It was college appreciation day Tuesday at the LA Unified school board, so all the board members wore their school shirts. But they may as well have worn their football jerseys because it erupted into a verbal brawl. In a few seemingly innocuous votes involving committee meetings, two board members not part of the new...

“If ever there was a time to talk about collaboration, now is the time.”   — Ryan J. Smith, executive director, The Education Trust-West Collaboration was the theme and aim of Pepperdine’s School of Public Policy’s first education conference, held Friday at the Malibu campus. The event brought together education policy leaders from Los Angeles...

LA Unified’s enrollment is dropping even faster than the district projected. There are 12,604 fewer students than last year, a 2.51 percent decline, last month’s official head count showed. The district had anticipated only a 2.1 percent drop. The difference means there will be $17 million less in the 2018-19 budget, and an additional $18...

An unprecedented coalition of community members, educators, parents, and students at LA Unified have convened a new task force to urgently address why African-American youth continue to have the lowest test scores and why black students and families continue to feel ignored by the education system. Black students persist in having LA Unified’s highest rates...

The main goal for most community college students in California is to transfer to a four-year university to earn a bachelor’s degree. But a new report shows it takes an average of 6.5 years to get a bachelor’s for students transferring to the University of California system and seven years for those transferring to the...

LA Unified has more charter schools than any other school district in the nation, and an internal report presented this week had some interesting facts, including where most of them are located. Although common thought among some parents is that independent charter schools are located in wealthier communities, the statistics show that more than half...

Who owns the agenda for education change? It is not uncommon (and in fact it is encouraging) to hear education reformers proclaim: “We need to see parents exercise their power on education to achieve ‘X’!” But ‘X’ is often the agenda the speaker has — with good intentions — set. It may not be the...

Whether you are considering sending your child to a different school, looking for a themed academic program, or want your child to speak a second language, LA Unified is now accepting applications for magnet programs, permits with transportation, and dual language/bilingual programs through Nov. 9.  Monday was the launch of LA Unified’s new unified enrollment system. The...

The LA Unified school board on Tuesday unanimously denied a renewal petition for a high-performing charter school, citing a breakdown of communication between the school and the district’s Charter Schools Division. Officials from Lashon Academy had tried to negotiate with the district around its special education policies, but the district said the charter school’s petition...

* UPDATED  The man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass shooting in recent history attended two LA Unified schools. His victims include at least six educators, including some from the Los Angeles area. Stephen Paddock, 64, who police say killed at least 59 people and injured more than 500 others on Sunday when he attacked...