In This Issue:
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HOUSE PASSES PARTISAN NCLB/ESEA REWRITE, BUT ROCKY ROAD STILL AHEAD |
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LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY ORDERED TO SUBMIT A SUCCESSION PLAN |
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High School #9: LAUSD’s STRUGGLING ARTS SCHOOL |
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LAUSD’s GRUMPY OLD MAN RICHARD VLADOVIC COULD SQUELCH ®EFORM + 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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Reporting from Washington DC :: This past week the
House Republicans (all by themselves) attempted to reauthorize NCLB/ESEA
in their clubhouse of the Congress. Some forced bipartisanship was
demonstrated in the Senate on Student Loans and Appointment
Advice+Consent. The President stepped out of shadows of the national
comfort zone on Race in America. Meanwhile down the street
Superintendent Deasy lobbied for a District waiver from the very same
NCLB the House Republicans just blew up …up on The Hill.
And that was just in Washington.
THERE IN LAUSD the contract was signed between the District and Apple
about all those 1:1 iPads for all those students. The part of the
contract between LA Unified and Apple was pretty cut and dried – unit
prices and deliverables and due dates. The party of the first part and
the party of the second part – like that. (“’Dead on Arrival’ – or
‘DOA’ means products that are inoperable when delivered.”)
The part between the two parties, first+second, and Pearson Education –
the sub-contracted content provider – is not written in dry contract
legalese but in Marketing+Sales Speak …stay tuned for a Great New
Wonderful Tomorrow! Apparently next year third gradersin the first and
second phase schools will not be taught their 6, 7, 8, and 9 times
tables. But I’m nit picking.
I’m going to be provocative here and put something out there for your
consideration – and I invite the discussion to follow – but here’s the
premise of my argument:
“The Pearson Common Core System of Courses is to the Common Core State
Standards as Open Court Reading was to No Child Left Behind.”
There – I’ve said it. A cheap shot. “Fire” in a crowded theater. Prove
me wrong, please! I want this to work. Not for Apple or Pearson or
LAUSD or for the Common Core consortia (who are, after all, textbook
publishers and testing companies) …but for the voters and taxpayers
…and mostly for the students.
ALSO IN LOS ANGELES LAST WEEK Boardmember Kayser sent a letter asking
for Superintendent Deasy’s thinking on succession – and Deasy replied
that his succession plan is to delegate who will be in charge at LAUSD
when he goes on a trip.
What, gentle readers, if he goes on some one-way trip – off to the store
for a loaf of bread ….never to return? Or on one of those Long Strange
Trips the Grateful Dead sang about in my misspent youth? What if Dr. D
transfers to the East Elsewhere Office of Education, or into another
spiral of this mortal coil? What if The One Who Sent Him Here returns
for him at last – be it Bill Gates or former Mayor Tony or Eli Broad or
The Higher Authority from the Hebrew National commercials?
I learned in business school that the first job of a leader is to
identify and prepare one’s successor …not to designate who will be in
charge while one is out of town.
The second job of a leader is to read the handwriting on the wall.
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
HOUSE PASSES PARTISAN NCLB/ESEA REWRITE, BUT ROCKY ROAD STILL AHEAD
By Alyson Klein, EdWeek | Politics k-12 Blog | http://bit.ly/13TaQNK
July 19, 2013 11:21 AM :: After two days of partisan debate on an
issue that used to bring Democrats and Republicans together in a kumbaya
chorus, the House of Representatives passed a GOP-only reauthorization
of the long-stalled No Child Left Behind Act.
The bill, approved 221-207, with no Democratic support, would maintain
the NCLB law's signature testing schedule and its practice of breaking
out student-achievement data by particular groups of students (such as
English-language learners and students in special education).
But otherwise it's almost a complete U-turn, policy-wise, from the
existing federal school accountability law. States and school districts
would get a lot more say on how they hold schools accountable for the
progress of all students, including special populations. That has
advocates for some school districts (including the American Association
of School Administrators) pretty happy. But civil rights organizations,
the business community, and urban districts are not on board. More on
what's in the bill and who likes and hates the bill here.
