State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson is speaking tomorrow at a roundtable discussion hosted by La Raza Roundtable about the state of education in the state, specifically the ongoing transition to Common Core State standards. La Raza is an advocacy group that brings community members, elected officials and public sector representatives together in the...

The first installment of Gov. Jerry Brown’s new state aid program, known as the Local Control Funding Formula, will reach schools by next week. Nearly $27 billion is slated to be distributed from the controller’s office by July 31, according to to the SI&A Cabinet Report. The money represents the first regular installment for the...

A group of parents and teachers plans to picket the office of school board member Tamar Galatzan on Wednesday to protest LA Unified’s compliance with federal and state laws to move special needs students into general education settings. The group, Parents and Teachers United for Action, says that by moving special education students from centers...

After days of intense discussions with U.S. Department of Education officials last week, representatives from nine California school districts, a coalition known as CORE, now say they will know by early August if their waiver request will be granted. An updated application will be presented on Wednesday, reflecting changes outlined by discussions in Washington last...

Arts education is making a comeback in LA Unified classrooms thanks to a new, five-year plan unveiled today by the LAUSD Arts Education Branch. The report, known as “The Arts Education and Cultural Network Plan:  2012-2017,”  promises to infuse core curriculum with artistic elements. “Arts education at the LAUSD was decimated during the recent budget...

“Dear Mayor of Los Angeles,” Educators 4 Excellence writes in the introduction of a new report that contends LAUSD’s most effective teachers don’t have enough leadership opportunities to keep them in their classrooms. The new report, STEP: Supporting Teachers as Empowered Professionals, aims to reverse L.A. Unified’s high turnover rate, close to 50 percent according...

Pressed for time, a small group of superintendents and officials from a coalition of nine California school districts, representing 1.1 million students, are on their way to D.C. to ensure that its No Child Left Behind waiver proposal is passed in time for the upcoming school year. Representatives from the California Office to Reform Education...

It’s still a waiting game for LA Unified and eight other California school districts who have yet to hear if their revised No Child Left Behind (NCLB) waiver application will be given the thumbs up by the US Department of Education in Washington. The nine districts, known as California Office to Reform Education (CORE), are...

After nine months of hearings and amendments, legislation aimed to quicken and streamline teacher dismissal procedures failed to pass in the Senate Education Committee by one vote. The Chair of the Senate Education Committee Carol Liu (D-Glendale) — the only LA-area lawmaker on the committee — decided not to vote for or against the bill...

Nearly a year after its launch last October, LA Unified’s “Arts at the Core” plan is getting a serious boost to help bring more music, dance, theater and visual arts back into arts-depleted classrooms thanks to a three-year, $750,000 initiative by the LA Fund. Since 2008, LAUSD arts programs have been cut by 41 percent,...