Monday, June 14, 2010

…the timing of the announcement being more than mildly interesting.


4LAKids: Sunday 13•June•2010
In This Issue:
ANGELA BASS: OFFICIAL LEAVES MAYOR'S PARTNERSHIP and additional coverage + smf's 2¢
BLACK STUDENTS ADDED TO DISCRIMINATION PROBE AT L.A. UNIFIED
IVY ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL IN VALLEY SLAPPED WITH 38 FRAUD COUNTS INCLUDING MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS, EMBEZZLEMENT & MONEY LAUNDERING
RULING ON TEACHER LAYOFFS A BEACON OF EQUITY FOR KIDS
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?


Featured Links:
4 LAKids on Twitter
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.
IN CANADA - where I have been attempting to vacation, if you show up half-an-hour before they open the museum they invite you in, apologize for not being open, and give you a comfy seat.

CANADIAN PUBLIC EDUCATION faces many of the challenges we face - and some different ones.
• The British Columbia provincial Board of Ed is not on speaking terms with the provincial premier - over school finance, budget and cuts.
• The Ontario teachers' union is mad at a teachers college for giving an honorary degree to a politician who cut education funding - threatening to not recognize that college's graduates or students for jobs.
• The selfsame union is under fire for dis-investing in Canadian firms by its pension fund.
• Many businesses won't take Visa, just MasterCard.
• Canadians put gravy and cheese curds on French fries. It's actually quite tasty; but would you like some deep-fried carbohydrates with your saturated fat? (OK: we DO have chili cheese fries!)
• There is also always little containers of peanut butter along with the jam and jelly on every diner and coffee shop table and countertop.
• Canadians too have super-graphics and digital billboards.
• It's pretty much expected - but nonetheless reported -- that boys will be boys and that politicians will misbehave.
• Fox News North is coming! (I'm drafting letters of apology to all Canadians now)

WHAT DID THE ELECTION LAST WEEK MEAN?

THE FAILURE OF MEASURE E WAS FOREGONE. No one took point - not the superintendent, not the school board, not the mayor ...it was a half-hearted attempt at a half-way measure.

That E got half the vote -- despite the lack of effort and the absence of campaign promises to hold-the-line on class size and no "will"guarantees - just mealy-mouthed "can" support for arts & music and school libraries - or teachers' jobs for that matter -- is amazing Electoral Politics 101: Tell the voters what you will do, not what you might do!

The unfortunate selection of the Enron-esqe lazy E logo and the timing of Yolie Flores departure couldn't have helped. 4LAKids doesn't always agree with her... but Yolie's the closest thing to a visionary on this school board!

The first BB Bond election (BB required and received a 2/3rds vote - all subsequent LAUSD bond votes also got a 2/3rds vote) showed that the voters wanted accountability and independent oversight. This board - none of whom were around in those days - chose to ignore that lesson; in so doing they failed that test. When Roy Romer was superintendent he was the messenger+cheerleader for the bond elections, a spokesman and go-to-leader. -- those roles were unfilled last Tuesday.

This may be a stretch and it may not be: Just perhaps the lack of popular support for the parcel tax by the voters of L.A. was a repudiation of the current leadership and rudderless direction - and the Reform-of-the-Month Club - at LAUSD.

MORE ON YOLIE: The Daily News Editorial Board makes the case that LAUSD needs another Yolie Flores | http://bit.ly/d2459l.

With all due respect to Yolie and the DN -- perhaps LAUSD needs not another Yolie but more like her - sufficient visionaries to build consensus on the board and within the bureaucracy and among the powers-that-be because of the clarity of their vision and the truth of the their argument - what Leonard Cohen calls 'the beauty of their weapons'. And with the time and patience to see their vision through. Not propelled or limited by the purse-strings-and-vision-of-others like the mayor and the Gates' -- but driven by a realistic commitment to what's really best for kids and parents and the community. The quotes may not have originated with Robert Kennedy, but they were words he said anew: "Some men see things as they are and ask 'Why?'. I dream things that never were and ask "Why not?'" and '"If not us, who? If not now, when?"

THE OUTCOME OF THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION RACE - with Larry Aceves getting the most votes, with Tom Torlakson finishing second and Gloria Romero unexpectedly finishing third is extremely interesting - and challenging to the political conventional wisdom.

