Lawyers for LA Unified today told the attorney representing acclaimed teacher, Rafe Esquith, that the investigation into his background has found evidence of “highly inappropriate conduct involving touching of minors” during his time as a district teacher as well as “inappropriate photographs and videos of a sexual nature” on his school computer. The letter to Esquith’s...

Only days before the school year begins, there are still about 319 known issues to deal with LAUSD’s troubled computer system, MiSiS, and school officials said they are working diligently to fix them. “We have made heroic, heroic progress with the MiSiS system,” said Diane H. Pappas, Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Planning and Digital...

In his first extensive interview since he was elected president of the LA Unified school board in July, Steve Zimmer had a few blunt words about the recent  announcement that power brokers in the charter school movement intend to expand the ranks of charters in the district to include half of all students. The move, welcomed...

By Frank Bruni Teaching can’t compete. When the economy improves and job prospects multiply, college students turn their attention elsewhere, to professions that promise more money, more independence, more respect. That was one takeaway from a widely discussed story in The Times on Sunday by Motoko Rich, who charted teacher shortages so severe in certain areas of...

Kids have three times too much homework, study finds; what’s the cost? A study found students in the early elementary school years are getting significantly more homework than is recommended by education leaders. CNN New Denver high school has later start time The right start time for middle and high school students is a controversial...

Teach For America–Los Angeles announced today that 80 instructors from its program will be working at schools in the Los Angeles area this year, a 20 percent reduction from last year. The reduced numbers are directly related to the nationwide teacher shortage, something Teach for America is also experiencing. “I think what we are seeing...

When Ray Cortines addressed addressed LA Unified administrators and principals yesterday he championed a decentralization plan that echoed an idea he first brought to the district 15 years ago. “We are still working to decentralize LAUSD,” Cortines said, reiterating his belief that it was the best approach for the large district. “In 2000, we developed a plan...

LA Unified board member Mónica García, a leading voice for education reform efforts, said she is open to plans by a group of foundations that wants to expand the number of charter schools in the district well beyond the 285 that are now serving district students. “I’m open to any strategy that helps children and families. We...

No longer the newest member of the LA Unified school board, Mónica Ratliff has now had two years to immerse herself in the intricacies of district policies and politics. As a former lawyer and teacher, she has established a reputation as a stickler for detail who is not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom if it...

By PBS Newshour For the first time this school year, nonwhite children made up more than half of the country’s public school students. But the country’s schools have grown only more segregated since 1988. The most recent data shows the average white student goes to a school that is more than 70 percent white. And...