Several members of the LA Unified board are using their websites to reflect on what they’re thankful for with the long Thanksgiving weekend just ahead. Board President Steve Zimmer focused on education in his newsletter. He writes: “The recent attacks on liberty and peace in Paris, Mali, and across the Middle East shake our hearts and our spirit. Here at home, the...

Some think it is a threat to the public education system. Some welcome it. Members of the LA Unified school board have reacted quite differently to the announcement that the Broad, Keck and Walton Family Foundations are planning to expand the number of charter schools in the district to serve well beyond the 101,000 students...

No longer the newest member of the LA Unified school board, Mónica Ratliff has now had two years to immerse herself in the intricacies of district policies and politics. As a former lawyer and teacher, she has established a reputation as a stickler for detail who is not afraid to challenge conventional wisdom if it...

The LA Unified school board decided to start school one week later for the 2015-16 academic year in a compromise that board member Tamar Galatzan — who voted in favor it — summed up as “the worst of both worlds.” The 5-1 vote means students will begin classes on Aug. 18 next academic year. The...

The deadline for would-be LA Unfied school board candidates to submit nominating petitions passed yesterday, and so far, the City Clerk’s office has qualified nine for the four open seats in 2015. As of today, all of the incumbents are officially in the running — Board President Richard Vladovic, George McKenna, Bennett Kayser, and Tamar Galatzan....

Earlier this month, Arnold Viramontes, an outside expert hired by former superintendent John Deasy, issued a report to LA Unified that was a scathing indictment of the new MiSiS system, finding that “red conditions” arose early and should have signified “No Go.” This week, in it’s weekly newsletter, the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles (AALA) expressed disappointment with...

The LA Unified school board last night took the first step in making ethnic studies a required course for graduation by 2019, making it the second district in the country to adopt such a measure. The resolution, proposed by board members Bennett Kayser, George McKenna and Steve Zimmer passed with Tamar Galatzan casting the only vote against...

Today, available by LIVESTREAM, the seven members of the LA Unified school board will gather for a triple-header meeting beginning at 10 a.m. that will include a closed session and two open sessions.  At 10 a.m., the board is set to address two resolutions from Board Member Monica Ratliff seeking to increase student safety by reducing the cost of litigation....

Members of the LA Unified school board as well as several administrators suggested today that the district should delay using the results of the 2014-15 Smarter Balanced computerized test as means of measuring academic growth next year. Their views came a day after officials from statewide educational organizations told the California Board of Education that...

It’s shaping up to be a furious campaign next year. With a few late additions at Saturday’s filing deadline, four incumbents plus 14 other people are now competing for the four LA Unified school board seats coming up in 2015. The latest to enter the race are two more challengers in District 5 — James...