What happens next is anyone's guess. The Democratic-controlled Senate
education committee approved its own completely partisan and very
different version earlier this year. The bill's author, Sen. Tom Harkin,
D-Iowa, is hoping to move that legislation to the floor of the Senate
this year but it hasn't yet been scheduled. (Harkin's latest comments on
the bill here.) It's unclear if the Obama administration, which has its
own waiver plan, even wants a reauthorization. And the president has
threatened to veto the House GOP legislation.
Yesterday, a key vote illustrated the perils in passing a partisan bill.
The measure won support from some of the most conservative members of
the House GOP caucus only after Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., the bill's
author, gave up the ghost on a policy near and dear to his heart:
Requiring school districts to use student outcomes to measure teacher
effectiveness. Reps. Rob Bishop, R-Utah and Steve Scalise, R-La.,
persuaded Kline to make such evaluations optional, not mandatory. And
those conservative lawmakers were in lock-step with the National
Education Association on this issue.
Ultimately, 12 Republicans crossed party lines to vote against the
provision. The detractors included some northeastern GOP lawmakers, such
as Reps. Michael Grimm and Tom Reed, both of New York, who had worked
with the NEA on amendments. And in a somewhat unusual move, Rep. John
Boehner, R-Ohio, the speaker of the House, and a key architect of NCLB,
voted to support the bill. (Typically, the speaker abstains from voting
on most legislation.)
Perhaps the high-point today—the final day of debate—came during an
exchange between Rep. George Miller of California, the top Democrat on
the House education committee, on an amendment introduced by Rep. Eric
Cantor, R-Va., the majority leader. The amendment would allow parents to
take Title I dollars to any public school of their choice, including a
charter.
Cantor argued this Title I portability amendment would make a huge
difference for children who are caught in failing schools. But Miller
argued that NCLB already allows those students to transfer to the school
of their choice—and the vast majority don't bother to take districts up
on that flexibility.
"It's a decision that doesn't work for them because of lack of
transportation in poor neighborhoods," Miller argued. He noted that
Cantor had originally wanted to allow studentes to transfer to private
schools as well and called the policy an "imitation voucher."
The Cantor amendment was ultimately passed on a voice vote. The AASA and
the National School Boards Association, two traditional education
groups that support the bill but not the Cantor amendment, are
continuing to endorse the legislation, even though Title I portability
is now part of the deal. Essentially, the organizations are holding
their noses and hoping that the school-choice language gets scrapped in
conference. (If there ever is a conference. Which is a very big if. More
on all that here.)
Here's NSBA's official response to the Title I portability addition:
"NSBA will support [the bill] in view of the overwhelming shift in
direction to ensure that greater flexibility and governance will be
restored to local school boards. While there is no perfect bill, HR 5
clearly acknowledges that the footprint of the federal government in
K-12 education must be reduced. While NSBA opposed the Cantor's
amendment a Title I portability amendment, we believe that this
provision—as well as other NSBA concerns—will be addressed when the
Senate passes its ESEA bill, and both the House and Senate ESEA bills go
to conference. The alternative is to shut down the legislative process
and maintain the status quo—which is not acceptable to NSBA."
LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY ORDERED TO SUBMIT A SUCCESSION PLAN
By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/12Rjcmm
7/19/2013 9:35:37 PM PDT } Updated: 7/19/2013 9:44:38 PM PDT :: The
one-page letter from Kayser said he wants Deasy to submit a succession
plan for himself and his senior staff that details "immediate, short-
and long-term succession plans delineating timelines, positions and
personnel."
He also wants the plan to address potential impacts on contracts and
action plans and to identify any "risks" that might affect the district.
