LA School Report

LA Unified’s El Camino Real Charter won the 35th Annual California Academic Decathlon last week, locking in its 11th state title and a chance to claim a seventh national title at the U.S. Academic Decathlon in Honolulu, April 24-26. Against a steep competition of 565 students from 65 high schools statewide, the nine-member team scored 57,747.3 points of a maximum 65,400, just...

Former head of School, Parent and Family/Community Services, Maria Casillas, is coming out of retirement on Tuesday to serve as LA Unified’s interim Deputy Superintendent of Instruction, a post left vacant by the sudden resignation of Jaime Aquino last year. Casillas, who resigned from the district last June as Chief School and Family/Community Services, was appointed by...

Fresh off a run for UTLA president, where he secured 53 votes to finish eighth among 10 candidates, Kevin Mottus is moving on: He’s now running for US Congress. Mottus is one of 21– count ’em, 21! — lining up to take Henry Waxman’s seat in the 33rd Congressional District, which covers some of LA’s swankiest neighborhoods...

Just over a year ago, I won re-election to the Los Angeles Unified School District board. It was an unlikely victory in what may have been the most expensive school board race in U. S. history. The wealthiest of self-styled reformers – Eli Broad, Reed Hastings, Michael Bloomberg and Michelle Rhee’s followers – put in over $4-million...

Ag students rally in Sacramento to preserve education grants Concerns about future funding for high school agricultural classes and leadership programs are being voiced throughout California—and nowhere louder than at the state Capitol, where thousands of students and members of Future Farmers of America rallied last week to try to prevent elimination of the state’s...

As lawyers in the Vergara v. California case made their closing arguments inside the court room for the benefit of an audience of one – Judge Rolf Treu – their dueling press conferences held outside were directed at a statewide audience, to be broadcast by a number of television cameras. The state defense team got...

Via The Associated Press LOS ANGELES — An attorney representing nine California public school students told a judge Thursday that laws making it too hard to fire bad teachers and retain good ones are preventing students from obtaining a decent education and must be struck down. Theodore Boutrous Jr. made his assertions in a closing...

By voting to endorse three candidates last night for the LA Unified’s District 1 board seat, the UTLA House of Representatives chose to back two teachers and a former teacher who have raised a combined $8,440 for their election efforts. While that honors Sherlett Hendy-Newbill, Rachel Johnson and the former instructor, Hattie McFrazier, their meager financial support...