US Grant Funds $20,000 Teacher Bonuses at ‘High-Need’ LA Schools Los Angeles Unified Schools Superintendent John Deasy said that a $49 million federal grant awarded to the district this week to improve teacher effectiveness will help pay for a new multiple-measure teacher evaluation system and more professional development programs, including a bonus for certain teachers...

A new Los Angeles Times / USC poll shows support for Governor Jerry Brown’s Prop 30 ballot initiative – which would temporarily raise income tax on high earners – has slipped to 54%, down 10 points from March. Despite the erosion, Democratic voters still overwhelmingly favor it, 69-20%.  Meanwhile, Molly Munger’s competing tax measure, Prop...

L.A. Unified and Charter Groups Win Teacher Evaluation Grants L.A. Unified, California’s largest school system, will receive $16 million, one of the largest grants. But the top prize in dollars, more than $23 million, went to the District of Columbia Public Schools, a system less than one-eighth the size of L.A. Unified. LA Times What...

Yesterday, Governor Jerry Brown signed into law a measure (SB 1458) which curtails the role of test scores in calculating a school’s Academic Performance Index (or API). Right now, API scores are based solely on student test scores, and can have enormous consequences for a school. A low API score can eventually lead to its...

California Limits Role of Student Tests in API Scores California’s key measure of public school quality will be redefined to lessen the impact of standardized test scores under a bill signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown. The law will broaden how the Academic Performance Index is calculated by limiting test scores to 60% for high...

Last week, Governor Jerry Brown signed no less than 14 education bills, according to his website. They included a law that re-works how principals are evaluated, and one that makes it harder to expel a student. He also vetoed two bills.  Below the break is the full list.

Rejecting test scores as a core value  Los Angeles Times (Sandy Banks): The Chicago teachers strike reflected the nationwide divide over ‘market reforms,’ shorthand for the accountability metrics that tie teachers’ salaries and jobs to how well their students perform. Brown signs bill spelling out evaluations (for principals) Ed Source: Without the acrimony and fanfare that doomed a teacher...

Prop. 30 Maintains Voter Support CTA Blog: The PPIC survey determined that Prop. 30 is supported by 73% of likely Democratic voters and 53% of independents.  More Republicans than Democrats oppose the measure. Ex-LAUSD teacher gets 25 years for molesting 13 Pacoima students Daily News: Chapel, of Chatsworth, pleaded no contest last month to committing lewd acts against seven...

LAUSD’s Plan to Fund New Technology LAUSD:  Noting that within three years the State is scheduled to administer its tests electronically – no more paper and pencil – Deasy said the time is now for the District to greatly expand its digital access and capabilities. Calif. Poised to Spotlight ELLs Stalled in Schools EdWeek: California is poised to...

Slim chance for teachers strike in L.A., officials say LA Times: Few observers expect tensions over performance reviews to ignite a strike in Los Angeles, as it did in Chicago, because of myriad differences in conditions surrounding the two cities’ school districts. Group w/ties to Koch Bros drops $4 million on Prop 32 SF Chronicle:  Look what just...