I have all sorts of principles for guiding my thinking about education. But my grand, unifying theory, the thing that determines how all the other stuff hangs together, basically rests on two claims: 1) there are enormous systemic inequities built into American public education, and 2) the decentralization of U.S. political institutions makes rapid policy-driven...

This is part of an LA School Report series taking an in-depth look at the different categories of schools that exist within the massive LA Unified school district. (Read more on affiliated charters: A successful model on its way out? and The elementary school-turned-affiliated charter that became so popular parents fake their addresses) (Read the series on magnet...

In a series of special meetings to address looming deficits, the LA Unified school board on Tuesday reviewed potential savings of $112 million or more, but no action was taken. The all-day discussion was the third off-site meeting held by Superintendent Michelle King to address recommendations by the Independent Financial Review Panel to stave off deficits that could reach nearly half...

While discussing cost-saving measures and reducing waste in LA Unified food services, some school board members said they wanted to bring back flavored milk. Superintendent John Deasy banned chocolate and strawberry milk from the school menu five years ago after the school board voted it was too sugary for students. But now LA Unified School Board President Steve...

*UPDATED The lockdown of two LA Unified elementary schools and a middle school near the UCLA campus following a shooting there has been lifted and classes are resuming, school police reported. Warner Avenue Elementary School, Fairburn Avenue Elementary School and Emerson Middle School had been put on lockdown “as a precaution,” said Ellen Morgan, of the...

CA lawmakers consider summer benefits for school classified workers A bill that would allow classified workers to collect unemployment insurance even though their school expects them back to work in the fall is expected to come to a vote Wednesday. It would cost the state $90 million the first year and $360 million the fourth. In...

LA Unified has so many different kinds of schools it’s hard to keep them all straight. With such varied terms as affiliated charter, independent charter, magnet school, pilot school, continuation school, option school and others, it can be a challenge to understand what they are, what they offer and how they differ. This is the...

Students who depend on eating at school for their one — and sometimes only — meal of the day will be able to more easily find a location for free meals during the summer. The expansion of the federal Summer Food Service Program will provide more meals to children and teens 18 years and younger...

A small after-school program, branded i.am College Track in homage to founding partner musician will.i.am and his i.am angel foundation, launched in Boyle Heights four years ago with 45 students. Last week it graduated all 45 of them. At a ceremony and reception hosted by College Track Los Angeles’ Advisory Board last Thursday, local leaders Los...

  As Michelle King wrapped up her “listen and learn” tour in her first semester as LA Unified superintendent, she said she still has more listening to do before announcing her priorities, a strategy that some experts said could make her more successful than her predecessors. Many people have been asking her about her plans, but “It’s...