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| 4LAKids: Monday, Jan 19, 2009 M.L. King Jr. Day |  | | | In This Issue: | | • | NO COST @ WHAT COST: Who IS the Boston Consulting Group When They're at Home? | | | • | LAUSD's WORKPLAN OUTLINE FOR OUR FIRST 100 DAYS | | | • | 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: | | | | Triumphant, unrelenting, unrealistic; nameless, unreasoning, unjustified hope. • The glass half empty, overflowing. • 'Together we will begin the next chapter in the American story.' • Hope is the arena, the blank page, the mise en scène, for the future. • The international and national economies are in tatters • The state budget is the rock upon our chest • The school district awash in red ink. • Public Education is a mess. • Change is Hard/Change is Good. • Hope is the thing with feathers — children are fledglings; hope the wind beneath their wings. • Yes we can/Si se puede. • Together. • ¡Onward/Hasta adelante! - smf
NO COST @ WHAT COST: Who IS the Boston Consulting Group When They're at Home?
by smf for 4LAKids | originally published on 4LAKidsNews 1/14 - updated 1/19 | see note following*
Rumor (and press reports) has it that the Boston Consulting Group was the principal author and driving force behind the recent School Report Card - and BCG seemingly has a blanket consulting, planning and implementation contract with LAUSD on day-to-day operation of the District - having also had a role in the Superintendent’s 100 Day Plan. This BCG contract is reportedly funded at no cost to the District by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation* – which makes BCG an outside consultant, once or twice removed – with dubious public accountability.
* CBS news adds The California Community Foundation
FROM THE OFFICIAL STORY: "The Gates and Dell Foundations invested heavily in the district and funded the development of the Report Card. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) also provided pro-bono contribution to the effort."
MORE: “The development of the Report Card began in iDesign at the start of this year. Mr. Cortines first heard about this work as Deputy Mayor, and was able to implement this reform effort district wide when he came to LAUSD as Senior Deputy Superintendent.”
— From the LAUSD Report Card Frequently Asked Questions for Principals
The above misstates the history. The School Report Card had at least part of its genesis in the LAUSD A-G Working Group about two years ago. “(T)he start of this year” refers to 2008; iDesign didn’t exist at that time. iDesign and its progenitor iDivsion is a subset of LAUSD created to administer non-traditional programs, such as The Mayor’s Partnership Schools, The LMU Partnership, etc.
MSNBC gets it closer to right when they report: “These reports were originally developed through collaboration between the LAUSD and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's Partnership for LA Schools.”
Searches of the Dell and Gates Foundations websites for grants to Los Angeles, LAUSD, Los Angeles Unified School District or Boston Consulting Group show no evidence of this investment “in the district”.
MORE FROM THE OFFICIAL STORY [Report Card Frequently Asked Questions for Principals]:
Q: DOESN’T THE SCHOOL SCORE REFLECT POORLY ON THE SCHOOL, PRINCIPAL AND TEACHERS?
A: No. The school score holds schools accountable for their performance and progress by identifying strengths and areas for improvement. The school score will help teachers, Principals, Local District staff, Central District staff, parents and students work together to determine ways individual schools can improve their performance to better meet the needs of students.
Q: WON'T THE REPORT CARD BE USED TO POINT FINGERS AT PRINCIPALS? NONE OF THE METRICS IN HERE RELATE TO PRINCIPAL PERFORMANCE.
A: The Report Card is focused on student outcomes and leading indicators of student academic performance. There are also qualitative metrics about teaching, leadership, school culture, safety and parent/ student satisfaction.
These metrics are about joint accountability for student outcomes and progress and will be collaboratively developed by Central staff, Local District staff, school administrators, teachers, parents and students. We are measuring progress over time with the Report Card, not pointing a finger at any one particular group.
Mayor Villaraigosa, at the press conference unveiling the School Report Card, asked what would happen if schools don’t improve, said the cards “could ultimately lead to reorganizing schools. (It) means we have to change the leadership, the teachers, everybody," he said. Who “we” is is worrisome; the mayor is constitutionally precluded from this sort of decision making; the case law is LAUSD v. Villaraigosa.
Not to be a conspiracy theorist – but sometimes there are conspiracies: Remember the words of the shadowy man in the parking garage: “Follow the money.”
