LA School Report

While superintendent searches for large school districts typically end with outsiders getting the job, the president of the firm working with LA Unified said the insider chosen, Michelle King, a district veteran of 30 years, was a commendable match. “We spent more time than usual to come up with a profile of the characteristics that the...

In case you were otherwise occupied yesterday when Gov. Jerry Brown was delivering his State of the State address, here’s what he had to say about education. With respect to education, the strong economic recovery and the passage of Proposition 30 has allowed us to increase spending on public schools and community colleges from a...

In its latest effort to offset declining enrollment, LA Unified is wooing parents of children attending a private school in Woodland Hills that is shutting down after this academic year. The operators of Pinecrest Schools have notified parents that they intend to close the group’s last five campuses, a decision that creates a chance for...

The number of expulsions in LA Unified has decreased drastically over the past two years, with numbers far lower than neighboring school districts. Expulsions have decreased by 31 percent, to 77 in the last school year from 111 in 2012-2013, according to a report presented this week to a district board committee. That compares with...

By Joe Mathews Last week, Michelle King was appointed superintendent of L.A. Unified, California’s largest school district. But can we really trust her to lead the Los Angeles schools? After all, she’s from Los Angeles. Actually, that understates how suspiciously local King is. As a child, she attended L.A. Unified schools. Then she got degrees...

LAUSD not concerned about state’s threat of penalties California wants more kids vaccinated and says it will financially penalize schools admitting a high percentage of kindergartners who were overdue for measles vaccine. KPCC, by Rebecca Plevin Moving control of schools could save state millions, lawmaker says One lawmaker thinks the best way to improve your...

California’s teacher shortage is only going to grow more problematic unless the state takes action, according to a new report from the Learning Policy Institute. The report, Addressing California’s Emerging Teacher Shortage: An Analysis of Sources and Solutions, analyzes the origins of the shortage and also offers policy recommendations on how to fix it. “Our analysis...

The latest independent audit of LA Unified shows that through the end of the last fiscal year, on June 30, the district had liabilities that surpassed assets by $4.2 billion. The previous year showed assets over liabilities by $1.7 billion, making for a 12-month swing of $5.9 billion, according to Melba W. Simpson, of Simpson &...

What’s the easiest way for LAUSD to save millions of dollars to help stave off a budget crisis? Keep students in school. More than 80,000 students are chronically absent at LA Unified, and that results in an annual loss of $139 million in revenue, Debra Duardo, executive director of Student Health and Human Services at...

By Louis Freedberg When Michelle King was appointed to head the Los Angeles Unified School District last week, she became the most prominent African-American school superintendent in the state and the nation. But her ascent to the top post is hardly typical of California districts. She is one of only a small number of African-American superintendents...