In This Issue:
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DESPITE NEW REQUIREMENTS, L.A. UNIFIED'S PROJECTED GRADUATION RATE SOARS |
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COMPLAINT ACCUSES MAGNOLIA CHARTERS OF ILLEGAL USE OF FUNDS |
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COURT'S MOVE TO GIVE TWO NONPROFITS ACCESS TO STUDENTS' PERSONAL DATA IGNITES PRIVACY DEBATE |
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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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In my geezerhood I spend a lot of time in doctor’s
offices. Not PhDs or EdDs like any self-respecting education activist,
but MDs.
While I was seated on an exam table wearing one of those drafty robes I
was explaining to a doctor’s assistant – who had asked what it is I do -
that I am a mucky-muck with the PTA. She was surprised; they don’t have
PTA at her kids’ school.
“Do they still have the PTA?” she asked?
This didn’t call for my elevator speech. She was being paid. I had a
captive audience. I could give her The Full Monty: My Founders’ Day
Speech.
One hundred nineteen years ago last Tuesday, on Feb. 17th, 1897, two
phenomenal women invited a bunch of the similarly engendered and
inclined (plus a very few men) to a conference in Washington DC – to a
Congress of Mothers.
One of the women, ALICE McLELLAN BIRNEY was an activist for Universal
Free Kindergarten – a radical cause at a time that was rampant with
radical causes like Women’s Suffrage, Free Silver, Organized Labor and
Prohibition.
The other woman, PHOEBE APPERSON HEARST was the wife of a U.S. Senator
and the mother of an only child – William Randolph Hearst, the upstart
newspapaer publisher who the very-next-year would lead the U.S. into a
war with Spain.
It would be easy to say that Mrs. Birney was the brains behind the
enterprise and Mrs. Hearst was the money – but they were both very smart
and influential women.
Mrs. Birney: “I asked myself: How can the mothers be educated and the
nation made to recognize the supreme importance of the child?”
The word went out, nationwide. Two hundred were expected and over two
thousand attended that first Congress of Mothers. This at a time when
women stayed home and managed domestic affairs and rarely if ever
traveled alone – let alone venturing cross-country to attend conferences
and conventions.
The First Five Causes of that first Congress of Mothers are laid out in the agenda and call to action:
1).The creation of Kindergarten classes
2).The creation of child labor laws
3).Hot Lunch programs
4).Juvenile Justice System
5).Mandatory immunizations
That first congress led the formation of local congresses and Children’s Study Circles across the nation.
The Los Angeles Federation of Mother’s Clubs was started by 1900 – and
soon began a nursery and free milk program for poor families working in
the downtown factories and sweat shops. They worked with the LA City
Schools and – to the great credit of both organizations – created the
first school-based health clinics in the nation.
By 1899, the third Congress of Mothers was addressed by the President of
the United States. That 3rd Congress is generally acknowledged as the
moment when pediatric medicine and children’s public health were born,
as scholars, academics and the public became engaged around the issues
of the well-being, education and health of children.
The turn of the twentieth century was not as progressive and enlightened
as we (or Mrs. Hearst+Birney) – would like it to have been. Schools
were segregated – and so was the organization that became PTA.
The Congress of Mothers soon included fathers and teachers as partners –
but persons of color, especially in the South: Not so much.
Another truly outstanding woman, SELENA SLOAN BUTLER formed the Congress
of Colored Parents and Teachers in Georgia in 1911. That organization
became a national organization also- and it was not until 1970 (16 years
after Brown v. Board of Ed) that the two organizations merged to form
National PTA.
Mrs. Butler went on to serve in the Hoover Administration, advising on
children’s issues and during World War II formed a cadre of nurse
volunteers. After the war she went England to form nursery schools – and
died in Los Angeles in 1964.
In the interim PTA became the largest and most respected children’s
advocacy organization in the nation, promoting universal kindergarten,
extension of free public education beyond the eighth grade to include
public high schools, an independent juvenile justice system, child labor
laws, the school lunch program, seatbelts and car seats and school
nurses and sex ed – and advocated the administration of the polio
vaccine in schools – eliminating that disease in the U.S.
Our Founders, Mrs. Birney, Mrs. Hearst and Mrs. Butler, got us started
down a strange and wondrous journey, advocating for our kids and in so
doing, for all kids. The coda says we speak for All Children with One
Voice.
