4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT
After Marguerite Lamotte’S Death, Lausd Melts Down Yet Again
Written by Joseph Mailander, MAILANDER’S LA | City Watch | http://bit.ly/1kuOuH7
IT’S TIME TO INVESTIGATE PEARSON IN TEXAS, TOO …but why stop there? California’s nice this time of year!
In New York the Pearson Foundation illegally helped develop products for its corporate parent, including course materials and software. That’s just as illegal in California and violates the federal tax code too! Where is the CA Attorney General, The L.A. District Attorney and the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California? by Jason Stanford, Huffington Post | http://
Lausd’S Labor Partners Unify, Remember Ms. Lamotte And Call For Promises Made To Be Promises Kept
reprinted from the AALA Weekly Update of December 19,2013 | http://bit.ly/1gKyvVs Visualize the meeting of the Board of Education on December 17, 2013. Following the Pledge of Allegiance, Board President Dr. Richard Vladovic begins the Board President’s Reports starting with an In Memoriam recognition of Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who passed away on December 5, 2013. The second report was
DEC 19
Release Of Naep 2013 Reading And Math Data For Lausd
tweeted and posted online by Howard Blume of the Los Angeles Times | http://t.co/CGjWcS36UW @howardblume: Here's a near final draft of L.A. Unified internal report on the NAEP test scores. They're pleased. Naep Informative 12-16-13 Draft
CalPERS MOVES TO EXCLUDE PRIVATELY RUN CHARTER SCHOOLS
by Tom Chorneau - SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/JHOzJ2 December 19, 2013( Calif.) :: New eligibility requirements for participating in the California Public Employees’ Retirement System exclude private operators of charter schools, officials at the California Charter Schools Association said Wednesday. The new requirements were adopted earlier this year in anticipation of changes to
1st Look/Taking Initiative: THE PROTECTION OF LOCAL SCHOOL REVENUES ACT OF 2014
via email from Educate our State and from their website | http://bit.ly/IYaNGG 19 December 2013 :: According to Educate Our State: Over $7 billion dollars a year of local property taxes have been directed away from our community schools. These are our local tax dollars apportioned to our neighborhood schools and community colleges -- and they no longer represent a stable, reliable cash flow
DEC 18
®hee-Form 2014: “BAD TEACHERS” THE TARGET OF TWO PROPOSED BALLOT INITIATIVES 2014
California measure would replace seniority with performance for teacher layoffs By Laurel Rosenhall The Sacramento Bee http://bit.ly/1jjde6Z Published: Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013 - 12:00 am Last Modified: Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2013 - 9:05 am Hector Amezcua / hamezcua@sacbee.com A
State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson Favors ‘Strong Accountability’ On School Funding
by Tom Chorneau, SI&A Cabinet Report :: http://bit.ly/19StvGs December 18, 2013 (Calif.) :: As Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration continues to mull adding restrictions on how schools spend billions in new money, the state’s top educator, Superintendent Tom Torlakson, said Tuesday the additional funding needs to increase services – not just maintain the status quo. Torlakson’s comments are
Ucsf Chancellor Resigns To Head Gates Foundation
Susan Desmond-Hellmann, chancellor of UC San Francisco since 2009, is leaving to become chief executive of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation By Larry Gordon, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1bQ01w0 UC San Francisco Chancellor Susan Desmond-Hellmann in 2009. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press) December 17, 2013, 4:07 p.m. :: Susan Desmond-Hellmann, chancellor of the medically oriented UC San
The 1st of 3-to-3-ties?: LAUSD BOARD DELAYS ACTION ON FILLING BOARD SEAT, iPAD NEXT PHASE
L.A. Unified board delays decision on replacing LaMotte Board members are unable to reach a consensus on postponing the discussion until after her funeral or taking action immediately. The board also delayed action on the iPad program's next phase. By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1i1dwxR Rep.