Pundits (including this one) predicted politicians Romero and Torlakson, heavily funded by the Silicon Valley billionaire pro-charter community and the teachers' unions respectively - would win to face each other in the run-off -- with Romero - an experienced candidate who positioned herself as the front-runner and avoided many of the debates - possibly taking it all in the primary. Instead the dark horse Aceves, a professional educator and former school superintendent - who's never run for office, supported-by but nowhere-near-as-well-funded by the administrators' union, will face Torlakson ...with the charter folks out of the race.
Does this mean that some races cannot be bought?
That the ascendency of charter schools is over?
....or the ascendancy of professional politicians in education is over?
.... or that we will now see a battle royal between administrators and teachers? (Please, not!)
It sure enough means that conventional wisdom isn't!

Stay tuned, this may be good!

¡Onward/Adelante! - smf


ANGELA BASS: OFFICIAL LEAVES MAYOR'S PARTNERSHIP and additional coverage + smf's 2¢
Jason Song | L.A. Times L.A. Now blog

June 9, 2010 | 6:29 pm -- The administrator in charge of instruction for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's educational organization is leaving to take a similar position in San Diego, officials announced Wednesday.

Angela Bass had served as superintendent of instruction for the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools for almost two years. She oversaw increased testing of gifted children and put greater emphasis on teacher evaluations at the nonprofit's 12 schools.

She will become one of eight area superintendents for San Diego Unified, the state's second largest school system. Before coming to the Partnership, Bass had been a teacher and administrator for more than 25 years with San Diego Unified, which is currently searching for a new head superintendent.

"I wish Angela all the best and thank her for her generous contributions toward improving the lives of children," Villaraigosa said in a statement.


TEACHABLE MOMENTS: MORE BACKGROUND ON SD UNIFIED’S NEW AREA SUPERINTENDENTS

By Marsha Sutton, San Diego News Network SDNN.com [this article has been edited for 4LAKids - entire story at http://bit.ly/at2kCK]


Sunday, June 13, 2010 -- Angela Bass, a former San Diego Unified School District Instructional Leader, was named on June 8 to be SDUSD’s new Area Superintendent for Area 5, the cluster that includes Mira Mesa and Scripps Ranch high schools, and their feeder schools.

Bass had applied for the position of Superintendent of San Diego Unified, but apparently was passed over for the top job and has accepted instead the Area Superintendent position reporting to an un-named Deputy Superintendent.

● Angela Bass’s cover letter for the submission of her application to the position of superintendent of the San Diego Unified School District. | http://bit.ly/aLSoqP

With 32 years in education, 25 of them in San Diego schools, Bass will return to San Diego after serving nearly two years as Superintendent of Instruction for the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. As head of the Partnership, she met with approval and success leading an effort to transform 15 traditionally under-performing schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. The Partnership schools are 91 percent Latino and 9 percent African-American, with 95 percent of students qualifying for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program, an indicator of poverty.

“During my tenure as the Partnership’s board chairperson, Angela distinguished herself as the Superintendent of Instruction,” wrote Carolyn Webb de Macias, immediate past president of the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, in her letter of recommendation for Bass to the San Diego search committee. “Due to Angela’s visionary leadership and management, the Partnership immediately focused on improving the quality of instruction as the critical path to increasing student achievement.” She also touted Bass’s ability to work collaboratively with numerous stakeholder groups, including the teachers’ union.

● Carolyn Webb de Macias’s letter of recommendation for Bass. | http://bit.ly/aiYqE4

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former SDUSD superintendent Tom Payzant also wrote letters of recommendation on Bass’s behalf, both expressing the opinion that Bass would be an excellent choice for SDUSD superintendent.

Villaraigosa wrote that Bass’s “visionary instructional leadership” has been pivotal in changing some of LAUSD’s key instructional practices and recommended her for the job “without any reservations.”

● Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s letter of recommendation for Bass. | http://bit.ly/cpCbfu

Payzant, who served as SDUSD superintendent from 1982 to 1993, called Bass “a skilled, collaborative leader.”

● Tom Payzant’s letter of recommendation for Bass. | http://bit.ly/dl7XEt

The Board of Education for San Diego Unified, currently led by Interim Superintendent Bill Kowba, formed a superintendent search selection committee several months ago, to solicit and review the resumes of candidates. But just last month, without a permanent superintendent in place, the district announced [http://bit.ly/dc6xvE ] a restructuring of its organization into eight separate areas to be managed by eight Area Superintendents. And last week the district identified the names of the people chosen to fill those slots, the timing of the announcement being more than mildly interesting.

