In This Issue:
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Prop. 38: A LETTER TO OUR TEACHERS |
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SOME READERS CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH ABOUT SCHOOLS' PRECARIOUS STATE |
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Meducation: ATTENTION DISORDER OR NOT, PILLS TO HELP IN SCHOOL |
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CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS HAVE BEST-EVER ACADEMIC SHOWING + MAJORITY OF CA SCHOOLS REACH API TEST SCORE GOALS: HOW DID THEY DO IT? |
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HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources |
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EVENTS: Coming up next week... |
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What can YOU do? |
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Featured Links:
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ON MONDAY morning the superintendent came out and
passed the hat (and chirped a blizzard of tweets) for Arts+Music
Education. #ARTS MATTERS/DONATE TODAY | bit.ly/PYJIzN. The message
was: Arts is Core …especially if somebody else pays for it. (After all,
we have all these tablets to buy!)
In the afternoon the superintendent made his annual State of the
District Speech at the Cocoanut Grove at the RFK Schools, thinly
attended and reported barely nowhere. Monica cheerled on all the
wonderfulness and Dr. D delivered a PowerPoint on all the data-driven
progress+®eform-to-date …and (quite correctly) warned that if Props 30
and/or 38 don’t pass the future is very bleak indeed | http://bit.ly/Rpzw4V.
ON TUESDAY THE BOARD OF ED MET. Three times. THE FIRST, at 9 AM was a
set-up for the second meeting at noon with the “first reading” of
motions to be considered at the noon confab. There is no public comment
at first readings – we wouldn’t want the board burdened with the
public’s opinions. Superintendent Deasy delivered his State o’ th’
Schools stump speech + PowerPoint again. And. Dr. Perez of AALA was a
little more realistic about all the wonderfulness | http://t.co/NukkmZZS.
AT THE SECOND (Noon) MEETING The Arts @ the Core Resolution passed
unanimously – following speeches to the board from celebrities (Cheech
Marin really showed up, Justin Beiber+Ryan Seacrest only tweeted) and
with about the same potential impact as the National Health Education
Week Resolution | http://t.co/SdLPSNBu.
I am hopeful and enthusiastic about Arts+Music Education and Health
Education. But the arts resolution is not a
magic bullet but instead is pretty thin soup served by folks whose
passion+priorities are elsewhere; spoon-fed to a patient in extremis | http://bit.ly/ULB5jT– with no assurance-of or commitment-to funding. At this point the attention may be palliative | http://t.co/DqXFwCDS.
The master Partnership School Agreement with Mayor Tony’s schools and
Megan Chernin’s LA’s Promise schools was rubber-stamp renewed for
another five years without a whimper – and with Dr D given sole
authority as to which schools will be held how accountable |
bit.ly/PYJIzN. The THIRD MEETING at 4:30 was behind closed doors – with
the superintendent’s performance reviewed and his contract extended (but
no bonus/no raise) without public discussion. bit.ly/PYJIzN So the
Board met at 9AM and Noon – spectacularly parent+teacher unfriendly
times – and then secretly at 4:30 – a time when parents+teachers could
maybe attend. What,
gentle readers, is with
that?
ON THURSDAY the statewide API scores were released – and – if you look to test scores for good news: There it is! http://lat.ms/RSqLml
Unless that is, you look through the federal Lake Woebeonian NCLB/AYP
lens – because in that case the impossible goals of all children above
average has not been met. My neighborhood middle school went up 100 API
points, the best in the District. They remain an AYP failing school. http://bit.ly/QteFxN
THROUGH THE WEEK THERE WAS A BLIZZARD OF STORIES ABOUT PROPS 30 AND 38.
Please start here: Prop. 38: A LETTER TO OUR TEACHERS (next)…especially
if you are a teacher or care about teachers. Read Steve Lopez’ piece
from today’s Times THE TRUTH ABOUT SCHOOLS' PRECARIOUS STATE (follows)
Here’s more: bit.ly/Q2rb5Q | http://bit.ly/Tx5qRF
| bit.ly/X13IqC “In the spirit of the moment.” Dan Walters, dean of
the Sacramento press corps tweets, “we need a face-to-face debate
between Jerry Brown and Molly Munger, and I'd volunteer to referee--er,
moderate.”
A COUPLE OF STORIES THIS WEEK report how little difference there is
between in the Education agendae of Obama and Romney (both attended and
send/sent their kids to exclusive prep schools | http://bit.ly/WgpNSN
) and how committed to ®eform, Teacher Accountability and “Choice”
(i.e.: Charters – and in Romney’s case: Vouchers) they are. If a
Republican Congress decides to keep the Dept of Ed, a President Romney
might even keep Arne Duncan on. bit.ly/RlvIRM
Lest there is doubt out there, smf/4LAKids doesn’t think any of these
(Republican Congress, President Romney, and Arne Duncan) are good ideas!
