Sunday, July 29, 2012

Linkage: Breaking the chain

Onward! 4LAKids
4LAKids: Sunday 29•July•2012
In This Issue:
 •  3 stories on Stull lawsuit: UTLA, LAUSD, PLAINTIFFS REACH CONSENSUS ON SETTLEMENT …OR DO THEY?
 •  DUAL HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE ENROLLMENT PROMOTES OUTCOME FOR AT-RISK STUDENTS
 •  The Williams Settlement: CALIFORNIA RENEGES ON 8-YEAR-OLD FUNDING AGREEMENT
 •  PARENTS TOOK OVER, NOW SHOW THEM THE MONEY
 •  HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
 •  EVENTS: Coming up next week...
 •  What can YOU do?


Featured Links:
 •  OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE: What will California schoolchildren, your school district and YOUR School get when the initiative passes?
 •  Follow 4 LAKids on Twitter - or get instant updates via text message by texting
 •  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.
Listen to the wind blow, watch the sun rise

Run in the shadows
Damn your love, damn your lies

And if you don't love me now
You will never love me again
I can still hear you saying you would never break the chain
-- Fleetwood Mac


The governorship of Gray Davis was flawed. But I think enough time has passed since the recall to say that things in state government are now far worse. And we don’t have Gray Davis to kick around anymore. Or Arnold.

The advent of Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t the genesis of smoke-and-mirrors budgeteering – but it marked the golden (or leaden) age of the art form. The elimination of The Car Tax – and the refusal by the legislature to replace the lost revenue with anything is key. When you eliminate an old tax and insist on no new taxes the outcome would be obvious to a kindergarten economist.

Until the Great Recession/Not-so-Great Depression the amount of the state budget deficit was almost exactly the same as the uncollected Car Tax revenues. 1:1. And here’s the rub: the amount Californians paid in Car Tax was deductible from their federal income tax; The Car Tax was subsidized by the Feds!

The Car Tax Shortfall created the opening for magical realism budgets in California. If only the glorious future viewed through the rose-colored-glasses – accompanied by opportune visits from the Easter Bunny – comes to pass everything will be slam-damn wonderful! Schwarzenegger+Co. (The Big Five, meeting in a tent and smoking cigars) relied upon ballot box support that never happened. The electorate is a trifle more cynical than the elect.

Happily Ever After is never the legislative outcome; the current state budget and its joined-at-birth connection to Governor Brown’s Tax Initiative (Prop 30) is a case in point.

Public Education funding in California – already 47th in the nation - has been cut 13.8% (or more depending how you work the numbers) since the recession. This year’s budget maintains 100% of current education funding (aka 86.2% or less) – BUT ONLY IF THE GOVERNOR’S INITIATIVE PASSES. Otherwise the “Trigger Cuts” of additional $5+bllion buried in the budget “trailer bill” (not Prop 30) kick in. And these cuts trigger in the middle of the school year.

The Governor’s Initiative is not a referendum put on the ballot by the legislature, that would almost make sense. It is a ballot measure proposed by Governor Brown as a citizen: a constitutional amendment that accomplishes his “realignment” of state and local government – and a temporary tax increase. (This combination itself is constitutionally questionable …if it passes the question will be asked.)

The spokespeople and surrogates for the governor – even legislators themselves – try to delink/decouple/separate the budget from Prop 30 – and make representations that the Prop 30 funding is in some sort a lockbox to preserve education funding from “jiggering” in Sacramento. This is a dubious political promise at best; a whopper at worst. Even if Prop 30 passes the budget still contains some magical financial projections: How much will the Facebook IPO really bring in?

New links have been added to the chain; it’s a veritable charm bracelet. The UC Regents – appointees of the governor – promise they will not increase tuition …unless Prop 30 fails.

The advocates say Prop 30 funds public education – the double negative opposite is true: If it passes it doesn’t defund public education.

The title to Prop 30: “The Schools and Local Public Safety Act” is a brand, like “Lucky Charms”. And like “Lucky Charms” it is neither lucky nor charming. Nor particularly good for kids.

¡Onward/Adelante! - smf


Make no mistake. There is hope for Public Education Funding in California. It is Prop 38: The PTA sponsored Our Children Our Future



3 stories on Stull lawsuit: UTLA, LAUSD, PLAINTIFFS REACH CONSENSUS ON SETTLEMENT …OR DO THEY?

TEACHERS' ATTORNEY SAYS EVALS CAN INCLUDE TEST SCORES THIS YEAR: LAUSD and its teachers union agree on a timeline to start factoring student achievement into employee evaluations — if they can agree on how to do it.

By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/Nv1zlS

July 24, 2012, 9:58 p.m. :: In a potentially groundbreaking decision, Los Angeles teachers and administrators agreed with the school district for the first time to use student test scores as part of performance reviews beginning this school year.

But an attorney for United Teachers Los Angeles later said the commitment he made during a court hearing Tuesday was contingent on whether the union and L.A. Unified School District could successfully negotiate an agreement on exactly how such scores would be used in the teacher evaluations.

That drew criticism from an attorney who sought the pledge in a case he brought on behalf of Los Angeles parents, who successfully sued the district for violating a 41-year-old state law that requires evaluations to include measures of student achievement, such as test scores.

"This is exactly what we were concerned about — that [UTLA] would say one thing in court and change their position thereafter," said Scott Witlin, an attorney for the group of unidentified parents.

In the case, which could transform teacher evaluations in California, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant ruled last month that L.A. Unified had violated the law, known as the Stull Act. The plaintiffs' attorneys had argued that the absence of a rigorous evaluation system that effectively identifies weak teachers for improvement or, if necessary, dismissal, deprives students of their constitutional right to educational equality.

In their agreement Tuesday, attorneys for the district and the unions representing teachers and administrators set Sept. 4 as the date to return to court with a progress report. They also agreed on a final deadline of Dec. 4 to show proof they had started using student achievement measures in performance reviews.

The teachers union's commitment to launch the new measures this year came after Witlin told the judge he believed all sides were dragging their feet on negotiating a new evaluation system.

UTLA attorney Jesus Quinonez sharply disagreed with Witlin, saying all parties were "very serious" about an agreement.

"Are you able to commit that what the district decides will be implemented for the purposes of teacher evaluations this school year?" Chalfant asked Quinonez.

"That's correct," Quinonez responded.

Under L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy, about 700 teachers and principals at about 100 schools are participating in a voluntary evaluation program that uses a measure based on student test scores known as "academic growth over time." The district plans to train all principals and teachers in the program this year but has not decided when to begin using it for all employees. Deasy has said he believes the district has the right to create a new performance review system without negotiations.

The teachers union has opposed the voluntary program, saying that evaluations must be decided at the bargaining table and that test scores are too unreliable for use in such high-stakes decisions as firing, tenure and merit pay. Earlier this year UTLA proposed an evaluation system that would use test scores to identify areas of student need but not to judge teachers' performance.

In his ruling last month, Chalfant did not specify what measures of student achievement should be used or how they should be included in performance reviews.

Bill Lucia, president of EdVoice, the Sacramento group that brought the lawsuit on behalf of the parents, said he was pleased by the day's progress in setting deadlines.

