Saturday, April 13, 2013

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 4-13-13



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

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


MICHELLE RHEE’S REIGN OF ERROR

by John Merrow, Taking Note  | http://bit.ly/12TSWsC 11. Apr, 2013   ::  With the indictment of former Atlanta School Superintendent Beverly A. Hall and 34 other public school employees in a massive cheating scandal, the time is right to re-examine other situations of possible illegal behavior by educators. Washington, DC, belongs at the top of that list. ***** Michelle A. Rhee, America’s

LCFF: APPLES-TO-APPLES COMPARISON OF BROWN’S FUNDING FORMULA

By John Fensterwald, Ed Source Today - http://bit.ly/XHnP1x April 10th, 2013  ::  Twenty-two of the 50 largest districts in the state would receive more money under Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed K-12 funding formula when it’s fully funded, potentially in seven years, while 28 districts would do better if additional money were simply divvied up under the current system, with no reforms,

TWO VIEWS OF THE ATLANTA CHEATING SCANDAL: Objects in the mirror may be closer than they appear

Former Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Beverly Hall, center, heads towards the Fulton County Jail to turn herself in on Tuesday in Atlanta. Hall is among the 35 Atlanta school system educators named in a 65-count indictment last week that alleges a broad conspiracy to cheat, conceal cheating, or retaliate against whistleblowers in an effort to bolster student test scores and, as a result

‘PAY FOR PERFORMANCE’ PITFALLS: A cheating scandal in Atlanta reveals the dark side of offering incentives.

Op-Ed in the LA Times by Lynn Stout | http://lat.ms/ZPlzGJ The Atlanta cheating scandal illustrates the dangers of the modern infatuation with incentives and what's called "pay for performance." Above: Atlanta Public Schools defendant Sandra Ward, right, turns herself in at the Fulton County Jail accompanied by her attorney Robbin Shipp, left, on April 2 in Atlanta. (David Goldman / Associated

@ the End of the Day: 98% OF DEASY’S SUPPORTERS LIKE HIM AND 90% OF HIS DETRACTORS DON’T

smf: April 11, 2013  ::  Today the bought-and-paid-for ®eformers released a survey [http://t.co/wlUgYS4uMd] and the Teacher’s Union released a poll [http://t.co/eKV7K7waef] dealing with their respective/disrespective opinions of Superintendent Deasy’s superintendency. Both are essentially hogwash, damp dry from the spin cycle; as unscientific as a alchemist at a necromancers convention – and

LAUSD SUMMER ENRICHMENT PROGRAMS CUT AGAIN

Mary Plummer | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/12OQofn Ashley Myers-Turner/KPCC April 11th, 2013, 4:14pm  ::  LAUSD's summer enrichment programming, which features free art, drama and music activities for elementary and middle school students, will be reduced again this summer. The Los Angeles Unified School District announced today that funding limits are forcing it to reduce

TEACHERS VOTE NO CONFIDENCE IN SUPT. DEASY, The Times, Daily News and UTLA weigh in

Teachers vote no confidence in Supt. Deasy UTLA members lack confidence in LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/Zdc7dd April 11, 2013, 5:20 p.m.  ::  Los Angeles teachers overwhelmingly expressed “no confidence” in L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy in  the first vote of its kind

LAUSD REFORM AGENDA GETS HIGH MARKS FROM CIVIC GROUPS (ALIGNED WITH LAUSD ®EFORM AGENDA) + Deasy tweet-tweet-tweets!

