LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):
Stoner parents win, LAUSD removes co-located charter
CWC Mar Vista Charter School Parents of students at Stoner Elementary School, who have been fighting to get the co-located Citizens of the World Charter School Mar Vista (CWC) off their campus, have succeeded in their quest. A letter from LA Unified has informed them the charter “will not be co-locating” on the campus next year, a decision that effectively ends CWC’s presence at the Del Rey campu
LAUSD miscalculated plan for affordable housing for teachers
Sage Park Affordable Housing Six years ago the LA Unified School Board approved a program to build affordable “workforce housing” for teachers to live closer to schools where they work. But now, with one project nearing completion and two others in the planning stages, the district concedes that it has absolutely no control over who gets to live there, defeating the purpose of the project. “Legall
Johnson extends fundraising lead in bid for school board seat
Alex Johnson Alex Johnson has opened what is likely an insurmountable fund raising lead over the six other candidates running for the open LA Unified school board. With the June 3 special election just 11 days away, he has raised $208,625 through the reporting period that ended last Saturday, according to the LA City Ethics Commission. It’s nearly twice the $105,090 that the next closest candidate
Morning Read: In race for school chief, money is close
Top candidates for state schools chief in close money race The top contenders to be the state’s public schools chief are neck-and-neck in campaign funds leading into the June primary, according to finance reports filed Thursday. Current state superintendent Tom Torlakson has just under $200,000 in the bank for the final stretch of the campaign. Torlakson, a Democrat who is running for his second t
MAY 22
Just the threat of ‘Parent Trigger’ helps parents get what they want
West Athens Elementary School It now appears that just the specter of a “Parent Trigger” action is enough for parents to get what they want. Lerina Cordero, mother of a first grade boy at West Athens Elementary in south Los Angeles, says parents there had been trying for years to get the school’s leadership to stop rampant bullying and to change an overall attitude of complacency with the school’s
In new LAUSD policy, ‘jailed’ teachers to serve time at home
* UPDATED LA Unified’s so-called teacher jails get a whole new look, starting Tuesday. In a major policy shift, the district will no longer require teachers awaiting results of an investigation into charges against them to report to a district regional center or the downtown headquarters building. Instead, teachers will be allowed to spend their leave time at home, with the understanding that the
Polls suggest McKenna, Johnson heading for LAUSD election runoff
From left: George McKenna and Alex Johnson With less than two weeks before the special election to fill a vacant seat on the Los Angeles Unified school board, two candidates appear to be leading the field of seven, suggesting the probability of an August runoff. People familiar with two separate but consistent polls of likely voters conducted by professional firms said the two leading candidates a
Morning Read: Racial tensions rise at Watts middle school
Racial tensions are rising at Watts middle school Fanning racial tensions at a Watts middle school, several African American parents asserted Wednesday that Latino administrators are unfairly targeting their children and unofficially suspending them from classes. The practices at Markham Middle School, parents said, contradict directives by the Los Angeles Board of Education and L.A. schools chief
MAY 21
LAUSD biz kids pitch startup ideas in entrepreneur competition
LAUSD competing entrepreneurs (From left: Fajardo, Giron, Williams and Soto) Three teams of business-savvy LAUSD students competed last night in Hollywood for the chance to win cash prizes and a bid in a national competition for young aspiring entrepreneurs. Hosted by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE LA), a nonprofit that offers entrepreneurial education to low-income LA unified stu
Teacher at Kennedy High School is back after district removed her
A librarian and teacher at John F. Kennedy High School, Leslie Garcia, is back at school shortly after being removed over allegations that she mishandled and manipulated the record-keeping of an after school provider, ARC. Garcia said she had “no comment” after LA School Report contacted her yesterday at the school library. Principal Suzanne Blake, who took the helm at Kennedy two years ago, and i
Morning Read: LAUSD recruits DC principal as arts education exec
L.A. Unified hires respected D.C. principal to lead arts education The leader of one of the nation’s top arts high schools has accepted a position in charge of arts education for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Rory Pullens, 56, has served as head of school and chief executive officer at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, D.C. Pullens had been recruited by the nation’s s
