4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT
State Needs A 'Grand Bargain' On Teachers' Effectiveness, Obstacles
Op-Ed by Ken Futernick in the LA Times | http://lat.ms/1rbeOdw Ineffectiveness in the classroom often does not derive from incompetence (David Suter / For The Times) 20 Sept 2014 :: The Vergara ruling does not mean, as many believe, the end of bad teachers. Unless it's overturned on appeal, the Los Angeles Superior Court's June decision in Vergara vs. California making it much easier
Lausd Gets Approval For New Maywood Campus
By Arnold Adler, Los Angeles Wave Staff Writer | http://bit.ly/1AW8eJ9 Friday, September 19, 2014 1:55 pm :: MAYWOOD — Plans have been completed for the Los Angeles Unified School District's new South Region High School No. 8, to be built at 5800 King Ave. The school is aimed at relieving congestion at nearby Bell High School, said district spokesperson Jose DePaz. The building will have 45
CORE CALIFORNIA WAIVER EXTENDED: Seven CORE districts – including LAUSD - placed on “High Risk Status” for failure to develop+implement the School Quality Improvement Index
by PBA from The Brustein & Manasevit Federal Update via email 19 Sept 2014 :: Last week, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) extended the California CORE districts’ waiver from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act for the 2014-2015 school year. The CORE districts, consisting of Fresno, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Francisco, Sanger, and Santa Ana Unified School Districts,
Lausd Has Become The National Example Of How Not To Provide Technology To Students And How Not To Activate A Comprehensive Student Information System
Published in the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles update for the week of September 22 with the title: KUDOS TO SCHOOL STAFFS FOR KEEPING IT TOGETHER! | http://bit.ly/JidN0H September 22, 2014 :: This school year’s opening has been one of the worst in history for school staffs. Not since the 1994 Northridge earthquake has the normal, day-to-day, operation of the school been so
LETTERS: What's LAUSD doing with ex-military weapons? + The school board’s the boss, like it or not
Letters to the editor of the LA Times | http://lat.ms/1r70yBi LAUSD police have an ex-military armored vehicle similar to this one in Watertown, Conn. (Steven Valenti / Associated Press) 19 Sept 2014 To the editor: Los Angeles Unified school police will return three grenade launchers provided by the federal government but will keep the 61 semiautomatic M-16 rifles and a Mine Resistant
Lausd’S Cautious Approach To Heat Creates Issues For Football Teams
By Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/1uiJkRF Narbonne defender Lawson Hall returns an interception during a passing tournament this summer. Hall and his Gaucho teammates were sidelined from practicing much of this week because of extreme heat. (David McNew / For the Times) After being sidelined by heat wave, LAUSD football teams will be face opponents after just one
LAUSD PAYS $6 MILLION FOR ISIS (not the terrorists) TO GO AWAY, WILL PAY $9.2 MILLION FOR MORE IPAD TRAINING
LAUSD to pay $3.75 million to vendor of student information software (the one before MiSiS) in lawsuit settlement By Abby Sewell, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1rkw28N 19 Sept 2014 :: 19 Sept 2014 :: The Los Angeles Unified School District paid $3.75 million Thursday to settle a lawsuit with the vendor of a software system designed to
Is Turmoil In Los Angeles Unified Becoming Too Familiar?
