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L.A. Unified names caretaker for vacant board seat
The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday appointed a former district administrator to oversee the seat left vacant by the death of member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte in December. In a closed-door meeting, the board selected Sylvia Rousseau, a USC professor and former local superintendent in L.A. Unified, to be a liaison to the board until a special election is held in June. LA Times

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Independent study: Brown’s new online learning target

After withdrawing an aggressive plan to enhance online learning in K-12 classrooms last year, Gov. Jerry Brown has returned with a less ambitious proposal – but one that may have broader impact. This year, Brown is looking merely to streamline the system schools must go through for converting student independent study work into seat time and thus state funding. SI&A Cabinet Report

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More than a third of CSU freshman ill-prepared for math, English

A look at each freshman class each year at the California State University system in the last decade reveals a paradox in academic achievement: all the students have met CSU’s class and grade requirements to gain acceptance yet every year a significant portion test unable to do college level math and English work. KPCC 

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Memo to Legislature: No time for half measures on CalSTRS
Commentary: Today, the state Legislature commences hearings on a request made more than a year ago by the California State Teachers’ Retirement System, CalSTRS, for a $240 billion cash injection over 30 years, starting with $4.2 billion this year, to finance an unfunded liability for teacher pensions. Sacramento Bee

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Community schools can help break the cycle of poverty
Commentary: We’ve known for some time that children from low-income families are less likely to succeed in school relative to their higher-income peers. Many solutions to address this achievement gap have been explored, such as greater funding, more accountability for teachers or a longer school day. EdSource 

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Those greedy Prius-driving, coupon-clipping teachers!
Commentary: United Teachers Los Angeles’ (UTLA’s) House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly January 15 to compel our negotiations team, in contract talks with LAUSD, to demand a 17.6 percent salary increase, retroactive to the 2013-14 school year. Pay for LAUSD teachers continues to rank near the bottom in educator salaries for L.A. County. Huffington Post