In This Issue:
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JOHN MARSHALL HIGH WINS LAUSD ACADEMIC DECATHLON |
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CRENSHAW
HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR TEACHER TAKES STUDENTS ON FIELD TRIP TO FRANCE AND
THE WHITE HOUSE, GOES TO TEACHER JAIL : 5 stories + smf’s 2¢ |
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DEASY ADDRESSES “SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK” PHOTO-OP EVENT AT UNION STATION |
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ANONYMOUS L.A. SCHOOL EMPLOYEES TURN TO FACEBOOK TO SPOTLIGHT NEEDED REPAIRS |
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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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It was fifty years ago today,
Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play.
The sergeant was a music teacher; thank God for that!
Nothing makes 4LAKids happier than to put in a Hollywood High School
dateline the announcement that Marshall High School won this year’s
LAUSD Academic Decathlon. I graduated from Hollywood High, my mother
and daughter is Marshall grads and I attended Marshall for summer
school. To this day JMHS generates more troublemakers-per-teacher than
any other school in the District ...and be assured: That IS a good
thing! See: John Marshall High Wins LAUSD Academic Decathlon
Congrats to the Marshall decathletes – as well as the decathletes from
Granada Hills Charter, El Camino Real Charter, Taft Charter, Franklin
High and Grant High who go on to the state competition – and to every
student and coach and parent who competed or did their part – we also
serve who provide pizza. And a special tip o’ th’ 4LAKids cap to LAUSD
AcaDeca coordinator Cliff Ker - who never ever let the downsizing and
lack of vision get in the way.
The great and powerful news is this: While all LAUSD schools are
inner-city urban schools, Marshall, Franklin and Grant are more so - not
enjoying the special status, elective attendance of
“advanced+enrichable” kids, freedom from Beaudry silliness and added
funding of charter schools. Onward to Sacramento and Hawaii!
DR. DEASY IN AN INTERVIEW WITH PBS-SoCal TV that aired this week called
the Vergara v. California “the most significant lawsuit in California
history”.
As the star witness therein he is entitled to his hyperbole …though the
plaintiff-sympathetic media argues that the case has ‘no bloody glove’
and says the judge is falling asleep during as the plaintiffs present
their case. Critics of the superintendent have criticized his
perspective of history (he was once a science teacher), reminding him+us
that there was an LAUSD before he arrived at Beaudry in 2011. There was
a California before he arrived here in 2001. There was Mendez v.
Westminster. The Bakke case. Williams v. California.
A little history: Dr. Deasy and LAUSD were initially named as defendants
in Vergara – they were the parties being sued. But as the good doctor
is sympathetic to the plaintiff’s claims he managed to get LAUSD
removed from the respondents/defendants list and is now testifying for
the plaintiffs , Deasy’s testimony is essentially saying that his
inability to fire bad (“grossly inadequate”) teachers is the root cause
of any deficiency LAUSD may have. Though at another point in the
PBS-SocCal interview he seems to imply that everything is “all good” in
LAUSD.
But before the interviewer can ask about iPads or the dropout rate, Dr.
Deasy announces that it would be inappropriate for him to discuss
pending litigation – thereby invoking the “Cone of Silence*”. He then
rushes off-camera to celebrate (on another camera) School Choice Week
with busloads of Charter aficionados, proponents, bigwigs and parents –
with a large contingent of students present. On a school day, during
school hours. What’s with that? Can you imagine an LAUSD teacher taking a
class to anti-charter rally? (see: Deasy Addresses “School Choice
Week” Photo-Op Event at Union Station)
I have it on dubious advice that Dr. Deasy is studying for his law
degree at Loyola Law School, when he grows up he wants to be a civil
rights attorney. As such he should know that his invocation of “No
comment on pending litigation” was entirely bogus – LAUSD is not a party
in the litigation …especially as it was he who brought it up in the
interview in the first place.
However it was convenient to draw the discussion to a close …before any other questions could be asked.
Watch the interview here: http://bit.ly/1kp64xM
“Deasy’s Challenges”. Be sure to keep watching as the reporter and
anchorman chat about how unfortunate it was that Dr. Deasy and his
handlers wouldn’t let them ask any deeper questions. But he’s still a
wonderful guy! Sometimes PBS SoCal’s roots in conservative Orange County
politics leak out.
