Your donation will help us produce journalism like this. Please give today.

Superintendent Deasy Urges Staff to ‘Stay Calm’ in the Face of Change
In his annual back-to-school address, Los Angeles schools superintendent John Deasy on Thursday sought to reassure teachers and principals as the nation’s second-largest school district undergoes major classroom changes in the coming year. Speaking to hundreds of administrators and members of the school board, Deasy addressed worries over Common Core State Standards — new curriculum changes set to be phased in as soon as this upcoming school year — by using a morale-boosting World War II-era phrase used by the British government: “Stay calm. Stay calm, and carry on.” LA Daily News

---

California test scores dip slightly but L.A. Unified holds steady
California students scored slightly lower in math and English on standardized tests this year, the first dip since 2004, in what education officials Thursday blamed in part on brutal budget cuts over the last several years. But Los Angeles Unified School District students posted small gains in math, the best performance among the state’s 10 largest school districts, and had a smaller dip in English than their peers statewide. LA Times

---

Los Angeles Schools Plan Bonds for iPads
Los Angeles Unified School District will be among the first to use long-term financing to provide students with iPads when it goes to market next year on a $50 million bond sale to pay for the tablets and wireless infrastructure for 47 schools. The Bond Buyer

---

Those Federal School Waivers: It Ain’t Over Yet
The waivers that eight large California school districts got this week from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan are yet another measure of the power of the federal law they tried to escape from. The law has been cumbersome and stupid enough to prompt them — and many states — to seek better ways to pursue the same, or better, goals. But the waivers are not the end of this odyssey; they’re barely the beginning. EdSource

---

NCLB Waiver in Hand, CORE Districts Move Ahead

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan provoked a lot of strong opinions when he granted a precedent-setting waiver under the No Child Left Behind Act to eight California districts last week. These “CORE” (for California Office to Reform Education) districts now have sweeping flexibility to implement their own accountability systems, separate from the state of California’s, and the ability to largely police themselves with help from a new independent oversight panel. There are many questions this waiver is sparking. EdWeek

---

Six Questions About California CORE Districts’ Waiver
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan provoked a lot of strong opinions when he granted a precedent-setting waiver under the No Child Left Behind Act to eight California districts last week. These “CORE” (for California Office to Reform Education) districts now have sweeping flexibility to implement their own accountability systems, separate from the state of California’s, and the ability to largely police themselves with help from a new independent oversight panel. There are many questions this waiver is sparking. EdWeek