Saturday, August 11, 2012

Would you like textbooks with your free public education?


Onward! 4LAKids
4LAKids: Sunday 12•Aug•2012
In This Issue:
 •  From the wonderful folks who inspired ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘Jersey Shore’: NEW JERSEY’S FAIRER WAY TO FIRE TEACHERS
 •  Skelton on AB 1575: PROTECT CALIFORNIA’S STUDENTS FROM ILLEGAL FEES
 •  THE GAP BETWEEN THE RICH + POOR: A New Look at The Achievement Gap
 •  WRONGSIZING: Respecting Workers, Keeping Kids Safe
 •  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.
• "Access to public education is a right enjoyed by all - not a commodity for sale."
- CA. Supreme Court, Hartwell v. Connell (1984)

• "When it comes to K through 12 education, we see a $500 billion sector in the U.S. alone that is waiting desperately to be transformed by big breakthroughs ….”
- News Corporation Chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch, on announcing purchase of 90% of Wireless Generation, a privately-held Brooklyn-based education technology company for approximately $360 million in cash

Those two are difficult dots to connect. But not impossible.

And note Murdoch’s qualifier: “in the U.S. alone…”. If the attack on public education by the billionaire Boy’s Clubbers and privateer-privatizers is a war, it’s a global. It’s World War 3.1. Remember Windows 3.1? It changed the world – and enriched the same entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, deregulation proponents, private equity investors, multinationals and leveraged buyout out artists as the war on free public education.

Like MS/DOS, Windows really wasn’t really new; it was old stuff in a new shiny box – from Xerox PARC as re-imagined by Apple+Jobs and reverse engineered by Microsoft+Gates. Charter schools were dreamt up by teacher’s union leaders. ®eform, Inc. isn’t innovation, it’s old thinking in new packaging. (See Adam Smith: The Wealth of Nations – but read Machiavelli’s Prince first.)

First you join the game. Then you change the rules. Then you change the game. Then you take over.

If Public education is a “$500 Billion Sector” you buy a piece of it, grow your piece, change the rules ND change the game. It falls into a billionaire’s lap like a starlet at a cocktail party.

The textbook and testing companies are multinationals. The 1%.
The charter investors /private capitalists are entrepreneurial billionaires. The 1%.
Moving funding control from school districts to the state changed the rules.
The failure of the state to do the job drives federal oversight and supplemental funding and regulations changes the game.
Deregulate it and it’s yours.
The Charters and vouchers and Common Core Standards and standardized testing and value added assessments – the deunionization – the waivers and flexibility -change the rules and the game.
Public control of public education (School boards are the most local of local government) is evaporating – transferring upward to city government, state government and the feds.
And private investors are standing by to help.
Themselves.

Left unchecked the 1% will eventually be selling the 99% their free public education.

See: Skelton on AB 1575: PROTECT CALIFORNIA’S STUDENTS FROM ILLEGAL FEES -http://bit.ly/QLgVVk

CHANGING THE SUBJECT SLIGHTLY: I have been following the Olympics on the BBC. Their coverage is in real time and their jingoism has a tongue-in-cheekiness probably only I appreciate.

Britain has been kicking Australia’s butt in medal count – historically the opposite has been true. For a while there New Zealand, Australia’s smaller next door neighbor was counting more Olympic bling than the Aussies.

Once the gloating had passed the reasoned deconstruction was undertaken: This IS the BBC!

Britain ten years ago instituted a program to promote sport in schools as a funded requirement. (In the UK ‘sport’ is singular; ‘maths’ is plural.)

Australia abandoned sport as a requirement in schools – to save money and time in the instructional day.

Sure the Brits have the home field advantage …but the Aussies are failing at sport they have always dominated in venues besides Sydney.
A small lesson from the commonwealth:

2012:
GREAT BRITAIN
Gold:28 Silver:15 Bronze:19 Total:62
AUSTRALIA
Gold:7 Silver:16 Bronze:12 Total:35

Four years ago:
GREAT BRITAIN
Gold:19 Silver:13 Bronze:15 Total:47
AUSTRALIA
Gold:14 Silver:15 Bronze:17 Total:46

We know PE matters. Maybe the Olympics is the standardized test that proves it. No medal left behind.


