Morning Read: Deasy Tells Top District Officials He’s Leaving
LA School Report | October 25, 2013
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L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy may leave in coming months
Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy, who has led the nation’s second-largest school system since 2011, has told some top district officials that he could be leaving in coming months. Deasy declined to discuss his intentions Thursday evening, saying that he has not submitted a letter of resignation and that he would have more to say after his job evaluation Tuesday. LA Times
Curriculum prompts new concerns in L.A. iPad plan
Education officials here tout the new digital curriculum embedded on iPads being distributed to tens of thousands of students as a key piece of their half-billion-dollar effort to transform teaching and learning in the nation’s second-largest district. But the new software from the publishing giant Pearson that has been rolled out in dozens of schools is nowhere near complete. EdWeek
LA schools use ‘Parent College’ as tool to boost student achievement
Until last year, Nadia Solis never thought to talk to her elementary school-aged children about college. Now, they not only talk about it, they’ve visited a college campus and are planning for the time when eight-year-old Darlene, and six-year-old Alexander will attend themselves. PBS
Head Start pushing for more math and science instruction
In response to mounting evidence that acquisition of math concepts at an early age is a strong predictor of academic success later on, some Head Start programs in California are making a big push to improve the level and quality of math instruction that they offer to children from 2- to 4-years-old. EdSource
Districts confirm they’re moving ahead with Common Core
Three-quarters of school districts in California report having a professional development plan to prepare teachers and administrators for the Common Core standards. And three out of four districts also said they’d have lessons in math and English on all of the Common Core standards in every grade in place a year from now. EdSource
Another fight brewing for parent trigger
Editorial: Opponents of a law that empowers parents with children in failing schools want to rewrite the rules — and they are on the hunt for an ally in Sacramento. Supporters of the Parent Empowerment Act will need a champion of their own in the fight to come. LA Daily News
Best classroom gizmo? A great teacher
Commentary: The Los Angeles Unified School District’s plan to supply every student with an iPad is, to be charitable, not going well. Before any more school districts decide to spend millions on high-tech gadgets, let me offer a few words of caution. Why me? Because I was there in 1986 when Apple computers were first lugged into elementary classrooms. LA Times
How to close the “opportunity gap?” Let’s find out
In 2006, researchers at Johns Hopkins University drew an important conclusion after a quarter-century following rich and poor students in Baltimore from childhood to adulthood. The summer, they said, is a major reason students from low-income families are continually playing catch-up with their wealthier peers. Hechinger Report