Alliance College-Ready Public Schools

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools (LA Alliance) is one of the largest nonprofit public charter school networks in the nation, operating 26 high-performing, public charter middle and high schools that educate nearly 13,000 scholars from Los Angeles’ most underserved communities. The mission of the organization is for 75% or more of the scholars to graduate from a four-year college or university.

Schools

As of 2023, Alliance College-Ready Public Schools operates 17 high schools and 9 middle schools.[1]

High Schools
Middle Schools
  • Alliance Christine O’Donovan Middle Academy, South Los Angeles/Watts
  • Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 4, South Los Angeles/Watts
  • Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 8, East Los Angeles
  • Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 12, South Los Angeles/Watts
  • Alliance Milt and Debbie Valera Middle Academy, Sun Valley
  • Alliance Jack H. Skirball Middle School, South Los Angeles/Watts
  • Alliance Kory Hunter Middle School (formerly Alliance College-Ready Middle Academy 9), Huntington Park
  • Alliance Richard Merkin Middle School, Downtown Los Angeles
  • Alliance Valera Middle School, Sun Valley

History

LA Alliance was created in 2004 by business and community leaders involved in the Los Angeles Educational Alliance For Restructuring Now (LEARN) reform effort of the early 1990s in the Los Angeles Unified School District.[2]

Following massive budget issues at Inner City Education Foundation (ICEF) Public Schools, another charter school organization in Los Angeles, there were rumors that LA Alliance would take over the ICEF schools in March 2011.[3] Former LA Mayor Richard Riordan was negotiating the merger as a member of both boards of directors.[4] The combined organization would have operated 30 schools with over 12,000 students, however the deal fell through over financial concerns and other complications.[5]

Teachers

Since March 2015, teachers at LA Alliance have been engaged in a union organizing campaign. That month, 70 teachers told LA Alliance that they wanted the United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) to represent them and asked the company to refrain from interfering.[6]

LA Alliance created a website called Our Alliance Community that opposes the organizing effort. UTLA filed three unfair labor practice (ULP) charges with California’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) in August 2015 that accuses LA Alliance of retaliation and refusing to meet with union organizers.[7] In October 2015, PERB asked the court for injunctive relief (at this time there were four ULP’s on file).[8] The Los Angeles County Superior Court issued a temporary restraining order on October 30 and ordered LA Alliance to not “coerce or ask teachers about their positions on unionization, must allow organizers to come onto school grounds, cannot block emails from the union, and must stay 100 feet away from UTLA organizers.”[9]

Leadership

Judy Burton, a long time Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) employee, left the district in 2003 to help found LA Alliance.[10] She served as President/CEO until returning to the district in December 2014. The following month, Dan Katzir took over as President/CEO. Katzir previously worked as a consultant and as the Managing Director of the Broad Foundation.[11] Pablo Cesar Villavicencio is the current CEO.

Former LAUSD principal Howard Lappin was hired for school year 2004-05 to run College-Ready Academy High School. He helped turnaround Foshay Learning Center.[12]

References
  1. "Schools". Alliance College-Ready Public Schools. Archived from the original on 2016-01-22. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
  2. "CALIFORNIA SCHOOL FINANCE AUTHORITY SCHOOL FACILITY REVENUE BONDS (ALLIANCE FOR COLLEGE-READY PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROJECT) SERIES 2015A (TAX-EXEMPT) AND 2015B (TAXABLE) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY" (PDF). California School Finance Authority. Feb 11, 2015. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-06. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  3. Blume, Howard (Sep 28, 2010). "Philanthropists move to rescue ICEF Public Schools". Los Angeles Times.
  4. Blume, Howard (Mar 26, 2011). "Charter school parents gather at Richard Riordan's Brentwood home". Los Angeles Times.
  5. Blume, Howard (May 13, 2011). "Planned merger of charter school organizations dissolves". Los Angeles Times.
  6. Sawchuk, Stephen (Sep 9, 2015). "Unionization Bid Sparks Discord in L.A. Charter Network". Education Week.
  7. Sawchuk, Stephen (Oct 21, 2015). "Teachers' Union Scores Win in Calif. Charter Network Unionization Effort". Education Week.
  8. Torres, Zahira (Oct 20, 2015). "State labor panel to file injunction in charter school unionization push". Los Angeles Times - Los Angeles, Calif.
  9. Cohen, Rachel (Nov 3, 2015). "Judge Issues Restraining Order After an L.A. Charter Network Interfered with Teachers Union Drive". The American Prospect.
  10. Boghossian, Naush (Jan 9, 2006). "Longtime Educator Making a Difference". Los Angeles Daily News.
  11. "Alliance charters names Katzir to become new chief executive". LA School Report. Jan 28, 2015.
  12. Hayasaki, Erika (Jun 6, 2005). "Profile – Howard Lappin – Charter Job Lures Principal Out of Retirement; Intrigued by the concept, the longtime educator helped start a high school for poor and minority students in South Los Angeles". Los Angeles Times - Los Angeles, Calif. pp. B.2. Retrieved 2008-10-28.

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