On the eve of passage of amendments to the Senate’s Every Child Achieves Act, the Rev. Dr. William Barber, a distinguished contemporary Civil Rights leader, released a powerful statement of support that gave qualified support for the law’s draft reauthorization and pointed to the work ahead. He said: But as we under-resource our public […]
March 14, 2014: Remarks at the Association of Children's Librarians Annual Institute
Cynthia Liu is CEO/Founder of K-12 News Network. On March 14, 2014, I was invited to speak to the Association of Childen’s Librarians of Northern California at their annual Institute in the beautiful San Francisco Main Public Library. Here’s the substance of the talk I gave. In re-arranging my address to the ACL for publication […]
iPads in the Classroom: How Did Lewisville Independent School District Get It So Right and Los Angeles Unified Get It So Wrong?
Guest post by Los Angeles resident and edublogger Understanding Equity. Contrast between LAUSD and Lewisville ISD, Lewisville, TX: One to One Technology Plan as featured in Ed Week Recently, issues surrounding the rollout of iPads to students in LAUSD have lead to media reports of breaches in security, missing iPads and indecisiveness as to the […]
Community Schools, An Untapped Resource: A March 18, 2013 Convening
By Deb McCurdy, Special to K12NN On March 18, 2013, public education advocates, administrators, school board members, school administrators, non-profit organizations and philanthropists convened at the California Endowment in downtown Los Angeles. The event followed from a discussion a group of First District CA PTA delegates had with State Senator Carol Liu’s staff on state […]
February 25 & 26, 2013: The Annual California PTA Legislative Conference (Budget/School Funding)
The California PTA Legislative Conference is an excellent gathering orchestrated by the state PTA and usually happens every spring after everyone’s had a chance to digest the governor’s January budget announcement and State of the State address. (KQED has provided 7, 15, and full 30 minute versions of the State of the State here.) We […]
Public School Districts Fight Back Against Privatization With District-Based, All Public "Schools of Choice"
The myth is that charters “own” innovation. I don’t buy the myth. In the K12NN FAQ Wiki, I’ve gathered too many examples of 100% public schools that are truly public inside and out — democratic governance mechanisms for the internal and operational affairs of the school and with outward public accountability to taxpayers in all […]
Looping with my children :)
I wasn’t quite sure coming into this what looping would be like. I loved the idea of my wonderful knowledge seeking group that would be joining me (rare in inner city), but unsure of learning a whole new curriculum. I knew nothing about the grade I was going into but everything about my students. I […]
Public School Supporters Meet With Governor Dean and Randi Weingarten at the DNC
While at the DNC, I was lucky enough to be invited to a small gathering of public education supporters with Governor Dean and Randi Weingarten, who heads the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). I’m a tremendous fan of Governor Dean — in fact, I was a Deaniac before there was a netroots. I still think […]
What Backers of the "Parent Trigger"/Parent Tricker Law Don’t Want You to Know: Real Democratic Involvement in Public Schools Works
Around the country, REAL parent heroes are putting the lie to the version of the story told in the movie Won’t Back Down. The “parent trigger”, or “parent tricker” law is in the news again, this time with a glossy film starring popular actors Viola Davis and Maggie Gyllenhaal. The heart-string-tugging movie is called Won’t […]
Dear Governor Brown, Please Sign AB250 For High Quality Education Into Law!
This is the high quality K-12 curriculum reform we’ve been waiting for that emphasizes creativity, collaboration, innovation, and critical thinking for 21st century learning. It’s what we need to keep California a leader in the worlds of art, science, technology and culture. Please join over 18 parent, educator, and community grassroots groups to urge Governor Brown to sign AB250 into law!