School Notebook

Oh boy.

The fallout continues for LAUSD, which now has not one but two molestation scandals on its hands.

First there was the story I mentioned yesterday, of a former assistant principal, now in jail facing sex-related allegations involving three teens, and how district big-wigs apparently knew about the transgressions and relocated the guy rather than relieve him of his job.

Today, the LA Times continues to follow scandal numero dos, about a Santa Monica-based middle school teacher accused of molesting at least five female students, at least one of which acts, Tami Abdollah reports, is evidenced on a videotape. Ew.

Further, a Santa Monica police lieutenant is quoted as saying "we do believe there are others out there." Meaning more victims.

Posted by Shelly Leachman at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Oh boy, this one is brutal too, and I can't imagine LAUSD is feeling too good right now!

Behold: The Los Angeles Times reports today that, and I quote, "Senior Los Angeles school officials, including the district's police chief and its former chief operating officer, knew of sex allegations against a school administrator months before he was transferred to a Watts middle school, where he allegedly molested two students, officials said Monday."

Uh-oh.

This all concerns the recent allegations againt former Assistant Principal Steve Thomas Rooney, accused of molesting two students at Markham Middle School and one girl at the Foshay Learning Center. Rooney was arrested in March and is being held in lieu of $1-million bail, the Times says.

And just moments ago, LAUSD's newly named Senior Deputy Superintendent Ray Cortines released a statement -- a seven-page document, mind you, of text, flowcharts, matrixes and bulletpoints -- saying, among other things, that there was a "breakdown in the usual, official line of communication" and that, "(a)s a result of this regrettable occurrence, we have begun correcting our process."

Again, OMG and again, uh-oh.

Posted by Shelly Leachman at 6:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are some education-twinged headlines that appeared over the weekend, in case you want to start your work week with some reading:

1. My front-page story in Saturday's Daily Breeze detailed the inauguration of CSUDH President Mildred Garcia, which is historical for the fact she's the school's first female leader and the CSU system's first Latina campus chief.

2. On Sunday we ran my centerpiece on an important, impactful but sadly slow-growing school trend known as entrepreneurship education.

3. The Los Angeles Times' Steve Lopez had an interesting column Sunday about what he calls the "convoluted and costly" design of LA Unified's new "arts-oriented public high school."

4. The New York Times has a story about a growing technology sector that allows parents almost up-to-the-minute insight on how their kids are faring at school, by allowing teachers to post -- and parents to access -- daily attendance and grade reports. This will sound familiar to folks in El Segundo, Hawthorne and some others in the area that use PowerSchool (one of many companies to provide such a service).

5. Lastly (for now anyway), USA Today just today ran this piece about a downward trend in attendance resulting from text message-driven threats of impending on-campus violence. Anyone noticed this happening here?

That should get you started. Happy Monday. Hahahaha.

Posted by Shelly Leachman at 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Today's paper has a short story about Los Angeles Unified's most current exit-exam results for the Class of 2008. Naush Boghossian, from our sister paper, The Daily News, reports that 85 percent of the district's seniors have passed the test required for graduation in California. The number is a one percent increase over Class of 2007 scores by this time last year.

I have some calls out to see if any of our local South Bay districts are now crunching their own such numbers (the LAUSD release pertains to the test's February administration). Stay tuned for that. The state isn't doing its own release this spring, planning to wait for summer sometime, I'm told.

Posted by Shelly Leachman at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

LAUSD is hosting an "international cultural fair" tomorrow, Saturday, in Gardena, inviting community members to a day full of music, food and family activities including face painting, arts and crafts and more, at 186th Street School.

A collaboration with the Harbor Gateway Task Force, the event will also highlight a student-made "peace mural" that will be unveiled during the festivities.

Set to run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the official ceremonies will begin at high noon.

186th Street School is located at 1581 186th St., Gardena, 90248.

Sounds look good family fun for your Saturday, oui?

Posted by Shelly Leachman at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The press releases keep pouring in about the various area schools that scored well in myriad recent academic competitions -- academic decathlons, science olympiads et al.

The latest concerns the performance of Pedro-based Park West Place Elementary during the latter contest; specifically, the 22nd Annual Los Angeles County Science Olympiad held March 15 at Cal State LA.

