In This Issue:
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Tuesday
@ the Boord of Ed: MISCONDUCT, iPADS, MiSiS, CHICKENS, SCHOOL POLICE
& IMMIGRATION POLICY …but no money for violence + abuse prevention |
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ANOTHER SUPERINTENDENT, ANOTHER REORGANIZATION |
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WHY
THE DEMISE OF FIELD TRIPS IS BAD NEWS: Children who attend a live
theater show—and don't just read the play in class—do better in school. |
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ACADEMIC DECATHLON NEEDS VOLUNTEERS |
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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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Associated Press: PORTLAND POLICE MAKE ARREST IN SCHOOL SHOOTING
Dec 13, 2014 :: Police in Portland have arrested a suspect in the
shooting that injured three people outside an alternative high school.
Authorities said they stopped a vehicle around 1:30 a.m. Saturday at
North Interstate Avenue and Going Street and arrested a 22-year-old man.
A handgun was found in the vehicle.
Police were searching an apartment about half an hour later as part of
the investigation. The apartment is about five blocks east of the
shooting near Rosemary Anderson High School.
Detectives are investigating and will release the suspect's name and charges after he is booked into the Multnomah County Jail.
Witnesses told police there may have been a dispute outside the high
school on Friday, just before the shooting occurred at a street corner.
The assailant and two other people fled, and the wounded students went
to the school for help, a police spokesman said. A 16-year-old girl was
critically wounded while two males were hospitalized in fair condition.
Another girl was grazed by a bullet.
“Based on the investigation thus far, the shooting appears to be
gang-related,” Sgt. Pete Simpson said Friday night in a statement.
Police gang investigators “feel comfortable saying this is a
gang-related shooting based on some of the people involved,” Simpson
added in an interview. Police said they believe the shooter has gang
ties. “Simpson declined to say which victims might be linked to gangs.”
_______________
IT WAS AN ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL … FOR ‘THOSE KIDS’. The cops are
“comfortable” that it was gang related. “Simpson declined to say which
victims might be linked to gangs.” Because, gentle readers, victims
linked to gangs are perpetrators after all.
Look inside the paper:
Some kids are being shot
The bullets - they are flying -
It should give us food for thought.
But it isn’t in our neighborhood
Though it really is a shame;
And the Feds might take away our guns
When it’s just the gangs to blame.
And I’m sure it wouldn’t interest
Anybody
Outside of a small circle of friends.
- With apologies to Phil Ochs
Today marks the second anniversary of the school shooting at Sandy Hook
Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Sandy Hook had state-of-the
art security. A locked entrance door with a remote ‘buzz-in’ opener and
closed circuit TV surveillance of the front entrance. There was a
schoolwide intercom system and a staff well prepared and rehearsed in
emergency procedure. The staff performed as rehearsed. It took the
police two minutes to respond. In that time the shooter killed twenty
six-year-old first-graders and six adults.
In the two years since there have been 21 deadly school shootings in the
U.S., - about once a month – not counting the one in Portland Friday
…which had no fatalities and was buried on page A13 in the Times.
• Since Sandy Hook total of 32 victims have been killed in school shootings (not including shooters).
• 11 additional victims were injured.
• 5 shooters were killed (including four who committed suicide, and one shot dead by police).
• The school shootings occurred across 16 states.
• 14 attacks occurred at K-12 schools, and 7 occurred on college or university campuses. One was in Santa Monica.
• During the same period, there have been dozens of other gun incidents
on school grounds that caused injuries, as well as seven additional
cases where someone committed suicide with a firearm, but no one else
died. | http://bit.ly/1yNapSU
In that time the federal government has done zero/zilch/nada to
prohibit/limit/restrict firearms purchases to the mentally ill or to
restrict the size of ammunition magazines or the sale+transfer of
assault weapons. In that time LAUSD has sent two part-time Security
Aides to every elementary school, armed with a roll of yellow stickers, a
clipboard and an orange vest. And while those folks are supposed to
work exclusively at school security, they end up doing clerical work,
filing, making copies, answering phones, etc.
Take a look at these two videos: http://bit.ly/1wF9qE7 + http://bit.ly/16cwFtx They show what we’re doing and what we aren’t doing. They hint at what we should be doing. Let’s do it.
