In This Issue:
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WATTS TEACHERS URGE PUBLIC NOTICE FOR PARENT TRIGGER CAMPAIGNS |
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LACES: FUNDING TO L.A. MAGNET SCHOOL RESTORED |
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LACES WINS $25,000 COLLEGE BOARD AWARD |
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Miramonte: LAUSD’s INSURANCE CARRIER SAYS IT WON’T PAY CHILD ABUSE CLAIMS |
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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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These pages oft rant, kvetch and complain about the
misfeasance, malfeasance, incompetence – the occasional waste, fraud and
abuse (of-power and children) – and the business-as-unusual
/just-plain-bureaucratic-silliness of LAUSD …and then refuses to embrace
this-week’s quick-fix/artificial flavor-of ®eform.
I maintain that Change is a continuous process - not an outcome; Data is a measurement tool - not an objective.
Additionally I stubbornly fail to recognize the wonderfulness of the
good-old-days. They were neither wonderful nor good – now they just old.
There have been moments of hope – there was LEARN and the Magnet
Program and the building program and the votes to invest in the future
through the BB, K, R , Y & Q bonds. We have built 113 new schools.
We have ended mandatory busing and the multi-track year-round calendar;
kids no longer have to get up before dawn and ride the bus to a school
across town and then return home in the dark on yellow buses doing
battle for freeway lanes during drive time. We now have Full Day
Kindergarten. The first nine years of the decade-long Arts and Music
Program were extraordinary, the undoing cataclysmic. LAUSD students
dominate the Academic Decathlon. LAUSD has its bright shining Camelot
moments and its winters of discontent. Made glorious summer by this son
of Gates.
But gentle reader, things could be worse. The Los Angeles Unified School
District could be The Los Angeles County Department of Children and
Family Services – where children die from official neglect and the
layers of electoral and bureaucratic whitewash peel and scandal festers.
I was going to write “…’routinely’ die from official neglect…” but held back. But read this:
“At least 268 children who had passed through the L.A. county child
welfare system died from January 2008 through early August 2009,
according to internal county records obtained by The (L.A.) Times. They
show that 213 were by unnatural or undetermined causes, including 76
homicides, 35 accidents and 16 suicides. Eighteen of the fatalities were
deemed the direct result of abuse or neglect by a caregiver” | http://lat.ms/11cxCsC
Eighteen children in eighteen months? If that’s not ‘routine’, what is?
Read “White Oleander”. Google Dae'von Bailey and/or Lars Sanchez. This
month’s tragedy’s name was Gabriel Fernandez. He was eight years old; he
will never be nine. Read what’s going on now: BOY'S DEATH PROMPTS
OUTRAGE, RED FLAGS OF CHILD ABUSE 'IGNORED' – LA Times: http://lat.ms/17bm7c7
Four years ago I sat though a fascinating presentation to the State PTA
by the LADCFS where they described how they had turned the corner and
changed. I’m ashamed to say it was believable. The cheap shot would be
to say that none of this would have happened were the Los Angeles County
Board of Supervisors still alive. And I just took it. The buck doesn’t
stop with the county supes …it starts there.
COMPARE+CONTRAST II: In the San Fernando Valley at Arleta High School
(one of the new ones) the principal is retiring in glory having done
everything right and having produced the desired results | http://bit.ly/16zFk85.
At Weigand Avenue Elementary School in Watts a principal is booted
out, apparently having done nothing wrong save losing a petition-drive
popularity contest – courtesy of the Parent Trigger ["Watts teachers
urge public notice for parent trigger campaigns"] – with the Board of Ed
and Superintendent hiding behind “Our hands are tied, The Law’s the
Law!”. As Parent Revolutionary-in-Chief Ben Austin wrote the Parent
Trigger Law. As an appointed member of the State Board of Education Ben
Austin promoted the Parent Trigger Law – and lobbied for it in the
legislature. Now back at P-Rev Ben Austin applies the law …or maybe IS
the law! Austin likes to say that the Parent Trigger Law empowers
parents – but in reality it empowers
Ben Austin – who has been intimately involved in every application of it
– welcoming himself to LAUSD as our
liberator.
COMPARE&CONTRAST III: First note how LAUSD recognized the
achievement of The Los Angeles Center for Advanced Studies (LACES –
one of the high achieving crown jewels of the Magnet Program) by
attempting to take away their Title One Grant -- federal money
specifically for disadvantaged students to supplement the school budget.
