In his first State of the City speech, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti laid out a plan to boost job creation, safety and the city’s ability to compete in a global economy. Noticeably absent, however, was any mention of the vast education challenges facing the city. The Mayor’s vision of Los Angeles was notable for...

Edweek has done a nice job providing opposing perspectives on the potential outcome of the Vergara v. California case, a lawsuit challenging the state’s teacher tenure and job protection laws. Below are the two articles, the first of which claims that the case is a lose-lose for the plaintiffs and defendants, while the second lauds...

The sound of classroom silence. As part of a rally by parents, education advocates and civil rights groups who represent Communities for Los Angeles Student Success, or CLASS, 375 desks were set up this morning at the LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles. With downtown LA’s skyline as the backdrop, the empty desks represented the number...

Two charter organizations want to take over four LA Unified public schools that have become an eyesore in the West San Fernando Valley, after closing more than three decades ago. El Camino Real High School, which became a charter in 2011, has proposed taking over three of the school sites – Highlander, Platt Ranch and...

State Schools Chief Tom Torlakson was in town today visiting the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES) as part of his week-long “AP Excellence Tour.” Torlakson said the visits to high schools with innovative Advanced Placement courses are a “celebration” of a 10-year report from The College Board, showing impressive growth in enrollment statewide,...

Just two week after The Los Angeles Fund for Public Education (LA Fund) launched a new program, Grants HQ, that puts hundreds of millions of dollars in grant money at the fingertips of more than 30,000 LAUSD educators, the response has been “amazing.” Now, teachers who want to enrich the education of their students, anything...

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan came to Los Angeles today to shine a light on a White House initiative that takes a holistic approach to helping kids learn. Duncan joined LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy and a group of teachers, students and leaders of the Youth Policy Institute at a community center in Hollywood. The...

Teams from a dozen LAUSD high schools will test their mettle in the 2014 California Academic Decathlon Contest as they compete against more than 50 teams from throughout state. The competition will take place tomorrow through Sunday in Sacramento, and the winner will represent California in this year’s United States Academic Decathlon competition, April 24-26 in Honolulu....

A large empty dirt lot sits at the Southwest corner of University High School’s campus in West Los Angeles. It won’t be empty for long. The Westside Family YMCA and LA Unified are set to break ground this summer on a 60,000 square-foot YMCA facility that will serve the community as well as Uni High...

While the ballot order for the seven qualified candidates has been set for the June 3 special election to fill the LA Unified District 1 seat, there’s still a chance for other candidates to compete. The City Clerk’s office today explained the way a write-in candidate could join the campaign. Here’s how: Any write-in candidate...