Sunday, February 22, 2015

#DareGreatly

4LAKids: Sunday 22•Feb•2015
In This Issue:
 •  L.A. UNIFIED SUPT. RAMON CORTINES SAYS DISTRICT CAN'T AFFORD COMPUTERS FOR ALL
 •  PARENT EFFORT TO CHANGE STRUGGLING ANAHEIM SCHOOL TO CHARTER CAMPUS UNDER PARENT TRIGGER LAW FAILS
 •  LAUSD REVERSED DECISION ON TITLE ONE USHERS IN NEW SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR ARTS EDUCATION
 •  LOS ANGELES TEACHERS CLAIM DEADLOCK IN LABOR TALKS, STRIKE POSSIBLE
 •  HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
 •  EVENTS: Coming up next week...
 •  What can YOU do?


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It’s not the critic
who counts;
the credit belongs
to the man who is
actually in the arena,
who strives valiantly;
who errs, who comes
short again and again;
who knows
great enthusiasms;
who spends himself
in a worthy cause;
who at the best
knows in the end
the triumph of
high achievement,
and who at the worst
if he fails,
at least fails
while daring greatly.

The words are from a Cadillac print ad in Saturday’s Wall Street Journal. The ad is also in today’s LA Times and will be featured in a television commercial in tonight’s Oscar broadcast, all architecture and gritty black+white art-directed/styled+re-touched reality as portrayed by buffed models with bone structure to match the architecture.

Headline: CADILLAC BASES NEW AD CAMPAIGN ON BOOK BY SHAME RESEARCHER BRENÉ BROWN. And that book is favorite of Oprah Winfrey.

The words are not some inspired ad-speak from some Madison Avenue copywriter based on a Oprah’s Book Club self-helper; they are not some #hashtag/slogan/buzzword/tagline to re-launch the Cadillac brand to WSJ readers and Oscar viewers. The MadMen/Don Draper wannabe’s at Publicis Worldwide have not given credit, but the words, edited+wordsmithed, are those of Theodore Roosevelt, spoken at the Sorbonne in Paris on April 23, 1910 in a speech called “Citizenship in a Republic” – often called the “Man in the Arena” speech.
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

[The speech in its entirety, and really worth reading, is here: http://bit.ly/19YGD3P]

Plagiarism?

Misusing TR as a pitchman?

Not exactly. This is not ripping off Taylor Swift lyrics and putting them on a t-shirt.

The speech is in the public domain. It’s fair game. And by not citing TR as the author, Cadillac and Publicis can hardly be accused of channeling him as an endorser ….the way Quicken Loans implies with Washington, Lincoln and Franklin in their ads! And there is a generation of Americans who think TR is a comic character in the Night at the Museum franchise …and even more as ‘the one with the glasses’ on Mount Rushmore.

The question is one of ethics …and that’s not a subject the Ad Biz ever concerns itself with.

Plagiarism, Wikipedia says, is not a crime per se …but in academia and industry, it is a serious ethical offense. If a fifth grader claims TR’s or another student’s words or work as his or her own, he or she is a cheater. If the ad agency of a division of General Motors does it’s OK.

But corporations are people, right? Wrong.

Charlie Wilson, the former GM chief who became Eisenhower’s Secretary of Defense said “What is good for the country is good for General Motors—and vice versa.”

Teddy Roosevelt the trustbuster would probably disagree. Ike, who later identified and warned us of the Military-Industrial Complex probably would too.

Roosevelt’s Man in the Arena is often cited as a paean of American Individualism+Exceptionalism and misunderstood to be a muscular proclamation of American Twentieth Century Imperialism. It is certainly a bold statement of Horatio Algerian stick-to-ative strive+achieve philosophy. The speech is both dated and timeless and recalls Kipling’s British imperialism. “If…” anyone?

But Roosevelt’s theme is the role, rights, expectations and responsibilities of the individual citizen in a republic, spoken as citizen of one-to-the-other at a time when there were only two major republics in the world. It is an instruction of ethical+moral leadership; its misuse is galling.

TR never spoke of the net-citizenship of the corporation in a republic.

I wasn’t inclined to buy a Cadillac – though that CTS-V Coupe looks fun. I am now less so.

