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Johnson’s internal poll shows gains on McKenna in runoff
An internal poll conducted by Alex Johnson’s campaign suggests that he is gaining on George McKenna as they compete for the vacant LA Unified school board seat. The Johnson campaign says that polling conducted in April and June shows that Johnson’s name recognition has grown to 52 percent, from 14 percent percent. It also said Johnson’s...
By Michael Janofsky | July 1, 2014
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JUST IN: SEIU Local 99 and LAUSD reach tentative deal
SEIU Local 99, which represents school cafeteria workers, custodians, special education assistants, campus safety monitors and other school service workers, has reached a tentative contract agreement with LA Unified that includes an incremental rise to a minimum wage of $15 an hour. The three-year phase in brings workers up to $11 an hour for the coming...
By Vanessa Romo | June 30, 2014
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Common Core math stumps parents and students alike
Via New York Times | By Motoko Rich Rebekah and Kevin Nelams moved to their modest brick home in this suburb of Baton Rouge seven years ago because it has one of the top-performing public school districts in the state. But starting this fall, Ms. Nelams plans to home-school the couple’s four elementary-age children. The...
By LA School Report | June 30, 2014
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LA School Report wins three awards from SoCal Press Club
Upstart LA School Report took first place for Best Blog at the 56th annual SoCal LA Press Club awards ceremony yesterday. The winning entry, Why Teachers Teach, Need You Ask? was written by contributor and teacher Ellie Herman, who spent the past year chronicling the challenges facing teachers in the classroom. Herman also took third...
By LA School Report | June 30, 2014
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CA teachers await impact from SCOTUS ruling
A Supreme Court ruling today in a case involving home health care providers in Illinois could have a bearing on a California lawsuit involving teachers who object to paying union dues that are used for political purposes. Split along ideological lines with the conservatives prevailing, 5-4, the Court ruled in Harris v. Quinn that “partial...
By Michael Janofsky | June 30, 2014
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After year of iPads only, laptops are making LAUSD debut
Not too long ago the iPad train barreling toward LA Unified seemed unstoppable. At the beginning of the school year, it was a given that all district students would have an Apple device in their Millennial and Generation Z hands by the end of 2016. But after a series of very public blunders and intense...
By Vanessa Romo | June 30, 2014
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Findings of USC poll on teachers at odds with earlier survey
A Washington, D.C. polling firm has expressed disagreement with some of the findings in the PACE/USC Rossier School of Education poll that was released yesterday. The USC poll showed public opinion favored the decisions reached in Vergara v. California, striking down teacher protection laws. In a memo sent to LA School Report, Lake Research Partners said its own poll...
By LA School Report | June 27, 2014
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School bond measure may appear before CA voters on Nov. 4
Via Sacramento Bee | By Jim Miller A multibillion dollar water bond isn’t the only borrowing measure that could show up on voters’ ballots this fall. This week, legislation that would place a state school bond before voters Nov. 4 cleared another legislative committee with support from both sides of the aisle. Yet there remain...
By LA School Report | June 27, 2014
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LA Unifed set to revoke Urban Village Middle School charter
Another charter school may be biting the dust. Urban Village Middle School in Baldwin Hills is likely getting its charter revoked after failing to remedy a slew of violations identified by LA Unified’s Charter Schools Division. The school board, which will vote on the issue at the regular board meeting on Tuesday, gave the school...
By Vanessa Romo | June 27, 2014
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LAUSD using new ‘equity index’ to restore arts to areas of need
The plan to expand arts access for students across LA Unified and restore nearly $16 million in arts funding will include data gathered in a new Arts Equity Index, a tool to identify schools in greatest need of arts instruction. School board member Steve Zimmer, who proposed the idea at the board meeting Tuesday, called...
By Vanessa Romo | June 27, 2014