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| Sunday, July 6, 2008 - Independence Day Weekend |  | | | In This Issue: | | • | STATE SENATORS SPAR ON EDUCATION BILL + REPUBLICANS BLOCK $47 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR POOR STUDENTS + PERATA PRESS RELEASE | | | • | Ad Hoc Governance - LATimes: L.A. SCHOOLS CHIEF WANTS PRINCIPALS TO HAVE MORE AUTHORITY + Mail + Galatzan: IT'S ABOUT THE $ | | | • | 125 years ago in LA City Schools: THE SCHOOLHOUSE QUESTION — A CLEAR STATEMENT OF THE SITUATION. | | | • | HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources | | | • | EVENTS: Coming up next week... | | | • | What can YOU do? | |
Featured Links: | | | | LEG•A•CY
Spelled Pronunciation [leg-uh-see] Pronunciation noun, plural -cies.
1. Law. a gift of property, esp. personal property, as money, by will; a bequest.
2. anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor: the legacy of ancient Rome.
3. an applicant to or student at a school that was attended by his or her parent.
4. Obsolete. the office, function, or commission of a legate.
–adjective
5. of or pertaining to old or outdated computer hardware, software, or data that, while still functional, does not work well with up-to-date systems.
[Origin: 1325–75; ME legacie office of a deputy or legate < ML légātia. See legate, -acy]
– "legacy." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 02 Jul. 2008.
The Daily News, in an article cited below, informs us that mayor's partnership of schools - set against a catalog of missteps, "blunders and cringe-able moments" is his last best chance to "cement his legacy". In this era of term-limited politicians cementing and/or burnishing one's legacy is important stuff no doubt, but the legacies of past mayors of LA are few and far between: Norris Paulson (who?) brought us the Dodgers. Sam Yorty gave a brief time of mixing trash. Tom Bradley was tall and uniting — but his legacy is an airport terminal one avoids at all costs.
The Partnership for LA Schools (the once preceding "Mayor's" has slipped away) is a brave experiment - a pilot for reform. But LAUSD has so many "pilots for reform" in the form of 104 charter schools, the (mayor's) partnership, The Belmont Zone of Choice, Belmont Pilot Schools Network, the LMU Partnership, the program formerly known as the I-Division but now called The Design Division, The Southeast Schools Alliance – and eight semi-autonomous (with the autonomy growing) local districts – plus the Small Schools Movement and SLCs/PLEs and A-G. One doesn't need a score card - one needs a Thomas Guide!
A legacy is something that resides in the future, something that is built upon in one's memoirs in the full golden 20:20 of hindsight. We have many Experiments in the Future presently ongoing in LA education — from Green Dot @ Locke to Eli Broad's architecturally spectacular High School for the Arts …and we must push every one of these to succeed. Failure is not an option - because when one fails - when a charter closes or a governance experiment doesn't work out we have gambled away not the legacy of a politician but the futures of a school full of students.
What we and the mayor don't want to perpetuate is that fifth definition of "legacy": An old or outdated process that, while still functional, does not work well with up-to-date systems. We had a payroll system like that …and making it better was a misadventure unto itself.
¡Onward/Hasta adelante! –smf
STATE SENATORS SPAR ON EDUCATION BILL + REPUBLICANS BLOCK $47 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR POOR STUDENTS + PERATA PRESS RELEASE
BY ONE VOTE THE MINORITY PARTY BLOCKS $19 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDS TO HELP LOW PERFORMING SCHOOL DISTRICTS ...AND INSTEAD DECIDES TO RETURN THE MONEY TO THE FEDS.
►STATE SENATORS SPAR ON EDUCATION BILL
by Ben van der Meer in PolitickerCA .com
July 2, 2008 - California state senators fired off angry statements at each other Wednesday after a bill on low-performing school district accountability and funding failed to get a required two-thirds vote in that chamber.
The bill, SB 606, would have allowed low-performing districts to use $19 million in federal money that would've otherwise reverted to the federal government. It would have also helped local school boards work to improve their schools with state oversight.
Because SB 606 was labeled an urgency bill, it needed two-thirds of all state senators to vote in approval to pass. Fourteen state senators, all Republicans, voted against the bill, leaving it one vote shy of that margin.
The bill's author, Senate Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) criticized the Republicans' move in a press release, saying the state was wasting an opportunity to take advantage of federal money.
"Especially in this budget year, we cannot afford to return money to the federal government that could and should be spent on schools because some people think the state should take over school districts," Perata said in the statement.
