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Students, area school staff embrace changes to SAT
Pablo Muñoz is no stranger to academic rigor. And don’t expect him to shirk additional work. As many cheered sweeping changes to the SAT — such as the optional essay — the 15-year-old Loyola High School sophomore is likely not to skip that portion. “I would probably do the essay because I think it could give me a slight edge over test takers,” he said. “I think it might be a gateway for students to shortchange themselves” if they don’t write the essay. LA Times

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L.A. County Supervisors approve crossing guards at certain middle schools
Weeks after a mother was killed walking her daughter to school, the county Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to deploy crossing guards at certain middle schools in unincorporated areas. While its previous policy covered only elementary schools, now the county’s Department of Public Works and Office of Education can post the guards near middle schools if there’s evidence of unusually complicated intersections or heavy pedestrian and vehicular traffic. LA Daily News

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Bill would provide $1.5 billion more for Common Core implementation
California school districts would receive another year of Common Core implementation funds under a bill introduced Wednesday by Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Concord. Last year, as chair of the Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance, Bonilla pushed for the $1.25 billion that schools are using this academic year to support teacher training, textbooks and other instructional materials and technology upgrades needed to carry out the transition to Common Core State Standards. EdSource

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LAO says Brown’s child care funding falls short
Legislators will need to include “a few million dollars” more in this year’s budget if the state expects to fully cover the costs of its largest subsidized child care program for low-income families. While it is likely that state lawmakers will heed the advice of the Legislative Analyst’s Office and budget the additional money needed to pay for California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids – or CalWORKs, the issue of increased funding for other state subsidized child care and preschool programs is less certain. SI&A Cabinet Report

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Community rallies around George McKenna for L.A. school board
The recent storm couldn’t keep parents, students, educators, and voters away from helping to celebrate the grand opening of Dr. George McKenna’s Leimert Park campaign headquarters on March 2. Among those in attendance were Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters, South Los Angeles Councilmember Bernard Parks, retired L.A. Councilmember Jan Perry, and former Assemblymember Mike Davis. LA Sentinel

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By easing path from high school to higher ed, CA can build its workforce
Commentary: The forecast for 2025 is grim – California will fall short by millions of college graduates of meeting workforce demands. But as a policymaker who has worked for decades on quality and accountability in our schools, and as a community college president leading change, we see no shortage of students who are eager and ready to succeed in college. Sacramento Bee