By Dick Startz and Dan Goldhaber | Los Angeles Times In Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach, high-tech companies help drive the California economy by paying high salaries to driven, talented employees whose productivity more than compensates for their high pay. But California’s public schools are stuck in the old mode of paying modest salaries for...

*UPDATE Nearly three months after missing a self-imposed deadline, LA Unified is finally close to filling 10 positions to help thousands of native English speakers who struggle to learn academic English. With nine hired, there’s one to go. The school board passed the “Strengthen Support for Standard English Learners” resolution last June and devised a plan...

Aside from being well attended by thousands of teachers and supporters, the rally held last week by the LA teachers union, UTLA, also attracted its fair share of media attention. The major city papers were there, as were TV stations, college newspapers and even a humble education news website. The rally also got national attention,...

Students from high schools across LA Unified will have an opportunity tomorrow to help shape district spending when the United Way of Greater Los Angeles hosts a town hall dedicated to seeking their ideas for the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), which outlines how the district spends Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) dollars. The United Way,...

The Washington Post | By Emma Brown International math, science and reading exams show that across dozens of countries, 15-year-old boys are more likely to be low achievers than 15-year-old girls, especially in reading. But among the highest-performing students, girls trail boys, and girls have far less confidence in their ability to solve math problems....

Just when you thought it was safe to hang around Stoner Avenue Elementary in Mar Vista, another fight is in the works. A pre-emptive protest is scheduled for next week to ward off another potential co-locator. ICEF Vista Academy Middle School, a charter that’s currently located at a church facility a few blocks away from...

The Associated Administrators of Los Angeles recent election produced two candidates for the presidency who are heading into a runoff after falling short of a majority. With 1,152 active members voting for president, the top two finishers from a field of six were Juan A. Flecha (28.5 percent) and Randall V. Delling (20.3 percent), according...

Now that the primaries are over, it’s time to ponder a few issues they raise. And perhaps nothing is more ponderous than turnout. Los Angeles is growing notorious for the pathetic number of voters who show up at polling places. But if you thought Tuesday’s less-than-10 percent turnout was bad, just wait until the May...

Voters overwhelmingly voiced support yesterday to moving the LA Unified school board elections to November, which some say will increase voter turnout while others argue that it will give greater advantage to special interest groups and well-financed candidates. With a low voter turnout and some candidates raising large sums of money, yesterday’s primary elections for LA...

Charter school supporters battling for a stronger influence over the LA Unified school board have the checkbook ready again. After providing heavy financial support for newcomer Ref Rodriguez, winner over District 5 incumbent Bennett Kayser last night, the charter group is weighing how much to spend for Rodriguez in the weeks leading to the May 19...