LA School Report

By Richard Whitmire Recent big-dollar donations from pro-charter philanthropists leave traditional educators sputtering: Why don’t they just donate their money to us? Good question, and one that was raised in Los Angeles recently in light of a possible huge gift from philanthropist Eli Broad and others that appears headed mostly to charter schools. LAUSD board...

Under the leaking roofs of Los Angeles Unified schools Every time El Niño dumps rain on the city, dozens of LA Unified schools feel the impact of old architecture and outdated roofs. Los Angeles Times, by Sonali Kohli How two San Fernando Valley schools have kept learning after an epic gas leak After LA Unified took the...

Parents representing some of the most important advisory committees to the LA Unified school board lodged a litany of complaints this week about a lack of connection with the district. Long distances to meetings, inconvenient times, police intimidation near meeting sites and a lack of consideration of the parents’ advice were some of the complaints brought...

Arne Duncan’s administration of the Education Department saw plenty of notable accomplishments: billions of new dollars for preschool, a rewrite of the country’s primary K-12 education law, and a record high school graduation rate. Yet for all he achieved in his seven years, Duncan said he’s disappointed to leave office without having made sufficient progress...

Michelle King talks to 100 community leaders Speaking at an NAACP reception at First African Methodist Episcopal Church, the new LAUSD superintendent discussed her plans and challenges for the district. Los Angeles Wave, by Cynthia Gibson What happens to the $63 million if no one claims California lottery ticket? Money from unclaimed lottery tickets goes...

A group of six California school districts, including LA Unified, this week unveiled a new school accountability system that represents a far more complex and intricate way of ranking schools. Simply put, it is not all about standardized test scores anymore, and the school with the highest scores may no longer be the highest ranked...

Hit singer-songwriter Bebe Rexha surprises Jefferson High students with a donation of musical instruments

Troubling audit on mental health services for students A state audit has revealed problem areas in mental health services at some schools, including reductions in services and, in some cases, a backlog of unspent cash. Cabinet Report, by Kimberly Beltran State sends mixed messages on Smarter Balanced test participation The federal No Child Left Behind...

  For the first time, a Parent Trigger has been threatened twice for the same school. The parents of the 20th Street Elementary School in South Central Los Angeles are fed up with the lack of response from LA Unified after their first attempt two years ago to take over the school and on Monday filed...

The physics of a perfectly thrown NFL spiral. The sustainable engineering of an NFL stadium. The science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) learning opportunities inside San Francisco’s new Levi’s Stadium, home of Super Bowl 50 this weekend, are beyond ripe. And the 49ers have picked the fruit at the tune of 60,000 local students a...