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Morning Read: State ed board to examine LCAP accountability

Commentary: California’s financing formula reignites big school struggle The struggle over how – and if – California schools will be held accountable for LCAPS results will be rejoined this week in the state Board of Education. Sacramento Bee, by Dan Walters Teachers need more time, money and prestige, report says A new report calls for...
By LA School Report | November 3, 2015
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LA Unified receives $700,000 grant to help struggling students

The federal government has awarded LAUSD a $700,000 grant to assist struggling at-risk students to stay in school and keep on track to get to college or into the workforce. The grant will build on the district’s collaboration with the Los Angeles city government, the Los Angeles County Departments of Mental Health, Probation and Health Services...
By Mike Szymanski | November 2, 2015
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LAUSD board member websites range from active to somnambulent

Months after LA School Report found confusion, dated information or simply no information on the websites of LA Unified board members, a number of them still appear to be squandering them as their most direct social media asset to reach constituents. In a self-described era of board openness and transparency, some members have made significant improvements on their...
By Craig Clough | November 2, 2015
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LA Unified seeking more community input on school calendar

So far, LA Unified parents seemed more interested in weighing in on the school calendar than on the superintendent search. Twenty parents and teachers showed up at a community forum last Thursday night at Burroughs Middle School in Hancock Park. That is a robust number compared with the average turnout at community forums held over two...
By Mike Szymanski | November 2, 2015
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From 1900, a short history of the ever-present book bag

By Lee Hale My editor, Steve Drummond, isn’t that old of a guy. He’s from Michigan — Wayne Memorial High School, class of ’79. But when he starts talking about backpacks, he dips into a “back in my day” tone that makes you think of a creaky rocking chair and suspenders: “You know, Lee, when...
By LA School Report | November 2, 2015
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‘Zimmo’ urges more participation in LAUSD superintendent search

Where’s Zimmo? Dressed as the popular “Where’s Waldo” red-and-white-striped children’s book character, LA Unified School Board President Steve Zimmer took to the Vine Street Elementary School twice today to encourage parents and teachers to get involved in the superintendent’s search. He used his appearances to say he is extending the deadline for people to complete...
By Mike Szymanski | October 30, 2015
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JUST IN: Judge issues restraining order against Alliance in union battle

* UPDATED A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order against Alliance College-Ready Public Schools late yesterday, ordering its administration to cease stifling a unionization effort. The LA teachers union, UTLA, is currently attempting to unionize the teachers at the charter school organization, which is LA Unified’s largest with 27 schools and...
By Craig Clough | October 30, 2015
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CA Muslim students face twice the amount of bullying, report finds

A survey by a civil rights group shows that Muslim students in California get bullied twice as much as the national average. The full report from the California chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-CA) reflects interviews with more than 600 Muslim students, ages 11 to 18. It found that 55 percent of Muslim students have...
By Mike Szymanski | October 30, 2015
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Is foundations’ funding LA Times education reporting a conflict?
By Paul Farhi The Los Angeles Times announced what seemed like good news for its readers in August: a new reporting initiative that would expand the paper’s coverage of local education. “Our goal is to provide an ongoing, wide-ranging report card on K-12 education in Los Angeles, California and the nation,” wrote then-Publisher Austin Beutner. He...
By LA School Report | October 30, 2015
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Zimmer in costume — a last ditch effort to get input on superintendent

LA Unified board President Steve Zimmer has announced he will be wearing a Halloween costume tomorrow when he visits schools. Oh, it’s not to join festivities planned for many of the LA Unified schools. Rather, he wants to give one last-ditch effort to push people to provide input into the superintendent search by filling out a...
By Mike Szymanski | October 29, 2015