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

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

Vergara suit on teacher dismissal opens, courtroom packed

Posted on January 27, 2014 by LA School Report

A lawsuit that could lead to a seismic shift in teacher tenure and dismissal methods is underway today in a packed Los Angeles courtroom.

LA Unified SuperintendentJohn Deasy is expected to take the stand.

Courtroom seats are being assigned by lottery – with limited press seating available. We will do our best to update our readers as the trial unfolds.

The case, Vergara vs CA is brought by a group of students who claim they have a civil right to an education and that state law that protects teachers and pushes them into lower income areas is discriminatory. The families of the plaintiffs are in full force today in the courtroom.

The case has gotten attention in editorials: Both The LA Times (Protect good teachers, fire bad ones) and The San Jose Mercury News (Teacher tenure, seniority, due process rights will get much-needed scrutiny in court) printed pieces.

A high profile team of lawyers including Ted Olsen and Ted Boutrous, who successfully argued before the Supreme Court to strike down the same sex marriage ban, will argue on behalf of the students.

Defendants include the State of California and the two largest teachers unions in the state, the California Teachers Association (CTA) and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT).

Deasy tells court: teacher dismissal can cost district ‘millions’

LA Unified Supt. John Deasy LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy told a packed courtroom today that it can cost the district “millions of dollars” and can take “slightly less than 10 years” to get rid of an ineffective teacher. Deasy was the first witness to testify in the long-awaited start of Vergara v California, a battle over state laws that govern what to do with ineffective teachers. Beatriz

2 by Mark Harris / 1h 

Commentary: An effective teacher in every California classroom

By Marshall Tuck Every day, in classrooms throughout California, teachers inspire students. Despite inadequate pay and difficult working conditions, teachers are changing children’s lives and preparing them for the road ahead. Within a school, there is nothing more important to a child’s success than an effective teacher. Yet I’ve seen firsthand how the state’s education law and a lack of politica

2 by Guest Contributor / 27min 

Morning Read: Parents unite and the principal is gone

Parents’ campaign leads to reforms at Cudahy elementary school Rosa Estrada wanted some serious changes at her child’s Cudahy elementary school. She joined efforts last fall demanding new leadership amid complaints that the principal had failed to address campus bullying, boost academic performance or work collaboratively. LA Times New report fuels fears of decline of regional occupational progra

3 27min 

JAN 25

API scores to vanish for 2 years, and maybe forever

Via the Daily Breeze | By Rob Kuznia Real estate agents use them to tout the desirability of neighborhoods. Parents monitor them to choose schools. Principals live and die by them. But Academic Performance Index scores, the cornerstone of the state’s accountability system in K-12 education, are expected to take a two-year sabbatical beginning this year. And when the API scores return — assuming th

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JAN 24

Vergara trial set to begin: major test for CA teachers

A lawsuit that could dramatically change how California public schools deal with ineffective teachers gets underway Monday in a California Superior Court for Los Angeles County, where LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy is expected to be the first witness to testify. The suit, Vergara v California, has been brought by students who are challenging state laws that they contend protect ineffective t

36 by Michael Janofsky / 2d hide  //  save

A Hattie in the ring for open LA Unified school board seat

Hattie McFrazier Another candidate has thrown her hat into the ring. Hattie McFrazier is the latest contender in the special election race for LA Unified’s District 1 seat. She is another district lifer. McFrazier spent 31 years with the district, retiring in 2012, and held a variety of positions including teacher, counselor, School Attendance Review Board Chair and Health and Human Services Direc

8 by Vanessa Romo / 2d 

Fletcher joining challengers at union forum next week

UTLA President Warren Fletcher Another name to add to the candidates for UTLA president participating in a forum next week: UTLA President Warren Fletcher. The event is scheduled to begin at 4 o’clock next Thursday at Thomas Starr King Middle School. Wil Page, the school’s chapter chair, says Fletcher has agreed to join five other confirmed candidates – Kevin Mottus, Gregg Solkovits, Alex Caputo-P

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Morning Read: The pros and high costs of universal pre-K

California should give all kids the pre-K advantage Commentary: “Early education is our No. 1 priority.” That’s the 2014 message from California Democrats. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg introduced the Kindergarten Readiness Act (SB 837) on Jan. 6, and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez included an aggressive early education agenda in Democrats’ budget recommendations in December. LA Times

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1-27-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE:

@PARCCplace : More bang for the buck?

