The Los Angeles Unified School District (the "LAUSD") is the largest (in terms of number of students) public school system in California and the second-largest in the United States. Only the New York City Department of Education has a larger student population. As of 2005, LAUSD serves over 710,000 students, and with over 74,000 employees, is the second largest employer in Los Angeles County, after County government. [1] The term public school has different (and in some cases contradictory) meanings due to regional differences. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... The New York City Department of Education is a department of the city of New York which runs almost all of the citys public schools. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Map of California showing Los Angeles County. ...

The school district serves virtually all of the city of Los Angeles and all or portions of several adjoining Southern California cities. In fact, the LAUSD is so large that it has its own police department. The Los Angeles School Police Department was established in 1948 to provide police services for LAUSD schools [2]. If the LAUSD was a Fortune 500 company, it would rank at #250. The LAUSD enrolls a third of preschoolers in Los Angeles County, and operates almost as many buses as the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The LAUSD school construction program rivals the Big Dig in terms of expenditures, and LAUSD cafeterias serve about 500,000 meals a day, rivaling the output of local McDonald's restaurants. [3] School districts are a form of special-purpose district in the United States (amongst some other places) which serves to operate the local public primary and secondary schools. ... Nickname: City of Angels Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Area    - City  498. ... The Los Angeles School Police Department (LASPD) is a school police department that was established in August of 1948 that serves the Los Angeles Unified School District. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... The Fortune 500 is a ranking of the top 500 United States corporations as measured by gross revenue. ... A nursery school is a school for the education of very young children (generally five years of age and younger). ... The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (also known as Metro, MTA or LACMTA) is the regional transportation planning and public transportation operating agency for the county of Los Angeles. ... Metropolitan Highway System Big Dig is the unofficial name of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T), a megaproject to reroute the Central Artery (Interstate 93), the chief controlled-access highway through the heart of Boston, Massachusetts, into a 3. ... McDonalds Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is the worlds largest chain of fast-food restaurants, primarily selling hamburgers, chicken, french fries, milkshakes and soft drinks. ...

The LAUSD has a reputation for extremely crowded schools, poor maintenance and incompetent administration. A significant number of the district's schools do not exhibit such conditions and the district has undertaken many renovations at campuses in recent years. As part of its school-construction project, LAUSD opened two high schools (Santee Education Complex, South East) in 2005 and four high schools (Arleta, Contreras Learning Complex, Panorama, and East Valley) in 2006 [4] [5]. By 2012, over 160 schools will have been constructed, expanded, or completely refurbished. Santee Education Complex is a secondary school located in Los Angeles, California, United States. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... Miguel Contreras Learning Complex   Miguel Contreras Learning Complex, also known as MCLC, is a secondary school in Los Angeles, California, United States. ... For the school in Panora, Iowa, see Panorama Middle School and High School Panorama High School is a secondary school located in Los Angeles, California, United States. ... East Valley High School is a secondary school located in Los Angeles, California, United States. ...

Every LAUSD household or residential area is zoned to an elementary school, a middle school and a high school.

Governance

Fairfax High School

Pending the outcome of various legal challenges to a change in the structure of the district (see below), the LAUSD is currently governed by a superintendent and a seven-member school board. Members of the board are elected directly by voters from separate districts that encompass communities that the LAUSD serves. The district's current superintendent is David L. Brewer III, a former Navy Vice-Admiral who served as head of the Navy's Education and Training Division and was in charge of the SeaLift Command. From 2001 until his retirement in October, 2006, the district was led by former Colorado governor and Democratic Party chairman Roy Romer. Current members of Board of Education include Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte (District 1), Monica Garcia (District 2), Jon Lauritzen (District 3), Board President Marlene Canter (District 4), David Tokofsky (District 5), Julie Korenstein (District 6), and Mike Lansing (District 7). Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 753 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Los Angeles Unified School District Fairfax High School (Los Angeles) List of Los Angeles Unified School District schools... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (1600x1200, 753 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Los Angeles Unified School District Fairfax High School (Los Angeles) List of Los Angeles Unified School District schools... Fairfax High School is a Los Angeles Unified School District high school located in Los Angeles, California, USA, near the border of West Hollywood in the Fairfax District of Los Angeles. ... David L. Brewer III (born May 19, 1946, in Farmville, Virginia) was unanimously nominated on October 12, 2006 by the Los Angeles Board of Education as the next superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. ... Official language(s) English Capital Denver Largest city Denver Area  Ranked 8th  - Total 104,185 sq mi (269,837 km²)  - Width 280 miles (451 km)  - Length 380 miles (612 km)  - % water 0. ... A governor or governour (archaic) is a governing official, usually the executive (at least nominally, to different degrees also politically and administratively) of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the Head of state; furthermore the title applies to officials with a similar mandate as representatives of a chartered... The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ... Roy R. Romer (born October 31, 1928 in Garden City, Kansas) was the 39th governor of Colorado and is currently the outgoing superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District. ...

