Recently in LAUSD Category

Los Angeles Unified Superintendent John Deasy issued a statement this afternoon on Occupy LAUSD, the movement of teachers that's getting started now -- in solidarity with Occupy L.A. -- on a march from City Hall to school district headquarters.

Deasy said LAUSD is a "victim" of policies that hurt the poor, the types of government and corporate actions that the Occupy movement is protesting across the country and around the world.

Deasy said Occupy LAUSD is "both misinformed and contrary to the spirit and intent of Occupy Wall Street, Occupy LA, and the other laudable movements for economic justice that have sprung up around the country and the world over the last month."

The full statement is after the jump. It's followed by Deasy's statement earlier today condemning anti-semitic comments made at Occupy LA over the weekend by an LAUSD substitute teacher, who has since been fired. A district spokeswoman said the teacher had been subbing since 2005 but, because she was not a permanent employee, there's not a record available of where she worked.

As I reported in a story that ran yesterday, a group of educators led in part by former South Bay congressional candidate Marcy Winograd has teamed up to march today. With partial backing from the teachers union (a vote for UTLA endorsement is set for tomorrow), Occupy LAUSD is focused on "privatization" of public schools and the growth of charters.

Los Angeles Unified School District has just announced an agreement with United Teachers Los Angeles. Details from the district's press release are below. UTLA statement after the jump.

Both the Los Angeles Times' Howard Blume and Connie Llanos of our sister paper, the Daily News, wrote goodbye stories last week marking the last day of former Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Ramon Cortines.

Here's a laudatory quote in Blume's story from Westside school board member Steve Zimmer, who told the LAT he wished the 78-year-old Cortines had stayed on longer:

"We had simply the most skilled, most accomplished superintendent in the nation at the magical moment of his last job," Zimmer said. "He did this work completely unfettered, unchained. There was no objective other than what was best for children. He absolutely held the district together, understanding exactly where the organization was, where it needed to be and how much change it could absorb."

The Daily News story has this description, which encapsulates the longtime educator:

Diminutive in size, Cortines is known for his larger-than-life personality that is part charm, part wit and part fiery passion.

His short fuse caused him to submit a written resignation to the school board earlier this year, over an argument with a board member. He later withdrew his resignation. He could be grumpy with staff and he was unapologetic about his expectations.

But most district officials also marveled at Cortines' stamina and work ethic - that had him starting work days at 4:30 a.m. until the last few days of his time as chief.

Superintendent John Deasy began his work leading the nation's second-largest school district on Friday.

LAUSD has set a new date for the board hearing on a controversial proposal to covert Westchester High to a district-wide magnet school. It's next Tuesday, April 12.

The item was postponed last week.

The agenda is here. It's Item 31, but there's no board report yet.

I received a question earlier this week asking for more information on transfer permits, which are much easier to obtain this year thanks to a new state law.

I had posted last week about the effects of AB 2444. The shortened item ran in the paper and on the Breeze's regular website too.

The question: Do students have to reapply for transfer permits if they are moving to a new school within their receiving district -- that is, moving up from elementary to middle school or from middle to high school?

The answer, according to Victor Thompson, director of division of student support services for the Los Angeles County Office of Education, is NO.

Thompson, who oversees county appeal hearings for permits, said the new law means parents do not have to reapply for permits once they are in to their new, receiving district.

"There's opinion out there that they have to, but they don't," Thompson said.

Thompson said there's some confusion because of the language in a section of the new law. The statute reads, in part:

Once a pupil in kindergarten or any of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, is enrolled in a school pursuant to this chapter, the pupil shall not have to reapply for an interdistrict transfer, and the governing board of the school district of enrollment shall allow the pupil to continue to attend the school in which he or she is enrolled .... (italics added)

Thompson notes that the writing could lead officials to say that permits are only issued for transfers to specific schools: "It says 'school' but not 'school district.' That's one way to intrepret it but it's not a correct interpretation."

Another point of concern is the statue's reference to agreements between school districts, which in theory govern the issuance of permits (to a certain extent). Thompson said these agreements are rarely used anymore.

