Full-scale assault on dismissal laws - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess
A nonprofit founded by a Silicon Valley entrepreneur has filed a sweeping, high-stakes lawsuit challenging state teacher protection laws. A victory would overturn a tenure, dismissal, and layoff system...
View ArticleSchools must repair their other damaged infrastructure: relationships - by...
Infrastructure is not sexy. It sounds like pipes, highways, and wiring. In education, it is both people and organizations, and it takes both kinds of infrastructure to deliver – but also to improve –...
View ArticleRace to the Top opens up to districts - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess
California school districts will finally be able to seek Race to the Top money without interference and resistance from Gov. Jerry Brown and state officials. U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on...
View ArticleTeacher dismissal bill moves on - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess
It will be easier and quicker to fire teachers in the most egregious misconduct cases, under a bill that the Senate passed Tuesday 33-4. SB 1530, a response to a series of shocking abuse cases in Los...
View ArticleLA groups want test scores part of evaluations - by John Fensterwald -...
Two Los Angeles education groups have offered separate teacher evaluation frameworks that they hope will help break the impasse between Los Angeles Unified and its teachers union, United Teachers Los...
View ArticleJudge to rule on teacher evals - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess
A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has promised to finish up this weekend his decision on whether state law requires school districts to consider student test scores in evaluating teachers. A...
View ArticleStudent scores in evaluations - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess
In a decision with statewide implications, a Superior Court judge ruled that Los Angeles Unified must include measures of student progress, including scores on state standardized tests, when evaluating...
View ArticleSmart policy decisions can only result from involving teachers - by Liam...
As someone who engages in education policy advocacy and development for a living, it’s good to know opportunities abound for me and fellow policymakers to hear the voices of America’s teachers and to...
View ArticleLeaders who don’t protect students from predators violate public trust - by...
As a former counselor in a facility for teenagers who had been physically and sexually abused, I witnessed the indelible impact of this abuse on young men and women. As I read the stories about the...
View ArticleDismissal bill falters in Assembly - by John Fensterwald - Educated Guess
With teachers and organized labor rallying against what they called an unnecessary attack on their rights, a bill that would make it easier to fire teachers and administrators accused of serious sexual...
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