At the KPCC Presidential Debate Screening a week ago Wednesday – Ann – a
teacher from Hollywood – stood up to say how disgusted she was with how
out-of-touch both candidates were with public education. She suggested
that rather than weeks of debate prep they spend a week in a public
school.
MORE AND MORE STUDIES are finding that generally most charter schools
are almost-as-good-as-traditional schools. (Would you like some syrup
with your waffle language?) There was a report saying as much to the
Board of Ed on Tuesday. Yet the premise and promise – and the law – is
that charters must do better than traditional schools and share their
innovative best practices …or their charters are revoked . Not
almost-as-good-as-or just-as-good-as. Better or gone.
Nobody gave anyone; not parents or boards of education or billionaire
philanthropists or non-profit or for-profit charter management
organizations, or politicians the right to choose a lesser education for
our children with the public’s money.
THURSDAY NIGHT just as Joe Biden and Paul Ryan squared off to not
discuss Education policy Mayor Emanuel in Chicago sacked his Broad
Academy trained schools superintendent – and replaced him with a coach
from the Broad Center. bit.ly/WYNePM | http://bit.ly/RjBB1M
And apparently it’s not alright for bicycle racers to use drugs to
enhance their performance …but it is OK for schoolchildren to do so:
Meducation: ATTENTION DISORDER OR NOT, PILLS TO HELP IN SCHOOL.(follows)
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
Prop. 38: A LETTER TO OUR TEACHERS
From California State PTA President Carol Kocivar | http://bit.ly/T5P8Ki
I believe a great strength of the PTA is spelled out in our name: Parent TEACHER Association.
Unlike new reform groups who pride themselves in “taking on the
teachers” and quite frankly blame teachers for problems caused by the
education budget crisis, the PTA at its core values our teachers.
In fact, that is part of the PTA’s purpose:
“To bring into closer relation the home and the school, that parents and
teachers may cooperate intelligently in the education of children and
youth.”
You see it every day in our schools, where PTAs have stepped in and stepped up to support our teachers and our schools.
In the past, PTAs helped add the extras.
Now – because of the horrendous budget cuts to schools the past several
years – we see more PTAs paying for teaching positions, and supporting
personnel, afterschool programs, education materials and even toilet
paper. In my community, I see our parents support new teachers as they
move into a new classroom and provide teacher breakfasts, celebrations
and supplies. However they can help, parents and PTAs try.
This is a tough time. We have seen the disappearance of our counselors,
our librarians, arts and music, small class sizes, instructional time,
summer school… The list goes on and on.
We have seen great and dedicated teachers lose their jobs and leave the
profession. This is a loss not only for the dreams of that teacher but
also for our society. Our children and our state and our nation depend
on high-quality caring teachers.
PTA members throughout California have told us that adequate funding and
a complete quality education are their highest priorities.
This past year, in the tradition of the PTA – where we identify urgent
issues and take action to solve them – the PTA said, “Enough is enough.”
Public education in California has been decimated and we need to do
something right now so that an entire generation of children is not
denied the quality education it deserves.
And, we felt, we needed to do more than just another campaign to stop
deeper cuts. That’s why the PTA helped write and is supporting an
initiative – Proposition 38 – on the ballot in November.
The idea is simple and straightforward: Generate significant additional
revenue to start to restore the programs and services that have been
cut.
Move California out of the basement in school funding. Make sure new
dollars go directly to every single public school in California to
support our children, help our teachers and improve our schools.
And ensure the new money goes for things we know improve student achievement and readiness for college and careers:
• Professional development, teaching materials and technology for our teachers and our schools;
• Money to hire back teachers and restore small class sizes and instructional time;
• Money for arts, science, P.E., counselors and librarians and support staff;
• Money targeted for our most needy students so that schools have additional resources to meet their additional needs; and
• Local control of funding so that teachers, parents and communities
have a say in how the money is spent at their local school.
That’s the motive and passion behind our efforts, pure and simple.
PTA supports Proposition 38 because it provides more money for every
local school, guaranteed, for 12 years – a generation of kids. And it
requires local parent and educator input into how the new dollars are
spent at each school.
Proposition 38 generates new revenue through a sliding scale income tax
increase, with the wealthy paying the most. According to the independent
legislative analyst, higher tax rates would result in higher tax
liabilities on only about 60 percent of state personal income tax
filers.
(In fact, Proposition 38 relies less on the bottom 60 percent of
taxpayers for revenues than Proposition 30, which includes a sales tax
provision.)
We also want to be up front. Proposition 38 requires the new money to be
used to restore programs and services for students; it cannot be used
to increase salaries for current staff. We value the hard work of our
teachers, but given the depth of budget cuts the past several years,
parents and the public strongly support using new funding first to
restore what has been lost.
But let’s also be clear: Under Proposition 38, schools absolutely may
hire back teachers or staff to restore programs, reduce class sizes or
expand instructional time.
