In This Issue:
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From the Twitterverse: THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF THELMA & MARIA |
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SMARTER BALANCED DELAYS NEW TEST ROLLOUT IN 22 STATES BY ONE WEEK: 2 Stories + smf’s 2¢ |
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L.A. SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES AMENDED CONTRACT FOR SUPT. JOHN DEASY |
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LAUSD EMPLOYEES SHOULD GET A WELL DESERVED RAISE |
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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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As usually happens, lots o’ stuff occurred in the
world of public education last week. The LA Community College District
hired a new chancellor. Governor Brown named a trio of new State
College Trustees. There was serious discussion about Early Childhood Ed
and Bilingual Ed. The Times wrote editorials about the Inspector
General and not-one-but-two the Common Core. More questions emerged on
the iPads purchase. Even as SAT Vocab Words seem to be in decline we
learned a new one: Agnotology - "The production of ignorance". The
Vergara lawsuit dragged on as Silicon Valley billionaires and Dr. Deasy
advocate “Us v. Them” for poor inner city children and against the
California Teachers’ Unions …maybe the courts will let them “Fire their
way to Finland!”
But there were three really meaningful developments:
1. THE BOARD OF ED APPROVED A NEW CONTRACT FOR SUPERINTENDENT DEASY –
one that pays him extra for not taking his vacation days (no other LAUSD
employee enjoys this) and conforms to new state law in paying him
directly ‘his share’ share of pension contributions. Included in the
contract are performance bonuses for increasing enrollment …an
interesting development in that many believe that his personal agenda
has been to foster and “give away” as many charter schools as possible –
thereby decreasing District enrollment. [see: L.A. School Board
Approves Amended Contract for Supt. John Deasy)] He also will receive a
bonus for increasing revenue to the District. He’s going to be paid
extra for doing what should’ve been doing all along …but maybe if we pay
him more he’ll do the right thing?
Deasy’s salary now comes in $330,000 per year, plus $20,000 towards his
pension contribution plus $1,341 per day for as a many as 24 vacation
days per year not taken (vacation pay = $32,184) for a total of $382,184
per year + performance bonuses. Dr. Deasy receives other perks as well,
including a housing allowance, a car+driver and an expense account.
The interesting development is that the Board of Education has taken a
page from the Broad Academy playbook in dealing with the superintendent
in a behind-closed-doors collective bargaining contract negotiation
rather than in direct open public discussion …the public governance of
the school district being the reason why Boards if Education meet and
exist!
2. ON FRIDAY THE WONDERFUL PEOPLE AT THE SMARTER BALANCED TESTING
CONSORTIUM ANNOUNCED A ONE WEEK DELAY IN THE ROLL OUT OF THEIR TEST –
essentially giving 22 states, tens of thousands of school districts and
millions of schoolchildren two days notice. The testing window in some
districts was to open next Tuesday. Acting in an abundance of caution
they need next week to get everything “just right”; it takes more
restraint than I possess to not introduce “Obamacare Roll Out” or “FBI
Trilogy Technology Upgrade” or “Business Tools for Schools” into this
independent clause. The Smarter Balanced spokesperson assures us all
there will be no cost for this delay – a pronouncement of absurdity that
demonstrates why the words “This is not a Test” in a crisis indicates
actual-and -usually-unwelcome reality. The “extra week” SB proposes to
give school districts is the week after LAUSD ends – my ‘back o’ th’
envelope calculation conservatively estimates that adding a week to the
LAUSD
calendar would cost at least $100 million. Plus five additional days on
the superintendent’s compensation at $1341 per
day.
3. LATE FRIDAY EVENING DR. DEASY ANNOUNCED THAT MARIA CASILLAS, whose
tenure as ‘Chief’ of the Parent Community Services Branch was a fiasco
for parents, the community and services-in-general would become his
Interim Deputy Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction. This was
reported as a water cooler rumor in 4LAKids Twitter feed back on March 5
and produced lots o’ angry emails – and a statement from a School
Boardmember that this would happen only over their dead body. This
action by the superintendent …and that statement – evidence one of those
‘Red Lines’ pundits observe and John Wayne draws in the Alamo courtyard
sand.*
ADDITIONALLY DR. DEASY ANNOUNCED THAT DR. THELMA MELENDEZ DE SANTA ANA
WOULD BE JOINING LAUSD as the number two person in the Beyond the Bell
Branch – which runs after school/extra -curricular programs in the
District. Dr Melendez is a former #2 to Arne Duncan** and former
superintendent of Santa Ana Unified – where her superintendency ended in
controversy. She has most recently been Eric Garcetti’s invisible
Deputy Mayor for Education – paid by LAUSD in that capacity with her
salary reimbursed by the city to preserve her CalSTRS benefits. She
graduated from the Broad Superintendent’s Academy in the same graduating
class as John L. Deasy.
