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." ...