After the raging success of its teacher-value-added articles, the La-La Limes went fishing for another prime-time exposé. And they landed themselves a keeper. This week, the paper released data on LAUSD teachers’ weights and body mass indices (BMI). As it turns out, it’s not just the wheels on the (school) bus that are round, round, round. “The public has a right to know,” read the Times article, “especially as taxpayers are footing the hefty healthcare bills.” Going further, the Times found a strong negative correlation between teachers’ BMI and student test scores in fifth- and sixth-grade mathematics, demonstrating, statistically, that bigger isn’t always better. The findings provoked a predictable response from the city’s famously militant teacher union. According to UTLA President A.J. Duffy, this is “just another egregious example of the lack of district support for teachers. If the district had agreed to pay for lipo during the latest round of collective bargaining, LAUSD wouldn’t be in this pickle. Er, éclair.”
“Hey chubby, get out of the classroom,” by Richard Simmons, La-La Limes, March 30, 2011.