EdSource stories tagged with:
K-12
August 21, 2014
Compton latest district with assault rifles
The decision of the Compton Unified School District board to allow campus police to keep semi-automatic rifles in the trunks of their cars has sparked controversy. But Compton is just the latest school district in California where school police are authorized to use assault-style weapons.
Jane Meredith Adams
August 21, 2014
Bill promotes year-round learning programs
Senate Bill 1221, authored by Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Oakland, which would give funding priority to summer programs for students and sets new quality standards for all out-of-school programs, has passed the Legislature and is awaiting approval by the governor.
Susan Frey
August 21, 2014
Why LA sends failing students on to the next grade
Despite promises and new policies meant to hold more students back until they’ve mastered grade-level material, a University of Minnesota study currently under peer review found that student retention is actually on the decline. Researchers are investigating the reasons why.
Molly Callister/Hechinger Report
August 20, 2014
Summer ends before Labor Day for many kids
The tradition of heading back to school after Labor Day is disappearing. A survey by EdSource of the state's 30 largest districts, serving one-third of the state's 6 million students, shows that only seven will start school after the holiday.
Louis Freedberg
August 19, 2014
Gallup finds opposition to Common Core
Sixty percent of adults said they oppose Common Core, according to the results of the annual PDK/Gallup Poll of attitudes toward public education. That’s a big change from last year, when two-thirds of Americans hadn’t heard of the voluntary standards. This year, 81 percent of Americans said they were aware of the standards.
Michelle Maitre
August 19, 2014
County yet to approve LA Unified's LCAP
The Los Angeles County Office of Education is withholding approval of the Local Control and Accountability Plan drawn up by the LA Unified School District pending clarification of the $700 million the district says it is spending on high-needs students.
Louis Freedberg
August 19, 2014
LAUSD policy restricts use of citations, arrests
Students involved in relatively minor offenses on school campuses will no longer be cited or arrested under Los Angeles Unified's new policy, which takes effect this school year and spells out alternatives district police officers must follow. Community advocates have been working with the district to change the approach taken by school police.
Susan Frey
August 12, 2014
Districts split on high school math choices
In moving to the Common Core State Standards this year, California school districts had to choose between offering a blended or "integrated" approach to math or a traditional sequence of courses, setting off strong, sometimes passionate disagreements among parents and teachers.
John Fensterwald
August 12, 2014
New twist to old debate on accelerated math
With the implementation of Common Core, some districts are changing how and when they place students in accelerated math classes prior to high school. An accelerated path ensures students are able to take Calculus by their senior year, although studies indicate that some students were being placed in classes too soon.
John Fensterwald
August 12, 2014
Judge: State must help all English learners
A judge has ruled that the state is ultimately responsible for seeing that school districts provide services to all English language learners not receiving the help they need to become proficient in English. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James Chalfant ruled Tuesday in the lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Southern California and the Asian Pacific American Legal Center.
John Fensterwald
August 12, 2014
Legal superstar joins anti-teacher tenure effort
Students Matter, the organization that has taken the lead in challenging teacher tenure and hiring and firing laws in Vergara v. California, has added one of the nation's leading – and liberal – constitutional scholars to its legal team: Harvard law professor Lawrence Tribe. Students Matter filed its lawsuit on behalf of nine students in 2012.
Louis Freedberg
August 12, 2014
Rhee to step down as head of StudentsFirst
Michelle Rhee has announced that she will step down as head of StudentsFirst, the Sacramento-based national advocacy organization she founded four years ago after resigning as chancellor of the District of Columbia school district. She stated that she wants to devote more of her energies working with her husband, former basketball star and current Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson.
Louis Freedberg
August 7, 2014
Task force urges remake of civics education
In a report released this week, a state task force called for a revival of civics education, transforming it from “an afterthought” – an undervalued social studies class – to a core element of community engagement and learning in all grades. The California Task Force on K-12 Civic Learning issued its final report this week.