In This Issue:
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Miramonte Elementary School: TWEETS FROM @DrDeasyLAUSD + PRESS STATEMENT |
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Berndt Molestation Case: THE FAILURE IS CATASTROPHIC AND ACROSS THE BOARD |
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"Adult Education Saved My Life": AN ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF PRESERVING ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN LOS ANGELES |
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Prop 98: CALIFORNIA'S SCHOOL FUNDING MEASURE UNDER SIEGE IN TOUGH TIMES |
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HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but
not neccessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources |
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EVENTS: Coming up next week... |
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What can YOU do? |
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Featured Links:
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Although the radio station I listen to primarily
claims “No Rant and No Slant” in its news and talk, I know better. The
ranting is minimal but the its perspective and its dial position is over
there on the left. I have friends who listen to right wing talk radio –
John+Ken, Rush – that crowd. (Not the metal band Rush, Limbaugh Rush) I
know …friends don’t let friends listen to Rush …but our cars in drive
time are cocoons of unsupervised self indulgence.
The news and the talk and the rant and the slant for the past few days
have been unified. My lefty PBS station has assigned gotcha reporters to
the neighborhoods of alleged perpetrators, eliciting the inevitable:
“He lived by himself …but he seemed normal”.
If it takes LAUSD and the horrors alleged at Miramonte Elementary School
to create the no labels/post-partisan political age we’ve all been
waiting for the cost has been too dear.
I am not going to go into sordid detail or name any names beyond the
totally irresponsible; here is a link in case you have been totally Rip
Van Winkle-y this week: http://bit.ly/xvUyCE
I will pick some detail from a single LA Times article (“Second Teacher at School Jailed” |http://lat.ms/xmYrHh ) because - once you get past the lead it points an accusatory finger in the right direction.
“Miramonte [Elementary School], in the unincorporated Florence-Firestone
neighborhood, is one of the nation's largest elementary schools, with
about 1,500 students. Its teachers work varying schedules at the
year-round campus…”
“Also on Friday, more people came forward to say that they had
complained to school officials… but that their concerns were ignored.”
“The parents of one student told The Times that their daughter showed
them two strange photos [taken] of her and other students in 2008. They
said they went to the principal of the school at the time and showed him
the photos. The principal, who is no longer at Miramonte, took no
immediate action...”
“Earlier this week, two former students … who are adults said in
interviews with The Times that they thought they saw the teacher
[sexually misbehaving]. A counselor at the school told a group of
students at the time not to make up stories, they said. In 1994, a girl
reported that [her teacher] had tried to touch her [inappropriately],
but an investigation did not result in charges.”
“Supt. John Deasy said he wants to fire [a teacher first accused on
Thursday] as soon as next Tuesday, when the Board of Education will
discuss the case in closed session”.
And there’s this, viewed from a distance: “Miramonte serves a poor,
mainly Hispanic neighborhood. More than half of its approximately 1,400
students are still learning English.” (Maine Sunday Telegram http://bit.ly/wmdl0w)
“As a playful teacher, he won the confidence of children. As an
educated man, he earned the respect of parents — mostly poor Latino
immigrants who are often reluctant to complain out of fear of authority
and a perception they won't be taken seriously.” (Associated Press http://bit.ly/zReLFR)
I am a serial abuser of metaphor+irony – and this story is about a
catastrophic and tragic loss of innocence – but we are also deep into
the Loss of the Presumption of Innocence and due process.
The accused have been pulled from the classroom and charged with
grievous and horrible crimes. They are in jail with multi-million dollar
bond. Those are the legal and correct if somewhat tardy steps …but we
need to remind ourselves and our children that accused are presumed
innocent until proven guilty.
This is cannot be about saving the salaries and pensions and health
benefits LAUSD may have to pay the accused; this must be about saving
and protecting children – children already harmed and children
potentially harmed. This cannot be about chasing down and scapegoating
“bad teachers”; if the accusations are proven these aren’t bad teachers -
they are bad human beings. They who are concerned about damage control
and crisis communications are protecting their careers, the institution
and its reputation rather than kids.
Some of these allegations have been known to then Deputy Superintendent
Deasy – and presumably by the Board of Education – since Jan 7, 2011. http://bit.ly/wLZq4o
Some of the spin-control messaging earlier this week was about
“protecting the integrity of the investigation”; that went away soon as
the story went viral. And was blown out of the water when case two at
Miramonte – and now case three (about decades old misconduct at Hamilton
High School) came out.