THE CONE OF SILENCE made its second appearance of the week at Thursday’s
meeting of the Common Core Technology (iPads) ad hoc committee. The
District’s counsel Greg McNair and procurement officer Hugh Tucker
brought the CoS down on any continued discussion of the Pearson
curriculum software (The Pearson Common Core System of Courses) in the
procurement of Laptops to fulfill the Board of Ed’s requirements for
CCTP Phase 1L – extending the Cone of Silence to questions of the
previous procurement (the iPads); silencing the committee and
Boardmember Ratliff – who was none too pleased!
• An authority on public service procurement told me that this
interpretation and retroactive application of the Cone of Silence rule
is entirely bogus. (“Bogus” wasn’t his exact term, but impressionable
youth are subscribers to 4LAKids.)
• I am also informed by experts in the education software trade that,
while the Pearson content is not quite ready for iPads and iOS -- it is
totally not ready for any other platform or operating system. But that
hasn’t stopped Pearson from submitting or LAUSD from accepting in the
past. And Apple makes laptops!
Also disclosed at the meeting was more detail on the LAUSD survey of
existing computer assets – and the superintendent’s CCTP team’s (“the
sponsors”) intention to ignore that information – they wanted iPads!
(Note to Board of Ed: If that is the mindset why are we buying laptops?)
In the meeting (watch here at: http://bit.ly/1nks1uS)
there was information shared on the District’s Ethics and Conflict of
Interest Policy. It was stated by LAUSD Ethics Officer Darlene Vargas
that compliance with both, while not purely voluntary, is self policing.
The policy is to ask for adherence to conflict of interest guidelines
and signature to a form by project evaluators – but there is no
insistence upon it. An elliptical reference was made to an unnamed
individual who attended a conference in Palm Springs given by Pearson,
may have accepted a gift iPad and was on the selection committee. That
person also sits on the CCTP ad hoc committee but was not in attendance
at this meeting. Indeed no one from the Office of Instruction (The CCTP
is an INSTRUCTIONAL, not a Facilities or Technology initiative!) was at
the meeting – either on the dais or in the audience. While this may not
be Contempt of the Committee I think it is
contemptuous. As usual, the meeting left more unanswered questions than
answered ones. Are they going home? Who will be responsible for
loss/damage? And just when we are done with ‘Willful Defiance’ - we now
have ‘Willful
Destruction’.
THE CONE OF SILENCE CONTINUED ITS APPEARANCE in the growing brouhaha
over the housing of Crenshaw Choir Director Iris Stevenson : CRENSHAW
HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR TEACHER TAKES STUDENTS ON FIELD TRIP TO FRANCE AND THE
WHITE HOUSE, GOES TO TEACHER JAIL : 5 stories + smf’s 2¢.
To peek under the curtain of the cone – whether looking-out or
looking-in – read LAUSD Employees Take to Facebook to Voice Anger Over
Lack of Repairs and/or visit Repairs-Not-IPads on Facebook. If you have
a picture of needed repair or unsafe conditions please crawl across the
event horizon and send it in!
Let’s be careful out there. Do not put your safety or that of children
at risk; please do not jeopardize your job security. If you feel safe
doing so please identify the school and location. If the best we can do
is REPAIRS-AND-iPADS that’s pretty up and walking good!
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
______
* Definition: http://bit.ly/1f4XOf5
There is no record in fiction, politics or jurisprudence of a CoS
ever working. Wikipedia files “Cone of Silence” under ‘fictional
technology’ which may explain the inclusion of the Pearson Common Core
System of Courses.
JOHN MARSHALL HIGH WINS LAUSD ACADEMIC DECATHLON
THE TEAM TAKES FIRST PLACE WITH 55,785.7 OUT OF A
POSSIBLE 65,400 POINTS. PREVIOUS WINNERS GRANADA HILLS CHARTER, EL
CAMINO REAL CHARTER AND TAFT CHARTER - AS WELL AS FRANKLIN AND GRANT -
ALSO ADVANCE TO THE STATE LEVEL.
By Alicia Banks, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1jm3fxp
February 7, 2014, 10:30 p.m. :: The school motto Veritas Vincit
translates as "truth conquers" and in the case of John Marshall High
School, so do wits.
The Los Angeles Unified School District named the nine-member team this
year's winner of its annual Academic Decathlon on Friday at an awards
ceremony at Hollywood High School.
