT ON TUESDAY MORNING + Staff Report to Board
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News |http://bit.ly/1faCk2E Posted: 10/31/13, 6:46 PM PDT :: The Los Angeles Unified board will delve into the district’s controversial iPad project — everything from curriculum and keyboards to infrastructure and electricity — during a special meeting on the $1 billion plan set for Tuesday. Beginning at 8:30 a.m., the board will hear from officials
Supt. Deasy’S Style Could Make Or Break His Legacy In L.A. Unified
Supt. John Deasy must pair strong leadership with an open mind to achieve his goals for the school district. By Sandy Banks, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/1aRJO7I L.A. Unified School District Supt. John Deasy listens to public comments about his job performance during a school board meeting at LAUSD headquarters. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times / October 29, 2013) November 1, 2013, 4
Catholic Scholars Blast Common Core In Letter To U.S. Bishops
“…this “reform” is really a radical shift in emphasis, goals, and expectations for K-12 education, with the result that Common Core-educated children will not be prepared to do authentic college work. Even supporters of Common Core admit that it is geared to prepare children only for community-college-level studies.” By Valerie Strauss, Washington Post/Answer Sheet |
PATRENA SHANKLING, THE SUBSTITUTE TEACHER DR. DEASY FIRED: In her own words + more
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BXxxL3qCQAArtvI.jpg from the LA Times |http://lat.ms/1aRHUWK : CALIFORNIA | LOCAL Plenty of advice for L.A. Unified's boss April 14, 2012 | Sandy Banks Any day now, I expect to see a crowd of substitute teachers marching around Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters, wearing signs that say "I AM PATRENA SHANKLING" and waving lists of dumb things
L.A. Schools Improved, But Deasy Fell Short Of Ambitious Goals
Supt. John Deasy, whose annual review will be conducted Tuesday, failed to meet many goals he set for himself. Even so, school board members and civic leaders cite long-term gains. By Teresa Watanabe and Howard Blume | LA Times | http://lat.ms/1aRRIQz 8:47 PM PDT, October 28, 2013 :: On the eve of discussions over his future, Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy can count on broad
Lausd Is Still Waiting For ‘Superman’
by Anthony Asadullah Samad, Ph.D. | EURweb | http://bit.ly/1fagMTy October 30, 2013 :: The nation’s second largest (and least performing) school district, Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), was put through the paces this week when its superintendent, John Deasy, put the district (and the world) on notice that he might resign after receiving criticism from everything from slowing
Principals Union: iPAD ROLLOUT SURVEY GENERALLY YIELDS POSITIVE RESULTS
from The Associated Administrators of L.A. Weekly Update/Week of November 4, 2013 | http://bit.ly/1bJgX5V 31 October 2014 :: At the request of Board Member Monica Ratliff, Chair of the Board’s Ad Hoc Common Core Technology Committee, AALA conducted a survey of administrators in phase 1 of the project. Forty-seven schools received the first set of iPads to be issued to students; five were
OCT 31
COST OF CALIFORNIA DEFIANCE IN CANCELLING TESTS? At least $15 million; maybe $3.5 billion+
Feds set price of defiance on standardized tests: at least $15 million By John Fensterwald, EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/19V9XDs The state risks losing millions in federal funding for failing to offer standardized tests to students this year. Credit: iStockphoto.com October 30th, 2013
Leaders Call For Deasy, Lausd Board To Work Together
By Barbara Jones, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1aLuBam LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy during a board meeting at LAUSD headquarters, Tuesday, October 29, 2013. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/L.A. Daily News) Posted: 10/30/13, 7:54 PM PDT | Updated: 10/31/13 4AM :: A day after the Los Angeles Unified school board and Superintendent John Deasy held a discussion that led to him
BOARD MEETING AGENDA: 8:30 AM Nov. 5 (Guy Fawkes Day) – SPECIAL COMMON CORE TECHNOLOGY PLAN DISCUSSION
The history of Guy Fawkes Day begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guido “Guy” Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding explosives the plotters had placed beneath the House of Lords in an attempt to kill James I and bring down the entire British government: king, ministers, parliament and all.
OCT 28
¡ZOMBIE iPODCALYPSE AT BEAUDRY!
Undead Man Walking – Halloween Party in the Superintendent’s Office on Oct 31st While this may seem like a trick, it is most certainly a treat!