TR is critical of critics and I plead guilty. Yet I feel tempted to call out those who ran the anti-Bennett Kayser “Coffee Cup” ad with TR’s quote critical of those who point out when the strong man stumbles. Of how their unnamed candidate could do better. ‘Doer of deeds’ …or ‘cold and timid soul’?

Does Roosevelt forgave he-who-dared-greatly-and-stumbled in attempting to give all students iPads?
No – because TR calls for ethical responsibility.

Are they-who-dared to pull the Parent Trigger in Orange County last week – and misfired – to be admired?
No; because you have to play by the rules …even if it’s your game and you made the rules up yourself!


ON SATURDAY LAUSD BROKE GROUND ON 131ST - AND FINAL - SCHOOL IN $27 BILLION BOND PROJECT

By Associated Press, from the LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/1D7A6gz

2/21/15, 11:17 AM PST | LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Unified School District is breaking ground on the last of more than 100 campuses that were funded by a $27 billion bond program.

Students, officials and community leaders gathered Saturday in suburban Maywood to commemorate the start of construction on South Region High School Number Eight at 5800 King Ave., Maywood, CA 90270

It’s the 131st school built under the bond program.

The campus will accommodate about 1,200 students and boast science labs and a library. It is scheduled to open in 2017.

●●smf: As Jim McConnell, then the head of the building program said at the groundbreaking of the first school in the LAUSD bond program over a decade ago: “We love groundbreakings …but we love ribbon cuttings even more!”

Speaking as a member of the Bond Oversight Committee: There were moments we were afraid we wouldn’t get here in the largest public works project in the nation - and the most ambitious school construction program in history - but we always knew we had to. The effort spent in a worthy cause.

So it was, is and shall be.

¡Onward/Adelante! - smf



L.A. UNIFIED SUPT. RAMON CORTINES SAYS DISTRICT CAN'T AFFORD COMPUTERS FOR ALL
BOARDMEMBER TAMAR GALATZAN REMAINS STEADFAST IN HER BELIEF THAT ALL STUDENTS SHOULD BE EQUIPPED WITH COMPUTERS.

By Howard Blume | LA Times | http://lat.ms/1AjQZos

21 Feb 2015 :: Los Angeles Unified schools Supt. Ramon C. Cortines said Friday that the district cannot afford to provide a computer to every student, signaling a major reversal of his predecessor's ill-fated $1.3-billion effort to distribute iPads to all students, teachers and school administrators.

Instead, Cortines said, the L.A. Unified School District will try to provide computers to students when they are needed for instruction and testing.

"I don't believe we can afford a device for every student," Cortines said. "Education shouldn't become the gimmick of the year."

For former Supt. John Deasy, who resigned under pressure in October, the ambitious iPad plan was a signature initiative. It generated national attention and fueled debate about how best to get the latest technology to students in less affluent areas.

But Cortines said Friday that the reality was that the district never fully prepared for how the devices would be used in the classroom or how to pay for them over time.

Cortines laid out a more measured approach, saying purchasing computers needed to be balanced against other priorities such as repairing dilapidated campuses.

The initial rollout of iPads at 47 schools in the fall of 2013 was plagued by problems. One of the first occurred when high school students deleted security filters so they could freely browse websites. Later, questions arose about close professional relationships that Deasy and his senior deputy, Jaime Aquino, developed with executives from Apple, maker of the iPad, and Pearson, which provided the curriculum on the device. In December, the FBI seized documents related to the project as part of a criminal investigation into the bidding process.

Deasy and other officials have denied any wrongdoing and, all along, the former superintendent insisted it was a civil rights and educational imperative to make technology available to all students.

The district's iPad problems have come up repeatedly in the run-up to the March 3 school board elections, with most challengers faulting the incumbents for going along with the flawed effort.

Among the incumbents on the ballot, Tamar Galatzan was the most vocal backer of Deasy's iPad plan, which passed without opposition in 2013.

"At the time the board was told we could afford to get there," she said Friday. "There were phases in a plan and we were told we had the money" to provide the devices to all students.

"That's so far in the past," she said.

Galatzan remains steadfast in her belief that students should be equipped with computers.

"Our goal is to get one device for every student, but that's our long-term goal," she said."Our short-term goal is to make sure every student has access to a computer to complete classroom assignments, and so the teachers can use them in class," she said.

Board member Monica Ratliff was among the first to raise questions about the project in a technology committee she headed.