The win advances the team — national champion in 1995 — to the statewide
competition scheduled for late March in Sacramento alongside previous
national and state champions Granada Hills Charter and El Camino Real
Charter. Taft Charter, Franklin High and first-timer, Grant High, also
earned bids to the California Academic Decathlon.
A victory for L.A.Unified at the state level will send the top team to Hawaii for the national championships in April.
The auditorium at Hollywood High erupted in loud cheers as the winners
were announced. Marshall High supporters filled the front of the balcony
holding a school banner and chanting "Marshall, Marshall, Marshall."
Marvin Paparisto, a 17-year-old Marshall senior, took the top prize for
scoring the highest number of points — for the second year in a row. He
said he lost count how many medals he won, showing off a large stack.
"It was a team event," he said, adding that the group has been studying
since June. "It's fun for me to be in a room full of smart people that I
can connect with."
Larry Welch, who has coached the team since 2001, said the win was "remarkable."
"Our plan is to go to Hawaii," he said.
Rae Laguna, the aunt of Marshall team member Alayna Myrick said: "When I
heard that they won the first word that comes to mind is pride."
She said the coach is very dedicated and tremendous with the students.
The district has won 19 state and 14 national titles since 1987. John
Marshall last won the state and national championships in 1995.
Representing the Barristers this year were Aninda Bhowmick, Kimiyo
Bremer, Alexander Guillen, Kenneth Huh, Ha Min Ko, John Lascano, Wen
Lee, Alayna Myrick and Marvin Paparisto, coached by Larry Welch.
Supt. John Deasy praised the high school's success.
"Congratulations to the players and coaches from Marshall for their
tremendous victory in the 2014 LAUSD decathlon," he said in a news
release. "I wish Marshall and all the top teams the best as they strive
to keep the national championship in the LAUSD family."
John Marshall's team scored 55,785.7 out of a possible 65,400 points
during the decathlon, culminating at the Edward R. Roybal Learning
Center in Los Angeles last week. Fifty-nine teams of nine students with
A, B, and C averages took part in this year's competition.
Teams tested their knowledge about World War I, which included speeches,
interviews, art, mathematics and economics. The high-pressure "Super
Quiz" relay ended the competition with El Camino Real and John Marshall
tying for first place with 4,800 out 5,400 possible points. Granada
Hills placed second with 4,350 points in the same round.
Eleven decathletes earned perfect scores in the "Super Quiz" relay. John
Marshall's Paparisto took top prize in the A student division while
Bhowmick won in the B students group and Rohan Boone from El Camino Real
Charter earned the highest score among the C students.
CRENSHAW HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR TEACHER TAKES STUDENTS ON
FIELD TRIP TO FRANCE AND THE WHITE HOUSE, GOES TO TEACHER JAIL : 5
stories + smf’s 2¢
►COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND STUDENTS HOLD RALLY AT CRENSHAW HIGH SCHOOL
PROTESTING REMOVAL OF CHOIR TEACHER WHO IS BEING INVESTIGATED BY THE
DISTRICT.
By Stephen Ceasar, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1jm4Gvw
February 7, 2014, 8:30 p.m. :: Parents, students and community members
rallied Friday in front of Crenshaw High School against the removal of
the school's longtime choir director, who was reassigned while under
investigation by the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Iris Stevenson, who leads Crenshaw's award-winning choir, was removed
from the school in December and is reporting to work at district offices
— sometimes referred to as "teacher jails" — that house instructors who
are facing allegations of misconduct.
District officials would not comment on the specific allegations, citing
privacy laws. The investigation could take "several months to complete
because of the complexity of issues involved," the district said in a
statement.
Under Stevenson's direction for nearly three decades, the school choir
has thrived — competing and winning competitions around the world.
Stevenson was reassigned soon after returning from a class trip to
France and Washington, D.C., where the choir performed at the White
House for President Obama.
A couple dozen community members Friday defended Stevenson as an icon at
the school, a strict but loving teacher who demanded the best of her
students and showed them a world outside of Los Angeles.
"We want Miss Stevenson, we want her now!" they chanted. A choir made up
of former students sang renditions of songs arranged by Stevenson as
students made their way into school.
"She is needed here in this community," said Cecil Thompson, a 2007
graduate of the school and former member of the choir. "She taught us
that we can be somebody."
Alex Caputo-Pearl, a former teacher at Crenshaw High School, said Stevenson has helped countless students through the years.
