Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John E. Deasy will outline the education goals for the nation's second largest K-12 school district in a major policy address at 7 p.m., Wednesday, September 14, in Occidental College's Johnson Hall 200.
In his speech, "Education Reform: The Full Contact Sport of Transforming Schools," Deasy will speak about improving student learning, a new public school choice plan, and the politics of education reform. The district is in the midst of negotiating a new labor contract with the teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles. Consequently, Deasy will also share bold ideas on teacher hiring, evaluation and retention. They include compensating successful teachers, giving schools the right to hire teachers, and putting in place a teacher evaluation system based on multiple measures, including student achievement and parent and student feedback.
"With continuous improvement in graduation rates and key test scores, LAUSD is far from where it used to be," he said. "But we are not near where we should be. Instituting key education reforms is absolutely critical if we are to provide the best possible education for all of our students in the future."
Deasy joined the district in August 2010 as deputy superintendent, and took over the top spot in April. Prior to Los Angeles, Deasy served as deputy director of education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He also served as schools chief for Maryland's Prince George's County Public Schools, near Washington, D.C. At Prince George's, he helped significantly narrow the achievement gap between low‐income and minority students and their peers. Deasy also launched a pay‐for-performance plan, making the district a national leader in teacher compensation for gains in student achievement.
Previously, Deasy served as superintendent of the Santa Monica‐Malibu Unified School District and the Coventry Public Schools in Rhode Island. He has been a Broad Fellow, an Annenberg Fellow, a State Superintendent of the Year, a presenter at numerous state and national conferences, and a consultant to school districts undertaking high school reform and district‐wide improvement strategies.
The superintendent's address is free and open to the public. A reception will follow in the rotunda of the Arthur G. Coons administration building. Please RSVP at http://deasylecture.eventbrite.com/. For more information, contact Sylvia Chico at schico@oxy.edu or (323) 259-2991.
Occidental College is located at 1600 Campus Road in Eagle Rock. Directions and parking information can be found here.
For more information about Deasy and the LAUSD, go to: www.lausd.net.