No good deed goes unpunished. (Lucky for LACES some community members
noted LAUSD did the math wrong and eventually they got their money
restored). Now note how The College Board acknowledged LACES’
achievement by giving them a $25,000 grant to encourage more college
attendance.
COMPARE+CONTRAST IV: If you get a chance to watch the replay of the Bad
of Ed Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment (CIA) Committee from last
Tuesday on KICKS Channel 58 Sunday morning note the excellence of the
turnaround at Burbank Middle School in their presentation. Now note how
poorly the superintendent’s reconstitution at Crenshaw High School has
turned out – with the superintendent about to forcibly reconstitute it
again as a trio of Magnet Schools. Former Board President Caprice Young
said that “Reconstitution never works; only fresh squeezed works.” The
experience at Burbank MS just may be the exception that proves that
rule.
“The floggings will continue until the morale improves, shipmates!”
¡Onward/Adelante! – smf
PS: ON SATURDAY AM AT THE CRACK OF EARLY, the Do The Write Thing Program [http://bit.ly/119C4as
] had its annual awards ceremony for the middle scholars who wrote
award winning essays on the effect of violence on their young lives at
the historic Cocoanut Grove at the RFK Schools.
The Do the Write Thing Challenge gives middle school students an
opportunity to examine the impact of youth violence on their lives.
Through classroom discussions and writings, students communicate what
they think should be done to reduce youth violence. In addition, they
make personal commitments to do something about this problem.
Two writers from each participating middle school were honored as DtWT
“Ambassadors” – with two students from the District selected to
represent DtWT as National Ambassadors this year in Washington DC …to
tell their truth in the halls of power.
This year’s National Ambassadors are Katherine Wilmer from LACES and
William Rodriguez from Gompers Middle School. Congratulations to them,
their parents and teachers – and to all the Ambassadors …and all the
program participants, their parents and teachers.
In presenting the awards, Boardmember Steve Zimmer reminded us all:
Students, parents and teachers, that these young people have much to
teach us adults – and we have much to learn from them.
WATTS TEACHERS URGE PUBLIC NOTICE FOR PARENT TRIGGER CAMPAIGNS
By Teresa Watanabe, LA Times | http://lat.ms/13bRZJu
7:45 PM PDT, May 31, 2013 :: Teachers at an embattled Watts campus
where the principal was recently ousted under the state parent trigger
law are pledging to join forces with other schools to defend themselves
from privately led overhaul efforts.
Teachers at Weigand Avenue Elementary will push for public notifications
and meetings to inform parents about trigger campaigns involving their
schools, a staff member there said Friday.
Monica Platas, the school’s categorical programs coordinator, said
Weigand staff was not allowed to respond to several parent questions
about the trigger campaign, which succeeded in removing Principal Irma
Cobian this month.
"The parents had a lot of questions about why they were doing this, but
we couldn’t respond because it would be construed as impeding the
process," Platas said, adding that legal counsel for both the district
and teachers union told them to remain silent.
"We want to make the process more transparent so the school has an opportunity to defend itself," she said.
Parent Revolution, the Los Angeles nonprofit that lobbied for the
trigger law and has assisted efforts to use it at Weigand and other
campuses in Los Angeles, Compton and Adelanto, said it would welcome
public meetings on neutral ground and consider the other proposals.
The call for changes to the trigger process came a day after parents
supporting and opposing Cobian confronted each other in dueling rallies
at Weigand. As Cobian opponents walked into the other side's rally,
hoisting signs, they were met with whistles and chants against Parent
Revolution by her supporters.
The 2010 parent trigger law allows parents at persistently low-peforming
schools to petition for sweeping changes, including overhauling staff
and curriculum, closing the campus or converting to a publicly funded,
independent charter.
The campaign against Cobian, launched by parents dissatisfied with her
leadership and failure to raise the school’s low test scores quickly
enough, marked the first success in removing an administrator under the
law.
Platas also said teachers would push for public notification that
petitions were about to be submitted to give parents who want to
withdraw their signatures the chance to do so. A San Bernardino County
Superior Court judge ruled last year that the law does not allow
recisions, but parents are allowed to remove their signatures before
submission.
Ben Austin, Parent Revolution's executive director, said the
organization calls back all who sign a petition before submission to
give them an opportunity to withdraw. But he said he would consider
sending out a notice of the intent to submit to give parents a final
chance to change their minds. Notification should not be sent out so far
in advance that it would give petition opponents time to "scare" people
into rescinding, he added.