Proposition 38 will lift us from 47th in the nation in per-student
funding and give teachers and educators the resources they need to help
all of our children succeed.
We recognize there are differences of opinion about the ballot measures
this November. We know Proposition 30, not 38, is the initiative
supported by the two major state teachers’ associations, and we fully
respect that.
Because PTAs have always been committed to a collaborative relationship
with our teachers, we want you to understand our reasons for supporting
Proposition 38 as well. And we hope you will take the time to learn more
about the initiative yourself to see how it helps our schools.
This November is a critical time for California’s future. We know that
many are worried about the way the legislature has structured the
current state budget to require disproportionate “trigger” cuts to
schools
The trigger cuts approved in the budget are based only on one scenario
of Proposition 30 failing; the legislature did not develop a similar
scenario for Proposition 38 passing.
The legislature and districts could revise their budgets after the
election and find ways to address this, knowing significant new money
will be coming from Proposition 38. That’s not the solution the
legislature envisioned, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a good one.
PTA is proud to work closely with teachers and we are proud to support
an effort that guarantees a dramatic infusion of new funding for
schools.
I hope this answers a lot of the questions we have heard from teachers about PTA’s support for Proposition 38.
We want to hold the biggest PTA fundraiser in history to start to
restore quality education for our teachers, our parents and most
importantly, for our children.
Sincerely,
Carol Kocivar, President
California State PTA
SOME READERS CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH ABOUT SCHOOLS' PRECARIOUS STATE
A CERTAIN TYPE INSISTS PROBLEMS SUCH AS ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ARE TO BLAME
FOR CALIFORNIA'S SCHOOL FUNDING WOES, BUT IF PROP. 30 AND PROP. 38 BOTH
FAIL, THE SITUATION IS GOING TO GET EVEN MORE DIRE.
By Steve Lopez, LA Times columnist | http://lat.ms/RsuMi0
October 13, 2012, 5:59 p.m. :: So last week, I wrote about a Palos
Verdes businessman who serves on the local school board, where budget
cuts have been so devastating he intends to vote for two state ballot
propositions that would prevent more slashing, hoping one of them gets
the needed 50% plus one. | http://bit.ly/W1Vhf4
You'd have thought the poor guy was some kind of monster, judging by
reader reaction. More than 90% of the responses dismissed the school
board member, and me, as helpless fools. I'm used to being called names,
but I was a little surprised to see a volunteer public servant get
smacked around. One reader even called him a stooge.
"I need more information" about him, wrote another. "Who is he and what does he do for a living?"
Well, when he's not giving back to his community, he's an executive for a
food processing company — all of which was in the column, by the way.
He sees public education as a factory that produces future taxpaying
employees who will benefit all of us. He's heartbroken about the budget
cuts he's had to make, with more on the way if the November propositions
both fail. Prop. 30 is Gov. Jerry Brown's baby and Prop. 38 is the
offspring of civil rights attorney and multimillionaire Molly Munger,
whose TV attack ads on Prop. 30 may doom both propositions and burn the
very kids she's trying to rescue.
I'll admit — as did the subject of that column, by the way — that there
are good reasons for Californians to be sick and tired of government by
initiative and angry about the failure of state leaders to lead. I'd
have preferred more radical fixes for the endless revenue roller
coaster, and Brown didn't help his chances of selling Prop. 30 when he
signed an $8-billion bill to start building a high-speed-rail line that
voters have soured on.
But there's a reason parents and educators in school districts large and
small are worried sick. If one of the props passes — and the odds
aren't great — they'll be able to limp forward without more damage. But
if both fail, six million K-12 students will take another whipping in
January.
Despite that, I got the usual seething contempt for the idea of spending
another red cent on a losing cause. Teachers are lazy and their union
bosses are greedy, my unusually crabby readers insisted. Legislators are
drunken spenders, school districts are inept, students are brain-dead
and parents are asleep. So the hell with all of them, say the
grave-dancers, even if the truth is that California students have made
significant gains in recent years.
"Ask your illegal alien buddies to kick in the money," said one reader.
If only I had a dollar for every email like this, I could personally
donate the $6 billion that Prop. 30 is supposed to generate annually.
No doubt illegal immigration is a challenge for schools. But I can't fix
that, the federal government won't fix it, and powerful forces — on
both the left and the right — have an economic or political interest in
keeping things as they are. So let's move on.
"The state budget has increased every year since 2010," said one reader, but "there are no massive budget cuts happening."
Actually, the state general fund budget was $91.5 billion in 2010-11
(Gov. Schwarzenegger's last budget) and it's $91.34 billion this year.
In 2007-08, the budget was $102.9 billion, so there have been lots of
cuts and you don't have to look far to see them.
