LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):
Deasy, Garcetti help kick off City Year in 25 LAUSD schools
Deasy, Garcetti help kick off City Year in 25 LAUSD schools Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, helping kick off City Year in LA Unified schools. LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti were on hand today to help 288 City Year Los Angeles members kick off a year of service in LA schools during a high-energy ceremony on the south lawn of City Hall. The ceremony began a
LAUSD 10th graders hold steady on state high school exit exams
LAUSD 10th graders hold steady on state high school exit exams The state today released the latest California High School Exit Examination results, and the news for LA Unified is either encouraging or disappointing, depending on your point of view. The percentage of district 10th-grade students who passed the on their first attempt, remained at near-historical highs, according to state figures sho
LA teachers group offers solutions for a post-Vergara world
LA teachers group offers solutions for a post-Vergara world Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa with Teach Plus Fellows Bootsie Battle-Hold and Kat Czujko. (Photo: Nick Toren for Teach Plus) While state teacher unions are spending time, energy and money fighting the landmark Vergara v. California ruling through appeal, one group of teachers in Los Angeles is helping shape what a post-Vergara world could lo
The debate — Torlakson vs. Tuck — that only a few people noticed
The debate — Torlakson vs. Tuck — that only a few people noticed Tom Torlakson (right), Marshall Tuck (left) Guess what: The two candidates for State Superintendent for Instruction — incumbent Tom Torlakson and challenger Marshall Tuck — debated Wednesday night, and almost no news outlets covered it, including LA School Report. No matter, here’s the video. It starts at the 11 minute, 43 second mar
Lots of strike talk expected as teachers union opens conference
Lots of strike talk expected as teachers union opens conference Alex Caputo-Pearl, President of UTLA United Teachers Los Angeles opens its annual Leadership Conference today, and strike talk will be a prominent theme. As part of the three-day gathering at the Concourse Hotel at LAX, local union leaders will hear from union chiefs from other cities who used the threat of a strike to get a new labor
Morning Read: LAUSD pays out to settle software vendor lawsuit
Morning Read: LAUSD pays out to settle software vendor lawsuit L.A. Unified settles suit with student data software vendor The Los Angeles Unified School District paid $3.75 million Thursday to settle a lawsuit with the vendor of a software system designed to track attendance, grades, schedules and other student data, officials said. LA Times L.A. school district will double staff helping with iP
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LAUSD says concerns cited in iPad report were expected
LAUSD says concerns cited in iPad report were expected LA Unified officials said today they anticipated the concerns raised by an independent report on the district’s one-to-one iPad program, which found that schools are not using the devices to teach the new Common Core curriculum. What’s more, said Bernadette Lucas, director of the District’s technology project, they were thrilled to get the bad
Report on iPad program effectiveness gives mixed results
Report on iPad program effectiveness gives mixed results LA Unified’s ambitious plan to get computer tablets into the hands of its 650,000 students just received its first evaluation, producing decidedly mixed results. In a 95-page report from the American Institutes for Research (AIR), a Washington, D.C. research group hired by the district to evaluate the Phase 1 rollout of the program, students
Website that helps teachers find grant money takes off
Website that helps teachers find grant money takes off Teachers are responding with enthusiasm to a website that helps them find grant money for classroom projects and professional development, according to the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education, the non-profit that launched the program last spring. Called Grants HQ, the website puts hundreds of millions of dollars in educational grants online
Editorial: Pre-Deasy days weren’t as great as you thought
Editorial: Pre-Deasy days weren’t as great as you thought Via LA Times | by the TImes Editorial Board At L.A. Unified, tensions are high and crisis is in the air. The relationship between Supt. John Deasy and the school board that oversees him is at what is perhaps an all-time low. Deasy is again muttering about quitting; others are grumbling that he should be fired. Not surprisingly, United Teach
Morning Read: New report says iPad curriculum rarely used
Morning Read: New report says iPad curriculum rarely used New report on L.A. Unified’s iPads reflects problems with curriculum An evaluation of the iPads-for-all project in Los Angeles schools found that only 1 of 245 classrooms surveyed even used the costly curriculum. LA Times More than 100,000 LA school repairs backlogged Los Angeles Unified schools are waiting on 116,000 maintenance and safet
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2 percent bonus arrives for school principals, plus others
2 percent bonus arrives for school principals, plus others More than 13,000 LA Unified employees of labor groups that struck new contract deals with the district are receiving a 2 percent lump sum payment this week. Among those that found the extra bump in their bank accounts are members of the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA), which includes school principals, assistant principals,
Seven education bills await action by Gov. Brown
