By Jill Barshay | The Hechinger Report The growing gap between rich and poor is affecting many aspects of life in the United States, from health to work to home life. Now the one place that’s supposed to give Americans an equal chance at life — the schoolhouse — is becoming increasingly unequal as well. I’ve already...

Despite neighborhood opposition to a proposed $30 million Mandarin-immersion elementary school in Mar Vista, LA Unified school board member Steve Zimmer calls the project “a game-changer” in the district’s efforts to reverse years of enrollment declines that have cost hundreds of millions of dollars. “I don’t have accurate words to express how important this issue...

Los Angeles Unified’s teachers are old and costly For every teacher under the age of 25, there are more than 19 older than 56, according to district data. Los Angeles Daily News Many LAUSD elementary schools in South LA still don’t have library staff Since January, the Los Angeles Unified School district has reopened more...

Parents have launched a petition at 20th Street Elementary to take over the school, force major changes and win the right to replace its staff and teachers, the Los Angeles Times reported today. If a majority of parents sign the petition, it will be the latest effort in the state to use the so-called “Parent...

By Diane Ravitch | The New York Review of Books Fifty years ago, Congress passed a federal education law to help poor children get a good public education: the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. Revised many times, it is still the basis for federal education policy today. When it was last reauthorized...

Los Angeles Unified considers killing preschool program A proposal to eliminate a popular LA Unified preschool program for low-income families drew the ire of more than 100 people Thursday. KPCC The Snap2School application rewards students who get to class on time Snap2School works by rewarding attendance with prizes such as tickets to amusement parks, free...

Later today, an LA Unified committee will discuss the importance and feasibility of sustaining a program aimed at helping children in their first years of life as they approach kindergarten. While experts regard this time as critical to child development, money the district has used to fund such efforts are sunsetting: The proposed budget calls...

By Jeffery Fleishman | Los Angeles Times In a studio where wall-length mirrors laid bare imperfections, a young ballerina floated in deceptive grace. “Balance,” said her teacher. “Open shoulders, round the arms.” The dancer wiped the sweat away. Music cued, a slipper scraped like a whisper across the floor. She spun in pirouettes, again and...