By Karin Kroener-Valdivia It’s National Charter Schools Week, and I’m remembering my first experience at a charter school. Fifteen years ago, after my fourth year of teaching in LA, I was burned out, exhausted from having my track constantly change and from moving rooms during the day without a classroom of my own. I came...

By Martin Capuchino This week is National Charter Schools Week, and though many of Los Angeles’ public charter schools serve children of color, the inaccurate dissemination of information regarding charter schools and traditional schools creates confusion in many communities — especially communities of color. During the summer of 2016, a group of students and I...

*UPDATED MAY 3 It’s not every day that a charter educator and a frequent charter critic converge to praise each other’s achievements in public education. But Marisol Pineda Conde, principal of Camino Nuevo Charter Academy’s Miramar High School, credits her mentor for much of her success — LA Unified school board President Steve Zimmer. “I’ve known...

By Marshall Tuck This year, we have a chance to help students and protect taxpayers across California, and I hope we don’t miss it. The California State Legislature is currently considering whether to ban for-profit charter schools. Educators — whether at district or charter public schools — can agree: public schools must serve students, not shareholders....

U.S. News and World Report has released its 2017 rankings of America’s public high schools, and for the first time ever, the majority of the schools in the top 10 are charters. BASIS Scottsdale, BASIS Tucson North, and BASIS Oro Valley — all Arizona public charter schools in the BASIS network — placed one, two, and three atop...

*UPDATED After passionate debate and pleas from charter school administrators and parents, the LA Unified school board voted 4-3 to support three teacher union-backed bills being considered by the California legislature that all restrict some of the autonomies given to public charter schools. The most contested bill, SB 808, was pulled by its author on Monday...

*UPDATED A state bill that’s been labeled a charter killer could be supported by LA Unified’s lobbying capital if the school board passes a resolution on Tuesday’s agenda. School board vice president George McKenna, supported by fellow board member Scott Schmerelson, proposed the resolution that asks the school board to support the “swift passage” of...

*UPDATED A state audit released Thursday found that Alliance College-Ready Public Schools did not divert public funds intended for students on a nearly $1 million campaign to counter efforts by United Teachers Los Angeles to unionize its more than 600 teachers and counselors. The attempt to unionize the city’s largest charter management organization began more...

A charter school that was repeatedly denied classroom space in its neighborhood by LA Unified is giving up the fight and will close in June. Westchester Secondary Charter School has operated in three sites during its four years and has never been granted district space in the west side community where its founding families and...

LA Unified is preparing its first-ever unified enrollment system, but signs that it’s already running off the tracks have spurred an influential group of advocates to band together to make sure the final product is equitable and accessible to all. The biggest obstacle to success they cite is leaving out charter schools, which already educate...