Our guides
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In Los Angeles Unified alone, there are more than 400 elementary schools, plus hundreds of specialized programs and dozens of charter schools run by separate nonprofits. -
Test scores are only one measure of what happens inside a school. Here’s what to look for to find the best fit for your child. -
What started as a strategy to integrate campuses can now feel like an opaque competition to get into a select group of schools. -
It’s the most powerful school board in the country. And it faces enormous challenges, including funding shortfalls, chronic absenteeism, and safety concerns. -
Depending on who you ask, charter schools represent either an existential threat to public schools or an innovative model for learning. But for many families, it’s just one of many public school options to consider. -
There are all kinds of ways to engage with your child's education, whether you have only a little time or a lot. -
This guide is for parents and families that want to better understand the condition of their child’s school — and how to advocate to get it fixed. -
California is making transitional kindergarten available to all 4-year-olds. So what is it, and how do you know if it’s right for your child and your family? -
Hay tantos caminos que la educación de tu hijo puede tomar. LAist está aquí para ayudarlo a navegar por grandes preguntas y conectarse con las familias y los recursos.
Families say the process of choosing a school for their child is bewildering, overwhelming and anxiety-driven. So we made a guide to help.
School Game Plan
Enter your email to follow School Game Plan and learn how to navigate and get involved in your child’s education.
These guides are also available in Spanish.
More K-12 education stories
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“Norm Day” — the process by which a district re-aligns its teacher workforce to account for changes in enrollment — is a long-standing practice that’s rankled parents and educators for decades. -
If you want to send your child to a magnet, dual-language, or charter school next year, here’s what you need to know. -
School buses drive to and from about 90% of Los Angeles Unified schools, but less than 10% of students are onboard. -
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution, but researchers say there are key times to consider limiting screen time. -
Four months after the Los Angeles Unified School District banned cellphones, educators say students are less distracted and more talkative. But that doesn’t mean they’re necessarily following the rules. -
Educators say a major challenge they face is a lack of access to paid family leave, which will require a solution that extends beyond the district. -
A high school in the San Fernando Valley is in the midst of a $274 million renovation that demonstrates the longevity of school bonds. -
There are at least 63,000 students with disabilities in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and many may be exempted from the district’s restrictive cellphone policy. -
The Los Angeles Unified school board voted Tuesday on a three-year school calendar that maintains longer breaks. -
All Los Angeles Unified campuses are now 'phone free' during the school day, and students say they’re seeing fewer devices. -
The ban on student cellphone use in the country’s second largest school district starts Tuesday. -
The district’s expectation is that when students come back from Presidents’ Day weekend in February, the rollout will be finished at every school. -
Dozens of school districts in L.A. and Orange counties are asking voters to approve $17 billion in funding to maintain and replace school facilities. -
How schools keep kids cool as hot weather broils Southern California, and why they have class at allSome districts reduce their hours as temperatures stay over 100 degrees. -
Floriculture blends science, sustainability, financial literacy, and creativity. At Sylmar Charter High, the school’s gardens also invite a rare moment of calm in a hectic high school day. -
Ideas of where you and your little ones can go to explore California’s Indigenous history and present-day culture. -
Voters approved $1 billion a year in new arts education funding, but there are questions about how districts are spending the money. -
From post-apocalypse classics to “mysterious and magical” graphic novels, here’s what the students at Octavia E. Butler Magnet are reading. -
The policy is intended to ease yearslong tensions from forcing traditional public schools to share space and resources with charter schools.
SUPPORT AND CREDITS
Writing, editing and production
Reporting and production: Mariana Dale and Elly Yu
Editor: Ross Brenneman
Illustrations: Olivia Hughes
Production support: Jon Cohn, Megan Garvey, Mary Plummer and Sabrina Sanchez
Community review committee
Christian Entezari, consultant
Huriya Jabbar, USC associate professor of education policy
Laura Montelongo, current LAUSD parent
Angel Zobel-Rodriguez, parent of LAUSD alum