Saturday, October 27, 2012

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 10-27-12



4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit:

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit




PROPOSITION 38 TRIES TO TURN A TAX LIABILITY INTO AN ASSET

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 17 minutes ago
  By Jon Healey, la tIMES oPINION la | http://lat.ms/UQLl9G October 25, 2012, 8:05 a.m.  ::  Backers of Proposition 38 caught considerable heat from Gov. Jerry Brown and other Democrats for airing a commercial earlier this month that attacked Brown's rival tax initiative, Proposition 30. Now the pro-38 campaign has a pair of new ads that offer no direct criticism of Brown's measure, but

CALIFORNIA’S EDUCATION (BUDGET) REFORM: “Change waits patiently in the voting booths…”

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 27 minutes ago
By Kaylee Hunt, Student Journalist -Frontline El Modena High School Orange, CA/ form my hsj : http://my.hsj.org/548055 Wednesday, October 24, 2012  ::  November will soon approach and with its arrival comes the voting season. Besides the general election between presidential candidates Governor Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama, states will also be holding propositional elections.

Free Money? LAUSD’s RACE TO THE TOP GRANT AWAITING ENDORSEMENT FROM UTLA

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 46 minutes ago
Los Angeles Daily News  |  By Barbara Jones via Huffington Post | http://huff.to/Xzj4Eb 10/25/2012 1:59 pm EDT  ::  Facing an Oct. 30 deadline to file for a $40 million Race to the Top grant, Los Angeles Unified officials are still waiting for the teachers union to bless their application. United Teachers Los Angeles reviewed the original application and provided feedback. Los Angeles

SCARE TACTICS – AND SCARY PROTESTS OVER PROP 30. AND SOME SCHOOL-BASED ADVOCACY MAY BE ILLEGAL.

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 58 minutes ago
By Kelly Puente, Staff Writer, San Bernardino Sun | http://bit.ly/TM98l6 California Community College students march in support of Prop 30 and education funding as they dress up like zombies and take part in "The Walking Debt" march from L.A. City Hall to the governor's downtown office in Los Angeles on Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. Approximately 150 students participated in the march. (Rachel Luna /

‘YES, YES’: IT’S A MESS, BUT DON’T PUNISH KIDS

  Themes in the News by UCLA IDEA/Week of Oct. 22-26, 2012 | http://bit.ly/9k0ADx 10-26-2012  ::  A majority of  Californians support increased investment in public education, yet both statewide initiatives that would bring more money to public schools lag in the polls. How did California get in this mess? Earlier this year, at least three different political, ideological and educational “

Proposition 3o: CAN’T CALIFORNIA DO BETTER?

  By Peter Schrag| OpEd Special to The Secramento Bee | http://sacb.ee/QLmBvc Friday, Oct. 26, 2012 - 8:00 am  ::  If you're old enough and have a perverse turn of mind, you may recall the National Lampoon cover from 1973 with the picture of a gun pointed at the head of a dog and the caption "If You Don't Buy This Magazine We'll Kill This Dog." That's not quite like the "trigger" budget

REED v. LAUSD SETTLEMENT VOIDED; TEACHER LAYOFF PROCESS TO GO TO TRIAL + UTLA STATEMENT

smf notes: The Reed case began life as Reed v. LAUSD. The challenge to the settlement with ACLU made  it Reed v. UTLA; the appeal to the appeals court ruling is Reed v. California. Howard Blume / LA Times | LA Now / http://lat.ms/PvxjZW October 24, 2012 |  8:11 pm  ::   The state Supreme Court has declined to reinstate a settlement that allowed local officials to shield schools from having

Report: LAUSD MISSES MANDATED SPECIAL ED TARGETS, INDEPENDENT MONITOR REQUIRES CHARTER SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILIITY

By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/Y1qcby 10/24/2012 08:41:52 PM PDT  ::  Los Angeles Unified schools failed to meet targets for providing speech therapy and other instructional services to special-education students as required by the settlement of a 1993 lawsuit, according to a report released Wednesday.  [report follows] The annual update from the Office of the

BLAMING YOUR OWN TEAM

By Deborah Meier. Bridging Differences/Ed Week | http://bit.ly/RjjcW9 October 18, 2012 9:01 AM  ::  It's hardly something new in American political life. The foxes have been guarding the hen house for many years. But what we're seeing in education of late involves more chutzpah than I've ever seen in education circles. The foxes? Our city mayors and their appointed superintendents. The hens are

RttT: L.A. SCHOOLS CHIEF URGES UNION COOPERATION ON FEDERAL FUNDS

Supt. John Deasy seeks teachers' backing on a grant application that could bring $40 million to LAUSD. The union fears the grant won't cover all the costs of implementing the district's proposal. By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/VKiRzK “It would be so devastatingly disappointing to this district if UTLA was not a partner with us” on the application for Race to the Top