IN OTHER NEWS the database software that controls London’s Heathrow
Airport went south and they had to close down the airport …I guess
because all the retired administrators and counselors LAUSD uses to
patch its MiSiS system were otherwise employed. On the subject of
recalling retired staff: How many RIFed and retired front office clerks
and data entry folk have been called back by LAUSD to work the MiSiS
Crisis …or are we letting the administrators do their own input?
LAUSD HAS A NEW ORG CHART. The old one can be filed with the previous
policy on distribution of deck chairs and steamer blankets on RMS
Titanic.
LAUSD’S PUSH FOR ETHNIC STUDIES as a graduation requirement http://lat.ms/1qJNsgK has gained (Positive, for once!) national attention: http://wapo.st/1qJNMMp. The Times editorial board predictably weighs in otherwise: http://lat.ms/1qJOrgI
– and 4LAKids - proudly from an ethnic heritage of painting ourselves
blue and being so fearful that the ancient Romans built a wall rather
than attempt conquest, supports the move. (The plaid skirts and bagpipes
came later.) A Times letter writer wisely suggests requiring Women’s
Studies also: http://lat.ms/1qJN01T - Both the boys and the girls have a lot to learn from+about women.
ON TUESDAY THE BOARD OF ED took positions on MISCONDUCT (against it) ,
iPADS+CHROMEBOOKS (buy more for testing), MiSiS (fix it) ,
ANTIBIOTIC-FREE CHICKENS (buy ‘em), SCHOOL POLICE (maybe we don’t need
more) and IMMIGRATION POLICY ( more deferred action). The Board and
Superintendent invested $2.5 million in ARTS EDUCATION …but committed no
funding for VIOLENCE+ABUSE PREVENTION! | http://bit.ly/1x1Ovus
THE DEMOCRATS IN THE FCC voted more money for the E-Rate program to
provide broadband access to schools+libraries – but the Republicans in
the next Congress may not vote the appropriation. Because E-Rate
reimburses rather that funds-up-front it’s going to take a lot of faith
(as in tooth fairy belief) for schools to go down that road.
THE LA TIMES’ SERIES about migrant farm laborers and child labor in Mexico is heartbreaking. http://bit.ly/1DwvwM8
These people are raising food for our tables; their stories echo
Steinbeck and ‘Harvest of Shame’ and the work of Cesar Chavez. It is
globalization gone grossly awry.
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
_______________
PS: The LA Times has rolled out a new platform for student journalism:
HS Insider - promoted as a forum for young journalists to develop their
skills and share their experiences and connect the community with
stories told for and by students. “Our goal? To connect the region using
the strength of the L.A. Times brand and to get young people engaged in
their communities through journalism.”
Aside from the claptrap about “the strength of the LA Times Brand” this a
truly laudable enterprise – ever since the demise of the late lamented
LA YOUTH there has not been a platform of student journalism in LA.
Currently HS Insider is exclusively about sports and sports related
goings-on. Sports writing is an excellent entry point into journalism
because sports writing is about Life+Death & Conflict+Drama on a
deadline minus the body bags – but 4LAKids looks forward to a little
more depth from the reportage. Good student journalists write about
things that make adults uncomfortable at times – things beyond the gym
and the gridiron; the Friday night lights shine on the things they want
you to see. And who are “they” anyway?
Tuesday @ the Boord of Ed: MISCONDUCT, iPADS, MiSiS,
CHICKENS, SCHOOL POLICE & IMMIGRATION POLICY …but no money for
violence + abuse prevention
►LAUSD BOARD ORDERS SUPT. CORTINES TO ANALYZE PAST MISCONDUCT INCIDENTS IN THE DISTRICT
By Stephen Ceasar LA Times | http://lat.ms/1simatn
10 Dec, 2014 :: In the wake of the Miramonte Elementary School child
abuse scandal, the Los Angeles school district will analyze past
incidents of misconduct to determine how to better safeguard students in
the future.
The Board of Education on Tuesday approved the proposal, brought by
board member Monica Ratliff, directing Supt. Ramon Cortines to analyze
the circumstances of previous misconduct events — including the number
of adults present during the alleged misconduct, the work history and
previous complaints against the accused employee, and when and where
such incidents occurred.
Ratliff initially had called for a study on the feasibility of staffing
all classrooms with two adults while children are present. That idea,
however, was not included in the measure that the board approved.