"Ultimately, the kids are going to benefit," he said. "They are going to have better assurances that they'll have effective teachers and school site leaders."


LAUSD MUST INCLUDE STUDENT TEST SCORES IN TEACHER EVALS BY DEC. 4
By Tami Abdollah | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/OmWCr

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 :: Lawyers for L.A. Unified, United Teachers Los Angeles, Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, and parents filing suit, were sent into the hallway to come up with a timeline for when the district must be in compliance with state law and include student test scores in teacher evaluations.

L.A. Unified must comply with a judge's ruling to include student test scores in teacher evaluations by Dec. 4, a bevy of attorneys representing the district, its unions, and parents agreed in court today.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant made his ruling in Doe vs. Deasy last month and asked the attorneys to agree on a compliance timeline. After multiple meetings and disagreements, Chalfant sent the attorneys into the hallway this afternoon to come to an agreement, or face him imposing one unilaterally.

L.A. Unified attorney Barry Green said the district and its unions agreed on a staggered timeline that included a check-in on progress Sept. 4 and a final "drop dead date where everything has to be in place" by Dec. 4.

"We can't just wave our wand and just implement, because we have the unions" to negotiate with, Green said in court today. "We have a gun to us that says we must do that."

Green said the district built into the proposed timeline the fact that parties may reach an impasse and would then need to go through a mediation and fact-finding process under the state's Public Employment Relations Board. "If it were up to us, it would be in place already," Green told Chalfant.

The suit was filed in November by the Sacramento-based nonprofit EdVoice on behalf of seven unnamed parents. The core of the brief centers on the 41-year-old “Stull Act,” which requires school districts to “evaluate and assess certificated employee performance as it reasonably relates to the progress of pupils” on district standards of expected achievement in each subject area at each grade level. The act was broadened in 1999 to require evaluation based on student progress on state standardized tests.

In his ruling, Chalfant left the details of how the district must comply with the "pupil progress requirement" primarily to its discretion. He said details such as the system of measurement, how that plays into a teacher's evaluation and how much it is weighted, may all require collective bargaining.

"You've got to do it, you have to consider pupil progress both based on CSTs [state standardized tests] and whatever assessments you want to rely on for district standards in evaluating teachers," Chalfant said last month. "Now how you go about doing that is a matter of your discretion, how you want to collectively bargain that is a matter to you and your unions."

Parties were generally pleased with the timeline agreed on in court today.

"The keys are that there's going to be time for the bargaining process to run its course in a reasonable and not unecessarily impractical or imposed way...and time for the parties to have meaningful good-faith negotiations," said United Teachers Los Angeles attorney Jesus Quinonez.

Quinonez said in court that the union believed it "very possible and very doable, ultimately" to have the new evaluation system in time for teacher evaluations at the end of the 2012-13 school year.

"The agreement is everybody will make their 'best efforts' to do what is necessary to abide by the judge's decision," said Judith Perez, president of the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles. "I'm happy about aspects of the decision, I'm glad the judge upheld collective bargaining."

Witlin called the outcome a "major victory": "We got committments from UTLA that whatever is agreed to is going to be implemented this school year."

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has closely watched the legal proceedings, publicly praising the judge's ruling last month. As speaker in the state Assembly, Villaraigosa sponsored the amendment that expanded the law to require evaluation based on student progress on state standardized tests. He also filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the suit.

"Anything that keeps the parties' feet to the fire is a victory," said Brian S. Currey, counsel to the mayor, who watched the proceedings in court today.

It is unclear how exactly the new system would be incorporated into the 2012-13 teacher evaluations as most of the discussions regarding the process occur at the start of the school year. L.A. Unified starts early, on Aug. 14, this year.

The proceedings also brought former state Sen. Gloria Romero to court. She helped co-found the Democrats for Education Reform. She was "very discouraged" by the conversation in court and the fact that attorneys had to be sent out into the hall to reach an agreement.

"Oh my God, it's going to take another 30 years to bring them into compliance with the law," Romero said. "It's all about delay...In the last six weeks, they've negotiated three days. That really tells the story. There is no sense of urgency."

Witlin said in court he was frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations and that the district and its unions have only sat down three or four times since the judge's June 12 ruling. But he said he "hoped they will actually come through" as agreed.

EdVoice president Bill Lucia said he was pleased with the decision and that ultimately it meant kids will be "more likely to have effective teachers and school leaders" because of it.


LEGAL WRANGLING STALLS LAUSD USE OF STUDENT TEST SCORES IN TEACHER EVALS
By Tami Abdollah | Pass / Fail 89.3 KPCC http://bit.ly/MWDhfy

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 :: More than a month after a judge ruled that L.A. Unified must include student test scores in teacher evaluations, legal wrangling over even a general timeline continues to stall efforts to bring the district in compliance with state law.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge James C. Chalfant made his ruling in Doe vs. Deasy last month and asked the district, its unions, and the attorney representing parents who brought the suit, to agree on a compliance timeline. Attorneys were to return to court with that timeline today; instead, in multiple court filings over the last six weeks, they continue to disagree over the broadest of details.

"That's 43 days ago, six weeks, where the district is not complying by the law," said Scott Witlin, the attorney who represented parents suing the district in the case. "There doesn't seem to be the requisite urgency to get the district into compliance with the law...Every year this doesn't get done it's another 50,000 kids who've never had their teachers properly evaluated."

After a 40-minute hearing in court this afternoon, the bevy of attorneys were told to go into the hallway and come up with an agreement; otherwise, Chalfant would make a decision unilaterally.

"If you don’t want to run the risk of me mis-recollecting how I ruled, then you should go reach an agreement now," Chalfant said.

The suit was filed in November by the Sacramento-based nonprofit EdVoice on behalf of seven unnamed parents. The core of the brief centers on the 41-year-old “Stull Act,” which requires school districts to “evaluate and assess certificated employee performance as it reasonably relates to the progress of pupils” on district standards of expected achievement in each subject area at each grade level. The act was broadened in 1999 to require evaluation based on student progress on state standardized tests.

In his ruling, Chalfant left the details of how the district must comply with the "pupil progress requirement" primarily to its discretion. He said details such as the system of measurement, how that plays into a teacher's evaluation and how much it is weighted, may all require collective bargaining.

"You've got to do it, you have to consider pupil progress both based on CSTs [state standardized tests] and whatever assessments you want to rely on for district standards in evaluating teachers," Chalfant said. "Now how you go about doing that is a matter of your discretion, how you want to collectively bargain that is a matter to you and your unions."

L.A. Unified attorney Barry Green said the district and its unions agreed on a staggered timeline that included a check-in on progress in September and a final "drop dead date where everything has to be in place" in December.

"We can't just wave our wand and just implement, because we have the unions" to negotiate with, Green said in court today. "We have a gun to us that says we must do that."

Green said the district built into the proposed timeline the fact that parties may reach an impasse and would then need to go through a mediation and fact-finding process under the state's Public Employment Relations Board.

Witlin said he was frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations and that the district and its unions have only sat down three or four times since the judge's June 12 ruling.

