West Los Angeles Education News
Contradictory Reports on Safety at L.A. Unified Campuses Threaten Community Progress
As the first day of school nears, unresolved crises at L.A. Unified loom. In May, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho attempted to redeploy on-campus police officers to 20 schools in the district. Carvalho’s attempt was largely unsuccessful – police were only installed at two school campuses – but the desire to revert to policing still lingers.
SMMUSD Terminates Agreement with Toxic Substance Agency, Will Remove Contaminated Soil at McKinley Elementary
On Wednesday, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Board voted to approve changes in the construction plan for McKinley Elementary. During initial tests on the McKinley site last year, toxic chemicals were found in the soil, prompting a response from the district in concert with environmental oversight agencies. State officials said the hazardous materials likely originated from a nearby dry cleaning business.
Culver City High School Learns to Embrace World of Gaming
In a vast room with large pane windows, sunlight is not the brightest light to illuminate Culver City High School’s (CCHS) Alexander R. Hamilton Educational Technology Center. The clicking of power switches turned into the electric humming of machines as the room comes alive. Bright lights of various colors, both the low luminescence of neon displays of old and the clean, flashy patterns from rainbow LEDs and digital displays light up the lab as much as the sunshine beaming inside.
LAUSD’s Artificial Intelligence Chatbot Contract Under Scrutiny
District priorities and budgeting practices have once again attracted significant scrutiny in L.A. Unified. As teachers and parents rallied against budget cuts and raised concerns around district spending, L.A. Unified began building a $6 Million AI-powered chatbot. AllHere Education, the education technology company responsible for Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) AI chatbot, nicknamed “Ed,” abruptly announced it had furloughed much of its staff due to its financial position last month. Its CEO and founder Joanna Smith-Griffin is no longer with the company. L.A. Unified said it had already paid the company around $3 Million. Only three months after the company’s most ambitious project to date was unveiled, it was over.
Contradictory Reports on Safety at L.A. Unified Campuses Threaten Community Progress
As the first day of school nears, unresolved crises at L.A. Unified loom. In May, Superintendent Alberto Carvalho attempted to redeploy on-campus police officers to 20 schools in the district. Carvalho’s attempt was largely unsuccessful – police were only installed at two school campuses – but the desire to revert to policing still lingers.
SMMUSD Terminates Agreement with Toxic Substance Agency, Will Remove Contaminated Soil at McKinley Elementary
On Wednesday, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Board voted to approve changes in the construction plan for McKinley Elementary. During initial tests on the McKinley site last year, toxic chemicals were found in the soil, prompting a response from the district in concert with environmental oversight agencies. State officials said the hazardous materials likely originated from a nearby dry cleaning business.
Culver City High School Learns to Embrace World of Gaming
In a vast room with large pane windows, sunlight is not the brightest light to illuminate Culver City High School’s (CCHS) Alexander R. Hamilton Educational Technology Center. The clicking of power switches turned into the electric humming of machines as the room comes alive. Bright lights of various colors, both the low luminescence of neon displays of old and the clean, flashy patterns from rainbow LEDs and digital displays light up the lab as much as the sunshine beaming inside.
LAUSD’s Artificial Intelligence Chatbot Contract Under Scrutiny
District priorities and budgeting practices have once again attracted significant scrutiny in L.A. Unified. As teachers and parents rallied against budget cuts and raised concerns around district spending, L.A. Unified began building a $6 Million AI-powered chatbot. AllHere Education, the education technology company responsible for Los Angeles Unified School District’s (LAUSD) AI chatbot, nicknamed “Ed,” abruptly announced it had furloughed much of its staff due to its financial position last month. Its CEO and founder Joanna Smith-Griffin is no longer with the company. L.A. Unified said it had already paid the company around $3 Million. Only three months after the company’s most ambitious project to date was unveiled, it was over.