In This Issue:
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Survey: CALIFORNIANS SAY MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ARE BEST WAYS TO PREVENT SCHOOL VIOLENCE |
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LAUSD TO COMPETE WITH CHARTERS TO RUN “PARENT TRIGGER” SCHOOL |
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Re-reforming ®eform: CRENSHAW HIGH + BANNING HIGH COMMUNITIES OPPOSE DEASY REFORM PLANS |
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Part Time Security without Benefits: 1000 CAMPUS AIDES WILL BE ADDED TO LAUSD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS + smf’s 2¢ |
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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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All the horrified teeth-gnashing over disclosures of child abuse of late have been over disclosure.
• The recent events at De La Torre Elementary School …and before that Miramonte and Telfair.
• The decades of cover-ups and sweeping- the-unspeakable-under-the-rug by the archdiocese of Los Angeles.
• The Boy Scouts’ secret black lists.
Make no mistake: The horror of child abuse isn’t in the failure to
report, to record and to disclose – it is the acts-of-abuse themselves.
But as long as the unspeakable is unspoken the danger lurks; under-the-rug the cancer festers.
LAUSD’s record-of-reporting, record keeping and disclosure has been
deplorable; in fairness the failures predate Dr. Deasy’s
superintendency. When Deasy was personally accused of failure-to-report
to the Commission on Teacher Credentialing – when they threatened his
credential – Dr. Deasy promised things would change as he initiated a
frantic review of the records and inundated the commission with years of
reports.
But the failures continue, despite Dr. Deasy’s claim that his new policy works.
The reporting isn’t happening. People fired for noncompliance isn’t
success, it’s failure. The record is incomplete. School communities are
still getting their information from the evening news – and in hurried
informative ‘you-may-have-heard-in-the-news’ parent meetings in the
school auditorium - after pushing through the media circus arrayed on
the sidewalk.
I am not outraged (as is the superintendent) that the accused
perpetrator at De La Torre – and the principal who allegedly failed to
report him originally – are collecting pensions because they resigned
before they could be fired …back in April. It isn’t about the money. I
am outraged because parents at De La Torre didn’t know unless they were
involved in the actual investigation.
There is failure enough to go around. It now comes to light that the
accused in the De La Torre case was under suspicion of child abuse in
Orange County in 2004 [http://bit.ly/11igCGA].
That allegation never became public. Mr. Justice Brandeis wrote,
“Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.” True words were
never written.
In fairness to Dr. Deasy I wrote earlier – but in fairness to children
and parents and school staff; to the community and the truth I believe
we are past the time for fairness to Dr. Deasy. This is his watch. We
must hold the superintendent responsible and accountable.
And whether he is fired by the board or resigns let him keep his pension.
THERE IS BREAKING NEWS that a defrocked pedophile priest from the Los
Angeles archdiocese was later – and up to about a week ago – an LAUSD
Facilities Services Division community outreach organizer. I knew and
worked with the person in question; he did his job very well. http://bit.ly/VIzXe6
LA Times: “The former clergyman, Joseph Pina, did not work with children
in his school district job, said L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy.” | http://lat.ms/XhtEvL
Pina should never have been employed by the District in any capacity
that put him on school sites or in contact with young people – and,
despite what the superintendent said above, I often saw him in that
capacity.
AT THE DEDICATION AND RIBBON CUTTING of the Roybal Leaning Center in
2008 I was invited to speak. My remarks – and the 4LAKids piece about it
wrapped around the Grateful Dead song “Truckin’” and its refrain: “What
a long strange trip it’s been.”
Roybal was the strangest of trips – primarily because that school is the
answer to the question: “Whatever happened to the Belmont Learning
Complex?” - The most controversial school construction project in the
history of controversy.
The Edward R. Roybal Learning Center - formerly known as Belmont
Learning Complex, the Vista Hermosa Learning Center, Central Los Angeles
High School 11, or the City West Project was built without bond funds
and without Bond Oversight.
“Oversight? We don’t need no stinkin’ oversight!”
The Board of Ed and the District wanted to build the Belmont LC using
bond funds but without consulting the BOC. The courts said they could
use bond funds – but they would have to open their books to the
oversight committee. Rather than open their books LAUSD chose to use
other (general) funds. The official Belmont LC costs are reported as
$201,789,340 – but the books remain closed and some speculate there is
still a sulfurous sinkhole intersected by an earthquake fault somewhere
where LAUSD is blindly tossing operating funds to appease the Belmont
demons.
