The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is the second largest school district in the United States, covering 704 square miles within Los Angeles County.  The district is overseen by Superintendent David L. Brewer III and, with the exception of Partnership Schools and other iDivision schools, it is separated into 8 local districts.  There are over 704,000 students in 878 schools, more than 70 percent are Hispanic, and 38 percent are identified as English Language Learners.

LAUSD is home to numerous outstanding teachers.  In 2007, one LAUSD science teacher was awarded the National Educator Award from the Milken Family Foundation.  Additionally, LAUSD is home to the 2007 California Teacher of the Year award given by the California Department of Education.

Students in LAUSD are making academic improvements.  According to the National Assessment of Education Progress, LAUSD 4th and 8th graders including English Language Learners made significant gains in reading and math compared to previous years.  The California Department of Education awarded forty-two LAUSD schools the 2007-2008 Title I Academic Achievement Award because their students made significant progress toward proficiency on California’s academic content standards.  Finally, thirty-one LAUSD schools were designated California Business for Education Excellence and Just For Kids-California Honor Roll schools for being on track to meet the goal of 100% grade level proficiency by the 2013/2014 school year.