She praised Cortines for "taking the issues of the project's cost and sustainability seriously."

The superintendent recently alerted the board to his concerns about the technology program, said member Steve Zimmer. He has said that he and his colleagues should have more closely scrutinized the project from the start.

"We've evolved from an idea that I initially supported strongly and now have deep regrets about," he said. "But I don't have regrets about the effort to bridge the technology gap."

Closing that gap was a focus of the former superintendent when he announced in 2012 that he planned to provide a tablet to every student. A bidding process for the project came together quickly in early 2013.

Deasy's original goal was to distribute all the iPads within 18 months. That never happened because of technical problems, district missteps and eroding political support.

By 2014, Deasy accepted that the board would move more slowly and in a new direction, including the option for schools to use devices other than an iPad.

From the start, the funding source was school construction bonds — a strategy that survived legal review but which has been widely criticized.

Cortines touched on that issue in a statement: "There must be a balanced approach to spending bond dollars to buy technology when there are so many brick and mortar and other critical facility needs that must be met."

In a wide-ranging conversation with reporters Friday, Cortines said he intends to bring forward a $1-billion plan to upgrade some of the district's oldest campuses, which also would be funded with bond money.

The district already has purchased more than 120,000 iPads and more than 18,000 laptops, which should help the school system make the switch to new state standardized tests, which are given on computer. The new testing requirements were another motivating factor for Deasy and his team.

Cortines, who came out of retirement to take over for Deasy, said a task force would meet to help plot the future path on technology.

Another of Deasy's major efforts was a teacher evaluation system that relied in part on students' standardized test scores as one measure of instructors' effectiveness. The plan emerged out of a court battle with the teachers' union. A judge ruled that test scores had to be included in those reviews, citing California law. The union later won a ruling asserting that L.A. Unified had to negotiate over how test scores would be used.

Cortines said he wants an evaluation process that teachers support and that he is negotiating the performance review plan as part of ongoing talks.

He also reiterated the position that the salary demands of teachers (8.5%) are more than the district can afford. The teachers' union this week declared an impasse in bargaining, which will lead to the appointment of a mediator, a step both sides say they support.

The superintendent also chided his bosses, saying the school board had approved proposals and programs without identifying the money to pay for them. The result, he said, contributed to the district's long-term budget woes.

Deasy had repeatedly raised similar concerns.


●●smf’s 2¢: I’m not sure why this is news unless it’s because the iPads piece has been debated in the all candidates’ debates; Superintendent Cortines has made it clear for the past few weeks that he was rolling back the iPads for All initiative for all the reasons stated in this article. Maybe it’s the pedagogical saw that says something must be repeated three times to be learned.


PARENT EFFORT TO CHANGE STRUGGLING ANAHEIM SCHOOL TO CHARTER CAMPUS UNDER PARENT TRIGGER LAW FAILS
PETITION CAMPAIGN FALLS 12 SIGNATURES SHORT OF 367 NEEDED TO CONVERT PALM LANE ELEMENTARY INTO CHARTER

By Teresa Watanabe. LA Times | http://lat.ms/1wdRpx3

21 Feb 2015 :: The first effort in Orange County to use a controversial state law to transform a low-performing school into a charter campus has failed, but organizers said Friday they would not give up.

At a standing-room-only meeting Thursday, the Anaheim City Board of Education unanimously rejected a petition by parents to convert Palm Lane Elementary into an independent charter, which are publicly funded and usually non-union.

Under a 2010 state law known as Parent Trigger, parents at low-performing campuses may petition to overhaul their campuses by changing staff and curriculum, closing the campus or converting to a charter.

Parents at the school, located in an overwhelmingly low-income immigrant community, failed to collect valid signatures representing 50% of pupils enrolled, as the law requires, said Supt. Linda Wagner. She said the district found that 133 of 488 petitions were not valid because the students had moved away, could not be found in the district records or were not signed by a parent or legal guardian, among other reasons. The district verified 48.4% of enrolled students.

But former state Sen. Gloria Romero, who wrote the law and now helps parents improve their schools through her new Center for Parent Empowerment, accused the district of manipulating the numbers.

The district rejected 12 petitions because those signed could not be reached "after multiple attempts," according to documents, but Romero said officials never asked petition organizers to help locate them, as she said state regulations require.

