By Judy Lin | CALmatters As he eyes a run for governor, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is spotlighting the lagging academic performance of Latino and African American students and saying the state should do more to hold schools accountable. The 63-year-old Democrat says parents have a right to know how their schools are...

Magnet schools seen as a way to keep students in the district The high interest in magnets shows that those types of schools could be a way to bring students back, school board member Richard Vladovic says. By Sonali Kohli, Los Angeles Times Students rally around teacher critically injured in Santa Ana hit-and-run, NBC4 ‘Fragmented’ school districts:...

Despite for the first time taking into consideration the performance of subgroups like English learners, students with disabilities and those from low-income families, there is still a wide gulf between the top and bottom LA Unified middle schools at LA Unified when it comes to their score on the California Office to Reform Education’s (CORE)...

In Los Angeles, a leaked draft of a plan to dramatically expand charter school access in America’s second-largest school district has become a lightning rod development for advocates of traditional public schools. The war of words intensified last week at the Huffington Post when American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten attacked LA charter expansion as “part of a coordinated national...

Poll: Voters support school bond and Prop. 30 extension Seven months before the November election, substantial majorities of likely California voters said they would support extending Proposition 30, the temporary income tax on the wealthiest state residents, and passing a proposed $9 billion school construction bond, according to a survey. By John Fensterwald, EdSource Appeals...

In the extensive U.S. News & World Report ranking of all the public high schools in the country, LA’s top 10 include four independent charters, three magnets and three traditional schools. The Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies was the top-ranked LA school and the only LA Unified school in California’s top 20. It was 18th...

Leaders from major parent groups brought school board members their recommendations for improving parent involvement in LA Unified. Topping their list is a centralized Parent Advocate office and website for their concerns, they told board members of the Early Childhood Education and Parent Engagement Committee on Tuesday. Other  recommendations include involving parents in every principal search committee and providing resources and training. One...

Massive loss of preschool seats looms for LA County A new report estimates that the economic toll on Los Angeles County from the loss of funding for thousands of preschool seats later this year will be almost $600 million annually. By Deepa Fernandes, KPCC Outdoor programs play supporting role for state’s new science standards, EdSource...

To help understand the California Office to Reform Education’s (CORE) new school accountability system, LA School Report recently logged and listed all 714 LA Unified schools by their score top to bottom. We also calculated the average of all the schools and discovered the mean score was 60. Below are breakdowns of LA Unified’s elementary schools with the...

The recent utility increases approved by the city will sock LA Unified with $24.2 million more in costs, but the school district is already working on ways to save money. Solar panels, water recycling, light bulb replacements and other programs will help off-set some of the extra costs of water and power, said District Chief Facilities...