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NYU Professor’s Non-Apology to Parent Revolution Head

Over the recent Memorial Day weekend, NYU education historian Diane Ravitch penned a pair of angry blog posts about the parent trigger and Parent Revolution’s Ben Austin. Among other things, Ravitch wrote that “There is a special place in Hell reserved for everyone who administers and funds this revolting organization that destroys schools and fine...
By Hillel Aron | June 10, 2013
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Update: Teacher Dismissal Bill Heads to State Senate

A controversial bill aimed at ensuring teachers accused of sexual misconduct and other immoral acts can be more easily removed from the classroom is now awaiting referral in the Senate Rules Committee before its eventual hearing by the Senate Education Committee. Given the array of allies and opponents focused on teacher misconduct — especially after...
By Brianna Sacks | June 10, 2013
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Mayor-Elect Garcetti Searching for the Middle

On the education front, Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti is sounding just like candidate Eric Garcetti, always looking for a middle ground. On the issue of who his main education deputy or advisor will be, Garcetti spokesman Yusef Robb told KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez: “We want to lower the temperature a little bit on the politics that have...
By Hillel Aron | June 10, 2013
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New Coalition Launches with High Hopes, Few Specifics

Communities for Los Angeles Student Success (CLASS), a new coalition of eight community groups and education-related organizations, officially debuted on Thursday to resounding cheers and support of about 150 educators and community members at United Way of Los Angeles headquarters downtown. The large, high windowed-room overlooking all of downtown was filled with education advocates, parent...
By Brianna Sacks | June 7, 2013
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Board Likely Approves Call to Re-Hire Teachers

Starting in July, the composition and leadership of LAUSD’s School Board will change substantially. District 6’s Nury Martinez will be out, replaced by Monica Ratliff, and Monica Garcia will step down as Board President, thanks to term limits motion passed by the Board in March. But the shifts in direction for the Board are already...
By Hillel Aron | June 7, 2013
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Galatzan Resolution Addresses Contradictory Goals

Should Governor Jerry Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula go into effect more or less intact, districts like LAUSD will get a substantial increase in funding — but the district will also face a number of choices on how to distribute the new money. School Board member Tamar Galatzan has proposal that — as a new...
By Hillel Aron | June 7, 2013
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Partnership Head “Exploring” Run for Public Office

Marshall Tuck was 33 when Mayor Antonio VIllaraigosa asked him to leave his position at Green Dot Public Charter Schools to become the first CEO of a new entity called the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. Six and a half years later — just a few weeks before Eric Garcetti takes over as the new...
By Hillel Aron | June 7, 2013
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Update: Reform Coalition Faces Power Vacuum

Education reformers met Friday afternoon to discuss the disastrous results of the 2013 School Board elections and to consider what form the their efforts should take in the future. “It was a meeting to discuss what had happened in my election and what we should think about the future of LAUSD,” said Kate Anderson, who unsuccessfully...
By Hillel Aron | June 6, 2013
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Events: What’s Next for Education in LA?
Later today about 200 education leaders are gathering at United Way’s “End of the School Year” event to discuss what’s next for education in Los Angeles. The bulk of the meeting will focus on the launch of a new education coalition, Communities for Los Angeles Student Success (CLASS), a collaborative of major civil rights, education...
By Brianna Sacks | June 6, 2013
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Ratliff: “The Most Powerful Woman in LA”?*

A new feature in the LA Weekly claims Board member-elect Monica Ratliff “may be the most powerful woman in Los Angeles” (given the dearth of elected officials on the City Council) and compares LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy to former police chief William Bratton. Written by LA School Report contributor HIllel Aron, The Woman Who May Change L.A. notes that...
By Alexander Russo | June 6, 2013