In This Issue:
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Study I: LAO SAYS ADULT EDUCATION NEEDS COMPREHENSIVE RESTRUCTURING + Report |
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Study II: CALIFORNIA DOESN’T DO WELL IN STATE-TO-STATE WELLBEING MATCH-UPS |
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Study III: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT PART OF THE PAYOFF WITH BIG FACILITIES INVESTMENT |
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GOOD PEOPLE MAKE GOOD TEACHERS |
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HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but
not necessarily the best) 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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CAVEAT LECTOR: From now until the primary election
on March 5th – and perhaps until the general election on May 21st - I
will be a candidate for a seat on the LAUSD Board of Education. What I
write and what I publish will inevitably and semi-consciously be colored
by that fact. I do not believe what I write and publish is self-serving
… if I were promoting myself I’d probably be more careful.
I’d probably think twice before hitting “Send”!
I do what I do and write+say what I say for the children of Los Angeles.
My opponent also says and believes that what she says and does is
what’s best for the children. Being wrong about that doesn’t make her
or the special interests that support her bad people …but good
intentions and returns on their leveraged investments don’t make them
right. I would love to run a positive campaign – but that stakes are
too high and the current direction too negative.
The truth is too true.
“I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful one-hundred percent!”
– Horton
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RANDOMLY NOTABLE:
Saturday’s LATimes story: L.A. MAYORAL CANDIDATES DISCUSS HOUSING, EDUCATION, CITY SERVICES http://lat.ms/UlKU1h .....makes no mention about what they said about education. I guess it’s nice to know they care, but….
Jordan High School: AFTER GENERATIONS OF FAILURE, A SCHOOL AND ITS STUDENTS HEAD FOR SUCCESS + smf’s 2¢ http://bit.ly/U6LVeD
STATE REPLACES APPOINTED INGLEWOOD ADMINISTRATOR FOR EXCEEDING AUTHORITY. http://bit.ly/11XjSVz
CALIFORNIA EIGHTH-GRADE STUDENTS SCORE FIFTH FROM BOTTOM IN NATIONAL VOCABULARY TESTS: http://bit.ly/11VsXOH
LAUSD SCHOOLS FACE CHALLENGE OF MAKING ARTS PART OF THE CORE CURRICULUM http://bit.ly/11TR3sU
COURT OVERTURNS RULING GIVING MORE SPACE TO CHARTER SCHOOLS: LAUSD WINS KEY LEGAL BATTLE ... http://bit.ly/11TLivq
PARENT+STUDENT ADVOCATE/4LAKids BLOGGER SCOTT FOLSOM QUALIFIES FOR SCHOOL BOARD BALLOT, IS ENDORSED BY UTLA http://bit.ly/VJRGAY
HOMESCHOOLERS AND TEA PARTIERS - DISGUISED AS SENATE REPUBLICANS - BLOCK U.N. DISABILITIES TREATY ... http://bit.ly/11UcnOa
CITY BAILS OUT ON LEASE WITH DYSFUNCTIONAL COMMUNUTY COLLEGE DISTRICT, EXPOSES DEMOCRATIC PARTY MACHINE http://bit.ly/TPHhBB
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AN ARTICLE BELOW BEGINS: “The Legislature’s effort in 2009 to give
cash-strapped schools flexibility in the use of billions of dollars in
categorical money has helped diminish the status of adult education
programs operated by K-12 districts, the non-partisan Legislative
Analyst reported Wednesday.”
The middle-schooler inside me wants to write – to throw open the window
and shout: “All together now: ‘DUH!’” (I started to learn to write in
junior high – I suspect Mrs. Hamm my eighth-grade creative writing
teacher would probably have given that one-word-essay a passing grade.)
I invite the LAO to write reports on Arts and Music Education, Health
Education, School Libraries, School Nurse and Psychologist and Counselor
staffing, maintenance and operations and after school programs –
custodial services …and Class Size Reduction. There isn’t one 4LAKids
reader who can’t add programs to the laundry list. CSR was the great
accomplishment in real school reform in the previous generation; it has
been thrown under the bus in the name of flexibility and blind
compliance to No Child Left Behind and test score mania.
“We’re going to have to pay you the money we owe you for this year next
year,” said the lege. “But we’ll give you the CSR money and the Adult
Ed money and you won’t have to spend it on those things if you don’t
want to! You are free to spend it for anything you want to. Like
salaries and keeping the doors open. And testing.”
