Genethia Hudley-Hayes

Despite her inability to substantiate a number of academic credentials and other claims on her resume, Genethia Hudley-Hayes still has the backing of  her major supporters in the race for the LA Unified District 1 board seat.

“Outsiders don’t get it,” said one longtime south Los Angeles activist who spoke to LA School Report on the condition of anonymity. “Our community closes rank when it feels attacked.”

Still in her camp is one of her biggest endorsers — U.S. Congresswoman Karen Bass, whose district overlaps with the open board seat, left vacant by the death of longtime board member Marguerite LaMotte.  Bass told LA School Report, “There has been a lot of carelessness and it’s extremely unfortunate. But I will continue to support her.”

District 1 stretches from Hancock Park south to Long Beach. The population is increasingly Hispanic, but for 40 years, voters have consistently elected a black woman to the school board.

Former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who along with Bass announced his endorsement of Hudley Hayes in February, before discrepancies in her resume were confirmed, has apparently not changed his position. Messages left by LA School Report asking if he has withdrawn his endorsement were not returned.

The timing is important: with candidates busy preparing direct mail pieces timed to drop when vote-by-mail ballots arrive early next month, a high-profile face featured on campaign literature can make a big difference in swaying voters. The special election is scheduled for June 3.

Bass said Hudley-Hayes, who served as on the school board as president more than 10 years ago, bring the board together. “She has a long track record of working on educational issues,” she said. ” She was able to build consensus amongst board members on a variety of issues at a contentious period of time.”

But that story was actually written in 2003 — back when Blume was writing for the LA Weekly rather than his current gig at the LA Times — and concerned a different Coalition: the Coalition for Kids, headed by then-Mayor Richard Riordan.

Ten years later, the story is pretty much the same — only the names have changed. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s Coalition for School Reform just spent over $4 million on three races, losing all but one.

And, with Villaraigosa on his way out, some donors fuming at their expensive defeat, and with the very usefulness of independent expenditure (IE) campaigns fueled by big-money donations being questioned, the Coalition yet again faces an uncertain future.

Possible changes that may be discussed at a Friday meeting include dissolving as an organization, creating a year-round non-profit advocacy group, or simply changing names when the next Board elections take place in two years.

Even before last week’s shock election that saw Monica Ratliff defeat the Coalition-backed Antonio Sanchez, a meeting was already being planned for this Friday to discuss “the 2013 board elections and to discuss preparations for future elections,” according to an email obtained by LA School Report.

With a subject line “LA Board Elections Debrief and 2015 Planning” addressed to “LA Ed Reformers and Friends,” the email was sent out at the beginning of May and has been circulating among reform allies since then.

The invitees are a veritable who’s who of school reformers, including former Board candidate Kate Anderson, Partnership for LA Schools CEO Marshall Tuck, Green Dot CEO Marco Petruzzi, Camino Nuevo CEO Ana Ponce, former Board President Yolie Flores, outgoing Deputy Mayor of Education Joan Sullivan, and Jed Wallace, President of the California Charter Schools Association.

Flores said she expects the meeting to be an informal discussion.

“I haven’t been a part of [the Coaliton], so it’ll be interesting,” said the former LAUSD Board member. “Folks have been calling me asking what I think. I’m interested in challenging folks to be much more thoughtful about how they think about Board elections. There’s some pretty basic things that I was shaking my head that didn’t happen.”

For all the post-election recriminations about the candidate that was chosen and the campaign that was run, one basic question to be answered is: are these campaigns even worth it?

A number of other big-money IE campaigns —  namely the Department of Water & Power union’s campaign on behalf of Wendy Greuel’s doomed mayoral run– suffered expensive losses this year.

Though Villaraigosa has previously pledged to continue his involvement in Los Angeles education, it’s unlikely he’ll be very involved in future School Board races, and it’s unclear if Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti’s views will line up with the current school reformers.

His wife Amy Wakeland* was the Coalition for Kids’ spokesperson in 2003, but he won the UTLA endorsement and never endorsed Coalition candidates including Board member Monica Garcia or Antonio Sanchez.

“For me, this organization is a means to an end,” said one reformer who’s been invited to Friday’s meeting but didn’t want to speak on the record. “It’s a vehicle for a group of people, with Villaraigosa at the helm, to invest.There’s a variety of ways to do that in the future — with or without this particular name. Given the number of high-profile losses, maybe attaching the name to candidates isn’t the best thing to set them up for success.”

That being said, the Coalition for School Reform still has over $500,000 in the bank. It can change its name, but not its purpose, which is to elect School Board candidates.

“They have to spend their money on something,” said one pro-reform political consultant. “In two years, it’s gonna be another war.”

