A small but loud group from The Labor Community Strategy Center’s Fight for the Soul of the Cities and Community Rights Campaign protested outside of LA Unified headquarters yesterday, demanding that the LA School Police Department give up any military weapons it received through the Pentagon’s controversial 1033 Program. Check out the attached video for highlights...

A bargaining update from LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines yesterday to district employees may prove ominous for the teachers union, UTLA, and ultimately the district’s 650,000 students. In his three-page review of negotiations so far, Cortines concedes that all workers “deserve additional salary increases, particularly in view of the recent past years of salary freezes...

* UPDATED As LA School Report prepares to shut down for the year — and gear up for a long holiday Tamale Fest and Eggnog-a-thon — we’d like to take a moment to look ahead at the big stories awaiting us in 2015. So grab your snow globe, give it a good shake and look into...

John Deasy was often described by critics as an autocrat in how he ran the district. Nine senior aides reported to him directly. That was nothing. In the two months since taking over, his replacement, Ramon Cortines, has doubled the number of LA Unified officials under his direct supervision. He has 18 aides reporting to him...

Five LA Unified teachers have been selected to receive a Raytheon-Engineering is Elementary teacher scholarship for 2014-2015. The scholarships will help the educators implement Engineering is Elementary STEM curriculum from the Boston Museum of Science in their classrooms. The award covers tuition and travel to attend a professional development workshop in Boston and has a value of...

The Strategy Center’s Fight for the Soul of the Cities and Community Rights Campaign is holding a rally and press conference outside LAUSD headquarters at 4 p.m. to protest the Los Angeles School Police Department’s possession of military-grade weapons. Earlier this fall, media around the country began to focus on the Pentagon’s 1033 Program in the...

The year 2014 was not a banner one in the history of the Los Angeles Unified School District. While there was positive news – in particular continued improvement in student achievement – the district often found itself the subject of increasingly negative headlines. Here, in no particular order, are the top stories about LA Unified...

LA Unified art teacher Stuart Lutz had a celebratory homecoming today as he returned to the classroom after nearly eight months in so-called “teacher jail.” Lutz was pulled from South Gate Middle School on April 21 while the district investigated allegations of mishandling fundraising money for an annual field trip to Disneyland Art Studio. Throughout...

*UPDATED Hamilton High School in West LA was put on lockdown for over an hour this morning after three men were shot in streets near the school, which is located on S. Robertson Blvd. near the 10 Freeway. The three victims were shot at different locations — with one victim being found on the 3100...

Representatives for the teachers union, UTLA, lowered their salary demand yesterday, asking LA Unified for a one-year 9 percent pay increase for the current academic year, with future increases tied to that. Vivian Ekchian, the district’s chief negotiator, said the proposal “is under review and we will ascertain the cost to the District.” While the...