The report from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), which has been tracking the health of teacher pension plans in each state and the District of Columbia since 2008, also offers possible solutions to the growing problem of debt associated with teacher pensions — a load estimated by NCTQ to have climbed more than $100 billion in two years.

The analysis comes as the state and LA Unified are seeing a rise in fees associated with the teachers retirement pension system known as CalSTRS, which has been estimated will cost the district an extra $1.1 billion from 2014-2021.

The report primarily graded states on the extent to which their plans are portable, flexible and fair. One huge problem it pointed out is the lack of susatianabilty with many plans, as in 2014 the accrued teacher pension debt in the United States was $499 billion. Only nine plans in the nation were at least 90 percent funded. California, with over $73 billion of debt, ranked about in the middle with debt.

The report stated, “Looking through another lens, consider teacher pension debt spread out across the K-12 student population. Each American student’s share of the teacher pension deficit is more than $10,000 and growing.”

Alaska earned the only A score, South Dakota earned the only B+, seven states earned a B- and four earned a C+. Twenty-two states earned scores in the D range and one state, Mississippi, earned an F.

Click here to read the full report.

L.A. School Reform Effort Draws Diverse Group of Wealthy Donors
Republicans, liberals, Hollywood notables and global corporate executives are among those who gave to the Coalition for School Reform. LA Times

LAUSD Chief John Deasy Draws Fire as He Pursues Aggressive Reform Plan
The reforms that Deasy enacted – and just how aggressively he’s pursued them – have put the fast-talking New Englander at the center of a heated debate over the future of the nation’s second-largest school district. LA Daily News

Interest in Teaching Continues to Drop in California
Interest in teaching is steadily dropping in California, with the number of educators earning a teaching credential dipping by 12% last year — marking the eighth straight annual decline. LA Times
See also: EdSource

A To-Do List for L.A.’s Next Mayor
I want the next mayor to be an education mayor, but not by simply operating his or her own network of schools. I’d like the mayor to create an Office of City Schools to provide a one-stop informational shop for families. LA Times Opinion (Gloria Romero)

Villaraigosa’s Legacy
Throughout Villaraigosa’s tenure, there has consistently been a sense that he has fallen short of his potential and delivered less than he promised. LA Times (Jim Newton)

Race for Campaign Cash; Mayor’s Race Exceed $10 Million
In the Los Angeles Unified School District board campaigns, the primary race for the District 6 seat had generated more than $1.2 million in donations, but in the runoff, contributions are off to a slow start. LA Daily News

As Nation’s Schools Get More Diverse, Instruction of Students Learning English Remains Bleak
Of all the challenges facing minority students and their schools, English learners are arguably the most disadvantaged. It’s hard to find enough teachers who are qualified to instruct them, and there’s little consistency in the programs used to educate them. AP

Growing Charter Network Under SBE Draws Interest From Lawmakers
A sharp increase in the number of charter schools petitioning – and receiving – permission to open from the California State Board of Education has attracted the attention of the Legislature. SI&A Cabinet Report

California Pension Fund to Divest From Gunmakers
California’s pension fund for teachers made official on Friday its plan to divest holdings in firearms companies whose weapons are illegal in the state. Reuters

Robot Experiment Coming to Los Angeles Classrooms
A dragon-like robot will soon grace the classrooms of one Los Angeles elementary school in hopes of helping first-graders adopt healthier eating habits. KPCC

California High Schools Are Sick of the Coachella Cut Day ‘Mess’
In L.A., administrators and teachers at some of the top schools that have struggled to contend with the empty classrooms of Coachella Fridays are finally learning how to deal with absence in the age of the music festival. Atlantic

LAUSD Manager Scot Graham Suing District Regarding Alleged Harassment
A Los Angeles Unified School District manager is suing his employer, alleging the district failed to prevent former Superintendent Ramon Cortines from sexually harassing him. Scot Graham’s lawsuit was filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. LA Daily News

New Program Creates ‘Education Champions’ for Every Foster Child
California is on the leading edge of an innovative effort to give foster children a fighting chance in school.  A new national initiative to provide a trained adult to act as an education advocate for every foster child in the nation was recently launched in Santa Cruz County, which is piloting the program in California. EdSource

A Huffington Post article on Wednesday pointed to a recent report from the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, which warned that the teachers pension fund is $73 billion and counting in debt, and if nothing is done to intervene, the fund will disappear completely in 30 years.  A recent Bloomberg op-ed speculated that some of Prop 30’s $6.8 billion annual funds could be funneled away from schools and used to repair the teachers pension system.