Indeed, four LAUSD School Board seats are up for election in 2015: District 1, covering mostly South LA (currently represented by Marguerite LaMotte); District 3, covering the West San Fernando Valley (currently represented by Tamar Galatzan); District 5, covering a hodge-podge of neighborhoods from Silver Lake to Vernon (currently represented by Bennett Kayser); and District 7, covering San Pedro, Harbor Gateway and South LA (currently represented by Dr. Richard Vladovic).

Will this year’s loss hurt fundraising in the future? One donor we spoke with, Frank Baxter, the former U.S. Ambassador to Uruguay who gave $100,000 to the Coalition, said he would continue to support similar efforts.

“I will never stop fighting for better education for our kids,” he said. “Whatever course that takes, I would like to be part of it.”

But one reformer, who’s been invited to Friday’s meeting, says that LA’s reform effort needs to morph into a more grassroots kind of effort, which might mean creating a new kind of organization.

“People in the reform community are talking about setting up a 501(c)4,” he said. “Not an [Independent Expenditure campaign] that pops up every election cycle, but that exists in between elections building up a base.”

Named for a section in the tax code, 501(c)(4)s are non-profit organizations dedicated to promoting “social welfare” that are increasingly being used by education organizations such as StudentsFirst who wish to be involved in political advocacy.

Unlike 501(c)(3)s, they are allowed to spend money on political campaigns and do not have to reveal all of their donors. Examples include the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Rifle Association.

The source pointed to the 2003 Blume story as evidence that the reformers have consistently failed to learn lessons from past electoral defeats.

“We are literally living that again,” he said. “We’ve learned nothing in ten years. That has to change.”

*A previous version of this post identified Garcetti’s wife as Amy Wakefield

Previous posts: New Mayor’s Wife Has School Reform Past; How Ratliff Won (& Reformers Lost)*; Reform Coalition Focuses Massive War Chest on Mailers; Why the Coalition’s Going All Out to Elect Sanchez

“From what I’ve seen, from the reports, I believe Monica’s the winner,” he told LA School Report. “I wish Monica and everybody on the School Board success.”

In a written statement, the teachers union congratulated Ratliff on her victory: “We are overjoyed that a working classroom teacher will be on the School Board.  Ms. Ratliff has seen firsthand the kind of harm that is done when a District is mismanaged.”

UTLA also trumpeted its support for its endorsed Mayoral candidate, Eric Garcetti, who handily defeated Wendy Greuel to become the next Mayor of Los Angeles.

Since LA School Report wrote about the campaign aftermath yesterday morning (see: How Ratliff Won & Reformers Lost), reactions and post-election analysis have continued to pour in, including exultation from Ratliff supporters and head-scratching from Sanchez allies.

Thus far, at least, there’s no real consensus about why Sanchez lost or — just as interesting — exactly how Ratliff won. But there are lots of theories.

One general theme emerging from Tuesday night’s municipal election was the limited effectiveness of special interest money.

Greuel had been the recipient of millions of dollars from public employee unions, which commentators are now saying hurt her campaign.

Likewise, Sanchez was the recipient of money from both deep-pocketed “school reformers” and service workers — and if it didn’t hurt, it certainly didn’t help enough to bring home a win.

“Right now we’re in this moment where big money just makes people skeptical,” said consultant Glenn Gritzner, who often works for charter schools and other education-related clients.

“Overcoming financial odds of this size … suggests a big difference in the allure of the candidates and the ability to make big money unattractive,” said Charles Kerchner, labor and education politics professor at Claremont Graduate University in the LA Times.

USC political science Professor Dan Schnur argued that voters were more concerned with the Mayor’s race, and most of them probably decided who to vote for while they were already at the polls.

“These candidates were largely overshadowed by the citywide races,” Schnur told LA School Report. “Most voters probably made the decision based on ballot designation.”

The ballot designation label that appeared below Ratliff’s name was “fifth grade teacher.”

But many of those who watched the race were also saying that the reform community picked the wrong candidate to promote.

Some called for a candidate like Iris Zuniga with a connection to public education in Los Angeles.

“Antonio wasn’t the right candidate up there,” said one prominent reform-aligned official. “I was very clear with people.”

The final choice was, reportedly, made by outgoing Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, for whom Sanchez worked as an aide for six years. Villaraigosa was also the chief fundraiser for the Coalition.

When asked to comment on the School Board election results, Villaraigosa spokesman Vicki Curry emailed: “The Mayor doesn’t have a separate statement from the Coalition.”

“Sometimes, getting all of the support is worse than getting some of the support,” said Raphael Sonenshein, the executive director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles, in the LA Daily News.