MAY 20
School board blocks appointee critical of iPads
Stuart Magruder, Los Angeles Architect What is normally a routine, no-questions-asked formality for the LA Unified School Board hit a snag today. Board Member Tamar Galatzan opposed the reappointment of Stuart Magruder, an outspoken critic of the use of bond money for iPad’s, from the School Construction Bond Oversight Committee (BOC). The board effectively blocked Magruder’s reappointment by remo
Race for California school chief a referendum on change
Tom Torlakson Associated Press writer Lisa Leff takes a look at the race for California Superintendent of Public Instruction San Francisco (AP) — Tom Torlakson, the veteran lawmaker seeking a second term as California’s elected superintendent of schools, and Marshall Tuck, a former charter school executive hoping to unseat him, are both Democrats. The two agree the state spends too little on educ
Commentary: It’s not the outsiders to blame, it’s the system
This commentary is written in response to Ellie Herman’s commentary last week, asking why policy makers don’t listen more to teachers. By Larry Sand Why aren’t we listening? Well, in fact we are. There are organizations whose members include current and former teachers. Teach Plus, Educators 4 Excellence and StudentsFirst take positions on education policy issues, exchange ideas with the likes of
LIVESTREAM coverage of today’s LAUSD school board meeting
LA School Report will cover the LAUSD School Board meeting live today starting at 9:00 a.m. until it retires for a closed door session. Click here for LIVESTREAM coverage. Starting at 2 p.m. in the afternoon, the school board’s Committee of the Whole Meeting will convene. For board agenda, click here. For board materials, click here.
Morning Read: Reading scores climb, but gap remains
As reading scores climb overall, gap persists Despite higher reading scores in classrooms across the nation, the achievement gap between white, black and Hispanic youth has seen very little improvement according to a report released last week by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization that monitors how children and teens use media. S&I Cabinet Report GOP-backed plan would let LAUSD to op
MAY 19
To campaign or not? Tactics vary in LAUSD school board race
Click to view slideshow. Not all of the seven candidates vying for the vacant seat on the Los Angeles Unified school board are turning up the heat as the special election on June 3 heads to the finish line. To reach voters in South LA’s District 1, which as been without a board member since Marguerite LaMotte died in December, four of the candidates report they are campaigning by sending out direc
Johnson wins an eclectic array of support for school board seat
Alex Johnson District 1 School Board Candidate Among the seven candidates running for LA Unified’s District 1 board seat, Alex Johnson, a senior deputy for LA County Supervisor Mark-Ridley Thomas, is one of the most heavily endorsed candidates in the race. His long list of supporters may appear impressive, perhaps due to his boss’ powerful connections. But a closer look reveals that some of his en
Analysis: LA Unified still waiting for an opener from UTLA
Conspicuous by their absence from last week’s school board meeting were representatives from UTLA, the teachers union, discussing a new contract. While many of the labor partners who work with LA Unified have begin contract talks or submitted their opening proposals, UTLA has maintained radio silence. At least, that’s how it appears to the public. The only outward suggestions that union officials
All-girls school in LAUSD struggling to escape legal limbo
New Village Girls Academy The problem for girls is boys. Several years ago Elizabeth Hicks, a counseling coordinator for LA Unified, had an idea, to open the first all-girls traditional public school in California in more than a decade. It would be a rigorous STEM academy, requiring girls to take science, math and computer classes from sixth grade through high school, and based in one of the distr
Another week, another LA Unified school board meeting
It’s hard to believe after last week’s marathon 10-hour session, but LA Unified school board members will be meet again tomorrow with a full agenda. Most of the issues before the board are much less contentious than those addressed a week ago. They include: Board member Bennett Kayser’s effort to form a task force charged with replacing the district’s potentially asthma-triggering cleaning suppli
Morning Read: Dept of Justice looks at services for ESL learners
Justice Dept. investigating California’s services for English learner students The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is looking into whether California is adequately overseeing the education of 1.4 million students in the state who are still learning English, according to court records. The investigation began after civil rights lawyers filed a lawsuit in April 2013 alleging Californ