SCHOOL STARTS ON MONDAY FOR TEACHERS AND STAFF, TUESDAY FOR STUDENTS.

Let’s stay cool, be safe and healthy and teach+learn good things. This is the year we turn it around.

¡Onward/Adelante! - smf


From the wonderful folks who inspired ‘The Sopranos’ and ‘Jersey Shore’: NEW JERSEY’S FAIRER WAY TO FIRE TEACHERS
#646 in the series: UNASKED-FOR SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS YOU PROBABLY DON’T REALLY HAVE.

The LA Times Editorial Board says, parroting the Powers-That-Wanna-Be in Ed ®eform, Inc., “Ousting teachers in California is protracted, expensive and nearly impossible. Here's a better way”.

●●smf: Firing bad teachers is yet another magic bullet in the Ed ®eform six-shooter, replacing each spent and failed round as they misfire:

• If only the state lottery could fund education, we wouldn’t need these pesky property taxes.
• If only we could be rid of these pesky union contracts.
• If only we left no children behind.
• If only the mayor ran the schools.
• If only every child graduated college ready and career prepared.
• If only there were college slots and good jobs out there.
• If only parents/charter operators/education theorists could choose, they would ALWAYS choose correctly.
• If only we could use test scores to evaluate teachers.
• If only my kid’s number in the lottery comes up.
• If only schools would have done before what Eli and Bill believe now.
• If only we could cut costs and improve test scores.
• If only pizza and chicken nuggets and Mountain Dew were good for kids.
• If only Superman….

Now it’s ‘If only there was a fairer way to fire teachers’. This sounds an awful lot like: ‘If only there was a more humane and mistake-proof way to execute criminals.’

There always have been folks in every profession that shouldn't be in that profession …and there’s no excuse for bad plumbers or waitresses or bank tellers. The teachers unions should be more like crafts guilds – making sure their brothers-and-sister teachers are as good as they can be. But it’s hard to be proud and competent and self-regulating with that target on your back.

I’m pretty sure of this: The answer isn’t to let Chris Christie decide who the good and bad teachers are. Any more than the LA Times should be the decider.

(In the online posting of the editorial is a picture of all 334 pounds of New Jersey governor Chris Christie, one cream puff short of gross, talking about this signature legislation.

Photo Caption: Tenure will be harder for New Jersey teachers to get and easier to lose under a law Gov. Chris Christie, center, signed Monday. (Rich Schultz / Associated Press / August 6, 2012)


NEW JERSEY’S FAIRER WAY TO FIRE TEACHERS

•Los Angeles Times Editorial | http://lat.ms/PG3aA6

August 8, 2012 :: Every time a proposal to reform the hiring and firing of teachers is put forward in California, it's just as complicated and, in ways, as counterproductive as the current system. Ousting teachers here is ruinously protracted and expensive and, ultimately, nearly impossible. Legislation to fix this regularly fails, in part because the bills aren't well conceived, but mostly because of opposition from the California Teachers Assn. and reluctance by Democratic politicians who rely on the union for support. Yet just this week, the state of New Jersey proved that it doesn't have to be difficult to be fair to teachers while weeding the ineffective ones from the classroom.

Gov. Chris Christie signed legislation Monday that lengthens the time a teacher must work before receiving tenure from three years to four. It also makes that probationary period more meaningful by requiring a year of working with a mentor and two years of satisfactory evaluations before tenure can be granted. If a school wants to fire a low-performing teacher who already has tenure, it must first try to help the teacher improve. If the teacher challenges the termination, the case is submitted to binding arbitration. Teachers are given a little more than three months to contest a firing, and the cost, which is paid by the state, cannot exceed $7,500. Efforts to terminate teachers must be based on comprehensive and regular performance evaluations.

California's current teacher protection system is similar to how New Jersey had run things for decades, but is even more dysfunctional. Schools must make tenure decisions on new teachers within 18 months. Any termination attempt is subject to restrictions on when the teacher can even be notified that he or she has been targeted; appeals then go to an administrative law panel — whose makeup is slanted in favor of the teacher — that can take years to convene and decide a particular case. Legislation to streamline this ineffective process has gone too far in the other direction by making the appeals process advisory only.

