In This Issue:
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‘Insolvent
for nine years’ = ‘in good financial shape’?: L.A. UNIFIED DELAYS
RELEASE OF AUDIT ON SCHOOL WITH TIES TO CANDIDATE (3 stories) |
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THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF BEING BULLIED BY OTHER KIDS ARE WORSE THAN BEING ABUSED BY AN ADULT, NEW RESEARCH SHOWS. |
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HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but
not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources |
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EVENTS: Coming up next week... |
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What can YOU do? |
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Featured Links:
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I spent the week at the California State PTA
Convention in Sacramento and watched LAUSD and public education not
from afar – as CAPTA Executive Director said: “PTA is the public in in
public education” – but from a remove of 400 miles. My work with PTA
requires a lot of effort and attention and I haven’t been able to give
these pages and this essay the usual attention – instead dedicating
myself to not getting enough sleep 24/7.
These conferences and their keynotes, breakouts and general sessions are
always interesting – and one can never absorb them all and go to every
session. One thing I’m not terribly sad I missed was last week’s ED
REFORM…ARE WE GETTING IT RIGHT? With John Deasy at the Milken Institute.
Consider the source and consider the sponsor. Consider the irony.
Enough said about that… though Howards Blume’s twitter feed is amusing
in a dark abbreviated+ 140-characters-or-less way:
@howardblume: Former L.A schools Supt. John Deasy says he's worried that
rollback of his policies could result in poorer results for students.
@howardblume: Former Supt. Deasy making rare recent public appearance at Milken conference.
@howardblume: Former Supt. Deasy says at #milken15 that it's important
to root change in law & negotiated contracts so can't be reversed.
@howardblume: Deasy also says parents & communities r more empowered
to resist rollbacks of policies that improved fates of their kids.
#milken15
@howardblume: Deasy cites Vergara suit as a highpoint of term as LAUSD
supt. That ruling tentatively overturned many tradtnl teacher job
protections.
@howardblume: Deasy: "It's amazing the vitriol & the ad hominem
attacks & the deep deep fight that has taken place over" keeping top
teachers before kids.
Instead of dissecting last week’s news I leave it to you – like the
assignment left by the teacher to a substitute – to work out. I have
clipped the clipping services and newsfeeds with the pieces I found
interesting, amusing, mundane and apropos/inapropos - and pasted the
links below. Go at it.
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
____________
PS: Saturday was the Hon. David Tokofsky's and the Hon. Steve Zimmer's
shared birthday. Together they were 100 years old. That doesn't happen
everyday!
‘Insolvent for nine years’ = ‘in good financial
shape’?: L.A. UNIFIED DELAYS RELEASE OF AUDIT ON SCHOOL WITH TIES TO
CANDIDATE (3 stories)
►SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER MONICA GARCIA ALLEGEDLY WANTED
SCHOOL AUDIT WITHHELD PENDING DISCUSSION IN CLOSED SESSION
by Howard Blume | LA Times | http://lat.ms/1JfP0U5
April 28, 2015 | 7:47pm :: An audit of a charter school co-founded by a
Board of Education candidate has been withheld from public release at
the request of a school board member, L.A. Unified district officials
have confirmed.
Two well-placed district sources said that the release of the audit was
delayed at the request of school board member Monica Garcia, a political
ally of candidate Ref Rodriguez. Rodriguez works for the charter
organization.
L.A. Unified School District general counsel David Holmquist confirmed
that a board member requested the delay, but would not specify which
one.
Garcia did not respond to attempts to reach her through her staff and email.
Rodriguez would not comment until he had reviewed the document, his campaign manager said.
Insiders who read the audit said it was not overly critical of the
school and that the charter's management agreed with many findings. The
audit faults the charter for failing to consistently follow some
required business practices, they said.
Lakeview Charter Academy is among the local campuses run by PUC Schools,
which have a generally solid reputation as academically sound and
popular with parents.
Senior district officials, who were not authorized to speak publicly
about the matter, said a board member wanted the audit handled in
private because it could result in litigation. It's permissible under
state law to keep discussions about potential litigation confidential.
In an interview, Holmquist said that under the California Public Records
Act, the audit remains a public document. He indicated that it would be
released to The Times under the act after the final version was
delivered to PUC this week. The Times requested the audit April 20.
