With Superintendent John Deasy‘s future, teacher union contract negotiations, Jefferson High School and MiSiS problems on the agenda today for the LA Unified school board, the expectation was for high drama. But the expectations have been put on hold for a bit. The board was scheduled to begin its public meeting at 1 p.m. It...

Via the Brookings Institute | By Matthew M. Chingos, Grover J. (Russ) Whitehurst and Katharine M. Lindquist Superintendents are highly visible actors in the American education system. As the highest ranking official in a school district, the superintendent receives a lot of credit when things go well, and just as much blame when they don’t. But should...

LAUSD’s student information system becomes a technological disaster The Los Angeles Unified School District’s student information system, which has cost more than $130 million, has become a technological disaster. Los Angeles Times Law helps homeless students graduate A new law that will take effect in January is aimed at helping homeless students by allowing them...

For the first time Los Angeles area parents tomorrow will have a chance to explore school choice options at a convention-style event downtown called ChoicesExpo. The gathering, which is expected to attract a crowd of as large as 8,000, is intended to help parents learn more about the variety of school options available to their...

Via EdSource | By Louis Freedberg Enrollments in teacher preparation programs in California are continuing to decline at a precipitous rate, according to new figures from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. In the 2012-13 school year, the last year for which figures are available, enrollments in teacher preparation programs dropped to 19,933 – down 53 percent from...

Student who says he was bullied can seek attorney’s fees from LAUSD A judge ruled that a former student who alleges Los Angeles Unified administrators failed to intervene when he was bullied about his sexuality and forced to deal with panic attacks can seek attorneys’ fees if he wins his case. Los Angeles Daily News...

* UPDATED Officials from LA Unified and Jefferson High School met for several hours today as they began to address the issues that have led to students at the school losing instruction time over scheduling problems. The meeting came in direct response to a ruling yesterday by a state judge that requires state and district...

Federal grants to create ‘cradle to career’ services in LAUSD zones Local officials on Wednesday announced a milestone — $36 million in federal grants — for an ambitious program to provide a full range of social and education services to students and their families in several neighborhoods. Los Angeles Times Why are police using military-grade...

The LA Unified school board returns to another closed session on Oct. 14, with one of the agenda items “Employee Evaluation General Superintendent of Schools.” It’s the second time in two weeks such an item was listed for discussion, suggesting that the finish line for John Deasy as superintendent may now be in sight. What remains...