The Belmont LC to this day remains the poster child for “How not to build a school.”
Why I was invited to speak still confuses me; what were they thinking?
At the time I was properly appreciative for not involving the BOC in the
mess. It was no less a mess, but we avoided getting any on us!
SATURDAY MORNING (GROUNDHOG DAY) I WAS INVITED TO SPEAK AGAIN – at the
ribbon cutting for a school, the RICHARD N. SLAWSON SOUTHEAST
OCCUPATIONAL CENTER. This school is the right school built in the right
place for the right purpose – named for the right guy. An extraordinary
program run by the Division of Adult and Career Education – with state
of the art training available for youngsters+ oldsters in the building
trades, automotive repair, childcare, culinary arts, HVAC installation,
electrical contracting, power pole linepersons, solar power, etc. etc.
They train people for the security field – yet nobody is thinking of
offering those graduates the new security aide jobs being promised to
elementary schools …but then those are low-pay no-future part- time
positions.
This program – and other LAUSD occupational centers - successfully prepares real people for real jobs.
Bigwigs and community folk and actual students spoke of LAUSD’s
visionary mission and the wonderfulness thereof ….some of them the same
people who voted to eliminate Adult Ed last year – then brought back
less than half of it and claimed themselves “saviors” of the program.
Remember the Black Knight in Monty Python and The Holy Grail with his
arms and legs cut off? “It’s only a flesh wound!”
Talk is cheap and nobody paid the speakers. The superintendent, no fan
of Adult Ed, was conspicuously absent. Have the “First I eliminated it
but then I saved it” board members seen the light …or are they just
waiting to cut further the next time they have a chance?
Did LAUSD just pay $45 million for a soon-to-be empty white elephant
building in an old army base? – And another broken promise to voters,
taxpayers and the community? Or is LAUSD Adult and Career Education on
the rebound?
We are hopeful but we are cautious. There were a lot of folks out on
Saturday morning saying the Slawson Occupational Center is the future.
There are others that may need some further convincing. Or some pushing
out of the way.
Truckin,
up to Buffalo.
Been thinkin,
you got to mellow slow
Takes time,
you pick a place to go,
and just keep truckin on.
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
Survey: CALIFORNIANS SAY MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ARE BEST WAYS TO PREVENT SCHOOL VIOLENCE
VOTERS BACK COUNSELORS OVER COPS BY MORE THAN 2-TO-1; OPPOSE ARMING TEACHERS
from the office of Rusty Selix | by email
Rusty Selix is the Executive Director and legislative advocate of
the Mental Health Association in California and the California Council
of Community Mental Health Agencies. For nearly 20 years, he has been
one of the state's most successful advocates for increased access to
mental health care.
Survey Results following
31 Jan 2013 :: Sacramento, CA - California voters strongly believe
that more mental health services and better emergency response training
for school staff are the best strategies for preventing violence in
schools, according to a survey of 1,200 voters released today by The
California Endowment. When asked whether hiring a school counselor or a
police officer would be more effective at preventing violence, voters
chose counselors by a margin of more than two to one (67% to 26%).
"California voters understand that counseling and mental health services
can help prevent senseless tragedies on campus-and frankly, that focus
on prevention has been the missing ingredient from school safety efforts
in recent years," said Barbara Raymond, Director of Schools Policy for
The California Endowment.
"Addressing gun policy and smart policing strategies are important
pieces of the puzzle, but we can't make schools safe without also
improving mental health services. Counselors, nurses and other support
services are part of a range of strategies that will help make Health
Happen in Schools, because we know the physical and emotional well-being
of students is essential to their academic success," Raymond said.
The survey was conducted by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz &
Associates (FM3) on behalf of The California Endowment, which advocates
for healthier school environments through its Health Happens in Schools
campaign. The survey measured voter support for a wide range of policy
options currently under consideration in Sacramento and Washington. Of
the options considered, California voters supported emergency
preparedness measures and expansions in mental health services most
strongly.
For example:
· 96% of California voters support training school staff in emergency response (including 78% "strongly support");
· 96% support requiring every school to have a comprehensive safety
plan (79% strongly-California law currently requires schools to maintain
safety plans and update them annually by March 1);
· 93% support training teachers in conflict resolution techniques (64% strongly);
· 91% support expanding mental health services in communities (69% strongly);
· 91% support providing mental "first aid" training to school staff,
so they can recognize the signs of mental illness in young people (64%
strongly);
· 84% support increasing the number of trained counselors in schools (55% strongly);
· 50% support putting armed police officers in every school (23% strongly); and
· Only 31% support allowing teachers trained in firearms to carry guns on school grounds (16% strongly).
