In This Issue:
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“AN INTOXICATION OF PURPOSE IS SOMETIMES THE ENEMY OF SCRUTINY.” |
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Don’t #1: DON’T LET FEARS STOP NECESSARY TECHNOLOGY REFORM IN L.A. SCHOOLS: By Frederick M. Hess and John E. Deasy + smf’s 2¢ |
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Don’t #2: DON’T HOLD UP FUNDING FOR L.A.’s POOR SCHOOL KIDS + smf’s 2¢ |
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2 from the Times: AN ELEMENTARY LIBRARIAN & A HIGH SCHOOL GOVERNMENT TEACHER MAKE A DIFFERENCE |
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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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Historians present conflicting theories of greatness.
Thomas Carlyle held that great men come to us throughout history to
address great problems. Admiral Halsey said “There are no great men.
Just great challenges which ordinary men, out of necessity, are forced
by circumstances to meet.” However (the conjunctive adverb that s the
cynic’s crutch and the questioner’s pry bar): What of extraordinary
people in extraordinary times? Does greatness define them? …or do they
define greatness?
THE PASSING OF NELSON MANDELA CANNOT GO UNREMARKED UPON. The great man
was a moral compass and a quiet tower of strength who changed not just
his world, but our world. He was the father of his nation who lived a
long and full life and overcame adversity with joy and determination. A
living metaphor – imprisoned on an island as his people were
prisoners-of-the-state in their own land, prisoners and imprisioners
alike. Raised a shepherd he led his nation from behind as shepherds do.
The Buddha said: "Deny the passport, throw it away and make a great
decision that you will not leave this shore until and unless you have
liberated all the human beings." Madiba succeeded.
When all is said and done Nelson Mandela’s greatest accomplishment, his
gift and lesson was-and-is Redemption through Reconciliation.
WE IN LAUSD LOST A GIANT OF OUR OWN LAST THURSDAY IN SCHOOL BOARDMEMBER MARGUERITE POINDEXTER LAMOTTE.
As educator, principal and school boardmember, a grandparent and a
tireless advocate for children – (whom she always called “her babies”)
Ms. LaMotte never lost track that the most important roles in any
child’s life are held by parents and teachers. She parented and she
taught and she wore those roles on the board of education. Karin Klein
in her excellent LA Times obituary http://lat.ms/1bLdUhx reminds us that Ms. LaMotte was both “fierce” and “feisty”– roles she also wore well.
She was an imposing woman, tall and powerful in spirit. When she was
principal at Washington Prep High School her students, teachers,
parents, school staff the community – and the central office - made sure
to stay on Ms. LaMotte’s good side – and the easy way to do that was to
do the right thing.
Some leaders build a team, Marguerite created a Family. That family
endures today – not about her leadership and vision – but about a shared
vision of the school community.
She brought to The Prep a music program second-to-none – a program she
created, incubated, nurtured, fostered and championed until it became
world recognized.
On the school board she was often in the minority, sometimes as a
minority of one. And always, even in dissent, she held the high moral
ground - whether against injustice, narrow minded budget priorities or
just plain wrong-headedness. He had and set high expectations of her
students and colleagues and friends. One didn’t want to disappoint Ms.
LaMotte.
A daughter of New Orleans, Ms. LaMotte remembered how bad the good old
days were and fought relentlessly against the shadows of racism and
poverty – angering at injustice, intolerant of intolerance. But she was
never more than a smile from “Laissez les bons temps rouler”.
Marguerite LaMotte lived her eighty years deeply and well and leaves
family and children and grandchildren and a joyous exuberance we will
miss. She has been taken from us suddenly and too soon because we had
things yet to do together.
But after a moment of solemn thought – and prayer if we pray - she would
ask that we join The Second Line and parade back to our own lives and
the mission we share – singing, like the saints, as we march.
Ms. LaMotte has led the way.
GENERATIONS PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF LAUSD STUDENTS HAVE LOST A TRUE CHAMPION IN KATHRYN KURKA.
Kathryn L. “Kay” Kurka passed away on September 14th at the age of 94 in her home in Los Angeles.