For his part, Sanchez didn’t have any clear answer about why he’d lost.  “I’m disappointed. I really thought that we built a really good team, a really good coalition,” he told LA School Report. To think back on the last seven months, I dedicated night and day to this campaign. I’m surprised.”

Theories about how and why Ratliff won were somewhat less specific.

Refrigerator magnets, a core team of volunteers, and a focus on Sunland, Tujunga, and other promising precincts was a big part of her success, according to the LA Times.

“Even Ratliff’s supporters sounded pretty stunned,” according to LA Times editorial page writer Karin Kline.

After an election-night gathering held in her one-bedroom Sunland apartment, Ratliff was in her classroom bright and early yesterday morning, according to the Daily News, having received a congratulatory call from LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy.

Previous posts: How Ratliff Won (& Reformers Lost); Final Unofficial Tally; Ratliff Scores School Board Upset; Ratliff Holds Narrow Lead; Voter Turnout Will Determine Outcome

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has added his voice to a group of education leaders who are reluctant to support the current union-supported teacher dismissal bill being considered in Sacramento unless it’s amended to address key issues.

In an April 19 letter sent to the bill’s sponsor, Assemblymember Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo), Villaraigosa praises Buchanan for her “willingness to tackle this difficult and sensitive issue.” But he says he’s withholding support for the bill, known as AB 375, unless she addresses “areas of concern” he has — many of which echo those that have been expressed by LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, education advocacy group EdVoice, and former State Senator Gloria Romero.

Both the Mayor and LAUSD want Buchanan to amend the rules to make it easier to find teachers to serve on the three-person Commission on Professional Competence that has the final say on whether teachers are fired. (Read about LAUSD’s position on the teacher dismissal bill here.)

Villaraigosa also agrees with EdVoice CEO Bill Lucia on the bill’s revised timelines; current law requires dismissal hearings to begin within 60 days, but AB 375 would actually extend that time to six months. They both think the longer timeline delays the process unnecessarily.

Last but not least, the Mayor takes issue with the bill’s rules on pretrial evidence, writing, “the process for allowing the use of relevant information must be less onerous.” Education advocate Gloria Romero, who is head of California Democrats for Education Reform, also warned that the bill could “severely limit pretrial evidence discovery.”

Read the full Villaraigosa letter here.

What remains unknown is how Buchanan and the bill’s current supporters, including the California Teachers Association, will respond to these concerns.

Previous posts: Deasy Requests Changes to Teacher Dismissal Bill; Mixed Reactions to New Teacher Dismissal Bill; Assemblymember Bloom Opposes Teacher Dismissal Bill

L.A. Unified Board Ratifies ‘Parent-Trigger’ Partnership
The Los Angeles Board of Education on Tuesday ratified a partnership between the school district and a charter school to take control of struggling 24th Street Elementary under a controversial parent-empowerment law. LA Times
See also: Color Lines, LA School Report

School Board Renews Contract for Ivy Academia Charter
The petition by Ivy Academia Entreprenurial Charter School was renewed with little discussion, less than two weeks after a jury convicted its founders of grand theft, embezzlement and other charges. LA Times
See also: LA School Report

L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa Challenges on Schools
Unions and other elements of the education establishment strongly backed Antonio Villaraigosa’s steps up the political ladder – until he became an advocate of charter schools, parental empowerment, modifying teacher seniority and tenure and other reforms that the establishment despises. Sac Bee Opinion

State’s Budget Fakery Takes a Toll on Charter Schools
Because state funding is often deferred for months, charter schools must take out bridge loans to pay the bills. The interest costs come at the expense of pupils. LA Times
See also: EdWeek

More Than Half of Suspensions Are for “Willful Defiance” of School Authorities
More than half of all suspensions and a quarter of expulsions in California schools are for “willful defiance” of school authorities, according to a new database that State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson is scheduled to release this Friday. EdSource

A More Confident System
Educators 4 Excellence recently interviewed members for their input on this “Vote of No Confidence” process, the approach to engaging teachers in critical conversations about leadership, and how it could be improved. We heard three overarching themes. Huff Po Op-Ed

Upcoming EdSource Symposium to Tackle State Education Reform
As California embarks on a slate of reforms that could drastically change the face of public education, an upcoming symposium sponsored by EdSource will help the public and policymakers make sense of the complex issues facing educators. EdSource

Senate GOP Leader Revives Parent Trigger, Open Enrollment for Second Act
Two lasting educational imprints from the Schwarzenegger years – the Open Enrollment Act and Parent Trigger – are set for remakes this session under legislation offered by Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff. SI&A Cabinet Report

School Board Transparency a Challenge in Digital Age
School board members are struggling to interpret laws that govern where and how they do business now that as many conversations take place digitally as they do face to face. EdWeek