Cue the Rhinemaidens and fasten your breastplates: This, gentle readers, just may be how Götterdämmerung begins.
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
____________
* Don’t write: I know it was Laurence Harvey!
** Arne Duncan ran After School Programs in Chicago before becoming CEO there.
From the Twitterverse: THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF THELMA & MARIA
from @HowardBlume: LA Times Education Reporter Howard Blume’s Twitter Feed
[Reads chronologically top-to- bottom]
1. [8:58 PM on Friday Night 14 Mar 2014]
L.A. Unified is hiring Thelma Melendez from mayor's office AS senior administrator,. She once was contender for top LAUSD job.
2.
Melendez will serve as 2nd in command for Beyond the Bell division, which oversees after-school programs, among other functions
3.
She's likely to take over that dept after the anticipated retirement of
the current head. Melendez was senior ed official in Obama admin
4.
She's also been supt. in Pomona and Santa Ana. Resigned from Santa Ana,
where she had stormy relationship with that teachers union.
5.
In mayor's office, she's had a low-key role as an advisor on schools and other city programs affecting children.
6.
L.A. schools Supt. Deasy also is making another hire. Maria Casillas
will come in to head instruction, sorta the No.2 position in LAUSD.
7.
Casillas succeeds Jaime Aquino, who departed amid controversy over the
district's iPad program and his criticism of school board.
8.
Casillas is not the long-term choice, but agreed to serve as interim.
Most recently, she had retired as head of parent engagement.
9.
Casillas will probably work something less than a full-time schedule but
gives Supt. Deasy a veteran hand on key, looming projects.
10.
Deasy said of Melendez: He's fortunate to land some1 w her
skill&record, esp w her knowledge of how to help students learning
English.
11.
L.A. Unified was not immediately able Friday to provide salary information for Melendez & Casillas.
12.
Statement from Mayor Garcetti: "Dr. Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana has
been a valuable member of our team, working on important programs...
13.
Garcetti: ..."that will improve the lives of young people in L.A.,
including increasing youth work and learning opportunities in the
summer.
14. [Final Tweet at 9:12 PM on Friday Night 14 Mar 2014]
Garcetti: "I congratulate her on this exciting new opportunity with LAUSD and am sure our work together will continue."
_____________________________
►MAYOR GARCETTI’S TOP EDUCATION DEPUTY THELMA MELÉNDEZ LEAVES CITY HALL FOR LAUSD
By Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1iRcRkd
3/15/14, 6:31 PM PDT :: Just seven months after joining Los Angeles
Mayor Eric Garcetti’s administration, his top education deputy Thelma
Meléndez is leaving to take a position at Los Angeles Unified School
District, a district spokesman said Saturday.
LAUSD superintendent John Deasy said he approached Garcetti about hiring
Meléndez. Deasy added he was “thrilled” to have her join the nation’s
second-largest school district.
“I asked the mayor if I could poach her,” Deasy said. “I did ask the
mayor, of course, I met with the mayor, and said, ‘I really need to
build a robust team as we are now beginning to think about expanding our
program.”
Meléndez will work for LAUSD’s “Beyond the Bell” division, which focuses on after school and weekend programs.
Garcetti, who is out of town this weekend, according to an aide,
released the following statement: “Dr. Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana has
been a valuable member of our team, working on important programs that
will improve the lives of young people in Los Angeles, including
increasing youth work and learning opportunities in the summer.
I congratulate her on this exciting new opportunity with LAUSD and am sure our work together will continue.”
A former Santa Ana school superintendent, Meléndez was appointed as
Garcetti’s education deputy in August, earning $140,000 a year. In an
unusual arrangement, Meléndez was hired as an administrator by Los
Angeles Unified, then “detached” to serve as Garcetti’s director of
education and workforce development.
Garcetti spokesman Jeff Millman said in an email Saturday Meléndez’s replacement was “to be determined.”
The $140,000 annual salary Meléndez earned working at City Hall is likely to stay the same, Deasy said.
As Garcetti’s point person on education issues and LAUSD, Meléndez
maintained a low profile. While Garcetti is focusing on a summer youth
employment program, he has pushed no major education policies since
taking office.
