In This Issue:
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| • | A Blast From the Past: LAUSD BOARD MEMBER SEEKS OVERHAUL OF 'TEACHER JAIL' SYSTEM + smf’s 2¢ |
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| • | Memo to the LAUSD bureaucracy: GET A CLUE |
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| • | THE LAWSUIT'S CALLED VERGARA, BUT THE NAME YOU SHOULD KNOW IS WELCH + smf’s 2¢ |
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| • | DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAYS NO CHARGES WARRANTED OVER L.A. SCHOOL’S iPAD CONTRACT + smfs’s 2¢ …x2! |
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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:
| | | | MONDAY was so long ago I can barely remember. Back from Spring Break. There were chocolate bunnies and Peeps. Eggs on the White House lawn. The L.A. District Attorney, after reading the LAUSD Inspector General’s Investigation of the iPad Procurement decided not to prosecute.[ DISTRICT ATTORNEY REVIEWS LAUSD INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON iPAD CONTRACT; ELECTS NOT TO PROSECUTE + smf’s 2¢ | http:// bit.ly/1i4od2s ] So, if not-being-arrested equals a clean bill-of-health…
TUESDAY was Earth Day; there was a Board of Ed meeting that probably contributed to global warming. ●CHAMPS Charter School tried to explain away a-bit-o’-th’-old-grand-larceny complicated by non-existent oversight. (Teachable moment: It’s still misappropriation of public funds - and stealing from kids - even if the insurance company says they’ll make it up!) [CHARTER OF VAN NUYS CHAMPS IN JEOPARDY OVER STAFFER’S $27,000 CREDIT-CARD MISUSE + smf’s 2¢ |http://bit.ly/1icJoPY] ●Public speakers spoke of teachers and administrators inexplicably in Deasy Jail. ●The Inspector General gave his iPad report to the Board of Ed; predictably it hasn’t been released or (amazingly) leaked to the public yet. ●The Board went into closed session and gave senior staff contract extensions and raises. [AT LEAST 5 LA UNIFIED STAFF GETTING RENEWED ABOVE $200,000 LEVEL |http://bit.ly/1nwCCHz] The superintendent’s favorites got three year contracts, loyalists: Two; the-not-so-favorites: One. It is interesting to note that Dr. Deasy – who wrote his PhD thesis on the scientific value-added evaluation of teachers - and has based his entire career on using data to evaluate students, employees and programs - offered no explanations, data or evaluations of his staff to the Board or the public. Boardmember Ratliff: “I cannot, in good conscience, support very public performance metrics for our Superintendent, a publicly available multi-faceted evaluation template for our teachers, and then vote for senior management contracts that do not include publicly available accountability standards or metrics on which to evaluate performance.”[http://bit.ly/UXHVhZ] ●In D.C. he Supreme Court continued to get it wrong.
WEDNESDAY was Shakespeare’s 450th Birthday:
“Alas, our frailty is the cause, not we! For such as we are made of, such we be.”
And Wednesday was Denim Day. Violence against women – in fact violence against anyone was decried at an event featuring Mayor Garcetti, Chief Beck and Congresswoman Roybal-Allard.…with Dr. D. notably absent. [http://bit.ly/1ipcufO] Quote o’ th’ week: “Peace over Violence: It’s an equation we all can live with.”- PoV founder Patti Giggins.
THURSDAY the LA Times had an interesting Column One profile of San Diego parent advocate Sally Smith (http://t.co/0imTZ7xvS0). ●Attorneys in the Miramonte Child Abuse civil trial accused LAUSD of failing to disclose, suppressing or even shredding evidence. This becomes interesting in light of the apparent fact that key information - the actual scoring sheets - in the iPads procurement investigation is also missing. [WHAT THE L.A. UNIFIED iPAD INVESTIGATION COULDN’T FIND http://bit.ly/QF7sjL]
Thursday the Bond Oversight Committee met and District staff announced that the Common Core Technology Project phase 1L procurement (to evaluate laptops at seven high schools in addition to the iPads everywhere else) would be further enhanced/complicated by the addition of a third RFP procurement [Phase 1L(c)?] to include Chromebooks – a lower cost option which look+function like laptops but must be connected to the internet to work.