Previous posts:  Deasy & Zimmer Praise Prop. 30 Passage; UTLA, LAUSD Prep for Prop. 30 Budget Battle

Report: Cheating on Standardized Tests in 75 Percent of U.S. States
The National Center for Fair & Open Testing issued a report Thursday that tallies cases of cheating on standardized tests in 37 states across the country, including notable cases in Southern California. KPCC

SBE Allows Higher Student/Teacher Ratio for Online Charter Schools
California’s State Board of Education approved waiver requests this month increasing the pupil-to-teacher ratio for independent study students at several online charter schools. SI&A Cabinet Report

Michelle Rhee, ‘a Public School Parent’?
In the course of reporting a story about Michelle Rhee, the controversial former District of Columbia chancellor seeking to take her brand of education reform to statehouses across the country, the Los Angeles Times asked her spokeswoman a simple question: Do Rhee’s children attend public or private school? LA Times

From the Lunch Line to the Stage: LA Cafeteria Worker Featured in New Play
A new play that tackles healthy eating in schools by following the life of a lunch lady opens tonight. Among the performers is a Los Angeles Unified School District cafeteria worker who will take to the stage for the first time at age 58. KPCC

Inland Empire School District Repeats as Finalist for Academic Prize
The Corona-Norco Unified School District was named as a finalist Thursday for the prestigious Broad Prize, which honors academic excellence by minority and low-income students in urban districts across the nation. LA Times

Intern Teachers: Special Ttraining Is Needed to Teach English Learners
magine your family transplanted to a new country. Neither you nor your children speak the local language; the education system functions entirely differently. Who do you want teaching your child: a teacher who knows how to teach both academic subjects and the new language to non-native speakers, or a teacher with little to no training in either?  San Jose Mercury Sun Opinion

California Schools Chief Strikes Tone of Optimism in Annual Address in Lawndale
In a speech addressing the state of education, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson on Thursday celebrated a recent wave of voter-approved taxes that are expected to stabilize a dire education budget, and touted other initiatives that would bring still more tax dollars to public schools. Long Beach Press-Telegram

California Needs to Fill Teachers’ Pension Gap
Last week the Legislative Analyst’s Office told the Legislature it needs to get serious about closing a $73 billion shortfall in the California State Teachers’ Retirement System over the next 30 years.  What would getting serious about closing that gap mean? Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Editorial

Head Start Programs Across the State Cut Services, Children
As the federal sequestration budget cuts kick in, Head Start providers across California are struggling to decide how to absorb the shortfall without hurting children. EdSource

O.C. Olympians Raise the Bar for L.A. Kids
Peter Vidmar, 51, is among dozens of Olympians who regularly visit Los Angeles schools to inspire kids, and maybe cajole them, to perform well on the California Physical Fitness test. O.C. Register

Michelle Rhee Hires Former Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez
As Michelle Rhee pushes her controversial brand of education reform in California’s capital, she has tapped one of the town’s most influential power brokers, Fabian Nunez, to guide her strategy. LA Times

A New Play About…LAUSD School Lunch?
The play’s high school may be fictional, but the story stuff that comprises it is anything but. Howard spent the better part of a year traveling to various high schools throughout the LAUSD, speaking to both students as well as food service professionals. LA Weekly

California’s New Taxes Are Paying for Pensions
Last November, California politicians persuaded voters to support a proposed seven-year, $50 billion tax increase, largely on the vow that the money would go to public education. Now, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office has announced that the California State Teachers’ Retirement System requires an extra $4.5 billion a year for 30 years — $135 billion — and that the money will have to come from some combination of school districts and the state. Bloomberg Opinion

