Here are some extra charts to illustrate yesterday’s LA Weekly story about LAUSD’s strong emphasis on teacher accountability over the past couple of years. They show a rise in teacher dismissals and “unsatisfactory” ratings — even as the number of teachers in LAUSD has decreased by thousands. Click below for the charts.

The teachers union has been strangely silent about the parent trigger issue lately — even as different variations on the controversial school turnaround approach are being explored. In just the last few weeks, the parents of 24th St. have chosen a new “hybrid” plan that would leave the younger grades in the hands of LAUSD; the...

Teachers were expected to hand Superintendent John Deasy a vote of no confidence on Thursday night, given a combination of genuine animosity towards his approach and arm-twisting from United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA). But the margin was nothing short of astounding — 16,040 UTLA members (mostly teachers but also some other LAUSD employees), or...

The squabbling over education in the LA mayor’s race took a much-needed turn towards the substantive earlier today with a speech from candidate Wendy Greuel laying out some of her priorities to reform Los Angeles schools. In remarks delivered at  Granada Hills Charter High School, Greuel called for an audit of LAUSD “to slash non-school site...

A panoply of community groups and education-related organizations are forming a super-coalition called “Communities for Los Angeles Student Success” (or CLASS) in an effort to help fill the void that is expected to be left when Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa leaves office in July. “The mayor had a large bully pulpit when it came to education,” said Ryan...

Yesterday, mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti challenged opponent Wendy Greuel to an education debate. Today, her campaign responded. “Wendy Greuel is not only willing to debate Eric on education, she is ready to debate today,” wrote Greuel spokesperson Shannon Murphy. “Rather than holding a political press conference calling for an education debate, let’s use that time to HAVE an education...

Responding to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Tuesday night challenge, Mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti is now calling for a May debate with opponent Wendy Greuel that would be focused solely on education. “We agree that education has to be seriously debated in this campaign,” said Garcetti spokesman Jeff Millman in an email. “That’s why today we are calling on Controller...

While a recent Daily News headline described LAUSD Board Member Tamar Galatzan’s new “teacher jail” proposal as an “overhaul” of the current system, the resolution is probably best described as an effort at streamlining the process. Slated for a vote at next Tuesday’s Board meeting, the Galatzan resolution would shorten the time it takes to inform teachers what...

On Friday, School Board member Tamar Galatzan endorsed Mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti. The moved represented the first major endorsement for Garcetti from a so-called “school reformer,” and was something of a surprise since most Valley-based politicians have been supporting Garcetti’s opponent, Wendy Greuel. Greuel, has been endorsed by three Board members: Monica Garcia, Nury Martinez and Dr. Richard...

Last week, the California Teachers Association (CTA) and the California Federation of Teachers (CFT) filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit Vergara v. State of California, which seeks to overturn five education laws in California (seniority-based layoffs, teacher tenure, and three dismissal statutes that make firing a teacher so onerous). “This lawsuit is baseless and...