Children’s Books With Minority Characters Are Hard to Find
Veteran educator Louise Derman Sparks has written volumes on what she calls “anti-bias education” for children.   Sparks firmly believes that children can start absorbing an anti-bias message just from what we read to them because children’s books are one of the first ways we introduce infants to the world. KPCC

L.A. School Reform Effort Draws Diverse Group of Wealthy Donors
Republicans, liberals, Hollywood notables and global corporate executives are among those who gave to the Coalition for School Reform. LA Times

LAUSD Chief John Deasy Draws Fire as He Pursues Aggressive Reform Plan
The reforms that Deasy enacted – and just how aggressively he’s pursued them – have put the fast-talking New Englander at the center of a heated debate over the future of the nation’s second-largest school district. LA Daily News

Interest in Teaching Continues to Drop in California
Interest in teaching is steadily dropping in California, with the number of educators earning a teaching credential dipping by 12% last year — marking the eighth straight annual decline. LA Times
See also: EdSource

A To-Do List for L.A.’s Next Mayor
I want the next mayor to be an education mayor, but not by simply operating his or her own network of schools. I’d like the mayor to create an Office of City Schools to provide a one-stop informational shop for families. LA Times Opinion (Gloria Romero)

Villaraigosa’s Legacy
Throughout Villaraigosa’s tenure, there has consistently been a sense that he has fallen short of his potential and delivered less than he promised. LA Times (Jim Newton)

Race for Campaign Cash; Mayor’s Race Exceed $10 Million
In the Los Angeles Unified School District board campaigns, the primary race for the District 6 seat had generated more than $1.2 million in donations, but in the runoff, contributions are off to a slow start. LA Daily News

As Nation’s Schools Get More Diverse, Instruction of Students Learning English Remains Bleak
Of all the challenges facing minority students and their schools, English learners are arguably the most disadvantaged. It’s hard to find enough teachers who are qualified to instruct them, and there’s little consistency in the programs used to educate them. AP

Growing Charter Network Under SBE Draws Interest From Lawmakers
A sharp increase in the number of charter schools petitioning – and receiving – permission to open from the California State Board of Education has attracted the attention of the Legislature. SI&A Cabinet Report

California Pension Fund to Divest From Gunmakers
California’s pension fund for teachers made official on Friday its plan to divest holdings in firearms companies whose weapons are illegal in the state. Reuters

Robot Experiment Coming to Los Angeles Classrooms
A dragon-like robot will soon grace the classrooms of one Los Angeles elementary school in hopes of helping first-graders adopt healthier eating habits. KPCC

California High Schools Are Sick of the Coachella Cut Day ‘Mess’
In L.A., administrators and teachers at some of the top schools that have struggled to contend with the empty classrooms of Coachella Fridays are finally learning how to deal with absence in the age of the music festival. Atlantic

LAUSD Manager Scot Graham Suing District Regarding Alleged Harassment
A Los Angeles Unified School District manager is suing his employer, alleging the district failed to prevent former Superintendent Ramon Cortines from sexually harassing him. Scot Graham’s lawsuit was filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. LA Daily News

New Program Creates ‘Education Champions’ for Every Foster Child
California is on the leading edge of an innovative effort to give foster children a fighting chance in school.  A new national initiative to provide a trained adult to act as an education advocate for every foster child in the nation was recently launched in Santa Cruz County, which is piloting the program in California. EdSource

Elise Buik, president of the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, wants the mayor to help the district “replicate high-performance schools and transform low-performing schools more quickly.”

Marshall Tuck, CEO of Partnership for LA Schools, wants to know if the future mayor understands the state of LA schools and what they need to succeed:

And Gloria Romero, director of California’s Democrats for Education Reform, wants the new mayor to have more direct involvement in all LA schools — not just the lowest performing ones:

You can also read and listen to the full story at KPCC.

Eric Garcetti Avoids Schoolyard Tussle With Wendy Greuel
On the heels of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa calling on the two mayoral candidates to step up and communicate their education platforms during his State of the City address Tuesday night, Wendy Greuel stepped up with a challenge to Eric Garcetti. KPCC
See also: LA School Report, Annenberg News, LA Times

LAUSD Superintendent Fires Lemon Teachers
The speed with which Deasy moves and speaks is well documented. He brings an uncomfortable impatience to the LAUSD supe’s job as he moves to increase the types of schools available to students (known as School Choice), raise achievement on test scores and graduation rates, and require accountability from L.A.’s more than 20,000 tenured-for-life teachers. LA Weekly

Education Coalition Wants to Stay Course in L.A. Unified
A coalition of groups, including the United Way of Greater Los Angeles, has launched an effort to put education at the center of the mayoral race and civic attention. LA Times
See also: LA School Report

