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KIPP weighs in on Higher Education Act rewrite, calls on Congress to make college more accessible to low-income kids

In a report released today, the KIPP Foundation called on Congress to make college more affordable and help students begin a path to finding good careers. By using federal money to pay for more high school guidance counselors and expand already-successful college completion programs, the organization said, lawmakers could open the door to millions more...
By Kevin Mahnken | May 8, 2019
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3 California NAACP chapters break with state and national leaders, calling for charter moratorium to be overturned

*Updated May 9 NAACP branches in three California cities that have some of the state’s largest populations of black students are calling to end the charter school moratorium adopted by their national board in 2016. The San Diego, Southwest Riverside and San Bernardino branches have submitted separate resolutions to NAACP’s state board saying they oppose...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | May 3, 2019
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Nearly 300 public schools in Los Angeles County are closing the achievement gap for low-income black and Latino students — but only 2 out of 10 of these students are enrolled in them, new study finds

Of the 1 million low-income African-American and Latino public school students in Los Angeles County, only 2 out of 10 of them are enrolled in a high-quality school, a first-of-its-kind study found. There are 279 public schools closing the achievement gap for low-income Latino and black students, the study found. That’s out of a pool of...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | May 2, 2019
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86% of L.A. charter school graduates are eligible for state universities — two dozen points higher than LAUSD grads. Here’s how varying data and school policies complicate comparisons.

Eighty-six percent of independent charter school graduates in L.A. met college eligibility standards for the state’s public universities last year, according to data from the California Charter Schools Association — 24 percentage points higher than L.A. Unified reported for its traditional schools. About 8,400 independent charter school students graduated with C’s or better in their college prep...
By Taylor Swaak | April 30, 2019
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Middle schoolers are doing better on a key tech and engineering test — and it’s thanks to the girls

American middle schoolers are performing better on a national assessment of technology and engineering, an improvement driven largely by girls. Overall, students’ average score on the National Assessment of Education Progress in Technology and Engineering Literacy increased two points from 2014, the first time the test was given. Several subgroups showed statistically significant improvements, including...
By Carolyn Phenicie | April 30, 2019
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Analysis: Charter schools yield 53% greater return on investment than traditional public schools

Charter schools are the object of intense national debate. They shouldn’t be. The data show that public charters are a good investment. In five studies that we’ve conducted during the past several years, we’ve compared traditional schools and charter schools in a diverse roster of U.S. cities where a substantial portion of families are choosing...
By Corey A. DeAngelis, Patrick J. Wolf, Larry D. Maloney and Jay F. May | April 29, 2019
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Californians hold split views on charter schools, but most are in favor of them as options for low-income children, survey finds

Californians are divided in their general views on charter schools, according to a new statewide survey. Most are in support of parents having the option to choose charters, but there’s also a high level of concern that charters divert state funding from traditional schools. Nearly half — 49 percent — of all adults surveyed said...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | April 25, 2019
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Juvenile justice reform, equitable funding among priorities for 2019 Teacher of the Year

Rodney Robinson, a history teacher at a Virginia juvenile justice center, plans to use his new platform as 2019 National Teacher of the Year to highlight the school-to-prison pipeline and the need for juvenile justice reform. Much like last year’s selection of Mandy Manning, a teacher of refugee and new immigrant students, Robinson’s win, announced Wednesday,...
By Carolyn Phenicie | April 24, 2019
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‘No plan on how to fix themselves’ — Business leaders say LAUSD is undeserving of $500M parcel tax after years of little reform and accountability

*Updated April 23: Board members voted unanimously on Tuesday without debate to pass an amended resolution forming an independent taxpayer oversight committee if the parcel tax passes in June. All board members were co-sponsors. As the L.A. Unified school board on Tuesday considers an independent oversight committee to sway residents to greenlight the district’s first-ever parcel tax, staunch opponents...
By Taylor Swaak | April 22, 2019
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Whether for or against a parcel tax, parents and advocates want more money for schools — but they don’t yet trust LAUSD to be a ‘good steward’

*Updated April 23 Parents and community advocates are divided on L.A. Unified’s Measure EE, a parcel tax on the June ballot that would raise about $500 million a year over a 12-year period for schools. However, a common thread connects them: They agree schools need more funding, but there’s also “distrust” over whether the district would...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | April 19, 2019