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Teachers in panic over LAUSD’s new computer tracking system
LA Unified has agreed to delay parts of a new student data management system that was set to launch districtwide on Tuesday, the first day of school, after the teachers union and other district employees raised concerns that the technology is riddled with glitches. But UTLA says it’s not enough, and union officials say they...
By Vanessa Romo | August 8, 2014
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After 700 new teachers hired, LA Unified still looking for more
Eleven days before the start of the new school year, LA Unified is still hiring teachers. By the district’s accounting, about 700 have been brought aboard for the school year starting Aug. 12, and district officials are looking to add up to 100 more. That would give the district about a third more new instructors...
By Vanessa Romo | August 1, 2014
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Teacher group proposes new system to pay LAUSD teachers
As LA Unified and the teachers union dive into negotiations over a new contract, a local education advocacy group is weighing in with a new plan for how to pay teachers. A policy paper by Educators 4 Excellence (E4E), a group founded by two former Teach for America teachers that has funding from the Gates Foundation,...
By Vanessa Romo | June 4, 2014
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LA Unified can keep teacher ratings anonymous, judges say
Via the Los Angeles Times | By Teresa Watanabe The Los Angeles Unified School District does not need to release the names of teachers in connection with their performance ratings, according to a tentative court ruling issued Thursday. A three-judge state appellate court panel tentatively found a stronger public interest in keeping the names confidential...
By LA School Report | April 25, 2014
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Damon Takes the Stage, but Ravitch Wins the Applause
When the actor Matt Damon stood before a capacity crowd inside the Cal State Northridge student union last night, he smiled sheepishly and said he wasn’t surprised to see so many star-struck supporters in attendance. After all, he said, he was introducing the education historian and anti-corporate reform activist Diane Ravitch. Ravitch was appearing as...
By Chase Niesner | October 3, 2013
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LA Teachers Proposing Online Voting System for Union Elections
Less than 23 percent of the 40,000 members of United Teachers of Los Angeles cast ballots in the final round of voting for union president in 2011, the union’s last leadership election. Even fewer, 15 percent, voted in the preliminary round. A new, online voting system could change all that, says a group of teachers...
By Brianna Sacks | August 1, 2013
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Committee Deadlocks on Teacher Evaluation Bill
A proposed bill known as SB 441 that would tighten teacher evaluation rules statewide narrowly failed to pass the Senate Education Committee Wednesday — but it’s not completely dead yet. After hearing impassioned testimony from parents, teachers, and union representatives, the Committee deadlocked 4-4 over approval of the legislation. But the Committee also voted to...
By Samantha Oltman | April 26, 2013
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Forum Scheduled for District 6 Candidates
The May 21 LAUSD Board runoff for District 6 is less than a month away, and Teach Plus, an urban education advocacy group, is hosting a candidate forum on Thursday, May 2. Both candidates Monica Ratliff and Antonio Sanchez have been invited, but only Ratliff has confirmed her participation so far. The event is interactive,...
By Samantha Oltman | April 26, 2013
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Morning Read: Teachers Vote “No Confidence” in Deasy
UTLA Delivers No-Confidence Vote to LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy LAUSD’s teachers union issued an overwhelming vote of no-confidence Thursday in the leadership of Superintendent John Deasy as he finishes his second year, while a rival survey released by civil rights groups showed strong support for his reform strategies and called for an even more aggressive...
By Samantha Oltman | April 12, 2013
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Morning Read: Symbolic Teacher Vote on Deasy
Teachers to Vote on ‘Confidence’ in L.A. Schools Supt. Deasy Members of the L.A. teachers union begin casting ballots Tuesday in a symbolic confidence-vote referendum on L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy. LA Times See also: LA School Report CTA Goes Hollywood on Teacher Dismissal Bills An adage in politics is that if you can’t beat...
By Samantha Oltman | April 2, 2013