"What we've been told is there are lots of impediment to bargaining over this issue, people have vacations, there are travel plans, there are union conventions, well all that is well and good, but when you're not complying with the law you should be doing everything you can to get in compliance with the law," Witlin said.

Witlin said it looked less and less likely that the district would be abiding by the law this school year. He said the district and its unions should be meeting daily to work this out.

Judith Perez, president of the administrator's union, said with the early start of the school year in mid-August, it would be "impossible" to abide by the judge's ruling, which requires adequate training for teachers and administrators as well an understanding of the data and a system for how it should be used.

"We're talking two weeks, I would say that it is impossible to implement a fully-blown changed evaluation system in two weeks," Perez said. She said the union has been in negotiations with the district and has met thrice since the ruling and has four more meetings scheduled.

"We have every intention of reaching an agreement," Perez said.

United Teachers Los Angeles attorney Jesus Quinonez said in court today the union has met with the district four times to discuss implementation and has another seven meetings scheduled.

"There are a bunch of other elements of evaluation that have be addressed here and are being addressed in a very serious way," Quinonez said. He said the union intended to have a system in place in time for evaluations at the end of the 2012-13 school year.

"We could have filed an appeal the day after the judgment was issued and stay all of this. That is not the intent of UTLA. I can speak for UTLA...I can tell you this schedule we agreed to is going to go forward..That is very possible and very doable, ultimately."


DUAL HIGH SCHOOL, COLLEGE ENROLLMENT PROMOTES OUTCOME FOR AT-RISK STUDENTS
By Kimberly Beltran SI&A Cabinet Report http://bit.ly/OiPZZd

Wednesday, July 25, 2012 :: Analysis of a project designed to promote college entry for high school students least likely to go showed that career-focused dual enrollment programs can provide positive outcomes for these often unprepared and underachieving pupils.
The three-year Concurrent Courses initiative, launched in 2008 and funded by the James Irvine Foundation, partnered high schools with colleges to create dual enrollment programs – high school students take college courses and earn college credit – and make them available to low-income youth who struggle academically or who are from minority college populations.
A just-released study of the initiative, conducted by the Community College Research Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, found that among the 3,000 students enrolled in the program, participants were, on average, more likely to graduate from high school, transition to a four-year college (rather than a two-year college), accumulate more college credits and persist in postsecondary education. They were also less likely to take basic skills courses in college.
“These are important findings because many people have long thought of these programs as avenues only for high-achieving students to get a head start on college,” said Hilary McLean, deputy director at the Linked Learning Alliance, which was founded by a grant from the Irvine Foundation. “But this initiative provides evidence that any student can benefit from the experience of a dual enrollment program. It shows that this type of program really can be a game changer for students who are struggling academically or from populations historically underrepresented in higher education.”
In recent years, educators and policymakers have become increasingly interested in the potential of programs like dual enrollment to improve educational outcomes for a broader range of students. At the same time, there is growing evidence that giving the programs a career focus adds relevance and interest and can re-engage students who may not see themselves as being on a path to college and career.

Under the initiative, eight partnerships were awarded a share of $4.75 million to expand CTE-oriented dual enrollment participation to low-income and underrepresented students while combining rigorous, college-level academics and career/technical subject matter. Other conditions of the program were to create strong collaborative relationships between college and secondary partners, and collect data on students’ secondary and postsecondary outcomes.
Courses offered broached a variety of career fields, including healthcare, multi-media, teaching and renewable energy.
Researchers looked at the performance of students in the dual enrollment courses as well as the program’s influence on the students’ grade point average, graduation rates, college choices and college performance.
While there was no significant difference in the grade point averages of students in the program and their district peers, graduation rates were higher for dual enrollees than their peers, the analysis found.
Following members of the cohorts who graduated from high school in 2009 and 2010, statistics showed that while the dual enrollees enter college at rates similar to students outside the program, they enroll at four-year colleges at a rate two percentage points above their district peers.
Students taking part in the dual enrollment courses also persisted in their postsecondary studies at a higher rate, and they accumulated more college credits than the comparison group – and the advantages in credit accrual grew as the students progressed through college.
Among several benefits of the Concurrent Courses initiative, the report notes, were the establishment of new college-high school partnerships and the expansion of existing ones – as well as a better understanding between educators at both levels of what was needed to help the students succeed.
Qualified high school teachers teaching college introductory courses could see how unprepared their students were for the material, stated the report, and college faculty teaching visiting high school students shared their observations with their high school counterparts.
“This led to school-wide and cross-sector conversations about how to improve students’ skills and facilitate a better transition from high school to college,” researchers wrote.




To read the report in full, click the link.



The Williams Settlement: CALIFORNIA RENEGES ON 8-YEAR-OLD FUNDING AGREEMENT

National Education Access Network | http://bit.ly/ODy77L

July 25, 2012 :: California has yet to pay even half of the $800 million in Emergency Funds that it promised schools in a lawsuit settlement eight years ago, leaving tens of thousands of students to continue to attend schools in decrepit buildings with severe maintenance problems. In 2000, the American Civil Liberties Union and other organizations filed a class-action suit, Williams v. State, on behalf of students attending substandard schools that allegedly had unhealthy facilities, a shortage of qualified teachers, missing libraries, a lack of instructional materials, and overcrowded schools.

Plaintiffs argued that sending students to schools in “slum conditions,” with inadequate and unsafe facilities, amounted to a deprivation of basic educational opportunities. After his predecessor spent four years and nearly $20 million in legal fees fighting the lawsuit, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed in 2004 to settle the case by establishing an Emergency Repair Program, instituting a complaint process for inadequate instructional materials, teacher vacancies, and emergency facilities problems, and taking other steps to improve conditions in the state’s lowest-performing schools.

In the first years following the settlement, few districts applied for the funds because they functioned as reimbursements, meaning districts needed to pay for projects up front first. But after a 2007 amendment to state law turned the fund into a grant, hundreds of districts applied for the program and the allocation board eventually stopped accepting applications in 2010.

Despite the high demand for repairs and the agreement to allocate at least $100 million every year starting in 2005, the fund has dwindled, and after paying out $338 million, the legislature amended state law to avoid the annual payments for the past four years. Officials have also deferred spending on maintenance to address other school needs, such as teacher lay-offs or increased class sizes. Brooks Allen, the ACLU attorney overseeing the settlement’s implementation, explained that it is difficult to convince people to pay attention to the problem of poor building conditions, noting it “really is very hard to capture the attention” of the public.

The state’s failure to live up to the promises of Williams has left more than 700 schools still waiting for funds to fix broken toilets, infestation, battered walls, and clogged sewer lines. The director of maintenance and operations for Moreno Valley Unified School District, a district owed $26 million for repairs, expressed his frustration at the state’s lack of commitment to the settlement agreement: “I think the title says enough, doesn’t it? Emergency Repair Program. Should it take four years to fund an emergency?”

There are currently two new adequacy cases pending in California – Robles-Wong, et al. v. State of California and Campaign for Quality Education v. State of California – that seek to ensure sufficient funding for all educational needs. The Alameda County Superior Court has dismissed both complaints, but the cases have recently been combined and the plaintiffs have filed an appeal to the dismissal ruling.