"They didn't want to find these parents," Romero said, noting that the additional 12 signatures would have hit the 50% required threshold and changed the result.

The superintendent said the district also found other flaws in the petitions, however, including a failure to fully describe the charter reform desired or list the lead sponsor. Wagner said district officials also believe that Palm Lane was not even eligible for a trigger campaign because the state last year suspended annual standardized tests needed to ascertain if the campus has failed to make adequate academic progress.

Such a finding is required for trigger campaigns.

She said the petition effort, however, did prompt officials to "more deeply listen" to parent concerns in 30 small-group meetings with almost 100 parents. Wagner acknowledged that the percentage of students doing grade-level work is still too low but said it has doubled in math to 53.7% and tripled in English to 38% between 2002 and 2013.

"Granted, it's not the highest achievement but the growth rates are one of the highest in Orange County," she said.

To boost performance more quickly, she said she has replaced the principal and 10 teachers, invested in 270 new computers and won a $1.5-million grant for a sports-based math program, among other changes.

Romero, however, said such efforts are too little, too late. She said she was confident that parents, who have 60 days to collect the additional signatures needed, would succeed.

She also said she was unsurprised that this petition campaign, like others tried so far in Compton, Adelanto and elsewhere, had sparked controversy and allegations on both sides of coercion, teacher union pressure and improper promises of gifts to sign or rescind signatures.

"Power won't concede power without a fight," Romero said. "This is what this is all about."


LAUSD REVERSED DECISION ON TITLE ONE USHERS IN NEW SOURCE OF FUNDING FOR ARTS EDUCATION

Mary Plummer, Education Arts Reporter, KPCC | http://bit.ly/1AyZVVZ

February 20 2015 :: Los Angeles Unified School District officials have cleared the way for principals to tap into a major source of funding for arts programs targeting low-income students starting this fall.

Although state and federal officials previously said national Title I dollars, allocated to help disadvantaged students improve in academics, could be used for the arts instruction, some district officials had been reluctant to move ahead. The latest decision reverses the district's long-standing practice and opens the door for Title I-funded arts instruction that helps students improve their academic performance.

"This has been a long time coming and this really is a day of rejoicing, quite frankly, in LAUSD," said Rory Pullens, the district's executive director of arts education.

A two-page memo issued Thursday from Pullens, Deputy Superintendent Ruth Perez and Karen Ryback, executive director of Federal and State Education Programs, (link follows) confirms the arts as a core subject and allows schools with high percentages of low-income students to use Title I funds for the arts.

Those schools "may utilize arts as an integration strategy to improve academic achievement," the directive reads. However, Title I funds are not allowed "to fund programs whose primary objective is arts education," according to the memo. As an example, the funds could be tapped to help students learn a character's point of view in a lesson that requires acting out a skit.

Title I funding, developed in 1965 as part of President Lyndon Johnson's war on poverty, has been used historically to increase students success in reading and math. The funds have paid for efforts like reading coaches or math tutors, supplemental software programs and professional development for teachers to improve low-performing students' test scores.

At $14 billion a year, the Title I funds make up the federal government's largest expenditure for grades K-12. The majority of LAUSD schools receive Title I dollars.

Arts advocates have long sought to get the second-largest district in the country to shift its stance on Title I arts funding, arguing that the arts have been shown in research to boost student academic performance.

LAUSD joins just a handful of districts around the state that have committed to a district-wide Title I plan including the arts. San Diego Unified, Sacramento City Unified and Chula Vista Elementary School District are among them, according to Joe Landon, executive director of the California Alliance for Arts Education.

Landon says beyond these districts, the decision to use Title I for the arts is largely playing out on a school-by-school basis. Some principals are using Title I funds for the arts, but they're doing so largely under the radar, some fearing that state monitors will say the funds were used incorrectly.

"At each level, there are people that are afraid," Landon said. The reason: schools are accountable for how Title I dollars are spent and misuse could cause schools to lose a valuable funding source. Despite the state and federal directives on Title I allowing arts instruction in academics, school officials have been hesitant to make changes because Title I spending is monitored so closely.

Landon explained that a decision to use Title I funds for the arts is momentous for schools.

