Sunday, August 30, 2015

Ever advance. Never retreat.



4LAKids: Sunday 30•Aug•2015
In This Issue:
 •  IN A SUNDAY ‘RETREAT,’ LAUSD PICKING FIRM TO FIND NEXT SUPERINTENDENT
 •  IN REFORMING NEW ORLEANS, HAVE CHARTER SCHOOLS LEFT SOME STUDENTS OUT?
 •  MAKING THE LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING FORMULA WORK ...AND THREE REASONS WHY CURRENT LCAPS DON’T!
 •  LATINO STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO CLOSE GAP WITH WHITES IN CALIFORNIA ACT SCORES + smf’s 2¢
 •  HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
 •  EVENTS: Coming up next week...
 •  What can YOU do?


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 •  4LAKids Anthology: All the Past Issues, solved, resolved and unsolved!
 •  4LAKidsNews: a compendium of recent items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, rants and amusing anecdotes, etc.
“The host thus forming a single united body, is it impossible either for the brave to advance alone, or for the cowardly to retreat alone.” – Sun Tzu: The Art of War

re●treat
noun re·treat ri-ˈtrēt
1a (1) : an act or process of withdrawing especially from what is difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable (2) : the process of receding from a position or state attained
b (1) : the usually forced withdrawal of troops from an enemy or from an advanced position (2) : a signal for retreating
c (1) : a signal given by bugle at the beginning of a military flag-lowering ceremony (2) : a military flag-lowering ceremony
2: a place of privacy or safety : refuge
3: a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study, or instruction under a director
_____________

I understand the difference between retreat as a strategic or tactical withdrawal and a group meditation+introspection, but the semantic troublemaker within me caused me to rattle Admiral Brewer’s cage back in that day when he called periodic ‘retreats’ with senior staff. I was successful enough that he would call them ‘advances’.

A meditative retreat by public officials in the era of Open Meetings Laws is an impossibility; we were all invited to watch Sunday morning as the LAUSD Board of Ed – perhaps in t-shirts and shorts as the LA School Report suggests – sing “Kumbaya” or “Getting to Know You” while picking a search firm to select the next superintendent. Maybe someone will bring a karaoke machine? The idea of a retreat with the whole world watching and taking notes seems the antithesis of communal self-examination: Omphaloskepsis as spectator sport.

(The aforementioned Admiral Brewer was the last LAUSD supe identified by a search firm – unless one counts the firm of Broad, Gates & Villaraigosa who picked the last three …counting Cortines twice!)

In my neighborhood of Hollywood there is a convent of cloistered nuns, the Monastery of the Angels, who pray and intone the plainsong chants and the liturgy of the hours for the souls of their neighbors – admittedly a lost cause. They also bake an excellent pumpkin bread – a heavy loaf of salvation, sugar, spice, butter and walnuts – and offer a retreat to believers who wish to set aside their worldly lives and live a while in contemplation in a small cell on a hard bed – absent the abusive sheriff’s deputies.

“Reform,” New Yorker editor David Remnick tells us, “is not a period of retreat.” By any meaning of the word.


THIS WEEKEND MARKS KATRINA AT TEN AND THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON AT 52. We tend to forget that the main force of Katrina missed New Orleans – the disaster in that city was caused after the storm by the one-two collapse of infrastructure when the levees failed with water well below levels they were designed to withstand – and the subsequent+simultaneous failure at all levels of government: Local, state and federal.

Of course, the levee failure swept away the truly awful New Orleans Public Schools – and replaced them with wall-to-wall/levee-to-levee charter schools. Some have called New Orleans the most ambitious experiment ever in public education; others characterize it as a systematic privatization of public education. US Secretary of Ed Arne Duncan called Katrina "the best thing that happened to the education system in New Orleans."

“If it keeps on raining, levee's going to break,
If it keeps on raining, levee's going to break,
When the levee breaks I'll have no place to stay.”

Rebecca Solnit’s essay "The Uses of Disaster: Notes on Bad Weather and Good Government" was published by Harper’s magazine the day that Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf coast. She went on to write her 2009 book: “A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster”.

• Solnit: “More and more I think of privatization as being not just about the takeover of resources and power by corporate interests, but as the retreat of citizens to private life and private space, screened from solidarity with strangers and increasingly afraid or even unable to imagine acting in public.”
• MLK wrote: “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”
• Pogo Possum said: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”

“Crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good
Now, crying won't help you, praying won't do you no good
When the levee breaks, mama, you got to move.”

¡Onward/Adelante! - smf


IN A SUNDAY ‘RETREAT,’ LAUSD PICKING FIRM TO FIND NEXT SUPERINTENDENT
by Mike Szymanski | LA SCHOOL REPORT | http://bit.ly/1JrfZNR

28, 2015 9:57 am :: The LA Unified board is going to the end of the earth, or close to it, to accelerate the search for the district’s next superintendent.

The seven board members are gathering at 10 a.m. Sunday at the Point Fermin Outdoor Education Center in San Pedro, about a quarter mile from the Pacific Ocean, for a retreat that board President Steve Zimmer had intended to hold earlier this month but couldn’t because of members’ travel plans.

So it was finally scheduled on a day all could attend, even through it precedes by only a few days the September board meeting, planned for Tuesday in the usual place, the district’s downtown headquarters.

The Sunday retreat differs from a regular board meeting in two ways:

• One, it’s less formal, which means members might show up in shorts and t-shirts and certainly without ties.
• And, two, only one item is on the open session agenda: a decision on which of five executive search firms will win a $250,000 contract to find the district’s next leader.

“The Sunday meeting will give board members the opportunity to spend important time together to make sure we all understand each step in the process that lies ahead of us,” Zimmer told LA School Report. “It has been almost a decade since LAUSD conducted a national search for our superintendent. We all know that this is a pivotal moment for public education and the collaborative equity mission of this district. And that the eyes of the nation are upon us.”

In recent weeks, the board has requested proposals from the following firms:

Hamilton, Rabinowitz & Associates of Carmel, California
Hazard, Young, Attrea & Associates of Rosemont, Illinois
Leadership Associates of La Quinta, California
McPherson & Jacobson of Omaha, Nebraska
Ray and Associates, Inc. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Each company has submitted a formal bid, and the members are expected to discuss them in a closed session before announcing the winner. That decision will kick off the formal start to replacing Ramon Cortines, who intends to end his third term as superintendent in December.

Cortines, who turned 83 last month, will also be part of the search firm selection process.

“I am grateful that Superintendent Cortines will be joining the Board and working with the Board on Sunday,” Zimmer said. “He is the most accomplished public education leader in the United States. And the effort he has made to bring the entire LAUSD family together this past year is one of the great acts of public service in our time. We will be leaning on and learning from Superintendent Cortines’ wisdom and experience throughout this process and throughout this school year.”

The retreat format also gives the board’s two newest members, Scott Schmerelson and Ref Rodriguez, a chance to mingle with their colleagues without the more formal trappings of the Beaudry headquarters. Rodriguez, in particular, drew sharp criticism from some board members, including Zimmer, for the tone and substance of his election campaign, in which he ousted Bennett Kayser.

The Tuesday meeting is far more routine, with the usual laundry list of agenda items, most of which are approved with little controversy or debate.

This meeting, too, will include a closed session in which one of the more troubling issues to on the agenda is the class action teacher jail lawsuit evolving out of the district’s disciplinary action against teacher Rafe Esquith.

Among issues scheduled for open discussion is the Girls Academic Leadership Academy (GALA), which would become the district’s only all-girls school.

