In This Issue:
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PRELIMINARY PINK SLIPS FOR LAUSD TEACHERS NEARLY DOUBLE TO 9,500 |
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MINORITY STUDENTS AS TARGETS?: The Education Department’s incomplete look at School Discipline + smf’s 2¢ |
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A
CRY FOR HELP! “When the District leadership is failing to support
schools, you cannot label schools as failing without calling yourselves
failures.” |
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Survey: TEACHER JOB SATISFACTION HITS A LOW POINT + 28TH ANNUAL METLIFE SURVEY OF THE AMERICAN TEACHER |
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HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but
not neccessariily 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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CAESAR: “The ides of March are come.”
SOOTHSAYER: “Ay, Caesar; but not gone.”
So the third act begins. Caesar doesn’t survive the scene; few of the characters survive the play.
UCLA IDEA’s Themes in the News warns like Shakespeare’s (and before him
Plutarch’s) Soothsayer: “March 15 is the now annual ritual when tens of
thousands of teachers and other school employees will be notified that
they may be laid off because school districts lack sufficient funds to
guarantee their employment in the coming school year.”
Nine thousand five hundred in LAUSD this March 15th. That's more than
one quarter of all the classroom teachers and health and human services
professionals who work with children in the District every day. A San
Diego Unified board member suggests that insolvency and state takeover
is preferable to what's going on; the teacher's union in Inglewood
supports state takeover - under receivership the state must loan the
district the funds to meet students' needs and educational requirements.
And what before was supposed to give some job security for school
workers becomes a drop-deadline day of dread. The wolf at the door
ceases to be a metaphor; we see the yellow eye and the bloody tooth …and
the mark is put on those of the herd who are expendable. “In the worst
case scenario we won’t need you!”
Chorus. “He's got 'em on the list — he's got 'em on the list;
And they'll none of 'em be missed — they'll none of 'em be missed.”
The Starve the Beast economic theory was designed to intentionally
create a budgetary crisis so inescapable as to demand draconian
reductions in spending. However – the Beast and the Crisis – whether
intentionally created by conspirators or accidently by idiots and/or
bankers has become something out of dystopian fiction.
The 'preliminary' pink slip is delivered and your credit rating,
employment future and morale collapses; your summer vacation plans turn
to staycation and job search. And every year we draw closer to the goal –
where professional teachers become ‘at-will public sector employees’
with annual contracts at best – at the will+whim of the budgeteers and
the beancounters; of politicians with sharp blue pencils who vote for
the programs …but not for the appropriations. Of
This-Week’s-Flavor-of-®eformers.
And bumping rights and seniority and the interests of the especially
interested trumps the children’s best interests – while the
self-interested with hidden agendæ wrap themselves in fleece and bemoan
the slaughter. And the privateers privatize and brandish their charters
like letters of marque. “It must be legal …we’ve got these waivers!”
We don’t need no after school programs or arts or music or
extracurricular activities; no field trips or Adult or Early Childhood
Ed …or stinkin’ badges.
We don't need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the classroom
Teachers leave them kids alone.
Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone!
All in all it's just another brick in the wall.
All in all you're just another brick in the wall.
THIS WEEK MORE UGLINESS WAS FOUND UNDER MORE ROCKS. The number of cases
of abuse of students by adults grew; the numbers of previously
unreported cases exponentially. The Bd of Ed predictably responded with
two new resolutions – resolutions that rehash (and specifically refer
to) previous resolutions that they admit did nothing. [see Einstein’s
dictum on Insanity | http://bit.ly/wdEnd7]
Gentle readers and members of the board: There are no easy simple answers – but if there were two they would be:
To learn from mistakes one must admit to them first.
LAUSD doesn’t need resolutions – it needs resolve.
LAST WEEK BEAUDRY SENT OUT A LETTER to principals and local supes that
says: “due to significant budgetary constraints, the District has been
compelled to take steps to address financial shortfalls. Resources are
needed to fund the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) Voluntary Agreement,
Teaching and Learning Initiative and Implementation of the Common Core
State Standards and Assessments.”
Resources ARE needed: To support classroom instruction. And arts and
music education. Adult education. For salaries and textbooks and nurses.
For playground balls. To keep kids safe from predators and bureaucratic
double talk.
