In This Issue:  | | • | EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE LAUSD/UTLA LOCAL SCHOOL STABILIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT INITITIVE OF 2011 ( | | | • | JUST 31% OF CALIFORNIA STUDENTS PASS P.E. TEST + THE TIMES ARGUES THE POINT + smf REFUTES THE ARGUMENT | | | • | FEWER CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS KEEP LIBRARIANS ON STAFF + Three research studies | | | • | ELECTION INITIATIVES AND VOTER RESPONSIBILITIES | | | • | HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not neccessariily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources | | | • | EVENTS: Coming up next week... | | | • | What can YOU do? | |
Featured Links: | | | | "If the broad light of day could be let in upon men’s actions, it would purify them as the sun disinfects." – Justice Brandeis
4LAKids will withhold its opinion of The Tentative Agreement between the District and the Teachers' Union for the time being.
There is much to like and I truly want to like it – but I haven't had an opportunity to really break it down and discuss it with others yet.
Following is:
● The Joint LAUSD/UTLA Joint STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES and
● The UTLA-written EXECUTIVE SUMMARY. (I doubt if LAUSD agrees with that interpretation totally)
● And a link to the AGREEMENT IN ITS ENTIRELY.
LAUSD and UTLA have weighed-in of course, and the media have their opinions – [see highlights, lowlights & the news that doesn't fit] ranging from A) Hallelujah! to B) The Sky is Falling!
And the charter school machinery and ®eform proponents forecast the end of the world.
The agreement was negotiated behind closed doors over a couple of months as a labor/management contract – and no one inside that room, at that table, represented parents and students – the "other stakeholders". Labor+Management say they always have students and parents best interests in mind – and bristle at any suggestion otherwise.
Bristle on. Because that, gentle readers, is balderdash. Codswallop. Or worse.
As long as the governance and future of LAUSD is settled in secret negotiations – whether in City Hall, or corporate boardrooms or by non-profit foundations or venture capital conference calls or hedge fund investor briefings or in labor/management collective bargaining there is no transparency, no democracy, no true parental involvement. Yes, one of the school board members is an actual LAUSD parent – but she does not represent us all!
Parents being informed in due course/after the fact is not consultative or inclusive Three minutes of public comment while the chair is fixed on the timer and the votes already counted is not Partnering with Parents no matter how loudly proclaimed. It's not even listening.
As long as parental involvement in LAUSD is subcontracted out to special interests and well-connected community organizers beholden to outside funding can be no parent engagement. Whenever the question is "How do we work this out outside The Brown Act?" the inquiry is suspect, the process skewed and the answer false
This agreement gives some local authority and autonomy to School Site Councils and that is a good thing. But LAUSD has always been locally+globally manipulative or dismissive of SSCs when they consult them at all – and UTLA has preferred to set up and govern in parallel School Based Management (SBM) committees jointly run by principals and chapter chairs. And I see in the agreement no provision or opportunity to grow the Magnet Program – the (small 'r') LAUSD reform program that actually succeeds!
That said; I truly hope this works. "Living in hope is a really terrible thing," Libyan author Hisham Matar says. "People speak about hope most of the time as a very positive thing. When you've been living in hope for a long time you realize that certainty is far more desirable than hope."
ELSEWHERE Newt Gingritch declared himself the presumptive Republican nominee and continues to call for kids in poor schools to be hired as janitors to clean up their schools. This is akin to parents being voluntold to run school libraries in LAUSD – and only slightly less legal. Librarian is a 'Mommy Job' and Custodian is a 'Kiddy Job'.
PIZZA IS A VEGETABLE and the LA Times agrees; California school kids are less fit and the LA Times disagrees. Chubby apparently is the new cute, diabetic the new healthy.
AN ILL WIND THAT BLOWS: Mayor Tony and Chief Beck in a masterstroke of military precision reminiscent of Alexander at Issus or Wellington at Waterloo swept the Occupiers from the City Hall Lawn! Never mind that the Santa Ana winds would’ve done the same thing 24 hours later for decidedly less police overtime.
Wednesday night's winds blew some trees and power lines down. And the power is still not back on in pieces of LA. Some schools are still closed. Begging the question: How prepared are we for The Big One?
