California Charter Schools Assn

Two popular Los Angeles charter schools have allowed some families to bypass a lottery for admission in exchange for providing special services or a substantial volunteer commitment. The practices of Larchmont Charter School and Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts have raised concerns that such preference policies, if allowed, could open the door to well-connected friends or wealthier families who promise to contribute. In effect, critics say, charters could end up functioning more like private schools than campuses almost entirely supported with tax dollars.

Los Angeles teachers who became whistle-blowers during a cheating scandal won the right Tuesday to open their own charter school. The new enterprise, called Apple Academy, won unanimous approval from the Los Angeles Board of Education. The school's chief executive, former L.A. teachers union president A.J. Duffy, had been a longtime critic of charter schools. The cheating, which came to public attention last year, ultimately led to the shutdown last summer of all six Crescendo charter schools.

At Larchmont Charter School in Los Angeles, a former restaurant chef whips up pasta with fresh vegetable sauce for lunch one day; on another he offers a salad bar with figs grown on campus. But 500 miles north, in tiny Red Bluff, lunchtime at Sacramento River Discovery Charter School is decidedly different: Students must either bring their own lunches or place orders with parent volunteers who make a daily run to Taco Bell, Burger King or Subway. Cafeteria food at traditional public schools has long had a bad reputation, but at least children can count on a meal that's free for needy families.

Two popular Los Angeles charter schools have allowed some families to bypass a lottery for admission in exchange for providing special services or a substantial volunteer commitment. The practices of Larchmont Charter School and Los Feliz Charter School for the Arts have raised concerns that such preference policies, if allowed, could open the door to well-connected friends or wealthier families who promise to contribute. In effect, critics say, charters could end up functioning more like private schools than campuses almost entirely supported with tax dollars.

Los Angeles teachers who became whistle-blowers during a cheating scandal won the right Tuesday to open their own charter school. The new enterprise, called Apple Academy, won unanimous approval from the Los Angeles Board of Education. The school's chief executive, former L.A. teachers union president A.J. Duffy, had been a longtime critic of charter schools. The cheating, which came to public attention last year, ultimately led to the shutdown last summer of all six Crescendo charter schools.

The Los Angeles Unified School District on Tuesday withdrew offers of classroom space for charter schools at seven traditional schools. Charters will no longer be invited to share space at Taft, Fairfax and Crenshaw high schools. Elementary schools off the list are Wadsworth, 49th Street, Miles and Hughes. Teachers, administrators and parents at numerous schools have waged campaigns against the charters. In a memo, Senior Deputy Supt. Ramon C. Cortines said he based his decision on his experience running schools and on input from an "instructional group" that examined effects on academic programs.

The state charter school association has received a $15-million grant from the Walton Family Foundation to add 20,000 more charter school students in Los Angeles and 100,000 statewide. The grant, scheduled to be announced Tuesday, is the largest by far to the California Charter Schools Assn., and also the largest of its kind from the nonprofit established by the founders of the Wal-Mart Corp. The Los Angeles Unified School District has more charter schools — 183 last year — and more charter-school students than any school system in the country, and that growth spurt is poised to continue despite countervailing pressure from reduced education funding and political resistance from teacher unions and other critics.

A.J. Duffy, who headed a teachers union that has long fought against charter schools, now is starting his own. And some of his ideas are going to trouble some educators and his friends in the labor movement. The longtime anti-charter crusader wants to make it harder for teachers to earn tenure protections and wants to lengthen that process. He even wants to require teachers to demonstrate that they remain effective in the classroom if they want to keep their tenure protections. And if a tenured teacher becomes ineffective, he wants to streamline dismissals.

An administrator from San Diego's acclaimed High Tech High has been named head of the California Charter Schools Assn., which has been a powerful advocate and organizing force for charter schools in the state, the organization announced Monday. Jed Wallace, chief operations officer of High Tech High since 2004, takes over an association that rose to prominence under the leadership of former Los Angeles school board member Caprice Young. Young left in August to take a job with Knowledge Universe, an education venture owned by financier and philanthropist Michael Milken.

Re "Charters get an unsatisfactory grade," Opinion, Aug. 11 I have been following with great interest the many issues related to our public schools in Los Angeles and elsewhere, as both a retired teacher and a grandmother. Diane Ravitch, in her thoughtful and well-researched Times Op-Ed article, says it all. The public school system has served our country well. I believe it should be improved and preserved. I hope our Los Angeles Unified School District Board pays attention to the research Ravitch discusses before it gives away our schools to private enterprise.