The PARCC folks and Common Core cheerleaders like to talk about the next generation of standardized testing.  Are these new tests worth the $29.50 per student cost? In my state of New York that would triple the cost of the current 3-8 testing program.  Of course we will also need to seriously upgrade technology in […]

6 by Chris Cerrone / 3h hide  //  save

NY State Senator George Latimer is my new Hero!

Although NY State Senator George Latimer isn’t a professional educator by trade, his perspective, vis-à-vis CCSS implementation, is spot on! This video is definitely worth watching, a few times. You have to love how he “slaps” the table for added emphasis!

15 by Angel Cintron Jr. / 3h 

Bad Journalism, Test-Mania, and High Education: “A Flabbergasting Reality”

About thirty years after the fabricated “the sky is falling” moment in public education—A Nation at Risk—we may be witnessing a similar dismantling of higher education in the U.S., as John Marcus overstates: On weekend mornings all this winter, anxious high school juniors and seniors will file into school cafeterias to sweat through the SAT, […]

1 by plthomasedd / 20min

1-26-14 @ The Chalk Face

@ THE CHALK FACE: Richard Sherman’s GPA and “Thug” Label: The Codes that BlindRichard Sherman\’s GPA and \”Thug\” Label: The Codes that Blind. via Richard Sherman’s GPA and “Thug” Label: The Codes that Blind.1 by plthomasedd / 21min Doge Duncan, without comment.Much reforms!Filed under: SHAUN JOHNSON, PHD: Musings from the Chalk Face Tagged: doge, Duncan, reform1 by Shaun Johnson / 1h  All Week 1-

by mike simpson / 40min 

1-27-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University):

Bad Journalism, Test-Mania, and High Education: “A Flabbergasting Reality”

Bad Journalism, Test-Mania, and High Education: “A Flabbergasting Reality”.

1 by plthomasedd / 17min

1-26-14 the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness by P. L. Thomas, EdD

the becoming radical | A Place for a Pedagogy of Kindness (the public and scholarly writing by P. L. Thomas, Furman University): Richard Sherman’s GPA and “Thug” Label: The Codes that BlindThree aspects of the public and media focus on Richard Sherman after the NFC championship game on January 19, 2014, are notable. First, the images of Sherman tend to be like this one: Cornerback Richard Sherman

by mike simpson / 46min 

The First-Ever Virtual "Big Block of Cheese Day" – The White House is Open for Questions | The White House

The First-Ever Virtual "Big Block of Cheese Day" – The White House is Open for Questions | The White House:

The First-Ever Virtual "Big Block of Cheese Day" – The White House is Open for Questions

President Obama has always been dedicated to the idea that the White House is truly "The People's House" and has worked to make 1600 Pennsylvania and his administration open and accessible.

This isn't a new idea, the same can be said of President Andrew Jackson. On February 22, 1837, President Jackson hosted an open house featuring a 1,400-pound block of cheese that sat in the main foyer of the White House. This original "Big Block of Cheese Day" opened the doors of the White House to thousands of citizens to interact with cabinet members and White House staff – and carve off a slice of the four foot by two foot thick slab of cheddar. 

On Wednesday, January 29th, with a nod to history (and maybe the TV show the West Wing), the Obama Administration is hosting the first-ever virtual "Big Block of Cheese Day," during which dozens of White House officials will take to social media for a day long 'open house' to answers questions from everyday Americans in real-time on Twitter,Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram and via Google+ Hangout.

So be sure to visit WH.gov/SOTU to watch the State of the Union Address live on January 28, 2014 at 9 p.m. ET and stay tuned for a complete schedule of engagement events for virtual "Big Block of Cheese Day."  You can start asking questions now using the hashtag#AsktheWH.

Related Topics: Inside the White House, Pennsylvania

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Monday, January 27, 2014

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:

California teacher tenure, dismissal challenged in lawsuit

Education Headlines

Monday, January 27, 2014

FCMAT provides links to California K-12 news stories as a service to the industry. However, some stories may not be accessible because of newspapers' subscription policies.

Teacher union gets 3.5 percent raise

The Bakersfield Elementary Teachers Association has approved a Bakersfield City School District contract revision that gives the union its first raise since the 2007-08 school year.

