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Low turnout — maybe a record — expected for 3 LAUSD board races

Hello, out there. Yoooohoooo. Election tomorrow. Anyone paying attention? Six finalists are competing for three seats on the LA Unified school board, and the biggest question may be not so much as who they are or what do they stand for, but how many people care? Despite millions of dollars in outside spending and concerted...
By Michael Janofsky | May 18, 2015
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Budget would fund early interventions for special ed children

By Jane Meredith Adams The Statewide Special Education Task Force, which toiled for more than a year before producing a 220-page report in March, was recognized in Gov. Jerry Brown’s May revised budget with $60.1 million in proposed funding for several of its recommendations, most prominently increasing access to early interventions for children with special...
By LA School Report | May 18, 2015
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#LAYouthVote puts tough questions to board candidates

There were precious few debates that featured a head-to-head matchup of the candidates facing off in Tuesday’s runoff election for LA Unified school board. But anyone still looking to make up their mind might want to check out the candidate questionnaire organized by #LAYouthVote, the United Way of Greater Los Angeles sponsored group that recently registered several thousand...
By Craig Clough | May 15, 2015
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Rodriguez leading all board candidates with big donations

As the final weekend approaches before Tuesday’s runoff elections for three LA Unified board seats, Ref Rodriguez, the challenger in District 5, leads all candidates with the largest number of individual campaign contributions, 51, at the maximum amount allowable, $1,100. No surprise, then, that he leads all six candidates in money raised since the March...
By LA School Report | May 15, 2015
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LAUSD charters score well on U.S. News & World Report list

LA Unified has only one of the nation’s top 100 public high schools, but quite a few of the top charter schools, according to U.S. News & World Report. Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies ranked as the 84th best public high school in the nation, and 14th best in the state on the publication’s annual...
By Craig Clough | May 15, 2015
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State looks to create more layered accountability system for schools

By Andrew Ujifusa The largest state K-12 system in the nation is reformulating its accountability system. Where are things headed for California? A May 7 discussion at the state Board of Education may provide some key clues. The state’s in the process of moving away from its traditional accountability system, which has been in place since...
By LA School Report | May 15, 2015
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Billions in extra education funds brings praise from around state

* UPDATED Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget, which directs billions more toward schools over the next few years, has brought smiles to the faces of educational leaders around the state. The overall amount includes an additional $3.1 billion for the current academic year and $2.7 billion extra for next year and could mean as much as...
By Craig Clough | May 14, 2015
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Digitally savvy (?) LAUSD board members, online help for college

*UPDATED A recent panel discussion at the Milken Institute took on the issue of digital technology in the classroom under the assumption that “traditional education, built around books and classroom activities, no longer prepares students for today’s digital world or the job market that it has created.” As LAUSD looks to reboot its digital approach in...
By Craig Clough | May 14, 2015
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JUST IN: Brown’s revised budget has extra $6.1 billion for K-12 schools

Gov. Jerry Brown unveiled a revised state budget this morning that directs an additional $6.1 billion toward K-through-12 education. The money is the result of higher than expected revenues that have come into the state since Brown first revealed his proposed budget in January. The added money includes $3.1 billion for the current academic year and...
By Craig Clough | May 14, 2015
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Big Picture makes big pitch to stay open, LAUSD board listens

It wasn’t the first time children wept in front of the LA Unified school board or told horrifying tales of being bullied in school or recalled that spark of hope ignited by a remarkable teacher. But something in the way students from Los Angeles Big Picture High School on Tuesday pleaded to save their school struck...
By Vanessa Romo | May 14, 2015