OK, clear as mud? Thought so!

Final unofficial results from last night's election returns show Richard Vladovic won by a wider margin than I reported with preliminary figures, earning "Dr. V" another term on the Los Angeles school board.

Vladovic had 63.2 percent of the vote, well more than enough to avoid a runoff with Carson candidate Roye Love, who had 22.5 percent, and Jesus Escandon, who had dropped out of the race but won over 14.3 percent of voters.

The two other incumbents -- Tamar Galatzan and Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte -- also kept their seats and avoided runoffs. Luis Sanchez, a staffer for board President Monica Garcia who is backed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, is headed for a runoff with Bennett Kayser, who has the support of United Teachers Los Angeles.

The results tallied by the city of L.A. show turnout of 14,745 of Board District 7's 258,029 registered voters -- a dismal 5.7 percent.

I'm guessing that turnout would have been cranked up significantly if Escandon and his UTLA money had stayed in the race. (He dropped out in January after revelations of a past drunken driving conviction, though his name remained on the ballot.)

This time last year, plenty of parents across the South Bay and Harbor Area were panicking when they learned that Los Angeles Unified planned to stop issuing most transfer permits.

That meant students who live in LAUSD but attended other -- usually higher-achieving -- school districts would be forced to return to their neighborhood campuses. The Breeze did a series of stories on this change, which caused an uproar.

It's different this March, not just because LAUSD reversed its policy change after the parent outcry. A state law that went to effect Jan. 1 ensures that parents do not have to reapply to continue to send their children to "receiving" or transfer school districts.

"We're very relieved. I can't tell you what it means not to have to worry about that," said Lynda Mitsakos, a Playa del Rey mom who sends her daughter to Mira Costa High in Manhattan Beach.

Mitsakos last year helped start a Facebook group for parents frustrated with LAUSD over the permit issue. Posts on the group's wall show that there remains some confusion about permitting, despite the new law.

The period for inter-district transfer permit applications opened March 1 and ends April 30. LAUSD has information on its website.

Some parents say they've been incorrectly told they need to reapply. That's not the case if they already have a transfer permit for their child.

"Until they graduate, there's no need to reapply," said Victor Thompson, who oversees the permit appeals process for the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

"I know that there's been some confusion because it's new," said Thompson, whose title is director of division of student support services. "A few parents couldn't believe it because they've been used to going back year after year after year to get a permit."

The law, Assembly Bill 2444, was sponsored by Warren Furutani, who represents Assembly District 55, including Carson, Harbor City, Harbor Gateway and Wilmington.

The bill was introduced in mid-February of last year, less than two weeks after the LAUSD board gave Superintendent Ramon Cortines permission to change the policy with the intent of bringing attendance-based dollars back to the district.

OK, the story was actually posted Friday night. But maybe, like me, you didn't want to consume anything too serious over the weekend.

So now take part of your Presidents Day to read this Howard Blume story in the L.A. Times on the waning influence of United Teachers Los Angeles.

Here's a taste:

"When I read 'the powerful teachers union,' I think: What powerful teachers union?" said Becki Robinson, a UTLA vice president from 1996 to 2002 who remained active in the union until her retirement two years ago. "I don't believe that the current UTLA has any political influence in the district at all. It is completely 180 degrees from what it used to be."

United Teachers Los Angeles has formally withdrawn its endorsement of a candidate who was seeking to unseat school board member Richard Vladovic in the March 8 election.

The union's House of Representatives voted to officially withdraw the endorsement of Jesus Escandon on Wednesday evening, according to a press release sent out Thursday.

Escandon said last week he would withdraw his candidacy for the Los Angeles Unified Board District 7 seat after union officials learned he had failed to disclose past convictions for driving while drunk and without a license.

Escandon's name will still appear on the ballot, as will Carson resident Roye Love and Vladovic, who is seeking a second term.

It's been an interesting election cycle for this seat so far, with Vladovic's consultant getting fired this week.

The union's policy-making body also voted to endorse retired teacher Bennett Kayser in the Board District 5 race. UTLA had announced it would withdraw its endorsement of John Fernandez in that race for misrepresentations during interviews.