Boys’ Volleyball: A Proud Coach at Van Nuys High
The Van Nuys High boys’ volleyball team just returned from a trip to Hawaii to play in the prestigious Iolani tournament that included nationally ranked Punohou. LA Times

Calif., Texas, and N.C. Districts Tapped As Broad Prize Finalists
The four finalists for the 2013 Broad Prize in Urban Education are the Corona-Norco and San Diego school districts in California, the Houston Independent School District, and the school system in Cumberland County, N.C. EdWeek

Schools Need Local Funding Control
Gov. Jerry Brown is providing a historic opportunity to realize the equity, transparency and local control that our public schools need. LA Daily News Opinion

Bringing Babies to the Classroom to Teach Empathy, Prevent Bullying
Roots of Empathy, first started in 1996 in Toronto and introduced into U.S. schools in 2007, aims to build more peaceful and caring societies by increasing the level of empathy in children. In the last six years, the program has spread to California, New York and other parts of Washington. PBS NewsHour

Hold Districts Accountable for Restoring Funding for the Arts
A well-rounded education that includes the arts is essential to prepare California students for college and careers. Further, the skills students gain in the arts – imagination, creativity and innovation – are essential for success in the California economy, no matter the industry or sector. EdSource Commentary

Family Members of Accident Victims Sue LAUSD
The Los Angeles Unified School District is being sued by family members of a man who was killed and a young girl who was injured when they were struck by a hit-and-run driver outside a Watts school last year. City News Service

California Voters Split on Jerry Brown School Plans
Fifty percent agree with the governor’s proposal to give more funds to school districts that serve low-income children. A separate Brown plan to give local districts more funding control is favored by 59%. LA Times

LAUSD Salvages Summer School, but Classes Will Be Limited
Despite fears that Los Angeles Unified would have to cancel summer school this year, officials say they’ll be able to hold a limited number of credit-recovery classes at 16 high school campuses across the sprawling district. LA Daily News

State Educators Support LAUSD Waiver From No Child Left Behind Law
State education officials support efforts by Los Angeles Unified and eight other school districts to get a waiver from the federal No Child Left Behind law, but remain concerned about who would monitor a new accountability system. LA Daily News
See also: EdSource

The Downside of Superstar Schools
It’s no surprise that parents go to great lengths to get their children into the coveted classrooms. But other campuses suffer a loss from such lopsided enthusiasm. LA Times Commentary

Teacher-Prep Programs Zero In on Effective ‘Practice’
The Match Teacher Residency is one of a small number of teacher-preparation programs focusing on what’s coming to be called “practice-based” teacher education. The approach is growing in popularity among charter groups and beginning to emerge in university-based programs as well. EdWeek

Paralympian John Siciliano Coaches North Hollywood Students
Paralympian John Siciliano’s face lit up as he gave Fitnessgram certificates to two fifth grade classes at Julie Korenstein Elementary School on Friday. LA Daily News

State Must Fix Liabilities That Loom at CalSTRS
If corrective action is not taken – that is, if the state, school districts or teachers don’t contribute more into the fund – CalSTRS could deplete all its assets by 2044. Sac Bee Editorial

Connection to Education Research Elusive for States
State education officials are open to using research to shape policy and practice decisions, but they say that it remains difficult to make practical use of most studies. EdWeek

LAO Suggests Curtailing Accreditation of Teacher Prep Programs by CTC
A policy paper from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst released late last week suggests lawmakers consider curtailing the accreditation of teacher training programs by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. SI&A Cabinet Report

Same-Sex-Marriage Cases Hold Implications for Schools
Among the scores of briefs filed on different sides of the cases are several that address same-sex marriage and the schools. The issues include schools’ treatment of same-sex parents and their children, the impact of the debate on gay students and on those who object to same-sex marriage on religious grounds, and the influence of the trend on the curriculum. EdWeek
See also: KPCC