He wants the board to review a draft succession plan by the start of
school or soon thereafter. The next board meeting is Aug. 20, a week
after classes resume
Kayser said the letter was merely procedural, and not an indication that
he wants Deasy replaced. He issued a statement characterizing his
request as "a minor governance and risk management matter."
"I simply want to know who the person is that is designated to step into
the superintendent's shoes when he is out of town, as he was this week,
and who he has trained and expects to step in were to unexpected to
happen."
Although the letter was addressed to Deasy, the superintendent said he
didn't receive a copy and learned about Kayser's request from his staff,
a dozen of whom were cc'd as recipients.
"I'm looking forward to meeting with the board to discuss this," he
said. "I'm unsure who is directing this, and I need to understand and to
determine the priority of this plan compared with the other directives
that the board has issued."Deasy also said he always designates which of
his deputies is in charge before leaving town. Senior Deputy
Superintendent Michelle King was his designee during this week's trip to
Washington, D.C, to meet with federal education officials.
While Kayser downplayed the rationale for a succession request, the timing raised questions from other board members.
"I am not entirely clear what Mr. Kayser is asking for in his letter,"
said board member Tamar Galatzan, who represents the West San Fernando
Valley. "Is this a way that Mr. Kayser and his allies are signaling
their intent to fire the superintendent and his senior staff and stifle
progress and reform efforts in the district?"
Kayser is a longtime supporter of United Teachers Los Angeles, which is
at odds with Deasy over reforms including performance evaluations,
employee raises and school staffing. Kayser is also a political ally of
Richard Vladovic, the South Bay representative who recently was elected
board president.
Vladovic and Deasy have an antagonistic relationship, which has insiders
questioning the superintendent's future at the helm of the district.
Vladovic was on vacation Friday and could not be reached for comment.
Board member Marguerite Poindexter Lamotte said through a spokeswoman
that she was unaware of the Kayser letter although she was also cc'd as a
recipient. Former board President Monica Garcia did not return phone
calls. Member Monica Ratliff had no comment on the letter, but said she
wants Deasy to stay and continue working on the district's new
curriculum standards and graduation requirements.
Board member Steve Zimmer said he wants to keep Kayser's request for a
succession plan separate from the politics that are rattling the
district.
"There are those of us who believe we should have a substantive
discussion and strategy and plan about what our processes should be," he
said. "This has nothing to do with John Deasy at all. The professional
and the person are totally different.
"I refuse to be part of the issues right now that are about the person,
but I am absolutely ready to be part of all kinds of conversations about
the process."
High School #9: LAUSD’s STRUGGLING ARTS SCHOOL
Turmoil at the $232-million Cortines School of
Visual and Performing Arts threatens to turn it into just a terribly
overpriced neighborhood school.
Editorial By The L.A, Times editorial board | http://lat.ms/12zCl8L
July 18, 2013, 5:00 a.m. :: Not everything that's gone wrong at Los
Angeles' school of the arts is the fault of the L.A. Unified School
District. Just most of it.
Four years ago, in the midst of the recession, with the staff and
curriculum still not in place, the district foolishly decided it would
nonetheless open the school that fall. To make matters worse,
then-school board President Monica Garcia wielded her considerable power
to subvert the intended goal of making this a premier regional arts
school, and instead turned the $232-million Cortines School of Visual
and Performing Arts into a neighborhood-oriented school with 70% of the
seats reserved for students who live nearby. As a result, private donors
whose support was expected to supplement program expenses, but who
wanted admissions to be based solely on auditions and portfolios, lost
interest.
Turmoil became a near constant as the school went through several
principals in rapid order and candidates who had accepted the job
suddenly changed their minds. Even the naming of the campus after the
previous superintendent, Ramon Cortines, caused protests. District
leaders circumvented their own rules by high-handedly naming the school
before a campus-based committee could convene.
Now the school is losing what little stability it had as Principal
Norman Isaacs leaves after less than two years, openly attributing his
departure to the lack of funding for arts programs. The glossy
facilities are of limited use without the staff to operate great arts
programs, he said. In contrast, the prestigious and sought-after charter
Orange County School of the Arts operates mainly out of a nondescript
former bank building.