The Los Angeles Times has more; the UTLA press release is after the jump.

Gardena High grad and San Pedro High teacher Steve Gebhart is the subject of a profile from USC's Neon Tommy.

Gebhart has a charismatic persona that endears him with his students. He is bespectacled and balding, but with the sporty physique of an athlete that is vaguely reminiscent of blogger Andrew Sullivan. He has an assortment of tattoos on his arms, including one that his students particularly like which reads, "knowledge is power."

His presence - in the hallways, in the classroom, in the community - is gregarious and compassionate. Between classes, he stands in the hallways and cracks jokes with students as they make their way to class. On Friday nights, he brings his wife and kids to the high school football games. For him, teaching is a mission that goes beyond just being an instructor in the classroom. Instead, he tries to be a positive role model to his students, demonstrating through his own life the importance of being a well-rounded individual.

The story, from the new-ish digital publication out of the Annenberg journalism school (my alma mater), is by Mary Slosson. It's one of a series on "nine LAUSD teachers that nobody has ever heard of" and the work that they do.

There's an interesting opinion piece looking at LAUSD Superintedent Ramon Cortines in the LA Times today.

"Cortines is a tough infighter, strengthened by his national reputation and willingness to say out loud what others only whisper," writes Jim Newton, the paper's editor-at-large. "...Cortines has navigated Los Angeles' dense politics with a style uniquely his own."

Newton worries about the district's future after Cortines retires in 2011. He tells the 78-year-old superintendent that his departure might allow change-resistant parties "their chance to backslide."

"You're right to be worried," Cortines responds.

Definitely worth a read.

Also interesting, but not related to local LAUSD schools, is the district's reaction to a reality show that was filmed at a few campuses. It didn't go to everyone's liking, report the Times' Howard Blume and Daina Beth Solomon.

The Los Angeles Unified school board has voted 6-1 to begin classes in August instead of September for the 2011-12 school year.

Richard Vladovic, who's facing a re-election battle for his Board District 7 seat, was the lone dissenter.

I missed the vote since I'm not covering this issue, but Vladovic's chief of staff, David Kooper, emailed some over some of his boss's thoughts.

"There was clearly not enough information given to parents about this calendar change," Vladovic said. "Parents and families need to be part of the process."

He added, in the email: "Though I think that educationally the early start calendar change makes sense, I supported the parents who have expressed to me that they have not been given enough information to make an informed recommendation."

Local District 8 Superintendent Michael Romero originally told me that he had heard virtually no complaints from South Bay and Harbor Area parents about the possible calendar change. But this week he said he was worried about the proposed policy, and had heard more concerns.

The district says the change is motivated primarily by academics.

"As challenging as this change may be for the schedules of some families, this is a positive step for the education of all LAUSD students. The new Early Start Instructional Calendar will allow students and teachers to complete academic work during the fall semester prior to the start of the winter break," said Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines in a press release sent out by the district. "The advantages of this reform support academic achievement for all of our students."

Under the new calendar, the school year would start Aug. 15 and run until June 1, 2012.

In advance of layoff-related protests expecting at campuses across Los Angeles Unified School District on Friday morning, Superintendent Ramon has today informed employees that next year will be "even more difficult."

In a memo sent to district workers, Cortines said the district faces a $142 million deficit for next year. He said that's the equivalent of a loss of more than 3,300 job unless there are continued furlough days and spending cuts.

Cortines wrote: "Our daunting challenge: we have no choice but to continue to reduce ongoing costs to get through this crisis." He said that using $103 million from the federal jobs bill -- a one-time allocation that is set to save more than 2,000 positions in 2011-12 -- in the current year "would be grossly irresponsible."

The memo comes as United Teachers Los Angeles is planning to picket at schools Friday morning in support of classified workers who are set to be laid off or transferred and demoted in what one official has called "musical chairs."

About 990 support employees -- clerical staff, janitors, cafeteria workers -- are set to lose their jobs at the end of the month. Another 3,600 will the next day be forced to change jobs and in many cases the schools to which they report.

