A biology class that solves a murder mystery. Online maps of how to finish a degree. And a dogged determination to get underserved students across the graduation line. These are some of the ways Pasadena City College is reaching record graduation rates and closing the achievement gap. And now it is up for a prestigious...

October was National Bullying Prevention Month, and it couldn’t have come at a better time for LA Unified. Anecdotal evidence and interviews with dozens of teachers, administrators, parents and students over the past three months point to an increase in school bullying, inappropriate language and public humiliation that many believe can be specifically attributed to...

Data provided by the California Charter Schools Association. Note: Orange is a charter school; purple is a traditional school. The California Charter Schools Association on Tuesday released its first ranking of every public charter and traditional school in the state. Each school is ranked from 1 to 10 as a statewide rank and a “similar...

    For the first time since LA Unified has collected such data, the number of incidents involving fights, suicidal behavior, bullying, drugs and other disruptions on campuses was higher at middle schools than at high schools. The district last week released the 2015-2016 iSTAR Annual Report, which stands for the Incident System Tracking Accountability...

Proposition 58 certainly isn’t the highest-profile among the 17 ballot questions facing California voters this fall — those would probably be the proposals to repeal the death penalty or legalize marijuana. It isn’t even the newsiest among the education propositions. That’s probably Prop. 55, which would extend a special tax on individual incomes over $250,000,...

In an effort to counter the misconception that charter schools don’t accept special needs students, the California Charter Schools Association released a report Thursday highlighting how 10 charter schools in the state serve students with disabilities. The qualitative study included best practices based on interviews with charter school leaders and staff and focused on how...

It was supposed to be a simple primer on the Charter School Petition Authorization Policy at a committee meeting, but it ended up bringing up new issues and old problems. Scott Schmerelson expressed consternation that his fellow board members often go against the recommendations of the Charter Schools Division staff as well as the superintendent...