Screenshot of poll showing where education factors in voters’ decision-making.

The most recent LA Times / USC poll has candidate Eric Garcetti up 7 points over his rival Wendy Greuel in tomorrow’s Mayoral runoff.

However, the poll suggests that education is not a very big factor for voters making up their minds — despite all the policy proposals, campaign trail back-and-forth between the candidates, and school appearances of the past few weeks.

When asked by pollsters what the main reason for voting for Eric Garcetti, only 2 percent said “Better for schools/education.” The number one reason, with 15 percent: “Lesser of the two evils / don’t like Greuel.”

As for Greuel voters, 3 percent said “Views on schools / education.” The number one reason, with 13 percent: “She’s a woman / need a female mayor.”

Previous posts: Still No School Board Endorsement From Garcetti; Garcetti & Gruel Debate Education; Greuel Endorses Sanchez, Garcetti Undecided; Mayoral Debate Reveals Few School [Policy] Differences

Wendy Greuel answered without hesitation: Antonio Sanchez.

Eric Garcetti said he had only met with one of the candidates, but was “due to talk to the other one shortly, so stay tuned…”

Nine days later — with only two business days left until the election — Garcetti still has not made an endorsement or met with the other candidate.

Garcetti spokesman Jeff Millman said he didn’t know which candidate Garcetti had met with: “Those are private conversations.”

Sanchez told LA School Report that he met with Garcetti several weeks ago.

A Garcetti endorsement of Sanchez or his opponent, Monica Ratliff, wouldn’t mean much to either candidate at this late stage, but if Garcetti chose Ratliff it would mark a rare concrete difference between the two Mayoral hopefuls on education.

The lack of any endorsement  decision from Garcetti may tell us just as much.

When asked if he supported School Board President Monica Garcia during a primary debate, Garcetti dodged the question, saying only that he admired what Garcia had done.

Garcia went on to endorse Garcetti’s opponent, Wendy Greuel.

Previous posts: Mayoral Candidates Lack Commitment Reformers & Teachers Want; Mayoral Candidates Divided by High School; Garcetti & Gruel Debate Education; Greuel Endorses Sanchez, Garcetti Undecided; Mayoral Debate Reveals Few School [Policy] Differences

Though the exchanges never quite rose to the level of outright acrimony, there were some dramatic moments as the Board members and speakers debated the latest parent trigger petition and the consequences of changing the district’s school discipline policies.

In the end, the Board voted to end suspensions for “willful defiance,” a cause championed by Superintendent John Deasy and Board President Monica Garcia, and to approve the latest parent trigger petition at Weigand Elementary. The Board also voted — unanimously — to continue and expand the controversial Breakfast in the Classroom program.

After several weeks of having his leadership and policies pummeled by the teachers union, Deasy and his allies on the Board prevailed on pretty much every one of their priorities.

The two demonstrations – students in blue, teachers in red – took hardly any notice of each other

Out in the Street

In the morning, cafeteria workers represented by the SEIU Local 99 rallied in favor of Breakfast in the classroom.

But later in the day, two other rallies were held concurrently: one by students, and another by teachers.

The students, clad in bright blue shirts reading “Every Student Matters,” were there to support Garcia’s proposal to reform school discipline and, among other things, ban suspensions for “willful defiance” (refusing a teacher’s instructions or complying with adminstrators’ orders).

A crowd of teachers, roughly the same size but dressed in UTLA red, held their own rally a mere twenty feet away. Their demands included the hiring of more teachers and higher salaries.

“We haven’t had a raise in 7 years!” cried UTLA President Warren Fletcher, addressed the crowd from a giant stage erected in the middle of the street. “We will not let them pour millions of dollars down a rabbit hole! We will not go without a fight!”

Fletcher exited the stage to the Queen song, “We Will Rock You.”

School Board candidate Monica Ratliff was spotted at the UTLA rally by KPCC’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez.

Participants of the two rallies took barely any notice of each other.

Members of the SEIU local 99 celebrate after the vote

Classroom Breakfasts Approved Unanimously

As expected, the Board voted to keep the Breakfast in the Classroom program, which is set to expand over the next couple years.

