In This Issue:  | | • | The Worst of Times | LAUSD ULTIMATUM: PAY CUTS OR LAYOFFS: Superintendent tells unions 8,500 employees could go to offset $480 million deficit | | | • | The Golden Age: HIGHER EDUCATION MASTER PLAN GETTING IGNORED | | | • | Race2Top meets NCLB: THE ‘HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER’ DODGE | | | • | FOR $20 NO CHILD GETS LEFT BEHIND | | | • | 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: | | | | The Best of Times: It gets no better than last Monday.
MONDAY MORNING AT TEN O'CLOCK AS THE DAY BEGINS... LAUSD broke ground on a new elementary school, too long in the coming, in Echo Park. There had been drama and angst in the run-up – and a certain amount of NIMBYism from folks from an adjacent back yard. But the school is coming and the community will be served. Hopefully Echo Park will get the school they want+need …not the one the politicos and the neighbors want for them.
Adults made boring speeches, politicians were self-congratulatory and kids sang and danced and recited the Pledge of Allegiance as only elementary school children can, mispronouncing the big words with a patriotic fervor that cannot be missed. The Republic for Richard Stands was made proud.
ON MONDAY AFTERNOON the other end of the spectrum was addressed in a similar manner as the ribbon was officially cut on Central High School #9 – The High School for the Fine and Performing Arts. There were pretty much the same speeches and self congratulation, talented young people blew us away with their talent – and if the pledge was not so grand the harmonies and melodies told us that The Arts and Arts Education are Alive and Well @ 450 N. Grand.
I arrived at the event an hour early, giving me the chance to explore the school on my own without a tour guide. The architecture sings. The library soars. The young people bubble; enthusiasm flows around every angle and down every hallway.
In my exploration I met with a music teacher I knew from my daughter’s middle school career. She is by nature a serious person, an excellent teacher not given to nonsense – the kind of music instructor who expects one to practice and stares down a bad excuse or a sour note. She was smiling ear-to-ear in her new digs – a music department with practice rooms and - I dare say - kids who practice.
I ran into a construction guy I know, beaming with self satisfaction at how well the school had turned out – if not the direction of the District.
Even better I came across a student – or to be honest, he came across me.
“Mr. Folsom… remember me? I went to high school with your daughter.”
“Of course I remember,” I lied. “How is this working for you …do you like it here in this new school?”
Again the smile, ear-to-ear. “It’s great. I like the school, I like the teachers. My friends and I are learning stuff. And we’re having fun!”
And, before I could say it: “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
Indeed. ...FUN IS THE THING THAT MONEY CAN'T BUY.
¡Onward/Hasta adelante! -smf
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A 4LAKids reader (squish61) asks “Would it be possible to remind readers that this district that cares so much for reform is responsible for our huge class sizes? They should have decimated out-of-classroom spending first. If they think charter class sizes of 20:1 are best, why not make that the priority?
• Not only would it be possible, it has been done!
• Point taken – but to be nit-picky, the definition of decimated is to reduce by 10%; this has been done. (The etymological origin of ‘Decimate’ was the Roman practice of killing every tenth legionnaire in a unit suspected of cowardice …talk about accountability!)
• Who are the ‘they’ who think that charter class sizes are best?, Supt. Cortines is of the belief that CSR isn’t really effective until you get to around 15:1. 4LAKids believes in incrementalism and that the ideal needn’t be the enemy of the good -- 20:1 is better that 25:1 and vice versa .
• The real concern is that the lessons-learned and work-done by charters are not being discussed ...let alone implemented. Los Angeles has more charters than anywhere else and what do we have to show for it? The current thinking seems to be that the Charter itself is the Da Vinci Code/quick fix/magic bullet. That is no more correct than the union contract or an enchanted resolution of the school board being the answer. I’m not even sure we understand what the question is! -smf
The Worst of Times | LAUSD ULTIMATUM: PAY CUTS OR LAYOFFS: Superintendent tells unions 8,500 employees could go to offset $480 million deficit
By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer | LA Daily News
14 Nov 2009 -- Los Angeles Unified schools chief Ramon Cortines told unions Friday [the Thirteenth] that they must accept a combination of furloughs and pay cuts this year and next or the district will be forced to lay off up to 8,500 employees.
