A look at SoCal Charter schools, statewide tracking of officer-involved shootings for the public, childhood trauma and its impact on young people.
The scene in Belgium following terrorist attacks
Investigators in Belgium say two brothers died in the suicide bombing attacks yesterday at the Brussels airport and a busy subway station.
They are pursuing, at least, one other suspect.
However, Belgium and its people have proved resilient in the face of tragedy.
For more on the state of the country following the attacks, Raphael Satter, a correspondent for the Associated Press, spoke to A Martinez from Brussels.
To hear the full interview, click the blue play button above.
The Styled Side: Fitness trackers get fashionable
Colorful watchbands were the only upgrade announced for the Apple Watch, earlier this week.
It may not seem much, but it's an important for Apple to keep pace with the growing market of wearable – and increasingly stylish – tech.
"Fitbit has been one of the top sellers in this market, and they’ve been upping their style game quite a bit these past couple of years," says Michelle Dalton Tyree of Fashion Trends Daily.
Fashion designer Tory Burch created a special FitBit line last year that's only grown since that time. There is also FitBit Alta which comes in a satin finish and a stainless steel body.
"It was definitely a response to the Apple Watch and the premium finishes bands that they offer," says Tyree.
There is also a lot of room to grow since the market is far from saturated.
Traditional watchmaker Fossil has jumped in with its own line of trackers, and Pebble is another brand hoping to leap onto people's wrists.
"Trackers are also spawning a cottage industry of smaller brands creating their own ways for consumers to personalize and dress up their wearable tech," adds Tyree.
iPops offers tiny and inexpensive trinkets to sparkle up your tech, while those willing to work off a couple hundred dollars can shell out for a Swarovski tracker that's a single crystal which can be accessorized with even more crystals along the band.
Reading by Moonlight: books on LA history, Amazon's book store and more
The forecast tonight - clear and crisp with a beautiful full moon, which means that it's time for Reading by Moonlight, our monthly literary segment.
David Kipen of the Libros Schmibros Lending Library in Boyle Heights joins Alex Cohen to update us on the literary world.
This week, David's got two new books about LA history and one about Fred Ross, the man who taught Cesar Chavez how to organize. Oh! And Amazon's opening up a physical book store in San Diego.
8 things to know about enrolling your child in LA charter schools
Charter schools got started in California in the early 1990s. Today, there are more students enrolled in charter schools in L.A. than in any other district in the country.
While charter schools are some of the most talked about types of schools in L.A., there's still a lot of confusion surrounding them. And with so many different types of charter schools out there, it can be tough for families to navigate all the options.
Amy Walia-Fazio with the Parents Education League of Los Angeles joined Take Two to answer some parents' frequently asked questions:
1. What is a charter school?
Charter schools are public schools. They are public schools of choice. The purpose of a charter school is to provide parents, families and students with more choices within the current educational system. So they may increase learning opportunities, they may have special emphasis on academically low performing children, they're ideally supposed to provide new professional opportunities for faculty and staff. The school is responsible for creating its own curriculum.
2. How many charter schools are there in LA?
There are over 200 within the LAUSD zone.
3. I've heard charter schools are a sort of hybrid between public and private schools. Are they still public schools?
They are absolutely public schools. They have an authorizer, and for the most part, we're talking about LAUSD as the authorizer. You can think of them as the overseer of the charter school that actually grants the charter. So every charter school has an actual charter, which is a very large document that outlines how they're going to do what they say they're going to do.
4. How does a charter school differ from a magnet school?
They're completely different. A charter school is designed to provide more autonomy to the actual school, to all teachers in the school, with the purpose of hopefully creating more dynamic teaching and learning. Magnet schools absolutely have a focus, whether it's highly gifted or STEM. They both provide choice, but the way they actually operate on the ground is quite different.
5. What's the difference between an affiliated charter school and an independent charter school?
An affiliated charter is usually your neighborhood school that might have written a charter, and they're still very much affiliated with LAUSD and LAUSD is their governing body. They still abide by the rules and regulations of LAUSD, but the reason for writing their charter was to provide a little bit more autonomy, usually in some of the programming or the curriculum that they provide. Independent charters are schools that really do function separately from LAUSD. An independent charter school has a governing board that is separate from LAUSD.
6. How do you apply to a charter school?
This is where people find that charter schools sound similar to private schools, because every charter school can establish its own admissions practices. The one commonality between all charter schools is that every California charter school is open to any student within the state of California. So they are not governed by attendance zones, for the most part. There are a handful of schools that do offer a priority preference to their residential students.