Kathryn was the founder of the Kathryn L. Kurka Children's Health Fund
that has for many years provided medical help and other services to
children in need. The Kurka Fund is a principal supporter of the PTA
Health, Vision and Dental Clinics in both Tenth and 31st District PTAs;
Kay Kurka’s tireless advocacy for student nursing and the PTA clinics
has been instrumental in promoting good health and healthy lifestyles in
LAUSD. The school based community health clinics rolling out in LAUSD
today continue Kay Kurka’s vision.
Kay knew that she wanted to be a nurse in 4th grade when she played the
part of a nurse in a class play. After graduating from Nursing School in
1941, Kay joined the Army Nurse Corps and sailed to India in l942.
There, she was assigned to the 73rd Evacuation Hospital in the Burma
jungle where she managed a ward of seriously injured servicemen. Many
were amputees and every day was heartbreaking. The nurses lived in
unheated, leaky tents with dirt floors surround by snakes, rats and
insects enduring monsoon conditions!
In 1945 Kay returned to Los Angeles to begin her career with the Los
Angeles City Schools as a school nurse and later as a supervisor and
director. Kay felt her work in Burma made her more sensitive to the
needs of the deprived – recognizing that the school nurse is many
students’ only health provider from kindergarten through the twelfth
grade. As a school nurse she established the Children's Health Fund
which provided health care for children whose parents could not access
medical care. When Kay retired in 1985 after 40years of service in LAUSD
- the Fund became the Kathryn L. Kurka Children's Health Fund.
Since 1956 this Fund has provided thousands of children in Los Angeles
Unified School District the financial assistance to receive medical,
visual, and dental care and no child has ever been refused. Kay
volunteered for several charities and was active in the Good Samaritan
Hospital and Bishop Johnson College of Nursing Alumni. She also worked
with homeless women and children in the Good Shepherd Center Outreach
Program. Kay devoted her life to the welfare of others. Her outstanding
public service has been recognized by many organizations, including
Delta Kappa Gamma International Society, the Los Angeles Times and the
Tenth and Thirty-First District PTAs.
The Kathryn L. Kurka Children's Health Fund, also known as the Kurka
Children's Health Fund, is a 57 year old program that continues to
provide financial assistance for health care for students in LAUSD In
memory of Kay, donations can be made to: Kurka Children's Health Fund
P.O. Box 39531 Los Angeles, CA 90039-0531 or
www.kurkachildrenshealthfund.org …or to your PTA Health Clinic.
Godspeed.
“AN INTOXICATION OF PURPOSE IS SOMETIMES THE ENEMY OF SCRUTINY.”
By smf
The time has come, the Walrus said, to speak of many things…
A couple of months back I was minding everyone else’s business -
discussing shoes and ships and sealing wax; cabbages and kings, the
rising temperature of the world’s oceans and whether iPads have wings -
over a glass of wine and a plate of pasta. Present were a columnist
from a major metropolitan daily, a former LAUSD school board member, an
instructional technology vendor, a parent leader from the Westside and
Steve Zimmer. Fill in the blanks …we all know who we are.
Steve made the quote above – and we all stopped eating and bloviating
for a second, commented upon the revealed truthiness - and the columnist
and I wrote down the quote. Out of professional courtesy (he picked up
the tab) I expected him to be the one to use it. He hasn’t; I have.
T-shirts will be on sale in the lobby following the board meeting on
Tuesday.
AT THAT BOARD MEETING the superintendent has placed Item #6 on the
agenda – which is to approve the Common Core Technology Project /aka
“iPads for All” /Phase 2 (as amended) - against the recommendations of
The Bond Oversight Committee.( Board Report 129-13/14: http://bit.ly/1jrQJul )
I need not tell you how I feel about this.
The superintendent put out an Op-Ed (DON’T LET FEARS STOP NECESSARY
TECHNOLOGY REFORM IN L.A. SCHOOLS) in cahoots with the education maven
of a right-wing think tank describing the urgency and justifying his
intoxication of purpose. I have commented thereon in my 2¢.