Were LAUSD to exhibit some leadership at the top and require schools to
comply with the District’s Positive Behavior Support Policy, the OCR
(which stuck some old data in its cap this week and called it ‘news’)
“voluntary agreement” (as in ‘if you don’t volunteer we’ll prosecute
you’) issue would be moot. And the Common Core State Standards and
Assessments are supposed to bring new federal dollars …not cost scarce
local ones.
ON TUESDAY THE BD OF ED WILL VOTE TO SEND OUT SOMETHING BETWEEN 9,500
AND 11,000 LAYOFF NOTICES (up from the estimated 5,500 last month before
the District and the Unions were to negotiate a better deal) – and will
probably vote to end – or cripple and maim – Adult Ed, Early Childhood
Ed, Elementary Arts and Music Education, After School Programs – the
list goes on forever – and will vote put a parcel tax on the ballot to
help fund this educational desolation …with no assurances that the tax
will restore any of the programs cut – or prevent the current slide into
mediocrity and perception of chaos.
AND ON A WHOLE OTHER LEVEL THE STRANGENESS GROWS STRANGER AND STRANGER.
The Republican presidential candidates compete with each other on how
quickly they’ll eliminate the Dept of Education. (Health, Education
& Welfare was an Eisenhower thing; No Child Left Behind a Bush II
one.) Rick Santorum (B.A., Penn State; M.B.A., Pitt; Doctor of Law, Penn
State – all publicly funded universities) slams college education as
“snobbery”. And the Next Great Economic Crisis – the next bubble
bursting - seems to be blowing up in student loans.
Look at the History: 2007 - Home values and prices climbed, credit was
easy, a few bad players on the fringes of the mortgage industry
leveraged the easy credit to make big easy money re-packaging the
mortgages as investment securities. And then everyone jumped in. …but
the loans weren’t that good and the values of the homes not that great.
The bubble burst.
Recently: College tuition and costs climb, college loan credit is easy, a
few bad players on the fringes of the private
for-profit-education/technical schools and credit businesses leverage
the easy credit to cash-in on some big easy money – plus they have
secured very favorable protections in law. Traditional lenders see the
opportunity to make money (‘it’s Quick, Easy, and Free to Apply. No
Payments While You're In School”) and start making private student loans
to students at public and non-profit colleges. Then the economy falls
short and both the value of the training and employability of the loan
recipients becomes questionable. The loans weren’t that good and the
immediate return-on-investment value of the education not fungible. The
bottom line bottoms out.
Am I being a Gloomy Gus?|http://bit.ly/x8PDu3 I certainly hope so!
The American Dream at one time hinged on owning a home and going to
college. Now both of them lead not just the student or their family –
but the entire economy from Wall Street to Main Street to your+my bank
account – to rack+ruin. Not that Wall Street will take the hit.
¡Onward/Adelante! -smf
PRELIMINARY PINK SLIPS FOR LAUSD TEACHERS NEARLY DOUBLE TO 9,500
By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | KPCC 89.3 Pass/Fail | http://bit.ly/AgtesD
March 9, 2012 :: Documents released Friday [http://bit.ly/ympsTV]
show L.A. Unified plans to issue nearly double the number of
preliminary pink slips to teachers from what was previously estimated.
Last month, L.A. Unified calculated its projected funding deficit for
next year at more than $500 million. The district estimated that 5,500
teachers should be sent Reduction in Force Notices for possible layoff.
Now the district is predicting the deficit will be $100 million less, but sending out almost twice as many layoff notices.
A plan by L.A. Unified Superintendent John Deasy for Tuesday’s budget
vote calls for 9,500 teachers to receive layoff notices, a large portion
for instructors in the district’s adult education program.
United Teachers Los Angeles President Warren Fletcher said sending so
many layoff notices is unnecessary. The union has criticized the
district’s practice of issuing thousands of layoff notices and recalling
most of them as local and state budget negotiations move forward.
MINORITY STUDENTS AS TARGETS?: The Education
Department’s incomplete look at School Discipline + smf’s 2¢
AN EDUCATION DEPT. REPORT ONLY SKIMS THE SURFACE OF
THE QUESTION OF WHETHER THERE IS RACIAL INEQUITY IN SCHOOLS'
DISCIPLINING OF STUDENTS
Los Angeles Times Editorial | http://lat.ms/AiWRA6
March 10, 2012 :: The big announcement from the U.S. Department of
Education implied that schools were unfairly disciplining African
American students, and that's how it was played in news reports.