LAUSD has long been known for bureaucracy. Over the years, various attempts at reform have been implemented. First, individual schools were given more authority over day to day decisions, and public school choice was implemented. In the 1990s, LEARN and LAAMP were created, giving principals even more authority to make changes in curriculum to benefit students. Regardless, student achievement failed to increase. [6] School choice, sometimes called public choice, describes any one of several forms of publicly-funded alternative education program that allows students to choose to attend any of various participating private and public schools, usually based on a system of vouchers, tax credits, or scholarships. ...

Later reform led to the creation of 11 lettered minidistricts with decentralized management and their own individual superintendents [7]. Due to the cost of this additional bureaucracy, then Superintendent Romer called for merging the minidistricts. United Teachers Los Angeles, the union representing LAUSD teachers, supported this plan. Eight numbered "minidistricts" arose from the merger.

Assembly Bill 1381

Hamilton High School

After his election to Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa advocated bringing control of the public school system under his office, a move that sparked some protest from teachers, LAUSD board members and many residents of communities not within the City of Los Angeles but served by LAUSD. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2304x1728, 1609 KB) Summary Entrance of Hamilton High School Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high-resolution version (2304x1728, 1609 KB) Summary Entrance of Hamilton High School Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Alexander Hamilton High School, commonly referred to as Hamilton High or Hami, is a public high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. ... This is a list of mayors of Los Angeles, California. ... Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio Ramon Villar, Jr. ...

In August, 2006, after a compromise was brokered which allowed the mayor large control while retaining an elected school board and allowing input to be provided from surrounding cities, California State Assembly Bill 1381 passed, giving the mayor a measure of control over district administration. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the law on September 18, 2006. The Board of Education immediately suit filed to block the law, claiming that it violates the state constitution by allowing a local government to take over an educational agency. Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (German pronunciation (IPA): ) (born on July 30, 1947, in Graz, Austria) is an Austrian-American bodybuilder, actor and an American politician, currently serving as the 38th Governor of California. ... September 18 is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

Specifically, AB 1381:

• Removes power from the Board of Education and gives it to the superintendent. The superintendent is permitted to request state waivers, hire and fire principals, negotiate and execute contracts, locate and close schools, and manage all personnel. The school board still retains the sole authority to use eminent domain, place taxes and bonds on the ballot, and negotiate with the unions.
• Creates a council of mayors consisting of mayors of all cities in the LAUSD and members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors who have territory in the LAUSD. This council selects the LAUSD superintendent, takes a look at the budget and makes changes before the school board (with the school board retaining only approval authority, without the ability to make changes). The council of mayors is weighted by population, but must act by a 90% of the population, effectively giving control to the mayor of Los Angeles while requiring him to seek consensus from a few other cities. The city of Los Angeles has 82% of the residents in LAUSD.
• Allows the mayor of Los Angeles and superintendent, through a joint partnership, direct control over three "clusters" of low-performing schools (defined as a high school and all of its feeders, with the high school one of those in the bottom 20% statewide).
• The "Southeast Schools Coalition" comprised of the cities of Bell, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate, and Vernon is given the right to ratify its local minidistrict superintendent.