Politics is being played here as surely+poorly as it was played on the
other pages of the paper and other segments of airwaves this week in the
Komen v. Planned Parenthood adventure.
If you aren’t concerned a witch hunt you need to dial back to Salem
Massachusetts in 1692. Arthur Miller’s ‘The Crucible’ is fiction – but
as true about the 1690’s as it was about the 1950’s as it is about
today.
And gentle readers, we are being distracted. We are being distracted
from the elimination of Early Childhood Education and Adult Education
and Arts and Music Education and Title One funding at 23 schools. We are
being distracted from bad things being done to public education by a
popular panic; the cry of “bad teachers’ is on the lips of the bad
decision makers. Daily News columnist Doug McIntire describes a breach
of trust between the District and the community. bit.ly/y0aWqA I think
it would be easier to qualify a bond to build bridge to fix that for the
ballot than the superintendent’s anticipated parcel tax.
In an effort to avoid fiscal bankruptcy LAUSD has descended into moral bankruptcy.
Rahm Emmanuel’s oft-quoted “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste” turns
Thomas Paine’s 1776 warning in ‘The Crisis’ into a sound byte:
“Panics, in some cases, have their uses; they produce as much good as
hurt. Their duration is always short; the mind soon grows through them,
and acquires a firmer habit than before. But their peculiar advantage
is, that they are the touchstones of sincerity and hypocrisy, and bring
things and men to light, which might otherwise have lain forever
undiscovered.”
When you read the following two pieces you will see Superintendent
Deasy’s hand-wringing – and Joseph Milander's J’accuse. Millander names
names and proposes solutions that need to be implemented immediately.
Those named will say he overreacts. I don’t think so and I know I’m not
alone.
Think about Paine’s touchstones of sincerity and hypocrisy. Think about
the nine-year-old pulled into the office for interviews with law
enforcement …and their parents not being informed for over a year.
Think about the kids and parents who did come forward were ignored or dismissed. And records of their complaints lost.
When the pervert’s “Can you keep a secret?” becomes the front office’s
“Can you keep a secret?” - and then the institution’s “Can you keep a
secret?” - the perversion is absolute.
How would you feel if you were those children or their parents?
¡Onward/Adelante! —smf
________________________________________
From BULLETIN 1347.2: CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT REPORTING REQUIREMENTS | http://bit.ly/zC6QKt
A. Pursuant to District policy, ALL DISTRICT EMPLOYEES are mandated
reporters of suspected child abuse/neglect. State law applies to
certificated employees, health practitioners, school police, employees
of child care centers, instructional aides, teachers’ aides, teachers’
assistants, and classified employees as mandated reporters of suspected
child abuse.
B. All mandated reporters with actual knowledge or reasonable suspicion
of child abuse/neglect must: 1) Call the appropriate local law
enforcement department or the Department of Children and Family Services
(DCFS) IMMEDIATELY, or as soon as practically possible, AND 2) Submit
the written report to the agency called within 36 hours of receiving the
information.
smf NOTES: The words ALL and MUST and IMMEDIATELY. Those are words in
law with absolute meanings. Mandatory reporters (all District employees)
don’t tell their boss or their supervisor or the principal or the
chapter chair or even school police first. (School Police are not an
authorized child protective agency.) A lot of school bond money has been
spent to put phones in classrooms – there certainly is one on every
principal’s desk. Few of us don‘t have a cell phone in their purse or on
their belt. IMMEDIATELY means get the child out of danger if he or she
is in danger and then call the police, sheriffs or DCFS.
Miramonte Elementary School: TWEETS FROM @DrDeasyLAUSD + PRESS STATEMENT
@DrDeasyLAUSD: As an educator and a father, I’m appalled and sickened... notebook.lausd.net/pls/ptl/url/IT…
@DrDeasyLAUSD: Though this has been an extremely difficult week for entire LAUSD community...
