Garcia Leads in Fundraising for L.A. School Board Financial data released Thursday show that Monica Garcia raised $174,288 last year, far outdistancing the combined total of four challengers vying to unseat her. LA Times Southern California Schools to Benefit From Gov. Jerry Brown’s Budget California’s public schools are the big winners in Gov. Jerry Brown’s...

L.A. County Democratic Party Endorses LAUSD Board Candidates The Los Angeles County Democratic Party voted late Tuesday to endorse incumbent Steve Zimmer and newcomer Antonio Sanchez for the LAUSD board but declined to support board President Monica Garcia or any of the four rivals for her Eastside seat. LA Daily News New Silver Lake Principal...

A study released Tuesday by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation showed that the controversial method of measuring teachers’ effectiveness with students’ test scores can be useful, but only when balanced with other factors, such as student feedback and classroom observation. Teachers unions, including UTLA, have long insisted that grading teachers based on their student...

The Los Angeles Fund for Public Education, a philanthropy dedicated among other things to bringing arts integration programs to LA area schools, launched the second part of a $4 million public art and arts education fundraising campaign called “Arts Matter” on Tuesday. Twelve city buses, 175 billboards, and 271 additional spaces across Los Angeles will...

State Schools Chief Urges Cut in Number of Tests Next Year Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson says second-graders would not be tested in math and English, and most high school tests would be dropped. L.A. Unified chief expresses reservations. LA Times See also: KPCC, LA Daily News Student Test Scores Can Identify Effective Teachers,...

The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission has a handy, one-page document that gives an overview of the rules covering independent expenditures (IE) made to support or oppose LAUSD Board candidates. The rules are straightforward, at least in theory. But as LA School Report has shown in previous reporting, finding out exactly who’s giving to IEs can be tricky if...

On 11th Anniversary, No Child Left Behind Law in Tatters As the federal No Child Left Behind law’s eleventh birthday arrives Tuesday, California is one of the few states that still must meet its requirements. KPCC California Schools Flunk Education Group’s Ratings California is sorely lacking when it comes to school reform, failing to adopt...

Fraud Allegations Swirl Around Firm Run by Two LA Candidates Two would-be candidates for the Los Angeles school board have accused a campaign consulting firm — run by two contenders for city office — of botching their efforts to get on the ballot. LA Times Contested UTLA Panel Elections Signal Internal Fissures Some union members...

Conventional wisdom is that voter turnout is always relatively low for local elections—especially so for school board races. And this is often true.  In off-year election cycles, when the only offices up for vote are City Council or Board seats, turnout can be as low as 11 percent.  Relatively small numbers of voters can sway...

Los Angeles Gives Students More Control Over School Lunch Many school districts nationwide have stepped up efforts to increase the nutritional value of the food they serve and reduce the consumption of foods that drive a growing childhood obesity epidemic. Los Angeles Unified School District has been at the forefront of this movement. Education News...