Three Simi Valley schools are safe from closure, but fate of 4th is unclear

While the Simi Valley Unified School District board backed away from closing three elementary schools, a fourth school is still waiting to hear if it will get much-needed but expensive repairs.

API school test scores expected to vanish in California for 2 years — maybe forever

Academic Performance Index scores, the cornerstone of the state’s accountability system in K-12 education, are expected to take a two-year sabbatical beginning this year. And when the API scores return — assuming they do — they’ll be a markedly different beast.

Bond refinancing by Coachella Valley Unified School District reduces taxes

The Coachella Valley Unified School District has saved taxpayers about $2.55 million by refinancing bonds, reducing property taxes for most east valley property owners by a few dollars per year.

Despite cold classrooms, 140 HVAC units sat idle at Twin Rivers

As Twin Rivers Unified School District students shivered in cold classrooms, 140 brand-new HVAC units worth $3 million sat idle for years. Fifty-three heating, ventilation and air-conditioning units languished on a campus that never opened. Dozens of units purchased for aging Grant Union High School were never installed and remain in storage.

New school superintendent sees potential in Denair; feeling’s mutual

The Denair Unified School District’s next leader takes the helm with a budget still in the red and relationships frayed after 18 months of dismay and discord. But incoming Superintendent Aaron Rosander said the community will emerge stronger.

California teacher tenure, dismissal challenged in lawsuit

In a potentially landmark case, a Silicon Valley-based group, Students Matter, is challenging the state's tenure, dismissal and layoff laws for teachers.

Parents' campaign leads to reforms at Cudahy elementary school

City Council, teachers union and parents credit activist efforts with the Los Angeles Unified School District's decision to reassign the school principal.

Frey: New report fuels fears of decline of regional occupational programs

A new report has raised concerns about the future of regional occupational programs that are geared to helping high school students explore career options and be prepared to enter the workforce after graduation.

Friday, January 24, 2014

Feds to investigate Loleta school; claim alleges discrimination, student abuse

The U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights is launching a formal investigation into allegations of racism and discriminatory treatment of Native American students made against the Loleta Union Elementary School District.

Salinas charter school board holds off on reduction plan

The governing board at Oasis Charter School in Salinas has postponed action on a plan to eliminate the middle school program. A group of parents said they were stunned by the initial proposal and object to eliminating the middle school grades. About 40 of the school’s 250 pupils are in the seventh and eighth grades.

Brown urges locals to 'shoulder .. the big responsibility'

Gov. Jerry Brown made no promises Thursday, but said some flexibility in funding guidelines could allow more money for public safety and education programs in Monterey County.

Community groups pressure Fresno Unified School District on new spending plan

Concerned civic groups urged Fresno Unified officials Thursday to be more transparent and collaborative when it comes to spending new state education funds.

Brea district sells 18-acre former high school site for $25 million

A $25 million offer was accepted by the Brea Olinda Unified School District board Wednesday to sell the 18-acre site of its former high school to a real-estate company in a move that foregoes a public auction set for Monday and paves the way for the district to invest in technology upgrades.

Sacramento City district trustees vote to tighten bylaws over missed meetings

Sacramento City Unified School District trustees voted unanimously Thursday night to tighten their bylaws after discovering the district was paying thousands of dollars to board members for missed meetings in apparent violation of state law.

Teachers to vote on contract in troubled Denair district

Teachers will cast their votes by Tuesday on a three-year contract with a 7 percent retroactive pay cut for the current school year, in line with a fact-finder’s recommendation for a solution to the district’s dire financial situation.

California low in education spending, high in welfare

California spent a below-average proportion of its state budget on education in 2012, vis-à-vis other states, but had one of the nation's highest relative levels of welfare spending, according to a new Census Bureau report.

Fensterwald: Lawsuit challenging teacher tenure, seniority protections goes to court next week

The trinity of teachers’ rights in California – tenure, seniority and due process in dismissals – will be under attack next week in a trial in Los Angeles with statewide impact and national interest.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Report: Fresno Unified health board saved $100m since 2006

Fresno Unified has saved more than $100 million since 2006 in health care costs and kept employee costs nearly flat as statewide costs spiked, members of the district's health management board said Wednesday.