Austin also said the group would consider public notification of trigger
campaigns if all sides agreed on the language, all parents were alerted
and information on how to reach petition organizers was included.
Public meetings would be welcomed, Austin said, as long as all parents
were invited and the meetings were conducted with "mutual respect and a
willingness to listen to the different viewpoints."
"The emphasis needs to be on civil and respectful conversation," he said in an email.
Such changes could ease at least some of the division and conflict that
trigger campaigns have provoked at campuses such as Weigand. There, 21
of 22 teachers are planning to leave the school in protest against
Cobian’s treatment and to escape what they say has become a poisoned
atmosphere.
At the rally, Platas urged parents to carefully read everything before
signing and to stay particularly alert during the summer, when trigger
campaigns may accelerate. She was scheduled to speak about the Weigand
campaign at a California Teachers Assn. state council meeting Saturday
and United Teachers Los Angeles gathering Sunday.
Cobian, meanwhile, issued her own statement calling for an end to
attacks on her leadership and an open discussion about critical areas to
address for Weigand pupils, including a focus on literacy, quality
teaching, health and nutrition, strong relationships with students and a
campus culture of hope.
LACES: FUNDING TO L.A. MAGNET SCHOOL RESTORED
L.A. UNIFIED REVERSES A DECISION THAT COST A
TOP-PERFORMING CAMPUS ABOUT $300,000 IN ANTI-POVERTY FUNDING AFTER
PARENTS FOUND EVIDENCE OF A BUREAUCRATIC ERROR.
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/17KwMeN
May 20, 2013 :: School district officials have reversed a decision
that cost a top-performing Los Angeles campus about $300,000 in funding
after parents uncovered evidence that a bureaucratic error led to the
loss of funds. Five other schools also are likely to get more dollars as
well.
L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy acknowledged Friday that internal
confusion resulted in several schools failing to qualify for federal
Title 1 money.
"Services that they had counted on will not be lost," Deasy told The Times.
The funding loss had engendered a campaign last week by parents at Los
Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, which is known by the acronym
LACES. They'd learned that their Mid-City campus was being denied
anti-poverty funds — even though they were convinced that the school
should have qualified.
For weeks, senior officials were adamant that LACES was not entitled to
the funding. But an internal communication surfaced late last week that
seemed to verify the parents' version of events.
At that point, Deasy ordered a change in course. He also said Friday that five other schools also were affected.
LACES, a popular magnet school with high test scores, serves grades 6
through 12. It's "not too big and not too small," said parent Connie
Sommer. "We have a wonderful principal who is so honest and caring and
works so hard. And the academics are excellent."
Parents raise $130,000 to $150,000 annually for such items as a choir
director and a leased copier. Last week alone, families collected 1,400
pounds of recycling to generate $540.
But that doesn't mean there aren't low-income families who deserve anti-poverty aid, parents said.
These Title 1 funds are intended to compensate for the challenges faced by students in low-income families.
A school's eligibility is based on the percentage of students who
qualify for a free or reduced-price lunch. The federal goal is to
concentrate spending on schools with a poverty rate of at least 75%.
In L.A. Unified, schools with as few as 40% low-income students had been
receiving dollars, although at a lower funding level. Last year, with
relatively little notice, L.A. Unified raised the minimum to 50%, which
added to shortfalls at schools already enduring recession-related cuts.
LACES was one such campus, with 46% low-income students last year.
Under pressure from schools, the district provided one year of "transition" money at reduced funding levels.
LACES received $150,000 instead of $300,000, and was able to preserve
one day a week of popular after-school math study groups, some extra
classroom aides and a full-time nurse. It still lost two teachers and a
guidance counselor, said Susan Robinson, co-president of the parent
fundraising group Friends of LACES.
This year, LACES was sure it had turned in enough valid forms to cross
the 50% eligibility threshold. District officials claimed otherwise,
saying the school had fallen just short: 813 forms out of 1,638 students
— 49.6%.
But an internal communication reviewed by The Times indicated that 10
additional approved forms arrived by an Oct. 3 deadline. Deasy said
Friday that the real cutoff had been announced as Sept. 28 — so LACES
was too late. But he conceded that a separate bulletin, on a closely
related subject, could have been interpreted as setting the date as Oct.
3.
Indeed, as late as Wednesday, district officials themselves referred to
the deadline as Oct. 3. They also claimed to have no knowledge about the
forms LACES turned in Oct. 3. And yet, several senior officials had, in
fact, been alerted, according to the internal documentation reviewed by
The Times.