The move is the latest in a series of board actions following the arrest
of a Miramonte Elementary School teacher for sexual misconduct in 2012
that led to changes in state law and district policies. Teacher Mark
Berndt pleaded no contest last year to 23 charges of lewd conduct,
including feeding children his semen in what he called a tasting game.
He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
The L.A. Unified School District last month agreed to pay more than $139
million to settle claims related to the case, drawing to a close the
lengthy case. L.A. Unified already has paid about $30 million in claims
to the families of 65 Miramonte students.
Another proposal by Ratliff would have directed the superintendent to
provide a report to the board detailing the district's annual expenses
over the last five years for the costs of litigation, awards,
settlements and other costs related to criminal actions at district
schools. It would have required that the report project the costs of
additional safety resources on district campuses — including more
cameras, police officers and school safety officers.
But Ratliff decided to pull that measure after speakers strongly opposed additional police officers on campuses.
United Teachers Los Angeles President Alex Caputo-Pearl said students
would be better served by finding ways to fund additional counselors and
mental health professionals and by lowering class sizes.
"That's the report that we need generate — not something that will increase policing," he said.
Board member George McKenna signaled that he would not support the measure.
"I would not be in favor of expanding the role of police in making our schools safe," he said.
There was no discussion of the portion of the resolution that would have
required an accounting of legal expenses related to recent criminal
actions.
Also Tuesday, the board unanimously approved more than $11 million in
additional funds to address problems caused by a new and faulty student
records system.
The system caused problems districtwide this fall, with thousands of
students unable to enroll in classes required for graduation or college.
Teachers were unable to record attendance, and grade information was
lost or corrupted.
"We are starting to see evidence that the system is stabilizing,"
Cortines said at the board meeting Tuesday. "We are looking at the
issues that plague our schools, counselors, teachers and administration.
We aren't saying they don't exist, but we are trying to resolve them."
A staff report said the system continues to have performance issues and
new bugs arise on a daily basis. "The system, as it stands today, does
not meet the needs of our schools," the report said.
The district has spent more than $130 million trying to develop a fully
functional student records system, known as My Integrated Student
Information System, or MISIS.
In other action, the board approved spending about $23.2 million for
additional computers to use for students to take new state standardized
tests.
The purchases are expected to include 21,665 iPads ($552 each) and
separate keyboards ($29 each) as well as 7,770 Chromebooks ($305 each).
The money also will cover some staffing and other costs.
The district won't purchase the new devices under a controversial,
recently suspended contract for iPads that is now the subject of an FBI
probe. Instead, the district will use an older, already available
contract with Apple for the iPads. Chromebook contracts were negotiated
recently under a separate process.
________
►L.A. UNIFIED AND 5 OTHER DISTRICTS TO BAN THE PURCHASE OF CHICKEN RAISED WITH ANTIBIOTICS
By Teresa Watanabe, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1sinhsZ
10 Dec 2014 :: Aiming to bolster student health, Los Angeles Unified
and five other major urban school districts announced plans Tuesday to
ban the purchase of chickens that have been raised with antibiotics.
The action by the Urban School Food Alliance -- which collectively buys
more than $552 million of food and supplies annually to feed nearly 2.9
million students daily -- will give the food industry a major market
incentive to reduce the use of antibiotics in school meals, supporters
said.
The widespread presence of antibiotics in food has produced bacteria
resistant to it, increasing vulnerability to disease, according to
health experts. The Centers for Disease Control has called antibiotic
resistance one of the world’s most pressing health problems.
“This is a critical piece of ensuring the safety of our children,” said
Mark Izeman of the Natural Resources Defense Council, a New York-based
environmental nonprofit that helped develop the alliance plan. “LAUSD
and other districts are pushing the entire food industry to move away
from chicken and other animals raised with excessive antibiotic use.”
Izeman added that healthful school food is especially critical for the
largely low-income students in the six alliance school districts of Los
Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami-Dade, Dallas and Orange County in
Orlando, Fla. School meals often provide more than half the food
consumed by many of the students daily, he said.
The districts joined forces last year to adopt eco-friendly practices
and leverage their collective purchasing power for lower prices and more
healthful fare. They have replaced polystyrene and plastic with
biodegradable trays and flatware, for instance.
Under the alliance plan, all chicken must be produced with no
antibiotics and animal by-products in the feed, be raised on an
all-vegetarian diet and treated humanely. If food vendors cannot supply
the full volume of chicken under that standard, they will be required to
submit a written plan on when they can meet it.
