The first episode of the Oprah Winfrey Network reality series, “Blackboard Wars,” has been moved up to this weekend. Check out the first five minutes here: I had the chance to watch the first two episodes and I have to say that I liked it — not because it’s necessarily accurate or even particularly new...

On Tuesday, the Coalition for School Reform announced an eye-popping $1 million contribution from Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City — whom LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa described in a press release as “the most important voice in education reform today.” UTLA denounced the Bloomberg contribution in a press release sent out Tuesday night, calling it...

LA School Report‘s unstoppable reporter, Hillel Aron, will be at today’s School Board meeting. You can follow our live updates here: As you already know from today’s morning news roundup, the issue of layoffs is likely to be a topic of serious debate.  For highlights of the other issues the Board is likely to debate, click...

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten (pictured) is visiting Woodland Hills Elementary School this morning, along with School Board member Steve Zimmer. As we reported yesterday, Weingarten is in town to announce a $150,000 grant to United Teachers of Los Angeles for improved school improvement plans. While UTLA and AFT are trying to prevent...

On Wednesday, the Coalition for School Reform launched a campaign ad in support of School Board President Monica Garcia, the District 2 candidate who is one of UTLA’s top targets in the March 5 election. The announcement says that the ad will begin airing immediately.  This is the Coalition’s second TV ad. No word yet on...

A Washington, DC-based think tank called Education Sector has a new report out touting the strengths and challenges of the blended learning program at Alliance Tennenbaum Family Technology High School.  (See The Right Mix: How One Los Angeles School is Blending a Curriculum for Personalized Learning.  Watch some video here: A Look Inside Tennenbaum.) Blended learning combines...

Here’s a brief video from the UTLA-PACE website showing UTLA President Warren Fletcher decrying the “media witch hunt” against teachers accused of misconduct.

Lots of different folks want to help 24th Street Elementary School turn things around, according to Parent Revolution — including LAUSD itself and a former 24th Street educator.  EdSource notes that Celerity was one of the outfits that expressed interest in Compton back when the trigger was being attempted there. A number of these outfits will likely...

The race over who will replace Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in June has thus far focused on non-education issues, but the five main City Hall candidates have taken some positions on education topics and the USC School of Journalism news blog has a quick roundup. Some highlights: Councilmenber Eric Garcetti supports a school funding revamp to...

Be among the first to check out the video of the Thursday night District 4 debate hosted by United Way Greater Los Angeles: How’d the candidates do? What topics were over- or under-discussed? Let us know.