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Morning Read: California settles with feds over services to English learners

Feds say some students went a decade without help learning English. After lawsuit, state pledges new support Up and down the state, for at least a decade, according to the federal government, tens of thousands of English learners in elementary, middle and high school received no services to help them learn the language and keep...
By LA School Report | September 12, 2016
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After School Satan Clubs put the heat on LAUSD, target 47 elementary schools

Their logo features a wild-eyed horned character holding out a candy cane. Their promotional video features eerie music, children running backward and lots of spiders. They want to take children on field trips to local cemeteries. Members of the Satanic Temple of Los Angeles are hoping to host After School Satan Clubs that will be targeted toward...
By Mike Szymanski | September 9, 2016
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‘A city of second chances’: High school dropouts recovered as Garcetti, Zimmer, volunteers knock on doors

LA Unified officials and a team of volunteers hit the streets Friday, knocking on the doors of high school dropouts in an effort to get them re-enrolled in school as part of the district’s Student Recovery Day. Among the door knockers was Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, who along with LA Unified Board President Steve...
By Craig Clough | September 9, 2016
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Morning Read: Trump goes all in on school choice in first major education policy speech

Trump goes all in on school choice in first major education policy speech Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump gave his first major policy address on education at a charter school in Cleveland, saying he would “reprioritize” $20 billion in existing federal spending for school choice. While specifics would be left to each state, block grant...
By LA School Report | September 9, 2016
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State Board of Education approves new evaluation system for schools

Despite calls for creating an overall rating, the California State Board of Education on Thursday approved a new evaluation system for schools that will display outcomes on a number of measures moving away from a system that relies on standardized test scores. More than 100 speakers signed up to address the 11-member board during the...
By Sarah Favot | September 8, 2016
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LAUSD throws away the equivalent of 200 elephants in food waste each week

LA Unified throws away an average of one ton of food per school every week. That’s the equivalent of 600 tons of organic waste for the entire district each week, or “equivalent to 200 elephants of waste a week,” said Robert Laughton, director of the school district’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety. Laughton gave...
By Mike Szymanski | September 8, 2016
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Morning Read: Kindergarten readiness gap is shrinking, new study shows

Kindergarten readiness gap between low-income and higher-income students shrinking Persistent gaps in kindergarten readiness between children from low-income families and their higher-income peers — which have continued as ongoing achievement gaps in later years — appear to be narrowing, new research shows. And in a related finding, another report has concluded that lower-income parents are investing more...
By LA School Report | September 8, 2016
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Provider of online credit recovery courses at LAUSD says curriculum is ‘very rigorous’ despite criticism

After LA Unified skyrocketed from a projected 49 percent graduation rate last fall to a record-setting 75 percent for the 2015-16 school year, academic experts, California public universities, editorial boards and even the school board president are all asking hard questions about one major aspect of the turnaround — online credit recovery. How rigorous are those...
By Craig Clough | September 7, 2016
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Imelda Padilla, who found inspiration in LAUSD schools after personal struggles, enters board race

Children called her “crooked legs” when she attended school in the east San Fernando Valley. She overcame her crippling rickets after six months in a cast while being homeschooled by LA Unified teachers. When she returned to school, it was one of those teachers who inspired her to smile more and shed the anger she carried....
By Mike Szymanski | September 7, 2016
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LA parents head to Sacramento for this week’s vote to plead for an overall rating to assess schools

*UPDATED A contingent of LA parents, armed with a petition of about 420 signatures, will ask the state Board of Education this week to adopt a summative rating to evaluate schools in addition to a number of proposed measures that move beyond ranking schools solely based on test scores. The Board of Education is expected...
By Sarah Favot | September 6, 2016