In a separate action Tuesday, the Los Angeles Board of Education
unanimously adopted a requirement that chicken purchased for school
meals be free of antibiotics and hormones. The poultry rule was added to
the district’s 2012 “good food” policy that encouraged more nutritious
school meals, sustainable environmental practices, more purchases from
small, local farmers, humane treatment of animals and safe and fair
working conditions.
Laura Benavidez, L.A. Unified’s deputy food services director, said the
requirement would be included in requests for proposals to supply the
2.3 million pounds of chicken purchased annually at a cost of $4.8
million. The school system serves 115 million school meals yearly,
second only to New York’s 170 million. It was unclear when schools would
begin serving antibiotic-free chicken.
The action marked the district’s latest move toward more healthful
school meals. Over the past few years, the district has removed flavored
milk from menus, banned soda in vending machines and overhauled school
menus to increase fresh produce and reduce salt, added sugars and fat.
“Having antibiotic-free chicken is not a privilege, it’s a right,” Benavidez said.
________
►LAUSD SCHOOLS AMONG FIRST TO ADOPT ANTIBIOTIC-FREE CHICKEN STANDARDS
By Thomas Himes, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1siqQPW
The LAUSD is pledging to serve only antibiotic-free chicken to
students. Five other large school districts are set to follow. (Photo by
Fir0002/Flagstaffotos reproduced under the CC by-NC license)
Posted: 12/09/14, 5:22 PM PST :: Los Angeles Unified’s school board
Tuesday adopted standards that poise the district to become the first to
solicit food vendors for antibiotic-free chicken to serve students.
Five other large school districts will soon follow LAUSD with standards
set by the Urban School Food Alliance to curtail antibiotic-resistant
sicknesses, which the world’s leading health organizations have called a
crisis.
“These six school districts are saying in effect, ‘we’re not going to
play chicken with our children’s health, we’re going to move forward
with protective standards,’” said Mark Izeman, senior attorney with the
Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit health advocacy
organization that helped create the standards.
To reach its goal, LAUSD will solicit offers for suppliers to provide
chickens raised without antibiotics, said LAUSD’s Deputy Food Services
Director Laura Benavidez. Tuesday’s board vote would only require
cafeterias to serve antibiotic-free chicken if it’s available.
While raising chickens without the drugs that fight diseases inside hen
houses is more expensive, demand created by LAUSD and the 700,411 meals
served to students per day will create purchasing power that should
force suppliers to streamline the processes and bring the price down,
Benavidez said.
“We’re confident we cannot help but reduce that cost and improve availability,” Benavidez said.
Schools in Orlando will follow in the spring, and the nation’s largest
district in New York City plans to implement the standards in 2016, when
its current contracts for food expire. Including other districts that
also plan to join the initiative — in Chicago, Dallas and Miami – more
than 3 million students will have antibiotic-free chicken on their
plates in the coming years, said Eric Goldstein, chief executive officer
of School Support Services for the New York City Department of
Education
The six districts create purchasing power, Goldstein said, that will
force food suppliers to change their practices even as legislators in
the nation’s capital fail to pass regulations.
“It’s incumbent for us to take the lead because nobody’s doing this for
our schools,” Goldstein said. “As the leading cities in America we have
to show through action that we can move forward.”
Chicago public schools encountered supply problems when officials
replaced two of four monthly chicken meals with antibiotic-free meat
about three years ago. However, district officials struck a deal to buy
chicken legs from a nearby Amish farm that sells breasts and other parts
of antibiotic-free chickens to Whole Foods and Chipotle, said Leslie
Fowler, executive director of Nutritional Support Services at Chicago
Public Schools.
“It means that the farm can sell the whole bird without any scraps and
it gets us prices we can afford,” Fowler said. “While it’s not enough
quantity for us to serve on a weekly basis or as often as we would like,
it’s moving us in the right direction.”
________
►LAUSD COMPUTER SYSTEM FIXES SOAR TO ANOTHER $2 MILLION PER WEEK
Annie Gilbertson, KPCC | http://bit.ly/1sitnJR
December 09, 08:10 PM :: The Los Angeles Unified School District board
approved another $12 million Tuesday to fix the student data system
that failed to schedule classes, take attendance and track students with
special needs beginning last fall.
Under the new plan, the district will spend up to $2 million per week
from Jan. 1 to Feb. 15 to have technology companies, including
Microsoft, debug the system, stabilize servers, and expand use of the
system known as MiSiS at charter schools, among other tasks.