- or -  you always get an “A” when you do your own report card! By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/12O51jd 04/11/2013 01:48:05 PM PDT  ::  A new coalition of civil rights groups, led by the United Way, released a poll today showing strong support for reforms taking place in Los Angeles Unified and calling for an even more aggressive approach to improving student

EDUCATION, HEALTH CARE SECTORS UNITE FOR SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH CENTERS

National Group Calls on Congress to Release Operations Funds NASBC  Press Release For Immediate Release: April 10, 2013 WASHINGTON, D.C. – Nearly 75 state and district school superintendents, principals, and other school officials from across the nation today joined the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) in calling on Congress to support school-based health

‘IF YOU DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT MARTINEZ'S WORK AS AN LAUSD BOARD MEMBER, MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE THERE ISN'T MUCH TO KNOW.’ - Steve Lopez, out-of-context

smf: Here’s the context: THE GREUEL-GARCETTI CONUNDRUM: Here's why two San Fernando Valley voters have switched allegiances, and why a third is still pondering. By Steve Lopez, LA Times columnist | http://lat.ms/YfpMNH With the election approaching, some high-information voters are changing their minds about who should run City Hall. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times / February 5, 2013

LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT HIRES SECURITY AIDES TO WATCH FOR THREATS

Kirk Siegler | National Public Radio/Morning Edition |  http://n.pr/ZPbmmC Kirk Siegler /NPR | Students at Tenth Street Elementary out on the playground. [Listen to The Story] Transcript - DAVID GREENE, HOST:  Now, President Obama is also calling for more funding for school security. This is in the wake of last December's massacre at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Some

LAUSD INSPECTOR GENERAL TO AUDIT SCHOOL CLEANLINESS

a memo to the Superintendent and Board of Education The mission of the Office of the Inspector General is to promote integrity and credibility in the Los Angeles Unified School District by conducting audits, investigations and reviews to detect and prevent waste, fraud and abuse and to identify opportunities for improving efficiency and effectiveness.   CONTACTING THE INSPECTOR GENERAL’S

Parent Trigger @ 24th St ES: PARENTS CHOOSE LAUSD, CHARTER SCHOOL TO RUN JEFFERSON PARK CAMPUS + smf’s 2¢

By Howard Blume, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/14YvuL0 Parents from 24th Street Elementary School line up to cast ballots on the future structure of their school. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times / April 9, 2013) April 10, 2013, 10:16 a.m.  ::  Parents at 24th Street Elementary School have overwhelmingly chosen a partnership between the Los Angeles Unified School District and a charter

A thru G: LAUSD COLLEGE PREP PLAN FACES UPHILL STRUGGLE, HARVARD STUDY SAYS + Study + smf’s 2¢

Only 16% of Class of 2011 completed A-G courses. By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/10QFzTq 4/08/2013 09:11:28 PM PDT  ::  A Harvard study released Monday found that just 16 percent of LAUSD's Class of 2011 passed the classes needed to attend California's public universities, an indicator of the challenges facing the district as it makes rigorous college-prep courses

BOARD MEMBER GALATZAN SEEKS OVERHAUL OF LAUSD “TEACHER JAIL” SYSTEM

Plan would add team of professional investigators By Barbara Jones | dailynews.com | http://bit.ly/XqzcIJ Updated:  4/08/2013 06:55:18 AM PDT  ::  Los Angeles Unified would create a team of professional investigators to handle serious misconduct complaints against teachers as part of a new plan to overhaul the district's disciplinary process, which has been criticized as costly, unwieldy and

THE BASICS OF BETTER SCHOOLS: It's not about the school board, just consistent, careful, cooperative educational strategies + smf’s 2¢

Op-Ed in the LA Times By David L. Kir | http://lat.ms/10FwWfM LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia, right, and Schools Superintendent John Deasy listen to deliberations at a board meeting. (Los Angeles Times / March 13, 2012) April 7, 2013  ::  The bile flowed freely in the first round of L.A.'s school board elections in March, fueled by unprecedented sums of campaign money. To what end?

