Saturday, May 26, 2012

Culmination: An end and a beginning


Onward! 4LAKids
4LAKids:Sunday 27•May•2012 Memorial Day Weekend
In This Issue:
 •  ETHICS ANYONE?
 •  BROWN SIGNS LAW AUTHORIZING $3.5 BILLION IN SCHOOL DEFERRALS: All the deferrals would likely occur even if voters approve the governor’s tax measure
 •  L.A. UNIFIED CAN APPLY FOR FEDERAL RACE TO THE TOP FUNDS:
 •  ONLY ONE TEACHER DISMISSAL BILL REMAINS ALIVE AT STATE LEGISLATURE
 •  HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
 •  EVENTS: Coming up next week...
 •  What can YOU do?


Featured Links:
 •  OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE: What will California schoolchildren, your school district and YOUR School get when the initiative passes?
 •  Follow 4 LAKids on Twitter - or get instant updates via text message by texting
 •  4LAKids Anthology: All the Past Issues, solved, resolved and unsolved!
 •  4LAKidsNews: a compendium of recent items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, rants and amusing anecdotes, etc.
The President, Trustees, Faculty
and Graduating Class of
Bates College
announce that
Alana Folsom
is a candidate for the degree of
Bachelor of Arts in English
with a concentration in Creative Writing
and minors in Rhetoric and Philosophy
at the
One Hundred and Forty-fifth Commencement
Sunday, May twenty-seventh
Two thousand twelve
Ten o’clock in the morning
The Coram Library Quadrangle


So, sixteen years after crossing that threshold at Mt. Washington School with the kindergarten candidate in hand we find ourselves in front of the ivy-clad red brick library of a small liberal arts college in Maine on a rhetorical-if-not-actual sunny morning in May – with a newly-minted Bachelor of Arts in English: a creative writer and a rhetorician and a philosopher.

What a wonderful strange trip it’s been.

I’m going to leave it at that. I’m not going to try and find words; I’m not going to take pictures. I’m going to allow our small frail family to inhabit the moment.

¡Everonward/Siempre adelante!

___________________________

Molecular biologist Bonnie Bassler, actor Robert De Niro and PBS “Newshour” senior correspondent Gwen Ifill will speak and receive honorary degrees during Bates College’s 2012 Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 27.
The college’s 146th Commencement activities begin at 10 a.m. (7 a.m. PDT) on its Historic Quad, at Campus Avenue and College Street.

For the first time, the event will be broadcast live online at bates.edu/live.



ETHICS ANYONE?
by smf for 4LAKids News

May 24 2012 :: THIS AMERICAN LIFE, the NPR produced program from Chicago, did an episode on monogamy (and polyamory) in mainstream America in 1998. [http://bit.ly/KCiF9D]

They pointed to a news story largely lost amid the Lewinsky scandal: Roy Romer, governor of Colorado, had an affair for nearly two decades with his family's full cooperation.

The NPR program further profiled several couples that chose open relationships. The psychological after-effects were outlined | http://yhoo.it/LiHnNC

Romer left the Colorado governorship to become Chair of the Democratic National Committee. When the story of his affair with his chief-of-staff broke – not only an affair but a public sector employer-employee conflict – broke he left the national stage to become Superintendent of LAUSD – where he served for six years and became the longest serving LAUSD superintendent in LA County.

Superintendent Romer was largely responsible of the LAUSD building program – which he kept squeaky clean and free from political shenanigans. And while at LAUSD he created the LAUSD Ethics Office, which in part set the standards and tone for the above.

Ramon Cortines came to LAUSD as Deputy Superintendent in the waning days of Romer’s superintendence from the LA Mayor’s Office (aka The Office of Political Shenanigans). Cortines eliminated the LAUSD Ethics Office during his superintendence following Romer’s, citing budget issues.

LAUSD could not afford an Ethics Office.

In Cortines defense he was never secretive about the appearance of a conflict of interest in being a paid corporate board-of-director of – and a stockholder in Scholastic – a textbook publisher with a major contract with the District. He disclosed this – and the Board president said she didn’t see the issue …which perhaps introduces a lack-of-awareness on her part. Although Cortines had no direct day-to-day decision making on the Scholastic contract, those who reported to him directly did ...and had to be aware of his relationship to Scholastic. http://lat.ms/Ld8HA7

The Scholastic contract was apparently created during Cortines previous interim- superintendency - before Romer.

Eventually there was a hue-and-cry in the media and Cortines resigned from the Scholastic Board of Directors – but continued as a stockholder.

Then we had the rather colorful misadventure of former Superintendent Ruben Zacarias (the superintendent before Cortines interim regime) and his badge-flashing escapade – where he allegedly used an honorary LAUSD Police Badge to make a traffic stop of a woman late one night. Zacharias pleaded no contest to the charge. http://bit.ly/KGv3rs

Superintendent Deasy came to LAUSD under a well documented cloud about his relationship with convicted felon Robert Felner and his own Ph.D. degree – and allegations of resume inflation. http://lat.ms/JA58pS | http://lat.ms/hQuBQi

And now this current sexual/employee harassment half-a-million dollar settlement over Cortines' alleged actions.

• Half-a-million dollars could pay half a dozen classroom teachers for a year.
• And parents and the school community at the Cortines School for the Visual and Performing Arts (The School Formerly Known as #9) are upset anew that they were not consulted as Board Policy requires in the naming of that school.

Excuse the double negative (4LAKids: No rule of grammar left unabused!) but maybe LAUSD cannot afford to not have an Ethics Office.

That’s my opinion and I’m sticking with it.


Updated: L.A. UNIFIED TO SETTLE HARASSMENT CLAIM AGAINST CORTINES + Other coverage



BROWN SIGNS LAW AUTHORIZING $3.5 BILLION IN SCHOOL DEFERRALS: All the deferrals would likely occur even if voters approve the governor’s tax measure

By Kimberly Beltran, School Innovations and Advocacy.Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/KmOMgF

Thursday, May 24, 2012 :: A week after it was publicly unveiled – and a day after two Republican lawmakers proposed a constitutional amendment outlawing the practice – Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation Wednesday that would protect the state’s cash flow next year by deferring $3.5 billion in payments to schools during the 2012-13 fiscal year.

The bill, AB 103, would authorize the payment delays to schools, as well as the deferral of hundreds of millions more due to local governments and the state university system. Officials said all of the deferrals likely would occur even if voters approve the governor’s tax measure in November.

Members of the governor’s staff have said the deferrals are consistent with cash management schedules employed over the past two years and must be adopted now to give local officials time to make necessary adjustments to their own budgets – in the forms of more cuts or short-term borrowing.