As we did in 1897 and as we do in 2016.
Mrs. Birney said: “To be better you must be different” and “Let us
have no more croaking as to what cannot be done; let us see what can be
done, and above all, see that it is done.”
She spoke of the things we hold dear – but don’t call by those names
anymore: “The National Congress of Mothers, irrespective of creed, color
or condition, stands for all parenthood, childhood, homehood.”
There still is a PTA, and our work is not done.”
NOTHING QUITE SAYS ‘THERE IS AN ENGAGED ADULT LOOKING AFTER YOU’ THAN A
REGISTERED LETTER FROM THE SCHOOL DISTRICT SAYING YOU MIGHT NOT
GRADUATE. In the past few weeks there has been a brouhaha over seniors
who might not graduate (“All Hands on Deck”), alleviated by an “all
clear” message this week.( “Despite new requirements, L.A. Unified's
projected graduation rate soars”) This is a turn-around of totally
unexpected speed+precision, a type of maneuver usually impossible on the
Good Ship LAUSD. It is easy is be suspicious of the
scorekeeper/cheerleaders –we hope it is true!
The CAHSEE is gone; if ‘almost overnight’ A-G is no longer the problem
then we need only occupy ourselves with whether graduating seniors have
met the Service Learning, P.E., Arts and Health Education Requirements.
Stay tuned.
THE PORTER RANCH GAS LEAK IS OVER, The LA School Report says LAUSD has
no plans when to return students to their schools, the LA Daily News
says they do. Go figure.
NO ONE IS QUITE SURE what the impact of Justice Scalia’s death will be on Friedrich’s v. CTA.
AND SOME FACELESS BUREAUCRAT at the City of LA’s own BONC+DONE (¿a
vaudeville act/a C&W duo/a pair of zany drive-time DJs?) seems
intent in preserving the bureaucracy’s freedom to be bureaucratic at all
cost!
I WAS HEADED INTO MY LOCAL MARKET to buy coffee yesterday and there was
the inevitable seasonal card table o’ Thin Mints, Do-si-dos and
attendant Girl Scouts – with sashes and badges and change-for a-twenty.
I stopped to peruse the wares and noticed that the packaging+labeling
was slightly different than the ones purchased at the Beaudry Building
last week.
I mentioned this to the Cadette in charge – and she looked at me sympathetically – the sad elderly victim of cruel fraud.
“Those,” she said – slathering on the vitriol (Who knew Girl Scouts did vitriol?) “…were Orange County cookies!”
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
DESPITE NEW REQUIREMENTS, L.A. UNIFIED'S PROJECTED GRADUATION RATE SOARS
By Howard Blume | LA Times | http://lat.ms/1TyKI2q
Feb. 20, 2016 :: For years, Los Angeles school officials have
suggested that miracle academic turnarounds would be unsustainable and
even suspect, and that real and lasting gains for the academically
lagging school system would be a step-by-step journey.
On Friday, that gospel changed.
L.A. Unified now claims it has, almost overnight, averted a looming
graduation crisis and could be on the path to its most diplomas ever.
"We've made dramatic gains," said Frances Gipson, the district's new head of instruction.
The early grim news had arrived in December. At the time, only 54% of
seniors were projected to graduate based on stiffer requirements that
took effect for this year. The figure would represent a free fall from
last year's 74% rate — despite more than a decade of preparing for the
higher standards.
Then came the seeming impossible. As of the beginning of February —
after a three-week winter break and one month of school — the estimated
graduation rate rose to 63%. And officials say they are optimistic the
rate will rise much higher, perhaps to 80%.
"We continue to break new ground, as we prepare our first graduating
class to meet the new requirements," said a report sent Thursday to the
Board of Education. "The LAUSD family has 'all hands on deck,' and has
rallied around our graduates with providing supports needed to ensure
their success."
The district set aside $15 million for a variety of programs and
strategies, but one clear star of the effort is online courses. Students
are logging on and quickly earning credit for classes they flunked in
the past.
"This does raise questions about the integrity of the system," said UCLA
education professor Pedro Noguera. "A number of school districts around
the country are using online classes for credit recovery. It's
partially responsible for the increase in the national graduation rate
that everyone from the secretary of education to the president has been
celebrating."
"It's still kind of an unknown," he added. "Obviously, you're not doing
kids a service if you just graduate them and they're not prepared."