The money will also pay for oversight of the work by an outside party and expansion of the help desk.
The new spending brings the total cost of the software system to $45.5
million, three times as much as was initially invested in it.
When the six weeks are up, the board will be presented with another,
pricier spending plan for MiSiS improvements. Earlier estimates
submitted to the school construction bond oversight committee showed the
price of addressing the system's problems could double to about $85
million.
"I still believe it will take a year to resolve the issues with
MiSiS,"said Superintendent Ramon Cortines. "We are beginning, though, to
see evidence the system is stabilizing."
The school board also approved $22 million ($13 million in new funds) to
buy more iPads and Google Chromebooks so students can take new digital
state tests in the spring. The purchase brings the number of district
tablets and laptops to 120,000 – a figure that does not include
equipment in computer labs, which are are not tracked in district's
central inventory.
Both funding measures passed unanimously without discussion by board
members, even though just a week ago the FBI seized boxes of district
documents in criminal probe of the district's iPad program. The newest
iPads will be purchased under another agreement than the Apple and
Pearson software contract under investigation.
When students showed up for fall classes, hundreds found their class
schedules had been botched by the MiSiS system. Many piled into
auditoriums and cafeterias waiting days or weeks for officials to fix
their schedules. At Jefferson High School in south L.A., some students
waited until October and after a judge's order to get a full day of
classes.
School counselors then noticed errors in students' transcripts and
rushed to correct them before November college application deadlines.
The district hired retired educators to help check the transcripts
manually.
________
►LAUSD BOARD, UNIONS VOW SUPPORT ON OBAMA’S IMMIGRATION ACTION …according to a press release
by Craig Clough, LA School Report | http://bit.ly/1sizHRy
December 9, 2014 4:58 pm :: The LA Unified school board and union
leaders moved today to help ensure that district schools are “safe
havens” in support of President Obama‘s recent executive orders on
immigration.
The orders, announced last month, potentially give deportation relief to millions of undocumented immigrants and their children.
A resolution introduced by board members Steve Zimmer and Monica Garcia
pledges that the district will develop a plan to assist any students
needing help with immigration records or applications.
The district today also announced plans to send a letter home with
students advising their their parents and guardians “to be cautious of
‘so-called ‘notaries’ and dishonest lawyers (who) prey on the hopes of
individuals and families seeking a better life,” according to a district
press release.
The letter was signed by representatives of LAUSD, SEIU Local 99 and
UTLA. Before the board meeting, Garcia and Zimmer held a press
conference with leaders of the two unions, according to the release.
“The President’s Executive Action will bring great relief to students
and their families,” said SEIU Local 99 Lilia Garcia, according to the
press release. “I work with our school community every day and I see how
much it impacts students when their mother or father is deported. The
children come to school with fear or sadness. The President’s action
will mean more stability for families, and this will mean students can
focus on their education. I am proud that our union will be working with
the District to ensure that parents can access information and
resources in our schools.”
UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl also pledged the union’s support in the
release, saying, “As educators, we care about the whole child— not only
their academic achievements, but also the social and economic wellbeing
of our students. We support the School Board’s resolution on
immigration reform and accountability. Students and their parents need
our help and we are ready to do all we can inside and outside of the
classroom.”
ANOTHER SUPERINTENDENT, ANOTHER REORGANIZATION
Associated Administrators of Los Angeles Update, Week of December 15, 2014 | http://bit.ly/1z2FqRJ
Dec. 11, 2014 :: Under the leadership of Superintendent Ramón
Cortines, the Central Office and the Educational Service Centers have
been restructured (see chart, following).
Notably, ESC Superintendents will oversee both instruction and
operations. The Office of the Chief Operating Officer and the Divisions
of Intensive Support and Intervention, Talent Management and Risk
Management have been eliminated. Their functions have been absorbed by
Human Resources (HR), the Office of Curriculum, Instruction and School
Support (OCISS), the Office of the General Counsel and the new
Educational Services Office.
Parent and Community Engagement and Operations will now report to the
leadership of the Educational Service Centers (ESCs). An Office of
Educational Services has been created and will be led by Chief Executive
Officer Dr. Thelma Meléndez, formerly an administrator with Beyond the
Bell and superintendent of Santa Ana and Pomona school districts.
