Candidate Garcetti visits 99th Street Elementary School with Partnership CEO Marshall Tuck

On Wednesday, Mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti toured 99th St. Elementary School, one of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s 22 Partnership for Los Angeles schools.

Appearing at the Watts school with Partnership CEO Marshall Tuck and a handful of others, Garcetti was full of praise for nearly everything he saw.

“This and the other 21 other Partnership schools will be a core part of the educational system in Los Angeles,” said Garcetti, who missed a City Council meeting in order to appear at the school.

However, the Mayoral candidate took issue with several recent education developments, including the recent UTLA poll on LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, the California Democratic Convention resolution against school reform, and the polarizing language Garcetti says is being used by education opponents to mischaracterize each other.

His campaign also told LA School Report that an education-focused debate with opponent Wendy Greuel would likely take place on May 6 or 7.

Garcetti visits 99th St. Elementary’s parent center

During the tour of 99th Street Elementary, Garcetti praised many of the things he saw, including the school’s strong emphasis on the students’ California Standardized Test scores, its “blended learning” classrooms where students use tablet computers, and its parent center, which is furnished by DirectTV.

When asked if he would support a corporate partnership in public schools, he replied, “absolutely.”

“I don’t want to see DirectTV High,” he said with a chuckle, “but absolutely. We have, for too long, seen our corporate partnerships, our community partnerships dwindle.”

The candidate also responded to questions about hot-topic education issues that have been in the news lately.

Asked about State Democratic Party’s recent resolution condemning the efforts of StudentsFirst and Democrats for Education Reform, Garcetti, a Democrat, said: “Resolutions like that, I reject.”

As he’s often done in the past, Garcetti called for a bridge between the two sides of the education divide:

“I think that we have wedged each other too much on education. We’ve turned people who are reformers into privatizers, people who just want to make a buck in schools, and vice versa — people who care about teachers are suddenly painted as union lackeys. There are people who care on both sides of this issue.”

When asked about UTLA’s recent recent straw poll aimed at Superintendent  Deasy, Garcetti said he respectfully disagreed with the union that’s endorsed him.

“I’m a big fan of the Superintendent, I think he’s doing great work,” said Garcetti. He also noted that the results don’t have any direct effect on the district’s leadership.  “At the end of the day it’s the School Board that appoints the Superintendent.”

Garcetti and Tuck outside 99th Street Elementary School

The membership of the School Board is still in flux.  However, Garcetti said he hasn’t yet endorsed a candidate in the District 6 race between union activist Antonio Sanchez and LAUSD teacher Monica Ratliff.

“It’s tough to sit down and have the conversations with candidates while you’re running yourself, and I think endorsements are due at least a conversation,” said Garcetti.

“I’ll see if I have time –– I will, as Mayor, certainly be involved in School Board races.”

Interestingly, Garcetti himself was endorsed by UTLA without being formally interviewed.

Garcetti and his opponent, Wendy Greuel, squared off last night in the second of a long series of debates, which will include a debate solely focused on education on either March 7 or 8, according to a Garcetti spokesman.

Previous posts: Mayoral Candidates Respond Differently to UTLA Vote on Deasy; Greuel Endorses New Teacher Evaluation Plan; Greuel to Garcetti: Let’s Debate Education Today, Garcetti Calls for Education Debate

“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

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

Mayoral candidates Garcetti (left) and Greuel (rght).

On Friday, School Board member Tamar Galatzan endorsed Mayoral candidate Eric Garcetti.

The moved represented the first major endorsement for Garcetti from a so-called “school reformer,” and was something of a surprise since most Valley-based politicians have been supporting Garcetti’s opponent, Wendy Greuel.

Greuel, has been endorsed by three Board members: Monica Garcia, Nury Martinez and Dr. Richard Vladovic.

In addition to Galatzan, Garcetti has now been endorsed by the teachers union and — according to a campaign spokesman — Board member Maurgerite LaMotte.

Board members Bennett Kayser and Steve Zimmer have yet to endorse in the race. Garcetti praised Zimmer at the United Way forum in February.

Left to right: Greuel, Garcetti, James, Perry, Pleitez

Prior to today’s United Way mayoral candidate’s forum, we had been told to expect Wendy Greuel to “come out” as an “education reformer.”

But instead it was Eric Garcetti who took the opportunity to align himself with the so-called reform movement, voicing unequivocal support for LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, the parent trigger law, and even performance-based pay.

In an interview with LA School Report after the forum ended, Garcetti denied any sort of change in positions.

“I’ve been consistent for years, before I even ran,” he told LA School Report.

Observers disagreed over whether Garcetti’s rhetoric was genuine or merely a tactical maneuver.

Today’s was the first Mayoral candidates forum that focused entirely on education. It took place in front of an extremely pro-reform audience — none other than Eli Broad was sitting in the front row.

Garcetti was endorsed by the teachers union last month after saying at a mayoral debate, “I’m sick of us bullying our teachers… We’re so obsessed with firing the bad teachers, we forgot to lift up the good ones.”

Newton ended his column by encouraging the candidate to use the United Way event “to lay to rest fears that his positions have been molded by his UTLA support.”

It was advice that Garcetti seemingly took to heart.

“I’ve disagreed with UTLA on many things — seniority, parent trigger,” he said.

It wasn’t just the trigger.  On issue after issue, Garcetti talked the talk. He also said he was in favor of linking “higher salaries to accountability,” raising money for school board candidates, mayoral control of LAUSD (though he cautioned, “it ain’t gonna happen”), Superintendent John Deasy (“He’s doing a great job. He needs to be reappointed,”) and school choice.

Many in the audience found his stance — if not a shift then certainly a new side of the candidate — surprising.

“I think he made news there,” said Parent Revolution founder Ben Austin, who was sitting in the audience. “That was significant.”

But not everyone was as convinced of Garcetti’s sincerity.

“Garcetti realizes UTLA has no money so now he becomes a fake reformer,” said pro-reform political consultant Mike Trujillo in a text message to LA School Report. “If Garcetti is a reformer, then I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn.”

Greuel, who was endorsed today by former School Board President and ardent school reformer Yolie Flores and current School Board members Nury Martinez and Dr. Richard Vladovic, took up the reformer position as well, praising Superintendent Deasy (“He came in taking no prisoners”) and criticizing UTLA.

“What has happened, often, is teachers don’t believe that UTLA is looking out for their best interests,” she said.

The other candidates, Kevin James, Jan Perry and Emanuel Pleitez, all took up similar positions, praising Deasy and school choice while criticizing the teachers union.

In fact, all the candidates were in nearly complete harmony on most issues, causing the moderator, Dr. Raphael Sonenshein, to joke, “I give candidates permission to disagree with each other.”

Prior to the forum, the candidates filled out written questionaires, which you can download here: Greuel, Garcetti, James, Perry, Pleitez.

Previous posts: Education Summit Could Reveal Mayoral Candidates’ Differences, Video: Mayoral Candidates Talk Education, Mayoral Candidate Greuel Supports Garcia, Parent Trigger;  Candidate Garcetti Waffles on School Board Endorsement