Saying the district needed to bridge a $480 million budget gap for the 2010-11 school year, Cortines asked all employees to accept four furlough days this year and a 12 percent pay cut next year.
SEIU Local 99, representing service workers, and the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles said they were open to discuss the concessions. A United Teachers Los Angeles representative was not available for comment.
In a letter sent to all employee union leaders Friday, Cortines described the district's financial picture as "the worst budget crisis in years" and he urged all bargaining units to cooperate.
Unlike last year, he said, the district was not in any position to offer any early retirement incentives - like those recently approved by the Los Angeles City Council for city workers.
"Almost every department will be affected," he added. "We are being forced to function in a different way than in the past. ... It is to our students' benefit to work together now more than ever."
Cortines said the concessions would be necessary to maintain current staffing levels and service. He added that if no concessions are agreed to, the district would have to lay off from 7,500 to 8,500 employees — requiring some 14,000 reduction-in-force notices to go out in March — up from about 8,000 notices that went out last March. The district has to put out more notices than expected layoffs because of formulas that lead to uncertainty over which employees will be subject to layoffs.
"We are looking at one in five employees who will be informed that they may lose their jobs," Cortines wrote in the two-page letter.
All of the district's eight employee unions will have to agree to concessions before Dec. 8, when the district will have to submit a new balanced three-year budget to the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
SEIU, representing many of the district's lowest-paid workers, has scheduled a vote of its members next week to approve four unpaid furlough days.
"We understand that there is a really terrible budget deficit and the cuts from Sacramento are dire," union spokeswoman Blanca Gallegos said.
"We are really just trying to prevent further loss of jobs," she continued. "We've already seen 500 custodial positions cut this school year, and we realize to address this deficit we need to take these steps."
Judith Perez, president of Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, said her union was prepared to work with the district to find solutions.
"If you ask me if I'm in favor of furloughs, I'll tell you no, but we are ready to sit down and negotiate," Perez said.
But what the district really needs is concessions from UTLA - something the union has fought for decades. UTLA president A.J. Duffy was unavailable for comment Friday.
The news of more cuts comes just months after LAUSD eliminated more than 5,000 jobs - 2,000 teachers, 400 counselors and an estimated 2,800 nonteaching school workers to cover a $596 million deficit.
Still, many of those workers were later rehired as other employees took an early retirement incentive package. Last year, no employee unions came forward with any concessions.
However, last year the district had federal stimulus funding to ease the pain of the budget squeeze. This year, Cortines said, the district will not have the same funding.
The district projected it would need to eliminate full-day kindergarten and all arts and music programs to close a projected budget deficit of $1.1 billion through 2012. Officials also included concessions that they hoped to get from employee unions, including 27 furlough days for out-of-classroom teachers and a 5 percent salary reduction for all district staff.
They sent that in a budget to the county Office of Education, which rejected it because the concessions had not been agreed to by the unions. Now the county wants union approval in writing before it signs off on LAUSD's budget.
The four furlough days that officials are asking for this year would cover an existing deficit of between $50 million and $60 million this year, district officials said.
The 12 percent pay cut would cover the $480 million deficit projected for next year - one that Cortines and other officials said could grow even bigger.
"Teachers are working their butts off this year. ... Those laid-off teachers made all class sizes bigger, and to ask those teachers to now take a pay cut is difficult," said Jose Navarro, a history teacher at Sylmar High.
"But if you ask me personally if I had to take a furlough day or two to help my students I would ... and I think a lot of the teachers I work with closely would share that view."