"She's an institution," said Caputo-Pearl, who is Stevenson's union
representative. "It's an absolute travesty that a teacher like her is
caught up in teacher jail and is taken away from her students."
United Teachers Los Angeles, the local teachers union, has vigorously
opposed the way in which the district handles teachers who face
allegations.
The union contends that teachers are kept in these offices for far
longer than necessary and that, in some cases, they are unjustly fired
even after an allegation is proved untrue. The union has called on the
district to end the practice of keeping teachers in these offices, to
inform instructors of allegations against them within 10 days of removal
from the classroom and to conduct an independent review of all
dismissals by the Los Angeles Board of Education since 2012.
The school district can reassign teachers for a range of allegations
including sexual misconduct, failing to follow school rules and policy
and financial improprieties.
L.A. Unified officials said Stevenson has been informed of the allegations. The union contends that she has not.
Stevenson could not be reached for comment.
Because of persistently low test scores and graduation rates, Los
Angeles schools Supt. John Deasy last year reorganized the storied
Leimert Park campus into three magnet schools — a move that required
teachers to reapply for their jobs. Few teachers were rehired.
UTLA President Warren Fletcher said the district has a cavalier attitude
toward the removal of teachers and the subsequent destabilization of
urban schools.
"This school has already taken a huge hit, a huge destabilization,"
Fletcher said. "To remove someone who is a pillar of this community …
it's a level of disregard that is frightening and would not be tolerated
in suburban schools."
Caputo-Pearl, who was not rehired at Crenshaw during the restaffing said the process is a detriment to students.
"The superintendent has taken a method that was supposed to deal with
the very few teachers that may be causing really significant problems
and turned that method into a broad way of creating a climate of fear
among teachers and destabilizing schools," he said.
Keeja Stewart, 16, a junior, said students were stunned and angered by
Stevenson's removal. A substitute teacher has been filling in. "It's
terrible," she said.
"She was helping me find my voice," Stewart said. "She's more than just a teacher — she's a second mother to me."
►CRENSHAW HIGH CHOIR DIRECTOR PLACED ON LEAVE BY LAUSD FOLLOWING TRIP
Rob Hayes | abc7.com http://bit.ly/1g6yhFE
Thursday, February 06, 2014 || CRENSHAW DISTRICT, LOS ANGELES (KABC)
-- A Crenshaw High School teacher, who is beloved by students and
parents, is currently in hot water after taking students on an
unsanctioned field trip.
The district has suspended Iris Stevenson, with pay, as it investigates the incident.
After nearly 30 years of guiding the choir to world-class status, the
Los Angeles Unified School District summarily yanked Stevenson from the
music department at the end of last year.
"This community is in outrage over it," said civil rights activist Celes King IV.
King is taking up Stevenson's cause because Stevenson won't discuss the
circumstances surrounding her reassignment and ongoing LAUSD
investigation.
King says Stevenson is being punished because she took the choir to
perform in France and on the way back, they sang for President Obama at
the White House.
But King says while Stevenson had permission from parents, she didn't get approval from the school district.
"The parents decided that they wanted their children to take this trip.
When they returned to Los Angeles, Ms. Stevenson was told that she was
persona non grata on the campus of Crenshaw High School and she was to
report to teacher jail," said King.
Globetrotting trips are common for the Crenshaw High School Elite Choir
who has traveled the world performing and winning several awards.
Stevenson rattled off just a few places where the students performed on
invitation.
"France, Austria, Belgium, Korea, Spain," said Stevenson. "In every country, we sing in that particular language."
In a press release, the L.A. Unified School District said since this is a
personnel matter, the facts of the case must remain confidential and
that its investigation could take several months.
Former choir members say the school district needs to put Stevenson back with the choir immediately.
"The removal from her classroom was unwarranted and unjust, but she
needs to return to her rightful place," said former Crenshaw High School
Elite Choir member Vanity Brown.
►CRENSHAW STUDENTS PROTEST TEACHER PLACED ON LEAVE
City News Service/FOX 11 LA KTTV | http://bit.ly/1echNHD
Posted: Feb 07, 2014 8:11 AM PST Updated: Feb 07, 2014 9:09 AM PST South
Los Angeles, CA - Students and parents at Crenshaw High School are
holding a protest in support of a choir director, who has been placed on
leave.
