Education Headlines
Friday, January 31, 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.
Finance director at fiscally fragile district resigns
As the Coachella Valley Unified School District sits in a fragile financial position, overspending while banking on new revenue beyond the horizon, the district’s highest finance official is resigning from his post.Teacher group gives CA D+ in effectiveness
A teacher advocacy group has given California low grades in teacher effectiveness in a report released Thursday. The Washington, D.C.-based National Council on Teacher Quality gave California an overall grade of D+ for the fifth consecutive year in its State Teacher Policy Yearbook for 2013. The report analyzes state laws and regulations that affect teachers in each state.Tweet suggests Westboro church will protest Granite Bay High’s ‘Laramie Project’
Twitter posts from the controversial church threatening to picket Granite Bay High School’s theater production of “The Laramie Project” suggest it will attempt some level of protest against the play.San Jose schools: Unusual district/charter partnership promises all students in high-performing schools
Departing from traditional hostility between school districts and charter operators, the Franklin-McKinley School District will partner with charter schools to share campuses and training.Denair Unified OKs contract that cuts teacher salaries and restores some pay to administrators
The Denair Unified School District board voted unanimously Thursday night to approve a contract with its teachers and restore some pay to its administrators. The vote brings to a successful close negotiations that began in December 2012. A fact-finding report brought about a compromise, multiyear deal to bring the district back into black.Bay Area schools suspend fewer students
Under pressure to cut racial disparities in punishment and to keep misbehaving kids in school, California public schools suspended fewer students in 2012-13, with some Bay Area districts posting dramatic drops.Baron: NCLB co-author says he never anticipated federal law would force testing obsession
Rep. George Miller, a leading architect of the No Child Left Behind legislation, says he never anticipated that the landmark education law would ignite the testing obsession that engulfed the nation’s schools, leading to what some have charged is a simplistic “drill and kill” approach that subverts real instruction.L.A. Unified gets lower price for thousands of iPads
The Los Angeles Unified School District will pay substantially less for thousands of iPads under the latest deal with Apple. The cost of the tablets that will be used on new state tests will be $200 less per device, although the computers won’t include curriculum.Fensterwald: Poll shows widespread support for Local Control Funding Formula
One year into the financing system for K-12 schools, a strong majority of Californians polled say they approve of the Local Control Funding Formula and most believe that local districts, given more control over spending decisions, will use the money wisely.
Thursday, January 30, 2014
