By Tom Torlakson California’s education system is transforming in positive ways. Replacing the high school exit exam with more modern and meaningful measures is a critical part of that work. Governor Jerry Brown recently signed Senate Bill 172 into law, eliminating the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) as a requirement for high school graduation....

Take two? LA Unified Ramon Cortines has amended his decision yesterday to halt all film and TV productions on LA Unified campuses. In a statement just released by the district, Cortines said he will allow several projects in the works to move forward. He also said the district will approve new projects on a case-by-case...

Some community groups deeply involved with Los Angeles education have raised skepticism over how they will be involved in the search and selection of the next LAUSD school superintendent and whether their views will count for anything. Nearly a dozen groups contacted by LA School Report said they have been unimpressed or uninvolved in efforts...

One day after LA Unified abruptly announced that it is shutting down all film and TV productions from any of its campuses, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti visited the set of American Horror Story: Hotel today to promote how the California Film and TV Tax Credit is helping bring film and TV productions back to the LA area. The show...

The Transitional Kindergarten Expansion program for LA Unified is under way this semester with teachers and principals being trained through January for 117 new sites. This is on the heels of the district’s losing 45 percent of its School Readiness Language Development Program. Transitional Kindergarten Expansion (TE or TKE) is a new grade level that is replacing...

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...