The district is expected to name three finalists for superintendent this week. Kowba is expected to be one of the three; Bass is not.

Read more: http://bit.ly/at2kCK

●●smf's 2¢:

* 'She oversaw increased testing of gifted children….' Testing of gifted children drives the overall test results up; it improves nothing other than the scores themselves.
* Angela Bass has been a decidedly low profile figure in the Mayor's Partnership. While nominally the Superintendent of Instruction she has played third fiddle to Mayor Tony and CEO Marshall Tuck - neither of whom have education cred or credentials.
* Dr. Bass applied for the job of San Diego Superintendent; the glowing letters recommend her for that post. She has accepted the lesser post of Area Superintendent in San Diego Unified - 'reporting to an un-named Deputy Superintendent'.
* Dr. Bass technically never left San Diego Unified. When she came to the Mayor's Partnership, she was "on loan" to the PLAS - with the Partnership reimbursing SDUSD for her salary and benefits to keep her benefits package and seniority current. "Like a dog without a bone, an actor out on loan, riders on the storm" - Jim Morrison/The Doors.

As the article above says: '…the timing of the announcement being more than mildly interesting'. The lines here are widely spaced, there's plenty of room to read between them. There is an obvious shake-up ongoing at the top at PLAS - President Carolyn Webb de Macias has left PLAS for DC, now Angela Bass is headed back to San Diego. Rats on the sinking ship? …or rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic? You choose.


BLACK STUDENTS ADDED TO DISCRIMINATION PROBE AT L.A. UNIFIED
By Howard Blume – L.A. Times L.A. Now blog

June 12, 2010 | 6:34 pm -- Under pressure from local community leaders, the federal Office for Civil Rights will look at whether low academic achievement of African American students results from discrimination -- intentional or not -- by the Los Angeles Unified School District.

The probe, disclosed in a recent letter to community groups, expands an ongoing investigation into services provided to students who are learning English.

Black community leaders hailed the news at a Saturday community forum at the Southside Bethel Baptist Church in the Green Meadows neighborhood of South Los Angeles. But participants also said they were disappointed that their calls for an investigation took so long to bear fruit.

“To initially focus on one group and exclude others could have been divisive and counterproductive to overall reform,” the Rev. Eric P. Lee said prior to the forum.

“It is unfortunate that it required the civil rights community to demand from the Department of Education that children be provided educational equality,” added Lee, who is president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Los Angeles.

Officials with the federal agency said in March that they would focus on English learners at L.A. Unified because the district has about 220,000 -- more than any other school system in the country. English learners, most of them Latino, make up a third of students in the nation’s second-largest school system. Black students make up 10.8% of enrollment.

Federal officials said they are pursuing potential discrimination concerns involving black students in other regions of the country. They added that evaluating programs for English learners should benefit all underserved students, especially the many black students who do not speak standard English.

Black community leaders were not satisfied. L.A. Unified enrolls more than 70,000 African American students, far more than any other school system in the state. And civil rights leaders have argued that black children never achieved the equality promised by integration and other past reform efforts.

“The message being sent to Los Angeles’ African American community is that the devastation to black students being caused by the failure of public education is of little consequence to you or your department,” a coalition of black leaders wrote in a May 21 letter to the federal Department of Education.

As part of the original review, federal analysts have been examining how English learners are identified and when they are judged fluent enough to handle regular course work. They're also looking at whether English learners have qualified, appropriately trained teachers, and at how teachers make math and science understandable for students with limited English.

The expanded inquiry will compare five largely black elementary schools in Carson, View Park and Hawthorne with five largely white elementary schools in Bel-Air, Tarzana, Studio City and Encino.


“Our administration is committed to responding to communities and the civil rights issues they confront for all students,” Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights, wrote in her letter to community leaders.

Federal officials have stressed that poor academic results do not, by themselves, prove discrimination. But discrimination does not have to be intentional to be subject to federal remedies and sanctions, they said.

Participants in the Saturday forum included Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles); Blair Taylor, president of the Los Angeles Urban League; and Leon Jenkins, president of the Los Angeles branch of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People.

