Saturday, May 23, 2009

The news that didn’t fit from May 24

California, Out of Money, Reels as Voters Rebuff Leaders | The New York Times ~ May 21, 2009 - Direct democracy has once again upended California — enough so that the state may finally consider another way by overhauling its Constitution for the first time in 130 years.

California's charter schools get mixed scores in new study | Los Angeles Times ~ May 20, 2009 - USC researchers cite lapses in financial reporting, but say it appears that many are using public funds wisely, and that academic scores are fairly similar to those of public schools.

California voters kill budget measures | Los Angeles Times ~ May 20, 2009 The "big five" elected leaders -- Schwarzenegger and the legislative chieftains from both houses -- are slated to begin closed-door meetings today upon the governor's return from Washington, where he spent election day after casting a last-minute absentee ballot.

Rejection at polls deepens the deficit to $21.3 billion | Sacramento Bee ~ May 20, 2009  - California voters gave an emphatic thumbs-down Tuesday to five ballot measures that elected leaders were banking on to help plug a gaping hole in the state budget. With about 72 percent of the state's precincts reporting, Propositions 1A through 1E were being crushed by margins as wide as 30 percentage points, and none was winning more than 40 percent approval.

Calif. Voters Reject Measures to Keep State Solvent | The New York Times ~ May 20, 2009  - A smattering of California voters on Tuesday soundly rejected five ballot measures designed to keep the state solvent through the rest of the year.

California Voters Reject Budget Measures | The Wall Street Journal ~ May 20, 2009  - Californians on Tuesday rejected a series of ballot initiatives to help fix the state's massive budget shortfall, as authorities prepared deep spending cuts in anticipation of the measures' defeat.

Budget measures defeated | San Diego Union-Tribune ~ May 19, 2009  - The special-election ballot agenda crafted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders to bail some of the water out of California's leaky financial boat went down to a crushing defeat Tuesday.

Pool of teachers being depleted: Experts say layoffs could dissuade potential educators | San Diego Union-Tribune ~ May 19, 2009  - Even with thousands of teachers statewide facing layoffs, recruitment experts are warning of an impending teacher shortage.

High school counselors brace for big caseloads | San Diego Union-Tribune ~ May 18, 2009  - Three years after state lawmakers agreed to spend $200 million to hire 3,000 high school counselors, cash-strapped districts across California are slashing the number of overworked advisers at their schools.

CREATIVITY: THE PATH TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY - Wednesday, May 20, 2009 4:07 PM - Published Online: May 12, 2009 | Published in Print: May 13, 2009 This article was forwarded to 4LAKids by LAUSD Local District 4 Superintendent Richard Alonzo. Dr. Alonzo has succumbed to the siren call of the Early Retirement Package …or perhaps to his dream of retiring to the Hill Country of Virginia to paint. He is an Art

SCHOOL TIES: As the gatekeepers of two of Los Angeles’s most coveted schools, Tom and Deedie Hudnut inspire awe and fear. - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 10:01 AM-  By Marshall Heyman | W Magazine | June 2009 Photograph by Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin The athletic field at Harvard-Westlake's upper campus. In Hollywood, it is generally understood that few things are harder than getting your movie made. One of those things may be getting your child into the Center for Early Education, a progressive elementary school off Melrose Avenue…

Report: DISCIPLINE METHODS ENDANGER DISABLED/SPECIAL ED KIDS - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 5:58 AM - by Joseph Shapiro | National Public Radio/Morning Edition | Broadcast Tuesday May 19, 2009 Listen Now [4 min 46 sec] add to playlist Seven-year-old Angellika Arndt died in 2006 when she suffocated while being restrained by two adult staff at the Rice Lake Day Treatment Center in Wisconsin. Courtesy of the Coalition Against Institutionalized Child Abuse Morning

GAO REPORT LINKS ACHIEVEMENT GAP AND ACCESS TO ARTS EDUCATION - Tuesday, May 19, 2009 6:30 AM - Access to Arts Education: Inclusion of Additional Questions in Education's Planned Research Would Help Explain Why Instruction Time Has Decreased for Some Students “Teachers at schools identified as needing improvement and those with higher percentages of minority students were more likely to report a reduction in time spent on the arts.” GAO-09-286 February 27, 2009 Highlights Page (PDF

PARENTS UNITED: LAUSD moms and dads are mad and not going to sit it out anymore - Sunday, May 17, 2009 2:23 AM - LA DAILY NEWS EDITORIAL \ LA Newspaper Group 5/12/2009 - IF there is a bright spot in the otherwise dark picture of public education and the Los Angeles Unified School District, it is the burgeoning activism of parents fed up with budget cuts that continually diminish the quality of schools. A growing army of parents has begun to organize in response to the latest round of LAUSD cuts

GOVERNOR’S EDUCATION CUTS RANGE FROM BAD TO WORSE – O’Connell: “The proposals offer a choice between devastating and horrific cuts to public schools.”  -  Sunday, May 17, 2009 2:16 AM - Canan Tasci, Staff Writer | Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (LA Newspaper Group) 16 May | In a year when schools have been pummeled by budget cuts, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed two budgets that will continue to eliminate money to the already struggling state education system. The two proposals were released just days before Tuesday's special election as part of Schwarzenegger's May….

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