Details, courtesy of an email from one Luanne Stevens (thanks, Luanne!): A team of fifteen 4th and 5th grade students from Park Western Place Harbor Math Science Magnet took home gold medals from the the Science Olympiad. With 48 elementary schools competing, the highest-scoring teams received gold medals, while the others were awarded silver and bronze based on the team's total score. Park Western Place had the second highest total score in the competition.

Team members are as follows: Isaac Cano, Brandon Choe, Sophia Collins, Kate Finn, Celeste Goodwin, Hanethzie Granados, Zane Grissett, Austin Labador, Nicholas Martinrez, Cassidy Mernin, Amanda Perez, Evan Rezai, Gary Runnels, Yasmine Saxey-Santillo and Scott Stevens. Team leader is Susan Goldberg, the school's Magnet Coordinator.

Congrats, Park Western!

Posted by Shelly Leachman at 3:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Handed down from the communications office at LA Unified today, heads up of next week's scheduled earthquake drills at schools districtwide.

Is this where we get under our desks, or do the stop-drop-and roll? Oh wait, earthquakes, that's where we stand in doorways, right? As a native and lifelong Californian, who lived seven years in San Francisco in between forays to SoCal, you'd think I'd have this one down.

But enough about me. Here are the deets:

"LAUSD students will participate in the annual spring 2008 earthquake exercise drill designed to familiarize all students and staff with the safe school emergency response plan at their school. Earthquake drills will be conducted from April 7-11 and will include an inspection and testing of all district radio equipment.

This year students at three selected schools will be videotaped during the simulation drill. District administrators at the Office of Emergency Services plan to use the video to train staff and inform parents about what happens at a school during an emergency.

“We want to assure parents that schools are the safest place for their children,” said Superintendent David L. Brewer III. “Emergency drills are very important and a great way for the district to put safety plans in motion and affirm their effectiveness.”

Each district school has an emergency supply container located in a safe place on campus. These safety bins are stocked with water, first aid supplies and search and rescue equipment. Containers hold half a gallon of water a day for each person sheltered on campus for a three day period. In addition, school cafeterias store a three day supply of canned food. School site emergency supplies, fire alarms and sprinkler systems are also inspected regularly.

“Our office is dedicated to making sure that school staff, students and families are aware of the safety plans in place at their school,” said Bob Spears, Assistant Director of Emergency Services. “We cannot prevent an earthquake from happening, but we can make sure that our schools are well-equipped to serve our students and staff.”

'Nuff said.

Posted by Shelly Leachman at 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Props to LAUSD for ongoing efforts to green its fleet of school buses, which, it's just been announced, are being bolstered by a grant to its transportation-services branch from the South Coast Air Quality Management District that will be used for 40 compressed natural-gas (CNG) buses.

That brings the district's total green fleet to 173 buses, reportedly the largest of its kind in the state. Impressive!

More impressive still is that later this year, according to a district press release, the AQMD expects to award LAUSD an additional $9.1 million to purchase 60 more such buses as well as CNG fueling infrastructure.

With each CNG bus valued at $185,000, the grant funding allows LAUSD to receive a cost savings of $138,000 per bus.

"We owe it to our children and our community to provide a healthy school environment to and from home," Superintendent David Brewer said. "These CNG buses are investments that safeguard our students from breathing toxic diesel exhaust.”

The district's board of education in 2003 adopted the Healthy Breathing Initiative, which included a commitment to only accept bids to purchase or to contract buses fueled by alternative fuels, or green diesel school buses that meet strict emission standards.

Here comes a canned quote for your reading pleasure:
"As we change out our old bus fleet, all new buses must help improve our environment and assure that our children and bus drivers would not be harmed by dangerous pollutants,” trustee Julie Korenstein said. “Air quality and its impact on the health of children should be a growing concern for all of us.”

Another:
“LAUSD has the oldest school bus fleet among major urban school districts and we appreciate our partnership with AQMD who continue to help us with the financial challenges of school bus replacement,” said Transportation Director Enrique Boull’t. “Together, our goal is to provide new energy efficient, lower-emission and safe school buses to our children.”

And finally:
“LAUSD has been proactive in acquiring clean-fueled, natural gas school buses to replace its aging diesel models,” said William A. Burke, Ed.D., chairman of the AQMD Governing Board. “This will benefit the thousands of children riding those buses on a daily basis as well as air quality across our region.”

