4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT
HOUSTON LAUNCHES AMBITIOUS 1-to-1 COMPUTING INITIATIVE
Houston's PowerUp initiative appears to be the polar opposite of L.A. Unified's Common Core Technology Project By Benjamin Herold Digital Education - Education Week | http://bit.ly/1ccIjEG January 23, 2014 12:13 PM :: Undeterred by the high-profile problems experienced by other large school systems attempting to put digital devices in the hands of their students, the Houston Independent
Certification Test Focuses On Readying Students For Work, Not College
For American industry, finding employees who have all the requisite skills is a big challenge, and hiring people who don't stack up can cost businesses a great deal of money. Special correspondent John Tulenko from Learning Matters reports on a certification test that aims to boost U.S. students' workforce readiness. PBS NewsHour/Learning Matters | | PBS http://to.pbs.org/1elauOs Airdate
Vergara v. California: SHOW TRIAL TO CHALLENGE JOB PROTECTIONS FOR CALIFORNIA TEACHERS BEGINS MONDAY
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1eY6HrO Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images | A view of the defendant's table in a courtroom at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. January 24th, 2014, 6:01am :: The major players in California public education will face off in an unusual trial in a Los Angeles next week, where a judge will be asked to determine whether
AALA WEIGHS IN ON ELIMINATION OF LAUSD COMMON CORE TECHNOLOGY (iPAD) OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE & LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING FORMULA ROLL-OUT
Associated Administrators of Los Angeles Weekly Update - Week of January 27, 2014 | http://bit.ly/1eY254Y COMMON CORE TECHNOLOGY PROJECT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE IS DISBANDED! Jan 23, 2014 :: Board of Education President Dr. Richard Vladovic announced last week that he was disbanding the Common Core Technology Project (CCTP) Committee as of April. The committee has the responsibility to provide
JAN 23
PARENTS AND TEACHERS PROTEST LAUSD’S ELIMINATION OF COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING CONTROVERSIAL iPAD PURCHASE
By smf for 4LAKids News Thursday, January 23, 2014 :: Parents and teachers held a press conference/photo op Thursday afternoon to express anger and disappointment at LAUSD school board president Dr. Richard Vladovic’s decision to disband a LAUSD school board committee which is investigating the District’s iPad purchase. The Ad Hoc Common Core Technology Program Committee, chaired by boardmember
Gov. Brown: THE STATE OF THE STATE …OF PUBLIC EDUCATION + smf’s 2¢ on the Principle of Subsidiarity
A few words on public education from Governor Brown by LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1hP6FFq Gov. Jerry Brown Posted on January 22, 2014 :: In his State of the State address today, Gov. Jerry Brown spent a few minutes talking about public education in California. Here’s what he had to say: “Last year, I spoke of the
ADVOCATES WANT TO LIMIT USES OF STUDENT DATA + smf’s 1¢
Annie Gilbertson| Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/LZE2e4 | Maya Sugarman/KPCC January 22nd, 2014, 10:06am :: As computerized testing becomes the norm in California schools and many students are using computers to turn in class assignments, tiny bits of data useful to school administrator are captured along with it. An advocacy group is concerned about who else is using that data:
SB837: MORE PRESCHOOL THAN CALIFORNIA CAN AFFORD + smf’s 2¢
The 'transitional kindergarten' program championed by state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg would create an expensive new entitlement. LA Times Editorial | http://lat.ms/1eVCt99 SB 837 would create a new program ‘universal transitional kindergarten’ for all 4-year-olds. (Los Angeles Times / January 22, 2014) January 23, 2014 :: Preschool can do wonderful things for disadvantaged
JAN 22
L.A. City Hall Takes A Fresh Look At Lausd
By Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1dVZLNW LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy delivers his State of Schools report to members of the City Council at City Hall, Tuesday, January 21, 2014. (Photo by Michael Owen Baker/L.A. Daily News) Posted: 01/21/14, 8:26 PM PST :: Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy made a rare appearance before a City Council committee
Twitterpated: SUPERINTENDENT DEASY CROSSES THE FREEWAY AND TESTIFIES AT CITY HALL COMMITTEE MEETING + smf’s 2¢
By L.A. Times reporter Howard Blume, via Twitter 6:01 PM - 21 Jan 2014 :: @HowardBlume: No immediate story forthcoming. Just thought I'd report a bit about this testimony before the city council committee via Twitter. Here's link to critical report--harsh about many L.A. things. School officials said they weren't consulted: http://ow.ly/sOMh9 L.A. schools Supt. Deasy testifies at City Hall
JAN 21
This AM’s School Board Meeting: TWO MONTHS AFTER HE KILLED ONE PLAN, KAYSER HAS HIS OWN TITLE I IDEAS
by Michael Janofsky, LA SchooLs Report | http://bit.ly/KCdvCa
Annette Benimg To Become Face Of Arts Ed For California
Mary Plummer| Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1ePLgsW January 20th, 2014, 6:00am :: Actress Annette Bening has signed on as the new spokesperson for the California Arts Council's "keep art in schools fund."
