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UTLA Seeking to Take Lead on Changing CA’s Parent Trigger*
The governing body of the LA teachers union last night voted to seek out a state lawmaker to sponsor legislation that rewrites California’s parent trigger law, which allows for wholesale changes at a school if a majority of parents want them. The state law, passed in 2010, was used for the first time this year...
By LA School Report | October 17, 2013
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iPad Problems not Unexpected, says Oversight Panel Chairman
The head of the group that oversees capital expenditures of LA Unified says problems arising in Phase 1 of the district’s new iPad program do not appear serious enough to disrupt Phase 2. “I don’t think the level of problems was greater than what we anticipated,” Stephen English, chairman of the district’s School Construction Bond...
By Michael Janofsky | October 9, 2013
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Stanford Helping Teachers with Common Core Discussion
Stanford University is offering a free and online course this fall, focusing on classroom dialogue among students to improve their interactions, as required by the new Common Core standards. The course asks participants to analyze and share examples of student conversations from their own classrooms. As part of the Common Core standards, students evaluate and...
By Chase Niesner | September 23, 2013
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Coalition Calls on Gov. Brown to Veto Testing Bill, AB 484
A coalition representing “tens of thousands” of parents, teachers and education reform organizations is petitioning Governor Jerry Brown to veto a bill letting California schools off the hook for testing students while the state transitions to a new curriculum and testing model. Gov. Brown has expressed his support for AB 484 and has has until...
By Vanessa Romo | September 19, 2013
Investigation: Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died in Federal Boarding Schools
Podcast: What a Mentorship Mindset Can Do for Student Motivation
Black and Hispanic Voters Say Democrats Aren’t Focused Enough on K-12 Education
Teen Activist Rhea Maniar on the Power of Abortion to Turn Out Young Voters
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Garcia Lends Support to Parent Group Supporting Deasy
If there were ever any doubt where LA Unified board member Monica Garcia stands with regard to Superintendent John Deasy, it’s gone now. A group called Parent Partnership for Public Education has renewed its call to support Deasy — with a big boost from Garcia’s email list. In a message sent on Monday, the group asked...
By Hillel Aron | September 17, 2013
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LA Unified Board Considers Common Core — Yet Again
Today is expected be another long day for LA Unified School Board members. Last week’s eight-hour session — only the second board meeting of the school year –was not long enough to hash out the details of the district’s Common Core implementation plan, so they’ve sandwiched in a Special Board Meeting between two others that...
By Vanessa Romo | September 17, 2013
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Beyond the Headlines: A Deeper Look at Math and Science
If you’re not an online subscriber to the New York Times, you might want to max-out your free monthly quota (of ten stories) today. The Science Times section, entitled “Learning What Works,” focuses exclusively on education with a look “beyond the alarming headlines about science and math achievement.” One article, “Fewer Topics, Covered More Rigorously” reports...
By LA School Report | September 3, 2013
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LA Unified Getting $113 Million for Common Core Transition*
The state announced today that Los Angeles Unified will receive about $113 million over the next two months to implement the new Common Core academic standards. The money represents $107 million for regular public schools and about $6 million for district charter schools. In addition, independently run charters within LAUSD will receive more than $23...
By Vanessa Romo | September 3, 2013
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Ratliff Presiding Over Common Core Technology Session
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...
By LA School Report | August 27, 2013
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CA Getting ‘Smarter’ with New Tests to Probe Critical Thinking
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...
By Brenda Iasevoli | August 27, 2013