Educational Services will oversee many of the operations functions which
were under the Office of the Chief Operating Officer, such as Food
Services, Transportation Services, Procurement Services, School
Operations, Student Health and Human Services, Adult Education, OEHS and
Beyond the Bell. The options schools will report directly to the ESC in
which they are located with the exception of Ramona, McAlister, Riley
and Carlson which will report to OCISS.
The Division of Intensive Support and Intervention, led by Dr. Donna
Muncey, will be absorbed by OCISS. Dr. Muncey will now serve as the
Chief of Staff to the Deputy Superintendent of Instruction, Dr. Ruth
Pérez, former superintendent of Norwalk-La Mirada School District. The
Office of Risk Management is now part of the Office of the General
Counsel. Matt Hill will remain Chief Strategy Officer, but will oversee
ITD. The responsibilities of the Talent Management Division have been
split between OCISS and HR.
These changes were effective December 1, 2014, and were “made to help
the District operate more effectively and efficiently,” according to
Superintendent Cortines.
Those who have been around a few years recognize that as the
superintendency changes, so does the organizational structure. Each new
chief needs the system to be structured in a manner in which he/she
feels is logical and manageable. Many of these changes make perfect
sense, particularly to move most options schools under the ESCs. These
students deserve the right to be on the same educational trajectory as
their peers in comprehensive middle and high schools, despite their
challenges. The one reorganizational change with which we are puzzled is
the inclusion of adult education under Educational Services. Isn’t
adult education a function of instruction? Don’t adult students take
courses which could lead to a GED or diploma? Why is this critical
concurrent and community program lumped with support services?
WHY THE DEMISE OF FIELD TRIPS IS BAD NEWS: Children
who attend a live theater show—and don't just read the play in class—do
better in school.
By Emily Richmond in The Atlantic | http://theatln.tc/1ww2qGB
Dec 9 2014, 9:00 AM ET :: In Watertown, New York, the local school
district recently debated scaling back field trips for students, with
administrators citing the cost of providing transportation and
chaperones—money that instead needs to be devoted to more purely
academic endeavors.
"The issue right now for us, mostly, is the fact that we don’t really
pay for field trips unless they’re very, very tied into the curriculum,"
Superintendent Terry Fralick said at an October meeting of the
Watertown school board.
Watertown is just one example of what’s become a familiar development in
districts nationwide: cutting field trips in favor of more
instructional time, or simply because there’s no money to cover the cost
of the excursions.
But what if those field trips actually had a proven, tangible benefit to
student learning? That’s the premise set out in a new study by Jay
Greene, a professor of education reform at the University of Arkansas.
Anything that isn’t directly related to test scores doesn’t attract as much of schools' attention or resources.
Greene evaluated 670 students, who were divided into two groups. The
first group of students was chosen at random to see a live theater
performance of either Hamlet or A Christmas Carol. The second group
either read the texts of the plays or watched film versions.
When compared with their peers in the second group, the students who
attended live theater scored significantly higher on a vocabulary test
that incorporated language from plays, and they were also better able to
answer questions about the plot and characters, according to Greene's
findings.
The live theater group also scored higher on tests that measured their
tolerance of diverse points of view and ability to detect emotions in
other people. Those gains were still measurable six weeks after students
attended the live theater performance, Greene said.
"Schools are increasingly focused on the things that we’ve told them to
be focused on, namely improving math and reading test scores," Greene
told me. "Anything that isn’t directly related to that doesn’t attract
as much of their attention, their resources, or their time."
In metro Atlanta, field trips are being used as both a means of
reinforcing classroom instruction and providing students with new
experiences.
"It’s important for [students] to learn the standards and perform well
on these standardized tests," Jason Marshall, a principal at an
elementary school in the Atlanta area, told the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution. "But I think the way we’ve always approached it is
the day they take a test is really just a snapshot of what they learn.
We’re interested in them learning much more about their community, …
their state, country, world and how all those things are
interconnected."
But in a growing number of schools, field trips are now an incentive for
good behavior, perfect attendance, or improved grades rather than
cultural enrichment. That means the symphony takes a back seat to the
local amusement park or bowling alley, Greene said.
The new study’s findings "demonstrated that there can actually be
lasting and sustainable outcomes, educational outcomes, that are
produced through students participating in these one-time, culturally
enriching experiences," said Sandra Ruppert, the director of the Arts
Education Partnership, a national nonprofit coalition. "It’s an
important factor to take into consideration for schools and others that
are thinking about reducing or eliminating field trips, thinking that
they don’t add any educational value."
