A meeting yesterday of UTLA’s political action committee, PACE, concluded with no decision to endorse LA Unified School Board President Richard Vladovic or his opponent, Lydia Gutierrez. Vladovic was forced into May runoff against Gutierrez, a veteran educator who is anti-Common Core, pro-Vergara and Republican. It was an unusually close race for Vladovic after serving...

Close readers of LA School Report might notice how infrequently LA Unified board member George McKenna is quoted in any story, apart from comments he makes at board meetings. There’s a reason for that, as I was reminded again yesterday in an email from him, and it’s a reason that both saddens me and, I...

L.A. Unified ends effort to close embattled charter schools LAUSD has dropped efforts to shut down three campuses operated by an embattled charter school chain. Los Angeles Times SBE OKs rubric format but what to measure? The Board of Education approved the design of a new tool that will be used to measure how well...

The Los Angeles teachers union, UTLA, has moved one step closer to endorsing Scott Schmerelson, a former LA Unified principal, administrator and a Republican, in the runoff race for Board District 3. Members of the teachers union political action committee, PACE, are recommending to the full committee an endorsement for Schmerelson in his bid to...

The LA Unified school board decided to start school one week later for the 2015-16 academic year in a compromise that board member Tamar Galatzan — who voted in favor it — summed up as “the worst of both worlds.” The 5-1 vote means students will begin classes on Aug. 18 next academic year. The...

By Misti Kemmer I grew up around drugs and alcohol.  At nine years old, I manned the kegs at weekend barbecues for my aunts and uncles where I was surrounded by a cloud of marijuana smoke.  But even at that early age, I knew that I wanted something more.  I was determined to be the...

The LA Unified school board voted unanimously yesterday to approve a “Fiscal Stabilization Plan” that calls for cuts, layoffs and smarter spending decisions to balance the 2015-2016 budget by June 30. In a separate vote, the board agreed, 5-2, to issue more than 600 teacher layoff notices for the first time in two years. Despite massive...

CA vs. feds on student testing back in play State officials acknowledged Tuesday sidetracking a request to be excused from federal accountability mandates. SI&A Cabinet Report For parents, a new way to view test scores The vocabulary has changed, and so have the numbers and the format for state testing. Ed Source Proposal to reopen...

Superintendent Ramon Cortines told the LA Unified board today that he believes the state will delay using statewide computerized test results for any official measures. “The word on the street is that they’re looking favorably that this year’s test will not count,” he said during a discussion of the the district’s use of computers for...