In This Issue:  | | • | LA Times Opinion: 'LEMON' TEACHERS PLAGUE LAUSD | | | • | Daily News: DESPERATE FOR CASH, SOME PRINCIPALS WANT PARENTS TO PAY FOR BASICS + BASIC CUTS NEEDED | | | • | LA Times Editorial: LARGESS FOR THE LITTLEST | | | • | LA Times · Education meets Politics: STANDING BUSH IN A CORNER | | | • | Associated Press: LA SCHOOL BOARD GIVES FINAL APPROVAL TO LONG DELAYED CAMPUS | | | • | 4LAKids Book Club for June & July –CHOOSING EXCELLENCE: “Good Enough” Schools Are Not Good Enough | | | • | GETTING INVOLVED: Coming up next week & What can Y·O·U do? | |
Featured Links: | | | | Tuesday is the last day of school for A&B tracks on
Concept 6 year–round calendars; congratulations to the
metriculators and the graduates! Thursday is the first day
of School Year 2004-2005 for B&C tracks. I hope all the
B track students enjoy their one-day vacations between
school years, it makes that "How I spent my Summer Vacation" essay short and simple. Not so for the teachers and staff ...they have to work!
I spent last weekend in Minneapolis-St. Paul. The stories
in the twin cities were much the same as here: Their
school system is crowded, their budget picture is bleak,
they’ve begun a construction program. Some schools are
doing well and others need to improve. It’s hard to find a
good word about No Child Left Behind. They’ve just
hired a new superintendent from outside their district.
We have to wish them the same luck we need.
This week 4LAKids is focused primarily on outside-the- budget funding for children’s issues.
• The Daily News article and letter to the editor on how
much parents can be asked to make up LAUSD’s budget
shortfall is important (see: “Desperate for Cash, Some
Principals Want Parents to Pay for the Basics”). The
State Ed Code is quite clear on what school districts must
pay for - textbooks, paper and pencils; teacher salaries,
toilet paper, light bulbs and cleaning supplies. Safety
equipment. The current budget often comes close to or
below those bare minimums. PTAs and parent groups
should pay for things that the school district cannot pay
for, not the stuff they should pay for but cannot afford. I
agree with the superintendent that for principals to ask
parents to pay for the basics goes too far ....but I’ve been
in those School Site Council meetings where there isn’t
enough Kleenex, paper towels or Xerox paper. When
parents are asked to pay for emergency supplies and
earthquake kits. I have been asked to contribute and I
have; I’ve begged pencils from city council offices!
Student safety and emergency preparedness is more
important to parents and teachers and the community
than academic index growth reports — every time!
But not in the budget office.
There is a move afoot in the Board of Ed to declare that
there are adequate textbooks (an Ed Code requirement). I
frankly don’t care if every board member, principal and
local district superintendent swears on a stack of
textbooks that there are enough; if the student’s don’t
have the books there aren’t enough! A number of times
recently parents and students (student body presidents
even!) have appeared before the board to say their
schools don’t have the books they need - and board
members have disputed that that just isn’t true. It’s far
too difficult to get to the board meetings, to find parking
and sign up to speak: Why would these people not tell the
truth? I doubt they are evildoers.
• Sometimes it helps to look at the forest and the trees.
There are more issues ariound raising children than just
education.. The sorry state of the foster care program is
beyond frightening, — the safety net just isn’t there!
Children’s health care has been devastated by the
collapse of state and county funding. In PTA we see this
daily, our Dental and Vision Clinics are reeling from the
workload and the lack of funds. In LAUSD the school
nurse, sometimes on campus only once or twice a week,
is the only medical professional students ever see except
for the paramedic and the ER Doctor. This is a failure of
government; minimal public health care - especially for
children - should be a given. But that what’s given is
easily taken away. West Nile – like SARS and the truth –
is out there.
To this comes the good news of the philanthropy of the
California Endowment and their partners (see: “Largess
for the Littlest”) in supporting LA County children’s
healthcare programs to the tune of $112 million - and in
their political activism in opposing “dumb government
tricks” like returning $700 million to the feds to reduce
the state budget by $233 million - cheating California
children out of nearly $1 billion in healthcare!
