Sunday, November 29, 2009

Choice: Thankful, ungrateful …or a turkey sandwich?


4LAKids: Sunday 29•Nov•2009
In This Issue:
ANOTHER GROUP FILES APPLICATION TO RUN 30 ‘PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE’ CAMPUSES: Misses deadline, accepted anyway
LAUSD TO HALVE ITS LOCAL OFFICES: Even with closing local centers, deficit and thousands of layoffs still loom for coming year
L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOL CHOICES ARE A CONFUSING MAZE: Fairs and websites try to help parents, but deciphering magnets, points and charters within the dist
BUDGET CUTS HIT BROAD SWATH OF CAL STATE: The effects are rippling through the university system, touching students, teachers and administrators alike
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
What can YOU do?


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PUBLIC SCHOOLS: an investment we can't afford to cut! - The Education Coalition Website
4LAKids Anthology: All the Past Issues, solved, resolved and unsolved!
4LAKidsNews: a compendium of recent items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, rants and amusing anecdotes, etc.
“The power of accurate observation,” Shaw tells us, “is called cynicism by those who have not got it.”


VIEWED THROUGH THAT LENS it isn't always easy to be thankful. Even in this last week of November – tempered with overdoses of turkey-induced tryptophan and washed down with lashings of Beaujolais nouveau. Though the three-day-work week and the four-day weekend helps.

We are thankful…

• ...for the education professionals that make this District what it is— a place for children to grow and learn. We hear too much chin music about how hard it is to get rid of a few bad teachers and administrators -- and not near enough about how to honor the many, many good ones.
• ...for the staff at school sites and in district offices who support that work with enthusiasm, hard work and a smile, whether in the classroom or far from it.
• ...for school nurses, spread too thin and asked too-much-of; often the only health professionals ever seen by students.
• ...for the folks who are building and rebuilding our schools.
• ...for the volunteers who volunteer in the classroom and on the playground before and after school.
• ...for Bruce Kravets.
• ...for the buyers of books at the book fair, and gift wrap and entertainment books and candy and bake sale items; tickets to school play and football and basketball games; for the writers of checks.
• …to the folks who go to the meetings.
• ...for consultants and contract professionals who bring and share their expertise.
• ...for the community members, voters and taxpayers who understand that schools do the most important work in the community - and who vote for the bonds and pay the taxes.
• ...for the parents who struggle to put food on the table … and even more with the algebra homework.
• ...to the motorist who slows in the school zone.
• ...for teachers who give 100% of themselves and then some of their paycheck for supplies.
• ...for the students who work hard and make us proud.

For these things we are eternally thankful, but because of absences of fiscal wherewithal and leadership at the top we undoubtedly appear ungrateful.

“The gruel was served out; and a long grace was said over the short commons. The gruel disappeared; the boys whispered each other, and winked at Oliver; while his next neighbours nudged him. Child as he was, he was desperate with hunger, and reckless with misery. He rose from the table; and advancing to the master, basin and spoon in hand, said: somewhat alarmed at his own temerity:

“'Please, sir, I want some more.'

“The master was a fat, healthy man; but he turned very pale. He gazed in stupified astonishment on the small rebel for some seconds, and then clung for support to the copper. The assistants were paralysed with wonder; the boys with fear.

“'What!' said the master at length, in a faint voice.

“'Please, sir,' replied Oliver, 'I want some more.'”



ON MONDAY an additional contender appeared on the official list of the approved applicants to run their very own LAUSD school under Public School Choice (actually for ALL the ones offered). It seems this particular EMO [Educational Management Organization] from Arizona missed the deadline because they had “submitted letters of intent to an incorrect e-mail address”. ["Another Group Files Application to Run 30 ‘Public School Choice’ Campuses"] In what other reality (let alone government agency or private sector enterprise) would such a lame excuse for missing a deadline (or a homework assignment) be accepted? The deadline had passed; the tardy bell had rung. The train had left the station.


TUESDAY THE RHETORICAL BATTLE taking place in the media instead of at the bargaining table escalated a notch. The superintendent publicly demanded four furlough days this year and threatened mass lay-offs next year – in exchange for which he is sacrificing a few of his near+dear local districts . {"LAUSD to Halve Its Local Offices"] 4LAKids is all for transparency and public disclosure in contract negotiations – but-take-it-or-leave-it/my-way-or-the-highway ultimata ain’t exactly good faith collective bargaining!

[also see: When a little transparency reveals a little too much: AALA & SUPERINTENDENT CORTINES’ FRIDAY THE 13th LETTER http://bit.ly/5zDdUI]


ON WEDNESDAY THE TIMES ran their obligatory annual “how confusing the LAUSD magnet application process is” article. ["L.A. Unified School Choices Are A Confusing Maze"].

Before I join in and agree that the application process is twisted and bizarre let me first say that the Magnet Program is a true gem – one of the best things we do in LAUSD. And even though the ‘Choices’ brochure is confusing, the choice practiced is ACTUAL PARENTAL CHOICE in that parents are involved in the choice of their child’s school – the choice is NOT made for them by outside operators or cartographers, faceless bureaucrats, a lottery or school board members.

But if the Magnet Program works, why mess with success?

Well…

A. Because the application process and points system IS confusing, twisted and bizarre.
B. Because of its success the magnet program should be expanded and replicated because it improves student outcomes.
C. Because more candidates for the Magnet Program are turned down or waitlisted each year than there are applicants for charter schools in LA. (In the world of commerce this is called establishing need.)

I got my start bloviating on matters educational explaining the magnet process at my neighborhood school – and later at other schools and online. It became entertainment made into an art form by Sandra Tsing Loh and her Martinis & Magnets shows and her Ask a Magnet Yenta gig at The Times. A few years ago Sandra and I were invited in to Beaudry to consult on simplifying the application. We were, needless to say, totally unsuccessful. I think some fonts were changed but the arcana remained arcane and the confusion continues to this day.

Solving this stuff takes more than writing about it.

Thank you to all who dream of a better day …and then work towards it.

¡Onward/Hasta adelante! - smf


ANOTHER GROUP FILES APPLICATION TO RUN 30 ‘PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE’ CAMPUSES: Misses deadline, accepted anyway

Daily Breeze website from staff reports

11/24/2009 07:09:10 AM PST | A fourth group has applied to run Gardena and San Pedro high schools under a Los Angeles Unified School District reform initiative.

The Daily Breeze previously reported that three groups - the internal school community, United Teachers Los Angeles and Illinois-based education consultancy Synesi foundation - had applied to run both schools.

The fourth group, which was not included last week on an initial LAUSD list of applicants to the Public School Choice program, is Phoenix-based American Charter Schools Foundation.

