The majority of public school teachers who participated in a new survey support changes in state teacher job protection laws that were the focus of last year’s landmark ruling in Vergara v. California. The findings were somewhat of a surprise in that the poll, conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research for Teach Plus, a national nonprofit that...

While state teacher unions are spending time, energy and money fighting the landmark Vergara v. California ruling through appeal, one group of teachers in Los Angeles is helping shape what a post-Vergara world could look like. In a presentation yesterday at the California Community Foundation, former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined L.A.-based teaching policy fellows with...

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...

A teacher-led conference tomorrow focusing on the “what, how and why” of the new Common Core curriculum is shaping up to be popular with LAUSD teachers. Run by Teach Plus, a non-profit that focuses on teacher training, “Launch LA Common Core” was originally planned for 800 teachers who wanted to learn more about the new...

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...