California should give all kids the pre-K advantage Commentary: “Early education is our No. 1 priority.” That’s the 2014 message from California Democrats. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg introduced the Kindergarten Readiness Act (SB 837) on Jan. 6, and Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez included an aggressive early education agenda in Democrats’ budget recommendations in...

Some of the names and faces might be not be familiar, but five of the 10 candidates running for president of the teachers union, UTLA, have agreed to participate in a candidate forum next Thursday, Jan. 30th at Thomas Starr King Middle School. Click here for announcement. Wil Page, the school’s chapter chair, said in...

Via The Center for American Progress Five years ago, U.S. teachers were asked in a survey how many years of experience they had; their most common answer was one year. Policymakers feared an impending crisis because, if past trends held, about half of these teachers would leave in their first five years. But the latest...

Brown touts education accomplishments, priorities in State of the State Gov. Jerry Brown highlighted his education accomplishments in an upbeat State of the State on Wednesday that marked the final address of his current term and laid out priorities for the coming year and his likely reelection campaign. EdSource Gov. Brown reemphasizes local control of state’s...

In his State of the State address today, Gov. Jerry Brown spent a few minutes talking about public education in California. Here’s what he had to say: “Last year, I spoke of the principle of subsidiarity, a rather clunky word that nevertheless points to a profoundly important principle, namely that in our federal system there...

Los Angeles City Hall takes a fresh look at LAUSD Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy made a rare appearance before a City Council committee on Tuesday, marking the potential start of a closer relationship between City Hall and the school district. LA Daily News Early education narrows the gap between the haves and have-nots...

State looks to trim list of school plans required After a marathon hearing and a surprise visit by the governor last week, members of the CA State Board of Education are not expected to make any major changes to a set of temporary regulations governing use of billions in new state money for schools during...

Via The LA Times | By Howard Blume The watchdog committee for the Los Angeles school district’s $1-billion iPad program is scheduled to fold, raising questions about oversight of the ongoing effort to provide every student, teacher and administrator with a computer. The decision to disband the panel as of April was announced last week...

Hundreds honor LAUSD’s LaMotte for dedication to education A public memorial to honor LAUSD board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte drew hundreds of local teachers, state leaders, and community members Saturday to a Los Angeles area high school, where many said she left a legacy as a champion for education for all. LA Daily News Special...