Operation Back in School Sweeps up Truant Kids
Operation Back in School, a multi-agency task force in the Harbor area Wednesday to sweep up truant kids who should be in school. No citations were issued in a friendlier approach to the problem that offered counseling for kids and parents. Daily Breeze

Parents Choose Unique School Takeover Model in ‘Trigger’ Vote
In the latest test of California’s controversial “parent trigger” law, South Los Angeles parents have voted to transform their struggling neighborhood school into a charter school hybrid beginning this fall, organizers announced Wednesday. Hechinger Report
See also: LA Times, LA School Report

Garcetti and Greuel Trade Barbs on Union Support on Eve of Debate
Greuel has argued that her record as controller proves her judgment will not be swayed by campaign contributors. Appearing with school board member Garcia at a high school in Garcetti’s district, the controller contended that it is her former council colleague who is in the thrall of a union — United Teachers Los Angeles — which is supporting his bid for mayor. LA Times

Gates’ Warning on Test Scores
In a recent op-ed article, he cautions against overusing students’ standardized test scores in evaluating how well teachers are doing their jobs. LA Times Editorial

Here’s Why Students in Los Angeles Aren’t Going to College
The stakes just got higher for high-schoolers in Los Angeles—but will they be prepared? TakePart

Qualified Math Teachers Elusive for Struggling Students, Studies Find
In many schools in the United States, students struggling the most in mathematics at the start of high school have the worst odds of getting a qualified teacher in the subject, new research finds. EdWeek

When a Teacher Is 2 Feet Tall
This year, robots will be teaching everything from math to vocabulary to nutrition inside classrooms in California and New York, a move the researchers call a first in American education. WSJ

Alemany Enjoys Unified State at Championship Assembly
When Alemany celebrated the school’s first state championship last year, the boys basketball program had the spotlight all to itself. LA Daily News

Bullies Shoot 8th Grade Student With BB Gun in Class, Victim Says
LA school district police plan to investigate a shooting incident at a Carson middle school where a BB gun injured a 13-year-old student. NBC LA

Obama Budget Would Allocate $75 Billion Over Next Decade to Preschool
In an ambitious and highly anticipated budget plan, President Barack Obama called Wednesday for allocating $75 billion over the next 10 years to expand public preschool by raising the federal tax on tobacco products. EdSource

Villaraigosa Criticizes Mayoral Candidates Over Education Goals
In the last major speech of his mayoral career, Antonio Villaraigosa chastised the two politicians seeking to replace him for not laying out visionary education goals, urging the candidates to look to other big cities for inspiration. LA Daily News
See also: Associated Press, LA School Report

The Greuel-Garcetti Conundrum
Here’s why two San Fernando Valley voters have switched allegiances, and why a third is still pondering. LA Times Column (Steve Lopez)

Los Angeles Unified School District Hires Security Aides to Watch for Threats
Tenth Street Elementary is in the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles, a few blocks west of the Staples Center and downtown skyscrapers. It’s a tough neighborhood; school security is always an issue. KPCC

Apples to Apples Comparison of Brown’s Funding Formula
Twenty-two of the 50 largest districts in the state would receive more money under Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed K-12 funding formula when it’s fully funded, potentially in seven years, while 28 districts would do better if additional money were simply divvied up under the current system, with no reforms, according to data provided this week by the state Department of Finance. EdSource
See also: SI&A Cabinet Report

New Teaching Standards Delve More Deeply Into Climate Change
The politically touchy topic of climate change will be taught more deeply to students under proposed new national science standards released Tuesday. LA Times
See also: KPCC

Home Economics: Then and Now in Los Angeles
Thirty years ago, when I was attending junior high school at Gaspar de Portola magnet in the West San Fernando Valley, home economics was still a class designed to teach girls how to be good housewives. LA Weekly

Bigger Math Gains Seen In Middle School TFA Teachers’ Pupils
Middle school Teach For America teachers in Texas seem to be holding their own in the classroom, outperforming other novice teachers in math, according to a recently released study from the San Antonio, Texas-based Edvance, an independent evaluation firm. EdWeek

According to the prepared version of the speech released by the mayor’s office this afternoon, Villaraigosa will express why he thinks “it has been so disheartening to see our mayoral candidates devote so little time to a serious discussion of how to deliver a quality education for all our children.”

In the prepared speech, Villaraigosa goes on to say, “Education reform can’t be a footnote on a campaign mailer or fodder for an attack ad. Improving our schools must be front and center of a real debate and discussion. It is time for our candidates to demonstrate the ‘fierce urgency of now’ when it comes to ensuring that all, not some, not many, but all of our children have access to great schools.”

