LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):
LA Unified, teachers union reach agreement on a mentor program
LA Unified, teachers union reach agreement on a mentor program In a deal with UTLA, the teachers union, LA Unified said late today it will provide $10,000 stipends that pay for mentor teachers to help instructors at 37 highly-challenged schools. The mentors qualify for funding over the next three school years at campuses included in the Reed case court settlement. The goal is to reduce high teache
Teachers in panic over LAUSD’s new computer tracking system
Teachers in panic over LAUSD’s new computer tracking system LA Unified has agreed to delay parts of a new student data management system that was set to launch districtwide on Tuesday, the first day of school, after the teachers union and other district employees raised concerns that the technology is riddled with glitches. But UTLA says it’s not enough, and union officials say they expect widespr
Report: Mid-career teachers struggle with paltry salaries
Report: Mid-career teachers struggle with paltry salaries Mid-career and late-career teachers are not earning what they deserve, nor are they able to gain the salaries that support a middle-class existence, concludes a new report on teacher salaries from the Washington-based research group, the Center for American Progress. Even mid- and late-career teachers in states with some of the high salarie
Where is McKenna on LAUSD issues? He wouldn’t say
Where is McKenna on LAUSD issues? He wouldn’t say With LA Unified’s District 1 election approaching, LA School Report asked each of the candidates, Alex Johnson and George McKenna, a series of questions about some of the bigger challenges facing the district. The effort was based on the fact — an unfortunate one for voters — that the two have not appeared together for a policy debate since they em
Morning Read: Beverly Hills teachers to be highest paid in LA
Morning Read: Beverly Hills teachers to be highest paid in LA Beverly Hills teachers poised to be highest paid in L.A. county Beverly Hills teachers are on track to become the highest paid in L.A. County as a result of an innovative bargaining agreement that ties raises to property tax increases. BH Courier Why LAUSD’s district 1 race matters What if they held an election and no voters came? Tha
AUG 07
Department of education reviews testing standards in schools
Department of education reviews testing standards in schools Via Edweek | by Catherine Gewertz The U.S. Department of Education is on the verge of releasing the first draft of new guidance on the peer-review process for standards and tests, a document that could exert a powerful influence on how states set academic expectations. Little known outside the assessment world, the process is wonky and t
LAUSD schools assured to start with no new teacher contract
LAUSD schools assured to start with no new teacher contract LA Unified teachers will return to school next week with no new UTLA contract. Negotiators met for the second time yesterday, and the next session is not scheduled until Aug. 21 — nine days after school starts. While the teachers union put out a press release yesterday, chiding the district for not being cooperative, the district’s chief
Johnson: LAUSD needs more graduates, fewer dropouts
Johnson: LAUSD needs more graduates, fewer dropouts Photo: Johnson campaign Since the June 3 primary that produced Alex Johnson and George McKenna as the finalists for LA Unified’s District 1 board seat election on Aug. 12, the candidates have engaged in no public debates that would give voters a better opportunity to learn their views on contemporary issues. As a result, LA School Report has aske
Morning Read: LAUSD pushes ahead with glitchy records system
Morning Read: LAUSD pushes ahead with glitchy records system LAUSD to launch new records system despite glitches, lack of training Los Angeles Unified will push ahead with plans to launch a new computer system when classes start Tuesday, despite educators’ concerns that glitches and a lack of training will leave some students without class schedules and cause other problems that could plague the s
AUG 06
UTLA’s Caputo-Pearl: ‘Our goal is to win a good contract’
UTLA’s Caputo-Pearl: ‘Our goal is to win a good contract’ With school about to open for 2014-2015, Alex Caputo-Pearl embarks on his first year as president of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA). He couldn’t have found a busier time to begin his first term, with negotiations underway for a new collective barging contract, a curriculum transition to Common Core and a host of other issues facing his
Teachers go negative on Johnson, call him an education ‘rookie’
Teachers go negative on Johnson, call him an education ‘rookie’ Until recently, only one group had gone negative in the campaign between Alex Johnson and George McKenna for the open LA Unified school board seat. The African American Voter Registration, Education and Participation Project (AARVEP), which supports Johnson, sponsored three mailers, calling into question McKenna’s background as a sch
Why some schools choose laptops over iPads