What passes for a weather station in Mount Washington recorded gusts of 100MPH during the night Wednesday – but the electricity held until morning. Then the power went out. When you don't have power for twenty-four hours and you can't get online and your laptop battery fades you grow thankful for teachers who taught you to write with a pencil in a composition book and for a misspent youth in the Bahamas where you learned how to trim the wick of a kerosene lantern. Cursing the darkness your mind wanders and you look for whom to blame and you develop elaborate strategies to get them their deserved comeuppance.
The Recall Mayor Tony Drive Was Formed Anew. The power failed most completely in Northeast L.A. -- the very area where Tony was our Assemblyman for 6 years. The water failed also, a failure of municipal infrastructure of Villaraigrosian proportions. (I may have not have squirreled away enough batteries, but the alcoholic beverages were holding out – snakebite was not a concern!)
Tony as a city councilman promised to serve his whole term – but didn't. He promised to save the Southwest Museum – but didn't. He promised to support our new high school against downtown developers who supported his mayoral campaign – and didn't. He was instrumental in giving our new community college campus to a charter school and some of his workforce development friends.
In the dark the recall drive is plotted: The petitions, the angry townspeople, the torchlight parades. El Zorro vanquishes and humiliates El Alcalade de Los Angeles yet again.
BUT RECALL IS ALSO REMEMBERING …a maybe if we remember maybe we won't make the same mistake again. No more Mayor Tonys. That's a pretty good legacy for the kids.
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
PS: If the Creditors' Committee or the Chicago Tribune would only let them maybe for their 130th Birthday The Times could fix the neon "I" on the sign on the roof?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OF THE LAUSD/UTLA LOCAL SCHOOL STABILIZATION AND EMPOWERMENT INITITIVE OF 2011
Summary by UTLA | http://bit.ly/u6vAuS
Dec. 2, 2011
SCHOOL STABILIZATION
1. For the next three years, including PSC 3.0, 4.0, and 5.0 schools, only in-District applicants (no charters) can apply under Public School Choice for Focus (existing) and new schools, nor can the District take any other action to give a District school to a charter operator (e.g. Jordan HS).
2. UTLA can unilaterally opt out of the agreement if the District violates the above provision.
3. For the next three years, no school can be reconstituted/restructured if it demonstrates “reasonably progress toward overall improvement.”
SUPPORT FOR HIGH NEEDS SCHOOLS
1. High needs schools identified by the Superintendent as PSC 3.0 Focus, future Focus, and at-risk Watch schools are eligible for a package of supports, coordinated by UTLA/AALA/District intervention teams, including assistance in plan writing, professional development, etc., from NBC teachers, universities, and displaced teachers (who provide intervention services, tutoring, CAHSEE support, class coverage support, etc.).
2. UTLA, AALA, and the District will provide continuing assistance to ensure that school plans will be accepted by the Superintendent as “high quality” (based on clear criteria with UTLA and AALA consulted).
LOCAL SCHOOL GOVERNANCE OPTIONS
1. All LAUSD elementary, middle, span, and high schools will be eligible to select, if so desired, an alternative governance model, including ESBMM, Pilot, or Local Initiative School (LIS) model (described below), phased in as follows:
a. PSC 3.0 Focus schools: 2011-12 – selection; 2012-13 – implementation
b. Deciles 1-4 schools: 2012-13 – selection; 2013-14 – implementation
c. Deciles 5-10 schools: 2013-14 – selection; 2014-15 – implementation (For LlS, 2012-13 selection and 2013-14 implementation with 70% faculty vote)
2. UTLA and the District will provide jointly developed training to all interested schools on the different governance models before the selection process begins.
3. A Local Options Oversight Committee – composed of UTLA, AALA, and District representatives – will develop the training programs on the governance models and resolve conflicts arising from the design, adoption, and implementation of school plans.
LOCAL INITIATIVE SCHOOL MODEL
1. The MOU creates this new LIS governance model which gives schools, after training, the option to create – by a 60% secret ballot vote of the faculty with the principal’s concurrence – a package of “automatic waivers” (no District or UTLA approval required), which could include autonomy over curriculum; instruction; assessments (includingperiodic assessments); daily schedules; internal school organization (including small learning communities); professional development; budget; staff selection (including the principal); teacher assignments to grade levels, departments etc.; local selection of department chairs, coordinators, deans, etc.; student discipline; and health and safety.
