Parents of students in the Los Angeles Unified school district are raising concerns after four guns were found on campuses and a stabbing left a student in serious condition —  all within the first three weeks of school.  The troubling start to the school year comes amid a rise in violence at LA Unified schools...

For most students, having clean clothes to wear to school is not a problem.  But for many families at 112th St. S.T.E.A.M. Academy in Watts, a pair of clean pants and a shirt is such a struggle that it has become one of the main contributors to chronic absenteeism, which is when students miss 15...

Whenever April Heinz’s grown children come back to Los Angeles for a visit, there is one item they crave — LA Unified’s legendary coffee cake. “They’re now graduated and in college…they came back [for] summer break. I had a couple of slices of coffee cake for them, and they were like, ‘Oh my gosh!’… because,...

Emily Juarez no longer feels safe letting her two older children ride public transportation or walk to their LA Unified school after an increase in reports of violence near district campuses. “I stopped maybe a couple of weeks ago,” Juarez said last month. “I see the stuff that’s happening. I do see the news and...

Los Angeles Unified students will soon have the chance to run a food truck on the city’s streets, showcasing the best of their cooking skills while learning to run their own business.  Earlier this year, LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho announced the district’s new food truck program in collaboration with software company Intuit and Roy Choi,...

Second-grade teacher Nelly Cristales says her LAUSD school has developed a unique way to combat chronic absenteeism — competition. At 32nd Street School near University Park in East Los Angeles, a big, bright trophy goes to the class with the least absences and latenesses — and Cristales’ students are eager to win. “My kids are...