EdSource

Class size reduction program continues to unravel | EdSource Extra!

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:27:57 -0400

Class size reduction program continues to unravel | EdSource Extra!:

In just three years, California’s class size reduction program in kindergarten through the 3rd grade has unraveled at a rapid rate, and continues to do so.

EdSource | Schools Under Stress: Pressures Mount on California’s Largest School Districts

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:14:27 -0400

EdSource | Schools Under Stress: Pressures Mount on California’s Largest School Districts:

California’s 30 largest school districts—which educate nearly 2 million students—are facing multiple stresses tied to the economic crisis at a state and national level, threatening their ability to provide a quality education to California’s children, according to a new EdSource report.

EdSource | San Francisco’s long campaign to provide healthier school meals yields results

Wed, 16 May 2012 16:13:11 -0400

EdSource | San Francisco’s long campaign to provide healthier school meals yields results:

Parent advocates and district staff have worked hard during the past 10 years to make San Francisco Unified’s school lunches healthier despite tough budgetary times. This occasional paper describes step-by-step how these advocates transformed the district’s approach to food, the challenges they faced, and what is still left to be done.

Education leaders call for overhaul of state’s school accountability system

Wed, 09 May 2012 12:39:06 -0400

Education leaders call for overhaul of state’s school accountability system:

As state education leaders consider whether to seek a waiver from the most onerous provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind, they are also proposing a “comprehensive review” of the state’s accountability system put in place in 1999.The State Board of Education will start discussing what an updated state accountability system might look like at its meeting in Sacramento today.

EdSource | Schools Under Stress: Pressures Mount on California’s Largest School Districts

Tue, 08 May 2012 15:02:46 -0400

EdSource | Schools Under Stress: Pressures Mount on California’s Largest School Districts:

Children’s groups unite to increase influence in Sacramento | EdSource Extra!

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 15:13:36 -0400

Children’s groups unite to increase influence in Sacramento | EdSource Extra!:

Hundreds of groups working on behalf of children’s issues in California are coming together for the first time to pool their collective influence to shape child-friendly policies in the state.

New statistics course aims to accelerate college students’ path to success | EdSource Extra!

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 11:33:15 -0400

New statistics course aims to accelerate college students’ path to success | EdSource Extra!:

Some California colleges are helping struggling math students complete all the math they need in a single yearlong course, instead of requiring them to take the usual sequence of courses that can take years to complete and that many never finish.

Pioneered in California, publishing teacher “effectiveness” rankings draws more criticism | EdSource Extra!

Thu, 29 Mar 2012 11:04:51 -0400

Pioneered in California, publishing teacher “effectiveness” rankings draws more criticism | EdSource Extra!:

The release last month of “value-added” rankings of New York City teachers based on student test scores, a practice pioneered by the Los Angeles Times in the summer of 2010, has once again raised pointed questions about whether the rankings of individual teachers should be published by the media.

Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst organization has 170,000 members in California | EdSource Extra!

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 13:03:42 -0400

Michelle Rhee’s StudentsFirst organization has 170,000 members in California | EdSource Extra!:

StudentsFirst, the newest entrant into the California school reform landscape, has 170,000 members in California, according to its founder Michelle Rhee, the former Washington D.C. schools chief and wife of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Study finds rise in childhood obesity rates in California is slowing | EdSource Extra!

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:14:35 -0400

Study finds rise in childhood obesity rates in California is slowing | EdSource Extra!:

A UC Davis study has found that the rise in childhood obesity rates in California is slowing, which researchers think may be the outcome of improved nutrition and physical fitness programs in the state’s public schools.

Beyond personal pain, teacher layoffs have rippling effects on schools | EdSource Extra!

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:59:38 -0400

Beyond personal pain, teacher layoffs have rippling effects on schools | EdSource Extra!:

Of all the budget-cutting remedies that school districts have to undertake, laying off teachers — or even the threat of being laid off — has a rippling effect on schools and students that goes far beyond the pain being experienced by individual teachers faced with losing their jobs.

Number of tax initiatives on ballot to raise funds for schools reduced to two | EdSource Extra!

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:26:21 -0400

Number of tax initiatives on ballot to raise funds for schools reduced to two | EdSource Extra!:

Bowing to the mathematical reality that three ballot initiatives on the November ballot to raise money for schools could significantly reduce the chances of any of them passing, Governor Jerry Brown and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) agreed Wednesday to combine their initiatives.

Flurry of bills on school discipline introduced in Legislature | EdSource Extra!

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 12:40:26 -0400

Flurry of bills on school discipline introduced in Legislature | EdSource Extra!:

Against the backdrop of a recent federal report showing African American students being disproportionately suspended or expelled from California schools, a flurry of bills have been introduced in the state Legislature over the past several weeks to reform California’s extensive set of laws governing school discipline.

State laws leave room for interpretation when it comes to school suspensions | EdSource Extra!

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:01:57 -0500

State laws leave room for interpretation when it comes to school suspensions | EdSource Extra!:

One of the main reasons students are suspended from California schools is for “disrupting school activities” or “willfully defying” school authorities, which are largely undefined terms open to substantial interpretation, or misinterpretation, by school officials.

Opposition to California’s school ranking system grows | EdSource Extra!

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:46:55 -0500

Opposition to California’s school ranking system grows | EdSource Extra!:

Opposition at the highest levels of state government is emerging against the more than decade-old system of ranking California’s schools on a scale of 1 to 10, based on how they score on the state’s Academic Performance Index.

Schools establish “early warning system” to identify potential drop outs | EdSource Extra!

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:39:24 -0500

Schools establish “early warning system” to identify potential drop outs | EdSource Extra!:

Some school districts in California are working to establish an “early warning system” to identify middle grade students who are at risk of dropping out, and then to vigorously intervene so they don’t.

After pushing homeschooling, Santorum takes on higher education | EdSource Extra!

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:20:15 -0500

After pushing homeschooling, Santorum takes on higher education | EdSource Extra!:

Former Sen. Rick Santorum may no longer be the frontrunner in the GOP presidential contest, but he is still the only one to have made education a major issue in his campaign.

Commission: Community colleges should take over adult schools run by school districts | EdSource Extra!

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:19:59 -0500

Commission: Community colleges should take over adult schools run by school districts | EdSource Extra!:

Community colleges should take over all adult school programs from cash-strapped school districts, the Little Hoover Commission, the state watchdog agency, recommended yesterday.

Despite perilous finances, state laws help schools avert insolvency | EdSource Extra!

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:04:31 -0500

Despite perilous finances, state laws help schools avert insolvency | EdSource Extra!:

Despite having to endure the worst economic crisis in almost a century, only a small number of school districts in California are officially designated as financially troubled.

GOP frontrunner takes on public education | EdSource Extra!

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:04:59 -0500

GOP frontrunner takes on public education | EdSource Extra!:

The first major discussion of education in the 2012 presidential campaign has centered not on reforms like teacher tenure or what should replace the No Child Left Behind law but on the merits of public education itself.