Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears most Wednesdays; see the full archive. The National Education Association finally threw its weight into the Democratic presidential primaries, announcing Saturday night that it recommended Joe Biden for the nomination. A Biden endorsement is hardly a surprise; he is an establishment candidate, and NEA is a major player in the...

Deans for Impact, the organization I helped found, believes all teachers should understand basic principles of learning science. But what does that mean? We see learning science as the study of how humans think and learn — what others call cognitive science. The last several decades have deepened our scientific understanding of how our minds...

The 2010s were the decade for technology to fundamentally change education. Two years before the decade’s dawn, Clayton Christensen, Michael B. Horn and Curtis Johnson predicted in their book Disrupting Class that online learning would revolutionize teacher-led instruction and catalyze a student-centered transformation in U.S. K-12 schools. As the decade began, enthusiasm for ed tech...

Policymakers are focusing on the craft of teaching reading. They must also focus on the politics. Last year’s NAEP scores continued a lackluster streak and set off a predictable bout of handwringing. This time, it was reading instruction — or, more precisely, our national pandemic of ineffective reading instruction — catching the flak. In response,...

“What do we need to do to make things as right as possible?” That’s the pivotal question we ask our students when practicing restorative justice in school, and I think it’s one we should be asking in the current Los Angeles Unified School Board elections. In schools, restorative justice is an alternative to exclusionary discipline...

Updated, Feb. 26 In a Feb. 25 email, Janet Davis and Lanny Larsen, co-chairs of the UTLA Elections Committee, said eligible members who did not receive a paper ballot or have misplaced it can vote by filling out a Replacement Ballot request form. The Election Company will email them their PIN and they will be able...

Children who lack access to healthy food options — at home and in schools — have a more difficult time learning. Kids who are hungry or not well nourished are more likely to have trouble focusing, exhibit behavioral problems, and struggle academically. We see this in classrooms and schools across the country, and for students...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. Two Bay Area teacher union locals followed the lead of United Teachers Los Angeles and endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States. The Oakland Education Association (2,605 active members) and United Teachers of Richmond (1,666 active members) issued...

What’s the secret sauce for academic success? A great teacher? More school funding? At-home support? This is a subject that generates impassioned debate in the halls of government as well as around kitchen tables across the country. Parents often think the key to their child’s academic success lies in which teacher they are assigned to...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. It’s election season — not just for America’s political parties, but for United Teachers Los Angeles. The union mailed ballots to members this week. They will vote by mail or online, with the results to be tabulated Feb. 28. Active members will choose the UTLA...