LA Unified’s ambitious plan to get computer tablets into the hands of its 650,000 students just received its first evaluation, producing decidedly mixed results. In a 95-page report from the American Institutes for Research (AIR), a Washington, D.C. research group hired by the district to evaluate the Phase 1 rollout of the program, students and...

Teachers are responding with enthusiasm to a website that helps them find grant money for classroom projects and professional development, according to the LA Fund for Public Education, the non-profit that launched the program last spring. Called Grants HQ, the website puts hundreds of millions of dollars in educational grants online in one place and is...

Seven education bills are currently awaiting the signature or veto of Gov. Jerry Brown – and before too many more stack up, we thought a review was in order. For more check out Edsource’s EdTracker, a tool that follows the ins and outs of education legislation in Sacramento. “Willful defiance” bill AB 420 would limit the...

LA Unified has received a generous surprise gift from Google, as the tech company announced it has funded all classroom teacher projects in the district on the crowdfunding site DonorsChoose.org. The nearly $1 million donation will go to 769 teachers, who submitted proposals for projects and materials. The donation included pencils, books, laptops, musical instruments...

A veteran teacher at Garfield Senior High School has been selected for a prestigious award from Yale University thanks to one of his former students. The Yale Office of Undergraduate Admissions has honored Kevin Murchie, an English teacher at Garfield, as a recipient of the 2014 Yale Educator Award. Murchie was nominated by former Garfield student, Janet Juarez,...

As a result of the massive heat wave striking the Los Angeles area, LA Unified officials on Tuesday decided to cancel all outdoor activities or move them indoors until Wednesday. Triple-digit temperatures are hitting parts of Los Angeles with unusually high temps expected to last several days.  Los Angeles County Health officials extended a heat...

After suffering years of harsh budget cuts, LA Unified-owned public TV station KLCS could see a financial windfall next year should its recently announced plan to auction off bandwidth to the FCC go forward. The potential value of the deal has been estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars. The money would likely...