LA School Report

Rebranding is not just for discount stores, fast food chains and soda anymore. How about for a school district? To change the public perception of a project at the center of LA Unified’s two ill-fated programs — iPads and MiSiS –Superintendent Ramon Cortines is renaming the Common Core Technology Project. It now goes by the...

With Gov. Jerry Brown‘s new budget offering little in the way of funding for new school construction projects, a group has announced a plan to gather signatures for placing a $9 billion school construction bond on the November 2016 ballot. The Coalition for Adequate School Housing (C.A.S.H.), an alliance of school districts and construction groups...

A report from the U.S. Education Department on the district’s troubled $1.3 billion iPad program and gitchy MiSiS computer system had few positive things to say, as it found problems in both efforts with their planning, execution and metrics for success. The report, which was requested by LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines, found that the...

Former LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy will be working as a consultant for The Broad Center for the Management of School Systems as a “superintendent-in-residence.” The center is a leadership academy for school administrators, which is funded by Eli Broad, a longtime Deasy supporter and powerful financier of California education reform efforts. Deasy resigned in October under...

Budget lifts teacher preparation oversight The state’s Commission on Teacher Credentialing would receive a fiscal boost from the general fund as part of Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget proposal. SI&A Cabinet Report Preschool advocates seek more funding Advocates for expanding preschool to low-income 4-year-olds were disappointed with the 4,000 additional enrollment slots proposed by Gov. Jerry...

LA Unified doesn’t track how many undocumented students are enrolled in the district, but a new resolution could pave the way for providing legal aid to a small number of unaccompanied minors at their deportation proceedings. The school board will vote tomorrow to approve a program called AYUDA – Advocating for Youth Unaccompanied in Deportation...

LA Unified board member Steve Zimmer is asking the board to weigh in on a legal battle between a major fruit company and the United Farm Workers (UFW) union. Gerawan Farming, one of the country’s largest suppliers of peaches, plums and other fruit, has had contracts with LA Unified and is under consideration for future...

In its first meeting of 2015, the LA Unified school board tomorrow will debate a range of issues, from students’ eating alone to farm workers’ pay. But it’s the issue of state testing that will have the most immediate and significant impact on more than 300,000 district students. Adding a powerful voice to the growing opposition...

The majority of public school teachers who participated in a new survey support changes in state teacher job protection laws that were the focus of last year’s landmark ruling in Vergara v. California. The findings were somewhat of a surprise in that the poll, conducted by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research for Teach Plus, a national nonprofit that...

Mayor Eric Garcetti, who rarely insinuates himself into Los Angeles public school politics, is endorsing Tamar Galatzan for a third term representing LA Unified’s District 3 board seat. “Tamar is an innovative problem-solver and a strong and thoughtful advocate for Valley schools and kids,” Garcetti said in a news release from the Galatzan campaign. “She...