@DrDeasyLAUSD - We must never lose sight of the fact that the great
majority of the teachers are caring, nurturing, and understanding toward
their students.
all Feb 3 – 3:54pm
PRESS RELEASE:http://bit.ly/xAmVMP
Los Angeles Unified School District
OFFICE OF COMMUNICATIONS & MEDIA RELATIONS
333 S. Beaudry Ave., 24th floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Phone: (213) 241-6766
FAX: (213) 241-8952
www.lausd.net
News Statement
February 3, 2012
#11/12-110
DEASY REACTS TO ARREST OF SECOND MIRAMONTE E.S. TEACHER ON CHARGES OF SEXUAL MISCONDUCT
Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said today
that he was “appalled and sickened” at news of the arrest by the Los
Angeles County Sheriff’s Department of a second teacher today on
suspicion of sexual misconduct at Miramonte Elementary School.
“As an educator and a father, I’m appalled and sickened by the
allegations against this teacher,” said the Superintendent. “The
District is working closely with the entire Miramonte community to deal
with the terrible trauma that has arisen as the result of the arrest of
Mark Berndt earlier this week and today’s arrest of Martin Springer.”
Deasy noted that the District removed Springer from the Miramonte campus
yesterday when he first learned of the allegations. He said he will ask
the Board of Education early next week to immediately terminate
Springer’s employment.
“Though this has been an extremely difficult week for the entire LAUSD
community,” said Deasy, “we must never lose sight of the fact that the
great majority of the teachers in this District are caring, nurturing,
and understanding toward their students.”
Berndt Molestation Case: THE FAILURE IS CATASTROPHIC AND ACROSS THE BOARD
by Joseph Mailander | CityWatch | http://bit.ly/ArefMO
02.02.2012 :: THE MEDDLERS HAVE OVERLOOKED THE KIDS - How could it happen?
How could it be that there are so many reprehensible allegations against
the same man over the course of a few years, and yet there is not even
one public record of a single complaint against him?
The allegations coming out of the Mark Berndt case--some of which the
LAUSD has had in pocket since last March, when he was fired--are not for
the squeamish. In fact, they are barely palatable to hardened
detectives. But how--how could it be that there isn't a comprehensive
paper trail of parent complaint available? How could not a single child
express concern to a single parent, and not a single parent express
concern to the failed LAUSD? "There was no student who ever came
forward," Deasy insists.
Beyond that, we are only told that the parents of the children are
"mostly poor Latinos." The tipoff that Berndt may have committed crimes
came from outside of the system--too late for dozens of families.
The people who dared to tinker with the education system over the past
decade--from the Mayor to the billionaires to the board members to the
Superintendent to the perpetually sparring groups who say they're all
there for the children--the people who have created the climate of
perpetual scapegoating, perpetual finger-wagging, perpetual
conflict--these are the people who have given us the kind of system,
after so many decades, that produces a result like today's.
John Deasy and Monica Garcia should resign their posts immediately. The
Mayor should point a finger at himself, for six years of "reforms" that
have stressed the District to the point of criminal omission. The UTLA
leadership should join him in owning a most grave mea culpa. Education
charlatans Eli Broad and Dick Riordan should as well, and should never
be allowed to touch education again.
Together, these various player-bandits have all failed the children,
creating the possibility of this most shameful, most infamous day in the
history of public education in Los Angeles, and the nation's worst
school day since Columbine.
(Joseph Mailander is a writer, an LA observer and a contributor to
CityWatch. He is also the author of The Plasma of Terror. Mailander
blogs at street-hassle.blogspot.com where this article first appeared.)
–cw
"Adult Education Saved My Life": AN ARGUMENT IN FAVOR
OF PRESERVING ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAMS IN LOS ANGELES
By Rebecca Joseph - Associate professor, California State University, Los Angeles | Huffington Post | http://huff.to/A6BTeo
2/ 3/2012 12:51 pm :: When I met Juliana just before the winter
holidays, I was impressed. The first in her family to apply to college,
Juliana hopes to attend a University of California campus next year. I
met Juliana while volunteering at a college outreach program in her
neighborhood. She was telling the younger students to make up failed and
missing classes through Los Angeles Adult Education.
"Adult education saved my life," she said to a rapt audience of 9th and
10th graders, adding, "If you had known me two years ago, you would not
have recognized me. I was mad at the world." Little did she and I know
that the Los Angeles Unified School Superintendent has placed the entire
Los Angeles Adult Education's budget on the district's cutting block
for next school year.
Throughout 9th and 10th grade, Juliana went to high school in the Los
Angeles Unified High School District (LAUSD) and rarely went to school
and when she did she caused trouble. She got Ds and Fs in most of her
classes. She got a couple of Bs in a few classes where the material
interested her and where teachers let her hand in make-up packets. "I
wasn't dumb. I just didn't care," explains Juliana.
