tablets – LA School Report

Coming Showdown Between Programs & Hiring

LA School Report — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:02:46 +0000

So expect school districts to go on a spending binge this summer—Los Angeles Unified School District aims to equip all of its 650,000 students with tablet computers—and then unions in the fall to protest draconian budget cuts and layoffs.

– Allysia Finley in the Wall Street Journal (California’s Shrinking Surplus)

Previous posts: Union Focusing on Jobs; Teachers Vote Against Deasy, For More Teachers; UTLA, LAUSD Prep for Prop. 30 Budget Battle

Watch: Union Head Opposes Tablet Initiative

LA School Report — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 19:15:15 +0000

Here’s UTLA president Warren Fletcher saying that LAUSD can’t afford the computer tablet initiative that LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy has proposed (and should use the bond money for teacher salaries and adding school days instead). CBS has the story here.

LAT Slams Deasy Tablet Rollout

Alexander Russo — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 19:39:22 +0000

“Good for the committee that … put the brakes on this poorly planned effort Wednesday.”

LA Times: A Tablet in Every Backpack?

Deasy’s Tablet Plan Blocked

Hillel Aron — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 23:09:11 +0000

Today, members from the Bond Oversight Committee blocked Phase I of Superintendent John Deasy’s plan to provide tablet computers for all students and faculty by the end of 2013.

The first phase of Deasy’s plan called for spending $17.4 million on tablets for 14 secondary schools. The Bond Oversight Committee voted 7-3 to approve the plan, but it needed eight votes to pass. The committee’s action was an “advisory vote,” and the proposal can still be brought to the full school board next month, although Deasy will not do so.

“The Committee’s action is a setback to our efforts to make LAUSD K-12 students competitive with the best school districts in the country,” said a disappointed Deasy, in a press release (read it here).

Update: Four of the committee members were absent from the vote. If just one of them had voted for it, it would have passed. According to Tom Rubin, a consultant for the committee, the money would have been borrowed from a pool of funds earmarked to build an early education center. That project is currently on hold. Rubin said the committee members voting no didn’t like the idea of taking money away from that project.

Morning Read: Resisting Reconstitution

Hillel Aron — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 16:45:11 +0000

South LA Schools Team Up To Fight Reconstitution
The two South LA schools [Dorsey, Crenshaw] joined forces and organized a public meeting tonight to inform Crenshaw parents and students about the district’s effort to reform underachieving schools. KPCC

4 In Alleged Soccer Team Hazing File Claims Against School District
Four teenagers who say they were sexually hazed by soccer players at La Puente High School filed legal claims against the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District on Thursday. LA Times

LAUSD Students Can Win iPads, Cars For Perfect Attendance
Beginning this month and extending until May, students with perfect attendance will qualify for monthly drawings for prizes. High school students with no absences during their senior year will have the chance to win one of the two cars being given away by Clear Channel Media. Daily News

Police Pepper Spray Breaks Up Fight At Narbonne High School
A fistfight between two girls that drew a crowd of onlookers ends abruptly when a school police officer shoots pepper spray into the air, forcing 47 students to seek medical help, officials say. LA Times

LAUSD’s Tablet Plan Doesn’t Compute
An LA Times editorial dismisses Deasy’s plan as merely “a notion,” devoid of specifics. “Despite the lack of details, Deasy is forging ahead with a request for “conceptual approval.” The school board will discuss the matter next week, and the bond oversight committee will consider it the following week.” LA Times Editorial