Under the new Local Control Funding Formula, LA Unified schools in underserved communities will be given $837 million to meet the needs of students in poverty, English learners and children in foster care. It’s not yet clear exactly how that money will be allocated, and it’s still less than what we’ve thrown at iPads. But it’s desperately needed.
As a teacher who worked in a high-poverty high school and is now spending a year observing classrooms across the socioeconomic spectrum in L.A., here’s how that funding could help:
Giving teachers time to plan multi-level lessons for each class.
One of the biggest differences I’ve seen between classrooms in affluent communities and in high-poverty communities is the range of skill levels. In affluent communities, students generally read at or near grade level and have a history of positive or neutral experience with school, as well as at least one parent at home always available for help.
In high-poverty communities, in any given class, you’ll probably have a handful of kids who fit that description and who need and deserve all the challenge and stimulation of a fast-paced class to compete for spaces at top colleges alongside more affluent students.
But right next to them, you’ll have kids who are still learning English. Those kids need “scaffolded” lessons with shortened readings; they also need writing assignments with fill-in-the-blanks support so that they can learn academic phrasing.
Right next to them, you’ll have kids with serious behavior issues, sometimes from growing up in multiple foster homes. All over the classroom you’ll have kids who, in the absence of libraries, bookstores or books at home, have never read a book. And you’ll have several empty seats because of the kids who, despite your pleas and phone calls home, are truant for large chunks of time.
The architects are huddled in an intense meeting. Problems have arisen: the supports for the tower appear insufficient, causing balance issues. Should they proceed with the plans they’ve envisioned or make modifications for a less ambitious approach?
Do you know how many students attended the LAUSD school board meetings last month? In my circle of friends, you’d be lucky if a single person could name a school board member or tell you what the school board does.
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By Marshall Tuck
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“I don’t have to stress that a billion dollars is an insane amount of money,” Jacques assures me right away.
Emerging as something of a Shakespearean figure, LA Unified School Board trustee Steve Zimmer took central stage earlier this week at a long board meeting complete with its share of sound and fury.
Happy New Year! 2014 is going to be an amazing year; I know it because I found LA Unified’s list of New Year’s Resolutions scribbled on a napkin at Philippe’s French Dip. Okay, I didn’t. But wouldn’t it be great if I did? I mean, if anyone needs to change, isn’t it LAUSD? Here’s what I’d like to imagine those resolutions would be: 1. Just admit it was a gigantic mistake to spent a billion dollars on iPads. Come on. Everyone knows it. Yes, we need to provide district students access to technology. Giving each one a laptop is a great idea and should happen as soon as is reasonable. But buying each one a $700 gadget (above retail? Is that even possible?) loaded with software that nobody seems to understand or think is very good? That’s a bunch of middle-aged people who don’t know much about technology going into a panic and buying a bunch of shiny stuff because it looks cool. So, LAUSD, just admit you made a mistake. Pop $200 or so on Chromebooks and acknowledge that it may take a little time to find the right software, if we even need any. If you need tech advice, ask some teenagers. They know this stuff. We’ll all forgive you when we get back the hundreds of millions you haven’t yet poured into above-retail gadgets. And you’ll be a role model for every child who’s ever made a mistake but is afraid to admit it. Re-brand the whole fiasco a “learning opportunity,” claim you meant it all along as an experiment in Common Core-style creative thinking, and you’ll go from national laughingstocks to education rock stars overnight. 
How much do you know about the Common Core Standards? Choose all that apply. The Common Core is:
Recently, a reader commented on one of my posts, asking me to offer some concrete goals and steps to avoid burnout.
We talk about their success stories, the kids who text them from college, invite them to their weddings, grow up and become teachers themselves. We talk about their heartbreaks, the kids who for one reason or another don’t make it, who drop out, who disappear. We talk about their frustrations, the kids with behavior issues, the bureaucracy, the testing. Here’s what we never talk about: money.