Education

Aug 15 2011

Achievement gap still prevalent with Black students

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Students in Los Angeles County continued to show improvement on standardized tests, with higher percentages of them scoring advanced or proficient in math and English, according to results released today by the state Department of Education.

The improvement in scores on the 2011 Standardized Testing and Reporting Program mirrored increases seen across the state, according to state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson.

Aug 10 2011

Spent money outside voter-approved guidelines

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles Community College District mismanaged more than $140 million in bond funds by failing to keep proper records, spending money outside voter-approved guidelines and ignoring its own procurement rules, according to a state audit released today.

Aug 4 2011

Prohibits disruptive messages

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Gov. Jerry Brown today signed a school safety bill prohibiting disruptive messages that threaten the physical safety of school children in preschool, elementary or middle schools.

The legislation was written by Assemblyman Tony Mendoza, D-Norwalk, who said he wrote the law because as a former teacher “I know how important student safety is for the success of our schools.”

A March 2003 demonstration outside a middle school by the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform was also a factor, officials said.

Jul 28 2011

Arts, education, health care, housing

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The California Community Foundation announced it has awarded more than $5.6 million in grants to 62 nonprofit organizations in the Los Angeles area.

According to the foundation, the bulk of the grants were given to aid programs focused on arts, education, healthcare, housing and neighborhoods and human development. Other grant funds will go toward civic-engagement projects, scholarships and supporting the foundation’s El Monte Community Building Initiative.

Jul 21 2011

New policy in the works

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy suspended a new district policy that allows homework to count for only 10 percent of a student’s grade, saying he wanted more input from parents, teachers and school board members on the issue.

“We cannot and will not implement a policy of this magnitude without actively soliciting and incorporating recommendations from our constituencies,” Deasy said.

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.