Rodriguez is vying to unseat one-term incumbent Bennett Kayser in
District 5, which includes neighborhoods north and west of downtown and
much of southeast L.A. County.
Rodriguez is pro-charter and Kayser is a charter opponent. Charters are
independently operated and not subject to some rules that govern
traditional campuses. Most are nonunion.
Kayser’s campaign is bankrolled most heavily by the teachers union.
Charter advocates are pouring resources behind Rodriguez, as are donors
who support aggressive policy changes that the teachers union has
opposed.
Rodriguez currently serves as a PUC board member and treasurer for the
national corporate arm of PUC, which stands for Partnerships to Uplift
Communities.
PUC is organized as three separate nonprofits -- one for its schools in
the San Fernando Valley, another for campuses in other parts of L.A. and
a third for a national organization that is opening schools elsewhere
in the country, according to Rodriguez's campaign manager.
The first of 16 PUC schools opened in Los Angeles in 1999. The first
outside Southern California was established in 2014 in Rochester, N.Y.
Board of Education members received the audit of Lakeview on Friday.
Several, when contacted, said they could not release it because it was
provided under attorney-client privilege, making the document
confidential.
Typically, an audit, when final, would be posted online. But in this
case, the audit was kept private, ostensibly until board members can
meet in closed session, which is scheduled for May 12.
The board elections are May 19.
PUC’s chief executive, Jacqueline Elliot, said her office received the
final version of the audit Tuesday and that she wanted to review it
before commenting.
________________
►LAUSD AUDIT FINDS SCHOOL BOARD CANDIDATE REF RODRIGUEZ’ CHARTER OPERATED IN THE RED.
A LOS ANGELES UNIFIED AUDIT BY THE INSPECTOR GENERAL FOUND FINANCIAL
ISSUES WITH ONE OF THE CHARTERS OVERSEEN BY A BOARD CANDIDATE IN THE
EAST LOS ANGELES SCHOOL DISTRICT.
by Annie Gilbertson | KPCC | http://bit.ly/1EXfUlV
April 29 2015:: A Los Angeles Unified school board member sought to
withhold an inspector general audit finding Partnership to Uplift
Communities' Lakeview Charter Academy was insolvent for nine years.
A charter spokeswoman said Wednesday that the charter recovered and is operating in the black this year.
The inspector general's finding comes as Ref Rodriguez, the charter
organization's co-founder and corporate treasurer, continues his
challenge of LAUSD school board incumbent Bennett Kayser in East Los
Angeles District 5.
The inspector general sent the audit last week to school board members
and PUC administrators. But the report was sealed at the request of a
board member based on attorney-client privilege – an action that L.A.
Unified board members and the superintendent can take, but which they
rarely invoke for routine charter audits.
Media outlets, including KPCC, filed requests for release of the audit.
More than one school board member would have Rodriguez as an ally if he
ousts Kayser in their general election runoff on May 19. Although no one
has publicly admitted to sealing the record ahead of the election, it
remained unavailable until KPCC obtained the report Wednesday.
The audit focuses on the bookkeeping of one of PUC's 16 schools from
July 2011 to June 2013. It noted numerous fiscal "deficiencies,"
including poorly documented expenditures, failure to meet minimum
reserves and questionable oversight by the parent organization.
Jacqueline Elliot, PUC co-founder and CEO, agreed with many of the
audit's findings. But she said Lakeview was a new charter campus and
needed the financial support of the parent organization as it grew.
"We have a projection that their fund balance will continue to be healthy and continue to grow," Elliot said.
She said she welcomed the auditors' review. "We wanted to hear what they
had to say," Elliot said, including their references to the need for
"best practices."
Michael Soneff, Rodriguez's school board campaign manager, said the
audit is being used against Rodriguez for political reasons.
"It is a shame that a helpful, routine report and an excellent school in
good financial shape are being manipulated by those trying to influence
the election," he said.
●●The universal consensus on the comments section of the KPCC page -
“He considers ‘insolvent for nine years,’ to be ‘in good financial
shape’?" - is that the board member who embargoed the report is Monica
Garcia. | http://bit.ly/1EXfUlV
________________
►LAUSD RELEASES AUDIT, STIRRING ELECTION CONTROVERSY
By Thomas Himes, Los Angeles Daily News
Posted: 04/29/15, 7:24 PM PDT |
3 Comments
A San Fernando Valley charter school that was co-founded by school board
candidate Ref Rodriquez operated in the red and had poor fiscal
oversight, according to an LAUSD audit released Wednesday.