Deasy announced the restoration in funding after The Times contacted the district about the document on Thursday.
Although LACES parents are pleased to obtain extra assistance, that money may come from somewhere else where it's also needed.
LACES WINS $25,000 COLLEGE BOARD AWARD
LAUSD MAGNET SCHOOL (LOS ANGELES CENTER FOR ENRICHED
STUDIES) IS ONE OF THREE U.S. SCHOOLS TO RECEIVE AWARD TO ENCOURAGE
LOW-INCOME STUDENTS TO SEEK HIGHER EDUCATION.
By Dalina Castellanos, L.A. Times | http://lat.ms/11DrVZu
LACES
Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times / December 12, 2007)
May 29, 2013, 11:23 a.m. :: A top-performing Los Angeles school is one
of three in the nation to receive a $25,000 award to encourage
low-income students to seek higher education by expanding access to
courses that will better prepare students to go to college.
The Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, more commonly known as
LACES, was named a Gaston Caperton Inspiration Award school by the
College Board on Wednesday.
The money will help add a class period to reduce the overall class size,
resulting in more student-teacher time and preparing students to enroll
in advanced placement courses, Principal Harold Boger said.
About 99% of the school's minority students go to college and $300,000
in federal Title 1 funding was recently reinstated to the Mid-City
campus because 50% of its students are low-income.
“Though their students come from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds and
represent 50 different ZIP codes across Los Angeles, last spring LACES
educators celebrated as over 90% of their seniors both graduated and
went on to attend college," said Peter Negroni, senior vice president of
relationship development at the College Board about the magnet school.
"Their efforts demonstrate that with access to rigorous academic opportunities, every student can be successful."
The school attributes some of the success to its active parent
community, which has formed various groups and gives parent workshops in
different languages, plans college nights and invites guest speakers to
involve families in the college-preparation and admission processes.
"LACES has achieved the great honor of being one of the top schools in
Los Angeles, the state, and in the nation,” said Mary Jane London,
assistant principal of LACES. “We are proud of our LACES family who have
made education and preparing for college a goal for each child who
walks through our doors."
Miramonte: LAUSD’s INSURANCE CARRIER SAYS IT WON’T PAY CHILD ABUSE CLAIMS
►LAUSD INSURANCE CARRIER CHALLENGES LIABILITY IN MIRAMONTE SEX-ABUSE SETTLEMENTS
By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/13tjqh1
5/31/2013 02:34:28 PM PDT/Updated: 5/31/2013 03:04:48 PM PDT :: An
insurance carrier for Los Angeles Unified has filed suit against the
school district, seeking to avoid paying millions of dollars to settle
sex-abuse claims filed by Miramonte Elementary students.
The district had been counting on insurance companies to cover the $30
million it agreed to pay 58 alleged victims of former Miramonte teacher
Mark Berndt. Roughly 130 additional claims by students and parents have
yet to be resolved.
The suit was filed Wednesday by attorneys for Everest National Insurance
Co., which holds five $10 million policies for LAUSD dating back to
2007. The company disputes whether its policies cover the claims file by
students and parents alleging abuse by teachers at Miramonte
Elementary.
The lawsuit also names six other insurance companies that hold LAUSD
policies, and asks a judge to determine their responsibility for
defending the district and covering any legal settlements or judgments.
Steven Rice, an attorney for Everest, did not immediately return phone calls.
District spokesman Sean Rossall said there are concerns that the Everest
lawsuit could jeopardize LAUSD's ability to resolve additional cases.
"The district has worked tirelessly on the resolution of these cases,
looking out for the health and education of our students while being
stewards of taxpayer resources," Rossall said.
"The lawsuit could limit the district's resources to work toward the
resolution of additional cases. It's going to cost more to litigate this
case, and we are now defending ourselves on two fronts."
The claims filed by students and parents accuse the district of not
doing enough to protect them from veteran teacher Mark Berndt, 62.
Berndt was arrested in January 2012 on charges that he molested 23
students over a five-year period. Authorities say he put cockroaches on
the faces of blindfolded students and also enticed them to participate
in a "tasting game" in which he spoon-fed them his semen and gave them
semen-tainted cookies.
Another Miramonte teacher, Martin Springer, is awaiting trial on three counts of committing lewd acts with a child.
Both Berndt and Springer have pleaded not guilty.
