United Teachers Los Angeles

Los Angeles Voter Guide May 21, 2013: Mayor, Weed Measures, City Council, City Attorney, LAUSD Board and The Works

Here's a quick guide to the key races and issues on the May 21, 2013 ballot in the city of Los Angeles. Los Angeles Mayoral Race: Read this fascinating dissection of the five main behavioral and philosophical differences between 2013 Los Angeles mayoral candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti, ... More >>

Eric Smidt, L.A. Dem who Owns Harbor Freight Tools, Gives $50,000 to Elect Kate Anderson, Antonio Sanchez and Monica Garcia to LAUSD

Eric Smidt must be L.A.'s least-written-about, super-rich, self-made guy pouring money into Democratic races in the U.S., and now he's given $50,000 to the Coalition for School Reform to elect Kate Anderson and Antonio Sanchez to the powerful LAUSD Board of Education, and to re-elect incumbent Monic ... More >>

Los Angeles Unified School District Approves Historic Parent Trigger, L.A. Mayoral Candidates Weigh In Or Stay Mum

Elected board members of the Los Angeles Unified School District -- the second largest public school system in the country -- unanimously approved a Parent Trigger for the 24th Street Elementary School in West Adams. It's a first for L.A. Unified, and Los Angeles mayoral candidates are weighing in o ... More >>

Wendy Greuel Adds Another Public Sector Union, Picking Up Firefighters Endorsement

Update below: Eric Garcetti wins UTLA endorsement. L.A.'s public-sector employee unions continue to line up behind Wendy Greuel in the race for mayor.Greuel already has the backing of the L.A. Police Protective League and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 18, which repr ... More >>

Antonio Villaraigosa Led The Way On Education Reform, But His Potential Successors Are Reluctant To Pick Up The Torch

For the last eight years, education reformers have had a staunch ally in the L.A. mayor's office. From the start of his administration, Antonio Villaraigosa showed he was willing to fight the teachers' unions, and to pay a political price for it.But in a few months, Villaraigosa will be gone. And at ... More >>

LAUSD Rubber Rooms Crowd Up

Denials and confessions by those in teacher jail

Kate Anderson vs. Steve Zimmer LAUSD Board Race: Mother of Twins, Lawyer and Activist Goes After Anti-Charter Zimmer

The heat is on. Kate Anderson, an activist mom and successful attorney with political chops -- she worked for Congress members Henry Waxman and Jane Harman -- will try to oust Steve Zimmer, the Westside's man on Los Angeles Unified School Board, in March 2013. Zimmer has emerged as a fierce oppone ... More >>

Comments: Bikram Battle

Miramonte Teaching Staff Not Fired Over Sex-Abuse Scandal, Despite Reports

Sunday and Monday headlines declared that the entire staff of Miramonte Elementary School in South L.A. has been fired following the sex-abuse scandal there earlier this year. Why? To quell a "culture of silence," the reports quoted L.A. Unified School District superintendent John Deasy as saying. ... More >>

Firing the Bad Teachers: Ted Olson and LAUSD Parents Sue

Why Did California Lawmakers Kill Miramonte-Inspired Bill to Help Fire Pervy Teachers?

Senator Alex Padilla (D-Paicoma) is fuming this morning over yesterday's decision by the Assembly Education Committee to throw out SB 1530 -- that famous Miramonte-inspired bill that would have made it easier for school districts to fire teachers accused of "sex, violence or drug offenses involving ... More >>

LAUSD to Cut 5 Days off School Year: Why Won't Teachers Consider Less Devastating Options?

For the fourth year in a row, in an effort to conserve dwindling state funds, LAUSD and the L.A. teachers union have agreed to cut from the single most important aspect of K-12 education: time in the classroom. If approved by teachers, the plan would deal them 10 furlough days next year. On five of ... More >>

Michelle Rhee, 'Parent Trigger' Supporters File Huge L.A. Lawsuit to Strip Teachers of Job Protection

California's teachers have long been protected by a series of state laws -- lobbied into existence by powerful teachers unions -- that make the ineffective ones almost impossible to fire. Now, in the largest state lawsuit of kind, the key players behind the controversial "Parent Trigger" law allege ... More >>

LAUSD Can Now Spy on Teachers' Online Activity, Punish Them for Facebook Comments

