LA School Report

United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), the second largest teachers union in the country, has reached a tentative agreement with LA Unified, according to an announcement issued by UTLA late last night. The new contract would includes a 10 percent raise over two years, likely bringing to an end the threat of a strike that has...

The Burbank Unified School District voted overwhelmingly yesterday to appoint Matt Hill as its Superintendent, but only after a long and emotional meeting during which board members endured a slew of impassioned criticism from Burbank teachers. Long-time Board Member Dave Kemp became so frustrated by the parade of union teachers berating the board for choosing Hill,...

Things went from bad to worse for publishing giant Pearson yesterday, as its stock took a dive following the news Wednesday that LA Unified announced plans to seek a refund for thousands of Apple iPads pre-loaded with Pearson educational software that the district said was ineffective. Pearson was the single worst performer on the Financial Times...

Move over, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In an unusual show of bi-partisan support, the Senate Committee on Education this week approved the overhaul of the controversial Bush-era legislation, re-branding it ‘Every Child Achieves Act of 2015.’ The bill’s strong bipartisan support — it passed with a 22-0 vote — gives it some...

Granada Hills Academic Decathlon team has championship in its sights In the last five years, Granada Hills students have won 11 out of a possible 14 city, state and national titles. Los Angeles Times Senate OKs bill barring sexual consent of minors as defense It comes after LA Unified Unified successfully argued last year that...

The Securities and Exchange Commission has met with LA Unified seeking more information about its use of bond money for purchasing iPads that were pre-loaded with software supplied by education giant, Pearson. The meeting into the now-cancelled $1.3 billion program was “informal,” according to the Los Angeles Times, which said it focused on if the...

The vote to open LA Unified’s first all-girls high school was swift and the motion was passed with no fanfare; it was one of more than two dozen resolutions lumped together, including one to open a similar all-girls charter middle school, that were approved in a single vote by the Los Angeles Unifed school board earlier...

Burbank Unified’s selection of LA Unified Chief Strategy Officer Matt Hill as a finalist for its superintendent position is turning some heads and raising the blood pressure of some people in Burbank. Hill, who was closely involved in LA Unified’s MiSiS and iPad ventures, was questioned at a public meeting Tuesday in what the Burbank Leader...

Sometimes, it seems, the hits never stop coming for LA Unified. The latest blow comes from the financial website Nerdwallet and its article, “Best School Districts for Your Buck in California.” The story ranked all the state’s districts based on the criteria of affordability to live there, standardized test scores, college readiness and class size. So...

By Patrick McGreevy | The Los Angeles Times A proposal that would require more children to be vaccinated in California ran into trouble Wednesday amid objections that it would force thousands of non-immunized students out of public schools. The measure’s author, Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento), agreed to delay a vote on it after being warned...