2. Between November 15 and March 1 of each school year, interested schools develop proposals, including their Single Plan, and a petition identifying the automatic waivers desired which must be signed by a majority of the school faculty with the principal’s concurrence, followed by more meetings and discussion.
3. Between March 1 and April 30, a properly noticed secret ballot vote with at least 60% of those voting can adopt the model and the automatic waiver package, with the concurrence of the principal. It can be terminated by a 2/3 vote of the faculty, or be modified or added to by a 60% vote of the faculty, all with the concurrence of the principal.
PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE SCHOOLS
1. New school principal selected by a Personnel Team mainly from the relieved schools with teachers selected by Design Team. Superintendent must concur but cannot impose.
2. Design teams will select up to 50% of the PSC new school’s faculty. The other 50% will be chosen through a collaborative process following the UTLA-LAUSD CBA, Article XI, Section 16.0.
3. Faculty wishing to work at the new school must sign a jointly developed commitment to the plan. Those wishing to leave after one year could transfer without harm. The principal retains right to transfer teachers under the contract.
4. PSC 3.0 new schools will choose governance model in first year of implementation (2012-13) when fully staffed. In meantime, they will submit only instructional plans (without governance) and will open with automatic waivers , if desired, described above for LIS model, but not including teacher assignments or local selection.
5. Plans for new schools must be accepted by the Superintendent as “high quality.” If still not high quality after Superintendent recommends changes, then UTLA, AALA, and District work with school to write the plan.
6. A panel consisting of UTLA, AALA, and District designated experts will make recommendations on all PSC plans submitted.
7. Plans will be given back to design teams and given until mid-late January to make changes based on this agreement, if approved by UTLA and the Board of Education.
8. PSC 3.0 Focus schools have the option to choose their governance now if the required vote of faculty is taken or postpone until spring of 2012 after training.
9. The 12 schools removed from 3.0 can also choose their governance in the spring of 2012.
GRIEVANCE AND PERB WITHDRAWALS
1. UTLA withdraws grievances on Public School Choice which this agreement obviates.
2. UTLA withdraws PERB cases regarding Jordan and Clay that are not legally compelling (UTLA’s court case against the District for the Clay/Jordan giveaways remains in play).
► LAUSD/UTLA STATEMENT OF JOINT INTEREST | http://bit.ly/vr7myw
► THE ENTIRE AGREEMENT http://scr.bi/vKKyXy
JUST 31% OF CALIFORNIA STUDENTS PASS P.E. TEST + THE TIMES ARGUES THE POINT + smf REFUTES THE ARGUMENT
CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS SUPT. TOM TORLAKSON SEEKS TO IMPROVE THE RESULTS BY HAVING CELEBRITY ATHLETES PROMOTE FITNESS. RECENT BUDGET PROBLEMS HAVE CUT INTO FUNDING FOR SPORTS PROGRAMS.
By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times
December 3, 2011 - Fewer than one-third of California students who took a statewide physical fitness test this year managed to pass all six areas assessed, new results show.
State Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, a longtime cross-country coach who has made physical fitness a signature issue, announced the results this week as he launched a program to improve children's health. The campaign will use such celebrity athletes as NBA all-star Bill Walton and others to visit schools to urge students to drink more water, eat more fruits and vegetables and increase their exercise.
"When only 31% of children are physically fit, that's a public health challenge we can't wait to address," Torlakson said in a statement.
The results for the 1.34 million students tested in fifth, seventh and ninth grades showed a decline in all three grades over last year. Scores had been steadily improving since 2006. To pass the test, or score what state officials call a "healthy fitness zone," a ninth-grade male, 5 feet 6 and 150 pounds, would need to run a mile in nine minutes, perform at least 16 push-ups and do at least 24 curl-ups. Body fat is also measured, along with flexibility.
About 25% of fifth-graders passed all six sections; 32% of seventh-graders and 36.8% of ninth-graders did so.