Lakeview Charter Academy is one of 15 campuses operated by Rodriguez’s Partnership to Uplift Communities (PUC).
Since opening in 2004, the campus located in the Northeast San Fernando
Valley’s Lake View Terrace, has had ending cash balances that range from
$0 to a deficit of $121,140 in the most recently audited year, 2013,
according to an audit by LAUSD’s Office of Inspector General.
The audit also found poor accounting practices and a failure to document
that employees received training to report suspected child abuse.
LAUSD General Counsel Dave Holmquist said in a written statement that a
school board member asked to discuss the audit in a closed door session
of the board before it was released to the public.
“It is not unusual to make such a request and obviously it was released
prior to the closed session since it is a public document,” Holmquist
said.
Rodriguez, who bested incumbent Bennett Kayser in the primary, faces a
May 19 runoff election to decide the District 5 seat on the seven-member
school board.
In a written statement, Rodriguez spokesman Michael Soneff questioned the timing of the audit’s release.
“It is a shame that a helpful, routine report and an excellent school in
good financial shape are being manipulated by those trying to influence
the election,” Soneff said.
According to the inspector general’s audit, work on the probes was
mostly finished in July 2014, while additional work started more than
seven months later in February.
“It is important to disclose that additional efforts, beyond what is
typical, were needed by the OIG (Office of Inspector General) in order
to secure a final and complete response from the school, the audit
findings, conclusions and recommendations,” according to the audit.
PUC co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Elliot said at one
point she asked for a few extra days, but otherwise the school promptly
responded to the OIG’s requests.
“It took more than a year to give the initial response, and then all of a sudden they’re on a fast track,” Elliot said.
The school, she said, operated at a deficit because it had envisioned
300 students, but due to unforeseen facilities limitations it could only
enroll 100 pupils. By the time a new campus was secured with bond money
in 2008, the state began cutting funding for public schools, Elliot
said.
PUC’s umbrella organization filled in the funding gaps, Elliot said.
“It’s just amazing we were able to support our school and keep them open
during that very critical time in California,” Elliot said.
When this fiscal year ends June 30, Elliot said the school’s reserve fund will be in the black.
THE LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF BEING BULLIED BY OTHER KIDS
ARE WORSE THAN BEING ABUSED BY AN ADULT, NEW RESEARCH SHOWS.
COMPARED TO CHILDREN WHO ARE ABUSED BY ADULTS, KIDS
WHO ARE BULLIED BY THEIR PEERS HAVE A GREATER RISK OF MENTAL HEALTH
PROBLEMS AS ADULTS, RESEARCHERS SAY.
By Karen Kaplan |Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/1DK4Dyn
28 April 2015, 2:28 PM | Among a large group of children in England,
those who were bullied were 60% more likely to have mental health
problems as adults than were those who suffered physical, emotional or
sexual abuse. And among a large group of children in the United States,
the risk of mental health problems was nearly four times greater for
victims of bullying than for victims of child abuse.
The findings, published Tuesday in the journal Lancet Psychiatry,
underscore the need to take bullying more seriously as a public health
problem.
“Being bullied has similar and in some cases worse long-term adverse
effects on young adults’ mental health than being maltreated,” the study
authors wrote. “Governmental efforts have focused almost exclusively on
public policy to address family maltreatment; much less attention and
resources [have] been paid to bullying. … This imbalance requires
attention.”
Previous studies have shown that children who are abused by adults or
victimized by their peers grow up to suffer higher rates of depression,
anxiety and suicidal ideation, among other problems. Both are bad, but
the researchers wanted to know which was worse.
So they mined two large, long-term studies involving thousands of
children. Both studies included data about child abuse and bullying.
They also had information about the kids’ mental health as teens and
adults.
Among 4,026 children who participated in the Avon Longitudinal Study of
Parents and Children in England, 8% were victims of child abuse only,
30% were victims of bullying only and 7% were exposed to both. For the
1,273 children who were part of the Great Smoky Mountains Study in North
Carolina, 15% were victims of child abuse only, 16% were only bullied
and 10% suffered both.
