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Teachers Union Files Two More Unfair Labor Practice Charges*
The teachers union has filed two unfair labor practice charges with the Public Employment Relations Board (or PERB) against the Los Angeles Unified School District over 12 teachers who have been removed from two different schools – one at City of Angels and 11 at Crenshaw High. UTLA president Warren Fletcher said at a...
By Hillel Aron | September 5, 2013
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Online Voting a Step Closer for UTLA Membership
An initiative that would move voting by the LA teachers union from paper ballots to online has gathered enough signatures to put the change to a full membership vote, according to the architects of the proposal, Marisa Crabtree and Megan Markevich, both teachers and Teach Plus fellows. “Our goal is to make sure that our union is...
By Hillel Aron | September 5, 2013
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Rhee Joining Town Hall Meeting with Teachers in LA
A panel of education reformers, including StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee, is holding a town hall meeting later today in Los Angeles, where they will take questions from an audience of area educators. As the first of three such events around the country this month, the session is billed as a chance to set aside polarizing...
By Chase Niesner | September 5, 2013
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District Urges Board to Dismiss Union’s Unfair Practice Charge
LA Unified is urging the Public Employment Relations Board to dismiss the teacher’s union’s unfair labor practice charge, filed in June. The nine-page district response, dated August 15 and posted today by the LA Daily News, outlines a series of reasons that the district says shows that the charges are without merit. The issue at hand is over...
By Hillel Aron | August 23, 2013
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School Board Meeting Wrap Up: More Discussion Than Votes*
What began as a breezy LA Unified School Board meeting on Tuesday turned, not surprisingly, into a long, tedious, sometimes rancorous session, with a host of issues discussed but rarely resolved. A number of key votes were postponed, and Superintendent John Deasy’s highly anticipated budget presentation was postponed until the Sept. 10 board meeting so it could...
By Hillel Aron | August 20, 2013
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Union Survey Finds Teachers Unprepared for Common Core
Hours after LA Unified announced results of a survey in which teachers expressed “high marks” for their training on iPads and the teaching content on them – the instructional tools for the new Common Core State Standards — the teacher’s union on Monday said its own survey found that a majority of teachers do not...
By LA School Report | August 19, 2013
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Deasy: ‘One of the Biggest Adjustments Ever’
LA Unified opens its doors for a new school year tomorrow, and despite an especially contentious few months for LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, he’s all optimism. In Part One of a two-part interview, LA School Report contributor Vanessa Romo talks with Deasy about his relationship with teachers, the challenges of pioneering the new Common Core...
By LA School Report | August 12, 2013
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Deasy to LAUSD Administrators: I’m Staying on the Job
John Deasy isn’t leaving. In his annual address to LA Unified administrators, the LASUSD Superintendent addressed head-on recent reports that his rocky relationship with the school board may lead to his resignation or removal. “A lot of chatter this summer, if you read blogs or read newspapers,” he said, “So let’s clear that up really quickly:...
By Hillel Aron | August 8, 2013
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Challengers to Fletcher Could Emerge at UTLA Conference
The teachers union’s annual Leadership Conference starts today (click here to see the program), and perhaps the biggest question on members’ minds is who will rise to challenge UTLA President Warren Fletcher as he seeks reelection in January. Filing won’t officially begin until December, but the campaign season begins today. “Most slates [of candidates] are...
By Hillel Aron | August 2, 2013
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Ratliff Retires Campaign Debt With Broad Base of Support
Before her election to the LA school board in May, Monica Ratliff was virtually unknown. Now, the race to influence her is on — and all sides have entered. Ratliff, a former teacher and upset winner over Antonio Sanchez in District 6, has raised just over $30,000 since her election to help retire her campaign...
By Hillel Aron | July 30, 2013