Juliana was on the road to becoming one of the 20-40 percent of students
(depending on who you talk to) to drop out of high school in Los
Angeles. Yet at the beginning of the summer between 10th and 11th grade,
Juliana says she had a revelation. She realized that she didn't want to
wind up like her older sister, a high school drop out with two children
under the age of four and who worked the night shift in a sewing
factory alongside her parents. Moreover, Juliana decided she wanted to
be a lawyer.
So she began 11th grade with the desire to graduate and to go to
college. Yet she had the credits of a 9th grader. So she began to search
for ways to make up classes.
LIMITED OPTIONS TO MAKE UP CLASSES
There was no way for her to make up her classes during summer school
because LAUSD has eliminated summer school except for juniors who need
to make up a few classes. There are a limited number of spaces for these
precious slots, and Juliana was only an entering junior at the time.
And she couldn't take enough classes to make up what she was missing
anyway.
She couldn't go to community colleges, because they too are suffering
from the tough economy and most have basically eliminated spots for
concurrent high school enrollment. Besides the fact, she would not have
qualified for most of the classes they offer.
There are some online programs that LAUSD uses, but school counselors
with their huge caseloads rarely know about them and/or can only
recommend a limited number of kids, and Juliana wasn't one of those
kids. Also there are only a few classes that are covered with these
online classes, and they were not all college approved.
She didn't have enough time in her day to take several 9th and 10th grade classes, and she wanted to finish in two years.
THAT LEFT ADULT SCHOOL
LAUSD's 30 adult schools serve more than 88,200 high school students
each year. These students are attempting to take credit recovery classes
and graduate from high school. In addition, last year more than 1,500
students who dropped out of LAUSD schools were able to graduate by
enrolling in adult school.
Junior year, Juliana began taking classes at her local adult school in
the afternoons and evenings after her regular school day. Other kids can
complete classes through adult school packets. She could take one to
two semester classes at a time and could finish each within two months.
In addition, she was able to retake one 9th grade class each semester
during the school year. So by the end of junior year, she had one
semester of 10th grade and all of 12th grade to finish. She had straight
A's in her adult school and a 3.8 in her junior year. She had also
passed the CAHSEE, the high school exit exam, and was on the road to
graduate high school.
SETTING HER SIGHTS ON COLLEGE
But now Juliana had her sights on college. And this year the University
of California (UC) campuses made a change. Anyone applying has to have
completed 11 out of the 15 mandatory college prep (A-G) courses by the
beginning of senior year. Juliana was a few short, so between summer
school in LAUSD, because she now qualified to take two classes at summer
school and could continue taking classes at adult school, she started
12th grade as a 12th grader with enough classes and the GPA to qualify
for a UC.
"Without adult school, I wouldn't be here," says Juliana. "Adult school
isn't for everyone. You have to be able to learn on your own and be
focused. But I was ready. That shows my determination because I had to
keep up with regular school and adult school."
Juliana and Others Are Now Ready
By Thanksgiving of senior year, Juliana had applied to college, and she
has the grades and qualifications to attend a competitive four year
college. She is lucky the UCs and other state colleges let kids replace
failed grades with the higher grades they receive in re-taken classes.
A SHORT-SIGHTED DECISION
More and more of the urban freshmen I teach have relied on adult school
to help them graduate from high school and matriculate to college.
Moreover, as I go out and work with high school juniors and seniors who
need to make up courses to graduate from high school and to qualify for
college, I have increasingly relied on referring them to LAUSD's adult
schools because of all the budget cuts affecting students back in their
home schools. The classes are fast paced, and students can make up
several classes in a school year.
I am losing more and more of my triage options and worrying that fewer
of these students will graduate high school let alone make it to
college.
Adult school is the second chance so many kids need. And yet the
district's superintendent has placed its entire budget on the chopping
block. That makes no sense -- fiscally or educationally. President Obama
in his State of the Union Address says our goal should be to raise our
high school graduation rate to 90 percent. He wants to prevent kids from
dropping out until they are 18, and yet in LA, the city with the second
highest dropout rate in the nation, the leadership wants to end a
program that has helped so many kids get the classes and credits to
graduate. The cuts will increase the already high dropout rate for many
kids who need the encouragement and support to re-make themselves in
high school or just take a couple of needed class for graduation.
