Zimmer said 13,500 people went to the website to read about the superintendent search, more than 8,000 filled out the survey and 1,500 people attended meetings that were held across the district over two weeks. In a previous interview, he said he’s not completely happy with the turnout, but he wanted to thank the people who did spend the time.

With Spanish subtitles, he said, “I thank every person who turned in a survey, who attended a meeting and who followed the search process.”

He mentioned that the search firm will compile a report and it will be released at the next board meeting, on Nov. 10.

Zimmer said, “Those opinions shared will help guide the board in deciding who will be the superintendent of the nations second largest school district.”

There are also nearly 50 comments so far about the superintendent search process.

The resolution was introduced by board member Bennett Kayser and would begin the process with a pilot program at five schools in each Educational Service Center during the 2015-16 school year.

The resolution has received the support of United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the California Teachers Association (CTA), the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations and the Ethnic Studies Now Coalition.

“UTLA has always supported the idea that an engaging curriculum, with music, the arts, courses that help students explore their own identities, their own backgrounds, the backgrounds of other ethnicities, are critical,” UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl told the LA Unified board at its Oct. 14 meeting. “And so we are very happy [the ethnic studies resolution] is coming forward and we look forward to doing more support work around that.”

Members of Ethnic Studies Now are planning to hold a rally and press conference outside district headquarters before the Nov. 18 board meeting when the curriculum will be voted on. The group has started an online petition in support of the resolution and also took part in a summit on Oct.18 at Cal State Long Beach called the Campaign to Promote Ethnic Studies (CPES). The summit featured a speech by Kayser.

“Los Angeles is a really diverse place and it’s important that we understand each other. When we have had civil unrest in Los Angeles, it’s been — at least the way the media portrays it — one group against another group. As a result of ethnic studies in our curriculum, I’d like to think that would help bring an understanding so that we will have peace and prosperity through the city and through our schools,” Kayser told the crowd.

The board’s consideration of the resolution comes amid a movement statewide to require ethnic studies for graduation. Earlier this year, California Assemblyman Luis Alejo, a Salinas Democrat, introduced a bill that would require the state’s Department of Education to develop a task force to study the best way to implement an ethnic studies curriculum for high schools statewide.

While many districts offer ethnic studies curriculum, including LA Unified, El Rancho in Pico Rivera is currently the only one in the state that has an ethnic studies course as a high school graduation requirement. The El Rancho school board only voted this summer to make the curriculum required for the class of 2016 and beyond, according to the Los Angeles Times. The El Rancho School District was one of the hosts of the CPES summit and school officials were among the featured speakers.

While the ethic studies issue does not seem to have been met with large resistance in California, there are some opposed to the idea.

“Our nation was founded on principles of freedom and individual liberty and we are a meritorious society,” Jerry Mungai, president of the Conservative Forum of Silicon Valley, told NBC Bay Area while voicing the group’s opposition to ethnic studies courses. “We really don’t care really your ethnic background. We just want to know what can you do for us, for our society at large.”

Ethnic studies courses in Arizona and Texas have proved controversial. A Mexican American studies program at schools in Tucson ended in 2011 when Arizona outlawed it, and a movement to require Mexican American courses in Texas recently failed, the Times reported. Officials involved with the Ariziona and Texas courses also spoke at the CPES summit.

You can call, tweet or email a question. To find out how, click here.

Teacher Dismissals: How Do We Protect Children and Safeguard Teachers’ Due Process?
Fire them. Dismiss them. Send them back. Let them languish in “teacher jails” while investigations drag on for months — or even years.  There’s got to be a better, quicker and fairer way to get rid of teachers who truly do not belong in the classroom and support those teachers who do. Huff Po Op-Ed by Tamar Galatzan

Deasy Should Be Thrilled With Union’s No Confidence Vote
It means he’s shaking up the moribund Los Angeles Unified School District and bucking the union that has battled every education reform proposed to protect the livelihood of its teachers – a livelihood that has put a stranglehold on education. LA Daily News Editorial

‘Willful Defiance’ in L.A. Schools
A proposal to prevent the suspending of students for a relatively minor infraction deserves the approval of the school board. LA Times Editorial