L.A. Unified doesn't bear all the blame for the lack of money. The
district's budget was hit so hard during the recession that it would
have been irresponsible to fund extra arts positions at one school while
others went without basics. And the district can't allow the desires of
private donors to dictate admissions policies — even when they have the
right idea. Still, this is what happens when the district places
politics above sound school management. In fact, the board so misread
the community that it failed to see that neighborhood interest in the
arts school was low. As a practical matter, the school enrolls 70% of
its students from outside the neighborhood because the nearest students
aren't applying.
The district should turn the campus into a regional arts magnet, with
most admissions based on talent rather than geography — and about 30% of
its seats reserved for neighborhood students — and commit to using some
of the extra money coming from the state's new funding formula to fully
fund the school's arts programs.
Otherwise, all it has is a terribly overpriced neighborhood school.
●● smf: Frankly Scarlett - the shortfall hasn’t just been in funding,
it’s been in support – in people from the District actually giving a
damn.
Where is the commitment from the L.A. Fund for Public Education and
its Hollywood connected, superintendent supported Art Education Mission?
And naming the school for someone who quickly became anathema at Beaudry
(It was the Board in general and the Board president specifically who
fed him to the wolves) didn't help a bit!
LAUSD’s GRUMPY OLD MAN RICHARD VLADOVIC COULD SQUELCH ®EFORM + smf’s 2¢
By Hillel Aron in L.A. WEEKLY | http://bit.ly/12N7BzK
Thursday, Jul 18 2013 :: For the first time in six years, the
politicians on the L.A. Unified School District Board of Education,
responsible for educating one in every 10 children in California, have
chosen a new president, the inscrutable Richard Vladovic.
ILLUSTRATION BY ERIC DAVISON>>
After two years of dramatic changes in which reformist Superintendent
John Deasy ended such practices as the "Dance of the Lemons" — the
transferring of incompetent and abusive teachers to unsuspecting schools
— Vladovic's presidency represents either (a) a move toward moderation
or (b) the opening salvo of all-out war between Deasy and a clique of
teachers union–backed board members.
Stunned onlookers watched breathlessly two weeks ago as the school board
voted 5-2 to elect Vladovic. Vladovic voted for himself, joined by
Bennett Kayser and Marguerite LaMotte, allies of the anti-Deasy and
anti-reform United Teachers Los Angeles. The balance-tipping vote came
from new board member Monica Ratliff, a teacher and political unknown.
Then Steve Zimmer joined in.
That's led to jubilation among UTLA activists.
Vladovic says he doesn't belong to either camp — the unionistas or the outspoken reformers.
"You got to be careful about words like 'reform,' " insists Vladovic,
who almost never grants media interviews. "Reform means something
different to everybody," and he sees himself as "right in the middle."
Vladovic was chosen in 2007 to run on Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's
school-reform slate with current board member Tamar Galatzan and
now-departed member Yolie Flores. Those three helped pass the landmark
"Public School Choice" resolution in 2009, which lets poor or failing
schools switch to fresh governing models — such as highly independent
charter schools or district pilot schools, which get great autonomy but
must hire UTLA teachers.
In 2010, Flores, Galatzan and Vladovic helped hire John Deasy, the
headstrong leader who is making history by pushing the nation's
second-largest district through a whirlwind of unaccustomed change.
Gratified civic leaders see Deasy as transformational for Los Angeles as a city.
Under Deasy, student test scores and even graduation rates are moving
steadily upward — a significant shift thought impossible in L.A. under
disastrous past superintendents David Brewer, Ruben Zacarias and Sid
Thompson.
But UTLA, the teachers union, loathes Deasy and attacks him every chance it gets.
