LA School Report

Six years ago when I became the principal of Jordan High School (part of the Partnership for LA Schools), in Watts, I walked onto a campus where 20 percent of students were suspended, 34 percent graduated, and 62 percent felt they were safe on campus. In 2016-2017, we had a 2.0 percent suspension rate, we...

LA Unified Superintendent Michelle King will remain on medical leave until after the new year, she told employees Tuesday. King, who has been away from the district since last month, has appointed Vivian Ekchian as acting superintendent in her absence. Previously, it was unclear when she would return. King sent a letter to employees Tuesday updating them...

LA Unified school board President Mónica García and school board members Nick Melvoin and Kelly Gonez called on their colleague and political ally Ref Rodriguez to take a leave of absence from the board while he is facing criminal charges related to campaign donations. However, in response, Rodriguez posted a statement on Twitter saying he would...

With temperatures skirting the 100-degree mark for much of this week, LA Unified remains on top of air conditioning repairs in the school district and has not called for shortened days like neighboring Southern California school districts. “LA Unified does not have shortened days planned,” said Elvia Perez Caño, of LAUSD’s Communications and Media Relations for...

LA Unified school board member Ref Rodriguez pleaded not guilty Tuesday to felony and misdemeanor charges related to an alleged political money laundering scheme during his 2015 election. Appearing in Los Angeles criminal court, Rodriguez surrendered his passport as a condition of his continued release. He is due back in court Dec. 13 along with...

Even after you take out gifted magnet programs where students have to meet academic admissions requirements, students at LA Unified’s magnet schools outperformed their peers at independent charter schools, an LA School Report analysis of district data found. The district released its own analysis last week of this year’s state standardized test scores, showing that for...

At some schools about a dozen times a day, school deans and security walk into LAUSD classrooms and pick out five students to conduct a “random” search. They take us out of class and into the hallway where they go through our belongings. We are told they are searching us for weapons, but they frequently...

A conflict of interest complaint alleging that Los Angeles school board member Ref Rodriguez improperly directed $285,000 from the charter school network he co-founded to various non-profits he oversaw has been closed. The state’s Fair Political Practices Commission sent a letter Friday to Rodriguez’s attorney saying it was closing the complaint brought by Partnerships to...

High school seniors at Academia Avance, an independent public charter school in northeast Los Angeles, show up to school looking like they’re headed to work. That’s because they are. Three days a week, all students in the senior class head off to internships where they are mentored by medical, legal, and business professionals. “Privileged kids...

Demand for LA Unified’s dual language programs is so high that the district plans to expand from 16 schools offering the programs to as many as 35 schools next year. Meanwhile, the nation’s second-largest school district — where students speak 94 languages — is closing in on meeting its goals for improving test scores for...