Everest and the six other insurance carries held a total of 31 LAUSD
policies, most of them running for one-year periods and many of them
overlapping. From July 1, 2007 to July 1, 2008, for instance, the
district had separate $10 million policies from Everest and North
American Specialty Insurance Co., and a $25 million policy from
Lexington Insurance Co.
Other carriers named in the suit are AIU Insurance Co., Allied World
National Assurance Co., The Insurance Company of the State of
Pennsylvania and Starr Indemnity & Liability Co.
The district has a $3 million deductible in each of the policies.
________________________________________
►INSURANCE FIRM SUES TO AVOID MIRAMONTE ABUSE-CASE SETTLEMENT
IF THE COMPANY WINS, L.A. UNIFIED COULD BE ON THE HOOK FOR THE $30
MILLION IT AGREED TO PAY 58 ALLEGED VICTIMS OF FORMER TEACHER MARK
BERNDT.
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/18GmiwE
9:55 PM PDT, May 31, 2013 :: An insurance company has sued the Los
Angeles Unified School District seeking to avoid paying settlement costs
related to alleged child abuse at Miramonte Elementary School.
The action, if successful, could leave the nation's second-largest
school system on the hook for an estimated $30 million that it agreed to
pay to 58 alleged victims of former teacher Mark Berndt. At least as
many claims remain unresolved, with attorneys seeking higher
compensation than the settlement provides.
The suit was filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court by New Jersey-based Everest National Insurance Co.
The company "disputes that there is any coverage under the Everest
policies" for the claims by L.A. Unified. "A judicial declaration is
necessary and appropriate," according to the suit.
So far, other insurers also have refused to pay Miramonte-related
claims. Were the companies to prevail, the consequences for L.A. Unified
would be extreme. For one, $30 million is the equivalent of shutting
the district down for two days. And besides Miramonte, costly
settlements or judgments are anticipated in abuse-related cases at other
schools.
In December, a jury awarded $6.9 million to a 14-year-old boy who was
molested as a fifth-grader by Forrest Stobbe, who taught at Queen Anne
Place Elementary School. L.A. Unified has yet to pay pending an appeal.
Stobbe was fired and convicted in the case.
The key factor in establishing liability is whether district employees
knew or should have known about the abuse — or even about lesser
misconduct that suggested a problem. In the Stobbe litigation, the
relevant clues included the teacher being observed alone with a girl in
his car and falsely claiming he had parental permission to give the
student a ride.
In a case involving former De La Torre Elementary teacher Robert
Pimentel, the district already has acknowledged that a principal failed
to act on complaints. He has pleaded not guilty to sexual misconduct
charges involving 12 children under age 14 and remains in jail in lieu
of $12 million bail.
At Miramonte, south of downtown, some critics have questioned whether
all the costs were necessary. L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy, for
example, elected to replace the entire Miramonte staff for the remainder
of the school year after Berndt's arrest in January 2012. The district
has filed a claim for compensation citing more than $5 million spent to
carry out that decision.
Everest named six other insurers as defendants as well. All have provided policies to L.A. Unified, the suit says.
Because they provided general liability coverage, the companies should
be responsible for Miramonte costs beyond a "self-insurance" amount, in
the district's view. The district's share of the liability should be $3
million or $5 million, said Sean Andrade, an outside counsel
representing L.A. Unified.
The likely outcome of the litigation would be a determination of who owes what, said Andrade.
Everest sued "before the district could sue them for breach of contract or bad faith," Andrade said.
"It's troubling that these insurance companies which were compensated to
provide this coverage are now trying to escape responsibility," said
district spokesman Sean Rossall. "We're going to do everything possible
to ensure that the carriers honor our policies. We've been working
diligently to resolve these cases in the best interests of the students
while also honoring the district's obligation to preserve resources for
all students."
Lawyers representing Everest did not respond to a request for comment.
Berndt, 62, awaits trial on accusations that he spoon-fed his semen to
blindfolded students in his classroom as part of a tasting game, among
other allegations. He has pleaded not guilty. He remains in custody in
lieu of $23 million bail.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
SCHOOLS' EFFORT TO SHIFT TO COMMON CORE FACES A DIFFICULT TEST
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/17fpAXh
The move toward standards that teach students to be analytical encounters a bipartisan backlash.
