In This Issue:
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From the wonderful folks who inspired ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘Jersey Shore’: NEW JERSEY’S FAIRER WAY TO FIRE TEACHERS |
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Skelton on AB 1575: PROTECT CALIFORNIA’S STUDENTS FROM ILLEGAL FEES |
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THE GAP BETWEEN THE RICH + POOR: A New Look at The Achievement Gap |
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WRONGSIZING: Respecting Workers, Keeping Kids Safe |
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HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but
not necessarily 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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• "Access to public education is a right enjoyed by all - not a commodity for sale."
- CA. Supreme Court, Hartwell v. Connell (1984)
• "When it comes to K through 12 education, we see a $500 billion
sector in the U.S. alone that is waiting desperately to be transformed
by big breakthroughs ….”
- News Corporation Chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch, on announcing
purchase of 90% of Wireless Generation, a privately-held Brooklyn-based
education technology company for approximately $360 million in cash
Those two are difficult dots to connect. But not impossible.
And note Murdoch’s qualifier: “in the U.S. alone…”. If the attack on
public education by the billionaire Boy’s Clubbers and
privateer-privatizers is a war, it’s a global. It’s World War 3.1.
Remember Windows 3.1? It changed the world – and enriched the same
entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, deregulation proponents, private
equity investors, multinationals and leveraged buyout out artists as the
war on free public education.
Like MS/DOS, Windows really wasn’t really new; it was old stuff in a new
shiny box – from Xerox PARC as re-imagined by Apple+Jobs and reverse
engineered by Microsoft+Gates. Charter schools were dreamt up by
teacher’s union leaders. ®eform, Inc. isn’t innovation, it’s old
thinking in new packaging. (See Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations – but
read Machiavelli’s Prince first.)
First you join the game. Then you change the rules. Then you change the game. Then you take over.
If Public education is a “$500 Billion Sector” you buy a piece of it,
grow your piece, change the rules ND change the game. It falls into a
billionaire’s lap like a starlet at a cocktail party.
The textbook and testing companies are multinationals. The 1%.
The charter investors /private capitalists are entrepreneurial billionaires. The 1%.
Moving funding control from school districts to the state changed the rules.
The failure of the state to do the job drives federal oversight and supplemental funding and regulations changes the game.
Deregulate it and it’s yours.
The Charters and vouchers and Common Core Standards and standardized
testing and value added assessments – the deunionization – the waivers
and flexibility -change the rules and the game.
Public control of public education (School boards are the most local of
local government) is evaporating – transferring upward to city
government, state government and the feds.
And private investors are standing by to help.
Themselves.
Left unchecked the 1% will eventually be selling the 99% their free public education.
See: Skelton on AB 1575: PROTECT CALIFORNIA’S STUDENTS FROM ILLEGAL FEES -http://bit.ly/QLgVVk
CHANGING THE SUBJECT SLIGHTLY: I have been following the Olympics on
the BBC. Their coverage is in real time and their jingoism has a
tongue-in-cheekiness probably only I appreciate.
Britain has been kicking Australia’s butt in medal count – historically
the opposite has been true. For a while there New Zealand, Australia’s
smaller next door neighbor was counting more Olympic bling than the
Aussies.
Once the gloating had passed the reasoned deconstruction was undertaken: This IS the BBC!
Britain ten years ago instituted a program to promote sport in schools
as a funded requirement. (In the UK ‘sport’ is singular; ‘maths’ is
plural.)
Australia abandoned sport as a requirement in schools – to save money and time in the instructional day.
Sure the Brits have the home field advantage …but the Aussies are
failing at sport they have always dominated in venues besides Sydney.
A small lesson from the commonwealth:
2012:
GREAT BRITAIN
Gold:28 Silver:15 Bronze:19 Total:62
AUSTRALIA
Gold:7 Silver:16 Bronze:12 Total:35
Four years ago:
GREAT BRITAIN
Gold:19 Silver:13 Bronze:15 Total:47
AUSTRALIA
Gold:14 Silver:15 Bronze:17 Total:46
We know PE matters. Maybe the Olympics is the standardized test that proves it. No medal left behind.