Like UTLA and Synesi, American Charter Schools Foundation applied to run all 30 campuses available under the initiative.

A school district spokeswoman said the foundation was not originally reported as an applicant because it had submitted letters of intent to an incorrect e-mail address.



All the letters of intent from the applicants



LAUSD TO HALVE ITS LOCAL OFFICES: Even with closing local centers, deficit and thousands of layoffs still loom for coming year

By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer | LA Daily News

Updated: 11/24/2009 08:43:55 PM PST

In a concession to unions, Los Angeles Unified Schools chief Ramon Cortines said Tuesday he will eliminate half the number of local district offices he helped create a few years ago in a bid to reduce next year's deficit of nearly $500 million.

But Cortines said savings from the move will amount to just $12 million, and tougher cutbacks, including layoffs, will have to be made to balance the budget.

"There is no way to avoid cuts," Cortines said at a special budget meeting called to inform the school board about the district's worsening financial outlook.

"We have less state and federal money and fewer students ... the district has to adjust."

On Tuesday, district staff said LAUSD now faces a deficit of $495 million for the 2010-11 school year - up $15 million from earlier projections that included cost-of-living adjustments that the district now does not anticipate receiving from the state.

The eight local districts, including two in the San Fernando Valley, have been a major sticking point for a majority of LAUSD's employee unions. Union leaders complain too much money is wasted in these minibureaucracies and on their administrative staff positions.

Cortines, however, said cutting the local districts to four will only save him about $12 million - about 3 percent of the district's total deficit - and it will not prevent layoffs.

The elimination of all local district offices has been a long-standing request of United Teachers Los Angeles, the largest district employee union representing about 37,000 teachers and 4,000 counselors and social workers - a majority of LAUSD's employees.

UTLA president A.J. Duffy said he did not believe shutting down half of these offices would only save $12 million.

"We will have to look at exactly what offices are shut down, then we'll have to look at the properties they vacate and the personnel that leaves to figure out exactly how much is saved," Duffy said.

Set up in 2000 by Cortines, when he was acting superintendent for six months, the local district offices were created as a way to give schools, teachers, administrators and parents more support and access to LAUSD resources.

Currently the eight offices are spread across the city. With about 50 people per office, they oversee all aspects of instruction, operations and discipline of students and teachers at the district's more than 885 schools and preschools.

Valley offices scrutinized

In the San Fernando Valley there are two local district offices representing the eastern and western portions of the region. Under this plan it is likely that only one office will remain in the region.

"Things will be more impersonal and relationships will suffer at a time when the district wants more personalization," said Michelle King, local district superintendent for District 3, representing much of West Los Angeles.

King, who has been with the district for 25 years as a teacher, school administrator and now district administrator, said the addition of the local district offices nine years ago helped increase efficiency at schools since staff could go to one neighborhood office, rather than downtown headquarters to get answers and information. The office also gave parents more access to district personnel.

The move to shut down the offices comes just two weeks after Cortines gave all district employees an ultimatum to accept four furloughs days this year and a 12 percent pay cut next year or face layoffs of up to 8,500 employees.

Cortines asked that concessions be made by Dec. 8, before the district is required to submit its budget to the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

So far SEIU Local 99 - representing about 20,000 cafeteria workers, bus drivers and custodians - has agreed to the concessions, saving the district about $7.7 million this year.

Duffy said he is ready and willing to talk to Cortines about concessions, but he would not comment further.

"We choose to negotiate the way the law says we are supposed to - not in the media," Duffy said.

While most of the district's budget woes stem from the state's continued fiscal crisis, enrollment at LAUSD has also dropped to its lowest point in more than a decade.

Currently 51,000 students within LAUSD boundaries - or about 8 percent of the district's entire enrollment - attend charter schools. Independent charter schools traditionally do not hire LAUSD staff.

Meeting new deficit

Last year, when the district expected a budget shortfall of $258 million, it said it would balance that by increasing class sizes in kindergarten through third grade from 24:1 to 29:1. The district also said it would have to cut arts and music programs in half and reduce school nurses and cops.

To address the new deficit, that includes an estimated $50 million to $60 million this year, and a deficit of $495 million next year, Cortines said schools should budget cuts of between 10 to 20 percent in services.

Revenue generating opportunities are being looked at. Cortines said he expects to sell about 10 LAUSD owned properties this year - none located in the San Fernando Valley.


L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOL CHOICES ARE A CONFUSING MAZE: Fairs and websites try to help parents, but deciphering magnets, points and charters within the dist

by Howard Blume | L.A. Times

November 27, 2009 -- Pamela Krys, who moved to Woodland Hills a year ago, made a confession during a school fair this month at Sutter Middle School in Canoga Park.

"I don't understand the points," she said, referring to one aspect of the application process for magnet programs. "They don't do points in Florida."

Understanding the points system is just one of the complications surrounding school choice in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Although its "choices" website is improving, the school system provides no central location -- online or off -- to help parents manage all their options if they don't want their children to attend their neighborhood school.

Separate programs have different application forms, processes and deadlines. Nor does the district supply some key information, such as student test scores for most magnets. Budget cuts led to the cancellation of districtwide magnet fairs, although some regional administrators have staged smaller events.

The district's "choices" application brochure offers bare-bones magnet descriptions. It does, for example, classify a magnet as a police academy or a math-science-technology program but doesn't go into detail. It also includes how many students applied last year, along with the number of openings this year.

At the Venice High foreign language magnet, for example, 230 students applied last year and there are 145 openings this year.

Such figures offer imperfect insight in part because the openings and applications counts are not broken down by grade. There's also the factor of a student's race, because the magnet program, which began in the 1970s, remains an effort to promote voluntary integration.

The Venice magnet, like most, has a target enrollment of 30% white and 70% nonwhite. Based on recent history, white applicants for ninth grade are virtual shoo-ins because relatively few white families sign up, said magnet coordinator Darcey Wark.

Nonwhite students are likely to need about 12 "points" to avoid the waiting list, she added.

Points are collected several ways. If a family's neighborhood school is overcrowded, for example, the student gets four points. If that school serves an enrollment that is predominantly low-income minority, the student gets another four points. Applying to a magnet and not getting in earns four rejection points, which can be saved from year to year.

Some parents apply to overcrowded magnets hoping to get edged out, so they can accumulate rejection points for the future. (These points are lost when a student gets into a magnet and declines to attend.)

Families typically select a program with little knowledge about its performance. That's because many magnets are not stand-alone campuses, so student test scores are folded into those of the host school, even though the district has the data to break them out separately.

The Venice magnet does that on its own, proud to show off its proficiency rates of about 77% in English and 66% in math, which puts it firmly in the upper rank of high school programs, Wark said.