There will also be four items involving charters, one seeking to deny a charter for Today’s Fresh Start Adams Hyde Park. The board is being asked to approve charter revisions for two Citizens of the World schools to add a site and to approve a five-year charter for Equitas Academy 4 in Pico-Union.

These will be the first charter issues to come before Rodriguez, who served as a charter school executive before winning his board seat.

The board will also hold public hearings to consider applications from three other charters seeking five-year terms — El Camino Real K-8 Charter School at Highlander, El Camino Real K-8 Charter School at Oso and Rise Kohyang High School in Koreatown.

On the labor front, the board will consider approving Salary Reopener Agreements between the district and the Los Angeles School Police Association, the Teamsters Local 572 (which includes food service employees) and Office-Technical and Business Services employees.


IN REFORMING NEW ORLEANS, HAVE CHARTER SCHOOLS LEFT SOME STUDENTS OUT?
From the PBS NewsHour | http://to.pbs.org/1LJI1Ii
View in YouTube: https://youtu.be/rrft5Cp4gtE

August 28, 2015 at 6:35 PM EDT :: Ten years ago, New Orleans public schools were headed for academic rock bottom. And then Hurricane Katrina came, a disaster so devastating that it offered the rare opportunity to start over. Charter schools, empowered to take over, have raised test scores and graduation rates. But some say that success comes from bending the rules. Special correspondent John Tulenko of Education Week reports.
TRANSCRIPT: JUDY WOODRUFF: That brings us, appropriately, to our look at what’s happened to New Orleans’ schools over the course of the past decade and the big changes that they have undergone.

It’s a story we have reported on closely throughout.

Tonight, John Tulenko of Education Week, which produces stories for the NewsHour, has our report.

JOHN TULENKO: As you can see, in parts of New Orleans, life seems to be getting back to normal 10 years after Katrina. But many folks are wondering about the public schools. For the last 10 years, they have been engaged in what some have called the most ambitious experiment ever in public education. And whether or not it’s working depends on whom you ask.

WOMAN: I do see improvement in the kids and in the schools.

JOHN TULENKO: Is it working?

MAN: No.

WOMAN: The charter system has done tremendously well for the local kids here.

WOMAN: It’s working for those who have their money, their hand in the cookie jar.

MAN: I think they are better than they were 10 years ago.

JOHN TULENKO: Ten years ago, New Orleans’ public schools were headed for rock bottom. Fewer than a third of eighth graders could pass a reading test. And corruption was so deep, the FBI had set up an office inside the school administration building.

Patrick Dobard, who oversees the schools today, remembers those days.

PATRICK DOBARD, Superintendent, Recovery School District: Orleans Parish School Board at that time, unfortunately, it was really academically and in some instances morally and financially bankrupt.

And then Katrina came. When you have a catastrophe like that, it is an opportunity to start anew, because a lot of the institutional barriers, both real and perceived, were literally and figuratively, unfortunately, washed away.

JOHN TULENKO: Seizing the moment, the state took control of the city’s failing schools. Pink slips were sent to all 5,000 teachers and the state set out to remake New Orleans as a city where nearly all the schools would be independently run charters. Local school officials were no longer in charge.

MAN: I will know you’re ready because your eyes will be just on me. Thank you so much.

JOHN TULENKO: Some charters split up the boys and girls. Others focused on the arts. Most introduced uniforms and strict rules, and all were to be held accountable for results.

PATRICK DOBARD: And then you have a five-year contract. And if you don’t meet the terms of that contract, we have the ability to not allow you to continue in existence.

JOHN TULENKO: Charters were new and different. And it took some getting used to for parents like Cheryl Griffin.

CHERYL GRIFFIN, Parent: The first time I came to a meeting here, I’m going to tell you the truth, I was like, what kind of crap is this bojangle? What are they doing? I am not going to be a part of this. And so when I really got it, when I see that Summer got it this way, I said well, that’s the process. The process is to get it. She loves it.

MICHAEL FRANKLIN, Parent: Definitely, the environment is safe. Definitely, the teachers — I mean, they have excellent teachers. They have more things for kids to do.

JOHN TULENKO: Michael Franklin is another parent the charters won over.

MICHAEL FRANKLIN: With the charter school systems, there’s more creative thinking. I think there’s more creative exploration as far as helping kids and ways to get kids to meet their — to achieve their potential.

JOHN TULENKO: New schools were opening every year and the results were promising.

MAN: We went up in every grade in every subject. Congratulations.

(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)

JOHN TULENKO: Today, graduation rates have climbed from 54 percent to 73 percent. Test scores are substantially higher, and more students are enrolling in college.

For some, New Orleans has become a model of urban school reform.

PATRICK DOBARD: When I think about, nationally, people looking at it, it makes me realize how big this is, because what we’re doing is extremely different and progressive, but it’s also, in my mind, like the fundamental things we should be doing across this nation regardless.

JOHN TULENKO: But there is another side to this story. Some say charter schools, operating with little oversight, have succeeded by bending the rules in their favor.

WOMAN: So, your shoes cannot have gray on them. Must be all white or all black.

JOHN TULENKO: Critics point in particular to school discipline codes, which charters write themselves.

ASHANA BIGARD, Parent: The rules — like, a lot of the schools have rules called like willful disobedience, right, which is subjective. It’s anything I want it to be.

JOHN TULENKO: For 10 years, Ashana Bigard has been helping parents navigate the schools here. Her daughters attended local charter schools.

ASHANA BIGARD: So willful disobedience could be anything from you not tracking the teacher with your eyes to being perceived as coughing too much in the classroom.

JOHN TULENKO: The punishment for that is what?

ASHANA BIGARD: A lot of times, suspension.

MAN: If you’re meeting these expectations, you’re going to be stepping out of this room, and you might not come back to this room.

ANTONIO TRAVIS, New Orleans: They wasn’t interested in trying to help a problem child. I would say that. They wasn’t interested in trying to — in seeing what your issue was at home or why you are coming to school and why you’re having a bad day. It was five days and go home.

JOHN TULENKO: Antonio Travis says five-day suspensions for minor infractions were the norm at his charter school.

Did you see the students in your class start to disappear?

ANTONIO TRAVIS: Yes, most definitely. From numerous amounts of suspensions, parents would just get tired of it and just take them out of school.

JOHN TULENKO: Just two years ago, some charters were suspending 40 percent or more of their students.

ASHANA BIGARD: They want to have great test scores. If you’re a low tester and I really want to get you out of my school, one of the tools that I have seen used is suspension.

JOHN TULENKO: While some charge students were being pushed out, others claim their kids couldn’t even get a foot in the door.

SUE BORDELON, Parent: The first time we went and applied at a charter after Katrina, what I heard was, oh, we can’t — we can’t accommodate him.

JOHN TULENKO: Sue Bordelon’s son, Clarke, has autism.

SUE BORDELON: And this was repeated over and over at every charter school we went to.

JOHN TULENKO: Parents of students with disabilities took their claims to court and won stricter oversight and regulation.

But even before the lawsuit, state officials had begun to reassert control over charter schools, starting with a new centralized system for admissions.

PATRICK DOBARD: Within our central enrollment system, it’s agnostic and doesn’t know whether or not the kid has a disability. So, schools, once you get a kid in a school, the child is assigned to the school, you have to serve that kid.

JOHN TULENKO: The approach to discipline is also changing. Any expulsions must now be approved by the state.

But what about suspensions?

ASHANA BIGARD: Oh, they can suspend as much as they want. And if you’re 14 or 15, 16 and you’re on suspension every two weeks, every two weeks, after awhile, you’re not going to come back to school.

JOHN TULENKO: Charters point to declining suspension rates as evidence they’re not pushing students out. To keep kids in school and address behavior, some are bringing in more counselors. It’s a start, but there’s hard work ahead.

