Parent Revolution announced Tuesday that it has helped 321 students apply to new, higher performing schools through its Choice4LA pilot program launched in January. The program is aimed at helping low-income families navigate a complex system of school choice by providing information on all types of schools, helping parents choose the right school for their...

IDEA Public Schools was awarded the $250,000 Broad Prize Monday for its efforts to inject hope and opportunity into the educational lives of some 24,000 mostly Hispanic and low-income Texas students in San Antonio, Austin and the Rio Grande Valley. Accepting the award, co-founder and CEO Tom Torkelson gave an impassioned speech in defense of the...

Monica Ratliff got up from a picnic table in a shady corner of Sunland Park and walked over to a couple of moms chatting as they watched their toddlers play. “Hi, I’m going to be recording an interview over here and I just wanted to let you know in case we pick up some of your voices.” ...

By Peter Jamison Charter-school founder Steve Barr will run for Los Angeles mayor in 2017, opening up a potentially challenging front for incumbent Mayor Eric Garcetti in what has so far shaped up as an all but uncontested re-election bid. Barr, a Silver Lake resident and darling of education-reform advocates who has not previously held elected office, said he...

By Ben Austin Last month, my organization, Students Matter, issued its support of California’s AB 934 – a state bill that, though imperfect, honestly attempted to address the grave defaults in the state’s teacher tenure, dismissal and layoff laws challenged by the student plaintiffs in Vergara v. California. (A 2014 ruling in that case sided...

By Jenny Hontz  When LA School Report reported this week that 181 LAUSD staffers are currently being paid to sit around and do nothing while they are investigated for alleged misconduct, costing the district $15 million a year, school board members expressed surprise. The numbers are staggering, but it should be no surprise to anyone that...

In a highly anticipated ruling that’s been years in the making, the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a University of Texas affirmative action policy that takes race into consideration when selecting applicants — a ruling that could have a profound effect on America’s minority high school students planning to attend college. After the decision...

Editor’s note: With Los Angeles poised to be able to expand preschool access once Gov. Jerry Brown signs the budget, here is a look at one city that has invested heavily in early education. It’s a typical Wednesday morning at the Lincoln Park campus of AppleTree Early Learning, a network of pre-K charter schools dotting Washington, D.C. Inside the...

By Howard Blume and Zahira Torres Two organizations set up to work within the traditional public school system are moving away from their original mission — and from the Los Angeles Unified School District — in the name of better helping students. The governing boards of the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education and the group LA’s Promise have voted to...

The LA Unified school board on Tuesday unanimously approved a $7.6 billion balanced budget for 2016-17, with some of the most passionate objections devoted to the 14 percent increase for school police. The passing of the budget became much simpler after the state notified the board last week that it would have an extra year...