As for readers who love telling me our taxes are among the highest in
the nation, and that government spending has ballooned beyond reason,
two points:
State and local taxes are pretty high — the state finance department
puts California 11th in the country, and 19th if you add fees to the
burden. But the state spends almost the same amount today, per $100 of
personal income, as it did in Ronald Reagan's last year as governor.
Another beef was that teachers and other public employees are robbing us
blind with bloated retirement packages, and I'm scolded about this
routinely, despite having written many times about the need for public
employee pension and healthcare benefit reform. But teachers perform an
invaluable public service, contribute to their own retirement funds, and
don't get Social Security checks, which can't be ignored.
For those who insist California school budgets are bloated, John
Mockler, a consultant who's helping Brown push Prop. 30, told me the
state has 31,000 fewer teachers than it did three years ago, and 45,000
fewer support staff. In non-teaching staff, California ranks 49th out of
50 states in staff-to-student ratios. We have a 30% higher
student-to-teacher ratio than the national average, a 26% higher
student-to-administrator ratio, and an 80% higher student-to-counselor
ratio.
In the Claremont Unified School District, Sam Mowbray, a Republican
member of the school board, saw no option but to vote in favor of
endorsing Prop. 30 earlier this month. He told me he's not happy about
higher taxes and wishes the state would permanently fix the school
funding problems, but in the interim, the fat's already been cut and the
next swing of the ax could mean pay cuts, larger class sizes and other
miseries.
As for the Prop. 30 tax increase that has so many folks screaming? Aside
from an income tax increase for seven years for individuals who make
more than $250,000 and for families who make more than $500,000, there'd
be a quarter-cent sales tax increase for four years.
That means that if you buy a cup of coffee and a doughnut for $4, you'll
owe an additional cent. Six million kids, the future of the state,
would appreciate the sacrifice.
Meducation: ATTENTION DISORDER OR NOT, PILLS TO HELP IN SCHOOL
“We’ve decided as a society that it’s too expensive to modify the kid’s environment. So we have to modify the kid.”
Bryan Meltz for The New York Times | http://nyti.ms/Rl2Hcn
October 9, 2012 | CANTON, Ga. :: When Dr. Michael Anderson hears about
his low-income patients struggling in elementary school, he usually
gives them a taste of some powerful medicine: Adderall.
The pills boost focus and impulse control in children with attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder. Although A.D.H.D is the diagnosis Dr.
Anderson makes, he calls the disorder “made up” and “an excuse” to
prescribe the pills to treat what he considers the children’s true ill —
poor academic performance in inadequate schools.
“I don’t have a whole lot of choice,” said Dr. Anderson, a pediatrician
for many poor families in Cherokee County, north of Atlanta. “We’ve
decided as a society that it’s too expensive to modify the kid’s
environment. So we have to modify the kid.”
Dr. Anderson is one of the more outspoken proponents of an idea that is
gaining interest among some physicians. They are prescribing stimulants
to struggling students in schools starved of extra money — not to treat
A.D.H.D., necessarily, but to boost their academic performance.
It is not yet clear whether Dr. Anderson is representative of a widening
trend. But some experts note that as wealthy students abuse stimulants
to raise already-good grades in colleges and high schools, the
medications are being used on low-income elementary school children with
faltering grades and parents eager to see them succeed.
“We as a society have been unwilling to invest in very effective
nonpharmaceutical interventions for these children and their families,”
said Dr. Ramesh Raghavan, a child mental-health services researcher at
Washington University in St. Louis and an expert in prescription drug
use among low-income children. “We are effectively forcing local
community psychiatrists to use the only tool at their disposal, which is
psychotropic medications.”
Dr. Nancy Rappaport, a child psychiatrist in Cambridge, Mass., who works
primarily with lower-income children and their schools, added: “We are
seeing this more and more. We are using a chemical straitjacket instead
of doing things that are just as important to also do, sometimes more.”
Dr. Anderson’s instinct, he said, is that of a “social justice thinker”
who is “evening the scales a little bit.” He said that the children he
sees with academic problems are essentially “mismatched with their
environment” — square pegs chafing the round holes of public education.
Because their families can rarely afford behavior-based therapies like
tutoring and family counseling, he said, medication becomes the most
reliable and pragmatic way to redirect the student toward success.
“People who are getting A’s and B’s, I won’t give it to them,” he said.
For some parents the pills provide great relief. Jacqueline Williams
said she can’t thank Dr. Anderson enough for diagnosing A.D.H.D. in her
children — Eric, 15; Chekiara, 14; and Shamya, 11 — and prescribing
Concerta, a long-acting stimulant, for them all. She said each was
having trouble listening to instructions and concentrating on
schoolwork.
“My kids don’t want to take it, but I told them, ‘These are your grades
when you’re taking it, this is when you don’t,’ and they understood,”
Ms. Williams said, noting that Medicaid covers almost every penny of her
doctor and prescription costs.