The symphony is taking a back seat to the local amusement park or bowling alley.
The study also speaks to the important role schools play in youths’
overall development—not just their academic knowledge, Ruppert said.
"These kinds of enriching experiences actually connect students and the
school to the community in very meaningful ways," she said.
The methodology of the University of Arkansas study does raise a few
questions, however. For example, researchers didn’t keep tabs on which
film version of Hamlet students watched. (Might Sir Laurence Olivier be
more effective than Mel Gibson, perhaps?) And it’s not clear how
carefully students actually read the required texts.
Additionally, the study was conducted in a limited number of schools in
Arkansas, and the student groups were fairly homogenous: Most were white
and selected from advanced academic classes.
Greene said he’s hoping to replicate the study in a large urban area
such as Chicago, which has a more diverse student population and a
wealth of fine arts opportunities. And while his studies have revealed
the short-term benefits of field trips, Greene believes there’s more at
stake than just improving students’ vocabularies.
"The point of culturally enriching activities is to take students to a
place they don’t yet know they like and allow them to discover it’s
something they might want to do on their own," Greene said. "That’s how
we create cultural consumers for the future."
• This post appears courtesy of The Educated Reporter: Emily Richmond is
the public editor for the National Education Writers Association. She
was previously the education reporter for the Las Vegas Sun.
ACADEMIC DECATHLON NEEDS VOLUNTEERS
The Los Angeles Unified School District’s 2015 Academic Decathlon will again be a two-day event.
You are invited to assist with this outstanding academic competition that has produced many state and national champions.
Your help is needed on one or both of the following dates: ●Saturday, January 31, 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m., or
●Saturday, February 7, 2015, 7:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. (or 4:00 – 6:00 p.m.
for the Super Quiz), at Roybal Learning Center, 1200 Colton Street, Los
Angeles 90026.
●Help is also needed to read essays on Wednesday, February 4, 2015, 7:30 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., at the Beaudry Building.
For more information, please contact Cliff Ker at 213.241.3503 or cliff.ker@lausd.net.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
LAUSD SCHOOL BOARD APPROVES $2.5 MILLION FOR ARTS ED | http://bit.ly/1wksh5x
Lawbreaker? …or Whistleblower?: LAUSD LAWSUIT AGAINST MIRAMONTE SEX ABUSE DOCUMENT LEAKER MOVES FORWARD | http://bit.ly/1GkNgs0
ADULT EDUCATION & AB 86 | http://bit.ly/1zKsKPA
ANOTHER SUPERINTENDENT, ANOTHER REORGANIZATION ...you can't tell the players without another Org Chart! | http://bit.ly/1w0sif3
FCC APPROVES MAJOR E-RATE FUNDING INCREASE ON PARTY-LINE VOTE + smf’s 2¢ | http://bit.ly/1w0jt4P
POLL SHOWS DECLINING PUBLIC TRUST OF DEMOCRATS IN EDUCATION | http://bit.ly/1wKc7EC
Sandy Hook+2: LAST YEAR, ZERO CHILDREN WERE KILLED BY MONSTERS UNDER THE BED. | http://bit.ly/16cwFtx
Sandy Hook+2: LOCKDOWN | http://bit.ly/1wF9qE7
Politico: “PEARSON TO REVAMP PISA” …because the tower isn’t crooked enough?” | http://bit.ly/1vHTeLn
Yesterday at the LAUSD Board of Ed: MISCONDUCT, iPADS, MiSiS, CHICKENS, SCHOOL POLICE & IMMIGRATION POLICY | http://bit.ly/1x1Ovus
Yesterday at the LAUSD Board of Ed:(cont.) ...but no money for violence + abuse prevention! | http://bit.ly/1x1Ovus
LAUSD PREPARES STUDENTS FOR HIGH-TECH FUTURE …BUT MAY NOT BE READY FOR NEXT YEARS’ ONLINE TESTS | http://bit.ly/1330FH4
LAUSD WILL SEEK OUTSIDE LEGAL ADVICE ON FED iPAD PROBE. Cortines: Inquiry may take long time; LAUSD will cooperate | http://bit.ly/1yLOdYb
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-241.8700
What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Bennett.Kayser@lausd.net • 213-241-5555
George.McKenna@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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