Brown had hoped to be in a position to begin paying back some of what the state owes schools, but given the magnitude of the problems the state still faces, he said last week he has few options.

On Tuesday, Republican Assembly members Brian Nestande of Palm Desert and Kristin Olsen of Modesto held a press conference at the Capitol to announce they were filing ACA 29, an Assembly Constitutional Amendment prohibiting the state from deferring payments to California schools. Passage of the measure requires a two-thirds vote of the Democratic-majority controlled Legislature.

“We believe education funding should be a top priority, and this ACA will end the use of budgetary gimmicks that result in our schools being short-changed,” Olsen said in a statement.

“Deferrals are driving some school districts into bankruptcy,” added Nestande.

Just last week, the state’s watchdog on school finance – the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance Team – forecast the number of districts in California at risk of insolvency would reach a record number this year.

As proposed, AB 103 would put into motion a series of deferrals and repayments where no more than $1.9 billion would be held back from schools at any time.

The moves would begin in July, when $1.2 billion would be deferred. In August, another $600 million would be held. In September, $700 million of the outstanding payments would be paid back. And in October, another $800 million would be deferred.

In January 2013, the state would return $1.9 billion. Then, a $900 million payment due in March would be delayed until April.

An even bigger deferral is being contemplated if voters approve the governor’s tax measure in November. As part of the revised May budget, Brown has committed to paying back $2.6 billion of the $9.5 billion in total payment deferrals.

But, based on a scheduled released by the Department of Finance this week, that repayment is not likely to happen before May or June 2013.

PUBLIC COMMENT FROM HEATHER MATSON of Palos Verdes Estates, a former educator, an active member of the local PTA, and parent of one elementary school and one middle school student:

Here we go again! How are schools supposed to operate with deferred cash? Do you suppose that the mortgage holders on teacher's houses will take a deferred payment? Or will the government take a deferred payment on taxes? What are we doing to our schools?

It is time for our elected officials to stop fighting with each other and the governor and begin to take the steps needed to address the spending and the 'kick the can down the road' crisis that got us here, and they need to do it now! The concerns about re-election should be the last thing on their mind. Our financial crisis continues because no one wants to pay for services but everyone wants to have them. Every single resident of California needs to have some ownership, both in the problem and in the solution!

Instead of trying to patch and Band-Aid the budget, let's start from scratch. Identify the most important needs first: 1. Education of our citizenry, 2.Infrastructure, 3. Safety and Protection, and 4. Health and Welfare. In order for California to work no one gets a free ride. We can't expect the 'wealthy' to foot the bill because the definition of wealth is very subjective; what constitutes wealth in one area is middle class in another based on the cost of living. In many areas of the state it is impossible to make ends meet without both partners working full time. The income may look good on paper but in reality these families may be just getting by. Increasing their taxes would actually keep them from 'just making it.'

The persons who use the services need to have some financial obligation for the maintenance of those services. How about tolls our freeway users pay? How about community service opportunities for those who are unemployed and receiving benefits? I am sure Caltrans could use some help cleaning up. Instead of offering babysitting, how about setting up co-ops so that parents can help each other? This was once a country of creativity and invention and has now become a country of crybabies wanting Big Daddy (aka government) to take care of them. Really? Give our schools the tools to train our young citizens to use their minds to create and innovate and thus eliminate the crybaby mentality that pervades our society. Enough already!!


L.A. UNIFIED CAN APPLY FOR FEDERAL RACE TO THE TOP FUNDS:
FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION WILL LET DISTRICTS BYPASS STATE OFFICIALS. L.A. UNIFIED WANTS FUNDS TO ALTER THE TEACHER EVALUATION PROCESS

By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/LfoNG7

May 23, 2012 :: For the first time, L.A. Unified and other individual school districts can apply for federal Race to the Top grants, bypassing California officials, including the governor, who had objected to the rules for receiving the education-reform incentives.

The draft rules, announced Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Education, will allow school systems to vie for funds that had been unavailable to any state that was unable or unwilling to compete for the grants.

"We're wide open to new strategies, new approaches," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a conference call. "Every district in America can apply."

Race to the Top was launched by the U.S. Department of Education under President Obama in 2009. It was intended to spur states into adopting education policies favored by the administration, including revamping teacher evaluations to include student test score data. Three times California applied and lost.

Most recently, in 2011, senior state officials took California out of the running: They declined to endorse an application submitted by a consortium of districts, including those in L.A., Long Beach, San Francisco and Sacramento.

The money was too little to pay for what was required, a particular burden during the current budget crisis, according to state Supt. of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, Gov. Jerry Brown and other officials. But there also were philosophical objections to using student test scores as one measure to evaluate teachers.

The largest state teachers unions also have opposed using this data in performance reviews, unless teachers approve it as part of a collective bargaining agreement.

In 2010, the state's first application was weakened by the unwillingness of some teachers unions and school districts to sign on.

The new guidelines for the $400-million pool include the requirement that districts remake teachers evaluations. In Los Angeles Unified, schools Supt. John Deasy is moving in that direction.

"We intend to apply," Deasy said. "We've been waiting for this. We're ready for this. Everything we've done has laid the groundwork for a strong application."

If successful, L.A. could receive $25 million, much less than the $100 million the district could have obtained in an earlier funding round.

Still, the money would prove valuable for advancing such district initiatives as an evaluation system now being tested by volunteers in some schools.

Deasy is planning to expand the program districtwide, but faces a legal challenge by United Teachers Los Angeles, the teachers union.

UTLA could play a role in the Race to the Top bid.

"Local buy-in," including from teachers unions, "and commitment to reform is very important," Duncan said.

Stanford education professor Linda Darling-Hammond believes the emphasis is misplaced.

"Evaluation is actually a tiny aspect of the entire puzzle," Darling-Hammond said at a talk Monday to teachers and union activists at the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools in Koreatown. "The big issue for the U.S. is inequality." The nation has "continually disinvested in schools that serve children who live in poverty."

A contrasting view appeared in a report released Tuesday by Communities for Teaching Excellence, a locally based organization funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

[smf: You can't tell the players w/o a scorecard - C4TE is Yolie Flores' Astroturf/Grass Roots org | By the numbers: HOW TO TELL IF YOUR SCHOOL DISTRICT IS INFECTED BY THE BROAD VIRUS http://bit.ly/jqDocs #29 also http://bit.ly/ejZdRT]

The report called for linking improved evaluations — including the use of student data — to decisions on whether teachers should receive and retain tenure protections.