AB 1381 is required to sunset on January 1, 2013, unless extended by the Legislature. [8] Eminent domain (U.S.), compulsory purchase (United Kingdom, New Zealand, Ireland), resumption (Australia) or expropriation (Canada, South Africa) in common law legal systems is the inherent power of the state to expropriate private property, or rights in private property, without the owners consent, either for its own use or... The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is the five member governing board of Los Angeles County. ... This is a list of mayors of Los Angeles, California. ... Bell is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Location of Cudahy in California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) 1960-11-10 [1] Area    - City  1. ... Location of Huntington Park in California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) 1906-09-01 [2]  - Mayor Juan R. Noguez [1] Area    - City  3. ... Maywood is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Location of South Gate in California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) 1923-01-20 [2]  - Mayor Gregory Martinez [1] Area    - City  7. ... Location of Vernon, California Vernon is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ...

On December 21, 2006, AB 1381 was ruled unconstitutional. The mayor has appealed. [9] December 21 is the 355th day of the year (356th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ...

A contentious political battle between AB 1381 advocates and opponents is expected in early 2007, as four seats on the seven-member school board come up for election. Notable contenders for a voice in the district's governance include Louis Pugliese, a long-time LAUSD teacher and university lecturer in Educational Psychology, retired school superintendent Richard A. Vladovic, and community activist Luis Sanchez. Educational psychology is the study of how humans learn in educational settings, the effectiveness of educational interventions, the psychology of teaching, and the social psychology of schools as organizations. ...

LAUSD cities and unincorporated areas

Hollywood High School

Source: Los Angeles Times Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 728 KB)Hollywood High School mural. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 728 KB)Hollywood High School mural. ... Hollywood High School mural. ...

LAUSD serves all of the following communities:

• Bell
• Cudahy
• Florence
• Gardena
• Huntington Park
• Lomita
• Los Angeles - Including, but not limited to:
  • List of districts and neighborhoods of Los Angeles
  • excluding a small portion of West Hills which is in the Las Virgenes Unified School District
• Marina del Rey
• Maywood
• San Fernando
• Topanga
• Universal City
• Vernon
• View Park
• Walnut Park
• West Athens
• Westmont
• West Hollywood

and portions of the following communities: Bell is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Location of Cudahy in California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) 1960-11-10 [1] Area    - City  1. ... Florence-Graham is a census-designated place located in Los Angeles County, California. ... Seal of Gardena Gardena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Location of Huntington Park in California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) 1906-09-01 [2]  - Mayor Juan R. Noguez [1] Area    - City  3. ... Lomita is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. ... Downtown Los Angeles skyline This is a list of districts and neighborhoods of the City of Los Angeles // Map depicting boundaries of Los Angeles city Map of Los Angeles in 1970 Los Angeles neighborhoods display a degree of diversity well befitting the second-largest city in the United States. ... West Hills is a community in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, California. ... Las Virgines Unified School District (LVUSD) is a K-12 school district in north-west Los Angeles County consisting of 14 public schools in the cities of Agoura Hills, Calabasas, and Westlake Village. ... Marina del Rey Marina del Rey (Spanish for Navy of the King, or Seacoast of the King) is a census-designated place seaside community located in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, California. ... Maywood is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... San Fernando is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Topanga, California is an unincorporated neighborhood in western Los Angeles County, USA. It is located in the Santa Monica Mountains and occupies Topanga Canyon. ... Universal City is the 415 acre (1. ... Location of Vernon, California Vernon is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... View Park View Park-Windsor Hills is a census-designated place (CDP) in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Walnut Park is a census-designated place located in Los Angeles County, California. ... West Athens is a census-designated place located in Los Angeles County, California. ... Westmont is a census-designated place located in Los Angeles County, California. ... Location of Los Angeles County in California and West Hollywood within Los Angeles County Country United States State California County Los Angeles Incorporated 1984  - City Council John Heilman (mayor) Sal Guarriello John J. Duran Abbe Land Jeffrey Prang Area    - City  1. ...