SCHOOL STARTS ON MONDAY FOR TEACHERS AND STAFF, TUESDAY FOR STUDENTS.
Let’s stay cool, be safe and healthy and teach+learn good things. This is the year we turn it around.
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
From the wonderful folks who inspired ‘The Sopranos’
and ‘Jersey Shore’: NEW JERSEY’S FAIRER WAY TO FIRE TEACHERS
#646 in the series: UNASKED-FOR SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS YOU PROBABLY DON’T REALLY HAVE.
The LA Times Editorial Board says, parroting the
Powers-That-Wanna-Be in Ed ®eform, Inc., “Ousting teachers in
California is protracted, expensive and nearly impossible. Here's a
better way”.
●●smf: Firing bad teachers is yet another magic bullet in the Ed
®eform six-shooter, replacing each spent and failed round as they
misfire:
• If only the state lottery could fund education, we wouldn’t need these pesky property taxes.
• If only we could be rid of these pesky union contracts.
• If only we left no children behind.
• If only the mayor ran the schools.
• If only every child graduated college ready and career prepared.
• If only there were college slots and good jobs out there.
• If only parents/charter operators/education theorists could choose, they would ALWAYS choose correctly.
• If only we could use test scores to evaluate teachers.
• If only my kid’s number in the lottery comes up.
• If only schools would have done before what Eli and Bill believe now.
• If only we could cut costs and improve test scores.
• If only pizza and chicken nuggets and Mountain Dew were good for kids.
• If only Superman….
Now it’s ‘If only there was a fairer way to fire teachers’. This
sounds an awful lot like: ‘If only there was a more humane and
mistake-proof way to execute criminals.’
There always have been folks in every profession that shouldn't be
in that profession …and there’s no excuse for bad plumbers or waitresses
or bank tellers. The teachers unions should be more like crafts guilds –
making sure their brothers-and-sister teachers are as good as they can
be. But it’s hard to be proud and competent and self-regulating with
that target on your back.
I’m pretty sure of this: The answer isn’t to let Chris Christie
decide who the good and bad teachers are. Any more than the LA Times
should be the decider.
(In the online posting of the editorial is a picture of all 334 pounds
of New Jersey governor Chris Christie, one cream puff short of gross,
talking about this signature legislation.
Photo Caption: Tenure will be harder for New Jersey teachers to get and
easier to lose under a law Gov. Chris Christie, center, signed Monday.
(Rich Schultz / Associated Press / August 6, 2012)
►NEW JERSEY’S FAIRER WAY TO FIRE TEACHERS
•Los Angeles Times Editorial | http://lat.ms/PG3aA6
August 8, 2012 :: Every time a proposal to reform the hiring and
firing of teachers is put forward in California, it's just as
complicated and, in ways, as counterproductive as the current system.
Ousting teachers here is ruinously protracted and expensive and,
ultimately, nearly impossible. Legislation to fix this regularly fails,
in part because the bills aren't well conceived, but mostly because of
opposition from the California Teachers Assn. and reluctance by
Democratic politicians who rely on the union for support. Yet just this
week, the state of New Jersey proved that it doesn't have to be
difficult to be fair to teachers while weeding the ineffective ones from
the classroom.
Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation Monday that lengthens the time a
teacher must work before receiving tenure from three years to four. It
also makes that probationary period more meaningful by requiring a year
of working with a mentor and two years of satisfactory evaluations
before tenure can be granted. If a school wants to fire a low-performing
teacher who already has tenure, it must first try to help the teacher
improve. If the teacher challenges the termination, the case is
submitted to binding arbitration. Teachers are given a little more than
three months to contest a firing, and the cost, which is paid by the
state, cannot exceed $7,500. Efforts to terminate teachers must be based
on comprehensive and regular performance evaluations.
California's current teacher protection system is similar to how New
Jersey had run things for decades, but is even more dysfunctional.
Schools must make tenure decisions on new teachers within 18 months. Any
termination attempt is subject to restrictions on when the teacher can
even be notified that he or she has been targeted; appeals then go to an
administrative law panel — whose makeup is slanted in favor of the
teacher — that can take years to convene and decide a particular case.
