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LAUSD, California see jumps in state test scores, but achievement gaps remain
LA Unified students increased their scores this year in the statewide standardized tests, but significant achievement gaps remain for African-American and Latino students, as well as for English learners and students from economically challenged backgrounds. The improvements came along with increases statewide in the second year of the new assessments, which are aligned with the Common Core...
By Craig Clough | August 24, 2016
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Key excerpts from judges’ dissents in the Vergara ruling
The California Supreme Court today declined to review an appellate court ruling that overturned the landmark Vergara v. California teacher tenure case. Here are key excerpts from the dissenting opinions of State Supreme Court Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar and State Supreme Court Justice Goodwin Liu: The nine schoolchildren who brought this action, along with the millions of children whose educational...
By Craig Clough | August 22, 2016
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PUC’s annual CSUN week for sixth-graders: The near-disaster that turned into a blessing
*UPDATED The first day of middle school can be a pretty nerve-racking experience for almost any kid. You don’t know anyone, you have no friends, you don’t know where your classes are, you don’t know your teachers, you don’t know the rules and you don’t know what is expected of you. But PUC Schools, an...
By Craig Clough | August 19, 2016
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Zimmer, King, Garcetti, U.S. Education deputy kick off LA Unified school year with positive message
LA Unified is fresh, clean, safe and on the upswing. That was the message Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, LA Unified Superintendent Michelle King, school board President Steve Zimmer, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education James Cole Jr. and board member George McKenna delivered at a news conference from the library of John C. Fremont High School in South...
By Craig Clough | August 16, 2016
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The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools adds Grape Street Elementary to its network
The Partnership for Los Angeles Schools and LA Unified announced today that Grape Street Elementary in Watts will be added into the organization’s network of schools. It will be the 19th school the nonprofit organization will now operate. “The district approached us about supporting Grape Street, and the promise there is as great as the...
By Craig Clough | August 11, 2016
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UTLA president’s aggressive 10-point plan for upcoming battles
The president of the LA teachers union, UTLA, outlined an aggressive plan for the coming year during a speech on July 29 at the 2016 UTLA Leadership Conference at the Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. Predicting that LA Unified will look to cut UTLA’s health benefits in 2017, along with other coming battles, Alex Caputo-Pearl said...
By Craig Clough | August 10, 2016
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LAUSD’s ‘Promising Practices’ forum: Just ‘good vibes’ between district and charters or a new era?
There were plenty of kumbaya moments at the July 23 “Promising Practices” forum, called by LA Unified Superintendent Michelle King, leaving charter leaders cautiously optimistic it can lead to a new era of cooperation. More than 200 people from the LA Unified world attended the forum, which featured a series of workshops and discussion panels aimed...
By Craig Clough | August 9, 2016
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LAUSD loses appeal over how it spent $450 million of LCFF funds intended for needy students
LA Unified has lost its appeal to the California Department of Education on how it spends hundreds of millions of dollars in state funds that are supposed to be directed to its neediest students. The ruling reestablished the state’s opinion that LA Unified’s spending of $450 million over the last two fiscal years on special...
By Craig Clough | August 8, 2016
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Violations found at all LA Unified preschools for disabled children surveyed by independent monitor
The independent monitor for special education at LA Unified found violations at all 13 Preschool for All Learners (PALs) programs visited, according to a new report. LA Unified has been under federal oversight since 1996 as a result of a class-action lawsuit that accused it of non-compliance with special education laws. As part of the settlement,...
By Craig Clough | August 2, 2016
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LAUSD has ‘lack of urgency’ and is $695 million short on plan to comply with Americans With Disabilities Act, report says
A court-appointed independent monitor (IM) of LA Unified’s special education programs estimates that the district’s plan to bring itself in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) and disengage itself from federal court oversight is roughly $695 million short of what is needed, according to a new report. LA Unified has been under federal oversight since 1996 as...
By Craig Clough | August 1, 2016