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Articles by Seth Litt
Opinion: The Conversations We Don’t Have About Struggling Students
It was my first year as a teacher, on a staff development day, and I was sitting in a classroom with 20 other teachers. Our local instructional superintendent was presenting the new literacy program. A lot about the program seemed very exciting, although I still had a question.
Litt: For Families to Help L.A. Schools Improve, District Must Provide Clear Information About Their Kids’ Education, New Report Says
Every day that parents send their children to school represents a tremendous act of faith in their schools and the school system. Parents, however, should not have to act on blind faith. They deserve to know what their children are supposed to be learning and how they are actually doing in school. Unfortunately, in Los Angeles, families do not have consistent access to this important information.
New report: Los Angeles needs powerful parents to help city’s schools improve — but LAUSD must first give families clear information about their children’s education | LA School Report
Every day that parents send their children to school represents a tremendous act of faith in their schools and the school system. Parents, however, should not have to act on blind faith. They deserve to know what their children are supposed to be learning and how they are actually doing in school. Unfortunately, in Los Angeles, families do not have consistent access to this important information.
Commentary: After the rejection of the parcel tax, how we can all convince Los Angeles voters to reinvest in public education | LA School Report
We know that Los Angeles voters believe in the importance of education. In 2002, nearly 64% of voters approved Measure K, which authorized $3.35 billion for school repairs and renovations. Six years later, voters overwhelmingly approved Measure Q, the largest local school bond in state history that allocated $7 billion for facilities.
Rush To Pass ‘Backroom’ Deal Banning Charters Would Be Bad for L.A. Students, Transparency Calls Should Be For All Public Schools
Despite the fact that parents and students were on the outside looking in when it came to the high-stakes contract negotiations in Los Angeles, the teacher strike drew much-needed attention to public education and secured small but meaningful steps toward providing schools and teachers with more resources, including academic counselors, librarians, nurses and a small reduction in class sizes. We are hopeful that this will lead to better outcomes for students at Los Angeles Unified schools.
Commentary: Rush to pass ‘backroom’ deal banning charters would be bad for L.A. students — transparency calls should be for all public schools | LA School Report
Despite the fact that parents and students were on the outside looking in when it came to the high-stakes contract negotiations in Los Angeles, the teacher strike drew much-needed attention to public education and secured small but meaningful steps toward providing schools and teachers with more resources, including academic counselors, librarians, nurses and a small reduction in class sizes. We are hopeful that this will lead to better outcomes for students at Los Angeles Unified schools.
Commentary: Progress on unified enrollment creates the opportunity for Los Angeles to work toward a system based on equity | LA School Report
Thousands of families across Los Angeles have just finished submitting applications for the schools they hope their children will attend next year. The decision of where to send your child to school is one of the most important decisions that a family makes. For many children in our city, the school that they attend will determine whether or not they go to college and the opportunities that they have in their life.
Commentary: Our schools need more funding — but we also need to be able to make sure the money is spent on the children it’s meant to help | LA School Report
Steve Lopez’s series in the Los Angeles Times shines a light on two important issues that are far too easy for the public to ignore: The reality of poverty that too many California children experience and the absolute imperative that schools, teachers and principals have the resources they need to fully support children growing up in poverty. The children highlighted in the series deserve better, so do the teachers and the school principal.
A strike is the last thing LAUSD students need
I’ve had 29 first days of schools — 17 as a student and 12 as a public school teacher and principal. Twenty-nine first days where I walked through the doors of a school, full of energy and expectation. To me, the first day of school means feeling like the possibilities are limitless. A new year comes with a fresh start and a hope for great things. I loved every single one of those 29 first days. But this year, the first day of school excitement was tempered because of rumors of a teacher strike.
A strike is last thing LAUSD students need
I’ve had 29 first days of schools — 17 as a student and 12 as a public school teacher and principal. Twenty-nine first days where I walked through the doors of a school, full of energy and expectation. To me, the first day of school means feeling like the possibilities are limitless. A new year comes with a fresh start and a hope for great things. I loved every single one of those 29 first days. But this year, the first day of school excitement was tempered because of rumors of a teacher strike.
Parent Revolution’s Seth Litt: Much more, much better is possible right now | LA School Report
On Sunday, Feb. 11, Parent Revolution’s co-founder Shirley Ford passed away. While Los Angeles lost a tireless champion for underserved children, she left behind a living legacy of parent leaders and allies ready to continue her work in this city and across the nation. As we reflect on the qualities needed in LAUSD’s next superintendent, we would be well served to start with a quality that made Ms. Shirley Good Ford an inspiring leader to so many people.
Commentary: When kids can’t attend the great school just across the street, we must break down the invisible walls | LA School Report
Black Girls 6 Times as Likely to Be Suspended as Whites. ‘Let Her Learn’ Looks to Reverse the Trend On Wednesday, May 17, Los Angeles families woke up to a new reality for education in the nation’s second-largest school district. Voters in two Los Angeles Unified school board districts voted resoundingly for change, electing two young progressive educators — both of them either current or former teachers — as our newest school board members.
When Kids Can’t Attend the Great School Just Across the Street: We Must Break Down the Invisible Walls
These two new board members–elect, Nick Melvoin and Kelly Gonez, ran on a simple message: Our students deserve better, and to deliver for them we must start prioritizing their interests over those of the entrenched education bureaucracy.
Commentary: New California accountability dashboard provides little light for poor families | LA School Report
“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” —James Baldwin For more than a year, families from Parent Revolution’s Parent Power Network have voiced their concerns about the direction of California’s school accountability system.
Ben Austin
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California schools need a new accountability system, not no accountability
Last fall I went with a group of parent leaders to a State Board of Education meeting in Sacramento, where much of the discussion centered on plans to do away with the current system for ranking California schools, the API score. The parents and I were troubled by what we heard. The California Department of Education appears eager to move as far as possible from any sort of results-driven accountability system for schools.
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