Latest News and Comment from Education

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

5-28-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):






Racial tensions at Markham Middle School reach Congress
Janice Hahn The racial tensions at Markham Middle School in Watts have now reached the United States Congress. In a letter to Superintendent John Deasy sent late last week, Congresswoman Janice Hahn writes she was alerted of the conflict between the school administration and parents who feel “that African American students are treated unfairly by being sent home for issues that do not require susp

LA Unified facing initial $35 million cost for teacher pensions
Gov Jerry Brown Just when members of the Los Angeles teachers union, UTLA, thought brighter economic times for California would translate to higher salaries after seven years without a contract, the state threw them a curveball. In recent weeks, Gov. Jerry Brown and the legislature have begun debating over how to pay down teacher pension debt, which has reached $74 billion. They have devised a for

Commentary: What I learned in school this year
With this essay, Ellie Herman concludes her year in the classroom — and sharing her observations and insights with LA School Report. This year, I had the remarkable experience of taking the academic year off to visit high schools across the socioeconomic spectrum in L.A. in an attempt to understand better what we mean when we talk about education. As the school year ends, here are the five bigges


Tokofsky leaves principals union to join lobbying firm
David Tokofsky David Tokofsky, a former LA Unified school board member and more recently a strategist for the school administrators union, has joined Englander, Knabe & Allen, a lobbying and public relations firm. He is expected to help grow the firm’s education practice. After teaching 12 years at John Marshall High School, Tokofsky served on the district school board for more than a decade.
VIDEO: End of teacher ‘jail’ policy at LAUSD
Kim Baldonado reports for NBC4 News on a shift in policy at LA Unified (LAUSD)  where teachers accused of misconduct will no longer spend days at district offices while awaiting review of allegations.  
LA Unified Honors 22 as district Teachers of the Year
Los Angeles Unified has named 22 educators as a Teacher of the Year for 2013-2014, and they will be honored at an event in September. Here’s the list: Angeles Cajayon, Bryson Avenue Magnet Elementary School, a second-grade teacher there for 12 years. Maricar J. Fortuno Catalán, Dr. Julian Nava Learning Academy – Business and Technology, is completing her first year as a seventh-grade life science/
Morning Read: Election groups heap $20 million into ads
Groups pour $20 million into TV, print ads for CA primary As the June 3 primary election draws near, business interests, labor groups, environmentalists and wealthy individuals have poured more than $20 million into television and radio commercials, mail ads and other campaign aid for their preferred candidates in campaigns for state offices. The vast sums are partly a reflection of California’s p


5-27-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD
LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): Morning Read: Battle for CA’s Ed Chief position heats upContentious battle brews for California’s K-12 chief The two leading candidates for California’s top K-12 spot in the June 3 primary both identify as Democrats in a technically non-partisan race. But the campaign between incumbent Superintendent of P