By Lesli A. Maxwell, Education Week | http://bit.ly/1r5R9v8 September 18, 2014 10:12 AM :: Running big school systems is complex, sometimes messy work that, at times, is rife with conflict and controversy. But is any single district prone to as much conflict, controversy, and, frankly, drama, as Los Angeles Unified? In the past month alone: Superintendent John Deasy halted the
SEP 18
L.A. UNIFIED SURVEY FINDS LITTLE USE OF iPADS’ PEARSON CURRICULUM + Executive Summary + Full Report
By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1s8Nsaz Tiannah Dizadare smiles as she and a school mate explore the possibilities with their new LAUSD provided IPads. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times) The Pearson curriculum, costing $200 per device over three years, was among the biggest problems Four out of five high schools reported that they rarely used the tablets
Editorial: THE BAD OLD DAYS AT LAUSD …and 2¢ more or less
By The LA Times Editorial Board | http://lat.ms/1suH7jR LAUSD Supt. John Deasy delivers his address at the Superintendent's Annual Administrators Meeting held at Garfield High School. (Los Angeles Times) 18 Sept 2014 :: At L.A. Unified, tensions are high and crisis is in the air. The relationship between Supt. John Deasy and the school board that oversees him is at what is perhaps an
SEP 17
WHAT’S NEXT *IF* DEASY IS OUT? Speculation abounds
… Even the LA School Report is playing the parlor game! by Vanessa Romo, LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1rbuC0j September 17, 2014 9:41 am :: The possibility that LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy will no longer be at the helm of the nation’s second largest school district – whether by choice or by force – is looming ever larger as the deadline for his annual evaluation
Ginny Mancini Gives Back To The Music That Nurtured Her
Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times columnist | http://lat.ms/1uUnep9 17 Sept 2014 :: Ginny Mancini, widow of Henry Mancini, has been generous with Boyle Heights' Neighborhood Music School Neighborhood Music School picks benefactor Ginny Mancini as the honoree for its 100th anniversary celebration Ginny Mancini gets lots of solicitations delivered to her Westwood home, thanks to her many
L.A. UNIFIED STUDENTS CLAIM WALKOUT OVER HEAT; DISTRICT REPAIRING A/C + smf’s 2¢
By Veronica Rocha, LA Times | Caption Heat wave | Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times The setting suns sets clouds aglow as they pass over the Los Angeles skyline. Franklin High student tweets about students walking out amid intense heat Old air conditioners are malfunctioning all over the L.A. school district As intense heat continued its stranglehold on the Los Angelse area,
SEP 16
NRW DEAL COULD MEAN MILLIONS FOR LA UNIFIED’S TV STATION + smf’s 2¢
by Craig Clough, LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1BJzFIz Posted on September 15, 2014 3:12 pm :: After suffering years of harsh budget cuts, LA Unified-owned public TV station KLCS could see a financial windfall next year should its recently announced plan to auction off bandwidth to the FCC go forward. The potential value of the deal has been estimated to be worth tens of millions of
Some La Unified Students Wilting In Heat Waiting For Air Conditioning Repairs
by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1uRmKjy Spanish teacher Karla Johnson takes the classroom temperature at Franklin High School in L.A.'s Highland Park. She says she's been complaining about faulty air conditioning for 10 years. courtesy of Karla Johnson September 15, 06:42 PM :: L.A. Unified says it has air conditioning in all 32,000 school district classrooms, but 2,000
We Coddle Bad Cops, Vilify Good Teachers
We defer to cops even when they kill, and scapegoat schools for the ills America has given up on. This must change Paul Rosenberg | SALON | http://bit.ly/1pijDwj Matt Damon as Colin Sullivan in "The Departed" (Credit: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.) Wednesday, Sep 10, 2014 12:45 PM PST :: The killing of Michael Brown brought a great many things into focus — so many that it can be
Email Retention Essential For L.A. School District
Op-Ed By Sen. Gloria Romero, Ret. | Los Angeles/Orange County Register | http://bit.ly/1m8m3Da 16 Sept 2014 :: Things seem to just keep disappearing in California’s largest school district, Los Angeles Unified. First there was the revelation that iPads purchased for students were “missing,” uncovering the bungled rollout plan. That was followed with news that the Parent Trigger Law, which I
Letters to the editor: SUPT. DEASY IS A DISTRACTION FOR LAUSD
Readers React: Letters to the editor and readers' opinions. | LA Times http://lat.ms/1o0jDlo 16 Sept 2014 To the editor: Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. John Deasy got it right. At this point, the iPad scandal is not an internal LAUSD problem, it's a political issue. It became so from the instant that the public found out about emails that suggest a conflict of interest. ("Strained
Bickering Between L.A. Unified Leaders Won’T Make Schools Better
Editorial By The Times Editorial Board | LA Times | http://lat.ms/XvBERz Superintendent John Deasy before the start of a public hearing at the headquarters of the Los Angeles Unified School District. (Reed Saxon / AP) 16 Sept 2014 :: This would be a difficult period for Supt. John Deasy and the Los Angeles Unified School District even if he and the school board were intent on working