The Golden Age: HIGHER EDUCATION MASTER PLAN GETTING IGNORED
By Nanette Asimov, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer
Friday, November 13, 2009 -- California's Master Plan for Higher Education - which set academics ablaze with the promise of a nearly free college education for all who qualified - is limping toward the half-century mark largely ignored by lawmakers who don't even pretend they can live up to its expensive commitment.
That's the finding of a report The Master Plan at 50: Assessing California’s Vision for Higher Education released Thursday by the state's Office of the Legislative Analyst. It says today's reality of soaring student fees, volatile college budgets and enrollment caps are so far removed from the guiding Master Plan, that something must be done to bring them in line.
The Master Plan was crafted in 1960 to establish a coordinated system of colleges and universities, with the goal of steering students appropriately toward the University of California, California State University or community college largely free of charge.
"Today its assumptions look pretty quaint," said Steve Boilard, the report's author. "There's a big disconnect between what the state's priorities are and what's actually going on."
That point is not lost on thousands of students and families angry about rising fees at a time when many can't even get into basic courses.
At a recent protest in Long Beach, where the CSU trustees raised yearly fees by 20 percent to $4,026, students held an all-night vigil, reading aloud from the Master Plan.
"Accessible, affordable, high-quality and accountable" were its guiding principles for higher education. Nominal fees were to be charged only for such ancillary categories as recreation costs.
Yet next week, UC regents are expected to raise fees by 32 percent, topping $10,000 for the first time. It would be the eighth fee increase since 2002.
California's budget crisis has led to cuts of more than $500 million from CSU since last year, more than $800 million from UC, and more than $700 million from community colleges.
The new report doesn't fault state lawmakers for the out-of-control economy, but says lawmakers have failed to set policies to guide colleges and universities through turbulent times, as the Master Plan calls for.
With no new policy on how much students should pay for their education, "fee levels have been unpredictable and volatile, with little alignment to the cost of instruction or to students' ability to pay," the report says.
Not only are lawmakers unaware of what it costs to educate students, they lack a policy for funding enrollment growth, the report says. The result is hit-or-miss decision making.
CSU announced recently that it must trim enrollment by 40,000 over two years, and had to cancel enrollment for next spring.
Although lawmakers can't micromanage the schools, they have "tremendous leverage over fee decisions by how much state funding they appropriate," Boilard said.
"So they could enter into a conversation with the universities and say, 'We're going to build you a budget with the expectation that fees will be at X level. And if you're unwilling to enact those fees, we'll reconsider the amount of state support."
Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge (Los Angeles County), who chairs the Assembly Higher Education Committee, said those conversations have already begun in preparation for hearings on overhauling the Master Plan, possibly in December.
"California has dramatically changed in 50 years," Portantino said. "We need to make sure the promises made are kept."
Ricardo Gomez of the UC Student Association agrees. But the Cal undergrad is skeptical that conversations and hearings will change the fundamental problem.
"We've been lobbying legislators for years telling them that UC is not living up to the Master Plan," said Gomez, legislative affairs chair for the association.
"We can talk about innovative solutions, but at the end of the day it comes down to fully funding higher education," he said. "The state needs to increase its revenues."
THE CALIFORNIA MASTER PLAN FOR HIGHER EDUCATION
In 1959, state lawmakers asked the UC regents and state Board of Education for a plan that would develop, expand and integrate the curriculum and standards of California's colleges and universities for years to come. The plan approved in 1960 called for periodic increases in fees for noninstructional services, such as activities and athletics. Faculty salaries would be paid by the state.
Most of the Master Plan principles are not codified in state law. Here are two of its key provisions:
* Eligibility targets: The top 12.5 percent of graduating public high school students are eligible for UC. The top 33.3 percent are eligible for CSU. Everyone 18 or older who can "benefit from instruction" is eligible to attend a community college.
* Other goals: Higher education should remain accessible, affordable, high-quality and accountable.