Sun Valley’s Francis Polytechnic High to Convert to Innovative Pilot School
Francis Polytechnic High in Sun Valley will become the first LAUSD campus to convert to a pilot school, which offers greater freedom in scheduling and instruction but also requires teachers to commit annually to the reforms taking place. LA Daily News

LAUSD Teams up With Other Districts to Serve Cheaper, Healthier Lunches
The Los Angeles Unified School District has teamed up with five other large school districts to save money and serve a higher quality menu to students. CBS LA

California Teacher Fund Needs $4.5 Billion Yearly Boost
The California State Teachers’ Retirement System’s $73 billion unfunded liability may be the state’s “most difficult fiscal challenge” and lawmakers should increase funding for the second-largest U.S. pension, the Legislative Analyst’s Office said. Bloomberg
See also: AP

LAUSD Preschools to Get $7 Million in Security Upgrades
More than six dozen Los Angeles Unified preschools will get safety upgrades, including security gates equipped with video cameras, under a $7 million plan approved Tuesday by the school board. LA Daily News

More States Consider ‘Parent Trigger’ Laws
So far, outside of California, no school has been the subject of a parent-trigger petition in any state. (In California, a bill is under consideration to expand the number of schools eligible for the parent trigger.) EdWeek

New Teacher Assessment: Much Promise, Many Questions
Even if you follow education issues closely, you may have missed the rapid rise of this new assessment to evaluate prospective teachers. EdSource Commentary

New California Public School Reading List Includes LGBT-Friendly Books
The California Department of Education this week released its latest list of recommended reading for K-12 students, including some newly published works that address immigration and sexual identity issues. LA Daily News

Ed Committee Backs Crackdown on Interest-Deferred Bonds
Despite opposition from several education organizations, the Assembly Education Committee on Wednesday voted 6-0 for a bill that would severely restrict school districts’ ability to float construction bonds that would saddle future taxpayers with huge balloon payments. EdSource

Huge Spending Gaps Between School Districts, Report Finds
Vast inequities still exist in education funding across the nation, contributing to an academic achievement gap that separates the students at well-funded schools from those who attend campuses with fewer resources, according to a report released Tuesday. LA Times

Superintendents in D.C. to Talk District Waiver With Duncan
Superintendents representing a coalition of 10 California school districts, including LAUSD, are scheduled to meet with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan today to make a personal pitch for a district waiver from provisions of No Child Left Behind, which they plan to formally submit next week. EdSource

Schools in Crisis, Reforms Not Working, U.S. Federal Panel Declares
A federal commission on Tuesday said the U.S. education system had “thoroughly stacked the odds” against impoverished students and warned that an aggressive reform agenda embraced by both Democrats and Republicans had not done enough to improve public schools. Reuters

Charter Schools’ Discipline Policies Face Scrutiny
As the number of charter schools continues to grow, one facet of their autonomy—the ability to set and enforce independent disciplinary standards—has raised difficult questions about whether those schools are pushing out students who pose behavior or academic challenges and how their policies affect regular public schools. EdWeek

Calpers Will Sell Its Investments in Gun Makers
The investment committee of Calpers, the biggest American pension fund, voted Tuesday to divest itself of its holdings in two manufacturers of guns and high-capacity ammunition clips banned in California. NY Times

St. Genevieve High Honors Former President Jimmy Carter
A statesman, author and diplomat, Jimmy Carter hasn’t often found himself at a loss for words.  But on Tuesday, facing a wall covered with photos and mementos of his friendship with the community at St. Genevieve High School, the nation’s 39th president found it difficult to express himself. LA Daily News

Abuse of School Meals Funds Target of Cannella Bill
Acting on the financial abuses by school districts that “literally take food from the mouths of children,” a state legislator has introduced the School Lunch Protection Act. The Californian

Federal Grant Prospect Reignites Kindergarten-Assessment Debate
A federal grant program in the works to help states jump-start kindergarten-entry assessments is renewing debate among early-childhood educators about the benefits and pitfalls of evaluating young children. EdWeek

