Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas!  Enjoy the last 9 days of vacation!

Two Weeks Left

Wow, the last four weeks have flown by.  I can't believe we only have two weeks left.  Honestly, I've done very little school work during the last four weeks.  Guess I'll need to catch up during the last two weeks.  I have a lot to do.  I've enjoyed the extra hours of sleep.  I will miss that the most.

Last Thursday I was at a Build a Bear store at the Del Amo Mall when I witnessed a truly cute moment.  There was a little boy, probably second grade, and I overheard him talking to his mom about the bear he was building for his teacher.  He was so excited about making the bear and then giving it to his teacher for Christmas.  It was such a smile making moment.  What a special teacher that person must be.  Makes me think back to all the gifts I received when I was a teacher and how special it was to receive those gifts no matter how big or small they were.  It truly was and is the thought that counts. 

L.A. Times

During the last several days, the Times has been running a lot of interesting articles about educational issues.  Today in the paper there is a story reporting how the Mayor of Los Angeles thinks that LAUSD's teachers' union has been an obstacle to reform.  There's also a story about a Gates Foundation study that indicates using value-added is a good tool to measure teachers' effectiveness.  There seems to be more and more stories lately dumping on public schools and public school teachers.  I'm waiting for someone to step up and defend public education. 

Check out the education section of the L.A. Times.

Eight Days

I have gone 8 straight days without doing any school work (except checking/responding to email).  That, my friends, is a record!  During the last 8 days I haven't been anywhere near school.  And I don't feel bad or guilty about it.  I haven't been on any trips (except for today, went to San Diego for lunch and shopping).  I've been sleeping, eating out, and watching a lot of T.V.  Loving the days off!!  The streak will end tomorrow...going in to do some work and planning.  Maybe I'll start a new streak before we have to go back in January.

Article From Today's L.A. Times

Another interesting article from the Times.  It's worth reading.

Getting an A in overcoming the odds

California schools are not as good as they should be, but they are significantly better than their reputation.

new strip mall

This morning I read in the Press Telegram that the closed restaurant by the back patch of grass is going to be torn down and replaced with a mini strip mall.  The mall will have a Coffee Bean, Subway, and an Express Car Wash.  So, if you can't find me at school you know I'll be at the Coffee Bean.

Check out the article.

Things that make you go hmmmmm...

Yesterday a raccoon was run over on Loynes, between Bixby Village Drive and PCH.  Yes, very sad.  Today that raccoon was gone.  I'm assuming Animal Control picked it up.  Now, why does it take almost a week for Animal Control to pick up a dead cat in front of the school and less than 24 hours to pick up a dead raccoon in Bixby Village?  Location, location, location.

Interesting Article

The other day I read an interesting article from an August edition of the L.A. Times.  The gist of the article was that the schools we think are "high performing," the schools with the huge API scores, the schools that parents camp out in front of hoping to get in, actually aren't doing so hot when you take a look at CST growth performance over a span of many years.  Very interesting.  Check it out.

L.A.'s leaders in learning

At some elementary schools, students improve their test scores year after year. At others, they stagnate or fall behind. Data that go unused could offer insights into why.