Sal Castro Dies at 79; L.A. Teacher Played Role in 1968 Protests
Sal Castro, a veteran Los Angeles Unified School District teacher who played a central role in the 1968 “blowouts,” when more than 1,000 students in predominantly Latino high schools walked out of their classrooms to protest inequalities in education, died in his sleep Monday after a long bout with cancer. LA Times
See also: KPCC

Teachers Dislike Breakfast in the Classroom Program, Survey Finds
An L.A. Unified program to serve breakfast in the classroom to make sure students don’t start school hungry has increased pests, created messes and cut down on instructional time, according to a teacher survey released Monday. LA Times

Teach for America: California Schools Need Their Talent
The English Learner Authorization embedded within the intern credential is a very hot issue for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing due to the concerns over incomplete education and preparation of intern teachers who serve students who are English Learners. Silicon Valley Mercury News Op-Ed

District’s Voting Rights Called Into Question
Latinos make up 42 percent of ABC Unified School District, located in Southeastern Los Angeles County. They are the largest ethnic demographic in the 30-school district, but the last time a Latino was elected to the seven member board was in 1997. EdWeek

Family Fee for Half-Day State Preschool Likely to Be Rescinded
A much-disputed daily fee for families with children in state-funded preschool programs will likely be removed from next year’s state budget. EdSource

Greuel Vows School Reform as Garcetti Seeks End to ‘Division’
Los Angeles mayoral candidate Wendy Greuel laid out her plans to improve public schools on Thursday, pushing for tougher evaluations of teachers and principals, while opponent Eric Garcetti secured endorsements from a handful of African American leaders. LA Times
See also: LA Daily News, LA School Report, LA Times Now, LA Weekly

Education Leaders Divulge What They Want From LA’s Next Mayor
There’s been a lot of talk about what the next mayor of Los Angeles should do for public education. KPCC talked to three leaders in the education field about what they expect from the city’s next leader. KPCC

Imagine That: Happy Ending to a ‘Parent Trigger’ Petition
The “parent trigger” movement underwent a maturation process in its latest campaign, a petition to restructure 24th Street Elementary in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Unlike in previous campaigns, there were no lawsuits against the district, no claims by parents that they had been duped into signing the petition. LA Times Op-Ed

Defiance No Reason to Suspend Students, Board President Says
Administrators in the Los Angeles Unified School District would no longer be allowed to suspend students for mouthing off or other acts of “willful defiance” under a groundbreaking school board resolution set to be proposed next week. LA Times
See also: LA School Report

Bill Makes It (a Tiny Bit) Easier to Fire Abusive Teachers
A bill that would have made it easier to fire teachers accused of molesting students or committing other serious crimes died in committee last summer – a victim of the most powerful force in state politics today: teachers unions. There’s a new version of the bill in the Legislature this year. Pasadena Star News Op-Ed

LAUSD Reform Agenda Gets High Marks From Civic Groups
A new coalition of civil rights groups, led by the United Way, released a poll today showing strong support for reforms taking place in Los Angeles Unified and calling for an even more aggressive approach to improving student achievement and increasing local control of neighborhood schools. LA Daily News

LAUSD Summer Enrichment Programs Reduced Again
The Los Angeles Unified School District announced today that funding limits are forcing it to reduce its summer enrichment programming, which includes academic, fitness and other enrichments like art, music and drama activities. KPCC
See also: LA Times

With Police in Schools, More Children in Court
As school districts across the country consider placing more police officers in schools, youth advocates and judges are raising alarm about what they have seen in the schools where officers are already stationed: a surge in criminal charges against children for misbehavior that many believe is better handled in the principal’s office. NY Times

APU to Hold First-Ever Spanish Language Spelling Bee for L.A. County High School Students
Native Spanish speakers and Spanish class students from throughout Los Angeles County will compete in the first-ever Spanish language spelling bee on at 2 p.m. Saturday at Azusa Civic Auditorium. LA Daily News

L.A.’s Mayoral Rivals Walk Fine Line in Dealing With Labor
Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel are Democrats with long histories of supporting organized labor. But the competition for labor support has upended conventional thinking about the candidates. LA Times