As they assessed the risks of mental health problems, the researchers
controlled for gender, family instability or adversity, socioeconomic
status and other factors that might influence the link between
maltreatment and mental health. A history of child abuse was associated
with a greater risk of mental health problems as an adult for the
American children, but not for their English counterparts. However,
children in both countries were more likely to have mental health
problems if they had been bullied.
Overall, the effects of bullying were worse. For instance, the English
children who were bullied were 70% more likely to experience depression
or practice some form of self-harm than were children who suffered child
abuse. The American children were nearly five times more likely to be
diagnosed with anxiety if they were bullied than if they were abused.
The researchers also discovered that among both groups of kids, about
40% of those who were abused by adults were also bullied by other kids.
The reasons for this aren’t clear, but it’s possible that a history of
abuse makes it hard for children to regulate their emotions, “which
might make them more susceptible to being bullied,” the study authors
wrote.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
PROGRAM HELPS TROUBLED, REJECTED YOUTH MAKE POSITIVE CONNECTIONS | http://bit.ly/1KCoZQ1
SUPERINTENDENT SURVEYS LAUSD EMPLOYEES ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCES USING MiSiS :: http://bit.ly/1EqRVs9
Jon Stewart: CHEATING TEACHERS GO TO JAIL.
CHEATING WALL STREETERS DON’T.
WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?
http://bit.ly/1byyaou
POLL HINTS OF POLITICAL TRAIN WRECK TO COME OVER COMMON CORE IN CALIFORNIA :: http://bit.ly/1EgcNCl
JUDGE IN ATLANTA SCHOOL CHEATING CASE REDUCES STIFF PRISON SENTENCES
April 30, 2015 | LA Times
In an unusual action, the judge presiding over the landmark Atlanta
public school cheating trial changed his mind and on Thursday lightened
the stiff prison sentences he meted out two weeks ago to high-ranking
educators convicted of inflating students’ test scores.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jerry W. Baxter cut the seven-year
terms for three senior administrators down to three years, in line with
what prosecutors had recommended.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-atlanta-teacher-sentence-20150430-story.html#page=1
POPULAR LA PRESCHOOL LANGUAGE PROGRAM IS TARGETED ONCE AGAIN
Apr 30, 2015 | EdSource
A popular and well-regarded preschool program in Los Angeles, which was
created more than three decades ago to help children and their parents
in low-income, racially and ethnically isolated neighborhoods of the
city, would be shut down over the next two years under a district
proposal to cut costs.
http://edsource.org/2015/popular-la-preschool-language-program-is-targeted-once-again/78933#.VUOKZmdFBMw
LA UNIFIED SAYS SMARTER BALANCED TESTING BACK ON SCHEDULE
April 30, 2015 | LA School Report
After a year of disastrous technical issues and internet connectivity
problems, LA Unified students are on track to complete the new
computerized state mandated tests called Smarter Balanced, according to
district officials. http://laschoolreport.com/la-unified-says-smarter-balanced-testing-back-on-schedule/
STUDENT ARTWORK AT CENTRAL LIBRARY
Artwork by LA Unified students will be displayed in the Los Angeles
Central Library’s atrium, beginning tomorrow and remaining through May
22.
According the district, the artwork will feature “prints of original
paintings, sculptures, drawings, graphic designs, and media arts. It’s
part of the continuing ‘Let’s Celebrate!’ series sponsored by L.A.
Unified’s Arts Education Branch.”
An opening reception also will be held from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m tomorrow, featuring some of the student artists.
PLAN UNVEILED TO OVERHAUL SCHOOL SYSTEM IN DETROIT
APRIL 30, 2015 | New York Times
Gov. Rick Snyder of Michigan unveiled a proposal on Thursday to overhaul
the failing Detroit public school system by creating two districts —
one to manage paying off billions of dollars in debt, the other to
oversee the day-to-day operations of the schools.
The plan from Mr. Snyder, a Republican, was met with opposition even
before it was officially announced: Hundreds of Detroit teachers called
in sick on Thursday to attend a protest at the State Capitol in Lansing.
Their absence shut 18 public schools for the day. Teachers argued that
Mr. Snyder’s plan would not improve outcomes for Detroit children and
that it was just a step toward turning the district into an all-charter
district.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/01/us/snyder-unveils-plan-to-overhaul-detroit-school-system.html?ref=education&_r=1
TEACHER: I AM NOT AGAINST COMMON CORE OR TESTING — BUT HERE’S MY LINE IN THE SAND
Washington Post :: A student works on math problems as part of a trial run of a new state
assessment test on Feb. 12 at Annapolis Middle School in Annapolis.