Race2Top meets NCLB: THE ‘HIGHLY QUALIFIED TEACHER’ DODGE
New York Times Editorial
November 13, 2009 -- Education Secretary Arne Duncan has been widely held in high regard since he was appointed in January, but no honeymoon lasts forever. Mr. Duncan’s came to an abrupt end earlier this week when he issued long-awaited rules that the states must follow to apply for his $4.3 billion discretionary fund, known as the Race to the Top Fund, and the second round of federal financing under the $49 billion federal stimulus package known as the state fiscal stabilization fund.
The rules for the Race to the Top Fund, which is designed to reward states that embrace reform and bypass those that do not, are generally sound and have been greeted with enthusiasm. But some school reform groups and some in Congress have reacted with dismay to the part of the stabilization fund that was supposed to require the states to end the longstanding and reprehensible practice of shunting unprepared and unqualified teachers into the schools serving the poorest students.
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 was clear in requiring states to remedy situations in which high poverty schools were being disproportionately staffed by teachers who were inexperienced, unqualified or teaching in fields that they had not majored in.
The country would be much further along on the reform trail had the Bush administration followed the law. Instead, it allowed the states to define away the problem by re-labeling the existing, inadequate teacher corps as “highly qualified.”
Congress tried to discourage the use of inexperienced and unqualified teachers a second time when it passed the stimulus act. Education advocates inside and outside Congress expected that the stabilization fund application would be explicit and ambitious on the issue of teacher equity. They were understandably disappointed to find the issue couched, once again, in euphemistic language that asks the states to describe in vague terms whether the teacher corps is “highly qualified.”
The Congressional Black Caucus is unhappy with this approach. The Education Trust, an influential research group that deals with reform issues, accused Mr. Duncan of papering over a serious problem and squandering an opportunity to force “truth-telling about unfair teacher-assignment practices.”
The language in the application reflects timidity at the White House and in Congress, where some voices wanted to delay the fight over this issue until next year when Congress will likely reauthorize the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. The language also reflects the sometimes excessive influence of boutique alternative certification programs, which want to keep doors open for teachers who might be shut out under traditional criteria.
But the facts on the ground remain inescapably clear. Children in poor neighborhoods will continue to be poorly served at school until Congress pushes the states to provide them with better, more effective teachers.
FOR $20 NO CHILD GETS LEFT BEHIND
An editorial by Dale McFeatters, | Scripps Howard News Service
11/13/09 -- It's too bad Rosewood Middle School in Wayne County, N.C., wasn't allowed to go ahead with its planned fundraiser. The results might have proved fascinating.
A $20 donation to the school would allow students to raise their grades by 10 points on any two tests of their choosing. A $60 donation would get the 20 points, admission to a 5th period dance and a special pizza lunch for the student and a friend.
The idea originated with a parents advisory council and the money would have gone to buy digital cameras for the school computer lab and a high-tech blackboard. Principal Susie Shepherd, who initially approved the plan, told the Raleigh, N.C., News and Observer, "Last year they did chocolates, and it didn't generate anything."
When word got out, school administrators were horrified by the idea of cash for grades and cancelled the fundraiser even though Shepherd indicated that a 10-point improvement on just two tests would be unlikely to affect a student's final grade.
Actually, in an indirect way, the idea speaks well of the students and their parents, who give the school itself high marks, that they would care enough about doing well on tests to spend $20 to do even better.
