Austin Beutner and Alex Caputo-Pearl: Two leaders on a collision course toward a teachers strike
The two men who could determine whether Los Angeles teachers go on strike sound almost as if they inhabit different worlds. They don’t even agree on a set of basic facts, which makes negotiation difficult.
L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner speaks of a school system teetering on insolvency and failing so many students that aggressive changes are needed, including new ways to assess teachers and quickly push out ineffective ones.
Alex Caputo-Pearl, who leads the teachers union, says teachers at traditional public schools try valiantly but are besieged — even sabotaged — by outsiders who want to dismantle the district and by officials like Beutner who would rather stockpile money than use it to help teachers and make schools successful.
In the gulf between these competing realities, a teachers strike seems increasingly likely.
The tension between the two sides has been building at a fraught moment for the nation’s second-largest school system. Enrollment, which is the basis for funding, continues to decline because of population trends and the growing number of privately operated charter schools. And, as officials struggle to offset the problems that come with more than 80% of students living in poverty, student achievement remains well below state averages.
Both leaders believe they are at a crucial turning point that could lead either to disaster or Continue reading: Austin Beutner and Alex Caputo-Pearl: Two leaders on a collision course toward a teachers strike - Los Angeles Times