TEST DRIVING LA UNIFIED’S iPAD EDUCATIONAL SOFTWARE
Annie Gilbertson | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1ioOV1G [LISTEN TO THE STORY] Annie Gilbertson/KPCC - Developer Oscar Menjivar sits with student Jesus Vargas, checking out the Pearson education software loaded onto every L.A. Unified iPad. October 28th, 2013, 6:00am :: There's no doubt Jesus Vargas is a tech saavy teen — he's built his own app. He's a senior at USC Math
OCT 27
“To be ….or not be” JOHN DEASY AS HAMLET IN A THIRD RATE FOURTH GRADE PRODUCTION – AND OTHER THEATRICAL REVIEWS OF THE SORRY DREARINESS IN L.A. FROM DIANE RAVITCH’S BLOG
from Diane Ravitch's blog | http://bit.ly/HlfoC8 Diane Ravitch: A teacher in Los Angeles who calls himself Geronimo left the following comment on hearing that Superintendent Deasy planned to resign, then declared that he was only thinking about resigning and might not resign after all: Geronimo: “If the saga of LAUSD wasn’t soap opera-y enough, the Number One Diva of LA–no, not Kim Kardashian,
In The Los Angeles Unified School District Power Struggle The Voters Have Already Chosen
Guest post in K-12 News Network by Karen Wolfe, a parent and public education advocate who lives in Los Angeles |http://bit.ly/16DobdW October 26, 2013 :: Parents and public school advocates are very concerned following the LA Times article about Mayor Garcetti weighing in on Superintendent Deasy’s waning support. I hope the mayor will keep in mind that voters value their right to elect an
Steve Lopez: PLAN TO TRANSFORM BLEAK SCHOOL PLAYGROUND HITS BIG SNAG
A popular beautification project planned for Berendo Middle School has one hurdle to clear — the L.A. school district's can't-do attitude. By Steve Lopez, LA Times columnist | http://lat.ms/1ay92Ki Children play on the blacktop at Berendo Middle School. A state grant would cover most of the cost of turning part of the playground into a green space, but the school district is balking at
L.A. Daily News Says Mayor Garcetti Supports Superintendent Deasy And Questions School Board.
Garcetti: Deasy’s exit is “an evolving story.” When asked by a reporter directly if he was saying the current board is micromanaging Deasy, Garcetti said “Those are your words.” L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said he was “disheartened” to read newspaper stories about Deasy’s possible resignation. “He is a friend and (someone) whose work I support,” Garcetti said. (File photo by John
SCRAP THE iPADS, KEEP THE PIANOS: If you want a device that can inspire, critique, counsel and put on a show, get a teacher.
LA Times Op-Ed By Jeff Lantos | http://lat.ms/HlIDVM October 25, 2013 :: The Los Angeles Unified School District's plan to supply every student with an iPad is, to be charitable, not going well. Before any more school districts decide to spend millions on high-tech gadgets, let me offer a few words of caution. Why me? Because I was there in 1986 when Apple computers were first lugged
OCT 26
Edna Krabappel Has Left The Classroom
Marcia Wallace (November 1, 1942 – October 25, 2013) has passed away from the complications of breast cancer. She was primarily known for her roles in television situation comedies. She is perhaps best known for her roles as receptionist Carol Kester on the 1970s sitcom The Bob Newhart Show, and as the voice of Edna Krabappel,
Eli Broad, Koch Brothers Funded Secret Anti Prop 30/Anti Prop 38 Effort In California
Bombshell: Eli Broad Secretly Funded Anti-Public School, Anti-Union Initiatives from Diane Ravitch’s blog via Network for Public Education News Briefs| http://bit.ly/1g3eR6g 25 Oct 2013 | A state investigation revealed the identities of donors to a secret fund to oppose an initiative that would increase funding to public schools and to support an
L.A. UNIFIED POSTPONES TUESDAY’S SPECIAL BOARD MEETING ABOUT iPADS
L.A. Unified postpones meeting on iPads over Deasy's possible exit By Howard Blume and Stephen Ceasar, LA Times | http://lat.ms/16COVpM October 25, 2013, 8:25 p.m. :: Los Angeles Board of Education President Richard Vladovic on Friday canceled a special board meeting planned for Tuesday on the district’s $1-billion iPad project. Vladovic said the board needed to devote more time to a
Q&A: LAUSD’s JAIME AQUINO – on iPads, Board Fights, and Stepping Down + someone else’s 2¢
by Benjamin Herold in Education Week http://bit.ly/1c765PU Oct 25, 2013 :: For my recent story on the fresh controversies surrounding the new digital curriculum that is embedded on the iPads being distributed to tens of thousands of Los Angeles students, I sat down to talk with Jaime Aquino, the deputy superintendent of instruction for the 651,000-student Los Angeles Unified School District.
COACHELLA VALLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT’S iPAD INITIATIVE BRINGS OPTIMISM AND SKEPTICISM
by Eric Westervelt NPR Education Correspondent on All Things Considered |All Tech Considered | http://n.pr/1eVtzJx [ Download Audio | 8 min 14 sec] Students at Coachella Valley Unified School District use iPads during a lesson. The district's superintendent is promoting the tablet initiative as a way to individualize learning. - Coachella Valley Unified School District October 25, 2013