Gipson said the district has worked to make sure that academic rigor has been maintained.
At least one measure, from outside the district, shows that this year's
seniors were not soaring academically when they took state standardized
tests as juniors. On the English language arts test, only 45% met the
state's learning goals. In math, the number was 19%.
The district's new graduation standards long have been a source of
debate. This year's seniors are the first who must pass the series of
classes that would make them potentially eligible for a four-year state
college. In these classes, the district mandates a passing grade of D or
better.
The standards have come under attack from factions with almost opposite
views on how to make sure students' academic coursework is meaningful.
Some insist the standard is too lax because students need a grade of C
or better in these courses to be eligible for admission to the UC or the
Cal State systems. The new district standard falls short of that.
Others are concerned that the new standard is too demanding. For
example, students must pass intermediate algebra. The state requires
California high school graduates to pass only beginning algebra.
Some critics also are concerned that the focus on a college-prep
curriculum will limit the opportunity for students to take electives,
such as calculus or photography.
"I think that the requirements were excessive and, apparently, the
district is finding ways to work around them," said Gary Orfield,
co-director of the Civil Rights Project at UCLA. "Given the terrible
cost of dropping out, I don't think that this is a bad idea for the
present."
COMPLAINT ACCUSES MAGNOLIA CHARTERS OF ILLEGAL USE OF FUNDS
by Karen Wolfe | PSConnect | http://bit.ly/213e1z4
February 16, 2016 :: A public school teacher and a parent in Orange
County, California, filed a legal complaint today against Magnolia
Charter Schools accusing the charter organization of violating state and
federal law by improperly using state and federal funds, maintaining
poor internal controls and financial accounting, and utilizing
nepotistic vendor selection.
The complaint describes a revolving door between the Magnolia board and
its vendors, and even shared business addresses. The complaint asserts
that the California Department of Education has “failed to take
meaningful action” despite its own findings of misdeeds.
“It's like the state screaming, 'Come and get this money that's supposed
to be for our schools. We’ll look the other way while you spend it on
other things,’” said complainant Tina Andres, a Santa Ana teacher. “It
just invites corruption and fraud. That’s not what charter schools are
supposed to do.” Andres’ son attends a charter school in Orange County.
Andres joined Jose Moreno, an Anaheim parent, and Amsterdam &
Partners LLP law firm on the complaint which was filed with the
California Department of Education under the Uniform Complaint Procedure
process. It can be viewed following.
The complaint calls for a comprehensive investigation by the State
Department of Education. It cites findings made last year by the state
in an audit of Magnolia including that 69% of Magnolia's financial
transactions were unaccounted for; that Magnolia routinely awards large
contracts to vendors that have overlapping connections with their own
employees and board of directors; and that Magnolia has illegally used
hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to pay for visas for Turkish
nationals.
The complaint states that all three of these activities are hallmarks of
Gülen charters. Magnolia has denied ties to Gülen, an organization
under investigation by the Turkish and United States governments.
Magnolia is headed by Caprice Young, former president of the board of
the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), and founder of the
powerful lobby, the California Charter Schools Association. Under
Young's leadership, Magnolia runs 11 schools, including eight in LAUSD,
and recently submitted petitions for eight more schools in Anaheim,
LAUSD, Garden Grove, Fremont, and Oceanside. The complaint states that
if all eight charter schools were to be approved, the cost to the state
of California would be in the billions of dollars.
The complaint presses the regulatory authorities to take immediate
action before Magnolia's additional charters could be approved.
COURT'S MOVE TO GIVE TWO NONPROFITS ACCESS TO
STUDENTS' PERSONAL DATA IGNITES PRIVACY DEBATE
By Pat Maio | San Diego Union Tribune/reprinted in the LA Times | http://lat.ms/1RVG1i9
Feb 21, 2016 | San Diego :: School districts throughout the state are
warning that students' personal data will soon be accessed by two
nonprofit organizations as part of a federal court case involving
special education services, sparking an outcry from parents and
lawmakers over privacy rights.
The data — including Social Security numbers, mental health records and
home addresses — has been sought by the California Concerned Parents
Assn. and the Morgan Hill Concerned Parents Assn., which is suing the
state Department of Education.
The groups allege that the state is not providing a free and appropriate
public education to children with disabilities, as is required by law.
School districts began notifying parents this week that the data would
be provided to comply with a recent court ruling in the case.