Julie Campbell is a fifth-grade teacher in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. She
recently completed “Scorer Leader Training” for the English Language
Arts Common Core test given in her state to fifth graders, and she says
that what she discovered shocked her. Because she signed a
confidentiality agreement regarding the current test, she can’t discuss
it, but she did take what she learned from her training and applied it
to last year’s publicly released fifth-grade English Language questions
and “anchor papers” that were released by the New York Department of
Education. This is her report.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/05/01/teacher-i-am-not-against-common-core-or-testing-but-heres-my-line-in-the-sand/
UTLA CRIES FOUL OVER HUNDREDS OF ADULT ED TEACHERS ON LAYOFF LIST
LA School Report
Among the 609 LA Unified employees who received layoff notices last month were hundreds of adult eduction teachers.
But the LA teachers union, UTLA, still has a thing to two to say about
it. Just two days after protesting the cuts, UTLA leaders today held a
press conference this morning outside of the East LA Skills Center to
draw attention to adult education.
http://laschoolreport.com/utla-cries-foul-over-hundreds-of-adult-ed-teachers-on-layoff-list-lausd/
CALIFORNIA GRADUATION RATES IMPROVE, BUT SHOW 'UNACCEPTABLE' GAPS
KPCC
California's Class of 2014 graduated from high school at a rate of 80.8
percent, slightly up from the previous year to hit a record high,
according to state Department of Education data released on Tuesday.
But wide gaps persist among racial groups, with the statewide graduation
rate for African-American students hovering stubbornly at about 68
percent and showing no improvement year-over-year.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/04/29/51323/california-graduation-rates-improve-but-show-unacc/
$25-50M IN ANTI-TRUANCY FUNDING LIKELY
Cabinet Report by Kimberly Beltran
(Calif.) Programs aimed at keeping kids in school and out of the
so-called “prison pipeline” would receive a big boost under a bill being
carried by the chair of the Senate Education Committee that lays
groundwork for the use of millions of dollars in prisoner-release
savings.
Sen. Carol Liu’s SB 527 establishes requirements for a new state grant
that could provide as much as $50 million this fall to public schools
for programs that improve attendance, reduce drop-out rates and support
students who are victims of crime.
https://cabinetreport.com/budget-finance/25-50m-in-anti-truancy-funding-likely
SCHOOL BOARDS AND ADMINISTRATORS OPPOSE TEACHER EVALUATION BILLS
EdSource | Apr 28, 2015
The Legislature’s top Democrats have made a comprehensive rewrite of the
law on teacher evaluations a priority this session. But a fundamental
disagreement over granting teachers the power to negotiate all aspects
of evaluations, including whether to use student test scores as a
factor, could doom prospects for passage, as it has in the past.
http://edsource.org/2015/teacher-evaluation-bills-face-stiff-resistance/78911#.VUETEWRVhBc?utm_source=Michelle%27s+daily+email+4-29-15&utm_campaign=Daily_4-24-15&utm_medium=email
STATE VACCINATION BILL PASSES SENATE COMMITTEE
EdSource | Apr 28, 2015
The issue of mandatory vaccinations roiled a legislative hearing in
Sacramento on Tuesday for the third time this month, and for the third
time, state Senate committee members approved the proposed state law
that would restrict exemptions to required school vaccinations.
Senate Bill 277, which would remove the “personal belief exemption” that
allows parents to opt out of school vaccination laws, passed the Senate
Judiciary Committee by a vote of 5-1 on Tuesday and moves to the Senate
Appropriations Committee. The bill previously passed the Senate Health
and the Senate Education committees
http://edsource.org/2015/state-vaccination-bill-passes-senate-committee/78994#.VUEP8WRVhBc?utm_source=Michelle%27s+daily+email+4-29-15&utm_campaign=Daily_4-24-15&utm_medium=email
HALF OF JUNIORS OPT OUT OF COMMON CORE TESTS IN AFFLUENT HIGH SCHOOL
Ed Source | Apr 28, 2015
More than half of the 11th-graders at an affluent high school in Los
Angeles County are opting out of new tests aligned to the Common Core
State Standards – an ever-growing issue nationwide, but rare so far in
California.
