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Watch: Best Commencement Speeches of 2013
Here’s NBC News’ roundup of best moments (so far) from commencement season 2013. Congrats to everyone. Are there others?
By Alexander Russo | May 31, 2013
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Preview: Board to Consider Hiring, Formula Issues
At the May School Board meeting earlier this month, Board member Bennett Kayser (pictured) called for a special meeting to discuss next year’s budget, which is due June 30. That meeting is being held on Tuesday, June 4, at which time Board members are scheduled to introduce to two new resolutions (see agenda here), which...
By Hillel Aron | May 31, 2013
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Teachers Union Turning Back Against Parent Trigger
In recent days, LAUSD teachers and union activists have been stepping up their attacks on the use of California’s parent trigger law and Parent Revolution, the nonprofit that has been coordinating parents’ efforts. They held a Thursday press conference at Weigand Elementary, the school where parents and organizers recently petitioned to oust Principal Irma Cobian...
By Hillel Aron | May 31, 2013
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Hey, Look! State Releases Year-Old School Rankings
Last Friday, California released its annual list of school rankings, based on Academic Performance Index (or API) scores from tests taken in Spring of 2012, including all sorts of LAUSD schools. Why such little fanfare to these numbers? As Rob Kuznla of the Daily Breeze notes, the scores are almost a year old. “The bigger...
By Hillel Aron | May 31, 2013
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Read This: Alternative Programs Grow – and Vary Widely
The Hechinger Report‘s Jackie Mader has a fascinating new piece on the rise of alternative routes to certification for teachers in California and nationwide, focused in part on teacher residency program model that’s being operated by LAUSD and four local universities. Some key takeaways related to cost, growth, effectiveness, and variations among programs and requirements...
By Alexander Russo | May 30, 2013
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Campaign 2013: What Next for the Coalition for School Reform?
“The Reformers Are Dead, Long Live the Reformers,” ran the headline to a story by Howard Blume, noting that reformers faced an “uncertain future” after losing two out of three School Board races. But that story was actually written in 2003 — back when Blume was writing for the LA Weekly rather than his current gig...
By Hillel Aron | May 30, 2013
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Romero: “A Lesson on How Not to Buy an Election”
In her latest OC Register column, California Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) President Gloria Romero (pictured) wonders if voters are finally “awakening to the adverse electoral influence of special-interest power and money.” “The outgoing Mayor unabashedly raised millions to elect his former political aide and keep control of the School Board,” she writes. “But an...
By Hillel Aron | May 30, 2013
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Campaign 2013: Endorsements, Garcetti — and Race
Walking around the streets of the east San Fernando Valley on Friday, it was hard to find any visual reminders of the just-completed campaign to elect Antonio Sanchez to the seven-member LAUSD School Board. “We didn’t do lawn signs, “ said Sanchez, who was tending his tomato plants the other day and trying to understand...
By Howard Stier | May 29, 2013
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Commentary: Sad Educators vs. Poor Parents
The latest LA Times piece on the parent trigger process at Weigand Elementary focuses its attention on the principal being pushed out (and the teachers who may go with her) rather than on the dismal results under her leadership and the frustrated low-income parents who petitioned for her removal. The debate over the merits of the Weigand...
By Alexander Russo | May 29, 2013
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Events: Board Meetings & UTLA Trigger Briefing
There are two more Board meetings between now and when the “new” Board begins in July — the first one focused on budget issues June 4 and the second one a regular monthly Board meeting on June 18. There’s also a UTLA-sponsored June 2 meeting downtown for chapter chairs at schools where parents are gathering...
By Alexander Russo | May 29, 2013