With more than two months remain before the end school year, LA Unified officials are making summer school plans for special education students and students who have failed at least one mandatory class for graduation. It is the second straight year the district is offering struggling students the opportunity to catch-up on subjects after years...

LA Unified officials are close to clearing a two-year backlog of assessments aimed at identifying thousands of students who would qualify for the highly-prized Gifted and Talented Education program. Why has it taken so long? For one reason, says the district, parents of many gifted students proved they, too, are gifted — at cheating. For...

While district officials scrambled to sort out budget deficit issues last week, the Information Technology Department made progress on solving LA Unified’s costly student data management system problems, launching a more user-friendly MISIS website. In his latest weekly update, Superintendent Ramon Cortines wrote, “The new website serves as a gateway for a variety of information needs,...

In case you missed it, here are the top five stories from LA School Report this past week: LA Unified, citing new money, ups its offer to teachers Bolstered by a more robust state budget, LA Unified said it was doubling its offer to UTLA. Survey: Teachers support changes in state job protection laws The...

Help wanted: LA Unified is seeking a new Chief Information Officer to fill the post previously held by Ron Chandler, who resigned in October under intense pressure following the disastrous rollout of MISIS. All you have to be is “a dynamic, results oriented technology leader with an exceptional background to lead our Information Technology Division.”...

A report from the U.S. Education Department on the district’s troubled $1.3 billion iPad program and gitchy MiSiS computer system had few positive things to say, as it found problems in both efforts with their planning, execution and metrics for success. The report, which was requested by LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines, found that the...

* UPDATED As LA School Report prepares to shut down for the year — and gear up for a long holiday Tamale Fest and Eggnog-a-thon — we’d like to take a moment to look ahead at the big stories awaiting us in 2015. So grab your snow globe, give it a good shake and look into...

The year 2014 was not a banner one in the history of the Los Angeles Unified School District. While there was positive news – in particular continued improvement in student achievement – the district often found itself the subject of increasingly negative headlines. Here, in no particular order, are the top stories about LA Unified...

The national television program PBS NewsHour dedicated a segment on Friday to LA Unified’s disastrous MiSiS computer system and the problems it has caused for the district’s students and administrators, as well as asking what lessons other districts in the country might learn from the crisis. The segment features an interview with Los Angeles Times...

As if the recent efforts to fix MiSiS weren’t enough, LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines has called the feds. In an email to school board members and their staffs on Friday, Cortines said U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, offered the district a lifeline. “I spoke with Secretary Duncan today regarding various issues related to...