Parents in the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District are citing
concerns about privacy over children’s data and the relevance of the
Smarter Balanced Assessments that millions of California students are
taking this spring as reasons for opting out.
http://edsource.org/2015/half-of-juniors-opt-out-of-common-core-tests-in-affluent-high-school/78968#.VUENk2RVhBc?utm_source=Michelle%27s+daily+email+4-29-15&utm_campaign=Daily_4-24-15&utm_medium=email
LEADER OF TEXTBOOK THEFT SCHEME INVOLVING LAUSD, OTHERS GETS PRISON TIME
Corey Frederick, 44, hatched a scheme to steal thousands of textbooks
from cash-strapped local school districts so that he could sell them to
distributors.
Starting in May 2008, Frederick recruited librarians, office technicians
and warehouse supervisors -- a dozen in total -- from the Los Angeles,
Inglewood, Lynwood and Bellflower school districts.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-textbook-theft-scheme-20150428-story.html
LAUSD GRADUATION RATE INCREASES, DROPOUT RATE DIPS
Daily News
LOS ANGELES >> The dropout rate among Los Angeles Unified School
District students in the high school class of 2013-14 dipped slightly
compared to the previous year, while the graduation rate edged upward,
according to figures released Tuesday.
The dropout rate among LAUSD students who began ninth grade together in
2010-11 was 17 percent, according to the state Department of Education.
That was down from the 17.2 percent rate for the class of 2012-13.
http://www.dailynews.com/social-affairs/20150428/lausd-graduation-rate-increases-dropout-rate-dips
CALIFORNIA GRADUATION RATES IMPROVE, BUT SHOW 'UNACCEPTABLE' GAPS
KPCC
California's Class of 2014 graduated from high school at a rate of 80.8
percent, slightly up from the previous year to hit a record high,
according to state Department of Education data released on Tuesday.
But wide gaps persist among racial groups, with the statewide graduation
rate for African-American students hovering stubbornly at about 68
percent and showing no improvement year-over-year.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/04/29/51323/california-graduation-rates-improve-but-show-unacc/
ALL-GIRLS SCHOOL HOPES TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE
Beverly Press
Liz Hicks said she and her colleagues have researched the numbers when
it comes to the achievement of girls within the STEM (science,
technology, engineering and math) curriculum, and they have found a path
they hope will lead to more success in those areas. On April 14, the
Los Angeles Board of Education approved Hicks’ proposal for a public
all-girls school that will be located on the Los Angeles High School
campus.
“Most of the all-girls schools have shown that girls do better in an
all-girls environment, particularly in those subjects,” said Hicks, who
is a Los Angeles Unified School District counseling coordinator. “They
tend to develop better self-esteem. It’s just one mode of moving forward
in those areas with girls, but they tend to do better with it.”
http://beverlypress.com/2015/04/all-girls-school-hopes-to-lead-by-example/
HARRIS NEWMARK HIGH NAMED MODEL CONTINUATION HIGH SCHOOL
LA School Report | April 28, 2015
Harris Newmark High School near downtown LA is celebrating today after
being named a Model Continuation High School by the California
Department of Education.
The event scheduled for 11:30 included a keynote address from LA Unified school board member Monica Garcia.
A total of 29 schools received the honor from the state this year, and
Harris Newmark was the only school from LA Unified selected.
Continuation high schools are small campuses with low student-to-teacher
ratios for students that are deemed at risk of not completing their
education.
http://laschoolreport.com/
LA UNIFIED GRADUATION RATES RISE FOR A FOURTH STRAIGHT YEAR
April 28, 2015
LA Unified graduation rates are up for the fourth straight year
according to new data released today by the California Department of
Education, but they still fall far short of statewide rates.
