Los Angeles high school opens doors as a charter campus

From The Los Angeles Times: Birmingham High School in California's San Fernando Valley could serve as a cautionary tale of all that can go wrong when a regular public school tries to convert to an independent charter. Yet despite all the obstacles -- despite a hostile teachers union and shattered friendships, despite a lawsuit and a last-minute financial meltdown -- Birmingham has opened as the newest charter school in Los Angeles. Now officially known as Birmingham Community Charter High School, the campus will be a school to watch as other schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District weigh their own bids to become charters.