The group saluted recent changes to tenure laws in other states. In Tennessee, teachers now must work five years to earn tenure; California teachers earn tenure after two years. Tennessee teachers also must rank in the top two of five categories for overall performance in the two years before achieving tenure. And teachers can lose tenure if they are rated ineffective for two consecutive years.


ONLY ONE TEACHER DISMISSAL BILL REMAINS ALIVE AT STATE LEGISLATURE

By Tami Abdollah, Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/LoHBTg


3/25 - 3:21pm - Only one of three bills recently introduced in the state Legislature that aim to make it easier to dismiss teachers is alive today, and may continue on to change state law.

AB2028, sponsored by Republican state Assemblymen Cameron Smyth of Santa Clarita and Steve Knight of the Antelope Valley, died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee today — the end of the fiscal deadline.

The bill, which was significantly amended last month, would eliminate the four-year limitation on introducing evidence to be used in proceedings and allow the dismissal process to begin during the summer.

AB2028 passed out of committee in its amended form last month, but was put "on suspense" in the Appropriations Committee because it cost more than $150,000; a hearing was held today to take bills off suspense, but AB2028 died without a vote, said Sabrina Lockhart, a spokeswoman for the Office of Assembly Republican Leader Connie Conway.

It would have cost the state $175,000 because of the expenses associated with mandating schools keep records for longer than four years, Lockhart said.

The California State Assembly Republican Caucus has pushed the bill, which in its initial form mirrored the L.A. Unified school board resolutions adopted on the dismissal issue after a recent spate of teacher arrests for lewd conduct with children. The California Teachers Assn. has vocally opposed the dismissal bills introduced at the Legislature and called them a retraction of due process protections for teachers.

"The committee approved hundreds of bills today, and I'm sure many of them cost more than $175,000," Lockhart said.

Lockhart said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's staff testified in support of AB2028 in April and told legislators that it costs $300,000 to dismiss one teacher.

Another bill, SB1059, sponsored by Republican state Sen. Bob Huff of Diamond Bar, never passed out of commitee in April.

Of the three bills, only SB1530 remains alive. It passed out of the state Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday. It will go to the state Senate next week for a vote. Democratic state Sen. Alex Padilla of Pacoima worked with the CTA and committee members to amend the bill and narrow its scope.


SB1530: Legislative Analysis and Bill Text (as amended)



HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
TICKETS TO NOWHERE: ROMNEY'S EDUCATION VOUCHERS: Themes in the News by UCLA IDEA Week of May 21-25, 2012 | http... http://bit.ly/LQ5pFE

LAUSD TO APPLY FOR PALTRY RttT GRANT: Posted by Michael Dunn, Modern School | http://bit.ly/K189iT Huck/Ko... http://bit.ly/LQ3vou

BIRMINGHAM HIGH SUBMITS PLANS TO FIX PROBLEMS, KEEP SCHOOL'S CHARTER: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily N... http://bit.ly/Lqej6Q

LAUSD AND TWO MORE UNIONS, BUILDING TRADES AND SEIU, REACH TENTATIVE AGREEMENTS ON 10 FURLOUGH DAYS FOR 2012-13!... http://bit.ly/Kqy2Fo

EMBATTLED CAL STATE CHANCELLOR CHARLES REED RETIRES: By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.... http://bit.ly/LOChyz

ON.Y ONE TEACHER DISMISSAL BILL REMAINS ALIVE AT STATE LEGISLATUTE: By Tami Abdollah, Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC ht... http://bit.ly/KA3NN0

STATEMENT BY RAMON CORTINES REGARDING SEXUAL HARASSMENT ALLEGATIONS: LAUSD, reblogged from Pasadena Star-News ht... http://bit.ly/LoG4Nb

The Condition of Education 2012: U.S. STUDENTS GET SERIOUS ABOUT HIGH SCHOOL: By Sarah D. Sparks, Ed... http://bit.ly/LnvrKq

California School Boards Association: VOTE FOR BOTH TAX PLANS - Battle between 'purists and pragmatists': By Joh... http://bit.ly/KLnpMh

A – G: FAILING TO PLAN IS PLANNING TO FAIL: AALA Update: Week of May 28, 2012 | http://bit.ly/KGKBZV ... http://bit.ly/KoHARh

PARENTS RALLY TO KEEP PRINCIPAL AT CARPENTER: Joe Martinez commits to stay at school for another year, despite o... http://bit.ly/KoHyJ7

SCHOOL DISTRICTS CUT MORE NURSES: By Tamara Audi, Wall Street Journal | http://on.wsj.com/LmOuVg May 24, 2012, ... http://bit.ly/MApI6G

THE LAUSD SOCIAL MEDIA SURVEY: John Deasy @DrDeasyLAUSD tweets Click here to take the #LAUSD's first Social... http://bit.ly/Kmf02H

LATEST LAUSD GRADUATES ‘ARE BLAZING NEW TRAILS’: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.l... http://bit.ly/Mwu0fl

ETHICS ANYONE?: by smf for 4LAKids News May 24 2012 – Lewiston, ME :: THIS AMERICAN LIFE, the NPR produced prog... http://bit.ly/LIz9UL

California’s Budget Crisis Part XII: IT'S SUMMER. TIME FOR A CALIFORNIA BUDGET CRISIS + more: Tracy Gordon | Br... http://bit.ly/Kt3js1

CALIFORNIA WANTS OWN 'NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND' RULES: San Francisco Chronicle Editorial | http://bit.ly/JUB5sG Arn... http://bit.ly/KjUJez

ROMNEY MAKES HIS CASE ON EDUCATION: Attacks Obama Ed policies, blames teacher’s unions + Randi Weingarten respon... http://bit.ly/Lt4F6c

FUNDING INCREASES FOR SCHOOL MEALS AMID EDUCATION BUDGET CUTS: By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC ... http://bit.ly/KrMhKJ

Updated: L.A. UNIFIED TO SETTLE HARASSMENT CLAIM AGAINST CORTINES + Other coverage: The district will pay $200,0... http://bit.ly/Lb1e4E

SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIM AGAINST EX-LAUSD CHIEF SETTLED FOR $200,000: BY Howard Blume | LA Times | http://latimes... http://bit.ly/KQfwVi

RACE TO THE TOP: Count LAUSD in; others consider applying + smf’s 2¢: By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess | htt... http://bit.ly/LoD9Hb

LACCD Scandals: FUTURE OF VAN DE KAMPS FACILITY TO BE DISCUSSED. With their lease with a local charter school te... http://bit.ly/Kdwqyw