The Los Angeles Unified School District and its teachers union have agreed to a new pact granting local schools more autonomy over hiring, curriculum and work conditions and virtually ending a 2-year-old policy that allowed charter operators and others to take over low-performing and new campuses. The agreement, tentative until union members vote on it, doesn't resolve key contract disputes, including whether teacher evaluations should include students' standardized test scores, a provision L.A. schools Supt.

A.J. Duffy, who headed a teachers union that has long fought against charter schools, now is starting his own. And some of his ideas are going to trouble some educators and his friends in the labor movement. The longtime anti-charter crusader wants to make it harder for teachers to earn tenure protections and wants to lengthen that process. He even wants to require teachers to demonstrate that they remain effective in the classroom if they want to keep their tenure protections. And if a tenured teacher becomes ineffective, he wants to streamline dismissals.

The state charter school association has received a $15-million grant from the Walton Family Foundation to add 20,000 more charter school students in Los Angeles and 100,000 statewide. The grant, scheduled to be announced Tuesday, is the largest by far to the California Charter Schools Assn., and also the largest of its kind from the nonprofit established by the founders of the Wal-Mart Corp. The Los Angeles Unified School District has more charter schools — 183 last year — and more charter-school students than any school system in the country, and that growth spurt is poised to continue despite countervailing pressure from reduced education funding and political resistance from teacher unions and other critics.

The foundation of the late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton donated nearly $12 million to Southern California charter schools and reform-minded education outfits last year, as part of a $150-million investment in education nationwide, the organization announced Tuesday. The Walton Family Foundation gave donations to more than 30 Los Angeles-area charter schools, as well as to eight organizations that are attempting to shape public policy in ways that will create more choices for students.

California and eight other states are in line to receive a consolation prize after falling short in the widely publicized "Race to the Top" competition for federal school-reform grants. The belated funding, as much as $50 million for the Golden State, would recognize the quality of California's plan but with a potential reward that would be a fraction of the payoff received by earlier recipients. Federal officials also announced a new competition Wednesday for grants from a $500-million fund established to promote early childhood education.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has rightly been raising the bar for its public schools. Now it needs to do the same for its charter schools. For years, the district has been reluctant to close problematic charters, even when the California Charter Schools Assn., an organization that promotes the publicly funded but independently run schools, has recommended doing so. On Tuesday, the school board will be faced with a clear case: Crescendo Schools, whose six campuses in L.A. Unified engaged in rampant cheating on the yearly state standardized tests.

California and eight other states are in line to receive a consolation prize after falling short in the widely publicized "Race to the Top" competition for federal school-reform grants. The belated funding, as much as $50 million for the Golden State, would recognize the quality of California's plan but with a potential reward that would be a fraction of the payoff received by earlier recipients. Federal officials also announced a new competition Wednesday for grants from a $500-million fund established to promote early childhood education.

The foundation of the late Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton donated nearly $12 million to Southern California charter schools and reform-minded education outfits last year, as part of a $150-million investment in education nationwide, the organization announced Tuesday. The Walton Family Foundation gave donations to more than 30 Los Angeles-area charter schools, as well as to eight organizations that are attempting to shape public policy in ways that will create more choices for students.

At Larchmont Charter School in Los Angeles, a former restaurant chef whips up pasta with fresh vegetable sauce for lunch one day; on another he offers a salad bar with figs grown on campus. But 500 miles north, in tiny Red Bluff, lunchtime at Sacramento River Discovery Charter School is decidedly different: Students must either bring their own lunches or place orders with parent volunteers who make a daily run to Taco Bell, Burger King or Subway. Cafeteria food at traditional public schools has long had a bad reputation, but at least children can count on a meal that's free for needy families.

A group of the city's leading philanthropists, including billionaire Eli Broad and former mayor Richard Riordan, rallied Monday to save ICEF Public Schools, one of the nation's largest and most successful charter school companies, which was teetering on financial insolvency. ICEF, which operates 15 schools in low-income minority neighborhoods of Los Angeles, was virtually out of cash, unlikely to meet its Oct. 1 payroll. The nonprofit faced a $2-million deficit in the current budget year as well as substantial long-term debt.