LA Superintendent Ramon Cortines
If Ramon “Ray” Cortines ever hesitated to say what he thinks, he seems, at age 78, to have lost any fear.
Friday, the head of the Los Angeles Unified School District spoke in Denver about lessons learned in a career in education that spans 50 years – from his first job in 1956 teaching 44 sixth-graders in a California classroom to heading five urban school systems, including New York City.
Cortines is no stranger to Colorado, having advised, in various ways, three Denver Public Schools superintendents – Jerry Wartgow, Michael Bennet and Tom Boasberg. He also preceded, and then succeeded, former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer in LA’s top schools job.
He has taught and been a principal at every level – elementary, middle and high school – but he described himself in an interview Friday with Education News Colorado as “more non-traditional than any non-traditional
It's a nagging question that won't go away: When local school officials and their district-level administrators charge fees for classes and extracurricular activities despite a statewide ban on such practices, who is responsible for stepping in?
Is it the state, which sets education policy and guidelines, certifies the public school systems' teachers, creates the curriculum and provides the funding?
If so, then why haven't state officials intervened?
These oversight concerns form the basis of the class action lawsuit filed in Los Angeles on Friday by the
In the first of a weekly series of video bios, California Watch senior reporter Lance Williams talks about his career as an investigative journalist and the transition to the world of nonprofit journalism.
Just when the Democratic Party in California needs all the help it can get to win its upcoming election battles, a significant part of its base is divided and weakened by internal conflicts and a sickly econom
A new study reports that only 47 percent of black male students entering high school in the fall of 2003 graduated in 2008. For white males, the graduation rate was 78 percent. But one state, New Jersey, managed to raise its black male graduation rate by nearly 30 points
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – For the past four weeks, high school and university students in Argentina have occupied over 30 high school buildings, several buildings at the University of Buenos Aires, and have occupied the National University of Arts (IUNA) in response to cuts, new reforms and poor building maintenance, among a plethora of social issues and issues that plague education. During this time, multiple squats have been attacked by police forces and the student movement has faced heavy repression. In an effort to unify the movement and to reach out to other struggles, students are organizing for day of action on September 16th.
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Academy Award-winning doc filmmaker Davis Guggenheim at moments became emotional, choking up as he spoke about one of the girls, Daisy, he profiles in his latest film, “Waiting for Superman,” which exposes the breakdown in American education.
“I’ve watched this movie 40 times and I watch Daisy in East Los Angeles and she’s motivated, smart and her father works as a truck driver, while her mother cleans hospital rooms. She wants to be a doctor and her parents have hope. They believe that if they do their part that America will do its part.”
At the core of “Superman” is whether America has the will and courage to face up to its spiraling public education system. While it has been generally accepted that education in America has faced a frightening decline, with statistics to back up that fear, Guggenheim (“An Inconvenient Truth”) hopes that the film will motivate people to believe that a crisis that may appear intractable can be reformed and improved despite the perception that it is a system stymied by entrenched paralysis.
(Photo by illinijonesey)
Chicago charter operators are speaking out of two side of their mouths. When Chicago charter teachers wanted to organize a union, the private management operators said the usual state labor rules shouldn’t apply because they were private, not public. Now they want to be public in order to get federal money from the edujobs bill.
Jeez. This is a first. The IEA leadership has finally decided to stop endorsing the anti-union Mark Kirk.
Vote in my Chicago mayor issues poll. As Harold Washington always said, “It’s the plan, not the man.”
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