L.A. Unified Officials Let Abuse Allegations Slide, Lawyers Say
Two high-level district employees heard but failed to act on accusations of sexual misconduct by an elementary school teacher, according to attorneys representing alleged victims. LA Times
See also: KPCC, KTLA

LA Unified School Board Blocks Current President From Another Term
The term limit may be the first sign that fewer members on the board of education may support the reform agenda. KPCC

Gage Middle School Students Fight Back with Kale and Yoga
After an article posted by L.A. Weekly and headlined “Huntington Park Has the Fattest Kids in California; Manhattan Beach has the Skinniest,” many parents and students spoke out in the comments section. Gage Middle School has decided to try and cut the fat. LA Weekly

Teacher Pension Problems Catch Lawmakers’ Attention
For years, problems with California’s pension fund for teachers and school employees have been growing. Now a new report says the fund needs an additional $4.5 billion every year to stay above water. LA Times

Oakland to Close 3 Charter Schools
Three of the state’s highest-performing schools must shut down at the end of this school year after administrators failed to acknowledge and address illegal activity and serious lapses in financial and administrative oversight, the Oakland school board decided Wednesday night. SF Chronicle

Resident Enrollment to Carpenter Closes at Midnight Tonight
At midnight Friday night, it’s the deadline for families to apply to the charter-affiliated school that is reaching its capacity enrollment. Studio City Patch

Which Path for the Common Core?
As educators across the country implement the Common Core State Standards, we see two paths emerging … and diverging. EdWeek Commentary

“Our school board needs to get to work tackling a tall order of business,” she writes, ticking off key decisions and activities the Board should make: evaluating teachers and giving them more tools to teach more effectively, listening to teachers, doing more than simply evaluating educators, building partnerships with communities and families, and embracing diversity. Read the full op-ed here.

“I don’t dismiss the idealism of new college graduates. I’m sure their desire to “make a difference” is sincere, but it is not enough.” (Read the whole thing here.)

Last week, a state commission voted to ratchet up requirements for alternative certification teaches who work with English Language Learners – limiting the future use of these teachers in LAUSD and elsewhere.

Previous posts: Compromise Protects “Intern” Teachers – For Now; Where The TFAers Are

Senate GOP Leader Wants to Reduce Pink Slips for Teachers
State Senate GOP leader Robert Huff of Diamond Bar says he has a way to reduce the annual practice of issuing preliminary pink slips to tens of thousands of California teachers who later are told they will not lose their jobs. LA Times

LAUSD Budget Forecast Is Getting Brighter
LA Unified’s Budget, Facilities and Audit Committee is convening Tuesday morning. The proposed agenda shows financial improvement at the district after five years of devastating cuts — due to a boost from Prop. 30 funds. KPCC

Power Shift on L.A. School Board
Election results for seats on the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District – the largest district in California and second-largest in the nation – will have far-reaching implications for the future of education reform in the Golden State. OC Register Column (Gloria Romero)

Divided Over L.A. Unified
One nasty election later, there is no sign that the divisiveness in the Los Angeles Unified School District will abate. If anything, it looks likely to increase, with activists in United Teachers Los Angeles announcing that teachers will vote on a passel of anti-reform positions. LA Times Editorial

Parent Group Receives Proposals to Remake Failing LAUSD Elementary
A group of Los Angeles parents who successfully invoked a state law to take over their failing school have received four proposals on how to remake the school, including one from the Los Angeles Unified School District. San Bernadino Sun

Academic Decathlon Students Get Ready for State Finals
While students on the region’s top Academic Decathlon teams are cramming, cramming, cramming for this weekend’s state championship, veterans of the brain-draining contest know that what the kids are learning extends far beyond the title match. LA Daily News

Savings From STAR Suspension Would Net About $15 Million
A plan to suspend some statewide testing in advance of transition to new assessments based on the common core standards would save the state about $15 million, according to an estimate released Monday by the California Department of Education. SI&A Cabinet Report

AFT’s Weingarten on Why She Got Arrested, ‘the Gall’ of Reformers
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten was arrested last week in Philadelphia while protesting a hearing of the School Reform Commission that voted to close 23 public schools. WaPo