Lastly, some background info, courtesy of the district's communication staff:
CNG buses run on an alternative fuel for gasoline (petrol) or diesel fuels. Natural, clear and non-corrosive, these vehicles have lower smog-forming emissions than their diesel counterparts. All new school buses come equipped with improved safety features including 3-point lap and pelvic seat restraints, fire suppression systems, additional emergency exit capability, anti-lock braking systems, automatic parking brakes, flame-retardant seats, raised, fully padded seatbacks and methane leak detectors.

Posted by Shelly Leachman at 10:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The LAUSD Office of Environmental Health and Safety invites the public to a California Environmental Quality Act scoping meeting concerning its planned South Region High School #15. (The new school is meant to relieve San Pedro High.)

The session is focused on informing and obtaining community input on issues to be considered in a draft environmental impact report, a state-required evaluation of the potential environmental effects of the project, including noise, traffic and the like.

The meeting is set for tomorrow, Thursday, March 13, from 6 to 8 p.m., in the auditorium of Dana Middle School in San Pedro (1501 S. Cabrillo Ave.)

Posted by Shelly Leachman at 5:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Los Angeles School Board member Richard Vladovic will talk about how the state budget will affect local schools at 6:30p.m. Monday at a meeting of the Northwest San Pedro Neighborhood Council.

Vladovic also will talk about other issues of concern to San Pedro.

The council meets at Peck Park Auditorium, 560 N. Western Ave., San Pedro. Other agenda items include the city's budget, a discussion of trees on North Gaffey Street and lending possible support for an after-school program at Dana Middle School.

Posted by Toni Sciacqua at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The LA Times has a story this morning about a program that could revolutionize students' success in math. The article tells the story of a Hollywood school that has been using Singapore textbooks to teach math for the past two years and saw its test scores jump 31 points.

How did that happen?

It's a question with potentially big implications, because California recently became the first state to include the Singapore series on its list of state-approved elementary math texts. Public schools aren't required to use the books -- there are a number of other, more conventional texts on the state list -- but the state will subsidize the purchase if they do. And being on the list puts an important imprimatur on the books, because California is by far the largest, most influential textbook buyer in the country.

The decision to approve the books could place California ahead of the national curve. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel, appointed by President Bush, will issue a report Thursday that is expected to endorse K-8 math reforms that, in many ways, mirror the Singapore curriculum.

But of course, there's a problem.

Continue reading "Is Singapore math the solution?" »

Posted by Toni Sciacqua at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As reported by Shelly Leachman in Saturday's Breeze, here's what each district would face under education funding cuts proposed by Gov. Schwarzenegger:

Centinela Valley Union High
Cuts: $3.5 million from a $68 million budget

El Segundo Unified
Cuts: $1.4 million from a 26.4 million budget

Hawthorne Unified
Cuts: $3.4 million from a $48.5 million budget

Hermosa Beach City Unified
Cuts: $0.4 million from a $9.4 million budget
Proposals: 28 teacher layoffs, increased class size

Lawndale Unified
Cuts: $2 million from a $30 million budget

Lennox Unified
Cuts: $1.9 million from a $61 million budget

Los Angeles Unified
Cuts: $460 million from a $8 billion budget

Manhattan Beach Unified
Cuts: $0.9 million from a $36 million budget
Proposals: 5-7 teacher layoffs, fund transfers, combining course sections at Mira Costa, using reserves

Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified
Cuts: $4 million from a $95 million budget
Proposals: 50 layoffs, increased class sizes, eliminating extended-day kindergarten

Redondo Beach Unified
Cuts: $2.2 million from a $67.5 million budget
Proposals: Increased class sizes, early retirement incentives, combining classified positions, introducing fee-based transportation for athletic teams, reducing substitutes, using one-time monies

Torrance Unified
Cuts: $9.4 million from a $196 million budget
Proposals: 70 full-time teachers, 11 custodians, 5.5 full-time special ed teachers, reduction of security at high schools, elimination of incentives including the School Safety Violence Program and the P.E. Incentive Program, early retirement incentives, reduction of travel/conference allowances

Wiseburn Unified
Cuts: $0.5 million from a $17 million budget

Posted by Toni Sciacqua at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just wanted to post a brief note to readers of the School Notebook blog. I have left the Daily Breeze after 4 1/2 years covering schools in San Pedro, Carson, Wilmington, Gardena, Lomita and the Palos Verdes Peninsula.

As the Breeze looks in other directions for education coverage of these areas, I'll just note that I've had a blast reporting on these schools. I've learned a lot from the teachers, administrators, parents and others who provide the daily sweat to educate the area's diverse community of students.