A new policy bulletin out of Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters tells teachers -- and any other adult associated with the district -- that they'd better keep their social-media persona in check. Actually, the new policy was put in place almost two months ago. But until the news wire m ... More >>

LAUSD Principals Furious at Superintendent Deasy for Demanding They Dig Up Years of Teacher-Misconduct Complaints

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, who oversees nearly 670,000 campuses as head of the nation's second largest school district, got some more great press today from the Los Angeles Times. Despite the overall horrificness of the Miramonte sex scandal (turned districtwide sex scandal) of 2012, the Time ... More >>

LAUSD Principals Furious at Superintendent Deasy for Demanding They Dig Up Years of Teacher-Misconduct Complaints

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, who oversees nearly 670,000 campuses as head of the nation's second largest school district, got some more great press today from the Los Angeles Times. Despite the overall horrificness of the Miramonte sex scandal (turned districtwide sex scandal) of 2012, the Time ... More >>

Matt Sorum of Guns 'n' Roses Stands Up for Arts Education, Woos LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy Into Postponing Budget Cuts

Matt Sorum drums some sense into LAUSD.​Updated at the bottom with video of Sorum's inspiring speech. Reporting by Tessa Stuart. Of all the crucial LAUSD programs on the chopping block at today's board meeting -- like the entire adult-education department and after-school tutoring -- perhaps ... More >>

Miramonte Staff Will Never Return to Scandal-Plagued Campus, Teachers' Union Says

LAUSD​As was sure to happen, the sex-abuse scandal at Miramonte Elementary is turning into a battle between the powerful teacher's union and the bureaucratically stifling L.A. Unified School District. Who's right and who's wrong shouldn't even matter at this point. Sheriff's investigators bel ... More >>

Alleged 'Sex Game' Teacher Mark Berndt Went Free for Over a Year: How Did LAUSD, L.A. Sheriff Let This Happen?

It's hard to imagine child-molester charges more horrific than those pinned on ex-Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt, 63, yesterday. The L.A. County Sheriff's Special Victims Bureau arrested the teacher, who had been at the school for over 30 years, for binding and gagging at least 23 ... More >>

Pulling the Trigger on Failing Schools

Parents aim for revolution — again

LAUSD Contract Deal Between John Deasy and Warren Fletcher: Bad Teachers Might be Ousted at Schools Freed from Old Rules

John Deasy, Los Angeles schools supe, might finally have something to grin about.​ By Hillel Aron It was a real kumbaya moment at the LAUSD school board today as Superintendent John Deasy and teachers union President Warren Fletcher held hands and announced that, after months of contract talks ... More >>

John Deasy LAUSD Union Contract Cave-in? New Superintendent has a Rare Chance to Force Teachers to Really Teach

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy: Will he cave, or finally protect the kids?​Uh oh, John Deasy, the Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent, is issuing glowing claims to the media that he is nearly ready to cut a labor contract deal with the anti-reform leaders at United Teachers of ... More >>

L.A. City Council District 15 Race

Taxpayer funds make San Pedro-to-Watts election the most competitive in years

Progressives Find Religion on LAUSD Reform

Is this finally the tipping point in turning around LAUSD schools?

More L.A. Leaders Come Out Against Teachers Union, in Support of 'Don't Hold Us Back' Reform at LAUSD

The L.A. Civic Alliance gives this ad -- which recently appeared in the Times, Daily News and La Opinion -- a big fat thumbs up.​In case you haven't heard, the door to much-needed education reform in L.A. will either be thrown open or slammed shut this fall. More specifically, the Los Angeles ... More >>

Los Angeles Charities and Minority Groups Tell United Teachers Los Angeles and LAUSD: 'Don't Hold Us Back'

By Hillel Aron The kids aren't alright.​Today, full page ads appear in the L.A. Times, Daily News and La Opinion taken out by Don't Hold Us Back -- respected organizations calling out United Teachers Los Angeles and LAUSD for letting kids fail. The new supergroup includes The United Way, The ... More >>

City Council Unanimously Passes Occupy L.A. Resolution -- Protesters Struggle to Distance Themselves From Democrats, Unions

