LA School Report

Tomorrow at the LAUSD board meeting (see agenda here), board member Steve Zimmer will make two big moves. The first is his long-awaited proposal to reject the use of Academic Growth Over Time, or AGT, as a measurement of pupil progress when evaluating teachers. AGT measures student improvement on the California Standardized Tests (CSTs), and...

Teachers union wants a say in L.A. Unified’s classroom breakfast program LA Times: As the district begins expanding the classroom breakfast program to 279 schools this year, United Teachers Los Angeles has asked for the matter to be brought to the bargaining table. Small central coast district leads the way on teacher evaluation, mentoring SI&A Report: Two major...

Yesterday, the CTA dropped another $6.9 million into the fight against Proposition 32, which would, among other things, prohibit unions from taking money automatically deducted from their members’ paychecks and spending it on political activity. (See LA Times:  Teachers union gives another $6.9 million to Prop. 32 fight.) “This is a huge priority for us,...

Texas school officials surprised everyone yesterday when they announced that they were going to apply for an NCLB waiver (see EdWeek: Texas to Apply for NCLB Waiver). Under the Obama administrations, states can apply for waivers from things like the annual rating system that are part of the 2002 law, in exchange for a series of other...

Steinberg hoping this time Brown will sign bill changing API Ed Source: President pro tem of the State Senate Darrell Steinberg wants to alter the mix of factors that determine a school’s Academic Performance Index (API), which he argues is too tied to standardized test scores, predominantly math and English language arts, along with, to a smaller degree,...

Thirty percent of metro LA residents live in the central city (as defined by the census), and 30 percent of core city residents have college degrees, according to this chart dug up by Chicago Magazine: But only 23 percent of adults have college degrees and school-aged kids — not as steep a dropoff as, say, San Francisco,...

I finally got around to reading the newish, longish LA Magazine profile on Superintendent John Deasy, The Takeover Artist, by Ed Leibowitz, and it’s a good read I’d recommend everyone check out. Leibowitz is a fantastic writer, comparing LAUSD’s structure to “the work of a madman,” getting Deasy critics to make juicy remarks, and dishing up...

New accountability demands coming for charters – startups and renewals SI&A Cabinet Report: SB 1290 by Sen. Elaine Alquist, D-Santa Clara, would require that charter authorizers must consider pupil academic achievement for all subgroups as measured by the API “as the most important factor” for renewal and revocation. Push for a Downtown Charter School Includes Big Fundraiser...

As you may recall, Superior Court Judge James Chalfant ordered LAUSD, the teachers union (UTLA) and the administrators union (AALA) to provide a September 4 progress report on a negotiations over new way of evaluating teachers and administrators that includes some measure of pupil progress. So what’s the update? LAUSD has made a proposal, according to the...

Ditching private schools LA Times (editorial): Private school students are choosing to move to charters in unexpected numbers. That’s a good thing for the education system. LAUSD must pay $2.4 million to football player who broke neck LA Times: A 19-year-old North Hollywood High School student who broke his neck during a football tryout practice has won a...