"Minority students across America face harsher discipline," the agency's
press release read, under a headline that called this an "educational
inequity."
Indeed, minority students are more likely to be disciplined than whites
are relative to their overall numbers in public school, and the
difference is especially stark for African American students, who make
up 18% of the student population but 35% of first-time suspensions. Many
studies over the years have confirmed the same trend, and it's
certainly a troubling omen for efforts to raise achievement among
minority students.
But is it a result of prejudice among educators? Or does it reflect
differences in behavior among students? Or are there more zero-tolerance
policies that require suspensions in inner-city schools? Unfortunately,
the public is left without an answer to these questions because the
Education Department skimmed only the surface of the topic. It looked
solely at the numbers and types of disciplinary actions against students
relative to their overall population. In order to know whether minority
students are treated unfairly, it needed to compare those numbers with
the numbers of times students of various races and ethnic groups broke
the rules, and whether they were treated differently for the same
misbehavior, among other things.
It's entirely possible that bias plays a significant role in discipline.
It's been well documented, for example, that police have historically
treated African American men more harshly during traffic stops than
white men for the same offenses. Studies have found that white teachers
are more likely to refer African American students for special education
than are black teachers.
An Education Department spokesman noted that many suspensions are the
result of zero-tolerance policies, which require automatic suspensions
for certain first-time offenses. But in some cases, the spokesman said,
those policies are instituted at largely African American schools by
African American principals, and the department doesn't mean to imply
that any form of prejudice is involved. Except that's what it led the
public to believe.
If the real question is how often schools suspend students — which
obviously affects black students more than other groups — the answer is
simple: far too often. Ordinarily, the public thinks of zero tolerance
as invoking consequences for drugs or weapons. But in recent years, it
has been applied in alarming numbers to much less serious violations —
especially disruptive behavior. The idea is that by removing the
troublemaker for a day or more, the school becomes a calmer place where
others can achieve.
It makes sense in theory, but subsequent studies have cast doubt on
whether it works that way. A 2008 report by a task force of the American
Psychological Assn. concluded that suspensions haven't provided any of
the benefits educators had expected.
They are definitely bad for most of the suspended students. It never
made sense for a student's punishment to be a legal vacation from
school. In addition, the loss of classroom time worsens a student's
academic problems, which in turn leads to further disciplinary problems.
There are many ways for schools to revamp their disciplinary rules. To
start with, zero-tolerance policies should be reserved for the worst
behaviors. For lesser violations, there should be an escalating series
of disciplinary measures so that first-time offenders aren't treated
like serial troublemakers. Ultimately, in-school suspension and
detention make more sense than banning a student from campus. They keep
students attending school regularly, prevent them from falling behind
academically, keep them off possibly dangerous streets and send a
message that misbehavior is not a free ticket to a few days off.
The Education Department missed an opportunity with this report. If
schools are doing a poor job of disciplining students, the department
should be gathering the evidence and leading the charge against backward
methods that are harming youngsters rather than helping — especially
considering that this has a disproportionate effect on many at-risk
students.
And if minority students are being unfairly singled out for punishment,
the department neither proved it nor provided much guidance for how to
protect them. If a solid study shows that that is the case, then the
department should use its full powers to end such practices as a
violation of students' civil rights. Whether the penalty is suspension
or campus cleanup, if an African American student is likely to receive a
harsher penalty than a white student, that's grossly unfair and must be
stopped.
••smf’s 2¢: The LA Times editorial board, their reporters and the DOE
report/press release miss the most important point: This study is based
on stale/out of date data.
That, the shibboleth says, was then. This is now.
LAUSD had identified this problem (and it was and continues to be a
problem at many schools) and has been working aggressively on it well
before the DOE Civil Rights Division police started their work using old
data. LAUSD has far more current data and tracks suspension and
discipline in near real time. The charade of empowering local control
and the failure of Beaudry leadership to lead – to insist on
implementing the Positive Discipline Support Policy – is what stands in
the way of this district becoming a poster child rather than a
plaintiff in enlightened discipline policy.
