New Silver Lake Principal Will Be Closely Watched by Parents
A new principal has taken charge of Ivanhoe Elementary, the high-achieving Silver Lake school whose lofty test scores are the pride of the neighborhood. The Eastsider

Schools are Having a Hard Time Just Educating Students; It’s the Wrong Time for Unfunded Mandates
California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson took a look at the current shambles of the state’s once-shining educational system and thought: What we need is … better tests. LA Daily News Editorial

How Will New Testing Standards Change Teaching and Learning? (Poll)
California schools superintendent Tom Torlakson unveiled a plan yesterday to completely overhaul the tests K-12 students take every spring as the state moves toward adopting a new curriculum, called the Common Core, by 2015. What do you think? KPCC

LAPD Officer Arrests Armed Gang Member Outside Pico-Union Elementary School
An effort to increase security at local schools paid off at one elementary just one day after it began. ABC LA

EdWatch 2013: School Safety Issues Emerge
California legislators have responded to the Connecticut shooting of school children by proposing three new gun or ammunition control laws, but so far only one bill that specifically deals with school safety. EdSource

Groundbreaking Agreement Continues to Ignore Parent Voice
It is clear that the United Teachers of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Unifed School District don’t see eye to eye on many things, especially around the use of student test scores in teacher evaluations. Families in Schools Editorial

Second Phase of L.A. Arts Fundraising Plan Begins
‘Art Matters’ campaign has brought in more than $750,000 in the last three months for arts in the public schools. LA Times

John Baldessari’s LA Fund bus design. Source: LAUSD

Twelve city buses, 175 billboards, and 271 additional spaces across Los Angeles will be feature public works of art to raise awareness of the LA Fund’s push to make arts a core part of LA students’ education.

Monica Garcia and Mayor Villaraigosa at the LA Fund unveiling. Source: LAUSD

Billboards across the city will also feature inspirational messages from local entertainment and education leaders, including Tom Cruise, Mayor Villaraigosa, and LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia.