Among the 28 bills Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law yesterday, four bear directly on California educators and students. One bill, SB 5, sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla (D, Pacoima), aims to create better teachers by allowing graduate students to spend an additional year in training before becoming a teacher. Until now, the state had limited...

Photos courtesy of LAUSD LA Unified distributed the first wave of iPads yesterday to two elementary schools, Broadacres in Carson and Cimarron in Hawthorne. Over the next 18 months, every student in LAUSD will have one, according to district officials, who are spending nearly $1 billion on the effort. From this early look, so far...

One of the LA Unified Board’s new ad-hoc committees — the Common Core Technology Project Committee — is holding its first public meeting at 10 a.m. tomorrow at district headquarters (333 S. Beaudry Ave.), with the board’s newest member, Monica Ratliff, presiding. The meeting agenda says the committee, which includes board members Tamar Galatzan and...

When California’s new statewide tests are in place by the spring of 2015, an 11th grade student might be asked the following: “Pretend you are preparing a report for a congresswoman on the pros and cons of using nuclear power to generate electricity. Gather some evidence, then write an essay arguing for either using nuclear...

As a tool for better understanding California’s public education shift, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said today the Common Core State Standards are now available in print for the first time. CDE Press, the publishing arm of the California Department of Education, is offering print versions of the California Common Core State Standards: English...

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan took to the Op-Ed page of the Washington Post on Sunday to argue for a replacing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, better known as No Child Left Behind, which he describes as “outmoded and broken.” He argues: “Washington’s role is to protect children at risk and promote...

Nearly 1,400 LA Unified educators flooded the California State University Dominguez Hills campus in Carson on Saturday for a free conference on the Common Core State Standards.  “Launch LA Common Core” was organized by Teach Plus, a nonprofit that focuses on professional development for teachers. The event was held as states are scrambling to train...

Via The Los Angeles Times | By Tracy Wilkinson MEXICO CITY — Thousands of striking teachers have invaded this capital, shut down both houses of Congress, forced changes in the route of an international marathon and generally created mayhem at levels not seen in a long time in what is always a chaotic city. The teachers,...