L.A. Unified School District

Sal Castro, East L.A. School Walkout Leader, Dies At 79

Sal Castro, an Eastside teacher who helped solidify the Chicano movement that shaped Civil Rights-era Mexican American identity, died on Monday at the age of 79 after battling cancer. While he was vilified by the L.A. Unified School District in 1968 for leading student walkouts over a lack of Latin ... More >>

Essential L.A. Weekly Guide to Education Conundrums and Screw Ups: Required Reading for Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti

Update: Greuel discovers education reform after mayoral lambasting, challenges Garcetti to debate. See on next page. Will political twins and L.A. mayoral candidates Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti -- a.k.a. "Greuel-Cetti" -- ever talk specifics, and not just platitudes, about the most serious probl ... More >>

Aria Doherty, Northridge Middle School A Student, Dies From 'Huffing'

A 14-year-old student at Northridge's Nobel Charter Middle School died this week after huffing a chemical to get high, officials said. The girl was ID'd as Aria Doherty. The L.A. Unified School District said she died at her home Monday night. A letter was sent home with students yesterday, accord ... More >>

Lunch Money Intended For Poor Students 'Misappropriated' By LAUSD, State Says

Stealing poor kids' lunch money has to be up there with greed, gluttony and ganging up on Frank Ocean on the list of top sins. But the California Senate Office of Oversight and Outcomes says the L.A. school district did just that, to the tune of $158 million. According to a report from the office ... More >>

Jason Leon: Portola Middle School Teacher Charged With Molesting Teen Girls

An L.A. Unified School District teacher was arrested today for allegedly molesting students, namely two 13-year-olds and one 14-year-old who attend Gaspar Portola Middle School in Tarzana, authorities said. Thirty-two-year-old Jason Leon was taken into custody this morning based on a warrant, the L ... More >>

LAPD Contingent Sent To Newtown To Help And Learn, Says Assistant Chief Michel Moore

The Los Angeles Police Department has sent officers to Newtown, Connecticut in the wake of Friday's tragedy. Assistant Chief Michel Moore told the Los Angeles Police Commission this week that the department, alongside L.A. Unified School District police, has sent a small contingent of officers to t ... More >>

Teen Sexting: More Than 1 in 10 L.A. School District Kids Do It

Sexting is the new teen scourge, apparently. Yet another academic study has found that more than 1 in 10 teens have been sexting lately. This research, however, is local: 1839 students in the L.A. Unified School District were questioned about their texting. The results?

African American School Girl Sent Home Over Skin-Tone Tights? LAUSD Defends Itself

The L.A. school district stands behind a decision to send an 11-year-old middle schooler to the principal's office after she wore tights that happened to match her African American skin tone. Her mother contends that she was sent home from Mt. Gleason Middle School in Tujunga because the brown pant ... More >>

Comments: Warring Over War Horse

Miramonte Teaching Staff Not Fired Over Sex-Abuse Scandal, Despite Reports

Sunday and Monday headlines declared that the entire staff of Miramonte Elementary School in South L.A. has been fired following the sex-abuse scandal there earlier this year. Why? To quell a "culture of silence," the reports quoted L.A. Unified School District superintendent John Deasy as saying. ... More >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

The Matter With Kids Today

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

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 >>

Letters on Nahai, Brewer and Waitress

Our readers write

The New Fall Guy

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

Squinting Into the Sun

How our theater will change over the next decade

How You Can Help the Janitors — and Your City

Bob Forrest Tells All

"Johnny Depp made me do it!"

Reform in Reverse

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