LA School Report

Here’s the cover for Michelle Rhee’s new book, coming out in January. It’s called “RADICAL: Fighting to Put Students First.”  Read a few more details here. Why should you care about Rhee? Her Sacramento-based organization, StudentsFirst, was involved in Ian Calderon’s successful state assembly primary race and Brian Johnson’s unsuccessful one, as well as various...

A call around to some education insiders suggests that the likelihood of parents targeting an LAUSD school for the so-called “parent trigger” aren’t clear — at least in the short term. That hasn’t stopped LAUSD parents from starting parent unions, however — the precursor to a possible trigger.  

• The Marine Corps is reaching out to Los Angeles educators in an effort to improve the Corps’ access to students on high school campuses. LA Times • Villaraigosa says he might want to run for Governor when his term is up — a good reminder that there’s going to be a new Mayor next year. LA Times...

School Board Member Nury Martinez has long been rumored to be planning a run for Tony Cardenas’ City Council District 6 seat, which will become vacant when Cardenas gets elected to U.S. Congress, which he is expected to do in a walk. This would set the stage for a fight for Martinez’s school board seat, and...

Ever wonder just how many TFA (Teach For America) teachers there are in LAUSD?  Sometimes it can seem like they (and their alumni) are everywhere.  Other times, they can be hard to find. Here are the latest numbers, via David Stanley, TFA LA executive director: Last year there were 260 first- and second-year teachers (about...

When former UTLA head A.J. Duffy helped found Apple Academy, a charter school, in 2011, it seemed like the ultimate case of a zebra changing his stripes. Nearly a year later, Duffy still gets quoted in the Times, but he’s no longer head of Apple, which didn’t enroll enough kids to justify his salary, and...

• LAUSD is cutting adult education offerings in half– and that’s the good news, since some were afraid that the program would be completely eliminated. “An agreement by LAUSD’s unions to take up to 10 unpaid days restored about $105 million for Adult Ed, enough to accommodate about 105,000 students.” Daily News • LA School Police...

• A delightful piece by Barbara Jones profiles the latest scheme by LAUSD to make a little extra cash: selling advertising space on about 70 vans and delivery trucks. Actually seems like a pretty good idea, although it’s only earning $157,000– so far. Daily News • A typically equivocating LA Times editorial praises the judge’s recent...

LAUSD’s social media director, Stephanie Abrams (pictured) has already been the subject of a smattering of news coverage and is featured in next month’s Scholastic Administrator magazine.   In the meantime one of Abrams’ biggest projects, a social media survey of the district, is out, and The Journal has some coverage.  Here’s LAUSD’s Tumblr announcement....

Well, late-morning reading, anyway. • LAUSD is giving schools more options to have various levels of autonomy from the district, saying it will help teachers and administrators move away from a “one-size-fits-all” approach to education. It’s another example of how the charter school movement is placing competitive pressure on LAUSD to diversify, experiment and improve....