EDUCATION IS MISSING KEY FOR SOME YOUNG IMMIGRANTS
By Cindy Chang, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/11MSonu
A high school diploma is a requirement for the federal 'deferred action'
program. But for many farmworkers, earning wages trumped getting an
education. Now they must make some tough decisisions.
SNEAK PEEK AT NEW CALIFORNIA STANDARDIZED TESTS
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | KPCC | http://bit.ly/15rT1SG
May 29th, 2013, 5:00pm :: California's STAR tests, the state's
standardized tests for public school students, are being scrapped after
16 years.
A new slate of tests are slated to be fully implemented in the spring of
2015. The new tests, administered on computers, allow for more than
multiple-choice bubbles. They include boxes where students will write
out answers for reading comprehension and math problems in full
sentences and paragraphs. The point is to measure critical thinking and
writing skills.
POLL SHOWING STRONG VOTER SUPPORT FOR REVISED BUDGET
By John Fensterwald | Ed Source Today
May 31st, 2013 | Voter support is giving Gov. Jerry Brown a tailwind as
he heads into negotiations over the state budget and school finance
reform with the Legislature. A new poll by the Public Policy Institute
of California found that Californians continue to overwhelmingly back
Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula, even though superintendents of
suburban districts are very unhappy with the share they’d get, and
Democrats in the Senate and Assembly want to change parts of it. The
poll … Read entire article » http://bit.ly/1aQnHgM
BILL WOULD REQUIRE SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO CLARIFY THE ROLE OF CAMPUS POLICE
By Susan Frey | EdSource Today
May 31st, 2013 :: Unlike most school safety legislation introduced
after the Newtown shootings, which called for increased security
measures and beefing up school police forces, a bill by one California
assemblyman takes a different tack: It seeks to limit the police role on
school campuses. Concerned about an overreaction to the shootings,
Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, introduced Assembly
Bill 549, which would encourage school districts to clarify the roles of
school police, limiting them to handling dangerous or physically … Read
entire article » http://bit.ly/1aQnHgM
SENATE VERSION OF SCHOOL FUNDING RESTRUCTURING MOVES TO ASSEMBLY
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources
Friday, May 31, 2013 :: The state Senate Thursday set the stage for a
confrontation with Gov. Jerry Brown by moving an alternative to his
school funding plan on a bipartisan vote of 30 to six. Read More... http://bit.ly/11wNy83
BOARD RESOLUTION TO ADDRESS ADMINISTRATIVE NORMS
From AALA Update of May 30 | http://bit.ly/10R24Zh
Board of Education members, Bennett Kayser, Dr. Richard Vladovic and
Steve Zimmer , are co-sponsoring a resolution entitled CREATING
EQUITABLE AND ENRICHING LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS FOR ALL LAUSD STUDENTS to
be considered by the Board in June. The resolution directs the
Superintendent to prepare a three - year strategy to restore
administrative norms to 2007 - 2008 levels, improve counseling ratios,
implement the return of classified positions and examine the feasibility
of reducing class size by 2014 - 2015 and develop a long term,
class-size reduction strategy, among other provisions. AALA looks
forward to reviewing and speaking on the full resolution.
LAUSD BOARD OFFERS CONFLICTING OPTIONS FOR SPENDING NEW REVENUE: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News... http://bit.ly/15oLTGp
MIRAMONTE: LAUSD’s insurance carrier says they won’t pay child abuse claims: LAUSD insurance carrier challenge... http://bit.ly/15oJgEB
IN CALIFORNIA, INCARCERATED STUDENTS FALL THROUGH GAPS IN SPECIAL INTEREST LAWS: Joanna Lin, Education Reporte... http://bit.ly/14fM044
L.A.C.E.S. WINS $25,000 COLLEGE BOARD AWARD: LAUSD magnet school (Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies) is ... http://bit.ly/17AhucG
The State Budget: WHAT TO DO WITH CALIFORNIA’S WINDFALL: State tax revenue may be higher than projected. But t... http://bit.ly/1598sPi
NINE DISTRICTS (including LAUSD) SUBMIT ‘STRONGER’ APPLICATION FOR NCLB WAIVER: smf: No Ed-Speak buzz word lef... http://bit.ly/17svdlD
HAWAII’S EXPERIMENT IN FIXING SCHOOLS MAY HOLD LESSONS FOR CALIFORNIA: Hawaii's experiment in fixing schools ma... http://bit.ly/156DZRZ
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
Special Board of Education Meeting - Tuesday June 4, 2013
Start: 9:00 am
Superintendent's Report and Budget Update
*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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