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District: So far, so good with students taking iPads home

A $1.3 billion project fraught with controversy and a long list of disappointing results produced its first positive news in some time yesterday, as LA Unified reported a high level of success and satisfaction at a handful of schools where students were allowed to take home their district-issued iPads and other digital tablets. Members of...
By Craig Clough | January 23, 2015
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McKenna asking his supporters to help retire campaign debt

More than 17,000 District 1 voters put George McKenna on the LA Unified school board last year. Now he needs each of them to send him $2.06. While candidates for this year’s school board elections are busy raising money, McKenna, is looking for help in paying off nearly $35,000 in campaign debts from last year. In...
By Vanessa Romo | January 23, 2015
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Teachers drop salary demand again as LAUSD holds on class size

The LA Unified teachers union, UTLA, dropped its salary demand yesterday to an 8.5 percent increase from a 9 percent, the union’s third consecutive lowering of what many teachers consider the most important issue in negotiations for a new contract. As part of the change, UTLA negotiators also asked the district for an annual $1,000...
By Vanessa Romo | January 23, 2015
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Morning Read: Vaccination rates for kindergartners rises

Fewer California parents refuse to vaccinate children The number of California parents who refuse to vaccinate their kindergartners dropped in 2014 for the first time in a dozen years. Los Angeles Times Legislative leaders want to debate school bond Gov. Jerry Brown has made it clear he doesn’t like the idea of issuing another statewide...
By LA School Report | January 23, 2015
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KCET asks: Are LAUSD’s ‘crumb rubber’ fields safe?

How safe is your child’s sports field? KCET recently took an in-depth look at “crumb rubber” synthetic fields and the recent reports of possible health hazards related to them. The segment, which features interviews with parents, city officials, an LA Unified official and experts, focuses on parks in Los Angeles and at LA Unified that have crumb rubber...
By LA School Report | January 22, 2015
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Aspen Challenge comes to LAUSD, AALA president retiring

Students from 18 LA Unified schools will be taking part in the third-annual Aspen Challenge on Saturday at the César E. Chávez Learning Academies in San Fernando. Launched by the Aspen Institute and the Bezos Family Foundation,the Aspen Challenge provides a forum for high school students and teachers to take on some of the world’s most pressing...
By Craig Clough | January 22, 2015
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Report: Do state districts have meaningful educator evaluations?

By EdVoice To ensure that every student in California has an effective and supportive teacher, schools and districts need to provide educators the help they need to thrive. And to target help and support to best meet the needs of teachers, schools need to conduct meaningful performance evaluations of instructional staff and leadership that include...
By LA School Report | January 22, 2015
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Morning Read: LAUSD program brings help to young men of color

‘Village’ program supports at-risk LAUSD students The novel program brings together volunteers and students of diverse backgrounds into campus “villages” to support an encourage young men. NBC Los Angeles Officials fight back against anti-immunization parents Health officials have long been frustrated with the increasing number of parents who decline to have their children vaccinated. Los...
By LA School Report | January 22, 2015
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Measles outbreak highlights low vaccination rates at SoCal schools

A measles outbreak that has been traced to starting at Disneyland last month has returned the issue of declining immunization rates to the headlines. So far, the outbreak has spread to 54 people across California, at least three other states and Mexico. Today, the Los Angels Times reported that the outbreak is the state’s worst...
By Craig Clough | January 21, 2015
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LA teachers union seeking to negotiate management decisions

As part of its contract negotiations, the teachers union, UTLA, is asking LA Unified for a new approach to school oversight, a demand that seeks to move decisions on school management and operations into the collective bargaining process. In effect, the proposal would insinuate UTLA into areas now the sole province of the board and...
By Michael Janofsky | January 21, 2015