Congressional Panel Calls for Larger Federal Role in Directing Schools
A white paper released Tuesday on improving educational competitiveness and closing the achievement gap called for a significantly larger federal role in the management of the nation’s public school system. SI&A Cabinet Report

LAUSD Board Votes Down Proposed Staff Layoffs; Approves iPads
The LAUSD school board voted Tuesday to cancel more than 200 proposed pink slips, ensuring the district will not lose any more health and human services employees in the coming academic year. KPCC
See also: LA Daily News, CBS LA, LA School Report

With Few Details, Obama Calls for Vastly Expanded Preschool
In one of the most sweeping policy proposals in his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama called for access to high-quality preschool programs for “every child in America.” EdSource
See also: KPCC, HuffPo

Calpers Holds $5 Million in Gunmaker Equity it May Divest
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. pension, has about $5 million invested in two gun manufacturers that would be sold under a divestiture proposal spurred by recent mass shootings. Bloomberg

An Opportunity to Talk About Testing
The teacher-led boycott of the Measures of Academic Progress assessment at Seattle’s Garfield High School advances a critical dialogue about testing in our schools, but it also risks further marginalizing teachers as education leaders. EdWeek Op-Ed

When Helping Kids Threatens Teachers
The New Jersey Education Association has declared war on two Newark charter schools, Merit Prep and Newark Prep. It sued to shut them down, but lost in court — so now the union’s asked the state Legislature to kill them. NY Post

L.A. Unified Aviation Training Center Gets $100,000 Donation
The mechanics vocational school had been facing closure or relocation after 40 years at Van Nuys Airport because of budget cuts and a rent increase. The gift will keep it going at least a year. LA Times See also: LA Daily News

School Safety Takes More Than Guns
Here in Los Angeles, we have increased police patrols in schools and this week, Superintendent John Deasy will put a proposal before the School Board to hire 1,087 new part-time aides at elementary, middle, and span campuses. GOOD Op-Ed by LAUSD Board Member Steve Zimmer

Education Content in State of The Union Likely to Focus on Littlest Learners
President Barack Obama made K-12 education a major component of his 2012 State of the Union Address — so much so that the topic garnered the most traffic on sites like Twitter. But this year, education advocates are expecting something entirely different. HuffPo

The Secret to Fixing Bad Schools
What would it really take to give students a first-rate education? Some argue that our schools are irremediably broken and that charter schools offer the only solution. The striking achievement of Union City, N.J. argues for reinventing the public schools we have. NY Times Op-Ed

CalSTRS Board to Forward Options for Saving Teacher Pensions
The Legislature has avoided action for a decade, and Gov. Jerry Brown’s  budget forecast for education, with healthy projections for revenue, doesn’t take into account the daunting cost of teachers’ pensions on the expense side of the ledger. EdSource

How the President Should Address the State of Our Nation’s Schools
From my perspective as superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) — widely recognized as the most improved in California in spite of so many kids living in poverty in the state — here are some recommendations for addressing the needs of every American child regardless of where they come from. HuffPo Op-Ed

California Buoyed by Revenue Gains, Ratings Uptick – but Challenges Remain
Despite a spate of good news for California tax collectors late last week, some economists remain skeptical that a full-blown recovery is underway and indeed, that it also still can’t be sidetracked. SI&A Cabinet Report

Eric Garcetti and My Post-Obama Blues
Garcetti answered, “We need to stop bashing teachers.” He went on. Scapegoating, he said, is not the way to improve public education. And neither is privatizing the LAUSD. Some charter schools work well, he said, some don’t. HuffPo Op-Ed

Charters Struggle With Staffing Like Traditional Schools, Study Finds
Charter schools experiment with split work schedules, extended days, and a host of other staffing policies, but a study in the current issue of Education Finance and Policy suggests that they still struggle as much as traditional public schools to keep their best teachers and get rid of the ones who aren’t effective. EdWeek

Uncovering the Lost Treasures of the LAUSD Archives
Remaining under the radar and avoiding questions regarding the existence of an art and antiquities archive in LAUSD has served as a mode of survival. KCET