Subject:

L.A. Unified School District

  • Blogs

    May 23, 2012

    Ramon Cortines Had 'Adult' Relationship With District Manager Scot Graham: LAUSD Settles Sex Harassment Claim

    Corrected to fix descriptions of the claim as a lawsuit. Headline has changed. See additional statements and info at the bottom. The L.A. public school system continues to appear dysfunctional after years and years of so-called reform, a board takeover by L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and his all ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 17, 2012

    Jorge Dominguez, Gratts School Teacher's Aide, Arrested in Sex Abuse Investigation

    Another L.A. public schools employee has been accused of "horrifying and sickening" acts with children, according to the superintendent. Jorge Dominguez was arrested this morning, and district officials said they were in the process of firing him this afternoon. That contrasts with the situation th ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 19, 2012

    USDA Relents on Pink Slime; Schools Can Opt Out

    The people spoke, and they said, "No more pink slime!" And this time, the feds actually listened, kind of. Last Monday, we told you how the U.S. Department of Agriculture was planning on shipping out 7 million pounds of "pink slime" to be added to the lunches of unknowing urchins at public school ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 2, 2012

    Blindfolding Kids at L.A. Unified Schools Banned

    The L.A. Unified School District has reacted slowly and sometimes defensively to the horrific Miramonte Elementary School sex abuse scandal. One of the stranger outcomes will be that fourth graders will no longer be blindfolded for an exercise designed to test and strengthen kids senses. Of course ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 28, 2012

    Magic Straws: A Chocolate Milk Alternative

    Just when you thought nothing could be as simple and plain (or boring) as unflavored milk, Magic Milk Straws come along. While the magic is debatable, we can imagine that the straws enchant calcium-conscious parents and their kids. Stuffed with tiny candy-like pieces in pink, brown, and white, the s ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 23, 2012

    Miramonte Scandal Fallout Prompts L.A. School District to Report Alleged Pervs to State, as It Should Have Done From Day 1

    So L.A. Unified School District has had a few alleged bad apples that only it and, in some cases, police knew about. Despite what we've been told about federal Title 9 guidelines requiring parents and students to be notified when someone at their campus is accused of sexual improprieties with stude ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 21, 2012

    Mark Berndt's Settlement Document Exposed: Teacher Alleged to Have Sparked Miramonte Sex Scandal Got Paid

    With reporting from Beth Barrett We already know that the L.A. Unified School District paid alleged student molester Mark Berndt $40,000 to go away. It's an astonishing fact, even though the district contends that the payoff was the only way to get him to leave as he appealed the disciplinary cas ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 17, 2012

    Miramonte Sex Abuse Scandal Might Have Inspired Many New Allegations, Including an Alleged Rape, at L.A. Schools

    If you think that the lid was blown off of sex abuse allegations against L.A. school district staffers in these first months of 2012, you're right. But now we have to ask if the scandal at Miramonte Elementary School has inspired victims to come forward, or if it has simply opened a door for people ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 17, 2012

    Gleason Middle School Teacher Removed for Taking Photos of Girls, Source Says

    Another day, another sex scandal for the L.A. Unified School District. This morning we told you that claims of sexual improprieties at public schools were through the roof following the horrific allegations at Miramonte Middle School last month. This latest case involves a teacher at Gleason Midd ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 16, 2012

    Miramonte Kids to Blame For Horrendous Sex Abuse Scandal at Elementary School, Says Rosewood Principal Linda Crowder

    You could point the finger at a hot mess of targets in the incredible sex-abuse scandal that has rocked Miramonte Elementary School: A school district that failed to let parents know an alleged molester on the loose for nearly a year. A teachers' union that puts its people over your kids (suspect M ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 14, 2012

    Alain Salas, Fremont High School Girls' Volleyball Coach, Arrested by FBI for Alleged Sex Crime

    Updated at the bottom with a few more details from the FBI and a possible Facebook connection to the case. First posted at 6:40 a.m. It seemed like a week or so could go by without another sex abuse arrest of an L.A. Unified School District employee. Nope. KTLA News this morning reports that a Fr ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 9, 2012

    Cannibal! The Musical in a High School? Get the Splash Zone Ready

    The first two rows of the black-box theater at Ramón C. Cortines High School's Theatre Arts Academy have been designated a "splash zone," so before the play can begin, the audience members seated there are given giant trash bags with a warning to cover up. They put them on, laughing and curious. It ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 9, 2012

    Miramonte Staff Will Never Return to Scandal-Plagued Campus, Teachers' Union Says

    LAUSD​As was sure to happen, the sex-abuse scandal at Miramonte Elementary is turning into a battle between the powerful teacher's union and the bureaucratically stifling L.A. Unified School District. Who's right and who's wrong shouldn't even matter at this point. Sheriff's investigators bel ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 7, 2012

    Sex Abuse Scandal at Miramonte, Hamilton High Claims Jobs of Two Accused Teachers: Martin Springer and Vance Miller