When asked to compare policy options directly, voters backed improving
mental health services over installing more security cameras and metal
detectors by a margin of 66% to 27%, a difference nearly identical to
their preference for counselors over police (67% to 26%). Nearly
two-thirds of survey respondents (65%) agreed that too many guards and
gates on campus risks creating a tense, fortress-like environment that
can be detrimental to a school's educational mission. Regardless of
their position on placing police in schools, 88% of voters agreed that
officers assigned to schools should get special training in youth
development, so they better understand teens and can work more
effectively with students and teachers.
The opinions of California gun owners are similar to those expressed by
all voters. By a margin of 58% to 36%, gun owners agreed that placing
school counselors in every school was a more effective strategy than
placing armed police officers in every school. Gun owners also backed
increasing mental health service in communities (93%) and providing
mental health "first aid" training to school staff (87%). California gun
owners were evenly split on allowing teachers to carry firearms on
school grounds (49% support; 48% oppose).
"After the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, our nation
finds itself at a fork in the road, facing many different options to
keep our schools safe," said Raymond. "After the Columbine High School
shooting nearly 15 years ago, schools invested deeply in increasing
school police and physical security, but that wasn't enough to keep our
children safe. Now, voters are telling us to take a more complete
approach that includes mental services and aims to prevent school
violence in the first place."
The voter preferences revealed in the survey have generally not been
reflected in policy decisions made in recent years at the state and
federal level. According to the American School Counselors Association,
California currently ranks worst in the nation at providing access to
school counselors, with only one counselor per 1,014 students-four times
worse than the recommended standard of one per 250. And since the
economic downturn began, California has reduced funding for mental
health treatment by $4.6 billion, despite increased demand.
Dave Metz, who supervised development of the poll for FM3, added, "the
overwhelming priorities voters place is surprising, especially because
gun policy and police in schools have been the most talked-about policy
options following the Sandy Hook tragedy. However, the evidence is clear
and unmistakable: California voters favor a complete approach to
preventing school violence that includes better emergency preparedness
and improved access to mental health services."
A group of California young people also advocated for a comprehensive
approach to preventing school violence in this video, titled "California
Teens Demand a Real Plan." The video, which features students and
youth leaders active in The California Endowment's Building Healthy
Communities initiative, has received more than 1.1 million hits on
YouTube since its release on December 21.
###
The California Endowment is a private, statewide health foundation,
which was established in 1996 to expand access to affordable, quality
health care for underserved individuals and communities, and to promote
fundamental improvements in the health status of all Californians.
Headquartered in downtown Los Angeles, The Endowment has regional
offices in Sacramento, Oakland, Fresno, and San Diego, with program
staff working throughout the state. The Endowment challenges the
conventional wisdom that medical settings and individual choices are
solely responsible for people's health. The Endowment believes that
health happens in neighborhoods, schools, and with prevention. For more
information, visit The Endowment's homepage at www.calendow.org
Survey Methodology: From January 16-21, 2013, FM3 completed telephone
interviews with 1,200 likely voters across California. Interviews were
conducted in both English and Spanish, and on landline and cellular
phones. The margin of error for the full sample is +/- 2.8%; margins of
error for subgroups within the sample will be higher. Some proportions
may not add up to 100% because of rounding.
Office of Rusty Selix | 1127 11th Street, Suite 925 | Sacramento | CA |95814
LAUSD TO COMPETE WITH CHARTERS TO RUN “PARENT TRIGGER” SCHOOL
by John Fensterwald | EdSource today | http://bit.ly/Wdeg82
January 29th, 2013 :: The parents at 24th Street Elementary School in
Los Angeles Unified will have plenty of choices for an operator to take
over their school under the “parent trigger” process they initiated
this month. One of the contenders will be the district itself.
The school’s Parents’ Union announced Monday it had received letters of
intent from eight organizations saying they would submit detailed
proposals on how they would turn the low-performing school around. They
include six outside charter school operators, a former teacher at the
school who created a management organization and Superintendent John
Deasy, who pledged “to collaborate with the parents and students of 24th
Street by implementing the necessary reform efforts to vastly increase
student achievement and the community engagement efforts to date.”
