LAUSD Board Member Nury Martinez is hosting a town hall meeting in the San Fernando Valley on Saturday, October 27 to educate parents and community members about how propositions on the upcoming election ballot will affect LA schools. Martinez will speak along with LAUSD’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Megan Reillyhas, about the drastic budget cuts...

Mediator Don Raska has been appointed to try to help resolve the teacher evaluation negotiations between LAUSD and the teachers union (UTLA), according to a UTLA newsletter. The October 19th issue of the United Teacher states that, “the union continues to push back against LAUSD’s proposal to link a percentage of a teacher’s evaluation to...

Capping charter school growth seemed to have been a priority for LAUSD Board Member Steve Zimmer until recently, when he twice postponed, then watered down, his controversial proposal that would have banned new charter schools. The motivation behind his hedging has been something of a mystery. One answer could be he’s listening: California Charter Schools...

You’ve probably never heard of Mike Antonucci, but you might be glad — or angry — that there’s someone like him around. Described by Education Week as “the nation’s leading observer — and critic — of the two national teachers’ unions and their affiliates,” Antonucci writes an insider blog called Education Intelligence Agency that tracks teachers union revenues, membership, campaign spending,...

On Monday, October 8, the day before the monthly board meeting, Superintendent John Deasy will speak about the state of LAUSD at Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools. LAUSD stakeholders will gather to hear Deasy’s strategic plan and strategies for the district’s next three years. Click here for full event details. It’s not yet clear if...

Here’s an interesting chart from the November issue of Chicago Magazine which seems to show that LAUSD schools run longer than other big cities like DC or NYC (and that the poverty rate for LAUSD kids is second only to Chicago). However, the average teacher salary is lower than all but Miami-Dade. And the graduation...

• LAUSD to Begin Phasing In Common Core Curriculum Standards: The standards, the first ever national standards for public school curriculum, have been adopted by all but five states. Lots of changes are coming, including: basic algebra and geometry starting in kindergarden (!), less literature and more informational reading, and more integration of math and english....