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As schools diversify, principals remain mostly white — and 5 other things we learned this summer about America’s school leaders

While kids were running through sprinklers and eating popsicles this summer, a handful of education researchers crunched the numbers about their principals. Reports released this summer offer new insight into America’s school principals, from their racial diversity to how turnover affects student achievement. The new papers add to a growing body of research about principals...
By Laura Fay | September 16, 2019
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Teacher Spotlight: Alliance’s Guillermo Lopez on setting higher expectations in math for low-performing students and convincing their teachers that excellence is possible

This interview is one in a series spotlighting Los Angeles teachers, their unique and innovative classroom approaches, and their thoughts on how the education system can better support teachers in guiding students to success. Guillermo Lopez has one expectation for all his students, including the ones with the most challenges to learn, and that is...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | September 16, 2019
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Teacher Spotlight: Third-grade special ed teacher Maria Duarte seeks to educate her Camino Nuevo school community about LGBTQ inclusion, encouraging students to become change agents

This interview is one in a series spotlighting Los Angeles teachers, their unique and innovative classroom approaches, and their thoughts on how the education system can better support teachers in guiding students to success. *Updated With the purpose of promoting an inclusive school culture, where all students feel safe, Maria Duarte is leading a study...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | September 11, 2019
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‘I’ll make sure that they’re heard’: LAUSD’s new student board member outlines her priorities as the voice of 600,000

High school senior Frances Suavillo has always believed education is a right and not a privilege. She’s seen firsthand when it’s not. Born and raised in the Philippines until she was 9 years old, Suavillo saw deep-seated educational inequity in the Southeast Asian island country — how “money dictated who went to school and who didn’t,”...
By Taylor Swaak | September 9, 2019
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Elite schools, prized by parents and politicians alike, may actually hurt disadvantaged students more than they help, new research shows

Applying to one of Chicago’s 11 selective enrollment high schools is a little like banking on the Bears to triumph at the Super Bowl: probably futile and, at times, downright depressing. The elite public schools, which admit students on the basis of high grades and exam scores, attract thousands of high-achieving applicants each year. In...
By Kevin Mahnken | September 9, 2019
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Latest version of sweeping California charter school bill waters down original draft, is ‘setting the clock of progress way back,’ opponent says

California has more charter schools than any other state and has long served as a reliable source of growth for that sector of public education. But a sweeping bill, hammered out in a compromise last week between the governor and leaders of both legislative bodies, is likely to slow down expansion in the years ahead....
By Mikhail Zinshteyn, CalMatters | September 9, 2019
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Equity advocates push back at CSU hearing on new admissions requirement: “We’ll just be re-creating the same systemic inequities that already exist”

A California State University proposal to add an admissions requirement drew both interest and fervent criticism at a public hearing in Long Beach last week, highlighting the discord among education pundits and community members on how to fix educational inequity in the state. At question during the more than four-hour Board of Trustees committee hearing...
By Taylor Swaak | September 4, 2019
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Migrant children separated from parents experienced severe trauma, government watchdog finds. Here’s what that means for America’s schools

The Trump administration policy of separating migrant youth from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border has exacerbated mental health problems including post-traumatic stress among affected children, according to a new government watchdog report. Immigration and education experts predict the debilitating effects of family separation will be felt in K-12 classrooms across the country as the...
By Mark Keierleber | September 4, 2019
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Partnership between Inglewood Unified and City Year L.A. helping to build social-emotional learning, student success

Every morning, City Year AmeriCorps member Lizette Martinez scanned the sea of faces as she greeted students streaming through the doors of Locke High School. She wanted to be sure to spot Arthur, a quiet student who she noticed was skipping class often. After the first bell, City Year AmeriCorps member Christina Oluwole noticed if...
By Thelma Meléndez and Mary Jane Stevenson | September 4, 2019
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Is homework too easy? With half of parents expressing concerns, new study says students’ assignments lack rigor, favor lower-level skills

Here’s a double dose of bad news for kids more keen on playing Fortnite than analyzing text: Not only is homework worthwhile, but much of the take-home exercises students receive today is too easy, according to a study from the Center for American Progress. These latest findings, released earlier this year, are based on an...
By Brendan Lowe | September 3, 2019