A HUGE CONTRIBUTION TO OUR ECONOMY
We need to stop thinking in just short-sighted ways. LA Adult Education
doesn't just help high school students with credit recovery. It also
provides G.E.D classes, adult education for real adults wanting to
continue their education, E.S.L classes for immigrants, and vocational
classes for people wanting to learn a trade. During these tough economic
times, LA Adult Education is making a huge difference in helping
retrain and educate people to contribute to our economy.
More importantly, kids like Juliana will be less likely to have the chance to graduate from high school and go to college.
So on February 14, when the LAUSD School Board meets to decide on the
budget cuts, we need to share as many voices as we can about the lives
that will be damaged by the flawed decision to cut LAUSD's Adult
Education program.
"I would not be going to college. I would not be able to graduate high
school and would become a statistic," says Juliana. Let's help people
like Juliana make their college and life dreams come true.
Prop 98: CALIFORNIA'S SCHOOL FUNDING MEASURE UNDER SIEGE IN TOUGH TIMES
By Kevin Yamamura | Sacramento Bee | http://bit.ly/A4YEsY
Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 - 12:00 am :: When teachers unions and education
groups backed Proposition 98 nearly a quarter-century ago, they told
voters it was "a well-thought-out plan for California's schools to once
again be among the very best in the nation."
But as public schools pack more than 30 students into kindergarten
classrooms, cut a week of instruction and shutter campus libraries,
education advocates wonder to what extent Proposition 98 has served its
purpose.
The state ranks among the worst in students per teacher and spent 12
percent below the national average per pupil even before the recession.
Compared to their high-water mark in 2007-08, K-12 schools and community
colleges will receive 12 percent less in state and local funding this
year.
"It certainly doesn't appear as if education has been treated as a
favorite child over the last few years when you look at all the cuts,"
said veteran schools lobbyist Bob Blattner.
The law, approved in 1988, is complex enough that watching a video
tutorial by the Legislative Analyst's Office feels like upper-level
college work. The measure is designed to ensure that K-12 schools and
community colleges receive about 40 percent of state revenues, as well
as increases for growth in taxes and student enrollment.
Proposition 98, and a revision in 1990, allow for a safety valve in bad
fiscal years. California can cut schools as long as it vows to send
enough money to districts in the future. Though it may be of little
comfort to families with children in schools now, the state eventually
owes about $10.4 billion more to education.
"I think schools would be worse off without it," said John Mockler, the
education consultant widely credited as author of the initiative. "I
can't imagine how much worse, but they would be worse."
Many say Proposition 13's limit on property taxes led to Proposition 98
as schools had to compete more with other public programs for resources.
Mockler contends the real tipping point came when Gov. George
Deukmejian and lawmakers used a $1.1 billion surplus for tax rebates in
1987 rather than education.
The initiative itself has become a battle cry in state politics.
Politicians now claim they "fully funded schools" if they follow
Proposition 98 formulas, regardless of the condition of classrooms.
"I think that has hurt us over the years because nobody really
understands what Proposition 98 is," said Robert Miyashiro, vice
president of School Services of California and an expert in K-12
finance. "People understand high class size, shortest school year,
fewest textbooks."
MANY CLAIMS ON BUDGET
Both Republicans and Democrats see school funding as a priority, as do voters.
But in a no-new-tax environment, lawmakers would have to eviscerate
other parts of the budget, from health care to prisons to universities,
to satisfy Proposition 98. Lawmakers face pressure from advocates for
these other programs. They also face voter-approved restrictions,
federal requirements and court decisions that impede their ability to
cut elsewhere.
To fund less than Proposition 98 demands, state leaders can suspend the
requirement. But that comes at a political cost since it means they
aren't fully funding schools. It also requires a two-thirds
supermajority vote in a time of extreme partisan divide.
Republicans have generally opposed suspending Proposition 98. Doing so
might free up dollars for social service programs they want to reduce.
Sen. Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, said agreeing to suspend 98 this year is
"definitely possible, but it's certainly not the first thing we would
do."
Democrats prefer raising taxes. They are asking voters to pass a $5
billion to $7 billion tax hike on the November ballot that would result
in higher income taxes on wealthy earners and a half-cent sales tax
increase.
"We've been stymied on the revenue front," said Sen. Joe Simitian,
D-Palo Alto. "We fail to confront the fact that our budget is
fundamentally out of balance."