“Flexibility” was the name the legislature and state government gave to
their own lack of will and/or dearth of ideas when faced with the
greatest economic challenge since the Great Depression. “We can’t fix
this. Here’s not enough money – you try to fix it!”
We conveniently forget that American and world history is littered with
economic depressions. In a radio interview Saturday AM economics writer
Michael Lewis said: “We are living in a period of history that rhymes
with The Great Depression; history is not repeating itself - but it is
rhyming.” http://n.pr/SVfG3g
Through cuts and flexibility and rightsizing and ®eform we have reduced
expenditure on public education more as a percentage than in the period
between 1929-1939. (CA cut school funding 20% in the Great Depression;
CA cut school funding 18% in 2008-10 alone!)
Grover Norquist said he doesn’t want to get rid of government, he just
wants to shrink its size so it’s small enough to drown in the bathtub.
We don’t tax but we do spend on our wars. We do tax but we don’t spend
on education. The answer, of course, is to cut spending on education
…that’s as obvious as suspending truants is the solution to the problem
of truancy.
The lege can honestly-if-disingenuously say that flexibility was only an
option; the school districts (and We the People) didn’t have to
exercise it. “We gave you not-enough-money,” they say. “You were free
to spend it any way you wanted. As long as keep the
CST/API/AYP/CAHSEE/Grad Rates up and the PI and Dropout numbers down.”
We were led into temptation and delivered into evil.
There’s a wolf at the door. We can only hope that we’ve got beyond the
first act. Are we in the house of bricks?…or sticks? …or straw? To be
continued.
ANOTHER STUDY MEASURES+WEIGHS THE WELLBEING OF SCHOOLS. California
scores abysmally here also. The Dream of the Golden Land meets reality
in Sacramento. The twentieth century California Master Plan for
Education meets the twenty-first century state without a plan. The
legislature without a clue.
Horton, meet Pogo Possum: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
AND A THIRD STUDY SAYS WE DID THE RIGHT THING when we built all these
schools in L.A. Thank you Roy Romer and previous boards of ed and bond
oversight committee members and former Seabees and the voters and
taxpayers. Someone had vision and hope, a plan and a clue and a modicum
of faith. We didn’t try to cut too many corners; we didn’t sell any
Capital Appreciation Bonds. For the most part we done good.
We learn the lessons and practice the best practices; we model the
behavior and apply what we know and try to teach the youngsters. We do
the work and move ahead.
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
Study I: LAO SAYS ADULT EDUCATION NEEDS COMPREHENSIVE RESTRUCTURING + Report
By Kimberly Beltran | SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/XCdMtf
Thursday, December 6, 2012 :: The Legislature’s effort in 2009 to give
cash-strapped schools flexibility in the use of billions of dollars in
categorical money has helped diminish the status of adult education
programs operated by K-12 districts, the non-partisan Legislative
Analyst reported Wednesday.
Charged with serving adults in need of the basic knowledge and skills
they need to participate in civic life, adult education programs in
California are generally overseen by either K-12 districts or community
colleges – an unresolved division of responsibility that has plagued the
system for decades.
In calling on lawmakers to conduct a “comprehensive restructuring” of
the adult education program, LAO’s Paul Steenhausen noted that both
school districts and community colleges have a role in serving the
target population – but better collaboration is needed.
“While adult education falls under the purview of both community
colleges and school districts, it is not the top statutory mission of
either segment,” he reports.
The community college’s core mission is to provide academic and
vocational programs at the lower-division collegiate level, he wrote.
“School districts’ core statutory and constitutional responsibility is
for kindergarten through high school (K-12),” he explained in the
report. “Furthermore, school districts are responsible for adult
education only “to the extent” state support is provided.”
To resolve the conflict and to provide better service, the LAO
recommended that lawmakers dedicate a revenue source that fosters
cooperation between adult schools and community colleges.
“We envision a financing mechanism that includes a dedicated stream of
funding for adult education, provides the same funding rate for the same
instruction, rewards providers for student success, and aligns future
allocations with program need,” the LAO reported.
Perhaps as the result of spending flexibility or the impact of the
recession, today there are about 300 adult schools operated by K-12
districts – down from 335 in 2007. Another 112 programs are run by
community colleges.