Magnet aspirants who end up on waiting lists need to line up other options but shouldn't necessarily give up. The Venice program typically offers admission to all wait-listed applicants before summer's end, she added.

Other than magnets, the application form in the choices brochure gives families the option to be bused out of overcrowded schools or to leave schools that have persistently failed to meet federal test-score targets. More than 300 of these "failing" schools are listed in the brochure, which also can be found at www.echoices.lausd .net.

The application brochure, due Dec. 18, is mailed to parents whose children are enrolled in traditional or magnet schools. Others, including those at charters, can obtain the applications from public libraries and traditional schools.

Charters are independently managed and free from some restrictions that govern traditional schools. The best place to find them is on a locater map on the website of the California Charter Schools Assn. In the choices brochure, charters are mentioned but specific schools are not listed.

Every charter school has its own application process and its own timetable for a lottery if too many students apply.

At the Sutter fair, district magnet coordinator Sara Lasnover said the complexities of the magnet system relate to its history as an integration program. She tried to explain the points system to parents and also gave out her phone number: (213) 241-4177.

Parent Krissie Flemming is leaning toward either Hale Middle School in Woodland Hills or the nearby Woodland Hills Academy. Many such neighborhood schools have accelerated programs, called schools for advanced studies, for high-achieving students like her fifth-grader Hunter, although they can vary widely in academic rigor.

Especially with overall enrollment down, schools are eager to open up available seats to willing students; that process will occur in April or May.

Parent Lisa Polydoros wasn't sure how charter schools work -- and no charter representative was on hand to clarify the matter.

"I've been in the system all my life," she said, "and it's still confusing."


Ask A Magnet Yenta: Top Five FAQs about the Magnet Program



BUDGET CUTS HIT BROAD SWATH OF CAL STATE: The effects are rippling through the university system, touching students, teachers and administrators alike
By Carla Rivera | LA Times

November 29, 2009 | Rochelle Corros is passionate when she speaks about her college major: Recreation and leisure studies is not just fun and games, she says with conviction. Graduates run city and state parks, recreation departments, hospital clinics, theaters and cruise lines. They help keep kids off the streets.

So the Cal State Dominguez Hills senior was floored by an August letter from administrators telling her that admissions to the program would be suspended and courses slashed as the campus grappled with steep budget reductions.

Corros, 25, had to scramble to replace one canceled class this fall and no longer knows if she will be able to complete her studies by next winter as planned.

"It's really stressful and really frustrating," she said. "Some college students may just want to get by, but others want to plan their education semester by semester and have an eye on a deadline. . . . Now I don't know if any of the classes I need are going to be offered."

Corros is hardly alone as she tries to plan for an uncertain future. These days, the California State University system -- the nation's largest with 23 campuses and 450,000 students -- seems like a ship unmoored. With its lifeline of state funding cut more than half a billion dollars this fiscal year, Cal State, along with other California schools, has been unable to avoid unprecedented student fee hikes, staff and faculty furloughs, and deep reductions in enrollment.

Many campuses are planning for historic program reductions that could greatly narrow academic options, alter the career plans of thousands of students and, ultimately, further harm California's shaky economy, experts say.

The Cal State cutbacks are not uniform. Each campus was allocated reductions based on various criteria, including enrollment. Allowances were made for smaller campuses and those with large proportions of financial aid students.

Among recent cost-saving measures across the university, Cal State Stanislaus is canceling its winter term and will move next year to a more traditional two-semester schedule. The school, in Turlock, near Modesto, cut 50 part-time faculty and 192 course offerings this fall; several hundred more classes will probably be eliminated in the spring.

Humboldt State closed its popular Natural History Museum. It was the only such museum in largely rural Humboldt County and attracted thousands of visitors annually. The campus is the county's second-largest employer; the economics department estimates that twice monthly staff and faculty furloughs have sapped the local economy of $8.6 million.

Administrators at Dominguez Hills closed the student newspaper and may eliminate some small academic programs, including music, art and Chicano studies.

The Cal State system often does not get the same attention as the University of California, but in the state's master plan for higher education, Cal State is the workhorse of undergraduate academics, producing 60% of public school bachelor's degrees, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

"It serves a more diverse population than UC; it's more representative," said Hans Johnson, an associate director at the institute. "It's very large, very important and a key component in producing our workforce."

California already faces a skills gap, with demand for educated workers outstripping supply. Cal State's cuts will only exacerbate the problem, Johnson said. The system reduced enrollment by 4,000 students in the fall and expects to cut 40,000 more in the next two years. The state will suffer from those decisions, he said.

The following student, faculty member and administrator are among those on the front lines:



Student's plight

Corros, of Lakewood, earned an associate's degree in liberal studies from Cypress College before transferring to Dominguez Hills last year. But for as long as she can remember, she has loved spending time with children, finding their energy and creativity an inspiration.

She worked in a program helping autistic children learn academic and play skills and decided that recreation studies would provide opportunities beyond the typical 9-to-5 desk job. It didn't matter to her that it wasn't a big program at the campus, unlike business, for example.

"When you think about recreation, you're not going to think high enrollment. But if you say it's not important to the world, that's wrong," she said.

At a meeting early in the school year, lower division recreation students were advised to consider changing majors because it was unclear which classes would be available, she said. She had just enough credits to continue.

The uncertainty has added to the usual college stress of tests, homework and squeezing in a social life. Corros, who says she was not serious about her studies in high school, is now vice president of the campus recreation club and has spoken about the plight of recreation students at a community forum. She also addressed a recent meeting of the Cal State Board of Trustees, urging them to save academic programs.

Corros receives financial aid, and her parents, who attended the forum, struggle to provide support. Part of her drive to get her degree on time is to find a job and begin helping them, she says.

"For my parents to actually see me . . . choose a major, go to classes and take things seriously, I'm quite proud of that," she said. "Now, this is happening."

Worried lecturer

As a precocious 6-year-old in Italy, Giulio Della Rocca earned the nickname "Prof" from his friends because he was the go-to guy for help with homework. Teaching has always been his dream.

When he earned a PhD in mathematics from UCLA, he thought he was prepared for a secure future. He's been a lecturer at Cal State Long Beach since 2001. But lately, when he hugs his young daughter, he wonders how he'll continue to be able to provide for her.

This fall, the university canceled one of his math classes, cutting his income by 20%. Like other faculty and staff, Della Rocca also must take two unpaid furlough days a month, lowering his pay 10% more. His mortgage and bills, he points out, did not drop commensurately.

"Now I have to get money from an equity line of credit or I literally wouldn't be able to pay all my bills and [would] be in jeopardy of losing my house," he said. "This is what the budget cuts are doing."

