October 9th is “Walk to School Day” for Los Angeles schools, the kick-off event of “International Walk to School Month,” which is designed to educate kids about pedestrian safety and celebrate the benefits of walking. Though only nine Los Angeles schools are currently registered, organizers are hoping the event encourages parents, students, school personnel and...

New research sponsored by the National Academy of Education seeks a deeper understanding of  why there are so few black male teachers in U.S. public schools. The backdrop for the work by Travis Bristol of Teachers College, Columbia University and Ron Ferguson of the Harvard Achievement Gap Initiative is the startling fact that black males, who are six percent of the...

In a sign of its growing presence in California, StudentsFirst, the nationwide education reform organization headed by Michelle Rhee, announced today the hiring of Jovan Agee as the organization’s California State Director. Agee, who served eight years as the director of political and legislative affairs of UDW/AFSCME Local 3930, a homecare providers union, will be...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKVv5wsqNYk Educational efforts in Los Angeles are in the process of expanding beyond the classroom and touching community members of all ages with a wide variety of services not usually offered at typical Los Angeles school sites. The Los Angeles-based nonprofit group Youth Policy Institute (YPI) received a $30 million dollar grant from the federal...

California is among the top 10 states with the sharpest declines in spending for K-12 education since the last recession, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. The study found that California’s per-student spending was down 13.8 percent since the 2008 school year. In all, 34 states are spending less on K-12 education...

  City Year Los Angeles, an education-focused nonprofit, is hosting its annual kick-off event tomorrow morning at City Hall, with the guest list expected to include Mayor Eric Garcetti and LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy. The event celebrates the dedication of 282 young City Year leaders who will provide individual support and attention to students across...

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced today that the state will defray costs of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) test fees for more than 129,000 low-income students across California. The $10.8 million, which will be distributed to school districts, represents nearly a third of the total funding distributed to states under the...

A panel of education reformers, including StudentsFirst founder Michelle Rhee, is holding a town hall meeting later today in Los Angeles, where they will take questions from an audience of area educators. As the first of three such events around the country this month, the session is billed as a chance to set aside polarizing...