Because of a weak student data collection system, the LAO said there are
no precise numbers on enrollment – the assumption is that because of
ongoing budget cuts, there is likely a substantial unmet need.
After a close review of the system, Steenhausen said both K-12 districts
and community colleges have strengths and weaknesses in managing adult
programs. The recommendation, therefore, isn’t to give responsibility to
one or the other but rather focus on providing more consistent
outcomes.
“Fundamental terms and policies related to adult education lack
consistency and coherence,” the analyst wrote. “Furthermore,
coordination and accountability are uneven. Since budget cuts and
flexibility, adult education has become a program adrift.”
Other key recommendations called on the Legislature to create a
state-subsidized system focused on adult education’s core mission;
provide common, statewide definitions that clearly differentiate between
adult education and college education; impose a common set of policies
relating to faculty qualifications, fees and student assessment; and set
up an integrated data system that tracks student outcomes and helps the
public hold providers accountable for results.
Study II: CALIFORNIA DOESN’T DO WELL IN STATE-TO-STATE WELLBEING MATCH-UPS
by Dan Walters, Sacramento Bee Capitol Alert | http://bit.ly/RhOwqF
November 27, 2012 :: So how does California compare to other states in
measures of economic, fiscal, educational and personal wellbeing?
Not so well, it appears, according to new national study by a
heavyweight academic consortium and another report from the U.S.
Department of Education. [both follow]
"The States Project" is a joint effort of Harvard University's Institute
of Politics, the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Institute of
Government and the American Education Foundation. It gathered data on
state and local government finances, educational attainment and other
"fundamentals" to create the issue-by-issue and state-by-state
comparisons.
Overall, California ranks 33rd among the state in what the project calls
"best fundamentals," in which Virginia was No. 1 and Mississippi was
No. 50.
California is also 33rd in debt - both formal state and local government
debt plus unfunded liabilities for pensions and retiree health care -
as a percentage of the state's overall economic output. The project put
California's debt in the 30-plus percent category, or somewhere north of
$600 billion, most of which is unfunded retiree benefit liability.
Coincidentally, the U.S. Department of Education also issued a report
comparing the states on high school graduation rates and California
doesn't do particularly well by that measure either, ranking 32nd with a
76 percent graduation rate, similar to that of most Southern states.
Iowa topped the states at 88 percent while the District of Columbia was lowest at 59 percent.
The new federal report - the first to use a uniform measurement system
for all states - also confirms what California education officials
already knew, that graduation rates vary widely among ethnic groups. For
students of Asian or Pacific Islander ethnicity, it's 89 percent,
followed by whites at 85 percent, Latinos at 70 percent and black
students at 63 percent.
Recent state graduation rate reports have used similar numbers. There
are also wide variances among school districts, with some, such as giant
Los Angeles Unified, struggling to top 50 percent. That reflects their
large populations of non-white and "limited English proficiency"
students, the latter having just a 51 percent graduation rate.
Study III: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT PART OF THE PAYOFF WITH BIG FACILITIES INVESTMENT
By Kimberly Beltran, SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/YwCFYX
Tuesday, December 04, 2012 :: An investment over the past decade of
nearly $20 billion by Los Angeles Unified School District in new schools
and facilities has had a direct result in higher student achievement –
especially for those migrating to new elementary campuses, according to a
new study.
The findings, contained in a brief published by Policy Analysis for
California Education, are based on LAUSD data derived by tracking 20,000
students who moved from overcrowded to new facilities between 2002 and
2008.
PACE researchers from the University of California, Berkeley found
“significant achievement gains” among elementary-school pupils who
switched from an old facility to a newly constructed facility. On
average, the report states, these ‘switching pupils’ outpaced the
average LAUSD student by a gain equal to about 35 additional days of
instruction each year.
While gains were not as significant for older students who relocated to
new schools, there is evidence to suggest that student learning also
improved at the overcrowded facilities from which the pupils moved.
“There were a lot of skeptics who were concerned about our use of the
taxpayer money on new facilities,” said Eric Bakke, LAUSD facilities
representative and legislative analyst. “I think there’s a lot of
validation [by this study] of the efforts we’ve made over the last
decade in terms of the district being able to provide an environment
that allows students to be successful, and I think we’re starting to see
some of the results.”