Also Thursday the Common Core Technology Committee met for what was supposed to be their final meeting and was advertised as ending with a long-awaited live demonstration of the remote shutdown of a student iPad – “turning it into a brick” should it be stolen or lost. But District staff wasn’t available to answer some outstanding questions, other staff was reticent to show the “brick” demo lest some secret stuff be revealed – so the next meeting of the CCTP Task Force may be their last …but I wouldn’t make book on it!
And late on Thursday it was announced the Greg Schiller, the science teacher who was suspected of allowing students to manufacture weaponry as Science Fair projects, would be returned to his classroom at the Arts School Formerly known is Central High School #9. Schiller had become the poster child for the so called Deasy Jail abusive removal+ housing of “bad” teachers – and his case had drawn national attention that made LAUSD leadership look very foolish. [See many news stories cited below and last week’s 4LAKids lead article: TELL OLD PHARAOH http://bit.ly/1jqStAN ]
That’s one educator sprung from Deasy Jail out of a total the District says is about 250 …and others say is far more.
FRIDAY MORNING Mr. Schiller returned to his school and was welcomed back by joyous students, parents and those faculty brave enough to challenge the powers-that-be at 450 N. Grand and 333 S. Beaudry. The students had been planning a walkout next week; that was thankfully avoided. The powers-that-be at H.S. #9 and Beaudry made it clear that the mysterious non-charges against Mr. Schiller – whatever they are – have not been dropped; he had just better watch his step! And as foolish as the allegations were, the powers-that-be certainly don’t appreciate being made to look foolish!
Even though that fault, dear Brutus, is not in their stars …but in themselves.
AND ON SATURDAY El Camino Real High School won the National Academic Decathlon in Hawai’i. And Granada Hills Charter High School, three-time defending national champion, placed second nationally. Congratulations to both teams and both schools and to every decathlete in the District and the nation. Thanks to the coaches who coached and the parents who brought+bought pizza. It is the LAUSD AcaDeca Program’s 15th national championship.
TODAY is Holocaust Remembrance Day. In recent history the promise of Never Again has been hard to keep; we must teach our children to teach their children to Never Forget.
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
A Blast From the Past: LAUSD BOARD MEMBER SEEKS OVERHAUL OF 'TEACHER JAIL' SYSTEM + smf’s 2¢
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●●smf’s 2¢: OK, so normally my 2¢ comes last, but let me set the scene here:
●This article is from 13 months ago. Obviously (or obliviously) from the current reporting around the Greg Schiller, Iris Stevenson and the at least 248 other cases of teachers and administrators housed in ‘Deasy Jails” – the problem persists.
● At the April 16, 2013 meeting, board member Tamar Galatzan’s “PROTECT CHILDREN AND SAFEGUARD DUE PROCESS”(link follows) resolution was passed without dissent, (unanimously) back when there were seven boardmembers on the board.
●Tamar Galatzan, just this week was called “a strong supporter of Superintendent John Deasy and his efforts to reform public education” by the LA School Report, which is itself a strong supporter of Superintendent John Deasy, etc… |http://bit.ly/1ffVF6C
● According to LA Weekly, the average time of teachers’ stay in the "jail" is 127 days. During this period of time, L.A. Unified keeps paying the teachers’ salaries while hiring substitutes to fill the classrooms| ● http://bit.ly/1j1pgA3
●The cost is enormous - about $1.4 million a month for salaries and investigations and $865,000 for substitutes, according to the Daily News. http://bit.ly/1hCrAJ7
●Neon Tommy, from the USC School of Journalism reports that this problem did not cause much attention until the sexual misconduct scandal at Miramonte Elementary School last year sparked a surge of investigations and pushed the number of housed teachers to more than 300. L.A. Unified said it was time to overhaul the system. The number of housed employees still hovers near 300. | http://bit.ly/1lV5DJj
● This may be making too much of coincidence, but Barbara Jones – the writer if this story for the Daily News back in 2013 is currently Tamar Galatzan’s Chief of Staff.
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LAUSD BOARD MEMBER SEEKS OVERHAUL OF 'TEACHER JAIL' SYSTEM
By Barbara Jones | LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/1li7Lwh
POSTED: 04/06/13, 9:00 PM PDT | Los Angeles Unified would create a team of professional investigators to handle serious misconduct complaints against teachers as part of a new plan to overhaul the district's disciplinary process, which has been criticized as costly, unwieldy and unfair.