Some experts see little harm in a responsible physician using A.D.H.D.
medications to help a struggling student. Others — even among the many
like Dr. Rappaport who praise the use of stimulants as treatment for
classic A.D.H.D. — fear that doctors are exposing children to
unwarranted physical and psychological risks. Reported side effects of
the drugs have included growth suppression, increased blood pressure
and, in rare cases, psychotic episodes.
The disorder, which is characterized by severe inattention and
impulsivity, is an increasingly common psychiatric diagnosis among
American youth: about 9.5 percent of Americans ages 4 to 17 were judged
to have it in 2007, or about 5.4 million children, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The reported prevalence of the disorder has risen steadily for more than
a decade, with some doctors gratified by its widening recognition but
others fearful that the diagnosis, and the drugs to treat it, are handed
out too loosely and at the exclusion of nonpharmaceutical therapies.
The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies these medications as
Schedule II Controlled Substances because they are particularly
addictive. Long-term effects of extended use are not well understood,
said many medical experts. Some of them worry that children can become
dependent on the medication well into adulthood, long after any A.D.H.D.
symptoms can dissipate.
According to guidelines published last year by the American Academy of
Pediatrics, physicians should use one of several behavior rating scales,
some of which feature dozens of categories, to make sure that a child
not only fits criteria for A.D.H.D., but also has no related condition
like dyslexia or oppositional defiant disorder, in which intense anger
is directed toward authority figures. However, a 2010 study in the
Journal of Attention Disorders suggested that at least 20 percent of
doctors said they did not follow this protocol when making their
A.D.H.D. diagnoses, with many of them following personal instinct.
On the Rocafort family’s kitchen shelf in Ball Ground, Ga., next to the
peanut butter and chicken broth, sits a wire basket brimming with
bottles of the children’s medications, prescribed by Dr. Anderson:
Adderall for Alexis, 12; and Ethan, 9; Risperdal (an antipsychotic for
mood stabilization) for Quintn and Perry, both 11; and Clonidine (a
sleep aid to counteract the other medications) for all four, taken
nightly.
Quintn began taking Adderall for A.D.H.D. about five years ago, when his
disruptive school behavior led to calls home and in-school suspensions.
He immediately settled down and became a more earnest, attentive
student — a little bit more like Perry, who also took Adderall for his
A.D.H.D.
When puberty’s chemical maelstrom began at about 10, though, Quintn got
into fights at school because, he said, other children were insulting
his mother. The problem was, they were not; Quintn was seeing people and
hearing voices that were not there, a rare but recognized side effect
of Adderall. After Quintn admitted to being suicidal, Dr. Anderson
prescribed a week in a local psychiatric hospital, and a switch to
Risperdal.
While telling this story, the Rocaforts called Quintn into the kitchen and asked him to describe why he had been given Adderall.
“To help me focus on my school work, my homework, listening to Mom and
Dad, and not doing what I used to do to my teachers, to make them mad,”
he said. He described the week in the hospital and the effects of
Risperdal: “If I don’t take my medicine I’d be having attitudes. I’d be
disrespecting my parents. I wouldn’t be like this.”
Despite Quintn’s experience with Adderall, the Rocaforts decided to use
it with their 12-year-old daughter, Alexis, and 9-year-old son, Ethan.
These children don’t have A.D.H.D., their parents said. The Adderall is
merely to help their grades, and because Alexis was, in her father’s
words, “a little blah.”
”We’ve seen both sides of the spectrum: we’ve seen positive, we’ve seen
negative,” the father, Rocky Rocafort, said. Acknowledging that Alexis’s
use of Adderall is “cosmetic,” he added, “If they’re feeling positive,
happy, socializing more, and it’s helping them, why wouldn’t you? Why
not?”
Dr. William Graf, a pediatrician and child neurologist who serves many
poor families in New Haven, said that a family should be able to choose
for itself whether Adderall can benefit its non-A.D.H.D. child, and that
a physician can ethically prescribe a trial as long as side effects are
closely monitored. He expressed concern, however, that the rising use
of stimulants in this manner can threaten what he called “the
authenticity of development.”
“These children are still in the developmental phase, and we still don’t
know how these drugs biologically affect the developing brain,” he
said. “There’s an obligation for parents, doctors and teachers to
respect the authenticity issue, and I’m not sure that’s always
happening.”
Dr. Anderson said that every child he treats with A.D.H.D. medication
has met qualifications. But he also railed against those criteria,
saying they were codified only to “make something completely subjective
look objective.” He added that teacher reports almost invariably come
back as citing the behaviors that would warrant a diagnosis, a decision
he called more economic than medical.
“The school said if they had other ideas they would,” Dr. Anderson said.
“But the other ideas cost money and resources compared to meds.”
Dr. Anderson cited William G. Hasty Elementary School here in Canton as
one school he deals with often. Izell McGruder, the school’s principal,
did not respond to several messages seeking comment.
