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Morning Read: Pilot Schools Expand in LA
Incubator School in L.A. Sparks Discord Over Location, Teachers The pilot middle school, which is slated to open next year but lacks a site, will teach students how to launch a business in addition to academics. LA Times Sun Valley’s Francis Polytechnic High to Convert to Innovative Pilot School Francis Polytechnic High in Sun Valley...
By Samantha Oltman | March 21, 2013
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Morning Read: Board Votes to Limit President’s Terms
L.A. School Board Targets Garcia With Term-Limits Vote A narrow majority of Los Angeles Board of Education members voted Tuesday to set a limit of two consecutive years for the school board presidency. Unless the new rule is rescinded later, the decision would end the six-year run of current President Monica Garcia in July. LA...
By Samantha Oltman | March 20, 2013
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Breaking: Board Votes to Oust Monica Garcia From Presidency
The LAUSD Board voted today, 4 to 3, to limit the School Board president’s term to two years per individual. This will end Monica Garcia’s role as the Board’s president, a seat she has held for six consecutive years. Board member Steve Zimmer was the deciding vote, joining his colleagues Marguerite LaMotte, Bennett Kayser, and...
By Samantha Oltman | March 19, 2013
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Group Calls for “Courageous” School Board
Ama Nyamekye, the executive director of Educators 4 Excellence Los Angeles, an organization that advocates for teachers to take a more active role in shaping education policies, wrote an op-ed in last week’s Huffington Post LA calling for a more “courageous” LAUSD School Board: “Our school board needs to get to work tackling a tall order of...
By Samantha Oltman | March 19, 2013
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Looking Back at the 2011 Runoff
At first glance, the upcoming District 6 (East San Fernando Valley) runoff election between Antonio Sanchez and Monica Ratliff looks like it might share many similarities to the District 5 election two years ago. The 2011 runoff (for an area running from Los Feliz to Maywood) pitted reform candidate Luis Sanchez (no relation to Antonio) against...
By Samantha Oltman | March 15, 2013
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Board Preview: Kayser’s New Magnet Proposal
At the LAUSD Board meeting this Tuesday, March 19, Board Member Bennett Kayser is slated to introduce a resolution that would create new rules governing how new magnet schools are created — and who has the authority to approve them. Under the Kayser proposal, a majority of the full-time, unionized teaching staff at a school...
By Samantha Oltman | March 14, 2013
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Concerns About Republican Endorsement of Ratliff?
In anticipation of tonight’s UTLA House of Representatives debate over the union’s District 6 runoff endorsements, an anonymous tipster sent LA School Report a copy of a flyer sent out by District 6 candidate Monica Ratliff during the primary campaign that touts her support from Republican LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich and describes her as “the Republicans’...
By Samantha Oltman | March 13, 2013
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Morning Read: Budget Forecasts – and Pink Slips
Despite Increase in Funding, School Districts Still Sending Layoff Notices to Teachers Year after year, March 15th has been a date of dread for California public school teachers. The date, wAhich falls on a Friday this year, is the preliminary deadline for school districts to send out “Reduction In Force” notices for cuts to next...
By Samantha Oltman | March 12, 2013
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Morning Read: Union May Attack LAUSD Leadership More Aggressively
Teachers Union to Vote on Aggressive Stand Against Deasy Policies The Los Angeles teachers union has scheduled an April vote for an initiative that would, if passed, call for a more aggressive posture against the leadership of the L.A. Unified School District. LA Times The Wrong Fight Over Schools Over the last century, American public...
By Samantha Oltman | March 11, 2013
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Morning Read: Union to Re-Interview Runoff Candidates
Big Money in L.A. School Board Races UTLA is apparently, re-interviewing the two remaining candidates. It sat out that race in the first round by endorsing all three candidates and spending no money. LA Times Runoff Campaigns Kick Off, City Hall Girds for More Cuts The mayoral campaign entered a new phase Wednesday, as Eric...
By Samantha Oltman | March 8, 2013