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Antonucci: California Teachers Association elected a new president. Then, it ousted its powerful executive director. Coincidence?
Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. The California Teachers Association surprised just about everyone in the state’s education arena — including me — last week by abruptly dismissing executive director and longtime political powerhouse Joe Nuñez. “The California Teachers Association recognizes the accomplishments and legacy of veteran educator and union advocate...
By Mike Antonucci | July 24, 2019
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With less than half of LAUSD’s prospective graduates eligible for California State University system, college trustees eye adding another requirement
The California State University system this week is considering a new admissions requirement for incoming freshmen — a development that’s sparked opposition from L.A. Unified, where less than half of the prospective graduates are eligible to apply under current standards. CSU’s Board of Trustees on Tuesday will review an informal proposal to add a fourth...
By Taylor Swaak | July 22, 2019
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Analysis: What a new report reveals about the evolving world of homeschooling — and how it could become a laboratory for the future of education
Homeschooling in America is changing. In the 1980s and 1990s, it took hold mostly among white religious conservatives. They rejected secular public education and wanted to educate their children on their own terms. As a new CRPE research brief shows, homeschoolers are becoming more diverse, and so are their motivations. The ranks of black and...
By Robin Lake and Travis Pillow | July 22, 2019
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Teacher spotlight: Telfair Elementary’s Rita Ontiveros on being a ‘positive rock’ for low-income and homeless students, the need for more nurses and counselors, and what’s really happening in a kindergarten classroom
This interview is one in a series spotlighting Los Angeles teachers, their unique and innovative classroom approaches, and their thoughts on how the education system can better support teachers in guiding students to success. After 23 years teaching kindergartners at L.A. Unified’s Telfair Elementary in Pacoima, Rita Ontiveros has seen kindergarten — and her students’...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | July 17, 2019
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Antonucci: What does it take to resign from a California teachers union?
Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June 2018 that public employees were no longer required to financially support a union, it seemed pretty straightforward. If you weren’t a member, you no longer had to pay agency fees, and if you were a member, you had the...
By Mike Antonucci | July 17, 2019
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SEL in the House: Democrats approve millions in landmark federal funding for social-emotional learning in bill that now faces test in Senate
In what’s been described as a landmark investment from the federal government in social-emotional learning, the House of Representatives approved a spending bill last month that included $260 million in funding for what it calls “whole child” initiatives within the Department of Education. The funding is divided into four areas: 1. $170 million through the Education...
By Kate Stringer | July 17, 2019
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California charter school regulations pass Senate Education Committee after marathon session and intervention by Gov. Newsom
After a seven-hour hearing and in a room inundated with advocates in color-coordinated T-shirts, the California Senate Education Committee narrowly passed two bills this week that will more strictly regulate charters, including giving local districts greater leeway to deny charter applications. The sharply contested bills split the committee 4-3, with state Sen. Steve Glazer, a...
By Noble Ingram | July 12, 2019
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In new legal complaint, parents say LAUSD is failing to ensure high-needs students are getting the funding they deserve
*Updated July 23: The California Department of Education on Monday declined to directly intervene, and sent the legal complaint to L.A. Unified and the L.A. County Office of Education to “promptly investigate.” The district and the county have until Sept. 20 to respond. See the CDE letter here. A June 28 version of L.A. Unified’s LCAP, which...
By Taylor Swaak | July 12, 2019
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Biden-Harris exchange makes busing a surprise focus of 2020 campaign. How will it affect the debate over integration?
So are the Democrats going to bus kids across town to integrate schools, or what? That’s the question that has captivated the political media the last two weeks. While the Trump administration has careened from one news cycle to the next, absorbing damaging headlines on everything from its treatment of detained migrants to the president’s...
By Kevin Mahnken | July 10, 2019
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Commentary: When success is not enough — charter schools delivering better outcomes for low-income students still target of progressive ire
“Video games are bad for you; they’re distracting,” says one kid. “They’re too violent,” says another. It’s jarring to hear middle-schoolers talk down on-screen entertainment, but the boys in this Bay Area classroom are doing their level best — and in Spanish, no less. To be sure, they’re practicing taking positions and marshaling evidence as part...
By Conor Williams | July 10, 2019