The Morning Read
Your Daily Roundup of LAUSD news from across the web | 10.05.21
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At two forums for LAUSD board candidates, students focus on college preparation, while parents want high-quality teachers and safe schools
*Updated Feb. 19 Parents, students and community members were able to question the candidates running for L.A. Unified school board in District 5 at two separate forums last week, one led by parents and the second by students. High school students wanted their new representative to make sure they are better prepared for college, while...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | February 19, 2019
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LAUSD board to consider removing a policy that forces schools to hire from a list of displaced teachers — and forces teachers into assignments they don’t want
*Updated Feb. 19: Board members voted down the resolution 4-2. Voting against it were George McKenna, Scott Schmerelson, Kelly Gonez and Richard Vladovic, who had co-sponsored the resolution. The L.A. Unified school board will vote Tuesday on whether to get rid of a district policy that can force schools to hire “displaced” teachers — even if...
By Taylor Swaak | February 15, 2019
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Lessons from Parkland: 6 big things we’ve learned about student safety, school security and resilience since the tragic 2018 massacre
Valentine’s Day is typically a celebration of love, but the holiday in 2018 will go down in history as a moment of hate, national mourning — and resilience. That afternoon in Parkland, Florida, a gunman opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school, killing 14 students and three adults. Like other mass school shootings —...
By Mark Keierleber | February 13, 2019
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Commentary: The time is now for parents to ask tough questions of education leaders
While the recent release of information about California’s lowest-performing schools, including more than 100 campuses in L.A. Unified that require intervention, is alarming, what we really need to ask is how committed school officials, educators, administrators and their unions are to improving student academic outcomes, starting now. Now is the time for parents and community-based organizations...
By Evelyn Alemán | February 13, 2019
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Meet the 10 candidates running for LAUSD school board in District 5
*Updated Feb. 13 The 10 candidates in the race for L.A. Unified’s vacant school board seat are in full swing participating in community forums and other public events as the March 5 special election approaches. The new board member for Board District 5 will represent about 100,000 students in some very different communities: from the...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | February 12, 2019
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Antonucci: California Teachers Association pledges support for Prop. 13 overhaul
Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. The stage is set for what promises to be the largest and most expensive ballot initiative campaign in California history. The State Council of the California Teachers Association voted last week to support the Schools and Local Communities Funding Act, a measure scheduled for the November 2020...
By Mike Antonucci | February 12, 2019
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An interview with Courtney Everts Mykytyn on her quiet movement to integrate schools in L.A. & beyond
After a prolonged lull, American school integration debates have reignited in recent years. Courtney Everts Mykytyn, the founder of California-based Integrated Schools, is quietly becoming a force in these conversations. Her four-year-old group describes itself and its mission this way: “Integrated Schools is growing a grassroots movement of, by and for parents who are intentionally, joyfully...
By Conor Williams | February 11, 2019
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The L.A. teacher strike may be over, but observers warn there’s no ‘clear path forward’ for how the school district can afford its new contract
The L.A. Unified school board has approved a contract with its teachers union that officials admit they can’t fully afford, calling the deal’s sustainability into question as the district receives repeated warnings from the county that it’s in severe financial straits. To shoulder about $840 million in added costs through 2021, district officials say they’re...
By Taylor Swaak | February 10, 2019
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Poll: School safety is main concern for California voters, but college affordability tops list for parents
School safety and college affordability are the most pressing issues in education, California voters said in a new poll. The top priority overall was reducing gun violence in schools, with more than half of respondents saying it was “very important.” But voters with children as well as those ages 18-49 and those earning less than...
By Laura Fay | February 6, 2019
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Blink and you missed it: Beyond a single reference, K-12 education is notably absent from President Trump’s State of the Union
Discussion of K-12 education was next to nonexistent in the State of the Union address Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s second. The president mentioned the issue just once, when he said, without elaboration, “To help support working parents, the time has come to pass school choice for America’s children.” The words echoed Trump’s 2017 address to...
By Carolyn Phenicie | February 6, 2019