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Commentary: NBC probes (?) value of TV, film shoots at LAUSD schools

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...
By Craig Clough | October 8, 2015
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LA Unified improving school centers to help parents parent

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 Mike Szymanski | October 8, 2015
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Broad charter plan could wipe out thousands of UTLA jobs

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...
By LA School Report | October 8, 2015
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LAUSD’s ‘OUT for safe schools’ praised, expands to other districts

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...
By Craig Clough | October 7, 2015
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LAUSD asking public to rate qualities necessary in next superintendent

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 Mike Szymanski | October 7, 2015
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New sex ed curriculum ‘vaults California into a leadership role’

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...
By LA School Report | October 7, 2015
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LAUSD panel unsure why girls score better than boys on English tests

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...
By Mike Szymanski | October 6, 2015
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French students make video to cheer up LAUSD’s ‘crying kid’

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...
By LA School Report | October 6, 2015
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Community groups want a say in the LAUSD superintendent search

Thirty seven community groups under the umbrella of the nonprofit organization Communities for Los Angeles Student Success (CLASS) are asking the LA Unified school board to form a committee of community leaders to participate directly in the search for a new superintendent. The organization wants the committee to have the opportunity to interview top candidates and provide...
By Craig Clough | October 6, 2015
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LASR poll results: No school until after Labor Day, most readers say

A plurality of LA School Report readers responding to an online poll want LA Unified to return to a tradition schedule, starting school after Labor Day in September, giving families an eight-week window for summer vacations in July and August. With 758 readers voting, over 41 percent chose the post-Labor Day schedule, which is what LA Unified...
By Craig Clough | October 6, 2015