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Deasy Joins Governor’s Funding Formula Offensive
LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy was in Sacramento Wednesday for a press conference in support of Governor Jerry Brown’s proposal to shift more funding to school districts like LAUSD that have large numbers of poor and English Language Learner students. Brown’s central message to lawmakers: resistance is futile. “If people are going to fight it, they’re...
By Hillel Aron | April 25, 2013
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Deasy: Audit-Dodging Charter Faces Consequences
Last week, we reported that the charter school called Academia Semillas had not complied with an audit by LAUSD’s Office of the Inspector General, despite only barely being renewed last year. Yesterday, Superintendent John Deasy responded directly to the school: “If you can’t comply with this, then I can’t recommend that school’s renewal,” said Deasy. “It looks...
By Hillel Aron | April 24, 2013
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Deasy Requests Changes to Teacher Dismissal Bill
Earlier this week, the LA Weekly honed in on the outsized influence California’s largest teachers union is perceived to have on education policy issues, including recent efforts to speed the removal of sexual predators from the classroom. “That’s how CTA infamously killed a [2012] law to fire sex-pervert teachers, SB 1530,” LA Weekly writer Matthew Mullins wrote. “A...
By Samantha Oltman | April 24, 2013
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Reform-Minded Teachers No Match for Deasy Referendum
If UTLA’s referendum on John Deasy meant little to the Superintendent himself, and wasn’t persuasive to UTLA-endorsed mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti, it was, perhaps, a sign of just how little clout teacher groups like Teach Plus, Educators 4 Excellence and Teachers for a New Unionism have exhibited thus far within the union. Those groups, which...
By Hillel Aron | April 23, 2013
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Analysis: Worried Teachers, Union Publicity Stunt
Most of the news coverage surrounding last week’s union straw poll on LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy focused on the whopping 91 percent of teachers who expressed “no confidence” in his leadership and treated the result as if it had some sort of real-world impact. What got left out or minimized along the way was the...
By Alexander Russo | April 17, 2013
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Update: New Concerns About LAUSD “Waiver”
While LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy says that a federal waiver from the law known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) could free up $80 million for student and teacher support services for the district — without reducing school accountability — and the Obama Administration has begun reviewing the LAUSD waiver request, state education officials and...
By Alexander Russo | April 16, 2013
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Mayoral Candidates Respond Differently to UTLA Vote on Deasy
Days after LA teachers handed John Deasy a symbolic vote of no confidence, mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel reaffirmed her support for the divisive Superintendent. “In the last two years since John Deasy took over the school district, we have seen test scores skyrocket, graduation rates grow and drop out rates shrink,” Greuel said in an emailed...
By Hillel Aron | April 16, 2013
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Morning Read: Board Considers Speedier Teacher Investigations
L.A. School Board to Consider Faster Investigation of Teachers Sexual misconduct allegations at Miramonte Elementary School sparked a surge of investigations of Los Angeles teachers, pushing the ranks of those in “teacher jail” to more than 300 — and prompting officials this week to consider the rights of accused employees. LA Times See also: AP,...
By Samantha Oltman | April 16, 2013
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Watch: Deasy to Focus on Youth Rights
After the symbolic “no confidence” vote by the Los Angeles teachers union last week, LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy gave the LA Daily News his thoughts and described his plans to bring “youth rights” to all students in LA schools: Watch and read the full Deasy interview at LA Daily News; read LA School Report’s coverage of UTLA’s vote here.
By Samantha Oltman | April 15, 2013
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Morning Read: State Democrats Pass Anti-Reform Resolution
California Democrats Blast Efforts to Overhaul Schools California Democrats on Sunday condemned efforts led by members of their own party to overhaul the nation’s schools, arguing that groups such as StudentsFirst and Democrats for Education Reform are fronts for Republicans and corporate interests. LA Times L.A. School Reform Effort Draws Diverse Group of Wealthy Donors...
By Samantha Oltman | April 15, 2013