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All sides push for earlier inclusion of charters as LAUSD readies its Unified Enrollment site
LA Unified is preparing to launch this fall its new and easier way to apply to different kinds of schools within the district, but the system is not going to include charter schools. Not yet, anyway. And that’s not acceptable to stakeholders throughout the district, even those usually on opposite sides of the table. The Unified Enrollment...
By Mike Szymanski | March 1, 2017
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What’s behind the federal raids on Celerity?
Questions about Celerity Educational Group, a Los Angeles charter school management organization now under federal investigation, and its relationship with affiliated nonprofit entities have been probed by LA Unified for nearly a decade, according to public documents and school board meetings, and the concerns are widely thought to have prompted last month’s highly publicized raids by seven federal...
By Mike Szymanski | February 22, 2017
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Charter school parents advocate for their place in LA’s public education landscape
As the political rhetoric around charter schools heats up locally and nationally, Los Angeles charter school parents are not only defending their right to choose a school for their child but are now advocating for their place in the public education landscape. The shift was on display last week during two events in downtown Los...
By Sarah Favot | February 14, 2017
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Why did the feds raid Celerity charter, and what’s next?
*UPDATED Seven federal agencies united in a raid Wednesday in Los Angeles of a charter school network that oversees high-performing schools but had come under scrutiny for its financial and management practices. The raid of Celerity Educational Group, first reported by the Los Angeles Times, came after an investigation by LA Unified’s own Office of...
By Mike Szymanski | January 26, 2017
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Latino community celebrates as KIPP LA Prep is honored as a National Blue Ribbon School
Education leaders in Los Angeles along with families and members of the community of Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles on Thursday celebrated that one of their neighborhood’s schools — KIPP Los Angeles College Preparatory School (KIPP LA Prep) — has been named a 2016 National Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Blue...
By Esmeralda Fabián Romero | January 20, 2017
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Charter schools score approvals in recent board decisions
Charter schools were mostly approved on consent agendas at the LA Unified school board over the past two meetings. Some charters that were rejected by LA Unified ended up being approved on appeal by the county. In one case this month — as has happened in the past — a school recommended for denial by the...
By Mike Szymanski | January 16, 2017
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Washington state charter school supporters, opponents look ahead to a critical year
The latest fight over the constitutionality of charter schools in Washington state may not be resolved until 2018, meaning the parents, advocates and educators fighting to save the schools and the teachers union and other groups suing to close them could face a long year of legal wrangling. There have already been some skirmishes — rulings...
By Kate Stringer | December 14, 2016
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The best 150 colleges for underrepresented students: LA charter group releases its go-to list
A Los Angeles charter school organization that sends 95 percent of its graduates to college wanted to make sure its students made it not just to but through college. So it developed a list of colleges that would give students the best chance at graduating. Alliance College-Ready Public Schools’ college ranking system identifies the top 150 colleges...
By LA School Report | December 8, 2016
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Los Angeles charter school doesn’t cut it, advocacy group says in call for non-renewal of 6 California charters
The California Charter Schools Association on Thursday called on the LA Unified school board not to renew the charter of Academy of Science and Engineering when it comes up for review this year and made the same call for non-renewal for five other charter schools in the state. The charter high school in Baldwin Hills...
By Sarah Favot | November 17, 2016
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Charter schools win renewals after promising to detail their plans for English learners
Nine out of nine charter schools were approved for renewals and revisions Tuesday night. But school board members took all of them to task for some of their test scores and other benchmarks that fell below LA Unified district norms. School board member Richard Vladovic rattled off low scores or graduation rates, or high suspension...
By Mike Szymanski | November 16, 2016