Nov 12, 2018, LA School Report: More parents, less district: LAUSD’s new superintendent readies his strategic plan to bring change to LA schools http://laschoolreport.com/more-parents-less-district-lausds-new-superintendent-readies-his-strategic-plan-to-bring-change-to-la-schools/
(LA School Report is an online news site, focusing on the intersection of politics and education in Los Angeles.)
Six months after taking over as LA Unified’s superintendent and vowing to bring change, Austin Beutner is weeks away from unveiling his strategic plan for the nation’s second-largest school district.
Beutner shared some of his plan’s goals after a parent summit last week at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels downtown, one of the dozens of community forums where he said he has listened to 4,000 to 5,000 parents, educators and community members about their needs for their schools. …
Less than half of LA Unified’s students are proficient in reading and math and nearly half its graduates aren’t eligible to apply to a state four-year college. …
Last year, 14.7 percent — or 70,000 — of LA Unified students were chronically absent, meaning they missed 15 or more days of school. That represents a $630 million loss each year in funding for the district. …
Taluana Jones, another mother on the panel, said safety and social-emotional support for students receiving special education services are urgent issues for the superintendent’s plan to address. …
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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