Several educators contacted for this article considered the subject of
A.D.H.D. so controversial — the diagnosis was misused at times, they
said, but for many children it is a serious learning disability — that
they declined to comment. The superintendent of one major school
district in California, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, noted
that diagnosis rates of A.D.H.D. have risen as sharply as school funding
has declined.
“It’s scary to think that this is what we’ve come to; how not funding
public education to meet the needs of all kids has led to this,” said
the superintendent, referring to the use of stimulants in children
without classic A.D.H.D. “I don’t know, but it could be happening right
here. Maybe not as knowingly, but it could be a consequence of a doctor
who sees a kid failing in overcrowded classes with 42 other kids and the
frustrated parents asking what they can do. The doctor says, ‘Maybe
it’s A.D.H.D., let’s give this a try.’ ”
When told that the Rocaforts insist that their two children on Adderall
do not have A.D.H.D. and never did, Dr. Anderson said he was surprised.
He consulted their charts and found the parent questionnaire. Every
category, which assessed the severity of behaviors associated with
A.D.H.D., received a five out of five except one, which was a four.
“This is my whole angst about the thing,” Dr. Anderson said. “We put a
label on something that isn’t binary — you have it or you don’t. We
won’t just say that there is a student who has problems in school,
problems at home, and probably, according to the doctor with agreement
of the parents, will try medical treatment.”
He added, “We might not know the long-term effects, but we do know the
short-term costs of school failure, which are real. I am looking to the
individual person and where they are right now. I am the doctor for the
patient, not for society.”
CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS HAVE BEST-EVER ACADEMIC SHOWING +
MAJORITY OF CA SCHOOLS REACH API TEST SCORE GOALS: HOW DID THEY DO IT?
►CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS HAVE BEST-EVER ACADEMIC SHOWING
By Christina Hoag, Associated Press | Bakersfield Now | http://bit.ly/UWf1mK
Oct 11, 2012 at 4:20 PM PDT -- LOS ANGELES (AP) :: More than half of
California's schools met the statewide academic achievement goal in
2012, the highest number ever, the education department announced
Thursday.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson said 53 percent of
schools met or surpassed the Academic Performance Index target score of
800 this year, a 4 percentage point increase from last year.
The score, which is considered the single key achievement indicator for
the state's public schools, has been steadily rising over the past
decade. A decade ago, only 20 percent of schools met the target score.
"We've set a high bar for schools, and they have more than met the
challenge, despite the enormous obstacles that years of budget cuts have
put in their way," Torlakson said.
The performance index is calculated using a composite of results from
different state standardized tests. Scoring ranges from 200 to 1,000.
Gains were seen across all educational levels.
Middle schools saw the biggest jump, increasing scores by 14 points to
792, while high schools advanced by 11 points to 752. Elementary schools
remained ahead, growing by seven points to 815.
Experts noted that although the gains are laudable as education has
suffered huge funding cuts in recent years, the steady rise in results
also indicates that teachers are getting better at teaching to test
content and pupils are getting better at test-taking.
"It doesn't necessarily mean they're learning more," said John Rogers,
associate professor of education at the University of California, Los
Angeles.
Students also boosted their individual academic performance index scores in 2012, increasing them an average 10 points to 788.
Black students saw the biggest gain — 14 points to 710. Latino students added 11 points to 740.
Asian students increased their scores by seven points to 905, while white students added eight points to hit 853.
The long standing "achievement gap" is a result of the difference in the
quality of education at schools attended by predominantly black and
Latino students as compared to those attended by white and Asian
populations, Rogers noted.
"The achievement gap persists in large part because opportunity gaps exist," he said.
The state's largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, said its
districtwide score increased by 16 points to 745, with one school,
Burbank Middle School, recording a 100-point gain.
Jordan High School in Watts, recently taken over by the nonprofit
Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, was the district high school with
the biggest increase of 93 points.
Superintendent John Deasy said the gain is notable given the layoffs of
10,000 employees, a shortened school year and larger class sizes due to
state funding cuts over the last five years.
____________________________________
►MAJORITY OF CA SCHOOLS REACH API TEST SCORE GOALS: HOW DID THEY DO IT?
By Adolfo Guzman-Lopez Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC | http://bit.ly/QkXDmm
.
Oct 11, 2012 :: Academic Performance Index scores for public schools
are out Thursday. California education officials say that for the first
time, a majority of schools reached the coveted 800-point goal.
The search for what’s working can lead to Benito Juarez Elementary
School in Cerritos. Last year it fell four points short of the 800 API
goal. This year the school scored 815. There’s no stopping now, says
principal LuAnn Adler.
“Well, we just keep moving our goal up. So our new saying is ‘850 is nifty,’” she said.
Adler says getting to 800’s been hard. The school sets aside 90 minutes
each week for teachers to talk about best practices, and the district
has provided consultants.