• Saturday’s Times carried a page one feature about
presidential politics and No Child Left Behind, reprinted
here without comment. (see: “Standing Bush in a
Corner”)
• At Tuesday’s Board of Ed meeting a final budget for
the next school year (It starts this Thursday!) was not
approved — but the board revisited the continuing
misadventure of the Belmont Learning Complex
(Thankfully renamed ‘New High School #11/Vista
Hermosa Park’ to spare the original Belmont High
School any further embarrassment) and voted to
continue. (see: “LA School Board Gives Final Approval
to Long Delayed Campus”)
• And finally – but leading off – is an LA Times Opinion
piece (see: “Lemon Teachers Plague LAUSD”) that
addresses well the elephant in the corner of the room,; the
one we don’t want to talk about: What to do about those
bad teachers we know are out there? —smf
LA Times Opinion: 'LEMON' TEACHERS PLAGUE LAUSD
VOICES / A FORUM FOR COMMUNITY ISSUES
By Alfee Enciso
June 26, 2004 – The recent Los Angeles Unified School District vote to cut its mini-districts from 11 to eight is at best a pyrrhic victory for administrators and the teachers union and at worst a continuing headache of teacher isolation and no accountability. This move will save the district $17 million but cut 165 administrative jobs (some of these people will be put in teaching or other campus jobs). In his victorious sound bite, United Teachers-Los Angeles President John Perez said that millions of dollars from these savings could go back to the classroom and pay for basic supplies and services.
The problem does not end with the turmoil of people changing jobs: The union has eliminated "Red Team" audits and the "Learning Walk" evaluation process because teachers felt "uncomfortable" and "humiliated" by them. Granted, many schools and mini-districts did execute these practices poorly, but selling a car because it hits a few potholes doesn't make sense either.
So how will we hold teachers accountable when they don't perform? By "winning" this battle of symbolic politics, we lose the focus on getting teachers to look at student work, collaborate and share lesson plans.
Michael Fullan, in his book "The Moral Imperative of School Leadership," states that "nothing undermines the motivation of hardworking teachers more than poor performance in other teachers being ignored over long periods of time. Not only do poor-performing teachers negatively affect the students in their classes, but they also have a spillover effect by poisoning the overall climate of the school."
A case in point would be the efforts of several teachers at a Westside school to get rid of a teacher who showed films weekly, played games daily and mouthed inappropriate and suggestive lines to his students. After two years of administrative and teachers' efforts, the teacher was removed.
This is the big secret our union won't let out: One of the major issues for teachers is not blue-collar issues of wages and benefits, but rather having to work alongside a colleague who has no business teaching kids. Several years ago, when former union chief Day Higuchi asked his members if they knew of an incompetent teacher, all in the audience raised their hands, some even pointing to others in the crowd. Despite such a referendum, nothing has been done about the problem.
The dance of the lemons is the same for administrators. The school district and the ALA, the administrators union, are still entrenched in hiring administrators piecemeal. Principals, in effect the head coaches of their schools, are forced to work with whoever is already on board. Imagine Bill Parcells being hired to coach the Dallas Cowboys but being unable to hire his own staff, which would share his philosophy.
One way to change this system is to put all assistant principals, counselors and head counselors into a district pool. The principal of each school could interview and recruit his or her own staff and be off and running when the semester starts.
As the new assignments and mini-district changes play out, the union and the district need to tackle the tougher and more pressing issues of education.
*
Alfee Enciso is a literacy coach for the LAUSD.
Daily News: DESPERATE FOR CASH, SOME PRINCIPALS WANT PARENTS TO PAY FOR BASICS + BASIC CUTS NEEDED
By Jennifer Radcliffe
Los Angeles Daily News Staff Writer
Sunday, June 20, 2004 - Stung by the Los Angeles Unified School District's steep budget cuts, a handful of principals have asked parents for donations to help buy basic classroom and cleaning supplies -- a practice that has triggered a heated controversy over whether it's legal, ethical or even fair.
Because neither the state nor LAUSD has guidelines for
school fund raising, the decision on whether and how to
ask parents for money now rests on the shoulders of
campus leaders.
But Superintendent Roy Romer said that may need to
change. It's ethical and legal for principals to ask for
money for extras, such as field trips or band uniforms,
but parents shouldn't be asked to pay for basics, he said.
"I'm not at all comfortable with principals sending out
letters saying you have to give private money for me to
keep cleaning supplies. I don't like that."
Principals should notify the district if they feel their
funding shortages are so desperate that they need to
appeal to parents for basic materials.
"I don't feel that we have to go out with a tin cup and ask
for money for cleaning supplies and textbooks," he said.
"Call the district superintendent. Call me. I'll get that
cured within the day."