Tinkering w/LCFF: STATE LOOKS TO TRIM LIST OF SCHOOL PLANS REQUIRED
by Tom Chorneau, SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/1ePIV1g January 21, 2014 :: (Calif.) After a marathon hearing and a surprise visit by the governor last week, members of the California State Board of Education are not expected to make any major changes to a set of temporary regulations governing use of billions in new state money for schools during the coming year-long process to
Another look: SIGNS OF BALKANIZATION IN L.A. UNIFIED
This editorial from The Times staff ran last November. With the death of Marguerite LaMotte and a key population and vast+vibrant community unrepresented the handwriting on the wall moves from graffito to forgone conclusion – playing out in a board where a 3:3 tie is anathema, compromise is a sign of weakness and consensus is a pipedream. By Karin Klein. LA Times editorial board member |
JAN 20
Ravitch: IN LOS ANGELES DEASY REFUSES TO RESTORE ARTS FUNDING
By dianeravitch from Diane Ravitch's blog http://bit.ly/1haAa3A January 17, 2014 :: Despite a board resolution in 2012 calling for a restoration of arts funding in Los Angeles, Superintendent John Deasy has refused to prepare a budget complying with the resolution. “In 2012, the Los Angeles Unified School District board voted to make arts education a core subject in its curriculum. “Four
J’accuse: THE WIRELESS DISCONNECT IN LAUSD
By smf for 4 LAKidsNews 20 Jan 2014 :: The L.A. Time’s Howard Blume writes in his article L.A. SCHOOLS’ iPAD WATCHDOG COMMITTEE SET TO DISBAND on the ongoing iPad fiasco misadventure* in LAUSD: Materials from the most recent meeting of the bond oversight panel were not included in the information packet prepared for the board and the public. These materials included support for the panel's
L.A. SCHOOLS’ iPAD WATCHDOG COMMITTEE SET TO DISBAND
Decision to end schools' iPad panel raises questions about oversight of the program that has had a bumpy rollout. By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/KxL4oH Avery Sheppard checks out his L.A. Unified-provided iPad. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times / August 27, 2013) January 19, 2014, 4:57 p.m. :: The watchdog committee for the Los Angeles school district's $1-billion iPad
SANTA BARBARA UNIFIED APPROVES $700,000 iPAD PURCHASE: Offers parents lease-to-own option
Parents who wish to purchase pay $708 @ $20 per month. There is no funding source identified to anything beyond the pilot year By Kelsey Brugger | The Santa Barbara Independent http://bit.ly/1mkrqJl Thursday, January 16, 2014 :: Santa Barbara Unified School District approved a $700,000 iPad Air purchase at Tuesday’s board meeting. Discussed at great length over the past several
JAN 19
SPECIAL ELECTION COULD TIP BALANCE ON L.A. SCHOOL BOARD + smf’s 2¢
A vigorous and strategic successor to Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte could either pose a hurdle to Supt. John Deasy or steer a board majority back toward a more supportive, ancillary role. By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1bp8SGt L.A. County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas is widely expected to back Alex Johnson, a senior aide to the supervisor who declared his candidacy last
HANDING OUT iPADS TO STUDENTS ISN’T ENOUGH: Schools need to focus on what makes computers work, not just on how to use them.
Op-Ed By Jane Margolis and Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco in the LA Times | http://lat.ms/1eKoZNd Student gets help as she and her teacher explore the possibilities with their new LAUSD-provided iPads. (Los Angeles Times / August 27, 2013) January 19, 2014 :: Computer science is driving innovation across all fields, so it makes sense that the Los Angeles Board of Education wants to
HUNDREDS HONOR LAUSD’s LAMOTTE FOR DEDICATION TO EDUCATION
By Susan Abram, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1aB68lv < Los Angeles Unified school board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, a lifelong educator who represented South Los Angeles since 2001, died Dec. 5, 2013, at age 80. 1/18/14, 5:18 PM PST | :: A public memorial to honor LAUSD board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte drew hundreds of local teachers, state leaders, and
JAN 18
STATE SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENTS AND THE MESSY BUSINESS OF POLITICS: How elections in 2014 could shape education policy in the states.
by Louis Jacobson | GOVERNING: State government news on politics, management & finance http://bit.ly/LmKOcW In 2012, Indiana Superintendent of Public Instruction Glenda Ritz beat Tony Bennett, who later stepped down as the top schools official in Florida due to a grading controversy dating back to his Indiana tenure. AP/Darron Cummings January 16, 2014 :: Education policy is a
In Age Of School Shootings, Lockdown Is The New Fire Drill
By JACK HEALY, New York Times | http://nyti.ms/1aA6ls6 Students walked to safety after a shooting in Roswell, N.M. Mark Wilson/Roswell Daily Record, via Associated Press JAN. 17, 2014 :: The bomb threat was just a hoax, but officials at Hebron High School near Dallas took no chances: School officials called the police and locked down the school this week. Separately, a middle school
Researchers Question Teach For America’S Standing
by Tom Chorneau | SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/1eUMohk January 17, 2014 (Colo.) :: Despite its reputation for producing high-quality teachers that serve in hard-to-fill positions all over the country, Teach For America provides only a “stop-gap” solution for desperate schools and generates mixed results for students, according to a new paper from National Education Policy Center. The
A Cool Map Shows Some Ugly Truths About California Education
by LA School Report | http://bit.ly/19DiL4l Posted on January 17, 2014 :: Any idea how California ranks in high school graduation rate? How about 8th grade math? Or education spending? A Columbus, Ohio group called Best Education Degrees has put together a handy interactive map that shows how the 50 states and the District of Columbia compare on nine different measures, using data from
FATE OF ARTS PROGRAMS REMAINS IN LIMBO: Local public schools are embracing a push to prepare students for work in creative fields, but LAUSD has yet to fund it
By Gary Walker in The Argonaut Newspaper [Marina del Rey, Playa del Rey, Playa Vista, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Westchester, Venice and Santa Monica] http://bit.ly/1cGjDjD January 15, 2014 :: In 2012, the Los Angeles Unified School District board voted to make arts education a core subject in its curriculum. Four months ago, the board gave district officials a Dec. 3 deadline to produce a budget