"When districts begin to move," he said, "that really changes it."
Attention turns to principals, funding gatekeepers

When Los Angeles Unified brought on Pullens, attracting him from a well-known arts school in Washington, D.C., he took on the task of securing Title I funding in his early months on the job. He said budgeting would be a huge challenge in increasing access to the arts for more of the district's students.

The deed now done, Pullens said: "This was clearly a very high priority of what we wanted to accomplish and we are just so thrilled that this has finally come to pass."

It'll now be up to school principals to decide how much of their Title I funding to allocate for arts instruction. Pullens said plans to train principals on the benefits of arts integration are underway.

While the Title I arts spending is not mandatory, he expects the new directive to free up significant funding for the district's arts efforts. He didn't have exact estimates, but pointed out that schools' Title I funds range anywhere from hundreds of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars per school.

As KPCC reported in July, only about 70 of the district's more than 500 elementary schools were on track to provide all four art forms (dance, visual arts, music and theater) for the 2014-2015 school year — a legal requirement under the California education code.

Cheryl Sattler, senior partner with the Florida-based consulting firm Ethica, has worked closely with about 100 school districts nationwide and estimates only two have used Title I funding for the arts.

“The urgency is to try to get kids to read," she said, "and if you have kids, for example, in the 10th grade who are reading at a 3rd or 4th-grade level, it’s really hard to think past that, because that’s the emergency.” The arts are often left out of the conversation, according to Sattler, which means they're left out of funding.

“I think the issue is that largely principals, and school improvement committees, and other folks who are worried about academic performance don’t always look to the arts and they don’t always know the research about how powerful arts can be,” she said.

The LAUSD directive described examples of arts integration activities that schools might consider:

• Invite community members to demonstrate or share their talents with students as a prompt for a writing assignment.
• Have students create models that display mathematical data pertaining to each planet of the solar system: distance from the sun, length of day and night, length of year, and day and night surface temperatures.
• Ask students to create a small piece of dance/movement that models their understanding of geometric concepts.

• Encourage students to explore the science of sound by utilizing rubber bands, oatmeal containers, coffee cans, balloons, etc. to construct one or more of the four families of musical instruments: strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. (smf: Never mind that rubber bands are considered contraband at many middle schools!)
• Have students write and perform a short skit to illustrate a literary character’s point of view.
• Provide a lesson on utilizing a software program to create an animated film that highlights key historical events that occurred during the Civil War (In this instance, the cost of the software program would be an appropriate Title I expenditure).


Memo: Supporting Title I Schoolwide Program 2-19-2015



LOS ANGELES TEACHERS CLAIM DEADLOCK IN LABOR TALKS, STRIKE POSSIBLE
By Sharon Bernstein, Reuters | http://reut.rs/1DLrIET

Thu Feb 19, 2015 4:45pm EST :: (Reuters) - Teachers in the massive Los Angeles public school system said they were deadlocked in negotiations with district administrators, a move that will trigger the intervention of mediators and could ultimately lead to a strike.

Despite an offer of a 5 percent raise from the district, the union representing 31,000 teachers and other professional employees said late Wednesday it was holding out for bigger raises for its members, who accepted unpaid days off during the 2007-2009 U.S. recession and have not had an increase in eight years.

"Educators actually saw their pay cut due to furlough days which kept the District afloat," the union said on its website.

The union also wants the district to reduce class sizes more than is currently proposed. It says about 3,000 classes have more than 45 students.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Ramon Cortines said in a statement he also viewed the contract negotiations to be at an impasse. The next step is to notify the Public Employment Relations Board that the two sides are deadlocked, triggering a request for state mediation.

If the mediation is not successful, a legal process is set in motion that could ultimately lead to a strike.

The district's contract with the union, United Teachers Los Angeles, expired in 2011 but its terms have remained in effect under a so-called evergreen clause.

“I’ve been disappointed and frustrated by the lack of progress toward an agreement,” Cortines said in a statement posted on the district's website on Wednesday night. “It’s my hope that the appointment of a mediator will lead to an expeditious settlement that ultimately supports our students and the District at large.”

Los Angeles Unified is the second-largest U.S. school district, with more than 640,000 students who live in Los Angeles and 31 other municipalities. Teachers in the district last went on strike in 1989.

Cortines said the gap between what the union is demanding and what the district is offering is $800 million, but he did not say whether that was over one year or for the length of the contract.