PARENTS TOOK OVER, NOW SHOW THEM THE MONEY
THEMES IN THE NEWS by UCLA IDEA | Week of July 23-27, 2012 | http://bit.ly/PdxDFi

07-27-2012 :: Families in the San Bernardino County city of Adelento are experiencing economic stress that is not so different from that of many communities in California and across the country. The High Desert community of 31,000 has 13 percent unemployment and most students in its public schools come from low-income families.

But unlike similar towns, Adelanto parents have been in the national news. A Superior Court judge ruled earlier this week that Desert Trails Elementary School could become the first school in the nation to enact a “parent trigger” to change the organization, structure and public accountability of an existing school (Los Angeles Times, Huffington Post, EdSource Today, San Francisco Chronicle). The parents' changes, which could include seeking a charter for the 2013-14 school year, will be unveiled today (Redlands Daily Facts).

Early this year some Adelanto parents circulated a trigger petition, but in February, the Adelanto Elementary School District board rejected it because of failure to meet the 50-percent threshold. More than 100 parents had rescinded their signatures claiming they were misled by the petitions and petitioners. In his ruling, Judge Steve Malone said those rescissions were improper and he qualified the petition (Washington Post, Parents Across America).

Some parents rejoiced at the news: "My daughter is going to have a shot at something good. She's not going to be failing; she's going to be able to apply for college," Cynthia Ramirez said (CBS).

Others worried that school improvement plans already in place would be wasted: "The trigger in this case was pulled in haste because they didn't allow anything to get started. All our ducks were in a row. But if you shoot them all, nothing will flourish," Lori Yuan said (TakePart).

What played out in the Mojave Desert is part of a larger movement—not so much initiated by local groups of organized parents but spearheaded by large foundations with highly refined strategies for replacing existing public schools. Pouring millions of dollars into their efforts, some of these foundations seek to privatize elements (and in some cases, the entirety) of the public education system.

The Los Angeles-based, Parent Revolution, was deeply behind Adelanto’s petition to convert the school to a charter. The organization’s leadership and donors have many critics among reformers who are working for long-term school improvement (Education Week, Parents Across America). These analysts worry that the main factors that led to Adelanto’s school problems cannot possibly be addressed simply by changing the governance structure or organization the school.

So, what will be the chances of Ramirez’s daughter and a substantial number of other children having a much better shot at “something good” and at going college? The root of Adelanto's poor test scores and low statewide rankings lies with the district’s severe underfunding. And if, by chance, years from now the students at Desert Trails Elementary are doing as well as their advantaged peers across the state, imagine how superior they might do if their school had a fair shot at school funding.

During the 2010-11 school year, Adelanto Elementary School District received 79 cents on the dollar compared to the statewide average. Compared to the national average, Adelanto schools receive $4,000 less per student. If foundation donors wanted to make a real difference in Adelanto, they would need to come up with $2.8 million each year to bring Desert Trails up to the national average. They could also become outspoken leaders and sponsors of a statewide movement to bring fair and adequate funding to all public schools.


HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
This just in: WHY BUDGET CUTS MATTER
From Dane Ravitch’s blog | http://bit.ly/OqvPhB

29 July :: There has been 4 straight years of budget cuts (called austerity on the world stage) at my school in Brooklyn, New York. Larger classes has been just one of the major effects of these cuts to our funding. Our seniors, who came to our school because of the promise of four years of math and science, as well as a diverse selection of electives, are now mostly only taking the minimum amount of courses, which does not include electives, math, or science. The budget cuts meant a tremendous cut in our after-school programs. Our students do not want to go home and sit in front of a computer by themselves, yet schools are increasingly telling our children to leave at 3:00 instead of offering robust after-school activities that will foster creativity while keeping our children “off the streets”.

Many people like hearing that “government” is being trimmed down and our city agencies are spending less, but do they really understand what the term “budget cuts” entails. It means a decrease in the amount of funding for; plays, musicals, dancing and drama clubs, yearbook, and newspaper. These activities help our students gain the necessary skills to compete in the globalized business world, skills such as innovation, collaboration, and the ability to produce results. The loss of courses has resulted in our children leaving school with less Math and Science just when they need it most. Electives such as Psychology, Criminal and Constitutional Law, Forensic Science, Organic Chemistry, Public Speaking and Debate, among others help nurture critical thinking skills of analysis and evaluation while exposing our children to subjects outside of the core that they may want to further pursue in college.

I must inevitably get political here, I tend to subscribe to Paul Krugman’s theory on how to solve the current economic problem. We should have spent more money not less. America and it’s localities should have reinvested more funding for schools to stay open after 3:00 and offer more courses for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) clubs, more money could be used to better equip our schools with the latest technologies, we should have brought more teachers in with different specialties and added additional courses, and of course we should have reduced class sizes so that each child receives the individualized attention that he/she needs and deserves. Increased investment in our schools would not have immediate results for our children (although it would have kept thousands if not millions of educators at work and off the unemployment lines), but in years to come the country would see results that could never be measured by any standardized test. Our children would have learned invaluable skills from creating more science projects, exciting plays or musicals on stage, how to play instruments, and the ability to develop publications. These are skills that would help our country continue to lead the world in innovation. Extra money for our schools would have meant that our children entered college with a diverse academic background because of all the different courses they took. Instead we are now sending our children into the world with a limited academic background and little hands-on experience that comes from extra-curricular activities. All in the name of budget cuts.

People will tell me the local and national governments simply didn’t have the money so we had to have austerity, but somehow they found the funds to pay private text-book and consulting companies to develop countless tests and standards that have no real world meaning for our students.

Mike Schirtzer
Teacher- Leon M. Goldstein High School for the Sciences
Member of- Movement of Rank & File Educators- Social Justice Caucus of UFT

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SIX MORE STATES + D.C. GET NCLB WAIVERS; MUM’S THE WORD ON CALIFORNIA: Six More States, District of Columbia Get... http://bit.ly/PCQMoJ

Diane Ravitch on Murdock+Klein’s entry into “the multibillion-dollar public education market”: NEWS CORPORATION ... http://bit.ly/PCNrpO

Reconstitution redux: NYC MAYOR BLOOMBERG'S NEW SCHOOLS HAVE FAILED THOUSANDS OF CITY STUDENTS: Did more poorly ... http://bit.ly/PCEE7c

LAUSD ADULT EDUCATION DIVISION ANNOUNCES REGISTRATION PERIOD FOR STUDENTS: Ten centers throughout Los Angeles Co... http://bit.ly/QurZo9

THE INVADING ARMY THAT OCCUPIES OUR SCHOOLS: smf: The metaphor of war is not mine . A Nation at Risk: The Imp... http://bit.ly/OoD4RJ

WATCHDOG GROUP LAUNCHES PETITION DRIVE TO PROTECT BROWN ACT: Californians Aware appeals to voters to help protec... http://bit.ly/QtBJPu




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: 213-241.8700


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Bennett.Kayser@lausd.net • 213-241-5555
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! • Find your state legislator based on your home address. Just go to: http://bit.ly/dqFdq2 • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Brown: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE.
• If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE.
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!.


