NYT:
SANTA MONICA, Calif. Of all the inequalities between rich and poor public schools, one of the more glaring divides is PTA fund-raising, which in schools with well-heeled parents can generate hundreds of thousands of dollars a year or more.
Several years ago, the Santa Monica-Malibu school board came up with a solution: Pool most donations from across the district and distribute them equally to all the schools.
This has paid big benefits to the needier schools in this wealthy district, like the Edison Language Academy in Santa Monica, where half the children qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The campus is decorated with psychedelic paintings of civil rights icons such as Cesar Chavez and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the work of the school’s art teacher, Martha Ramirez Oropeza, whose salary is paid by the pooled contributions. That money has also funded the school’s choral program, teacher aides, a science lab and a telescope.
UpdatedThu, Apr 29, 2021 at 11:19 am PT
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More than 100 California high schools were ranked top schools by U.S. News and World Report. (Shutterstock)
CALIFORNIA Thousands of public California high schools have been ranked by U.S. News and World Report in the publication s latest analysis of upper school education in the United States, revealing the top schools across the state and beyond.
This year s Best High Schools list ranks more than 24,000 public high schools throughout the country.
Here s where the top 100 California schools ranked among others in the U.S.
(first number is ranking in California, second number is national ranking):
Back in Action
Courtesy Photos
Reopening: After months of learning outside of the classroom via Zoom, students attending John Muir Elementary School, SMASH and other elementary schools in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District were welcomed back to campus this week.
Superintendent Mike Matthews to leave Manhattan Beach Unified after 11 years tbrnews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from tbrnews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Oppose the petition
Have you heard the news? Citing irreconcilable differences, Malibu is seeking a divorce from Santa Monica.
After over 100 years of providing for the joint public education of the children in both cities through the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD), Malibu has filed a petition to form its own school district with the Los Angeles County committee which reviews such requests.
And those differences do appear irreconcilable, which is why the SMMUSD board supports a separation as long as the district’s shared resources are divided fairly and equitably.
However, the current Malibu proposal, which will be considered April 17th, skews unjustly in favor of a Malibu district. If implemented it would require immediate teacher layoffs and cuts to services and programs in the new Santa Monica school system. And within five years Malibu would be spending $20,000 more per pupil annually than Santa Monica.