Meléndez retired as superintendent of Santa Ana Unified, the largest
district in Orange County, last year. According to published reports,
the time Meléndez spent at the district was marked by conflict with the
Santa Ana teachers union and by turmoil at a middle school.
__________
●●smf - News Management 101: As the LAUSD Office of Communications,
Superintendent Deasy and 4LAKids readers know, when one releases a news
story late on Friday evening (the closer to midnight the better) you
miss the news deadlines for the Friday broadcast news and Saturday and
often Sunday’s print news – those editions being having been put to bed
and most Ed Beat reporting staffs being on a 9-to-5/Monday-Friday
schedule. There are exceptions of course: Preps sports scores, hard news
(a stage collapse/a teacher arrest), etc. …but potentially
controversial hires and/or other midnight surprises can avoid media
scrutiny and timely transparency through stealth Friday Night Press
Releases.
SMARTER BALANCED DELAYS NEW TEST ROLLOUT IN 22 STATES BY ONE WEEK: 2 Stories + smf’s 2¢
► NEW CALIFORNIA STANDARDIZED TEST - SCHEDULED TO
START NEXT WEEK - POSTPONED FOR A WEEK …with one day’s notice!
● ONE OF THE CONTRACTORS RUNNING THE TESTS WANTS MORE TIME TO “TEST THE LOAD”.
By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/1gyawDE
March 14th, 2014, 4:58pm :: Southern California students will have to
wait another week to take new computerized standardized tests.
Testing was set to start on Tuesday, but the test's creator, the Smarter
Balanced consortium, decided Friday to put it off for a week because
one of the contractors running the tests wanted more time to test the
load. The test is taken over the internet.
“There was nothing that was broken, there was nothing that’s wrong,”
said Smarter Balanced director Jacqueline King. “We need a couple more
days to run through all of that so that we can make absolutely certain
that we’ve done all the quality control and due diligence that we can
do.”
Los Angeles Unified, Hacienda-La Puente Unified, and Capistrano Unified were scheduled to start some testing on Tuesday.
The delay means schools will have 10 weeks instead of 11 to administer
the tests - but King said schools can use another week after that for
make-ups, if needed.
The tests have been three years in the making. They’re the first
standardized computer tests on this scale in the U.S. Administering them
is a complicated undertaking that for the first time involves separate
contractors to write test questions, develop software, and report
problems and other data, King said.
California's tests this year are pilot tests. Students will only be given half of the full English and math portions.
King said there’s no extra cost to postpone the start date. The tests are now set to begin March 25.
“I would rather they do something right the first time than sort of rush
and plow through something that they’re not ready to give,” said Brian
Huff, testing director at Rowland Unified.
The Smarter Balanced tests are being used by California and nearly two
dozen other states to measure kids' mastery of new curriculum called the
Common Core, which is meant to teach students problem-solving, critical
thinking, and communication skills.
California’s previous standardized test, nearly two decades old, was a multiple choice, paper and pencil test.
The new test requires students to write paragraphs, show work solving
math problems. The web-based test adjusts to individual student’s right
and wrong answers to more deeply probe his or her level of
understanding.
______________
►ONLINE STANDARDIZED TEST DELAY IS NATIONWIDE: SMARTER BALANCED GROUP DELAYS FIELD-TESTING IN 22 STATES BY ONE WEEK
By Stephen Sawchuk | Curriculum Matters - Education Week http://bit.ly/1hky9kM
March 14, 2014 12:00 PM :: One of the two state consortia developing
exams aligned with the Common Core State Standards is giving itself an
additional week to iron out any glitches before field-testing begins.
The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium, which counts 23 states as
members, had planned to begin field-testing March 18. Schools will now
begin the process on March 25, according to a consortium official.
(Twenty-two states and the U.S. Virgin Islands are involved in Smarter
Balanced field-testing; Pennsylvania is an "advisory" state and isn't
participating.)
The delay isn't about the test's content, officials said: It's about
ensuring that all the important elements, including the software and
accessibility features (such as read-aloud assistance for certain
students with disabilities) are working together seamlessly.
"There's a huge amount of quality checking you want to do to make sure
that things go well, and that when students sit down, the test is ready
for them, and if they have any special supports, that they're loaded in
and ready to go," Jacqueline King, a spokeswoman for Smarter Balanced,
said in a March 14 interview. "We're well on our way through that, but
we decided yesterday that we needed a few more days to make sure we had
absolutely done all that we could before students start to take the
field tests."
