My friends and my enemies

Nick Giulioni writes:

I enjoy the company of my peers.  I like to spend time with them.  I take pleasure in teasing them. I am fond of supporting them.  But the harsh reality is, they are my competition for getting into college.

There are a finite number of spots at each university, a finite number of students accepted. 

School on stage

Have you ever wondered about the influence some parents have in school these days? Richard Martin Hirsch's new play, "The Monkey Jar," takes a look at that question and others.

Locke trip to the Keys

Two teachers at Locke High School are trying to raise $20,000 to take 10 students to Florida.

No, it's no spring break fling in Fort Lauderdale.

School lunch meat

Sarah Wire from The Times' bureau in Washington, D.C., writes:

Workers at a Chino-based slaughterhouse that supplies meat for the nation’s school lunch programs were shown allegedly using inhumane and illegal practices on weak and sick cows in a video released today by the Humane Society of the United States.

Young journalists, Part 2

Mike Fricano sent us this picture from the panel discussion about L.A. Youth newspaper marking its 20th anniversary. Fricano is one of the paper's editors, and the picture shows L.A. Youth alums, from left, Prisco Serrano, Hassan Nicholas and John Ochoa.

School board doings

Dear Homeroom Regulars:

For all of you diehard schoolies, especially for those who follow the Los Angeles Unified School District, The Times Howard Blume is going to offer something new here: a regular report on what your individual elected school board members and top district officials are doing.

The first of these was posted this morning. I hope you find it informative and interesting. Perhaps it will help you decide for whom to vote in the next election. And please, write to us and let us know what you think.

Tough crowd for Brewer

Los Angeles school board members Tuesday gave no indication that they are in sync with retired Navy Adm. David L. Brewer, the novice schools chief who has three years left on a four-year contract to run the nation's second-largest school system.

In the end, board members narrowly approved a key component of Brewer's ongoing effort to turn around the lowest-performing middle and high schools: $680,000 in consulting contracts to help schools write reform plans.

Green Dot school resolutions

Green Dot schools have become some of the highest profile charter schools in Los Angeles.

Times education reporter Howard Blume says one reason is that the schools are doing well compared with nearby public schools. Another is Green's Dot ubiquitous public-relations machine.

The business of kids

Caring for young children, it turns out, is a big business as well as an important one. The effort employs more than 65,000 people and generates more than $1.9 billion annually for the local economy, according to a new study.

Teenage journalists

Teenagers may often seem inscrutible, but Los Angeles has had a window into a remarkable spectrum of young people through L.A. Youth, a newspaper that is celebrating its 20th anniversary.