• Beverly Hills
• Carson
• Commerce
• East Los Angeles (other parts of East Los Angeles are served by Montebello Unified School District)
• Hawthorne
• Inglewood
• Monterey Park
• Rancho Palos Verdes
• South Gate
• West Compton
• Willowbrook

Beverly Hills is a city in the western part of Los Angeles County, California. ... Carson is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Commerce is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. ... East Los Angeles (often shortened to East L.A. or East Los or in Spanish El Este) is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Montebello Unified School District is a school district based in Montebello, California, United States. ... Hawthorne is a city located in southwestern Los Angeles County, California. ... Location of Inglewood in California and Los Angeles County. ... Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: State California County Los Angeles County Mayor Betty Tom Chu Area    - City 19. ... Location of Rancho Palos Verdes, California Rancho Palos Verdes (RPV) is a city in Los Angeles County, California that was incorporated on 7 September 1973. ... Location of South Gate in California Coordinates: Country United States of America State California County Los Angeles Incorporated (city) 1923-01-20 [2]  - Mayor Gregory Martinez [1] Area    - City  7. ... West Compton is a census-designated place (CDP) located in southern Los Angeles County, California. ... Willowbrook is a census-designated place located in Los Angeles County, California. ...

List of schools and properties

Schools

Venice High School

Main article: List of Los Angeles Unified School District schools

LAUSD has 219 year-round schools and 439 schools on the traditional calendar. About 47% of all LAUSD students are enrolled in year round schools. [10] ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (500x621, 129 KB) Summary I took this image on 15 September 2005. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (500x621, 129 KB) Summary I took this image on 15 September 2005. ... Venice Senior High School and Venice Foreign Language Magnet Venice High School is a public school located in Los Angeles, California within the Los Angeles Unified School District. ... This is a list of schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. ... Year-Round School is the operation of educational institutions on a calendar-system that tracks students into class schedules throughout the entire calendar year. ...

Belmont Learning Center

The Belmont Learning Center, in the densely populated Westlake district just west of downtown, was originally envisioned as a mixed-use education and retail complex to include several schools, shops and a public park. After more than a decade of delays stemming from the environmental review process, ground was broken for construction in 1995. Midway through construction it was discovered that explosive methane and toxic hydrogen sulfide were seeping from an old underground oil field. Later, an active surface fault was found under one of the completed buildings, necessitating its removal. The LAUSD had spent an estimated $175 million dollars on the project by 2004, with an additional $110 million budgeted for cleanup efforts. The total cost is estimated by LAUSD at $300 million. Critics have speculated that it may end up costing closer to $500 million. The school is scheduled to open in 2008. Belmont Learning Center is an extension to the existing Belmont Senior High School on West 2nd Street in Los Angeles. ... Westlake is a district in central Los Angeles, California. ... According to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) whenever the U.S. Federal Government takes a major Federal action significantly affecting the quality of the human environment it must first consider the environmental impact in a document called an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). ... 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Methane is a significant and plentiful fuel which is the principal component of natural gas. ... Hydrogen sulfide (hydrogen sulphide in British English), H2S, is a colorless, toxic, flammable gas that is responsible for the foul odor of rotten eggs and flatulence. ...

The Ambassador Hotel

Another controversial project has been the development of The Ambassador Hotel property on Wilshire Boulevard in densely populated Koreatown. The LAUSD fought over the defunct landmark with among others Donald Trump, who later walked away from it, with the legal battle dating back to 1989. In 2001, the LAUSD finally obtained legal ownership of the property. Plans to demolish the building, site where Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot, met with strong opposition from preservationists. Kennedy's family supported the demolition plans. In August 2005, LAUSD settled a lawsuit over the matter that had been filed by several preservationist groups: most of the Ambassador complex would be destroyed, but the Paul Williams-designed coffee shop and the Coconut Grove nightclub would be preserved, with the Grove serving as the auditorium for a new school to be built on the site. Demolition began in late 2005, and the last section of the hotel fell on January 16, 2006. The first new school on the site is scheduled to open in 2009. The Ambassador Hotel was a landmark hotel in Los Angeles, California. ... Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile District, looking east toward Downtown Los Angeles Wilshire Boulevard in Westwood, looking east toward the Millionaires Mile Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California. ... Wilshire Boulevard in Koreatown Koreatown is a community of the Wilshire Center district in the Mid-Wilshire area of the City of Los Angeles, California. ... Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American business executive, entrepreneur, television personality and author. ... 1989 (MCMLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Robert Francis Bobby Kennedy (November 20, 1925 – June 6, 1968), also called RFK, was one of two younger brothers of U.S. President John F. Kennedy and served as United States Attorney General from 1961 to 1964. ... Historic preservation or Heritage management is the theory and practice of creatively maintaining the historic built environment and controlling the landscape component of which it is an integral part. ... Paul Williams Paul Revere Williams (February 18, 1894 – January 23, 1980) was an African American architect who based his practice largely in Los Angeles, California and the Southern California area. ... Alternate spelling: see Cocoanut Grove (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... An auditorium is the area within a theatre, concert hall or other performance space where the audience is located in order to hear and watch the performance. ...

