LA School Report

*UPDATED When Gene Fisher opened an independent public charter school in September 1997 in Watts, it shared a one-room bungalow in a housing project with the Urban League State Preschool. Fisher quickly realized that recruiting kids from rival gangs was not going to happen. So he moved his two kindergarten students and tiny staff, ending...

California school districts started authorizing independent charter schools in 1993. The reformers who created them were inspired to try a different model of public education — one they believed had the potential to better serve disadvantaged, low-income students who were disproportionately stuck in lower-performing schools. Public charter schools were granted flexibilities to have a longer...

Education reform made prime time Friday night with a slew of celebrity guests to promote the XQ Super School Project. The hour-long special aired on all four major TV networks to inspire people to become involved in rethinking the high school experience for the nation’s teenagers. EIF Presents: XQ Super School Project aired live from...

Celerity Educational Group, which operates seven Los Angeles-area independent charter schools, has untangled its complicated management structure that had been the subject of a lengthy investigation by LA Unified. Next week, the LA Unified school board will vote on material revisions to the charters of the four Celerity schools it oversees which spell out the new management...

The day Dreamers have feared became a reality on Tuesday when the Trump Administration decided to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Starting this week, DACA recipients, known as Dreamers, will lose their protections when their permits expire unless Congress acts before the program ends in March. What does the end of DACA mean for Dreamers?...

By Carol Arocha Random wanding has prevented some students from harming others. The weapons may not be guns or bombs, but have no doubt, handmade knives (shanks), clubs, brass knuckles, pepper spray, and other such instruments have been found and removed, saving children from physical harm. Wanding has helped administrators remove drugs and alcohol from...

For this school board president, the end of DACA is personal. Ref Rodriguez’s dad has only a third-grade education, and his mom left school at sixth grade. They were migrant workers in Mexico who came to the United States to offer their children a better future through education. So Tuesday’s announcement that the Trump Administration...

Labor Day weekend was labor-intensive for thousands of teachers who had to get their grades in by Tuesday using a new grading system. But when they went to sign in at LAUSD.net, the site was down. Not just down. The domain name showed that “lausd.net has expired.” Had the budget woes become so severe that...

By Laura Fay Some of the biggest names in entertainment will come together Friday in an hour-long televised special celebrating innovations in education. Participating performers will include Tom Hanks, Common, Jennifer Hudson, Samuel L. Jackson, Sheryl Crow, and Yo-Yo Ma, USA Today reported.   EIF Presents XQ: Super School Live will air on ABC, CBS, Fox, and...

Los Angeles “Dreamers,” faith leaders, educators, elected officials, and community leaders reacted with outrage to the Trump administration’s announcement ending DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. There were tears among the dozens gathered at the Edward Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles right after Tuesday’s announcement by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, which...