But State Sen. Mark Wyland (R-Carlsbad), Vice Chair of the Senate Education Committee, fired back by saying Democrats were too willing to vote for a bill that weakened accountability and was unlikely to be signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger anyhow.
"Instead of working with Republicans to approve an alternative that would have allocated $45 million in federal dollars to support California's weakest school districts, the majority party, knowing their bill would be dead on arrival at the Governor's desk, chose to paint a less than honest picture and voted to weaken the accountability of California schools and tax dollars," Wyland wrote in a response statement.
Wyland noted that last week, Democrats turned back his bill, SB 493, which also dealt with federal funding for low-performing schools but kept accountability measures waived in Perata's bill.
SB 606 will be filed for reconsideration at a future date, according to Perata's press release.
The money for the low-performing schools would've come from the U.S. government's No Child Left Behind Act, which gives states the right to take over operation of a school district that consistently performs below expectations.
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►REPUBLICANS BLOCK $47 MILLION IN FUNDING FOR POOR STUDENTS
from California Chronicle | California Political Desk
July 02, 2008 - (SACRAMENTO) – Legislation by Senate President pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) that would immediately appropriate $47 million in federal money for low-performing schools fell one vote short today of receiving the two-thirds majority needed, as all 14 votes against were cast by Republicans.
SB 606 would allow the state to spend $19 million in federal money designated for low-performing schools before the money reverts to the federal government. Absent this appropriation, the State Board of Education´s March action amounts to an unfunded mandate on local school districts.
The bill passed the Assembly last week. In the Senate today, the bill received 26 votes in favor, with Senator Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) joining all Senate Democrats in support of the measure. After its defeat, the bill was granted reconsideration.
"Republicans are denying California´s poorest school children vital funding that would improve their education," Perata said. "Especially in this budget year, we cannot afford to return money to the federal government that could and should be spent on schools because some people think the state should take over school districts."
A decade of experience in school accountability suggests the corrective actions contained in this measure would best help students improve their outcomes.
Along with appropriating the money, the legislation would establish a transparent process for assisting low-performing schools identified as falling short of federal guidelines and allow local school boards to retain policy-making authority while providing state oversight. There are currently 97 school districts in the state that have failed to meet the provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
SB 606 requires a two-thirds vote because it is an urgency measure designed to take effect immediately upon the signature of the Governor. If the legislation or a similar bill is not in effect by the end of September, $19 million in school funding will revert to the federal government.
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►PERATA PRESS RELEASE: Republicans Block $47 Million in Funding for Poor Students
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Contact: Lynda Gledhill | (916) 651-4188
Wednesday, July 2, 2008 – (SACRAMENTO) – Legislation by Senate President pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) that would immediately appropriate $47 million in federal money for low-performing schools fell one vote short today of receiving the two-thirds majority needed, as all 14 votes against were cast by Republicans.
SB 606 would allow the state to spend $19 million in federal money designated for low-performing schools before the money reverts to the federal government. Absent this appropriation, the State Board of Education’s March action amounts to an unfunded mandate on local school districts.
The bill passed the Assembly last week. In the Senate today, the bill received 26 votes in favor, with Senator Abel Maldonado (R-Santa Maria) joining all Senate Democrats in support of the measure. After its defeat, the bill was granted reconsideration.
“Republicans are denying California’s poorest school children vital funding that would improve their education,” Perata said. “Especially in this budget year, we cannot afford to return money to the federal government that could and should be spent on schools because some people think the state should take over school districts.”
A decade of experience in school accountability suggests the corrective actions contained in this measure would best help students improve their outcomes.
Along with appropriating the money, the legislation would establish a transparent process for assisting low-performing schools identified as falling short of federal guidelines and allow local school boards to retain policy-making authority while providing state oversight. There are currently 97 school districts in the state that have failed to meet the provisions of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
SB 606 requires a two-thirds vote because it is an urgency measure designed to take effect immediately upon the signature of the Governor. If the legislation or a similar bill is not in effect by the end of September, $19 million in school funding will revert to the federal government.
For more information on the legislation, visit Senator Perata’s website at http://www.senate.ca.gov/perata.
Ad Hoc Governance - LATimes: L.A. SCHOOLS CHIEF WANTS PRINCIPALS TO HAVE MORE AUTHORITY + Mail + Galatzan: IT'S ABOUT THE $
►L.A. SCHOOLS CHIEF WANTS PRINCIPALS TO HAVE MORE AUTHORITY
by Howard Blume | LA Times Staff Writer
Jun 28, 2008 - L. A. schools Supt. David L. Brewer said this week he would "kick some ass" to improve schools if the school board would give him political cover, which would include standing up to employee unions who might resist reforms.