Los Angeles TimesCity Council President Eric Garcetti shows his support.​Just now, the L.A. City Council unanimously approved a joint resolution to officially "support" the Occupy L.A. demonstration and "demand accountability and results from the banks we invest taxpayer dollars in." (Full tex ... More >>

Study: LAUSD's Charter-School Teachers Dropping Out at Alarming Rate

4lakidsnews.blogspot.comAre L.A.'s charter teachers overworked and under-unionized?​Unlike the stubborn, nepotistic Compton Unified School District next door, LAUSD has opened its arms to the booming charter-school movement over the last decade. Between 2002 to 2009, the number of charter cam ... More >>

Why Los Angeles Schoolkids Get Lousy Meals

Beth Barrett, Los Angeles Investigative Reporter, Wins Maggie Award for Best Public Service Series: The Dance of the Lemons

Award-winning Los Angeles journalist Beth Barrett​Investigative reporter Beth Barrett, the Los Angeles journalist whose scoop revealing that Antonio Villaraigosa was cheating on his wife caused him extensive political harm, has won the Maggie Award for Best Public Service Series, for her seari ... More >>

Scott Svonkin, San Gabriel Unified Board Member, Lets Teachers Down: Plays Hooky to Campaign For L.A. Community College Board

Scott Svonkin plays hooky, schmoozes it up ​Scott Svonkin, San Gabriel Unified School District Board member, describes himself as the "only one who cares about the teachers." He is running for a seat on the vastly more powerful Los Angeles Community College Board and will face Lydia Gutierrez ... More >>

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's 2011 'State of the City' Message: Rip Up the Teacher Union Contract if You Want School Reform

zap2itMayor Antonio Villaraigosa is a father with several grandchildren.​Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa gets major credit for two seldom-seen qualities tonight in his 2011 State of the City address: 1) He's got an attention span, focused on LAUSD's awful schools -- which constitute the ... More >>

LAUSD Follows Lead of Los Angeles Times, Adopts New Value-Added Method of Grading Student Progress, Teachers

Sean TeagardenThe dance is over for LAUSD's lemons ​Updated after the jump with the differences between the Times' and LAUSD's grading criteria. When the Los Angeles Times unrolled a list of 6,000 Los Angeles teachers, ranked in order of whose students were showing the most improvements on st ... More >>

Underdog Warren Fletcher Wins UTLA Election In a Squeaker

Warren Fletcher​It's a new day at United Teachers Los Angeles, as underdog candidate Warren Fletcher narrowly won the union presidency.Fletcher eked out a 53-47 victory over the favorite, Julie Washington, in results announced last night. He'll take over from A.J. Duffy -- who was termed out -- on ... More >>

L.A. Charter School Takeover: Teachers, Superintendant Cortines Defeated as Mayor, Reformers Get Their Way With 7 New Charters

Not this time, Cortines.​Private charter-school giants are pushing their way into the Los Angeles Unified School District one low-performing campus at a time -- or, as was the case yesterday, seven at a time, out of 13 district schools up for grabs. The Los Angeles Board of Education's reform ... More >>

Los Angeles Unified School District Board March 8, 2011 Election Results

Update #2: Kayser talks to L.A. Weekly. See below. Update: Numbers are continuing in the same direction as more votes are counted. See Below. Bennett Kayser​Absentee votes are counted for the Los Angeles Unified School District Board race. We will continue to keep you updated as numbers come i ... More >>

Louis Pugliese, L.A. Unified School District Board Candidate: United Teachers Los Angeles Union's Once Strong Muscle Getting Flabby

Duffy the union slayer​Not one, but two United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) union endorsed candidates for the upcoming March 8 Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Board elections have had that endorsement snatched away after background checks. Hey, A.J. Duffy, you're the president of U ... More >>

How Is Firing 5,000 LAUSD Teachers Preferable to Chipping at Their Huge, Union-Protected Health Benefits?