THE ‘60’s, redux: OHIO STUDENT PUNISHED FOR GROWING HIS HAIR FOR CHARITY, SCHOOL SAYS IT VIOLATES DRESS CODE

Boy’s hair should be short, girl’s skirts should be long. This is all that separates Ohio from moral decay, the communist menace and the second decade of the twenty-first century. Associated Press,- The Washington Post http://wapo.st/PSgGaI October 24 - CANTON, Ohio  :: An Ohio teenager who’s been growing his hair for a charity is being punished by his high school because administrators say

MORE THAN 2 DOZEN L.A. UNIFIED MAGNET SCHOOLS ARE UNDER-ENROLLED + smf’s 2¢

LAUSD magnet schools have long been considered prized programs, but more than two dozen of them are under-enrolled and actively looking to fill classroom seats. By Dalina Castellanos, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/QQ7VJ1 October 23, 2012  ::  Although Los Angeles magnet schools have long been seen as an elusive and exclusive club, more than two dozen of them are under-enrolled and actively

Fact Check: MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL TEST SCORES + smf’’s 2¢

Posted by Josh Hicks, Washington Post  Campaign 2012  Blog | http://wapo.st/OY2taN October 22, 2012 at 10:22 pm::  As he did during a previous debate, Romney pointed out that Massachusetts students led the nation in standardized test scores for math and reading while he was governor. He is correct, but many educational experts credit the scores to a comprehensive education overhaul that the

An EdSource Infographic: COMPARING PROPOSITIONS 30 + 38

The Question Asked: Can I vote YES on Both? And Answered: YES! ….and you should because voting for both increases the likelihood that one of the initiatives will pass. A divided vote will make it more difficult to achieve the simple majority (more than 50%) needed for passage of either initiative. from EdSource | http://bit.ly/30and38 An EdSource InfoGraphic: COMPARING PROPS 30 + 38

Deasy: TEACHERS DELAYING LAUSD BID FOR $40M IN FEDERAL GRANTS + smf’s 2¢

CBSLA.COM | CBS Los Angeles http://cbsloc.al/Si9AZw October 22, 2012 8:22 AM  ::  LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Officials with the Los Angeles Unified School District raced on Monday to meet a fast-approaching deadline to apply for up to $40 million in federal grants. Superintendent John Deasy told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO that the application would add more jobs

IF COMMON CORE FAILS, THEN WHAT?

  By Tom Whitby, SmartBlogs   |  http://bit.ly/T90xgi   smf: All of the states involved (in the Common Core State Standards) will need to be common core compliant by 2014.     ● CCSS is the “then what?” if No Child Left Behind Fails. ● 2014 is also the date in NCLB that all Title One schools must be proficient  – aka above average.

DON’T DEMONIZE TEACHERS BECAUSE OF PENSION SYSTEM’S FAULTS

Yes, public pensions got out of hand. But teachers aren't the biggest culprits, nor are they why California has some of the nation's most shamefully underfunded schools.   By Steve Lopez, LA Times Columnist | http://lat.ms/UnrG0M   October 21, 2012  ::  Just as I was preparing to defend public school teachers and their retirement benefits, I got a form letter last week from my

National School Lunch Week: MOST STUDENTS GIVE MORE HEALTHFUL STATE SCHOOL MENUS THUMBS UP

By Marisa Gerber, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/QA1LyV October 19, 2012  ::  For every three California public school students who think school meals are yummier than usual, there's only one who thinks they're worse, according to a new poll released Wednesday. The survey by the California Endowment, the state's largest healthcare foundation, was the first to tally the attitudes of

FEDERAL MANDATES ON LOCAL EDUCATION: COSTS + CONSEQUENCES – Yes, it’s a Race, but is it in the Right Direction?

BY Kenneth Mitchell, Lower Hudson Council of School Superintendents –Center for Research, Regional Education and Outreach, State university of new york at new paltz | Discussion Brief #8 – Fall 2012 | http://bit.ly/RMbr8n New York’s hard won inclusion in the federal Race to the Top (RTTT) initiative has already dramatically changed both how we educate our children and how we fund public K-12

DEVASTATING BUDGET CUTS TEAR A BIG HOLE IN STATE’S CHILD CARE NET

By Kimberly Beltran | SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/S9mIQI Wednesday, October 17, 2012  ::  Reeling from $1 billion in cuts the past four years, California’s early learning and child care system is able to maintain only the most basic services today as advocates look for hope out of the November election and signs that an economic upswing has taken hold. “We’re at a tipping point. If

JOHN GREENWOOD DIES AT 67, FORMER LAUSD BOARD MEMBER

John Greenwood, a moderate, opposed court-ordered mandatory school busing for integration and voted to end it. He was also president of the Southland branch of the Coro organization. By Rebecca Trounson, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/S8YxBQ John Greenwood, shown in 1987, served two terms on the Los Angeles Unified School District board. A moderate, he opposed court-ordered busing. (

‘CHOICES’ OPENS NEW DOORS FOR STUDENTS AT FAILING LAUSD SCHOOLS

By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/RNMYiP Twins Cameron, left, and Delion McDonald, 13, live in South Los Angeles but travel by bus to their school at Woodland Hills Hale Charter Academy. Their mother transferred them out of an underperforming campus closer to their home in a move made possible by the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Choices program. (Michael