Della Rocca, 47, is trying to find outside income to fill the gaps, even asking a contractor friend about odd jobs, he said. His family tries to stretch their budget: They walk or use bicycles for errands. They forgo parties and movies and go to the beach for entertainment. They grow tomatoes, carrots, celery and cucumbers to save on grocery bills.

Della Rocca's math classes cover basic skills, and the cuts come at a time when the number of students needing such courses is rising, he said. His four remaining classes are full, and he turns no students away.

The furloughs have disrupted his life and those of his students, who are losing momentum and motivation with shifting class schedules, he said. Because classroom hours have been reduced, some topics can't be covered and students can't be tested on the material.

He tries to ease the effect on his students. "I usually do some work and increase the number of handouts for students so that even though they see me less, they continue to have work to do," he said.

Della Rocca said he also tries to be optimistic that the budget crisis will end quickly and the lost funding be restored. "I'm hopeful they will find a way."

A provost's angst

In his seventh-floor office with a view of the San Gabriel Mountains, Provost Marten L. denBoer is trying to close a $30-million budget shortfall at Cal Poly Pomona.

That will involve eliminating many programs, a process he says is like triage: Resources must be focused on programs that get the most bang for the buck, using criteria such as the number of students enrolled, the number of graduates, whether the program serves a unique function and its effectiveness in placing students into the workforce.

Engineering, for example, is a core part of the school's mission and is not threatened; nor is architecture, which is one of only two such programs in the Cal State system and is nationally recognized. But plenty of smaller programs, such as philosophy and history, may be on the chopping block.

These are the toughest, most wrenching decisions he will make in his academic career, said DenBoer, who came to Pomona last year. He said he wants consensus from faculty and deans on the cost-cutting measures, but knows the actions aren't likely to win him applause.

He said administrative functions will be reviewed and probably pared, but he rejects the argument that significant cuts can be made in that area. "The lights have to stay on, and someone has to maintain the computer system," he said. "These are people who work very hard and have to be properly compensated."

Cal Poly will not emerge undamaged, he said.

"Faculty express concerns about whether we are changing the nature of education at Cal Poly Pomona, and my honest answer is that it's going to be very difficult to reverse these changes," he said. "The people of California have made the decision that they don't want to invest in higher education as they have in the past. That means we will be a smaller university and will not be able to offer all the programs we've been offering."

Born in France to Dutch parents, DenBoer, 59, grew up mostly in Canada before earning a PhD in physics and serving in various academic posts at New York institutions, including associate provost in the City University system. While at Queens College, he had to consolidate academic programs during the financial crisis that followed the Sept. 11 attacks.

The economy and enrollments there eventually recovered. But he doesn't expect that Cal State will ever completely recoup its losses from this downturn.

He recalls the time, while training for the New York City Marathon, that he was struck by a car and spent three months in the hospital with a broken neck and legs so shattered that his doctors expected he would never walk again. He recovered, but the experience of helplessness and dependence led him to switch from research to more active academic roles.

Now DenBoer hopes that his legacy at Pomona will be one of helping keep the school alive.

"I think we're in a better position than some campuses because we have a pretty well-defined and supported mission," he said. "We'll survive and do well, but the future will not be the same."


Pleasa also see: A DOLLAR A WEEK PER RESIDENT COULD SAVE THE CALIFORNIA COLLEGE DREAM



HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
RETIRED LOS ANGELES TEACHER KEEPS AT IT. FOR FREE: The district balked at first, but now Bruce Kravets is back in the classroom by Steve Lopez, LA Times columnist... http://bit.ly/5YFDJA

L.A. UNIFIED SCHOOL CHOICES ARE A CONFUSING MAZE: Fairs and websites try to help parents, but deciphering magnets, ... http://bit.ly/6lWORN

A DOLLAR A WEEK PER RESIDENT COULD SAVE THE CALIFORNIA COLLEGE DREAM: By thomas d. elias | op ed in the Palo Alto D... http://bit.ly/8Ym5lS

BRIEFLY: Texas’ Catch 22 | Cal’s universities hard(er) to get into | Schools wait for H1N1 vaccine | Class size up... http://bit.ly/82ZN0C

No budget/No clue: CITY OF L.A.’s CREDIT DOWNGRADED: L.A. credit rating takes a hit in light of grim budget outlo... http://bit.ly/5QJI9n

MARKHAM MIDDLE SCHOOL ISN’T WORKING: The problem-plagued Watts school needs teachers, but state regulations and c... http://bit.ly/7USLcx

HEALING THE WORLD, ONE SCHOOL AT A TIME: By Rachel Heller | The Jewish Journal Emerson Middle School principal... http://bit.ly/8JCP8e

B U D G E T - LAUSD TO HALVE ITS LOCAL OFFICES: Even with closing local centers, deficit and thousands of layof.. http://bit.ly/8qYGZc

When a little transparency reveals a little too much: AALA & SUPERINTENDENT CORTINES’ FRIDAY THE 13th LETTER: F.. http://bit.ly/5zDdUI

SOME L.A. UNIFIED WORKERS AGREE TO FURLOUGHS / CORTINES IMPOSES HIRING, TRAVEL, FOOD FREEZE: Two SEIU units rep.. http://bit.ly/08y3DYC

ANOTHER GROUP FILES APPLICATION TO RUN 3o ‘PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE’ CAMPUSES: Misses deadline, accepted anyway: Da.. http://bit.ly/5dqGJz

NO UNIFORM SOLUTION: Uniforms make students look sharper and create a safer environment, but they can't raise a.. http://bit.ly/4sBe8L

LA SCHOOLS CHIEF ORDERS HIRING FREEZE: Ramon Cortinez (sic) also announced other expense cuts.: LAUSD Superinte.. http://bit.ly/5toOWb

CHOICES ROILING VALLEY SCHOOL: Competition causes apprehension at San Fernando campus.: By Connie Llanos, Staff.. http://bit.ly/087GxIl


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: 213-893-6800


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Nury.Martinez@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! • 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 Schwarzenegger: 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.


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




Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD. He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represents PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee and the BOC on the Board of Education Facilities Committee. He is an elected repreprentative on his neighborhood council. 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 a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT 2009 "WHO" Gold Award for his support of education and public schools - an honor 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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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Tying loose ends


4LAKids: Sunday 22•Nov•2009 ¡Thankfully Onward!
In This Issue:
U.C. ON THE BRINK: Another increase in 'fees' hits students hard, but the system itself may now be at risk.
GROUP CALLS FOR PILOT SCHOOL SYSTEM ON THE EASTSIDE
VETERAN SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS WIN BACK SENIORITY RIGHTS IN L.A. UNIFIED
STATE'S SCHOOL FUNDING PROCESS IS FAILING: The way California doles out money to K-12 education isn't merely inefficient and ineffective, it's insane.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
What can YOU do?