Linda Hooper, a state education department consultant, said scores dipped this year in large part because two of the sections — those measuring aerobic capacity and body fat — used more accurate measurements. But she said another factor was budget cuts that have pared back physical education and sports programs across the state.
Hooper said she was particularly concerned about "a pretty major dip" in the fitness levels of elementary students, which she attributed in part to the cutback in physical education teachers on campus.
"With the budget crisis, P.E. and athletics have become less important," she said.
Los Angeles Unified students scored slightly worse than the statewide average. Chad Fenwick, a district physical education advisor, said California's largest school system had long lagged behind the state, in part because many students are low income, a socioeconomic factor correlated with lower fitness levels. Yet scores have steadily improved in the last seven years — 49.2% of ninth-graders passed five of six sections this year, the state target, compared to 26% in 2004, he said.
This year, scores dropped largely because of the section changes, he said.
Among other initiatives to improve children's health, Fenwick said, the district has received a state grant for the last four years to send a credentialed physical education teacher to about 60 elementary schools to work with students and train classroom teachers. Although the state now allows districts to use that money to meet other needs, L.A. Unified has kept its physical education program, he said.
This year, the district also revamped its cafeteria menu, replacing such items as chocolate milk and French fries for more healthful fare.
But Fenwick said budget cuts in the last two years have hurt high school physical education programs, boosting class sizes to as high as 80. "Class sizes are up pretty dramatically, and it's another thing that worries us," he said.
Those concerns are shared statewide. A survey released last month by the California State PTA found that 75% of the 1,600 members polled said their school's physical education and sports programs had been eliminated or reduced. Restoring such programs was the top health concern cited.
Torlakson's new campaign, Team California for Healthy Kids, will encourage schools to apply for grants for salad bars, form partnerships with farmers markets, integrate physical activity into instruction and other activities.
The 2011 Physical Fitness Test results are available on the California Department of Education website under Physical Fitness Testing. | http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/pf/
Information on the Team California for Healthy Kids initiative is available under Team California for Healthy Kids — Initiatives & Programs.| http://www.cde.ca.gov/eo/in/tchk.asp
CALIFORNIA KIDS -- NOT QUITE AS UNFIT AS YOU'RE LED TO THINK
Opinion L.A. from The Times' Opinion staff | http://bit.ly/rLLSae
December 2, 2011 | Time for the annual alarm bulletin from the state Department of Education about the allegedly woeful state of physical fitness among California students. Fewer than a third, it tells us, passed the state's physical fitness test this year.
And it will be time for Californians to take this seriously when the state devises a reasonable system for determining who "passes" the test. Right now, students have to be up to par on all six segments of the test to be considered passing. How many tests do you know that call anything less than 100% a failure?
Able to run a marathon and do stomach curls all day, but lacking in flexibility? You're a failure. Able to jump, twirl and bend for a couple of hours straight in a high-energy dance class, but lacking in upper-body strength? Another failure.
Looking at this a little more realistically, let's examine the pass rates of ninth-graders, who were the most fit of the three grades -- five, seven and nine -- tested. Only about 37% passed all six tests, but 59% passed five of the six. Five out of six is, in percentages, an 83%, or a B. Close to 80% passed four of the six tests. That would still be a passing grade, though a low one, on, say, a math test.
It's not helpful to the public, students or educators to measure fitness this way, and it tends to mask the more serious problems among the state's youth. In all tested grades, for example, less than 60% of students were within the target range for healthy body composition, and the scores were the worst among the youngest students. Is this a marker of a growing obesity problem among the youngest students? If so, it doesn't represent a failure among school physical education programs, but it's a matter for societal worry. No matter how many pushups an overweight child can perform, serious health problems are more likely to be in his or her future.
The state should set aside its annual headlines of disaster and start measuring fitness in reasonable and informative ways. We can almost always measure results in ways that make schools look like failures, but that's not helping us develop a realistic picture of the ways in which schools should improve.
●●smf's 2¢: FIRST: The Times is wrong about what constitutes a "passing score"; Senate Bill 601 of 2007 defined “passed” as “met satisfactorily any five of the six standards of the physical performance test administered in grade nine pursuant to Section 60800” http://1.usa.gov/rvphvt
SECOND: The Times Editorial Board also took the position this week that Pizza Just May Be A Vegetable | http://lat.ms/uTJdjp (a search of the Times website for that editorial also brought up 4 ads for pizza products or companies.)
