LA School Report

Deasy Warns Suspending Standardized Tests Would Hurt At-Risk Students Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy has fired off a letter to the California schools chief, protesting plans to suspend many standardized exams next year while the state develops a new system of computer-based tests. LA Daily News See also: LA Times Parents, Teachers, Students Oppose...

Even unusually cold temperatures couldn’t dissuade a group of more than 65 Crenshaw High School parents, faculty, staff and students who showed up to rally in front of the school Monday afternoon, many hoisting signs that read “Resources not Reconstitution.” In a controversial move scheduled for a vote at Tuesday’s Board meeting, LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy has...

Read this new Education Week story (Chicago Years Inform Ed. Secretary’s Views on Gun Violence) and you get the clear impression that the White House is reining in Education Secretary Arne Duncan on gun control right now. Usually unconstrained on policy issues, open to the press, and Obama’s go-to guy, Duncan’s post-Sandy Hook Elementary remarks have...

Both LAUSD Board Member Tamar Galatzan and UTLA President Warren Fletcher have plans to push for reform of the district’s teacher misconduct investigation process, but their plans have different focuses and end goals, according to a LA Daily News report. Board Member Galatzan is focusing on how long the teacher investigation process can take (an...

Semi-annual financial disclosure forms for independent expenditure (IE) committees aren’t due to the City Ethics Commission until January 31. However, some information can be obtained from the City Ethics Commission in between these reports. For example, the Coalition for School Reform  — a group of advocates including (but not limited to) charter school proponents — raised...

LA School Report has learned that parents at 24th Street Elementary School, in concert with Parent Revolution, have been gathering signatures for a so-called “parent trigger” petition to revamp the struggling school and plan on delivering it to LAUSD offices this week. Mayor Villaraigosa is a vocal proponent of the parent trigger, along with a...

Tamar Galatzan, Warren Fletcher Look at Reforming System for Investigating Teachers A year after the Miramonte sex-abuse scandal sparked a flood of teacher misconduct complaints, a Los Angeles Unified board member and the teachers’ union president have launched separate efforts to devise a more efficient system for investigating allegations. LA Daily News To Lock Classroom...

LAUSD School Board candidate Kate Anderson is officially launching her campaign this Saturday, January 12 at her new offices in Mar Vista. Anderson is challenging incumbent Steve Zimmer in District 4 – which stretches from the Pacific Palisades to Hollywood. Volunteers will have a chance to do some canvassing, calling, and on-the-ground campaigning. To view...

The Tuesday, January 15 board meeting promises to be even longer than usual, as it is packed with no less than 20 votes on various charter school issues and a slew of other controversial issues. For example, Board Members Tamar Galatzan and Nury Martinez are scheduled to propose a resolution related to speedy dismissal of...

The most recent quarterly campaign fundraising numbers are in (courtesy of the wonderful City Ethics Commission’s website), and the big winners so far are school board President Monica Garcia and challenger Kate Anderson. These figures cover direct contributions to the candidates’ campaigns, which are capped at $1,000 per person, through December 31. They don’t include...