The governor's tax proposal would raise between $24.6 billion and $31
billion over five years. Schools stand to gain nearly half of that.
Even if the tax plan fails, Proposition 98 says schools should get more
money as the recovering economy drives higher tax revenues. It is one
reason, Huff said, that Republicans believe Brown's taxes are
unnecessary.
But Brown, to protect other programs, has structured his budget so
schools would not get more money in 2012-13 if voters reject taxes,
relying on a new interpretation of Proposition 98. The governor says he
would cut the equivalent of three weeks of school if the tax measure
fails, equal to $2.4 billion in program loss.
How can this be if Proposition 98 says schools are owed more money?
"In some ways, the Proposition 98 guarantee is very human," Blattner
said. "If you torture it enough, you can get it to say almost anything."
BOND PAYMENTS TARGETED
Brown proposes using school bond debt payments to help satisfy
Proposition 98, which has never been done before. That would crowd out
about $2.4 billion in classroom funding for schools while still "fully
funding" education.
"That's a pretty big gimmick, frankly," Simitian said. "If you're at the
point where you start talking about numbers like $2.5 billion, you're
not tinkering anymore. You're fundamentally undermining the guarantee,
and at that point you have to ask yourself, are these even protections?"
The governor and Democratic lawmakers also circumvented Proposition 98
last year by reassigning $5 billion in state revenues to local
governments to pay for activities such as housing inmates. Because
technically that meant the state had less general fund money, the
administration argued that the schools' share of state funding was $2
billion less than it would otherwise have been.
The state Department of Finance says schools don't have a claim on those
dollars. But several education groups have sued. Litigation has become
the enforcement hammer.
The California Teachers Association is not among the plaintiffs. But
arguing the state was treading on legal thin ice, the teachers union
negotiated job protections and a payback plan as part of last year's
budget deal.
CTA President Dean E. Vogel said in September he thought the lawsuit
over last year's budget was premature. But he added that CTA may
consider legal action if the Legislature and governor renege on repaying
schools $2 billion – something that Brown proposes if his tax plan
fails.
At CTA's State Council meeting last weekend of nearly 800 union leaders,
members debated the merits of Proposition 98, Vogel said. He's heard
complaints before.
"But right now, it's what we've got," he said. "It's what's keeping us from falling off the precipice at this point in time."
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not neccessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
ON SATURDAY the forces of ®eform, Inc – including
Mayor Tony, Board President García, Superintendent Deasy, the Charter
Schools Association and the usual Astroturf grassroots orgs - plus
busloads of bused in parents - rallied for some complaining,
handwringing and bad teacher bashing at the Coliseum. http://t.co/Kbp4XGfS |http://http://bit.ly/yMzm5J
MEANWHILE actual students and their parents and supporters celebrated
scholarship and excellence up the 110 at the Roybal Learning Center in
the annual LAUSD Academic Decathlon Super Quiz. http://lat.ms/xTkZGg | http://bit.ly/x8KYxs
VALUE-ADDED TEACHER EVALUATION ON TRIAL: A Groundhog Day hypothetical from Valerie Strauss’ Answer Sheet in the... http://bit.ly/zIdsXb
HOMEOWNERS CONSIDER SUING LAUSD OVER WALGROVE LAND LEASE AGREEMENT: BY GARY WALKER, The Argonaut |http://bit.ly/AcdfaW
FAILING GRADES IN SCIENCE STANDARDS FOR US SCHOOLS: Only California gets an “A”.: by Kristina Chew, Ca... http://bit.ly/x0KtBF
BUSING MONEY RESTORED: All districts cut $42 per student instead: By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess | http://... http://t.co/x2K9jAqv
FOSTER YOUTH DESERVE TO BE LEFT OUT OF BROWN’S PLAN TO COMBINE CATEGORICAL FUNDS: By Daniel Heimpel | TopEd – Th... http://bit.ly/wrePif