PATRICK DOBARD: I think the next 10 to 15 years is literally around mental health interventions that we could put in place. Like, do we need more than school psychologists? Maybe we need psychiatrists.

Those are the things that traditionally haven’t been, like, the main focus of schools, but we have to look at that.

JOHN TULENKO: The difficult work of school reform has also made New Orleans look within.

PATRICK DOBARD: We have to have like a federalist type of oversight. Government has to play a role and make sure that all students are being served well.

But then, within that framework, we want to be able to give like individual rights to charters, much like states’ rights. That’s in essence what we’re building.

JOHN TULENKO: Whether charters schools can deliver on their promise to provide quality education to all students here remains to be seen.

In New Orleans, I’m John Tulenko of Education Week, reporting for the PBS NewsHour.


MAKING THE LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING FORMULA WORK ...AND THREE REASONS WHY CURRENT LCAPS DON’T!
1. DISTRICTS DID NOT ADDRESS EACH STATUTORY METRIC.
2. MOST DISTRICTS FAILED TO ACCOUNT FOR A MAJORITY OF THEIR LCFF FUNDS.
3. THE MAJORITY OF DISTRICTS DID NOT IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN THE RATIONALE FOR NON-TARGETED USES OF THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS GENERATED BY HIGH-NEED STUDENTS.


By: David Sapp, Director of Education Advocacy for the ACLU of California | http://bit.ly/1KqW9oe

August 16, 2015 :: While students, parents, faculty and school staff gear up for the excitement of a new school year, a critically important process is unfolding largely out of public view.

California schools are nearing the conclusion of the second annual cycle of the district planning and budgeting process ushered in by Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), the historic reform of the state’s K-12 education finance and governance system.

And what we are seeing so far raises serious concerns.

Under LCFF, school districts receive additional funding based on how many high-need students—English learners, foster youth, and low-income students—they enroll. They also now have significantly more discretion over how to use their state funding.

In exchange for the increased flexibility, districts must engage local stakeholders in developing an annual Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). That plan shows how the district will use its funding, including the additional money for high-need students, to improve student outcomes based on specified metrics across eight state priority areas. Districts had to adopt their LCAPs by July 1, and county offices of education must review and approve those plans by October 8.

LCFF has tremendous potential to improve student outcomes and close opportunity gaps for high-need student groups. By linking goals for student outcomes with actions and expenditures across multiple indicators, the LCAP process is intended to make analysis of student need the touchstone for all decisions about services and programs, while helping districts engage the community when making hard choices about how to prioritize limited resources.

When districts adopted their first-ever LCAPs in July 2014, the ACLU of California reviewed those plans from a random sample of 40 districts around the state to identify trends and to inform our ongoing advocacy around LCFF implementation. Among our findings, three significant issues stood out as significant barriers to whether LCFF will ultimately be successful:

1. DISTRICTS DID NOT ADDRESS EACH STATUTORY METRIC.

School districts have much greater flexibility over how to use their resources, but they are expected to track their progress within the eight state priority areas, using the specified metrics. Ten of the 40 districts, however, failed to address at least half of the required metrics, and only one district’s LCAP addressed each relevant statutory metric. And, as reflected in this chart, certain metrics were particularly likely to be omitted.

When districts do not address all of the statutory metrics, districts, stakeholders, and state policymakers cannot assess whether the local choices about the educational program reflected in the LCAP are, in fact, improving outcomes across the state priorities and make adjustments necessary to support a culture of continuous improvement.

2. MOST DISTRICTS FAILED TO ACCOUNT FOR A MAJORITY OF THEIR LCFF FUNDS.

The LCAP is supposed to function as the central planning and accountability tool under LCFF. But excluding two districts that reported expenditures exceeding their total LCFF funds, the districts in our sample accounted for only $2.5 billion of the $6.3 billion in total LCFF funds they received in 2014-15, meaning that $3.8 billion in LCFF funding was not accounted for. In fact, 29 of the districts failed to account for 90% or more of their LCFF funds.

Districts cannot reliably assess why they are, or are not, making progress toward their goals across the eight state priority areas if a majority of their education program is not even reflected in the LCAP. Additionally, failing to account for the bulk of LCFF funds in the LCAP makes meaningful stakeholder engagement impossible because the public cannot assess how the few actions identified fit within the district’s broader program.

3. THE MAJORITY OF DISTRICTS DID NOT IDENTIFY AND EXPLAIN THE RATIONALE FOR NON-TARGETED USES OF THE ADDITIONAL FUNDS GENERATED BY HIGH-NEED STUDENTS.

Districts may use the additional funding they receive for high-need pupils for schoolwide and districtwide, i.e., non-targeted, programs, as long as they identify each such use in the LCAP and explain how it advances goals set for the high-need students. Our review found, however, that 10 districts failed to identify schoolwide and districtwide uses of these funds, and 20 districts identified only one or two examples, rather than identifying all such uses. And only 10 districts made a meaningful attempt to explain why the schoolwide or districtwide uses that they did identify advanced outcomes for the high-need students who generate the funds.

This requirement is essential to ensure that the funds the Legislature intended to meet the greater needs of high-need student are not treated as indistinguishable from the base funding districts receive. Providing the required explanation ensures that the decisions are anchored in the particular needs of the students who generate the funds, and that stakeholders have appropriate insight into the rationale so that they can participate meaningfully in the local conversation about priorities.

We shared our findings with key stakeholders throughout the spring. We also flagged these issues in a letterthat the ACLU of California and Public Advocates sent to every district and county superintendent in the state in June.

We hoped and expected to see improvement on these areas in the second round of LCAPs, which districts had to approve by July 1. Unfortunately, our preliminary review of a small sample of just-adopted LCAPs reveals that districts are still struggling with these foundational issues.

Implementing the dramatic changes enacted by LCFF is a significant undertaking. It has been and will continue to be a learning process. There have also been many positives over the last few years and some promising practices in LCAP development that I will highlight separately later this month.

But, taken together, these three issues cut to the heart of whether LCFF will succeed. If districts fail to address and monitor progress on numerous statutory metrics, include only a sliver of their LCFF funds, and fail to transparently explain how they are using the additional funds generated by high-need students to serve those students, the LCAP simply cannot be useful as a tool for continuous improvement or to facilitate meaningful local engagement or accountability.

We must all work together to make LCFF work, and getting these foundational components of the LCAP right is essential. County offices have until September 15 to recommend changes to LCAPs, and we believe these three issues should be front-and-center to the ongoing review process.

Also see:

LCAP/LCAP: POOR KIDS’ SCHOOL AID DIVERTED?
Schools got extra money for ‘high-need’ students, but ACLU study suggested funds going elsewhere. Commentary By Dan Walters, The Sacramento Bee | http://bit.ly/1IqcFyx

MOST VOTERS HAVEN’T HEARD OF LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING FORMULA
By John Fensterwald | EdSource | http://bit.ly/1fLfZ0n

CALIFORNIA VOTERS BACK EXTENDING PROPOSITION 30 TO FUNNEL MORE MONEY TO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
PACE/USC Rossier Poll shows voters have little knowledge of Local Control Funding Formula reform meant to dramatically alter public school finance and accountability in the state
Policy Analysis for California Education | http://bit.ly/1KSxhS2


LATINO STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO CLOSE GAP WITH WHITES IN CALIFORNIA ACT SCORES + smf’s 2¢
STANDARDIZED TESTING | EDUCATION MATTERS: HOW SCHOOLS MEASURE LEARNING
By Joy Resmovits | LA Times | http://lat.ms/1Ejt3pw

26 Aug 2015 :: A performance gap on the ACT college entrance exam persisted this year between California's Latino and white high school students, according to new test results.

