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An army of obstacles stands between LA’s homeless students and the classroom
About 55% of LAUSD students who experience homelessness are chronically absent from class After losing her apartment Nicolette Palombo was stuck in an impossible predicament: she couldn’t get her kids to school because they were without reliable shelter and constantly moving, she couldn’t get housing because she needed a job — and she couldn’t get…
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Mess with the school calendar and you’re messing with lives: Inside LAUSD’s hot debate
The proposal seemed simple: Change the length of winter vacation in Los Angeles public schools from three weeks to two. Students would have the same number of school days without losing so much learning momentum. But the school board’s recent decision to alter winter break and all it affects — the rhythm of lives and…
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Mayor Vows to Boost Safety Near Schools as Stabbing Probe Continues
As an investigation continued into the stabbing of two teenage boys near Los Angeles High School, Mayor Karen Bass said Wednesday she plans to work with the district and convene meetings to bolster safety around school campuses. “In the past two weeks, we’ve seen near-death overdoses at an LAUSD middle school, the death of a…
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A day of school stabbings, crashes and suspected fentanyl overdoses sparks alarm at LAUSD
During one school day this week, Los Angeles Unified grappled with three emergencies: a double stabbing outside a high school, multiple suspected fentanyl overdoses at a middle school and a traffic collision outside an elementary school that badly injured a child. The Monday violence and trauma was so alarming that it prompted a Tuesday morning phone call…
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LAUSD to purchase 180 electric school buses
The Los Angeles Unified School District is making a $75 million investment in electric school buses and chargers, the largest such purchase of any school district in the nation, in an effort to cut its carbon footprint and provide a more sustainable transportation system for its students. The district plans on completely transitioning the Sun Valley Bus Yard to…
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LAUSD Commits to Electrification of Sun Valley Bus Yard by 2026
The Los Angeles Unified School District announced a commitment Tuesday to purchase 180 electric school buses, along with chargers and other infrastructure, as part of a plan to fully electrify its Sun Valley Bus Yard by 2026. The Sun Valley yard provides transportation for 4,600 students each day in the northern portion of the nation’s…
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As fentanyl deaths climb, bill would require drug education in schools
Zach Didier, a senior at Whitney High School in Rocklin, was a straight-A student, athlete, star of his school musical and Eagle Scout. Two nights after Christmas 2020, he took what he thought was a Percoset that he bought through Snapchat, an out-of-character move for a student with no history of drug use. The pill…
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LAUSD creates calming study spaces for students living in homeless shelters
Students who live in family shelters get a private area to play, decompress, do homework Having been a homeless student himself, LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho is intimately familiar with the challenges faced by unhoused students. And on Friday, April 28, he unveiled an initiative to support their needs: private study and relaxation spaces being offered…
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LA City Council committee wants speed bumps, crossings guards at schools
After fatal accident outside an elementary school, LAUSD and city officials have sense of urgency A fatal traffic incident at an elementary school on Tuesday, April 25, prompted members of the Los Angeles City Council Transportation Committee to tackle the problem of street safety with a renewed sense of urgency this week. Click here to read more:…
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California lawmakers consider banning ‘willful defiance’ suspensions from schools
Misha Karigaca was a middle school principal when the Oakland Unified School District revamped its disciplinary policies in 2015 to end willful defiance suspensions. Instead of sending a student out of class for a minor infraction, teachers were encouraged to de-escalate by talking to the child quietly or writing them a note in class. “We’re not…
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Students need healthier school meals
New USDA guidelines would cut sugar and sodium in cafeteria food to help curb childhood obesity. A CHEESEBURGER with oranges, fries and chocolate milk is offered as a school lunch. Less sugar , lower sodium and more whole grains are among the new guidelines for school meals under consideration by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.…
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LAUSD pitched students an expensive experiment to get higher grades. Most turned it down
Despite failing every class — or because of it — Rebbeca Avelino, a 14-year-old eighth grader, wanted time off from school during spring break. But history teacher Lorraine Escalante pressed her to attend two “acceleration days” in the Los Angeles Unified School District. “She knew that I was doing bad,” Rebbeca said. “And she wanted…