Ten days ago, parents at 24th Street Elementary became the third group,
following efforts in Compton Unified and Adelanto Unified, to file a
petition under the state’s three-year-old Parent Empowerment Act. That
law permits a majority of parents at a low-performing school to petition
for a change in governance. The 24th Street Elementary Parents’ Union
became the first to actually be welcomed by their district.
In receiving their petition, Deasy had promised to collaborate, not
thwart, the parents, and he reaffirmed that commitment by meeting with
parents at a park in the rain last week. His three-page letter,
submitted by Friday’s deadline, outlined how the district will do so.
The letter implied that the district will move forward immediately by
assigning Angel Barrett, the district’s instructional director, to
conduct a three-day comprehensive assessment of the needs of the school
and then create an action plan..There will be a particular focus on
English learners, who comprise 45 percent of the students. Deasy also
pledged to work with community groups, including Parent Revolution, the
nonprofit organization that has organized parent groups around the
parent trigger.As a low-achieving school, 24th Street Elementary already
is in the district’s Public School Choice program.
As part of that process, the principal and staff at the school submitted
their own plan to turn the school around. But Deasy rejected that plan
days before the parents submitted their petition. In his letter to the
parents, Deasy said it “did not inspire confidence that 24th Street is
on a path toward rapid improvement.”
Deasy also expressed appreciation in the Parents’ Union’s “confidence in
LAUSD as the parents’ preferred partner in this transformational
process.” The parents, though, will make the final decision after
reviewing all of the proposals, which are due March 8. Charter operators
that indicated they will submit are Academia Moderna; Crown Preparatory
Academy; Frederick Douglass Academy Elementary School & Vista
Academy Elementary School; Global Education Academy; Para Los Niños, and
Celerity Global Development. Celerity was the choice of the parents’
union in Compton Unified, the site of the first parent trigger. After
litigation prolonged the process, Celerity abandoned its quest to
operate McKinley Elementary and started a school in a nearby church.
Re-reforming ®eform: CRENSHAW HIGH + BANNING HIGH COMMUNITIES OPPOSE DEASY REFORM PLANS
"He is going to do whatever he believes is good for
students and we feel that small schools will serve students better,”
(Having your Kate … and Edith too!: Note the singularity of those first
two personal pronouns, the royal plurality of the third ....and the
lack of agreement with local decision making.)
►CRENSHAW HIGH GROUP OPPOSES REFORM PLAN AND SCHOOL CLOSINGS
Re-reforming ®eform: The school is about two years into its current reform plan
Stephen Ceasar, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/11a02YE
January 28, 2013 | 7:39 pm :: Parents, students and teachers rallied
Monday in front of Crenshaw High School to protest a plan to restructure
the low-performing campus and require teachers to reapply for their
jobs.
Under the plan, approved this month by the Los Angeles Unified Board of
Education, the school would open next fall as three magnet programs,
which are open to students from across the nation’s second-largest
school system.
L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy said starting over was necessary to
address high dropout rates and low student achievement. Deasy has
described the Leimert Park campus as one of the district's biggest
disappointments.
But a couple dozen community members defended both the staff and ongoing
academic efforts. They said Deasy’s directive, which they referred to
as a “reconstitution,” would disrupt students’ education.
“Don’t destabilize and reconstitute our school,” said parent Christine Williams.
The Crenshaw group has joined forces with a national movement to stop
the closing of low-performing schools, which has become a widely favored
reform strategy and has been endorsed by the Obama administration.
Instead of being closed, schools should receive the help needed to
improve, said the Crenshaw group.
Opponents of school closings are expected to testify at a U.S.
Department of Education hearing Tuesday. They cite research suggesting
that changing the staff doesn’t fix the problems at a school.
But Deasy has used the strategy increasingly at schools that have lagged
in achievement for years or even decades. He has the authority under
federal law to replace the staff at Crenshaw because of the school's
poor performance. District officials have maintained that there is no
limit on how many teachers can return, although few instructors have
returned to some other recently restructured schools.
Crenshaw High, which has 1,500 students -- nearly all from low-income
families -- has made virtually no progress in raising student
achievement in English and math, according to state tests. The
percentage of students at grade level in English has declined slightly
over four years, from 19% to 17%; in math, the figure has inched up from
2% to 3%.
