LA School Report

This article was originally published by LAist Enrollment at Los Angeles Unified School District’s preschools is up more than 10% since December. It’s a significant jump for the public preschool system, which has struggled to fill its classrooms since the COVID-19 pandemic and the expansion of transitional kindergarten for 4-year-olds. The additions bring enrollment up from 70%...

This story was originally published on CalMatters.org. They speak Farsi, Cantonese, Spanish and at least two dozen other languages. Some earned master’s degrees in their home countries, while others never finished middle school. At California’s community colleges, more than 290,000 students take free, non-credit English as a Second Language classes. As immigrants, many of these...

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...

Tennessee state Sen. Bo Watson wants to eject undocumented children from classrooms. But first, he needs their data.  Under legislation proposed in February, students statewide could be required to submit birth certificates or other sensitive documents to secure their seats — one of several state efforts this year designed to challenge a decades-old Supreme Court precedent enshrining students’ right...

This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. California made a huge one-time investment in youth mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic as rates of depression, anxiety and eating disorders surged among children and teens. One piece of the state’s plan included a way to keep money flowing for schools that...

In 1984, I was part of the first responder team sent to 49th Street Elementary School in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) after one of the country’s first school shootings happened there. Two children were killed, and a dozen children and staff were wounded.  Following that heartbreaking tragedy, I saw the outline of...

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...