Details: LA Unified and UTLA tentatively agree on 10 furlough days for next year
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
School psychologists (L-R) Jimena Delpozo, Lynn Elias and Diana Socier take part in an education budget cuts rally and protest at Pershing Square on May 13, 2011 in downtown Los Angeles, California.
The Los Angeles Unified School District and teachers' union have reached an agreement to have teachers take 10 unpaid days off in 2012-13 for a savings of more than $100 million, district officials said late Friday.
The agreement still needs to be approved by the school board Tuesday and United Teachers Los Angeles in the coming week, said John Bowes, assistant chief human
Planners and procrastinators reveal their kids' summer plans
Pass / Fail - 17 hours ago
“What am I doing with the kids this summer?” is a question that’s perplexed some parents and guardians while it’s provided comfort to others. Both reactions were evident on a recent day at Ivanhoe Elementary School in L.A.’s Silverlake neighborhood. Friends Shannon Timms and Jill Tanner appeared to be the Yin and the Yang of summer planning. As both waited for the bell to ring outside campus, Tanner talked about how she mapped out the season for her eight- and ten-year-olds months ago. “My kids love to go to camp, so they’re going to two weeks of sleep over, sleep away camp in Ca... more »
Al Mijares new Orange County Department of Education superintendent
Pass / Fail - 1 day ago
The board of the Orange County Department of Education appointed former Santa Ana Unified Superintendent Al Mijares as new Superintendent on Thursday. Mijares will take over for long-time educator William Habermehl, who said last month he’ll retire two years before the end of his term. The county superintendent position is an elected post, so Mijares will have to run when Habermehl’s term is up. Habermehl said he was stepping down in part to give his successor the advantage of incumbency. The board of education offered Mijares a $287,000 yearly salary — $34,000 less than his ... more »
Duarte Unified lands science grant with City of Hope
Pass / Fail - 1 day ago
A small San Gabriel Valley school district announced Wednesday that it’s won a big federal grant to nurture a new generation of scientists. The Duarte Unified School District and the cancer hospital City of Hope will use a nearly $1.5 million grant over five years to place a researcher in front of every district student. The National Institutes of Health grant starts this summer with 20 Duarte high school juniors and seniors, says cancer researcher Susan Kane. "Students will come to City of Hope, work in our teaching lab, but they’ll be doing real science," Kane explains. "We’ll h... more »
Judge to rule on whether student progress must be used in teacher evaluations
Pass / Fail - 3 days ago
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has said that he will rule Monday on a lawsuit that claims L.A. Unified’s broken the law for 40 years by not factoring student progress into teachers’ job evaluations. The lawsuit claims that LAUSD, the teachers union, its boards of education and superintendents over several decades have undermined the Stull Act, a 1971 state law which states that teacher evaluations need to include student progress toward meeting instructional goals. The suit names the school district and the unions that represent teachers and principals. (Their lawyers have pre... more »
Deasy asks to remove LAUSD parcel tax measure from November ballot
Pass / Fail - 3 days ago
LAUSD superintendent John Deasy asked school board members on Tuesday to postpone the district’s effort to raise taxes until after the November election. The parcel tax initiative was supposed to be a super-sized Band–Aid that would’ve covered part of the district’s $390 million budget gap. But amid the state’s worse than anticipated budget numbers, Deasy now says voters need to focus on the two state ballot measures intended to help California school districts survive cuts to public education. The local initiative would have cost property owners an average $298 a year for five y... more »
Lawsuit against California officials, LA Unified would undo significant teacher job protections
Pass / Fail - 3 days ago
A recently filed lawsuit against California public officials and the LAUSD would radically change the way the district hires and fires public school teachers. The lawsuit is known as Vergara v. California and it pits major education players against each other. The suit claims that teacher protections in the law violate students’ constitutional rights to an equal education. The plaintiffs are 13-year-old L.A. Unified student Beatriz Vergara and seven other public school students. Lawyers from a 120-year-old L.A.-based law firm (Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher) represent them. Firm partner... more »