Morning, folks — I survived my grilling by 3rd graders yesterday and am here to blog another day.
We outline the tough choices and severe options that San Diego Unified is weighing to balance its budget and note the departure of another golden handshaker — the manager who oversees the human resources department.
The Union-Tribune reports that a Standley Middle School student is hanging in there at the National Spelling Bee and details a push from Sacramento to take more control over the University of California system. The North County Times reports that the opening of a Carlsbad high school is being pushed back.
Vince Vasquez editorializes for the Daily Transcript on dropout rates among Latino students and how schools could reverse the trend. And Ruth McKinnie Braun at SDNN explains how parents can understand the basics about state test scores.
And other than this story about an unlikely prom queen at a West Hollywood high school, school news isn’t getting any prettier up in Los Angeles, where a group of teachers are now staging a hunger strike to protest planned layoffs. The editorial page at the LAT also takes a nuanced view of the successes and struggles of the Green Dot charter takeover of one of Los Angeles’ toughest high schools.
Education Week explains the findings of a North Carolina study that shows that teachers with better records of raising student scores tend to leave schools when the number of black students rises. It also reports on the increase in college grads turning to Teach for America. And the blog Eduwonk continues the debate on teachers unions and how — or if — they affect student achievement.