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




Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD and is Parent/Volunteer of the Year for 2010-11 for Los Angeles County. • He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represented PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee for ten years. He is a Health Commissioner, Legislation Team member and a member of the Board of Managers of the California State PTA. He serves on numerous school district advisory and policy committees and has served as a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT 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.
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Sunday, July 22, 2012

This week in the New Normal + The not so subtle recalibration of the meaning of “Philanthropy”


Onward! 4LAKids
4LAKids: Sunday 22•July•2012
In This Issue:
 •  THE VIEW FROM IDAHO
 •  'SCHOOLS THAT [STILL] SHOCK THE CONSCIENCE'
 •  MID-TERM REPORT ON SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANT TURNAROUND MIXED AT BEST
 •  NO WAIVERS FOR TRANSITIONAL K: State Board tells districts Transitional Kindergarten is a must
 •  HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
 •  EVENTS: Coming up next week...
 •  What can YOU do?


Featured Links:
 •  OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE: What will California schoolchildren, your school district and YOUR School get when the initiative passes?
 •  Follow 4 LAKids on Twitter - or get instant updates via text message by texting
 •  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.
DO NOT ACCEPT THE NEW NORMAL
By Diane Ravitch, from her blog - http://bit.ly/MwDNlH

June 10, 2012 :: Since No Child Left Behind began its reign of error a decade ago, the American public has slowly but surely changed its understanding and expectations of schools.

We have come to think that every school must “make” every student proficient, and if it cannot, then the school is a “failing” school.

We have come to look on schools as “failing” if they enroll large numbers of students who don’t perform well on standardized tests, regardless of their personal circumstances, their language ability, or their disability.

We have come to believe that teachers alone can bring every student to high test scores. And if we don’t believe this is possible, we are accused of defending the status quo or not caring about students or not believing they can succeed.

In pursuit of impossible goals, goals that no nation in the world has reached, we have come to accept (with glee, if you are a corporate reformer, or with resignation, if you are informed by reality) that schools must close and staff must be fired en masse in pursuit of that evanescent goal of “turnaround” from failure to success.

And here is the latest small and barely noticed episode in the continuing assault on common sense and public education.

The Los Angeles Times reported that students and parents demonstrated to protest the planned layoff of at least of the staff at Manual Arts High School. This school has been run for four years by a private group called L.A.’s Promise.

It is no longer unusual to see students and parents protesting the mass dismissal of teachers, so they will be ignored. That’s the new normal.

What is odd here is that L.A.’s Promise laid off about 40% of the staff last year. 50% last year, 40% this year.

It seems that this organization will just keep firing teachers until they finally get a staff that knows how to raise test scores and graduation rates higher and higher.

Such punitive actions display a singular lack of capacity on the part of leadership to build and support a stable staff.

Such heavy-handed measures surely demoralize whoever is left.

We have become so accustomed to mass firings and school closings that we have lost our outrage, even our ability to care.

Another school reconstituted, another school closed, more teachers fired. Ho-hum.

That’s the new normal. That is what is called education reform today.

So normal are such crude and punitive measures that the events at Manual Arts High School didn’t even merit a real story in the Los Angeles Times. It was posted in a blog.

Destroying public schools is called reform. Mass firings of staff are called reform.

It’s the New Normal.

Don’t accept it. Don’t avert your eyes. It’s not supposed to be this way.

Schools need a stable staff. Schools need continuity. Schools need to be caring and supportive communities.

Schools need to be learning organizations, not a place with a turnstile for teachers, administrators and students.

Don’t lose your own values. What is happening today is wrong. It is not education reform. It is wrong.

It does not benefit children. It does not improve education. It is wrong.

________


smf: THIS WEEK IN THE NEW NORMAL SAW THE RETURN OF STEVE BARR

Not Steve Barr v. 1.0: Green Dot with its small brave charter schools started in storefronts and church basements in Inglewood and the South Central, serving the underserved.

• Not v. 1.1 with his 10,000 signatures and The Thousand Parent March and dreams of 100 small schools
• not v. 1.2., trying to partner with LAUSD to take over Jefferson High School and to revamp all forty-six of LA’s “broken” high schools in the Green Dot model.

Barr’s biographer and charter cheerleader Alexander Russo writes: “In education and in the private sector, half or more of turnarounds that are attempted failed to take hold or—even worse—were superficial makeovers. Much bigger and more established education organizations had tried—and often failed—at managing dysfunctional public schools in the past. Despite all these considerations, Barr was convinced that this was exactly what Green Dot needed to do.” | http://bit.ly/SOchDf

• not v. 1.3, with the Green Dot wholly-owned LA Parents Union, which morphed into Parent Revolution ...eventually armed by the Parent Trigger.
• or v. 1.4, partnered with Mayor Tony and AB 1381 – could Steve be the next superintendent?
• or v. 1.5 and the hostile takeover of Locke High School – an over the top, prohibitively expensive, non reproducible experiment that ended with Barr’s own predictable removal from Green Dot (brash founding entrepreneurs of successful enterprises invariably get replaced by corporately accountable adults when start-ups mature and the second tranche of venture capital arrive; Steve Jobs is both the proof and the exception to this rule).

• v. 2.0 the spin-off Green Dot America, with Barr leaving town to start a
• v. 2.1 school in the Bronx and
• v. 2.2 another opening this year in New Orleans with the FIN brand.

If Barr v1.0 + 1.1 were about start-ups; v. 1.2 on were about takeovers, makeovers, turnarounds and reconstitution. Caprice Young, the founder of the California Charter Schools Association says: “Reconstitution and turnaround never works. Only fresh squeezed works -- there is $10 billion in failed turn around work nationally. That would be a lot of new high quality schools at $500k a piece,” [also see: Mid-Term Report on School Improvement Grant Turnaround Mixed at Best]

The returned/reinvented Barr may not quite be the irrepressible, outrageous self promoter of the infamous LA Weekly [http://bit.ly/MgGNC0] and New Yorker [http://bit.ly/PvQfFd] profiles, out to save the core inner city.

Barr v. 3.0 (aka Future is Now Schools) is focused on more middle class schools, Schools like Marshall, Fairfax and Venice High – schools with challenges but also with programs in place to address them. (O.K. not “like” Marshall, Fairfax and Venice – specifically those schools – and Superintendent Deasy says “be our guest!”)

Barr lives in the Marshall attendance area; it is his children’s home school. Mike Stryer, Barr’s ‘Director of New Unionism’ for FIN used to teach at Fairfax. Steve used to live in Venice. Thomas Wolfe notwithstanding, tt’s good to come home again.

Steve Barr’s kids attend Ivanhoe Elementary - Steve says Ivanhoe is a wonderful school; all schools should be like Ivanhoe. Steve is right, Ivanhoe is a gem. But he’s suffering from every elementary parent’s fear+dread of middle school …and the best middle school in the world is nothing like Ivanhoe!

And, Steve, it is possible to get involved in your child’s school without taking it over.


ON TUESDAY THE COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION BEGAN THE DISCUSSION ON TAKING INGLEWOOD UNIFIED INTO RECEIVERSHIP; there is a very real chance that Inglewood USD might not be able to meet payroll as early as December. The Los Angeles County Office of Education – the nation's largest regional education agency, serving two million pre-school and schoolchildren - is the only county in California where the Board of Education and County Superintendent are appointed by the Board of Supervisors. In other counties one or the other – or both – are directly elected by the voters.


