Saturday, November 3, 2012

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 11-3-12



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

4LAKIDS - SOME OF THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS: Don’t turn the clock back too far

smf at 4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit - 26 minutes ago
on time travel: There was a young lady called Bright Who could travel far faster than light      She set off one day      In a relative way And returned home the previous night

PROPOSITION 30 FACT CHECK: Four Questions

Will higher taxes push businesses to leave California? Will we ever know where the money actually goes? California's budget has grown, so how are we broke? Schools are a mess, so why should we pay more? 4LAKids advocates voting YES/YES Yes on 30/Yes on 38   |  Vote Yes 4 Kids Twice on Nov 6th by

A LITMUS TEST FOR ETHNICITY+RACE

A FACEBOOK FRIEND POSTS: November 2, 2012 :: Anybody else think this is problematic? This week after turning in my students' tests, I got all the tests back with a note from the office saying to "kindly fill-in," the race of my students, for those students who hadn't filled it in. Most students had not bubbled in one of the very limited choices.         NOTES ON VOLUNTARY

ARE WE WILLING TO BE A CATALYST FOR CHANGE?

By Heidi Brewington, Legislation Director, 31st District PTSA – that portion of LAUSD in the San Fernando Valley, Sunland and Tujunga \ by email    Gandhi once said, “… You must be the change you wish to see in the world...” We talk about the importance of education, and how our children need to be able “think outside the box” and to compete both locally and globally in an economy that is

Survey: BIG DISTRICTS DIVIDED OVER CUTTING SCHOOL YEAR IF PROP 30 FAILS + smf weighs in with some Hawaiian thinking

by Kathryn Baron and John Fensterwald, Additional reporting by Susan Frey and Christine Strena, EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/ViMOWm smf: hypothesizing on the hypothetical A Hypothesis : one short of the worst case scenario. (if both 30 and 38 fail and if the trigger cuts are implemented)

TEXAS AND CALIFORNIA COMPETE – IN FUNDING RACE TO THE BOTTOM

Peter Schrag – Commentary in EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/X60wN0 << Peter Schrag October 30th, 2012 | Steve Murdock isn’t a household name in Sacramento – but maybe he should be. Murdock is the former state demographer in Texas. This month, he testified in a trial in which hundreds of Texas school districts are suing the state for failing in its constitutional obligation to adequately fund

Race to the Top: FRESNO TEACHERS+FRESNO UNIFIED WORKING ON IT, LAUSD GOES IT ALONE

L.A. Unified applies for grant without teachers union -- Howard Blume, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/SipwL0 Fresno Teachers, Fresno Unified close in on $37.3m federal grant Union discusses proposal revisions. By Barbara Anderson - The Fresno Bee | http://bit.ly/U3ENVv Photo: LAUSD

CALIFORNIA BALLOT HOLDS CREDIT RISK FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS

Jim Christie Reuters | http://trib.in/YvTOhq 3:51 p.m. CDT, November 1, 2012 SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - If voters in California next week reject ballot measures to raise taxes, school districts in the Golden State will be among the first victims of spending cuts - a major concern not only for teachers and parents but also bondholders. According to the latest polls, support for Proposition 30,

Auto Shop: HIGH SCHOOL GETS PRACTICAL

Letter to the Editor of the LA Times | http://lat.ms/ThLtLb Re A lot new under the hood in high school auto shop | bit.ly/XKXoop," Oct. 28 November 2, 2012  ::  It's about time we restored auto shop and other "less academic" courses to the high school curriculum. As a former math teacher in the Los Angeles Unified School District, I know that many students are not well served by forcing

KING MIDDLE SCHOOL TO SHIFT TO ALL MAGNET CAMPUS

By Colin Stutz, lOS fELIZ Ledger Contributing Writer |http://bit.ly/QYTPYh Thomas Starr King Middle School's new principal, Paul Naulls.>> 1 November 2012 - SILVER LAKE—Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) Thomas Starr King Middle School will start the 2013 school year as an all-magnet campus, transforming its “home school” to a cinematic arts-focused magnet, while

The end of an era: BARBARA FIEGE, CITY SECTION HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS COMMISSIONER FOR 19 YEARS, TO RETIRE

Fiege will depart what she calls 'a dream job' — overseeing LAUSD high school sports as commissioner of the City Section — in June. She'll leave a legacy of integrity, and a big challenge for her successor. By Eric Sondheimer, LA Times High School Sports Reporter | http://lat.ms/SiBYuh November 2, 2012  ::  After 39 years of working in the Los Angeles Unified School District as a teacher,

PARENTS CRITICIZE OFFICIALS AFTER CHEATING ALLEGATIONS ROIL SCHOOL + Excellent Video Backgrounder

by Howard Blume, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/Roo9JN October 30, 2012 |  3:46 pm  ::  Leaders of a parent organization at Short Avenue Elementary on Tuesday criticized the school’s former principal and the Los Angeles Unified School District in the wake of alleged cheating and mistakes in administering state standardized tests by teachers. Parents at the school have generally defended the

“Teacher deviated off the script…”: STATE STRIPS 23 SCHOOLS OF API RANKINGS FOR CHEATING, MISCONDUCT OR MISTAKES …two in LAUSD [includes Official Report]