But perhaps the unsaid mission is to let the failures fail.
The sidebar to this is that DOE’s original investigation was of LAUSD’s
education of English Language Learners – Black students were only
amended-in to create the appearance the DOE was being equitable. And the
sidebar to the sidebar is LAUSD’s claim in a letter to principals that
“voluntarily” cooperating with DOE’s investigation has negatively
impacted the budget.
A CRY FOR HELP! “When the District leadership is
failing to support schools, you cannot label schools as failing without
calling yourselves failures.”
“On top of the financial chaos, the District is
reorganizing into a model that makes little sense to many of us in the
field.”
Associated Administrators of Los Angeles Weekly Update: Week of March 12, 2012 | http://bit.ly/xDp7jw
On Thursday, March 1, 2012, Michelle King, Dr. Jaime Aquino and Dr.
Donna Muncey issued a memo to all principals and Local District
Superintendents entitled, ―FY 2012-2013 Categorical Allocations.
The memo indicated that, ―. . . due to significant budgetary
constraints, the District has been compelled to take steps to address
financial shortfalls. Resources are needed to fund the Office of Civil
Rights (OCR) Voluntary Agreement, Teaching and Learning Initiative and
Implementation of the Common Core State Standards and Assessments.
The memo enumerates major reductions in categorical allocations to
schools. Almost immediately following the issuance of the aforementioned
memo, many phone calls and e-mails flowed into the AALA office
protesting the major loss of funding to schools.
The memo below from Dr. Randy Delling, Principal of North Hollywood High
School and President of the Senior School Principals’ Organization, to
Dr. Deasy is a sample of the numerous communications that were sent to
AALA. Randy’s memo captures the essence of the concerns mirrored in the
many messages we received. Wouldn’t it be interesting to know how much
the District is spending on the OCR Agreement, the Teaching and Learning
Initiative and on the Common Core Implementation? Given the facts that
California is 49th in the nation in funding for public education and
that the District’s current financial crisis is even worse than last
year’s, AALA questions whether this is the time to further erode funding
to schools in order to underwrite these initiatives.
After carefully reviewing the categorical allocations memo dated
3/1/2012, from Michelle King, Dr. Jaime Aquino and Dr. Donna Muncey, I
believe it will be virtually impossible to serve the students of North
Hollywood High School for the 2012-2013 school year. It appears that
North Hollywood High School will not have the services of a school
nurse, school psychologist, special education/bridge coordinator,
testing coordinator, librarian and a staff member to sustain our school
network. Only teachers and counselors will be available to accomplish
the schools mission that “all students will graduate proficient and
prepared.”
The District leadership needs to thank school administrators for what we
have been able to accomplish with an existing bare-bones budget and
recognize that you cannot provide us with the resources needed to be
successful under any accountability system. The District needs to
postpone accountability measures such as the performance meter/tier
system. I hold you (LAUSD Leadership) harmless because you did not
create this problem and because you cannot give me what I am telling you
I need to operate an effective instructional program. However, I need
you to let me know that you hear me and will hold me harmless for not
being achievable to the District-imposed accountabilities under this
resource starvation scheme. A reality check by senior staff would
include setting aside some initiatives until such time as adequate State
resources become available.
When the District leadership is failing to support schools, you cannot
label schools as failing without calling yourselves failures.
An administrative team cannot work 18 hours a day and weekends without jeopardizing the health and well-being of individuals.
Again, I understand that you did not create these conditions, but you
can do a lot to promote as positive a condition as possible for our
students and employees by suspending most, if not all, accountability
systems until a realistic funding scheme is returned to education that
will allow us, as professionals, to do our jobs well again. Senior
leadership’s credibility is at stake. Please consider returning sanity
to the District.
ONE OF MANY RESPONSES TO RANDY’S MEMO
AALA thanks Heather Daims, Principal of Miguel Contreras Learning Complex, for sharing her response to Randy.
Well said, Randy. I have been formulating a very similar letter in my
head but have not yet put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) yet.