“We moved our lunch hour back in the school day so we had a larger chunk
of time in the morning where we felt that the children were fresher,”
she said.
In recent years the API’s turned education in California into a numbers
game. Charlene Green, principal at Ritter Elementary School near Watts,
says the non-profit that runs her school has provided important training
to examine test results. It even administers tests to prepare
for…tests. | http://bit.ly/WiPtOA
“Literacy periodic assessments, look at the math periodic assessments,
look at the science periodic assessments, we have assessments of our own
that we also use, also teachers create their own assessments to help
students move along,” Green said.
Green’s school scored 763 this year. Although that fell short of the 800
goal her school’s celebrating a 99-point improvement over five years.
No principal should get too comfortable with this year’s scores. They
rely mostly on multiple-choice standardized tests. UCLA researcher Joan
Herman says that soon, California teachers will teach to a new set of
standards known as Common Core.
“Those standards bring more reasoning, thinking, communication, and
problem solving to the standards that have been there in the past,”
Herman said.
State policymakers say the change is supposed to address the
longstanding criticism that the API measures rote memorization, not
critical thinking skills.
John Fensterwald and Katherine Barron write in the EdSource Today blog:
“A little disaggregation, however, calls to mind former President Bill
Clinton’s rallying cry at the recent Democratic National Convention:
‘It’s arithmetic!’ Break down the numbers and it’s basically elementary
schools that are responsible for pushing the average over the halfway
point. Fifty-nine percent of elementary schools met or exceeded an 800
API, followed by 49 percent of middle schools. High schools lagged
considerably, with just 30 percent meeting or going beyond the target.
“There’s no clear-cut answer for why this is so. Some studies have found
that high schools are failing to engage students, others say students
are bored. Sherry Griffith, a legislative advocate for the Association
of California School Administrators (ACSA), suggests there’s no
incentive to do well because the tests have no bearing on a student’s
grades, graduation, or college applications. ‘We believe high schools
are challenged by the fact that students don’t care about the California
Standards Tests or the results,’ said Griffith. ‘It counts for nothing
for them.’” | http://bit.ly/Ticqgi
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources
KIDS NEED MORE CALORIES IN THEIR SCHOOL LUNCHES, SOME LAWMAKERS SAY - By Richard Simon, LA Times | http://lat.ms/Qni6pG
Obama+Romney: WITH VARIED APPROACH, BOTH CANDIDATES PUSH SCHOOL CHOICE: Despite some backlash from their politic... http://bit.ly/RlvIRM
Obama+Romney: THE PREP SCHOOL YEARS: Hawaii Prep School Gave Obama Window To Success by Martin Kaste | National... http://bit.ly/WgpNSN
CHICAGO SCHOOLS CHIEF STEPS DOWN AFTER 17 MONTHS THAT ENDED WITH TEACHER STRIKE: ALSO SEE: Another Broadie F... http://bit.ly/RjBB1M
Updating the Update: WORKING CONDITIONS + ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! PARTS I + II: “ Many [adminis... http://bit.ly/W2mikf
L.A. SCHOOLS IMPROVE BY STATE STANDARDS, NOT ENOUGH BY U.S. YARDSTICK: Just like across California, campuses are... http://bit.ly/QteFxN
Letters: A CASUALTY OF L.A. UNIFIED LAYOFFS: Letters to the editor of the LA Times | . http://bit.ly/TIT9JY
ALONG CAME MOLLY: THE IRONY OF CALIFORNIA’S BUDGET MEASURES …in which two community college honchos blame Prop 3... http://bit.ly/X13IqC
L.A. UNIFIED RATINGS RISE, TWO SCHOOLS LOSE SCORES: by Howard Blume, LA Times/LA Now | http://bit.ly/X0TvKQ
Colbert on"We’ve decided as a society that it’s too expensive to modify the kid’s environment. So we modify the kid." http://on.cc.com/Rzuqn4
ADHD Drugs:"We’ve decided as a society that it’s too expensive to modify the kid’s environment. So we modify the kid." http://nyti.ms/Rl2Hcn
BIDEN HITS RYAN FOR EDUCATION CUTS IN VP DEBATE: By Alyson Klein, Ed Week/Politics K-12 | http://bit.ly/VXKAvK
Daniel R. Walters @WaltersBee: In the spirit of the moment, we needa
face-to-face debate between Jerry Brown and Molly Munger, and I'd