ACTIVISTS LAUNCH RECALL CAMPAIGN OF LAUSD BOARD MEMBER NURY MARTINEZ: By Vanessa Romo | KPCC Pass/Fail | http://... http://bit.ly/KdfacO

PROTESTERS GATHER TO OPPOSE CUTS TO ADULT ED: Thousands say adult education is crucial to their economic well be... http://bit.ly/Lo3dlx

L.A. UNIFIED CAN APPLY FOR FEDERAL RACE TO THE TOP FUNDS: For the first time, the U.S. Department of Education w... http://bit.ly/LCIVaR

AP EXAM FLAP BAFFLES CHATSWORTH HIGH STUDENTS: Missing test booklets force administrators to re-administer the e... http://bit.ly/KwhNp2
Expand

LACCD scandals: CHECKS TO L.A. COLLEGE FOUNDATION APPEAR FORGED: The payments to the executive director of the L... http://bit.ly/JCWNki

Torlakson: 188 SCHOOL DISTRICTS (INCLUDING LAUSD) IN ‘FINANCIAL JEOPARDY’; 12 (INCLUDING INGLEWOOD) NEAR BANKRUP... http://bit.ly/KI8SAo

®eform, Inc. Polemic Illustrated: “THE WORST UNION IN AMERICA”: 21 May :: OK: I was minding my own business, w... http://bit.ly/LdEVdX

UTLA Polemic: LINDA DARLING-HAMMOND AT THE COCOANUT GROVE TONIGHT - “The Fight for Equity and Justice in Public ... http://bit.ly/Mbqdnl

SCHOOLS’ UNHEALTHY DILEMMA: Many are cutting health classes to save money. Students, and teachers, lose out.: sc... http://bit.ly/Lu3shZ


EVENTS: Coming up next week...
MEMORIAL DAY SONNET

By Garrison Keillor, A Prairie Home Companion, May 29, 2004 | http://bit.ly/KQnNNh

We're here to honor those who went to war
Who did not wish to die, but did die, grievously,
In eighteen sixty-one and in two-thousand four
Though they were peaceable as you or me.
Young and innocent, they knew nothing of horror ---
Singers and athletes, and all in all well-bred.
Their sergeants, mercifully, made them into warriors,
And at the end, they were moving straight ahead.
As we look at these headstones, row on row on row,
Let us see them as they were, laughing and joking,
On that bright irreverent morning long ago.
And once more, let our hearts be broken.
God have mercy on them for their heroic gift.
May we live the good lives they would have lived.

*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


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



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!.


Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them?




Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD and is Parent/Volunteer of the Year for 2010-11 for Los Angeles County. • He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represented PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee for ten years. He is a Health Commissioner, Legislation Team member and a member of the Board of Managers of the California State PTA. He serves on numerous school district advisory and policy committees and has served as a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT 2009 "WHO" Gold Award for his support of education and public schools - an honor he hopes to someday deserve. • In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids.
• FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 4LAKids makes such material available in an effort to advance understanding of education issues vital to parents, teachers, students and community members in a democracy. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
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Sunday, May 20, 2012

Just a little smudge on the police blotter


Onward! 4LAKids
4LAKids: Sunday 20•May•2012
In This Issue:
 •  LAUSD EXPANDS TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN DISTRICTWIDE while GOVERNOR’S BUDGET REVISE SEEKS TO MAKE TK OPTIONAL
 •  UP TO 13 LAUSD CONTINUATION SCHOOLS MAY BE CLOSED AS PART OF COST-CUTTING MOVE + smf’s 2¢
 •  LAO’s Office: THE 2012-13 BUDGET - OVERVIEW OF THE MAY REVISION + The Revise itself,; CPB, Educated Guess, SIAA, UCLA-IDEA, AALA and Dr. Deasy all we
 •  HOPE IN A TIME OF CRISIS
 •  HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
 •  EVENTS: Coming up next week...
 •  What can YOU do?


Featured Links:
 •  OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE: What will California schoolchildren, your school district and YOUR School get when the initiative passes?
 •  Follow 4 LAKids on Twitter - or get instant updates via text message by texting
 •  4LAKids Anthology: All the Past Issues, solved, resolved and unsolved!
 •  4LAKidsNews: a compendium of recent items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, rants and amusing anecdotes, etc.
This is a piece nobody in their right mind would write. It is guaranteed to offend everyone; if you don’t take offense you are either a sociopath or not paying attention. In it I will defend an accused child molester against a respected educator who holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Education.

The following story is pretty basic police blotter reportage: Cut+dried, just the facts:

TEACHER'S AIDE ACCUSED OF COMMITTING LEWD ACTS ON KIDS, BUT VICTIMS MAY NOT BE FROM SCHOOL WHERE HE WORKED

By Lindsay William-Ross in LAist | http://bit.ly/KqST9M

May 17, 2012 4:30 PM :: A 25-year-old man who worked in a temporary post as a teacher's aide at Gratts Elementary School in the Westlake district was arrested this morning on suspicion of committing lewd acts on children. The suspect, Jorge Dominguez, was subsequently terminated by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

In a statement issued today, LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy said the allegations against the employee, who has worked at the school since 2004 and most recently as a temporary 6-hour-per-day worker, are "horrifying and sickening."

The LAUSD clarifies, though, that at this time there are no known victims at Gratts Elementary School, which is also known as Gratts Learning Academy for Young Scholars.

Deasy adds that the LAUSD is co-operating with the Los Angeles Police Department in the investigation.

Per the new protocol, the school is notifying the parents and guardians regarding the arrest and investigation, and the campus will offer crisis counseling or any special assistance needed.

Dominguez was arrested by detectives from the LAPD's Juvenile Division at around 5 a.m. Thursday, says City News Service. Jail records indicate he was being held at the LAPD's downtown jail on $100,000 bail.


I’m not going to go any further than to deconstruct the 6 paragraphs above – in which reporter William-Ross tells us that that Jorge Dominguez was arrested and is suspected of committing lewd acts on children. She also tells us that the victims were apparently not students at the school.

Dr. Deasy in his identity as LAUSD spokesperson announces that Dominguez has been fired …being summarily fired is the sanction employed for temporary aides, substitute teachers and disloyal senior staff at LAUSD who have incurred the superintendent’s displeasure. (If you look here [http://bit.ly/JpbF5K] you will see that Dr. Deasy would like to have his Mitt Romney-ian authority to fire at-will employees transposed to fire employees at will …if only if it weren’t for those pesky union contracts, the ed code and labor laws.

I am not going to make the argument here that folks are presumed innocent until proven guilty – or that social justice is not a thing one can adjust to one’s liking like the bathwater. And obviously Dr. Deasy isn’t either.