Vladovic, though chosen by Villaraigosa to run for the board because of
his reformist views, has since 2007 morphed into something of a wild
card. At 68, he's gotten closer to the angry, flame-throwing Marguerite
LaMotte and the frail, ill Bennett Kayser. LaMotte and Kayser bitterly
oppose charter schools — and are older people of Vladovic's generation.
"Dr. Vladovic is old-school," says a school board insider. "He's
old-school 'cause he's f**king old. All he wants is to feel like his
voice is heard by a fellow peer."
Nobody knows what made Vladovic change. He's a notorious loner,
eschewing networking events and the press. (He had never returned this
reporter's phone call until a few days ago.)
"I usually don't talk to the L.A. Times or the Daily News," he says. "It
sounds funny. I've got to learn that this is very political."
Some school district insiders speculate that Vladovic feels his 46 years
as a teacher, principal, local superintendent of LAUSD, superintendent
of West Covina School District and LAUSD board member should give his
opinions more weight than the views of others.
Known affectionately to some as "Dr. V," he can be charming and
avuncular, partial to words like "doggonit." His almost studied
folksiness can mask an intense wonkishness about curriculum approaches
and teacher-training methods, leading some to underestimate him.
But dismiss Vladovic and he's liable to blow his stack. His dark side is
exemplified by his other nickname: "Dr. Death," used by those terrified
of his bullying.
"A switch flips and he totally loses it," one lobbyist says.
In one oft-told tale, in 2007 he unleashed a tirade against fellow board
member Marlene Canter — a soft-spoken reformer from the Westside, who
drew UTLA's intense wrath for insisting upon assessing L.A.'s barely
evaluated classroom teachers far more rigorously.
Dr. Death's haranguing reportedly brought the classy Canter close to tears.
One rowdy blogger wrote that Vladovic's tenure as West Covina superintendent was marked by "volcanic fits of rage."
"I have a weakness," Vladovic concedes, almost sheepishly. "I get too
passionate." He adds, "I'm a blow-and-go person. After I say my piece, I
move on to another issue. I don't hold grudges."
Those on the receiving end might. Days before Vladovic's elevation to
the presidency, a story ran in the L.A. Daily News about harassment
claims made against him by at least two employees. The timing of the
story fueled speculation that it was leaked by Deasy, who refuses to
comment.
In some ways, Vladovic and Deasy are two sides of the same coin. Both
have great impatience with the resistant public schools both say they
want to turn around. Both sometimes act like they're the smartest person
in the room.
They've never gotten along. Tensions escalated when Vladovic went
against Deasy to give the school board veto power over large grants
Deasy wants to apply for — a new level of meddling in the supe's job —
and blocked some multiyear contracts Deasy was about to sign to hire his
own team, a slap in the face and, yes, more school board meddling.
Vladovic was close to Deasy's predecessor, Ramon Cortines but felt Deasy
didn't respect him or respond to his staff fast enough. And Deasy is
nothing like ex-Superintendent Roy Romer, who met board members at their
homes to woo them. Romer was a popular reformer, but his methods slow
and his progress incremental.
Deasy moves faster. He has won die-hard fans and made intense enemies by
essentially saying: This is my agenda. Here are the results. If you
don't like it, fire me.
Now, board reformers who back Deasy's agenda — such as giving schools
more say over how they spend state funds — are in the minority. That's
due in part to Vladovic's drift toward the center — and to a terrible
decision by Villaraigosa to run his ex–body man for school board. That
lightweight candidate badly lost to teacher Monica Ratliff, whose views
of school reform are a mystery.
Deasy, architect of a policy that measures teacher effectiveness, in
part, based on how well students do on math and reading tests, now faces
an ambivalent school board, whose members didn't hire him.
The L.A. Times reported that Deasy told some civic leaders he would
resign if Vladovic became board president. And multiple sources heard
Vladovic promise weeks ago that as board president he'd try to fire
Deasy.
"I'd prefer to not run out and search for a replacement right now,"
Vladovic insists to L.A. Weekly, half-jokingly. "Do I want him to stay?
