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LOS ANGELES TIMES
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DAILY PILOT |
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Newport-Mesa steps up student attendance tracking to fight chronic absenteeism |
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The Newport-Mesa Unified School District is doubling down on tracking student attendance to fall in line with the California Department of Education’s addition of chronic absenteeism to its dashboard of accountability, which measures how school districts are performing. The district has always tracked attendance and notified parents if their children are absent. But Phil D’Agostino, district director of student and community services, said letters also are now being sent. |
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http://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/news/tn-dpt-me-absences-20171122-story.html |
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SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
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NAACP calls for ‘state of emergency’ to close achievement gap in SF schools |
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Despite years of targeted programs, San Francisco district schools have failed to close an achievement gap in which black students lag behind their peers and fall short of state learning standards. The gap has persisted for a quarter century, even as scores across all ethnic subgroups have risen, according to a report to the school board by Superintendent Vincent Matthews. As educators prepare to implement new fixes, the San Francisco NAACP is calling for the district to declare a state of emergency. |
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http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/NAACP-calls-for-state-of-emergency-to-close-12382702.php |
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USA TODAY
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More teenagers choosing summer studies over jobs |
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It used to be that a summer job was considered a teenage rite of passage. Today, there is a growing trend of teenagers focusing on their studies — even during the summer.
Only 43% of teenagers had a job last summer. That's down from the 72% of Americans age 16 to 19 who worked in July of 1978, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Forty-two percent of teenagers were enrolled in classes last summer — almost four times the number of students enrolled in summer school in July 1985.
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https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/06/21/more-teenagers-choosing-summer-studies-over-jobs/396279001/ |
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EDSOURCE
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Fizz! Pop! Bang! Teachers find new science standards fun, but costly |
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With their emphasis on hands-on experiments, California’s new science standards have turned classrooms into noisy, messy laboratories. That’s been popular with students and teachers who say it’s a more effective way to learn science than studying textbooks and memorizing facts, but the cost of all those underwater robots and exploding chemicals has left some teachers wondering how they can successfully implement the standards with ever-restricting budgets. |
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https://edsource.org/2017/fizz-pop-bang-teachers-find-new-science-standards-fun-but-costly/590597 |
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SI&A CABINET REPORT
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Playground aides get job securities, union option |
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One of the more contested bills undertaken last session requires school districts to elevate the job status of part-time playground employees into the classified service category. It passed along party lines in September and was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown despite strong objections from school administrators. The new mandates become effective on January 1. Existing law defines “classified employees” of a district as those with a title, regular number of work hours, specific duties with a regular salary and associated benefits. |
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https://www.cabinetreport.com/human-resources/playground-aides-get-job-securities-union-option |
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SACRAMENTO BEE
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New bike path in Westminster to commemorate groundbreaking school desegregation ruling |
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The city of Westminster has announced plans to build a new bike path that will honor the historic court ruling ending school segregation in California. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the landmark Mendez et al v. Westminster decision, which declared separate schools for Mexican American students unlawful and laid the foundation for the Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954. |
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http://newsroom.ocde.us/new-bike-path-in-westminster-to-commemorate-landmark-school-desegregation-ruling/ |
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NPR
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Confused By Your Public School Choices? Hire A Coach |
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It's a relatively new job title in the public school realm. But there are now — in a growing number of cities and districts as school choice has expanded nationwide — people who've made it their business, literally, to help parents find the right fit. They offer a range of services at a wide range of prices, but basically they're offering to coach confused and overwhelmed parents through the options. Hiring a consultant can be a boon to parents who want what's best for their kids, but some critics of school choice worry that consultants could deepen the disadvantages and inequities that low-income families already face. |
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https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2017/11/27/551853951/confused-by-your-public-school-choices-hire-a-coach |
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