4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT
With Torlakson In The Room, Sacramento Teachers And Parents Discuss Common Core
“Being an activist is going to be important; this is a call to action.” By Diana Lambert The Sacramento Bee http://bit.ly/1hHWKnB Friday, Jan. 10, 2014 - 11:04 pm :: Clutching coffee mugs, 16 Sacramento parents and teachers sitting in a South Land Park living room Wednesday night had mixed feelings about a major shift in how students learn. < Jose Luis Villegas | Superintendent
L.A. CITY COUNCIL SETS JUNE 3 ELECTION DATE FOR LAMOTTE’S VACANT LAUSD SEAT. Run-off would be Aug 12 if needed
By Daily News | http://bit.ly/KToZlG 1/10/14, 5:09 PM PST | The Los Angeles City Council on Friday agreed to the setting of a June 3 special election to fill the vacancy on the Los Angeles Unified School District board. The school board on Tuesday decided to hold the election to fill the vacancy created with the death in December of school board member Marguerite LaMotte. The board had said
Next Monday AM: LAUSD LOCAL CONTROL ACCOUNTABILITY PLAN COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT MEETING
from LAUSD Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy invites you to join us to discuss the District's development of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). We would like to take this opportunity to listen and learn from our district and community partners as we seek to develop our initial three-year plan as required by state law. The California Endowment has graciously
CHILDREN NOW ISSUES 2014 CALIFORNIA CHILDREN’S REPORT CARD: A “C-minus” on Developmental Screening, “D-plus” on Oral Health
Posted by Barbara Feder Ostrov « Data Points http://bit.ly/KIRRfM photo credit from flickr. January 8th, 2014 :: Children Now’s 2014 “California Children’s Report Card” was released this week, with grades ranging from B+ to a less impressive D on how the state performs on child health, education and welfare indicators. While the Oakland-based advocacy group praised recent changes in state
JAN 09
California Budget Update + Full Draft Budget
California budget surges to record high from the AP via KPCC/89.3 |http://bit.ly/1eJh2Z5 Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images/ File: Gov. Jerry Brown. January 9th, 2014, 9:42am :: A robust economic recovery and surging revenue propelled by voter-approved tax increases has sent California's general fund spending to a record high, marking a dramatic turn-around from the state's days as
Los Angeles Public Library To Offer High School Diplomas
from the Associated Press | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1cGkQuh Cathy Cole/flickr Creative Commons AP | January 9th, 2014, 7:10am :: A Los Angeles library plans to take its role as a place of learning a step farther and will start offering residents the opportunity to get an accredited high school diploma. The Los Angeles Public Library announced Thursday that it is teaming up with a private
Us Departments Of Ed & Justice Release School Discipline Policy Guidelines
note: These are joint guidelines from the US Depts of Ed and Justice – and should not be confused with the work of the US Dept of Ed Office of Civil Rights consent decree with LAUSD. The DoE OCR is NOT the same as the Department of Justice Office of Civil Rights (…The ’real’ OCR!) see also: 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit: ZERO TOLERANCE LEAVES A MIXED LEGACY OF SAFER SCHOOLS
Utla Response To Lamotte Decision Reflects Internal Divisions
By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1d3wIHZ Community activist Morris Griffin, right, voices his support for the appointment of Dr. George McKenna to replace Marguerite LaMotte at the Los Angeles Board of Education district headquarters this month. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times / January 7, 2014) January 8, 2014, 3:40 p.m. :: The Los Angeles teachers union was notably absent
First Look: GOV. BROWN UNVEILS PROPOSED STATE BUDGET A DAY EARLY!
clipped from LAUSD INT THE NEWS LA Times Gov. Jerry Brown to propose billions in new spending January 8, 2014, 10:29 p.m. :: SACRAMENTO — When he unveils his new budget plan Thursday, Gov. Jerry Brown will propose billions of dollars in new spending on schools, healthcare, social services and environmental programs as California reaps the benefits of an economic turnaround. http://
JAN 08
Zero Tolerance Leaves A Mixed Legacy Of Safer Schools
by Tom Chorneau | SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/1iiKHdY January 08, 2014 :: (N.Y.) Despite a steady decline in juvenile crime since a peak 20 years ago, researchers from the Vera Institute of Justice have compiled a growing body of evidence showing zero tolerance policies haven’t made schools safer or more orderly but may, in fact, promote the opposite. In a policy paper released late
Deasy’s Dozen/’Empanelling the Committed’: SUPERINTENDENT REACHES OUT TO A HAND PICKED COHORT TO ADVISE HIM HOW TO RUN BOARD DISTRICT ONE
Because, as we all know, superintendents step in and run Board of Education offices when they are vacant, and Advisory committees are non publically (sic) formed bodies subject to the Brown Act, and Apparently grammar, spelling and syntax don’t count. Letters posted by KPCC | The rest of the letters can be viewed here. Supt. Deasy creates 'advisory
Impasse/Fail: SCHOOL BOARD, AFTER INEVITABLE GRIDLOCK TIE VOTE FOR APPOINTMENT, DECIDES TO LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE IN AN ELECTION
This looks and smells like Democracy but fails at Leadership and Representation ….and costs $2.5 million. by smf for 4LAKidsNews Jan 8, 2014 :: In the end it was a failure of leadership and consensus building, hampered – I submit – by the very open-meetings law that supposed to insure the fairness of the democratic process. Ultimately an unpopular compromise was hammered out that may
