4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT
Is giving students laptops a terrible idea?: WHY ONE DISTRICT IS THROWING ALL ITS STUDENT LAPTOPS AWAY + smf’s 2¢
The Hechinger Report / By Jill Barshay | http://bit.ly/1xH0mJN July 30, 2014 | Inside Hoboken’s combined junior-senior high school is a storage closet. Behind the locked door, mothballed laptop computers are strewn among brown cardboard boxes. Others are stacked one atop another amid other computer detritus. Dozens more are stored on mobile computer carts, many of them on their last legs.
JUL 30
85 High School Athletics Programs That Were Funded In 2013-14 Have Been Cut More Than 50%
From a “Heads Up” from a 4LAKids reader. 73 high schools are getting $30,603, regardless of enrollment and/or programs, 7 of them are getting $15,303, and 5 of them are getting zero, nada, zilch. Is that enough to keep high school athletics alive at LAUSD? What will be the ramifications of this funding decision? What will be the response of parents and alumni?
Editorial: LAWSUIT SETS OFF HEALTHY QUESTIONS ABOUT CALIFORNIA KIDS’ PHYS ED
Los Angeles Daily News Editorial | http://bit.ly/1o5rj8O (Getty Images) Posted: 07/29/14, 3:46 PM PDT :: It may take the courts to decide the merits of a lawsuit claiming that three dozen California school districts have scrimped on physical education. But this much is certain already: The suit is inspiring needed examination of schools’ approaches to this vital part of the curriculum.
LAUSD Board District 1 election: ZIMMER, KAYSER BACK McKENNA; VILLARAIGOSA IN FOR JOHNSON
by Vanessa Romo, LA Schools Report | http://bit.ly/UBVA3N Steve Zimmer, with George McKenna to his right. Posted on July 29, 2014 11:33 am :: Endorsements in the District 1 school board race continued to pile up today as two LA Unified board members jumped on the George McKenna bandwagon, and former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa weighed in for Alex Johnson. Steve Zimmer and Bennett Kayser
Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival Friday August 1st: THE TAMING OF THE SHREW + Robin Lithgow’s PLAYACTING IN SHAKESPEARE’S CLASSROOM
Independent Shakespeare Co. presents Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival 2014 Melissa Chalsma & Luis Galindo in The Taming of the Shrew. Photo by Grettel Cortes The Taming of the Shrew: Thursday July 31, Friday August 1 & Saturday August 2 at 7:00 pm Baptista has a problem. His biggest job is to see his daughters married well. His youngest, Bianca, is a piece of cake:
New Dispute Opens Over Lcap Reporting Mandate
by Tom Chorneau | SI&A Cabinet Report :: The Essential Resource for Superintendents and the Cabinet http://bit.ly/UBK741 July 30, 2014 (Calif.) :: A festering dispute over how much freedom local officials should have over education spending has reignited, pitting school managers against advocates for low-income families and some key members of the Legislature. The current tempest involves
CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL KAMALA HARRIS CHAMPIONS SCHOOL TRUANCY BILLS; 47% of students in LAUSD missed class three or more times without an excuse in the 2012-13 school year
By Thomas Himes, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1oLJukt California Attorney General Kamala Harris speaks to the Los Angeles News Group Editorial Board at the Los Angeles Daily News on Tuesday, July 29, 2014. (Photos by Dean Musgrove/Los Angeles Daily News) Posted: 07/29/14, 7:10 PM PDT :: California’s top law enforcement official, Attorney General Kamala Harris, explained her
JUL 29
Pasadena Unified To File Lawsuit Against Acton-Agua Dulce Unified For Authorizing Charter School In Pasadena
By Hugo Guzman & Sarah Favot, The Pasadena Star-News | http://bit.ly/1lc2Av7 The Pasadena Unified School District school board voted to file a lawsuit against the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District for opening the SCALE Academy Charter School within PUSD’s boundaries. The charter school is scheduled to open in the Fall of 2014. Walt Mancini — Staff photographer Posted: 07/29/14, 9:
ALEX JOHNON’S SHAMEFUL CAMPAIGN ATTACKS ON GEORGE McKENNA
Letter to the editor of the L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/1nR7R10 July 29, 2014 5:00AM To the editor: I agree with Sandy Banks' assessment of Alex Johnson's attacks on George McKenna in their campaign for a seat on the L.A. Unified School District Board of Education. ("Quote's context sheds better light on LAUSD candidate George McKenna," Column, July 25) I voted for Johnson in the primary
Teachers Union, Lausd At Odds Over Bargaining Tactics
By Thomas Himes, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1qIErUM 7/28/14, 6:38 PM PDT | Updated: 7/29 7:40 AM :: With just two weeks before school starts, union leaders representing 35,000 teachers have declined Los Angeles Unified’s offer to conduct contract talks on a daily basis. The two sides are divided by about $280 million per year in pay increases and other issues, such as the
JUL 28
Vergara, anyone? - TEACHER TENURE LAWSUITS SPREAD FROM CAIFORNIA TO NEW YORK
Listen to the radio story by Beth Fertig, and Anna Kamenetz and Claudio Sanchez | National Public Radio.All Things Considered | http://n.pr/1pzs7j7 July 28, 2014 4:03 PM ET [Transcript] : CLAUDIO SANCHEZ, BYLINE: And I'm Claudio Sanchez in Washington. There's a good reason critics of teacher tenure laws view the Vergara ruling and now this New York lawsuit as a promising template for still
The GüLen Archipelago
“The Red Queen shook her head. "You may call it 'nonsense' if you like," she said, "but I've heard nonsense, compared with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!” -― Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There Written by the red queen in la in her blog | http://bit.ly/1nPPJVa Monday, 28 Jul 2014 :: The largest chain of Charter Schools in this
NEW CalArts RESIDENCY TRANSFORMS ARTISTS INTO TEACHERS
