The Morning Read
Your Daily Roundup of LAUSD news from across the web | 10.05.21
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The path to Excelencia: One school leader’s mission to show English language learners can succeed

*Updated April 11 Ruben Alonzo’s English learners in his Texas classroom were thriving. He believed in their potential the same way a teacher had once believed in him — a third-generation migrant worker who went on to MIT, Harvard, and Columbia University. His students were two miles from the Mexican border in Rio Grande, at...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | April 9, 2018
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As Gov. Brown allocates more education funding, LAUSD moves to make sure its neediest schools benefit the most

Responding to years of pressure by Los Angeles community and education advocates, LA Unified next month may commit to funding schools based on a new ranking that gives priority to those with the highest-need students. Nearly $140 million in new funding is expected to flow to the district in the next two years as part...
By Laura Greanias | April 4, 2018
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LA parent voice: What I learned on my journey to become an education advocate

Silvia Flores, a mother of two students at two LA Unified schools in South LA, wanted to learn more about how she can help her kids succeed in school. So she signed up for the Alliance for a Better Community’s Parent Advocate Training Program, where she learned about building a parent network and working with...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | April 3, 2018
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Antonucci: Here’s the status of teacher contracts in California’s 8 largest school districts
Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. With teacher strike fever in the air, it is worth checking to see to what extent California will catch the bug. An examination of the state’s eight largest school districts reveals that while Los Angeles and San Diego school workers could potentially head to the picket lines,...
By Mike Antonucci | April 2, 2018
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Robin Lake to LAUSD: Stop searching for the next superhero — hand your schools the cape

For the fifth time in the past 10 years, LAUSD is searching for a new superintendent. The school board’s list of required qualifications likely include: • Able to drive and execute on an academic improvement vision for more than 640,000 students. • Able to turn around or close hundreds of low-performing schools. • Able to...
By Robin Lake | April 2, 2018
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New ways of teaching math to California’s English learners are getting results, report says

As California struggles to close a stubborn achievement gap for its English learners, integrating math education with English language development can be a key to unlocking their potential, a new study says. The Education Trust—West report, Unlocking Learning II: Math as a Lever for English Learner Equity, highlights school districts — including three in the...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | March 29, 2018
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LAUSD moves to streamline how schools are rated, making it easier for parents to compare and evaluate them

Los Angeles parents will get a simpler way to evaluate and compare schools, if a plan by three LA Unified school board members is passed next month that gives schools a single score or rating based primarily on student achievement and growth. It’s been five years since the Academic Performance Index, which ranked California schools...
By Laura Greanias | March 28, 2018
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Antonucci: The California Teachers Association — the union other unions want to be
Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. The Los Angeles Times once called the California Teachers Association “arguably the most potent force in state politics.” I don’t think there is any argument about it. Its influence over education policy is legendary. CTA’s leverage over the state budget lifts it well beyond what other interest...
By Mike Antonucci | March 27, 2018
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Los Angeles moms are honored for their ‘parent power’ — volunteers who are transforming their schools and electing leaders

Six Los Angeles moms who started out as classroom and field trip volunteers — then helped elect a school board member — were honored Tuesday with the 2018 Hart Vision Volunteers of the Year Award by the California Charter Schools Association. Xitlali Castro, Ramona López, Esmeralda Medina, Roxann Nazario, Mireya Pacheco, and Bielma Pérez, all...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | March 27, 2018
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LA parent voice: How a mom helped her son with ADHD shine by getting the most out of his IEP

Every week, we sit down with Los Angeles parents to talk about their students, their schools, and what questions or suggestions they have for their school district. (See our previous interviews.) Lia Martin’s 10-year-old son, Taylor, used to be two years behind grade level and didn’t want to go to school. Now he’s a year ahead in...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | March 27, 2018