In a surprising move in its contract negotiations with LA Unified, UTLA yesterday backed off its previous demand of a 17.6 percent pay raise over the next two years, to call for a bigger raise for one year, a 10 percent bump for 2014-15, with the expectation of re-opening salary negotiations next year. The union’s new wage...

Even before the LA Unified school board began discussing a possible buyout for Superintendent John Deasy, Tuesday night, one of his top deputies volunteered to take his place during a transition to new leadership. While it might have appeared opportunistic to some, Michelle King, the deputy superintendent who offered to step in, explained in a brief statement...

So now we have a hint of what the LA Unified board members were discussing during the four hours they met in private Tuesday night. Part of the conversation dealt with finding a way to reach a financial settlement with Superintendent John Deasy to remove him from his post, as the LA Times reported this morning....

Via LA Times | by Howard Blume and Stephen Ceasar The Los Angeles Board of Education has authorized its attorneys to discuss terms of a possible departure agreement with schools Supt. John Deasy, The Times has learned. The move was made in a specially called closed session Tuesday, but it was not disclosed publicly. No...

LA Unified announced today that the district has received an $11.3 million federal grant to boost adult education programs throughout the district. The Federal Workforce Investment Act grants are intended to expand access to Adult Basic Education classes, high school subjects, English as a second language and citizenship. “The Workforce Investment Act and the awarding of...

In it’s first ever state-by-state rankings, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools ranked California’s charters No. 8 on its list of best in the nation. Using 11 measures, the study ranked 26 states that met the criteria for the study and judged their overall health based on how they are performing, innovating and growing....

Celebrities are often the trendsetters around the country and LA, as health and spiritual movements like yoga, Kabbalah and diet fads get widespread media attention due to their famous adherents. But there is one celebrity-led health trend that has state and LA officials alarmed, and that is the plunging number of children receiving vaccinations against...

John Deasy is still the LA Unified superintendent. After four hours behind closed doors last night, the district school board emerged with nothing to say. For Deasy, who did not attend the meeting, that was a plus, because it meant that the members might have talked about his performance, but they didn’t take a vote...

While LA Unified board members are contemplating the continued employment of Superintendent John Deasy, one of his chief deputies has volunteered to serve as a short-term successor. Michelle King, Senior Deputy Superintendent School Operations and one of the highest-ranking African-Americans in Deasy’s administration, today forwarded a letter to all seven board members, saying she would...

To commemorate “Big Red Tuesday,” United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) President Alex Caputo-Pearl used a sidewalk press conference at Thomas Starr King Middle School this morning to outline yet again the union’s contract demands from LA Unified. UTLA encouraged teachers and supporters all around the district to wear red to campuses, and as he spoke, Caputo-Pearl was flanked by...