Schools Partnership Aimed at Helping Teachers
In another step toward implementing new education standards, California joined a multi-state partnership Monday with resources to help teachers. Monterey County Herald

Bloomberg’s Meddling in L.A. Unified Races Is Paying for Junk Ads
The wealthy New York mayor’s $1-million contribution to the Coalition for School Reform is helping fund attack ads in L.A. that distort the truth and misinform voters. LA Times Steve Lopez Column

Brown’s School Funding Plan Draws Mixed Reactions
The governor’s proposal would funnel more money to low-income, English-learning or foster-care students. Not everyone thinks that’s fair. LA Times
See also: LA Daily News

Los Angeles Unified School District Takes First Steps to Equip Students With Tablets
Last week, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board approved to spend $50 million to purchase tablets, install wireless networks, and provide teacher training for approximately 30,000 students at 47 schools. EdSurge

Schools and City Hall
To the cynically tuned ear, two remarks by Los Angeles Councilman Eric Garcetti in recent days seem to suggest the perils of a mayoral candidacy dependent, at least in some measure, on support from United Teachers Los Angeles, the union that represents local teachers. LA Times Jim Newton Column

Districts Abandoning At-Large School Board Elections
Even though the 18,650-student Pasadena Unified district serves a locale of more than 202,300 residents, school board candidate Mr. Ayala aims to reach voters in an area of only 28,900 for this race, as a result of the school district’s recent switch from at-large elections—in which voters can cast ballots for any candidate—to trustee or “district” elections, in which voters select a candidate on the basis of where they live. EdWeek

Low Achievement Imperils Black Students in L.A., Report Says
African American students in Los Angeles County demonstrate significant learning gaps by second grade, which widen with age and lead to the highest school dropout rate among all races, according to a new report released Monday. LA Times

California Creates New School Grade to Ease 4-Year-Olds Into Kindergarten
California has implemented a new grade called Transitional Kindergarten (or TK for short). In its first year, this new grade aims to bridge the gap between the play-world of preschool and the rigors of kindergarten. KPCC

Parents Accuse LAUSD of Allowing Out-of-Area Kids at High-Performing Studio City School
A much-sought-after elementary school in Studio City is proving too popular. Carpenter Community Charter School says parents from outside the area are committing fraud to get their kids admitted. Now the school is overcrowded. ABC LA

District NCLB Waivers: Do Risks Outweigh Rewards?
During a Senate hearing earlier this month on the U.S. Department of Education’s state waiver program under the No Child Left Behind Act, Education Secretary Arne Duncan was asked point-blank if he was considering offering similar flexibility for school districts. EdWeek

Bill Would Open the Door to Undergraduate Teaching Credentials
For the first time in decades, aspiring teachers in California would be able to major in education as undergraduates and get both a preliminary teaching credential and a baccalaureate degree in four years if a bill in the Legislature becomes law. EdSource

North Hollywood High Captures Regional Science Bowl for 8th Straight Year
North Hollywood High won this weekend’s regional Science Bowl for the eighth consecutive year, and will compete in April for the national title. LA Daily News

Attorney Claims LAUSD Cover-Up in George De La Torre School Sex Abuse
An attorney claims the LAUSD is trying to cover up alleged sex abuse by a teacher at George De La Torre Jr. Elementary. ABC LA

Los Angeles Unified School Board Election Has Nation’s Attention
The race for three Los Angeles Unified school board seats has drawn more than $4 million in donations – as well as the attention of education leaders nationwide – as the district’s powerful unions and the reform movement battle for control of public education. LA Daily News

Suit Against Ex-LAUSD Boss Ramon Cortines Tossed
A judge has thrown out a sexual-harassment lawsuit filed by a male LAUSD Facilities executive against retired Superintendent Ramon Cortines, saying the statute of limitations for filing a claim had expired, a district spokesman said Saturday. LA Daily News

A Round-Up of School Choice Legislation Across the U.S.
Charters & Choice is offering a round-up of school-choice legislation in play in statehouses, and in one case, at the federal level. Lawmakers are considering measures on tax credits, other types of vouchers, charter school expansion, and parent trigger policy. EdWeek

