Tag: SDUSD
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The School District’s Plan for English Learners, in One Graphic
By Mario Koran Parents of English-learning students showed up to the San Diego Unified school board meeting Tuesday night – angry. They felt manipulated, stepped on and ignored, they told Superintendent Cindy Marten and the school board, because of Marten’s decision late last year to cut back the teachers who supported English learners. Despite the…
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Another Blow for English-Learning Students
By Mario Koran It just keeps getting worse for English learners in San Diego Unified. This past summer the district started cutting a program for English learners – who already have the highest dropout rate in the district – and parents are now wondering what happened to the teachers who used to help their kids.…
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The End of ‘Willful Defiance’ School Punishments (Sort of)
When a child gets in trouble at Cherokee Point Elementary School, Principal Godwin Higa, talks quietly to the student to sort things out. | Photo Credit: Jane Stevens By Mario Koran On this, most school officials agree: “Willful defiance,” a kind of catch-all reason for ejecting students from class is overbroad and problematic. But for…
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Charting a Path Forward for English-Learning Students
By Mario Koran Even though one in four school children in California are learning English, most school districts are still scratching their heads over how to best help these students. That’s the gist of a new report from Education Trust-West, an education research and advocacy organization based in Oakland. The central question for school districts…
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District to Help Teachers Better Connect with Communities In Which They Teach
Urban schools like Lincoln High can be a more challenging place to teach. Without ongoing support for new teachers, schools are more likely to see teacher turnover. | Photo Credit: Jamie Scott Lytle By Mario Koran Americans have debated the qualities that separate good teachers from the bad for more than 100 years. These days,…