    In the midst of a historic scandal, the L.A. school district board today fired two teachers accused of molesting students. A firestorm was sparked when ex-Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt was charged last week with 23 counts of unspeakable acts against children under his care: But he ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 6, 2012

    Miramonte Staff Replaced Amid Sex Abuse Scandal, but They'll Be Back

    L.A. Unified School District chief John Deasy told parents tonight that the entire staff of the school would be replaced as authorities investigate the atrocious alleged sex crimes that took place at the Florence-Firestone campus. However, many staff members would be allowed to eventually return, a ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 3, 2012

    Martin Bernard Springer: Second Teacher at Miramonte Elementary School Arrested in Sex Crime Scandal

    ​Updated at the bottom with the suspect's ID, more info from the sheriff's department. First posted at 11:36 a.m. Miramonte Elementary School in South L.A. is turning into a big shop of horrors. Following this week's arrest of former teacher Mark Berndt, charged with committing lewd acts on ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 13, 2011

    L.A. Unified School Board Moves to Crack Down on "Founding Parent" Lottery Preferences At Charter Schools, Following L.A. Weekly Story

    Julian Callos​The board of the L.A. Unified School District moved today to tighten control of "founding parent" preferences in charter school lotteries, following an L.A. Weekly report on the issue.The report found that two L.A. charter schools were awarding parents "founder" status, even after th ... More >>

  • News

    November 24, 2011

    The Matter With Kids Today

    Julian Callos​The board of the L.A. Unified School District moved today to tighten control of "founding parent" preferences in charter school lotteries, following an L.A. Weekly report on the issue.The report found that two L.A. charter schools were awarding parents "founder" status, even after th ... More >>

  • Stage

    June 23, 2011

    Radar L.A. Festival

    Julian Callos​The board of the L.A. Unified School District moved today to tighten control of "founding parent" preferences in charter school lotteries, following an L.A. Weekly report on the issue.The report found that two L.A. charter schools were awarding parents "founder" status, even after th ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 20, 2011

    Pair of Sex Offenders, Steven English and James Spry, Found Working at L.A. Area K-12 School Campuses

    Fox​Along with crap, out-of-date books, kids with guns on campus, and the most unhealthy food this side of the county fair, what you really want for your kids in public schools is a couple of sex offenders working on campus. Right? Thought so. KTLA News broadcast and published results of an ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 19, 2011

    Gardena High School: Two Students Injured In Shooting

    Gardena High.​Updated after the jump: Two other suspects have been arrested; the teen who allegedly brought the gun to school was booked on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. See Wednesday's story about another shooting near an L.A. high school campus, this one injuring a police office ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 19, 2011

    Gardena High Shooting Prompts Debate About Who's to Blame, Gun Control

    Gardena High School.​It was a shooting that awoke the local news media out of its post-holiday slumber: Shots were fired at Gardena High School Tuesday morning, and initial reports had three students down with a black-clad gunman on the loose. Then it turned out it was accidental, with two vic ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 6, 2010

    A competent California is not high on uppers most of the time! PLUS: You can buy Dr. Phil's pants!

    ​ Each Monday, your Crap Archivist brings you the finest in forgotten and bewildering crap culled from basements, thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets around Los Angeles. Competency Achievement Packets: Vehicles and the Law and Interpersonal Family Relationships Date: 1982 Publishe ... More >>

  • Blogs

    July 28, 2010

    Update on Lunches at LAUSD: Superintendent Calls for Task Force, Activists Form Their Own

    Photo via back_garage's Flickr stream.​On July 13th, we let you know about the L.A. Unified School District (LAUSD) meeting regarding their contracts with school lunch vendors. A handful of grassroots activists attended with the intent to halt the planned 5-year renewal and postpone the vote ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 29, 2009

    Ambassador Hotel's Makeover in Progress

    Curbed L.A. has flagged a blog post by L.A. Magazine's Chris Nichols about his encounter with the remnants of the Ambassador Hotel. Nichols, an expert in Things L.A. and a Mid-20th Century buff, was asked by the L.A. Unified School District, which is now constructing a school on the Ambassador site, ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 24, 2009

    New Transit Routes Win Cheers and Boos

    One popular bus line broke ground for an extension today, while a troubled light-rail track picked up new opponents earlier this week. The Orange Line will soon begin work extending its dedicated bus route four miles, from Canoga Park to Chatsworth, thanks to passage, last November, of  Measure ... More >>

  • Blogs

    June 18, 2009

    Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

    Common Cause Different segments of L.A.'s huge Iranian community are uniting to protest their homeland's presidential election results. L.A. Times, L.A. Daily NewsSpecial Order 40 Upheld A state appeals court upheld the LAPD rule banning officers from seeking information about suspects' immigration ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 29, 2009

    Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

    What Summer School? Due to its budget crunch, the L.A. Unified School District is canceling all of its K-8 summer school classes and most of its non-academic programs, while offering only credit-recovery courses for high schoolers. L.A. TimesThe More Things Change Dept. L.A. City Attorney-elect Carm ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 15, 2009

