By Cassandra West Calhoun North Elementary in the East Garfield Park neighborhood has logged some of the best math scores in the city, but CPS says it’s significantly underenrolled and should be closed next fall in a sweeping cost-cutting effort pushed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Its students will be sent nearly a [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
What if the best candidate — measured on positions alone — is also the most under-funded candidate for Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education? At K-12 News Network, we thought you deserve to hear from an underdog. Note how plushly funded Michelle Rhee has just in the past 24 hours donated $250,000 to [...]
As the strike makes national news I am finding along with many teachers that many people are weighing in on the strike who really have no idea what is going on and are basing their opinions off a 2 minute news clip. Here are the talking points and explanation I will share with my family. [...]
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 [...]
To my great surprise, LAUSD has pushed back on a judge’s ruling that the district give facilities to charter schools seeking more space in existing public schools. Of the judge’s order, which would affect up to 45 charter schools, Superintendent of Los Angeles public schools John Deasy and the LAUSD school board say … that [...]
Highlights from the CA School Finance 101 workshop — a wrap-up that flags some of the most discussed issues by those in attendance. Over 70 school administrators, parents, school board members, and candidates for school board/Assembly/State Senate participated.
On Wednesday, September 28, 2011, Karoli and Donna Schwartz Mills joined me for a lively Blog Talk Radio podcast with four women running for school board in Bill Gates’ backyard up in Seattle. Sharon Peaslee, Michelle Buetow, Kate Martin and Marty McLaren have a vision for education in their district, and we’ll hear why it doesn’t completely mesh with that of the Gates and the Broad Foundations’ plans for education reform in America. What’s the difference between what these candidates have to offer and “ed reform” (or as some say, “ed Rheeform”)?
In March, 2011, LAUSD allowed a newly-constructed $67 million school to be run by a charter management organization under “Public School Choice,” sparking community unrest when a vote by the neighbors and the Superintendent’s recommendations are ignored.