Teachers helped students correct mistakes on standardized tests, prepared them with actual test questions or left instructional posters displayed in the classroom during testing, according to school district reports. By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/VW0BU0 A student fills in his answer to the practice test question for a standardized test. (Anitta C. Charlson / MCT)

WATCH WITH GLITTERING EYES: The READesign + Grand Opening of the Valerio Elementary School Library

By smf for 4LAKidsNews 31 October 2012 And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it. Roald Dahl - The Minpins (1991) Also from the Minpins: Little Billy’s mother was always telling him exactly what he was allowed to do

YES ON 30 & YES ON 38

Letter To The Editor of the Santa Monica Mirror by Mary Ann Garvey, Treasurer University High (LAUSD) PTSA  | http://bit.ly/SvCUib Oct. 30, 2012, 9:18 am  Dear editor: Help our schools on November 6th by voting yes on both Propositions 30 and 38! California schools have the largest class sizes in the nation, they rank 50th out of the 50 states. California schools also rank 47th

NEW PLAYA VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL OPENS AFTER OVERCOMING SKEPTICS

By Rob Kuznia Staff Writer, Daily Breeze | http://bit.ly/TTfwx8 Updated:   10/29/2012 10:14:25 PM PDT  ::  When Marlene Canter, a former Los Angeles school board member, first came up with the idea to build a brand new elementary school in Playa Vista, some people called her crazy, arguing that the Westside neighborhood lacked the density to support a new school. On Monday, the brand-new Playa

FOUR L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOLS TO OFFER FREE FLU CLINICS TO STUDENTS + PARENTS TODAY

— Dalina Castellanos, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/S9G60b Photo: A nurse loads a syringe for a flu vaccine injection at the Mississippi Department of Health in Jackson, Miss. Credit: Rogelio V. Solis / Associated Press October 29, 2012 |  2:19 pm  ::  Four schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District will offer free flu vaccination clinics Tuesday for students, their families and

LAUSD UNVEILS STATE-OF-THE-ART SCIENCE CENTER NAMED FOR ASTRONAUT SALLY RIDE

By Tami Abdollah | KPCC 89,33 Fass/Fail | http://bit.ly/S9Ybu9 The late astronaut Sally Ride's mother Joyce Ride and her sister Bear Ride help with the ribbon-cutting on The Sally Ride Center for Environmental Science at L.A. Unified. Democratic Assemblyman Gil Cedillo of Los Angeles helps hold the scissors. School board member Bennett Kayser looks on.  --  Tami Abdollah/KPCC

MEASURING THE WORTH OF A TEACHER? + smf’s 2¢

L.A. Unified School District's Academic Growth Over Time measurement system, based on students' progress on standardized tests, spurs debate over fairness, accuracy. By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times | By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/U8F3wP Kyle Hunsberger, a math teacher at Johnny Cochran Middle school in Los Angeles, works 60-hour weeks, makes every minute

LAUSD is not alone: MANY DISTRICTS NATIONWIDE FAIL TO AGREE WITH TEACHER UNIONS ON RACE TO THE TOP APPLICATIONS

Glendale, Palm Beach, Waterloo Iowa among the 900 school districts qualified for an anticipated 15-25 grants who will not apply. DO THE MATH/FOLLOW THE (NOT ENOUGH) MONEY…or sometimes the Reward of the Carrot isn’t better than being Beaten with the Stick. smf/4LAKids: That sobbing sound you hear is the woe-is-me-ing from the 24th floor of Beaudry about the free money being left on

A LOT IS NEW UNDER THE HOOD IN HIGH SCHOOL AUTO SHOP CLASSES

Auto shop's long skid in the face of budget cuts and a shift toward college-prep classes may be reversing. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the San Diego Unified School District. Auto shop is revving up again (Don Bartletti, Los Angeles Times / October 3, 2012) By Tony Perry and Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/VSRNyo October 28, 2012  ::  SAN DIEGO — The days when

Prop 30 Vs. Prop 38: WHY TEACHERS AND PARENTS ARE DIVIDED

by Karla Robinson | Staff Reporter, Neon Tommy: the online publication of the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism http://bit.ly/TNh4mb October 7, 2012 | 12:50 a.m. PDT  ::  The two tax initiatives on the November ballot in California seeking to raise money for education have divided teachers from parents as the two camps look at what's in the fine print, leaving one expert

PROPOSITION 30, 38: SCHOOL SUPPORTERS DUEL OVER TAX MEASURES; Voters have two approaches to weigh in deciding whether to approve higher taxes to fund California schools.

In Napa County, local educators, school board members and college and trustees are urging a yes vote on one and a taxpayers group says no to both. By Karen Jordan and Louisa Hufstader, Napa Valley Patch |  http://bit.ly/Y8TsNu October 16, 2012  ::  The biggest test is fast approaching for two ballot measures designed to help state schools by raising taxes, but it will be up to voters this

Report: WEIGHTED STUDENT FORMULA ALONE NOT ENOUGH + Tipping the Scale Towards Equity

by John Fensterwald EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/Rma6YB October 26th, 2012  ::  Less experienced, lower paid teachers tend to teach in schools with the poorest children, while veteran, higher paid teachers work predominantly in schools with fewer needy children, contributing to significant funding disparities among schools within most of the state’s largest school districts. That gap wouldn’t

PROPOSITION 38 TRIES TO TURN A TAX LIABILITY INTO AN ASSET

  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