This year there was an upward bump in the school’s overall test results,
but the campus remains among the state’s lowest-performing. The school
has experienced an enrollment decline, with many potential students
choosing other district schools or independent, publicly funded charter
schools.
, which it calls the Extended Learning Cultural Model. It involves
teachers receiving training on the culture of their students and
students taking part in projects relevant to their lives. Speakers at
the rally called on the district to provide support and resources for
the effort.
“They should want to support this, not destabilize it,” said teacher Alex Caputo-Pearl.
_______________
►LAUSD PLAN TO SPLIT BANNING HIGH IN WILMINGTON INTO TWO SCHOOLS ADVANCES DESPITE OBJECTIONS
By Rob Kuznia The Daily Breeze | http://bit.ly/YrwKjI
2/01/2013 - 07:20:20 PM PST :: A plan required by the Los Angeles
Unified School District to split Banning High School in Wilmington into
two separate schools come fall is moving forward over the strident
objections of parents, teachers, activists and elected officials.
The dispute has created a dynamic in which Wilmington locals are feeling
like they've lost control of their school to downtown LAUSD
administrators with no familiarity of the area.
Their frustration was palpable Thursday evening when Travis Collier,
LAUSD's director of instruction for this area, gave an explanatory
presentation in an auditorium filled with parents and activists who
treated him with open hostility.
Angelica Perez, a parent volunteer at the school, threatened to file a lawsuit.
"I am not going to allow for LAUSD to come into my Wilmington community
and make changes," she said, prompting boisterous cheers. "Do you feel
that this is segregating our students? Can you please try to answer that
question?"
The plan stems from LAUSD's Public School Choice initiative, in which
low-performing schools are ordered to submit proposals on how to
reconfigure their campuses to improve academic performance. The winning
proposals are selected by LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy himself.
Across LAUSD, some 100 schools have been selected for the program since
its 2009 inception. Among them are high schools in the South Bay and
Harbor Area: San Pedro High, Gardena High and Carson High.
Carson High wrestled with this issue last year, when a plan to subdivide
it into three separate schools drew similar howls of protest. The plan
began in earnest this fall.
Come fall, the Banning campus at 1527 Lakme Ave. in Wilmington will
contain two schools - the traditional high school and the new school,
called Banning Academy of Creative & Innovative Services. Each will
be overseen by a separate principal, and each will include its own staff
of academic counselors.
The new school itself will be split into two academies - one for engineering and the other for digital arts.
This spring, students currently in grades eight, nine and maybe 10 will
be asked to sign up for one of two schools - the new or the old. (LAUSD
officials aren't yet sure whether the new school will include 11th grade
the first year.)
For his part, Collier tried to impress upon the audience that the split
will be good for students because it will shrink class sizes.
"We are trying to make sure we move away from a big comprehensive high
school to a smaller setting," Collier said. "You're not losing
anything."
The split-school proposal was one of two competing plans submitted to
LAUSD by separate factions of educators at Banning. The other option
kept Banning High intact, though it called for other reforms.
Created by Banning Principal Rudy Mendoza, assistant principals and
other Banning teachers, the single-school plan was hands down the more
popular option among locals.
It was favored by the vast majority of parents and 70 percent of the
school's teachers. In addition, letters of support for keeping Banning
High as a single school were sent to Deasy from U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn,
Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino and the Wilmington Neighborhood
Council.
Nonetheless, Deasy favored the unpopular plan to create the splinter
school. Created by five teachers at the school, the split-school plan
was better developed in the eyes of Deasy and his cabinet.
By comparison, they found the other plan to lack focus, although they
gave it credit for being "very honest about the current realities and
challenges the school faces," according to a document distributed by the
district. The memo also dinged the single-school plan for not better
addressing how to motivate teachers and improve low morale.
On Thursday night, Collier faced an auditorium filled with 200 or so people who were clearly distrustful.
"We have an East-West divide," said Mary Gant, a longtime community
activist, referring to a deadly gang rivalry dating back decades. "This
is something our community has struggled with for a long time. We do not
need a divided school."
In response, Collier pointed out that the schools will share athletic teams and a campus.
"There's no division, like with a fence," he said. "There still will be a lot of unity."
Celeste Garcia, a student at the school, expressed a little sympathy for
Collier, even while calling the split-school plan "dumb," as Banning
High is already divided into several small learning communities.
"I kind of feel bad for you - you're here taking the heat when it really should be the other guy," she said, referring to Deasy.