There were two surprises, though: the vote was unanimous; even Maurgerite LaMotte and Bennett Kayser voted to keep the program.

“I understand the program has issues,” said Dr. Richard Vladovic. “We should add a half hour of instructional time… But in the meantime, our children cannot be pawns. They need to be fed.”

Board Member Steve Zimmer spoke passionately about the school district’s role in fighting hunger.

“We cannot pretend this is someone else’s problem,” he said. “This is not instead of education — this is education.”

And not a single public commenter argued for the program to be scrapped — including the UTLA’s Fletcher, who sat through most of the meeting in the audience.

Greuel speaking to reporters outside the meeting

Parent Revolution parents, before the vote

“In-District” Parent Trigger

The Board also voted 5-2 to approve a parent trigger petition signed by roughly 60% of parents at Weigand Elementary — but not before a tense debate.

Before the vote was taken, five different parents spoke out against the trigger, saying that parents and organizers had been lying to other parents in order to obtain signatures. Two others spoke in support.

LaMotte asks how to find bad schools? Happy to assist School Board Member: #LAUSD‘s own site to find failing schools. bit.ly/15Ln6js

 

“For the teachers’ unions who backed Garcetti, the concern is that while he would be better than Greuel, he might not be the most loyal ally.”

You can read the whole thing here:  5 Key Differences Between Garcetti and Greuel

Previous posts: Mayoral Candidates Divided by High School ; Garcetti & Gruel Debate Education; Greuel Endorses Sanchez, Garcetti Undecided

Garcetti (left) and Greuel (right) via LA Times

Though they both started out in the Valley, Mayoral candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti have followed separate paths since then, notes today’s LA Times piece.

Nowhere are these differences more apparent than in the two candidates’ educational backgrounds.  Greuel went to John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, an LAUSD school. Garcetti graduated from the private Harvard School (now Harvard-Westlake).

Previous posts: Garcetti & Gruel Debate Education; Greuel Endorses Sanchez, Garcetti Undecided; Mayoral Debate Reveals Few School [Policy] Differences

Why Are Women Practically Nonexistent on L.A. City Council?
The Martinez-Montanez contest is an exception to the machismo that, like an episode of Mad Men but with cheaper suits, has stamped out most women from L.A. City Hall political posts on the eve of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s departure. LA Weekly

Latinos Sharply Narrow Education Gap
After lagging behind other Americans in education for generations, Latinos have significantly narrowed the gap, and last year they passed a milestone, with new Hispanic high school graduates more likely than their white counterparts to go directly to college, according to a new study. NY Times

Testing California’s Commitment to Education
Just a generation ago, California’s schools were the pride of American education (it’s one of the reasons my parents moved with me to California in the early 1960s). Today, tracking with the economic woes of the rest of the Golden State, California’s schools rank 30th in the country . . .and falling. Forbes

Three Girls Testify that Former De La Torre Teacher Molested Them
Three girls allegedly molested by former Wilmington schoolteacher Robert Pimentel offered vivid details of abuse Thursday during a court hearing in Long Beach.
Daily Breeze

Assembly OKs Bill Allowing Transgender Students in Sports
Schools would have to allow transgender students to participate on sports teams and use bathrooms that correspond with their gender identity, not their sex, under a measure passed by the California Assembly on Thursday. Advocates said the bill would prevent transgender students from feeling ostracized at school and help them fully participate in sports and other activities. LA Times 

Math by Way of Art: For Pasadena School, Arts Plus Math is Really Adding Up
 The program, called “Artful Connections with Math,” was developed by the Pasadena Unified School District and the Armory Center for the Arts. Funded by a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education, it pairs classroom teachers like Grotts with “teaching artists”  who show them how to use hands-on, visual art projects to teach math concepts. KPCC

Photo by Timothy Norris, c/o KCRW

Tuesday afternoon’s KCRW Mayoral debate — about half of which focused on public education — began with a bold assertion by candidate Wendy Greuel:

“There’s probably no other subject where my opponent and I differ than on education.”

