The news that didn’t fit from Nov. 30th

OUT-OF-STATE COLLEGES BOOST RECRUITING EFFORTS IN CALIFORNIA

As the population of high school graduates declines nationwide, Midwest and East Coast colleges are hoping to attract California students to keep their enrollment numbers steady.

LAUSD PAYROLL FIASCO (Thankfully) COMES TO AN END

…though hearing about it never will!

November 27, 2008 -- A costly, 20-month saga of futility and frustration came to a formal close Wednesday when the Los Angeles Unified School District announced that it had settled a dispute with the contractor that installed its payroll system, which overpaid and underpaid tens of thousands of teachers and other employees by tens of millions of dollars.

The district said the company it had hired, Deloitte Consulting, agreed to pay $8.25 million and forgive $7 million to $10 million in unpaid invoices, for a total settlement that was roughly half the amount the district said it spent to fix the rogue system. In addition to those costs, the district sustained many millions of dollars in other losses related to the payroll problems.

“BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS TO QUALITY PRESCHOOL”: live satellite conference and national strategy session – Wednesday morning Dec 1)

Registration is free!

Los Angeles
KCET Studio
Wednesday, December 10 at 9:30 AM

1.3 MILLION CALIFORNIA KIDS LACK HEALTH INSURANCE

November 25, 2008 -- The nation has 8.6 million children who lack public or private health insurance and 1.3 million of them are in California, Families USA, a Washington-based advocate for expanded health access, says in a report based on new census data.

California, the nation's most populous state, is just behind Texas in the numbered of medically uninsured children, Families USA says, and at 12.5 percent has the nation's 12th highest rate. Texas is No. 1 at 20.5 percent.

PARENTS PROTEST OVER LACK OF SCHOOL LIBRARY

Castelar Elementary in Los Angeles has been without a library since 2002, forcing students to walk to the nearest public library every time they need to use one.

In the 1970s, the school's small library and auditorium were combined to create a larger Los Angeles City Public Library. It served both the community and the school well until 2002. That's when the public library was moved to a brand new facility on the corner of Hill and Ord streets in L.A.'s Chinatown.

The district was supposed to replace the school's library, but the project has been tied up in the design phase, and now the budget has doubled

COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER OUSTED + LOS ANGELES COUNTY JUVENILE PROBATION CAMPS MAY TRY CHARTER SCHOOLS

Dissatisfied with the students' performance, county supervisors vote to create three charters within the system and dismiss school board member. Camp teachers question whether the shift would bring improvement in students' skills. smf questions whether this is constitutional …or legal.

MAYOR’S PARTNERSHIP SCHOOL CANCELS DUAL-IMMERSION LANGUAGE PROGRAM AT WATTS SCHOOL

Parents and teachers protest Ritter Elementary elimination of dual-language program

November 24, 2008 - Teachers and parents from Ritter Elementary School will demonstrate outside the school on Tuesday November 25 at 1:30 p.m., to protest the elimination of their Dual Language Program.

For the last 4 years Ritter has participated in a Dual Language Program in which Spanish speaking and English speaking children learn together being taught all of their subjects in both languages. National studies have revealed that children who participate in dual language program substantially outscore their fellow students on state tests.

Ritter Elementary is one of the 10 schools in the mayor's partnership. One of the promises of the Partnership was a commitment to collaborating with parents and teachers in organizing the schools' curriculum and governance. Parents complain that this promise was not kept when the program was suspended without notification of parents.