LA School Report

A federal grand jury inquiry into LA Unified’s purchase of iPads has ended, officials said Tuesday. No charges were filed. “We have received notification from the U.S. Attorney’s Office that the investigation has been closed,” LA Unified’s General Counsel David Holmquist said in a statement. It has been more than two years since the school...

Nearly 1,600 LA Unified administrators will be notified in mid-March that their contracts may end in June. But is this attempt at bringing administrative staff more in line with the declining number of students too late to help a looming budget deficit, as some school board members fear? Or will there even be a staff reduction?...

When Hrag Hamalian opened Valor Academy Middle School in 2009, teacher retention was his foremost concern, so he decided to find out what educators desired in the workplace. Now executive director of Bright Star Schools, which includes six other charter schools, Hamalian surveyed his highly effective teachers in search of the answer. He found that...

LA School Report covers the 2017 LAUSD school board race: See all 13 candidate profiles Name: Gregory Martayan Board district: 4 Age: 33 Job: owns a public relations and local affairs firm Lives in: Encino Married: wife Sylva Children: three under age 2 LAUSD education?: No LAUSD. St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal school in...

High school students continued their candidate forum series Wednesday night, this time moderating a panel discussion at LA City College with the four candidates for the LA Unified District 4 school board seat. It was the second of three forums run by high school students through the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. A panel...

LA School Report covers the 2017 LAUSD school board race: See all 13 candidate profiles Name: Allison Holdorff Polhill Board district: 4 Age: 51 Lives in: Pacific Palisades Job: debate coach, parent and student advocate Married to: Lucius Polhill, commercial insurance broker Children in LAUSD: Alex (23), Lucy (20) and Carter Polhill (18), all LAUSD graduates  High school: Yucaipa High...

Although he’s currently the recipient of campaign cash in what may be the most expensive school board race ever, LA Unified board President Steve Zimmer pushed through a “Clean Money” resolution on Tuesday but said it is not about him. Zimmer convinced his often disparate group of colleagues on the school board to unanimously approve the...

LA School Report covers the 2017 LAUSD school board race: See all 13 candidate profiles Name: Nick Melvoin Board district: 4 Age: 31 Lives in: West Los Angeles Job: Attorney, educator, nonprofit education consultant, LAUSD substitute teacher, volunteer Married: No Children in LAUSD: No children LAUSD schooling: Kenter Canyon Elementary Other education: Curtis, Harvard-Westlake, bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, master’s in urban education...

As the political rhetoric around charter schools heats up locally and nationally, Los Angeles charter school parents are not only defending their right to choose a school for their child but are now advocating for their place in the public education landscape. The shift was on display last week during two events in downtown Los...