Remember also that the consulting contract did not pay the $700,000 to $1 million it cost to distribute the School Report Card.
• If that was money well spent and valuable information parents want-and-need (the “qualitative metrics”) was effectively shared that’s a good thing;
• But if it was an ineffective ‘data download’ — misinterpreted and/or mis-or-over understood by parents and leveraged by critics in agreement with the pro-charter/privatization-of-public-education/mayoral control agenda of the sponsors of BCG it is not.
At a recent District meeting with parents I was asked:
Q: WHY WASN'T THE INFORMATION POSTED ON THE WEB?
A: It was and many parents don’t have web access.
Q: …AND WHY IT WASN’T SIMPLY SENT HOME WITH CHILDREN?
A: Backpack mail doesn’t work in Secondary school …though I’m not sure how effective direct mail/’junk mail’ is either.
At that same District meeting Superintendent Cortines promised full public accountability and disclosure as to the cost, effectiveness and results of all District consultant contracts. The BCG contract – because it is technically free to the district it may be outside this oversight …. all the more reason why disclosure and accountability is merited. No cost at what cost?
Has LAUSD held off a takeover by the Mayor only to have takeover accomplished through other means?
A search of the Internet and Wikipedia shows The Boston Consulting Group is a global management consulting firm and a leading advisor on business strategy. BCG partners with clients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-value opportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform their businesses.
BCG believes it differs from competition by its customized approach that combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. The Group is a private company with 66 offices in 38 countries.
Founded in 1963 by Bruce Henderson the firm prides itself on its employee focused culture: from early implementation of an employee stock ownership plan to winning ‘Best small company to work for’ by Fortune magazine 3 years in a row.
STARS, QUESTION MARKS, CASH-COWS & DOGS: THE BCG GROWTH SHARE MATRIX - In the 1970s, BCG created and popularized the "growth-share matrix", a simple chart to assist large corporations in deciding how to allocate cash among their business units. The corporation would categorize its business units as "Stars", "Cash Cows", "Question Marks", and "Dogs", and then allocate cash accordingly, moving money from "cash cows" toward "stars" and "question marks" that had higher market growth rates, and hence higher upside potential.
The chart was popular for two decades and - BCG claims: "continues to be used as a primer in the principles of portfolio management".
Per the BCG website: one of the "Industries" (their word) they serve is PUBLIC EDUCATION.
Not to be a conspiracy theorist (again) but note BCG's work for charter and charter management organizations and support and for the New Orleans School District. The strategy - implemented by BCG for New Orleans Schools post-Katrina- is to make every school a charter school. (Like Huey Long's "Every Man a King" …only Charter Schools!)
Remember also that some say politics in New Orleans and Louisiana exist to make Chicago and Illinois look good!
And please note this: the words "Child", "Children", "Student" and "Students" appear nowhere on the BCG website or on it the Wikipedia entry about them — and certainly nowhere in the BCG vision or mission statements.
Boston Consulting Group is a multi-billion-dollar for-profit growth-and-performance-model-driven business consulting practice.
FROM THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION: Alexander Russo's inside scoop on education news. Russo wrote in his EdWeek Blog last June:
HERE COME CONSULTING FIRMS (AGAIN)
"Today's Washington Post has an interesting piece about the use of high-priced management consultants -- Deloitte, KPMG, McKinsey, Alvarez & Associates (of St. Louis and NOLA fame) -- in urban school districts, a good reminder that it's not just the policy wonks and think tanks that drive real live schoolpeople crazy. "Two dozen high-priced consultants have set up shop on three floors of the D.C. public schools' headquarters, wearing pinstripe suits, toting binders and BlackBerrys and using such corporate jargon as "resource mapping" and "identifying metrics," begins the piece (Big-Name Consultants Greeted With Wariness).
'They come from big-name restructuring firms, and the city is paying $4 million for their services this summer.'
"It's not just DC, of course. Chicago has used Boston Consulting Group on several projects, some of which haven't turned out particularly well. St. Louis and New Orleans have both used Alvarez, to mixed reviews. And, as the article points out, few of the consultants offer project management services or stay on to implement the plans that they make. Binders and powerpoints are all well and good, but making the plans work and building buy-in and capacity are the real keys.