School Reform Through the Pre-K to Third Grade Continuum
For educational reforms to produce the gains that are needed in the information economy, two basic performance gaps must be addressed. They are gaps showing the difference between a standard of excellence and actual performance. HuffPo Opinion

Parents, Students Want to Rename Cortines Campus
Parents, students and staff have voted in favor of changing the name of the downtown Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts, setting up an unprecedented conflict within the nation’s second-largest school system. LA Times

Board candidates Isabel Vazquez, Abelardo Diaz, Monica Garcia, and Annamarie Montanez

Held in the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools complex, Wednesday night’s packed United Way of Greater LA School Board candidates forum provided a somewhat clearer picture of the politics and priorities of the four East LA District 2 candidates who were present.

But some candidates were more direct than others about their views on a range of sensitive issues affecting LAUSD — the role of the teachers union in the district, school choice, the influence of outside money in School Board elections, and Superintendent John Deasy’s job performance.

Let’s go through the candidates’ responses, one candidate at a time.  Or, you can watch the video from the two-hour event here.

MONICA GARCIA

Incumbent Board President Monica Garcia already has a public record illustrating her priorities as a LAUSD Board member, and she didn’t seem to hold back much.

She criticized the teachers union, for having “teacher leadership that is out of line with teacher membership.”

When asked what she would do differently if she were president of UTLA, she ticked off a numbered list of priorities, which included firing of all ineffective teachers, eliminating teacher seniority, and supporting SB 10, Sen. Alex Padilla’s abusive teacher dismissal bill.

Garcia was clear in her support for Superintendent Deasy.

When asked what she thought about the millions in union spending in School Board races, Garcia admitted, “Independent expenditures have their role,” but emphasized that grassroots campaigns are the best way to get voters involved in elections.

“I am interested in the grass-roots organic campaign that is reaching out, talking, listening to voters,” she said.

Image via United Way LA

ANNAMARIE MONTANEZ

Union-endorsed challenger Annamarie Montanez took a more careful, measured stance when answering forum questions. Often, it was difficult to pin down exactly where she stood.

Montanez admitted that the teachers union has unspecified “issues,” praised it for trying to form support systems for teachers, and emphasized how important it was for UTLA to “collaborate with the School Board.”

When asked if she supported streamlining the teacher dismissal process for teachers accused sexual or physical abuse or drug misconduct, Montanez said, “Anyone who is accused of anything like this should go through the proper channels and be removed immediately.”

On the topics of school choice and Superintendent Deasy, Montanez didn’t have direct answers, saying that charters need more transparency and accountability, and that it wouldn’t be fair to assess Deasy without working with him.

She also said that what voters have to say matters more than outside money from unions and corporations.

via ABC_PolicyLA

ISABEL VAZQUEZ

Challenger Isabel Vazquez seemed to speak her mind most clearly of all, and wore her lack of major endorsements and outside money as a badge of pride.

Vazquez’s criticism for the flow of money from unions and groups like the Coalition for School Reform was direct: The board race “shouldn’t be an auction; it should be an election,” she said.

Vazquez seemed to approve of the teachers union for the most part, though she said, “We can always do more,” specifically, to change what she considers the district’s overemphasis on testing.

She was critical about school choice, spending most of her time talking about how she feels charters often exclude students and take away teachers’ bargaining rights.

Vazquez said she supported streamlining the teacher dismissal process, but cautioned that the district shouldn’t violate anyone’s due process.

On the Deasy subject, she said that she would not rehire him when his contract came up for renewal, “based on what I know now.”

ABELARDO DIAZ

Challenger Abelardo Diaz, a LAUSD high school teacher, had his fellow teachers in mind when answering questions at the forum.

When asked about streamlining the teacher dismissal process, the union-endorsed Diaz said the safety of students should be schools’ biggest priority, but was quick to defend his peers, some of whom, he says, are “harassed by students”:

“It’s not only the children to look after… we have to look out for [teachers], too,” he said.

Diaz said he felt the teachers union isn’t doing enough to support its teachers, and said that he would listen more to teachers if he were the president of UTLA and would improve the teacher evaluation agreement.

He was critical of school choice options like charters, accusing them of discriminating against English-language learners and students with disabilities.

