By Mike Stryer and Arielle Zurzolo While the judge’s ruling in the Vergara vs. California case about educational equity remains weeks away, one verdict is already in: California suffers from a toxic polarization on educational issues that harms both students and the teaching profession. Ironically, though, the case may provide a unique window for unprecedented...

The Vergara v California trial and its testimony from educators and administrators from around the state continued its geographic journey today, when the focus turned to Fullerton. Assistant Superintendent of the Fullerton School District, Mark Douglas, a 37-year veteran of state public education systems, took the witness stand in state superior court and added another...

Via the Los Angeles Times | By Howard Blume, Richard Winton and Alan Zarembo The Los Angeles Unified School District said it would not reverse its decision to fire former Miramonte Elementary teacher Martin Springer after charges against him were dropped Wednesday, officials said. L.A. County prosecutors canceled Springer’s pending trial after the teacher’s young...

Aspire Public Schools, a nonprofit charter school operator with 12 schools chartered through LAUSD, announced this morning that it will expand its blending learning curriculum to all of its elementary schools in the Los Angeles region by the end of the 2015-16 school year. The expansion is supported by The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation,...

  Never say LA Unified doesn’t look out for the kids. This press release arrived from the district yesterday, so everyone can relax:       L.A. UNIFIED’S STATEMENT ON GRAPHIC IMAGES OF COWS DISTRIBUTED TO STUDENTS DURING ANIMAL ACTIVIST PROTEST A cow and a calf, part of a mobile classroom provided by the Dairy...

Only two LA Unified school board members hold law degrees: Tamar Galatzan and Monica Ratliff. But Steve Zimmer, a college professor, did a pretty good impression of a lawyer last night. Zimmer presided over an ad hoc “committee of one” — no other board members attended — that was charged with defining the role and scope...

A stunning silence fell over the courtroom today when Bhavini Bhakta, the first teacher to testify in the Vergara v California trial, described the impact of the state’s current teacher dismissal and seniority laws. An award-winning educator with two master’s degrees, she recounted how despite her success, the warm embrace of her students and the...

An intergovernmental pilot project began last week to address potential environmental health hazards in Southern California schools, with LAUSD as the only school district involved as a core particpant. The six month pilot program, known as the Southern California – Clean, Green and Healthy Schools Partnership, is intended to foster collaboration among local, state and federal regulators...

Teams of students across LA Unified are preparing for the kickoff this weekend of the Aspen Challenge, a citywide competition launched by the Aspen Institute in partnership with the school district. In an effort to hone social entrepreneurial skills, the program challenges students to find solutions to a series of pressing social issues presented to...