California Department of Education
Former Superintendent of Public Instruction for the State of California
PROFILE
Jack O'Connell
Guest
FROM Jack O'Connell
Which Way, L.A.?
California Loses Round Two in the 'Race to the Top' California schools have lost again in the second round of the Obama Administration's "Race to the Top" in education. After the state lost in the first round , Education Secretary Arne Duncan personally encouraged Governor Schwarzenegger to try again, and success would have meant $700 million in federal funds with $150 million for LA Unified and $18 million for Long Beach. We talk with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, the LAUSD and the California Federation of Teachers about why the State came up short for a second time.
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Private Sector Steps in to Save Our Schools After a school-funding measure barely failed to get the two-thirds required vote last month, the Santa Monica-Malibu School Board cut $7.1 million , eliminated 65 teaching jobs and closed libraries in elementary schools. This weekend, parents and kids set up a lemonade stand on Main Street as part of SOS — the Save Our Schools Campaign .
To the Point
Can Schools Aim High When Budgets Are Low? Educators and Governors in all states — except Alaska and Texas — have agreed on uniform, national standards for teaching English and Math in grades K through 12. The goal is to raise expectations for what kids should learn. The hope is to keep America competitive in the global economy. The Obama Administration has signed on, and promoters boast that the states are leading the federal government in education reform. But a project of years is being unveiled at a time of financial crisis for schools all over the country. Do they have the time or resources to make reforms now? What's the evidence that setting standards enhances performance? Is there a downside? Does one size really fit all?
Which Way, L.A.?
Why Is California Losing the Race to the Top? President Obama set aside $4.3 billion for education reform and told states to compete in what he called, the Race to the Top . Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature battled for weeks before enacting a package of new laws , in the hopes of winning $700 million in federal dollars. Today, 16 winning states were announced out of 41 that applied -- but the Golden State was a loser. We ask the State Superintendent of Public Education and others what happened.
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Can Federal Stimulus Money Save California Schools? Education spending is so confusing that different reports contain different numbers for how much California schools might get from $44 billion in stimulus money. But the conclusions are all the same, that there won't be enough to avoid more cuts in programs and a sizeable number of layoffs. At the LA Unified School District , Superintendent Ramon Cortines threatened to quit if the elected board did not layoff 8500 people, including 6000 teachers. The board voted to postpone any action, and Cortines is negotiating with various unions.
Which Way, L.A.?
LAUSD Issues Report Cards on Schools "I want both the bad and good, and I don't want it sugarcoated." That's what the new superintendent Ray Cortines told the LA Times about the one-page report cards LA Unified is sending out today. The idea is to tell parents how well or how badly their children's schools are doing. This change from past practice comes at a time when school districts face massive cuts because Sacramento can't get its financial act together.
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