*note :|: 1/19 update: Upon rereading the above I must allow for misunderstanding because of WHAT I DO NOT KNOW. I have been unable to ‘follow the money’ – and the timeline - from the foundations to the District to BCG, or from the foundations to the BCG.
Caveat emptor gentle reader! - smf
LAUSD's WORKPLAN OUTLINE FOR OUR FIRST 100 DAYS
LAUSD’S WORKPLAN OUTLINE FOR OUR FIRST 100 DAYS
Los Angeles Unified School District
Office of the Superintendent
Ramon C. Cortines
January 7, 2009
We are in the final stages of developing a workplan for the first 100 days under new leadership
• The first 100 days exercise is not a strategic plan, nor a transformation plan for the district
• It is a set of priorities and activities that we will be working on over the next 100 days
• It is meant to both stabilize the district and focus me, the Board, and the leadership at LAUSD on the most important activities across the district to drive increased success at schools and to better serve our children
• We will have a full version to share with you shortly, but please know that this will be a document that will evolve and, over the coming months, we will be reaching out to you to provide input into the creation of a comprehensive roadmap for the district.
We intend to build on the plans for the district that were jointly developed in 2000 and 2008, as well as the focus on high priority schools.
• We will be transparent and inclusive in our planning process
• We will also publicly hold ourselves accountable to meeting milestones and delivering results
The priorities for the district will, of course, be shaped by the deep budget cut environment we are in -- we will need to do more with less, reorganize and provide services differently, and be extremely focused. In addition, we will have contingency plans if economic conditions worsen.
• As such, we will drive resources and efforts towards achieving our ultimate goals for LAUSD – high academic achievement and progress, graduation, and career readiness and college preparedness for all
To achieve these goals, we will start by developing plans to implement the following strategies and priorities:
1. Guide, train and equip teachers, administrators and those providing support services to achieve consistently high levels of achievement through effective, evidence-based pedagogy, as well as encourage our leadership to ensure they are responsive to the needs of our students– without this our students can not reach their potential. Some examples of near term priorities are:
• Demonstrate a results-based focus on improving student achievement and service delivery through a laser-like focus on the District’s priorities, including but not limited to: early childhood education, English Language and Standard English Language Learners, students with disabilities, and schools that are not showing academic progress.
• Intentionally work with Local Districts and schools sites to differentiate instruction while caring for the whole child using student behavioral and health supports so that a safe environment for learning is provided
2. Streamline the district – reduce inefficiency and redundancy, and bring funding and decision-making closer to schools, as those closest to our students are best equipped to decide on how to allocate resources. Some examples of near term priorities are:
• Create lean, support focused central and local district offices; focus on this first before exploring ways to streamline schools
• Begin the pilot implementation of per pupil funding, and other innovative ways for schools to manage funds, to ensure more transparency and control of funds at school sites
• Clarify Central and Local District roles and realign them to instructional and operational priorities
3. Provide safe, modern, and orderly schools – our teachers can not teach and our students can not learn without this. Some examples of near term priorities are:
• Identify schools with the most need for the pilot mapping program and implement this program which identifies safe passage routes to and from our schools
• Revise our facilities master plan which starts with teaching and learning priorities, and also addresses supports for charters, partnership schools and innovative programs
4. Implement an accountability and support system across all public schools – with greater local decision making must come greater accountability. Some examples of near term priorities are
• Launch the Accountability and Performance Management system with the roll-out of school report cards and increase the use of data-based decision making across the district
• Celebrate those schools, including teachers, administrators, classified and other certificated staff, throughout the district who have made a difference, as well as embrace and share innovative models – e.g., charters, partnership schools, iDesign, magnet schools, etc.
5. Provide transparency to and gather input from employees, parents, students, and the community – we have a long way to go to help our students and faculty to achieve state goals and we need to work as a team to get there
• Conduct community “meet and greets” and use multimedia to promote transparency
• Develop a specific plan for frequent discussions and collaboration with parents, communities, collective bargaining units, elected officials, etc
This is just the beginning. The priorities and accomplishments in the first 100 days will set the stage and momentum for even greater change and improvement across the district.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
• KLSC ANNOUNCES TWO SPECIAL BROADCASTS ON THE BUDGET CRISES: The first primarily on the LAUSD Budget Crisis, the second 0n the State Budget Crisis
…both affect you, your children, your school.
