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Inside the quest for better data about how many high school graduates, particularly students from low-income neighborhoods, are going on to achieve college degrees

School districts in high-income neighborhoods assume almost all their graduates will succeed in college. But often, their alumni fall short of expectations. Districts serving students in low-income neighborhoods cite their success in enrolling more students in college. But the number of their students who actually persist to earn degrees can be dismayingly low as well....
By Richard Whitmire | February 10, 2020
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Teacher Spotlight: STEM Prep’s Daniel Lieu on removing racial barriers to STEM careers for his students, balancing rigor with caring and sharing snacks

This interview is one in a series spotlighting Los Angeles teachers, their unique and innovative classroom approaches, and their thoughts on how the education system can better support teachers in guiding students to success. Daniel Lieu is just 22 years old but he’s already certain that he chose the right profession as a STEAM teacher,...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | February 5, 2020
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Analysis: Who will run UTLA next? A rundown of the candidates, and what sets them apart (or doesn’t)

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. It’s election season — not just for America’s political parties, but for United Teachers Los Angeles. The union mailed ballots to members this week. They will vote by mail or online, with the results to be tabulated Feb. 28. Active members will choose the UTLA...
By Mike Antonucci | February 5, 2020
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Middle school marvel: For her science project, this 14-year-old invented a way to eliminate a car’s blind spot. Now she’s won $25,000 — and Volvo is intrigued

Alaina Gassler’s 2019 science project started small, designed for her middle school in Pennsylvania. Soon, though, her project to remove blind spots from cars was winning county and then regional science fairs — and now, Gassler has taken top honors at the largest middle school science fair in the country, the Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied...
By Tim Newcomb | February 4, 2020
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At national literacy summit, state education chiefs warn of reading stagnation

Reading instruction in American schools is so rife with poor curriculum and pedagogical dogma that a prominent academic likened it to “the equivalent of chemistry departments teaching alchemy.” “We’ve had about 130 years of bad practice,” David Steiner, director of the Institute for Education Policy at Johns Hopkins University, told the audience at a national...
By Kevin Mahnken | February 3, 2020
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For the first time EPA could order schools to test water for lead, but experts warn that doesn’t mean it will be safe to drink — or that lead will be removed

As Newark, New Jersey, Flint, Michigan, and other cities continue to grapple with lead in their water supplies, the Environmental Protection Agency is mulling changes to the decades-old regulation meant to protect Americans from the highly damaging contaminant. Among the proposed changes to the Lead and Copper Rule are a first-time national requirement to test...
By Laura Fay | February 3, 2020
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Do parents actually want their kids in integrated schools? New Harvard survey reveals mixed messages

As schools across the country remain starkly segregated by both race and income, parents expressed widespread support — in theory — for integrating America’s public schools, according to a new report. For many, however, that support appears to stop at their own doorstep. Across America’s increasingly partisan political divide, parents say they support racial and...
By Mark Keierleber | February 3, 2020
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Super Bowl Special: How former 49er Tyrone Smith made it from poverty to the NFL — with grit, determination & help from his teachers

When students meet me and learn that I was in the NFL, their eyes light up and they shower me with questions: What’s it like being on TV? How much money did you make? What kind of car do you drive? But being a former professional football player doesn’t define me. What I’m most proud...
By Tyrone Smith | January 30, 2020
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Cal State University approves plan to add new admissions requirement — but delays making formal change before studying impact

California State University overwhelmingly decided Wednesday to move forward with a new admissions requirement, but will delay making formal alterations to state regulations until the consequences of the change are studied. Until last week, the CSU Board of Trustees were expected to cast votes on Wednesday either greenlighting or rejecting a controversial addition to admissions standards:...
By Taylor Swaak | January 29, 2020
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Analysis: The California Teachers Association claims 310,000 members. Here’s the breakdown for every local affiliate

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. The California Teachers Association is “310,000 members strong,” according to its website. But it’s difficult to track that number over time, or assess its impact on California school districts, because our only sources of information have been the union’s public pronouncements. Until now. Culled from figures...
By Mike Antonucci | January 29, 2020