Teacher Evaluations: Let the Battle Begin On Wednesday, the state Senate Education Committee will take up a bill by Sen. Ron Calderon, D-Montebello, that would adopt a formal state standard for evaluating teachers. SD Union-Tribune Editorial A Student With Promise, a Teacher Who Had to Help Brought to the U.S. as a baby, Itzel Ortega...

Why Antonio Villaraigosa Fell Short as LA’s Education Mayor As Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa prepares to step down in June, among the achievements he takes credit for during his eight years in office is improving one institution that the law gives him no authority over: the public schools. KPCC CTC to Survey New Teacher Prep Grads...

LA Unified School Board Race Could Break Fundraising Records This Election The 2013 school board races have barely started and they have already attracted more than $4 million in donations. KPCC See also: LA School Report Union Wins Right to Represent Valley Charter School The Los Angeles teachers union announced Wednesday night that it has won...

‘Parent Trigger’ Strikes Again in California On Thursday, the parent union plans to present its petition to officials at the Los Angeles Unified School District office. The petition threatens to force the school into the control of a charter operator unless parents can negotiate major changes in the way the school is run under the...

Candidates File Papers to Run For L.A. School Board The March election could change the course of a new teacher evaluation system, the union’s dealings with charters and, possibly, the future of Supt. John Deasy. LA Times Mother of Twins, Lawyer and Activist Goes After Anti-Charter Zimmer Kate Anderson, an activist mom and successful attorney...

Looking for an independent source of information about how LAUSD is doing?  You might want to check out Ed-Data, which is managed by the Education Data Partnership and recently uploaded 2011 – 2012 Academic Performance Index (API) and Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) scores for school districts across the state. As you can see, LAUSD’s API score showed...

Two of the 23 schools recently stripped of their API rankings by the state for testing irregularities were elementary schools located in LAUSD, and three more were located within LA County.  You can read the irregularity reports for the two LAUSD schools (Capistrano Avenue and Short Avenue) posted by the LA Times here, or read the...

Teachers Union Refuses to Sign Off on LAUSD Plan for Race to the Top Grant The Los Angeles teachers union has refused to sign off on Los Angeles Unified’s bid for a prestigious Race to the Top grant, costing the district a shot at winning $40 million in federal money, sources said Saturday. Daily News...