Seven education bills await action by Gov. Brown Gov. Jerry Brown Seven education bills are currently awaiting the signature or veto of Gov. Jerry Brown – and before too many more stack up, we thought a review was in order. For more check out Edsource’s EdTracker, a tool that follows the ins and outs of education legislation in Sacramento. “Willful defiance” bill AB 420 would limit the authority o
What’s next *if* Deasy is out? Speculation abounds
What’s next *if* Deasy is out? Speculation abounds The possibility that LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy will no longer be at the helm of the nation’s second largest school district – whether by choice or by force – is looming ever larger as the deadline for his annual evaluation approaches, leaving some district officials to speculate over how to replace him. The seven-member elected school b
Morning Read: Lawsuit challenges CTA’s power over dues
Morning Read: Lawsuit challenges CTA’s power over dues Lawsuit challenges teachers’ compulsory dues A lawsuit working its way through the courts is striking at the core of the CTA’s power: its authority to automatically deduct hundreds of millions of dollars a year in dues from the paychecks of both members and non-members. Edsource LAUSD police to give up some weaponry obtained in federal progra
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Google flash funds LAUSD teacher projects with $1 million
Google flash funds LAUSD teacher projects with $1 million LA Unified has received a generous surprise gift from Google, as the tech company announced it has funded all classroom teacher projects in the district on the crowdfunding site DonorsChoose.org. The nearly $1 million donation will go to 769 teachers, who submitted proposals for projects and materials. The donation included pencils, books,
Garfield High teacher selected for Yale Educator Award
Garfield High teacher selected for Yale Educator Award Garfield Senior High School teacher Kevin Murchie is a recipient of the 2014 Yale Educator Award. A veteran teacher at Garfield Senior High School has been selected for a prestigious award from Yale University thanks to one of his former students. The Yale Office of Undergraduate Admissions has honored Kevin Murchie, an English teacher at Garf
Teachers union changes tactics, urges board to fire Deasy
Teachers union changes tactics, urges board to fire Deasy Superintendent John Deasy The Los Angeles teachers union has given up one of its oldest and loudest refrains, calling on LA Unified chief John Deasy to resign. Instead, UTLA appears to be changing tactics; it is urging the school board to fire the superintendent. In a press statement, UTLA says it wants the board to downgrade Deasy’s perfor
LA Unified cancels all outdoor activities due to heat wave
LA Unified cancels all outdoor activities due to heat wave As a result of the massive heat wave striking the Los Angeles area, LA Unified officials on Tuesday decided to cancel all outdoor activities or move them indoors until Wednesday. Triple-digit temperatures are hitting parts of Los Angeles with unusually high temps expected to last several days. Los Angeles County Health officials extended
Morning Read: LAUSD wins waiver extension from federal gov
Morning Read: LAUSD wins waiver extension from federal gov NCLB waiver extended for seven districts Seven California school districts, including LA Unified, have received a one-year extension of the waivers from the federal government exempting them from key provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act in return for meeting a slew of new requirements mandated by the Obama administration. Eds
Editorial: LA Unified schools won’t get better if leaders fight
Editorial: LA Unified schools won’t get better if leaders fight Via LA Times | Editorial Board This would be a difficult period for Supt. John Deasy and the Los Angeles Unified School District even if he and the school board were intent on working together for the benefit of students. But these aren’t the most cooperative of times, to put it mildly. The questions surrounding the superintendent’s 2
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New deal could mean millions for LA Unified’s TV station
New deal could mean millions for LA Unified’s TV station After suffering years of harsh budget cuts, LA Unified-owned public TV station KLCS could see a financial windfall next year should its recently announced plan to auction off bandwidth to the FCC go forward. The potential value of the deal has been estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars. The money would likely go directly to the s
Compare: LAUSD teacher salary competitive with other CA cities
Compare: LAUSD teacher salary competitive with other CA cities The Los Angeles Unified school district offers competitive teacher salaries compared to other large districts in the state of California. That’s according to the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), a nonprofit which complies data from across the country. Despite a recent press report indicating LAUSD was below the average, it t
‘Email delete’ policy is misunderstood according to LAUSD
‘Email delete’ policy is misunderstood according to LAUSD A policy intended to delete unnecessary emails on LA Unified district computers has caused a media storm and much confusion, but ultimately is misunderstood, according to officials who spoke to LA School Report. “It could be this is much ado about nothing” said school board member, Steve Zimmer. The bottom line: the ‘delete’ program does no
Morning Read: LAUSD owns grenade launchers and M16 rifles
Morning Read: LAUSD owns grenade launchers and M16 rifles What LAUSD is doing with its military-surplus grenade launchers and assault rifles Opinion: So how about the curious finding that the Los Angeles Unified School District has taken possession of Pentagon military surplus that included 61 M16 assault rifles, three grenade launchers and a mine-resistant protective vehicle? LA Times Strained t