But in a debate that covered topics such as the publication of teacher ratings in the LA Times, the School Board runoff, the district’s failed Race to the Top application, and teacher dismissal legislation, perhaps the only real issue on which Greuel and Garcetti disagreed in an obvious way was over whom to endorse for District 6 — and only so because Garcetti hasn’t yet met with both candidates.

“I kept listening for an actual difference and I didn’t hear one, said Joe Mathews, the California editor of event sponsor Zocalo Public Square. “It made me yearn for a different kind of debate — maybe a Survivor-style contest.”

As moderator for the live debate, Which Way LA host Warren Olney did an impressive job of forcing the two candidates to answer his questions with specifics and not stray to far into their own talking points.

It wasn’t an easy task, however, requiring Olney to interrupt candidates left and right.

In general, both candidates sounded closer to the “school reform” end of the ideological spectrum. Garcetti, who has been endorsed by UTLA, came out perhaps a millimeter or so more towards the pro-teacher end of the spectrum, if only in tone.  He reminded audience members that it was Teacher Appreciation day, and criticized those who  “demonize teachers.” He also twice dropped the name of UTLA-supported School Board member Steve Zimmer.

Garcetti pushed back at an assertion by Olney that the Mayor has no power over public education.

“I refuse to accept that because there’s no formal power that we don’t have any informal power or financial power,” said Garcetti, noting that as Councilman he took federal money to build school libraries and fix up athletic fields on campuses. “We actually took anti-poverty dollars that would have gone into something like a community center 12 blocks from a school, and I put it into a school. And at City Hall it did ruffle feathers. It upset the status quo. Because they said, ‘let the school district do that by themselves.'”

Photo by Timothy Norris, c/o KCRW

Unfortunately for journalists and undecided voters, the candidates agreed on virtually everything.

Both said that missing out on Race to the Top money was a “missed opportunity.” Garcetti said he lobbied members of the School Board and even UTLA President Warren Fletcher to sign off on the application, but to no avail.

Both also said they support LAUSD’s application for a No Child Left Behind waiver, which would free the district up from some rigid federal rules and allow it to use funding a bit more flexibly.

Both candidates said they supported a bill in Sacramento that would make it easier to dismiss teachers suspected of misconduct. Olney neglected to specify which bill, but he was likely referring to the one being championed by Joan Buchanan (D-Alamo).

And they both favored reducing class size over giving teachers raises.

Garcetti said, “I want to see a reduction in class size. That should be our priority for new money.”

Greuel, too, said she did not support a higher salary for teachers.

Even on such controversial issues as making teacher testing data available to the public (as was done by the LA Times in 2009), the candidates were in agreement. Yes, the data should be made available, they both said — something even Superintendent John Deasy doesn’t support.

“I think it’s fair, absolutely, for parents to look at that,” said Eric Garcetti. “It’s critical that parents and community members have accountability and know where teachers are, but have that not be the only measure.”

Greuel agreed.

When asked which candidates they support in the District 6 School Board runoff, which is also on the May 21 ballot, Greuel immediately answered: Antonio Sanchez.

“Antonio has demonstrated that he is going to be able to build consensus… going to make sure that he is going to get dollars into the classroom,” she said.

Garcetti said he’s talked to one of the candidates and was waiting to talk with the other before making a decision.

“Two weeks left, how come you’re waiting so long?” asked Olney, interrupting.

“I’m running for Mayor right now, that’s why,” said Garcetti, dryly.

The audience laughed, seemingly forgetting that earlier on in the debate Garcetti had indicated that mayoral influence over education was going to be a hallmark of his administration.

One topic that did not surface during the debate was the $60,000 recently given by the American Federation of Teachers and the California Federation of Teachers to a pro-Garcetti super PAC, even as Garcetti repeated his attack on Greuel for the DWP union’s donations to one of her super PACs, the amount of which is in the millions of dollars.

Asked  by LA School Report after the debate if the two contributions weren’t similar, he replied, “No, there’s no comparison. It’s 63 times more money that she has. When it’s times 63, I believe at a certain point, you do become [beholden to that union].”

