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Last 8 schools set to dish out Breakfast in the Classroom
Overcoming lingering technical and logistical problems, eight remaining LAUSD schools will begin providing free breakfast in the classroom within the first two weeks of the coming school year, district officials said. That will complete the largest school breakfast program in the nation after more than three years of planning, said Laura Benavidez, project manager for the...
By Mike Szymanski | July 30, 2015
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JUST IN: Ian McKellen, Hal Holbrook join video to support Esquith
In response to the “teacher jailing” of a beloved LA Unified teacher, Rafe Esquith, acclaimed actors Ian McKellen and Hal Holbrook joined past and present students in a You Tube video to offer their support for Esquith and to show how money spent from his after-school program, Hobart Shakespeareans, benefitted his students. “It is our response to their request for 15...
By Mike Szymanski | July 29, 2015
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LA Unified board preparing first step toward hiring new superintendent
The LA Unified board takes its first step in choosing a new superintendent, with a largely closed door meeting scheduled for tomorrow night. It’s a baby step, with the seven-member board most likely deciding on the parameters and requirements for a head-hunting firm that will bring them the top names for the position. While it’s a lofty...
By Mike Szymanski | July 29, 2015
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23 new teachers win ‘rookie’ awards to see Dodgers play Angels
The Rookies of the Year have been chosen among the LAUSD new teachers, and 23 of them will be going to the Dodgers play the Angels Sunday at Dodger Stadium. The winners were selected from among 920 first-year teachers last year, 87 of whom were nominated by school administrators and new teacher support staff. The winners were...
By Mike Szymanski | July 28, 2015
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CA charter schools association to LAUSD: ‘We’re not the problem’
After contentious LAUSD school board elections in which the California Charter Schools Association was widely criticized for negative campaigning and accused of draining money from traditional district schools, the association pushed back today asserting that its opponents have mischaracterized the group as detrimental to district. In a conference call with reporters, the association presented data that...
By Mike Szymanski | July 28, 2015
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Food experts from LAUSD, other big districts seeking more federal money
In a new position statement, a coalition of food professionals from the nation’s six largest school districts, including LA Unified, is asking for triple the amount of money now provided per school lunch by the USDA and allowing for more free meals as well as autonomy on how to serve them. The Urban School Food Alliance, which also...
By Mike Szymanski | July 27, 2015
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LAUSD hoping to double supper programs for kids staying late
To keep local children fed and ready for school the next day, LA Unified officials are hoping to expand the program that serves dinners to students who remain at school hours after the final bell. Already 76,000 meals a day are provided around dinner time at 584 schools in the district’s After School Supper Program,...
By Mike Szymanski | July 27, 2015
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Laid off ‘Reed’ teachers accusing LAUSD of exploiting a loophole
*UPDATED More than three dozen teachers at some of LA Unified’s lower-performing schools say their contracts are not being renewed because of a loophole in settlement of Reed vs. California, a lawsuit that tried to curb high teacher turnover in some of the city’s most challenging schools. The settlement, made in April 2014, was aimed...
By Mike Szymanski | July 24, 2015
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Boyle Heights school wins national award for technology
The Math, Science & Technology Magnet Academy at Theodore Roosevelt High School became the first school in the state to win national recognition for leveraging technology. It is also the first time that a school with a predominantly Latino student body received the honor from the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA), according to Eastern...
By Mike Szymanski | July 23, 2015
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Zimmer sets LAUSD board meeting to begin superintendent search
The LA Unified board has scheduled a special meeting next week to initiate discussions on how to conduct the search for a successor to Superintendent Ray Cortines, who has expressed a desire to step down by December. “The board will meet on July 30 to start just the technical part of the [search] process,” board president Steve...
By Mike Szymanski | July 22, 2015