IN A SIMILAR+PARALLEL MEDIA BLITZ the superintendent announces+complains
that LAUSD will not be able to meet the reporting requirements for the
Local Control Funding Formula – and argues for a special LAUSD waiver –
even though every other district in the state seems to be able to get
their assignment in before the due date.
• L.A. UNIFIED ACCUSES STATE OF ’SHORTCHANGING’ NEEDY STUDENTS + smf’s 2¢: http://bit.ly/1jhrhHW
• LCFF: DEASY ESCALATES DISPUTE WITH STATE OVER MEAL PROGRAM VERIFICATION: http://bit.ly/1bgwgVO
• LA SCHOOLS CHALLENGE FOR NEW FUNDING: INVOLVING PARENTS IN HOW THE MONEY IS SPENT. http://bit.ly/1d0M91n
“The state request amounts to a ‘very onerous requirement that we felt
was sprung on us,’ said Leilani Yee, a legislative advocate for the
district.” - Sprung onerously on LAUSD …and every district in
California.
’I weep for you,' the Walrus said:
I deeply sympathize.'
Again an Op-Ed: DON’T HOLD UP FUNDING FOR L.A.’s POOR SCHOOL KIDS + smf’s 2¢
Lest anyone accuse me of a zero tolerance policy about Dr. Deasy: I have
been tolerant. I supported Phase One of the iPads and a modified roll
out of Phase Two just two weeks ago. I support technology in the
classroom and 1:1 computing. If it’s legal we should use bond funds. I
think LAUSD should get every dollar due us on the LCFF – the children it
will help need the help.
LAUSD CERTAINLY IS EXTRAORDINARY+DIFFERENT. It faces extraordinary
challenges of poverty and size and English language learners and numbers
of kids in foster care – but it is not exceptional to the point of
being above the law. Or being above scrutiny.
The Board of Ed has only voted twice against the recommendations of the
BOC. One on a relatively small detail of architectural preservation at
the old Ambassador Hotel; the other about the infamous funding,
geological and seismic fiasco known as the BELMONT LEARNING COMPLEX –
and there the Board (after a lawsuit) found other funding instead of the
bonds.
LAUSD: six hundred fifty thousand kids and their parent s – two
hundred thousand adult students and the faculty and staff of sixty
thousand - and the voters and the taxpayers and the greater community -
The City of Angels we aspire to be - deserves better and other
leadership than that being exhibited now.
We must remember that The Walrus and The Carpenter, whose nonsense
verse set the beginning of this treatise, ended up eating all the tasty
little oysters –
"'O Oysters,' said the Carpenter,
You've had a pleasant run!
Shall we be trotting home again?'
But answer came there none —
And this was scarcely odd, because
They'd eaten every one.'"
¡Onward/Adelante! - smf
Don’t #1: DON’T LET FEARS STOP NECESSARY TECHNOLOGY
REFORM IN L.A. SCHOOLS: By Frederick M. Hess and John E. Deasy + smf’s
2¢
Guest Commentary in the LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/195P1Lf
12/04/13, 3:27 PM PST :: The Los Angeles Unified School District has
been lauded — and scrutinized — for its trailblazing efforts to reform
teacher evaluation and include student achievement in hiring and firing
decisions. But the $1 billion push to provide every student and teacher
with an iPad may be attracting the most attention.
School board members have questioned the costs and benefits of the
investment. Parents and teachers have good cause to be skeptical of
technology. Schools have been overwhelmed in recent years by oversold,
ill-designed and frustrating new gizmos. Questions about whether dollars
allocated to new technology are being spent wisely deserve serious
consideration.
While these concerns are warranted, they should not hold students back from a 21st century learning experience.
Skeptics fear that the district’s investment in education technology is
“anti-teacher,” that it represents some kind of insidious plot to
replace teachers with machines. This strikes us as bizarre. Why? Try to
remember the last time a doctor viewed an MRI or needle-free diabetes
care as “anti-doctor.” We just don’t talk that way; we understand that
these things are not a substitute for skilled care but tools that allow
professionals to do their jobs better.
New technologies have made it possible for professionals of all stripes
to tackle routine chores more quickly and precisely. This has allowed
roles to evolve over time, creating new professional paths and the
opportunity for them to spend more time putting their expertise to work.
