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Commentary: An open letter to Randi Weingarten

LA School Report | October 31, 2014



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EdWeek

Via Education Week | By Peter Cunningham

In the interest of seeding progress, not scoring points, I offer the following feedback to American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten in response to her Oct. 22 speech to the West Coast Labor Management Institute in the wake of John Deasy’s recent resignation as the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. (I read the transcript published online in the LA School Report the same day she delivered the speech.)

Let’s begin by remembering the common motivations that prompt people to get into education.

John Deasy became an educator to make a difference for children. And whatever else you say about him, he got some meaningful results for students in Los Angeles: higher graduation rates and test scores and fewer suspensions. Under his leadership, thousands of kids in Los Angeles earned a better shot at a better life. I’m both confident and comforted that we have not seen the last of him.

Read the full commentary here.

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