Schools throughout the LA Unified school district joined more than 90,000 groups worldwide on Thursday to celebrate Character Day and talk about how to develop character strengths.   Although it’s impossible to tell exactly how many classrooms dealt with Character Day activities, Susan Ward Roncalli of the district’s Social Emotional Learning division said she was busy traveling...

In Los Angeles, a young man talked about selling drugs for cash because his family needed the money. In Portland, where stealing from local grocery stores is normal behavior for some school-age locals, a young woman explained the benefits of failing school — you repeat a grade — or being locked up in jail. Across...

*UPDATED LA Unified is facing a budget deficit that will increase to nearly half a billion dollars within the next three years primarily due to declining enrollment and increased pension and healthcare costs. Last weekend, the Los Angeles Times, CALmatters and Capital Public Radio published the first of a series of stories examining the effects...

By Brenda Gazzar The governing board of El Camino Real Charter High School revised its fiscal policies Wednesday night in its latest effort to placate Los Angeles Unified School District concerns about liberal credit-card spending by school administrators and inadequate board oversight. The meeting of the El Camino Real Alliance board, which took place in...

For the first time, California releases test scores for foster youth California education officials have separated out the standardized test scores of the state’s foster youth — and advocates now have sobering proof of what they long suspected: These students are learning far less than their peers. In 2014-15, the first year scores of the new, harder...

See previous interviews by The 74: Former Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, U.S. Senator and Education Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander, University of Michigan economist Susan Dynarski, Harvard Education School Dean Jim Ryan. Full 74 Interview archive here. As superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, John Deasy laid out an ambitious vision for improving schools. Today, his supporters say...

LA Unified paves the way for 15,000 students to take community college classes during their high school day It will be easier for L.A. students to take community college classes for free — while sitting in their high school classrooms. The Los Angeles Unified School District board approved an agreement Tuesday with the Los Angeles Community College...

The LA Unified school board decided Tuesday night to start school one week later next year, moving the start date to Aug. 22, then to Aug. 28 the following year. After passionate debate on both sides, five school board members voted for the change, and two voted against it. The number of days of instruction...

The LA Unified school board is scheduled to hold an open session meeting today starting at 2 p.m. Key items on the agenda include a consideration of starting school later in the year and an exploration of building workforce housing near Sun Valley High School. The board is also scheduled to hold a second meeting at 6 p.m....

By Jane Mayer and Jesse Soza, Ed.D. Teacher turnover in the United States is a silent epidemic — one that is eroding the core of our schools. Every year, over 1 million teachers enter and exit our classrooms, and in Los Angeles alone, 40-50% will leave the profession entirely within five years. This creates unstable...