Statewide testing begins without proficiency mark For the second year in a row, the API will almost certainly be inactivated. SI&A Cabinet Report Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses and more unite for arts education Music class is now at Westminster Elementary in Venice thanks to Adopt the Arts and The Carter Lay Charitable Fund. RYOT...

Lovelyn Marquez-Prueher, an eighth-grade English teacher at LA Unified’s Dodson Middle School in Rancho Palos Verdes, was named today as one of five California Teachers of the Year for 2015. All five will be honored at a dinner Monday night in Sacramento, according to an announcement by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. Here’s...

LADN: Galatzan, Rodriguez, Vladovic for L.A. school board LAUSD’s leadership is having a rough decade. So it’s no surprise that all of the school board’s veteran members up for re-election on March 3 face multiple challengers. Los Angeles Daily News Compton principal on leave; students allege ‘uncomfortable’ searches A Compton principal has been placed on...

The teachers union today made it official, flatly rejecting LA Unified’s most recent contract offer, which included a five percent salary rise, a nine percent increase in minimum salary for first-year teachers and additional money to lower class size. With the union sticking by its demand of an 8.5 percent salary increase, the sides remain...

The LA Unified teachers staged one of its biggest “escalations” yet in support of their demands in a new contract from the district, staging demonstrations at schools across the district. The teachers union, UTLA, said “virtually every school was participating” in protests that lasted 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the school. “These people have...

Ed Source | By Susan Frey Whether solving math puzzles to help a penguin waddle across a computer screen or sounding out words in Mr. Sounders’ virtual classroom, K-2 students are increasingly embracing technology in California schools. Mixing academic software programs with traditional classroom instruction – often referred to as blended learning – is moving...

LAUSD school board candidates weigh in on arts education The nonprofit advocacy group Arts for LA has published survey responses from Los Angeles Unified school board candidates. KPCC Jefferson High academic fixes taking hold after court intervention Four months and more than $1 million later, many of Jefferson’s scheduling problems have been addressed. KPCC California...

There are now more non-union teachers in America than there are teachers who belong to a union, according to data analyzed by the blog Education Intelligence Agency. The data confirms information that first came to light last year, which examined data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and unionstats.com. BLS has been tracking teacher union...

A  new report analyzed graduation rates for black males nationwide and found that LA Unified ranks well below the national average. The district graduation rate for black males was 41 percent in the 2011-12 school year, compared with 59 percent nationwide, according to the Schott Foundation. The report, BLACK LIVES MATTER: The Schott 50 State...