Latest News and Comment from Education

Saturday, March 30, 2013

4LAKids - some of the news that doesn't fit 3-30-13



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

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

Opinion: HOW I BEAT THE POWERBROKERS IN A SCHOOL BOARD RACE

By Bennett Kayser, Op-Ed in the LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/173VB2q 3/28/2013 12:17:23 PM PDT  ::  In my 2011 school board race, I beat the big money. My campaign coffers never topped $35,000. My opponent Luis Sanchez raised more than five times as much. Sanchez also benefited from the generous support of "independent" interests willing to spend millions to promote their agendas. He also

A MODEST PROPOSAL FOR MORE BACK-STABBING IN PRESCHOOL

  By CARINA CHOCANO, NEW YOTK TIMES |  http://nyti.ms/YIBbIS A MODEST PROPOSAL: For Preventing The Children of Poor People in Ireland From Being Aburden to Their Parents or Country, and For Making Them Beneficial to The Public By Jonathan Swift (1729) Jonathan Swift's satirical essay from 1729, where he suggests that the

NATIONAL SCHOOL BOARDS ASSOCIATION SEEKS CURBS ON U.S. EDUCATION SECRETARY

By Tom Chorneau - SI&A Cabinet Report. http://bit.ly/10jGbAC Thursday, March 28, 2013  ::  The National School Boards Association and its 90,000 members are sponsoring legislation aimed at curbing the authority of the U.S. Secretary of Education – an outgrowth likely stemming from the group’s chilly relationship with the Obama administration during the president’s first term. HR 1386 by

HOLD DISTRICTS ACCOUNTABLE FOR RESTORING FUNDING FOR THE ARTS

By Mark Slavkin / commentary in EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/XgHIMK March 26th, 2013  ::  A well-rounded education that includes the arts is essential to prepare California students for college and careers. A year of fine arts is required for admission to the CSU or UC campuses. Further, the skills students gain in the arts – imagination, creativity and innovation – are essential for

Michelle Rhee: TAKING A CRACK AT CALIFORNIA’S EDUCATION SYSTEM + smf’s 2¢

Michelle Rhee came to prominence as the tough-minded chancellor of Washington, D.C., schools. Now she's in Sacramento, taking on this state's system — and its teachers unions. By Michael J. Mishak and Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/13DqrQN Michelle Rhee, center, former chancellor of Washington, D.C., Public Schools, answers questions after delivering a speech titled "

2 ON ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS: Dropouts + Parents

Language and Dropouts "The English-Learner Dropout Dilemma: Multiple Risks and Multiple Resources" By Lesli A. Maxwell, EdWeek Report Roundup  | http://bit.ly/YL77z8 English-Learner Parents "English Language Learners and Parental Involvement" By Alyssa Morones,  EdWeek Report Roundup  | http://bit.ly/11TItNu

Experts: LATER SCHOOL START HELPS SLEEP-DEPRIVED TEENS

Symposium looks at research, solutions by Gina Cairney, Ed Week | http://bit.ly/YiXYeE also see: LONG BEACH MIDDLE SCHOOLS TO START DAY AN HOUR LATER + smf’s 2¢: By Stephen Ceasar, L.A, Times |http://bit.ly/Zr4Ndf March 27, 2013, Rockville, Md. ::  Mystery still surrounds what sleep is actually for, but multiple research studies suggest that it is critical to brain development,

Elementary principal to take district helm: NEW SAN DIEGO SUPERINTENDENT HAS DEEP PARENT TIES

By Michele Molnar, Education Week | http://bit.ly/11UVOkO Cindy Marten walks with Jasmine Nevarez, 5, the girl's mother, Jessica Lopez, and other parents to a nearby middle school last week. Ms. Marten, who soon takes the reins of the San Diego district, planned the trip as part of a parent-involvement effort.—Sandy Huffaker for Education Week March 27, 2013  ::  Call it "parental

LAUSD SALVAGES SUMMER SCHOOL, BUT CLASSES WILL BE LIMITED

●●smf’s 2¢: …maybe that should be LAUSD Savages Summer School …creating market opportunity for charter operators …in the Valley? By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/YzEeTA 3/24/2013 11:36:18 AM PDT  ::  Despite fears that Los Angeles Unified would have to cancel summer school this year, officials say they'll be able to hold a limited number of credit-recovery

TO OCCUPY… OR BE OCCUPIED…

by smf for 4LAKidsNews: When the following email with the title above popped up in my browser I thought it was going to be about Prop 39 charter co-locations in California – maybe about Dr. Deasy’s threat to place  a charter co-lo at Venice High School if the School site Council/School Based Management Committee won’t agree to his Pilot School Plan – even though it has already been rejected by

LONG BEACH MIDDLE SCHOOLS TO START DAY AN HOUR LATER + smf’s 2¢

By Stephen Ceasar, L.A, Times | http://lat.ms/YCoEXs March 25, 2013, 7:43 pm  ::  The Long Beach school board voted Monday to push start times at the district’s five middle schools from 8 to 9 a.m. -- a cost-cutting move officials believe will also boost student success. The board unanimously approved the plan, spearheaded by Supt. Christopher Steinhauser. Beginning in the fall, students at all

What they talk about in D.C. during Spring Break: THE “EDUCATION INDUSTRY” EVALUATES TEACHERS + PLUS SCHOOL DISTRICTS ARE THE PROBLEM!

from Fitzwire smf: The privatizers need a clubhouse…. so of course there is an “Education Industry Association”.  Who better to commission studies from academia to conclude what you’ve wanted to believe all along? And what if it isn’t just Bad Teachers and Bad Teachers’ Unions that produce all those bad test scores, bad grad rates and bad data?  What if it

