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Appearing before the LA Unified school board on Tuesday to respond to a district plan to send layoff notices to over 600 employees, UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl suggested that he sees a conspiratorial move by the board in response to UTLA’s seeking a new contract while threatening to strike.

“I would hate to think these are being put forward as a way to push back against the righteous anger, passion and frustration that were coming out at the rally downtown at Grand Park,” he said, referring to a recent UTLA rally that drew thousands.

Watching events unfold at the meeting Tuesday, it is hard to view UTLA and LAUSD as anything other than two race cars speeding at each other in a game of strike chicken.

“There are no layoffs occurring in San Diego. There are no layoffs occurring in Long Beach. There are no layoffs occurring in Oakland. There are no layoffs occurring in San Jose. There are no layoffs occurring in San Francisco. There are no layoffs occurring in Stockton. And I could go on,” he said.

Take a look at his full comments below.

 

Pi Day at Millikan Middle School Math Academy

Saturday is “National Pi Day” — as in the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter — and is a holiday that students Millikan Middle School Math Academy take very seriously by celebrating it in un-serious ways.

On Friday starting at noon, Millikan students will recognize the day by holding a contest to see who can recite the most digits in the number representing Pi, which is an infinite number often abbreviated to 3.14. Last year’s winner recited more than 1,000 digits, according to LAUSD. (Here‘s Pi to 100,000 places.)

There will be a pie-eating contest, pizza pie for lunch and the opportunity for students to throw pies at teachers and their principal, John Plevack.

Pain of the Prison System

We try not to link to Education Week too often here at LA School Report, not because it isn’t a great publication but because readers only get to click on three stories a month before having to subscribe. But a recent story is certainly worth a click, as it features Venice High School‘s Pain of the Prison System (POPS) club, a support system for students whose parents are in prison.

Over 60 students often attend the monthly club, and it makes for an interesting read. Click here to take a look.

Aspen Challenge

The finals of the “Aspen Challenge: Los Angeles” program are taking place Saturday at Garfield High School and will feature 16 teams from LA Unified schools.

Launched by the Aspen Institute and the Bezos Family Foundation, the Aspen Challenge provides a forum for high school students and teachers to take on some of the world’s most pressing issues and propose possible solutions. Some of the teams may be selected to advance and showcase their work at the Aspen Ideas Festival.

Click here for more info about Saturday’s event.