Two LA Unified elementary school teachers are among six California educators selected as finalists for the 2014 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching or (PAEMST). The two were selected in the science category: Kristen Johnson, a fifth grade teacher at low-performing 93rd Street Elementary School, where she has taught for 21 years;...

In response to a surge in cases of whooping cough, LA Unified is helping parents meet new state immunization requirements by offering immunization shots, beginning July 28. The T-dap shots protect against tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, or whooping cough. Eligible students are Medi-Cal recipients, Native Americans and those without insurance. Students must have a completed an...

A budget increase of $4 million  is enabling the LASPD, the police force that serves LA Unified, to build on the safety practices the department began implementing last year. The additional funding came as a result of a growing number of school shootings across the country, including the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut,...

With less than a month before the runoff election for LAUSD’s district 1 board seat, the race between candidates George McKenna and Alex Johnson is heating up as both both candidates are re-launching their campaigns. Over the weekend, McKenna, 74, a career school administrator, and Johnson, 33, an education aide to LA County Supervisor Mark...

The LA Unified school district plans to expand its dual language immersion program next fall, adding Spanish language programs to three elementary schools in the district. According to LAUSD officials, that brings the total number of dual language programs offered by the district to 57, including 43 in Spanish, 10 in Korean, and four in...

LA Unified must come up with $16 million this year to pay an unexpected bill as a result of legislation signed by Governor Jerry Brown aimed at rescuing the state’s teachers retirement pension system known as CalSTRS, but the district’s total increase is much higher, estimated to reach an extra $1.1 billion over the next seven...

As LAUSD kicked off its newly expanded summer school program last month, accommodating more students than ever before, one thing became clear: Sometimes, more money means more problems. And one problem district officials didn’t anticipate was finding enough teachers who wanted to work in the summer. Without a sufficient number, the district scrambled to fill...

Nearly two months after its launching, the LA Unified Sustainable Environment Enhancement Developments for Schools (SEEDS) initiative is off to a slow start. In May, nearly 70 school representatives, community partners and LAUSD employees attended the SEEDS program kick-off event, but only eight applications have come in so far. But no worries, said LAUSD’s chief...

In the coming school year, LA Unified plans to launch the Parent Access Support System Portal (PASSport), an interactive online tool to make it easier for parents to get more involved in their children’s education. As a one-stop portal, it’s designed to give parents access to real time student information and district resources as well as...

The popularity of calculus classes at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies (LACES) has skyrocketed, thanks in large part to a unique calculus camp that combines learning with outdoor fun and adventure. Every year, seniors and juniors at LACES, a high-performing school that serves grades 6-12 and has an API of 897, attend the camp,...