Educators and experts find this trend particularly concerning. They had hoped for better results from the relatively small segment of test takers who are largely a self-selected group of students who are motivated to get to college.

"I find it really disturbing," said Mark Schneider, a vice president at American Institutes for Research who previously directed the federal government's education research arm.

Across the country, the class of 2015 stagnated, with 40% of the 1.9 million test takers showing what the organization calls "strong readiness," according to results released Wednesday.

In California, 30% of the class of 2015 took the test.

California students overall outperformed their peers nationally. While 28% of students across the country met all four ACT targets, intended to represent college success, 37% of California's test takers did so.

"California had some higher-performing students than the country did," said Jon Erickson, ACT's president of education. "That's a good sign."

California's test takers had an average overall score of 22.5, compared to 21 nationally. A maximum score is 36.

The gap between Latino and white students has remained since at least 2011.

In 2011, 25% of Latino students met three or more ACT targets, compared to 69% of white students. In 2015, 28% of Latino students met three or more, compared to 70% of whites — representing a continuous gap of more than 40 percentage points.

The ethnic breakdown of test takers is not precisely the same as the state's: nearly 28% of test takers were white, and about 38% were Latino. According to census data, California's population between the ages of 18 and 24 is 31% white and 47% Latino.

In all four subject areas, English, reading, math and science, the difference between the percentage of white and Latino students meeting ACT benchmarks ranged from 37 to 39 percentage points.

In California, about twice as many students take the SAT college entrance exam as the ACT, which is typically more popular in the Midwest. Many universities require students to take either the ACT or the SAT as part of the admissions process.

According to the ACT, 23% of test takers came from families that made $36,000 a year or less.

Poverty can have a profound effect on education — but income inequality by itself does not explain educational disparities, according to Ryan Smith, the executive director of Education Trust-West.

"Race does play a factor in student achievement. It's not just an issue of class," Smith said. "It's a conversation that is lacking, particularly among education leaders."

"My national concern is that those gaps aren't closing rapidly," Erickson said. "I'd say the same thing for California. I was hoping to see those gaps narrow, and it's pretty much been stable."

With its limited scale, the ACT results are piecemeal. But they still provide a piece of the puzzle in evaluating California's schools during a drought of state testing data. For two years, the state has not released standardized test results as California eases into teaching the Common Core standards, a set of learning goals in math and English language arts that specifies what a student should know by each grade.

In California, Common Core test results will be released in September, officials say, but even those numbers will not show progress — rather, as the first set of scores, they will set a baseline for future performance.

The ACT defines college readiness as the minimum score a student must achieve to have a 75% chance of earning a C or higher, or a 50% chance of earning a B or higher in a typical first-year college course.

Although test scores are a source of anxiety for parents and the public, what is often lost is that they measure probability, said Anthony Carnevale, a Georgetown University professor who researches workforce skills and a former vice president of the Educational Testing Service.

"A test score is a probability statement," he said. "The whole apparatus is an artifice designed to get kids from high school to Harvard."



●●smf’s 2¢: “The ACT defines college readiness as the minimum score a student must achieve to have a 75% chance of earning a C or higher, or a 50% chance of earning a B or higher in a typical first-year college course.” Which one is it? Cs and Bs are perfectly good passing scores in college!
• Note that The Times and Their Education Matters sponsors head this as: Standardized Testing: How Schools Measure Learning
• Note that the actual quoted testing expert/educator says: "A test score is a probability statement… the whole apparatus is an artifice…." What part of “artifice” is so hard to understand?

AR·TI·FICE
ˈärdəfəs/
noun: artifice; plural noun: artifices
1. clever or cunning devices or expedients, especially as used to trick or deceive others.


HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
GOVERNOR SIGNS LAW GRANTING CAHSEE REPRIEVE TO CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS :: SENATE BILL 725 ALLOWS STUDENTS WHO’VE FULFILLED ALL OTHER GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS TO RECEIVE DIPLOMA / THOUSANDS OF HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS WERE LEFT IN LIMBO AFTER JULY TEST CANCELED

By Alexei Koseff, Sacramento Bee | http://bit.ly/1fIFmjr

27 August 2015 :: Thousands of students left in limbo by the cancellation of California’s required high school exit exam will be able to graduate after all.

On Wednesday, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 725, suspending the test for the class of 2015 and allowing students who’ve fulfilled all other graduation requirements to receive their diplomas. About 5,000 high school seniors were blocked from graduating this year when the California Department of Education canceled a final administration of the exit exam in July because its contract with the provider had expired.

Concerned that students would be prevented from enrolling in college or the military, lawmakers introduced the quick-fix legislation, which will take effect immediately. The University of California and the California State University later announced that they would not deny entry to admits affected by the exam cancellation.

Brown signed SB 725 without comment, but on Monday, his deputy press secretary, Deborah Hoffman, said he would approve the bill: “Students who’ve been accepted into college should not be prevented from starting class this fall because of a test cancellation they could not control.”

_____________________

► Just in Late Friday: CAL. DEPT OF ED RESPONDS TO CRITICISM BY DECIDING TO RESTORE DATA FROM OLD STATE TESTS TO WEB SITE.
@howardblume LA Times Education Reporter tweets:
‏ beginning at 4:35 PM - 28 Aug 2015

• Just in: Cal.Dept of Ed responds to criticism by deciding to restore data from old state tests to familiar part of web site.
• Earlier, the state had removed data from old test in prep for upcoming results from new tests. Officials had discouraged comparisons.
• Word is that much lower % of students will be "proficient" per new test, which differs in content & form from prior STAR exam.
• State officials had suggested/implied that state law gave them the authority or mandate to remove old results to avoid faulty comparisons.
• That position caused firestorm among critics, who called for transparency & continued access to data with instructional/research value.
• State officials pointed out that the old data was still accessible although harder to find online.
• As of Friday morning, the state was working on web site changes that would make the old data more accessible.
• By later Friday, state ed said the data would simply be restored where people were used to finding it, in interests of transparency.
____________

► smf: For fans of long form journalism, I give you:
THE LIFE & DEATH OF JAMAICA HIGH SCHOOL: What’s really at stake when a school closes?
Annals of Education | August 31, 2015 Issue of The New Yorker
By Jelani Cobb | The New Yorker | http://nyr.kr/1hifmwk
________________

IN A SUNDAY ‘RETREAT,’ LAUSD BOARD PICKING FIRM TO FIND NEXT SUPERINTENDENT
http://bit.ly/1NEQbSr

MOST VOTERS HAVEN’T HEARD OF LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING FORMULA …but favor Prop 30 extension (2 stories)

POOR KIDS’ SCHOOL AID DIVERTED? + Making the LCFF/LCAP Work ...and 3 reasons why current plans don’t!
http://bit.ly/1Uilx08

Is this what it takes? HUNGER STRIKE STRETCHES INTO 11th DAY TO SAVE CHICAGO SCHOOL
http://bit.ly/1hIAYmo

GOVERNOR SIGNS LAW GRANTING CAHSEE REPRIEVE TO CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS
http://bit.ly/1NK3hge

BEST JOBS FOR YOUNG ADULTS: Physician's assistant, actuary, statistician, biomedical engineer …or elevator repairman! http://bit.ly/1Ka9C5e

LATINO STUDENTS STRUGGLE TO CLOSE GAP WITH WHITES IN CALIFORNIA ACT SCORES + smf’s 2¢
http://bit.ly/1KldgaN

MUSIC CENTER ON TOUR: Arts performance grant opportunity for PTA Schools in L.A. County http://bit.ly/1NIldrC