●● smf's 2¢: Mission Creep - "We're from the government, we're here to help" meets L.A., the city where the melting pot never really melts.

And the supposedly benign first part of a national investigation of how English Language Learners are taught in the United States - with a particular focus on LAUSD Local Districts 1 and 6 - becomes "a discrimination probe at LAUSD" comparing five largely black elementary schools in Carson, View Park and Hawthorne with five largely white elementary schools in Bel-Air, Tarzana, Studio City and Encino.

Hopefully the investigation will show how ineffectual Title One expenditure has been at the predominantly black Title One schools compared with the non-Title One white schools. And hopefully the investigators will detect that this is national problem neither exclusive to LAUSD nor to predominately black schools.


IVY ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL IN VALLEY SLAPPED WITH 38 FRAUD COUNTS INCLUDING MISUSE OF PUBLIC FUNDS, EMBEZZLEMENT & MONEY LAUNDERING

By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer | LA DAILY NEWS

06/10/2010 09:15:02 PM PDT - A husband-and-wife team that run a high-performing West Valley charter school were charged Thursday with 38 criminal counts alleging misuse of public funds, embezzling, money laundering and other crimes.

The Los Angeles District Attorney's Public Integrity Division alleges that Eugene Selivanov, 38, and his wife, Tatyana Berkovich, 32, who operate Ivy Academia Charter School, misused the school's public funds, at times shifting them to a private school the couple operates and at other times putting them to "personal use."

Ivy Academia Charter School is publicly funded and serves 1,100 students on four campuses in Woodland Hills, Winnetka, West Hills and Chatsworth from kindergarten to 12th grade.

The couple was charged with felony and misdemeanor crimes in connection with alleged thefts of more than $200,000, officials from the District Attorney's Office said. The Los Angeles Superior Court complaint details instances when Selivanov transferred public funds to for-profit companies and also used public funds to pay unrelated bills, such as credit cards.

The charges also included conflict of interest, filing false tax returns and misappropriation of public funds.

The couple's attorney, Janet Levine, a partner at Crowell and Morning LLP, said they are "innocent of all charges."

"Eugene (Selivanov) and Tatyana (Berkovich) are educators and innovators, not criminals, and are confident that any fair and complete review of the facts will show that they acted honorably, ethically, and legally in administering Ivy," Levine said in a written statement.

The charges are the culmination of an investigation launched by the district attorney in 2008.

Officials at the charter school division of the Los Angeles Unified School District declined comment.

The complaint says the charges were prompted by a 2007 audit by the LAUSD's Office of Inspector General.

That report criticized some of the school's financial practices, raising concern about comingling funds between the nonprofit charter and for-profit groups affiliated with the organization.

The investigation followed accusations from former teachers and parents at Ivy who said the school was padding its attendance figures to boost state funding.

The school's state standardized test scores have placed it in the top tier of schools in LAUSD and the state since the school opened in 2004.

The school's charter was also re-authorized by the district in 2008, for a five-year term.

An arraignment for Selivanov and Berkovich is scheduled today in Los Angeles Superior Court. If convicted, Selivanov could face a maximum sentence of 14 years in state prison and Berkovitch faces up to nine years.

additional coverage:

Charter school charged with embezzling over $200K

San Jose Mercury News - ‎http://bit.ly/cY8kjV‎

AP LOS ANGELES—Administrators of a San Fernando Valley charter school have been charged with embezzling more than $200000 in public funds and other crimes. ...

Valley charter school operators charged with embezzling $200K

89.3 KPCC - ‎http://bit.ly/bM73Jd

The operators of a San Fernando Valley charter school were charged today with embezzlement of public funds in the alleged theft of more than $200000. ...

●●smf: Was the LA Times ‘scooped’ on this story? …are they so supportive of charter schools that this ihttp://bit.ly/aAGFvH] s a ‘non-story’? …or is the rescue from a ferris wheel[ really a better story because it has ‘Hollywood High’ in the headline?


RULING ON TEACHER LAYOFFS A BEACON OF EQUITY FOR KIDS
Op- Ed in the Sacramento Bee by Darrell Steinberg | Sen. Steinberg is president pro tempore of the California Senate.

Sunday, Jun. 13, 2010 - Last month, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge struck a major victory for civil rights by interpreting a section of the voluminous California Education Code to be about what's best for schoolchildren.