The percentage of local students in the Class of 2014, who earned a
diploma in four years reached 70.4 percent, up two percent over the
2012-13 cohort. By contrast, nearly 81 percent of students across the
state made it across the graduation finish line. And overall district
numbers also lag behind state figures in nearly every other respect,
including the dropout rate and graduation rates for Latino students.
http://laschoolreport.com/la-unified-graduation-rates-rise-for-a-fourth-straight-year/
AFTER YEARS OF LAYOFFS, CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS ON A TEACHER HIRING BINGE
Sacramento Bee
After years of pink slips and layoffs, California school districts have
emerged from the recession with plans to hire 21,500 teachers for the
2015-16 academic year at a pace not seen in a decade, according to new
state data.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/education/article19765770.html?utm_source=Sue%27s+daily+email+4-28-15&utm_campaign=Daily_4-24-15&utm_medium=email#storylink=cpy
COULD COMMON CORE HELP GROW ARTS EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS?
KQED
Arts programs have long suffered cuts as schools adjust to meeting the
growing demands of academic performance and standardized tests. Students
are rarely tested on the arts, and arts knowledge is challenging to
measure, so it becomes an easy target when schools are pressed for money
and results. So how does one justify arts spending when test scores are
at stake?
http://ww2.kqed.org/mindshift/2015/04/28/could-common-core-help-grow-arts-education-in-schools/?utm_source=Sue%27s+daily+email+4-28-15&utm_campaign=Daily_4-24-15&utm_medium=email
SPENDING $100 MILLION TO BREAK DOWN AP CLASS BARRIERS
NPR Marketplace
High school students across the country are nervously cramming for
Advanced Placement exams, which begin next week. But, there won’t be
nearly as many minority and low-income students taking the tests as
there could be.
According to the College Board, which runs the AP program, in 2013 about
15 percent of graduating seniors in the U.S. were black. But, black
students made up only about 9 percent of AP test takers. That same year —
the latest for which reliable comparisons are available — low-income
students made up 48 percent of the high school population, but only
about 28 percent of AP test takers.
http://www.marketplace.org/topics/education/learning-curve/spending-100-million-break-down-ap-class-barriers?utm_source=Sue%27s+daily+email+4-28-15&utm_campaign=Daily_4-24-15&utm_medium=email
GRADUATION RATES
City News Service
LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The dropout rate among Los Angeles Unified School
District students in the high school class of 2013-14 dipped slightly
compared to the previous year, while the graduation rate edged upward,
according to figures released today.
The dropout rate among LAUSD students who began ninth grade together
in 2010-11 was 17 percent, according to the state Department of
Education. That was down from the 17.2 percent rate for the class of
2012-13. The graduation rate for students in the class of 2013-14 was
70.4 percent, up from 68.1 percent from the previous year, according to
the state.
Among students in Orange County, the graduation rate was 88.6
percent, while the dropout rate was 6.7 percent. Those figures were both
improvements from the previous class, which had an 87.5 percent
graduation rate and 7.3 percent dropout rate.
Statewide, the graduation rate climbed for the fifth year in a row,
according to state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.
A total of 80.8 percent of the state's students who started high
school in 2010-11 graduated with their class in 2014, a 0.4 percent
increase than the previous year's class.
``Our record high graduation rate is great news, especially since it
is occurring at the same time we are raising academic standards,''
Torlakson said. ``This is more evidence that the dramatic changes taking
place3 in our schools are gradually helping to improve teaching and
learning in every classroom.
``We have raised academic standards, started online testing, given
local districts more flexibility in spending and provided more resources
to students who need it most,'' he said.
The report also showed a statewide rise in the dropout rate. Of the
students who started high school in 2010-11, 11.4 dropped out, up 0.2
percent, according to the state.