Field-testing will take place through June 6. Some 3 million students in
20,000 schools are participating. Smarter Balanced expects most of the
schools that would be affected by the delay to reschedule sometime
during the field-test window. The group will also offer a "make-up week"
from June 7-13 for schools that request it.
Most importantly, the brief delay won't delay the next steps in
development, during which researchers analyze the results of the field
tests to make sure that all of the test items are working as expected
and generating the appropriate information.
"It won't have any impact on the subsequent work that we need to do," King said.
It's not entirely clear how many schools are affected. Some states don't have any schools in the first week of testing.
In most states, those students participating in the field tests take
them in only one subject, English/language arts or mathematics. Five
states are testing nearly all their students, and some of those, like
California, are giving some version of the tests in both subjects to
meet the U.S. Department of Education's "double testing" waiver
requirements.
The other testing group, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for
College and Careers, or PARCC, still plans to begin field-testing March
24.
________
●●smf’s 2¢ - Quoting The Above: “Field-testing will take place through
June 6. Some 3 million students in 20,000 schools are participating.
Smarter Balanced expects most of the schools that would be affected by
the delay to reschedule sometime during the field-test window. The group
will also offer a "make-up week" from June 7-13 for schools that
request it.”
smf: That's all very well+good. Except that June 5th is the last day of school for almost all LAUSD schoolchildren.
The previous article from KPCC [NEW CALIFORNIA STANDARDIZED TEST -
SCHEDULED TO START NEXT WEEK - POSTPONED FOR A WEEK:] quoted Smarter
Balanced Testing Director Jacqueline King that there’s no extra cost to
postpone the start date. That comment – about disrupting the testing
schedule for millions schoolchildren in tens-of-thousands of schools
across 22 states fails the Test of Reality.
Following is a link to the LAUSD Testing Calendar, as it was before this
happened. It’s a complicated+convoluted+tightly scheduled affair;
consider all the testing scheduled between now and the end of the year.
L.A. SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES AMENDED CONTRACT FOR SUPT. JOHN DEASY
THE L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOLS CHIEF'S PERFORMANCE WILL NOW
BE BASED ON MEASURES THAT REQUIRE HIM TO INCREASE ENROLLMENT AND
REVENUE.
By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1gnXN5P
8:59 PM PDT, March 12, 2014 :: Los Angeles Unified schools Supt. John
Deasy has a newly modified contract that includes an annual buyout of
unused vacation days and new performance measures that require him to
bring in revenue and enroll more students. He will also pay his own
pension deduction for the first time, a cost offset by an increase of
$20,000 to his annual salary.
The amended pact, approved by the Board of Education last week after
private discussions, offers the latest evidence of a board that is
exerting more control over the direction of the nation's second-largest
school system.
The contract was provided to the Times in response to a Public Records Act request.
Deasy originally accepted the job in 2009 with the understanding that he
would be able to advance his own aggressive reforms. These included
revamping teacher evaluations to include student test scores as one
measure of effectiveness. Deasy also has pushed, with limited success,
to conduct layoffs based on performance rather than seniority.
Deasy's revised contract drops the superintendent's previous goals
related to student achievement because the state is moving to a new exam
and won't provide scores.
Despite incremental progress, the district has fallen short of most of
Deasy's targets, which experts have characterized as ambitious. Deasy,
for example, was never able to earn a $10,000 bonus by increasing the
percentage of ninth-graders proficient in algebra by 8 points.
Instead, Deasy will be required to submit a plan for increasing revenue
for schools by June 30. He's also charged with increasing enrollment by
5% a year; that strategy also will be required by June 30.
The enrollment target is intended to blunt growth at independently
operated charter schools. The loss of students to charter schools and
for other reasons has resulted in reduced funding for district
operations.
Boosting enrollment could be difficult because numbers are trending the
other way. From 2009 to 2013, enrollment in L.A. Unified's campuses has
dropped 11% to 567,150.
"Charters are in direct competition for our enrollment," said school
board member Steve Zimmer. "Anyone who doesn't recognize that is not in
contact with reality. One thing we ask for in this contract is that we
compete."
Emily Galbreth, a spokeswoman for the California Charter Schools Assn.,
said that in choosing charters, parents are "voting with their feet."
"If LAUSD believes that this new policy will improve their educational
offerings such that parents would be excited and driven to seek
traditional district schools — that would be a great thing," she said.
