LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):
City, LA Unified join forces for one-stop family needs centers
Lydia Ponce at the podium Once upon a time people turned to local parishes in times of need, whether they needed help for aid for family counseling, putting food on the table or finding safe shelter. Now, labor and city leaders in Los Angeles want that hub of help to be your local school. SEIU Local 99, the school workers union, is the driving force behind OASIS — Optimizing Access to Services, In
Hudley-Hayes still has big-name support in LAUSD board race
Genethia Hudley-Hayes Despite her inability to substantiate a number of academic credentials and other claims on her resume, Genethia Hudley-Hayes still has the backing of her major supporters in the race for the LA Unified District 1 board seat. “Outsiders don’t get it,” said one longtime south Los Angeles activist who spoke to LA School Report on the condition of anonymity. “Our community close
LA Unified can keep teacher ratings anonymous, judges say
Via the Los Angeles Times | By Teresa Watanabe The Los Angeles Unified School District does not need to release the names of teachers in connection with their performance ratings, according to a tentative court ruling issued Thursday. A three-judge state appellate court panel tentatively found a stronger public interest in keeping the names confidential than publicly releasing them. Disclosure wo
Morning Read: LAUSD receives $7 million federal tech grant
New federal grant will prepare graduates for high-demand careers The Los Angeles Unified School District received $7 million Youth CareerConnect grant to expand career pathways in health care, biotechnology and other tech-related opportunities at three high schools, as well as business and finance, another high growth area, on three additional campuses. Students will benefit from specialized instr
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JUST IN: Board Member Galatzan announces bid for third term
Tamar Galatzan LA Unified School Board Member LA Unified school board member Tamar Galatzan, a strong supporter of Superintendent John Deasy and his efforts to reform public education, said today she plans to run for another term next year. “I plan to seek a third term in order to continue the work I’ve been doing since voters in Board District 3 first chose me to represent them in 2007,” she said
At least 5 LA Unified staff getting renewed above $200,000 level
Michelle King Deputy Superintendent of School Operations Working for LA Unified could put you among the nation’s highest wage earners. In closed session Tuesday, the school board approved contracts for senior staff, including five worth more than $200,000 a year, more than twice the salary of the highest-earning teachers in the district. The highest paid official in this round of contracts, accord
New report: School info difficult for low-income parents to access
There’s bad news for parents whose kids go to schools in the poorest areas of LA Unified. A new report by a coalition of organizations lead by the United Way found that it’s harder for parents and guardians in low-income neighborhoods to obtain school information, get answers to their questions and access parent resources, than it is for parents in more affluent areas. The study measuring parent e
Two candidates file to seek Galatzan school board seat
Carl Petersen Whether LA Unified board member Tamar Galatzan runs for reelection or not, voters in her District 3 will have two other candidates to consider in the 2015 board election. Carl Petersen, Director of Logistics for a Glendale manufacturing company, and Elizabeth Badger, owner of an auto repair company in Canoga Park, have filed to run, according to the LA City Ethics Commission. Galatza
Californians support changes in school funding, curriculum
Via the Los Angeles Times | By Teresa Watanabe In a broad consensus across racial, political and economic lines, most Californians support two historic changes in how academic subjects are taught and state dollars are allocated to schools, according to a statewide survey released Wednesday. More than two-thirds of Californians surveyed support new national learning standards known as Common Core,
Morning Read: Litigation over Miramonte results in struggle
L.A. Unified battles lawyers over Miramonte disclosures The litigation over sexual misconduct at Miramonte Elementary has resulted in a struggle over which documents should be part of the public record. This includes testimony that a former teacher had alerted her principal about sexual misconduct by Mark Berndt, who was subsequently arrested and later convicted of lewd conduct. LA Times Social m
APR 23
SEIU 99 president — and board candidate — a union concern
Courtni Pugh SEIU Local 99 Executive Director Barbara Torres, president of SEIU Local 99, the local school workers union with 45,000 members, is raising alarms within the union over her intention to run for an LA Unified school board seat. The potential conflict is over her role as a member of the union’s bargaining committee, which is negotiating a new labor contract with the district and school
LACES (No. 112) ranks as top LA Unified school in US News survey
Despite being the nation’s largest state, with the second-largest school district in the country, California placed only one school in The U.S. News and World latest rankings of public high schools, Oxford Academy near Anaheim, made it to the No. 10 spot. The highest ranked school in LA Unified, the nation’s No. 2 district to New York’s, was the Los Angeles Center For Enriched Studies, which place
Five takeaways from Supreme Court affirmative-action ruling
Via Politico | By Josh Gerstein The Supreme Court’s decision upholding Michigan’s affirmative-action ban was far from a shock, but it generated considerable strife on the high court, producing five different opinions in which the justices traded charges and countercharges on the polarizing issues at stake. Tuesday’s splintered, 6-2, ruling continued what appears to be a steady march toward the dem
Morning Read: Brown’s K-12 online learning plan rejected
