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LA Unified Seeks Voters’ Support for $9 Billion School Bond
Los Angeles Unified is seeking voters’ approval for a $9 billion bond measure to repair and upgrade its aging school buildings. The bond, which Californians will vote on Tuesday as Measure US, would be LAUSD’s largest ever and paid for with property tax increases. It requires a 55% majority in order to pass. LAUSD Board...
By Ben Chapman | October 31, 2024
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Good for All Kids, Pre-K Programs Are Especially Beneficial for English Learners
For all the campaign arguments about immigration and the United States border, you’d think that we were embarking upon a new situation, something coming, an arriving novelty barely visible over the horizon. And yet, as far as schools are concerned, this is a past tense debate. The U.S.’s demographic reality is already shifting in remarkable...
By Conor Williams | October 30, 2024
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Vomiting, Cramps, Lethargy: As Heat Rises, California Kids Swelter in Schools
This story was originally published at CalMatters In her fifth grade class in a Los Angeles school, on a day when outdoor temperatures reached 116 degrees, the heat gave Lilian Chin a headache. The air conditioner in her classroom was broken. Her fingers felt numb and she vomited in class, according to her mother. The nurse...
By Alejandra Reyes-Velarde | October 23, 2024
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Many Black and Latino LAUSD Teachers Considering Leaving the Classroom
A new report has found one in three LAUSD Black and Latino teachers are considering leaving their jobs — and the district must do a better job retaining these educators. A study by GPSN found 71% of the Black and Latino Generation Z teachers intend to leave the classroom in the next one to two...
By Jack Waterman | October 22, 2024
Investigation: Nearly 1,000 Native Children Died in Federal Boarding Schools
Podcast: What a Mentorship Mindset Can Do for Student Motivation
Black and Hispanic Voters Say Democrats Aren’t Focused Enough on K-12 Education
Teen Activist Rhea Maniar on the Power of Abortion to Turn Out Young Voters
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Q&A: Charter School Founder and LAUSD Teacher Runs for School Board District 3
LAUSD teacher and charter school booster Dan Chang is running to unseat incumbent Scott Schmerelson in LA Unified’s Board District 3, covering the West San Fernando Valley and Studio City. Chang, who is endorsed by a statewide charter school group, is a math teacher at James Madison Middle School in North Hollywood, who routinely calls...
By Ben Chapman | October 21, 2024
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Q&A: Veteran Educator and Board Incumbent runs for LA School Board District 3
Former LAUSD teacher and principal Scott Schmerelson is running to keep his seat in LA Unified’s Board District 3, covering the West San Fernando Valley and Studio City. Schmerelson, who is endorsed by the teachers union, is running for his third consecutive four-year term against upstart Dan Chang, a math teacher with a fondness for...
By Ben Chapman | October 17, 2024
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Q&A: Activist Who Lost Union’s Support Runs for LA School Board District 1
Longtime community activist and education advocate Kahllid Al-Alim is running to represent South Central LA and Mid-City as Los Angeles Unified School Board member for District 1. Al-Alim, who had been endorsed by the United Teachers Union, which represents more than 35,000 Los Angeles teachers, lost that union’s support after a series of controversial social...
By Daniella Lake | October 16, 2024
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Q&A: Former Basketball Coach and Dean Runs for LA School Board District 1
Former basketball coach and dean Sherlett Hendy Newbill, is running to represent L.A. Unified’s Board District 1, encompassing much of South LA, such as Crenshaw, Koreatown and Mid-City. District 1 is also home to Newbill’s high school basketball alma mater which she said opened the doors to her becoming a first generation college student at...
By Daniella Lake | October 15, 2024
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Q&A: What it Will Take to Make Schools Safe for Black Children
Sitting diligently in a South Carolina elementary school classroom, Brian Rashad Fuller felt awash with pride, confusion and fear. School was becoming the place he poured all his energy into, on the heels of his father’s incarceration and uncle’s murder. But simultaneously, from as young as four years old, disgusted looks from educators taught him...
By Marianna McMurdock | October 10, 2024
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LA Housing Crisis Hits LAUSD as Number of Homeless Students Continues to Grow
The number of homeless students who attend Los Angeles Unified schools rose by more than a quarter in the last school year, new statistics show. As of the 2023-2024 school year, LAUSD enrolled 17,245 homeless students, up 26% from the previous school year, according to data the district made public last month. The dramatic jump...
By Katie VanArnam | October 9, 2024