Lots of school reform in Los Angeles this week. Of course the big story via Education Week:
The Los Angeles board of education has agreed to open up as many as 250 schools to outside managers in a move meant to jump-start the pace of academic improvement in the nation’s second-largest school district.
In a 6-1 vote that followed a nearly four-hour debate, board members on Tuesday approved a resolution that will allow outside groups—such as charter school operators, community organizations, as well as in-house talent—to compete to operate 50 new schools set to open in the city over the next four years.
The new policy will also invite groups to take on the management task of turning around roughly 200 schools that are chronic underperformers.
And in other school reformy news, The Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles Unified School District has instituted a pay incentive program for high-level administrators.
The incentive pay is mandatory for two new senior administrators who report directly to Cortines. And 17 current employees have the option of joining the program, in which they could increase or lose up to 10% of their salary depending on several measures, including student test scores.
“The district is moving in a more progressive manner,” said board member Yolie Flores Aguilar, who supports merit pay for all district employees. Flores Aguilar on Tuesday won support for a controversial plan that would allow charter groups and other outside operators to take over as many as 250 schools.