The comment came at a public but hard-to-reach meeting Thursday on the 24th floor of school district headquarters. The meeting's topic was the governance of the school district, and the discussion gravitated toward giving school principals real power over their budget -- along with demanding real accountability for results.
The room happened to be weighted with administrators -- even a representative from the League of Women Voters was a retired principal. There was broad agreement on a need to decentralize the district.
UCLA Professor William Ouchi offered the New York City schools as an example of progress through focusing on principals. These unchained administrators have used their new authority to reduce the number of students each teacher must handle per day, he said, because that tactic raises student achievement.
The strategy would be impeded in Los Angeles, because of union work rules and because the district bureaucracy largely controls how schools are staffed, Ouchi and others said.
Brewer, a retired admiral, echoed the strong leader theory as something that worked in the Navy.
"The captain of a ship is a god," he said. "I want the principals to be captains of their ships....Then I found out about all the union issues," which, he added, revolve around wrong priorities.
"There are so many things that protect adults in this system that have to change," Brewer said, adding, "Give me political cover to kick some ass and make some changes."
Later in the meeting, Brewer directly addressed the three board members in the room: Tamar Galatzan (who convened the meeting), Marlene Canter and longtime teachers union ally Julie Korenstein: "Tamar, Julie and Marlene: Give me the political cover and we're going to go there."
The role of Brewer has come under scrutiny in the wake of his hiring of longtime superintendent Ramon C. Cortines to work directly under him. Many district insiders and civic leaders have praised the hire, but some have also questioned whether Brewer (with his high salary) is actually needed at all.
The board members did not respond directly to Brewer's comments, although Canter said that union issues consume "so much of our time, with so little results on either side." She added: "Children don't have a union."
There was no representative from the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, although one had been invited. Contacted later, UTLA vice president Joshua Pechthalt said that authority at a school should be shared among teachers, parents, administrators, and even students, when they are old enough.
"I find it incredibly ironic for an educational institution that puts front and center the idea of educating children to be active participants in a democratic society, then when it comes to actually creating that democratic notion the leadership of the district says, no, we don't mean here," Pechthalt said. "This idea that you need an ultimate decision-maker, because he or she has great insight, is not borne out by reality."
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▲Letters to the LATimes Editor in response to the above:
BREWER TREADS WATER: Re "Power to change schools sought," June 28
• Again, thanks to LAUSD Supt. David L. Brewer's own words, we are made aware of what folly it was to hire a former admiral to head a large urban school district.
Brewer's metaphor equating principals with ship captains who have the power of God would only lead to further failures. As a substitute teacher in the district, I have encountered many truly incompetent principals who were elevated beyond their abilities and were toxic to their school environment.
Children are not ships, and principals are not infallible. They must never be given god-like power. The good ones know better than to want it. The inept would use it and abuse it.
Phyllis Golden Gottlieb
Los Angeles
• I am a relatively new public school parent (my child just finished second grade), but during my three years on the front lines, I have had the opportunity to work with three very different types of principals.
All are great people who care about kids and the district. All are great principals. But only one, our current principal, is a great principal for the melting pot that is our community.
Here lies the problem for many LAUSD schools -- what if your principal is not the right person to captain your "ship"?
Dorit Dowler-Guerrero
Silver Lake
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►GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE OFF TO FAST START
Galatzan Gazette #42 - June 27, 2008
"Governance is one of those words than make even wonks get sleepy," says freshman School Boardmember Tamar Galatzan in this weeks edition of her e-mail newsletter.
She continues: "Yet as I discovered this week, an ad hoc committee that I chair on School Governance can be anything buy dull. For two hours some of the best minds and prominent stakeholders in Los Angeles public education offered ideas, suggestions and cautionary tales on the subject of how to make this district run better. They referenced previous commissions, studies and panels convened fr precisely this purpose, and suggested ways that this latest effort could succeed.
"I made it clear that I don't want another report to sit on a shelf - I want to tackle core issues and change the way this District delivers education to students. My colleague Marlene Canter, who was involved in previous attempts at governance reform, said she was pleased that this group appears to be "less politicized" than those in the past.
"From this first meeting it became clear to me and others in the room that the distribution of money - and by extension recourses - is probably the single most important issue that the committee will consider over the next several months.