Other opportunities lay ahead for me, which I'm excited to tackle.

Thanks again.

Paul Clinton

Posted by Paul Clinton at 1:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It was supposed to be a sweet story about the Los Angeles Unified School District's beloved lunchroom coffeecake.

But it turned into yet another reason for many to roll their eyes at the beleaguered institution responsible for educating the city's young people.

Earlier this month, the Daily Breeze posted online and the Daily News printed the recipe for the much-touted cake, scanned out of an LAUSD-provided booklet titled "Old Time Favorite Recipes from the Los Angeles Unified School District Test Kitchen Recipe Archives."

Check out Naush Boghossian's follow-up story.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 10:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Prepping for a bold effort to take over six Los Angeles Unified schools July 1, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced Monday that a veteran education administrator will head his leadership team to implement reform.

Angela Bass, credited with turning around some of the worst-performing schools in San Diego, will head the instructional component of the team that will report to Deputy Mayor Ray Cortines, a former LAUSD superintendent.

Read Rick Orlov's story for more.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Los Angeles Unified School District is hosting a forum in Carson on Wednesday (Feb. 27) to boost college attendance and parent engagement.

The event, “Create a College Bound Culture,” will present parents with informative handouts, speakers and an educational marketplace. Any parent with a student in LAUSD can attend.

The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Carnegie Middle School, 21810 Bonita St. Parking is available at the Double Tree Hotel on Carson Street. Registration is required. Call 213-241-6900.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The California Linguistic Minority Research Institute released a report with a list of 100 high schools that account for the largest share of students who leave a high school before collecting a diploma.

Based on each institution's number of dropouts for the 2005-2006 academic year, five South Bay high schools landed among the study's 100 worst offenders.

Narbonne High in Harbor City ranked 70th, with 166 dropouts or a dropout rate of 4.7 percent; Banning High in Wilmington sits at 77th with 158 dropouts or 4.5 percent of its enrollment that year.

With 154 dropouts and a dropout rate of 4.2 percent, Carson High landed at 81st place; Leuzinger High in Lawndale was at 88 with 145 dropouts (4.3 percent); and Gardena High hit 93rd with 141 dropouts, or 4 percent of its 2005-2006 enrollment.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Massive payroll glitches that left Los Angeles Unified teachers underpaid or overpaid last year are creating a new nightmare as thousands of year-end tax forms also have been found to be inaccurate, district and union officials said Wednesday.

While LAUSD officials had promised payroll problems would not affect teachers' year-end W2 tax forms, at least 3,400 have been identified as incorrect with less than two months before the April 15 tax deadline.

And thousands more December pay stubs - which are usually used to verify annual income figures - now are not matching up with W2 figures, leaving many teachers concerned about possible errors.

Read Connie Llanos' story for more.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out Paul's story about two Carson sisters and educators who want to open a charter school in the fall that would offer hip hop classes:

Hoping to make school more attractive to low-performing teens, a new charter school in Carson plans to lure them with bait they won't be able to resist: hip-hop.

Millennium High School, which would open in the fall in the shadow of the Harbor Freeway on Hamilton Avenue, would use textbooks such as "Hip Hop History," "Back in the Days" and "Yes Yes Y'All," a compendium of oral histories of the urban art form.

Upperclassmen would use professional editing and production technology and software to create audio tracks and music videos.

The school also would offer the usual battery of high school equivalency courses in English, algebra, U.S. history and other core subjects, co-founder Lisa Edwards said.

"Hip-hop is the biggest music that students in the area listen to," Edwards said. "No matter how much we try to use standardized English, we cannot ignore or deny the language they bring into the classroom."

Posted by Paul Clinton at 1:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

More than a year after taking the helm of the nation's second-largest school district, Superintendent David Brewer III has yet to establish a critical inner-circle executive team even as key Los Angeles Unified professionals continue to leave.

Seven upper-management professionals have left since Brewer took over and several top positions remain unfilled, including the head of instruction.

The gaps have begun to fuel quiet speculation that Brewer could be foundering in his role and might not be able to accomplish his vision for reforms in the LAUSD without such key advisers and managers.

Read Naush Boghossian's full article.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out the Breeze editorial denouncing LAUSD's plan to charge youth groups to use gyms and fields.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For the local youth groups that use the gyms and fields of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the free ride is over.

