LA Unified unveiled an online survey this week, asking the public to weigh in on the qualities they would like to see in the next superintendent. Some of the questions are little obvious and may not yield any enlightening information, as George McKenna pointed out at a recent board meeting. Do you want a superintendent who will “establish...

LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines announced late today he is suspending all filming activities at district schools. The move comes one day after NBC Los Angeles ran a story criticizing the district’s procedures and oversight of TV and film productions shooting on campuses. Cortines issued a a short statement that reads: “I recently asked the District’s...

Oh my, where to begin with this recent NBC Los Angeles “expose” on LA Unified allowing campuses to be used for film and television shoots. There are two angles to this story, the first is the accusation that production crews are disrupting learning and causing problems on campuses, leading NBC to conclude that the district...

Now LA Unified is trying to make it fun for parents to go to school, too. In a report by Ruth Yoon, the district’s administrator of Parent, Community and Student Services, she said 75 parent centers at schools will be renovated and updated by the end of December. Another 35 parent centers will be renovated...

By Howard Blume If a proposal for a massive expansion of charter schools in Los Angeles moves forward, the casualties probably would include thousands of teachers who currently work in the city’s traditional public schools. As new charters open, regular schools would face declining enrollment — and would need fewer teachers. Under the $490-million plan being spearheaded...

Two years after it was launched, an LA Unified program aimed at making schools safer for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) is being praised as it expands to eight other major districts around the country. The “OUT for Safe Schools” program was created in 2013 by a school board...

The whole world can now prioritize the characteristics necessary for LA Unified’s next superintendent through an online survey the district released last night. The question is — as some school board members pointed out before the survey launched — why would anyone want anything less than all 21 qualities included in the survey? With a pull-down...

By Jill Tucker California kids will get one of the most rounded educations on sex and sexuality in the country under new legislation that advocates called a victory in providing information that could prevent disease and teen pregnancy as well as sex-based violence and prejudice. The new mandate ensures that public school students get a...

One of the most interesting and surprising results of LAUSD student test scores this year was that across the board, girls outscored boys in English Language Arts. It didn’t matter if they were in traditional schools, magnet schools or charters. It didn’t matter the grade level, area of LA Unified, nor the racial breakdown. Girls...

Millions of people around the globe saw the viral sensation of little Andrew Macias, a pre-K student at City Terrace Elementary School, who broke down and cried on live television when asked by a KTLA reporter if he was going to miss his mom on his first day of school. But have no fear, this tale...