BENEFITS OF HPV VACCINE CAN BE SEEN IN HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS, STUDY SAYS
Los Angeles Times
Girls who were vaccinated against HPV saw significant health benefits
while they were still in high school, a new study says. The authors say
the results should encourage parents to get their daughters vaccinated
when they are 11 or 12 years old.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-hpv-vaccine-gardasil-works-fast-teens-20150427-story.html
HOW L.A. WORKS: SCHOOL LUNCHES
April 27, 2015 Laura Bliss | Los Angeles Magazine
The National School Lunch Act was passed in 1946 after an alarming
number of World War II draftees turned up too malnourished to serve. The
Los Angeles Unified School District has followed strict nutritional
guidelines for its 712 cafeterias ever since, dishing out more than
700,000 meals per day that range from pupusas to calzones. Grab a
fork—your teriyaki chicken awaits. - See more at: http://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/how-l-a-works-school-lunches/#sthash.Dx1qXLm3.dpuf
REPORT: BIG EDUCATION FIRMS SPEND MILLIONS LOBBYING FOR PRO-TESTING POLICIES
Washington Post | By Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg)
The four corporations that dominate the U.S. standardized testing market
spend millions of dollars lobbying state and federal officials — as
well as sometimes hiring them — to persuade them to favor policies that
include mandated student assessments, helping to fuel a nearly $2
billion annual testing business, a new analysis shows.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/03/30/report-big-education-firms-spend-millions-lobbying-for-pro-testing-policies/
REPORT: MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN FRAUD, WASTE FOUND IN CHARTER SCHOOL SECTOR
Washington Post | April 28 at 10:32 AM
A new report released on Tuesday details fraud and waste totaling more
than $200 million of uncovered fraud and waste of taxpayer funds in the
charter school sector, but says the total is impossible to know because
there is not sufficient oversight over these schools. It calls on
Congress to include safeguards in legislation being considered to
succeed the federal No Child Left Behind law.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2015/04/28/report-millions-of-dollars-in-fraud-waste-found-in-charter-school-sector/
VOTING SHOULDN'T NEED TO RELY ON A CASH PRIZE
Orange County Register | April 28, 2015
Should voters be paid to vote? How about just plain old bribed?
Those questions are being debated in one school board election in
California’s largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, where the
winner will be chosen in a runoff on May 19.
In the March primary, few voters turned out citywide for any of the municipal and school election contests.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/voting-659602-election-voters.html
MORE SCHOOLS OFFERING BREAKFAST IN CLASSROOM
Apr 28 2015
LOS ANGELES — When the school bell rings, children file into classrooms
and open their textbooks. Increasingly, they’re also eating a bowl of
cereal.
In an effort to increase the number of children eating breakfast, more schools are serving it in the classroom.
http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150428/PC1211/150429421/1514/more-schools-offering-breakfast-in-classroom
ED REFORM…ARE WE GETTING IT RIGHT? With John Deasy
City News Service
9:30 a.m. BEVERLY HILLS - Milken Family Foundation Chairman Lowell
Milken will lead a discussion on how to accelerate advancements in
teaching and learning during the ``Education Reform: Are We Getting It
Right?'' event with education leaders. Topics include common core
standards, teacher preparation programs and charter schools. Other
participants include Medgar Evers College President Rudolph Crew, former
LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, Tennessee State Board of Education
Executive Director Sara Heyburn, Success Academy Charter Schools CEO Eva
Moskowitz and National Institute for Excellence in Teaching President
Gary Stark. Beverly Hilton, International Terrace, 9876 Wilshire Blvd.
Contact: Jana Rausch, MFF, (310) 570-4774, or cell, (310) 435-9259.
DAYWORKERS HELP AT SCHOOL GARDEN TO HIGHLIGHT FRUITS OF THEIR LABOR
LA Times
Day laborers dig up grass in the student garden at Evelyn Thurman Gratts Elementary School in Westlake.
Day laborers are hoping their volunteer work will help the effort to get increased center funding
Most mornings, day laborer Guillermo Perez heads to the Home Depot near
MacArthur Park to look for work. If he's lucky, he brings home $100.
Last week, Perez gave up the prospect of a paycheck one morning to
volunteer at a local elementary school. For five hours, beneath a dark
sky that threatened rain, Perez and other workers raked soil and trimmed
trees in a garden where students are growing tomatoes, zucchinis and
peppers.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-immigrant-garden-20150428-story.html
MOODY'S ASSIGNS AA2 TO LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT'S (CA) G.O. ...
Moodys.com (press release) (subscription) - Apr 29, 2015
| https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-assigns-Aa2-to-Los-Angeles-Unified-School-Districts-CA--PR_324222
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
SUCCESSFUL SCHOOL CLIMATE COMMITTEE - May 5, 2015
4:00 pm
BUDGET, FACILITIES, AUDIT COMMITTEE Rescheduled From May 14, 2015
11:00 am
EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND PARENT ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE - May 7, 2015 - - 2 p.m.
*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-241.8700
What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Bennett.Kayser@lausd.net • 213-241-5555
George.McKenna@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Monica.Ratliff@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
Steve.Zimmer@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress,
senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • Find
your state legislator based on your home address. Just go to: http://bit.ly/dqFdq2 • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Brown: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these
thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE.
• If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE.
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!
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