DEC 17
A SECOND LOOK AT THE iPADS IN LOS ANGELES
Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice | http://bit.ly/18y2pt5 December 6, 2013 · 1:00 am :: The rollout of iPads in Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is becoming a classic case study of what not-to-do when implementing any innovation whether it is high-tech or low-tech. I wrote about the adoption of the innovation six months ago. What is clear now is that teachers
UPDATE: SUPERINTENDENT REJECTS APPLICANTS TO REPLACE AQUINO; LAUSD Re-posts Job Posting
by smf December 17th, 2013 :: After review of applications for the job of Deputy Superintendent of Instruction posted last September none of the applicants were acceptable to the superintendent - so the job was reposted yesterday. UPDATE TO: LA UNIFIED BEGINS JOB SEARCH TO REPLACE AQUINO + Job Posting + smf’s 2¢ by Hillel Aron in LA School Report | http://bit.ly/16LKjgD Posted on
GIVING TWICE-AS-MANY KIDS HALF-AS-MUCH MUSIC EDUCATION? The latest LAUSD SNAFU?
Eloise Porter, President, Los Angeles City Elementary Schools Music Assoc writes 4LAKids Mon, Dec 16, 2013 at 11:14 PM So it seems the powers-that-be at LAUSD care not for children--only for numbers. In the latest effort to be 'fair' in assigning the correct number of arts semesters based on enrollment numbers in our elementary schools, the District, in its great wisdom, is again creating
Charters Get Kids Cubicle-Ready
Samantha Winslow | LaborNotes | http://bit.ly/19au9ok A Rocketship charter: Is it a school or a miniature call center? While experimenting on working-class kids, Silicon Valley elites send their kids to private schools like Waldorf Peninsula, whose philosophy is to avoid computers, arguing that they hurt children's development. December 13, 2013 :: From Silicon Valley, the Rocketship
Moody's: CHARTER SCHOOLS POSE GREATEST CREDIT CHALLENGE TO SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN ECONOMICALLY WEAK URBAN AREAS
Global Credit Research by Moody’s Investor Service | http://bit.ly/1fB4zbf New York,October 15, 2013 -- The dramatic rise in charter school enrollments over the past decade is likely to create negative credit pressure on school districts in economically weak urban areas, says Moody's Investors Service in a new report. Charter schools tend to proliferate in areas where school districts already
HOW TO START A REVOLUTION: Diane Ravitch and the Angry Rebellion against Common Core
Wielding her influential blog as a weapon, this 75-year-old activist has created a powerful network united by revulsion against top-down, elite policymaking by Mark Funkhouser | Governing Institute | http://bit.ly/1dJnKhb December 16, 2013 :: Since the Common Core State Standards for education were first proposed in 2009, 45 states have adopted them. As major public-policy
ACT NOW AND NAME A REPLACEMENT L.A. SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER: The late Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte's District 1 constituents deserve a voice on crucial issues.
Holding a special election would waste time and money. Op-Ed in the LA Times By David Tokofsky and Jackie Goldberg | http://lat.ms/1cyqOKR School board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte died this month. (Los Angeles Times / July 2, 2013) December 16, 2013 :: There has been great consternation in recent days over the best way to select an interim school board member to complete the term
Gov. Brown States Opposition For Federal & State Standards, Standardized Testing For Schools …And Explains Why
GOV, JERRY BROWN OPPOSES GOVERNMENT IMPOSED STANDARDS FOR SCHOOLS In an on-stage interview, the California governor says some educational experiences can't be captured in standardized testing. By Anthony York, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/18O4U5w Gov. Jerry Brown addresses a conference
DEC 16
After LaMotte: POLITICS OF L.A. SCHOOL BOARD MAY SHIFT
Annie Gilbertson, Education Reporter/ Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1bTRZTG Damian Dovarganes/AP - Deceased Los Angeles school board member Marguerite Lamotte [Listen to the radio story] December 16th, 2013, 6:00am :: The Los Angeles school board is scheduled to decide Tuesday how to fill the seat left vacant after the death of board member Marguerite Lamotte. Lamotte was a
TAKING THE HYSTERIA OUT OF HEAD LICE: More lenient rules make some schools jumpy
School nurses and other health authorities say stricken students should be able to stay in class. But such a progressive approach bugs many parents and district leaders. By John M. Glionna, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/19t5qcS December 15, 2013, 7:55 p.m. :: LOVELOCK, Nev. — For years, school nurse Deborah Pontius came to work with nits to pick. On some days in this isolated
It’s not quite the giveaway some had expected: MAKING THE NEW SCHOOL FUNDING WORK