Collier defended his boss.
"He is going to do whatever he believes is good for students and we feel
that small schools will serve students better," he said.
Part Time Security without Benefits: 1000 CAMPUS
AIDES WILL BE ADDED TO LAUSD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS + smf’s 2¢
by Kate Mather, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/Wx1KMQ
SEE: • LAUSD PLANS TO ADD 1,000 NEW CAMPUS AIDES FOR SECURITY AT
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS + smf’’s 2¢...: By Mariecar Mendoza, Daily News, http://bit.ly/10Niu4s + Huffington Post http://huff.to/1127zIR + • CAMPUS AIDES—A GOOD START + smf’s 2¢
Associated Administrators of Los Angeles Weekly Update - http://bit.ly/auDNT3
January 27, 2013 | 4:43 pm :: The Los Angeles Unified School District
plans to hire more than 1,000 campus aides to help boost security at
elementary schools, a $4.2-million plan that will more than double the
number of assistants employed by the district.
The move — outlined in a memo Senior Deputy Supt. Michelle King sent to
board members and Supt. John Deasy last week — will bring 1,087 new
hires to elementary, middle and span schools, ensuring each campus has
at least two aides. According to the memo, which was first published by
the Daily News, 1,028 aides currently work at middle and high schools,
but some elementary schools have none.
The district is taking steps to bring in the aides as quickly as
possible, the memo said, "working diligently with various divisions to
ensure that we successfully staff our schools with efficient personnel
as early as March 1, 2013."
The memo said the district planned to reach out to former employees as
potential hires and planned to ask current employees "to identify
potential candidates so as to enhance both the quality and quantity of
our candidate pool and fill these positions as quickly as possible."
Aides will receive mandatory training in child abuse awareness,
mediating student conflicts, conducting a "random metal detector search"
and responding to campus threats, the memo said. They will also receive
instruction on what to do if a school is placed on lockdown and their
assigned duties during an emergency.
Aides, who will work in three-hour shifts, will be equipped with two-way radios and vests "for high visibility," the memo said.
Deasy could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.
Monica Garcia, president of the Board of Education, called the plan a "good thing."
"It means another human being — two human beings — helping the work of
the school," Garcia told The Times. "It is about safety. It is about
supporting the work of the campus. It is about another set of eyes ...
another pair of helpful hands."
The move comes just weeks after a rampage at a Newtown, Conn.,
elementary school, where a gunman killed 20 children. He is also accused
of killing six adults. The shooting sparked increased conversations
about school safety across the nation and resulted in changes at many
districts, including LAUSD.
Both Los Angeles police and the Sheriff's Department have increased
their daily patrols at area schools in the wake of the incident.
"Safety is an everyday challenge for all of us and it is our collective
responsibility," Garcia said. "We live in urban America, and so we are
on a constant mission to have safe campuses to focus on learning."
___________
••smf’s 2¢: As I wrote in the 4LAKids e-newsletter last Sunday: LAUSD
INTENDS TO ENSURE STUDENT SAFETY with 1000 part-time "security aides" -
armed with a vest, a walkie-talkie and a roll of slickers. Wouldn't
schools be safer, cleaner and more healthy with their own plant
manager/custodian? An actual dedicated employee with an actual job and
an actual knowledge-of-and-familiarity-with the school, staff and
students? I …and my back-o’-th’-envelope budgeting tells me the
increased cost of that would be similar to the part-time aides.
(Each puts a single person on campus at any one moment.)
I have had a couple of on-line and in person conversations with parent
leaders in LAUSD – and with state PTA types – and they seem to agree
with me …but it’s human nature to appeal to the like minded! This is
hardly scientific sampling – but I’m not sure that polling or popularity
holds the answer.
I invite anyone who cares to share their opinions with Dr. Aquino, AALA and/or 4LAKids
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
The myth of A-thru-G: L.A. UNIFIED’S COLLEGE-PREP PUSH IS BASED ON FALSE DATA
San Jose's school district, which requires all students to pass the
classes necessary to apply to California universities, initially
reported strong results. But its success was overstated.
By Howard Blume and Sarah Butrymowicz, Los Angeles Times http://bit.ly/11FdIX9
PERFORMING WELL AT THIS DECATHLON IS THE SMART THING TO DO
High school students gather at the Roybal Learning Center for the last
leg of L.A. Unified's regional Academic Decathlon. This year's theme:
Russia.