On the subject of outside money, Diaz zeroed on New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $1 million contribution to the Coalition, and warned, “We need to prevent our schools from being privatized.”

Of all the candidates, Diaz seemed the most opposed to Deasy, saying without hesitation that he would fire him if given the chance.

Candidate Robert Skeels did not attend the forum. For some insight into his priorities and policies, read: East LA Debate: D2 Challengers Pile On LAUSD

“Do you support current LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy?”

But at last week’s District 6 candidate forum for the Los Angeles School Board race in the San Fernando Valley, this question made for some interesting theater:

Antonio Sanchez, an organizer and former staffer for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa confirmed straight away with a “yes.”

Monica Ratliff, a lawyer and elementary teacher, demurred, saying she is “hesitant to evaluate someone’s job performance based on articles I’ve read,” and would “need to know more” before evaluating him.

Maria Cano, a former LAUSD organizer, said, “I would think twice about evaluating him as a successful employee.”

All three of these candidates have been endorsed by the teachers union, which has been deeply critical of Deasy.  But some candidates are having a hard time giving “The Supe” a clear thumbs up or down. Why?

John Deasy was hired by the current School Board almost two years ago as a passionate but practical reformer who vowed to transform the troubled district by raising achievement, focusing on results, and putting students’ needs first.

True to his word, he has pushed hard. He designed a groundbreaking performance measurement that relies on an array of measures — not just test scores — called Academic Growth Over Time, only to have it rejected by the teachers union as a measure of teacher performance.

He took heat for acting swiftly after the Miramonte teacher abuse scandal and for requiring administrators to sift through every allegation.

He tried to get consensus on applying for a $40 million federal grant (the teachers union wouldn’t sign on).

But most importantly, he is focused on kids — and he’s getting results in the classroom. Under his guidance, more students are learning and they’re learning more: even during the worst school budget crisis its history, the district has made substantial improvements in student achievement and seen a sharp decrease of suspensions.

So even though the teachers union may be itching to get rid of him, the candidates who are union-backed may want to be, well — more discreet, for fear of alienating parents and voters who might support him.

Don’t buy it. The most important job of a School Board member in Los Angeles is to hire, supervise and work with a Superintendent — and perhaps in some cases — to fire him. It’s a job that manages a budget of $6.5 billion dollars a year, and is responsible for more than 650,000 students.

Each and every one of the School Board candidates should be prepared to tell the public exactly where they stand on Superintendent John Deasy, and why.

Mayor Villaraigosa and LAUSD Supt. Deasy

“For the last eight years, education reformers have had a staunch ally in the L.A. mayor’s office,” writes LA Weekly reporter Gene Maddaus in a recent roundup of the Mayoral candidates’ education priorities.

“But in a few months, Villaraigosa will be gone, and at the moment it appears that his successor will not be as strong an advocate for making dramatic changes to the current public school system as he has been.”

“Eric Garcetti and Wendy Greuel, the top two contenders, talk often about improving education,” notes Maddaus, pointing out that Garcetti is the more union-friendly of the two leading candidates even though he supports charter schools.  “But neither has campaigned on the more controversial elements of the education reform agenda.”  (Read the story at LA Weekly.)

Click below for some highlights of what some of the candidates have to say, or click above for the full set of responses.  In the very near future, LA School Report is planning to ask and publish candidates’ answers to more specific education questions. What do you think we should ask? Meantime, don’t forget that candidates for District 6 are scheduled to appear tomorrow, January 31, at the next United Way Greater Los Angeles candidate forum.

Some examples of candidates’ responses:

Robert Skeels is running against School Board President Monica Garcia in District 2, an area including East and Central LA. He says the most important issue facing LA schools is standardized testing. Skeels says he plans to “resist” standardized tests and that “psychometricians and education experts agree that they should never be used for any high stakes decisions that affect students and educators.”

In District 4, which includes Hollywood and the Westside, Kate Anderson is running against District 4 Board incumbent Steve Zimmer, who has not yet responded to the questionnaire. Anderson says the quality of education in LA’s schools is held back by a “broken” system for evaluating and supporting teachers, as well as a lack of local control.