Crenshaw High School community members will hold a news conference and
demonstration demanding that Los Angeles Unified School District
officials reinstate Iris Stevenson, director of the Crenshaw High School
Elite Choir.
The choir recently performed at the White House as guests of President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama.
From Reporter Gina Silva:
For nearly 30 years, Iris Stevenson has been the music teacher at Crenshaw High School.
She has taken the school's talented choir all over the world.
Students from South LA have travelled to France, Austria, Belgium,
Korea, Spain and other locations to perform. But all the fun has come
to an end. LAUSD has pulled Stevenson from the classroom and placed her
in teacher jail. She is in trouble because during the Christmas break,
she took her students to France to perform. On the way back, they
stopped at the capitol and performed at The White House for President
Obama.
Parents say, she had the permission from the school principal and
from the parents. But apparently, not from the district. When Stevenson
returned to work in December, she was told to report to what is known
as teacher jail. She has been there since December. District officials
won't do an interview on this issue but they did say this is a
personnel matter, the facts of the case must remain confidential and the
investigation could take several months.
Meanwhile, parents and students today, held a protest outside of
Crenshaw High School. They are demanding their beloved teacher be
allowed to return to the classroom.
►‘TEACHER JAIL’ UNDER FIRE AS CRENSHAW HIGH ALUM RALLY AROUND MUSIC TEACHER
CBS Los Angeles http://cbsloc.al/1njepjD
February 7, 2014 10:24 AM :: LOS ANGELES — A practice known as
“teacher jail” was under scrutiny Friday as the union representing
teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) was expected
to testify in an unfair labor practice trial.
The Public Employment Relations Board was set to begin hearing testimony
on so-called “teacher jails”, a term used to describe what happens when
teachers who can’t be fired under union rules go to sit all day after
they’re removed from the classroom.
The practice has come under fire most recently after Crenshaw High
School music teacher and choir director Iris Stevenson was prevented
from being allowed to teach since December following a trip to perform
at the White House for President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle
Obama.
School officials won’t say why Stevenson – who has been a fixture at
Crenshaw High since 1985 - isn’t being allowed to teach, only that the
investigation “involves a personnel matter.”
But United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) spokesperson Warren Fletcher told
KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO it’s time for the school district to change its
policies.
“We’re talking about a situation where folks don’t even know what it is
they’re accused of, sometimes for months and years, while they sit away
from their students and continue to collect a paycheck,” Fletcher said.
Opponents say that teachers assigned to “teacher jail” are confined to a
room filled with as many as 130 other teachers and are “arbitrarily
placed without due process.”
Alumni rallied Friday morning outside Crenshaw High to support
Stevenson, who students say has always been there for her students.
“Without Ms. Stevenson, the opportunities that youth have to get out of
our communities and stop seeing the same things would’ve never
happened,” said Crenshaw grad Daymon Johnson.
District officials said despite her reassignment, Stevenson remains a
full-time LAUSD employee “who is entitled to her regular pay and
benefits.”
LAUSD officials also said they were working to restore Stevenson’s name
on the Music Building at Crenshaw High after the letters of her name and
other building contents were vandalized last summer.
►PRESS CONFERENCE TO BE HELD ON IRIS STEVENSON IN TEACHER JAIL
Los Cerritos Newspaper Group/Hews Media Group http://bit.ly/1ceU8Xg
PRESS CONFERENCE & RALLY
Date: February 7, 2014 Time: 7:30 AM
Location: Crenshaw High School, 5011 S. 11th Avenue, Los Angeles, Ca 90043
LAUSD HAS CREATED A STATE OF OUTRAGE IN THE SOUTH CENTRAL COMMUNITY,
TREATING THE PERSONIFICATION OF TEACHER EXCELLENCE AS A POLITICAL
PRISONER
WORLD RENOWNED MUSIC TEACHER, IRIS STEVENSON, WAS PLACED IN LOS ANGELES
UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT’S INFAMOUS TEACHER JAIL WITHOUT NOTIFICATION AS
TO REASONS WHY
LAUSD, remanded, to Teacher Jail, Iris Stevenson, who is internationally
known as an exceptional Teacher and Choir Director at Crenshaw High
School. Historically, at no expense to LAUSD, it has sanctioned trips
domestically and abroad for the Choir which has always been funded by
donations and nonprofit organizations.