He offered to open the district's books to an outside evaluator as proof that it cannot afford to grant educators the 8.5 percent raise that they are asking for.

"Perhaps, with the active participation of a mediator, UTLA will have a sense of urgency, which considers our fiscal reality," the district said on its website.



HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
UTLA officially declared an impasse today in LAUSD labor negotiations | http://ow.ly/JieCB /s/IZRr

Amid measles outbreak, few rules on teacher vaccinations | http://yhoo.it/17oAyvZ

Troubled school districts need more than prizes: PUNISHING SCHOOLS FOR CHILD POVERTY DOESN’T HELP STUDENTS | http://bit.ly/1LaNiDl

LAUSD REPORTS HIGHER VACCINATION LEVELS; Measles outbreak under control – Whooping Cough (Pertussis) not so much | http://bit.ly/1LaKaYe

FEDERAL COURT RULING AGAINST CHARTER MANAGEMENT ORGANIZATION RESONATES THROUGH THE CHARTER MOVEMENT "Too many Charter Management Organizations seek to install 'clueless' board members who won't ask probing questions.” | http://bit.ly/1zLNP7X

MEAN “COFFEE CUP” AD FOUND AMIDST SHANANIGANS, DIRTY TRICKS, TOM-FOOLERIES + CAMPAIGN MONKEYSHINES | http://bit.ly/17m8hps

Why should they be different there?: NYC CHARTER SCHOOLS DO NOT COMPLY WITH LOCAL+STATE DISCIPLINE POLICIES | http://nyti.ms/1AfJAVX

HOW MANY STUDENTS ALREADY ATTEND COMMUNITY COLLEGE FOR FREE? - http://bit.ly/1v7ONA4

U.S. SCHOOL SPENDING-PER-STUDENT DROPS FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW | http://bit.ly/1MsdKvx

CHICAGO MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL TOUTS EDUCATION REFORM AS ONE OF HIS ACHIEVEMENTS. It may be his greatest vulnerability | http://bit.ly/1CBEO60

Apostrophe Abuse: Is it PRESIDENTS’ DAY? …or PRESIDENT’S DAY? Wrong! The federal holiday is WASHINGTON’S BIRTHDAY | http://bit.ly/1FUi3LG

Mathematics Education: BEING OUTWITTED BY STUPIDITY -or- What if the RtI is the same fuzzy thinking? | http://bit.ly/1A0sg8G

CHRIS CHRISTIE FLIP-FLOPS ON COMMON CORE AT GOP EVENT ...He was for it before he wasn't for it! | http://bit.ly/1MMjW1K

Round 2: WHITE HOUSE, HOUSE ED COMMITTEE DO BATTLE OVER HR5, THE REAUTHORIZATION OF NCLB/ESEA + smf’s 2¢ | http://bit.ly/1AK3ZnW

LAWMAKERS, EDUCATORS+BUILDERS OPPOSE BROWN’S PLAN TO STOP STATE BOND FUNDING FOR SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION+MODERNIZATION | http://bit.ly/1zhlF63

RED QUEEN: “Our children are complex critters who learn from older, more experienced versions of same. If the teachers are deprived of conditions that enable the children to learn, our children will not become ‘educated’”. | http://bit.ly/1vNXtfw

DON’T CONFUSE CHILDREN’S NEEDS WITH ADULT’S POLITICS | http://bit.ly/1vNXtfw

UTLA FORMS PICKET LINES, REJECTS LOS ANGELES UNIFIED’S PROPOSAL | http://bit.ly/19kZju4

LAST WEEK’S 4LAKids: “You weren't there that day for the naming of things.” http://bit.ly/1z0M4DS


EVENTS: Coming up next week...
• CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION, AND ASSESSMENT COMMITTEE – Tuesday February 24, 2015 4 p.m.

• BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE – Thursday February 26, 2015 10:00 a.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


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



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!


Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them?




Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD and was Parent/Volunteer of the Year for 2010-11 for Los Angeles County. • He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and has represented PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee for over 12 years. He is a Health Commissioner, Legislation Team member and a member of the Board of Managers of the California State PTA. He serves on numerous school district advisory and policy committees and has served as a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT "WHO" Gold Award and the ACSA Regional Ferd Kiesel Memorial Distinguished Service Award - honors he hopes to someday deserve. • In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids.
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