Merry Retirement​Either we're missing something here, or this is the biggest no-brainer in the history of L.A. education (teehee, oxymoron). The Los Angeles Unified School District is facing at least a $408 million budget shortfall for the 2011-12 school year. No matter what, someone -- make ... More >>

Union-Backed LAUSD Candidates Accuse UTLA President A.J. Duffy Of Coercing Them To Drop Out

A.J. Duffy​Updated below at 7:32 p.m. with UTLA response.Two union-backed school board candidates are accusing UTLA President A.J. Duffy of coercing them to drop out of the race, after background checks turned up legal and financial issues.Jesus Escandon agreed to drop out, but only after Duffy ma ... More >>

L.A. Teachers Union Loses Historic Lawsuit to ACLU: No More 'Last Hired, First Fired'

Better luck next time, Duffy​Updated after the jump: UTLA plans to appeal the ruling. Update: L.A. Mayor, Board of Education Prez and Superintendent-to-be join the victory lap. This one's for the kids. An L.A. Superior Court judge ruled just a few hours ago, in Reed v. State of California, ... More >>

UTLA's FUBAR L.A. Times Op Ed: Teacher Leaders Russom and Baranwal Call Simple Teacher Duties "Reforms." Scary Stuff

Sean TeagardenLAUSD's Dance of the Lemons​How embarrassing to read the op-ed on how great United Teachers Los Angeles is, in the LA Times today. Two teachers, UTLA union leaders, touted "reforms" that described routine duties expected of teachers for decades. How clueless. And revealing. Kirt ... More >>

A.J. Duffy's UTLA Cracks Further As Heather Kolodny Drops Los Angeles School Board Bid

A.J. Duffy's tiny pocket is full​Paranoid leaders at United Teachers Los Angeles seek anti-reform teachers to run for Los Angeles Unified School Board. That's right. They grimly resist after losing public confidence following the brilliant L.A. Times test score expose of 6,000 teachers. The Ti ... More >>

Steve Zimmer Anti-Reform, Yolie Flores For Reform: The Stark LAUSD School Board Drama Unfolding After Historic ACLU Settlement

Anti-reformer Zimmer ​Steve Zimmer, elected by "sophisticates" on the Westside, is starkly shown as the leading anti-reformist on the LAUSD Board of Education in a fascinating LA Times story about how United Teachers Los Angeles got snookered by the pro bono American Civil Liberties Union, Pub ... More >>

Did Rigoberto Ruelas, Missing Educator Found Dead, Commit Suicide Over L.A. Times' Controversial Teacher Ratings? Union Tells Times To Take Down The Evaluations

​TV news reports over the weekend painted Rigoberto Ruelas as a dedicated elementary school teacher whose students celebrated his impact even after they had moved up the public-school ladder. The 39-year-old hiker from South Gate went missing last week after he phoned in for a substitute to t ... More >>

Rigoberto Ruelas Suicide At LAUSD: L.A. Media's Rampant Speculation Blaming L.A. Times Is Based On One South Gate Cop's Psychological Musings

​The apparent suicide of Rigoberto Ruelas, an LAUSD teacher at Miramonte Elementary School in South Gate, has led to rampant speculation by Los Angeles TV and radio stations that Ruelas couldn't bear to live following an L.A. Times series that published the names and scores of 6,000 teachers -- an ... More >>

A.J. Duffy should resign in wake of Ruelas suicide: UTLA chief, not the L.A. Times, is the rot in Southern California school wars

Does A.J. stand for a joke? ​Pipsqueak United Teachers Los Angeles chief A.J. Duffy, who has turned the L.A. teachers union into a national laughingstock and encouraged this region's teachers to think like infantile whiners, should resign after trying to blame the Los Angeles Times for the tra ... More >>

Creep targets poor Watts kids, stealing 32 computers and ruining school year at Watts Learning Center. Help needed

Leaves a much bigger hole ​What kind of cowardly a-hole targets low-income grade school kids in Watts who are rising above the South Los Angeles grime at the Watts Learning Center, stealing 32 computers and school projectors and cell phones? Makes you nauseous. "Still in a state of shock," ab ... More >>

Teachers Protest Against L.A. Times For Grading Their Performance

UTLA President A.J. Duffy​In response to The Los Angeles Times series that published data purporting to show teacher performance and quality, hundreds of educators from the local teachers union demonstrated in front of the Times building Tuesday, accusing the paper of reckless and shoddy repo ... More >>

Has Ray Cortines Got Cojones?

If not, LAUSD board could buckle to union over L.A. Times teacher-test-score expose

LAUSD's Dance of the Lemons

Why firing the desk-sleepers, burnouts, hotheads and other failed teachers is all but impossible