LAUSD

Aug 24 2011

Slight improvement over last year

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—Los Angeles Unified School District 10th graders fared slightly better on the California High School Exit Exam than last year’s class, with 75 percent passing the math portion and the same percentage passing the English section, according to test results released today.

The scores were an improvement over last year’s 10th grade class, which had a 72 percent pass rate for the math section of the test, and 73 percent on the English section, according to the California Department of Education.

Aug 18 2011

Other agencies to benefit

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Los Angeles Unified School District received a $982,000 federal grant today to boost student enrollment in subsidized health insurance plans ahead of the school year.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced $40 million in grants to 39 different state agencies, community health centers, school organizations and non-profits. The department wants the grants to increase student enrollment in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program by targeting kids that are uninsured or have a history of lapses in coverage.

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.

Juliana D. Norwood  |   OW Staff Writer
Jul 21 2011

Author strives to embed book into school curricula

Think Like a Leader, Not a Follower (TLALNAF) is a gang prevention, anti-bullying and self-esteem education program based on the story of Frank and Joe, two boys who grow up in the same neighborhood but one becomes a gang member and the other a responsible citizen.

The mission of the program is to strengthen families, build communities and keep kids out of gangs by interactive storytelling projects that will engage students in the subject matter, prompt questions, add humor and re-enforce the need for personal responsibility.

Jun 30 2011

Seven national titles

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The coordinator for the Los Angeles Unified School District’s successful Academic Decathlon program has been reassigned, making his decathlon work a half-time job, apparently because of budget cuts, it was reported today.

Cliff Ker, who has led the district’s Academic Decathlon program since 2000, said he was told he would become an assistant principal at a high school starting next week, the Los Angeles Times reported. He said he would continue as coordinator of Academic Decathlon as a secondary, half-time position.

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.