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LAUSD’s English learners fall far behind other large California districts. Will Prop. 58 come to the rescue?

With California’s voters passing Proposition 58 this week, millions of students will now have increased access to bilingual education. That’s especially good news for LA Unified, where the district’s English language learners significantly trailed their peers at other large districts in the state on the most recent standardized tests. While LA Unified had plans to expand bilingual...
By Craig Clough | November 10, 2016
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Dealing with frightened kids the day after the election: How one LA school got through the day

When Principal James Lee arrived at school Wednesday morning to find a sea of anxious faces, he knew he had to do something. Donald Trump was now the president-elect, and Lee recalled how his students had reacted with fear to some of the rhetoric during the presidential campaign about immigration, deportation and “the Wall.” Sylmar Charter High...
By Mike Szymanski | November 9, 2016
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LAUSD leaders react to Trump’s victory and ‘feelings of fear and anxiety’

*UPDATED Education leaders in Los Angeles reached out to their schools and communities a day after Donald Trump was elected president to address “feelings of fear and anxiety.” During his campaign, Trump had vowed to deport millions of immigrants and build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico. LA Unified’s student body is 74...
By Craig Clough | November 9, 2016
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How education fared in California state races

Here are overnight results from some education-related races in California. For national races with education impact, follow The 74’s Election Day live blog throughout today. Incumbents Sweep Oakland School Board Race: A heated Oakland school board contest fueled by the growth of charter schools failed to knock any of the incumbents out. Jody London, Jumoke Hinton-Hodge,...
By LA School Report | November 9, 2016
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Californians pass 3 education propositions

Californians passed three education-related propositions, sending more money to schools and bringing back bilingual education. Income Tax Extension Benefits K-12 Education: Proposition 55 extends the income tax rates under Prop. 30 for individuals who earn more than $250,000 a year and couples who earn more than $500,000 a year for 12 years. It passed easily...
By LA School Report | November 9, 2016
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Test scores are too low to qualify for grants at 3 schools where teachers voted to reject the funds

More than 70 percent of students at three schools where teachers voted last week to reject grant funds did not meet proficiency on state standardized tests last year in English and more than 80 percent did not meet the standards in math, a review of test data shows. The fourth school where the teachers voted...
By Sarah Favot | November 8, 2016
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How Venice High opted in — and became LA’s most-improved high school

While statistically Venice High School was the most-improved LA Unified high school in 2015-16 based on state test scores, the real story behind the jump is participation: how many students actually took the tests and how the school’s administration turned the tide of a strong “opt-out” movement that had swept through the campus. The school’s numbers...
By Craig Clough | November 8, 2016
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Dual language immersion programs will grow at LAUSD with or without Prop. 58

The majority of Vista Del Valle Dual Language Academy students in San Fernando don’t have just one teacher, they have two. And they don’t have just one classroom, they have two, where they spend half their day learning in English and the other half learning in Spanish. It’s all part of the school’s dual language immersion program,...
By Craig Clough | November 6, 2016
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Parents deliver lawsuit against Huntington Park over charter ban

*UPDATED Parents and supporters of charter school students on Friday delivered a lawsuit to the Huntington Park City Council and Mayor Graciela Ortiz in response to the council’s recent enactment of a one-year ban on new charter schools in the city’s limits. The lawsuit was filed Thursday by the California Charter Schools Association in Los Angeles County Superior...
By Craig Clough | November 4, 2016
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Heated Oakland school board race captures growing conflict over charters, choice, equity

By Kathleen O’Connor When Jumoke Hinton-Hodge was elected to the board of the Oakland Unified School District eight years ago, the district was emerging from state receivership after a $100 million bailout, the largest in California’s history. At the same time, enrollment in city schools was declining, the Great Recession was in full effect, and...
By Guest contributor | November 3, 2016