LA School Report

Interviewing is truly an art. At LA School Report, we believe some of the site’s best work is a result of knowing what questions to ask and to whom. In 2024, we put together some truly unforgettable Q&As, as we refer to them. Whether it was an interview with local school board candidate or a...

While politicians continue to cast immigrants as a threat to local communities with rhetoric so hateful it’s shut down schools, RAND researchers note a positive development following the arrival of young newcomers: They boost other students’ academic performance. A Delaware-based study found that a substantive increase in young immigrants leads to sizable academic gains for...

Everyone has an opinion on, well, just about everything.   But we believe the commentary, opinion pieces and op eds published in LA School Report carry special weight because of their originality and thoughtfulness. From pieces on the benefits of pre-K for English Language Learners; to a neighborhood program offering low income high school students a...

Whether a prospective student speaks Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Arabic or Mam — a Mayan language used in parts of Guatemala and Mexico — Oakland Unified School District’s enrollment office has a staffer who can help. If a newcomer communicates using a less common tongue like Dari and Pashto — spoken in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran...

For the last few years, The 74 has collaborated with the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism to help train the next generation of education journalists.  To be part of the growth and development of these young reporters, to watch and help them develop the skills and curiosity needed to become...

The new president of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education says he wants to fight the district’s cratering enrollment with new policies and approaches. Scott Schmerelson, who has worked in the LA Unified School District for nearly four decades and has served on the board since 2015, was elected and installed as...

Oakland, California They come to the enrollment office at 18, 19, or 20, often without transcripts, identification or immunizations. Some have massive gaps in their education and many speak little English. Any one of these would be reason enough for districts across the country to deny admission, but not here. With ample enrollment staff speaking...

If asked to name the school districts that do the best job of teaching math, people might think of wealthy enclaves like Scarsdale, New York; tech hubs in California’s Silicon Valley; or college towns like Ann Arbor, Michigan. Few of them would think of Neshoba County in Mississippi. But Neshoba County schools are doing something...

George Lee, maestro de tercer grado en Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, habla con el entusiasmo y la certeza de alguien que está donde debe estar.  “Estoy enseñando en un barrio donde crecí”, dijo Lee. “De verdad soy una parte de esta comunidad, o sea, siento una obligación como educador para realmente servir a las personas...

Leer en español aquí George Lee, a third grade teacher at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy, speaks with the confident enthusiasm of someone who is where he belongs.  “I’m teaching in a neighborhood that I grew up in,” said Lee. “I’m really a part of this community, like, I have more of an obligation as an...