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LA Unified Budget Wars Return with the Usual Competing Visions
Competing visions for future spending will be on grand display again Tuesday when the LA Unified Board of Education meets to put Superintendent John Deasy’s budget plan to a vote (or not) and consider a competing resolution (or not) that would tell him how to spend the money. (See the agenda here.) Confusing? Welcome to Budgeting 101,...
By Hillel Aron | September 27, 2013
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Smart Phone App Helping LA Unified Clean Up, Fix Up
iPads are not the only technological gadget getting used inside LA Unified schools these days. A smartphone application called LAUSD Service Calls is enabling teachers, administrators, even parents to summon district personnel to fix all sorts of problems, such as graffiti, water leaks and broken tiles. The app functions on an iPhone, Blackberry and Android...
By Chase Niesner | September 26, 2013
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LA Unified Wants Student Hackers on an Anti-Hacking Panel
Los Angeles Unified will assemble a student committee to advise its response to the recent security breach of district-issued iPads by 185 high school students, Ron Chandler, the district’s chief information officer, said yesterday. The move is the district’s attempt to find a way to balance students’ desires to surf the web unfettered with the...
By Brenda Iasevoli | September 26, 2013
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iPads Hacked? ‘Surprised it Took This Long,’ Says Zimmer
At least one LA Unified school board member was hardly shocked to learn that students piloting the district’s iPad program had found a way to break through the firewall. “Of course it happened,” Steve Zimmer told LA School Report, throwing his hands up in the air as he left an event at Hollywood High School. “Frankly,...
By Vanessa Romo | September 25, 2013
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LA Unified Begins Job Search to Replace Jaime Aquino
The Los Angeles Unified School District has begun the search to replace Deputy Superintendent for Instruction Jamie Aquino, who announced a week and a half ago that he would resign at the end of the year. The job posting seeks to find “an accomplished and visionary educator with considerable experience aligning student and school needs with...
By Hillel Aron | September 25, 2013
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Matt Damon, Steve Zimmer: Ravitch’s BFFs in LA
LA Unified board member Steve Zimmer, who just spent a weekend with Superintendent John Deasy talking education policy in Washington D.C., is getting another side of the story next week when he hosts Diane Ravitch – and actor Matt Damon – at Occidental College. Zimmer is an adjunct instructor in Urban and Environmental Policy. Ravitch...
By Vanessa Romo | September 25, 2013
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Roosevelt High Students Find a Way to Hack Their iPads
Via The Los Angeles Times | By Howard Blume LA Unified officials have a new problem on their hands – because of what LA Unified students have in their hands: iPads. A week after getting their new digital devices, nearly 300 students at Roosevelt High School compromised the security designed to block users from accessing such websites...
By LA School Report | September 25, 2013
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Vladovic Investigation Concluded; Board Members are Briefed*
LA Unified’s chief lawyer said today the investigation into harassment charges against School Board President Richard Vladovic was complete, and board members were briefed on its findings. “We have concluded the investigation, which was conducted by an outside firm. We are in the process of providing individual board members with the findings of that investigation,” LAUSD General...
By Hillel Aron | September 24, 2013
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LA Unified-UTLA Talks on Labor Charge is Postponed
An informal conference to discuss a possible settlement in one of the teachers union’s unfair labor practice charges against the LA Unified School District has been postponed; it was supposed to have taken place Thursday. It’s not clear when the sides will meet. The union filed the action in June with the Public Employee Relations Board (or...
By Hillel Aron | September 24, 2013
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Deadline Nearing for LA Unified’s Principal for a Day Program
Area business leaders have another opportunity next week to learn what it’s like to lead a public school. The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce and LAUSD are accepting applications for the 15th annual Principal for a Day program, which is designed to facilitate an exchange of ideas, resources and a sense of responsibility between business...
By Chase Niesner | September 24, 2013