"Who gets the money, and more important, who gets to spend the money, has a direct impact on the education of LAUSD's 700,000 students.
"Accountability which was another theme of the meeting, is meaningless without being able to influence a budget., adopt a curriculum, or make a personnel decsison.
"This Committee will conduct its business out in the open, and I would encourage you to to contact my office with any suggestions on how to improve operations at LAUSD. - Tamar"
▲smf notes: • I'm a wonk, 'Governance' is a word that wakes me right up! …but 'It's about money, and who gets to spend the money, and accountability.' Really? Imagine that! • One can find little to argue with in Superintendent Brewer's comments; he's a sailor - with the sea you get the salt. • Dr. Ouchi spoke glowingly of the governance successes in Chicago in New York. Parents in both cities beg to differ. • …and the two letter writers both grasp and miss the point: A ship's captain does have ultimate authority - but also has ultimate accountability. Navy captains who don't perform for any reason don't last long!
If you look on the LAUSD School Board Committees Schedule, the Online District Master Calendar - or search LAUSD.net for "Ad Hoc Governance Committee" you will find no note of this committee or notice, agenda or minutes of the meeting referenced above - which took place "in the open" (Galatzan) at "a public but hard-to-reach meeting" (LA Times) at 10AM on Thursday June 26 the room 24-163 of the 24th floor at LAUSD Beaudry. Anyone who has been to Beaudry since the new (and "the-heck-with-the-budget', obviously costly) security measures recently instituted realizes that the 24th floor - with its sealed stairwells, visitor parking a block away, card-scan locked doors and 'show your ID at all times' policy ranks with the e-ring at the Pentagon in terms of ease of public access.
The last LAUSD Ad Hoc Governance Committee evolved into the Presidents' Joint Committee on LAUSD Governance - which cogitated and met over a one year period and made recommendations that were largely ignored as "politics by other means" transpired in other directions in the form of the unconstitutional AB 1381 mayoral takeover.
125 years ago in LA City Schools: THE SCHOOLHOUSE QUESTION — A CLEAR STATEMENT OF THE SITUATION.
From Los Angeles Times, July 14, 1883, p. 3:
To the Editor of the Times--Sir:
It is a well-known fact that during the past school year the public schools of our city have been badly overcrowded. It is equally well known that during the greater portion of the year a number of children--at one time as high as one hundred and fifty--were excluded from the schools on account of insufficient school room. The parents of these children were promised that next year there would be ample room; that the Board of Education were about to build several new school buildings.
It is now within a few weeks of the opening of the schools for the ensuing year. What is the situation? Not a brick laid, not a nail driven in a new building; not even a plan adopted. The seating capacity of the schools has been reduced three hundred from what it was last year by the canceling of the lease of the rooms in the Normal building, and by the sale of the Bath street property. No room for three hundred children who were in the schools last year, and no room for three or four hundred more who have come here by emigration? There is a bare possibility that four rooms will be added to the Eighth Street building in time for the opening of schools. If this is done it will give seatings for 200 pupils. But, even taking the most favorable view of the situation, there will not be less than 100 to 500 children excluded from the schools during the next term.
This is certainly a lamentable state of affairs--lamentable not only from an educational standpoint, but from a business one also. It affects the prosperity of our city. Who is responsible for this state of affairs? A plain statement of facts may show. Repeatedly, during the first part of last school year, by verbal and written reports, I called the attention of the members of the Board to the overcrowded condition of the schools, and to the necessity of selling the Spring street and Bath street properties to obtain funds to build new buildings. After many resolves and re-resolves, the lots were offered for sale. A cash offer of $30,300 was received. Dr. Kurtz and Mr. Gibson favored the acceptance of the offer, and urged the necessity of proceeding immediately to build. The "solid three" who rule urged delay, claiming that the Council would put in a liberal bid. The offer was neither accepted nor rejected, but the Secretary was instructed to re-advertise for new proposals. At the next meeting the offer was withdrawn. After weeks of delay the Council put in a bid of $31,000. It was moved to accept it. I called the attention of the Board to the fact that the Council had no available funds to pay cash down for the lot. I was sneeringly told by the President "that if they didn't pay for it they couldn't get it." After more delay the Council turned over to the Board $7000 from the salary fund; this was all that could be paid on the lot. With this, and $5500 received from the sale of Bath street, the Board bought the Haverstock property--four lots, two fronting on spring and two on Fort street. This property, about the time that the cash offer of $30,000 was received for the spring street lot, could have been bought for $9500. The "solid three," by their masterly delay, got $700 more for the spring street lot and paid $3000 more for a new school site. A nice little problem in Profit and Loss!
