LA School Report

On Monday, Mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel gained the endorsement of the powerful LA County Federation of Labor — an umbrella group of county unions. Greuel is supported by nearly every large union in the city (with the exception of UTLA). But, intriguingly, it was a member of the UTLA leadership, Gregg Solkovits, who helped convince...

Mark it on your calender: Important voter registration and vote-by-mail deadlines are coming up for Los Angeles’ May 21 runoff election for the District 6 seat on the LAUSD School Board: May 6, 2013 (Monday): The last day to register to vote in the May runoff election. (If you still haven’t registered, go here to register to vote...

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy has expressed great enthusiasm for the 10-district effort to win a so-called “waiver” from some aspects of the federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which sets accountability rules and governs the distribution of billions in education funding from Washington.  California State Board of Education members recently voted in support of the effort,...

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...

On Friday, LAUSD sent out an announcement about the new teacher evaluation program that the district and the teachers union agreed to earlier this year, clarifying its position on the use of student achievement data. Now, UTLA is denouncing the district memo for “attempt[ing] to discredit UTLA’s internal materials to our membership while also continuing...

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is likely to be remembered for his efforts on behalf of public education in Los Angeles. But will he be considered effective and successful or not? The initial verdicts are starting to come in, and they are predictably mixed. On Tuesday, KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez produced a generally negative view of the Mayor’s accomplishments,...

Insiders who spoke with LA School Report over the past few days generally rejected criticisms aimed by some outside observers at the Coalition for School Reform-funded campaign to elect a slate of reform-minded candidates to the LAUSD School Board. “Because Kate [Anderson] lost, every single thing [the Coalition] did looks wrong,” said one insider who — like...

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...

In a dramatic move that may be a sign of larger changes to come, the LAUSD School Board voted Tuesday afternoon to limit the term of the Board President to two consecutive one-year terms*. The swing vote in the 4-3 decision was none other than recently re-elected Board member Steve Zimmer, who had supported Board...

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...