L.A. teachers gain control of 22 campuses in reform effort

The school board turns over most of the
30 campuses targeted for reform to instructors.

This from the Los Angeles Times:

In an unlikely victory, groups of teachers, rather than outside operators, will run the vast majority of 30 campuses under a controversial school reform effort, the Los Angeles Board of Education decided Tuesday.

It was an ironic twist to a strategy that was designed to allow outsiders to manage new or troubled campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District. When the board approved the concept in August, it was a stunning acknowledgment that the nation's second-largest school system needed help to improve its schools.But the result was far different.

Acting mostly on recommendations from Supt. Ramon C. Cortines, the board agreed Tuesday to turn over 22 of the schools to teacher-led efforts. Board members also supported Cortines' proposal to have different groups share some campuses. Teachers, for example, were given a role at two other schools along with outside groups.

The teachers competed against Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's nonprofit school organization and charter schools, independently run public campuses that are mostly nonunion.In the end, charter schools were given the chance to run four schools and the mayor's Partnership for Los Angeles Schools was given three...

Judge halts LA teachers' strike

This from the LA Times:

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge has granted a restraining order prohibiting the city's teachers union from staging a one-day strike Friday.

L.A. schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines said he was "elated" regarding the decision by Judge James C. Chalfant, which was issued moments ago.

"I’m hoping that this will provide the opportunity for the bargaining unit and the school district to sit down and try to work out some of the issues," said Cortines, "and to deal with the economic situation we find ourselves in, which is not going away this year, next year or the year beyond." ...

Hey Kids! Watch this...

This from the Mercury News:

Joking deckhand chokes to death on bait

in front of elementary school kids

LONG BEACH - A deckhand on a charter boat choked to death after he accidentally swallowed a bait fish in front of elementary school students on a fishing trip along the breakwater, authorities said Tuesday.

Jeff Twaddle, 54, of Huntington Beach was a deckhand on the Gale Force, a charter boat that operates fishing trips out of Rainbow Harbor and San Pedro, said Capt. Dan Salas, the boat's owner.

Los Angeles County Coroner's Lt. Fred Corral said Twaddle's death was ruled accidental. "It's a tragic freak accident," Salas said. "We're all so saddened by this."

The accident happened Friday when Twaddle was on a fishing trip along the breakwater off Long Beach with a group of about 20 elementary school students from the Los Angeles Unified School District, said Long Beach Fire Department Battalion Chief Frank Hayes.

"It sounds like he was trying to be light-hearted and make the students laugh when he put the fish in his mouth," Hayes said.

The fish became severely lodged in Twaddle's throat and he quickly lost consciousness, Hayes said. Crew members, lifeguards and paramedics tried to dislodge the fish and perform CPR with no luck...