The financial situation may be briefly summed up thus: The Board has sold $36,600 worth of school property; cash received, $12,000; paid for school site, $1250; attorneys' fees, $250; balance due, $23,850, payable possibly from taxes next November; amount in the treasury to build new school buildings, not a dollar.
Mr. Gibson, a new member of the Board, is energetic and anxious to do his duty.
Dr. Kurtz, an old member, is a true friend of the teachers and of the schools. He has visited the schools and examined into the work done in them, and is well satisfied with it. It is the misfortune of these gentlemen to be in the minority. My political principles are not in accord with those of the "solid three," therefore I step down and out of the superintendency. The success of the Democratic Party in the next Presidential campaign depends upon the appointment of a Democrat as superintendent of schools in Los Angeles city. The appointment has been made. A Democratic victory is assured. "To the victors belong the spoils."
— J. M. GUINN.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
► SENIOR DEPUTY SUPERINTENDENT'S OPERATIONAL PLAN OF ACTION 2008-2009
To: LAUSD Staff
From: Ray Cortines
The following is a copy of the district’s operational Plan of Action for the 2008-2009 school year. It builds on Superintendent Brewer’s transformational plan that was implemented in the 2007-2008 school year.
This plan is not a quick-fix document but rather a road map for effective change. The dynamics are such that when reviewed and evaluated, it will be modified to ensure systemic improvement.
It is focused in five specific areas: HIGH ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, GRADUATION RATE, COUNSELING, PARENT/COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT AND SAFE AND ORDERLY SCHOOLS. The elements are not only practical but measurable and can be implemented in a short period of time.
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► CLASSROOMS UPROOTING AMERICAN HERITAGE
For most of America, celebrating the 232nd anniversary of our republic's Declaration of Independence from the British empire inspires at least a moment of reflection of what brought our nation to greatness.
Students at Jordan High School in Watts began a series of protests in June after the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) refused to renew the contract of Karen Salazar, an untenured English teacher at the campus. The LAUSD determined that Miss Salazar was engaged in blatant ethno-political indoctrination of her students.
smf: Lest anyone miss the point, this Op-Ed on the Californians for Population Stability website is titled: THE ENEMY WITHIN!
► ANGER FLARES ON FUNDS FOR VALLEY COMMUNITY CENTER
CANOGA PARK - City officials are accusing the Los Angeles Unified School District of backing away from a promise to pay half the cost of a $6.6million community center for kids and senior citizens.
► UNA NUEVA ERA ESCOLAR/A NEW DAY AT SCHOOL
After three years of steps forward and back, Mayor Villaraigosa’s project to improve LA’s public education system has finally begun.
► MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA'S SCHOOL REFORM BUDGET
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's school reform effort hopes to spend $15.5 million this coming school year to benefit the 10 schools it will oversee. This plan would require close to $6 million in additional fundraising.
► MONICA GARCIA REELECTED AS L.A. SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT
As expected, Monica Garcia was reelected as board president for the Los Angeles Unified School Distirct, but not until one board member alleged that politics and backroom manipulation sometimes put the interests of adults ahead of students.
► SEVENTEEN REASONS WHY FOOTBALL IS BETTER THAN HIGH SCHOOL
Ten years ago Herb Childress wrote: "Let me give you 17 reasons why football is better for learning than high school. I use football as my specific example not because I love football; I use it because I hate football. It's been said that football combines the two worst elements of American society: violence and committee meetings." The points Childress made a decade ago are still true today.
1. In football, teenagers are considered important contributors rather than passive recipients.
2. In football, teenagers are encouraged to excel
3. In football, teenagers are honored.
4. In football, a player can let the team down.
5. In football, repetition is honorable.
6. In football, the unexpected happens all the time.
7. In football, practices generally run a lot longer than 50 minutes.
8. In football, the homework is of a different type from what's done at practice.
9. In football, emotions and human contact are expected parts of the work.
10. In football, players get to choose their own roles. in the world.
11. In football, the better players teach the less-skilled players.
12. In football, there is a lot of individual instruction and encouragement from adults.
13. In football, the adults who participate are genuinely interested.
14. In football, volunteers from the community are sought after.
15. In football, ability isn't age-linked.
16. Football is more than the sum of its parts.
17. In football, a public performance is expected.
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We give the appearance of not caring so that we won't be hurt when the students don't care either.