SEP 15
More Info on Medi-Cal for Kids with Autism: MEDI-CAL TO NOW PAY FOR BEHAVIORAL HEALTH TREATMENT FOR AUTISM
Rec'd by email from Judy Mark, Chair of the Government Relations Committee for Autism Society Los Angeles. Ok to share. Begin forwarded Date: September 12, 2014 1:41:52 PM PDT Subject: Medi-Cal to Now Pay for Behavioral Health Treatment for Autism Hi everyone, Starting Monday, September 15, Medi-Cal will be required to pay for behavioral therapy for
Lacoe Issues Extreme Heat Warning Through Wednesday, Lausd Cancels All Outdoor Sports+Athletic Activity Through Tuesday
Heat Alert Athletes run the track at Jordan High School in Los Angeles in 2011. The Los Angeles Unified School District canceled all outdoor sporting events and activities Monday because of abnormally hot weather. (Mariah Tauger / Los Angeles Times) LAUSD cancels outside sporting events because of heat LAUSD cancels all outside
Webinar on College-and-Career-Ready Standards, Wednesday, September 17 at 2pm EDT/11am PDT
U.S. Department of Education sent this bulletin at 09/15/2014 04:10 PM EDT | by email The White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics is pleased to invite you to participate in: A WEBINAR on College- and Career-Ready Standards Wednesday, September 17th, at 2:00-3:10pm EDT / 11am – 12:10pm PDT This is part of a monthly webinar series, designed to
California Broadens Autism Coverage For Kids Through Medicaid
By Daniella Hernandez, Kaiser Health News | Inland Daily Bulletin | http://bit.ly/1phmOUZ Nine-year-old Shirley Cruz suffers from a mild case of autism. Her condition makes it hard for her to use utensils. Her mother, Maria Cruz, has to monitor her while she eats. Heidi de Marco / KHN Shirley Cruz, 9, was diagnosed with autism as a toddler and needs help from her mother, Maria Cruz
LAUSD’S STUDENTS NEED BETTER LIBRARIES, NOT iPADS + smf’s 2¢
A good school library is not in conflict with technology; it can enhance our understanding and use of it Op-Ed By Rebecca Constantino in the LA Times | http://lat.ms/1uEk1L7 A student reads a book after visiting the library at San Pedro Elementary School. (Los Angeles Times) Sept 15, 2014 :: Like Supt. John Deasy and others in the Los Angeles Unified School District, I am concerned
SEP 13
What Lausd Is Doing With Its Military-Surplus Grenade Launchers And Assault Rifles
Opinion By Karin Klein, editorial writer covering education, environment, food and science. | LA Times http://lat.ms/1D6l63k LAUSD police officer Jay Cueva watches as students get out of Manual Arts High School for the day. (Los Angeles Times) Set 12, 2014 2:14 pm :: So how about the curious finding that the Los Angeles Unified School District has taken possession of Pentagon military
EVERYTHING IS ILLUMINATED: So Bill Gates Has This Idea for a History Class ...
By ANDREW ROSS SORKIN in the New York Times Magazine | http://nyti.ms/1qTFYo3 Bill Gates, right, with David Christian, a professor from Australia with a new approach to teaching history. Credit Mark Peterson/Redux, for The New York Times SEPT.7, 2014 :: In 2008, shortly after Bill Gates stepped down from his executive role at Microsoft, he often awoke in his 66,000-square-foot home on
Because the only things that matter are money and test scores: TRUANCY COSTING CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS BILLIONS
Based on that false premise, truancy is saving taxpayers billions! Truancy costing California schools billions, report says Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chronicle | http://bit.ly/1xZYQrI Updated 5:21 pm, Friday, September 12, 2014 :: Truancy and chronic absenteeism rates across California cost school districts billions of dollars in state funding each year,
COUNTY APPROVES LA SCHOOL’S CONTROVERSIAL BUDGET + smf’s 2¢
Annie Gilbertson | 89.3 KPCC | http://bit.ly/1qMZyTZ stay frosty Jack Lyons/flickr Creative Commons September 11 2014 :: The Los Angeles County Office of Education approved L.A. Unified's $7.3 billion budget this week after county officials raised concerns the district may be misrepresenting its financial figures. This school year, L.A. Unified Superintendent John Deasy is channeling more
Strained Ties Cloud Future Of Deasy, Lausd
Deasy “…is questioning whether he should step down.” By Teresa Watanabe, Howard Blume | L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/YH5rrA Supt. John E. Deasy says he and the L.A. Unified Board are no longer “united on the same mission and in the same way to accomplish this mission as when we started.” (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) Sept 13, 2014 :: The controversy engulfing Los Angeles Unified's $
@ THE LAST MINUTE IS SOMETIMES EXACTLY THE RIGHT TIME- Today Sat Sept 13 9AM-1PM- THE MT. WASHINGTON SCHOOL PANCAKE BREAKFAST & MARKETPLACE
The Annual Mount Washington Scholl Pancake Breakfast is a fundraiser and Membership Kickoff for the Mt Washington PTA – but mostly it’s is a community get together at the school for a community centered on the school – a high performing prize winning school that produces high test scores and bright engaged well-educated young people. It may be the excellent teachers+staff or the demographics or