"I’m a teacher, and I’m tired of being scapegoated": WHY THE GOP’s ATTACKS ON EDUCATORS FLUNK THE EVIDENCE TEST
http://bit.ly/1JxdJGl

The Demographic Divide: POLITICO AM ED+OTHERS OPINE ON PHI DELTA KAPPA/GALLUP COMMON CORE/TESTING POLL | http://bit.ly/1MJi7TF

FAFSA FOLLIES: To Gain a Student, Eliminate a Form | The New York Times
http://nyti.ms/1JscyDr

PHI DELTA KAPPA/GALLUP POLL (Not Fox News) SHOWS 54% MAJORITY OPPOSE COMMON CORE STANDARDS | EdSource
http://bit.ly/1PNqCgh

A-G: RAISING GRADUATION BAR POSES CHALLENGES FOR SCHOOL DISTRICTS | EdSource http://bit.ly/1NFlKKT

CALIFORNIA’S TEACHER PIPELINE NEEDS A BOOST
http://bit.ly/1MHCYGO

WHY SO MANY TEACHERS QUIT AND HOW TO FIX THAT - Education Matters/LA Times
http://lat.ms/1KEAIeU

IS THERE STILL ROOM FOR PLAY IN CALIFORNIA KINDERGARTENS? | The California Report | KQED News
http://bit.ly/1WLm3Yt


EVENTS: Coming up next week...
Special Board Meeting - Sunday, August 30, 2015 - 10:00 a.m
Point Fermin Outdoor Education Center
920 West 36th Street
San Pedro, CA 90731
10:00 a.m., Sunday, August 30, 2015

• Regular Board Meeting - September 1, 2015 - 1:00 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


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Scott.Schmerelson@lausd.net • 213-241-8333
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Ref.Rodriguez@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, county supervisor, state legislator, 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 at http://registertovote.ca.gov/
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!


Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them?




Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD and was Parent/Volunteer of the Year for 2010-11 for Los Angeles County. • He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and has represented PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee for over 12 years. He is Vice President for Health, Legislation Action Committee member and a member of the Board of Directors of the California State PTA. He serves on numerous school district advisory and policy committees and has served as a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT "WHO" Gold Award and the ACSA Regional Ferd Kiesel Memorial Distinguished Service Award - honors he hopes to someday deserve. • In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids.
• FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 4LAKids makes such material available in an effort to advance understanding of education issues vital to parents, teachers, students and community members in a democracy. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
• To SUBSCRIBE e-mail: 4LAKids-subscribe@topica.email-publisher.com - or -TO ADD YOUR OR ANOTHER'S NAME TO THE 4LAKids SUBSCRIPTION LIST E-mail smfolsom@aol.com with "SUBSCRIBE" AS THE SUBJECT. Thank you.


Sunday, August 23, 2015

“Partial Journalism?”/ “Solutions Journalism?”: THE PLOT SICKENS


4LAKids: Sunday 23•Aug•2015
In This Issue:
 •  Education Matters: L.A. TIMES ANNOUNCES WEEKLY EDUCATION NEWSLETTER …what a concept!
 •  BILLIONAIRES FUND EDUCATION NEWS AT LA TIMES
 •  Back2School@LAUSD: A SMOOTH START …AND NOW THE HARD WORK BEGINS
 •  Eric Garcetti: HERE’S HOW CITY HALL IS HELPING LOS ANGELES STUDENTS SUCCEED
 •  HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
 •  EVENTS: Coming up next week...
 •  What can YOU do?


Featured Links:
 •  Give the gift of a 4LAKids Subscription to a friend or colleague!
 •  Follow 4 LAKids on Twitter - or get instant updates via text message by texting "Follow 4LAKids" to 40404
 •  4LAKids Anthology: All the Past Issues, solved, resolved and unsolved!
 •  4LAKidsNews: a compendium of recent items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, rants and amusing anecdotes, etc.
Before I go into my rant: Congratulations to everyone in LAUSD, from the superintendent to the transitional kindergartener – and all the folks in between – who got the new school year up and running so well and seemingly seamlessly.

I know it wasn’t easy …making it look effortless never is!


YOU HAVE TO EXCUSE ME, MY PARANOIA IS SHOWING. Maybe it’s the chemotherapy?

The headlines say it all: MAJOR CHARTER SCHOOL EXPANSION IN THE WORKS FOR L.A. UNIFIED STUDENTS - http://lat.ms/1OXmr0m (published last week in 4LAkids] and a letter this week from the publisher of the Los Angeles Times: A RENEWED EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION AT THE TIMES [below + http://lat.ms/1gUrnIg] While Times publisher Austin Beutner claims “independent journalism” is the lofty goal, he lays out just who’s paying for all the “independence”: Broad and Gates and Wasserman and The Waltons …oh my.

Diane Ravitch’s lead is: BILLIONAIRES FUND EDUCATION NEWS AT LA TIMES: “Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, you read a story like this.” [below] Diane goes on to note that the LA Times “Education Matters” initiative kicks off with an Op-Ed from Arne Duncan (follows): “Now there’s a fresh perspective!”

A 4LAKids correspondent emails: “The LA Times is myopic. Howard Blume, who I think is a really nice guy, has been on KCRW twice in the last two days. As usual, he made everything into a conflict between UTLA and the school district as if no one else has an interest in public education and might be impacting things.”

●●smf’s 2¢: With the influx of ®eform, Inc. ¢a$h I’m afraid the LA Times has moved from myopic to monoptic.

● Sunday's LA Times features a full-page ad of Beutner's letter on the back page section one; "Education Matters: Get Some Today!"
● Los Angeles will be subjected to an avalanche of media on the visionary civic-booster wonderfulness of Eli Broad in the months ahead because of the opening of his Art Museum - Sunday's Times' front page features a profile of Eyde Broad. The question is whether being a land developer/insurance billionaire/art collector qualifies one as an expert on public education.

Robin Lithgow, retired Director of the LAUSD Arts Education Branch writes to The Times:

“Considering the foundations supporting this effort it's unlikely you will take my suggestions seriously, but there is one thing you could do to gain credibility with the education community.

“The Los Angeles Times could do a serious investigation of the 50-year history of the corporate ‘education reform’ agenda. I wish I still had the John Birch Society pamphlet that I read in 1968 which called for the abolition of public education. At the time I read it I thought it was just crack-pot ideology, but I've spent 50 years as a public school teacher and administrator and have watched wave after wave of ‘reform’ efforts through the lens of that pamphlet.

“The Los Angeles Times has a lot to answer for when you consider the decades of attacks that have resulted in a gradual erosion of the public's confidence in and support of our schools and our educators. It has aligned itself with the same forces that support the arch-conservative American Legislative Exchange Commission (ALEC). It has been ruthlessly anti-union. It has supported the initiatives of the Waltons, the Gates, the Broads, all of them standing to profit from their "reform" agenda. Why should we trust you now?

“Bottomless pockets are not an indicator of wisdom when it comes to the public education of all of our children. It is the successful veteran educators you should be listening to.”


ROBIN, I’M LOOKING FOR THAT PAMPHLET TOO! In 1960, (John Birch Society Founder Robert) Welch advised JBS members to “join your local PTA [Parent Teachers Association] at the beginning of the school year, get your conservative friends to do likewise, and go to work to take it over. | http://bit.ly/1E4IAd3

Bob Dylan wrote a song: Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues. CBS censors wouldn’t let him sing it on the Ed Sullivan Show. “I explained the situation to Bob and asked him if he wanted to do something else,” recalls Ed Sullivan Show producer Bob Precht, “and Bob, quite appropriately, said ‘No, this is what I want to do. If I can’t play my song, I’d rather not appear on the show.'” | http://bit.ly/1K76eGv
Well, I was feelin’ sad and feelin’ blue
I didn’t know what in the world I wus gonna do
Them Communists they wus comin’ around
They wus in the air
They wus on the ground
They wouldn’t gimme no peace . . .