FEWER CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS KEEP LIBRARIANS ON STAFF + Three research studies
by Eleanor Yang Su | California Watch | http://bit.ly/ts0gw4
● ¿DATA OR ANECDOTE?: “You have to make choices sometimes, and the importance of librarians is a bit less than it used to be. In the elementary grades especially, librarians are essentially teachers' aides, doing a variety of things that have little to do with books or literacy, per se.” -- Ze’ev Wurman, a a software developer in the field of programmable logic -- participated in the development of California education standards and served as a policy adviser for the U.S. Department of Education.
---------------------------
● ¿MY INFO OR YOUR INFO?: “There is a body of research growing every day that if you have a teacher-librarian working with classroom teachers, student achievement is higher. If (school libraries) evolve, they’ll survive. Some librarians are using every possible technological device with students. These are pretty exciting times in school libraries and public libraries.” -- Barbara Jeffus, the state Department of Education’s school librarian consultant.
---------------------------
December 2, 2011 | Fewer than 1 out of 4 schools in California is staffed with a credentialed librarian, according to the state Department of Education.
Recent figures compiled by the department show there are about 900 school librarians in the state – that’s down from more than 1,100 two years ago.
From Los Angeles to San Mateo and Fullerton, school districts have cut librarian positions this year to cope with state budget cuts. Increasing numbers of schools are splitting one librarian between multiple campuses or relying on clerical aids or parent volunteers to keep the doors open.
Library advocates say students are the ones harmed when they don’t have trained librarians who can teach research techniques and turn them on to a love of reading. Others question whether technological advances and the ease of conducting research online have made librarians less essential.
Diane Alexander took early retirement last year because she thought she would have been spread too thin as the sole librarian for three high schools.
“If you have that many students to serve, you’re not really serving them,” said Alexander, who also is president of the California School Library Association. Her district, the Liberty Union High School District in Contra Costa County, cut positions to one librarian and three clerks to manage three high school libraries. “They expected me to be that person, but I didn’t feel like I could do an adequate job. It was so disturbing.”
But in this austere period, some wonder whether schools can afford to retain librarians as teachers and nurses are laid off.
“You have to make choices sometimes, and the importance of librarians is a bit less than it used to be,” said Ze’ev Wurman, a Silicon Valley executive who participated in the development of California education standards and served as a policy adviser for the U.S. Department of Education. “In the elementary grades especially, librarians are essentially teachers' aides, doing a variety of things that have little to do with books or literacy, per se.”
Teachers, not librarians, are the ones who have to respond to research questions that arise in class, Wurman argued in a recent New York Times opinion piece. He believes that access to books is not a problem, citing a 2009 report by the U.S. Department of Education that showed schools that received grants for their libraries showed almost no increase in the amount of materials checked out.
In California, school librarians are called teacher-librarians because they must earn both credentials. Alexander said she helped develop lessons with teachers and hosted classes in the library virtually every class period. Sometimes, she’d host two classes at once.
When teaching an English class about research projects, she’d often pull contemporary books with common themes, show students how to use databases, and explain copyright issues and source citing. When she had a spare minute, she would suggest good books to challenge a voracious reader or reach out to a struggling student.
“We’re the ones who know the current books,” Alexander said. “It can make a huge difference if you can hook a kid onto reading.”
The benefits of a trained librarian go beyond helping with reading and research, said Barbara Jeffus, the state Department of Education’s school librarian consultant.
“There is a body of research growing every day that if you have a teacher-librarian working with classroom teachers, student achievement is higher,” she said.
Jeffus pointed to a paper published in 2008 by a University of North Texas researcher ("Haves, Halves and Have-Nots…"/follows) who found a correlation between California schools with devoted librarians and students with higher test scores. The study controlled for some income-related factors, including the level of education of the students’ parents and the proportion of students receiving free and reduced-price lunch. The strongest pattern was found in high school students, where higher test scores correlated with the extent of the library services offered.
Some districts have been able to maintain funding for libraries, typically by passing flat-rate parcel taxes. But as a whole, California ranks last in the country for its student-to-librarian ratio, according to the state Department of Education.