Santee Dairy

In 2005, soil samples taken at the LAUSD-owned site of a former Santee Dairy facility in South Los Angeles found high levels of carcinogens in soil used as foundation fill for a high school then under construction. A small controversy brewed on the matter, with some neighborhood activists and LAUSD critics claiming a repeat of the Belmont Learning Center fiasco. State scientists determined that the contaminated soil was sufficiently deep to pose no threat to students on the site, and the now-called Santee Educational Complex opened its doors in July 2005. South Los Angeles South Los Angeles is the official name for a large geographic and cultural area lying to the south and southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California. ... The term carcinogen refers to any form of substance, radionuclide or radiation which is an agent in the promotion or direct involvement in the facilitation of cancer or genomic instability due to the disruption or damage of cellular metabolic changes. ... Santee Educational Complex is a secondary school located in Los Angeles, California, United States. ...

Notable staff members

Teachers

• Jaime Escalante taught students Calculus at Garfield High School in the East Los Angeles CDP of Los Angeles County for many years, as dramatized in the movie Stand and Deliver.
• Essie Mae Washington-Williams, the daughter of Strom Thurmond, taught typing in the district from 1967 until 1997.
• Writer/Director Alec Cicak (Mr. Id) currently teaches English at Crenshaw High School.
• Eleanor Bralver, the oldest teacher in the United States, retired in June, 2006 at the age of 92 from Sylmar High School [11].

Bob Just (left), Jaime Escalante (center) and former President Ronald Reagan receiving the Teach Freedom Award. ... Calculus is the name given to a group of systematic methods of calculation, computation, and analysis in mathematics which use a common and specialized algebraic notation. ... James A. Garfield High School is a public, year-round high school in East Los Angeles, an unincorporated section of Los Angeles County, California. ... East Los Angeles (often shortened to East L.A. or East Los or in Spanish El Este) is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California, United States. ... Los Angeles County is a county in California and is the most populous county in the United States. ... Stand and Deliver is a 1988 film dramatizing the work of Jaime Escalante, a dedicated high school mathematics teacher. ... Essie Mae Washington-Williams (born on October 12, 1925) is the oldest known daughter of the United States Senator Strom Thurmond. ... James Strom Thurmond (December 5, 1902–June 26, 2003) was an American politician who served as governor of South Carolina and as a United States Senator representing that state. ... Typing is the process of inputting text into a device, such as a typewriter, computer, or a calculator, by pressing keys on a keyboard. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Crenshaw High School is a secondary school located in the South Los Angeles area of Los Angeles, California. ... Sylmar High School is a public school in the northeast San Fernando Valley in the city of Sylmar, California. ...

Other

• José Huizar, a politician who served as a board member for LAUSD
• Fabian Núñez, a politician who served as the government affairs director for LAUSD

José Huizar and his family during a Chinatown parade José Huizar was elected to represent the Fourteenth District of the Los Angeles City Council in a November 8, 2005 special election to fill the seat vacated by current Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. ... Fabian Núñez Fabian Núñez (born December 27, 1966) is a Democratic politician and the Speaker of the California State Assembly. ...

See also

• Highly Gifted Magnet
• List of high schools in Los Angeles County, California

The Highly Gifted Magnet (HGM) is one of the Los Angeles Unified School Districts Gifted and Talented programs, restricted to students who meet the criterion of 99. ... This is a list of high schools in Los Angeles County, California. ...

External links

• Los Angeles Unified School District Web site
• Los Angeles School Police Department Web site
• Los Angeles Unified School District Facilities Services Division
• LAUSD District 6
• Enrollment Statistics
• United Teachers Los Angeles website