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Civic leaders mobilizing to support LA schools chief
A University of California regent is gathering support from civic, business and philanthropic leaders to pressure the seven member Board of Education of the Los Angeles Unified School District to “make every effort” to retain the services of John Deasy, its embattled school superintendent. EdSource
Deasy, LAUSD at a critical juncture
When John Deasy took the helm of Los Angeles Unified in 2011, he was backed by the school board, mayor and civic leaders in a bid to transform the nation’s second-largest school district with bold measures to improve student performance. Now Deasy’s future is in doubt at a critical point. LA Times
Brown administration sides with schools over flexibility of LCFF money
In settling a simmering dispute between schools and civil rights groups over the use of new state funding targeting, the Brown administration appears to have decided to give local officials authority to define the mission. SI&A Cabinet Report
Test driving LA Unified’s iPad educational software
There’s no doubt Jesus Vargas is a tech saavy teen — he’s built his own app. He’s a senior at USC Math, Science and Technology High School in the Los Angeles Unified School District — a school that doesn’t have the iPads yet. So he was excited to test drive one as he hung out at the after school program Urban Teens Exploring Technology near USC’s campus. KPCC
Dozens of LA Unified administrators involved in iPad selection
L.A. Unified’s declined to share details on how it chose the iPad for its one-to-one table initiative for months. But as scrutiny has grown inside and outside the nation’s second largest school district, officials are beginning to release documents. KPCC
Plan to transform bleak school playground hits a big snag
The playground at Berendo Middle School, just west of downtown Los Angeles, looks more like the surface of an aircraft carrier than a playground. There’s virtually nothing but blacktop for the roughly 1,300 students to play on — acres and acres of sun-baked tar that heats up in summer and gets slippery when it rains. LA Times
Do we invest in preschools or prisons?
Congress is often compared to pre-K, which seems defamatory of small children. But the similarities also offer hope, because an initiative that should be on the top of the national agenda has less to do with the sequester than with the A.B.C.’s and Big Bird. New York Times
Common Core needs tailoring for gifted learners, advocates say
While many educators feel that the common-core standards fall more in line with the pedagogy of gifted education than previous states’ standards, the standards in and of themselves will not be sufficient to challenge a school’s most advanced learners, gifted education advocates say. EdWeek