LA School Report

LA schools chief to hold town hall Tuesday in San Fernando Valley The town hall, part of a promised “listening tour,” will allow new LA Unified Superintendent Michelle King to share her vision for the nation’s second largest school district. Los Angeles Daily News, by Dana Bartholomew Are synthetic playing surfaces hazardous to athletes’ health? Los...

It was a devastating time for the young teachers who worked at John H. Liechty Middle School near downtown Los Angeles. It was 2009, and 72 percent of the school’s teachers were handed pink slips, casualties of America’s crumbling economy. Brendan Finch, working there through Teach For America, was among those let go, though he...

Melissa Campos says senior year is a breeze for many of her friends and former teammates attending neighborhood high schools in Los Angeles Unified. Many of them get out for “work study” after a few periods of electives, she said. They are done with math, science and foreign language classes, and there are no AP...

Editorial: Are LAUSD students really ready for college? The time is up in the LAUSD time table to get every student to earn a D or better in college prep classes. Are the students ready? Los Angeles Times UCLA or USC? Where are you better protected against an active shooter?,City Watch How high school would...

Even before the deputy attorney general got to finish a single statement, the 2nd District Court of Appeals justices hearing a landmark education case Thursday jumped in to ask questions. How do you tell if a teacher is “grossly ineffective”? Is there proof that discrimination has occurred? What is the impact on the state? For...

KIPP Raíces Academy School in East Los Angeles celebrated its National Blue Ribbon Schools award on Tuesday. After the ceremony, LA School Report caught up with the school’s founding principal, Amber Young Medina, who opened Raíces in 2008 and is now the managing director of KIPP LA Schools. This is an edited transcript of the conversation. LA School Report:...

Court orders release of personal data for 10 million+ CA students LAUSD has been using its “robo call” system to alert parents to the data release and tell them how to opt out via the California Department of Education web site. Associated Press Editorial: Keep student data private in special-ed lawsuit, Los Angeles Times Madison...

Arguments in one of the most important lawsuits involving public education will be heard Thursday morning in the state Court of Appeals in Los Angeles. The case of Vergara v. California seeks to overturn five laws involving teacher tenure, dismissals and the last-in, first-out layoff policies. The case was brought on behalf of nine students in five...

Although LA Unified stands to potentially have its highest graduation rate ever this year, the district doesn’t want students to settle for D grades. In fact, the percentage of students maintaining a C or better in college prep or A-G classes has more than doubled in 10 years, according to the latest LA Unified statistics. In a...

Why L.A. Unified’s graduation rate is expected to soar this year The projected graduation rate could rise as high as 80%, compared with last year’s 74%, according to LAUSD officials. Los Angeles Times, by Howard Blume S.F. board unanimously backs condom access in middle school, San Francisco Chronicle Welcome to the Local Control Funding Formula...