volunteer to referee--er, moderate
Another Broadie Fails+Falls: BRIZARD OUT IN CHICAGO: Posted by Duke to the Jersey Jazzman Blog |http://bit.ly/WYNePM
JOHN GREENWOOD: Former LAUSD Board Member, and President of Coro Southern California - A Gentleman at Heart, an ... http://bit.ly/W8lWHa
Editorial: SUPPORT BOTH PROP. 30 and PROP. 38 FOR EDUCATION: SF Examiner Editorial | http://bit.ly/Q2rb5Q
LAUSD SCORES DOUBLE-DIGIT GAINS IN STATEWIDE SCHOOL SCORES FOR 5TH STRAIGHT YEAR: By Barbara Jones Staff Writer http://bit.ly/TCovSH
Details emerge: L.A. SCHOOLS CHIEF GETS ONE-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION, NO RAISE/NO BONUS: Supt. John Deasy did not... http://bit.ly/QZBwSl
LAUSD ARTS FUNDING CUT 76% IN FIVE YEARS: Immediate guarantee of new “Arts at the Core” initiative is only that ... http://bit.ly/ULB5jT
API SCORES: An educational horse race that will soon change: By Tami Abdollah, KPCC Pass/Fail | http://bit.ly/WVpImX
ACTION ALERT-IT’S TIME THE VOTERS AND TAXPAYERS OF NORTHEAST LOS ANGELES GET THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE WE VOTED FOR ... http://bit.ly/R9Tz71
LAUSD BOARD APPROVES ONE-YEAR CONTRACT FOR SUPERINTENDENT JOHN DEASY IN SECRET SESSION + smf’s 2¢: By Barbara Jo... http://bit.ly/PYJIzN
HOW SERIOUS ARE WE ABOUT EARLY LEARNING?: Commentary By Barbara O'Brien, Education Week | http://bit.ly/T5Sj4A ... http://bit.ly/UIIbpq
Prop 38: A LETTER TO OUR TEACHERS from California State PTA President Carol Kocivar: LetterToTeachers 9Oct2012 http://bit.ly/R92ndf
30 + 38: Compare+Contrast: Rift widens between backers of ed initiatives 30 and 38 By John Fe... http://bit.ly/Tx5qRF
NEW DATA SHARING AGREEMENT WITH LAUSD LAUNCHES RESEARCH PARTNERSHIP TO IMPROVE STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN LOS ANGELE... http://bit.ly/R8RN65
COMPTON HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WALK OUT OF CLASS: By Vanessa Romo, KPCC Pass Fail / http://bit.ly/UIgUTW
EXECUTIVE WORRIES ABOUT SCHOOLS “GOING OFF THE CLIFF”: Larry Vanden Bos, a member of the Palos Verdes school boa... http://bit.ly/W1Vhf4
Arts+Music Ed: LAYOFFS CLAIM L.A. BAND TEACHER WHO TURNED NOVICES INTO CHAMPIONS + ironic guest appearance by He... http://bit.ly/TwIBgR
DEASY GETS AUTHORITY OVER APPROVING OUTSIDE CONTROL OF PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS + smf’s 2¢: A “done deal” for co-mism... http://bit.ly/TwnMCs
CAN ARNE DUNCAN LOSE THE PRESIDENCY FOR BARACK OBAMA?: by Peter Goodman/Ed In the Apple | http://bit.ly/VZlStb ... http://bit.ly/VZrnrX
STUDENTS DESERVE REAL SEX ED: by Christopher Pepper | Edutopia Education Trends | http... http://bit.ly/R6cQ9c
LAUSD BOARD APPROVES NEW ADMINISTRATOR EVALUATIONS …BUT PRINCIPALS OBJECT TO WORKLOAD + ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, Part I... http://bit.ly/TtMoeY
THE LA FUND FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION LAUNCHES "ARTS MATTER" CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT ARTS EDUCATION …w/Justin Bieber, a ... http://bit.ly/R0ikCg
But do we put our money where our he[art] is? - Retweet: @DrDeasyLAUSD:
#ArtsMatter to me because it's fundamental to being a good citizen.
LIFT BEGINS ON NEW MATH FRAMEWORKS, FRET REMAINS OVER MONEY TO USE THEM: By Kimberly Beltran SI&A Cabinet Report... http://bit.ly/WFHNoL
Insight: IN CALIFORNIA, THE MUNGERS HAUNT JERRY BROWN: Dan Levine and Peter Henderson Reuter from The Chicago Tr... http://bit.ly/UxojW2
SCHOOL DISTRICTS WARNED ABOUT MILLIONS IN EXPIRING TECHNOLOGY FUNDS, INCLUDING $10.5 MILLION FOR LAUSD: BY hOWAR... http://bit.ly/VD4Anj
LAUSD MOVES UP DEADLINE FOR MAGNET SCHOOLS: PUBLISHES LAST YEAR’S DEADLINE ON WEBSITE: Applications for Los Ange... http://bit.ly/QXDiBO
EVENTS: Coming up next week...
SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND CITIZENS’ OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE REGULAR MEETING Agenda: http://bit.ly/RpbiHE
LAUSD HQ – Board Room
333 S. Beaudry Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90017
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
12:00 p.m. (NOTE NOON START TIME)
http://www.laschools.org/bond/
Phone: 213-241-5183
*Dates and times subject to change.
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!.
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