Superintendent John Deasy recently laid out his vision for the Los Angeles Unified School District over the next three years. Though he focused mainly on his top priorities for spending future revenue, Deasy also reflected on the school system’s recent gains, including 800 new campus safety aides assigned to elementary and middle schools across the city....

In September, I was talking about pension reform on my now-defunct weekly podcast, LA Redux with the LA Times’ David Zahniser, who covers City Hall (and is in my opinion one of the best reporters in Los Angeles). Zahniser said that he hardly ever uses the word ‘reform,’ in his stories, although editors sometimes ad it in. “‘Reform’ is just...

Outside Spending Pours Into L.A. School Board Race Outside groups are mounting campaigns to influence the outcome of three races for seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education. LA Times See also: LA School Report Teachers’ Ratings Still High Despite New Measures High teacher rating results, among the first trickling out from states’ newly...

Antonio Villaraigosa Led The Way on Education Reform, but His Potential Successors Are Reluctant to Pick up the Torch For the last eight years, education reformers have had a staunch ally in the L.A. mayor’s office. But in a few months, Villaraigosa will be gone. LA Weekly See also:  USC Annenberg, LA School Report LAUSD...

It’s Reform vs. the Union in LAUSD Race The future of Los Angeles’ public-education reform is at stake on March 5. That’s not hyperbole; that’s the truth about what could happen next election day. LA Daily News Editorial See also: LA School Report LAUSD Principal Failed to Report Alleged Molestation by Teacher A now-retired principal...

“For the first time since the era of school reform began, the Los Angeles Unified School District has accepted a petition from angry parents demanding ‘immediate and significant’ change in a public school,” began host Warren Olney on KCRW’s To the Point last night.  The show featured LA School Report contributor Hillel Aron with a panel of advocates, charter operators,...

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...

In a letter to the California Board of Education, US Secretary of Education Arne Duncan rejected California’s request to be exempted from certain No Child Left Behind requirements because he didn’t feel California was willing to take on rigorous enough reforms. Read the full letter below: Arne Duncan’s Letter Rejecting California’s NCLB Waiver Request

StudentsFirst, an education advocacy group headed by former Washington Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, released a education policies report Monday that gave 11 states, including California, failing grades. Not many other states fared much better—no states received A’s, and nearly 90 percent of states scored lower than a C grade. Rhee and former NYC superintendent Joel...

The deadline for the fourth round of school proposals for Public School Choice (PSC) is due next week, on October 31. LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy has identified 13 low-performing schools to participate in what is called PSC 4.0.  This is a decrease from the previous year, when 33 schools were part of the process. Only...