Imagine that.

In response to a lawsuit filed by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union and Public Counsel, Judge William Highberger enjoined the Los Angeles Unified School District from laying off wildly disproportionate numbers of teachers at three middle schools. Because of state law generally requiring districts to lay off their least senior teachers first, these three schools, with mostly junior teachers, faced losses of as much as 60 percent of their faculty, compared to 15 percent or less at other district middle schools across town.

The judge cited a little-known subparagraph of the law that says districts may deviate from seniority in their layoff decisions in order to comply with "constitutional requirements related to equal protection of the laws."

It was a victory for the equal-opportunity principle upon which our system of public education is supposed to be built. But it was a victory on the head of a pin; for now, it applies only to the three schools named in the lawsuit. And given that the law had been on the books for more than a quarter century before anybody understood it well enough to invoke it, it would appear to need clarifying for districts statewide.

LAUSD is not alone in laying off disproportionate numbers of teachers by school. In the Sacramento City Unified School District, for example, 28 schools had no teachers laid off this spring. Nine schools, by contrast, have issued final layoff notices to more than 15 percent of the faculty. And three schools have issued such notices to more than 30 percent.

Against the backdrop of California's fiscal crisis, the principle of equal educational opportunity is under strain statewide. A refusal by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and most legislative Republicans to consider new sources of revenue to ease an unprecedented budget shortfall has forced schools to release thousands of teachers and other employees. The loss of adults on campus has real consequences for children: larger class sizes, long-term substitutes while districts shuffle remaining staff, disruption of teaching teams, and less art, music, librarians and science instruction. And the consequences, as we have seen, are not distributed equally among schools.

The debate about the use of seniority in the layoff process is usually framed as a "management vs. union" issue. In truth, the failure to place and keep teachers where they are needed most is often the result of management pursuing the path of least resistance. The Education Code provides some tools to manage layoffs with an eye toward what's best for kids. Some school boards use these tools to protect certain classes of teachers, such as those with math or special education credentials. Others work directly off a seniority list and let the chips fall where they may.

To put school districts on a better path, I will introduce legislation to do the following:

• Clarify that the sleeper "equal protection" code section cited by Highberger does indeed apply to students, and that school districts statewide may use it to guard against disparate impacts.

• Require that rates of teacher layoffs in low-performing schools be no greater than the district average.

• Require that superintendents, when hiring new teachers, assign them in a way that achieves greater balance of experience across schools.

• Pursue tens of millions in federal dollars to provide support and training for teachers in struggling schools.

In the midst of a historic budget crisis, this proposal gives districts stronger tools to manage layoffs to protect the students who most need stable schools. That protection may make struggling schools more appealing assignments for teachers and encourage them to stay. And requiring teacher assignments that improve the balance of experience will bring a better mix of expertise to schools that have too often been revolving doors for novice teachers.

The governor, meanwhile, has urged the Legislature to substitute unspecified measures of teacher effectiveness for seniority in layoff decisions. This change, embodied in Senate Bill 955 by Bob Huff, R-Diamond Bar, should not be rushed without more careful consideration of appropriate measures by which to judge teacher performance. Should districts use test scores (what kind?), grades, principal observations, peer review? In what proportions? Would districts be able to accomplish this fairly and consistently? Could we ensure that senior teachers would not be dismissed based on salary? Such questions have not been addressed.

Others have admonished us to wait to tackle layoff matters until after the November election. But now is the time to act to protect the civil rights of schoolchildren, before the clarity brought by the lawsuit has blurred and while there is time to remind districts they have a responsibility to ensure that no child should be asked to bear an unfair burden in the budget crisis.

I do not suggest that my proposal will solve all the challenges faced by our public school system – chief among them a multi-year budget shortfall that is draining resources from schools that need more, not less. But it is a timely and necessary response to the inequities we must confront.

●● smf: 4LAKids is with Steinberg all the way – especially the sarcastic part about 'interpreting a section of the Ed Code to be about what's best for schoolchildren'. 'Imagine that' indeed!

However, the ball is in Sen. Steinberg's court – and that of his colleagues in Sacramento. Judge Highberger's preliminary injunction is not a decision/finding-of-fact – and is based on the precedent of the Rodriguez Consent Decree [http://bit.ly/9ZJhLF] – which LAUSD leadership is now lauding but refused to apply when they were laying off teachers at the three middle schools the Highberger injunction effects.

