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Students’ hot topics for District 4 candidates: school police, charters, college readiness and the undocumented

High school students continued their candidate forum series Wednesday night, this time moderating a panel discussion at LA City College with the four candidates for the LA Unified District 4 school board seat. It was the second of three forums run by high school students through the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. A panel...
By Sarah Favot | February 16, 2017
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Meet an LAUSD school board candidate — District 4’s Allison Holdorff Polhill: ‘If we don’t address the deficit, the results will be catastrophic’

LA School Report covers the 2017 LAUSD school board race: See all 13 candidate profiles Name: Allison Holdorff Polhill Board district: 4 Age: 51 Lives in: Pacific Palisades Job: debate coach, parent and student advocate Married to: Lucius Polhill, commercial insurance broker Children in LAUSD: Alex (23), Lucy (20) and Carter Polhill (18), all LAUSD graduates High school: Yucaipa High...
By Sarah Favot | February 16, 2017
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Zimmer convinces school board to go for ‘clean money’ elections

Although he’s currently the recipient of campaign cash in what may be the most expensive school board race ever, LA Unified board President Steve Zimmer pushed through a “Clean Money” resolution on Tuesday but said it is not about him. Zimmer convinced his often disparate group of colleagues on the school board to unanimously approve the...
By Mike Szymanski | February 15, 2017
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Meet an LAUSD school board candidate — District 4’s Nick Melvoin: ‘The district is not providing the education that students deserve’

LA School Report covers the 2017 LAUSD school board race: See all 13 candidate profiles Name: Nick Melvoin Board district: 4 Age: 31 Lives in: West Los Angeles Job: Attorney, educator, nonprofit education consultant, LAUSD substitute teacher, volunteer Married: No Children in LAUSD: No children LAUSD schooling: Kenter Canyon Elementary Other education: Curtis, Harvard-Westlake, bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, master’s in urban education...
By LA School Report | February 15, 2017
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Charter school parents advocate for their place in LA’s public education landscape

As the political rhetoric around charter schools heats up locally and nationally, Los Angeles charter school parents are not only defending their right to choose a school for their child but are now advocating for their place in the public education landscape. The shift was on display last week during two events in downtown Los...
By Sarah Favot | February 14, 2017
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Meet an LAUSD school board candidate — District 6’s Kelly Gonez: ‘I would bring in an incredibly strong sense of urgency’

LA School Report covers the 2017 LAUSD school board race: See all 13 candidate profiles Name: Kelly Gonez Board district: 6 Age: 28 Job: Seventh-grade science teacher at Crown Preparatory Academy in Los Angeles Lives in: Sylmar Married to: Manuel, who works in politics and on policy issues related to transportation, housing, homelessness, infrastructure and workforce development Children: none LAUSD education: No LAUSD...
By Sarah Favot | February 14, 2017
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‘I will be your valentine’: Navy dad surprises his 2 daughters at school after more than a year at sea

Abella Aleman was intently reading her first-grade class a Valentine’s Day letter about her love for her dad, Omar, a Navy sailor who had been deployed overseas for more than a year. So intently, she didn’t even notice when he crept into her Rancho San Diego Elementary School classroom and stood behind her chair. As...
By Tim Newcomb | February 13, 2017
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Student-led forum questions District 2 candidates on Trump policies, bullying and safety

High school students moderated a forum of the three candidates in the District 2 school board race on Friday night in front of a capacity crowd of 200, with 100 more students waiting to get in. The candidates were asked how they plan to battle Trump administration policies, help underperforming and underprivileged youth, increase the...
By Mike Szymanski | February 12, 2017
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Meet an LAUSD school board candidate — District 2’s Lisa Alva: ‘I want to bring a teacher voice’

LA School Report covers the 2017 LAUSD school board race: See all 13 candidate profiles Name: Lisa Alva Board district: 2 Age: 55 Lives: in childhood home in El Sereno Job: English teacher at Bravo Medical Magnet High School Marital status: engaged LAUSD schools attended: Multnomah Street Elementary, El Sereno Jr. High, Wilson High School...
By Sarah Favot | February 10, 2017
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California, LA continue to falter on federal foster youth education deadline

By Daniel Heimpel, The Chronicle of Social Change The California Department of Education “derailed” local education agencies’ efforts to ensure transportation for students in foster care, imperiling a $1.8 billion federal grant aimed at poor students, according to an email shared with The Chronicle and an education administrator in San Diego. This while Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors...
By Guest contributor | February 10, 2017