So I run down most hurriedly
And joined up with the John Birch Society
I got me a secret membership card
And started off a-walkin’ down the road
Yee-hoo, I’m a real John Bircher now!
Look out you Commies!

The song’s too long for 4LAKids and too controversial for CBS, but it’s worth a listen: http://bit.ly/1LlEsYz

FYI: The Koch Brothers’ father was a founding JBS member; the current Kochs are former members. Hippies that they are, they were opposed to the Vietnam War (It was ‘too expensive’) which was Birch apostasy.

Of course, The School ®eform, Inc. crowd aren’t communists. They are capitalists. What could possibly go wrong?

::

From Wikipedia: http://bit.ly/1NvLGZz:
“IT WAS REVEALED IN 1999 THAT A REVENUE-SHARING ARRANGEMENT WAS IN PLACE BETWEEN THE TIMES AND STAPLES CENTER in the preparation of a 168-page magazine about the opening of the sports arena. (Staples is owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group, politically to the right of Genghis Khan with an enlightened education policy that made AEG producers of the film: “Bad Teacher”) The magazine's editors and writers were not informed of the agreement, which breached the Chinese wall that traditionally has separated advertising from journalistic functions at American newspapers. Times parent company CEO Mark Willes also had not prevented advertisers from pressuring reporters in other sections of the newspaper to write stories favorable to their point of view.”[ http://bit.ly/1gXWCCe].

From The LA Times Ethical Guidelines: "Staff members may not enter into business or financial relationships with their sources. Similarly, staff members may not cover individuals or institutions with which they have a financial relationship."

Q: Is the publisher a staff member?
A: When all the fallout fell, Kathryn Downing, the publisher at the Times at the time of the Staples magazine brouhaha (a lawyer with no newspaper experience) was quickly removed. [http://bit.ly/1JmVoas ]

The “Chinese Wall” has been breached, dear friends - the gap filled-up with pictures of dead presidents. The difference between this “pay-to-play” and that one is that we – and The Times journalism+editorial staff – have been informed of it.

As if we+they didn’t know all along.

::

BUT “EDUCATION MATTERS” IS NOT UNIQUE
► ABOUT EDUCATION LAB | The Seattle Times | Originally published March 24, 2015 at 10:59 am By Caitlin Moran Community engagement editor | http://bit.ly/1PA8E0y

“Education Lab is a Seattle Times project that spotlights promising approaches to some of the most persistent challenges in public education. It is produced in partnership with the Solutions Journalism Network, a New York-based nonprofit that works to spread the practice of solutions-oriented journalism, and funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Since the project launched in October 2013, Seattle Times reporters have published dozens of stories identifying and assessing promising programs and innovations — both locally and around the country — to problems that have long bedeviled schools.

“Engaging with our readers — and reaching education stakeholders who are not regular Seattle Times readers — has been a focus of Education Lab from day one. Since launch, we’ve held several community meetings with parents, students, teachers and education advocates to gather ideas and input. We’ve experimented with new ways to feature community voices, including live chats, reader questionnaires and regular guest columns. We’ve also held four large-scale public events – with more in the planning stages. Our goal is to create a new conversation that connects teachers, parents, students and others around innovation in schools.”

Education Lab. Education Matters. Deja vu²

….and if that’s not enough you can always worry about this timely trend: TWO “PUFF PIECE” STORIES ABOUT PEARSON EDUCATION FROM NPR…. [bit.ly/1KAYWGS]


Lenin wrote at length about controlling the press; his “truth” became “Izvestia”- the newspaper of the Soviet government, and Pravda (“news”) the newspaper of the Communist Party. Goebbels perfected The Big Lie; Vance Packard and Marshall McLuhan conflated the psychology+the philosophy+the message+the media. Karl Rove made political news management into an art form. Fox News is “Fair+Balanced”; so is MSNBC. Television is reality. My favorite writer on the subject is Jerry Della Femina …but my background is in the show-biz wonderland where Hollywood met MadMen and the money+martinis flowed like money+martinis. If the sex+drugs didn’t get you the coffee+doughnuts would.

Fasten your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

¡Onward/Adelante! - smf



PS: It an old saw, but it still cuts: By the numbers: HOW TO TELL IF YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT IS INFECTED BY THE BROAD VIRUS [http://bit.ly/ByTheNos]

#39. Local newspaper fails to report on much of this.
#40. Local newspaper never mentions the words “Broad Foundation.”
#41.Broad and Gates Foundations give money to local public radio stations which in turn become strangely silent about the presence and influence of the Broad and Gates Foundation in your school district.

PS2:
In Friday’s Federal Register there is a notification from the US Dept. of Ed: APPLICATIONS FOR NEW AWARDS: CHARTER SCHOOLS PROGRAM: Grants to Non-State Educational Agency Eligible Applicants for Planning, Program Design, and Initial Implementation and for Dissemination [http://1.usa.gov/1LpOPKL] They’re from the government; they’re here to help!


Education Matters: L.A. TIMES ANNOUNCES WEEKLY EDUCATION NEWSLETTER …what a concept!
Austin Beutner: A RENEWED EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION AT THE TIMES
A letter from the publisher of the Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/1gUrnIg

18 Aug 2015

Dear Reader,

Today is the first day of school for hundreds of thousands of children throughout Los Angeles, and for students, teachers and parents, the occasion is cause for both excitement and trepidation.

Education, it has been said, is the soul of society, and few institutions embody our hopes and dreams as much as our public schools. They are the cornerstones of our communities and the foundation for our future, where children from all backgrounds are given the tools to shape their lives and their world.

With the start of a new school year, the Los Angeles Times is rededicating itself to coverage of teaching and learning. Our goal is to provide an ongoing, wide-ranging report card on K-12 education in Los Angeles, California and the nation.

We are calling our initiative Education Matters, and I encourage you to join us as we explore the issues that matter most to you and your child. If you want to understand the latest debate on curriculum or testing, find out about the role of student health in learning, study how charter schools are changing public education or experience a classroom from the perspective of a teacher, then Education Matters will be an essential destination.
“The California Endowment, the Wasserman Foundation and the Baxter Family Foundation … are providing funds to support Education Matters. The California Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Los Angeles have also supported this effort with grants from the The Broad Foundation. These institutions, like The Times, are dedicated to independent journalism that engages and informs its readers.”

●● smf's 2¢: Wasserman… Baxter… UWofGLA… Broad…? This calls for a very interesting interpretation of “independent journalism”.

With an expanded team of reporters, we will take a fresh approach to our news and analysis starting with today’s stories about the unique challenges facing LAUSD and the last year-round school in Los Angeles. Our editorial pages feature a guest column by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on the need for more investment in math and science education. You will find our reports at latimes.com/schools in English and Spanish.

In the coming months, we will convene public forums to address topics such as educational education policy, saving for college and talking to your child’s teacher. We intend these conversations to be both thoughtful and practical.

The Times continues to draw more high school students to journalism with HS Insider, available at highschool.latimes.com. And as the school year begins, more college students will receive free access to The Times through our College Connection program, which brings them news and information relevant to their studies and their communities.

A child’s success in the classroom depends on the participation and support of everyone in the community, a view shared by the California Endowment, the Wasserman Foundation and the Baxter Family Foundation, which are providing funds to support Education Matters. The California Community Foundation and United Way of Greater Los Angeles have also supported this effort with grants from the The Broad Foundation. These institutions, like The Times, are dedicated to independent journalism that engages and informs its readers.