His spokesman Jeff Millman added that the Mayor “doesn’t negotiate teacher contracts. They’re not a city union.”

You can listen to the whole debate here:

Previous posts: Mayoral Debate: Teachers Give to Garcetti Super PAC; Handful of Education Issues Could Split Mayoral Candidates; Garcetti and Greuel to Meet With “Trigger” Parents; Garcetti Praises Partnership School, Differs with UTLA Poll

Garcetti meeting with parents of 24th St. Elementary via Parent Revolution

The American Federation of Teachers and its California chapter, CFT, have just given a combined $60,000 to a super PAC named  Lots of People Who Support Eric Garcetti for Mayor.

Although UTLA, the local teachers union, endorsed Garcetti back in February, this is the first time a teachers union has spent any money on the 2013 Mayoral election.

“I think the AFT is sending a loud and clear message that the status quo — ensuring that the worst teachers are impacting students — is still the law of the land,” said political consultant Michael Trujillo, a strong (though unpaid) supporter of Garcetti’s opponent, Wendy Greuel. “And they’re gonna hold Eric Garcetti’s feet to the fire.”

The union contribution may come up later today, when the candidates will take part in an education-focused debate hosted by KPCC.

The disclosure of AFT’s donation came on the same day that both candidates visited 24th St. Elementary, the site of a recent “parent trigger” petition, a controversial parent empowerment mechanism that both Mayoral candidates have endorsed.

Though UTLA has been relatively quiet in its opposition to the trigger concept in recent weeks, the national union has been (and presumably still is) bitterly opposed to it.

More recently, Sunday night’s televised debate at USC showcased the reality that Greuel and Garcetti agree on nearly every policy issue — as they themselves admitted.

Education is no different. Both candidates support Superintendent John Deasy, both support the parent trigger law, and both support teacher evaluations that use pupil progress.

Nevertheless, the candidates will try to draw contrasts based on past positions and experience at today’s debate.

Greuel meeting with 24th St. parents

Greuel will remind voters that she is a mother of a boy in LAUSD.

“Wendy has never wavered in her support of school reform,” said Greuel spokesperson Connie Llanos. “I don’t believe that councilman Garcetti has been as clear on what his vision of education reform.”

A little known fact is that Garcetti has, in the past, been a foster parent to children who attended LAUSD — although he hardly ever talks about it.  He currently has a 16-month-old adopted daughter.

Garcetti spokesman Jeff Millman said that Greuel “hypes herself” as a school reformer but doesn’t “deliver anything.” He added: “Eric’s principal position is that he’s an advocate for kids.”

The new teachers union contribution may also come up. Garcetti has focused much of his recent campaign, including his latest TV ad, on blasting the Department of Water and Power union for spending millions of dollars on a pro-Greuel Super PAC, arguing that the money makes Greuel beholden to the union.

This debate, which will be broadcast live on KCRW 89.9 from 2-3 PM, was scheduled after Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa chided the two candidates for not focusing enough on education.

After Garcetti spokesperson Millman suggested the debate, Greuel challenged Garcetti to a debate at Camino Nuevo Charter School — with just two hours’ notice.

After a bit of inter-campaign squabbling, the two camps agreed to the KCRW debate.

“We put this thing together,” said Millman. “She called a flash mob debate. And we put together a real debate.”

KCRW news program director Gary Scott said he hopes today’s debate, to be held at the Peterson Automotive Museum at 2 PM and hosted by Warren Olney, will draw contrasts between the two candidates.

“The game here is, let’s not have them on same side,” he said. “Let have them distinguish themselves. That’s the goal.”

Indeed, there are a few things we still don’t know about the candidates’ education positions, including where they stand on the controversial No Child Left Behind “waiver” that LAUSD is trying to get from Washington, whether they support SB 441, the teacher dismissal bill going through the state legislature, and — perhaps most important — which candidate they support for the District 6 School Board runoff.