FACING EVIDENCE OF A CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY CITY CONTROLLER WENDY GREUEL CRITICIZED THE LOS ANGELES COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT
's hiring process for an inspector general to oversee its $5.75 billion building program. It’s late in the game to criticize process. The LACCD commissioned Greuel’s independent study – which the controller farmed out to a third party – and the State Controller has already identified wrongdoing and alleged criminality …but maybe the LACCD board got what they paid for. Unfortunately he voters and taxpayers cannot say the same.

EARLY IN THE WEEK SUPERINTENDENT DEASY WAS REPORTEDLY IN PALM SPRINGS, HANGING WITH THE GATES AND PEARSON FOUNDATIONS. We all know who Gates is; the Pearson Foundation is the philanthropic supporter of the mission of Pearson Education, the giant textbook company – a subsidiary of the International publisher Pearson plc. There is a lot stuff to done – and a lot of money to be made - by textbook companies in Common Core Standards. When everyone is on the same page it’s very profitable to be the publisher of that page.


THE NOT SO SUBTLE RECALIBRATION OF THE MEANING OF “PHILANTHROPY”

There are other tempests in other L.A. teapots besides LAUSD. Currently there is a power struggle ongoing at the Museum of Contemporary Art, with the curator being summarily let go and contesting factions within the board and the public resignations of all the artist-trustees – including the iconic Ed Ruscha - a unique aspect of the MOCA board.

In their farewell letter two of the artists wrote:
“But this is not about a particular cast of characters, about good actors and bad. It's a reflection of the crisis in cultural funding. It's about the role of museums in a culture where visual art is marginalized except for the buzz around secondary market sales, it's about the not so subtle recalibration of the meaning of ‘philanthropy,’ and it's about the morphing of the so-called ‘art world’ into the only speculative bubble still left floating (for the next 20 minutes). Can important and serious exhibitions receive funding without a donor having a horse in the race? Is attendance a sustaining revenue stream for museums? Has it ever been? These are questions we have been asking.”

I recommend the entire letter [http://lat.ms/Q39M24] – and also the coverage of the brouhaha [http://bit.ly/NdEQKN]. After sports writing, arts criticism is a favorite form of nonfiction. Below the veneer of truth and beauty there is always much roiling intrigue – and in the case of MOCA, there are familiar puppeteers working the strings.

From Monday’s LA Times, buried twenty-seven -inches into a thirty-column-inch story:
“Now the board leadership is in the hands of nonvoting MOCA life trustee Eli Broad, the financier who supposedly ‘rescued’ the museum in 2008 through a $30 million pledge from his foundation. To observe that the board he commands, now down to 33 voting members, is at least as defective as before is disheartening.”[ http://lat.ms/NE1wy9]

Keep in mind #’s39, 40 & 41 from “How to Tell if Your School District is Infected by the Broad Virus” [http://bit.ly/jqDocs]
39. Local newspaper fails to report on much of this.
40. Local newspaper never mentions the words “Broad Foundation.”
41.Broad and Gates Foundations give money to local public radio stations which in turn become strangely silent about the presence and influence of the Broad and Gates Foundation in your school district.

And bear in mind the LA Times is for sale – and Eli could be a buyer.

¡Onward/Adelante! - smf



THE VIEW FROM IDAHO
A letter to 4LAKids from Dan Basalone

Sun, July 15, 2012

Hi Scott,

The United States was the leader in universal public education starting with Horace Mann and the research of Dewey. Of course, the billionaire corporatists who now run public education, discarded of 150 years of educational practice and research in order to establish today's politicized model.

In the 1950's and early '60's when I was trained to be a teacher, we had academic majors and minors, mine were social studies and science, as well as a minor in education including two full semesters of student teaching under the direction of a teacher who was screened for the position of training teacher.

The pedagogy and methodologies that we learned were based on the principles of John Dewey which at is essence was that learning was both cognitive and affective. Classrooms were microcosms of society so we had class elections and classroom monitors; we had committee work (now known as group activities); we had project based learning so that students could see application of knowledge; and we emphasized creativity especially in research based projects and creative writing. And, of course we were expected to incorporate art and music into our curriculum. We had a Physical Education course of study that emphasized not only skills, but also game activities and dance.

In 1964, elementary teachers introduced teaching Spanish as a foreign language, and, if you didn't speak Spanish yourself, you had a series of records to use so that you could learn with the children for 15 minutes each day. We based our elementary subject curriculum on social studies themes and units of work. In other words, it was a holistic approach to education.

I must also add that my training as a teacher with the major and minors in academic studies and education methodology only took four years because it was expected that a B.A. or B.S. in education would only need to be a four year college curriculum.

Through the years politicians eroded the concept of educating the whole child to the point now that we have a true factory model with students as widgets and teachers as the robotics who put the parts together.

Scott, I can truthfully say that in my years as a teacher, no child failed in my classes....they completed my prescribed course of study with my assessments of their work and I was able to see the product of their work. Their standards were my standards and I was evaluated as a teacher based on the quality of the work that my students produced which was displayed for all to see, parents, other teachers and administrators, through classroom displays. I would not think of displaying student work that wasn't of the highest quality even if it meant editing and rewriting for instance. Students were proud to take home their unit booklets with samples of the work that they had completed during the six week unit.

Well, enough lamenting the fall of public education from what it once was and the enjoyment that it brought me as a teacher. The sad part is that current teachers who are being trained in the so-called data driven model are going to become tomorrow's principals and the cycle will forever continue to spiral downward.

Thanks for being a lonely voice of reason in a very sad educational world where children suffer and it isn't just from abuse.

Best wishes always,

Dan
• Dan Basalone has been associated with LAUSD since 1962 as a teacher, assistant principal, principal, and upon his retirement in 2000, as an Administrative Academy presenter and Principal Academy Coach. He served as very successful principal of several schools and leadership in the Professional Development Collaborative where he was instrumental in the design and implementation of the LAUSD New Administrator Academy. In addition to his District service, he has taught educational administration courses at local universities, and was Program Director for Educational Leadership at Mount St. Mary's College.
Dan was involved in the leadership of AALA for many years. He has served as Elementary Department Vice President, Executive Board Director, and ACSA Representative on the Representative Assembly. He served as the AALA representative on the District's School Based Management Central Council and the LEARN Planning Committee.
In addition to his school experience, Dan was a member of the LAUSD Health Benefits Committee and an ad hoc member of the Board of Education's Facilities Committee where he sat next to smf and asked good questions from that end of the horseshoe – adding educational input to the building of over 100 schools and the modernization and repair of hundreds more.
A graduate of USC, Dan is retired and living in Meridian, Idaho where he grandparents extraordinary grandchildren, writes a blog about artisanal soda pop and serves on the Urban Renewal Board of Commissioners. The Meridian School District is the largest in the state; Dan must feel right at home.