After sitting down yesterday to review next year's likely budget with my
two assistant principals (which will become one at the start of the new
year), we have determined that we will most likely lose our
college/career counselor, the remaining three days of our nurse, our
librarian, our Title I/Bilingual/Special Education/Textbook/Main Office
clerk (yes, that is one position on this campus), our microcomputer
technician, the last day of PSA time we have left, the school
psychologist and two additional teachers (minimum). I also am curious
about the expectation that we continue to raise the bar with absolutely
no support staff. We haven't even heard, yet, about additional cuts that
are still likely to our security, custodial, cafeteria staff and to our
athletic director and athletics program.
At a school where there is no QEIA, no SIG money and the only
certificated staff out of the classroom are the principal, one assistant
principal and the two counselors who do not have a teaching credential,
I wonder how we will provide the needed support to students, not to
mention the fulfillment of the mandates which grow more numerous each
day.
On top of the financial chaos, the District is reorganizing into a model that makes little sense to many of us in the field.
Thanks, Randy, for expressing what I am certain most of us are feeling. Wishing you a good weekend!
Survey: TEACHER JOB SATISFACTION HITS A LOW POINT +
28TH ANNUAL METLIFE SURVEY OF THE AMERICAN TEACHER
By Liana Heitin, Education Week | http://bit.ly/xrRQD8
Teacher job satisfaction is at the lowest it's been in more than two
decades, likely as a consequence—at least in part—of the economic
downturn and resulting cuts to education budgets, according to a
national survey.
The 28th annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, released today,
finds that 44 percent of teachers are "very satisfied" with their jobs,
down from 59 percent in 2009. The last time job satisfaction dipped as
low was in 1989.
The report is based on telephone interviews of 1,001 U.S. public school
teachers conducted last fall by Harris Interactive on behalf of MetLife
Inc. (The MetLife Foundation provides funding to Education Week Teacher
to support its capacity to engage teachers interactively in professional
community.)
In another indication of declining morale, according to the report, 29
percent of teachers say they are likely to leave the teaching profession
within the next five years—up from 17 percent in 2009.
SOURING ATTITUDES
The smallest proportion of teachers since 1989 say they are "very satisfied" with teaching as a career.
Regis Shields, director of Education Resource Strategies in Watertown,
Mass., called that finding one of the most intriguing in the report.
"What we need more information on is who the 29 percent of teachers
likely to leave the teaching profession are," she said. "If these aren’t
effective teachers and this increases the effectiveness of the teaching
force, that's great. If they're high-quality teachers, then we have
some concerns."
The survey also suggests that teachers are increasingly anxious about
holding onto their jobs. In 2006, just 8 percent of teachers said they
did not feel their job was secure. That figure has more than quadrupled,
according to the report—with 34 percent now saying they feel a lack of
job security.
"Teaching is generally a pretty secure job [but] we have certainly seen
some places really hard hit," commented Sandi Jacobs, vice president of
the Washington-based National Council on Teacher Quality. "In other
places, maybe they didn’t actually have to lay off as many teachers as
they feared, but it certainly created a stressful environment."
Teachers with low job satisfaction, the MetLife data show, are more
likely than those with high job satisfaction to say they feel a lack of
job security
The report highlights a variety of other factors associated with low job
satisfaction as well. For instance, teachers with low job satisfaction
are less likely than those with high job satisfaction to say they
receive adequate professional development from their school or district.
Less satisfied teachers are also more likely to say their schools have
experienced layoffs, reductions in programs such as art or music,
reductions in health or social services for students, and increases in
class sizes.
The "correlation between job satisfaction and these factors suggests
that the current economic climate may be contributing to the decrease in
professional satisfaction," the report states.
Only 35 percent of the teachers surveyed say their salary is fair for
the work they do—a figure that has remained relatively stable over the
years, according to Dana Markow, vice president of Youth & Education
Research for Harris Interactive.
THE ROLE OF ‘TEACHER BASHING’
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, said
that both budget cuts and the "demonization" of teachers—or so-called
"teacher bashing"—by politicians and media figures have been major
contributors to growing teacher dissatisfaction. "Some elected officials
don’t know what to do, so they demonize teachers as a rational for why
they're cutting budgets," she said.
Even so, the report states that a majority of teachers—77
percent—indicate that they are treated as professionals by the
community. According to Ms. Weingarten, "there's a disconnect between
the demagoguery we see from some elected officials and what communities
really feel about teachers. But teachers read the newspaper all the
time."