More than 4,700 LAUSD employees have been laid off in the last two years.

Not a big shocker here, but United Teachers Los Angeles has voted to back Jesus Escandon in his bid to unseat LAUSD board member Richard Vladovic.

Escandon is a former LAUSD teacher who is now an organizer for the statewide union, the politically powerful California Teachers Association. Vladovic -- a former LAUSD teacher, principal and local district superintendent -- is seeking a second term representing Board District 7, which stretches from South L.A. to the Harbor Area. I had more on the contest earlier this week.

Howard Blume at the Los Angeles Times has the scoop on teachers union endorsements in four LAUSD board races. The primary election is March 8.

ICEF Public Schools, the operator of 15 charter campuses mostly in South Los Angeles, is facing financial insolvency, according to reporting today from the LA Times' Howard Blume. A group of big-name L.A. philanthropists are rallying to save the charter management organization.

ICEF runs two schools in Inglewood: ICEF Inglewood Middle Academy and ICEF Inglewood Elementary Academy. Both opened in September 2009 and are chartered by Inglewood Unified.

Billionaire businessman Eli Broad and former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan are working with a group of local philanthropists to save the respected charter management organization, which faced a $2 million deficit this year, Blume says. Riordan will become chairman of the ICEF board, and Caprice Young, former head of the statewide California Charter School Association, will take over as part-time CEO. Founder Mike Piscal will remain to oversee academic programs, Blume reports.

Riordan is contributing $100,000; Broad $500,000, and philanthropist Frank Baxter $100,000--jump-starting a short-term $3-million campaign to stabilize ICEF. All are longtime supporters of charters and frequent critics of the Los Angeles Unified School District.

ICEF is one of the groups that have applied to run South Region High School No. 4, a new campus that's rising in Long Beach. Still under construction, the campus is set to accommodate about 1,800 students from Banning and Carson high schools.

As I reported in a story that ran over the weekend, LAUSD officials are in the process of writing a plan to retain control of the campus, which is subject to the Public School Choice process that lets outside groups bid to control new and troubled campuses.

ICEF has also applied for control of seven other campuses under this year's Public School Choice 2.0. Three of those schools were recently removed from takeover consideration because of marked improvement on API results earlier this month.

Apparently ICEF's quick expansion over the past decade contributed to its financial troubles, Blume writes. It's not clear how or whether the current restructuring will affect ICEF's bids for Public School Choice campuses.

Port of Los Angeles High School in San Pedro received a boost from local dignitaries on Wednesday, with the visit of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Councilwoman Janice Hahn and City Attorney Carmen Trutanich.

School official say they have the support of the trio in seeking to purchase their campus from a powerful landowner: the Port of Los Angeles.

School Executive Director Jim Cross said he believes the Harbor Commission will vote early next month on the school's offer to purchase its building, a former shipping company office structure on West Fifth Street. To the frustration of POLAHS officials, there have been multiple delays since negotiations began in fall 2008.

Cross and other POLAHS officials consider the building's purchase vital to the future of the six-year-old charter school. It currently pays about $800,000 per year in rent to the port.

Meanwhile, the school this fall is celebrating having reached its goal enrollment of 850, and recent achievements on state tests.

It earned an API of 778 this week -- a gain of 47 points that it put it well above all of LAUSD's traditional comprehensive high schools in the South Bay and Harbor Area. In results released in August, POLAHS also outperformed those campuses on results from the California High School Exit Exam: 93 percent of 10th graders passed the English section on their first try, and 91 percent passed math.

Next Wednesday, the school will host a ceremony marking the dedication of a new science classroom to FTR, the firm building the new port police headquarters next door. FTR made an in-kind donation of about $90,000 to the school by constructing a new sewer line. The dedication is the fifth such ceremony for the school, which recently built five new classrooms on its once-empty second-floor space.

In light of a report on the L.A Times website today that an aide to LAUSD board President Monica Garcia will run for the seat currently held by Yolie Flores, I gave a call over to board member Richard Vladovic to see what his plans are for the March 8 election.

Vladovic said he "absolutely" plans to run for a second term representing Board District 7, which stretches from Watts to San Pedro.