• BOUND FOR WASHINGTON: Jacquelín Mendoza earned an invitation to Obama’s inauguration
January 15, 2009 -- There is very little time left before Barack Obama becomes the first African American president of the United States. And Jacquelín Mendoza is keeping perfect track of the time.
“I’m very nervous because it’s a great event, and I only think that the moment will be historic and I will be there to see it,” she says.
This eighth-grade student at Nightingale Middle School in Cypress Park will attend Obama’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., next Tuesday, January 20.
• CORTINES PROPOSAL APPROVED: It includes cutting 2,290 teacher positions in LAUSD; the union announces protests
January 14, 2009 -- The Board of Education of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) has approved a proposal by Superintendent Ramón Cortines that cuts 2,290 positions of teachers who have been teaching for two years or less, within 14 days of their being notified.
The proposal, which Cortines maintained is “tentative,” would eliminate 1,690 elementary school teachers, 300 math teachers and 300 English teachers in middle and high schools. These cuts would save LAUSD 50 million dollars.
“This is strictly a precautionary measure. I’m trying to put pressure on Sacramento. I’m still trying to find options,” maintained Cortines.
• Jan 29, 2008: STATE BUDGET CUTS PROTEST, MARCH & RALLY
Published on United Teachers Los Angeles (http://www.utla.net)
3:30- 4:00 p.m
Demo at LAUSD Beaudry Bldg
333 So. Beaudry Avenue,
Los Angeles 90017
• A Call to Action: PTA LEGISLATIVE ALERT
California State Budget:
Our responsibility to children cannot be cut in bad economic times
· We must find a balanced approach to the budget crisis that includes sufficient new revenues to protect children and the future of California.
· Support continued funding for programs and services that help ensure that all children can succeed, such as smaller class sizes, arts and physical education, science, counselors, nurses, librarians, and health and social services for children.
We cannot build a world class public education system by going backwards in funding for education and other children's services.
• A PARENT SOUNDS OFF OVER LAUSD BUDGET CUTS
Here's one parent's response, in an open letter to the superintendent ....she doesn't buy it!
• The return of Don Mullinax: POTENTIAL FOR BAILOUT MONEY FRAUD PROMPTS EXPANSION OF FORENSIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
A prominent forensic accounting firm has opened a new office in Los Angeles and added one of the nation's leading forensic investigators to its team of experts in anticipation of an expected increase in fraud, waste and abuse as billions in Federal bailout money are about to be injected into the economy.
• VALLEY ART EDUCATORS EXHIBIT THEIR OWN WORK
Valley Art Educators Exhibit Their Own Work | Art displayed at the Armory Center for the Arts now through Feb. 22
LAUSD art teachers from throughout the San Fernando Valley are currently on exhibit at the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena.
"An Art Educated Collection" is an exhibit, which showcases the collective work of the many talented artists who teach in San Fernando Valley public schools," said Spike Dolemite, founder of the Arts in Education Aid Council.
• BUDDY SYSTEM BLOSSOMS
Local schools use innovation, collaboration and other approaches to boost student learning
Experiments often produce unintended results, and that is exactly what happened between Angeles Mesa Elementary School and its big brother down the street—Crenshaw High School.
“Last year (2007) Crenshaw students came and read books t our kids, and we called it a Family Fun Day. Mr. Griffin last year loaned us his A.P. (Advanced Placement) English students one or two times a month for one hour, and they read stories to the kids,” explained Elaine Wrice, categorical programs advisor at Angeles Mesa.
• NEW SCHOOL TAX EYED FOR 2010 BALLOT
Just two months after winning approval of a $7 billion bond measure, Los Angeles Unified School District officials are considering another proposal to fund local schools.
For now, there are no details on how much a proposed parcel tax would cost homeowners or generate for the district.
But with LAUSD facing a $400 million shortfall this year and expecting chronic underfunding for years, district officials said they need more revenue to keep the quality of education from getting worse.
"It's becoming more and more apparent, based on the economic situation the district is in, that we need to look at a tax," said Superintendent Ramon Cortines.
