By Elena de la Cuevas UPDATED 5-13-17 TO ADD California Department of Education denial of Duarte Unified’s Waiver #35-12-2016 (scroll to bottom of the post to view pdf file) The expansion of the Orange County School of the Arts (OSCA) to a sister site in the San Gabriel Valley has led to an complicated mix […]
Bay City Beacon Gets San Francisco USD School Assignment Wrong
reposted with permission from Caroline Grannan A new online startup here in San Francisco is spreading misinformation about how our district’s school assignment works. So I’m posting a myths-vs.-facts commentary to help combat the misinformation. Feel free to share this if you like. I’m not defending the current system, because it’s stressful and problematic, but […]
A Year of Observation on PLAS and Marshall Tuck
by Cheryl Ortega UTLA Director of Bilingual Education I became acquainted with Mr. Marshall Tuck in 2008, the first year of the rollout out of PLAS. As Director of Bilingual Education for UTLA, I had received a call from some teachers at Ritter Elementary School in Watts concerned that their Dual Language Program would […]
Above the Law?
By Carl Petersen “The LAUSD Board will be voting on whether they support a package of anti-charter laws that would threaten our schools’ funding, flexibility to implement the programs best for our students, and our ability to continue serving our families.” -Granada Hills Charter High School Real estate records show that on March 17, 2005, […]
South Pasadena Unified School District, Establish Schools as Safe Havens and Create 21st Century Learners Now
Dear South Pasadena Unified School District School Board, Superintendent, District Staff, and SPUSD teachers, Please establish the district as a safe haven for learners who will be shielded from ICE on or near campus and advance racial literacy and cultural competency by accelerating implementation of the ethnic studies, FAIR Act, multilingual education, and other parts […]
Quick Education Voter’s Guide to the California CD34 Race, April 4, 2017
There are twenty-three candidates running to fill former Congressman Xavier Bacerra’s seat in Congressional District 34 in Southern California. (Bacerra is currently the state’s Attorney General, replacing Kamala Harris, who, after November 8, 2016, became our US Senator.) Election Day is Tuesday, April 4, 2017, 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. You can find your polling […]
Three-Part Series: Fact-Checking LAUSD School Board District 4 “Facts,” Part III
by Miriam Efrat. Read Part I here, read Part II here. Part Three: Dumping the Blame Game and setting some records straight No one likes to have their parenting choices judged by strangers. Engaged parents try to make choices that give their child the best possible opportunity in life. Ultimately, the charter vs. public school […]
Three-Part Series: Fact-Checking LAUSD School Board District 4 “Facts,” Part II
by Miriam Efrat. Read Part I here, read Part III here. Part Two: The Budget is tight, but not bust—contrary to the challengers and received wisdom It is unclear whether the challengers just don’t understand the complexities of the District budget, or if they intentionally exaggerate in order to blame Zimmer for problems that he […]
Three-Part Series Fact-Checking LAUSD School Board District 4 “Facts,” Part I
by Miriam Efrat. First in a three part series. Read Part II here, and Part III here. Dear Voters of LAUSD Board District 4: Are you a progressive recently woke to the vital need for accountable leadership in public education? Just someone who likes to be well-informed before casting a vote? I hear your mailboxes […]
Betsy DeVos, #NOTMYSDOE
Take the pledge to #resist and fight for public schools as a public good TODAY. DeVos had to have the assistance of Vice President Mike Pence’s unprecedented tie-breaking vote in order to win her confirmation. Two GOP Senators voted against, all Democratic Senators voted against. Yet all the other GOP Senators who received campaign donations […]