Soccer leagues, volleyball clubs and basketball groups that have had gratis access to LAUSD facilities from the Harbor Area to Carson will need to pony up beginning March 1.

The district will charge the groups fees to defray usage costs and raise revenue, officials said.

Read Paul's story for the details.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Los Angeles Unified School District has agreed to share space on its campuses with charter schools, settling a lawsuit by charter groups asserting that the district was violating state law.

Charter school organizations sued the district last year, saying that it was refusing to follow Proposition 39, which requires school districts to provide appropriate space on their campuses for recognized charters.

Settlement talks over the last six months resulted in an agreement under which the district agreed to provide the space, with several exceptions.

"The settlement ensures the school districts will provide facilities to all of the schools that request facilities," said Caprice Young, president of the California Charter Schools Association, and a former LAUSD board president.

Read the full report.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Los Angeles Unified is calling for a boycott of hotels near Los Angeles International Airport. The LAUSD board introduced the boycott at its Tuesday meeting in support of hotel workers hoping for better benefits and higher wages.

In 2007, LAUSD spent $393,105 at three hotels — the LAX Hilton, Four Points LAX Sheraton and the Wilshire Plaza Hotel in Koreatown. The district used the hotels for professional development and education conferences, said Vy Nguyen, spokeswoman for President Monica Garcia. So far in 2008 the district has spent $185,123.

The business community responded by calling the boycott an “inappropriate distraction” to educating students. The board is scheduled to vote on the matter Feb. 26.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Los Angeles Unified School District announced final results of its Academic Decathlon competiton of 64 high schools at UCLA on Saturday. Local LAUSD schools didn't fare as well this year, as none will move ahead to the state competition. Palisades Charter High School won the competition with 50,121 points.

Narbonne High in Harbor City finished highest, at No. 10, with 40,593 points. The school also finished in the top 15 in the Super Quiz and top 10 in essay and math categories.

Other teams from local schools:

No. 40: Gardena High, 29,435 points
No. 48: San Pedro High, 26,541 points
No. 50: Carson High, 26,229 points
No. 51: Banning High, 26,159 points
No. 53: Westchester High, 25,480 points

Here are the top students from the local schools:

Jenivee Elloran, Banning High School (Wilmington)
Jan Victor Andasan, Carson High School
Tri Huynh, Gardena High School
James Veil, Narbonne High
Cosmin Barbu, San Pedro High School
Chris Onwuka, Westchester High School

Also, Narbonne's Carlos Ortego had a perfect score on the Super Quiz.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 3:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Naush Boghossian's story about the LAUSD coffee cake recipe has gotten quite a lot of feedback. Who knew a baked good would cause such a commotion? If you want more food to help you relive your childhood, we found a Web site where dozens of old cafeteria recipes have been collected. They are not all local, but you'll find peanut butter cookies, school pizza and sloppy joes, among others.

If you want the coffee cake recipe, it's in a nice, neat printable format over at school blog.

If you have specific recipes in mind that you would like us to try to find, drop us a line. Paul will try his best. Right, Paul?

Posted by Toni Sciacqua at 11:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's the recipe for the coffee cake that Naush wrote about.

Posted by Toni Sciacqua at 4:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Antonio Villaraigosa's bid to lower LAUSD's dropout rate could find inspiration in one Spanish mayor's approach to get students to study. He could pay them.

Agustin Jimenez, Socialist mayor of the central agricultural town of Noblejas, is recommending the town's children be given a euro (or $1.50) for every hour they spend reading in the local library, according to an Associated Press story.

Jimenez is quoted as saying: "We asked ourselves the question, 'Can we and should we keep our arms crossed while we can see that the students failing at school is ever more evident?"

Posted by Paul Clinton at 1:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Naush Boghossian's report:

Public school districts generally aren't known for serving dynamite food, but Los Angeles Unified is generating buzz in its kitchens after a blogger last month noted a tasty treat the district has done right for decades: The Old Fashioned Coffee Cake.

Thousands of students recall the warm, cinnamony cake LAUSD introduced on campuses 54 years ago, and they are scouring the Internet to get their hands on the recipe.

Read the story. Or get the recipe below.

Continue reading "Memories of LAUSD's coffee cake" »

Posted by Paul Clinton at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

The balance of power may be shifting in Southern California's Academic Decathlon, as Torrance's West High didn't win the county competition, as the school has done so often in prior years. The school finished fifth in the regional competition of brainiacs answering esoteric Civil War questions. In the county event, 48 schools sent teams.

