October 23, 2015
Posted Oct. 23, 2015
Today, Center X begins a weekly education news blast, Just News from Center X. This news service will be distributed to educators on the Center X listserv as well as any others who wish to subscribe. Just News from Center X will cover educational topics of interest to educators, policymakers, and the general public in greater Los Angeles. Each blast is organized around a set of five thematic areas: 1) Teaching, Leading, and Social Justice; 2) Language, Culture, and Power; 3) Access, Assessment, and Advancement; 4) Inequality, Poverty, Segregation; and 5) Public Schools and Private $. We will be compiling stories from local daily news outlets as well as long form journalism from national venues. On occasion, we also will include relevant research articles.
Just News from Center X is produced by Center X which houses UCLA’s Teacher Education Program, Principal Leadership Institute, and an array of professional development initiatives. This weekly news blast is provided free to all subscribers. Please encourage colleagues and friends to subscribe to Just News from Center X by sending them this link. Through this work, we hope to foster a more informed and engaged public for equitable and inclusive public education in Los Angeles.
Special thanks to our editor, UCLA doctoral student Jenn Ayscue, and our web developer, Center X’s Beth Happel. And thanks to all the educators in greater Los Angeles whose daily efforts give meaning to this work.
Professor John
Rogers, Faculty Director of Center X
Dr. Annamarie
Francois, Executive Director of Center X
October 23, 2015
Teaching, Leading, and Social Justice
Keeping Black Men in Front of the Class
Elissa Nadworny, NPR
Of all the teachers in the U.S., only 2 percent are black and male. That news is bad enough. But it gets worse: Many of these men are leaving the profession.
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/10/20/446858885/keeping-black-men-in-front-of-the-class
First public meeting to pick a new L.A. schools chief is small but gets lively
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
The nation’s second-largest school district invited the public Monday to talk about what they want in a leader, but only about two dozen people showed up.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-first-lausd-superintendent-meeting-20151019-story.html
New Inglewood school district leader takes the helm
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, KPCC
Vincent Matthews, the Inglewood Unified School District's new state administrator, got a warm welcome at a reception with parents, school staff, and civic leaders at the La Tijera Academy of Excellence Tuesday evening.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/10/21/55144/new-inglewood-school-district-leader-takes-the-hel/
Language, Culture, and Power
Feds Put Spotlight on Needs of Black ELLs
Corey Mitchell, Education Week
The White House and the U.S. Department of Education are working together to raise awareness of the needs of a growing, yet often-overlooked subgroup of students: English-language learners who are black.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/10/21/feds-put-spotlight-on-needs-of-black.html
California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes ethnic studies bill
Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times
Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would have required state education officials to develop a model ethnic studies program for California's public schools.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-brown-ethnic-studies-bill-20151011-story.html
Schools across US find alternatives to suspending students
Jamie Stengle, Associated Press
The recent arrest of a 14-year-old Muslim boy whose teacher mistook his homemade clock for a possible bomb led to widespread ridicule of school officials and accusations that Islamophobia may have played a part.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/schools-us-find-alternatives-suspending-students-34556088
Access, Assessment, and Advancement
Why Iowa's graduation rate is so much higher than California's
Sonali Kohli and Joy Resmovits, Los Angeles Times
California’s high school graduation rate has improved in the last five years, moving from 74.7% in 2010 to 81% in 2013-14.
Inequality, Poverty, Segregation
LAUSD students offering their views on how to spend extra state money
Craig Clough, LA School Report
While classmates were at the beach, the mall or the park, about 150 LA Unified high school students spent part of their Saturday downtown at the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, taking part in a Youth Town Hall.
http://laschoolreport.com/lausd-students-offering-their-views-on-how-to-spend-extra-state-money/
The Evidence That White Children Benefit From Integrated Schools
Anya Kamenetz, NPR
Recently a neighborhood in Brooklyn made national headlines for a fight over public schools. Lots of affluent, mainly white families have been moving into new condos in the waterfront area called DUMBO, and the local elementary school is getting overcrowded.
Public Schools and Private $
Charter Expansion Plan Stokes Debate in L.A.
Arianna Prothero, Education Week
In the weeks since plans by an influential donor to massively expand charter schools in Los Angeles were leaked, major questions about the viability of the proposal have emerged.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/10/07/charter-expansion-plan-stokes-debate-in-la.html
Unions forge alliance to fight growth of charter schools in L.A.
Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times
The union representing Los Angeles teachers has pulled together a coalition of other employee unions to oppose a controversial plan to more than double the number of local students attending charter schools.
http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-lausd-charter-20151014-story.html
Labor board seeking injunction over Alliance anti-union efforts
Craig Clough, LA School Report
The California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) will be seeking an injunction in Los Angeles County Superior Court to stop what it says is illegal interference by officials at Alliance College-Ready Public Schools against a unionization effort by some of its teachers.
http://laschoolreport.com/labor-board-seeking-injunction-over-alliance-anti-union-efforts/
