LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):
LAUSD’s Marshall High School wins online decathlon
John Marshall High School LA Unified has claimed a second victory in a major academic competition. Marshall High School won the 2014 U.S. Academic Decathlon Online competition, scoring 39,461 out of a possible 48,000 points. The win follows El Camino Real Charter High School’s victory in the 2014 U.S. Academic Decathlon championship last month. Marshall represented California in the Large Schools
Marshall Tuck: ‘We need fundamental and urgent change’
Marshall Tuck Marshall Tuck, a former charter school executive, is challenging incumbent Tom Torlakson to become California’s next State Superintendent of Public Education. The race includes Lydia Gutierrez, a former teacher who also ran four years ago. The three are on the statewide June 3 primary ballot. We caught up with Tuck at a forum last week, and we interviewed him this week. Here’s what h
Alex Johnson has connections; now he needs the votes
Alex Johnson Fifth in a series of profiles of candidates for LA Unified’s open District 1 board seat. At 33 years old, Alex Johnson is the youngest of eight candidates running for the open LA Unified school board District 1 seat. He has raised the most money of anyone in the field. He has the support of his boss, LA County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. And his list of endorsements includes an ec
Program to create college-bound culture in east Los Angeles
Via the Los Angeles Times | By Stephen Ceasar An initiative intended to foster a college-going culture in East Los Angeles will grant guaranteed admission to Cal State L.A. to certain students at Garfield High School and East Los Angeles College, officials announced Thursday. The collaborative program, named “GO East LA: A Pathway for College and Career Success,” promises enrollment at Cal State L
Morning Read: New parent panel struggles with LCAP
LA schools’ new parent advisory group grapples with $6.8 billion budget In a Sammy Lee Elementary’s auditorium in Koreatown, 50 parents are combing through the Los Angeles Unified School District’s proposed budget for next year, a 33-page draft of a document called the Local Control Accountability Plan. Inside, bullet points a swath of complex policy outlining the district’s goals, how its spendin
MAY 08
Close on issues, District 1 candidates flashing personalities
Candidates McKenna (at mic), Hudley-Hayes, Johnson, Hendy-Newbill The Ward A.M.E. Church in South LA was packed for a Wednesday night. But the people filing through doors weren’t there to talk about Jesus (though his name did come up. They were there to talk about the race for LA Unified School Board District 1. Sherlett Hendy-Newbill, Alex Johnson, Genethia Hudley-Hayes and George McKenna – the o
SEIU Local 99 outlines its contract demands from LA Unified
SEIU Local 99, the union of cafeteria workers, custodians, bus drivers, special education assistants who work for LA Unified announced today it is seeking a minimum of $15 an hour for all workers who currently earn less than that and a 15 percent raise for all workers who earn more. The union thus became the first of the school district’s labor partners to make public its demands as the school boa
New report examines ‘far right’ efforts to destroy ‘Obamacore’
Obamacore protesters You think you have problems with the implementation of Common Core? Have a look at a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a human rights organization that tracks groups engaging in hate and bigotry to further their causes. The report, “Public Schools in the Crosshairs,” examines the far right’s efforts to eliminate the Common Core standards, which have been
Morning Read: Rialto Holocaust assignment ends with apology
Rialto school officials apologize for Holocaust assignment What started as an eighth-grade critical-thinking writing assignment has become a source of relentless controversy for Rialto school officials, who apologized profusely and publicly this week for asking that students consider whether the Holocaust was created for political gain or didn’t happen at all. The assignment, developed by a group
MAY 07
School board candidates could be skirting finance disclosure laws
At least two candidates running for the LA Unified school board may be skirting campaign finance laws by sending campaign literature to voters without proper disclosure. The candidates, George McKenna, a retired administrator, and Rachel Johnson, who serves on the city council of Gardena, are competing in a large field to fill the open school board seat representing South LA (see map here), left v
Number of students on CA charter school wait lists hits a record
Despite the ongoing debate over whether charter schools are better than traditional public schools and the steady increase annually of new charters, the California Charter Schools Association reports a record number of students are on charter school wait lists statewide. In LA Unified, the largest district in the state, an estimated 36,300 students are hoping to get a spot in either an affiliated
LAUSD rules that Carthay Center teachers are welcome back
Carthay Center Elementary School Playground Another day, another win for the parents of Carthay Center Elementary School. After LA Unified removed first-year Principal Crystal Campbell-Shirley over their complaints that she was ill-suited to learn during the school shift to magnet status, they were told today that the seven teachers she declined to rehire for next year would be welcome back. Four
JFK High librarian removed after allegations of fraud, forgery
JFK High School LA Unified officials are investigating a teacher who has now been removed from John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, over allegations that she mishandled and manipulated record-keeping and stole money from ARC, an after-school educational program that works with public, private and charter schools throughout several area school districts. Parents and students at Granada Hil
Morning Read: LAUSD ends review on Miramonte abuse
LAUSD quietly disbands Miramonte child-abuse investigative panel The Los Angeles school district has quietly shut down a high-profile special investigative panel intended to review the Miramonte Elementary child-abuse case, citing its cost. The school system had pledged to form the commission in 2012 as a measure of its commitment to protect students after the arrest of veteran elementary teacher
MAY 06
UTLA could start another academic year without a contract
Despite a state budget deadline looming, it’s possible that LA Unified teachers will start yet another school year without a new contract. The district’s proposed spending budget for 2014-15, which must be approved by the school board and submitted to the state by July, includes a line item for teacher raises that remains to be negotiated with UTLA, as part of a new collective bargaining agreement
With huge boost in budget, LAUSD expands summer school
LA Unified’s summer school programs are getting a massive injection of money this year, to a whopping $29 million from the current $1 million budget. The surge of cash, drawn from a combination of sources, will increase access to classes for struggling students by 600 percent over the previous two years. Altogether, approximately 60,000 students from elementary school through high school will be a
Manigault has celebrity power, but is it enough in District 1?