• THE FULL TEXT OF THE GOVERNOR’S STATE-OF-THE-STATE SPEECH
“It doesn't make any sense to talk about education, infrastructure, water, health care reform and all these things when we have this huge budget deficit.
“I think you would agree that in recent years California's legislature has been engaged in civil war. Meanwhile, the needs of the people became secondary.
“No one wants to take money from our gang-fighting programs or from Medi-Cal or from education.
“No one wants to pay more in taxes or fees.
“But each of us has to give up something because our country is in an economic crisis and our state simply doesn't have the money.”
More than you ever wanted to know about the school report card: REPORT CARD FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR PRINCIPALS
LAUSD BOARD VOTES TO POSSIBLY LAY OFF 2,300 TEACHERS
The 4-2 vote authorizes the job actions if no other options are found to decrease a potential $250-million budget shortfall this year caused by the state's financial problems.
Because of the state's budget uncertainty, the Los Angeles school board agreed Tuesday to potentially lay off up to 2,300 teachers if no other options become available this year.
The Los Angeles Unified School District faces up to a $250-million shortfall, and the move could shave about $50 million from that figure. But Supt. Ramon C. Cortines, in his first board meeting as head of the district, said he hoped not to send the notices.
"This is strictly a place-holder," he said. "I am still trying to find alternatives."
• QUALITY COUNTS 2009 | The other Report Card + charts+graphs: The ED WEEK QUALITY COUNTS SURVEY OF CALIFORNIA
50-State Report Card: Amid national political turnover and financial worries, states remain on the front line in the push for school improvement.
• STATE BUDGET WOES COULD LEAD TO SHORTER SCHOOL YEAR
Facing a massive budget deficit, California is considering shortening the school year by five days, a move that would save the state $1.1 billion. But the proposal is causing uproar among families and educators, who say the consequences would be disastrous, the Los Angeles Times reports. State schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell told the paper the move would hurt low-income and minority children because affluent school districts will most likely have the funds to remain open all 180 days of the school year. If the California legislature agrees to cut the school calendar, the state will join North Dakota, Kentucky, and a few other states that require the least number of school days.
• CA SUPREME COURT TO TAKE ON DISCOUNTED TUITION FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS
Should illegal immigrants pay discounted tuition rates at state colleges? The California Supreme Court is expected to take up that question later this year when it hears arguments on the constitutionality of California's law granting in-state tuition to undocumented students. Expect educators and lawmakers across the country to pay close attention to the case. The outcome will likely influence other states' college tuition policies for immigrant students who are not legal U.S. residents. At least nine states offer tuition breaks to illegal immigrants who meet certain conditions, including Illinois, Kansas, and New York.
• EDUCATION FOR ALL STUDENTS
letters to the Editor | LA TIMES 12 Jan
Re “High court to consider tuition law,” Jan. 5
While your coverage regarding California state law AB 540 has highlighted some important issues, I'd like to underscore that the law -- and good policy -- dictate that we not discriminate against undocumented students who reside in California when offering in-state tuition to California high school graduates.
• LAUSD TEACHERS: STRIKE, BOYCOTT POSSIBLE
LAUSD teachers say they may boycott or strike if their contract needs aren't met.
Massive state budget shortfalls are leading to cuts in education.
Union leaders say the district has other options than to lay off teachers and cut their health care.
• SCHOOL GAINS ARE PUT AT RISK
Mockler: “The budget bell is ringing for California's schools to take a recessionary recess from reform.”
It's inevitable that California public schools soon will be whacked with hefty program cuts. And that's a shame because students recently have been making significant gains.
A decade of academic advancement due to class-size reduction, tougher curriculum, higher standards, testing, accountability and other reforms could be stalled -- even reversed -- by the necessity to cut spending.
• LAUSD SENDS OUT REPORT CARDS EVALUATING SCHOOLS
Supt. Ramon C. Cortines pushed for the mailings to give parents a clearer view of students' graduation and dropout rates, math and English proficiency, college preparation and more.
Parents in Los Angeles this week will receive a one-page report card that will provide a less varnished and more accessible picture of how well their child's school is doing.
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.
| |  |
| 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 has served a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools.
• In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids.
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