According to the revised contract, Deasy's plan for enrollment should
include developing magnet schools as well as programs designed to help
students become fluent in two languages. Improving daily attendance and
lowering the dropout rate also must be involved.
Deasy will be eligible for a pay bump at the end of each year for
vacation days he fails to take, beyond the 36 he's allowed to accrue.
Each day is worth $1,341.
In an email, Deasy said the vacation buyout was a practical matter,
because he simply could not take off the 24 days a year his contract
provides.
Other employees must use or lose their vacation time, although they can
petition to have their maximum number of days increased. Typically,
unused days are paid when an employee leaves the school system.
Only board member Bennett Kayser opposed that provision, saying that the
superintendent should not, in effect, receive a pay increase prior to
other employees.
The modified deal also makes more visible a salary perk that Deasy had
been receiving. L.A. Unified had been paying Deasy's share of his annual
obligation — $20,400 — to a state pension fund.
This contribution came on top of Deasy's $330,000 salary. Now, the
district will add $20,000 to Deasy's salary, and he'll pay his share of
the pension deduction.
This restructuring was proposed by general counsel David Holmquist.
He noted that some union employees also receive a subsidy for their
pension deduction, but could lose that benefit under recent state
regulations. These rules would not necessarily apply to Deasy, but the
superintendent decided to conform to them.
Over the last year, the school board has evolved into a more assertive
but fractious group less inclined to back Deasy's priorities.
In October, matters reached a low point when Deasy told insiders he
wanted a buyout of his contract over personal and policy differences. He
decided to stay in response to statements of support from the public
and board members.
Shortly thereafter, the board evaluated the superintendent and gave him a
positive review, which automatically extended his contract to June
2016.
Deasy now also will be assessed on five-point scales for his
relationship with board members, his communication with them and his
responsiveness to policies and positions the board adopts.
Board members have complained that Deasy has ignored or delayed
complying with their numerous resolutions. Some critics have said the
board passes too many of these, which are sometimes unclear or
conflicting or that create too much extra work for district staff.
LAUSD EMPLOYEES SHOULD GET A WELL DESERVED RAISE
Guest commentary in the LA Daily News by Bennett Kayser | http://bit.ly/1fKkdD8
3/14/14 :: When I joined the school board in July 2011, the employees
of the Los Angeles Unified School District were in a state of shock.
Many colleagues had been laid off the month prior. By then we were three
years into the recession, and multiple rounds of layoffs and cuts in
hours and services had devastated every facet of our public education
system.
Whether it was one fewer custodian to clean a campus, one fewer
librarian to assist a child, one fewer administrator to ensure safety,
or one fewer art teacher to enrich the lives of our students, the work
remained. The stressed-out, overworked, dispirited LAUSD employees
shouldered the increased burden with little complaint.
Compared nationally, California schools are shamefully underfunded.
Leaders in Sacramento regularly prioritized non-essentials over what is
best for the future of our state. For LAUSD, the recession’s cuts were
akin to putting a malnourished person on a diet.
As the recession deepened, it was LAUSD employees who made the
sacrifices to save critical programs. Nearby districts allowed K-12
classes to balloon and shuttered early and adult education programs;
LAUSD employees took furlough days to keep K-3 class sizes manageable
and doors open to youngsters and adults.
If not for LAUSD employees and the cuts they endured, there would be no
victorious 2014 Marshall High Academic Decathlon team, the All-City
Marching Band would not have again graced the Rose Parade and the
life-changing Outdoor Education programs would be dead. Without the
financial sacrifice made by our employees, thousands of children would
be roaming the streets without after-school programs.
To all LAUSD employees, I say thank you! On behalf of the students,
parents and communities within LAUSD, I salute you for taking the cuts,
working the extra hours and accepting the “other duties as assigned”
without blinking. You did it for our children and for the well-being of
this institution. You did the right thing with little acknowledgement
and no reward.
Since then, the picture has brightened somewhat. While still lagging the
nation, there are three pieces of good news. The recession has bottomed
out and revenues are up. Second, Proposition 30 passed last November.
Thirdly, the new Local Control Funding Formula extends additional
dollars to districts serving the neediest of the needy, for which 81
percent of our students qualify. LAUSD will receive hundreds more
dollars per student than in years past.
So, how do we relieve the crushing weight of current workloads and
expectations? Simple, take some of the new money and bring the grown-ups
back to campus! “Boots on the ground” matter. Return the district to
pre-recession norming ratios wherever appropriate. Not only is this good
for employees but great for our students who will benefit from the
increased safety, support and services provided by additional staff.
