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Morning Read: $8 million to keep students with iPads safe, cops say
LA Unified police say $8 million needed to keep iPad-toting students safe Los Angeles Unified school police say 80 new officers are needed to provide “safe passage” for students walking home from school with $500 iPads. KPCC Parents, teachers deliver 100,000 signatures to Time, demanding apology Teachers, parents and union leaders gathered in front of...
By Craig Clough | October 31, 2014
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Bond panel aide blasts LA Unified for ineffective IT operations
A consultant to the committee that oversees how LA Unified spends taxpayer bond dollars today recommended a complete overhaul of the district’s Information Technology operations, suggesting the district might consider outsourcing the entire department. Tom Rubin delivered the report to the Bond Oversight Committee, blasting the IT department and asserting that the recent bungled rollout...
By Vanessa Romo | October 30, 2014
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LAUSD board to vote on ethnic studies course for graduation
As support in the state for the idea is growing, the LA Unified school board next month is scheduled to vote on a resolution requiring an ethnic studies course for all district students as a high school graduation requirement. The resolution was introduced by board member Bennett Kayser and would begin the process with a pilot...
By Craig Clough | October 30, 2014
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Commentary: Why should prison begin at age 2?
By Chris Ciampa Not every California student has access to the same opportunities. I know because I teach, and have taught, in some of our state’s most underserved schools. I support Proposition 47 because in addition to reclassifying a set of non-violent felonies as misdemeanors, the ballot measure would also reallocate some of the $1.79 billion California...
By Guest contributor | October 30, 2014
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Unions slam LAUSD for ‘English only’ rule for cafeteria workers
Two unions that represent teachers and support staff at LA Unified schools are calling on the district to rescind its “English only” rule that was issued earlier this month to cafeteria workers at Harvard Elementary, saying the rule sends the wrong message to students and parents, An “English only” sign was posted in the cafeteria of the...
By Craig Clough | October 30, 2014
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Cortines names new overseer for fixing MiSiS problems
The flurry of organizational changes within LA Unified to deal with the MiSiS crisis took yet another turn late today as Superintendent Ramon Cortines told the district’s Independent Monitor that he is creating a Program Manager position, responsible for managing and overseeing a team working to fix the student data tracking system Cortines also said...
By Vanessa Romo | October 29, 2014
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LAUSD dismisses outside consultant on MiSiS program
* UPDATED Superintendent Ramon Cortines has cancelled the contract for one of LA Unified’s top project managers on MiSiS as part of a larger effort to play a more active role in solving the software issues with the new student-data system. Bria Jones, an IT consultant who secured a lucrative $280,800 a year deal with...
By Vanessa Romo | October 29, 2014
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Port of LA High faculty seeks to join UTLA after principal resigns
After the unexpected resignation of their popular principal left some teachers, students and parents outraged, the faculty at Port of Los Angeles High School has voted to join United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). Hundreds of people attended the school’s board meeting on Monday and voiced anger over the resignation Tom Scotti, the principal who left...
By Craig Clough | October 29, 2014
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Study supports giving teacher leaders more authority
Teachers should be given more leadership roles with real authority, including the power to evaluate other teachers and set agendas for meetings, a new study concludes. And while leadership opportunities for teachers is on the rise, the study says, without proper structure and implementation, the leadership roles often fail to have a positive impact on...
By Craig Clough | October 29, 2014
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Commentary: From Klein’s new book, the key is ‘teacher quality’
Via The New York Times | By Frank Bruni More than halfway through Joel Klein’s forthcoming book on his time as the chancellor of New York City’s public schools, he zeros in on what he calls “the biggest factor in the education equation.” It’s not classroom size, school choice or the Common Core. It’s “teacher quality,”...
By LA School Report | October 29, 2014