Your first assignment is to become involved. Read and share our stories. Attend a discussion in your neighborhood. Sign up for our weekly newsletter, “Education Matters.” Follow us on Twitter at @LATEducation.

As we launch Education Matters, I look forward to hearing from you. Please let me know how we’re doing and how we can best serve your needs.


Austin Beutner,
Publisher and CEO, Los Angeles Times


Also see: ELI BROAD & CHARTER EXPANSION; AUSTIN BEUTNER & EDUCATION MATTERS



BILLIONAIRES FUND EDUCATION NEWS AT LA TIMES

By Diane Ravitch, from her blog | http://bit.ly/1Jrzw43

August 18, 2015 :: Just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, you read a story like this.

It is a letter from the publisher of the Los Angeles Times informing readers that a group of wealthy foundations are underwriting expanded coverage of education. Not surprising to see the Eli Broad Foundation in the mix. Former Mayor Richard Riordan is not listed but you can be sure he is involved.

These control freaks–er, philanthropists–worry that the LAT has not provided enough space to cover this vital topic.

Publisher Austin Beutner writes:

“We are calling our initiative Education Matters, and I encourage you to join us as we explore the issues that matter most to you and your child. If you want to understand the latest debate on curriculum or testing, find out about the role of student health in learning, study how charter schools are changing public education or experience a classroom from the perspective of a teacher, then Education Matters will be an essential destination.

“With an expanded team of reporters, we will take a fresh approach to our news and analysis starting with today’s stories about the unique challenges facing LAUSD and the last year-round school in Los Angeles. Our editorial pages feature a guest column by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan on the need for more investment in math and science education. You will find our reports at latimes.com/schools in English and Spanish.

“In the coming months, we will convene public forums to address topics such as educational education policy, saving for college and talking to your child’s teacher. We intend these conversations to be both thoughtful and practical.”

A guest column by Arne Duncan! Now there’s a fresh perspective!

I wonder if I will ever be invited to write for the LA Times again?



● What Diane says about Diane: I am a historian of education and Research Professor of Education at New York University.
I was born in Houston, Texas, attended the Houston public schools from kindergarten through high school, and graduated from Wellesley College in 1960. I received my Ph.D. in the history of American education in 1975.
I am the mother of two sons. They went to private schools in New York City. I have four grandsons: two went to religious schools, the third goes to public school in New York City, and the fourth will go to the same wonderful public school in Brooklyn.
I live in Brooklyn, New York.
● More from Wikipedia: She was appointed to public office by Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. She served as Assistant Secretary of Education under Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander from 1991 to 1993 and his successor Richard Riley appointed her to serve as a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which supervises the National Assessment of Educational Progress; she was a member of NAGB from 1997 to 2004. From 1995 to 2005 she held the Brown Chair in Education Studies at the Brookings Institution[


Back2School@LAUSD: A SMOOTH START …AND NOW THE HARD WORK BEGINS
By Howard Blume and Sonali Kohli |LA Times | http://lat.ms/1J3CXup

• Los Angeles, the second largest school district in the nation, went back to school Aug. 18. Here’s the district by the numbers: lat.ms/1LrhnDR (Warning: opens endless stream of Times videos!)

19 August 2015 :: Everyone, it seems, has an opinion about L.A. Unified.

Some critics consider the mammoth school system so hopeless that they are trying to dismantle it. Others say it's too late.

For the opening of school Tuesday, L.A. Unified presented itself as thriving, reviving and vital. In events stretched throughout the day, officials showcased some of its best.

El Sereno Middle School offers classes in Mandarin for its mostly Latino students and hosts a program with USC to pay tuition for those who graduate from high school.

"He speaks three languages," Irma Henriquez said proudly of her son, Nelson, 13. "Imagine how many doors will open to him in the future."

At Vine Street Elementary in Hollywood, parents got the chance to question school board President Steve Zimmer and even complain about a few things.

Liliana Rodriguez said he needs to do something about the cafeteria lunches.

"My kids don't like to eat at school very often because the foods are frozen," Rodriguez said.

New Principal Kurt Lowry was determined to be responsive. He put in a call to food services about the frozen or undercooked meals. And he made a radio call to custodians when he was alerted that there was no soap in the preschoolers' bathroom.

The district even took the media into its command center for the online student records system that failed last year, leaving schools in chaos with students unable to get into classes.

That program, called My Integrated Student Information System, or MISIS, appeared to work Tuesday. Fixing it cost $133 million. An additional $80 million was set aside for this year.

"The district is in a renaissance," said L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines, who took over the top job last fall. "A year ago, the opening of school was a disaster. And I believed it could be fixed.... It's my hope that [parents] are willing to say: 'Hey, maybe we can trust the district again.' "

The new year finds the 650,000-student L.A. Unified School District at a crossroads. Increased funding has restored staff and programs that were lost during the recession; long-awaited salary increases have improved labor relations and polarizing Supt. John Deasy resigned under pressure.

Cortines, 83, returned from retirement with a pragmatic focus: fixing the records system and charting a path forward on technology after a disastrous, now-abandoned effort to provide iPads to every student, teacher and campus administrator.

But higher state funding isn't keeping up with claims on it. Many adult school teachers were laid off and some question whether the district can afford the pay raises.

At Jefferson High School south of downtown Tuesday, the big story was the absence of a big story.

The faulty records system generated inaccurate transcripts and miscalculated grade-point averages, among other problems.

Justin Fernandez, a junior, said the focus on Jefferson has benefited the school.

"They've put kids in the right places," he said. "I haven't seen no one with mistakes in their schedule. And the school is getting lots of attention."

Principal Jack Foote had been prepared for the worst, with printouts of rosters and attendance sheets if, for example, the city of Los Angeles suffered a major power outage.

There were minor glitches. Eleventh-grader Miguel Figueroa said he need a more advanced Spanish class than the one he received. Another student said he wanted ROTC as an elective but it wasn't on his schedule.

3Overall, the system functioned as it should. "It's no longer that it doesn't work or 'I wish I could take attendance,' or, 'I wish I knew how many students I had in my class,'" said history teacher Katherine Harrison.

The district highlighted Cleveland High School in the west San Fernando Valley, where the humanities magnet sends students to some of the best colleges in the country.

At 186th Street Elementary in Gardena, teaching veteran Lisa Harmison oversaw organized chaos. The pre-kindergarten class of 24 was split into groups, each assigned a color, and rotated between stations.

At one, children used blocks in free play, sitting on a mat with the alphabet on it, learning to play together to build social skills. In a second, students worked independently, gluing together pre-cut pieces of paper to make an owl, the school mascot. The goal was to learn how to follow directions.

At a third table, pupils matched colored pieces to the shapes on paper, a math-related exercise.

"Patterning in preschool is big," said Dean Tagawa, a senior administrator. It lays the foundation for math concepts later on, he said.

Some of the 4- and 5-year olds were in a classroom setting for the first time, and it showed — Harmison constantly directed them back into their groups. She pulled one out of the play kitchen, built out of wood, sending him to the library area.

One of her biggest concerns in the so-called transitional kindergarten is the length of the day: there isn't time for napping.

L.A. Unified's public relations efforts aren't likely to sway some civic leaders and philanthropists who have lost faith in the system. A group led by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation* is seeking to rapidly expand the number of independently operated charter schools, which could shrink a school system already dealing with declining enrollment.

Jefferson history teacher Susan Ferguson said it would be wrong to give up on schools such as hers and the students who depend on it.