Legislation to streamline this ineffective process has gone too far in
the other direction by making the appeals process advisory only.
Because New Jersey's new law ensures that struggling teachers receive
help and due process before they can be fired, it won the support of the
state teachers union and bipartisan approval from legislators. At the
same time, the law replaces the costly and time-consuming quagmire that
has allowed seriously problematic teachers to remain in the classroom.
Such reform requires a governor who is dedicated to the welfare of
students; Christie has made education a cornerstone of his
administration, while California Gov. Jerry Brown has yet to articulate a
set of educational priorities. Also necessary was a teachers union that
was willing to consider ending an unreasonable and increasingly
unpopular system. It shouldn't be this hard to do the right thing by
California's public school students.
Skelton on AB 1575: PROTECT CALIFORNIA’S STUDENTS FROM ILLEGAL FEES
by George Skelton | LA Times/Capitol Journal | http://lat.ms/QL741C
August 6, 2012 :: SACRAMENTO — Not every proposed law is historic or
sweeping. Some merely are pretty good ideas — perhaps even important for
a low-income kid.
One such bill is among the hundreds awaiting action as the Legislature
heads into its final month. The measure's goal is to stop schools from
socking students with illegal fees.
Fees for sports and field trips and textbooks and art, for example.
They're being charged despite a guarantee in the California Constitution of a free K-12 education.
"Access to public education is a right enjoyed by all — not a commodity
for sale," the California Supreme Court ruled in 1984. "Educational
opportunities must be provided to all students without regard to their
families' ability or willingness to pay fees….
"This fundamental feature of public education is not contingent upon the
inevitably fluctuating financial health of local school districts. A
solution to those financial difficulties must be found elsewhere."
Nevertheless, according to a pending lawsuit filed two years ago by the
American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, "the state has
done nothing as its public school districts blatantly violate the free
school guarantee by requiring students to pay fees and purchase assigned
materials for credit courses."
"Basically," says ACLU chief counsel Mark Rosenbaum, "the state is balancing the budget on the backpacks of kids."
The state Department of Education, a defendant in the suit, even last
year prepared a detailed memo advising which fees are legal and which
illegal. But it seems to have been widely ignored by many schools.
"Some of these school districts, I understand they're in a difficult
situation," says Assemblyman Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens.) "God knows
the state hasn't helped the school districts in terms of funding the
education system.
"But what some schools are charging in fees is against the law."
And nobody apparently is enforcing the law.
"We find it perverse," says ACLU attorney Brooks Allen, "that the only
mechanism to enforce the constitutional right of a student who can't
afford a textbook is to go out and hire a lawyer.
"We want the state to have a role."
It's not just the principle of a free public education that is at stake.
It's also the practical effect of stigmatizing and humiliating poor
kids who can't afford the teacher's demand to kick in money for a
program.
And if they're denied the same materials or participation granted
better-off students, the children of struggling families are left behind
in an academic disadvantage.
Lara is pushing a bill (AB 1575) that would create a formal complaint
process for parents who thought their kids had been charged fees
illegally. They could appeal to the school principal and, ultimately,
the state Board of Education.
The state superintendent of public instruction also would be required to
periodically advise schools about what's legal and what's not. And
schools would need to update their fee policies.
Pretty mild stuff, it would seem. But this sort of thing invariably is
resisted by administrators and bureaucrats leery of being forced to move
out of their comfort zones.
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar Lara bill last year. He contended it went "too far."
It would have required the posting of a notice specifying legal and
illegal fees in each classroom — like a workplace job safety notice —
and mandated frequent auditing.
The current bill has been toned down. Negotiations are underway between
the bill's sponsors and the governor's office. Brown has not taken a
position on the new measure. Neither has state schools chief Tom
Torlakson.
The bill, strongly backed by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los
Angeles), passed the lower house and is awaiting a hearing in the Senate
Appropriations Committee.
The immediate goal of both sides — the ACLU and the government,
particularly education officials — is to enact legislation that would
render the lawsuit moot.
The suit was filed after some parents complained to the ACLU. The
organization then documented more than 50 school districts requiring
pupils to cough up for textbooks, novels, science materials, P.E.
uniforms, art classes, advanced placement exams and the like — for both
classroom and extracurricular activities.