Other schools: Redondo Union High came in sixth and Torrance's North High came in eighth. In the Los Angeles Unified event, Narbonne High in Harbor City finished 14th. In the city event, 64 schools sent teams.

Schools advancing to the state competition in Los Angeles will be named this week.

Read Josh Grossberg's story for more.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 10:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From a wire report:

The California Department of Education is urging school districts throughout the state, including the LAUSD, to stop serving all but a few beef products after allegations that a Chino-based meat supplier butchered weak or ill cattle.

The department's Nutrition Services Division advised agencies yesterday not to use beef products from Westland Meat Co. -- a National School Lunch Program supplier -- until further notice.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 10:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

High school students in the Los Angeles Unified School District can look forward to more college-level courses, alternative programs and assessment tests under a new collaboration to link them to community colleges.

In a rare joint meeting last week, the boards of Los Angeles Unified and the Los Angeles Community College District agreed to develop the plan and work out the details by July.

The partnership is expected to bring more vocational training for high school students and produce graduates better prepared for college course work.

Read Paul's story for more.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Westchester Parents blog has an interesting post about the impact of LAUSD's decision to require Algebra II for a diploma starting with the Class of 2016. Former President Jose Huizar got it passed in 2006. Students have enough trouble getting through the first level of the subject:

Algebra I is a stumbling block for most of the students that eventually forces them to assess their chances at graduation and for many, that means to drop out.

The Algebra I requirement was a result of a late 1990’s change in California’s curriculum that dramatically shifted the focus of educating students from professional careers to instead meeting college requirements.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 2:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An anti-truancy program at Los Angeles Unified elementary schools is being expanded, City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo announced Wednesday.

Under "Operation Bright Future," specialists are assigned to work closely with school administrators to prevent truancy through education and intervention, according to the City Attorney's Office.

The program up until now has been in operation at 30 middle schools. It is being expanded to 16 elementary schools that are feeder campuses for four of those 30 campuses, according to the City Attorney's Office.

"Research shows that early intervention at the elementary school level is a tried and true component of successful truancy and dropout prevention programs," Delgadillo said.

"Through our partnership with the LAUSD and other municipal agencies, we can ensure that every child attending LAUSD has the opportunity for the bright future they deserve."

Posted by Paul Clinton at 12:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Los Angeles Unified schools could lose up to $20 million - and be forced to close many of the region's school-based health clinics - under a plan by the Bush administration to stop reimbursing districts for certain Medicaid costs.

Local programs - including clinics at Carson High and Gardena High, coordination of asthma treatment or mobile medical vans that visit elementary schools - could be scaled back or eliminated, the district said.

Read the full story here.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 11:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Declining enrollment has prompted the Los Angeles Unified School District to scale back a $20 billion school construction and remodeling program meant to relieve overcrowding and end involuntary busing, it was reported today.

The building program, paid for by four bond issues approved by local voters and state funds, is believed to be the largest public works project in the nation.

But since the fall, the school system has canceled plans for 19 new schools and additions to existing campuses in South Gate, Bell, Van Nuys, San Fernando, Sun Valley and central Los Angeles and other areas, citing new enrollment projections, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The Board of Education yesterday downsized five new schools, eliminating more than 1,000 seats, and last year, the district decided against building seven others, also largely because of decreased enrollment, according to The Times.

Read the full report here.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 1:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

ve been underpaid, a violation of labor laws, as a result of the district's troubled payroll system.

Elizabeth Forsberg, a teacher, and Dawn Amenta, an aide, work at El Camino Real High School and say in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit that they have been repeatedly underpaid, meaning they have been earning less than minimum wage.

District officials had no comment on the suit. Spokeswoman Susan Cox said officials in the district's legal department were unavailable late Tuesday. Officials with Deloitte Consulting, the district's payroll contractor - which is also named in the lawsuit - could not be reached for comment.

Teachers and other district employees "have not agreed to work for a lesser wage than the legal minimum wage," the lawsuit says. "Defendant LAUSD has failed and refused, and continues to fail and refuse, to pay for all hours worked as required by California wage and hour laws."

Read the wire report here.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 9:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As a "severe critic" of LAUSD, national columnist Anthony Asadullah Samad acknowledges he "would never put a child of mine (or grandchild) in LAUSD, in its current state. I'd home school them first. LAUSD has produced three generations of functional illiterates."