Fourth in a series of profiles of candidates for LA Unified’s open District 1 board seat. While she may be best known for her TV appearances on Celebrity Apprentice, Omarosa Manigault is relying more on her business and technological know-how to persuade voters she’s worthy of serving as the LA Unified District 1 Board member. She’s one of now eight candidates in the June 3 special election to fi
‘Marilyn V’ joining District 1 board race as a write-in candidate
Marilyn Veincentotzs An LA Unified Distirct 1 resident who failed to meet the initial filing deadline for the district’s open board seat has announced that she is running as a write-in candidate. Marilyn Veincentotzs said on Twitter that she is running under the name “Marilyn V.” Describing herself as “semi-retired,” Viencentotzes spent 20 years as long-term substitute teacher in LA and Compton Un
Carthay Center parents get wish: principal is removed
Carthay Center Elementary School As they rallied for the ouster of their school principal this morning, parents at Carthay Center Elementary School were told their efforts had paid off: Crystal Campbell-Shirley was removed from her post. Instructional Director Autri Streeck notified teachers at the school, then met parents at the rally to tell them what happened. “Everyone’s celebrating that part,
Tamar Galatzan: Plotting a course for LAUSD’s future
Via LA Daily News | By Tamar Galatzan, LA Unified’s board member for District 3 It’s budget time again in Los Angeles Unified, a process that for the last five years meant agonizing decisions to cut programs, scale back services and lay off employees because of the crippling financial crisis. This year, thankfully, the board doesn’t have to deal with these gut-wrenching alternatives. A boost in st
Morning Read: LAUSD to petition state for larger class sizes
Struggling L.A. schools seek larger class sizes Despite an improving economy and robust tax collections, the Los Angeles School District will petition the state to allow larger class sizes in some of its most under-performing schools through 2014-15.The waiver application, which covers more than 70 school sites, would have in the recent past likely been approved as a routine matter of business. S
MAY 05
As Carthay Center turns magnet, parents want principal out
Carthay Center Elementary School Disgruntled parents from Carthay Center Elementary school in LA Unified’s District 1 are holding rallies this week to build support for removing their principal. Their outrage arose after the principal, Crystal Campbell-Shirley, who is completing her first year at the school, told seven teachers on Friday — half the faculty — that they would not be welcome back in
LAUSD labor relations lets the sunshine in (kinda)
A committee launched last year by LA Unified’s Office of Labor Relations to provide public information on labor negotiations is meeting today to discuss the district’s collective bargaining contracts. That the committee even exists has not been reported until now. Called the “Sunshine Committee,” it is intended to bring transparency to the negotiating process. According to a district memo issued l
At a District 1 forum, candidates sound alike on most issues
Candidates at USC forum When Angela Jauregui arrived Saturday at USC for a debate with five of the seven candidates running for LA Unified’s District 1 board seat, she told her friends she was there to listen.“ Let’s pay attention,” she said in Spanish as she shushed all three, found a seat in the first row of the lecture hall and put on a head set that translated the hour-long event. What they he
UTLA election winners still awaiting review of challenges
The UTLA election winners are still waiting for the fat lady to sing. Since Alex Caputo-Pearl was declared the winner as president and two other races were clarified though the second round of voting last week, the union’s election committee is now in the midst of hearing 15 challenges from competition for 22 positions. Hearings were held last Tuesday and Thursday with more scheduled for today. “A
Morning Read: Common Core comes under fire in ed wars
Common Core is latest front in decades-long education wars Commentary: Nearly 20 years ago, after the Clinton administration proposed a program of voluntary national student testing, Chester Finn, then a senior fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute, warned that if it failed it would be because “liberals hate the word ‘testing’ and conservatives hate the word ‘national.’” He was right. EdSour
MAY 02
Parents, with some help, offer views on LAUSD spending plan
It was “pencils down” day yesterday, for the members of the Parent Advisory Committee, who completed their first opportunity to weigh in on LA Unified’s Local Control and Accountability Plan, the so-called LCAP required of Gov. Jerry Brown‘s new Local Control Funding Formula. The 47 parents and guardians selected to give feedback, have had two weeks to “live with” Superintendent John Deasy’s propo
After mixup, West Valley charters facing anxiety over bills
A bureaucratic mistake at LA Unified has led to a degree of anxiety among affiliated charter schools in the West Valley, which will begin paying for classroom basics they had previously gotten for free from the district. A lack of oversight and confusion among several departments with little experience in understanding how affiliated charter school should operate, including school operations, scho
LA Unified says it followed the law in handling abuse reports
Mark Berndt, teacher accused of abusing children In the face of reports that Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt molested many more children than previously known, according to an LA County Sheriff’s investigation, LA Unified today said it followed prescribed legal regulations in dealing with reports of the allegations. The sheriff’s report included the assertion that the school distri
McKenna riding decades of experience into District 1 race
George McKenna Third in a series of profiles of candidates for LA Unified’s open District 1 board seat. At 73 years old and now retired as an LAUSD administrator and principal, George McKenna shows no signs of slowing down. With more than 35 years under his belt, serving in multiple roles in eight different schools in several districts, including principal at George Washington Preparatory High Sc
Morning Read: LAT endorses Tuck for state public education chief
Marshall Tuck for state superintendent of public instruction Opinion: Torlakson has been an able administrator, and after years as a state legislator, his relationships in Sacramento give him some influence on lawmaking. He deserves praise for his role in the state’s smooth implementation of the Common Core curriculum standards. But he has not brought much vision or leadership to his role. The big