Despite persistent concerns about teachers sexually harassing or abusing students in the classroom, only slightly more than a third of the teachers and other school personnel currently in LA Unified’s so-called “teacher jail” have been accused of sexual misconduct, according to the district’s latest accounting. Almost the same number are facing accusations of “violence.” As of...

A charitable physical education program that is in nearly 100 LAUSD middle and high schools has led to dramatic increases in student performances in state fitness tests, according to a UCLA study released today. The UCLA Health Sound Body Sound Mind program offers grants for commercial-grade fitness equipment to under-resourced schools and offers a curriculum...

Just what was it that landed Rafe Esquith, a nationally-renowned teacher, in LA Unified’s “teacher jail”? A line from Mark Twain, his lawyer said in a letter to the district. Esquith’s lawyer, Ben Meiselas, told the district no parent had complained, nor had a student complained. LAUSD officials, ever more sensitive to classroom issues and protections of students since...

The LA Unified investigation of popular teacher Rafe Esquith is now focusing on the nonprofit theater group he founded in 1989, The Hobart Shakespeareans. “It looks like the bizarre accusations of abuse have been forgotten, and now they’re moving on a request to see 15 years of financial records for the Shakespearean group,” said Ben...

Taking over as new president of the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA), Juan Flecha says the time has come to take advantage of an improving economy and restore support staff and janitors at LA Unified schools. In an interview with LA School Report, Flecha outlined plans he has for the 3,000 certificated and classified administrators...

A petition inspired by UTLA social justice activist Jose Lara is calling for the immediate removal of the name D.W. Griffith from an East Los Angeles middle school because his 1915 film, “The Birth of a Nation,” celebrated the Ku Klux Klan. The demand follows nationwide calls for the removal of Confederate flags from public spaces in the aftermath of...

English learner students are performing better in charter schools than in traditional schools, according to a new report released by the California Charter Schools Association. The report, “Success for English Learners in Charter Schools,” found that throughout the state, independent charter schools are serving nearly 2 percent more English learner (EL) students than traditional schools....

In the new school year, parents who have children in accelerated math programs at LA Unified will have to sign a “contract” acknowledging that their child must keep a B grade or better to stay in the class. If the student doesn’t keep at least a B, there will be a parent-teacher meeting to form...

Today is the last day of spring semester classes for LA Unified, and for thousands of students it means summer is finally here. For teachers, it also is the start of vacation, and tomorrow they will get their first fat paycheck including a long-awaited raise and backpay that is due as the result of their new contract....