Click here to read the full prepared text of Villaraigosa’s speech. Or, starting at 5 p.m., go here to watch a livestream of the speech. And check back later at LA School Report for any reactions from the candidates to being chided for their perceived lack of focus on this issue.

A new report out from a Washington DC think tank closely associated with the Democratic Party takes a look at the history of “mayoral control” of big-city school systems in which City Hall runs a district rather than an independently elected Board of Education.

According to the report, written by a pair of academics from Brown University and the University of Minnesota (and funded by the Broad Foundation), mayoral control doesn’t work everywhere but is associated with rising test scores and “can be a catalyst for reform.”

A recent oped in the Washington Post suggests that mayoral control limits community engagement and has proven itself not to be the silver bullet that had been hoped.

Previous posts: Mayor: Low Turnout Undercuts Elected Board;  Differing Views of Villaraigosa Education Record

“We had a 14 percent turnout for this last school board election, and for the last mayor’s race… The only person who has the wherewithal, if you will, to really push through these changes is a mayor.”

Mayor Villaraigosa famously tried and failed to win control of the School Board, won only mixed results from the just-completed 2013 primaries, and this week saw the Board vote to end the Presidency of Monica Garcia, one of his chief allies.

Previous posts: Defiant Mayor Promises Continued Involvement; Differing Views of Villaraigosa Education Record; Voter Turnout Far Below Expectations,

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is likely to be remembered for his efforts on behalf of public education in Los Angeles. But will he be considered effective and successful or not?

The initial verdicts are starting to come in, and they are predictably mixed.

On Tuesday, KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez produced a generally negative view of the Mayor’s accomplishments, saying that Villaraigosa “fell short” as LA’s education mayor. Key criticisms in the story include Villaraigosa’s failed takeover of the LAUSD Board, the less-than-miraculous improvements at his Partnership for LA Schools, and the credit he takes for actions outside of his direct control.

A more balanced assessment of the Mayor’s legacy can be heard on this March 5 “Which Way, LA?” segment that includes both the Mayor’s own views of his record, as well as those of UCLA’s Franklin Gilliam and LA News Group’s Mariel Garza.  (A Patt Morrison interview with Mayor Villaraigosa mentioned in the KPCC legacy story isn’t going to be posted until Thursday, according to the station.)

When LA School Report reached out to the Mayor’s office for comment, they said they were not interested in debating the KPCC article, but they did stand by the list of education accomplishments it referenced. Passage of school construction bonds is included as one of Villaraigosa’s successes because of the active role he played in supporting the bond measures when he was the speaker of the California State Assembly, according to the Mayor’s office.

See the mayor’s office’s full list of Villaraigosa’s education accomplishments here:

Mayor Villaraigosa’s List of LAUSD Education Accomplishments, 2005 – 2012

CTC to Survey New Teacher Prep Grads for Data on System Improvements
Concerned that too many of California’s teacher preparation programs don’t measure up to the state’s high standards, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing is set to undertake a data collection program aimed at pin-pointing strengths and weaknesses of specific institutions. SI&A Cabinet Report

California School Districts Send out Far Fewer Pink Slips
Thanks to a boost in money for public education, California school districts have issued just 3,000 pink slips to teachers this year, a dramatic drop from the 20,000 sent out last year, the California Teachers Assn. reported Monday. LA Times

School District Discriminated Against Gay Students, ACLU Alleges
In a letter from the ACLU, the Hesperia Unified School District is accused of discriminating against gay and lesbian students, including refusing to allow girls to wear tuxedos to the prom. LA Times
See also: AP

Lockyer Seeks Legal Opinion on School Construction Bond Campaigns
California Treasurer Bill Lockyer sought a legal opinion Monday to determine if some local education officials and the municipal finance firms they employ are violating state law by campaigning to get school construction bonds passed. LA Times

Highland Park School Wins $110K in National Educational Contest
A Highland Park high school is $110,000 richer after two students beat 1,600 other schools to win a national educational contest. CBS LA

Failure to Protect Kids Costs Millions
Los Angeles Unified School District, the state’s largest district and largest recipient of the Proposition 30 tax increases, figures to be writing a big check soon. Unfortunately, this check won’t be going to support math, reading or arts programs. OC Register Column by Gloria Romero

CDE, Torlakson Lead Effort to Forge Ahead on Common Core Despite Challenges
There’s no shortage of skeptics when it comes to the plan to begin testing students in the new common core curriculum standards beginning in the spring of 2015. SI&A Cabinet Report

Committee Wrestles With Incorporating Graduation Rate Into API
As part of a push to measure how well a school is educating its students based on more than just test scores, California for the first time is planning to factor graduation rates into the state’s main measure of a school’s academic achievement. EdSource

Police Union Backs Nury Martinez for LA City Council
The union that represents officers with the Los Angeles Police Department endorsed a school board member for an open L.A. City Council seat in the San Fernando Valley Monday. KPCC

Romero has had public disagreements with Villaraigosa in the past, and she first made her negative assessment of the outcome in an LA Times piece last week.