It would be terrific if such changes came to schooling, but this will
be a gradual process and one in which teachers will have a large say.
Skeptics have also expressed doubts about the wisdom of introducing
technology into high-poverty schools. They wonder if students will
respect the devices, or can use them. They argue that any available
funds should instead be spent on teachers. At a philosophical level, we
reject this premise. Children who grow up in poverty will have to
negotiate a wired world, alongside their more privileged peers. The
students of South Los Angeles should have access to the same learning
tools that suburban students enjoy.
More prosaically, early evidence suggests that students treasure these
devices, use them and master the skills they’ll need for college or
career. In Riverside, one of the first California districts to try to
put a device in every student’s hands, the “destruction” rate was less
than one-fifth that of textbooks, keeping the costs well within the
budgeted range. Technology that lets teachers spend more time coaching
and mentoring, and less time collecting paper, can be a powerful way to
support great instruction.
Finally, skeptics worry that digital learning creates a slippery slope
where students will not need to be physically present in school. The
fear is that kids will be off on their own, potentially unsupervised.
There are grounds for sensible discussion here, but warehousing
disengaged students in schools is not the answer. L.A. high schoolers
can today enroll in a Stanford course while sitting at Starbucks. Our
focus should be on helping students excel as thinkers and citizens — not
on the where and when.
With all that said, education technology will not magically improve test
scores or make learning more “fun.” But it can help professionals and
parents support student learning and growth. In the case of LAUSD, iPads
are one tool, not a solution, to help educators engage students and
provide students the support they need. It creates new opportunities for
students to learn and grow; these opportunities should not be driven by
community politics, grand promises or state procurement deadlines, but
by helping students learn and teachers teach.
Frederick M. Hess is director of education policy studies at the
American Enterprise Institute. Its stated mission is "to defend the
principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and
democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual
liberty and responsibility, vigilant and effective defense and foreign
policies, political accountability, and open debate". AEI is an
independent nonprofit organization supported primarily by grants and
contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals.
John E. Deasy is superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District.
●● smf’s 2¢:
Quoting: “ School board members have questioned the costs and
benefits of the investment. Parents and teachers have good cause to be
skeptical of technology. Schools have been overwhelmed in recent years
by oversold, ill-designed and frustrating new gizmos. Questions about
whether dollars allocated to new technology are being spent wisely
deserve serious consideration. “
But damn the cost and questionable benefits; those school board
members are only elected officials. The hell with the skepticism. Forget
the previous oversold, ill-designed and frustrating new gizmos. The
hell with questions about whether the dollars are being spent wisely,
ethically or even legally. Ignore that the dollars don’t even add up.
What voters, what taxpayers? What Bond Oversight Committee?
I’m the superintendent with a doctorate in education and he’s from a
think tank heavily invested in by corporate philanthropy. We don’t have
time to wait and do the planning right – or for the curriculum to be
developed and approved …or to wait for the investigators to investigate
the allegations of a shady deal.
There are tests to take! FULL SPEED AHEAD!
Don’t #2: DON’T HOLD UP FUNDING FOR L.A.’s POOR SCHOOL KIDS + smf’s 2¢
By Kevin Modesti, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1kkhOgx
Posted: 12/05/13, 9:11 AM PST :: Does the state education department
really need L.A. moms and dads to fill out forms to prove there are a
lot of poor school kids here who need help?
Los Angeles Unified is scrambling to meet a March deadline for parents
to submit a form listing their household’s annual income. Our Barbara
Jones reports that 22 percent of the forms distributed in November have
been returned. At stake is up to $200 million in state money to
supercharge the educations of low-income students, English learners and
foster children under California’s new Local Control Funding Formula.
Other districts apparently aren’t having the same trouble as LAUSD in
getting the forms filled out — and that should tell state officials
something.
It’s different for LAUSD because this is a huge district; it’s harder
for L.A. administrators to catch up after the state was slow in setting
the new verification rules. Also, officials must recognize that LAUSD
has many families with undocumented immigrants who may fear the
consequences of turning in any kind of government form.