Because New Jersey's new law ensures that struggling teachers receive help and due process before they can be fired, it won the support of the state teachers union and bipartisan approval from legislators. At the same time, the law replaces the costly and time-consuming quagmire that has allowed seriously problematic teachers to remain in the classroom.

Such reform requires a governor who is dedicated to the welfare of students; Christie has made education a cornerstone of his administration, while California Gov. Jerry Brown has yet to articulate a set of educational priorities. Also necessary was a teachers union that was willing to consider ending an unreasonable and increasingly unpopular system. It shouldn't be this hard to do the right thing by California's public school students.


Skelton on AB 1575: PROTECT CALIFORNIA’S STUDENTS FROM ILLEGAL FEES

by George Skelton | LA Times/Capitol Journal | http://lat.ms/QL741C

August 6, 2012 :: SACRAMENTO — Not every proposed law is historic or sweeping. Some merely are pretty good ideas — perhaps even important for a low-income kid.

One such bill is among the hundreds awaiting action as the Legislature heads into its final month. The measure's goal is to stop schools from socking students with illegal fees.

Fees for sports and field trips and textbooks and art, for example.

They're being charged despite a guarantee in the California Constitution of a free K-12 education.

"Access to public education is a right enjoyed by all — not a commodity for sale," the California Supreme Court ruled in 1984. "Educational opportunities must be provided to all students without regard to their families' ability or willingness to pay fees….

"This fundamental feature of public education is not contingent upon the inevitably fluctuating financial health of local school districts. A solution to those financial difficulties must be found elsewhere."

Nevertheless, according to a pending lawsuit filed two years ago by the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, "the state has done nothing as its public school districts blatantly violate the free school guarantee by requiring students to pay fees and purchase assigned materials for credit courses."

"Basically," says ACLU chief counsel Mark Rosenbaum, "the state is balancing the budget on the backpacks of kids."

The state Department of Education, a defendant in the suit, even last year prepared a detailed memo advising which fees are legal and which illegal. But it seems to have been widely ignored by many schools.

"Some of these school districts, I understand they're in a difficult situation," says Assemblyman Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens.) "God knows the state hasn't helped the school districts in terms of funding the education system.

"But what some schools are charging in fees is against the law."

And nobody apparently is enforcing the law.

"We find it perverse," says ACLU attorney Brooks Allen, "that the only mechanism to enforce the constitutional right of a student who can't afford a textbook is to go out and hire a lawyer.

"We want the state to have a role."

It's not just the principle of a free public education that is at stake. It's also the practical effect of stigmatizing and humiliating poor kids who can't afford the teacher's demand to kick in money for a program.

And if they're denied the same materials or participation granted better-off students, the children of struggling families are left behind in an academic disadvantage.

Lara is pushing a bill (AB 1575) that would create a formal complaint process for parents who thought their kids had been charged fees illegally. They could appeal to the school principal and, ultimately, the state Board of Education.

The state superintendent of public instruction also would be required to periodically advise schools about what's legal and what's not. And schools would need to update their fee policies.

Pretty mild stuff, it would seem. But this sort of thing invariably is resisted by administrators and bureaucrats leery of being forced to move out of their comfort zones.

Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar Lara bill last year. He contended it went "too far."

It would have required the posting of a notice specifying legal and illegal fees in each classroom — like a workplace job safety notice — and mandated frequent auditing.

The current bill has been toned down. Negotiations are underway between the bill's sponsors and the governor's office. Brown has not taken a position on the new measure. Neither has state schools chief Tom Torlakson.

The bill, strongly backed by Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez (D-Los Angeles), passed the lower house and is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The immediate goal of both sides — the ACLU and the government, particularly education officials — is to enact legislation that would render the lawsuit moot.

The suit was filed after some parents complained to the ACLU. The organization then documented more than 50 school districts requiring pupils to cough up for textbooks, novels, science materials, P.E. uniforms, art classes, advanced placement exams and the like — for both classroom and extracurricular activities.

