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Morning Read: Ratliff Tells UTLA Public Likes Teachers, Not Union

LA School Report | August 5, 2013



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L.A. Teachers Union Urged to Improve Training for Bad Teachers
Monica Ratliff, a fifth-grade teacher who pulled off an upset win in May for the Los Angeles Board of Education, told more than 400 leaders of United Teachers Los Angeles that the public likes teachers but distrusts labor unions. LA Times


Parent-Trigger Efforts in L.A. Give Parents Control of the Classroom
Parents at three failing public schools — two in Los Angeles and one in the High Desert, between L.A. and Las Vegas — will reopen after parents forced their local school districts to enact sweeping changes at the schools, successfully using California’s 2010 “parent-trigger” law. LA Daily News


Tests Linked to Common Core in Critics’ Cross Hairs
Having failed to persuade lawmakers in any state to repeal the Common Core State Standards outright, opponents are training their fire on the assessments being developed to go with the standards and due to be rolled out for the 2014-15 school year. EdWeek


From Recession’s Wake, Education Innovation Blooms
As with so many innovations, the technology is bubbling up mostly from the United States, fueled by American capital chasing profitable solutions to American problems. But as with those past innovations, the impact will be worldwide — in this case, perhaps even more powerfully in developing countries where mass higher education is new. Associated Press


Aspiring Teachers Do the Math — and Science — in Summer School
College students in a special training program must agree to teach in urban, low-performing schools for four years. LA Times


Early Literacy Programs Receive Boost From National Campaign
Galvanized by a national reading campaign, communities across California are launching innovative partnerships that are resulting in new early literacy programs in schools, libraries and even laundromats. EdSource


Struggling High Schoolers Take the Stage at Costa Mesa’s Segerstrom Center
The students, who attend alternative schools in Orange County, have been attending the Summer at the Center program for two weeks, rehearsing their parts in a 45-minute, Broadway revue-style show that will include a medley of boy bands throughout the decades. KPCC


Black Leadership is Missing from Education Reform
Commentary: My advice to the National Association of Black Journalists: Cover the stories of black educators, change agents, families and students who are the principle actors and consumers of education reform. MSNBC News


Education Officials, Not Governors, Are Top Government Earners
A recent Council of State Governments survey shows that while the Governor is considered a chief executive of a state, unlike a chief executive of most companies, he or she is not always the highest paid employee. According to Melissa Maynard of Pew’s Stateline blog, the Governors who get the biggest paycheck of any government employee in their state are a tiny minority. Education News

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