In his evaluation of Superintendent David Brewer, Samad acknowledges the new supe is caught in the middle of the varied constintuencies who want a better LAUSD. But Samad knocks Brewer for failing to bring in loyal people to help him plow through the district's bureaucratic morass. Here's an exerpt from the rough-up column:

At the end of the day, David Brewer is a pretty lonely man, of late. The majority of those that were responsible for his selection have since been voted off the school board. Like a groom waiting for his bride to show up at the altar, Brewer spent the better part of his first year waiting for a partner (the Mayor) that has yet to show up. His top administrative slots are either vacant or disloyal.

If your'e curious, here's a bio on Samad.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 3:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Read the report from Paul and Gene Maddaus on the State of the State speech. More details will come forward, when Schwarzenegger unveils his budget on Thursday.

South Bay legislators and school officials reacted warily Tuesday to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's State of the State address, in which he announced plans to intervene in failing schools and reform the state's budget process.

Due to the budget crunch, Schwarzenegger has scaled back his education ambitions for 2008. Instead of broad-based reform, the governor will seek more affordable measures that could include state takeovers of districts or schools.

On Tuesday, the governor singled out 98 school districts that have underperformed for five consecutive years. The Los Angeles Unified and Lennox school districts made the list.
Los Angeles Unified Trustee Richard Vladovic, who represents the San Pedro-

to-Watts district, said he believes the district is already taking steps to improve its schools and doubted that state intervention would be far-reaching.

"Do I think he'll come in and take over L.A.?" Vladovic asked. "Absolutely not."

Posted by Paul Clinton at 12:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Charging that the Los Angeles Unified School District is wasting taxpayer funds and dragging its feet in filing a lawsuit against the company responsible for rolling out a problem-plagued computerized payroll system, a state assemblyman said he will introduce a bill today to urge the district to recoup any lost money.

Los Angeles-area Assemblyman Kevin de Leon said he will introduce Assembly Bill 730, which would prevent any contractor found by a court liable for breach of an information-technology contract worth more than $1 million - and the judgment is greater than $250,000 - from bidding on any new business with the state or any local government for five years.

Later in Naush Boghossian's report, de Leon calls out system implementer Deloitte & Touche for running a "very sophisticated scam."

Posted by Paul Clinton at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In this companion piece, the Daily News found one in five students being served a "free or reduced" price lunch were ineligible, which costs LAUSD $935 million over a two-year period. Here's an excerpt of the report from Naush Boghossian and Lisa Friedman:

While the $8.2 billion national school lunch program is designed to provide meals to needy students, the system is fraught with loopholes that leave it open to rampant fraud.

A recent government report said verification remains a problem in the program that provides about 6.6 billion meals to kids each year at a cost of about $10.2 billion.

To participate in the program, parents complete applications listing their income. Random verification checks are performed, but from 2005 to 2006, the study found slightly more than one student in five students who applied and got served was actually ineligible - at a cost of $935 million.

"Several data sources suggest that a significant number of ineligible children are receiving free or reduced-price meals," the auditors wrote.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Los Angeles Unified School District is forfeiting millions of dollars in federal funds because just half of its eligible students are taking advantage of a lunch program in which kids eat for free or at reduced prices, the Daily News has learned.

While 74 percent of the district's 700,000 students are estimated to be eligible for the federal program that subsidizes meals for low-income students, only 37percent of those in middle schools and high schools participate, LAUSD officials said. Despite higher participation by elementary students, the total rate lags far behind that in other large urban school districts - adding pressure on the LAUSD as it strains to boost food services on an increasingly tight budget.

"What is outrageous is that this is an absolute necessity and a valuable service, ... and I'm concerned we have a low participation rate because administrative costs are great, and we haven't made the necessary investments," school board President Monica Garcia said.

Read Naush Boghossian's full report here.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 10:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Found a clip on You Tube showing LAUSD's All-City band practicing. The group that includes representatives from Carson High, San Pedro High and other schools will march in the Rose Parade on Jan. 1.

Posted by Paul Clinton at 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out Rick Orlov's column in the Los Angeles Daily News about L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's school-reform votes earlier this month. It's a good summary of the contoversy surrounding the vote tallying.

For Naush Boghossian's report about the opt-out of Jordan High in Watts (and the lack of a majority vote at Santee High) from Villaraigosa's Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, click here.