Mr. Dominguez is in jail …so for right now kids are safe from his alleged depredations.
If he makes bail he won’t be returning to his job.
If he’s found not guilty he and his attorneys will never have to work another day in their lives.

But here’s my point: Neither “horrifying” nor “sickening” are criminal acts or reasons for termination in themselves. They are adjectives. By employing them publicly the superintendent prejudges the case in the media and muddies the jury pool. Yes, I saw that the adjectives modify the noun “allegations” – but when one assumes the dark blue velvet robe and regalia of Doctor of Philosophy one takes up more than the funny hat.

In almost all other cases LAUSD won’t discuss “personnel matters” publicly; it’s been like pulling teeth to get the district and this superintendent to speak with parents of potential abuse victims. Miramonte? Telfair? Compare+contrast this story with the allegations of teacher misconduct in Eagle Rock last week | http://bit.ly/MvxC3q

I’m afraid that Dr. Deasy has seized the moral high ground (“Child Molesting is Bad!”) and wrestled it into the political quagmire of blaming teachers, value-addled assessments, competition for adequate funding and all the rest of Reform with an ®. As another blogger said of other events this week : “The public needs information, not PR.”




PART OF THE SMOKE+MIRRORS/MAGICAL (LACK-OF) REALISM IN GOVERNOR BROWN’S MAY REVISE BUDGET is a quiet transfer of the QEIA education reform from outside the Prop 98 guarantee to inside Prop 98.

This sounds fair. QEIA (The Quality Education Investment Act) is a good thing, an effective program reducing class sizes at challenged schools and producing results – proving that class size matters. If you don’t do better this year you don’t get the money next year – what a concept!

Except that QEIA isn’t a good idea dreamt up by educators working with policy staff and implemented by legislators – it’s a court-imposed settlement and payback to children from prior unconstitutional raids on Prop 98 funding during the Schwarzenegger Administration.

And that wrongdoing wasn’t just by Arnold – it was by the legislature controlled by the Democrats. QEIA is a past due debt owed to California schoolchildren being paid back by court order from previous years – and by including it in the current+ future funding guarantees it gets subtracted from what today’s children have been guaranteed.

We are robbing today’s Peter to pay back yesterday’s Paula. And both Peter and Paula are children. Six million of them in California’s public schools.

This is like proposing that the victims and their siblings pay the penalty for the crime against them.

GOVERNOR BROWN ALSO PROPOSES TO ELIMINATE THE CALIFORNIA FITNESS TEST (CFT or FITNESSGRAM® [http://1.usa.gov/LnEmkT] given to all students throughout the state in grades 5, 7 and 9 to save the state money. The primary goal of the FITNESSGRAM® is to assist students in establishing lifetime habits of regular physical activity.

• This may come as news, but California and the nation are in an epidemic of obesity, poor physical fitness and obesity-related illnesses – with Type II (“adult-onset”) Diabetes emerging as a childhood disease. The data produced by the CA Fitnessgram helps indentify this epidemic and the causes, victims and potential treatment, outcomes and remedies. The data helps qualify prevention and education programs for grants and funding from the feds and foundations. The test identifies at-risk individuals. Of all the testing we do in CA schools this just may be the most valuable in that it saves lives.

Additionally the following exists in the Ed Code:

• Under EC Section 51241(b)(1), governing boards of a local school district or the office of the county superintendent of schools MAY grant a student an exemption from courses of physical education for two years any time during grades ten to twelve if the following criteria are met: (1) the student consents to the exemption; and (2) the student has met satisfactorily any five of six standards of the physical performance test administered in grade nine pursuant to EC Section 60800 (the FITNESSGRAM)
• If a student in grade nine does not satisfactorily meet five of the six standards of the physical performance test, THE STUDENT IS NOT ELIGIBLE FOR EXEMPTION from physical education courses under EC Section 51241(b)(1). | http://1.usa.gov/L3sXUc

I am not a fan of the Two-Year PE Exemption - but it is the only way many school districts can address the fiscal, staffing and scheduling challenges of students meeting heightened graduation and college admission requirements. In LAUSD we have wrongly/or/rightly declared these one and the same – and by not permitting 11th and 12th graders the exemption many will not be able to graduate in four years.
The law is explicit: If the CFT is not given in 9th grade all students will have to take four years of PE in high school. The unintended consequential cost to districts in providing those classes and master calendar flexibility will be far greater than the savings to the state in not administering the Fitnessgram.

AND THEN THERE’S THE LEGISLATIVE ANALYST’S OFFICE (LAO) OVERVIEW OF THE MAY REVISION: “While we find that the administration's economic and revenue forecasts are reasonable, we are concerned that….” (following)


OUR CHILDREN/OUR FUTURE (aka the PTA/Munger Initiative) IS THE ONLY INITIATIVE ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT THAT SPECIFICALLY INCREASES PRESCHOOL-12TH GRADE PUBLIC EDUCATION FUNDING. OCOF has an interesting and hopefully convincing widget – an “App” [http://bit.ly/yIDEkD] – that informs voters how much their local school and school district will get when OCOF passes. Last week EdVoice rolled out a SIMILAR widget that informs voters how much their local school and district HASN’T GOT and is owed by Sacramento’s continuing deferrals of the Prop 98 School funding guarantees. [http://bit.ly/K20Oww]

I urge you to visit both. Do the math. And then do the voting.

And – because saying so isn’t in their job description: On behalf of nine million California youngsters – the six million in K-12 plus the three million waiting in their strollers and car seats - thank you for everything you do for them every day.

¡Onward/Adelante! - smf


LAUSD EXPANDS TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN DISTRICTWIDE while GOVERNOR’S BUDGET REVISE SEEKS TO MAKE TK OPTIONAL

►LAUSD WILL EXPAND ITS TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM DISTRICTWIDE
By Barbara Jones Staff Writer, Daily News/Daily Breeze |http://bit.ly/JSpPcA


5/17/2012 07:03:50 PM PDT :: Despite a lack of financial and political support from Gov. Jerry Brown, Los Angeles Unified will expand its transitional kindergarten program this fall to all 400-plus elementary schools in the district, officials said Thursday.

TK is a two-year program that lets youngsters progress at their own pace, giving them extra time to master the academic, social and developmental skills required of today's kindergartners.

Los Angeles Unified has been operating 109 TK classes under a pilot program. While the district initially planned to add 100 more schools each of the next three years, officials have decided instead to launch TK everywhere this fall.

"With the success of our transitional kindergarten pilot program, we have seen firsthand the impact of giving our students the gift of time," Superintendent John Deasy said in a statement.