Set for a vote on April 16, the resolution by school board member Tamar Galatzan would take investigations of alleged physical or sexual abuse away from principals and put them into the hands of professionals. The investigations would involve employees cleared of any crime by police but still suspected of violating state or district codes of conduct.
"Some of the people who are tasked with doing investigations of suspected child abuse or sexual misconduct don't have the level of training to be able to handle them," said Galatzan, who is also a prosecutor for the City Attorney's Office. "Administrators are trained to ferret out allegations of cheating, but when it comes to conducting detailed investigations, like handling evidence and interviewing witnesses, we haven't necessarily done a good job of training them."
For decades, teachers accused of misconduct have been pulled from the classroom and "housed" in district offices while administrators investigate the allegations and decide their fate. The process typically drags on for months, with teachers collecting their full pay - an average of $6,000 a month, plus benefits - until they're returned to work or fired.
The system drew little notice until last year's sex-abuse scandals involving teachers at Miramonte and Telfair Elementary schools prompted a flood of new allegations.
Hundreds of teachers were pulled from the classroom after the district received what it considered a "credible allegation" of misconduct. Dozens were put on-track for firing after the district quietly enacted a zero-tolerance policy for physical or verbal abuse.
Last year, the board fired 99 teachers, most for misconduct, and allowed 122 others to resign rather than face termination, according to district officials. Through Feb. 21 of this year, 24 teachers have been fired, half for misconduct and half for incompetence, and 92 were allowed to resign.
As more and more educators were assigned to what some call "teacher jail," they began complaining to Galatzan and others about the district's disciplinary system.
Some said they were treated disrespectfully while they were housed, although procedures varied from office to office. Others said the system itself is weighted against them, presuming them guilty and denying them the chance to prove otherwise.
They expressed frustration with the policy that prevents them from being advised of the allegations against them until the investigation is complete. Even then, they said, the district is slow to act, delaying their return to the classroom or keeping them in limbo about their fate.
After a state audit released in November criticized LAUSD for its handling of teacher misconduct cases, citing instances in which investigations had inexplicably stalled for months, Galatzan began meeting with district officials, union leaders and parents to address their concerns.
"The prosecutor side of me understands the criminal investigation and proceedings that frequently go on. Couple that with the fact that I'm a parent and a district employee and a board member and I see how it gets played out at the school site," said Galatzan, who represents the West San Fernando Valley.
"This is one of those issues where, depending where you are in the continuum, you have a different perspective," she said. "Given the same incident, different people see what happened, and what should have happened, differently. They say the problem is here, or here, or here."
While Galatzan's proposal wouldn't resolve all of the concerns, it would create what she hopes is more efficient and effective process for dealing with abuse complaints.
Teachers also would be told - at least in general terms - why they are being housed and how long they might be out of their classroom. Housed employees would also be treated in a "respectful and professional manner," with uniform procedures established at all district offices.
There would also be tighter deadlines for handling investigations, and administrators would have to justify any delay to the school board.
However, the most important recommendation, Galatzan said, would be to hire professional investigators - preferably with a law enforcement background and expertise in collecting evidence and interviewing youngsters - to handle cases of abuse and sexual misconduct.
She and others believe that professionals would be able to resolve cases more quickly and that their involvement would eliminate any concerns about favoritism or retaliation toward the accused.
"Whatever system is set up, we need to be sure that the investigator has independence. The mandate is to have a thorough and fair and complete investigation, without a concern for politics," said Warren Fletcher, president of United Teachers Los Angeles.
"This is about having people who know what to look for - not just to clear innocent teachers but to catch the ones who aren't. The goal of any process has to be schools where kids are safe," he said.
Judith Perez, president, of Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, said principals are educated to be instructional leaders - not investigators - and most feel ill-equipped to look into abuse allegations despite the training they receive from the district.
"It's more than knowing what questions to ask," Perez said. "There's confidentiality and being sensitive and knowing how to talk to the children. "
Capt. Fabian Lizarraga, who commands the Juvenile Division for the Los Angeles Police Department, said it takes skill, experience and a special knack for dealing with children to effectively investigate cases in which youngsters may have been victimized.
His detectives -- who includes those who review complaints against LAUSD teachers for possible criminal activity - have to work their way up through the system, and continue to receive training to hone their interview techniques.
"There's a certain level of experience and expertise in talking to kids, to get them to the level where they feel safe enough and comfortable enough to give us the information," Lizarraga said.