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"Education should be a priority for California and not "sold" off to the highest bidder like LAUSD is doing with charter schools."

The above quote came from an LA Times blog post from the student protests at UCLA over the tuition hikes; it was edited/updated-out of later postings. [http://bit.ly/2Or9rP]

Omar Khayyam tells us: "The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it."

Tying the fee hike to the LAUSD giveaway seems a cheap shot. It ties loose ends that may not belong together -- one can understand The Times' desire to cancel half a line; they oppose the tuition hikes (see UC ON THE BRINK, following) but support (for the most part) the giveaway …if only there was some more accountability!

But the ends do need to be tied.

The ongoing dismantling of the Master Plan for California Education, as pursued by the Regents in Covey Commons last week and the politicos in Sacramento for the past decades seems at first blush a worse offense than the giveaway of LAUSD — but in truth both are part+parcel of the same affront.

Both are elements of the "privatize-the-beast" strategy of disassembly-and-call-it-decentralization going on. In our rush to form Public-Private Partnerships to operate Public Education we have lost track not just of the budget but of the goals and the desired outcome.

That outcome isn't AYP or API or college readiness or 100% graduation; those are buzz word/catch phrase/sound bytes. The goal is lives of passion, purpose and meaning for the students of this district, now and into the future.

Current business modeling is focused on the bottom line and the short-term outcomes of the budget/election/business cycle; public education is a long term investment that only begins to pay off after twenty-plus years. As an overseer of the public's investment in school construction bonds - which have a term as long as thirty years - I think the public (i.e.: parents and voters and taxpayers) get this. Their elected representatives? Slow learners/left behind.

IT IS, AFTER ALL, PUBLIC EDUCATION; not "Privatized Education" or "Public-Private Partnership Education".

Probably our most conservative founding father, John Adams wrote: "The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it," …here Adams pauses, anticipating Bill Gates, Eli Broad and Steve Barr; "…not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." There is room and need, gentle readers, for philanthropy and partnership, but not at the expense of private control of public education.

We are struggling mightily to prepare our LAUSD students for post-secondary education; "College Ready" is our mantra --and the colleges and universities of the California system: Community Colleges, CSU and UC - are destinations of choice. However (it is always 'however…') it has become more and more clear that they are not ready for our kids. And that those programs are being priced beyond their grasp.

The regents seemed to get their public interest mission properly aligned on partnering with the MLK Hospital - it's too bad they missed the tuition+funding point entirely as trustees for a public university. Students are being asked to pay more and get less …and this is applying business practices in the public sector? Is this why a private university MBA is worth more in the job market than a public university one?

Public Education is a right even though it is enshrined nowhere in the National Archives. It is an evolving right - the K and the 9-through-12 part of K-12 are 20th century developments. Maybe the current developments in K-12 are evolutionary - already we are seeing a movement in Eastside of LA to create a zone-of-choice and pilot schools within the Public School Choice framework [GROUP CALLS FOR PILOT SCHOOL SYSTEM ON THE EASTSIDE]. But pilot schools and the Belmont Zone of Choice are Inside LAUSD models.

Let me reprise my argument made previously:
• We are obsessed with being Data Driven - yet seem to ignore the data as it applies to charter schools.
• LAUSD has more charter schools than anywhere else and little to show for it.
• The CREDO Stanford Study [http://bit.ly/YkG8o] and the NAEP data crunched by Diane Ravitch in her article cited below [OBAMA AND DUNCAN ARE WRONG ABOUT CHARTERS] tell us that charters aren't working.
• The Johns Hopkins data from Philadelphia [http://www.csos.jhu.edu/new/AERA_2006.pdf]- where charter operators took over underperforming neighborhood schools - tell us that those "EMO" schools underperform both charters and regular schools - and this is the Mayor's Partnership/Green Dot-at-Locke model that the Public School Choice Resolution attempts to replicate.

MEANWHILE it sorta seems like déjà vu and the Houston public schools special relationship with the Bush II administration: The Chicago Public Schools-US Department of Education tie-in is shaken as the President of the Chicago Board of Ed apparently commits suicide …and there may be some funny business between the Obama Administration, AmeriCorps and a charter school run by Sacramento mayor/NBA star Kevin Johnson … who just got engaged to DC schools superintendent Michelle Rhee. If Public Education is Tragedy and LAUSD is Farce, the goings-on in the US Dept of Ed approach Soap Opera: Bi-coastal Romance… Intrigue… Basketball.

¡Onward thankfully/Adelante gracias a Dios! - smf


U.C. ON THE BRINK: Another increase in 'fees' hits students hard, but the system itself may now be at risk.
L.A. Times Editorial

November 21, 2009 -- Sorry to say, the University of California Board of Regents took the easiest route possible out of its crushing financial dilemma Thursday by placing the burden squarely on the shoulders of students. We can't help wondering whether the regents understand that the nearly one-third increase in undergraduate tuition -- it's time to dispense with the euphemism of "fees" for UC students -- could prove the tipping point for the nation's greatest public university system, including its star campus, UC Berkeley, the top-ranked public university in the world.

UC is still cheap, relatively speaking, though its tuition is higher than average for public colleges. Even tuition of more than $10,000, which will start next year at UC, compares well with the $26,300 average at private universities and colleges. But that's more than twice what it was a decade ago, meaning it grew at four times the rate of inflation. And room and board at UC costs another $14,000 or so, about the same as at private schools.

UC has long drawn the best and brightest from all the socioeconomic strata in California, especially among the middle class, whose incomes were too high for financial aid at private universities. But private schools have pumped up their merit-based scholarships in recent years to attract top students. Once those awards are figured in, there's not much difference between UC and a private college except that UC also has been reducing class offerings to the point where students are finding it hard to get into courses they need. And as Times staff writer Larry Gordon reported, some private colleges already are using the cutbacks to recruit students away from the state's public universities.

A 32% higher price for bigger classes and less chance of a seat in desired courses won't sound like a bargain to many potential students. This isn't just a matter of easing up on families, many of whom face their own financial crises these days. UC's ability to draw top academic talent is at stake, and with that, its prestige. We all know that once prices are raised, they seldom reverse course, but the regents should not see this increase as a permanent UC entitlement. The board should consider this an emergency increase, to be lifted as soon as possible.

