EdSource Today » Archive
Happy New Year
All of us at EdSource Today wish you all the best in 2013 and invite you to continue the dialogue on education issues in California in the important year ahead. We’ll be back after New Year’s Day with more news and commentaries. Kathryn Baron, John Fensterwald, Louis Freedberg, Susan Frey, Lillian Mongeau. Smita Patel, Brent Zupp. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Reporting & Analysis
CA educators reject NRA call for guns in schools
California educators and Democratic politicians are rebuking the National Rifle Association for suggesting that more guns in schools would keep students, teachers and staff safer. The NRA broke its silence about the massacre of children and teachers last week at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, holding a news conference Friday in Washington, D.C. “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” said NRA executive vice president … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Reporting & Analysis, School Safety
Feds deny state a No Child Left Behind waiver
The formal letter from Washington hasn’t arrived, but the verdict has: The federal Department of Education has turned down California’s application for a waiver from the No Child Left Behind law. “It is disappointing that our state’s request – which enjoyed such strong support from parents, teachers, administrators, and education advocates across California – has apparently been rejected,” Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said in a press release Friday. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, No Child Left Behind, Reporting & Analysis, Title I
California still awash in guns despite pioneering gun regulations
Despite being ranked ahead of every other state on gun controls, California still faces enormous challenges in how to reduce gun violence as a result of the millions of weapons already in circulation in the state and the complexity of laws intended to regulate them. These are the stark figures: Since 1991, close to 9 million guns were sold legally in California alone. Only about 1 percent of people seeking to buy them were unable to do … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Reporting & Analysis
California near bottom in number of school counselors
As a mourning nation focuses on the need for more mental health support for students, California has regularly ranked at or near the bottom among the states in the number of counselors per student. In California, there was one counselor for every 810 students in 2009-10. Nationally, there were almost twice as many. The American School Counselor Association recommends a ratio of one counselor to 250 students. “We don’t have enough counselors in schools,” said Art Revueltas, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Dropout prevention, Featured, High School Completion, Reporting & Analysis, School Safety, Special Needs
Districts use creative methods to counsel students
(EdSource Today writer Kathryn Baron contributed to this article.) In an era of budget cutbacks and more pressure on students to perform, some districts and teachers are finding ways to stretch their dollars to provide mental health services for students. The secret sauce in programs that try to improve student behavior is relationships. The goal is to get students to feel connected – to their school, to their classmates and to their teachers. One strategy developed by … Read entire article »
Filed under: Discipline, Dropout prevention, Featured, Reporting & Analysis, School Safety, Special Needs
A teacher’s advice to the Legislature in 2013
Looking ahead to the next legislative session, it appears likely we’ll have a replay of some of the education policy debates of 2012. Here are my recommendations for how the Legislature might avoid pitfalls and advance positive changes in education policy next year. First, do no harm. In the name of accountability, some legislators will be tempted to make laws that increase pressure on schools and teachers. We all want better results from the public school system, but … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Teachers
Local-state funding should sync like a tandem bike
In 2013, most California education-watchers expect two policy debates about school finance. Two is not enough; there will need to be three. … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, Education Excellence Committee, Featured, Finance, Funding and Taxation, Parcel Tax, Revenue and taxes
Mum’s the word on uses for Zuckerberg’s $500 million foundation gift
Silicon Valley Community Foundation CEO Emmett Carson is saying little at this point about the $500 million gift in Facebook stock that company CEO Mark Zuckerberg gave the foundation this week for spending on education and health. Zuckerberg, 28, made his announcement, with little specifics, that he would donate 18 million shares – where else? – but on his Facebook page on Tuesday. By Thursday morning, it had 200,000 “likes.” … Read entire article »
Filed under: Featured, Reporting & Analysis
How safe is safe?
December 22nd, 2012 | 1 Comment
By EdSource staff ~ EdSource Extra
Much has been, and will be, written about the latest incident of senseless violence on a school campus. But there will never be a rational explanation for what has happened or anything written that can reasonably justify the taking of the lives of our children. Schools across this state and across this country take very seriously the responsibility for developing school safety plans that protect students and staff during times of crisis or disaster. Our school … Read entire article »
Filed under: Commentary, School Safety