A story in yesterday’s New York Times magazine, “No Child Left Untableted,” explored the use and impact of digital devices in the classroom. It quotes Joel Klein, the former New York City school superintendent and now chief executive of Amplify, a New York-based division of Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation that makes tablets for classroom use,...

In the note Jaime Aquino circulated last week, he blames his decision to resign on a “political climate” that blocks his ability to lead in a way he views as effective. He names no names, but he was clearly not happy with a decision to postpone implementation of Common Core, one of his prime directives. Here’s...

While a bill awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature would end statewide testing for a year – he’s expected to sign it – state officials plan to use older test results to assure that California receives its annual Title I allocations. To comply with federal regulations that states must provide annual test results to qualify for...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKVv5wsqNYk Educational efforts in Los Angeles are in the process of expanding beyond the classroom and touching community members of all ages with a wide variety of services not usually offered at typical Los Angeles school sites. The Los Angeles-based nonprofit group Youth Policy Institute (YPI) received a $30 million dollar grant from the federal...

California and the 24 other states developing the Smarter Balanced assessments aligned to the new Common Core standards have approved support tools for all students, including English language learners and students with disabilities. The supports range from digital notepads to test items translated into the student’s native language. The “Usability, Accessibility, and Accommodations Guidelines” identifies three types...

California is among the top 10 states with the sharpest declines in spending for K-12 education since the last recession, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The study found that California’s per-student spending was down 13.8 percent since the 2008 school year. In all, 34 states are spending less on K-12 education...

In an under-the-radar move, Monica Garcia has taken a job in LA County Supervisor Gloria Molina‘s office, which means she’s now a part-time member of the LA Unified school board. “For seven years, I did the LAUSD Board member job full time,” Garcia told LA School Report. “While I appreciated that intense focus on education,...

Sometime in hour five of yesterday’s marathon LA Unified school board meeting, the board approved a new set of guidelines to help principals, teachers and parents navigate the complex Parent Trigger process. That’s the state law allowing parents to take over a failing school and force a complete overhaul, so long as a majority of...