The Incubator Pilot @ Venice High: A PARENT WRITES TO SUPERINTENDENT DEASY

by Mary Smith, reprinted with permission Thursday, 3/21/13 Dear LAUSD School Superintendent Deasy: This morning myself and another Venice High parent, witnessed you quickly and abruptly enter our Venice High School cafeteria building where we were holding a silent, peaceful, non violent protest, for Venice High students, parents and community members against the planned co-location of the

LAUSD TEACHERS SET TO VOTE ON CONFIDENCE IN DISTRICT, UNION POLICIES

By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer | LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/Y8s30m 3/23/2013 01:43:12 PM PDT  ::  Los Angeles Unified's 40,000 teachers will be polled next month on their confidence in Superintendent John Deasy and whether they want their union to ratchet up demands for higher pay, smaller classes and an end to many of the district's reforms. Teachers will be asked to vote yes or no on two

Carpenter Community Charter: THE DOWNSIDE OF SUPERSTAR SCHOOLS

It's no surprise that parents go to great lengths to get their children into the coveted classrooms. But other campuses suffer a loss from such lopsided enthusiasm.     By Sandy Banks, LA Times columnist ! http://lat.ms/XzBfay Carpenter Community Charter has almost 1,000 students, a waiting list and a controversy over parents who lie about their addresses to get their children in. But

CALIFORNIA VOTERS SPLIT ON JERRY BROWN SCHOOL PLANS + smf’s 2¢: Good policy meets bad process

Fifty percent agree with the governor's proposal to give more funds to school districts that serve low-income children. A separate Brown plan to give local districts more funding control is favored by 59% . By Michael J. Mishak, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/11zsSm4 March 23, 2013, 5:00 a.m.  ::  SACRAMENTO — California voters have yet to strongly embrace Gov. Jerry Brown's

INCUBATOR SCHOOL IN L.A. SPARKS DISCORD OVER LOCATION, TEACHERS

The pilot middle school, which is slated to open next year but lacks a site, will teach students how to launch a business in addition to academics. By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/11uaqaC March 20, 2013 :: Sujata Bhatt uses online games to encourage her students at Grand View Boulevard Elementary School to aim higher: "Don't just play games, make them." Now Bhatt will

GOOD NEWS FOR ADULT EDUCATION IN CALIFORNIA

from the AALA Update | http://bit.ly/166dFHV 21 March 2013  ::  Members of the State Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance rejected Governor Brown’s plan to move administrative and financial responsibility for adult education from K-12 districts to the community colleges on Wednesday, March 20, 2013. This vote, by a Democrat-controlled committee, indicates that the

INSTEAD OF CLOSING (or reconstituting, charterizing, privatizing, magnetizing or pilotizing) SCHOOLS - HOW ABOUT THIS?

Given that school reformers are always talking about the importance of giving parents “school choice,” you’d think they’d listen to the people who want their neighborhood schools saved. You’d think. By Valerie Strauss, The Washington Post/Answer Sheet | http://wapo.st/WTfWoo Updated: March 22, 2013  ::  When Michelle Rhee told D.C. school residents that she, as chancellor of public

SENATOR PADILLA DROPS HIS TEACHER DISMISSAL BILL, SB10 - IN FAVOR OF ASSEMBLY ED CHAIR BUCHANAN’S AB 375

By John Fensterwald, EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/13j02aA UPDATE: March 21st, 2013   ::  Two days after Assemblymember Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, introduced a bill that would make it quicker and potentially cheaper to fire teachers, Sen. Alex Padillo, D-Los Angeles, has shelved his controversial version of a teacher dismissal bill and signed on as a principal co-author of hers.

ALLEGATIONS OF COVER-UP + FAILURE TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE @ DE LA TORRE ELEMENTARY IMPLICATE SENIOR LAUSD OFFICIALS

L.A. Unified officials let abuse allegations slide, lawyers say Two high-level district employees heard but failed to act on accusations of sexual misconduct by an elementary school teacher, according to attorneys representing alleged victims. By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/10rOJsV March 21, 2013, 11:05 p.m.  ::  Incidents of alleged child abuse by a teacher at a

ARIA DOHERTY, 14, DIES OF “HUFFING” COMPUTER CLEANER + smf’s 2¢

Aria Doherty, 14, died on Monday, March 18, 2013, apparently after inhaling computer keyboard duster, a practice known as "huffing," "bagging" or "dusting./from KNBC4.com 14-Year-Old Girl Dies After Inhaling Computer Duster An honor student in Northridge, Aria Doherty had aspirations of becoming a surgeon. By Gordon Tokumatsu and Samantha Tata, NBC Southern California http://bit.ly/10l7s9p

THE POLITICAL FUTURE OF THE TEACHING PROFESSION

Commentary By Arthur E. Wise & Michael D. Usdan/Education week | March 13, 2013,  ::  Despite the unified Democratic Party and teachers' union support for the re-election of President Barack Obama, a philosophical divide over how to strengthen teaching quality in the United States remains. Will teaching and learning be improved through increased regulation, mandated standards, standardized

MORE FROM TUESDAY’S BOARD MEETING: Magnets Redux + Security in Early Childhood Ed

LAUSD considers allowing students to enter magnets all year long by Howard Blume, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/ZMhPAY LAUSD preschools to get $7 million in security upgrades By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News |http://bit.ly/WFeGnn March 20, 2013 |  9:05 am   ::  Officials are working to

WHY ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA FELL SHORT AS LA’s EDUCATION MAYOR

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez| Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC | http://bit.ly/YoommQ Damian Dovarganes/AP - Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, left, and Meg Whitman, right, help third grade elementary math class students: David Ozorio, middle, and Cecil Pascal, right, at the 99th St. Elementary campus Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2011, in Los Angeles. March 19th, 2013, 6:00am  ::  As Los Angeles Mayor Antonio