Plaintiff "Jane's Spanish teacher wrote her name on the class whiteboard because she could not pay for assigned workbooks," the ACLU complaint charged.

Also, her middle school "required that Jane [not her real name] pay more than $440 annually in course and uniform fees for her physical education class and musical instrument rental fees…

"In some classes, teachers made grades partially dependent on the students' payment of course fees or awarded extra credit to students who bought $20 T-shirts."

Some students who couldn't afford books were issued school copies, but they had to be read in the library and couldn't be marked up. No taking them home.

The defendants asked a judge to dismiss the case. He refused. Subpoenas have been issued to 25 school districts ordering them to appear in court and explain their fee practices. The hearing is expected to be delayed until after the legislative session ends.

A report produced last year by UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education and Access found that "California's high schools increasingly are calling upon families to pay for services that had previously been covered by the school….

"As high schools shift costs to families, inequality between schools often grows."

A new school year starts soon. The Legislature and the governor should unequivocally tell principals that the state Supreme Court had it right 28 years ago: They should look for money someplace besides students' pockets.

________________________

••smf: This bill attempts to avoid the ACLU lawsuit and keep the administration of the state constitutional guarantee of a a free K-12 education and the enforcement of the 1984 Hartzell v. Connell decision out of the courts. Either the state will oversee school funding or the courts will – on a district-by-district basis.

By not acting the legislature issues the challenge: “so sue the school districts”.

If the intent is to bankrupt them, this accelerates that process.

Better they should rise to the constitutional challenge they are already avoiding: funding K-12 public education.


THE GAP BETWEEN THE RICH + POOR: A New Look at The Achievement Gap
From the AALA Update | http://bit.ly/MPiSst

Week of Aug 13, 2012 :: For many years a focus of education reform has been the reduction of the academic achievement gap between African American students and their white peers. Increasingly, Latino students have been included in this gap. Now as more and more school districts are finally seeing some reduction in the gap in certain grade levels, a recent study* by Dr. Sean Reardon, a researcher and director of a doctoral program in education policy at Stanford University, shows that the achievement gap between children from high and low income families is far higher than the gap between black and white students. As the incomes of affluent and poor families have diverged over the past three decades, so too has the educational performance of their children. In fact, the difference in test scores between children at the 10% income level vs. those at the 90% level is now nearly twice as large as the black-white achievement gap. Yet, just a half century ago, the achievement gap between black and white students was nearly 1 ½ times as large as the income gap.

This study, published in 2011, is the first to look at the achievement gap between rich and poor children and compare it to the achievement gap between black and white children. A key finding was that the income achievement gap does not change, neither narrows nor widens, during the entire educational career of students. Dr. Reardon suggests that a big part of the processes that are responsible for this are things that happen in early childhood before kids get into kindergarten. This is another link in the chain that supports the expansion of high quality preschool programs, not the reduction. The cognitively stimulating environment that these programs can provide can help raise the achievement of all low income students, regardless of race.

Statistics are showing that lower income students are doing better academically than decades ago; however, those at the top of the income scale are doing far better and have moved dramatically ahead of middle income kids. In fact, even the achievement gap between rich and poor white students has gotten bigger over time. There are many mechanisms that contribute to the gap and they have certainly never been fully defined nor understood, yet, higher parental education is one consistent, key correlation to higher incomes. But Dr. Reardon says that family income is almost as strong a predictor of how well children do in school as is their parents’ level of education.

Main reasons for the growth of the income achievement gap, according to the study are:

• - The income gap has increased dramatically over the past 40 years (it is now wider than it has ever been) with more than 22 percent of children under age 18 now living in poverty.

• - High income and college-educated parents invest more time and resources (music lessons, travel, private tutors and summer camp) in the cognitive development of their children.

• - Income inequality has led to residential segregation by income rather than race resulting in high income children having access to higher quality schools and more resources.

This income achievement gap is exacerbated by unequal family resources, disadvantaged neighborhoods, insecure labor markets and worsening school conditions due to budget reductions. The free, public education that provided upward mobility during the past century is being threatened by this rising inequality of income. Those with political power and in leadership positions must make a concerted effort to develop a long-term solution to the budget crisis and prioritize support for education in this country if the nation is to remain competitive.