Now, in a new Orange County Register commentary, the head of Democrats for Education Reform (DFER) – California writes, “The balance of power on the school board has shifted away from the mayor, who overreached, and from the broader reform community.”

Photo by Don Liebig / UCLA Luskin

Before and during a Wednesday evening education event held at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, a tired-looking Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa expressed frustration about the previous day’s election results — and pledged to keep working on school reform issues even after his term expires.

“Obviously I was disappointed with the results in the fourth district,” Villaraigosa told LA School Report. “I had hoped Kate Anderson would prevail.”

However, he said he was emboldened by District 2 incumbent Monica Garcia‘s victory and was already rolling up his sleeves to help elect District 6 challenger Antonio Sanchez in the runoff. He cast the election in startlingly personal terms.

“I won one, I’m leading in another, and I lost one,” he said, referring to Tuesday’s outcomes. “And I’m not giving up.”

Photo by Don Liebig / UCLA Luskin

The Mayor had an edge about him the entire evening — at one point criticizing the voters themselves for not handing him mayoral control of the district.

“I love that the LA voter protects their right to vote for school board and then votes at seven percent,” he said sarcastically. (While voter turnout was between 16 and 20 percent on Tuesday, it was lower in the school board races.)

He also went out of his way to take not one but two digs at the LA Times, calling the editorial board’s stance against making A through G curriculum a requirement to graduate “an abomination,” and saying the paper had failed to report all the progress made by LAUSD in recent years.

“You don’t read anything positive in that newspaper,” he said.

Did the Mayor regret soliciting big checks from New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Rupert Murdoch?

“Absolutely not,” he said. “The unions get their checks from their members dues. They’ve controlled these elections for a long time. And we’re not gonna let that happen any longer.”

Superintendent John Deasy also defended the outside donations. “I think it’s very affirmational that people want to invest in LA schools,” he said. “I mean, LA is America, only sooner. And we are coming to a hometown near you.”

Peeved or not, Villaraigosa pledged to continue fighting for school reform in Los Angeles after his term as Mayor ends:

“I’ve committed to John and the reformers in this town that I’m gonna be involved in this election cycle, [and] in the next one. I just extended my Partnership Schools another five years. If the next mayor of LA doesn’t want to be involved in them, I’m gonna be.”

He added: “I’m here whether I’m in office as Mayor or not.”

Mayoral Rivals Talk Like Supply-Siders; Spending Roars
While the candidates are going to pains to try to differentiate themselves before the March 5 election, they found one issue to agree upon unanimously at an education forum in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday — their desire to retain John Deasy. LA Times

Mayoral Candidates Discuss Ways to Improve Schools at Education Summit
The five candidates running to succeed Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa each vowed Wednesday to continue his commitment to public education, along with his strong support of LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy and vision for reform. LA Daily News
See also: LA Times, Neon Tommy

Keep Questions Coming About L.A. Candidates’ Union Cash
Official records show union political action committees account for the vast majority of the more than $7.5 million spent on citywide, City Council and L.A. school board races so far in the form of unrestricted independent expenditures. Business groups can’t keep up. LA Daily News Editorial

LAUSD Write-In Candidate Jeneen Robinson Ends Campaign
Write-in candidate Jeneen Robinson has ended her campaign for the District 4 seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District board and is endorsing incumbent Steve Zimmer in Tuesday’s election. LA Daily News

California Districts Make Bid for NCLB Waiver
Nine California school districts today will seek a waiver from the No Child Left Behind Act that would set up a radically different school accountability system from the rest of the state and present the biggest political and legal test yet of the U.S. Department of Education’s ability to grant flexibility in exchange for promises to enact certain reforms. EdWeek

Districts Drop At-Large Elections to Comply With Voting Rights Law
Next week, Pasadena Unified voters will elect school board members by trustee areas for the first time, switching from at-large elections in which all candidates compete districtwide. EdSource

Voters Weren’t Told About Plan to Redistribute Education Money
Gov. Jerry Brown wants to use Prop. 30 tax revenues to help poorer students. It’s a laudable goal but shouldn’t come at the expense of more prosperous school districts. LA Times

School Districts Can’t Charge Parents for Basic Education
Out of necessity, cash strapped schools have for years been asking parents to cover some of the most basic classroom needs:  craft supplies, a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird, an Algebra book.  But it turns out that is illegal. KPCC

