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New national standards pump extra $113 million into LA Unified

LAUSD teachers want more time to plan for new curriculum

Common Core Tests are Not Good for Children or Other Living Things - Living in Dialogue - Education Week Teacher

Education Headlines

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

New national standards pump extra $113 million into LA Unified

The Los Angeles Unified School District will soon have an extra wad of cash on hand. It's getting $113 million from the state of California over two years to phase in new national standards called the Common Core.

Civil rights activists call for end to 'willful defiance' discipline

As students across the state return to school, civil rights activists are hoping a bill working its way through the California Legislature will decrease the disproportionately high number of expulsions and suspensions among some student groups.

LAUSD teachers want more time to plan for new curriculum

With the Los Angeles Unified school board being asked to spend $113 million to implement a new curriculum, the district and its teachers union released separate poll results Monday rating how educators view their training for the new Common Core standards.

What's new in KHSD classrooms this year? Portable toilets

The toilet substitutes were put in 1,800 classrooms in the district. They are a part of FEMA's National Incident Management System that says each classroom should have a bathroom facility in case a lockdown forces students to stay inside.

Pajaro Valley first-graders first to see smaller classes

When teacher Caryn Lane's first-graders plopped down on the rug marked off into 30 brightly colored squares, there was plenty of room left. In fact, eight spaces remained empty.

Simi Valley campuses start school year with technology changes

For an educator on the first day of school, being unchained from a desktop computer in an office represents power and security - benefits shared by many other teachers and administrators Monday in the Simi Valley Unified School District.

Monday, August 19, 2013

New leader brings youth to Oxnard School District

It's only August, and the city of Lawndale is already missing its Santa Claus. Every Christmas, Cesar Morales, then assistant superintendent of human resources at the Lawndale School District, dressed up and rode around in a sleigh passing out candy canes. But Santa has left the Los Angeles County city to become the new superintendent of the Oxnard School District.

Enrollment up in many Marin schools this year

"We're seeing increased enrollment in many districts," Marin County Superintendent of Schools Mary Jane Burke said. "Mill Valley has 200 more kids. San Rafael has an increase in numbers. We are lucky to get more children this year."

Frey: Principals take the initiative to keep school open in the summer

Despite tight district budgets, some principals in Los Angeles Unified and Oakland Unified have on their own initiative figured out a way to provide programs this summer by reaching out to their local communities and private foundations for support.