Schools: May 2008 Archives

PACOIMA - In what supporters of charter schools hailed as validation of their efforts, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Friday announced $463 million in state funds will be made available for construction and modernization projects. Daily News.

The funding from Proposition 1D will help 29 charter schools throughout the state.

"This is exactly what the voters had in mind when they passed $10.4 billion for schools," Schwarzenegger said at an event at the Vaughn Next Century Learning Center in Pacoima.

Los Angeles County middle school students are the forgotten generation, according to a study released Thursday by United Way that found 400,000 students in seventh through ninth grades are among the most vulnerable in a system that is under-funded and lacks qualified teachers.Daily News.

"It was surprising to us to find that 70 percent of middle schools are failing," said Elise Buik, president and CEO of United Way, Los Angeles.

"Up until this study, most of the attention is paid (to) elementary schools and high schools. There has been little done in the way of middle schools.

A comment from David Tokofsky

With Los Angeles Unified School District teachers threatening a walkout next week to protest $353 million in budget cuts that could cost some their jobs, district officials said they would seek a court order today to keep teachers in class.Brandon Lowrey in the Daily News.

The planned June 6 hourlong walkout would be illegal because it would leave students unsupervised and vulnerable, district officials said.

"We have a legal, ethical, moral and every other obligation to make sure that the students' safety is being taken care of," said Maribel Medina, special counsel to the LAUSD board.

Alarmed by slumping student achievement at Los Angeles Unified middle schools, district officials are moving this summer to roll out several programs designed to improve performance amid criticism that middle-schoolers have been overlooked for too long. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Statewide test results last week showed just five out of 98 LAUSD middle schools - about 5 percent - are meeting California's academic standards, a much smaller percentage than the district's elementary and high schools.

On average, LAUSD middle- school students scored 634 on the state test, compared with the statewide goal of 800 and the statewide middle school average of 720.

But district officials said several plans have been developed to boost achievement, two of which are expected to roll out this summer.

Los Angeles Unified School District students continued to improve on a key California standards test, although their scores still lag behind statewide averages, according to results released Wednesday. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

Steady gains also were found for minority, low-income and disabled students who in previous years had failed to show gains districtwide, according to the newly released Academic Performance Index scores.

Several San Fernando Valley schools topped the LAUSD's list of high achievement, and many others have also showed significant test-score improvements from previous years.

Michael Gallin's major at UCLA may be African-American studies, but it might as well be finance. The undergraduate already walks or bikes to school to save on gas. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

He photocopies textbooks to cut expenses.

He shares his apartment with two roommates, and his meals have been reduced to turkey sandwiches or the occasional free cafeteria meal, courtesy of a friend's borrowed meal-plan card.

And Gallin's thrifty ways could become the norm for more California college students next year, now that the state's two public university systems have approved another round o

Faced with aging campuses and still-crowded schools, Los Angeles Unified officials debated Tuesday whether to ask voters to approve another bond measure for an ongoing $20 billion facilities construction program that already is the largest in the nation. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

The measure could come as soon as November and would be the fifth sought by the district in the past 11 years.

While district officials said the bond amount is still being determined, the figure of $3.2 billion has been discussed since that would not increase the maximum tax rate property owners are paying today.

With Los Angeles Unified facing spending cuts of as much as a half-billion dollars amid a statewide budget crunch, the district is coming under renewed scrutiny for its nearly $175 million in consulting contracts with outside firms covering everything from legal help to improving student achievement.Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

The LAUSD has dozens of multiyear professional-services consulting deals that total $173 million, according to a document obtained by the Daily News.

While some of the contracts are designed to aid students and teachers in the classroom, others are for administrative and technology services that have prompted a review this week amid calls for greater oversight.

"How do we have so many consultants? Because they cost more than regular district employees," said Senior Deputy Superintendent Ray Cortines, who has requested a report on all district consulting contracts.

Nielson Weng always expected it would take hard work to get into college - but he never imagined it would be quite this suspenseful.

Weng is a prize catch for colleges - valedictorian at El Camino Real High, president of six school clubs, an immigrant success story. But despite all that, he's been placed on the waiting lists at five colleges to which he applied. Connie Llanos in the Daily News.

And he's not alone as colleges this year are faced with a surge of applicants - higher than even during the peak baby boomer years - and have resorted to putting more students than ever on the dreaded "wait list."

That means even as their friends are celebrating this month as college acceptance letters come in, many more students such as Weng are left in limbo, waiting and wondering.

"It isn't fair," s

Facing one of the worst job markets in years, many college grads will head back to school in the fall to bag an advanced degree in fields such as law or business while they wait out the hard times. Barbara Correa in the Daily News.

But for grads who absolutely need a paycheck, experts advise: Send your resume to the federal government, Mervyns or Target or a health-care provider.

"With the economy not doing well, people are thinking they'll get into a graduate program and sit it out for a while. Historically, that's what goes on," said Wendy Margolis, director of communications for the Law School Admission Council, which tracks law school applications and test registrations.

Less than two years into the tenure of Los Angeles Unified Superintendent David Brewer III, all responsibilities for day-to-day operations at the district have quietly been shifted to a veteran educator who has been a key adviser to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

Under the shift, all of the LAUSD's top senior personnel now report directly to Ramon Cortines, who played a crucial role in the mayor's efforts to reform the district and who now will report on district operations to Brewer.

District officials say Cortines' experience will allow Brewer to focus on big issues. But others are questioning whether it indicates that the school board is losing confidence in Brewer.

Just one month after Los Angeles Unified offered space on its campuses for nearly 40 charter schools, district officials said Wednesday they have withdrawn seven of the offers and are considering yanking five more.Naush Boghossian in the Daily News.

The withdrawals come amid a growing outcry by the teachers union as well as charter schools and traditional schools unhappy with the prospect of sharing dozens of campuses.

In a letter outlining the plan, Senior Deputy Superintendent Ray Cortines said he decided to withdraw the offers based on the "instructional impacts the charter co-location would impose."