Natomas trustee fined for not reporting free meal

Natomas Unified School District board member Lisa Kaplan has joined a list of California school officials who have been fined for receiving free meals from a bond advisory firm without disclosing them, according to the California Fair Political Practices Commission.

Pulling Mountain View School from closure list, Simi Valley district to look at other cost cuts

Mountain View School, the only campus that remained targeted for closure in Simi Valley, will stay open.

Tracy Unified targets April to hire superintendent

Tracy Unified school board members hope to have a new superintendent hired by April to allow time for a smooth transition with retiring Superintendent 

In America, only 10% of 8th-grade Black boys can read proficiently* - Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública

Coalition for Public Education/Coalición por la Educación Pública:

In America, only 10% of 8th-grade Black boys can read proficiently*

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"If you teach that nigger how to read, there will be no keeping him! It will forever unfit him to be a slave! He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master."

These are the words of Master Auld to his wife, who was teaching Frederick Douglass, a slave, to read. This passage is taken from an essay written by Jada Williams, 13, Rochester, New York. 

****************************************************************** 2011 Reading Levels of 8th-Grade  Black Males from the Lowest-Performing  Large American School Districts*  City\Percentage of 8th-Grade Black Males Proficient in Reading*  Milwaukee - 3% Cleveland - 3% Detroit - 5% Washington (D.C.) - 6% San Diego - 7% Dallas - 7% Baltimore City - 7% Chicago - 9% Jefferson

As Schools Jump to Tablets, Questions Linger Over Impact on Writing and Reading Skills | NEA Today

As Schools Jump to Tablets, Questions Linger Over Impact on Writing and Reading Skills | NEA Today:

As Schools Jump to Tablets, Questions Linger Over Impact on Writing and Reading Skills

January 27, 2014 by twalker  
Filed under Featured News, Top Stories

By Jesse Kirsch

A group of students in English class sits arranged in a horseshoe. Two signs on opposite sides of the room read “strongly agree” and “strongly disagree.” Colorful posters fill the walls.

Teacher Daniel Lawler’s desk rests front and center. No notebooks, pens or even Sticky Notes are visible. All that can be seen is a remote control, a laptop computer, and an iPad.

Welcome to a discussion of Cormac McCarthy’sThe Road at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Ill. The school  has decided to utilize iPads school-wide. Next year, every student will be given one. Lawler  teaches a senior class in which students are reading books, such as The Road, in print and on iPads.

Still, Lawler expresses reservations over the pervasiveness of tablets and digital technology in the classrooms.

“I’m always wary of any justification for… new technology, for instance, where the benefit is expediency, or efficiency, or speed,” says Lawler. “I want my kids to slow down as thinkers.”

Yet his students make digital annotations, define complicated words with one touch, and relate their annotations to broad themes by clicking to the Internet. During the discussion about The Road, however, some of the students do seem slightly distracted by their tablets.

“I think the concern at this point… really has to do with student attention. There’s a lot of anxiety around tha

De Blasio’s challenge: Paying for middle schoolers to stay late … and getting them to show up | Hechinger Report

De Blasio’s challenge: Paying for middle schoolers to stay late … and getting them to show up | Hechinger Report:

De Blasio’s challenge: Paying for middle schoolers to stay late … and getting them to show up

By Sarah Butrymowicz

This story also appeared at:

When she heard last fall that she would have to stay in school until nearly 5 p.m., sixth grader Jenaba Sow tried to get out of it by telling her mom she had “after school-itis.” Although the new after-school program at P.S. 109 in Flatbush, Brooklyn, was presented as mandatory, Jenaba managed to skip the first three days.

But then the reviews starting coming in from her friends. There were snacks, one day even pizza. There were activities like science experiments and dance –– appealing to a girl who hates sitting still. Besides which, her mom’s work schedule at the nursing home had changed, and if not at school, Jenaba would have to bounce around between her uncle’s house and a babysitter’s.

Jenaba, like many of her peers, is now an after-school convert. After eight periods of academics, she finds herself looking forward to the hours between 2:30 and 4:50 p.m. “In after school, at least you’re doing something fun that you would enjoy,” said Jenaba, a slender, talkative girl who does well academically. She approves of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s idea to offer a city-run after-school program to every middle schooler in New York.

