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Failure of teacher evaluation bill clouds CA’s NCLB waiver SI&A Cabinet Report: Withdrawal of the teacher evaluation bill in the final days of the legislative session last week likely removes an easy path for California schools to relief from federal sanctions under the No Child Left Behind Act, state officials said last week. [Also: The California Teachers Association has its version of events up here: Teachers Disappointed at Legislature’s Failure to Approve Evaluation Revamp, and UT San Diego has coverage here: Bill dies, but teacher evaluation debate to continue.
Teachers unions’ alliance with Democratic Party frays LA Times: Teachers unions have been the Democratic Party’s foot soldiers for more than half a century, but this relationship is fraying, and the deterioration was evident Monday as Democrats gathered in Charlotte, North Carolina for their national convention. [Also: HuffPo has a similar piece that focuses on the new film, “Won’t Back Down,” based on the new Parent Trigger law.]
LA schools moving away from zero tolerance policies Los Angeles Times: The move away from punitive law enforcement actions and toward support services reflects a growing awareness, grounded in research, that treating minor offenses with police actions did not necessarily make campuses safer or students more accountable.
Educator Wants to ‘Revolutionize’ LAUSD Schools LA Sentinel: Educator Daphne Bradford, who helped a group of Crenshaw High School students get certifications in digital media, publish a book and get invited to the Democratic National Convention, is offering a free training to all Los Angeles Unified teachers beginning September 1, on how to apply innovative classroom techniques and bring students here into the 21st century, she said.
At Least Fun in the Sun Isn’t Banned. For Now… NY Times: The recent LAUSD ban on styrofoam trays was only the latest in a myriad of Southern California bans, which include bonfires on the beach, napping in libraries, porn without condoms, and (not mentioned in the article) kosher Coca-Cola.
Some top charter school organizations eye Washington AP: Rocketship Education, which runs some of the top performing elementary schools in California’s low-income areas, would love to expand to Washington state, said Kristoffer Haines, vice president of national development for the seven-school organization started in San Jose, Calif., in 2006.
Summer program gives farmworkers’ children a taste of college LA Times: The program at the University of La Verne provides counseling and English and math courses to teenage children of migrant workers who have been in the U.S. less than three years.