4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT
Aala Votes To Endorse Dr. George Mckenna
Associated Administrators of L.A. Update - Week of March 24, 2014 Members of the AALA Political Action Steering Committee reviewed records and interviewed nine candidates for election to the District 1 seat on the Board of Education and made recommendations to the full PAC Council during Representative Assembly on March 13, 2014 (see following article). The Council, AALA’s legal arm for
SAY GOODBYE TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Diane Ravitch warns Salon some cities will soon have none
"Why destroy public education so that a handful can boast they have a charter school in addition to their yacht?" Josh Eidelson interviews Diane Ravitch for Salon | http://bit.ly/1ewAMkT Diane Ravitch (Credit: Paul Wolfe) Wednesday, Mar 12, 2014 05:30 AM PST :: Once a George H.W. Bush education official and an advocate for greater testing-based accountability, Diane
PUBLIC DENIED ACCESS TO LA SCHOOL OFFICIALS’ iPAD SOFTWARE DEMONSTRATION + smf’s 2¢
by Annie Gilbertson, KPCC 89.3 FM Pass/Fail | http://bit.ly/1iKxBrj Tom Pennington/Getty Images March 20th, 2014, 3:11pm :: Members of the L.A. Unified school board and a committee investigating the iPad project were given the first demonstration of the tablet's educational software Wednesday evening - but the public wasn't invited and a KPCC reporter was not allowed in the room. The
MAR 19
CELES KING IV, Civil Rights Leader, Community Activist, Education Advocate dies at 70
Of his friend and mentor Celes King IV, Miguel Paredes wrote on his Facebook page: http://on.fb.me/1nEcPy8 “I thought that you would outlive all of us... The first time I met you, was when you were bailing me out of jail after I and countless others were arrested at the South Central Farm! I didn't realize who you were or the important legacy of your family. < Celes King IV (
Learning To Think Is The Goal
Letter to the Los Angeles Times | http://bit.ly/OksXFm Re “Common Core learning curve,” Editorial, March14 http://t.co/EHTNQkunD3 Not mentioned in the editorial is the astonishing amount of testing required by Common Core and the requirement that testing be done online. No Child Left Behind required tests “only” at the end of the year
MAR 18
FROM LAUSD’s SECOND INTERIM FINANCIAL REPORT: “There must be some way outta here, said the joker to the thief”
-- from: 03-18-14 BR271-13/14 2nd Interim Financial Report( Compressed).pdf, page 4 of 80 | Districyt Certification of Interim Report to LACOE | CA Dept of Education |SACS Financial Reporting Software
TODAY’S LAUSD BOARD AGENDA: “the District may not be able to meet its financial obligations for the current fiscal year and for the two subsequent years”
After Prop 30, The LCFF …and the superintendent’s big raise? New Business for Action 1. Board of Education Report No. 271 – 13/14 Office of the Chief Financial Officer (2013-14 Second Interim Financial Report) Recommends approval of submission of Second Interim Financial Report to the Los Angeles County Office of Education with a qualified certification based on current
State Board makes it official: NO API SCORES FOR NEXT TWO YEARS
By John Fensterwald | EdSource Today http://bit.ly/1kFiAHs March 14th, 2014 :: With federal approval finally in hand to give a Common Core-aligned practice test this spring, the State Board of Education took the inevitable next step this week. It suspended the Academic Performance Index, the chief measure of schools’ academic growth or progress, for this year and next. A reconstituted
THELMA MELENDEZ, MAYOR’S EDUCATION ADVISOR, TO JOIN L.A. UNIFIED, Maria Casillas back as Deasy’s interim #2
By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1g6ki51 March 17, 2014, 12:11 p.m. :: The mayor’s top education advisor, Thelma Melendez de Santa Ana, is joining the Los Angeles Unified School District as a senior administrator. The 55-year-old Melendez, a former Obama administration official, was talked about in recent times as a contender for the top job at the nation’s second-largest school
MAR 17
L.A. Unified’S Decision To Move Students Sparks Furor
Officials didn't take into account long-standing (community+gang) rivalries when they decided to transfer about 280 students from Boyle Heights to Lincoln Heights, critics say. By Teresa Watanabe, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1hsMzj0 Students protest the possible closure of the Academy of Environmental and Social Policy at Roosevelt High School in February. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times
MAR 16
TWO L.A. TIMES EDITORIALS ON THE COMMON CORE STATE STANDARDS + other people’s 2¢
IN DEFENSE OF THE COMMON CORE: What matters most is whether the new curriculum standards are an improvement. They are. By The Times editorial board | http://lat.ms/1iRjL94 March 13, 2014 :: If there's anything more surprising than how quickly and calmly 45 states embraced the new Common Core curriculum standards, it's how quickly and contentiously the backlash erupted. The standards, which
Mayor Garcetti’S Top Education Deputy Thelma MeléNdez Leaves City Hall For Lausd
By Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1iRcRkd 3/15/14, 6:31 PM PDT :: Just seven months after joining Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s administration, his top education deputy Thelma Meléndez is leaving to take a position at Los Angeles Unified School District, a district spokesman said Saturday. LAUSD superintendent John Deasy said he approached Garcetti about hiring
MAR 15
Alex Caputo-Pearl: CANDIDATE TO HEAD UTLA FACES LAUSD DISCIPLINE
By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1qGU64f Candidate for UTLA president, Alex Caputo-Pearl, answers a question during a recent candidates forum. (Katie Falkenberg / Los Angeles Times / March 4, 2014) March 14, 2014, 11:41 a.m. :: Los Angeles school district officials say one of the top candidates for president of the teachers union faces discipline for leaving his campus to
THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF THELMA & MARIA: From the Twitterverse
from @HowardBlume: LA Times Education Reporter Howard Blume’s Twitter Feed NOTE: ^^^Reads UP from BOTTOM (#14) to TOP (#1) ^^^ #14 was sent at 8:58 PM on Friday Night 14 Mar 2014 Howard Blume @howardblume 14h Garcetti: "I congratulate her on this exciting new opportunity with LAUSD and am sure our work together will continue." Howard Blume @howardblume 14h Garcetti: ..."that
MAR 14
Vergara v. California: SCHOOLS ON TRIAL
SoCal Insider 328 - Gun Fight/Schools on Trial – YouTube | http://bit.ly/NfJGIJ Aired on Mar 14, 2014 :: PBS SoCal Insider Rick Reiff hosts a debate between former California Majority Leader Gloria Romero and Reagan Duncan of the California Teachers Association over Vergara v. California, a historic court challenge to teacher tenure and job protections. Direct Link to Clip:
Smarter Balanced: ONLINE STANDARDIZED TEST DELAY IS NATIONWIDE + smf’s 2¢
Smarter Balanced Group Delays Field-Testing in 22 States by One Week By Stephen Sawchuk | Curriculum Matters - Education Week http://bit.ly/1hky9kM March 14, 2014 12:00 PM :: One of the two state consortia developing exams aligned with the Common Core State Standards is giving itself an additional week to iron out any glitches before field-testing begins. The Smarter Balanced Assessment
Smarter Balanced: NEW CALIFORNIA STANDARDIZED TEST - SCHEDULED TO START NEXT WEEK - POSTPONED FOR A WEEK – with one day’s notice!
One of the contractors running the tests wants more time to “test the load”. Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1gyawDE Photo by Overton 2012 via Wikimedia Commons March 14th, 2014, 4:58pm :: Southern California students will have to wait another week to take a new computerized standardized tests. Testing was set to start on Tuesday, but the test's