Lawmakers reject Brown’s online learning proposal A key budget panel on Tuesday rejected Gov. Jerry Brown’s latest plan to revamp the K-12 independent study program and create more opportunities for students to use modern technology as part of their academic day. The Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Education Finance also held off on endorsing Brown’s proposed funding levels for energy-saving schoo
APR 22
LAUSD board approves multi-year contracts for senior staffers
In another sign of improving financial fortunes for LA Unified, the school board today approved multi-year contracts for many of the district’s most senior staff. In a break from previous years, when high level administration staffers worked on one-year contracts, several of Superintendent John Deasy’s most senior aides were given contracts of two and, in some cases, three years. Deasy declined to
LA Unified board issues warning to CHAMPS over theft
Despite hearing assurances that there are no longer fiscal mismanagement problems at Charter High School of Arts – Multimedia and Performing, better known as CHAMPS, the LA Unified school board voted unanimously today to issue a Notice of Violations, usually the first step in revoking a charter. At issue is how the school responded to an employee misusing a school-issued credit card. Appearing bef
A new $33,600 grant is music to LA Unified’s ears
Music is returning to LA Unified, at least in some schools, thanks to a grant from the SoCal Acura Dealers Association and EcoMedia, a company that helps provide financial support for underfunded projects. The grant, totaling $33,600, will help national nonprofit Little Kids Rock to expand its music education programming to more than 8,400 music students in LAUSD. As part of the donation, musical
Rachel Johnson using experience to boost District 1 chances
Rachel Johnson Beginning today, LA School Report is taking a longer look at each of the seven candidates running for LA Unified’s vacant District 1 board seat. The series starts today with Rachel Johnson and will continue over the weeks ahead. After three decades as a LAUSD elementary school teacher and nine years as a member of the Gardena City Council, Rachel Johnson is hoping her extensive teac
LA County Fed decides not to endorse in the school board race
Delegates of the LA County Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, which represents 600,000 workers in the Los Angeles area, decided last night not to endorse any of the seven candidates for LA Unified school board after a motion to endorse candidate Alex Johnson failed to carry a required two-thirds majority vote. The decision mirrors that of SEIU Local 99, the LA Unified support staff union, which also vot
LIVESTREAM coverage of today’s LAUSD school board meeting
This morning, the Los Angeles Unified School Board meets at 9 a.m. with an agenda that includes a discussion about the future of CHAMPS, a charter high school which has recently been under investigation on allegations an employee misused school funds. Other items include a resolution by school board members Bennett Kayser and Monica Ratliff to proclaim April as “Parkinson’s Disease Awareness” mont
Morning Read: No criminal charges warranted for iPads
D.A. reviews report on iPad contract; no charges to come The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has reviewed an internal L.A. school district report on its iPad contract and concluded that criminal charges are not warranted. The report, which has not been released publicly, raises issues about the handling of the bidding process, according to L.A. Unified School District officials who s
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CHAMPS in jeopardy of losing charter over credit card theft
The Charter High School of Arts – Multimedia and Performing, better known as CHAMPS, is at risk of losing its charter after school administrators failed to act aggressively last year when learning that an employee used a school credit card for her personal use. As a result, the LA Unified School Board has put the Van Nuys school on notice that if could lose its charter if school administrators hav
Analysis: Just what does Caputo-Pearl’s first-round victory mean?
Caputo-Pearl at the podium; Fletcher, on the right The first round of the UTLA elections produced two stunning results. One: For the first time in recent memory, a political faction within the union — Union Power – has gained near total control of the union. In a field of 10 candidates for president, Alex Caputo-Pearl out-polled his nearest competitor, incumbent Warren Fletcher, by a 2-to-1 margin
Morning Read: Counties going easy on spending plans
County offices to cut districts some slack for now on their LCAPs State and county education officials are seeking to reassure school districts that might be worried that county superintendents will reject the new accountability plans they’ll submit by July 1 for the 2014-15 year. Tighter scrutiny will come, just not for the initial plan. EdSource Mentoring group gives L.A. Unified students an ex
APR 18
Tutoring center busted for scamming millions in fed dollars
A tutoring company billing itself as “The trusted name for specialized tutoring” may not be so trustworthy after all. Unless, that specialty is in defrauding the federal government. The Academic Advantage, whose website is endorsed by The Governator himself — Arnold Schwarzenegger – and former LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines, was busted scamming millions from federal supplemental-educatio
LA Unified district 1 candidate forum scheduled for 6 tomorrow
Candidates for LA Unified’s open District 1 board seat are gathering again tomorrow for a community forum at the West Adams Church of Christ, 4959 W. Adams Blvd. So far, said one of the organizers, Rashad Trapp-Rucker six of the candidates have committed to participate — all but Alex Johnson — with a moderator kicking things off at 6 p.m. with a series of questions about Common Core, Local Contro
Morning Read: Insurance costs boosted superintendent pay
Insurance premium subsidy boosted superintendent’s pay to $772,457 An embattled South Bay school district leader, under investigation for his high compensation, now has a new issue to deal with: insurance premiums that should have been counted as taxable income, but were not. The Centinela Valley Union High School District is being investigated by federal and state authorities for paying Supt. Jos