Principals aren't as clear on the issue: Some say it's the
only way to make ends meet, while others are convinced
the practice is illegal.
And while many parents sympathize with the budget
crunch, they worry about the accountability and equity
issues that principal-led fund raising could create.
"I don't think I'm in favor of them asking for money as a
whole like this. How do we know who's going to end up
benefiting from this?" asked Monica Paul, a Hamlin
Street Elementary School parent who received a letter
requesting donations.
A June 14 letter from Hamlin Street Principal Betsy
Warren asked parents to donate to the school's
discretionary fund to help make up for a $50-per-student
shortfall. Warren, who is retiring, said the school needs
money for aides, cleaning supplies and after-school care.
"Please consider the incredible education and experience
your children received in the form of a culmination gift to
the school," the letter stated. It included a detachable
portion where parents could indicate donations ranging
from $50 to $250, as well as "other" gifts.
The budget problems are compounded by LAUSD's
principals' uncertainty about their 2004-05 funding.
While the district has cut $550 million from its budget
this year, the school board agreed in a series of politically
charged debates to return a $50-per-student stipend cut
taken last year.
Still, some principals, like Warren, are unsure of whether
the money will actually materialize. They're also
struggling to deal with cuts to specialized state funds and
the increased costs that could come with implementing
full-day kindergarten.
"We're looking at resources and funding to recoup that,"
Warren said.
As far as the board's promise to return the stipend,
Warren said, "I can't answer whether it's going to be
returned. When it happens, it happens."
Because LAUSD recently voted to reduce the number of
local districts to eight from 11, it's also been harder for
principals to receive accurate information on the budget,
said parent Zella Knight. Some might feel that they have
no choice but to tackle potential shortfalls themselves.
"That's the tone that's been set by the board -- that
basically the principals are on their own. It's sad," she
said. "Everything has been confusing. It's been rumors."
Still, other principals who saw the board's June 8 meeting
said they are fully aware that the district decided to return
money to campuses, alleviating most of their concerns.
"It was very clearly stated there that we were going to get
it back," said Noble Avenue School Principal Salvador
Rodriguez, adding that he would not ask already
impoverished parents to help with budget shortfalls.
"I would go back to the district. It's their responsibility to
(provide the money) to educate these children. We don't
use our parents to raise money."
Most principals, however, do accept much-needed
support from booster clubs and Parent-Teacher
Associations. They say it's not appropriate for principals
to be lead fund-raisers.
"Ethically, I think it's wrong," said Bob Weinberg,
principal of Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies.
"You just don't want to be in charge of that. It's much
better if you put it in the hands of parents."
Plainview Avenue Elementary Principal Pam Worden
said she feels that principal-led fund raising violates state
laws that require public education to be free.
"You cannot ask in elementary school for a parent to
provide anything. That's the rules, but you have 450
elementary schools. I'm sure there's people out there
doing all kinds of things."
State officials said schools are allowed to raise money, as
long as the efforts are voluntary.
"There's nothing that we're aware of that would prohibit
that," said Amy Holloway, an attorney with the
California Department of Education.
Parent Bernetta Reade said she's dealt with principals
with a range of interpretations -- from Worden's
hard-nosed stance against asking parents to Warren's
active fund-raising efforts.
Asking parents for money is "as old as old can be," she
said.
But Reade and others said principals need to be careful
and accountable for the donations.
"It's a public institution and, actually, parents have a right
to see everything," said Marianela Sardelich, a
parent-community facilitator with district A. "I think it's
OK if parents know exactly how the money is being
spent."
Cleveland High School Principal Allan Weiner, who has
also sent letters on behalf of his booster club calling for
donations, said he counts on fund-raising efforts to help
provide extras at his school. Last year, the $8,000 the
group raised was used to fund an automated phone
system and voice mail for teachers.
He also asks parents to pitch in for earthquake
preparation supplies and other necessities.
"You've got to get the money from somewhere," he said.
• Letter to the Editor: BASIC CUTS NEEDED
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 - Before parents are asked for
money to provide basics to the classroom, the LAUSD
must look inside its own organization. Why aren't the top
levels of the district taking a pay cut like teachers have in
the past? Have the "perks" these administrators get been
examined for waste? How many cars and chauffeurs and
how much gasoline are being paid for by district when
reimbursing for mileage would be more cost-prudent?
Why are meetings and seminars held in hotels (some out
of state) when empty auditoriums are available?