L.A. Unified and the state are haggling over how best to drive money to low-income districts. Editorial By The Times editorial board | http://lat.ms/1k8pwx9 L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy, seen here in 2012, objects to the state's funding formula for low-income students. (Los Angeles Times) December 16, 2013 :: The state's new formula for funding schools is a tremendous gift for
DEC 15
Local Control Funding Formula: DRAFT OF LOCAL ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN – KEY PIECE OF FINDING FORMULA – OPEN FOR COMMENT
Public comment is being invited on draft plans schools will use when creating spending plans and setting district priorities over the next several years. By John Fensterwald, EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/1dgbfJr December 13th, 2013 :: The public has an opportunity, though not much time, to provide suggestions on a draft of the Local Control Accountability Plan, or LCAP, the
3 L.A. School Board Members Favor Special Election To Replace Lamotte
By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/19LjA5r Debate has erupted over how to replace L.A. school board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who died last week. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times / March 6, 2007) December 13, 2013, 8:35 p.m. :: Three of six Los Angeles school board members said they favor a special election to replace Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who died last
They’re baaaaack!: NEXT PHASE OF LAUSD iPAD PLAN IS BACK ON SCHOOL BOARD’S AGENDA
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/1bHRMlF December 14, 2013, 5:00 a.m. :: Two board members are trying to skirt a delay in efforts to provide iPads to every student, teacher and administrator in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The unusual maneuver is being pursued by board members Monica Garcia and Tamar Galatzan, who are the most enthusiastic backers of the $
VOTE DELAYED TO JANUARY ON L.A. UNIFIED’S iPAD PROGRAM
The death of school board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte is being cited as the reason for delaying a vote on the next phase of the $1-billion iPad project in L.A. Unified. By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1cKbAG6 December 11, 2013, 6:37 p.m. :: Los Angeles Unified School District officials have delayed Tuesday's scheduled vote on the next phase of a $1-billion effort to
DEC 14
STEERING CLEAR OF THE TEXTBOOK: Using History to Invigorate Common-Core Lessons
By Sam Wineburg | Education Week | http://bit.ly/1b6wniE —Kali Ciesemier Published Online: December 10, 2013/Published in Print: December 11, 2013 :: Common-core anxiety sweeps the land, and professional developers of curriculum and assessment smell dollars. Flashy brochures promise that once that purchase order is signed, every child will pass the new tests. For a pittance more, they'll
History Of Improvement Efforts Points To Early Years As Key
Letter to the Editor of Education Week | http://bit.ly/1haJsNj Published in Print: December 11, 2013, To The Editor: I just read your recent coverage on the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on teacher quality ("Gates Foundation Places Big Bet on Its Teacher Agenda," Nov. 6, 2013). It reminded me of other efforts to improve student learning that I have also read about over
Who Decides What Is Taught In Our Schools?
Will California History be taught in the Fifth Grade once the Common Core sets in? smf: Here’s my question: I’m an old guy and for as long as I can remember – and I went to school in the fifties – California History was taught in the fifth grade – with the flour, salt and water bas relief map of the Golden State and with the California Missions Project, Where does that fit in
Black To School?
By Erin Aubry Kaplan / CityWatchLA/ Published by the LA Progressive | http://bit.ly/1cJ3DRz December 13, 2013 :: Los Angeles Unified School District board member Marguerite LaMotte has only been dead a week, but the question of who will fill her seat and how it will be filled is fueling consternation—and some swift action—among LaMotte’s black constituents and education advocates in
GUESS WHO REALLY WANTS COMMON CORE NOW? PRINCIPALS! ¿Really?
by Mercedes Schneider / deutsch29 | http://wp.me/p36Q2R-oz December 14, 2013 at 3:34 pm :: On December 13, 2013, I received an email informing me that the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) has conducted two surveys and has found that "principals overwhelmingly support the CCSS (Common Core State Standards) initiative." My first thought: "Here we go aga
SANDY HOOK/1 YEAR LATER: ROCK ME, MERCY: a poem written in mourning
from npr/ read aloud at http://n.pr/TU38rZ published in 4LAKids 12/23/12 :: http://bit.ly/1j6dmXu The river stones are listening because we have something to say. The trees lean closer today. The singing in the electrical woods has gone down. It looks like rain, because it is too warm to snow. Guardian angels, wherever you're hiding, we know you can't be everywhere