*Updated March 4 Tuesday is the special election to fill the school board seat in L.A. Unified’s Board District 5. The person elected will become part of the seven-member school board that decides on policies, budget and approval of charter schools in L.A. Unified, which is the largest school district in California and second-largest in...

Latinos make up almost 90 percent of enrollment in L.A. Unified’s Board District 5, which has some of the district’s neediest students and the state’s lowest-performing schools. But they most likely won’t be the ones electing their next representative to the school board. Next week’s special election for the vacant school board seat is expected to...

*Updated Feb. 19 Parents, students and community members were able to question the candidates running for L.A. Unified school board in District 5 at two separate forums last week, one led by parents and the second by students. High school students wanted their new representative to make sure they are better prepared for college, while...

*Updated Feb. 13 The 10 candidates in the race for L.A. Unified’s vacant school board seat are in full swing participating in community forums and other public events as the March 5 special election approaches. The new board member for Board District 5 will represent about 100,000 students in some very different communities: from the...

*Updated Feb. 5 For the first time in six years, California has released the names of its lowest-performing schools. The 780 schools are in the bottom 5 percent of public K-12 schools as measured by the state’s new accountability tool, the California School Dashboard, and require “comprehensive school improvement.” The state identified a total of 1,640 schools...

*Updated Feb.1 Families, teachers and students from Los Angeles’s independent charter schools turned out by the thousands Tuesday to urge school board members to reject a resolution calling for a moratorium on new charters in L.A. Unified. After the resolution passed with only one dissenter, parents said they felt betrayed and worried about what the...

While tens of thousands of Los Angeles educators and families on Wednesday celebrated the end of the six-day teacher strike, about a dozen parents held their own news conference outside City Hall to make sure their voices were heard too. Wearing white to signify neutrality, they said they felt that parents, particularly those in high-needs...

In this series, Los Angeles parents talk about their students, their schools and the questions or suggestions they have for their school district. (See our previous interviews.) Tyrese McKie has a mission: increasing African-American families’ engagement in their South Los Angeles schools. She joined the L.A. Unified Board District 5’s Family Problem-Solving Group in October...

*Updated Jan. 16 On the first day of the Los Angeles teacher strike, the sights and sounds were loud and flashy: Teachers with picket signs at a thousand schools. Car horns honking their support. At least 20,000 people shouting and marching downtown. Reports on every newscast. Under the radar were the parents of 140,000 students...

Updated Jan. 10 On Thursday, L.A. Unified launched a strike hotline for parents and guardians, available Monday-Friday from 6 a.m to 4 p.m., staffed by district representatives who can provide assistance. The number is 213-443-1300. More than 30,000 teachers, school counselors, nurses and social workers in Los Angeles plan to strike as soon as Thursday. A...