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LAUSD Will Resubmit Federal Waiver Application – But Not State*
Three more states — Alaska, Hawaii and West Virginia — have been awarded so-called “waivers” from some of the key provisions of the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB). But there’s still no news on the fate of LAUSD’s application, or whether the state will try and get a statewide waiver. *UPDATE:...
By Alexander Russo | May 20, 2013
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What Next for Teach For America?
Read between the lines of June Kronholz’s Education Next piece (Still Teaching for America) and you’ll see find lots of interesting tidbits for both Teach For America (TFA) fans and skeptics — though, alas, nothing specific about TFA LA. The piece takes a look at the much-discussed school reform organization as it goes through a...
By Alexander Russo | May 17, 2013
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Polling: Voters Dislike LAUSD, Like Local Schools
There isn’t any public polling about next week’s District 6 School Board race but there are some interesting citywide poll results that tell us a little bit about how differently LA voters see LAUSD in general and their own schools in particular. According to Raphael Sonenshein in the Jewish Journal, voters generally hold LAUSD in...
By Alexander Russo | May 15, 2013
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Board Candidate Ratliff Attends UTLA Rally*
District 6 (East Valley) candidate Monica Ratliff was spotted outside at the UTLA rally to hire more teachers/reduce class size. Via KPCC. [*Contrary to the original version of this post, the rally took place after school and so Ratliff didn’t have to take any time off.] Previous posts: Board Candidates Differ on Teacher Retention, School Turnaround;...
By Alexander Russo | May 15, 2013
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Board Candidates Differ on Teacher Retention, School Turnaround
According to a press release distributed by the teacher advocacy group Educators 4 Excellence, District 6 School Board candidates Monica Ratliff and Antonio Sanchez agreed on several things during recent interviews (such as Superintendent Deasy’s leadership of the district and charter schools) but disagreed on others (including teacher retention and school improvement strategies). Hear the...
By Alexander Russo | May 13, 2013
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Watch: David Letterman & Teach For America
In honor of Teacher Appreciation Week, here’s David Letterman doing “Top Ten Reasons to Become a Teacher” with the help of 10 TFA newbies and Van Halen’s “Hot For Teacher.” (Or, if you prefer: an angry student’s viral tirade against his teacher’s over-reliance on worksheets and packets.)
By Alexander Russo | May 10, 2013
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Commentary: In Praise of the LA Times’ Karin Klein
Two of my favorite education writers right now write a lot about education but you may not know their names because they don’t usually have bylines. Karin Klein of the LA Times (right) and Kate Grossman(@kategrossman1) of the Chicago Sun-Times (left) are editorial page writers whose work often comes out in the form of unsigned editorial page positions....
By Alexander Russo | May 10, 2013
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Parents Rally for Classroom Breakfast
At an event promoted by United Way of Greater Los Angeles held in front of LAUSD headquarters, parents and educators called on UTLA and LAUSD to “put politics aside and continue the successful program, which provides a nutritious breakfast at nearly 300 schools.” Earlier this week, Take Part explored the controversy surrounding the program. Previous...
By Alexander Russo | May 9, 2013
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Union Focusing on Jobs at Tuesday Board Meeting
Tuesday, May 14, is the next scheduled LAUSD School Board meeting, and it may be a noisy one. United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) is planning a major show of force at the meeting and afterwards, calling for reductions in class size (and rehiring of laid-off teachers) . According to the UTLA website, the School...
By Alexander Russo | May 9, 2013
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Watch: LAUSD Teacher’s TED Talk
Here’s “TED Ed” premier from last night, which includes a segment by an LAUSD teacher named Pearl Arredondo, who helped start an innovative pilot middle school known as SFiAM: Arredondo’s remarks begin at roughly the 37:00 mark. Click here if you have any problems with the video above. Previous post: Clear Choice for School Board Race
By Alexander Russo | May 8, 2013