'SCHOOLS THAT [STILL] SHOCK THE CONSCIENCE'
Themes in the News by UCLA IDEA/Week of July 16-20, 2011 | http://bit.ly/ONm1bW

07-20-2012 :: Twelve years ago, a class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of California public school students against the state and various education agencies. Williams v. California asked for relief from “schools that shock the conscience” and levied two basic complaints: That the state failed to provide students with even the most “basic” level of education; and that the harm caused by inadequate instructional materials, unqualified teachers, and unsafe and insecure school facilities fell disproportionately on poor and minority students.
The conditions that prompted the lawsuit were well known to many who attended or worked at poor and minority schools? Overcrowded classes were held in temporary buildings that were uncomfortably hot, cold or noisy. Bathrooms were closed and/or unclean. About 40 percent of teachers in low-income schools reported vermin infestations—cockroaches, mice and rats.
Williams was settled in 2004—and provided $800 million for facilities repairs along with complaint procedures, inspection protocols, and other oversight. The settlement and all its components and subsequent legislation were meant to give students in every California neighborhood access to adequate facilities and resources. Much progress was made in the first years following the settlement, but recently California's fiscal woes have undercut the settlement's promise.
California has funded less than half of the $800 million, and some schools have waited up to four years for the money to fix leaking roofs and crumbling buildings (California Watch). Conditions at many schools are worse than pre-Williams. Stan Brown, a director of maintenance and operations at a Riverside County school district, is waiting on $75 million for repairs. "I think the title says enough, doesn't it? Emergency Repair Program. Should it take four years to fund an emergency?"
As usual, California is “leading” a national trend of states that are struggling or unwilling to provide their residents with basic needs, including education. According to the State Budget Crisis Task Force, there is a "fundamental shift in the way governments have responded to recessions and appears to signal a willingness to 'unbuild' state government in a way that has not been done before" (New York Times). The task force released a report this week that looked at six large states—California, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Virginia—and found severe and mounting fiscal challenges, especially as states rely on gimmicks to balance budgets.
The Williams settlement was rightly claimed as a victory for California students. The student plaintiffs, their families, and their communities presumed that the settlement would help achieve a double objective—basic and equitable education for all. Ultimately, the state's failure to fully fund emergency repairs has left too many California students waiting for the decent schools that are their constitutional right.


●● smf: I have spoken to LAUSD employees in charge of monitoring Williams compliance – especially in the portion that assures students have adequate instructional materials: textbooks, etc.

The reporters are tasked with making sure that LAUSD is compliant, not that students have books.

On the facilities issues, with the cuts to maintenance+operations and janitorial staff, the cleanliness and safety of facilities have drastically declined in the years since Williams was implemented. And, as the article states, only half of the money allocated for infrastructure repair has been spent.

• A student body president testified to the Bd of Ed last month that only one restroom at his school is open during the day when the requirement is one per floor.

•And putting temporary chain link fencing around a building where the masonry is falling off – no matter how historic the landmark – is not repair!



MID-TERM REPORT ON SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANT TURNAROUND MIXED AT BEST
By Kimberly Beltran, SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/NH518F

Tuesday, July 17, 2012 :: A landmark federal appropriation of $3 billion for turning around the nation’s worst-performing schools has produced mixed results halfway through the grant process, according to analysis released Monday by a D.C.-based think tank.

As part of the federal stimulus package of 2009, Congress provided jumbo-sized School Improvement Grant money to states in exchange for commitments to identify and restructure their most academically troubled schools.

But three years later, many states are struggling to implement mandates to replace teachers and principals as well as commitments to increase learning time, according to surveys conducted by the Center on Education Policy at The George Washington University.

But one bright spot for several SIG schools is that school climates appear to be getting better.

The findings are based largely on surveys of low-performing schools in Idaho, Maryland and Michigan on how SIG schools are addressing three major issues: staffing challenges that result from principal and teacher replacement requirements, extended learning time requirements, and school climate issues.

Analysis also included less detailed responses from 46 other states.

The report had three components, with each exploring one of these issues in depth, and comes amid a flurry of speculation about the effectiveness of the SIG program. Data was collected in the fall and winter of 2011-12, a critical midpoint for implementing three-year SIG awards funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“The CEP reports offer important findings for policymakers and the public to consider as schools continue to do this work,” Maria Ferguson, executive director of the CEP, said in a statement. “The findings are especially relevant as policymakers debate a possible fifth school improvement model under SIG, an idea recently passed as part of the Senate Appropriations Committee spending bill.”

In 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, better known as the economic stimulus package, provided $3 billion for SIGs to help reform persistently low-achieving schools, on top of the $546 million that had already been appropriated for fiscal year 2009 for school improvement grants under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.

Since the Obama administration has been in office, California has received $548 million in SIG support

This infusion of additional money was also accompanied by new requirements from the U.S. Department of Education that targeted funds on the lowest-performing 5 percent of schools within each state and that limited these schools to using one of four school improvement models.

These models include: transformation, which entails replacing the school principal and undertaking three other specific reforms; turnaround, which involves replacing the principal and many of the school staff; restart, which means becoming a charter or privately managed school; and school closure. School year 2010-11 was the first year these grants were implemented.

The reports’ findings draw on survey data from 46 responding states, including the District of Columbia, and case study research in Idaho, Maryland and Michigan. As part of these studies, which were summarized in two earlier CEP reports, state and local education leaders provided feedback about challenges of implementing SIGs and their influence on the direction of school reform.

The first of the three special reports, Schools with Federal School Improvement Grants Face Challenges in Replacing Principals and Teachers, looks at SIG-related staffing requirements. The two most popular school improvement models – transformation and turnaround – require major staffing changes, and finding and retaining effective principals and teachers was often the greatest challenge to SIG implementation in Idaho, Maryland, Michigan and in some of the states surveyed.

Officials in rural, suburban and urban areas in case study states cited various reasons why restaffing presented major challenges in all types of low-performing schools.

“Recruiting the right principals and teachers was challenging across all of the case study schools but was especially difficult in Idaho’s rural schools, where staffing is already a huge obstacle,” read a statement by Jennifer McMurrer, senior research associate and author of the CEP studies.

Still, the majority of the 46 state survey respondents said that replacing teachers and principals was an important element of improving student achievement in SIG schools.

Legal and union requirements and a short funding timeline made it difficult for some of the schools studied to find and hire the best teachers and principals and remove ineffective staff. Despite this, only a minority of the states surveyed reported that they were providing assistance or resources to schools and districts to help ease the challenges of staff replacement.

The second report in the CEP series, Increased Learning Time Under Stimulus-Funded School Improvement Grants: High Hopes, Varied Implementation, highlights another challenge to implementation. All 46 states surveyed reported that at least some of their SIG schools are implementing an improvement model that requires increased learning time.

A majority of state respondents agreed this strategy is a key element in improving student achievement, although some said its importance varied from school to school. But it may be too early to judge the overall effectiveness of this policy based on survey and interview responses, CEP said.

Increased learning time is being implemented differently across schools and states, the CEP researchers found. For example, case study schools in Maryland really target their extra time on students with the greatest need, while those in Michigan for the most part extend the school day for all students.

Despite these challenges, the SIG program has already had a positive impact in many schools, as evidenced by the third report, Changing the School Climate Is the First Step to Reform in Many Schools with Federal Improvement Grants. All of the SIG-funded case study schools in Maryland, Michigan and Idaho are taking steps to improve school climate among students, staff, or both – often as a first priority for reform.

