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A Year Later, Proposition 30 ‘Great Savior for Schools’
Via the Los Angeles Daily News | By the San Jose Mercury News A little more than a year ago, Californians were locked in a fierce battle over Proposition 30, Gov. Jerry Brown’s ballot initiative that raised income taxes on the wealthy and the sales tax on everyone. One side argued that the state needed...
By LA School Report | November 12, 2013
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Ratliff Seeks Alternatives to LA Unified’s iPads Future
The LA Unified school board will grapple with three separate resolutions regarding the district’s ambitious iPad project at its meeting today, but only Monica Ratliff’s proposal has the potential of drastically changing the course of the district’s ed-tech revolution. Ratliff is recommending that the district hold off on starting the second round of iPads distribution...
By Vanessa Romo | November 12, 2013
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Deasy Sells his Apple Stock, Eliminating iPad Conflict
LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy is expected to attend the school board tomorrow, following his absence from the special meeting last Tuesday that focused on technology issues. He had a legitimate excuse: His ownership of stock in Apple, Inc., created a conflict of interest, precluding his participation in conversations about the district’s on-going use of...
By LA School Report | November 11, 2013
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LA Unified Magnet Application Deadline Fast Approaching
Currently, more than 64,000 students are enrolled in LA Unified magnet schools. That number is almost guaranteed to climb. The application deadline to enroll in one of the district’s 191 theme-based magnet schools for the 2014-15 school year is fast approaching. Online information and applications are available at echoices.lausd.net, with paper applications available at local...
By Chase Niesner | November 11, 2013
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‘Trigger’ Parents Help Return Pre-K to 24th St. Elementary
By the first of the new year, 24th Street Elementary School in West Adams will open a new pre-kindergarten program, a victory for parents concerned with how children were performing in grades beyond. The change came about through California’s new Parent Empowerment Act, the so-called Parent Trigger Law, which lets parents implement changes that include...
By Jessica P. Ogilvie | November 11, 2013
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LA Unified Board to Address 2 Controversies — Vladovic, iPads*
Two issues that have the drawn LA Unified school board into unanticipated controversy move into the spotlight tomorrow when the board convenes its regular meeting for November. One is the public profile of Board President Richard Vladovic, as he awaits a consideration of a censure motion from Tamar Galatzan – the first motion of its...
By Vanessa Romo | November 11, 2013
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LA Teachers, Students Protest Reliance and Spending on iPads
As daylight faded and red brake lights of rush hour cast their eerie glow, a group of LA Unified teachers and students marched through downtown streets yesterday, demanding a reversal of district policies that value testing over “authentic” learning. Drivers honked and pumped their fists in solidarity as students waived their banners: “Technology for Teaching,...
By Vanessa Romo | November 8, 2013
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At One LA Unified School, the iPads are ‘Rocking and Rolling’
All 338 students in kindergarten through fifth grade at Cimarron Avenue Elementary in Hawthorne have iPads at their fingertips. The rollout has gone smoothly at the school, one of the first in LA Unified to receive the tablets when distribution began in August. “We’re rocking and rolling here,” said Cimarron’s principal, Cynthia Williams. Critics have called...
By Brenda Iasevoli | November 8, 2013
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Analysis: Deasy’s Extension Means Stability for LA Unified
Via Ed Source | By Charles Taylor Kerchner The Los Angeles Unified School District board bought itself a little stability last week when it extended Superintendent John Deasy’s contract for a year by handing him a “satisfactory” rating in his annual evaluation. Buying stability can be a good thing; it’s a key to educational success....
By LA School Report | November 8, 2013
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LA Unified Scrambling to Count Numbers of Homeless Students
November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month, and LA Unified’s Homeless Education Program is holding events to highlight the need to remove the educational barriers caused by homelessness. They are barriers the District is finding hard to overcome. Before 2006, there was one homeless student liaison for the entire district. Since the homeless program began that...
By Chase Niesner | November 7, 2013