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• Schools Open, New and Old – Including Miramonte: By now, that first morning bell has rung, the children of Los Angeles are sitting quietly (ahem) at their desks, and 20 brand new schools have opened their doors for the first time. Superintendent John Deasy will visit a dozen or so schools, including Miramonte Elementary, where two teachers were arrested for lewd conduct in February. The entire school staff, including the custodians, were removed from the school and given jobs on different campuses, although 45 of the teachers will return to the campus today. KPCC
• Playa Vista Baby Boom Leads to New School: A breezy little feature about a new school in Playa Vista– “the last major coastal community in Los Angeles to be built.” The brand new Playa Vista Elementary will serve 200 students. Board member Zimmer says the level of parental involvement is “almost unprecedented.” LA Times
• Study: Construction Binge Led To Higher Test Scores: Researchers from UC Berkeley say that the $19.5 Billion effort to construct 131 schools have led to higher test scores – at least for elementary school students. Daily News
• Are New School Menus Worth Cheering For? LAist comes to put a damper on any enthusiasm about the new LAUSD school menus, arguing that the problem is that all food is made off-site and then shipped to schools: “Without a serious shift in the way LAUSD food service operates — like allowing knives or actual cooking on-site — there’s really no way truly healthful food is going to taste good. According to an L.A. Times story, the problem with last year’s new menu was due to mass production, not in the recipes or the ideas itself.” Meanwhile, there’s preliminary evidence that limiting junk food in vending machines might help kids stay healthy. LAist
• UC President Urges US Supreme Court to Uphold Affirmative Action: University of California President Mark Yudof submitted a legal brief to the US Supreme Court in a Texas case that may decide, once and for all, the constitutionality of considering race in University admissions. California became the first state to ban race-based admissions when voters passed Proposition 209 in 1996. LA Weekly
• Compton NAACP moves to recall school board member: Compton Unified board member Skyy Fisher got himself into hot water when, on a podcast, Fisher called the superintendent a ‘bitch’ and Trayvon Martin a ‘faggot.’ The Compton chapter of the NAACP announced they will run a recall campaign against FIsher. LA Times
Parents attempt to navigate new school district boundaries KPCC
Bereaved mother turns grief into action on school-bus-stop safety LA Times
First day of school for LA schools; caution urged for motorists LA Times