The study comes as LAUSD wraps up a huge facilities construction program
– the second largest public works project ever undertaken in the U.S. –
bolstered by the passage of five local and state ballot measures that
provided more than $19 billion in new revenues.
Having not built a new school since the 1930s, LAUSD has now opened 128 of 132 newly-constructed campuses, Bakke said.
While earlier studies have suggested a correlation between certain
features of school design – clean air, good light and a comfortable and
safe learning environment – and stronger pupil engagement and
achievement, little evidence exists to support the claim that the
quality of school facilities directly influences educational outcomes,
researchers said.
Examining enrollment and test scores for nearly 20,000 elementary and
high school students from 2002-2008, researchers found that new
elementary school facilities, after their initial two years, provided an
average boost to achievement of about 0.18 of a standard deviation in
math and 0.20 standard deviation in language arts for each year that the
student was in the new facility. Those figures represent about the
equivalent of 35 additional instructional days in math and 45 days in
language arts, according to the report.
Students switching to new high school facilities were associated with a
“statistically significant average gain” in language arts of about 0.13
standard deviation units. In mathematics, students moving to new high
schools performed at lower levels, although the difference was not
considered statistically significant by researchers.
However, when controlling for the theory that new schools attract more
effective teachers than old schools, researchers concluded that while
the gains made by students in the new high schools “can be almost
entirely explained by the education and experience levels of their
teachers,” “new facilities boosted elementary students’ achievement
growth above and beyond what would be predicted by simply attracting
more qualified teachers from elsewhere in the district.”
In addition, the data showed that bigger academic gains were made by
students who moved from the most overcrowded campuses, and that
elementary students who stayed behind in the older, more crowded schools
“also enjoyed achievement gains…that were statistically significant in
the case of language arts,” the report states.
The scores of high school students who remained in the “sending
schools,” however, did not differ from average LAUSD student scores at
the secondary level, the data showed.
But, researchers concluded, the fact that the students who moved to new
schools saw much greater benefits than the students who stayed behind
shows that “the newness of the school also contributed.”
The research found no relationship between the cost of new school
construction and achievement gains of students, meaning that just
because one new facility cost more to build than another, there was no
evidence that students at the more costly school performed better.
PACE researchers also said they could not pinpoint the determining
factors that explain the positive effects experienced by students.
“The collateral improvement in teacher qualifications displayed by new
schools appears to have played a role, especially in attracting younger
teachers with masters-level training,” the researchers wrote. “However,
more research is required to understand the ingredients of quality or
social relations that mark new or less crowded facilities that in turn
pay off in higher achievement.”
Some of the policy implications of the report, according to its authors:
· Higher quality facilities offer necessary but insufficient conditions
for raising achievement. The fact that construction costs per pupil are
unrelated to the magnitude of achievement gains for elementary students
suggests that marginal returns to more expensive facilities may be low.
Both charter and pilot school leaders are experimenting with lower cost
facilities. Studying the discrete achievement patterns associated with
such innovative facilities would be informative
· The positive effects for elementary students whose schools experienced
relief from overcrowding suggests that taking further steps to reduce
enrollment in still densely packed schools could result in additional
gains.
· The lack of robust achievement benefits for students who moved to a
new high school facility is cause for concern. Other student outcomes
might be studied, and data should be updated by LAUSD to check for
effects as the final third of new facilities have come on line since
2008. Still, something is missing beyond fresh facilities as the
district attempts to lift achievement inside high schools.
· As other urban districts attempt to remedy overcrowding or to renovate
old facilities, the eventual effects on achievement should be carefully
studied and not taken for granted.
· Teacher quality and relief from overcrowding play significant roles
in providing conditions for raising achievement, in addition to the role
of facilities. The distinct role of facilities in concert with other
teacher and instructional resources should be considered, especially
when the district considers handing schools off to alternative
providers.
Policy Analysis for California Education is an independent, nonpartisan
research center based at Stanford University and includes as partners,
the University of California-Berkeley and the University of Southern
California. The work on the LAUSD facilities study was conducted by
Berkeley researchers.
GOOD PEOPLE MAKE GOOD TEACHERS
Letter to the Editor of the LA Times | http://lat.ms/Uo15Lj
Re " A new way to rate L.A. Unified's teachers," Editorial, Dec. 5 | http://bit.ly/Uo0LfL
December 9, 2012
Those who evaluate teachers should consider whether those teachers,
current and prospective, actually like children. Teachers who know how
to encourage children will get good results.