Students at Thurgood Marshall Academy work with one of their after-school helpers to figure out a science project. (Photo: Sarah Butrymowicz)

The plan, which would be voluntary, not mandatory, was a cornerstone of de Blasio’s educational platform during his campaign, and he’s trying to implement it by the 2014-2015 school year, funded along with universal pre-kindergarten by a tax on the city’s wealthiest residents. If successful, the initiative would be the largest after-school expansion in New York City’s history. It would solidify the city as a national leader in a movement to give young people more time to learn. And in theory, it would help close the gap between low-income students and their more affluent peers, since kids from wealthy homes are more likely to be participating in after-school activities already.
At a press conference this month, de Blasio said a high-quality after-school program can be a “game 

Great English teachers improve students’ math scores

Better English teachers not only boost a student’s reading and writing performance in the short-term, but they also raise their students math and English achievement in future years. That’s according to a working paper, “Learning that Lasts: Unpacking Variation in Teachers’ Effects on Students’ Long-Term Knowledge,” by a team of Stanford University and University of Virginia researchers presented

by Jill Barshay / 0min hide  //  save

A mayor’s case to support the awkward years

New York City’s new mayor, Bill de Blasio, wants to offer after-school programs to all 200,000-plus middle school kids here. To that, you might ask, why middle school? Why not elementary or high? In an ideal world, of course, every child of every age would have a constructive way to spend the time between class dismissal and dinner, and money would be no object. But this is New York, where de Blas

1 by Sara Neufeld / 30min 

1-27-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online:

Updates from Weekend NYSUT Meeting: Locals and Counting Oppose Mulgrew Takeover

.... just last year, Mulgrew asked the State legislature and Cuomo to allow King to arbitrate a dispute Mulgrew was having with Bloomberg over APPR shows that UFT wants and needs King and Cuomo’s help.... Friday night, Mulgrew accused Cutler of undermining him at the UFT’s last delegate assembly because a motion was brought to the floor for UFT to not endorse Cuomo. Of course that motion was defea

by ed notes online / 41min 

1-26-14 Ed Notes Online

Ed Notes Online: MORE Than a Score a Week Away and How One Principal is Dealing With Parent Community on TestingIf there is one event I would urge people who don't ususally do these things to attend it is the More Than a Score event next Saturday, Feb. 1. I'll be blogging about it all week until you get sick of hearing about it. The MORE THAN a SCORE event is in one week! Please help spread the wo

by mike simpson / 11h 

1-27-14 The Whole Child Blog - Improving Schools: The Prerequisites for Personalizing Learning — Whole Child Education

Improving Schools: The Prerequisites for Personalizing Learning — Whole Child Education:

THE WHOLE CHILD BLOG

Improving Schools: The Prerequisites for Personalizing Learning

January 27, 2014 by Sean Slade

Personalizing learning* will not truly take place in our schools unless we understand and act on three key things. Until then we will continue to tinker, adjust, and tweak a fundamentally non-personalized system to suit each person. We will continue to mean well but ultimately underserve most of our students.

1. It's About Equity

Personalizing learning is about equity. It's about providing the best, most functional learning process to all as opposed to the few. Howard Gardner outlined this point in 2009 in The "Next Big Thing: Personalized Learning":

Throughout most of history, only the wealthy have been able to afford an education geared to the individual learner. For the rest of us, education has remained a mass affair, with standard curricula, pedagogy, and assessments.

A "monoticized" (new word: monotonous + standardized) widget-driven system will ultimately produce monoticized, widget-driven learning. It will produce students who have been taught to think a certain way—that there are right answers and wrong answers; that learning means memorizing what I tell you; and that what is important has already been discovered.

Doesn't this fly in the face of what we are trying to do?

Yvette Jackson, CEO of the nonprofit National Urban Alliance for Effective Education has long exalted the 

1-24-14 The Whole Child Blog - Free Webinar; Hanging In: Working with Challenging Students — Whole Child Education

Free Webinar—Hanging In: Working with Challenging Students — Whole Child Education: THE WHOLE CHILD BLOGFree Webinar—Hanging In: Working with Challenging StudentsJanuary 24, 2014 by ASCD Whole Child BloggersJoin Jeffrey Benson, author of the ASCD book Hanging In: Strategies for Teaching the Students Who Challenge Us Most, for an exciting, free webinar on what you can do now for a challen

by mike simpson / 3h