"I was literally out of my mind," said Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, a
Democrat who serves the 80th District in southern San Diego. She learned
of the court ruling over the weekend.
"They don't need all of this information."
Parents can object to the data dump by April 1 via the Education
Department's website, cde.ca.gov, or the California Concerned Parents
Assn.'s website at californiaconcernedparents.org.
Peter Tira, an Education Department spokesman, said it's unclear whether
objecting would prevent a student's data from being released.
"It's up to the court to make that determination," he said. "Nothing has been turned over."
Representatives of the California Concerned Parents Assn. could not be
reached for comment, but a statement on the group's website said the
nonprofit is "very concerned about the privacy of all students in the
state."
"We would like parents to understand that we had offered to mediate a
settlement with the California Department of Education many times and
have offered to receive the information" with fake names, the statement
said. "The attorneys for the CDE refused, which forced the judge to make
this ruling."
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Kimberly Mueller in Sacramento
imposed several measures designed to protect the information, including
that fewer than 10 people be allowed to search student records and that
attorneys and consultants will have access only to records through
judicial overseers.
Still, parents, administrators and state officials said that's not enough.
Gonzalez joined Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore) and
Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Glendale) to introduce legislation designed to
ensure that personal information such as Social Security numbers are
protected at the school district level.
"It's time to clean up some of this stuff," she said.
The San Diego Unified School District has posted information on its
website about the order and how it might affect the district's 128,000
students, spokeswoman Linda Zintz said.
"At this point, we're asking schools to let parents know about the
ruling," she said. "We'll look at other strategies to make sure all
parents are informed."
Sue Kroncke, director of special education with the Escondido Union High
School District, said officials are trying to determine who must comply
with the ruling and how it will be handled.
"We are still trying to make sense of this," said Kroncke, adding that
uncertainty remains on whether the order affects all 8,000 students in
her school district or only the 800 students who are classified as
having special education needs.
She said that she previously thought that such data was protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974.
"We operate in good faith that we will keep information private," she
said. "This ruling was quite a surprise to all of us in education."
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
MOODY'S ASSIGNS Aa2 TO LAUSD GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS; OUTLOOK IS STABLE
http://bit.ly/1oCxPrK
DISENFRANCHISING PARENTS, HECKUVA DIRECTIVE, DONE …or the continuing (mis)adventures of DONE+BONC!
http://bit.ly/1UcuknI
COMPLAINT ACCUSES MAGNOLIA CHARTERS OF ILLEGAL USE OF FUNDS
http://bit.ly/1TqIH7m
smf tweets: Does all this half-off candy at the supermarket represent sad broken hearts and lost love?
Or just a happy bargain on chocolate?
¡Not so fast all you pundits!: DID THE TEACHERS UNIONS PIN THEIR HOPES ON ANTONIN SCALIA GOING ROGUE?
http://bit.ly/1OcAxZD
George Skelton: WHY VETERAN TEACHERS AREN'T SURPRISED YOUNG PEOPLE ARE SHUNNING THE PROFESSION
http://lat.ms/1KlCLLo
Dan Walters: SCALIA'S DEATH LIKELY SAVES TEACHERS UNIONS IN DUES CASE | The Sacramento Bee
http://bit.ly/20WywgE
A FRAGMENTED SYSTEM FOR CHECKING THE BACKGROUNDS OF TEACHERS LEAVES STUDENTS AT RISK
http://bit.ly/1PNaWbH
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
Tues., February 23, 2016 - 2PM | COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE - http://bit.ly/217wUAI
Thurs., Feb 25, 2016 | 10AM Februray Meeting of the Bond Oversight Committee | http://www.laschools.org/bond
Thurs., February 25, 2016 4PM | MIDDLE GRADES COLLABORATIVE - LEARNING GROUP SESSION #1 - “4:00-5:30pm.
Location: Nightingale Middle School Auditorium 3311 N. Figueroa St. Los Angeles, 90065 | http://bit.ly/1oVwjRE
*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
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• 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:
Scott.Schmerelson@lausd.net • 213-241-8333
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Ref.Rodriguez@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 the Superintendent:
superintendent@lausd.net • 213-241-7000
...or your city councilperson, mayor, county supervisor, state
legislator, 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. Volunteer in the classroom.
Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child -
and ultimately: For all children.
• If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE.
• If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE at http://registertovote.ca.gov/
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!
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