"There's more to finish," Vladovic said.

Does he know of any potential challengers running? No. "Let 'em. We run on track records and vision," Vladovic said.

Howard Blume reports that Luis Sanchez, a 35-year-old recreation and parks commissioner and chief of staff to Garcia, will run for Flores' District 5 seat. Flores announced earlier this year that she would not seek re-election.

Whoever claims her seat could swing the board.

Flores' replacement could well affect the path of future reforms in the Los Angeles Unified School District. She had emerged quickly as a prominent member of the board, pushing sometimes controversial policies, including an initiative to allow the takeover of some low-performing schools and all new schools by groups inside or outside the school system.

A win by Sanchez could consolidate the considerable influence of Garcia. Sanchez serves as her chief of staff and had managed her campaign to win a board seat. He also ran Flores' campaign, but Flores and Garcia occasionally disagreed on board actions. Garcia's closest political alliance has been with L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Board hopefuls must file their intent to run with the Los Angeles City Clerk by Nov. 13. Voter signatures are due Dec. 8.

Rob Kuznia's report on local education agencies' performance on spring 2010 STAR exams showed some marked improvement, with the exception of beleaguered Centinela Valley Union High School District.

The gains were seen especially in our elementary school districts -- Hawthorne, Lawndale, Lennox and Wiseburn. They all up ticked several points in English and math scores.

But how did things go in Los Angeles Unified schools, which make up about half of our campuses here in the South Bay?

Pretty decently, it turns out. The district's analysis showed that nearly all grade levels showed increases on nearly all tests.

The Daily News' Connie Llanos has a look at the big picture in LAUSD, where officials stressed student improvement despite distressing budget cuts.

LAUSD high schools in the South Bay and the Harbor Area saw an uptick in all areas, with the exception of the percent of students scoring proficient of advanced in Gardena's history courses, Narbonne in math and science, and Westchester in science. Those declines were small.

San Pedro High well outpaced other area secondary schools in LAUSD, with 44.2 percent proficient or advanced in English. Its math percentage was 14.2, better than the rest but still pretty bad.

To look up your child's school's performance, go to the state's Dataquest site.

Did your school do particularly well or worse than expected? Post a comment here or email me at melissa.pamer@dailybreeze.com. Thanks!

Los Angeles Unified School District board members Richard Vladovic and Tamar Galatzan are taking sides -- and placing bets -- in advance of the City Section Division I baseball final at Dodger Stadium Saturday.

Vladovic is of course rooting for his alma mater, San Pedro High School. Galatzan takes the side of the Conquistadores of El Camino Real High in Woodland Hills, in her board district 3.

The wager comes after the Pedro Pirates trounced top seed Chatsworth High in the semifinals Wednesday. It was the first at-home defeat for Chatsworth in a decade.

Go, Pirates! (Please note that I am completely impartial in this matter.)

Anyway, a Vladovic aide tells me that the losing board member in this friendly wager will be forced to wear the winning team's garb at the next board meeting on Tuesday. That'll be in keeping with those frequently colorful events.

Los Angeles Unified School District announced the names of 22 teachers who have been awarded the title of 2010-2011 LAUSD Teacher of the Year.

Four are locals. Here's the information directly from a district press release:

• Lisa Butler, a resident of Carson, has been a teacher for seven years. She teaches multiple subjects to second grade students at Budlong Avenue Elementary School.


• Karen Orpe, a resident of Lawndale, has been a social studies teacher at Henry Clay Middle School for nine years. She has been a teacher for 12 years.


• Trevor Oystrick has been a science teacher at Susan Miller Dorsey High School for nine years. He has been a teacher for 12 years and is a resident of Manhattan Beach.


• Patricia Thornton, from 15th Street Elementary School in San Pedro, has been a second grade teacher there for four years. She has been teaching for 34 years and is a resident of Carson.

The district says the teachers are chosen for "exemplary and creative teaching" that makes a difference in student lives, the school and the broader community.

The winners go on to compete for the L.A. County title, and that winner can compete to be California Teachers of the Year.