Los Angeles Unified officials say the district has worked hard to train principals in investigative techniques, such as reviewing case studies compiled by law enforcement and conducting role-playing sessions. Still, they acknowledge there would be benefits to having professionals handle the complicated cases.
"It would be reassuring to the school community," said Ira Berman, director of Employee Relations. "It takes it out of that personal back-and-forth. "
Galatzan's resolution gives Superintendent John Deasy 90 days to come up with a plan for creating an investigative team, including how it would be funded. Deasy has previously said he wanted to hire two investigators with law-enforcement backgrounds to handle complex abuse cases. That plan is still in the works, officials said, and might now be combined with Galatzan's resolution.
The plan is co-sponsored by board President Monica Garcia as well as board member Bennett Kayser, a UTLA ally whose views often run counter to Galatzan.
A veteran science teacher, Kayser said he felt strongly trying to improve about the district discipline process.
"I want bad teachers removed from the classroom, as they harm our students
and the profession," he said. "On the flip side, many good teachers have been left to rot in so-called teacher jail, with no due process or even knowledge of what they are accused of.
"This motion strikes a fair balance, but one that puts our students first."
Memo to the LAUSD bureaucracy: GET A CLUE
By email to 4LAKids from the parent of a student at the school formerly known as High School #9 for the Visual & Performing Arts
Sunday, April 27, 2014
What further proof could anyone need, of the intelligence and good intentions of the LAUSD?
Here's how NOT to further your agenda:
When you pick a teacher to set up, try NOT to choose a multiply-honored and much-loved teacher, respected by his students and peers, who teaches AP and Honors classes and volunteers with lunchtime clubs and after-school extra-curricular activities on his own unpaid time.
Try NOT to trump up accusations so bogus that even a small child could see through them, and try NOT to wait seven weeks without issuing any formal charges. Do NOT invite observers to question your validity or your motives or your competence.
Try NOT to choose an exemplary teacher who happens to chair the UTLA chapter negotiating committee, and try NOT to shelve him just before a union vote. This will look extremely suspicious and politically motivated to even casual observers.
Try NOT to institute such an atmosphere of fear among the remaining staff and teachers that they are afraid to speak with parents or even each other, worried that if such an above-reproach teacher can be targeted then nobody is safe.
Try NOT to let the public discover that your targeted teacher is on his school's Site Council, and that removing him from the classroom, the campus and the table impairs the SSC's ability to deliver the required Pilot School Proposal that's due on June first in order to qualify for a million dollars and WASC accreditation.
Try NOT to look like incompetent fools who failed in their coup, when publicity and public opinion force you to back down and "Re-instate" the teacher who never should have been "housed" in the first place.
This is not about one teacher at one school or even three hundred or so educators currently in Teacher Jail. It is about you. You know who you are, whether superintendent, boardmember, administrator or faceless functionary in the bureaucracy - singular or collective. Try to take another position; your credibility and competence in this gig have been fatally damaged by such transparent and obvious Putin-like measures. Between the names you are called by staff and parents and the laughter of your students, all you can accomplish at this point is to be a unifying force for disparate groups who all dislike you for their many disparate reasons.
THE LAWSUIT'S CALLED VERGARA, BUT THE NAME YOU SHOULD KNOW IS WELCH + smf’s 2¢
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC |http://bit.ly/1flWdrr
April 25th, 2014, 5:00am :: David Welch is the main funder of the Vergara vs. California lawsuit. He founded the Silicon Valley tech company Infinera.
Silicon Valley entrepreneur David Welch made his money creating breakthrough technology in fiber optic communication and building hardware to run the massive internet networks of the future.
He's spending it - at least some of it - on a pet project that could substantially change teaching in California and the rest of the country.
Welch is the man behind Students Matter, the advocacy group that recruited nine public school students to sue the state of California, saying teacher job protections harm their ability to get the 'adequate' education they are promised in the state constitution.
Despite not having a background in public education, he said he had no choice but to take on the issue.
“About four years ago, I got to the point where there was too many children that were being harmed in the system,” he said. “If I had the capability of doing the right thing to make life better for someone else or for my society, then I try to do it.”
In interviews, Welch wouldn't say how much money the case has cost him. It's no doubt been substantial.
