LA School Report

It’s not every day that national political figures like Bernie Sanders and Arne Duncan rush to endorse candidates in local school board races. But then again, very little about the intensifying Los Angeles school board showdown is typical. As we’ve reported extensively in our 2017 election series, this year’s board race — which concludes in...

It’s difficult to measure whether voters are interested in the Los Angeles school board elections, which could shift the ideological balance of the board. But for those most affected by how well LA Unified delivers education, it was standing room only at a Saturday forum where students heard how the four candidates plan to make...

As the national high school graduation rate continues to rise — it hit a record 83.2 percent last year — the leaders of a campaign to raise that number to 90 percent by 2020 said they fear the country will not meet that goal. Hitting that ambitious target would require a far more intense focus...

Outside groups have poured more than $10 million into the LA Unified school board election, which already this spring became the most expensive school board race in the nation. When it comes to the money the candidates themselves have raised, board President Steve Zimmer stepped up his campaign fundraising efforts last month raising more than...

Three charter school advocates — Greg Richmond of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, Caprice Young of Magnolia Public Schools, and Malcolm “Mike” Peabody of Friends of Choice in Urban Schools — have been chosen as this year’s inductees to the Charter School Hall of Fame, the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools announced...

* UPDATED MAY 8 One of them was endorsed by an actor known (most recently) for playing creepy murderers. Another got the support of a guy who played the chauffeur in “Downton Abbey.” One sent out a heartfelt letter written by her mom, and another was endorsed by a woman who owns her own newspaper....

A unified enrollment plan that is supposed to make it easier for parents to apply to multiple magnet and pilot programs is scheduled for a vote next Tuesday, but some LA Unified school board members aren’t convinced it’s ready to be funded. During a presentation at the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday afternoon, board members expressed concerns...

By Karin Kroener-Valdivia It’s National Charter Schools Week, and I’m remembering my first experience at a charter school. Fifteen years ago, after my fourth year of teaching in LA, I was burned out, exhausted from having my track constantly change and from moving rooms during the day without a classroom of my own. I came...

In an intimate setting Tuesday night at a Sylmar charter school, LA Unified school board candidates Kelly Gonez and Imelda Padilla met for the first and possibly only time ahead of the runoff. Differences stood out in the candidates’ demeanor, but their platforms had some similarities. The forum for the board District 6 candidates at...

By Martin Capuchino This week is National Charter Schools Week, and though many of Los Angeles’ public charter schools serve children of color, the inaccurate dissemination of information regarding charter schools and traditional schools creates confusion in many communities — especially communities of color. During the summer of 2016, a group of students and I...