Plaintiff "Jane's Spanish teacher wrote her name on the class whiteboard
because she could not pay for assigned workbooks," the ACLU complaint
charged.
Also, her middle school "required that Jane [not her real name] pay more
than $440 annually in course and uniform fees for her physical
education class and musical instrument rental fees…
"In some classes, teachers made grades partially dependent on the
students' payment of course fees or awarded extra credit to students who
bought $20 T-shirts."
Some students who couldn't afford books were issued school copies, but
they had to be read in the library and couldn't be marked up. No taking
them home.
The defendants asked a judge to dismiss the case. He refused. Subpoenas
have been issued to 25 school districts ordering them to appear in court
and explain their fee practices. The hearing is expected to be delayed
until after the legislative session ends.
A report produced last year by UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education
and Access found that "California's high schools increasingly are
calling upon families to pay for services that had previously been
covered by the school….
"As high schools shift costs to families, inequality between schools often grows."
A new school year starts soon. The Legislature and the governor should
unequivocally tell principals that the state Supreme Court had it right
28 years ago: They should look for money someplace besides students'
pockets.
________________________
••smf: This bill attempts to avoid the ACLU lawsuit and keep the
administration of the state constitutional guarantee of a a free K-12
education and the enforcement of the 1984 Hartzell v. Connell decision
out of the courts. Either the state will oversee school funding or the
courts will – on a district-by-district basis.
By not acting the legislature issues the challenge: “so sue the school districts”.
If the intent is to bankrupt them, this accelerates that process.
Better they should rise to the constitutional challenge they are already avoiding: funding K-12 public education.
THE GAP BETWEEN THE RICH + POOR: A New Look at The Achievement Gap
From the AALA Update | http://bit.ly/MPiSst
Week of Aug 13, 2012 :: For many years a focus of education reform has
been the reduction of the academic achievement gap between African
American students and their white peers. Increasingly, Latino students
have been included in this gap. Now as more and more school districts
are finally seeing some reduction in the gap in certain grade levels, a
recent study* by Dr. Sean Reardon, a researcher and director of a
doctoral program in education policy at Stanford University, shows that
the achievement gap between children from high and low income families
is far higher than the gap between black and white students. As the
incomes of affluent and poor families have diverged over the past three
decades, so too has the educational performance of their children. In
fact, the difference in test scores between children at the 10% income
level vs. those at the 90% level is now nearly twice as large as the
black-white achievement gap. Yet, just a half century ago, the
achievement gap
between black and white students was nearly 1 ½ times as large as the
income
gap.
This study, published in 2011, is the first to look at the achievement
gap between rich and poor children and compare it to the achievement gap
between black and white children. A key finding was that the income
achievement gap does not change, neither narrows nor widens, during the
entire educational career of students. Dr. Reardon suggests that a big
part of the processes that are responsible for this are things that
happen in early childhood before kids get into kindergarten. This is
another link in the chain that supports the expansion of high quality
preschool programs, not the reduction. The cognitively stimulating
environment that these programs can provide can help raise the
achievement of all low income students, regardless of race.
Statistics are showing that lower income students are doing better
academically than decades ago; however, those at the top of the income
scale are doing far better and have moved dramatically ahead of middle
income kids. In fact, even the achievement gap between rich and poor
white students has gotten bigger over time. There are many mechanisms
that contribute to the gap and they have certainly never been fully
defined nor understood, yet, higher parental education is one
consistent, key correlation to higher incomes. But Dr. Reardon says that
family income is almost as strong a predictor of how well children do
in school as is their parents’ level of education.
Main reasons for the growth of the income achievement gap, according to the study are:
• - The income gap has increased dramatically over the past 40 years (it
is now wider than it has ever been) with more than 22 percent of
children under age 18 now living in poverty.
• - High income and college-educated parents invest more time and
resources (music lessons, travel, private tutors and summer camp) in the
cognitive development of their children.
• - Income inequality has led to residential segregation by income
rather than race resulting in high income children having access to
higher quality schools and more resources.