Examples of strategies include:

• Improving safety and discipline;

• Building a sense of community among students and staff; and

• Establishing a shared vision among teachers, parents and students centered on student achievement.

As a result, the success most frequently cited by SIG-funded case study schools during the first year of implementation was an improved school climate, as demonstrated by a safer and more orderly environment, increased student motivation to learn, and greater staff collaboration and morale.

Some schools also reported gains in student achievement, but several said it is too soon to tell.

“Although Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced some positive achievement findings for SIG-funded schools, at this point the unseen impact may be the improved environments for learning that SIG funds have helped create,” commented McMurrer.



The three special reports are available here.



NO WAIVERS FOR TRANSITIONAL K: State Board tells districts Transitional Kindergarten is a must
By Kathryn Baron | EdSource Today http://bit.ly/NEraXR

July 20th, 2012 | Probably the strongest indication of how the State Board of Education would vote on waiver requests from nine school districts seeking to delay the start of Transitional Kindergarten came from the districts themselves; not a single representative showed up to even try to argue their case.

On Wednesday afternoon, the Board unanimously agreed with Department of Education analysts and rejected the waiver applications. That decision sent a clear message to other districts, said Scott Moore, Preschool California’s senior policy director. “There was a sense of people are watching this to see how the State Board acts,” said Moore. “Granting them a waiver to not provide public education to these students isn’t something that they feel is legal.”

Transitional Kindergarten is a new program, but doesn’t involve new students. The same bill that raised California’s age requirement for kindergarten created TK to provide the kids who miss the new cutoff with an additional year of kindergarten the way it used to be; puppets, play kitchens, and an introduction to phonics.

Because these children would have been in regular kindergarten anyway, TK doesn’t cost the state any more money. But Gov. Brown tried to spin it as a new program and proposed eliminating its funding to help pay down the state deficit. In the few months between the time the governor released that proposal and the Legislature rejected it, a number of school districts panicked, thinking they’d have to add a new grade without any state funding to pay for it. They appealed to the State Board of Education for an extra year to put the program into place.

This has all been incredibly frustrating to Democratic State Senator Joe Simitian of Palo Alto, who authored SB 1381, the bill that established Transitional Kindergarten. “What’s a little bit surprising to me is that it is still not fully understood now, almost two years after the bill passed,” Sen. Simitian told EdSource.

For example, in a separate waiver request, a charter school wrote that it only had four children displaced by the new age requirement and it would be too expensive to start a new class just for them. Department of Education staff recommended that the Board approve the request on the condition that the school creates a split TK/kindergarten class. But the bill already gives schools and districts the flexibility to implement TK however they want, Simitian said, as long as it’s age and developmentally appropriate. The State Board put off a decision on that request until its next meeting.

So, on the belief that you can never explain things too often, Simitian went before the State Board to give a synopsis of SB 1381 in an effort to clear up confusion. “I think the Board appreciated the recap on just how much flexibility we built into the system, and the fact that we had two years to plan, so this wasn’t something that we simply rolled out in the fall without notice,” said Simitian. “That being said, I think it’s important to remember these are the exceptions to the rule. The buzz we get from around the state is quite positive that people are really excited that this is one of the few bright spots on the public education horizon.”


HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
RETWEETED FROM@dianeravitch : If you think it is okay to cut the arts and make more time for test prep, watch this: http://youtu.be/GBaHPND2QJg


REGENTS TIE TUITION TO BROWN’S PROP 30: UC tuition could rise 20% if tax measure fails: By TERENCE CHEA, Associa... http://bit.ly/NLJFXz

LOS ANGELES SCHOOL POLICE CHIEF RETHINKING DISCIPLINE POLICY: By Susan Ferriss, iWatch News – Huffington Post | ... http://bit.ly/OTa2gS

Lax security at charter school suspected: NORTH HOLLYWOOD H.S. CLEARED IN STATE TEST LEAK: A former North Hollyw... http://bit.ly/NKGQGs

MAYORS SUPPORT “PARENT TRICKER” LAW: by Diane Ravitch | Bridging Differences - Education Week http://bit.ly/O ... http://bit.ly/PniT7V

NO WAIVERS FOR TRANSITIONAL K: State Board tells districts Transitional Kindergarten is a must: By Kathryn Baron... http://bit.ly/PmP5bF

SECURITY BREACH WILL DELAY RELEASE OF CST RESULTS: By John Fensterwald, EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/Lyu1gD J... http://bit.ly/NHtQBh

MID-TERM REPORT ON SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANT TURNAROUND MIXED AT BEST: By Kimberly Beltran, SI&A Cabinet Report |... http://bit.ly/O2SQ4C

TONIGHT ON THE RADIO - DOG DAYS O’ SUMMER: Solutions to Problems in Public Education: KPFK 90.7 FM & online @ kp... http://bit.ly/SJI4Ff

LACCD Scandals: INDEPENDENT REVIEW FINDS INCONSISTENCIES IN APPOINTMENT OF LACCD INSPECTOR GENERAL: FOR IMMEDIAT... http://bit.ly/PlQmmv

State Budget Crisis Task Force: IN REPORT ON STATES’ FINANCES, A GRIM LONG-TERM FORECAST + NPR Story: California... http://bit.ly/NDC4hJ

Steve Barr v 3.0: The Press Release: FUTURE IS NOW, LA UNIFED (sic) SCHOOL DISTRICT AND UTLA TEACHERS ANNOUNCE P... http://bit.ly/Q3M8kX

PETITION: Change the time of regular LAUSD School Board meetings from 1:00 pm to 6:30 p.m.: by twitter from @utl... http://bit.ly/NTyXRe

The return of Steve Barr: LAUSD, FUTURE IS NOW SCHOOLS ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP FOR 2013-14 + CHARTER SCHOOL EXEC TA... http://bit.ly/O84hKi

CHARTER SCHOOL OPERATOR STEVE BARR TO PARTNER WITH L.A. UNIFIED: -- Howard Blume / LA Times/L.A. NOW | http://l... http://bit.ly/M6HRZ5

District does the right thing: LAUSD PHYS ED TEACHER PLACED ON UNPAID LEAVE FOR ALLEGED SEX CRIMES + smf’s 2¢: B... http://bit.ly/O8wjXr

The “Education Mayor” takes the train: VILLARAIGOSA’S TARNISHED TRANSIT TRIUMPH: The mayor often manages to disa... http://bit.ly/NAiiUe


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: 213-241.8700


• LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR



What can YOU do?
• E-mail, call or write your school board member:
Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386
Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180
Bennett.Kayser@lausd.net • 213-241-5555
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! • Find your state legislator based on your home address. Just go to: http://bit.ly/dqFdq2 • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600
• Call or e-mail Governor Brown: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/
• Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school.
• Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it!
• Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child.
• If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE.
• If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE.
• If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!.


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




Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD and is Parent/Volunteer of the Year for 2010-11 for Los Angeles County. • He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represented PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee for ten years. He is a Health Commissioner, Legislation Team member and a member of the Board of Managers of the California State PTA. He serves on numerous school district advisory and policy committees and has served as a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT 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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