Latest News and Comment from Education

Thursday, February 6, 2014

FCMAT » Cali Education Headlines Thursday, February 6, 2014

FCMAT » Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team:



Brown calls for new fees on teacher preparation review









Education Headlines

Thursday, February 6, 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.

Lodi Unified School District officials approve raises for teachers

Lodi Unified School District has agreed to give teachers raises and cancel furlough days.

Burglars vandalize, steal laptops and balls from Chapman School

Teachers and students arrived Monday at Chapman School to find it had been burglarized and vandalized while they were away.

Indio High School TB testing: Second round set as precaution

About 120 Indio High School students and some staff members had a second round of testing for tuberculosis Tuesday, according to the Riverside County Department of Public Health. Students were last examined in December after one of them tested positive for tuberculosis.

Desert Sands school district offers classified staff a raise

After several years of dwindling salaries, the Desert Sands Unified School District has offered a 5 percent raise and an $800 bonus to about 1,000 custodians, cafeteria workers, bus drivers and other classified employees.

Alpine teachers reject tentative pact

In a vote taken Tuesday and Wednesday by secret ballot and announced Wednesday afternoon, members of the Alpine Teachers Association rejected a proposed contract settlement with the Alpine Union School District.

Abuse charges dropped against Miramonte teacher

Prosecutors dismiss the case after the girl who alleged the abuse declined to testify against Martin Springer. The Los Angeles Unified School District stands by its decision to fire Springer and pay $3 million in settlements.

PETA apologizes to Woodland Hills school after graphic materials distributed to children

Following a dust-up over graphic animal cruelty images distributed to elementary-school students in Woodland Hills last week, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has issued a public apology to the school’s principal, pledging to “mend fences.”

Adams: Schools failing to protect students from sexual abuse by school personnel, federal report says

The failure of U.S. schools to protect students from sexual abuse by school personnel is a story of district cover-ups, lack of training, incomplete teacher background checks and little guidance from the U.S. Department of Education, according to a new federal report.

Cheating scandal: Newport-Mesa official resigns to protest expulsions

An administrator for the Newport-Mesa Unified School District resigned Wednesday after alleging the school district badly mishandled a computer-hacking scandal that resulted in the expulsion of 11 students.

LAUSD will pursue firing of Miramonte teacher after charges dropped

The Los Angeles Unified School District said it would not reverse its decision to fire former Miramonte Elementary teacher Martin Springer after charges against him were dropped Wednesday, officials said.

Brown calls for new fees on teacher preparation review

Still struggling to find a fiscal footing in the wake of the recession, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing would be granted additional authority to impose fees on educator preparation programs under a proposal from the Brown administration.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014

San Joaquin suspension up; question is, by how much?

School discipline statistics released by the California Department of Education last week show that San Joaquin County suspensions increased by 0.5 percent from 2011-12 to 2012-13, and that expulsions decreased significantly.

EdSource: Q&A - The uncommon challenge of Common Core

If you’re like most people, you probably still have some questions: If you’re a teacher, what will the Common Core Standards do to your lesson plans? If you’re a parent, how will this affect your kid? And if you’re a student: Like, what tests are you going to have to take?

Police send evidence in Corona del Mar cheating case to lab

Police have not located the tutor accused of being a central figure in the Corona del Mar High hacking scheme, but detectives have submitted evidence gathered during a search of the man’s Irvine home to an FBI crime lab for analysis, officials said.

LBUSD looks to cut Jordan's international baccalaureate program

Carlos Montes was among about a dozen students, teachers and alumni who addressed the Long Beach Unified School Board Tuesday night asking that they not eliminate the International Baccalaureate program, which has been at the school for decades.

Cortez Quinn ends self-imposed leave, attends Twin Rivers board meeting

Cortez Quinn walked into the Twin Rivers Unified School District board room Tuesday night, camera crews chasing behind him, before joining the rest of the school board last night. Quinn had been on a self-imposed 90-day leave from his board seat since shortly after his arrest Nov. 6 for allegedly accepting illegal loans from a school employee, falsifying a paternity test and using it in court to deny paternity.