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ULTA super PAC holds off on LAUSD school board endorsement
In an unusual move, PACE, the political arm of the second-largest teachers union in the country, is sitting on the sidelines for the moment, after voting last night to “recommend no endorsement” in the upcoming LA Unified school board race to fill the vacant seat in South Los Angeles, District 1. At the endorsement meeting...
By Aaron Stella | March 13, 2014
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Unions Send Letter of Concern over Deasy Comments
The unions that represent LAUSD teachers and administrators have sent the School Board a letter raising “a concern” over controversial comments Superintendent John Deasy made to LA School Report in June. Last month, following a decision by the Board to postpone voting on a motion by Tamar Galatzan to allow schools greater autonomy over how...
By Hillel Aron | July 10, 2013
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People: Behind the Scenes with David Tokofsky
Jowled and affable, David Tokofsky is the kind of guy who can’t get in the door of Camilo’s California Bistro before being recognized and greeted by other patrons and distributing handshakes to the waitstaff. Officially, the 53 year-old Eagle Rock resident is a part-time consultant for the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA), the school...
By Ruth Welte | June 13, 2013
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District Makes Student Achievement 30% of Teacher Evaluation*
LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy has issued guidelines to all principals regarding the new teacher evaluations, which will be implemented by the start of the 2013-14 school year. But UTLA President Warren Fletcher says that the guidelines may violate the underlying agreement, which was ratified by UTLA on January 19th and approved by the School Board on Tuesday.
By Hillel Aron | February 15, 2013
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Principals Cancel Deasy Meetings*
The administrators’ association has been repeatedly complaining to the school district about administrators’ workload (see: Principals: Too Many Plans). But the AALA hasn’t been getting much time or attention from LAUSD Superintendent Deasy who, according to the October 22 newsletter, says he’s too focused on Props 30 and 38 to meet with them. “Finding resources to help and committing them...
By Hillel Aron | October 29, 2012
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Principals: Too Many Plans (& Emails)
While they recently agreed to a new contract with LAUSD, the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) lashes out at Superintendent John Deasy in the latest issue of their weekly newsletter about the district’s myriad plans and programs: “Plans, plans and more plans – Attendance, Safety, Single School, Accreditation, Common Core, Master, Discipline, Parent Involvement and Autonomy—all plans!...
By Hillel Aron | October 8, 2012
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Concerns About Teacher Talks
On Monday, representatives from LAUSD and UTLA met again to discuss teacher evaluations — the 15th session since July 11, when a judge ordered the two sides to develop a new system for evaluating teachers and principals that includes some measure of pupil progress. Superintendent John Deasy told Teresa Watanabe of the LA Times, “I...
By Hillel Aron | September 18, 2012
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Morning Read: Agreement In Principal
L.A. Unified, union OK system of evaluating principals LA Times: Los Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy announced the one-year agreement with the administrators’ union Tuesday, calling it a “remarkable breakthrough.” The one-year time period will give both sides time to work out details of the system, according to AALA President Judith Perez. Other coverage of the agreement is...
By Hillel Aron | September 12, 2012
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Conflicting Reports On Evaluation Negotiations
As you may recall, Superior Court Judge James Chalfant ordered LAUSD, the teachers union (UTLA) and the administrators union (AALA) to provide a September 4 progress report on a negotiations over new way of evaluating teachers and administrators that includes some measure of pupil progress. So what’s the update? LAUSD has made a proposal, according to the...
By Hillel Aron | September 5, 2012