You really have to find out each school's admissions policy and generally speaking it is the lottery system for charter schools. You fill out the paperwork and then they usually have a public lottery. They roll a little bin and they pull out numbers, the number corresponds to your name, and if your number is called your child has an offer of admission to the charter school.
7. What if you get a really bad lottery number? How competitive is it?
It's really just a numbers game. If the charter school has openings for 100 students, they'll be able to choose 100 students out of their lottery pool. If you have more applicants to the charter than there are spaces, they have to have a system for figuring out their admissions.
The lottery is supposed to be blind, there's not supposed to be preferences, but there can be exceptions. In those cases, their charter will tell you what their preferences are. Some schools do give a residential preference, most schools give a free and reduced-price lunch preference, some give a sibling preference. Another preference, although this is falling out of practice, is for founding parents. If you fall into one of those categories, you might get a slight preference, which means basically that your name is twice in the bowl rather than just once.
8. What should you ask when you visit a charter school?
Some good questions to ask: How long have you been in existence? How long has your head of school or principal been in their position? How many students return year after year to this school? Where do they go when they leave? You should ask about teacher turnover and teacher and staff professional development, especially with independent charter schools which are in charge of their own teacher professional development.
Series: Good Schools
As part of its Good Schools series, Take Two looks at the education landscape in the Los Angeles area. That includes its public schools, magnets, charters, private institutions and dual-language programs. You’ll hear from parents, academics, teachers, kids and even a couple of TV show producers.
Read more in this series and let us know your thoughts on Facebook, or tweet us
and
with the hashtag #goodschools.
How traumatic stress from home enters the classroom
Research shows that traumatic experiences lead some children to repeat a grade, miss school, have behavioral problems and be suspended — all of which can contribute to higher dropout rates.
This issue is at the heart of an ongoing lawsuit against Compton Unified School District that says the district did not do enough to assist students experiencing complex traumatic events.
To learn more about how children process stress and trauma, Take Two's A. Martinez speaks with Susan Ko, clinical psychologist and co-managing Director of the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress.
Looking back on the history of charter schools in CA
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the charter school movement.
The first charter school law passed in Minnesota in 1991. California followed suit the next year, thanks in no small part to former California State Senator Gary K. Hart.
Sen. Hart was a teacher before he became a politician. He chaired California's Senate Education Committee from 1983 until his retirement in 1994.
He joined Take Two to discuss the origins of the charter school movement in California.
INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS:
On the need for charter schools in California
"There was a lot of dissension, a lack of enthusiasm for what was going on in the schools. Too many laws, too much bureaucracy. And those kinds of concerns when I was in the legislature we would hear time and time again, so we were struggling to figure out ways that we could try to improve the system to respond to some of these concerns."
On how he sold the idea for a charter school law
"The way I explained it was that it was like having a great deal more freedom in a public school. But unlike a private school which has an enormous amount of freedom, there would be certain steps that you couldn't cross over. Those would be that you couldn't charge tuition, you couldn't discriminate, you couldn't teach religion for sectarian purposes. But with those exceptions, what we were attempting to do was to give local communities much greater freedom as to how they went about establishing their educational goals and objectives and how they went about accomplishing those objectives."
On why the charter school movement has taken off so strongly
"I think in part, many people continue to be dissatisfied with the existing traditional public schools and they have seen that there are many charter schools that seem to be working well, and there's a different way to go. I think also there are organizations, particularly some foundations, that have provided start up funds to many charter schools."
On charter schools that have failed
"There have been failures of charters schools... and the issues that you raised [about] disruption for parents as schools have to relocate, and sometimes schools close down, those are real challenges that exist. So I have never viewed charters as a panacea, as a magic bullet. I don't think that charter status is appropriate for all students and all communities, but I think it's an important option. I think there have been some valuable lessons that have been learned about some of the things that charter schools do that have some merit that other traditional public schools ought to take a careful look at."
Series: Good Schools
As part of its Good Schools series, Take Two looks at the education landscape in the Los Angeles area. That includes its public schools, magnets, charters, private institutions and dual-language programs. You’ll hear from parents, academics, teachers, kids and even a couple of TV show producers.
Read more in this series and let us know your thoughts on Facebook, or tweet us
and
with the hashtag #goodschools.