LA School Report

LA Charter First In KIPP Network To Embrace Blended Learning At KIPP Empower, that model calls for kindergartners to spend roughly 11 percent of their extended, 8 1/2 -hour school day working on reading or math exercises on a laptop computer. But classes at the school feel, by and large, similar to other early-elementary classrooms...

Fiscal cliff not imminent for school districts The one education cut that would take effect Jan. 1 affects Impact Aid, which involves payments in lieu of property taxes to districts where federal facilities are located. EdSource Teacher accused of fondling student pleads not guilty A former Miramonte Elementary School teacher pleaded not guilty Monday to...

New L.A. teachers too often placed with neediest students, study finds  More so than in the other districts, Los Angeles schools also disproportionately placed newer teachers with less-proficient students  –-  who are an average six months behind peers assigned to more experienced instructors. Los Angeles Times Schools eat up challenge of new federal nutrition standards...

A new analysis released by the Strategic Data Project shows that students taught by the highest-performing math teachers in LAUSD come out eight months ahead of some of their peers. To read the full report, click here. via EdWeek

In the latest issue of its “Tuesday Talking Points” newsletter, the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) urges its members to gear up for the upcoming school board race on March 5: “Three seats will be up for grabs, giving us a golden opportunity to shift the balance of power on the School Board.” See the full...

“Good for the committee that … put the brakes on this poorly planned effort Wednesday.” LA Times: A Tablet in Every Backpack?    

One of the most interesting things about Hillel Aron’s new LA Weekly profile about the race for District 4 (Can Kate Anderson Fix LAUSD?) is that Anderson was recruited to run against incumbent Board member Steve Zimmer. Defeating Zimmer may not be particularly difficult if he’s left hanging in the wind by UTLA, who isn’t particularly enamored with him, either....

Independent expenditure (IE) committees are poised to once again spend millions in the upcoming March 2013 LAUSD Board election, but despite city disclosure laws, the information available to the public is limited and uneven. One of the main reasons is that while the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission requires IE committees to disclose all contributions,...

Analysis Examines L.A. Teacher Characteristics The difference in performance between top- and bottom-performing elementary math teachers was one-quarter of a standard deviation, or nearly eight months of learning, a figure the report characterizes as larger than in other districts that have been studied. Teacher Beat  Deadline to Apply for LAUSD Magnet Schools Is Friday The...

A total of 356 teachers nominated themselves for seats on UTLA’s 350-member House of Representatives, triggering internal elections for UTLA policy-setting body that that have not been required in recent years due to low numbers. There will be elections held in 22 of the 32 electoral districts (see list of nominees in contested areas here). In...