*The Widening Achievement Gap between the Rich and Poor: New Evidence and Possible Explanations, published in Whither Opportunity? Rising Inequality, Schools and Children’s Life Chances, Russell Sage Foundation. More information may be found at https://www.russellsage.org/ publications/whither-opportunity.


WRONGSIZING: Respecting Workers, Keeping Kids Safe
By smf for 4LAKids News | http://bit.ly/OaNlnv

11 August 2012 :: LAUSD has craftspeople in the building trades on the payroll: carpenters, painters, plumbers, roofing and flooring workers, sheet metal workers; cement workers, plasterers and pavers; air conditioning folk, electricians, skip loader operators, sheet metal workers, machinists, etc. …skilled and experienced craftspeople – hard working men and women who do the day-to-day routine maintenance and operations of the school district.

With over a thousand schools there is plenty o’ work; with the schools getting older daily the workload increases. As their numbers are dramatically slashed. They use words like “decimated” – but grammatically “decimated” is only a ten-percent cut. More than half of the employees in many crafts are gone in the recent Reduction in Force.

If you have been at a school lately you have noticed the cutback in janitorial and custodial staff; schools are not as clean or well maintained as they have been in the past. Cleaning crews travel from school to school at night, the dedicated Plant Manager who did the on-site maintenance and light repair during the school day – reporting to the principal - has been replaced by a “broom operator” – if that. When the principal or a teacher needs something fixed they must issue a trouble call – and that is routed through a complex bureaucratic hierarchy and responded to when-and-if. Air conditioning not working? Graffiti on the handball wall? LAUSD will get around to it when they get around to it. Maybe the night crew will do it.

In the latest round of cost cutting 70% of the painters have been laid off. The taggers aren’t getting less prolific and the paint hasn’t gotten any better – but the painters have gotten fewer and father between.
Properly maintained the acres of LAUSD linoleum floors that contain asbestos are perfectly safe. Otherwise they are not.
With the elimination of these jobs it looks suspiciously like LAUSD intends to – or is- outsourcing the work to outside contractors.

If they are it is:
1. Anti-labor. A violation of the law, union contracts and the respect due to loyal and hardworking employees – who have families and house payments and mouths to feed.
2. False economy. A penny wise and pound foolish move that will cost much much more in years to come
3. Endangering children. LAUSD employees are vetted and trained to work around children – with the message embedded: Work safely and carefully around students. LAUSD workers understand that they work for the District – but their clients and first concern are students. Nothing against Bob, but Bob the Carpenter from ABC Contracting works for ABC – his job is to get the job done in 4.5 hours because that’s what it says on the work order. Bob thinks his TB test is current – he checked that box on the form. And did the Personnel Commission check to see if Bob is on the registry of sex offenders? No, they did not.

You will be hearing more about this in the near future – hopefully not in headlines about children who are hurt or endangered.

The effected and laid off employees have mounted a website to share information and inform the public. Their spelling and grammar could be better, but it’s here: http://backtoworkschools.wordpress.com/


The Back-to-Work Schools Blog



HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources
FIRED CHARTER SCHOOL EXECUTIVE RECEIVES $245,000 IN SETTLEMENT
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/OgOr46
Crescendo charter schools founder John Allen sued for wrongful dismissal after he was fired for allegedly ordering staff to cheat on state standardized tests.

L.A. UNIFIED SETTLEMENT BYPASSING SENIORITY-BASED LAYOFFS NULLIFIED
By Stephen Ceasar, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/OSauKg
Appeals court nullifies the settlement meant to protect teachers with little seniority at 45 underperforming schools.

LAWSUIT, BILL AIM TO KEEP K-12 EDUCATION FREE IN CALIFORNIA

By George Skelton Los Angeles Times | http://bit.ly/NhGRq4
Legislation and an ACLU lawsuit tackle the increasing use of fees at public schools, a trend that is unfair to low-income students and increases disparities.