Tax records for 2012 show he loaned Students Matter nearly $1 million that year alone, half of which was spent on public relations. The group paid $1.1 million to lawyers which ultimately filed the suit, called Vergara vs. California.
That was before the suit was filed, before a legal team led by high powered lawyer Ted Boutrous of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher faced off in a Los Angles courtroom for two months this year against a team of lawyers from the state Attorney General’s office and others hired by California teachers unions.
Los Angeles Superior Court judge Rolf Treu said he'll issue a ruling by July. Both sides vow to appeal a decision that isn’t in their favor.
Welch said he firmly believes California schools are failing.
He said the public schools he attended Maryland were full of passionate teachers and paved the road for him to earn a Ph.D. in engineering at Cornell University.
He said he set out to find out why he wasn't seeing that in California classrooms.
“I went around and talked to a large number of individuals and they would range from parents to superintendents to teachers and asked them ‘If you had one magical thing you could do within the system, what would it be?’” he said.
They told him they would change the way teachers are hired, evaluated, and laid off because the current system protects bad teachers, he said.
“When I wake up in the morning, I ask myself, and I guide myself, do the right thing,” Welch said.
Vergara vs. California is Students Matter's first effort. The nonprofit's stated mission is to litigate for better education policies. Welch said he'll support similar lawsuits in other states. He said he's passionate about giving kids the tools they need to succeed academically.
His opponents said he's part of the charter reform movement, which they say seeks to privatize public education.
“People like David Welch, Eli Broad, the Waltons, the Michelle Rhees, have been able to spend a lot of money creating a narrative that sees educators as the problem in public education,” said Joshua Pechthalt, president of the California Federation of Teachers.
Welch said the unions are making him out to be more powerful than he is. And he insists there's nothing wrong with asking courts to decide if public schools are doing what they’re supposed to be doing - or with aligning with like-minded advocates.
“I am interested in having anyone who believes in putting children first in the education system," he said. "If Mr. Broad, or Michelle Rhee are part of that then I welcome their support."
●● smf’s 2¢: “He said the public schools he attended Maryland were full of passionate teachers and paved the road for him to earn a Ph.D. in engineering at Cornell University.”
This isn’t about the schools in Maryland and hopefully it isn’t about how billionaires can spend their money to get anything they want, wherever and whenever they want it.
But if it were:
• Look into Dr. Deasy’s record of leading all those passionate teachers in Prince George’s County, Maryland. |http://bit.ly/1h3XWx3
• Look into Michelle Rhee’s distinguished career as an 2nd grade teacher for Teach for America in Baltimore, Maryland. |http://wapo.st/QMi3tj
DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAYS NO CHARGES WARRANTED OVER L.A. SCHOOL’S iPAD CONTRACT + smfs’s 2¢ …x2!
THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ACTS AFTER REVIEWING AN INTERNAL L.A. SCHOOL DISTRICT REPORT ON THE iPAD CONTRACT THAT IS SAID TO RAISE ISSUES ON THE HANDLING OF THE BIDDING PROCESS.
BY HOWARD BLUME, L.A. TIMES | HTTP://LAT.MS/1RECIRZ
10:00 PM PDT, April 21, 2014 :: The Los Angeles County district attorney's office has reviewed an internal L.A. school district report on its iPad contract and concluded that criminal charges are not warranted.
The report, which has not been released publicly, raises issues about the handling of the bidding process, according to L.A. Unified School District officials who spoke anonymously because they are not authorized to discuss it.
Apple's iPad was selected in June as the device to be provided to every student, teacher and campus administrator in the nation's second-largest school system. The district is using voter-approved school construction bonds for the purchases.
The $1-billion-plus effort has been plagued by difficulties that delayed the first distribution of the iPads at 47 schools last fall. These issues included problems with wireless networks and security and inconsistent policies on whether students and parents would be responsible for the costly devices.
Early on, students at three high schools deleted security filters so they could browse the Web freely. Officials also have come under fire for misstating costs and terms of the deal. More recently, officials revisited the decision to purchase solely iPads.
The scope of the internal inquiry, conducted by L.A. Unified's inspector general, was limited mainly to the bidding process that resulted in the selection of a vendor team led by Apple.
Prosecutors from the public integrity division reviewed the internal inquiry, focused on whether there was a criminal conflict of interest, district attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison said. "We closed it out in March," she said. "No charges will be filed."