    Lemonade Initiative Rallies for L.A. Schools

    Embedded video from CNN Video Valley parents, fed up with the fractious fighting between the L.A. Unified School District and union leaders of the United Teachers Los Angeles, have recently formed a third-force movement called the Lemonade Initiative. ("When you're given lemonades," etc.) This morni ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 15, 2009

    Union Teachers Roil School Headquarters

    UTLAScene in front of LAUSD HQThe announcement on this morning's United Teachers Los Angeles Web site had sounded low-keyed enough: Bowing to a court decision barring the teachers union from staging a one-day strike today, UTLA members would confine their activities to rallying before and after clas ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 12, 2009

    Judge Blocks Teachers' Strike

    The L.A. Times reports that Superior Court Judge James Chalfant has blocked plans by the teachers union to walk out Friday. A one-day strike had been called by United Teachers L.A. to protest pending layoffs, in spite of a no-strike contract the membership recently ratified.Noting that Chalfant had ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 6, 2009

    Swine Flu Scorecard: 99 Confirmed State Cases

    The state's Department of Public Health says there are 99 confirmed cases of swine flu in Nuke PillsCalifornia, with 119 "probable" cases being tested. One such probable victim is a Fairfax High School student -- the first such case recorded in the L.A. Unified School District. School superintendent ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 23, 2009

    Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

    School Board v. Tenure The L.A. Unified School District is making moves to empower itself to remove teachers on the basis of teacher performance rather than seniority. L.A. Daily NewsMayor Seeks Mail Ballots to Approve Fee Increases Antonio Villaraigosa is supporting a proposal to have homeowners vo ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 14, 2009

    School Board Saves 2,000 Teachers' Jobs With Fed Money

    School Superintendent Ray Cortines and the school board today announced they were saving about 2,000 elementary school teachers' jobs, thanks to federal stimulus money. It sort of reminds one of the finale of Threepenny Opera, when Macheath's bail money arrives to save him from the gallows -- or, as ... More >>

  • Blogs

    April 1, 2009

    Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

    Coroner: Leroy Barnes Shot in Back; Chief Seeks Probe A coroner's report has contradicted Pasadena Police Chief Bernard Melekian's claim that cops did not fatally shoot black motorist Leroy Barnes in the back last February. (Barnes sustained 10-11 bullet wounds.) Melekian has now called for a federa ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 31, 2009

    Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

    Send in the Tow Trucks Public hearings will soon be held to gather comments on plans to speed traffic during rush hours on Pico and Olympic boulevards. LA TimesSign of the Times The recession began with Chevy and Washington Mutual signage being draped with canvas and now the AIG corporate logo has b ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 12, 2009

    Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

    Octuplets Mom Seeks Bailout Nadya Suleman has set up a Web site that has a link for readers to make donations to her family, the L.A. Times notes.LASD Scores Paranoid Emails The Sheriff's Dept. is criticizing an email alert warning residents of a Santa Clarita neighborhood about a "suspicious van," ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 28, 2009

    Teachers' Union Marches Thursday

    Last week A.J. Duffy, the president of the 48,000-member United Teachers of Los Angeles, appeared impatiently pleased. He'd just heard the news that school superintendent Ramon Cortines had decided not to decide who would be cut from the payroll in order to balance the L.A. Unified School District's ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 19, 2009

    Morning Sixpack: A News Roundup

    Emptier Than a Hummer Showroom When polling stations closed Tuesday night only 18.59 percent of L.A. County's eligible voters had "filled" them. At stake were critical state ballot measures and the City Attorney's race. Turnout was higher in the San Gabriel Valley's 32nd District Congressional race. ... More >>

  • News

    January 10, 2008

    Letters on Nahai, Brewer and Waitress

    Our readers write

  • News

    August 31, 2006

    The New Fall Guy

    Those high dropout rates and low test scores are Mayor V’s problem now

  • Stage

    December 8, 2005

    Squinting Into the Sun

    How our theater will change over the next decade

  • News

    December 7, 2000

    The View From District Headquarters

    A conversation with Superintendent Roy Romer

  • News

    June 1, 2000

    Cooked Bakery

    Van de Kamp’s to become a hardware giant

  • News

    April 13, 2000

    How You Can Help the Janitors — and Your City

    Van de Kamp’s to become a hardware giant

  • Music

    December 2, 1999

    Bob Forrest Tells All

    "Johnny Depp made me do it!"

  • News

    September 30, 1999

    Reform on the Cheap

    Schools lose money, control and programs

  • News

    May 27, 1999

    Reform in Reverse

    L.A. district accused of backing off clean sites mandate

  • Film+TV

    October 22, 1998

    Stranger, in a Strange Land

    Dylan's visions, Lequizamo's Freak, Debbie Reynolds among the demons, Africans in America

  • News

    March 26, 1998

    L.A. School Officials Dodge State Auditors

    Millions in federal dollars diverted to salaries

  • More >>
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