Education Report - California ranks 48th
Desire for college vs. reality
Los Angeles, CA -- According to the California Educational Opportunity Report released Monday, California ranks 48th in the nation in the percentage of high school seniors who go on to a four-year college the next academic year.
The study, which was produced by UCLA’s Institute for Democracy, Education and Access and the University of California’s All Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity, combined state data with public perceptions gathered in focus groups.
According to the report, although the majority of graduating high school seniors have indicated an intention to obtain a bachelor’s degree, the data shows a disparity between student’s goals and their ability to achieve them through California schools.
The researchers reported that California students are more likely to attend overcrowded schools and receive less personal attention; “intensely segregated” high schools are three times as likely as majority White and Asian schools to experience shortages of qualified math teachers; and in 81% of California high schools, less than half of 11th and 12th graders enroll in advanced math classes.
The report further stated that almost one-third of California middle schools face federal sanctions for failing to reach annual proficiency goals; even before the budget cuts, the state spent $2,000 less per student than the national average.
LOS ANGLES, Calif. — In a major case of academic poaching involving crosstown rivals, USC has lured away two prominent neuroscientists from UCLA with a promise to expand their internationally renowned lab, which uses brain imaging techniques to study Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, autism and other disorders, it was reported today.
Los Angeles Deputy Mayor Laurence “Larry” B. Frank has been named as the new president of Los Angeles Trade-Technical College by the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees.
Frank will assume his duties on July 1, 2013. The downtown Los Angeles community college serves 27,000 students each year with a primary focus on career-technical education. The board of trustees approved the selection at its regular meeting on May 1, in what was termed “a rigorous search guided by LACCD Chancellor Dr. Daniel LaVista.”
The South Los Angeles Power Coalition will host its third annual South Los Angeles People’s Convention Dinner on the Economy and Education tonight from 6-8 p.m. at the Juanita Tate Community School, 123 W. 59th St., Los Angeles.
The event will bring together more than 100 South Los Angeles residents and community activists to develop a collective vision around the economy.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The City Council celebrated the 12th annual Jackie Robinson Day in Los Angeles today, three days before the 66th anniversary of his breaking baseball’s color line.
A bio-pic on Robinson, “42,” also opened this week.
“There’s a lot of energy out here because of the movie that’s out, but the energy has been here all along,” Councilman Ed Reyes said.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Steve Alford was introduced today as UCLA’s head basketball coach, saying accepting the job was a “leap of faith” for him and his family, but the allure of the university’s storied basketball tradition was hard to pass up.
“When a place like UCLA calls — when you think of excellence and when you think of college basketball at its pinnacle, it’s UCLA basketball,” Alford told reporters in Westwood.
