American households invest time and money in things they assume are worth it, whether it is because they are believed to improve quality of life or are cost-effective. New parents may be loyal to a particular diaper brand that they believe prevents leaks. Families purchase or prepare school lunches to give their children a balanced...

Correction appended Jan. 10 Every week or so, Los Angeles parent Glenisha Cargin makes a round of phone calls to LAUSD school officials trying to get help for her young son. Cargin, the mother of a first-grader on the autism spectrum who attends a district school in Westmont, calls the principal. Next she moves on...

Funding increases written into the recently passed $1.7 trillion federal omnibus package will provide a substantial jumpstart to education research and statistics this year — and could even evolve into an entity mirroring DARPA, the Pentagon’s storied research and development branch. The law, passed by bipartisan majorities and signed by President Biden in the closing days of...

ChatGPT, an AI-powered “large language” model, is poised to change the way high school English teachers do their jobs. With the ability to understand and respond to natural language, ChatGPT is a valuable tool for educators looking to provide personalized instruction and feedback to their students.  O.K., you’ve probably figured out by now that ChatGPT...

Earlier this month, more than two years into schools’ attempts to spend an unprecedented $189 billion in COVID relief funds, federal officials released a 97-page document that “strongly encourages” districts not to spend the windfall on construction. There’s one hitch: According to one analysis, districts are already spending, or planning to spend, almost a quarter of funds from...

2022 continued to be a chaotic time for the nation’s second largest school district, with chronic absenteeism and other COVID-related issues disrupting LA Unified schools. Starting off the year, LAUSD welcomed a new superintendent, Alberto Carvalho, the former Miami schools chief.   It was also a big year for LA School Report as we covered these...

Half of the nation’s 500 largest school districts have changed superintendents or are in the midst of a transition, according to a report tracking leadership churn since the pandemic began. Forty-seven of those districts have seen two or more leadership changes. The turnover has been particularly hard on women: Of the 94 female superintendents who...

The pandemic had to end sometime. Historians will ultimately place its climax at some point in 2022. It was the year that Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s most prominent public health authority, declared that the country was “out of the pandemic phase,” as COVID case rates plummeted from their Omicron highs. By the fall, President Biden...

Los Angeles school board president Kelly Gonez will keep her spot on the panel, but her lack of a significant lead despite her advantages over her novice opponent made the race a stand out. Gonez, who raised $500,000 and major endorsements including the United Teachers Los Angeles, declared victory last month, garnering 51.27% of the...

The results of the most recent Nation’s Report Card found students across almost all states and demographic groups showing steep declines in academic achievement. Talented teachers and principals will be crucial to reversing this trend. But my middle school, and schools like it throughout the country, are struggling to hire and keep staff. Expanded loan forgiveness for...