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Important LA Public Education Jobs are Changing Hands
There’s a game of musical chairs going on in Los Angeles public education, and while the people involved may not be household names, they can play a key role in charting the direction of the L.A. Unified School District. KPCC
A.J. Duffy, Still-Feisty Former Teachers Union Chief, Retires
His career in education ends after two years at Phoenix High, working with students who need a second chance. He said he could relate. LA Times
Santa Monica Shootings: Students and Staff Struggle to Cope
Dozens of Santa Monica College students and staff members gathered at the school’s satellite campus Sunday as news spread that a fifth victim had succumbed to injuries suffered in Friday’s shooting rampage. LA Times
See also: LA Daily News, KTLA 5, KPCC
Inglewood Schools’ Slide Steepens Despite State Takeover
Many in Inglewood thought the city’s struggling school district had been handed a lifeline last year when the state Department of Education took the reins, hiring new leaders and infusing the school system with $55 million in emergency loans to get it back on track. LA Times
Funding Reform Worries Potential ‘Loser’ Schools Within ‘Winning’ Districts
Signs of discord in Los Angeles Unified indicate that the same battles over money may eventually play out among “winner” and “loser” schools within large diverse districts – like Oakland, San Diego and San Jose – that have both high- and low-income schools. Ed Source
Rival Proposals Show No Clear Path to ESEA Rewrite
Lawmakers in Congress introduced three separate pieces of legislation last week to rewrite the long-stalled Elementary and Secondary Education Act—but none of the measures has bipartisan backing, meaning that there will almost certainly not be a reauthorization this year. Education Week
Editorial: Higher Education, At Much Lower Cost
At a time when those with a bachelor’s degree have an invaluable advantage in the job market (their unemployment rate routinely hovers around half that of individuals with only a high school diploma), costs are skyrocketing. In just four years, inflation-adjusted tuition in California’s four-year public universities rose by over 70 percent. We have no doubt that a college education is valuable – but we doubt that it became 70 percent more so in such a short period. OC Register
School music teacher brings in $1.5 million grant
The fact that freshly re-elected Los Angeles Unified School District Board Member Steve Zimmer joined Principal Eric Davidson and about 65 people on the West Los Angeles campus. Jewish Journal
Nearly 50 years under a school’s spell
Violin teacher Mickey Fruchter has been teaching at the Neighborhood Music School in Boyle Heights since he was 25, drawn to it by the love of his students. ‘I’m like a big uncle,’ he says. LA Times (Steve Lopez)