Before even considering asking parents to sacrifice any
more of their finances, look at the expenses of the
LAUSD board, administration and minidistricts. We are
already overtaxed, over-"fee'd" and over-"assessed."
Michael Walker
Northridge
LA Times Editorial: LARGESS FOR THE LITTLEST
June 22, 2004 - It seems a bit perverse that the only way some children in Los Angeles can get healthcare is through the kindness of charities. But philanthropists' announcement today that they will donate $112 million over the next three years to expand medical, dental and vision coverage for 150,000 Los Angeles County children is nonetheless extremely welcome.
The aim of the charities putting up the money, as California Endowment CEO Bob Ross puts it, is to "fulfill the moral imperative to insure our children." There are also, however, savvy political reasons for the move.
One goal is to keep California from squandering federal healthcare dollars in the future. Last year, California returned a whopping $700 million in children's healthcare funding that Congress had set aside for the state. The reason was that legislators weren't sure they could pony up the required 33% in matching funds.
Another goal is to twist government's arm into insuring children statewide for the long term. The philanthropists are wagering that the money will encourage other counties in the state to expand their children's health coverage as well. They also hope that once the private dollars run out — the $112 million is a one-time contribution — it will be morally awkward for government to kick the children insured by them off the rolls. A cynic might suggest that because most of the money is coming from charities funded largely by the health industry, this is merely a way to boost insurers' business in the future, but getting more children on the rolls is a highly desirable goal no matter how it happens. As Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger put it during the recall campaign, "Every child in California should be insured."
Of course, the choices now facing Californians aren't quite that simple. The governor, for instance, recently decided to cut about $900 million from the state's $11-billion share of Medi-Cal spending — a slice that may, among other things, mean terminating future health aid to many elderly and disabled people living at the federal poverty level. Given draconian cuts such as these, some state officials are rightly wondering whether now is the right time to create a statewide version of the generous children's healthcare program the donation would fund in Los Angeles County, which would offer coverage to children in families with incomes of up to about $55,000 a year.
There are no easy long-term answers to such questions. In the short term, however, the benefits brought by $112 million are hard to ignore. The money will help meet the governor's goal, while pressuring legislators to at least begin addressing long-term solutions.
• LETTERS TO THE TIMES
Groups Pull Together for Kids' Healthcare
June 26, 2004 - Re "Largess for the Littlest," editorial, June 22: It is important to note that an unprecedented collaborative of philanthropies and organizations provided financial support to make the Children's Health Initiative of Greater Los Angeles a reality.
In addition to major funders — the California Endowment, L.A. Care Health Plan and First 5 LA — the following are also funding partners: Blue Shield of California Foundation, California Community Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, QueensCare, Unihealth Foundation and the Weingart Foundation. Los Angeles joins counties across the state working to ensure that all of California's kids have access to healthcare.
Robert K. Ross MD
President, California Endowment
Woodland Hills
LA Times · Education meets Politics: STANDING BUSH IN A CORNER
THE RACE TO THE WHITE HOUSE: Foes of the president's reelection bid seek to shape voters' perception of his education record. His supporters cite significant reforms.
By Nick Anderson - Times Staff Writer
June 26, 2004 WASHINGTON — The new commercial jabs Jeb and George W. Bush, suggesting the Florida governor call on his brother, the president, to "fix No Child Left Behind so Florida's kids can get ahead."
In other advertisements, schoolteachers identified as Michelle, Nanci and Rosemary complain that President Bush's landmark education law forces them to "drill students for standardized tests" instead of funding smaller classes and other programs "we know work."
These television spots, broadcast in several politically competitive states, are part of an increasingly sharp struggle to shape voter perceptions of Bush's education record — a fight that could have a significant impact on his reelection chances. Their sponsor, a little-known group called Communities for Quality Education, is financed in part by teachers unions.
According to data compiled for The Times, the new interest group has spent more on televised political ads this month than any group other than the Republican and Democratic presidential campaigns. An independent monitor, TNSMI/Campaign Media Analysis Group, estimated the interest group's spending at $2.9 million from June 2 through Wednesday.
At issue is a pillar of Bush's domestic agenda. The No Child Left Behind law he signed in 2002 required states to test student proficiency in basic skills and set benchmarks for progress in exchange for more federal aid to struggling schools.
It marked a high point in his relations with congressional Democrats. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) was a leading proponent of the bill. Sen. John F. Kerry, Kennedy's Massachusetts colleague and now Bush's presumed Democratic challenger, joined 86 other senators in voting for it.