So will it get to the point that California school libraries will shut their doors? Jeffus doesn’t think so.
“If they evolve, they’ll survive,” she said. “Some librarians are using every possible technological device with students. … These are pretty exciting times in school libraries and public libraries.”
► STUDIES & RESEARCH PAPERS:
● 2011 SCHOOL LIBRARY IMPACT STUDY | http://scr.bi/so9Cel
● HAVES, HALVES, AND HAVE-NOTS: SCHOOL LIBRARIES AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN CALIFORNIA | http://scr.bi/vVdmn7
● LIBRARY OF THE FUTURE - LAUSD Case Study | http://scr.bi/rvyfmu
ELECTION INITIATIVES AND VOTER RESPONSIBILITIES
Themes in the News for the week of Nov. 28-Dec. 2, 2011 by UCLA IDEA | http://bit.ly/v96vKr
12-02-2011 :: After years of budget cuts, various California groups are turning to the initiative process to raise funds for public schools and other vital state services. In the last two weeks, advocates have floated several possible initiatives that could go before voters in November 2012. It’s likely that even more ideas will emerge before the end of the year when draft measures must be submitted to the Attorney General (New York Times).
In the first few months of 2012, advocates will ask Californians to sign petitions to qualify their measure for the ballot. Everyone will claim they want what’s best for the kids. And voters will try to separate broad, lofty claims from the tangible effects of the various positions. Many voters will rely on quick readings of the petitions; some will decide on just a few words from the signature gatherers; others will take the advice of friends, organizations or media they trust. Still others will ask tough questions about the initiatives. For these voters, we offer some questions that we think are important:
Regarding process:
• Who participated in crafting the initiative?
• Who is funding the initiative and what are their interests?
• Who are the opponents and what are their interests?
• Is this an idea that can be easily understood by the public?
Regarding revenue:
• Is the burden distributed in a fair manner?
• Does the new revenue scheme ameliorate or worsen income inequality?
• Does it create greater stability in California’s revenue stream?
Regarding the distribution of funds:
• Does it generate enough money to address the programs that have been lost? Meet the national average in terms of per-pupil spending? Reach adequacy levels?
• Does the money go to areas of greatest need?
Regarding consequences:
• What are its unintended consequences?
• Does it provide a false sense that the funding problem has been fixed?
• Does it limit future flexibility for legislators or school board members?
Here are brief summaries of initiatives currently with some momentum:
Our Children, Our Future: Local Schools and Early Education Investment Act —This initiative is promoted by the Advancement Project and endorsed by the California State PTA. Filed with the Attorney General on Wednesday, this initiative would raise $10 billion from an income tax increase that ranges from less than 1% for low-income families to more than 2% for the highest income-earners. Of the $10 billion, $1.5 billion would be used to expand early childhood and preschool programs. The remainder would be directed to k-12 students generally, with targeted support for low-income students (Thoughts on Public Education).
Think Long Committee for California also has a $10 billion initiative in the works. Money would be raised by creating a new tax on services (such as legal or accounting fees), while lowering personal income and corporate tax rates. It would also eliminate Prop 98, which guarantees minimum funding for California schools. Public schools and community colleges would receive $5 billion. Another $2.5 billion would be directed to the University of California and California State University systems, with the remainder going to counties and cities for other expenditures. The Think Long Committee hinted that revenues would be paired with a “reform” package addressing issues ranging from teacher seniority to digital learning to data transparency (Thoughts on Public Education, Sacramento Bee, California Progress Report).
Gov. Jerry Brown is also expected to unveil a $7 billion initiative. With support of labor leaders, Brown’s plan calls for half-cent sales tax increase, along with an additional income tax of 1% on individual income above $250,000, 1.5% for those between $300,000 and $500,000, and 2% for those making more than $500,000. It’s unclear how much of the new revenue would go toward k-12 education (Los Angeles Times).
Yet another proposal may be forthcoming from Children Now, which this week released results from a poll that found public support for a tax increase committed to funding education, but with caveats. Support rose to two-thirds if the funding was tied to education reforms, like more local control of finances and teacher evaluations and dismissals. “The reform piece is needed to bring folks together. It provides a clear path for voters,” said Ted Lempert, Children Now president. (Thoughts on Public Education).