Previous posts: Handful of Education Issues Could Split Mayoral Candidates; Garcetti and Greuel to Meet With “Trigger” Parents; Garcetti Praises Partnership School, Differs with UTLA Poll; Greuel Endorses New Teacher Evaluation Plan.

Candidate Wendy Greuel at today’s 24th Street Elementary School event (via Parent Revolution)

The two candidates have mirrored each other on education issues in recent conversations, and earlier today both visited the parents behind the 24th Street Elementary School “trigger” that led to an overhaul of the school.

There are a few things we still don’t know about the candidates’ education positions, including for example where they stand on the controversial No Child Left Behind “waiver” that LAUSD is applying for from Washington, whether they support the teacher dismissal bill going through the state legislature, and — perhaps most important — which candidate they support for the District 6 School Board runoff.

Previous posts:  Mayoral Candidates Mirror on Education;Garcetti and Greuel to Meet With “Trigger” Parents; Garcetti Praises Partnership School, Differs with UTLA Poll – LA School Report.

Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel

Mayoral candidates Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel will meet with parents on Monday, May 6 at 24th Street Elementary, the first school in LAUSD to be taken over by parents using the parent trigger law.

Parent Revolution, an education advocacy group that has led the parent trigger effort in California, will host the meet and greet. Garcetti and Greuel will visit the school at separate times to hear from parents about their successful school overhaul and to have a Q&A session on the future of education in Los Angeles.

The candidates’ positions on education policies and the parent trigger law have evolved over the course of their campaigns. Garcetti, who is endorsed by the teachers union in LA, initially seemed to oppose the parent trigger movement (read about it here), but he eventually expressed unequivocal support for the option (read the story here). Greuel aligned herself with education reformers earlier in the campaign process and has consistently said she support the trigger option as a way to fix failing schools (read about it here.)

Previous posts: One Mayoral Candidate Opposes Parent Trigger – Sort Of; Garcetti Praises Reform Strategies; Mayoral Candidate Greuel Supports Garcia, Parent Trigger

Duncan Says It’s Still Possible for State to Get NCLB Waiver
California remains interested in receiving a waiver from sanctions under the No Child Left Behind law, and U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said Wednesday it remains possible for the state to get one. EdSource

L.A. Mayor’s Race: Wendy Greuel Uses Web Chat to Target Women
The chat participants, including Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina, L.A. Unified President Monica Garcia, longtime civil rights activist Dolores Huerta, Assemblywoman Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) and operatives from the Feminist Majority and the Planned Parenthood Advocacy Project, urged Los Angeles viewers to join their canvassing efforts on Greuel’s behalf. LA Times

Poll: Should Breakfast Be Banned From the Classroom?
Should under-nourished students be allowed to eat in the classroom? The issue became a hot topic this week after Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy passed on making a decision, putting the future of a pilot breakfast program into the hands of the school board. KPCC
See also: LA School Report

California Teachers Sue Unions to Stop Dues
Ten California teachers — several of them from Orange County — are suing in federal court to stop mandatory union dues. The lawsuit seeks to expand last year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision involving union activity in a California special election. KPCC
See also: HuffPo

Within Schools, Novice Teachers Paired With Struggling Students
More than a decade of research on teacher characteristics shows that, on almost every quality measure you can think of, schools with large populations of low-income, minority, and low-achieving students get shortchanged. They have fewer experienced teachers, fewer teachers teaching within their field, and teachers who show greater variations in effectiveness, including more of the worst performers. EdWeek

Duncan Admits Flaws in Current Standardized Testing
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan acknowledged serious flaws in the standardized tests that currently drive American schools, telling an audience of education researchers on Tuesday that the tests are an inadequate gauge of student and teacher performance. EdSource

StudentsFirst Under Scrutiny From the Left
Michelle Rhee frequently says her StudentsFirst lobbying group is a bipartisan organization that backs Democrats and Republicans who support her vision for education: charter schools, vouchers and performance pay for teachers. Sac Bee

Common Core Moves a Step Closer in CA, GOP Attacks Standards in Other States
Plans to commit California schools to a new student testing system aligned to the new common core curriculum standards by 2014-15 won passage Wednesday out of a key legislative committee. SI&A Cabinet Report