JAN 07
Preschool, Teacher Training, Investment + Student Health Funding Needed/Top 12 Ed Issues for 2014/The Hard Part will be Implementing LCFF
all from Edsource today | http://bit.ly/JFCp3O Preschool, teacher training and student health funding needed to offset child poverty, report says January 6th, 2014 | By Jane Meredith Adams It’s far too soon to tell if the state’s new education law will improve outcomes for the neediest students, but more investment in the public school system, including quality preschool, teacher training
MEMO SURFACES ON OPTIONS TO FILL VACANT LAUSD BOAD SEAT + smf’s 2¢
by LA School Report Posted on January 6, 2014 :: LA School Report has learned that a deadlock of the LA Unified school board on how to fill the vacant seat could lead to an election. See the County Seal>> Note the lack of the cross above the Hollywood Bowl – where it used to be on the seal. Note the lack of the cross on the image of the Mission San Fernando (which still is a Catholic
LA SCHOOL BOARD TO DEBATE FILLING LAMOTTE’S SEAT – Tonight at 6:15/Live on KLCS
Annie Gilbertson | | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/K1BGJP January 6th, 2014, 6:15am :: The board of the Los Angeles Unified School District on Tuesday will discuss how to fill the seat left vacant after the death of Marguerite LaMotte. They'll weigh two options: appointment or special election. Marguerite LaMotte via lamotte.laschoolboard.org>> L.A. Unified is the
Sandy Banks: L.A. UNIFIED SHOULD APPOINT A SUCCESSOR TO LAMOTTE
Delaying until an election to pick a replacement for Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who died last year, risks shortchanging students at a vulnerable time. Op-Ed by LA Times Columnist Sandy Banks | http://lat.ms/1dcspM9 The L.A. Unified board is trying to decide how to replace Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who died last year. (Mark Boster, Los Angeles Times / December 17, 2013)
Genethia Hayes & George McKenna: TWO WELL-KNOWN CANDIDATES, SO FAR, ASPIRE TO REPLACE LAMOTTE
By Howard Blume, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/1bNkUF2 Interest is heating up among possible replacements for L.A. school board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who died in December. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times / March 6, 2007) January 6, 2014, 6:21 p.m. :: An election is not yet even scheduled but already there are two heavyweight contenders ready to vie for the Los Angeles
JAN 06
The Spectacular Role Of School Libraries In Protecting Students From The Effects Of Poverty
By Dr. Stephen Krashen FROM HIS BLOG SKRASHEN | http://bit.ly/1icpgLt Stephen Krashen is professor emeritus at the University of Southern California,[1] who moved from the linguistics department to the faculty of the School of Education in 1994. He is a linguist, educational researcher, and activist. Saturday, January 4, 2014 Published in: iLeader: Journal of School Library Association of
Public School Choice: WHEN COMPETITORS CONVERGED, COLLABORATION BEGAN IN LOS ANGELES UNIFIED + smf’s 2¢ and more
By Charles Taylor Kerchner / Special to EdSource | http://bit.ly/1gBz4y4 January 5th, 2014 :: Nearly a quarter century ago, two Stanford University professors wrote that market forces could reform public education in ways that government dominated by interest groups, like teachers unions, could not. “Politics, Markets, and America’s Schools” by John Chubb and Terry Moe remains a
JAN 05
10 Big Wins For Public Education In 2013
Battles are won but the war drags on. By Owen Davis published on Alternet | http://bit.ly/1cSeY20 December 30, 2013 | The struggle continues. Despite the victories below , districts are still closing schools. Black and brown kids still bear the brunt of radical free-market education upheaval. Standardized tests proliferate and unions face existential threats from statehouses and
JAN 04
L.A. Unified Finally Hiring Teachers Again
After years of layoffs and hiring freezes, L.A. Unified expects to hire more than 1,300 for next year. And it can even be choosy. By Howard Blume, L.A. Times | Samantha Pulliam, a first-grade teacher at 24th Street Elementary in Los Angeles, goes over a writing lesson with students. Pulliam, 27, began her teaching career at a charter school because no positions were available in
Csba Guidelines For Filling A Vacancy On The Board Of Education
by smf for 4LAKids News 4 January 2013 :: Marguerite LaMotte was the official LAUSD representative to the California School Boards Association. She died while attending a CSBA conference. Perhaps it would do the surviving LAUSD Board of Ed good to acquaint themselves with the following guidelines before they do whatever they are going to do in filling the vacancy on the LAUSD Board. These are
An editorial from the ‘hood: COMMUNITY OVERWHELMING SUPPORTS DR. GEORGE McKENNA FOR LAUSD BOARD APPOINTMENT
Written by KENNETH D. MILLER, Los Angeles Sentinel Assistant Managing Editor | http://bit.ly/1csSBiG Published on Thursday, 2 January 2014 20:03 :: The funeral services for long time and respected educator Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte (left) has been held and the Los Angeles Unified School District Board will reconvene for a special meeting on Jan. 7 to vote on whether an appointment or
NO END TO LAUSD iPAD DEBATE + smf’s 2¢
Mailbag | Paul Thornton, LA Times letters editor | http://lat.ms/1dk8Hc0 Perris middle school students Jacob Quinino, 13, left, Brian Guereque, 12, and Joshua Ortega, 12, use their Chromebooks during lunch break. The school district is paying about $344 for each device. ( Los Angeles Times) January 4, 2014 :: Even the noblest of efforts — such as, say, the Los Angeles Unified School