In this case LAUSD denied sanction for the Choir to represent the United
States of America as goodwill Ambassadors to France and further upon
return to the United States to perform at the Whitehouse for President
Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama. Many parents chose to sign
waivers allowing their children to participate in this once in a
lifetime opportunity. Upon return Music Department Chair and Choir
Director was informed she was persona non grata on the campus of
Crenshaw High School and remanded during school hours to Teacher Jail
without cause to LAUSD headquarters 333 South Beaudry Ave. Another
chapter in the flagrant abuse of teacher and parent rights THIS MUST
STOP!
Parents, Students, Teachers and Clergy in attendance
_____________
●●smf’s 2¢: Make no mistake: A bunch of angry parents, alumni and community members CAN be wrong!
A case in point from last year at another high school: A baseball
coach from a successful program took some players on an unauthorized
field trip to a baseball game at Dodger Stadium. He drove them in his
car. No trip slips, no insurance. No notice to the principal. He was
sent to teacher jail or suspended, the machinery to fire him clanked
into action and boosters and parents and team members past and present
sprung to his defense. There were meetings and outrage and Op-Eds. The
due process dragged on just like Dr. Deasy complains it does …and
eventually the coach was gone. Of course the allegations that he allowed
pot smoking on the trip complicated the matter!
The District has a right to be upset if Ms. Stevenson took her choir
on a trip to France and the White House without their knowledge.
Airplanes are admittedly safer than cars and obviously everybody's
parents and the principal gave permission and knew what was going on and
where everyone was.
• Did the intermediate bureaucracy at the local district (ESC) level know?
• Did the Arts and Music Branch know?
That it takes months and months to determine who erred and what the
error was is preposterous. If it is true that Ms. Stevenson hasn’t been
informed of the allegations against her that is preposterous squared.
LAUSD for all its attempts at transparency relies an awful lot on
the so-called Cone of Silence: “We can’t discuss this on the advice of
counsel – and you shouldn’t say anything either!” It’s a tool that can
be used to protect the guilty as well as the innocent. If sunshine is
the great disinfectant, whitewash is the great – uh - whitewash.
“Housing” /aka/Teacher Jail I have been told is never used to shame or
punish individuals but to only protect students or to expedite
investigations. I doubt if Ms. Stevenson poses a much of danger of
re-offending and spiriting the Crenshaw choir to foreign lands or The
Oval Office. Expedite this.
And this is all complicated by the superintendent's apparent (if not
obvious) focus on (if not animus for) Crenshaw – where the high school
is the center of the community. The Crenshaw community is proud of CHS’s
success in Sports and Music. And until LAUSD colossally fumbled
Crenshaw’s accreditation application back in 2005-6 those successes
seemed success enough for the educrats downtown.
Crenshaw is NOT a failure. Crenshaw is not a spreadsheet of
disaggregated significant subgroups or a cluster of data points in
search of a turnaround. It is a vibrant community of unique individuals
with a proud history. It’s a school that works, albeit not to the
superintendents' satisfaction. Dr. Deasy is right that parents don’t
have the right to choose to send their skids to crummy schools …but
since the accreditation fiasco the school has been “transformed”
repeatedly and “reconstituted” twice. Dr. D. has made little effort to
convince anyone that he isn’t punishing or shaming Crenshaw for the
school+community’s failure to meet his standards – whether in test
taking or sending the paperwork downtown.
DEASY ADDRESSES “SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK” PHOTO-OP EVENT AT UNION STATION
by smf for 4LAKidsNews
6 Feb 2014 :: A week ago Dr. John Deasy, the superintendent of Los
Angeles Unified School District took time from his busy schedule running
the nation’s second largest school district and testifying for the
plaintiffs in the Vergara v. California lawsuit (the plaintiffs allege
that LAUSD does a poor job of educating children) to address an invited
bused-in audience of charter school proponents, parents and students at
Union Station in support of “National School Choice Week”.
● FROM THE INVITATION: “Hosted by National School Choice Week, the
tour – which will feature 14 “whistle-stop” events from Newark to San
Francisco – will provide students, parents, educators and community
leaders with the opportunity to celebrate effective education options,
while calling for even greater school choice in California and across
the country.
“The Los Angeles event, the thirteenth event on the tour, will take
place on Thursday, January 30, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. at Los Angeles Union
Station. Attendance is free but an RSVP is requested by visiting
www.schoolchoicetrain.com.”
