LA School Report

Several members of the LA Unified board are using their websites to reflect on what they’re thankful for with the long Thanksgiving weekend just ahead. Board President Steve Zimmer focused on education in his newsletter. He writes: “The recent attacks on liberty and peace in Paris, Mali, and across the Middle East shake our hearts and our spirit. Here at home, the...

As LA Unified deals with looming deficits that could reach $600 million, a recent independent Financial Report attributes a large share of it to the ever-increasing costs of health benefits for present and retired employees. The district spends 14 percent of its budget on active and retired employee health benefits — which is more than it...

By Daniela Gerson Priscilla Farinas, an English teacher at Social Justice Humanitas Academy in San Fernando, faced her 31 students recently and made an announcement that seemingly violates official Los Angeles Unified policy. “This is the one and only time I will have you take out your cellphones,” she said, instructing the students to share their definitions of...

A group of anti-charter school activists is circulating an online petition that calls for LA Unified to rescind a contract with Teach for America (TFA) intended to fill 25 special education teaching positions. The petition points out that the teachers from the organization will be trainees but does not acknowledge that the district is allowed by...

LAUSD is making another strong push for input from families and employees to see what the school schedule should be for the next three years. And, the district is providing lots of back-up materials to help inform choices, including a comparison of student test scores in traditional school years versus early school calendars, electricity consumption costs for the...

LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said late yesterday the district’s facilities staff plans to monitor methane gas levels near two schools in northern San Fernando Valley. Cortines said he will post the results of the air quality report right away on the LAUSD website. Concerns about a smell in the Porter Ranch neighborhood led to a protest that...

A major contributor to LA Unified’s pending fiscal crisis is unfunded federal and state mandates that have deprived the district of hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years. The exact number is difficult to calculate because the total not only reflects the amount the district seeks in reimbursement but what percentage the governments return to...

At a high school called the Critical Design and Gaming School, you’d think every student had a device on and was playing a game all the time. Not so. In fact, during one recent morning lesson, students opened up boxes of traditional board games to play with each other. “They find out pretty quickly it’s...

By Matt Murray Arne Duncan has been pushing the cause of education all his career. And as he prepares to step down as education secretary after seven years, he is asking CEOs to join him in the fight. In today’s global marketplace, it’s critical for the U.S. to develop in young people the skills that will...