LA School Report

Brian knew when he graduated from high school in 2013 that he couldn’t afford a bachelor’s on his own. Undocumented and unable to qualify for federal financial aid, he decided to enroll at community college and chip away at his associate degree a couple of classes at a time, using the money he earned as...

Physical activity is crucial for young children’s well-being. Outdoor play not only supports children’s physical health and their social and emotional development but can also foster early science learning and help anchor children in the natural world. For generations, parents and caregivers have diligently taken their kids to the playground or the park for some...

When she was laid off from her job as a Los Angeles Unified middle school teacher in the Great Recession, LAUSD school board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin couldn’t have imagined she’d be back one day as the boss.  But such is life. Ortiz Franklin took her layoff and went to law school for a second...

As we raised our margarita glasses and dipped into guacamole on Cinco de Mayo, most of us weren’t thinking about why this celebration even matters. Cinco de Mayo commemorates a Mexican victory over French invaders, but May 5, 1862, is also an important day for the United States.  On that day, our country was in...

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. A bill that could reshape literacy education in California elementary schools cleared a major hurdle in the Legislature this week after dueling sides reached a compromise that provides funding for phonics-based instruction but stops short of requiring it. The compromise between English learner...

An LAUSD principal recently named a top school leader uses social media to build enthusiasm for her high school — and a strong spirit is spilling over into excellent academic outcomes, as well as strong enrollment. Rebecca McMurrin, principal of venerable Ulysses S. Grant High School in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley, takes a creative approach...

This story was originally published on LAist. The city of Los Angeles says it will no longer have the money to run most childcare centers launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the city allocated federal relief dollars to renovate and reopen 10 licensed childcare centers for young kids in economically disadvantaged areas. Eight of those centers...

Sharp and independent, Brentwood native Nick Melvoin has served on the LAUSD school board since 2017.  But the attorney and former teacher said he’s never seen anything like this year, where he’s currently helping to guide the nation’s second-largest school system through some rough situations.  That includes federal agents turning up at schools, looking for...

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Want to know how students at your child’s school district are performing five or even 10 years down the line?  Today, California released a new tool that aims to make that question — and many others — much easier to answer. Known as...

L.A. Unified’s famed ‘Last Repair Shop’ for students’ musical instruments just got tuned up, with a $1 million donation and a visit from the world’s most famous cellist.   The beloved shop, which was featured in an Oscar-winning short documentary last year, repairs students’ school instruments across the district: taking in, fixing up and and sending...