Mary Plummer | 89.3 KPCC | http://bit.ly/1nNQjmc Teaching artist in training Anthony "Chuck" Gloria, left, works with animation co-directors Ruah Edelstein and Masha Vasilkovsky on a performance blending music and animated pieces. Maya Sugarman/KPCC 3:45 Listen to Radio Story July 28, 2014 :: A new program at the California Institute of the Arts is taking some of the
CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS FACE LAWSUIT OVER PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASSES + smf’s 2¢
By Sara Hayden, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/1qHdz7J A physical education classes at Van Nuys Middle School in 2006. Several California school districts are being sued for allegedly not providing enough time for kids to exercise. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times) ●●smf: This article and the subject lawsuit is about P.E. in elementary school. It is telling that The Times photo editors
3 of 4 KIDS WITH MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS DON’T GET HELP, LAUSD CUTS MENTAL HEALTH FOR SPECIAL ED STUDENTS
Study finds 3 out of 4 children with mental health needs don't get treated by Adrian Florido | 89.3 KPCC | http://bit.ly/1Aq7iza 0:51 Listen to radio story UCLA researchers say only one-quarter of California children aged 4-11 with mental health needs receive treatment. Maya
JUL 27
Suppose they hold a school board election and nobody votes? THE LAUSD BOARD ELECTION MATTERS; VOTERS SHOULD TURN OUT
OP-ED by Jim Newton, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/1pujSor A lone voter fills out his ballot in the June 3 election at the International City Masonic Temple in Long Beach. (Christina House / For The Times) On Aug. 12, voters in Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education District 1 will choose between Alex Johnson and George McKenna.
MOODY’S ASSIGNS Aa2 RATING to LAUSD’s GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS: $138.4 million new debt affected; rating affirmed on outstanding parity and COP debt
The Wall Street Transcript from Moody’s press Release | http://bit.ly/1zjrUb3 New York, July 25, 2014 Issue: General Obligation Bonds, Election of 2004, Series J (2014); Rating: Aa2; Sale Amount: $71,435,000; Expected Sale Date: 8/5/2014; Rating Description: General Obligation Issue: General Obligation Bonds, Election of 2004, Series K (2014) (Federally Taxable); Rating: Aa2; Sale
JUL 26
Union Invites Teachers, Parents And The Public To The Bargaining Table With Lausd
By Thomas Himes, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1ou6N2a 7/24/14, 11:22 PM PDT :: After meeting with Los Angeles Unified officials for the first round of face-to-face contract negotiations Thursday, United Teachers Los Angeles announced plans to change its bargaining tactics. The 35,000 or so member teachers union initiated those changes Thursday, bringing all seven union officers to
FEDS BACK ENGLISH LEARNER LAWSUIT AGAINST STATE OF CALIFORNIA, allegation is that 2% of qualified kids slip through the cracks
By John Fensterwald, EdSource today | http://bit.ly/1ntTFtB July 24, 2014 | The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has found an ally in the U.S. Department of Justice for its lawsuit charging that the state abdicated its obligation to ensure all students classified as English learners get extra instructional services to become fluent in English. The lawsuit, filed in April
Judge Finds “Evidence Establishing Financial Mismanagement” …But Allows Magnolia Charters To Remain Open
…either LAUSD staff overreacted or the Board of Ed underreacted. Whichever it was the charter schools get out of jail free. by Vanessa Romo, LA SCHOOL REPORT | http://bit.ly/WIrpJO Posted on July 25, 2014 11:26 am :: A California Superior Court judge today ruled that two Magnolia Public Schools (MPS) charters can remain open, blocking LA Unified’s effort to shut them down over
Censored. Censored. Censored. + Soulvine Unchained
The L.A. Wave’s always outspoken “Soulvine” columnist Betty Pleasant has never been afraid of going one step too far, that is how the game of agent provocateur is played, no matter the ‘hood. Her last two columns for the Wave have not been published, withheld for reasons unstated. Maybe because they speak for Dr. George McKenna – or against Mark Ridley Thomas? Or both? Maybe. Censored.
District One Race Now Also A Referendum On Dirty Politics
Ridley-Thomas/Alex Johnson’s smear tactics are a disservice not only to George McKenna, but to the children, parents and residents of District 1, who deserve the opposite, i.e., strong, caring and ethical leadership. Opinion by Larry Aubry in the L.A. Sentinel | http://bit.ly/1othFNP Published on Friday, 25 July 2014 01:12 :: The runoff election to fill the unexpired term of
GEORGE McKENNA CAMPAIGN UNDER ATTACK: Community Outraged over lies, innuendo and propaganda
by Danny J. Bakewell, Jr. – Executive Editor of the Los Angles Sentinel | this article also appears in the LA Watts Times of July 24 | http://bit.ly/WIl3KD Published on Thursday, 24 July 2014 19:24 :: Long time educator and child advocate George McKenna didn’t know his over 40 years of service on the front lines and in the trenches of education in some of California’s poorest and most
NEW POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE FORMS IN L.A. SCHOOL BOARD RACE: PAC is controlled by Dan Chang, who headed Deasy’s nonprofit foundation created to raise money for LAUSD
By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1poPXOz George McKenna, left, is running to fill the LAUSD seat vacated when Trustee Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte died in December. Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, whose backing has contributed to a huge financial advantage for Alex Johnson, on the right. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times) July 22, 2014 :: A new political action committee has