AIG TO PAY L.A. UNIFIED NEARLY $79 MILLION IN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://bit.ly/PaPCyu
L.A. Unified had sued insurer AIG over its refusal to pay claims on schools needing environmental cleanup.

BILL WOULD FORCE CREATION OF STANDARDS FOR TRANSITIONAL KINDERGARTEN
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources http://bit.ly/PaQ142
Even as hundreds of California schools prepare to launch transitional kindergarten for the first time this year, a bill awaiting a Senate vote would create standards for what and how the program’s not-quite 5-year olds should be taught.

OVERHAUL OF TEACHER MISCONDUCT SYSTEM NEARING COMPLETION
SI&A Cabinet Report – News & Resources http://bit.ly/ObxiGe
Fifteen months after examiners found gaping holes in the state’s oversight.

ROMNEY'S VP PICK PUTS K-12 SPENDING IN SPOTLIGHT
Politics K-12 - Education Week http://bit.ly/PNitah
As the chairman of the House Budget Committee, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., has proposed a spending blueprint that some warn could lead to deep cuts in federal education programs. (August 11, 2012)

SIZE MATTERS IN NEW DISTRICT-LEVEL 'RACE TO THE TOP', LAUSD hopes the new Race to the Top competition will bring... http://bit.ly/QQiWgO

tweet: OK, maybe it’s Reed v. UTLA: CALIF. COURT OVERTURNS LAUSD'S 'LAST HIRED, FIRST FIRED' EXEMPTION: By Tami Abdolla... http://bit.ly/P4OsEG

LAUSD CHIEF JOHN DEASY'S BACK-TO-SCHOOL PEP TALK INCLUDES PROMISE TO GET TEACHERS, STUDENTS COMPUTER TABLETS: By... http://bit.ly/P4OqMQ

yweet: Re Previous Post: Reed case affecting staff RIFs at 45 LAUSD schools is correctly cited as: Reed v. California | http://bit.ly/RyfHtT

tweet: Reed v.LAUSD, governing RIFs at 45 schools, has been reversed on appeal - says LAUSDPARENTS, quoting UTLA President Warren Fletcher

47 LA CITY POOLS TO CLOSE MONDAY MAY GET REPRIEVE: The Associated Press, from the Sacramento Bee AP State Wire N... http://bit.ly/OTYbO4

School Alert: LA COUNTY EMERGENCY HEAT ADVISORY CONTINUED THROUGH FRIDAY: To help keep you informed on school... http://bit.ly/Mw9zxo

"Access to public education is a right enjoyed by all–not a commodity for sale" CA Supreme Court–Hartzell v.Connell'84 http://lat.ms/QL741C

Skelton on AB 1575: PROTECT CALIFORNIA’S STUDENTS FROM ILLEGAL FEES: from the LA Times: Even though a California... http://bit.ly/QLgVVk

PRINCIPALS: OUR STRUGGLE TO BE HEARD ON REFORM: By Carol Burris and Harry Leonardatos from Valerie Strauss’ Th... http://bit.ly/QDwuff

THOUSANDS OF L.A. STUDENTS STILL NEED WHOOPING COUGH VACCINE: By Sammy Roth, Daily News, Los Angeles (MCT) from ... http://bit.ly/TdYExh

A SCHOOL FUNDING PRIMER: A IS FOR ALLIGATOR: By John Fensterwald, EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/MLnkJZ August... http://bit.ly/Td6ebk

LEGISLATURE TAKING NOTICE OF RISK SCHOOL INSOLVENCY POSES TO STATE: “For 20 years, we had seven districts in fin... http://bit.ly/Td1wKQ

AIG TO PAY LAUSD NEARLY $79 MILLION IN CLAIMS SETTLEMENT: L.A. Unified had sued insurer AIG over its refusal to ... http://bit.ly/RZKSf7

SUMMER ENDS EARLY FOR LAUSD STUDENTS, SCHOOL STARTS AUG. 14: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | Con... http://bit.ly/QBporL

LAUSD EMPLOYEE FILES SEXUAL HARASSMENT CLAIM: by Howard Blume | http://latimes.com http://lat.ms/RZB0lA August... http://bit.ly/Rl8Xj5


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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