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We need a varsity education.
► MAYOR'S SCHOOL TEST STARTS
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa takes on one of the biggest challenges of his career today as his partnership to reform education formally begins working with some of Los Angeles' worst-performing schools.
► INSTRUCTION DRIVES CONSTRUCTION ...OR SHOULD
"My colleagues and I work for an architecture firm focused on education, so we’ve attended and made presentations at various gatherings in the field. At one recent conference of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, we set up a small booth in the exhibit hall featuring images of school buildings we had designed. Most folks passed us by with quizzical looks on their faces, but a few stopped to ask, “Why are you here? This conference is about education.”
► BAD TENURED TEACHERS HARD TO FIRE
"Protecting jobs of adults without regard to how well their students perform almost certainly will lead to greater costs, stagnant academic achievement, and greater dysfunction of our public education system" - B. Jason Brooks of the Foundation for Education Reform & Accountability.
"Tenure provides the right to due process. It is consistent with the American way; a person is innocent until proven guilty." - Richard Iannuzzi, president of New York State United Teachers
► CSU SACRAMENTO STUDENTS FEEL TRANSFORMED AS THEY HELP IMMIGRANT PARENTS LEARN ENGLISH
Every Saturday morning for the past month, behind closed doors and without fanfare, nine college students go about making their world a better place – one new word, one flipped flash card, one pat on the back at a time.
The students, all vocational education majors at California State University, Sacramento, provide tutoring services for immigrant parents with limited English skills so the parents can be more involved in their children's schoolwork.
► THE GRADUATE, HOVERING
'Enjoy the ride,' the parents' card says, as the daughter readies for a life 3,000 miles away.
► VILLARAIGOSA AND HIS PARTNERS SET FOR SCHOOL TO START: Two year-round campuses open today as part of his scaled-down reform effort.
Fundraising for the partnership has lagged, however, as gangs and gridlock have risen on the mayor's agenda, even as he focused more time on raising money for his reelection campaign.
► GREEN DOT GETS $100,000 DONATION
The Westly Foundation announced a $100,000 donation to Green Dot Public Schools on Monday.
► BOLD COLORS COMING TO BOYLE HEIGHTS. Yes, It's Another LAUSD School
Lordy, those Los Angeles Unified School District construction workers are busy putting up schools. While readers debate whether these schools are actually needed, here's a look at what's coming to Boyle Heights.
► CHARTERS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HEAP IN ENGLISH
Charter school proponents love to brag about the large number of their high school graduates who move on to college. With this year's commencement ceremonies over, it's time to ask just how well those grads - from either charters or traditional high schools - are prepared for rigorous college work involving the use of the English language.
In Los Angeles County, on the one exam that is specifically designed to answer that question, test scores for 11th-graders in traditional high schools far exceed the results from charter schools.
► "IT AIN'T OVER UNTIL IT'S UNDER!": The Expo Line @Grade Crossings at Dorsey HS + Foshay Learning Center
► STOP THE INSANITY: INSIST THAT SCHOOLS GET THE PROMISED FUNDING
What are we California taxpayers to believe? That our schools are well funded? Children are learning? The state is honoring its Proposition 98 commitments?
Since January, we have heard that we have a $14 billion problem. Or is it $19 billion? Or $21 billion? Or $6 billion? These are all numbers that, at some point, were offered by those "in the know."
Through the years, we have seen Sacramento leaders of both parties play accounting games. They count money that is from next year. They pass on to the schools and other government entities expenses that were once covered by the state. The shell games get more creative each year, and the taxpayer has every reason to be confused, perplexed and even falsely content that "things in Sacramento" are well managed. But are they?
► Learning Curve – THE HOME-SCHOOLING ISSUE NEEDS TO BE TAKEN OUT OF THE COURTS; THE LEGISLATURE SHOULD DECIDE
The Legislature should make clear that home schooling is a valid educational path
"The case that started it all was fairly simple: Parents suspected of child abuse, who had been home schooling, were taken to court in an attempt to force them to enroll their children in public schools for better monitoring by outsiders. "
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-893-6800
What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383
Marlene.Canter@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Julie.Korenstein@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Schwarzenegger: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• Register.
• Vote.
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| Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD. He is immediate past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represents PTA as Vice-chair on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee. He is a Community Concerns Commissioner, Legislation Team member and a member of the Board of Managers of the California State PTA. He serves on various school district advisory and policy committees and is a PTA officer and/or governance council member at three LAUSD schools.
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