L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy said he was unable to comment on the report or the district attorney's investigation.
"I have not seen the report yet," Deasy said. "Nor have I been given a copy."
Some district officials cited the report's confidentiality for their unwillingness to comment. Others said they didn't want to discuss the report until it had been fully distributed among senior staff and the Board of Education.
Nonetheless, some officials and district staff, speaking not for attribution, said the 18-page report noted potential problems.
For one, scoring sheets used to rate different vendors competing for the contract had been lost, hampering efforts to assess whether the rankings of different vendors were fair or reasonable, they said.
The initial contract was worth about $30 million. About half of the ultimate billion-dollar tab is expected to go to the provider of the device and the curriculum software. Much of the remaining cost would go toward building wireless infrastructure across the sprawling system of more than 1,000 schools.
● smf notes: The cost of “the remaining cost would go toward building wireless infrastructure across the sprawling system of more than 1,000 schools” has absolutely nothing to do with the Apple-Pearson Contract and the Inspector General’s investigation and report.
After winning the bidding competition, the iPad was considered locked in for the entire multiyear effort, but officials now are considering other devices and other providers. Among the issues are the cost of the iPads and whether laptops would be a more useful device for older students.
Another matter raised in the L.A. Unified probe was that one of the members of the review panel responsible for evaluating the bids owned a moderate amount of Apple stock, officials and others said. That individual may have not disclosed this conflict early enough, they said. This person was allowed to remain on the panel after the disclosure.
Deasy, who has acknowledged owning some Apple stock, was not involved in evaluating the bidders. He later sold his holdings.
The review by the inspector general also looked at Pearson, a British firm that has provided the curriculum on the iPads as a key piece of the Apple contract.
Pearson has gotten into trouble in New York state for some of its business practices. In December, Pearson agreed to pay $7.7 million to settle allegations that its charitable foundation illegally drummed up business on behalf of the for-profit wing.
Pearson is ubiquitous across the education sector, helping to design the new high school equivalency test as well as tests to measure new curriculum standards adopted by 44 states, including California. L.A. Unified already was using a Pearson math program districtwide before the Apple contract.
●● smf’s 2¢: Unfortunately the line “The LA County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges in the allegations because….” has been so frequently repeated in cases involving LAUSD, other LA County school districts and the Department of Family and Children’s Services that it has become a mantra of stasis, an excuse for the status quo and the paralysis of inaction around children’s issues. ● It was the sad history L.A. D.A. refusing to prosecute because they couldn’t guarantee a conviction that returned serial abuser Steven Rooney to schools [http://bit.ly/1hETHqW] …where he could molest middle schoolers instead of high school students. ●The good news is that children will not be abused this time; I worry that the taxpayers will not be so lucky.
Additionally:
It is my understanding that the IG’s Report is currently being reviewed by the California Attorney General.
The LAUSD Inspector General, by statute, reports to the Board of Education and the State Legislature (not the superintendent!) whom ultimately will review and act upon the report.
The Board of Education would be derelict in their fiduciary responsibility if they did not question the IG whether any of LAUSD’s senior staff for contract renewal at Tuesday’s closed session board meeting were implicated in the IG’s report.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
Photo: OBAMA & THE MARSHMALLOW GUN: photo from Getty Images by Sal | http://bit.ly/1irvauD
IS PEARSON EDUCATION IN SERIOUS FINANCIAL TROUBLE? -http://huff.to/1ldzFJH
Board District 3: TWO CANDIDATES FILE TO SEEK GALATZAN SCHOOL BOARD SEAT …AND THEN TAMAR DOES TOO!:http://bit.ly/1fBjGQq
●Did LAUSD Shred Evidence in Miramonte Case?|http://bit.ly/1k0HnE4 :: ●Are Score Sheets Lost in iPads/Pearson Query?|http://bit.ly/QF7sjL
Tweeted: Scoring sheets? What scoring sheets? ....we don't need no stinkin' scoring sheets! | http://bit.ly/QF7sjL
WHAT THE L.A. UNIFIED iPAD INVESTIGATION COULDN’T FIND: The Inspector General couldn’t find the scoring sheets...http://bit.ly/QF7sjL
L.A. TEACHER WINS JOB BACK AFTER REMOVAL FOR SCIENCE PROJECTS: By Howard Blume, L.A. Times |http://bit.ly/1lbHcIU
L.A. UNIFIED DOESN’T HAVE TO RELEASE TEACHER’S NAMES WITH PERFORMANCE RATINGS: A state appellate court panel t... http://bit.ly/QEXcYT
L.A. UNIFIED BATTLES LAWYERS OVER MIRAMONTE DISCLOSURES, LAUSD ACCUSED OF DESTROYING EVIDENCE: L.A. Unified ba... http://bit.ly/1jLeiv0
SCIENCE TEACHER RETURNING TO SCHOOL: Published on United Teachers Los Angeles (http://utla.net |http://bit.ly/1lMwoiV
Media Alert: SCIENCE TEACHER GREG SCHILLER RETURNS TO HIS CLASSROOM TODAY FROM TEACHER JAIL: to 4LAKids by email | http://bit.ly/1laqBFj
Tweeted by @howardblume: Science teacher Greg Schiller has been reinstated. He'd been removed after student science projects judged "dangerous."