THE STAKES ARE TOO HIGH

AALA Update | Week of April 8, 2013 | http://bit.ly/10HVBAH 4 April 2013  ::  The educational wires have been buzzing lately about the recent indictment of Dr. Beverly Hall, the former Superintendent of Atlanta Public Schools, and 34 others on racketeering and other charges. The charges relate to the apparent changing of students’ answers on state tests to make them correct. An investigation

LAUSD ISSUES OFFERS TO CHARTERS AT TRADITIONAL SCHOOL CAMPUSES. No charter petitions offered at Venice High, Mark Twain and Westminster

By Gary Walker| Argonaut Newspaper http://bit.ly/10EM0Kw BACK AGAIN – Marina Del Rey Middle School teacher Naomi Roth (center in back row) lost her journalism room to Goethe International School two years ago. Now Goethe, after initially planning to leave the school, has accepted LAUSD’s offer to colocate for another year at the middle school. Posted April 4, 2013  ::  Charter operators

UPDATE/BACKGROUND ON “COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTER OPENS AT WASHINGTON PREP”

School clinics put emphasis on wellness By Chris Richard | California Health Report | http://bit.ly/10HMb6H see: COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTER OPENS AT WASHINGTON PREP HIGH SCHOOL: 2 stories + smf’s 2¢: New health clinic at Was... http://bit.ly/12q9RiD   Jonetta Stewart, 76, consults physician assistant Rachel Dimacali about her blood pressure during a visit to the newly-opened Dominguez

PARENT TRIGGER GROUP RECOMMENDS LAUSD TAKES OVER FAILING LAUSD SCHOOL

●●smf: This article is a-little-more-than-somewhat misleading  - sometimes the spin makes the reporters dizzy. The recommendation of the 24th St Parents Union is a “recommendation” – not the final parent vote. The LA Parent Union is an unholy owned subsidiary of ®eform Inc., the Broad/Gates/WalMart/Charter School  Kool-Aid is dispensed by the hogshead at every meeting! By Beau Yarbrough |

COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTER OPENS AT WASHINGTON PREP HIGH SCHOOL: 2 stories + smf’s 2¢

New health clinic at Washington Prep By Lauren Jones Intersections South LA | http://bit.ly/11wM9Cg UPDATE/BACKGROUND ON “COMMUNITY WELLNESS CENTER OPENS AT WASHINGTON PREP”: School clinics put emphasis on wellness... http://bit.ly/10pjKNi Listen to an audio story from Annenberg Radio News << St. John's Well Child & Family Center CEO Jim Mangia. St. John's Well

HISTORY MAKER INSPIRES INCARCERATED YOUTH

from Schools on Point: News from LACOE | http://bit.ly/XtwhkU 4 April 2013  ::  A talk by a U.S. military hero who fought fascism abroad and racism at home was the highlight of recent Black History Month activities at Nidorf Juvenile Hall in Sylmar. Theodore Lumpkin served during World War II as one of the first African-American military pilots, known as the Tuskegee Airmen. His first-hand

LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD FOR YOUTH WITH SPECIAL NEEDS

by Timothy Cox in Youth on Point/News from LACOE | http://bit.ly/14T3dWj April 2, 2013 09:46  ::  Public schools are required to provide students with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate alongside their nondisabled peers in after-school athletics. "But unfortunately, we know that students with disabilities are all too often denied the chance to participate and with it, the

750 (or is it 400?) L.A. UNIFIED SECURITY AIDES HIRED SINCE NEWTON SCHOOL SHOOTING

smf: see LAUSD ADDS 400 SECURITY AIDES @ ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS + smf’s 2¢: By Barbara Jones, LA Daily News The difference between 750 and 400 aides is pretty big, but not as big as the difference between uniformed full-time professional school police officers in the picture and the part time security aides the story is about! By Stephen Ceasar, LA

PROPOSAL FOR PARENT-TRIGGER OVERHAUL AT L.A. SCHOOL “WELL RECEIVED” - SECOND SCHOOL TARGETED

Leaders of a parent group have endorsed a plan to improve 24th Street Elementary, which would be jointly run by L.A. Unified and Crown Prep charter school. smf:  ¿Really? Which leaders? Which parents group? When? By Howard Blume,