But that consensus has frayed. And the growing attacks on No Child Left Behind loom as a potential setback for the president.
In 2000, Bush offered himself as a Republican concerned about education and committed to improving public schools. His message undercut a traditional advantage Democrats enjoyed among voters on the issue, polls found, and helped him win support from suburban voters.
In 2004, though, No Child Left Behind may not pay Bush a similar political dividend.
Education reform "was one of the pieces of 'compassionate conservatism' that Bush actually followed through on in office," said Larry J. Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist. "If the Democrats convince people that Bush has failed there, then it eliminates the major piece of evidence that Bush has lived up to his promise."
Polls show the public still ranks Bush near the Democrats on education policy. But a survey for the nonpartisan Educational Testing Service in May and June found deep divisions over the new education law, with 39% of adults viewing it favorably and 38% unfavorably.
"So far the public has not embraced these reforms," Democratic pollster Allan Rivlin said, presenting the survey's findings this week at an education forum in Washington.
Advisors to Bush and Kerry clashed over school reform at the forum, sponsored by the news journal Education Week and the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media.
Bush aide Sandy Kress said the federal law had established "the moral imperative of educating all children."
Kerry domestic policy advisor Robert Gordon responded, "President Bush has used education to score political points and not achieve real change."
Also this week, Communities for Quality Education launched its ad criticizing the law and the Bush brothers in Florida. The group's previous ads have run in Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Ohio — all states closely contested in the presidential election.
While much of the campaign has focused on terrorism and the economy, education remains a key concern for many voters. "Education is more than an issue — it's a value for this country," said Republican pollster David Winston. "It's a constant."
The National Education Assn., a teachers union helping to fund the ads, is expected to endorse Kerry this year. But the union denies a political motive behind its criticism of No Child Left Behind.
"We're looking at it purely from a standpoint of how schools can be successful, how students can be successful," said the association's president, Reg Weaver.
Though the jury is still out on whether the law is leading to stronger reading and mathematics performance among students who need the most help, few question that it has produced upheaval and controversy in many school systems across the country.
Teachers are not its only critics. Some conservatives resent the federal government's lengthening reach into what had long been predominantly a state and local matter.
The law has yielded some eye-catching revelations. In November, more than 26,000 public schools were found to have fallen short of "adequate yearly progress," according to Education Week. That was more than 28% of schools nationwide. In California, more than a third fell short; in Florida, three-fourths.
While standards vary from state to state, the law generally requires school districts to pay closer attention to disadvantaged students and offer them extra options, such as private tutoring or public school transfers, when schools fail to advance.
The law's architects meant to shake up the educational bureaucracy. But the emerging statistics are unsettling to parents who previously rated their own local schools highly, even if they thought others were in trouble.
Some candidates in the Democratic presidential primaries turned No Child Left Behind into a punch line. Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, for instance, said voters should "leave George Bush behind."
Democrats have opened up another line of attack against the president: that his administration has failed to adequately fund the law.
Republicans say Bush has backed record levels of funding for elementary and secondary education — a $12.2-billion-a-year increase from 2001 to 2005. Democrats say annual funding for disadvantaged schools is still $6 billion short of the $18 billion the law authorized.
One TV ad by the New Democrat Network, a Washington organization separate from the Kerry campaign, has sought to stoke the funding dispute. "President Bush, why did you break your promise?" a girl asks in Spanish in the ad.
Her pitch is aimed at Latino voters, a bloc considered up for grabs. Pollsters say Latinos, more often than many other voters, rate education a top issue.
Fighting back, the president's campaign in May ran a TV ad filled with schoolchildren and teachers that praised "the most significant education reforms in 35 years."
With mass-circulation e-mails, defenders of No Child Left Behind also are mounting a public relations effort to debunk what they call myths about the law. The latest rebuttal, on Friday from the Business Roundtable, sought to reassure parents that the law did not limit what schoolteachers could teach.
Susan Traiman, a Business Roundtable official, acknowledged that the TV ads run by the law's critics have taken a toll. "Anyone watching them who's not informed would think: 'Oh, this is terrible. I don't want kids spending all their time being drilled on tests.' "
Associated Press: LA SCHOOL BOARD GIVES FINAL APPROVAL TO LONG DELAYED CAMPUS
LOS ANGELES - Wed, Jun. 23, 2004 - The school
board gave final approval to completing the nation's
costliest high school, which was left unfinished four
years ago after it was found to sit above dangerous
gasses and an earthquake fault.