"Our students are making strong gains, especially in early literacy and math, and our English-language learners are making dramatic progress."

TK is the result of a 2010 law that gradually moves up the date that kids are eligible to enroll in kindergarten. Under the new law, the cutoff for standard kindergarten shifts this year from the long-standing Dec. 2 deadline to Nov. 1, and to Oct. 1 in 2013 and Sept. 1 in 2014.

Youngsters whose birthdays fall between the cutoff date and the previous threshold of Dec. 2 will be eligible for TK - an estimated 125,000 statewide by 2014.

There has been considerable uncertainty about the future of transitional kindergarten.

Because of the state's financial crisis, Brown said in January he wanted to eliminate TK, a proposal that was eventually rejected by both the state Senate and Assembly. When he released his revised budget proposal on Monday, there was no money to fund TK programs.

But Nora Armenta, executive director of the Early Childhood Division for Los Angeles Unified, said administrators so believe in the program they figured out a way to expand TK using existing resources.

Essentially, TK students will be assigned to an existing kindergarten class, with teachers given additional training for how to best work with the younger kids.

"We're doing the work already, but this is just a different way of organizing the children and having more skill in understanding their needs," she said.

She estimated that 4,000 students will qualify for TK classes this year, with a similar number signing up annually through 2014 as the new cut-off date is implemented.

"This is putting 4,000 students back into the system," she said. "It's saving jobs and helping parents who wouldn't have a place to put their kids or would have to put them in a private preschool."

Los Angeles Unified is among the nearly 200 districts that are registering students for transitional kindergarten for next year.


►MAY BUDGET STILL SEEKS TO MAKE KINDERGARTEN-READINESS OPTIONAL

By Kimberly Beltran, SI&A Cabinet Report.| http://bit.ly/K2ylH7


Thursday, May 17, 2012 :: Gov. Jerry Brown’s latest budget still seeks to eliminate the legal requirement that schools, starting this fall, must offer a new kindergarten-readiness program for 4-year-olds whose birthdays occur after Nov. 1, the kindergarten age cutoff date.

The governor’s proposal would, instead, make transitional kindergarten optional by giving districts authority – and average daily attendance money – to offer those 4-year-olds an extra year of kindergarten, effectively creating a two-year kindergarten program.

The proposal sends something of a mixed message to districts, many of which have been planning new programs to comply with the Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2010 – the law requiring transitional kindergarten.

Brown’s revised May budget, released Monday, does away with the term transitional kindergarten and contains no funding for it. But the governor’s Department of Finance staff has said districts still can, on a case-by-case basis, offer to enroll certain 4-year-olds in regular kindergarten classes and the state would pay for them just as it does other students.

But many legislators who worked in support of the bill that created the program already this year have shown a strong reluctance to follow the governor’s lead and cut the program.

The issue is just one of many Brown and legislative leaders are focused on as part of closing the state’s yawning $16 billion spending shortfall this summer.

There is some sense among Capitol insiders that supporters of the program have gained the upper hand.

In January, when Brown first proposed eliminating transitional kindergarten, the administration estimated the savings at $223.7 million.

But fiscal analysts subsequently have trimmed the expected savings to $91.5 million as a result of what the administration calls the “anticipated declining enrollment costs as well as an expected increase in two-year kindergarten costs.”

As proposed in the revised budget, those savings would be used to restore budget reductions to support and expand preschool programs.

The governor’s initial suggestion in January that transitional kindergarten be de-funded left many districts in limbo, wondering whether they should expend the energy and resources to plan and implement the program.

Even now, with the governor standing by his proposal to cut the program, state law still requires districts to prepare age-appropriate curriculum this fall for 4-year-olds whose autumn birthdays occur after Nov. 1, the cutoff date by which a child must turn 5 to enter kindergarten in the 2012-13 school year.

For the 2013-14 school year, the deadline date becomes Oct. 1; and Sept. 1 is the cutoff date for the 2014-15 school year and each year thereafter.

Some districts, like LA Unified, already offer a transitional kindergarten program and plan to continue doing so. Others plan to begin programs this fall while still others have said they have no intention of trying to create something new given their fiscal positions.

Education consultants and advocates who closely monitor the ever-shifting political landscape mostly are advising districts to follow the law and to plan for some form of transitional kindergarten.

“We continue to advise districts that the legislature is unlikely to implement the elimination of the transitional kindergarten requirement,” said Barrett Snider, a legislative advocate and director of government and public affairs at School Innovations & Advocacy (SI&A is corporate host of the Cabinet Report). “The governor cannot “blue pencil” transitional kindergarten funding. That money is based upon average daily attendance and is provided as a continuous appropriation, rather than as an appropriation in the budget act. Schools are virtually certain to receive funding for transitional kindergarten attendance going forward.”


•• smf’s 2¢: TK is supposed to be a stand alone program, not a combination class with K – that was the intent of Senator Simitian and SB1381. TK should not be a revenue generator for school districts, it is supposed to be an opportunity for four and five year olds.

TK and K are both optional programs, neither is cumpulsory for parents and their kids.

There is pending legislation to make Kindergarten attendance compulsory [ AB 2203 | http://1.usa.gov/KC804z ]– (appx 10% of CA kids don’t go to K) - but not TK. The likelihood that this will pass this year, or that the governor would sign it, hovers closer to zilch than nada.



UP TO 13 LAUSD CONTINUATION SCHOOLS MAY BE CLOSED AS PART OF COST-CUTTING MOVE + smf’s 2¢

By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Dialy News | http://bit.ly/M7ZW9r

5/20 :: More than one-fourth of Los Angeles Unified's continuation high schools may be shuttered next year as a cost-cutting move, shrinking a program seen as a last resort for students at risk of dropping out.

Continuation schools on the campuses of North Hollywood High and Taft High in Woodland Hills are among 13 that would be closed under a plan to save the district $6.5 million.

Leonis Continuation High in Woodland Hills is also on the list, although its anchor campus, El Camino Real Charter, has asked the school board to let it incorporate the intervention program, which would save it from elimination.

Officials say they can keep all of the continuation schools open if the district's labor unions agree to double-digit furlough days or other concessions, issues that are now the subject of nearly daily negotiations.

In the meantime, students and administrators say the schools provide a critical resource for students who are struggling or failing outright - but who refuse to give up.

"This school has been here 40 years, and is a community institution," said John Berns, principal of Amelia Earhart Continuation School, the North Hollywood campus on the chopping block. "Some of our students are children of people who graduated from here.

"If we close, this would be a disservice to the most vulnerable students in our community."