Why some schools choose laptops over iPads Via the Atlantic | Megan E. Murphy For an entire school year Hillsborough, New Jersey, educators undertook an experiment, asking: Is the iPad really the best device for interactive learning? It’s a question that has been on many minds since 2010, when Apple released the iPad and schools began experimenting with it. The devices came along at a time when ma
Vergara legal team joining similar teacher case in New York
Vergara legal team joining similar teacher case in New York Marcellus McRae, a lawyer for Vergara plaintiffs at a news conference The LA-based legal team that prevailed in Vergara v. California, convincing a California judge to strike down state laws governing teacher employment, has been brought into a similar lawsuit now underway in New York. Students Matter, sponsor of Vergara, said today that
As talks resume, LAUSD, teachers union still far apart
As talks resume, LAUSD, teachers union still far apart Negotiators for LA Unified and the teachers union, UTLA, resume contract talks later today amid charges and counter-charges of which side is responsible for the lack of progress. Teachers are set to return for the opening of the school year next week. Late last week, the sides exchanged letters, each sharp in tone, that sought to blame the oth
Morning Read: Supporters want school bond back on ballot
Morning Read: Supporters want school bond back on ballot Backers push to put school bond on ballot Despite widespread bipartisan support from state legislators and school districts, Gov. Jerry Brown is remaining mum on whether he supports putting a multi-billion-dollar school construction bond on the ballot in November. The governor had no comment, his press office said in an email. EdSource New
AUG 05
From Deasy: RFK, apartheid, Chavez and an Oprah moment
From Deasy: RFK, apartheid, Chavez and an Oprah moment In his annual State of the Schools address, LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy today called to mind Robert F. Kennedy, apartheid in South Africa, Cesar Chavez and national immigration reform. He even hammered home this year’s theme, “My Brother’s and Sister’s Keeper,” with an Oprah-like moment. Deasy instructed every LA Unified employee in t
After early surge, LAUSD autonomy school growth slowing
After early surge, LAUSD autonomy school growth slowing After a strong start in the number of autonomy model schools over the last two years, the pace of growth has slowed. For the school year opening next week, LA Unified is adding only a handful of Pilot, Local Initiative Schools (LIS), and Expanded School-Based Model Management (ESBMM) schools. LA Unified and the teachers union, UTLA, signed an
Deasy on UTLA’s talk of a strike: ‘breathtakingly irresponsible’
Deasy on UTLA’s talk of a strike: ‘breathtakingly irresponsible’ As LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy prepared to deliver his “State of the District” speech to school leaders and educators at Garfield High School today, he sat for a wide-ranging interview with LA School Report yesterday, addressing the possibility of a teachers strike, implementation of Common Core, his relationship with the bo
Morning Read: Education bills pile up for returning CA lawmakers
Morning Read: Education bills pile up for returning CA lawmakers Lawmakers face long list of education bills Standardized testing inaccuracies, funding for new adult education programs and new Common Core assessments for students with disabilities are among the education proposals left to be decided upon by legislators returning from summer recess Monday. S&I Cabinet Report Number of AP tests
AUG 04
State legislatures are moving ahead on K-12 issues
State legislatures are moving ahead on K-12 issues In a year when 46 states will hold legislative elections and 36 will select governors, lawmakers in various states pushed ahead on education priorities, including pre-K education, teacher evaluation, and revisions to school funding formulas. Those issues and others managed to break through despite continued ferment around the Common Core State Sta
Low voter turnout predicted in LAUSD board race
Low voter turnout predicted in LAUSD board race Even as the runoff election appears to be tightening to fill the vacant LA Unified school board seat in south LA, the question is not only who will win, but just how low can voter turnout go? Set for August 12, the stand-alone election not only falls in the dog days of summer, but also hits on the first day of school, when parents tend to have their
Ridley-Thomas voter group going all out for Johnson
Ridley-Thomas voter group going all out for Johnson Mark Ridley-Thomas Alex Johnson has no greater supporter in his bid for LA Unified’s District 1 board seat than Mark Ridley-Thomas, the LA County Supervisor he has served as an education aide. But it’s more than Ridley-Thomas’s vocal support that’s helping Johnson in his quest to beat George McKenna in the Aug. 12 runoff after McKenna outpolled h
Morning Read: Renowned trial lawyer takes on teacher tenure
Morning Read: Renowned trial lawyer takes on teacher tenure Celebrated trial lawyer to head group challenging teacher tenure David Boies, the star trial lawyer who helped lead the legal charge that overturned California’s same-sex marriage ban, is becoming chairman of the Partnership for Educational Justice, a group that former CNN anchor Campbell Brown founded in part to pursue lawsuits challengi