Steve Lopez’s series in the Los Angeles Times shines a light on two important issues that are far too easy for the public to ignore: The reality of poverty that too many California children experience and the absolute imperative that schools, teachers and principals have the resources they need to fully support children growing up...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. Over the last few weeks, we have scrutinized how the California Teachers Association has funded the campaigns of school board candidates throughout the state, and how those campaigns did on Election Day. But candidates for public office are still one step removed from the union. Once elected,...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. While Election Day results for teacher unions across the country are best described as mixed, the California Teachers Association celebrated victories in virtually all of its targeted races. CTA’s unrelenting support of Tony Thurmond for Superintendent of Public Instruction was instrumental in putting him over the top....

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. The contract dispute between LA Unified and United Teachers Los Angeles entered its final phase as the three-member fact-finding panel was finally seated last week. The panel now has 30 days to submit a non-binding report of its recommendations, after which the district may impose its final...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. Last week, I expressed doubt that press outlets would revisit the assumptions made prior to the election about teacher candidates for office in the “uprising” states. I was wrong to be so pessimistic, as there were dozens of stories about how the results did not live up...

My husband and I consider ourselves to be bilingual and biliterate. My husband was born in Honduras and came to the U.S. when he was 8 years old, but still maintained his native language at home. While I was born in California, Spanish was my primary language at home and I was also an English...

I was entering elementary school when the Spanish spoken in my home slowly disappeared. Up to that point, my mother, an immigrant from Peru, had taught me both Spanish and English at home. But soon after I began school, the only times Spanish was spoken was during overheard calls with my family members in Peru...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. Last week, United Teachers Los Angeles shot down another district proposal to settle their years-long contract dispute. UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl called the latest offer “insulting” and “anemic” and announced a major march and rally scheduled for Dec. 15. UTLA has not made a counter-proposal since its...

Los Angeles is currently home to the largest juvenile justice system in the nation. In my hometown of Inglewood, improving public safety is among our biggest priorities. We care about safety and care about the wellbeing of our communities. However, I firmly believe that losing faith in and ceasing to invest in our young people...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. Whenever stories about the political spending of California’s teacher unions appear in the news, they focus on the major statewide races. This year is no different, with school employee unions devoting about $15 million in independent expenditures so far to elect Tony Thurmond as state superintendent of...