EX-LAWYER ON A MISSION TO KEEP SCHOOLS FAIR: Sally Smith knows California law and is challenging districts acr...http://bit.ly/1l7Cs7f
CHARTER OF VAN NUY’S CHAMPS IN JEAPARDY OVER STAFFER’S $27,000 CREDIT-CARD MISUSE + smf’s 2¢: By Thomas Himes,... http://bit.ly/1icJoPY
Tweeted: #DenimDay 2014 pic.twitter.com/p4rApe62jV
Tweeted: #DenimDay 2014 pic.twitter.com/thLBLnj8JC
Embedded image permalink
Tweeted: “Peace over violence. It's an equation we need to live with.” #DenimDay 2014
THE COMMON CORE MAKES MATH MORE COMPLICATED. HERE’S WHY. + Stephen Colbert explains it all for you |http://bit.ly/1jMbS0u
LAWMAKERS REJECT BROWN’S ONLINE LEARNING PROPOSAL: by Kimberly Beltran, SI&A Cabinet Report ::http://bit.ly/1i8NzfH
REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR HOPEFUL NEEL KASHKARI PROPOSES MAJOR EDUCATION OVERHAUL: The GOP candidate for governor wo... http://bit.ly/QxFUg3
L.A. ETHICS COMMISSION SUSPENDS AGGREGATE CONTRIBUTION LIMITS IN CITY+LAUSD ELECTIONS IN THE WAKE OF McCUTCHEON... http://bit.ly/1jLrwcv
Tweeted: 2nd speaker talks about Velasco's exemplary record at Eagle Rock HS
Tweeted: Parent from Eagle Rock HS tearfully discusses Principal Velasco's removal to Deasy Jail at BdOfEd
LAUSD INSPECTOR GENERAL iPAD REPORT: The BdOfEd would be derelict in their fiduciary responsibility if they (cont)http://tl.gd/n_1s1g2dd
Updated coverage: DISTRICT ATTORNEY SAYS NO CHARGES WARRANTED OVER L.A. SCHOOL’S iPAD CONTRACT + smfs’s 2¢ | http://bit.ly/1lzheO1
DEASY DISMISSED AS MIRAMONTE DEFENDANT - BUT HIS ATTORNEY CONTINUES TO SIT AT COUNSEL'S table - Who's paying? | http://bit.ly/1myb9Fk
AcaDeca: GRANADA HILLS, EL CAMINO REAL HIGH SCHOOLS PREPARE FOR NATIONAL DECATHLON IN HAWAI’I: By Brenda Gazza... http://bit.ly/1jAcoP0
inBloom: SCHOOL ®EFORM’S NSA ‘BIG-DATA’ DATA MINER, BUBBLES UNDER: THE DANGER REMAINS: http://bit.ly/1i4T8vp
Tweeted: UNCONFIRMED/UNCONFIRMABLE RUMOR: Pearson wins LAUSD contract for Laptop (not iPad) contract!
ONE MORE TIME: “The LA County District Attorney’s Office declined to file charges in the allegations because….”http://bit.ly/auDNT3
DISTRICT ATTORNEY REVIEWS LAUSD INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON iPAD CONTRACT; ELECTS NOT TO PROSECUTE: By Howard ... http://bit.ly/1i4od2s
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
• Tues, April 29, 2014 :: 1:00 pm
Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment Committee
in the Beaudry Boardroom
*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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