Even though the scheduling problems led to student protests, she said, "the kids wanted to come back here. They wanted their classes. They want an education. They want the best for themselves and they deserve it."

* …which underwrites LA Times education coverage…


Eric Garcetti: HERE’S HOW CITY HALL IS HELPING LOS ANGELES STUDENTS SUCCEED
OpEd in the LA Daily News By Mayor Eric Garcetti | bit.ly/1TRLmt9

08/17/15, 4:47 PM PDT | Do you remember your first day of school? The thrill of seeing friends, the sense of possibility for the year ahead.

That moment arrives Tuesday for 640,000 students in the Los Angeles Unified School District. But when they step into the classroom, the rubber will meet the road — excitement vs. reality. As city leaders, it is our job to give those students the education they deserve. But there is one truth that parents and educators know well: A good education is not restricted to what happens between the first and last bell. Equally important is giving students the right start to their morning and helping them after school.

That’s where City Hall comes in: We can ensure kids have safe streets, after school programs, and healthy meals to make academic success easier to achieve.

A sense of safety is integral to kids’ ability to learn. That’s why we’ve invested in programs like Safe Routes to School, and increased funding by $5.5 million for our office of Gang Reduction and Youth Development (GRYD), which funds programs like Summer Night Lights. SNL provides safe recreation options at dozens of parks by keeping the lights on later. Along the way, we’re able to reduce crime and give young people a place to learn and play.

But the need for this program doesn’t end when the school year begins. So this fall, for the first time, we will start “Friday Night Lights” at eight select parks.

What happens when these students get back home?

As research shows, family income is a leading indicator of academic success. Nationwide, only 9 percent of students raised in poverty will receive a college degree by age 24. The correlation between low wages and low graduation rates is heartbreaking and direct. We must level this playing field with programs and economic opportunity.

That’s why we fought for and won the largest anti-poverty measure in the history of L.A. — an increase in the minimum wage to $15 by 2020. By giving L.A. a raise, we are going to lift 600,000 people out of poverty.

As we take these steps, we’re making sure young people aren’t left behind. This is where Hire L.A.’s Youth comes in. It’s a program linking young people to summer jobs and mentorship. Over the last two years we have more than doubled the size of this critical program from 5,000 jobs to over 11,000. That helps put our young people on a path toward career readiness.

We’re also adopting some common-sense strategies to link LAUSD students to resources.

The first is our Student Dropout Recovery Program. This partnership between the school district and the city reduces absenteeism and get students re-engaged in the learning process. So far, this program has helped get 1,000 young people back into school.

Another initiative of mine will provide every student in Los Angeles with a library card. That simple step will give students access to one-on-one tutoring and live homework help. A third initiative will expand the students served a good, healthy dinner at school. We’re in the process of more than doubling that program from 75,000 students served per day in 2015 to 150,000 by 2017. After that, it will go district-wide.

None of these programs are comprehensive solutions. Internet access can’t replace a great teacher, and engaged parents will always be more important than summer jobs. What I’ve set out to do is work with educators and families to increase the possibility that our students succeed.

Because, nothing’s more important than helping the next generation of Angelenos realize their potential.



●●smf’s 2¢: Thank you Eric. In the end it’s what we learned (or were supposed to learn) in kindergarten about working together; about shared goals and working together – not about disruption.


HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
WHY SO MANY TEACHERS QUIT AND HOW TO FIX THAT - Education Matters/LA Times
http://lat.ms/1KEAIeU

IS THERE STILL ROOM FOR PLAY IN CALIFORNIA KINDERGARTENS? | The California Report | KQED News
http://bit.ly/1WLm3Yt

IT'S TRUE: KINDERGARTEN IS OPTIONAL IN CALIFORNIA! http://lat.ms/1LpRc0h

CAHSEE: STATE ASSEMBLY PASSES EXIT EXAM WAIVER, BILL HEADING TO SENATE
http://bit.ly/1fwTOLe

ELI BROAD & CHARTER EXPANSION; AUSTIN BEUTNER & EDUCATION MATTERS http://bit.ly/1MJbLVP

Just sayin’: TWO “PUFF PIECE” STORIES ABOUT PEARSON EDUCATION FROM NPR….
http://bit.ly/1KAYWGS

Updated: JEB BUSH’S EMBRACE OF COMMON CORE IS A CAMPAIGN LIGHTNING ROD ...or not
http://bit.ly/1fwMKP1

MiSiS HELD UP FOR LA UNIFIED OPENING, BUT FUTURE SNAGS EXPECTED http://bit.ly/1LpJnri

JEB BUSH’S EMBRACE OF COMMON CORE IS A CAMPAIGN LIGHTNING ROD http://bit.ly/1fwMKP1

SCHOOL DISTRICTS EXPERIMENT WITH TAKE-HOME INTERNET ACCESS http://bit.ly/1PqNp0v

Diane Ravitch: BILLIONAIRES FUND EDUCATION NEWS AT LA TIMES
http://bit.ly/1NlXHBy

THE CAHSEE DEBACLE (2 stories) “By the power vested in me, and a waiver from the legislature, I hereby award you…”

THE CAHSEE DEBACLE (2 stories) “By the power vested in me, and a waiver from the legislature, I hereby award you…”
http://bit.ly/1K5PSxT

Back2School@LAUSD:/Day 2: A SMOOTH START …AND NOW THE HARD WORK BEGINS
http://bit.ly/1JqPsU1

ZIMMER, BOARD MEMBERS OPEN THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL ACROSS DISTRICT
http://bit.ly/1TRNLyA

Mayor Eric Garcetti: HERE’S HOW CITY HALL IS HELPING LOS ANGELES STUDENTS SUCCEED
http://bit.ly/1TRLmt9

TEACHER BACK-TO-SCHOOL SUPPLIES ADD UP FOR CLASSES LIKE MUSIC
http://bit.ly/1MwF4JD

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL FOR LAUSD INCLUDES CONCERNS OVER MISIS, VACCINATIONS
http://bit.ly/1EAAuDs

Back2School@LAUSD: ARNE DUNCAN TELLS CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS WHERE THEY NEED TO PUT THEIR MONEY

Back2School@LAUSD: L.A. TIMES ANNOUNCES WEEKLY EDUCATION NEWSLETTER …what a concept!
http://bit.ly/1MB2hMh

Back2School@LAUSD: HOW BIG ARE HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES IN L.A.? An LA Times survey
http://bit.ly/1WCwMoa

Back2School@LAUSD: THESE LAUSD STUDENTS ARE NOT HEADING BACK TO SCHOOL
http://bit.ly/1WCuGor

Back2School@LAUSD: L.A. UNIFIED LOOKS FOR SMOOTHER START-UP THIS YEAR http://bit.ly/1Ku5OpF


EVENTS: Coming up next week...
NEXT SUNDAY:
REGULAR BOARD MEETING - SUNDAY, AUGUST 30, 2015 - NOT AT DISTRICT HEADQUARTERS - TIME TO BE DETERMINED | http://bit.ly/1hRTWHc
Start: 08/30/2015 10:30 am

*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


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Scott.Schmerelson@lausd.net • 213-241-8333
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Ref.Rodriguez@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, county supervisor, state legislator, 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 at http://registertovote.ca.gov/
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!


Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them?




Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD and was Parent/Volunteer of the Year for 2010-11 for Los Angeles County. • He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and has represented PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee for over 12 years. He is Vice President for Health, Legislation Action Committee member and a member of the Board of Directors of the California State PTA. He serves on numerous school district advisory and policy committees and has served as a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT "WHO" Gold Award and the ACSA Regional Ferd Kiesel Memorial Distinguished Service Award - honors he hopes to someday deserve. • In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids.
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