Rodriguez is a settlement binding only upon LAUSD.


HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
LAUSD IN SEARCH OF FUNDS: "If Measure E required a simple majority to pass, we would be celebrating right now," an... http://bit.ly/baF6Gq

Video: MORE CUTS COMING TO L.A. SCHOOLS - Howard Blume on the defeat of the parcel tax: L.A. Times L.A. Now blog ... http://bit.ly/dakgHU

NEW GLASSELL PARK HIGH PICKED FOR LAUSD’S ‘CHOICE’ REFORM/LAUSD IDENTIFICA ESCUELAS PARA SEGUNDA VUELTA DE LA REFO... http://bit.ly/azxfSK

DEDICATION OF THE SALVADOR B. CASTRO MIDDLE SCHOOL: Education Hero Honored/Honran Héroe Educativo: Education Hero ... http://bit.ly/atnNUW

LMU PLEDGES TO CONTINUE ASSISTANCE WITH IDESIGN SCHOOLS DESPITE LACK OF FORMAL AGREEMENT: Clarity on autonomy soug... http://bit.ly/9pcatC

MEASURE E POST-MORTEM: AP, LA Weekly, The Times: Parcel tax to benefit LA schools defeated at polls The Associate... http://bit.ly/byEAia

LAUSD SLASHES SERVICES FOR THE DISABLED: Other viewpoints: This one from the Party for Socialism and Liberation. R... http://bit.ly/9euBB2

Election Results: SPI 4AM PDST Wednesday AM: ACEVES 18.9% TORKAKSON 18.3% ... http://bit.ly/bGuUQP

TORLAKSON, ACEVES LEAD IN SPI RACE: November runoff set for state schools chief Jill Tucker, San Francisco Chroni... http://bit.ly/bqvFFo

Parcel Tax: MEASURE E FALLING SHORT/LAGGING: By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer | Contra Costa Times Online Updated: ... http://bit.ly/atz8rW

VILLARAIGOSA PRAISES YOLIE FLORES AGUILAR +smf's 2¢:: By Rick Orlov, Staff Writer | LA Daily News June 8, 2010 --... http://bit.ly/bIHMzg

Adults being serious gets in the way of kids playing games: NO MORE WEDNESDAY PLAYOFF GAMES IN CITY SECTION FOOTBA... http://bit.ly/a0xDV3

BUREAUCRATS BUCKLE, AND TWO L.A. SCHOOLS WILL GET MAKEOVERS: L.A. Unified at first rejected the offer of the new T... http://bit.ly/aXruo4

MORE Q’s THAN A’s RE: Measure E: Q’s and A’s: The following was e-mail blasted by LAUSD Saturday. smf + 4LAKids ... http://bit.ly/9X5EPp

AT BIRMINGHAM CHARTER SCHOOL, RELIEF AND PRIDE REPLACE THE BOOING: The high school had its ups and downs in its fi... http://bit.ly/cKdITH


EVENTS: Coming up next week...
Tuesday Jun 15, 2010
Central Region Elementary School #22: Pre-Construction Meeting
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location:
LA Public Library - Playa Vista Branch
6400 Playa Vista Drive
Playa Vista, CA 90094

Wednesday, Jun 16, 2010
Meeting of the Bond Oversight Committee

Time: 10 AM

Location:
LAUSD Board Room,
333 S. Beaudry Ave,
Los Angeles, CA 90017

Thursday Jun 17, 2010
Ramona Opportunity High School: Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony

Time: 10:00 a.m.

Location:
Ramona Opportunity High School
231 S. Alma Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90063

Community Organizer: Mario Hernandez

*Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________
• SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE:
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
____________________________________________________
• LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR:
http://www.laschools.org/happenings/
Phone: 213-241.8700


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
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. He is an elected Representative 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 as 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.
• FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 4LAKids makes such material available in an effort to advance understanding of education issues vital to parents, teachers, students and community members in a democracy. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.
• To SUBSCRIBE e-mail: 4LAKids-subscribe@topica.email-publisher.com - or -TO ADD YOUR OR ANOTHER'S NAME TO THE 4LAKids SUBSCRIPTION LIST E-MAIL smfolsom@aol.com with "SUBSCRIBE" AS THE SUBJECT. Thank you.