Growth of charter schools in California leads to conflict with school districts The heads of UTLA and CCSA square off in a radio debate as charter advocates are seeking to double the number of students attending charter schools in California by 2022. KQED Oakland school district sued by charter group over access to facilities, San...

When Andrea Schwartz first visited LA’s Clinton Middle School, the sight reminded her of “an insane asylum.” Paper airplanes and pencils dangled from the ceiling, and the hallways were stark white save for a sign demanding kids don’t run. The school, in Historic South-Central not far from USC, had been open for only five years, but it suffered...

Bernie Sanders isn’t the only progressive who is confused about charter schools. On the left, misunderstandings and mischaracterizations about non-traditional public schools abound, many of them spread by an educational establishment that fiercely guards its turf. One of the most popular misconceptions is that charter schools represent “takeovers” by wealthy corporate interests or rich conservatives...

Granada Hills Charter triumphs again in state academic decathlon For the fifth time in six years, students at Granada Hills Charter High School have won the California Academic Decathlon. They will defend the school’s national title in April. KPCC The ‘Broad plan’ for LA schools grows to more than charters only, KPCC How to help elementary...

LA Unified and its 221 independent charter schools have reached an agreement on the court-ordered requirement that charters sync their student data information systems with the district’s massive MiSiS system. The agreement calls on the district to develop an interface solution that will allow data systems at charter schools to communicate with MiSiS but allow...

Three Los Angeles charter school students were among the winners of $2,000 scholarships awarded at the 23rd Annual California Charter Schools Conference this week. The 10 recipients of the Susan Steelman Bragato Scholarship Award have “a passion for community service and for reaching their educational dreams,” the California Charters Schools Association (CCSA), which hosted the...

Editorial: California should restore the trigger allowing parents to force change at low-performing schools An editorial challenges the arguments that LA Unified has had against the parent takeover of the failing 20th Street Elementary School. The editorial muses: “Had the parents been hard-nosed from the start, they’d have transformed the school by now.” Los Angeles...

Rising concussion numbers have spurred LA Unified to examine how to better monitor head injuries and ensure the safety of student athletes. “I love football,” said board member Richard Vladovic, who noted that this week the NFL for the first time recognized a link between football and brain disorders. “But I’m very concerned about long-term effects on...

By Nick Melvoin Last week’s Los Angeles Unified School Board meeting was a political circus. Scores of parents, students and advocates in a packed boardroom vied for a chance to speak as the board debated their futures in real time. And while the politics may interest an arm-chair social scientist—“everyone is in such a bunkered...

Are charter schools suspending too many students? In the 2011-12 school year, charter schools nationwide had an average out-of-school suspension rate of 7.8 percent, as opposed to 6.7 percent in traditional public schools, meaning the rate in charter schools was 16 percent higher. However, the data is a few years old, and much has changed...