Los Angeles Unified operates 40 continuation schools, which offer small classes, flexible schedules and strong academic support. Students can work at their own pace to make up failed classes and get back on the path to graduation.

A year ago, Fatima Castro was finishing up her junior year at North Hollywood High with F's in four of her six classes. Realizing that she'd never graduate if she remained in the 3,000-student school, she enrolled in Amelia Earhart, where five teachers work with about 120 kids.

"I'd taken math for four years, and just didn't get it," said Castro, 18.
Principal John Berns at Earhart Continuation High School in North Hollywood. (Hans Gutknecht / Staff Photographer)
"After I came to Amelia Earhart, I passed algebra in two months and now I can do geometry.

"I'm getting A's and B's in all of my classes - A's and B's! And next month, I'm going to graduate."

Classmate Bryan Solorio described the feeling of futility as he fell farther and farther behind in his classes at NoHo High, with teachers too overworked to help him grasp the basic skills he missed as he was promoted from grade to grade.

On the verge of dropping out, he decided to give school one last shot. He enrolled last fall at Amelia Earhart, where he caught the attention of veteran teacher Norah Cunningham.

"Miss Norah asked me if I needed help, and I said `Yes.' She asked what I needed help with, and I said, `Everything,"' Solorio recalled.

Cunningham sat with him for hours, tutoring Solorio in English and math and instilling a sense of purpose in the soft-spoken young man.

"I was never proud of myself before, but now I'm achieving something in life," said Solorio, who wants to attend community college after he graduates in June. "Miss Norah helped me feel like I can do anything."

Administrators don't dispute the value of continuation schools, especially as the district sharpens its focus on graduating 100 percent of its students. They say, however, that they can't continue operating the program at current levels because the state's financial crisis means less money for public education.

For 2012-13, the district is facing a $390 million deficit, although that could shrink or swell, depending on the state's revenues. That shortfall has prompted officials to propose ending many popular programs so they can divert funding to operate core K-12 schools instead.

Adult and early childhood education classes and regional occupation centers are on the chopping block, although officials hope to salvage most of those with financial concessions from employee unions.

That's also how the district would be able to restore some $15 million trimmed from its Options program, which includes continuation schools, and classes for dropouts, chronic truants, pregnant teens and chronically ill youngsters.

Most of the Options cuts would be made by reducing counseling and other support services for troubled students, said administrator Jan Davis, who oversees the program. The continuation school closures would make up the rest.

The original closure plan called for shuttering the schools with the lowest enrollment. Because that would have unfairly impacted neighborhoods in South and East LA, Davis crafted a new list that also took geography into consideration.

She declined to identify the schools targeted for closure, but said they are scattered throughout the 700-square-mile district. Other sources said the schools include Amelia Earhart, Leonis and Thoreau Continuation School on the Taft campus.

Davis said the 13 campuses serve about 1,100 students. If the schools are closed, students could find another continuation school or Options program, or return to a traditional high school setting.

Berns, the Amelia Earhart principal, worries that at-risk students will simply walk away if forced to find an alternative to a school where they've found success.

"It's not that the teachers at North Hollywood High don't care, but they've got 200 students a day so they can't give any one kid much time. Here, we relate to every student almost as family.

"For an assistant principal at a large school, it's very difficult to have more than a one-minute conversation during the day. Here, you're accountable to me," he said. "I'm not going to lose you in a crowd. I'm not going to let you go."


••smf’s 2¢: Here’s what’s going to happen.

1. The closed classrooms will be given to charter operators under Prop 39.
2. The charters will not serve the continuation population, or special ed or English Language Learners – they will compete for and draw general ed students.
3. This will open up more space for charter expansion.

This is privatization and the corporatization of public education …and, if you are upset by such things: union busting. The Bureau of the Census, which is part of the Dept of Commerce – which should know – has ruled that Charters are Private Schools that spend Public Money.


LAO’s Office: THE 2012-13 BUDGET - OVERVIEW OF THE MAY REVISION + The Revise itself,; CPB, Educated Guess, SIAA, UCLA-IDEA, AALA and Dr. Deasy all we

LAO’s Office: THE 2012-13 BUDGET - OVERVIEW OF THE MAY REVISION
California Legislative Analyst's Office http://1.usa.gov/KkZIuc
May 18, 2012 :: In the May Revision of his 2012-13 budget proposal, the Governor identified a larger budget problem of $15.7 billion for state leaders to address in the coming weeks. While we find that the administration's economic and revenue forecasts are reasonable, we are concerned that the amount of property tax revenues from former redevelopment agencies (RDAs) may be substantially less than the May Revision assumes in 2011-12 and 2012-13. If so, this could increase the state's Proposition 98 school funding obligations and, therefore, the size of the budget problem above administration estimates. Moreover, the administration's $1.4 billion estimate for the amount of General Fund benefit that may be achieved in 2012-13 from transferring former RDAs' liquid cash assets to school districts is highly uncertain. We advise the Legislature to focus on adopting realistic and ongoing budget actions to continue the progress the state has made in reducing its annual operating, or structural, deficit. We describe and assess the administration's major May Revision proposals. In some cases, we offer alternative ways to achieve the savings targeted by the Governor. With regard to Proposition 98, we offer alternatives to both the Governor's basic budget plan and his trigger plan.
•FULL LAO REPORT ON MAY REVISE: http://scr.bi/Kl7wvU

•GOVERNOR’S MAY REVISE DOCUMENT: http://1.usa.gov/Kaor1Z

•CALIFORNIA BUDGET PROJECT ANALYSIS OF MAY REVISE: http://bit.ly/MvuGnH

•FENSTERWALD ON THE MAY REVISE: K-12 SCHOOLS SPARED, FOR NOW http://bit.ly/Kr4j0e

•SI&A ON THE MAY REVISE: Brown’s May Plan Offers More Money, But Defers Payments + Brown’s May Budget Ties School... http://bit.ly/KqZCDq

•UCLA IDEA ON THE MAY REVISE: Cuts are Spread Wide and Deep “…spared K-12 schools but targeted programs and services that directly touch California youth” | http://bit.ly/LhYaQ7

•AALA ON THE MAY BUDGET REVISION: NO GOOD NEWS: http://t.co/BrQz7wsf

•DR DEASY ON MAY REVISE: from Facebook | http://bit.ly/LLEdUC


HOPE IN A TIME OF CRISIS

By Stephanie Espinoza, New American Media EthnoBlog | http://bit.ly/JDxbUR

May 18, 2012 3:36 PM :: The EdSource 2012 symposium, in collaboration with the California State PTA, brought together educators, parents, policy makers, and researchers last week at the Anaheim Convention Center to discuss the impact of California’s budget deficit on schools and children. The discussion centered around the theme “Striving for Success in a Time of Crisis.”

California Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor opened up the discussion with an overview of the state's budget deficit: it’s bad, it’s going to get worse, but there’s hope. According to Taylor, it usually takes two to five years to recover from a recession. In this case, it will take California more than five years to recover. Why? The answer lies in that the state relies on temporary solutions that only prolong California’s recovery. For the upcoming year, the projected budget deficit is estimated at over $15 billion.

What does this mean for children’s success in school? Three panelists addressed this question based on their studies. The research of Ashlyn Nelson, Assistant Professor in the School of Public and Environmental Affairs at Indiana University-Bloomington, shows that mobility caused by the housing crisis has negative consequences for school children. Kids going through foreclosure, for example, are more likely to be absent or expelled from school.

Russell Rumberger, Professor of Education at UC Santa Barbara, added to these findings. According to Rumberger, mobility is also a form of instability for an entire community because when people are forced to move, it creates overcrowding which leads to changes in school boundaries.

John Rogers, Associate Professor at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education, also added to the discussion. Roger’s research shows that the recession has also created shrinking opportunities in California’s public schools. Today, half as many schools are providing summer school. Schools have also cut instructional time, which means less teacher time and attention for kids, less time to improve instruction, and less time to address growing social welfare needs.

The symposium ended with a panel of representatives from nonprofit organizations and school districts that added their view to the current school-community landscape and offered suggestions on what schools, families, and communities can do to help one another. I had the opportunity to represent my Central Valley community and be part of this discussion as a panelist. I spoke about how the Arvin High School guidance counseling program in the Central Valley has reorganized as a group to help their large student population.

As a recent college graduate from a low income, minority, and first generation student background, I was able to relate to the findings from the researchers.

Growing up in Kern County, the importance of an education is not part of the daily discourse. Kern County has some of the highest expulsion, suspension, and dropout rates in the state. Unfortunately, the kids most affected by the recession are low income and the crisis makes it even more difficult to keep them in school.

When asked by Louis Freedberg, Executive Director for EdSource, on my thoughts as the only youth sitting on the panel, I responded, “I do have hope” for California despite the crisis we are facing. Especially when there are many youth and community members that work toward making a big difference in student’s lives. I know many college students that take up part time jobs as tutors and advisors for students. I also know community members that volunteer their time to mentor disadvantaged youth. It is people like them who help counter the negative effects that the crisis has created in our schools and children.

•Stephanie Espinoza is a fellow with New America Media's Youth Education Fellowship. The fellowship is a six-month long program for youth reporters aged 16-24 on education reporting. It is sponsored by the California Education Policy Fund.


HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
CAN JORDAN HIGH’S EXPERIMENT WORK? Big changes at the Watts campus aim to increase students' academic success. B... http://bit.ly/KonTrv

WESTSIDE CHARTER SCHOOL TEACHER GONE AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF CHEATING: Teacher at an Ocean Charter campus was found... http://bit.ly/JvgBWz

“I am more than a test score”: L.A. STUDENTS AND TEACHERS DISPLAY LEARNING BEYOND TESTS: by Howard Blume, LA Tim... http://bit.ly/L4qAAv

MAY BUDGET REVISION: NO GOOD NEWS: AALA Weekly Update: Week of May 21, 2012 | http://bit.ly/L4m8BX 18 May :: ... http://bit.ly/K2d28z

LAO’s Office: THE 2012-13 BUDGET: OVERVIEW OF THE MAY REVISION: California Legislative Analyst's Office http://1... http://bit.ly/M5mDuS

LAUSD WILL EXPAND ITS TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM DISTRICTWIDE: By Barbara Jones Staff Writer, Daily News/... http://bit.ly/JncwE3

HOW CALIFORNIA IS UNITING TO STOP THE SWINGING DOOR OF SCHOOL SUSPENSIONS: By Laura Faer Public Counsel |Califor... http://bit.ly/LYWHBl

FATE OF LAUSD'S ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM REMAINS UNCERTAIN: Adult education meeting will be May 18 at 6:30 p.m. a... http://bit.ly/KEs0SA

Analysis: BROWN’S SCHOOL FINANCE REFORMS OPENS RIFT AMONG DEMOCRATS, DISTRICTS: By Tom Chorneau | School Innovat... http://bit.ly/JjaSTM

FULL-SCALE ASSAULT ON TENURE, DISMISSAL LAWS: New nonprofit with big name attorneys files lawsuit: By John Fenst... http://bit.ly/JOmJWZ

SCAMING QEIA: By smf for 4LAKidsNews May 17, 2012 :: Part of the smoke+mirrors/magical (lack-of) realism) in Go... http://bit.ly/JOkNOc

A NEW WAVE OF CHARTERS SCHOOLS: What Does it Mean?: Tamar Galatzan of School Board, District 3, writes about cha... http://bit.ly/KeJRfT

Letters: TESTING A CHARTER: Letters to the Editor, LA Times | http://lat.ms/KYoE9Q Re "When a charter is failin... http://bit.ly/J93ni4

2 LA Times Editorials: On The May Revise – BROWN’S BLOODY BUDGET + On California’s NCLB Waiver – NO PROCRASTINA... http://bit.ly/LNwJ3u

Fensterwald on the May Revise: K-12 SCHOOLS SPARED, FOR NOW …but automatic $5.5 billion cuts if tax initiative f... http://bit.ly/Kr4j0e

SI&A on the May Revise: BROWN’S MAY PLAN OFFERS MORE MONEY, BUT DEFERS PAYMENTS + BROWN’S MAY BUDGET TIES SCHOOL... http://bit.ly/KqZCDq

DR DEASY ON MAY REVISE: from Facebook | http://on.fb.me/KI34cz “The Governor’s May Revise assumes that voters w... http://bit.ly/LLEdUC

MAY REVISE: GOVERNOR BROWN RELEASES REVISED STATE BUDGET plus budget summary: Protecting Education and Public Sa... http://bit.ly/JwJyPS

MAY REVISE: Brown’s revised budget - K-12 spared, others not so lucky: From Gov. Brown’s press office via San Fr... http://bit.ly/LK2dHH


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


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



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!.


Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them?




Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD and is Parent/Volunteer of the Year for 2010-11 for Los Angeles County. • He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represented PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee for ten years. He is a Health Commissioner, Legislation Team member and a member of the Board of Managers of the California State PTA. He serves on numerous school district advisory and policy committees and has served as a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT 2009 "WHO" Gold Award for his support of education and public schools - an honor he hopes to someday deserve. • In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids.
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