Yeah. I don't want it to be personal. This is business."
Some hold out hope that Vladovic will create a more moderate atmosphere.
Steve Barr, founder of Green Dot Public Schools, says Vladovic was
"instrumental" in converting the badly failing Locke High School into a
charter school (Vladovic was Locke's principal in the 1980s).
"We shared a view of trying to find consensus — the 80 percent that
everyone agrees on," Barr says. "Steve Zimmer has some of that in him,
but sometimes he caves." By contrast, Barr says Vladovic "has the trust
and respect of different sides."
Maybe the job will turn the reclusive, explosive Vladovic into a leader.
"There is a tremendous amount that comes in front of you every day,"
explains Marlene Canter, the former LAUSD board president whom Vladovic
once bullied. "You have to be very grounded and look at each challenge
unbiased."
Some of his enemies say his passion for improving schools is earnest. Others think he's what's wrong with public education.
Vladovic explains that, growing up poor in San Pedro, "Education saved
my life. I could have been a longshoreman. I could've been a fireman. I
could've been a lawyer — I passed the law exam. But I said no, my
calling is education."
●●2cents smf: I’m sorry, but this article isn’t biased character assassination -- it’s crapity crap crap crap!
If I were Dr.V it would be a long time before I answered Hillel
Aron’s requests for an interview again. Aron may not have chosen the
headline or the illustration – but he did choose the adjectives
“inscrutable” for Dr. V. and “reformist” for Dr. D. (He apparently
forgot “saintly” in describing former Mayor Tony.)
Aron wrote: “At 68, he's gotten closer to the angry, flame-throwing
Marguerite LaMotte and the frail, ill Bennett Kayser. LaMotte and Kayser
bitterly oppose charter schools — and are older people of Vladovic's
generation.
"Dr. Vladovic is old-school," says a school board insider. "He's old-school 'cause he's f**king old."
Why be ugly and ageist and vile when you can be ugly, ageist +
vile …..and quote someone else being anonymously obscene?
The print and online version of the LAWeekly – supported by
advertising for escort services and gentlemen’s clubs - printed the
F-bomb. 4LAKids edits it only because 4LAKids needs to get past the
LAUSD online firewall.
Based on earlier cited sources in the article I have my
suspicions as to who the anonymous insider is ….but just because
someone says something offensive in an interview doesn’t mean a writer
has to write it.
And as writer/storyteller who once wrote fiction, let me propose
this: Dr. V – as all of us - has morphed over time because the arc of
his character – Joseph Campbell’s Journey of the Hero - is following a
path. There are three possible destinations: Change, Growth or Failure.
¡Onward!
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
LAUSD SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY ORDERED TO SUBMIT A
SUCCESSION PLAN: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily ... http://bit.ly/1byacaj
What handwriting? What wall?: BOARDMEMBER KAYSER REQUESTS THAT SUPERINTENDENT DEASY LAY OUT A SUCCESSION PLAN... http://bit.ly/1b0uZ7a
HOUSE PASSES PARTISAN NCLB/ESEA REWRITE, BUT ROCKY ROAD STILL AHEAD: By Alyson Klein, EdWeek | Politics k-12 ... http://bit.ly/1bwcEhD
HOW AN OBSCURE REGULATORY PROCESS COULD SPARK AN EDUCATION REVOLUTION: By Ronald Brownstein, National Journal ... http://bit.ly/1bw27D6
High School #9: LAUSD’s STRUGGLING ARTS SCHOOL: Turmoil at the $232-million Cortines School of
H.R.5 / NCLB / ESEA Rewrite ●Today: Teacher Evaluation to be Voluntary - http://bit.ly/16MWXvb
TEACHER BURNOUT: Four Warning Signs + You are not a failure. You are not alone.: TEACHER BURNOUT: Four Warning... http://bit.ly/14kjP9F
Old news or rewriting history? - LOS ANGELES SCHOOL BOARD CRACKS DOWN ON SUSPENSIONS FOR MINOR INFRACTIONS + s... http://bit.ly/13CxtOY
School Services of California on LCFF: A NEW K-12 FUNDING SYSTEM DEMANDS NEW THINKING IN BUILDING LOCAL BUDGET... http://bit.ly/1brMc8Q
¿Bipartisan? - DO YOUR HOMEWORK RE #HR5/NCLB REAUTHORIZATION! http://PTA.org/TakeAction | http://ow.ly/n5iF0 | http://bit.ly/11X9ZKH
MADIBA@95: ONE HUMANITY. ONE JUSTICE. :: Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela! ¡EverOnward/SiempreAdelante/MileleNaKuendelea!