This income achievement gap is exacerbated by unequal family resources,
disadvantaged neighborhoods, insecure labor markets and worsening school
conditions due to budget reductions. The free, public education that
provided upward mobility during the past century is being threatened by
this rising inequality of income. Those with political power and in
leadership positions must make a concerted effort to develop a long-term
solution to the budget crisis and prioritize support for education in
this country if the nation is to remain competitive.
*The Widening Achievement Gap between the Rich and Poor: New Evidence
and Possible Explanations, published in Whither Opportunity? Rising
Inequality, Schools and Children’s Life Chances, Russell Sage
Foundation. More information may be found at
https://www.russellsage.org/ publications/whither-opportunity.
WRONGSIZING: Respecting Workers, Keeping Kids Safe
By smf for 4LAKids News | http://bit.ly/OaNlnv
11 August 2012 :: LAUSD has craftspeople in the building trades on the
payroll: carpenters, painters, plumbers, roofing and flooring workers,
sheet metal workers; cement workers, plasterers and pavers; air
conditioning folk, electricians, skip loader operators, sheet metal
workers, machinists, etc. …skilled and experienced craftspeople – hard
working men and women who do the day-to-day routine maintenance and
operations of the school district.
With over a thousand schools there is plenty o’ work; with the schools
getting older daily the workload increases. As their numbers are
dramatically slashed. They use words like “decimated” – but
grammatically “decimated” is only a ten-percent cut. More than half of
the employees in many crafts are gone in the recent Reduction in Force.
If you have been at a school lately you have noticed the cutback in
janitorial and custodial staff; schools are not as clean or well
maintained as they have been in the past. Cleaning crews travel from
school to school at night, the dedicated Plant Manager who did the
on-site maintenance and light repair during the school day – reporting
to the principal - has been replaced by a “broom operator” – if that.
When the principal or a teacher needs something fixed they must issue a
trouble call – and that is routed through a complex bureaucratic
hierarchy and responded to when-and-if. Air conditioning not working?
Graffiti on the handball wall? LAUSD will get around to it when they get
around to it. Maybe the night crew will do it.
In the latest round of cost cutting 70% of the painters have been laid
off. The taggers aren’t getting less prolific and the paint hasn’t
gotten any better – but the painters have gotten fewer and father
between.
Properly maintained the acres of LAUSD linoleum floors that contain asbestos are perfectly safe. Otherwise they are not.
With the elimination of these jobs it looks suspiciously like LAUSD
intends to – or is- outsourcing the work to outside contractors.
If they are it is:
1. Anti-labor. A violation of the law, union contracts and the respect
due to loyal and hardworking employees – who have families and house
payments and mouths to feed.
2. False economy. A penny wise and pound foolish move that will cost much much more in years to come
3. Endangering children. LAUSD employees are vetted and trained to work
around children – with the message embedded: Work safely and carefully
around students. LAUSD workers understand that they work for the
District – but their clients and first concern are students. Nothing
against Bob, but Bob the Carpenter from ABC Contracting works for ABC –
his job is to get the job done in 4.5 hours because that’s what it says
on the work order. Bob thinks his TB test is current – he checked that
box on the form. And did the Personnel Commission check to see if Bob is
on the registry of sex offenders? No, they did not.
You will be hearing more about this in the near future – hopefully not in headlines about children who are hurt or endangered.
The effected and laid off employees have mounted a website to share
information and inform the public. Their spelling and grammar could be
better, but it’s here: http://backtoworkschools.wordpress.com/
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
FIRED CHARTER SCHOOL EXECUTIVE RECEIVES $245,000 IN SETTLEMENT
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/OgOr46
Crescendo charter schools founder John Allen sued for wrongful dismissal
after he was fired for allegedly ordering staff to cheat on state
standardized tests.
L.A. UNIFIED SETTLEMENT BYPASSING SENIORITY-BASED LAYOFFS NULLIFIED
By Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/OSauKg
Appeals court nullifies the settlement meant to protect teachers with little seniority at 45 underperforming schools.
LAWSUIT, BILL AIM TO KEEP K-12 EDUCATION FREE IN CALIFORNIA
By George Skelton Los Angeles Times | http://bit.ly/NhGRq4
Legislation and an ACLU lawsuit tackle the increasing use of fees at
public schools, a trend that is unfair to low-income students and
increases disparities.