Antonio Sanchez, who running to fill departing Board Member Nury Martinez’s East Valley District 6 seat, says there is “no simple solution to fix the system,” but that a key issue is ensuring teachers “have access to the necessary resources and support to offer their students the best education possible.”

Plan to Supply LAUSD Students With Tablet Computers Wins Key Vote
Los Angeles Unified students may be closer to stepping into classrooms of the future where much of the world’s knowledge is right at their fingertips. LA Daily News

Listen: Is the ‘Parent Trigger’ Finally Being Given a Chance?
For the first time since the era of school reform began, the Los Angeles Unified School District has accepted a petition from angry parents demanding “immediate and significant” change in a public school. KCRW

LAUSD Board Candidate Iris Zuniga Drops out of Race for Nury Martinez Seat
Iris Zuniga, one of five candidates to succeed LAUSD board member Nury Martinez in the East San Fernando Valley, announced Wednesday she has dropped out of the Distrct 6 race. LA Daily News
See also: LA Times, LA School Report

ACLU: State, School Districts Failing English Learners
More than 20,000 students whose first language isn’t English are not getting proper instruction according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which threatened California education officials with a lawsuit Wednesday. KPCC

The Feds’ Education Power Grab
It’s time to have a conversation about the issue before we find that the executive branch, or even the entire federal government, has become our national school board. LA Times Op-Ed

State Department of Ed Names Model Schools for At-Risk Students
The model schools program is designed to identify the top quality schools and encourage teachers and administrators at other continuation high schools to contact and visit them and apply those practices on their own campuses. EdSource

LAUSD OK’s English-Hebrew Charter School
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has given a green light to a proposal for a dual-language charter elementary school to be located in Van Nuys offering classes in English and Hebrew. Jewish Journal

State’s D in Teacher Prep Nearly Average
California received an overall grade of D on the 2012 State Teacher Policy Yearbook released by the National Council on Teacher Quality.  No, that’s not great, but it may be easier to bear knowing that the national average was a whopping D+. EdSource

LA School PD Has ‘No Plans’ to Keep High-Powered Weapons on LAUSD Campuses
The Los Angeles School Police Department has no plans to keep high-powered weapons on campuses despite the Fontana Unified School District’s decision to purchase 14 AR-15 assault rifles to protect its students. CBS LA

Robert Skeels

Saturday provides dueling campaign events in LAUSD Board District 2, which includes Central and East Los Angeles. Candidate Robert Skeels is inviting supporters to walk the precincts in Boyle Heights to get out the word on his campaign (for details, click here). Perhaps not coincidentally, it’s the same day that his opponent, incumbent Monica Garcia is staging her campaign kick-off.

Previous posts:  Possible Board Candidates: District 2, More Board Candidates Qualify

24th Street Elementary School the Target of New Parent Petition
Parents at an underperforming Los Angeles elementary school are seeking to wrest control from the nation’s second-largest school system a week after parents in a rural California community made history by taking over a failing school there. Reuters
See also: LA Weekly, LA School Report

Hebrew-English Charter School in Van Nuys Approved by LAUSD
A proposed Hebrew-English charter school in Van Nuys won the approval Tuesday of the LAUSD board, which also OK’d the renewal of two landmark charters and the conditional approval of a third. LA Daily News

Funding Schools Fairly
Gov. Jerry Brown will have to tread carefully if he wants his proposal for revamping education funding both to be fair and to work for the ultimate good of the schools. LA Times Editorial

Arne Duncan Eyes NCLB Waiver for Handful of Calif. Districts
The U.S. Department of Education is giving serious consideration to offering a special, district-level waiver from the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act to just a handful of districts in California. EdWeek

L.A. County Supervisors Defer Vote on Storm Water Cleanup Fee
The Los Angeles Unified School District submitted a protest, as did a number of the county’s smaller school districts. LA Times

Budget Dustup Looms Over Prop. 39 Energy Money as Part of School Guarantee
The non-partisan Legislative Analyst raised strong objections Monday to the Brown administration’s plan to build into the state’s constitutional guarantee for schools $450 million in money earmarked for energy efficiency projects. SI&A Cabinet Report