In the News

Source: Los Angeles Daily News by Ryan J. SmithLast year, just 40 percent of Los Angeles Unified students met or exceeded expectations in English Language Arts. While no student population is showing levels of achievement we should feel satisfied with, just 34 percent of Latino students met standards compared with…

Source: EdWeekParents in California have gone to the political gym.  They're building their muscles and flexing them.  Powered by the protein of the state's Local Control Funding Formula and its companion accountability system, they are altering the playing field of politics.To read the rest of the piece, click here.

Source: Los Angeles TimesState education officials moved Wednesday to dramatically recast California's system to evaluate school quality by suspending the use of standardized test scores as the major yardstick in favor of a broader array of measures.To read the rest of the article, click here.

Source: KQEDAccording to Oakland police, in the past five years 41 youths under the age of 18 have been killed in Oakland, most by gunshots. KQED Newsroom talks with advocates about efforts to stop the violence and support Oakland youth.To watch the program, click here.

Source: Ed SourceCalling the new state-mandated local accountability plans “a daunting undertaking,” the Legislative Analyst’s Office called on the Legislature to allow school districts to write more focused annual plans for achievement.To read the full article, click here.

Source: Fresno BeeLonnie Brown is sitting in a long room with several rows of desks, chatting quietly with her teacher so she doesn’t disturb the other students and teachers around her.To read the full article, click here.

Source: On AssignmentControversy at Clayton Valley Charter High has prompted dozens of complaints to the Contra Costa County Office of Education, as well as several complaints to the County District Attorney’s Office. In response, both the District Attorney and County Superintendent of Schools have sent letters to the school…

Source: Fresno BeeWhen it comes right down to it, success or failure in politics rests on the art of persuasion.And Gov. Jerry Brown convinced the state Legislature in 2013 that giving school districts more money to help poor students, those learning English and those in foster care will pay…

Source: Sacramento BeeIt’s not exactly three strikes and you’re out, but neither is the third time a charm for Gov. Jerry Brown’s landmark overhaul of public school finance and governance.A third major research organization has examined how Brown’s “Local Control Funding Formula” is being implemented and found it wanting.To…

Source: EdSourceAn advocacy organization that analyzed dozens of school districts’ inaugural improvement plans under the state’s new school funding law praised the level of community involvement but criticized the lack of clarity in the finished product.To read the full article, click here.

Source: Education Week NewsAiming to fund its schools more efficiently and effectively, California has chosen an unusual, lead-from-behind approach that provides more state money to districts, but pushes communities to hold their local schools accountable for how that aid is used and for student performance.To read the full article,…

Source: EdSourceThe California School Boards Association wasted no time in reissuing its call for the Legislature to repeal the cap on school districts’ budget reserves, which the association calls fiscally irresponsible.To read the full article, click here.

Source: EdSourceRyan Smith got an early lesson in the inequities of education in California when, as a 6-year-old, his single mother used her savings to move from low-income South Los Angeles to nearby Culver City in 1987 so that her only child could attend better schools.To read the full…

Source: EdSourceFor East Los Angeles community organizer Maria León, parent and student engagement in neighborhood schools is nothing new. Her community has spent the past decade making L.A. Unified district officials listen and respond to its needs, long before districts were required to do so under California’s new Local…

Source: LA School ReportIt’s only been about a month since former LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy resigned, but leaders of two organizations that strongly supported his focus on low-income students are saying they like what they see from interim Superintendent Ramon Cortines so far.To read the full article, click here.

Source: Imperial Valley NewsTo read the full article, click here.

Source: KTVUMore than a dozen parents contacted KTVU after 2 Investigates first reported concerns about children mistakenly placed into programs for students learning English as a second language.To read the full article, click here.

Source: EdSourceThe State Board of Education, as expected, voted Thursday to move ahead in the spring with the new Smarter Balanced tests on the Common Core State Standards while leaving open, for now, the decision on what to do with the test results.To read the full article, click here.

Source: EdSourceState and federal financial aid has shielded low-income and some middle class families from the big tuition and fee increases that the University of California and California State University systems enacted after the 2008 recession, but not enough high school students who were eligible for aid sought it,…

Source: San Jose Mercury News State and federal financial aid has shielded low-income and some middle class families from the big tuition and fee increases that the University of California and California State University systems enacted after the 2008 recession, but not enough high school students who were eligible for…