*UPDATED LA Unified’s Luther Burbank Middle School in Highland Park was honored today as a model middle school by the state program, “Schools to Watch-Taking Center Stage.” Luther Burbank was one of only seven new schools given the designation by the program, which is sponsored by the California Department of Education, California League of Middle Schools and  California Middle Grades Alliance....

A policy brief from the Children’s Defense Fund-California, is calling for an overhaul of Los Angeles County’s juvenile justice system. The report, “Rising Up, Speaking Out: Youth Transforming Los Angeles County’s Juvenile Justice System,” uses the experiences of five young people who were incarcerated to offer recommendations for improving the conditions inside LA’s juvenile detention facilities. One punitive...

Comedian and actor George Lopez has started a campaign on Omaze.com to raise money for the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education, a charity that contributes to LA Unified. Anyone interested can enter a contest to go “lowriding” with Lopez around Los Angeles in a vintage lowrider, join him for a meal at one of his favorite LA...

LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines has invited Judy Burton, a former associate superintendent of innovation and instruction in the district, to serve as chair of what is now known as the Instructional Technology Initiative, nee the Common Core Technology Project. Cortines said Burton, founding president and CEO of Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, would work with...

* UPDATED Bolstered by a more robust state budget, LA Unified today said it was doubling its offer to union teachers for a raise. The latest salary proposal, unveiled during today’s contract negotiations, is a four percent boost across all salary bases. The offer comes on the heels of Governor Jerry Brown’s 2015-16 proposed state budget, which is...

The March 3 LA Unified school board election is fast approaching, and a series of upcoming debates is set to kick things into high gear. So far, five debates have been scheduled, with one late this month and the others following in February. The United Way is sponsoring four debates for the three seats that are...

It turns out LA Unified’s money woes aren’t so bad — for now, anyway. Shortly before the end of the calendar year, Superintendent Ramon Cortines and other district officials were forecasting a deficit of $320 million, sometimes closer to $350 million. But that was before Governor Jerry Brown proposed his new budget. Now, the district’s...

Via The Sacramento Bee | By Diana Lambert  Though California has embraced new Common Core State Standards so far, parents and educators may feel differently once students produce lower test scores later this year, said Michael Kirst, president of the state Board of Education. Kirst expects an immediate dip in test scores as students take Common...

The LA Unified Board of Education’s first open meeting of the new year was scheduled to convene at 1 p.m. with a variety of items on the agenda. Earlier, the board met in closed session. For that agenda, click here. For the 1 p.m. board agenda, click here, and for board materials, here. Click here for LIVESTREAM COVERAGE

Rebranding is not just for discount stores, fast food chains and soda anymore. How about for a school district? To change the public perception of a project at the center of LA Unified’s two ill-fated programs — iPads and MiSiS –Superintendent Ramon Cortines is renaming the Common Core Technology Project. It now goes by the...