Some kind of fee increase was inevitable. The state's budget ax has fallen heavily on UC, and families had to expect to share some of the pain. But there were ways to soften the blow, including by greatly expanding plans to recruit and enroll more out-of-state students, who pay higher tuition, and brokering a deal with Sacramento to temporarily reduce overall enrollment without losing funding. Such measures would be easy to calibrate up or down as future needs demand, and they are more likely to be reversed in better times than the newly approved tuition increase.


GROUP CALLS FOR PILOT SCHOOL SYSTEM ON THE EASTSIDE
By Gloria Angelina Castillo, EGP Staff Writer [Eastside Sun / Northeast Sun / Mexican American Sun / Bell Gardens Sun / City Terrace Comet / Commerce Comet / Montebello Comet / Monterey Park Comet / ELA Brookyln Belvedere Comet / Wyvernwood Chronicle / Vernon Sun]

November 19, 2009 - Meeting near the fenced entrance to the new Esteban E. Torres High School in East Los Angeles, parents, students, organizers, educators and former Congressman Torres himself on Nov. 13 called on the community to embrace empowerment and expand Pilot Schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The Torres high school in unincorporated East Los Angeles is scheduled to open in September 2010. Some Eastside residents want it to be modeled after the Belmont Zone of Choice, Lizette Patron of InnerCity Struggle told EGP.

The group, in addition to InnerCity Struggle, included La Causa Youth Build, SEIU 99, Volunteers of East LA (VELA), and Father Rigoberto Rodriguez of Guadalupe Church. They say they want both Torres and Garfield high school campuses to become “East Los Angeles Education Empowerment Zones of Choice,” thereby allowing students and their parents the choose the school that better suits their aspirations, rather than district imposed attendance areas.

“This zone will give parents and students the choice to decide what school they would like to attend in East LA,” Maria Brenes, executive director of InnerCity Struggle, said. “This zone will give all students access to the classes they need to go to college. This zone will give parents, students and teachers a stronger voice in our schools.”

The Belmont Zone of Choice schools are proof that pilot schools work to improve academic achievement and they want the same for East LA, said Brenes.

Belmont Zone of Choice Schools are theme based college prep schools based on the Boston Pilot School Network. Some of the Belmont Zone of Choice Schools are: the Los Angeles High School of the Arts (LAHSA) on the Belmont campus, the Civitas School of Leadership (Civitas Sol) on the Roybal Learning Complex campus, the Academic Leadership Community High School (ALC) on the Miguel Contreras Learning Complex campus, and the Los Angeles Teacher Preparatory High School (LATP) on the Belmont campus.

Those present called for collaboration between LAUSD and the teachers’ union to make sure East LA gets pilot schools.

“We want to start a new tradition at Esteban E. Torres High School of academic excellence,” Brenes said.


A retired congressman and Garfield High School alum, Torres told the audience he supports the pilot system being implemented at the school named after him, and encouraged the crowd to continue fighting for change.

“This empowerment zone is key to bringing about a pilot school here and at other places still organizing themselves,” Torres said in Spanish. “But you, as parents, as teachers, and as students need to work together, unite to bring about this vision, because the programming and planning for this school is in your hands.”

In an editorial, published on Nov. 5 in EGP newspapers, Torres said he supports Empowerment Zones at eastside schools, because he remembers when California was known for having one of the best educational systems in the country. Today, they rank 50th. Making matters worse, in East LA only 45 percent of incoming freshmen graduate within four years, he said.

LAUSD School Board Vice President Yolie Flores Aguilar, who authored the Small School Resolution, also supports the effort.

“It [the educational model] should be what the community asks for and it should be what’s in the best interest of the students. If a pilot presents to this community the best educational model than that’s what they should have. But if a charter school presents to the parents and to the students what they believe will help them achieve and excel and go on to college and have a great career, than that should be the option. This is about creating more choices and more options for parents and not limiting for them what’s available to their children. Every parent wants the absolute best for their child so lets open up the world of possibilities, demand excellence, and have the community’s voice be part of the process,” Flores Aguilar told EGP.

She noted that just like LAUSD has failing and good schools, there are also charters that have failing and excelling schools.

“My hope is that we look past what the institution is and to what is going to be offered to students. To me, that’s the most important thing,” she said.

Alejandra Muñoz, who has a student at Griffith Middle School, said everyone should support the pilot schools.

“Our community dreams of having a new educational system that guarantees our children will graduate prepared for college and good jobs. An Educational Empowerment Zone for East Los Angeles offers new hope for the future of our children and our community, said Muñoz.

Muñoz said this is the first time parents and students are being given an opportunity to choose the school of their dreams.

The plan calls for five schools, each with less than 500 students, located on the Torres high school campus, as well as a series of small learning communities at Garfield.

María León, a local mother, said the pilot schools will help prepare students to go to college
.
“[We have to] work with the school district to move ahead. We already see that traditional schools aren’t working, and we want to work with those schools to improve them, … said León.




en Español: Grupo Quiere Nueva Tradición de Rendimiento Excelente, Comenzando con la Nueva Preparatoria Torres



VETERAN SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS WIN BACK SENIORITY RIGHTS IN L.A. UNIFIED
by Howard Blume | LA Times Online

November 19, 2009 | 8:41 am -- Veteran substitute teachers in Los Angeles will get more work and a shot at keeping their health benefits after the teachers union approved an agreement restoring their seniority rights.

The agreement approved Wednesday night puts back in place a system that gives the most experienced substitutes the first shot at jobs when regular teachers call in sick within the Los Angeles Unified School District. That traditional system had been altered in June under a one-year pact between district officials and A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, the district’s teachers union.

That pact gave priority in substitute assignments to former full-time teachers who had been laid off July 1 because of budget cuts. About 1,800 laid-off teachers signed on as substitutes; the district uses about 2,200 substitutes per day. The specifics of the deal, which came to light two months later, caused immediate outrage among veteran substitutes and also among many full-time teachers. They said they objected both to the treatment of their part-time colleagues and to the idea that seniority rights could be so easily and quickly abrogated.

Duffy insisted that he signed the June pact to benefit district students. The laid-off teachers would have incentive to remain with L.A. Unified as substitutes, he said, stabilizing school staffs that were subject to massive turnover because of the layoffs. But Duffy also said he would abide by the decision of the union if it wished to restore seniority.

When UTLA’s governing House of Representatives did just that in October, Duffy asked the school district to reopen negotiations. After some initial resistance, the district agreed to tear up the June deal. And last night, the union’s House of Representatives overwhelmingly ratified the restoration of seniority.

The laid-off teachers are still likely to get work because full-time teachers can request any substitute by name. The veteran substitutes now hope there’s enough time and opportunity for them to work at least 100 days this year -- that’s the minimum required to earn health benefits.

