So Cal education, LAUSD, the Cal States and the UCs
CSU trustees hope online classes will ease bottleneck on required courses
Cal State LA
Officials said more online courses will help students at California State University, Los Angeles and other campuses complete graduation requirements.
California State University officials today laid out to its trustees how the university plans to ease students' access to required courses in the fall -- a huge problem that affects tens of thousands fo students at all 23 campuses.
During a trustee meeting in Long Beach, Cal State officials said budget cuts have led to bottlenecks in lower level classes such as college algebra, general education biology, and micro economics.
“We have 22 courses across the CSU where we have high enrollment and also low success in those students completing those with good academic grades,” said Gerry Handley, head of CSU’s Academic Technology Services.
The university is counting on a $10 million allocation proposed by Governor Jerry Brown to tackle the problem.
Handley said the money will be spent on a three-pronged plan:
UC schools draw record application numbers; UCLA as exclusive as Tufts — for state students
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Lucky UCLA students sit around the Bruin Bear statue during lunchtime. The school has become as competitive as Tufts and Cornell, according to a recent article.
The University of California system remains a popular destination for incoming freshmen – and getting into UCLA is now as hard as getting into Tufts and Cornell, at least for California students.
The 10-campus U.C. system drew nearly 140,000 applications for the undergraduate class, according to Ralph Becker, a columnist for College Counseling. He said UCLA led all UC campuses with 99,000 applications, which include community college transfers. Berkeley came in second place, with a record 67,600 applications, and UCSD followed with 67,400.
UCLA reported an in-state admission rate of 17.4 percent, Becker said, a level comparable to Cornell and Tufts, two of the nation’s most selective universities. Overall, the 10 campuses accepted 82,850 freshman, for an average acceptance rate of 59 percent. Berkeley and San Diego campuses were more exclusive than the average.
LA Unified candidates Monica Ratliff, Antonio Sanchez square off
Rebecca Hill/KPCC
(L) District 6 School Board Candidate, Monica Ratliff, in her classroom at San Pedro Street Elementary. (R) District 6 School Board Candidate Antonio Sanchez.
With less than a day before elections the candidates for the pivotal L.A. Unified school board district 6 race squared off on key classroom policies on KPCC’s Airtalk. The candidates tried to highlight policy differences -- but they didn't appear as wide as each candidate contends.
Former lawyer and current elementary school teacher Monica Ratliff is a union representative with United Teachers Los Angeles. But she said that doesn’t mean she would be in lock step if elected to the seven-member board of education.
“I don’t think that’s actually been indicated by my record so far,” she said.
Ratliff said seniority-based layoffs have hurt schools in poor areas that have high proportions of junior teachers -- so she thinks seniority should be less of a factor when the school district carries out layoffs.
Teaching tips: How to make the last 2 weeks of school memorable
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For many Southern California students, summer is just a few weeks away. Getting through the last few weeks of classroom work can be a challenge when summer fun is on the mind.
As teachers and students enter the final weeks of the school year, the temptation of summer - freedom so close, but not quite here - can rattle even the most dedicated pupils. Minds wander, attention spans seem to grow shorter and day dreaming often becomes harder to resist.
And once state testing and finals are done, some teachers can also get tempted into leniency and playing videos.
To help you make it the finish line, Sacramento-based high school teacher and Education week blogger Larry Ferlazzo has come up with a great list of resources for how to use classroom time during the last two weeks of school.
Some of the tips include strategies for how to avoid going into autopilot, engaging students in memorable end-of-the-year field trips, and a helpful checklist for year's-end planning. In addition, Ferlazzo features a bunch of great reading tips from Texas elementary school teacher Donalyn Miller that aim to keep kids' reading levels high during the off months.
Money contines to pours, unevenly, into LA Unified school board race
As she walked onto a rally in front of the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters on Tuesday, Monica Ratliff was greeted as a minor celebrity.
Hundreds of union workers were applying pressure on the school board to spend new state revenues on cutting class sizes and rehiring laid-off teachers, counselors, and librarians.
Adult education teacher Juan Noguera spotted Ratliff, who’d just arrived from her job as a fifth grade teacher, and asked if he could take a picture with her.
“Adult Education supports you,” he gushed.
"I support adult education," she replied.
Ratliff said it's this kind of ground-level support that will put her over the top. It's pretty much all she's got. Ratliff has run a part-time campaign on a shoe-string budget.
As election day looms for this year's remaining undecided seat for the L.A. Unified's board, outside groups continue to pour money into the race -- all of it for her opponent, political newcomer Antonio Sanchez.
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