OUTRAGE: I have been biting my tongue here, caught between too-much and not-enough information. But I’m afraid ... http://bit.ly/AjNasf
A Tweet and a Letter to All Staff from The Superintendent re: Miramonte Elementary School: DrDeasyLAUSD John Dea... http://bit.ly/zMRUna
2 Feb
TOTAL ELIMINATION OF THE LAUSD ELEMENTARY ARTS PROGRAM?: EMAIL FROM ARTS FOR4 LA February 2, 2012 Dear 4LAki... http://bit.ly/ytt9vY
LAUSD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS COULD SOON OFFER 100% LESS ARTS EDUCATION: By Lindsay William-Ross in LAist | http://bit.ly/yhkx3Y
“Due to these wrong doings, we petition the LAUSD to change its actions to better the community.": an e-mail to ... http://bit.ly/xNWfqW
CONTROLLER URGES ACTION TO ADDRESS POTENTIAL STATE CASH SHORTAGE + LETTER TO LAWMAKERS: controller’s press re... http://bit.ly/zeEoqV
California State Controller: STATE IS BROKE ON MARCH 8: By Chriss Street | CalWatchdog | http://bit.ly/zu4JBf Po... http://bit.ly/wFecrA
EDUCATORS URGE SUPPORT FOR EARLY KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM: --Carla Rivera, LA Times/LA Now | http://bit.ly/ysx1cF
HUNDREDS PROTEST PLAN TO ELIMINATE L.A. UNIFIED ADULT CLASSES: by Stephen Ceasar, LA Times/LA Now | http://bit.ly/y1brQ5
SB 8: BROWN, LAWMAKERS BACK BILL PROTECTING SCHOOL BUS MONEY + smf’s 2¢: by Kevin Yamamura, Sacramento Bee | ... http://bit.ly/yIlu68
IS SCHOOL CHOICE GOOD OR BAD FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION: Are charter schools and vouchers a good thing for American pu... http://bit.ly/xQWeSJ
DA BUSTS COUNTY SUPES 4 BROWN ACT VIOLATION. LAT: "By holding
discussions on vital issues in secret, the board displays its contempt
for the public." BdofEd makes County Supes underachievers.
Now that Cooley knows there is a Brown Act may he can bring it to BdofEd? http0://lat.ms/yr6GTN
LOCAL EDUCATORS DECRY PUSH TO RELAX HIGH SCHOOL SCIENCE REQUIREMENT: By KERRY BENEFIELD | THE SANTA ROSA PRESS-D... http://bit.ly/wDL8aU
1 Question/4 Answers: SHOULD WE SWITCH TO WEIGHTED STUDENT FUNDING AND DO IT NOW?: a TopEd forum | http://bit.ly/AbA17q
FORMER ORVILLE WRIGHT PRINCIPAL SPEAKS OUT ABOUT HIS PUNISHMENT; intensity of community outrage at his demotion... http://bit.ly/wtpEct
Many schools under NCLB are failing so Duncan+Dept of Ed are offering
opt-out waivers to all 50 states. Isn't that Every Child Left Behind?
Transitional Kindergarten: CALIFORNIA EDUCATION CUTS COULD HIT YOUNG STUDENTS THE HARDEST: By: Amy Crawford | Sa... http://bit.ly/xvw3dQ
STATE AUDITOR QUESTIONS SPENDING OF FEDERAL STIMULUS ON EDUCATION: CDE hasn’t adequately pursued corrective acti... http://bit.ly/wUxGxc
Simitian: ‘UNCERTAINTY’ REMAINS IN EDUCATION SYSTEM + SAVING KINDERGARTEN: Record turn-out for the state senator... http://bit.ly/y48k4q
L.A. SCHOOLS STRUGGLE TO MAKE HEALTHY MEALS POPULAR: By CHRISTINA HOAG, Associated Press - from the Silicon Vall... http://bit.ly/w63MAt
VALLEY, WESTSIDE PARENTS FIGHT SCHOOL CUTS: by Bill Boyarsky • LA Observed | http://bit.ly/xiKNyz January 28 20... http://bit.ly/xovBcC
Doug McIntyre: LAUSD MUST HEAL BREACH OF TRUST WITH THE PUBLIC: by Doug McIntyre, columnist | LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/y0aWqA
®EFORM, INC. + CHARTER SCHOOLS ASSOCIATION RALLY PLANNED: Parents to be bused in as the unusual suspects strike ... http://bit.ly/ytkxeW
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: 213-241.8700
What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Bennett.Kayser@lausd.net • 213-241-5555
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Nury.Martinez@lausd.net • 213-241-6388
Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385
Steve.Zimmer@lausd.net • 213-241-6387
...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress,
senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • Find
your state legislator based on your home address. Just go to: http://bit.ly/dqFdq2 • 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 Brown: 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.
• If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE.
• If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE.
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!.
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