Overall work opportunities are down for a number of reasons: the larger pool of substitutes, larger class sizes (and thus fewer classes), fewer year-round schools and shrinking enrollment.

For now, at least, the veteran substitutes are celebrating.

“This is a landmark decision,” substitute Audrey Linden wrote in an e-mail. “A handful of substitutes, since the end of August, worked diligently without ceasing and we got back the rights for all the substitute teachers.” She added: “I will not complain about being woken up at 5:30 a.m. ever again.”


STATE'S SCHOOL FUNDING PROCESS IS FAILING: The way California doles out money to K-12 education isn't merely inefficient and ineffective, it's insane.
By Michael Hiltzik | LA Times Finance Columnist

November 19, 2009 - Anyone who has spent time in or around government, from the deeply embedded bureaucrat to the young policy wonk, knows that there are two important issues in funding a public program.

One, is it getting enough money? Two, is the money being spent wisely?

On both counts, California's method of financing its schools gets a big fat F. On a per-pupil basis, our schools are among the most poorly funded in the country, and no one can be sure that the money they do get serves its purpose.

Ask those who have devoted time to examining the system: The way this state doles out money to K-12 education isn't merely inefficient and ineffective, it's insane.

This is the standard opinion of economists, education experts and business leaders. Eric Hanushek, an economist at the conservative Hoover Institution, told me he finds the system "just crazy." UC Davis education professor Thomas Timar calls it "completely disconnected from reality."

The system is so infested with complexities, state mandates and unaccountability that Ted Mitchell, president of the state Board of Education and former president of Occidental College, says that "it's remarkable that school administrators can open the doors of their schools on a daily basis."

We treat this problem lightly at our peril. California's economic future depends on the effectiveness of its schools. Corporate managers whine constantly about the declining qualifications of young people seeking jobs.

Hanushek says he has personally warned Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger that "if California is going to continue to be a hotbed of innovations and entrepreneurship, it's going to do it with people it imports from other states and other countries, because our schools aren't up to maintaining the level of innovation we need."

Adding to the urgency, California's education policies are so dysfunctional that the state risks being entirely shut out in the competition for

$4.35 billion in federal grants to stimulate innovation in education, so-called Race to the Top funds to be handed out early next year.

Although the state funding system is byzantine, explaining how we got here is pretty simple. The first step was a pair of state Supreme Court decisions in the 1970s Serrano vs. Priest case, which required the state to reduce disparities in education funding between rich and poor school districts. Then came 1978's Proposition 13, which cut the guts out of the property tax, the source of 60% of school funding at that time.

In response to these events, the state largely took over responsibility for school funding from local authorities. Pre-Serrano and Proposition 13, the state provided 34% of K-12 funding, Timar says. Today it's 67%.

The real problem is that the Legislature dictates how 40% of that state share can be spent -- it's "restricted," in educational parlance. By some estimates there are more than 130 separate state mandates, including requirements for teacher training, special education and programs for non-English-speaking pupils. Restricted funds pay for the class-size reductions ordered, during a fiscal surplus, by Gov. Pete Wilson. The state earmarks funds for districts to spend on textbooks, but only on textbooks approved by the state.

Not all of this is bad. Some mandates have broad support from districts, teachers and parents. And district administrators appreciate how earmarking funds rather than providing them as block grants keeps them from being entirely consumed by teacher salary increases in union contract talks.

Yet the Legislature's tendency to promulgate one-size-fits-all policies puts local administrators in an intolerable position.

"There are a thousand different school districts in California, one with 700,000 students [Los Angeles, actually with 688,000] and 50 with fewer than 100 students," Hanushek observes. No one could fashion a regulatory scheme applying equally well to each, he says.

Moreover, the system holds local schools hostage to the state's roller-coaster fiscal cycle and chuckleheaded budget policies in Sacramento.

Consider what happened after Schwarzenegger slashed the car tax in 2003. That money (this year it would have been more than $6 billion) had been going to cities and counties. In the aftermath of the cutback, the state made the localities whole by handing over to them property taxes that had been going to school districts, then covered the districts' loss from the general fund -- which made it look like the state was giving the schools more money.

Can you follow this? Me neither. "This is the only state where a tax cut shows up as increased spending for schools in the state budget," says Rick Pratt, a finance expert at the California School Boards Assn.

Possibly the most baleful effect of this system is that it destroys local communities' interest in their own schools.

"It's pretty clear that participation in school board elections has decreased, because people feel they don't have a stake in the game anymore," Mitchell says. "That's even true of people with kids in the school district."

Where does our "pro-education governor" stand on all this? Schwarzenegger's most recent initiative on school policy came Oct. 12. That day he vetoed a measure creating a panel to draft a finance reform bill, dismissing it, nastily, as "yet another working group" providing "the appearance of activity without actually translating to achievement." (Does anyone know more about that style of governing than Schwarzenegger?)

The governor's veto message did touch on one inescapable fact: The state's school-financing process has been studied nearly to death. From 1999 to 2002, five separate study commissions proposed master plans to improve the administration of public education. In April 2005 Schwarzenegger impaneled the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence, proclaiming that "there is no issue more important to me." The panel, which Mitchell chaired, helped launch an 18-month survey of state education policies titled "Getting Down to Facts."

The panel proposed in 2007 to streamline mandates, give local administrators more flexibility in spending to go with their accountability for results (today the state controls the money but the locals are on the hook for performance) and delink the school funding process from the annual budget cabaret in Sacramento. But its program was "DOA" in the Legislature, Mitchell says, because additional spending was needed for a transition to a new funding and governance system, and the state budget was in the red.

The bill vetoed by Schwarzenegger was designed to move the reform process again off square one by creating "a final bill," says its sponsor, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley (D-Santa Monica).

"For years we've said this is a problem, and for years the governor and the Legislature haven't done anything about it," she told me.

The need is desperate. Californians don't understand how badly our schools are shortchanged, because it's impossible to track the education dollar and determine whether it's being spent effectively. If we had a more rational and transparent funding process, we'd see not only where our money should go to get the biggest bang for the buck, but also how much more we need to invest to get the world-class education system we deserve.


HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
CELLPHONES IN SCHOOLS: FLIP 'EM OPEN: EdWeek Commentary By Matt Levinson Published Online: November 20, 2009 | .. http://bit.ly/08iBTlH

Hiltzik on WWLA/KCRW: CALIFORNIA SCHOOL FUNDING SYSTEM 'RIDICULOUSLY COMPLEX': LA Times LA Now Blog | November .. http://bit.ly/08BtU2F

wsj: THE EDSEL OF EDUCATION REFORM - The Ford Foundation finds a needy cause: teachers unions.: Wall Street Jou.. http://bit.ly/07AcfL0

No budget/No clue: RED INK IN THE GOLDEN STATE: Letters to the LA Times 11/20 Re “State facin.. http://bit.ly/08pPSo3

REPUBLICANS CRITICIZE DISMISSAL OF AMERICORPS WATCHDOG: A GOP report contends that the Obama White House was po.. http://bit.ly/3ywp1Q

BRIEFLY: Education Headlines from L.A. Now: UCLA students end a day of protest over fee hikes 11/19/2009, 8:14 .. http://bit.ly/2XvnkF

PARCELING PAIN: The ghost of proposed parcel tax returns to haunt L.A. homeowners: LA Daily News Editorial 20 N.. http://bit.ly/1v9HVc

GROUP CALLS FOR PILOT SCHOOL SYSTEM ON THE EASTSIDE: Grupo Quiere Nueva Tradición de Rendimiento Excelente, Com.. http://bit.ly/2IqHpY

Headlines that say it all: MIAMI-DADE SCHOOL BOARD BANS SCHOOL BUS DRIVERS FROM TEXTING WHILE DRIVING: …just li.. http://bit.ly/4e3poS

THE PLAYERS ARE REVEALED FOR REFORMING SAN FERNANDO MIDDLE SCHOOL: Written by Diana Martinez, Editor | San Fern.. http://bit.ly/383GIm

ADVOCATING PUBLIC EDUCATION ROUNDUP: from the solidaridad blog by Robert D. Skeels Monday, November 16, 2009 --.. http://bit.ly/3fHXzu

THE CALIFORNIA MODEL …as seen by the students of Arizona State University: By: Editorial Board of The State Pre.. http://bit.ly/2Vqhlu

No budget/No clue: CALIFORNIA FACES A PROJECTED DEFICIT OF $21 BILLION: "Less than four month.. http://bit.ly/YeAat

STUDENTS STORM UCLA BUILDING TO PROTEST FEE HIKE "Education should be a priority for California and not 'sold' .. http://bit.ly/2Or9rP

VETERAN SUBSTITUTE TEACHERS WIN BACK SENIORITY RIGHTS IN L.A. UNIFIED: by Howard Blume | LA Times Online Novemb.. http://bit.ly/39lW46

STATE'S SCHOOL FUNDING PROCESS IS FAILING: "The way this state doles out money to K-12 education isn't merely i.. http://bit.ly/3pHUui

CAL STATE TRUSTEES APPROVE BUDGET; SEEK $884 MILLION IN SUPPORT. PROTESTERS RALLY OUTSIDE LONG BEACH HEADQUARTE.. http://bit.ly/2dENd0

COMMUNITY COLLEGES TO GET BACK TO BASICS: KCBS’ (SF Bay Area) Barbara Taylor Reports: 18 Nov 2009 -- SAN FRAN.. http://bit.ly/22al9T

UC EXPECTED TO RAISE STUDENT FEES 32%: Regents are expected to approve yet another increase, arguing it's neede.. http://bit.ly/m4P83

CTA WEIGHS BALLOT MEASURES TARGETING BIG BUSINESS TO FUND SCHOOLS: CapitolAlert -The latest on California polit.. http://bit.ly/2LY3Zm

31st CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT STUDENT ART COMPETITION: Nicolas Rodriquez writes 4LAKids 2009 Winner Joshua Fraust.. http://bit.ly/2AU1Mb

SUPERINTENDENT’S BOARD INFORMATIVE RE LETTERS OF INTENT RE PUBLIC SCHOOL CHOICE - 17 Nov 2009: Psc Letters of I.. http://bit.ly/3COxzN

Briefly: CHICAGO SCHOOL BOARD PRESIDENT COMMITS SUICIDE: By EMMA GRAVES FITZSIMMONS | NY Times Michael W. Scott.. http://bit.ly/2rHg1G

OBAMA AND DUNCAN ARE WRONG ABOUT CHARTERS: from Bridging Differences in Ed Week By Diane Ravitch on November .. http://bit.ly/204z3G

FUNDING CUTS MAY LEAVE GIFTED KIDS BEHIND: By Cheri Carlson | Ventura County Star Photo by Juan Carlo - Fifth-.. http://bit.ly/2kIdqa

NEW CELL TOWER NEAR TAPER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL DRAWS FIRE: San Pedro parents, residents join officials to protest .. http://bit.ly/47pPf9

CORTINES NOV 13 LETTER: “Dear LAUSD Union Presidents . . .”: Friday the Thirteenth, Be afraid, be very afraid http://bit.ly/318rhu

Ed Coalition: PARENTS, STUDENTS, EDUCATORS, SCHOOL EMPLOYEES AND OTHERS STAND UP FOR CALIFORNIA’S SCHOOLS DURIN.. http://bit.ly/4CHdoF

Public School Choice - CORTINES TO CHOOSE BETWEEN MAYOR TONY AND UTLA: He used to work for one, he’s in contrac.. http://bit.ly/2GtdLP

The ‘09-‘10 Contract: UTLA SAYS “NO WAY”: Teachers Say LAUSD's "Terror Tactics" Won't Work - Superintendent: "T.. http://bit.ly/1xoAlx

MELODY ROSS (1993 – 2009) ‘What if you knew her and found her dead on the ground?’: In her profile on the murde.. http://bit.ly/1ImQRW

TWO WORLDS ON ONE CAMPUS: The adversarial aura remains as students at Daniel Pearl journalism magnet high schoo.. http://bit.ly/1mvwr8

YOU WONDER WHERE THE MONEY WENT WHEN LAUSD DOESN’T SPEND IT WHERE IT’S MEANT: Stuart Goldurs, LA Public Educati.. http://bit.ly/v0vB1

SCHOOLS GRAPPLE WITH SUBGROUPS AND STANDARDIZED TESTING:: 11/13/2009, 11:23 pm Melissa Garzanelli, The Times (O.. http://bit.ly/1rrPjf

MOST KIDS LEFT BEHIND + FEDERAL RESEARCHERS FIND LOWER STANDARDS IN SCHOOLS: New evidence shows that the Bush a.. http://bit.ly/3ITCSX

CORTINES: MORE LAUSD CUTS NEEDED: City News Service Saturday, November 14, 2009 -- LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- Los Ang.. http://bit.ly/488gjl


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: 213-893-6800


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382
Nury.Martinez@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! • 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 Schwarzenegger: 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.


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




Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD. He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represents PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee and the BOC on the Board of Education Facilities Committee. He is an elected repreprentative on his neighborhood council. 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 a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT 2009 "WHO" Gold Award for his support of education and public schools - an honor 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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