Student loan deal reached. Undergrads = T-bill + 2.05% w/8.5% cap, grad = T-bill +3.6% w/9.5% cap, PLUS = 4.6% w/10.5% cap.
Senators reach deal on student loan interest rates http://usat.ly/12IcvTA via @USATODAY
LAUSD’s GRUMPY OLD MAN RICHARD VLADOVIC COULD SQUELCH ®EFORM + smf’s 2¢: By Hillel Aron in L.A. WEEKLY | http:... http://bit.ly/15Jtnrp
H.R. 5: HOUSE GOP ROLLS OUT CONSERVATIVE EDUCATION BILL: ‘THE STUDENT SUCCESS ACT” a massive NCLB/ESEA rewrite... http://bit.ly/14exizG
Expand
Scott Folsom @4LAKids 17 Jul
H.R. 5: INTEREST – PERHAPS TRANSIENT – GATHERS IN THE HOUSE FOR ESEA/NCLB REAUTHORIZATION: By Kimberly Beltran... http://bit.ly/13wkHle
Expand
Scott Folsom @4LAKids 17 Jul
DEASY, OTHER CALIFORNIA SUPERINTENDENTS IN DC TO LOBBY FOR LAST MINUTE WAIVER FROM NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND: Jed K... http://bit.ly/1boDWq4
SLEEP AND THE TEENAGE BRAIN: How a seemingly simple change can have a profound effect on everything from acade... http://bit.ly/14dR1j8
Rafe Esquth: WHY TOP TEACHER IGNORES LATEST ®EFORM DIRECTIVES: smf: In case you just woke up from a two-week ... http://bit.ly/13texlK
"There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice, but
there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” - Elie Wiesel
THE WORLD’S (and L.A.’s) MOST FAMOUS TEACHER BLASTS SCHOOL REFORM: By Valerie Strauss, Washington Post Answer ... http://bit.ly/1aLQEQc
FORMER SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER/CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE NURY MARTINEZ DISCLOSES CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE: Nury Martine... http://bit.ly/13qrRHv
OMG! SURVEY, LIKE, SAYS DIGITAL SAVVY STUDENTS ARE GOOD AT WRITING! + Overview+Report: Despite popular percept... http://bit.ly/149idiS
CHARTER SCHOOLS — A REPORT CARD + Stanford study + smf’s 2¢: When they're good, they're very good. But mandato... http://bit.ly/145HLxp
NCLB in CA: U.S. Secretary of Education cites California model …but “not in a good way”. http://bit.ly/auDNT3
NCLB in CA: Quoted California official says fed policy is ‘foolish’. http://bit.ly/auDNT3
NCLB in CA: Anonymous federal officials call California position ‘delusional’. http://bit.ly/auDNT3
CALIFORNIA HOLDS OUT AGAINST OBAMA’S EDUCATION VISION: The state has made a rare break with the administration... http://bit.ly/13lBDL6
#5 @ No. 9: L.A.’s CORTINES ARTS HIGH SCHOOL LOSES ANOTHER PRINCIPAL: Norman Isaacs, the Cortines School of Vi... http://bit.ly/15xRh90
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
Monica.Ratliff@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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