LA School Report

While cell phones in the classroom can detract from student learning, one school program is taking advantage of the fact that a generation of digital natives can’t stay off their phones. KIPP Public Charter Schools, a national charter school network of more than 200 schools, rolled out the National Nudge Texting Pilot this summer. The...

This interview is one in a series spotlighting Los Angeles teachers, their unique and innovative classroom approaches, and their thoughts on how the education system can better support teachers in guiding students to success. Alicia Morris’s career as a production auditor in Hollywood was in full swing when she became a parent and decided to switch...

More than 5 million students in the U.S. attend 35,000 private K-12 schools, but recent changes to the types of schools that remain open mean there are fewer affordable options for low- and middle-income parents who want a private education for their children. Many Catholic schools, which historically have sought to educate students from low-...

Half of the nation’s teachers have seriously considered quitting in recent years, amid concerns about low pay, stress and lack of respect, a new poll finds. “We’ve got a real crisis going on,” said Joshua P. Starr, CEO of PDK International, the teachers’ professional association that conducts the annual poll. “There’s absolutely a real issue,...

When Nilda Irizarry was a sophomore in her Springfield, Massachusetts, high school, she didn’t raise her hand and she didn’t participate in class discussions. Although she loved learning, she was certain she didn’t fit in. But her teacher Patricia Gardner saw something very different. One day, she pulled Irizarry aside and asked why she didn’t...

Amid the fanfare over the public school that NBA star LeBron James opened last year in Akron, Ohio, came a poignant interview acknowledging a problem he faced as a student: chronic absenteeism. Moving from home to home with his mother, living across town from his school with no car or bus route to get him...

This interview is one in a series spotlighting Los Angeles teachers, their unique and innovative classroom approaches, and their thoughts on how the education system can better support teachers in guiding students to success. See the full series.  Nicole Tavera grew up knowing that education was a priority in her family, but she struggled in...

If state leaders want more student-driven learning in classrooms, creating policies that support teachers is critical. That’s according to a new report from iNACOL, a nonprofit that supports competency-based education. The report outlines five recommendations for state policy leaders on how to help develop teachers so they’re prepared for competency-based instruction. “We can talk about...