By Rick Rojas, Los Angeles Times | http://bit.ly/WKCZNi
SCHOOL SAFETY PLANS: Tougher …or “tough guy”?: SUPPORT BUILDS FOR TOUGHER SCHOOL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS ... http://bit.ly/TnRxW6
UTLA ENDORSES GARCETTI, FEUER: --Jean Merl, LA Times/LA Now | http://lat.ms/14DdB2u January 31, 2013 | 6:38... http://bit.ly/11uQgeW
GARCETTI QUESTIONS HONESTY OF GREUEL’S AUDIT CLAIMS + smf’s 2¢: - James Rainey - LA Times/LA Now | http://bit.ly/UakvKZ
L.A. UNIFIED STUDENTS FACE OFF IN HEALTHFUL COOKING CONTEST: Teams from six high schools whip up balanced meals ... http://bit.ly/Uaku9S
SHERIFF BACA TO STOP TAKING CAMPAIGN DONATIONS FROM EMPLOYEES + smf’s teachable moment: The L.A. County sheriff ... http://bit.ly/Uaku9I
Survey: CALIFORNIANS SAY MENTAL HEALTH CARE AND EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS ARE BEST WAYS TO PREVENT SCHOOL VIOLENCE:... http://bit.ly/W4bgsE
Garcetti: "I'm so sick of us bullying our teachers, We're so obsessed
with firing the bad teachers, we forgot to lift up the good ones."
MAYOR TONY’S EDUCATION REFORMS QUESTIONED BY MAYORAL CONTENDERS: ®eform Fatigue In L.A.? Joy Resmovits On Educ... http://bit.ly/VvGh8U
TIME TO HARDWIRE FLORIDA SCHOOLS, SENATE ED CHAIR SAYS + comments + smf’s 2¢: Posted by Jeff Solochek to Tampa ... http://bit.ly/VQUAom
LAUSD TO COMPETE WITH CHARTERS TO RUN “PARENT TRIGGER” SCHOOL: by John Fensterwald | EdSource today | http://bit... http://bit.ly/11aa1gl
CRENSHAW HIGH GROUP OPPOSES REFORM PLAN AND SCHOOL CLOSINGS: Re-reforming ®eform: The school is about two years ... http://bit.ly/117Nqwc
LATINO KIDS DISPROPORTIONATEY VICTIMIZED BY TEACHERS, LAWYER SAYS: BY Dalina Castellanos and Howard Blume, la tI... http://bit.ly/11aa107
¿Re-reforming ®eform? | #Crenshaw #LAUSD | http://lat.ms/11a02YE
"We wouldn't be having this press conference if #LAUSD would speak up; their silence has been deafening." #ChildAbuse http://bit.ly/VQnPYf
"We've been waiting on #LAUSD and hope they've finally put together the paperwork to save this job training program" http://bit.ly/VQnN2O
FORMER STATE SENATOR MARTHA ESCUTIA CALLS FOR LAUSD PROBE INTO PERCEIVED PATTERN OF TEACHER ABUSE OF LATINO YOUT... http://bit.ly/VQnPYf
VAN NUYS AIRPORT MECHANIC SCHOOL COULD STAY OPEN IF FAA APPROVES RENT CUT …and LAUSD gets it’s act together: "We... http://bit.ly/VQnN2O
Tuesday Evening Jan 29th: LAUSD BOARD DISTRICT #2 CANDIDATE DEBATE at VIRGIL MIDDLE SCHOOL: View Larger Map http://bit.ly/VNAKu7
BILL AIMS TO LIMIT SCHOOLS’ USE OF EXPENSIVE CAPITAL APPRECIATION BONDS: To build classrooms and sports faciliti... http://bit.ly/115DQyO
HIGHER-ED PRIMER: Paying for College: These websites help students and parents navigate loan and scholarship pr... http://bit.ly/111u6ki
Part Time Security without Benefits: 1000 CAMPUS AIDES WILL BE ADDED TO LAUSD ELEMENTARY http://t.co/knzLw3eU
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
The LA-32 (El Sereno) Neighborhood Council is hosting
LAUSD School Board District 2 candidate forum on Monday, February 11th,
at the El Sereno Senior Center from 6pm to 8pm. 4818 Klamath Place, Los
Angeles, CA 90032. Email sassyhazel85@yahoo.com. Audience members will ask the questions in their own words.
*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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