Later in the invite/Press release it says LAUSD is one of the event planners.| http://bit.ly/LTePBG
●● Really? 10AM on a school day is a good time to invite students?
4LAKids supports the premise of school choice.
Parents should be able to choose where their kids go to school. They can
choose public education. They can choose private schools – or parochial
schools. There are Montessori schools and Waldorf schools. The Catholic
Church runs schools. Synagogues run schools. The Church of Scientology
runs schools. Home schooling is an option. If there’s a program at
another public school that fits their child’s needs parents should be
able to choose it. The premise of Charter Schools - where a community
of public school educators and parents collaborate to run their public
school with the promise that they will do a better job than the
traditional administration resonates.
That is what National Public School Choice Week pretends to do as they
put on their yellow scarves and assume the myth of Public School Choice.
But in reality NPSCW is sponsored, funded and run by the media machine
that is the School ®eform Movement. The Charter Management
Organizations, The Vulture Venture Capitalists pretending at social
entrepreneurism. The Billionaire Boys Club and their foundation friends
at Gates, Broad, Walton, etc. They are proponents of School Vouchers
Light – channeling public education money into private hands. Break up
the school district, break up the teacher unions, privatize public
education - one school at a time.
It is not through administrative or judicial or semantic error that the
US Department of Commerce and federal and state courts have found
charter schools to be private schools. Quod si fortasse quacks quasi
anatem anatis.
Last week the would be proponents of school choice staged a whistle stop
tour that involves no trains, no private schools, no home schoolers, no
Montessori or Waldorfs or parochial Schools. They came to Union
Station and they held a rally. And Dr. Deasy spoke to them and
encouraged their efforts. During school hours. With children – who by
law should have been in school – in attendance, [see photo http://bit.ly/auDNT3. The crew cut guy with the scarf in the photo is not Dr. Deasy – but he is the featured speaker in the video clip @ http://bit.ly/1dzRA5E.]
This was not a field trip to explore the wonderfulness of rail
transportation or the history+architecture of Union Station. This was
not a celebration of student success or the ribbon cutting of a new
school.
This was an overtly political event.
This was just as much a disruption to the educational day as a teacher walk-out would have been.
Shame on the parents who allowed their children to be pawns. Shame on
the educators who thought this was a good use of their time. Same on the
media for covering it and shame on the PR hacks who promoted it.
And shame on the superintendent for showing up and speaking.
ANONYMOUS L.A. SCHOOL EMPLOYEES TURN TO FACEBOOK TO SPOTLIGHT NEEDED REPAIRS
Annie Gilbertson| Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1cQSzTk
February 4th, 2014, 6:30am :: Los Angeles Unified School District
staff have taken to Facebook to put a spotlight on crumbling school
infrastructure and neglected repairs - and shame officials.
Photos posted on a group page called "repairs not iPads" show busted
plumbing, holes in walls and tiling and evidence of insect and rodent
infestations. The page implores readers to share their own, identifying
itself as "a place for teachers and the community to document neglected
school repairs while construction bond money is diverted to purchase
iPads." The group's administrator is unnamed.
Los Angeles voters have approved about $20 billion in construction bonds
to build new schools and upgrade aging sites in the district. School
officials and the Citizen's Bond Oversight Committee said they've
obtained legal opinions arguing the funds can also be used to buy new
iPads, too.
L.A. Unified has spent near $150 million to purchase about 100,000 iPads
out of bond money so far. The program will incur related expenses,
including hiring trainers and IT staff and upgrading wifi networks at
hundreds of schools.