CA Bill Would Curtail Police Role on Public School Campuses
A bill to limit the role of campus police in disciplining students passed its first committee  hearing in Sacramento Wednesday. The bill’s L.A. sponsor aims to reduce the number of tickets that campus police issue to students. KPCC

Turning Teens Into Police Officers
Roberta Weintraub, a 77-year-old political activist and former president of the L.A. Unified School District Board of Education, has always had a soft spot for the men and women in blue. Jewish Journal LA

A Student With Promise, a Teacher Who Had to Help
Brought to the U.S. as a baby, Itzel Ortega had no way to get financial aid to become an architect. Then a former teacher, recalling her own story, stepped in. LA Times

L.A. Unified Teacher Arrested for Alleged Child Porn Possession
Douglas Randolph Collins, 46, of Valencia, was taken into custody at the Van Nuys Education Center, where he had been sent after being removed from the classroom after authorities began investigating child porn allegations in October. LA Times
See also: LA Daily News, HuffPo

LA Mayor’s Race: How the Candidates Stand on Your Issues
Even though the mayor doesn’t have any direct authority over the Los Angeles Unified School District, many voters said they want the next major to play a role in education. Neither Greuel nor Garcetti has indicated they would follow Antonio Villaraigosa’s lead. KPCC

Five Gates Millennium Scholars Selected From Paramount High School
Five Paramount High School students have been selected as Gates Millennium Scholars — a rare achievement among high schools. Funded in 1999, the minority scholarships pay for up to 10 years of study, room and board. KPCC

Pasadena Unified Plans to Slash 48 Additional Jobs Across District
Pasadena school board members voted Tuesday to slash 48 jobs — this on top of 94 teacher, librarian and counselor pink slips in March — in their ongoing struggle to close a projected $8.8-million budget gap. Pasadena Sun

Thousands of Los Angeles County Fifth-Graders Enjoy a Day at Music Center
More than 18,000 fifth grade students from schools throughout Los Angeles County experienced the power of live performing arts beginning Tuesday and going on though Thursday at The Music Center. Pasadena Star News

Panel Moves to Include Grad Rates As Part of the API
A state advisory panel got its first look Tuesday at a new formula that will integrate graduation rates into the state’s school accountability system but asked staff to circulate the proposal among stakeholders and bring it back before they will contemplate a final recommendation to the Legislature. SI&A Cabinet Report

Democratic Senators Offer Alternative to Brown’s Funding Formula
Democratic leaders of the state Senate want to delay Gov. Brown’s sweeping plan for changing how schools are funded by a year and will recommend significant changes to it in a bill that they will reveal on Thursday. EdSource

The education section of the debate was predictably brief. Greuel trotted out her familiar talking points about being a mother of kids in LAUSD, and about her proposals such as a students’ bill of rights.

Most interestingly, she said she would “expand” Mayor Villaraigosa’s Partnership for LA Schools, although it’s unclear if she meant adding schools (there are already 22) or simply adding students.

“I am going to be as active as this Mayor was,” she said.

Garcetti said his goal would be to cut the truancy rate in half, and expressed support for parent colleges and vocational education — perhaps taking a page out of the book of former Mayoral candidate Kevin James, by whom he’s been endorsed. Garcetti also pledged to campaign for School Board candidates, and name-dropped one School Board member in particular: Steve Zimmer.

The two candidates will take part in a debate focused on education on May 7, at 2 PM, at the Petersen Automotive Museum. It will be broadcast on KCRW. (A previous version of this post said the debate would focus ‘solely’ on education. In fact, it will only mostly be about education.)

