Rallies at LAUSD for budget priorities and a student voice | LA School Report
With the LA Unified board meeting tomorrow, two rallies are taking place outside district headquarters that seek support for two different educational issues.
Parents, education advocates and civil rights groups, who represent Communities for Los Angeles Student Success, orCLASS, are organizing a “silent protest” on behalf of low-income students, schools and communities by placing 375 empty desks on Beaudry Avenue. The desks represent the 375 LAUSD students who drop out each week, according to organizers.
Protestan para exigir recursos en escuelas de LAUSD | La Opinion
Cansados de que el dinero nunca llegue a las escuelas, y de que esto provoque que hasta 375 estudiantes por semana abandonen sus estudios en el distrito escolar unificado de Los Ángeles (LAUSD), padres, estudiantes y activistas se manifestaron el lunes frente a las oficinas del distrito para demandar “equidad” en la distribución de fondos.
“Los fondos están ahí. Han estado ahí siempre, pero a nuestras escuelas nunca llegan”, afirmó frustrada María Valdez, abuela de estudiantes del LAUSD.
Read moreNew school funds should go to needy students first, group says | Los Angeles Times
A citywide coalition of community groups is demanding that 80% of $1 billion in new school funding headed to L.A. Unified be spent on needy students according to decisions made by local schools rather than district bureaucrats.
Coalition members plan to submit more than 7,000 petitions articulating their demands at the L.A. Board of Education meeting Tuesday. They are urging an additional $50 million for students in foster care, $25 million for those learning English and extra services for low-income youth -- including more counselors, social workers and academic support staff.
Ed Reform Activists Seek to Engage Parents In School Funding Decisions | EGP News
While many educators and school reform activists hail California’s new school funding formula that will direct more money to K-12 schools with high numbers of low-income students and low-levels of academic achievement, many also say they are worried not enough is being done to inform parents they can have a say in how those funds are allocated.
The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) is intended to reduce the achievement gap at low-income schools by giving those schools more control over how to use the money to achieve that goal. It specifically requires the involvement of parents; a difficult task to manage, since many are unaware of the state’s plan or their possible role in making it work.
Read moreRestorative justice convening educates on the power of healing versus punishment | Boyle Heights Beat
The sound of a beating drum and a strumming guitar filled the walls of the auditorium at Felicitas and Gonzalo Mendez High School last Saturday as students huddled around voices singing lyrics about restorative justice.
“Create. Imagine. We community. Inspiring and nurturing family.
A healthy place to support and yield.
Fulfilling the needs our community feels.”
Read moreLocal Control Funding Formula: Parents, students discuss how funds should be spent at Eastside schools | Boyle Heights Beat
Maria Ruiz says she has had enough of the inequality present at Eastside schools.
Her son, a Roosevelt High School student, has been in the English Learner program for over five years, something she says, could have been prevented if schools had adequate resources available to move these students on.
“These are the students who are the most disenfranchised and in most need of additional resources,” said Ruiz.
Read moreEric Garcetti says school board, Supt. John Deasy must work together | Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Wednesday praised the L.A. Board of Education and Supt. John Deasy for coming to an agreement for the superintendent to remain on the job, but insisted they smooth over their strained relationship and work together going forward.
“I congratulate the board and the superintendent for being adults yesterday and coming together in the interest of our children,” Garcetti told reporters at a news conference in downtown Los Angeles.
Deasy sigue como el superintendente del LAUSD | La Opinion
Luego de una reunión a puertas cerradas de casi 7 horas, la junta directiva del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Los Angeles (LAUSD) ratificó a John Deasy como superintendente del distrito hasta junio del 2016, luego de días de fuerte especulación sobre su posible renuncia.
La mayoría de sus siete miembros dio a Deasy una evaluación “satisfactoria” durante su evaluación anual, que fue esperada con una gran anticipación.
“Agradezco a la junta por las honestas conversaciones, para que podamos trabajar juntos en sacar de la pobreza a la juventud de esta maravillosa ciudad”, fueron las primeras palabras de Deasy, después de un rotundo silencio sobre los rumores de su renuncia, que surgieran desde el jueves pasado, a raíz de que el diario Los Angeles Times reportara sus intenciones de dejar el puesto de más alto rango en el segundo distrito más grande del país.
Read moreJohn Deasy to stay on as L.A. Unified schools chief | Los Angeles Times
L.A. schools chief John Deasy will continue to lead the nation's second-largest school district through June 2016, the district's legal counsel announced Tuesday, ending days of speculation about his future.
Deasy, 52, received a satisfactory evaluation from the L.A. Unified Board of Education during a nearly five-hour, closed-door meeting. Last week, he told some high-level district officials he would resign amid reports that he was frustrated by a new school board majority that challenged his policies and philosophy.
Celebran progreso de los jóvenes en Boyle Heights | La Opinion
La coalición de organizaciones comunitarias Promesa Boyle Heights, celebró esta semana, muy a su estilo, con tamales y champurrado, los logros alcanzados en el progreso de la juventud de este vecindario al Este de Los Ángeles.
Desde el 2010, la coalición integrada por Innercity Struggle, Proyecto Pastoral, East LA Community Corporation, Communities In Schools, y más de otra docena de organizaciones, han venido implementando iniciativas que buscan mejorar las condiciones de vida, y particularmente la educación de unos 20 mil residentes de Boyle Heights.
Read more