Curious Grade for Teachers: Nearly All Pass Across the country, education reformers and their allies in both parties have revamped the way teachers are graded, abandoning methods under which nearly everyone was deemed satisfactory, even when students were falling behind. NY Times California’s Largest Teachers Union Now Backs Bill to Ease Firing Districts have long...

Taking a Crack at California’s Education System Michelle Rhee came to prominence as the tough-minded chancellor of Washington, D.C., schools. Now she’s in Sacramento, taking on this state’s system — and its teachers unions. LA Times See also: L.A. Now Live Chat on Rhee and California’s Public Schools U.S. Ed Department Agrees to Review 9...

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...

The teachers union’s on-again, off-again plan to survey its members on what they think about LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy’s job performance is back on again. However, this time around the union has a much stronger idea of what kinds of negative views its members should express. The union first mentioned in January that it planned...

Dramatic Dip in ‘Pink Slips’ Given to Teachers Reports are still trickling in, but the number could be as low as 2,600 notices statewide – down 87 percent from the 20,000 “pink slips” issued last year and just a 10th of the 26,000 notices issued in 2010, the peak during the recession, according to the California...

When the LAUSD Board voted last week to approve 12 new “pilot schools,” it was a small but positive sign of change in a school district long troubled by battles among key stakeholders about to how to best improve LA’s many underperforming schools and create successful new options. Pilot schools are the most flexible of...

Union Fights Mayor Bloomberg in LA Mayor Bloomberg and teachers union boss Randi Weingarten are going head-to-head again — this time in a high-stakes, bitter national fight over school reform in Los Angeles. NY Post The Mayoral Endorsement That Isn’t Los Angeles Unified School District board member Tamar Galatzan has spent the last few weeks...

LA Unified School Board Race Could Break Fundraising Records This Election The 2013 school board races have barely started and they have already attracted more than $4 million in donations. KPCC See also: LA School Report Union Wins Right to Represent Valley Charter School The Los Angeles teachers union announced Wednesday night that it has won...