Ms. Shields noted that, for her, the "most disturbing finding” in the
report is one showing that 43 percent of teachers are pessimistic that
the level of student achievement will increase in the next five years.
"That really requires us to rethink the teaching profession if that many
people are unhappy and don’t think they can have any impact," she said.
The finding on pessimism about student achievement is particularly
significant, said Ms. Markow, because "people's perceptions of how
things are have actual implications in the classroom. It's the Pygmalion
Effect—teachers with high expectations, there's evidence their students
perform better."
PARENT ENGAGEMENT UP
On a more positive note, the report indicates that parent engagement has
increased over the last 25 years. Fewer teachers and parents today than
in 1987 say that parents take too little interest in their children's
education and fail to motivate their children to learn—a finding Ms.
Weingarten called "fantastic."
"We've talked for years about wanting parents to be more our partners,"
she said. "We're seeing that parents see how important education is and
want to have more of a role."
There is also a strong correlation between parent engagement and teacher
satisfaction, according to the survey. Fifty-seven percent of teachers
in schools that have high parent engagement say they are very satisfied
with their job, whereas only 25 percent in schools with low parent
engagement indicate the same.
One area that the survey does not touch on but that undoubtedly has had
some impact on how teachers are feeling is the push to restructure
teacher-employment policies. High-profile efforts to tie teacher
evaluations to student test scores, for example, have been met warily by
many teachers.
"Unfortunately a lot of teachers are looking at the changes in
teacher-evaluation systems very negatively," said Ms. Jacobs of NCTQ. "I
think a lot of teachers perceive these efforts to improve
teacher-evaluation systems as real punitive efforts to label all
teachers ineffective, which I don't think they are."
Teachers do want to be evaluated, contended Ms. Weingarten, but they
"want an evaluation system that's fair and meaningful and comprehensive.
…They want it to be about support not about simply assessment. There's a
lot of consternation about the fixation on testing."
Overall, the study is a "wake-up call from teachers," said Ms.
Weingarten. "They don’t like what's going on with budget cuts, they
don’t like what's going on with test fixation, [and] with a lack of
support for them to do their jobs. And we're seeing this cut across all
age groups and all generations."
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not neccessariily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
FLORIDA REJECTS ‘PARENT TRIGGER’ BILL FOR FAILING SCHOOLS: By Michael Peltier, Reuters... http://bit.ly/yMVjhN
NO EDUCATION RECOVERY IN SIGHT: Themes in the News by UCLA IDEA | Week of March 5-9, 2012 | http://bit.ly/xvz0nH
A CRY FOR HELP!: “When the District leadership is failing to support schools, you cannot label schools as failin... http://bit.ly/xxKvu8
CALIFORNIA SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS SEX ABUSE SUITS AGAINST SCHOOL DISTRICTS: Ruling in a Santa Clarita case, it sa... http://bit.ly/AzmGr2
These are the Headlines: LAUSD SCHOOL BOARD CALLS FOR FASTER TERMINATION OF ACCUSED TEACHERS, ADULT STUDENTS STA... http://bit.ly/zyRGYg
WHEREAS, THE LAST TIME WE RESOLVED NOTHING HAPPENED; THEREFORE WE ARE FURTHER RESOLVED (AGAIN)…: From the LAUSD ... http://bit.ly/wBa76R
WITH 83 NEW CASES, STATE AGENCY SCRAMBLES TO DEAL WITH FLOOD OF LAUSD MISCONDUCT REPORTS: By Tami Abdollah | KPC... http://bit.ly/x4Th4b
BREAKING: State credentialing agency scrambles to deal with flood of #LAUSD misconduct reports; more than 80 unreported http://kp.cc/yCxjjg