The government should already know, based on the data the feds use to
determine eligibility for subsidized school lunches, that about 80
percent of L.A. Unified’s 600,000 students fall below poverty
guidelines. LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy wants the state to use that
data, and it should.
One California education official said allowing LAUSD to skip the
paperwork “would deny much-needed funding to other students around the
state.” That’s simply not true; the money is there, and it’s not as if
cash unclaimed by LAUSD would be passed out to other districts.
At least for this first year of the new funding program, the state
should give L.A. families a break. In helping disadvantaged kids, funds
are more important than forms.
2cents small Let me get this straight. LAUSD needs a special waiver
because it’s LAUSD when every one of the other 100o school districts in
the state have been or will be able to meet the requirement?. Three
extra months have already been added to the deadline.
“Other districts with large concentrations of low-income students
say they aren’t having the same problem as Los Angeles Unified.
“Long Beach Unified is dealing with the issue at 11 schools and has been whittling away at the total, a spokesman said.
“Mark Skvarna, superintendent at Baldwin Park Unified, said about 92
percent of his district’s students are low-income, and nearly all have
turned in their paperwork.
“’We’ve been very aggressive,” he said. “It’s been Job One for the
last month. Anyone who didn’t file got a phone call, and we even walked
them through the process.
“’We’re looking at a supplement of about $5 million,” Skvarna said. “For us, that’s big bucks.’” - LA Daily News http://bit.ly/1cqULQm
●● smf’s 2¢: Superintendent Deasy and LAUSD is saying that they need this money to
help poor kids …but are admitting that they really don’t know who the
poor kids are.
Here’s my counter proposal: The Board of Ed sends a letter to the State
saying that they realized that they wouldn’t be able to meet the
deadline so they fired the superintendent who was irresponsible for the
failure and could the please have some extra time for the interim
superintendent to get up to speed and get the paperwork in.
They should’ve handled this superintendent’s failure to file mandatory
reports of adult abuse of kids at Miramonte in a timely manner to the
Commission on Teacher Credentialing that way …instead of allowing him to
bury the commission with every piece of paper from every forgotten file
cabinet in LAUSD while hauling the entire faculty at Miramonte off to
teacher jail for a little self-examination and re-education.
2 from the Times: AN ELEMENTARY LIBRARIAN & A
HIGH SCHOOL GOVERNMENT TEACHER MAKE A DIFFERENCE
►SCHOOL LIBRARIAN HELPS STUDENTS STRUGGLING WITH READING + smf’s 2¢
Times Holiday Campaign: PROGRAM AIMS TO HELP YOUNG CHILDREN, MOST WITH
SPANISH-SPEAKING PARENTS, WHOSE READING SCORES AREN'T WHERE THEY SHOULD
BE.
By Paresh Dave | LA Times | http://lat.ms/IUDpAs
December 7, 2013, 6:04 p.m. :: After each school day, librarian Dinora
Arteaga leads a special reading program for a dozen kindergarten and
first-grade students, along with their parents. Their goal: learning 10
new words a week.
Arteaga works almost exclusively with Spanish-speaking parents whose
children are struggling to read, either in Spanish or English. Operating
out of a tiny library at Evelyn Thurman Gratts Primary Center, a public
charter school near downtown, her group meets on Mondays, with
one-on-one sessions later in the week.
Families who enter the reading program do so voluntarily after a teacher
recommends a child, based on reading scores. A student's progress is
measured on an alphabetical scale that begins with A. By the end of
first grade, students should read at level J.
Many of the students in the program are struggling to get past B, and
Arteaga pushes them to progress by one letter during their eight weeks
together. Last year, 18 of 20 first-graders and eight of 15
kindergartners fulfilled that goal.
On a Friday afternoon in October, Arteaga was helping 6-year-old
Spanish-speaker Heily Ramirez, who was confused by A's, E's and the
sound of C in her native language.
Hunched over the edge of the table, Heily stared at the work sheet,
paused, tugged at her vest and finally spoke: "Mamá hace la cena." She'd
pronounced the words right. Understanding the sentence, "Mother cooks
dinner," she looked over to her mother to find a proud smile.