Besides, rewards for generous cash contributions aren't exactly unknown in the academic world. In colleges and universities, they're called honorary doctorates. Maybe Rosewood should try that instead.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
CASH-FOR-GRADES PRINCIPAL RETIRES: By The Associated Press 13 November -- Goldsboro, N.C. (AP) -- A North Carol.. http://bit.ly/2v7Ov7
HAWAII’S TEACHER FURLOUGHS CALLED MIND-BOGGLING: by The Associated Press 13 November – Honolulu (AP) -- U.S. Ed.. http://bit.ly/3iSTcW
The '09-'10 Contract: AALA SUNSHINES. WILL THEY SEE THE LIGHT?: FROM THE ASSOCIATED ADMINISTRATORS OF LA UPDATE.. http://bit.ly/3pc4tL
TEN9EIGHT - SHOOT FOR THE MOON: Why You Should Watch Mary Mazzio's New Documentary: Posted to Business Week Onl.. http://bit.ly/3aKr3c
LAUSD WILL APPEAL TO STUDENTS TO GET PARENTS COUNTED IN 2010 CENSUS: By Connie Llanos Staff Writer | LA Newspap.. http://bit.ly/1W9cxV
No budget/No clue: Lead line in Tucson TV story about the Arizona state budget” "At least we’re not California'.. http://bit.ly/3tUK5i
Public Policy Institute of California Survey: CALIFORNIANS AND HIGHER EDUCATION: Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, .. http://bit.ly/2MNJ09
MORE CONTROVERSY AROUND SCHOOL CHOICE PLAN: Written by Alex Garcia, San Fernando Valley Sun Contributing Writer.. http://bit.ly/1YfC9j
2 from School Construction News: GREEN SCHOOL RETROFITS + DON’T CUT THE M & O BUDGET: Green School Retrofits: J.. http://bit.ly/4zB5k9
RULES SET FOR $4 BILLION ‘RACE TO TOP’ CONTEST + CALIFORNIA MAY GET UP TO $700 MILLION IN ‘R2T'’: EdWeek:Rules .. http://bit.ly/22kag6
Briefly: CA HIGHER ED GETS HI MARKS, 4 LA LATINOS WIN MATH+SCIENCE SCHOLARSHIPS, JOB TRAINING GETS STIMULUS $: .. http://bit.ly/2NgKwt
LAUSD’S GOAL SHOULD BE BETTER SCHOOLS: The weakness in the Public School Choice Resolution isn’t the work rules.. http://bit.ly/44dWGV
DIRTY TRICKS DEPORTATION FLYER SINKS TO A NEW LOW + smf RANTS: L.A. Daily News Editorial Nov 12, 2009 -- HOW do.. http://bit.ly/1cfPAM
SMMUSD/CPES/SMMPTA STATE OF OUR SCHOOLS COMMUNITY REPORT: THE STATE OF OUR SCHOOLS Santa Monica - Malibu Unifie.. http://bit.ly/17awL8
Dumb Fundraising Tricks: SELLING TEST SCORE POINTS: ●●smf checked the sources here, expecting (and hoping) to f.. http://bit.ly/4GDZk
No budget/No clue: SCHWARZENEGGER WARNS OF MORE ACROSS-THE-BOARD BUDGET CUTS: Michael Rothfel.. http://bit.ly/DKbUl
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
Monday Nov 16, 2009
VALLEY REGION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #9: Construction Update Meeting
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Hazeltine Elementary School
7150 Hazeltine Ave.
Van Nuys, CA 91405
Tuesday Nov 17, 2009
9TH STREET SPAN K-8 REDEVELOPMENT: Meet-the-Architect Design Meeting
Time: 5:00 p.m.
Location: 9th Street Elementary School
820 Towne Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90021
Tuesday Nov 17, 2009
VALLEY REGION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #7: Construction Update Meeting
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Strathern Elementary School
7939 St. Clair Ave.
North Hollywood, CA 91605
Wednesday Nov 18, 2009
CENTRAL REGION HIGH SCHOOL #13/TAYLOR YARD: Construction Update Meeting
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Glassell Park Elementary School
Auditorium
2211 W. Avenue 30
Los Angeles, CA 90065
Wednesday Nov 18, 2009
VALLEY REGION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #6: Construction Update Meeting
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Rosa Parks Learning Center
8855 Noble Ave.
North Hills, CA 91343
Saturday Nov 21, 2009
CENTRAL REGION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #13: Fun Fence Art Day
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Location: Pio Pico Span School
1512 S. Arlington Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90019
*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
***MEETS IN THE LAUSD BOARD ROOM @ 12:30 PM WED NOV 18 SPECIAL TIME ***
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
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
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! • 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.
• 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.
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