He's also gained a reputation for outspokenness and a brisk decision-making style some have criticiz

Faced with a shocking case of a teacher accused of playing classroom sex games with children for years at Miramonte Elementary, Los Angeles schools luxury car rental california Superintendent John Deasy delivered another jolt: He removed the school's entire staff from custodians to the principal to smash what he called a "culture of silence."
The controversial decision underscores the 51-year-old superintendent's shake-up of the lethargic bureaucracy at the nation's second-largest school district. His swift, bold moves have rankled some and won praise from others during luxury car rental california his first year of leadership.
Hired with a mandate to boost achievement in the 660,000-pupil Los Angeles Unified School District, Deasy has become known for 18-hour days that involve everything from surprise classroom visits and picking up playground litter to lobbying city elite for donations and blasting Sacramento politicians over funding cuts.
He's also gained a reputation for outspokenness and a brisk decision-making style some have criticized luxury car rental california as heavy-handed. Earlier luxury car rental california this year, for instance, Deasy ordered a substitute teacher fired after finding students doing busy work.
"I'm intolerant when it comes to students being disrespected," he said in an interview sandwiched between school visits and meetings. "I do what I think is right and everyone luxury car rental california has the right to criticize. You appreciate the critics, but you wouldn't get up in the morning if you listened to them."
Doing what he thinks is right has put him in some unusual positions, such as siding with plaintiffs who successfully sued the district over closely protected teachers' union tenets seniority-based layoff policies and leaving out student test scores in teacher performance evaluations.
"He acts on behalf of kids, you can't fault him for that," said A.J. Duffy, the former president of the teachers luxury car rental california union United Teachers Los Angeles, who now runs a charter school. luxury car rental california "But there are processes. People do deserve a fair and equitable hearing."
As the school year was ending last month, Deasy was focused on hiring 80 new principals, particularly at troubled urban high schools some have called "dropout factories." Deasy pushed 50 current principals to retire or transferred them and he aims to interview replacement candidates himself. Developing leadership is a cornerstone of his reform strategy.
He's up at 3:30 a.m., goes for a run and reads emails and the news before starting office meetings at 5:30 a.m. His wiry frame, topped with a crewcut, emphasizes that meals are often a luxury luxury car rental california unless connected with work he keeps energy bars in an office drawer. A recent lunch consisted of frozen yogurt.
Once a week, his driver luxury car rental california takes him on a round of unannounced visits to a few of the 1,000-plus schools, a source luxury car rental california of both inspiration and exasperation as he moseys around corridors alone, introducing himself to students as "Dr. D."
He gets advice on managing an organization with a $6 billion budget and 65,000 employees from his executive luxury car rental california coach, Kevin Sharer, the former chief executive luxury car rental california of Amgen, the world's largest biotech company.
However, there was nothing to prepare him for the case of Miramonte Elementary School teacher luxury car rental california Mark Berndt, who has pleaded not guilty to accusations of feeding students cookies smeared with his semen in "tasting luxury car rental california games."
Deasy's removal of the school's staff resulted in protests by parents and a raft of union grievances. The teachers, who were warehoused at another location, may now return to the classroom at Miramonte or another school, Deasy said.
Deasy also ordered principals to pull teacher misconduct files from the past 40 years. Those files are under reviewed by a special panel to determine if further action is warranted. luxury car rental california Some 500 previously unreported cases have been forwarded so far to the state teacher licensing commission.
Fiscal issues loom as the district's greatest challenge. The district has lost $2.7 billion in state funding and laid off 12,000 employees over the past five years. For the upcoming school year, 4,300 employees lost their jobs, and the rest agreed to 10 furlough days, including five fewer school days, to close a $390 million shortfall.
Deasy hadn't planned to pursue an education career. The son of two Massachusetts teachers, he aimed to be a doctor but couldn't afford medical school. He wanted to get married so he became a science teacher and found his calling.
He quickly ascended the career ladder, luxury car rental california serving as superintendent at school districts in Rhode Island, California and Maryland before taking a job with the Bill Melinda Gates Foundation where he worked on policy issues, including teacher evaluations.
He jumped at the chance to go to LAUSD, a district that is 73 percent Latino and 80 percent low income. One of his motivations is working to offer privileges afforded him, a white male, to others. Pictures of Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King Jr. and a Barack Obama "Hope" poster decorate his office.
On a recent visit to Esteban Torres High School in East Los Angeles, two seniors inform luxury car rental california him they are the first in their families to graduate high school. Both said they plan to pursue criminal justice studies at community college.