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How LAUSD plans to stay solvent: Increase class sizes and claim what principals don’t spend

How can LA Unified keep itself solvent? Add four more kids to every classroom and take back any money that principals don’t spend at the end of the year. Those were two of the proposals that board members heard Tuesday during an update that announced new hits to the budget since board members approved it...
By Sarah Favot | August 22, 2017
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‘Kids First’ Help Desk launches at first LAUSD school board meeting of new school year

When parents show up at Tuesday’s school board meeting to complain or gripe or advocate for their child, they will be greeted by something new: a “Kids First” Help Desk. As part of his newly passed resolution to put kids first at LA Unified, school board President Ref Rodriguez said that people who used to...
By Mike Szymanski | August 21, 2017
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10 ways to be safe: What LAUSD is telling immigrant families in its new ‘We Are One’ resource guide

Don’t open the door. Know your rights. Make an emergency plan for when a family member is detained. LA Unified wants you to know that it “stands with immigrant families.” The new school year started Tuesday with big banners with the image of the Statue of Liberty and the “We Are One LA Unified” campaign’s...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | August 21, 2017
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Commentary: Open the doors for students with state-run public STEM school in LA

By Francisco C. Rodriguez and Thomas F. Rosenbaum We oversee two very different institutions. The Los Angeles Community College District is a network of community colleges that serves 250,000 students of all ages. The California Institute of Technology is a private university in Pasadena, with a few thousand undergraduates and graduate students dedicated to exploring...
By Guest Contributors | August 21, 2017
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Commentary: Parents want LAUSD school board to support new STEM school

By Jenny Hontz The LAUSD Board votes Tuesday on a resolution to oppose the creation of an innovative new state-authorized STEM middle and high school intended to increase the pipeline of qualified under-represented students of color and women attending elite STEM universities and entering science, technology, engineering and math professions. The resolution against this proposed school, which...
By Guest contributor | August 21, 2017
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A new public, state-run STEM school proposed for Los Angeles wins support from two county supervisors but is opposed by two LAUSD board members

*UPDATED A battle over a state-run public STEM school proposed for Los Angeles is heating up with two votes scheduled for Tuesday. Two members of the LA County Board of Supervisors support the school, while two LA Unified school board members say LA is “already addressing the need for STEM education.” Legislation to establish the...
By Sarah Favot | August 18, 2017
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Gonez introduces ambitious resolution to ensure LAUSD students succeed in college and careers

New school board member Kelly Gonez is introducing an ambitious resolution that calls for making detailed data available to the public to ensure students are supported and able to complete college and “access a rewarding career.” With this resolution, called “Creating Pathways to Lifelong Success for Our Students,” Gonez is fulfilling a key campaign promise to...
By Mike Szymanski | August 18, 2017
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Police departments help LA high schoolers raise money for D.C. trip in wake of Charlottesville

Officers from the Los Angeles school police and California Highway Patrol are coming to Dorsey High School on Saturday to help students raise money for a trip to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. “In light of the Charlottesville tragedy, this event will shine the light on hope not...
By Mike Szymanski | August 18, 2017
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State superintendent denounces Trump cuts during tour of LAUSD after-school program

*UPDATED Taking on President Donald Trump and his proposal to cut funding for after-school programs, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson denounced the cuts Thursday in Los Angeles and encouraged students to write letters to their representatives in Congress describing how these programs have benefited them. Torlakson spoke to students and district leaders, including...
By Sarah Favot | August 18, 2017
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LAUSD launches its first early ed dual-language immersion programs

Dual-language immersion education, battered by decades of struggle in California, has bounced back in a big way in Los Angeles. This year, LA Unified is not only expanding these programs, but for the first time it will offer 10 early education dual-immersion pilot programs: eight in Spanish and two in Korean. And the popularity of...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | August 17, 2017