LA School Report

New LAUSD arts ed data ‘confirmed my worst fears,’ board member says For years, Los Angeles Unified School District officials have known they have a problem when it comes to teaching the arts. KPCC Schools wait for millions in reimbursement for Medi-Cal outreach California districts and school programs are caught in a fight with the...

As California considers emergency legislation to solve the drought crisis, LA Unified is working with city and state agencies to reduce water consumption across campuses by ripping out water-sucking grass lawns in place of native plants, swapping outdated toilets for low-flush units and recycling gray water throughout neighboring school communities. As the largest district in...

Four Democratic California lawmakers joined forces yesterday to promote new bills aimed at creating more stringent regulation of the state’s charter schools. If passed, the package of bills would bring big changes to the charter schools, including a requirement that they be run as non-profits, that charters be considered government entities and that all of...

The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) elected a new president on March 19, with Juan A. Flecha winning 60.16 percent of the vote. Flecha beat Randall Delling, who received 39.84 percent, according to AALA’s newsletter. Flecha will take office July 1 and will replace Judy Perez, who is retiring. “He is currently assigned as Administrator...

Brentwood teacher accused of racism returning to class Steven Carnine was not allowed to teach at Paul Revere Charter Middle School after claims were made against him by the parent of an eighth grader. NBC Los Angeles Classes combining kindergarten, transitional kindergarten pose challenges Beginning in 2012-13, legislators pushed back the entry date for kindergarten...

While the teachers union and LA Unified are united in spirit that the district should not lose $47 million in state money over faulty attendance record keeping, their disagreement on another issue could cost them nearly four times as much from Washington. The district has until March 31 to apply for federal waiver that allows...

Superintendent Ramon Cortines made it official late yesterday, restructuring LA Unified’s Educational Service Centers into geographically based offices, a move that adds two new centers and eliminates the Intensive Support and Innovation Center that worked across the district. The centers are regional resource offices serving schools and students within their designated boundaries; they facilitate school...

The California Charter School Association (CCSA) is calling “simply inaccurate” a report released yesterday that said state charter schools require more financial oversight. The report from the Center for Popular Democracy, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment and Public Advocates estimated the state would lose $100 million this year from fraud, waste and mismanagement at charter schools and called for...

LA Unified officials today began a process of determining which teachers skipped a faculty meeting yesterday to participate in school-site rallies. Tom Waldman, a district spokesman, said efforts are underway to learn from each school tha names of teachers and other staff who chose a rally over a meeting — a violation of the law,...

By Eduardo Porter | The New York Times In 2004, the Chinese government decided there were too many accidental deaths. China’s safety record, it decreed, should be brought in line with those of other middle-income countries. The State Council set a target: a decline in accidental deaths of 2.5 percent per year. Provincial authorities kicked...