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Firing bad teachers: A superintendent and a union official debate
Commentary: Dr. John E. Deasy, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, supports the California lawsuit against the state’s tenure, layoff and termination rules. He believes that the current system has a disparate impact on the quality of education offered to poor students and minorities, and is therefore unconstitutional. The Atlantic

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LAUSD shifts gears on technology for students
Los Angeles school district officials have allowed a group of high schools to choose from among six different laptop computers for their students — a marked contrast to last year’s decision to give every pupil an iPad. Contracts that will come under final review by the Board of Education on Tuesday would authorize the purchase of one of six devices for each of the 27 high schools at a cost not to exceed $40 million. LA Times

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Three SBE-charters struggle financially
Three charter schools authorized by the California State Board of Education have been identified as having some fiscal distress. Charter operators are allowed under the Education Code to petition the state board for approval of a school that has been denied at the local level, subject to certain conditions. At one point, the SBE had oversight of 33 such charters, today there are 23. S&I Cabinet Report

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L.A.’s Ghetto Film School teaches moviemaking to disadvantaged youths
Over 30 months, the teenagers from Compton, South L.A. and other neighborhoods will learn about storytelling, shooting and film editing. They will create a six-minute movie, enroll in college courses (while living on a college campus during the summer), complete an internship and travel abroad to shoot a film. The programs include a New York-based film high school and Digital Bodega, a production company that gives work to alumni and pumps money back into Ghetto Film School. LA Times

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What makes for happier teachers, according to international survey
Teachers who say they get included in school decision-making and collaborate often with other teachers are more likely to say that teaching is a valued profession in their society. In turn, these same teachers report higher levels of job satisfaction and confidence in their ability to teach and to motivate students. Hechinger Report