It’s important to keep in mind that this glut of proposals reflects a broad sentiment in the state: voters want to “take the initiative” and secure needed funds for California schools. However, along with initiative comes responsibility for becoming informed. The questions listed above (and surely others) need to be explored by the media and in public conversations to ensure California gets what’s best for the kids.
[ smf adds that Educate Our State [http://bit.ly/uRj428] is proposing an Initiative/Constitutional Amendment to define what a "High Quality Education" is and empower local school districts to raise additional non-property tax/non parcel tax revenue thorough a 50% vote.].
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not neccessariily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
DEAL GIVES LAUSD TEACHERS, PARENTS MORE SAY IN SOME SCHOOLS: By City News Service/EGP Publications | http://http://bit.ly/rt8XfY
LOOMING STATE CUTS ENDANGERING LAUSD MAGNET PROGRAM DESPITE ITS POPULARITY …and success: By Barbara Jones, Staff... http://http://bit.ly/tYWD70
LAUSD'S PROMISE OF SCHOOL FREEDOM IS PROGRESS, BUT NO PANACEA: Educators at campuses that would get more autonom... http://bit.ly/trUrba
A RISKY CHOICE – LAUSD SHOULDN’T RETREAT FROM REFORM + smf’s 2¢: LA Daily News/Daily Breeze Editorial | http://... http://bit.ly/sB5n1Q
4LAKids smf tweets: How much time, effort + cop OT could Mayor Tony + Chief Beck have saved by waiting for the wind to blow the occupiers away?
Diane Ravitch’s Second Act: THE DISSENTER - What Happened When the World’s Top Education Expert Switched Sides: ... http://bit.ly/rLKKqq
“Adulterating” Education: STATE INVESTIGATING ORANGE COUNTY’S PLANNED TAX SHIFT FROM SCHOOLS: Orange County offi... http://bit.ly/twIkQ5
SCHOOL MODERNIZATION WOEFULLY NEEDED IN URBAN SCHOOLS; Investment Would Create Jobs, Says Report: CGCS Press Rel... http://bit.ly/v01tMy
LAUSD TEACHERS: VOTE NO ON TENTATIVE LAUSD/UTLA AGREEMENT...IF YOU CAN: by Leonard Isenberg | Perdaily.co... http://bit.ly/rOfKX7
LAUSD+UTLA Press Releases: UTLA REACHES AGREEMENT WITH LAUSD TO PROVIDE STABILITY AND LOCAL CONTROL TO STRUGGLIN... http://bit.ly/uf1WCR
INDIVIDUAL L.A. SCHOOLS GAIN NEW AUTONOMY: Under a union pact with L.A. Unified that still needs ratification, c... http://bit.ly/s260nA
NEW LAUSD/UTLA LABOR AGREEMENT WOULD GIVE MORE CONTROL TO SCHOOLS: by Howard Blume/LA Times LA Now |http://lat.m... http://bit.ly/u5Cxhm
4LAKids smf tweets: Previous tweet confirmed in joint announcement by Deasy+Fletcher
4LAKids smf tweets: Apparently the deal is done and utla & lausd have a contract... subject to
LAUSD REFORM FROM THE INSIDE OUT: LAUSD needs its teachers' and principals' innovations. Unions, are you listeni... http://http://bit.ly/uyu4ct
TAKING HEALTHCARE TO THE STUDENTS: Clinics at schools are becoming a key part of the nation's medical safety net... http://http://bit.ly/sa6uE3
Newton: TEACHER RATINGS AND THE PUBLIC’S RIGHT TO KNOW + smf’s 2¢: The Los Angeles Unified School District is go... http://http://bit.ly/t9HsCc
Antonio Villaraigosa: A SAD COMMENTARY ON LEGISLATORS, LITIGATION AND OUR SCHOOLS: By Antonio Villaraigosa , Op-... http://http://bit.ly/rXebFR
U P D A T E: Response to TEACHERS WHO JUST DON’T CARE: Mike Dreebin - retired Former UTLA Elementary Vice Presid... http://http://bit.ly/v0KXOp
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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