I spent half of my elementary and high school years in a small town in
South Dakota. After flunking the first grade and spending the next
several years failing, I had a fifth-grade teacher who loved kids and
encouraged me. That small school had unsophisticated teachers who loved
the kids. And we learned.
I went on to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees. Now, a few weeks shy of 80, I'm still teaching.
A sensitive, experienced educator can spot a compassionate and authentic
teacher in a few minutes, and children can quickly tell if a teacher
likes to teach. Drop the expensive tests and revise the process of
hiring teachers and evaluating the present ones.
Donald Hanley
Vista, Calif.
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
Unthinkable?: RETHINKING PROPOSITION 13: California's
landmark tax measure is back on the table. And it should b... http://bit.ly/VIdT6h
STATE CONSIDERS SHORTER SERVICE FOR ‘EMERGENCY PERMIT’ TEACHERS: Joanna Lin – California Watch | http://bit.... http://bit.ly/VIdHUA
$25 MILLION GATES GRANTS BACK PUBLIC-CHARTER COOPERATION: By MOTOKO RICH | New York Times | http://nyti.ms/Vx6FM ... http://bit.ly/XGcQ7e
BOARD MEMBERS AIM TO ‘CUFF SUPERINTENDENT? + smf’s 2¢: by Samantha Oltman- LA School Report http://bit.ly/SJ107C ... http://bit.ly/VI6uUr
Vive la Différence: MORE AND BETTER LEARNING TIME: Themes in the News by UCLA IDEA Week of Dec. 3-7, 2012 | http... http://bit.ly/Z1wsmA
LAUSD SEEKS TO SETTLE 189 MIRAMONTE CLAIMS QUICKLY, CORTINES WANTS SEX HARASSMENT SUIT DROPPED: LAUSD wants to s... http://bit.ly/XFSVFC
CENTER TEACHES YOUNG CHILDREN SKILLS THEY’LL NEED IN SCHOOL: Magnolia Place School Readiness Program serves smal... http://bit.ly/RPCGUL
LAUSD DRILL TEAMS, MUSICIANS COMPLETE FOR TOP HONORS: By Mariecar Mendoza, Staff Writer | LA Daily News |http://... http://bit.ly/VGdQb1
STEINBERG ASKS BROWN OFFICIALS TO DELAY HEALTHY FAMILIES MOVE: The latest on California politics and government ... http://bit.ly/12dOQHZ
15 CANDIDATES MEANS A CROWDED BALLOT FOR LAUSD BOARD ELECTION: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | h... http://bit.ly/VSafDi
WEBINAR: “Kids Are Drinking WHAT?!”: from EatRight: The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Formerly the American... http://bit.ly/TVyLRK
THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION SAYS YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO A BAD EDUCATION: By: Melissa Griffin | Special t... http://bit.ly/11Lneuu
DAVE BRUBECK: smf Thursday, December 6, 2012 :: On Tuesday afternoon I was driving home –if bachelor squalor c... http://bit.ly/11Lnh9P
LAUSD BOARD OKs DEAL WITH UTLA ON PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http:... http://bit.ly/11ENmHw
Former Senator Gloria Romero: SHE HAS A LITTLE LIST: Billboards promote law that lets students leave low perform... http://bit.ly/11EMDGl
SEN. PADILLA REINTRODUCES BILL MAKING IT EASIER TO FIRE TEACHERS FOR MISCONDUCT: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer,... http://bit.ly/11EGZnE
WHAT’S IN A NAME? Discord.: Celebrities? Historical figures? Neighborhoods? As L.A. Unified replaces temporary ... http://bit.ly/11Ekuz9
A NEW WAY TO RATE L.A. UNIFIED’S TEACHERS: An agreement on evaluations takes a broad-based approach, using stude... http://bit.ly/VCSSGo
It's a crapshoot, not a race! One of the ed blogs is calling the new
school district focused Race to the Top(D): DISTRICT POWERBALL! -smf
THE ‘FLORIDA MIRACLE’ (aka THE TEXAS MIRACLE v 2.0): How Florida Schools Are Failing To Prepare Graduates For Co... http://bit.ly/TMI5Hu
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
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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