Radio Interview with smf: LAUSD MISSTEPS IN CHILD ABUSE SCANDAL: Politics or pedagogy? TOPIC: LAUSD Missteps in Child ... http://bit.ly/AhswvZ
L.A. UNIFIED BOARD GAMES: In the once-in-a-decade redrawing of school board districts, some close to the current... http://bit.ly/xjaM22
SURVEY: Teacher Job Satisfaction Hits a Low Point + 28th annual MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: By Liana... http://bit.ly/xwNH8E
Calif. Supreme Court: SCHOOL DISTRICTS LIABLE FOR HIRING MOLESTERS + AP Story + Opinion: By Tami Abdollah | KPCC... http://bit.ly/zbT1ia
BRIEFLY: Headlines from L.A. Now: Brawl at Carson High was not racially motivated, L.A. Unified says 03/07/2012,... http://bit.ly/Aas8Ig
ACCUSED MOLESTER KEPT AT LAUSD DESPITE CLOUDED HISTORY: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer | LA Daily News |http://b... http://bit.ly/yjLBuE
CHANGES SOUGHT IN TRACKING, DISCIPLINE FOR CHILD ABUSE OFFENDERS IN LAUSD: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer , LA D... http://bit.ly/zZjrLk
TECH TITANS FUND UNDOCUMENTED STUDENTS: By MIRIAM JORDAN, Wall Street Journal |on.wsj.com/x2MjBa March 6... http://bit.ly/wt44dn
JACK SCOTT: Former Pasadena legislator, PCC president, to retire as head of state community college system: By J... http://bit.ly/weyHBQ
NEW DATA FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION HIGHLIGHTS EDUCATIONAL INEQUITIES AROUND TEACHER EXPERIENCE, DISCIPLI... http://bit.ly/yBzHCk
L.A. UNIFIED MISSED WARNING SIGNS ON ACCUSED TEACHER: The district has no record of whether it investigated earl... http://bit.ly/AkCbGj
In Memoriam: RUSH KIDDER: Rushworth Moulton Kidder (1944–2012) Ethicist
Founder and President of the Institute gor Global Ethics... http://bit.ly/xG0sNq
HEALTH CENTERS AT SCHOOLS GET A FUNDING BOOST: by Kelley Weiss, NPR All Things Considered | n.pr/wzJ41h... http://bit.ly/xUBqZE
OPPOSITION TO CALIFORNIA’S SCHOOL RANKING SYSTEM GROWS: By Louis Freedberg ~ EdSource Extra http://bit.ly/yTXVpw
LAUSD SURVEYS PARENTS ON PROPOSED HOMEWORK POLICY | The survey is here: svy.mk/xdSkDl: By Daily News | http://bit.ly/zKLmUO
BANNING BLINDFOLDS: Sexual abuse, and LAUSD's overreaction: L.A. school officials and parents are understandably... http://bit.ly/wcm6ZU
Letters re: Food Trucks: FAT KIDS, DUMB BILL: Letters to the Editor of the LA Times Re "A food truck stop?" 3/4 ... http://bit.ly/AxnR1P
BLACK STUDENTS IN L.A. SUSPENDED AT PROPORTIONALLY HIGHER RATE, (OLD) DATA SHOW: African American students in Lo... http://bit.ly/wiWWnG
SUPT. DEASY 'WELCOMES' STATE AUDIT INTO HOW LAUSD HANDLED ABUSE CLAIMS: By Tami Abdollah KPCC Blog: Pass / Fail ... http://bit.ly/yNOMad
RAND Study: PRINCIPAL TURNOVER BODES POORLY FOR SCHOOLS: By Christina A. Samuels, Education Week, Vol. 31, Issue... http://bit.ly/x0cg7V
Linda Darling-Hammond: VALUE-ADDED EVALUATION HURTS TEACHING: Commentary By Linda Darling-Hammond | Education we... http://bit.ly/xO7QMW
San Diego Unified Board Member on Insolvency/Armageddon: “SHOULD SDUSD WAVE THE WHITE FLAG, ADMIT FAILURE AND RU... http://bit.ly/w3jEES
Aljazeera: THE DISMANTLING OF CALIFORNIA’S SCHOOLS - The most populous US state spends more than five times as ... http://bit.ly/x7tfmm
Details: LETTER REQUESTING PERFORMANCE AUDIT ON LAUSD HANDLING OF ABUSE CLAIMS: By Tami Abdollah | KPCC Pass/Fai... http://bit.ly/x9wFv4
STATE AUDIT LOOMS IN WAKE OF MIRAMONTE ARRESTS + Background + AB 1564: by Howard Blume, LA Times/LA Now | http://bit.ly/zmg4yN
CUTS PUSH LA UNIFIED SCHOOLS TO BREAK AWAY FROM DISTRICT + smf’s 2¢: By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | KPCC | http://bit... http://bit.ly/yeCqOW
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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