California Appellate Court Dismisses School Budget Challenge
In the ongoing tussle over budget rules, a state appellate court has dismissed a challenge from school groups who said California leaders had illegally manipulated the state constitution when they wrote the 2011-12 budget. SacBee

New Survey Finds Teachers Aren’t Prepared for Upcoming Common Core Standards
Starting in 2014, students in California and 45 other states will face a whole new set of standards called the Common Core. They represent a major shift in K-12 education across the country. KPCC

Left to right: Jan Perry, Kevin James, Wendy Greuel, and Eric Garcetti

In a Mayoral election dominated by the economy and the budget, education has been barely a blip on the leading candidates’ radar screens.

For a moment, at least, all that will change on Wednesday, February 27, when the five Mayoral candidates take part in a debate at the United Way’s education summit.

The question is whether any of the candidates will use the event as a time to get more specific about their positions — and distinguish themselves from each other. Some reform insiders are suggesting that more differences between Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel will emerge at the event.

In LA, the Mayor doesn’t have direct control over LAUSD.  That hasn’t stopped the last two Mayors — Riordan and Villaraigosa — from playing an increasingly strong role in public education, notably with raising money for School Board candidates.

Concerns about the teachers union may have played a part.  “The candidates this year may be worries about saying or doing anything to offend UTLA,” Schnur told LA School Report. “Villaraigosa had a professional biography that may have protected him to some degree.”

One pro-Greuel politico we talked to said he expects Greuel to use the summit as an opportunity to “come out” (as in come out of the closet) as an ed reformer.

LA Times columnist Newton, meanwhile, hopes Garcetti will use the summit as an “opportunity to lay to rest fears that his positions have been molded by his UTLA support.”

Previous posts: Video: Mayoral Candidates Talk Education; Mayoral Candidate Greuel Supports Garcia, Parent Trigger;  Candidate Garcetti Waffles on School Board Endorsement; Mayoral Candidate Perry Offers Mixed Praise for Villaraigosa; Mayoral Candidate James Proposes Trade Diploma

L.A. Votes: Greuel Fights Back 
With the clock ticking down to election day, the Los Angeles mayor’s race is getting testy. LA Times

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy Seeks No Child Left Behind Waivers
With California unable to get a waiver from the No Child Left Behind law, LAUSD and nine other districts have launched an effort to create their own data-based accountability systems — and have more freedom in how to spend tens of millions in federal dollars. LA Daily News

More Students Taking and Passing Advanced Placement Exams
More students in the Los Angeles Unified School District took and passed an Advanced Placement exam last year, reflecting a rise in success on the college-level tests in California and nationwide. LA Times
See also LADN

L.A. Unified Set for Funding Boost Under New State Formula
After five years of crippling budget cuts, the Los Angeles Unified School District would receive an estimated $820 more per student over the next two years under Gov. Jerry  Brown’s proposed new funding formula. LA Times

In California, Thousands of Teachers Missing Needed Credentials
The last time Charlie Parker took a social studies class, he was a teenager with an Afro and Jimmy Carter was president of the United States. Yet here he was, standing at the front of a classroom, trying to teach dozens of high schoolers subjects that never appealed to him when he learned them more than 30 years ago. CA Watch

State Releases District Breakdowns Under School Funding Formula
Districts and charter schools now know how they’d make out under Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed Local Control Funding Formula, his plan for sweeping school finance reform. EdSource

Thousands of Children Could Lose Head Start Services Under Sequestration
Just one week after promising to inject funds into early childhood education in his State of the Union address, President Obama is warning that the Head Start program will instead face cuts if lawmakers fail to reach a compromise over the budget. KPCC

Mayor Villaraigosa at today’s 24th Street Elementary parents’ event. Image: Colin Young-Wolff

He may never have won direct control over LAUSD and he may or may not ever get a Cabinet appointment.  He may have only a few more weeks before his replacement is picked.

But outgoing LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa still enjoys some big days on the education reform front.

Today included news that Villaraigosa had convinced New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg to contribute $1 million to the independent expenditure committee Villaraigosa supports — news that was picked up nationally by Politico as well as by LA School Report, the LA Weekly, and the LA Times.

Villaraigosa also had time to do a morning appearance with the folks from Parent Revolution, whose parent trigger approach Villaraigosa strongly supports.  Later on in the day, the LAUSD School Board voted –unanimously — to approve the parent trigger petition there.

Previous posts: Duncan and Villaraigosa Praise LA , The Mayor’s Legacy, Who Will Pick Up the Mayor’s Education Torch?, Trigger Gains Traction