Previous posts: Garcetti Praises Partnership School, Differs with UTLA Poll; Mayoral Candidates Respond Differently to UTLA Vote on Deasy; Greuel Endorses New Teacher Evaluation Plan

Saving the California Dream: ‘Parent Trigger’ Profiles
Parents at Weigand Elementary School in Watts are the most the recent group to organize and deliver a petition, and they say it’s been a tough fight so far. “The courage it takes to sign a petition when you know there’s going to be a battle is tremendous,” says Alfonso Flores, a former LAUSD “Teacher of the Year.” Fox LA

Attack Shows Education  Reform Gaining Ground
The passage by delegates at this month’s California Democratic Convention of a resolution condemning Democrats, including me, who support education reform illustrates an ongoing battle among Democrats across the nation. O.C. Register Opinion (Gloria Romero)

Burbank Teacher Suspended After Breaking State Standardized Testing Rules
At least one elementary school class has had their test scores invalidated, and the district’s ranking could be in jeopardy. NBC LA
See also: KPCC

Shepard Fairey Asks Students for Inspiration for Arts Education Campaign
Street artist Shepard Fairey, made famous by his “Hope” poster for President Barack Obama, is tapping LA students for inspiration. HuffPo

Charter School Teachers Join the Union
Teachers at Ivy Academia in Los Angeles are the latest to join a wave of union organizing victories at charter schools. Labor Notes Opinion

San Fernando Valley Rivals Face Off for U.S. Academic Decathlon Title
When Granada Hills Charter High defends its national Academic Decathlon title this week, its toughest competition won’t be from its traditional rivals in Texas and Arizona, but from a school just 14 miles away. LA Daily News

Ed. Companies Exert Public-Policy Influence
Some education observers are alarmed at what they see as increasingly aggressive moves by companies to make money from the K-12 system; others say the expanding role of for-profit ventures is just a natural evolution of the interplay between the private and public sectors in efforts to improve schools. EdWeek

Sal Khan: The Man Who Tutored His Cousin – and Started a Revolution
Sal Khan has a simple mission: a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Naturally, people think he’s crazy. Guardian

“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 statement. “This has been a direct result of Dr. Deasy’s effort and his commitment to putting the needs of our kids before the needs of adults.”

“Despite what this UTLA poll says, I think a large number of our teachers are also happy with the current direction the district is going,” added Greuel.

Today’s LA Daily News editorial page goes even further, congratulating Deasy for a vote showing the union has “no confidence that Deasy would put teacher interests above students.”

Meanwhile, Greuel’s UTLA-endorsed opponent, Eric Garcetti, declined to comment specifically on the vote. His spokesman, Jeff Millman, would say only this, in an email: “Eric supports Deasy and wants the Board to keep him on the job.”

Previous posts: Teachers Vote Against Deasy, For More Teachers; Greuel Endorses New Teacher Evaluation Plan; Greuel to Garcetti: Let’s Debate Education Today, Garcetti Calls for Education Debate; Mayor Wants More Education from Greuel & Garcetti

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.

In remarks delivered at  Granada Hills Charter High School, Greuel called for an audit of LAUSD “to slash non-school site administrative expenses” and a student’s bill of rights including access to technology, mental health counselors, arts and a “quality teacher in every classroom.”

“The truth is we can’t have a world-class city without a world-class education system,” said Greuel, who herself attended LAUSD public schools, has a son that attends an affiliated charter school.

In addition, Greuel reiterated her support for the parent trigger law and endorsed LAUSD’s new teacher evaluation system, which makes student test scores as much as 30 percent of a teacher’s evaluation.

Eric Garcetti’s spokesman Jeff Millman emailed LA School Report this response to Greuel’s speech: “Eric has been talking about these items for many months on the campaign trail and has also frequently discussed ideas for improving STEM education, improving career training for LA students, using city funds to build school/city joint-use facilities to make our schools the center of our communities, and being the strongest advocate for LA’s students in Sacramento to fight for more funding for LAUSD schools.”

You can download the full text of the Greuel speech here. The two candidates debate tonight at 7 PM. It will be broadcast on ABC Channel 7. We’ll be live-tweeting it!

Previous posts: Greuel to Garcetti: Let’s Debate Education Today, Garcetti Calls for Education Debate; Mayor Wants More Education from Greuel & Garcetti; Board Members Split on Mayoral Endorsements; Greuel Speech Includes Strong School Reform Language

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