If the iPad program is rolled out district-wide, as Superintendent John
Deasy intends, it's estimated to cost over well over $1 billion in bonds
plus yet-unknown annual upkeep from the district's general funds.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
VERGARA v. CALIFORNIA/WEEK 2 : The judge is
struggling to stay awake: a compendium of coverage as the plaintiffs
make their case.... http://bit.ly/1aK62NG
iPADS GOING HOME?: ‘That’s concerning to me,’ says Ratliff: by Vanessa Romo, LA School Report | LA School Rep... http://bit.ly/M1Ze2T
Vergara: STOP TENURE TYRANNY AND SHOW SOME LOVE FOR OUR HARDWORKING TEACHERS: a cartoon, an Op-Ed, honesty+satire ... http://bit.ly/1ljoldK
L.A. UNIFIED STUDENTS PITCH IN TO HELP THE HOMELESS: Some 300 students from 36 high schools take part in a dis... http://bit.ly/1liD8Fv
Action Alert: ARTS GROUP RECRUITING PARENTS TO PUSH LA UNIFIED TO PRODUCE TARDY ARTS EDUCATION BUDGET: Ma... http://bit.ly/1lfIem7
CRENSHAW HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR TEAHER TAKES STUDENTS ON FIELD TRIP TO FRANCE AND THE WHITE HOUSE, GOES TO TEACHER ... http://bit.ly/1geAgGJ
JOHN MARSHALL HIGH WINS LAUSD ACADEMIC DECATHLON: The team takes first place with 55,785.7 out of a possible 6... http://bit.ly/1eBwGJF
L.A. SCHOOL OFFICIALS BARRED FROM ACCESS TO CURRICULUM FOR iPADS: By Howard Blume, la tIMES | http://bit.ly/1aCXqIO
LA SCHOOL OFFICIALS ACKNOWLEDGE THEY IGNORED COMPUTER INVENTORIES IN LATEST iPAD PURCHASE: LAUSD’s Chief Info... http://bit.ly/1g8MyjZ
Adults Behaving Badly: Zero-tolerance wins/Restorative justice loses/Justice undone/Kids are expelled - ADMINI... http://bit.ly/1g6GHeT
Expand
LAUSD EMPLOYEES TAKE TO FACEBOOK TO VOICE ANGER OVER LACK OF REPAIRS: One teacher says the Facebook page shine... http://bit.ly/LTYTz3
ABUSE CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST SECOND MIRAMONTE TEACHER + smf’s 2¢: Prosecutors dismiss the case after the girl ... http://bit.ly/1aznhBp
DEASY ADDRESSES “SCHOOL CHOICE WEEK” PHOTO-OP EVENT AT UNION STATION: by smf for 4LAKidsNews from the NSCW... http://bit.ly/1ayO0On
L.A. UNIFIED MEETS OVER HOW TO FILL SCHOOL BOARD VACANCY: By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/LQaDTh F... http://bit.ly/1atm7ak
ANONYMOUS L.A. SCHOOL EMPLOYEES TURN TO FACEBOOK TO SPOTLIGHT NEEDED REPAIRS: Annie Gilbertson| Pass / Fail | ... http://bit.ly/1kTyhum
LCFF: CALIFORNIA’S SCHOOL MONEY FIGHT HEADS TO A NEW VENUE: Posted by Dan Walters to Sacramento Bee Capitol A... http://bit.ly/1fXkMGP
What parents know: THE ARTS MATTER: by Joe Landon and Colleen You, EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/1lyup5C ... http://bit.ly/1fX1Nw2
KLCS: LAUSD’S TELEVISION STATION LAUNCHES CHANNEL SHARING EXPERIMENT: Two L.A. area stations test carriage of ... http://bit.ly/1kGot6T
DEASY PROVIDES FODDER FOR BOTH SIDES IN LAWSUIT + smf’s 2¢: In Vergara v. California, a groundbreaking trial o... http://bit.ly/1fTew33
STATE FINDS ERRORS IN L.A. SCHOOLS ’ iPAD MATH LESSONS: Annie Gilbertson, Education R... http://bit.ly/LHIIEX
"Berndt swept everybody up into this horror.” – ANOTHER MIRAMONTE CHILD ABUSE CASE EMERGES FROM THE SHADOWS: O... http://bit.ly/1ajNinY
The view from Down Under: iPADS AT SCHOOL, HOW YOUNG IS TOO YOUNG?: Gadgets on the go... http://bit.ly/1kENQ90
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
• Tuesday, February 11, 2014, 11:00 a.m. - Regular Board of Education Meeting
Start: 02/11/2014 11:00 am
• Wednesday, February 12, 2014 from 9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - LAUSD
BRIEFING ON THE NCLB/ESEA WAIVER GRANTED TO CORE DISTRICTS: Please join
Dr. John Deasy, Superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School
District (LAUSD), on for an important briefing on the NCLB/ESEA waiver
that was granted to districts who are members of the California Office
to Reform Education (CORE). This is an opportunity to hear the
District’s perspective on the new federal waiver and the important
changes that will be taking place in the future. We hope you will join
us in learning about this important issue and will continue to support
the District's leadership in improving student achievement in the LAUSD.http://bit.ly/1fOhCVM
*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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