Faced with stiff opposition from the teachers union and little support elsewhere, Los Angeles schools Supt. David L. Brewer has backed away from his plan to put nearly four dozen poorly performing schools into a separate "transformation district."
The superintendent's retreat comes only about four weeks after he unveiled the plan, which was widely viewed as an answer to critics who said the retired Navy admiral had accomplished too little in the year since accepting the top job at the Los Angeles Unified School District.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday, November 06, 2007 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 61 words Type of Material: Correction
School reform: An article in Thursday's California section on changes to a school reform plan stated that principals and teachers attended a meeting at which the proposal was roundly condemned. Principals participated in selecting teachers who attended, but the gathering itself was to give teachers an opportunity to interact with Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. David L. Brewer and staff.
The plan called for 44 secondary schools to be given immediate and intensive help under a handpicked administrator. After rolling out the idea with some fanfare, Brewer now says it is only "an option" -- one that many say is looking increasingly unlikely.
In an interview, Brewer emphasized that the targeted schools would still receive additional support and attention, although it remained unclear how that would be carried out.
The decision to change course, he said, came after district officials and community leaders expressed concerns about the plan and an ongoing review of data suggested that helping those lagging schools would mean addressing student learning well before the pupils entered secondary school.
"The separate district was a starting point based on the research we had at the time," Brewer said. "We don't have to submit something to the school board till the 13th of November. We're refining this plan, and everybody's learning. This is tedious work. You'll see different versions of things coming out."
His original framework ran into vehement opposition from United Teachers Los Angeles, whose executive board voted to oppose a new, separate district of schools last week. Union leaders informed Brewer that they intended to mount an organized campaign against his strategy if he did not change course. They characterized the proposal as a heavy-handed reform forced by the superintendent and one that would stigmatize those schools.
"We've lived with these top-down mandates for far too long, and that's the reason we haven't made the kind of progress we can and should make," said union President A.J. Duffy. To oppose Brewer's plan, "we would encourage teachers to put those teaching programs in their closets and to continue to teach the way they were."