Reducing class size is another win-win opportunity for our students and
those who educate them.
How do we best recognize our remaining employees for their years of
fiscal sacrifice? As a public agency with year-to-year budgets, we have
no stock options, perks or bonuses to give. What we can do is what other
districts around the state are already doing; give LAUSD employees a
well-deserved, reasonable raise. For most, it has been seven years since
the last pay hike and many of those years saw salary reductions.
I am proud to be at the helm of LAUSD, an organization filled with
good-hearted, caring individuals who put the community’s children ahead
of their own families’ budgets. I am impressed by the “can do” attitude
that got us through the tough times. I am honored to call myself a
colleague. In this improved fiscal environment I want to do right by
you, as you have done for our children. Thank you.
- Bennett Kayser is a member of the L.A. Unified School District board.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
TWO L.A. TIMES EDITORIALS ON THE COMMON CORE STATE
STANDARDS + other people’s 2¢: IN DEFENSE OF THE COMMON COR... http://bit.ly/1fMQ3Pr
MAYOR GARCETTI’S TOP EDUCATION DEPUTY THELMA MELÉNDEZ LEAVES CITY HALL FOR LAUSD: By Dakota Smith, Los Angeles... http://bit.ly/1is3uF4
Alex Caputo-Pearl: CANDIDATE TO HEAD UTLA FACES LAUSD DISCIPLINE: By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.... http://bit.ly/1iPBo4P
THE CONTINUING ADVENTURES OF THELMA & MARIA: From the Twitterverse: from @HowardBlume: LA Times Education Rep... http://bit.ly/1ipPKdO
TWEET: Deasy names Thelma Melendez as #2 in BTB, Maria Casillas as interim head of C&I ...late on a Fri night
Vergara v. California: SCHOOLS ON TRIAL: SoCal Insider 328 - Gun Fight/Schools on Trial – YouTube | http://bi... http://bit.ly/1ksXL1C
Smarter Balanced: ONLINE STANDARDIZED TEST DELAY IS NATIONWIDE + smf’s 2¢: Smarter Balanced Group Delays Field... http://bit.ly/1gymrS2
Smarter Balanced: NEW CALIFORNIA STANDARDIZED TEST - SCHEDULED TO START NEXT WEEK - POSTPONED FOR A WEEK – wit... http://bit.ly/1cHjyCJ
Education in California/Dance of The Lemons: THE VERGARA LAWSUIT: ®eformers want to make it easier to sack bad... http://bit.ly/1cYB7Jp
LAUSD IN THE NEWS: from Thursday March 13, 2014 + smf’s 1½¢: 4LAKids is having a small computer problem this A... http://bit.ly/1cCmH6R
Webinar – GEARING UP FOR SCHOOL HEALTH: Riding the Path to a Comprehensive School Health Program: by email fro... http://bit.ly/NXy4v4
STRIKING THE BALANCE IN SCHOOL BUDGETING CONTROL: Cross & Joftus http://eds... http://bit.ly/OhXSSi
Agnotology: CULTURAL PRODUCTION OF IGNORANCE PROVIDES RICH FIELD FOR STUDY + smf’s 2¢: Robert Proctor is one o... http://bit.ly/1lpB9PD
The UTLA Presidential Race: CANDIDATES VYING TO LEAD UTLA REFLECT RECENT TEACHER WOES + UTLA STATEMENTS & E4E ... http://bit.ly/1i4zEGw
LA Schools iPads: OFFICIALS CHOSE INCOMPLETE SOFTWARE OVER COMPETITORS: Annie Gilbertson, Education Reporter |... http://bit.ly/1nAl1vU
Pro/Con: SHOULD TABLETS REPLACE TEXTBOOKS IN K-12 SCHOOLS?: Tablets vs. Textbooks - ProCon.or... http://bit.ly/1copYq7
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
• REGULAR BOARD MEETING – TUES. MARCH 18, 2014 (9:30 a.m.) including Closed Session items
• SPECIAL BOARD MEETING – TUES. MARCH 18, 2014 (9:30 a.m.) including 2nd Interim Financial Report
• COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE-TUES. March 18, 2014 CANCELLED
• BUDGET, FACILITIES AND AUDIT COMMITTEE MEETING – THURS. 3-20-14 - 11:00 a.m.
• EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND PARENT ENGAGEMENT COMMITTEE MEETING – THURS. 3-20-14 - 2:00 p.m.
*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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