District Administration - July/August 2011 - (Page 16)

Edupoint Edupoint solutions have have helped my district district move beyond the ordinary... BRIEFINGS NewsUpdate Empowering California Parents NEW REGULATIONS UNDER THE California Parent Empowerment Law are pending approval by the Oﬃce of Administrative Law in late July and give parents further rights to change low-performing schools. e Parent Empowerment Law, passed in January 2010 and known as the “parent trigger law,” is one of three similar laws in Connecticut and Massachusetts. It came about thanks to Parent Revolution, a non-proﬁt group empowering parents to transform their low-performing schools. If the parents of at least half the student body sign petitions, they can decide the school’s new path from among four options. In December 2010, controversy erupted from the California law’s ﬁrst case at McKinley Elementary School in the Compton Uniﬁed School District, where parents sought to convert the school into a charter school. e school board resisted, and found that none of the 275 signatures were valid, in part because of typos or having no dates attached to them. e petitions were drafted pro bono by attorneys. e state PTA was prompted by this case to help push the state Board of Education to approve content in mid-July for new regulations. e regulations include: ensuring local school boards announce the low-achieving schools that would qualify for change; mandating that any organization, such as a charter operator, that supports the petition identify itself; and ensuring that signature gatherers disclose if they are being paid. It also provides a template for a petition. e state board is to formally approve the regulations in September. e PTA is pushing for a requirement that parents be involved after the change is implemented. “Whether it’s in a law or new regulations to inform parents of their rights, we believe parent participation needs to be ongoing,” Patty Scripter, the PTA’s director of legislation says, “and we need parents to be involved past the petition process.”—Angela Pascopella District Administration THE EDUCATIONAL PLATFORM to the extraordinary. EDUCATION PLATFORM For thirty years, we’ve set the standard for Student Information Systems. Our solutions have been used by thousands of schools to manage millions of students. Now, learn why so many districts across the country are choosing GENESIS™ – the system that delivers the richest K-12 feature set and state-reporting capabilities yet – industry wide. ” • Enterprise Level, Native Web Student Information System (SIS) • TeacherVUE™ Gradebook and Instructional Management • ParentVUE™ and StudentVUE™ Interactive Web Portals • LessonVUE™ Curriculum Management • GENESEA™ Comprehensive Special Education / IEP Management Visit www.Edupoint.com or call today to schedule an on-site demonstration. 800-338-7646 16 July/August 2011 http://www.Edupoint.com http://www.Edupoint.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - July/August 2011

District Administration - July/August 2011
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Facilities News
Inside the Law
District Profile
Administrator Profile
The Social Media Dilemma
Is Year-Round Schooling on Track?
After 50 Years, Ethnic Studies Still Controversial
Finding the Right Purchasing Solution
Look, Listen, Learn
Research Center
Supervisor’s Opinion
Going Mobile
Superintendent’s Insight
Books
Product Focus
New Products
Online Edge

District Administration - July/August 2011