AIG TO PAY L.A. UNIFIED NEARLY $79 MILLION IN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://bit.ly/PaPCyu
L.A. Unified had sued insurer AIG over its refusal to pay claims on schools needing environmental cleanup.
BILL WOULD FORCE CREATION OF STANDARDS FOR TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources http://bit.ly/PaQ142
Even as hundreds of California schools prepare to launch transitional
kindergarten for the first time this year, a bill awaiting a Senate vote
would create standards for what and how the program’s not-quite 5-year
olds should be taught.
OVERHAUL OF TEACHER MISCONDUCT SYSTEM NEARING COMPLETION
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources http://bit.ly/ObxiGe
Fifteen months after examiners found gaping holes in the state’s oversight.
ROMNEY'S VP PICK PUTS K-12 SPENDING IN SPOTLIGHT
Politics K-12 - Education Week http://bit.ly/PNitah
As the chairman of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis.,
has proposed a spending blueprint that some warn could lead to deep cuts
in federal education programs. (August 11, 2012)
SIZE MATTERS IN NEW DISTRICT-LEVEL 'RACE TO THE TOP', LAUSD hopes the new Race to the Top competition will bring... http://bit.ly/QQiWgO
tweet: OK, maybe it’s Reed v. UTLA: CALIF. COURT OVERTURNS LAUSD'S 'LAST HIRED, FIRST FIRED' EXEMPTION: By Tami Abdolla... http://bit.ly/P4OsEG
LAUSD CHIEF JOHN DEASY'S BACK-TO-SCHOOL PEP TALK INCLUDES PROMISE TO GET TEACHERS, STUDENTS COMPUTER TABLETS: By... http://bit.ly/P4OqMQ
yweet: Re Previous Post: Reed case affecting staff RIFs at 45 LAUSD schools is correctly cited as: Reed v. California | http://bit.ly/RyfHtT
tweet: Reed v.LAUSD, governing RIFs at 45 schools, has been reversed on appeal -
says LAUSDPARENTS, quoting UTLA President Warren Fletcher
47 LA CITY POOLS TO CLOSE MONDAY MAY GET REPRIEVE: The Associated Press, from the Sacramento Bee AP State Wire N... http://bit.ly/OTYbO4
School Alert: LA COUNTY EMERGENCY HEAT ADVISORY CONTINUED THROUGH FRIDAY: To help keep you informed on school... http://bit.ly/Mw9zxo
"Access to public education is a right enjoyed by all–not a commodity for sale" CA Supreme Court–Hartzell v.Connell'84 http://lat.ms/QL741C
Skelton on AB 1575: PROTECT CALIFORNIA’S STUDENTS FROM ILLEGAL FEES: from the LA Times: Even though a California... http://bit.ly/QLgVVk
PRINCIPALS: OUR STRUGGLE TO BE HEARD ON REFORM: By Carol Burris and Harry Leonardatos from Valerie Strauss’ Th... http://bit.ly/QDwuff
THOUSANDS OF L.A. STUDENTS STILL NEED WHOOPING COUGH VACCINE: By Sammy Roth, Daily News, Los Angeles (MCT) from ... http://bit.ly/TdYExh
A SCHOOL FUNDING PRIMER: A IS FOR ALLIGATOR: By John Fensterwald, EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/MLnkJZ August... http://bit.ly/Td6ebk
LEGISLATURE TAKING NOTICE OF RISK SCHOOL INSOLVENCY POSES TO STATE: “For 20 years, we had seven districts in fin... http://bit.ly/Td1wKQ
AIG TO PAY LAUSD NEARLY $79 MILLION IN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT: L.A. Unified had sued insurer AIG over its refusal to ... http://bit.ly/RZKSf7
SUMMER ENDS EARLY FOR LAUSD STUDENTS, SCHOOL STARTS AUG. 14: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | Con... http://bit.ly/QBporL
LAUSD EMPLOYEE FILES SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIM: by Howard Blume | http://latimes.com http://lat.ms/RZB0lA August... http://bit.ly/Rl8Xj5
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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