The board on Tuesday certified the environmental
impact report for an altered version of the Belmont
Learning Complex, now known as the Vista Hermosa
project.
"The facts are winning over fear," board President
Jose Huizar said.
The complex in the crowded area just west of
downtown will feature a 2,600-seat school, a two-acre
soccer field and eight-acre community park. The
YMCA and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy
will help manage the park and soccer areas.
After spending about $175 million, the Los Angeles
Unified School District abandoned the partially built
school in 2000 after the site, an old oil field, was
found to contain toxic hydrogen sulfide and
flammable methane gases.
The sudden discovery of the problem triggered a
two-year probe by Los Angeles County prosecutors.
While no criminal prosecutions resulted, District
Attorney Steve Cooley declared Belmont "a public
works disaster of biblical proportions."
Last May, the project was revived and an additional
$111 million was approved to finish it.
The plan approved Tuesday would demolish two
buildings directly above the earthquake fault, add two
new ones elsewhere, finish four uncompleted
buildings and create the park and soccer field. Pipes
and monitoring systems would deal with the gas
problems.
Completion is expected by May 2007.
Local residents urged the board to complete the
school, saying it was desperately needed in an area
where the current Belmont High cannot handle the
load and some students have to be bused for hours to
other campuses.
"Our classrooms are very overcrowded," Belmont
High student Yulia Orozco said. ,"I hope you hear our
voices."
The board also approved a site to build a
2,300-student high school in unincorporated East Los
Angeles.
The nation's second-largest district has more than
700,000 students and its population is soaring. It
wants to build 80 new schools and expand 79 existing
campuses by 2006 to ease overcrowding.
4LAKids Book Club for June & July –CHOOSING EXCELLENCE: “Good Enough” Schools Are Not Good Enough
John Merrow - the documentary filmmaker and
corespondent behind the Merrow Report series of
education broadcasts on NPR and PBS - spoke to the
California State PTA convention last month about his take
on public education issues. Much of what he said was
reported a month ago in 4LAKids (see: May 9th: “NOTES
FROM THE CALIFORNIA STATE PTA CONVENTION
& PARENT SYMPOSIUM IN LONG BEACH”)
Merrow’s thinking is further developed in CHOOSING
EXCELLENCE (Scarecrow Press, 207pp) — first
published in 2001 but is still very applicable today. Some of
his thoughts re: charter schools (which at the time were
totally unproved) probably need reworking as the data
becomes clearer – but his take is 98% on!
(‘Choice’ in LAUSD means particpation in the magnet
school program - the ultimate choice is often made by a
lottery – ‘choice’ becomes a matter of chance!)
“Choice” has become a political buzzword in education,
often it really means school vouchers and the privatization
of public education. Not here. Merrow’s call is for
nothing-less-than excellence in education, and his mantra
that “‘Good Enough’ Schools Are Never Good Enough”
resonates.
His critique of multiple choice standardized tests, his
description of the roles of parents, students and educators,
and his premise that excellence is a choice parents must
make – and his step-by-step guide on how to make the
choices – are well worth the read.
This is good stuff! —smf
GETTING INVOLVED: Coming up next week & What can Y·O·U do?
• COMING UP NEXT WEEK:
____________________________________________________
• Tuesday Jun 29, 2004
South Region Middle School #2
Phase II Presentation of Recommended Preferred Site
Local District J
At this meeting we will present and discuss the site that will be recommended to the LAUSD Board of education for this new school project.
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Nimitz Middle School
6021 Carmelita Ave.
Huntington Park, CA 90255
• Wednesday Jun 30, 2004
Banning New Elementary School #1
Construction Update Meeting
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Fries Avenue School
Auditorium
1301 Fries Avenue
Wilmington, CA 90744
Central Region Elementary School #17
Phase II Presentation of Recommended Preferred Site
Local District H
At this meeting we will present and discuss the site that will be recommended to the LAUSD Board of education for this new school project.
6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Wadsworth Avenue Elementary School
Auditorium
981 E. 41st Street
Los Angeles, CA 90011
*Dates and times subject to change.
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 212.241.4700
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213.633.7616
• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR http://www.laschoolboard.org
• WHAT CAN Y·O·U DO?
______________________________________________________
• E-mail, call or write your school board member. Or your city councilperson, mayor, assemblyperson, state senator, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think.
• 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. Attend a community meeting calendared above. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. BE THERE FOR A CHILD.
• Vote.
|
