By Marilyln Geewax | National Public Radio In this country, all children are supposed to have a shot at success — a chance to jump “from rags to riches” in one generation. Even if riches remain out of reach, then the belief has been that every hard-working American should be able to go from poverty...

New recommendations from a statewide task force would have huge ramifications for LA Unified and its roughly 82,000 special education students. The Statewide Task Force on Special Education’s report, “One System: Reforming Education to Serve all Students,” calls for a number of blockbuster moves, including a much greater integration of special education students into general education...

While district officials scrambled to sort out budget deficit issues last week, the Information Technology Department made progress on solving LA Unified’s costly student data management system problems, launching a more user-friendly MISIS website. In his latest weekly update, Superintendent Ramon Cortines wrote, “The new website serves as a gateway for a variety of information needs,...

* UPDATED Despite new money from the state, LA Unified Superintendent Ramon Cortines is taking direct aim at the district’s $160 million budget deficit with proposed layoffs that include hundreds of teachers. District officials have calculated that to reduce the deficit, the number of teachers, administrators, counselors and nurses — certificated employees — must be...

By Dick Startz and Dan Goldhaber | Los Angeles Times In Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach, high-tech companies help drive the California economy by paying high salaries to driven, talented employees whose productivity more than compensates for their high pay. But California’s public schools are stuck in the old mode of paying modest salaries for...

*UPDATE Nearly three months after missing a self-imposed deadline, LA Unified is finally close to filling 10 positions to help thousands of native English speakers who struggle to learn academic English. With nine hired, there’s one to go. The school board passed the “Strengthen Support for Standard English Learners” resolution last June and devised a plan...

Aside from being well attended by thousands of teachers and supporters, the rally held last week by the LA teachers union, UTLA, also attracted its fair share of media attention. The major city papers were there, as were TV stations, college newspapers and even a humble education news website. The rally also got national attention,...

Students from high schools across LA Unified will have an opportunity tomorrow to help shape district spending when the United Way of Greater Los Angeles hosts a town hall dedicated to seeking their ideas for the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), which outlines how the district spends Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) dollars. The United Way,...

The Washington Post | By Emma Brown International math, science and reading exams show that across dozens of countries, 15-year-old boys are more likely to be low achievers than 15-year-old girls, especially in reading. But among the highest-performing students, girls trail boys, and girls have far less confidence in their ability to solve math problems....

Just when you thought it was safe to hang around Stoner Avenue Elementary in Mar Vista, another fight is in the works. A pre-emptive protest is scheduled for next week to ward off another potential co-locator. ICEF Vista Academy Middle School, a charter that’s currently located at a church facility a few blocks away from...