Maria Ramirez was born in El Salvador. Her older daughter, 26, buys
books for Heily. But it's often up to Ramirez and her husband to read to
Heily. From Arteaga, she's learned strategies to ensure that Heily
reads along and comprehends.
"I've changed my work schedule to make Mondays and Fridays open to have
more time to help her, to be here," Ramirez, who works as a supermarket
cashier, said in Spanish. "And I've seen progress in her."
"Heily can read and write with more fluency," Ramirez said. "I just want her to keep learning more."
Arteaga, a former assistant librarian, was hired as Gratts' sole
librarian in December 2010. Principal Andrea Purcell asked Arteaga if
she wanted to lead an after-school reading program — scheduled over
eight weeks — for students having trouble keeping up with their lessons.
"Some kids just need more support and time," Purcell said. If the school
can give it to them, she said, "that's going to give kids more
opportunity and motivation to practice."
Born in East L.A. to immigrants from El Salvador and Guatemala, Arteaga
recognized the students' frustration. She had never felt comfortable
speaking publicly until she forced herself to take a storytelling class
at Cal State L.A.
"There's not a day that goes by now that kids aren't sitting here while
I'm reading to them," Arteaga said. She caps each two-month session with
an eye-opening field trip to the public library.
"Some parents think they will be reported to immigration if they go
there or it will cost them money," Arteaga said. "But I make them go and
check out books there, so they have to come back in a couple of weeks."
●Arteaga's involvement in the reading program is fully funded by a grant from the Los Angeles Times Family Fund.
Through the generosity of Times readers and a match by the McCormick
Foundation, $424,500 was granted to local literacy programs this year as
a result of the Los Angeles Times Holiday Campaign.
The Holiday Campaign, part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, a
McCormick Foundation Fund, raises contributions to support established
literacy programs run by nonprofit organizations that serve low-income
children, adults and families who are reading below grade levels, at
risk of illiteracy or who have limited English proficiency.
Donations are tax-deductible as permitted by law and matched at 50 cents
on the dollar. Donor information is not traded or published without
permission. Donate online at latimes.com/donate or by calling (800)
518-3975. All gifts will receive a written acknowledgment.
●● smf’s 2¢: Before the Humbugs!, the Hurrahs!:
• HURRAH! for Dinora Arteag and her entire sisterhood of Elementary
Librarians, doing God’s work in the most important classroom in any
school. It should be noted for the record that Gratts Primary Center is a
Charter School (albeit paid for with bond funds during the Public
School Choice giveaway) ; as such they are free to fund and staff
libraries as they wish.
• HURRAH! for the LA Times Family Fund for the grant supporting the
school! But what of all the school libraries shuttered for lack of a
librarian/library aide across LAUSD?
• HURRAH! for all the youngsters participating in the program!
• A slight HUMBUG! to the Times for choosing a stock/file photo of cute white children [http://lat.ms/IUDpAs]
to promote their promotion. White children do not make up the
population at Gratts P.C. – just cute children from the rainbow that is
the Pico-Union community.
• HUMBUG! to LAUSD and to Superintendant Deasy, whether Scrooge :
“Scrooge started back, appalled. He tried to say they were fine children, but the words choked themselves.
`Spirit. are they yours?' Scrooge could say no more.
`They are Man's,' said the Spirit, looking down upon them. `
‘This boy is Ignorance. This girl is Want. Beware them both, and all of
their degree, but most of all beware this boy, for on his brow I see
that written which is Doom, unless the writing be erased.’
`Have they no refuge or resource.' cried Scrooge.`Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?' ”
…or Grinch - for making staffing school libraries whether during school
or after school a funding option for charity – whether from the Times or
the PTA/PTO bake/candy/gift wrap sale or the generosity of the school
site council. Do we want a librarian or a nurse or a counselor? Which
to we need most? Which do we need least? Which one do we like best?
A library without a librarian is a locked book room …and a crime against
nurture! Rather than Humbugs there should be indictments.
ALSO SEE: DOZENS OF LA UNIFIED SCHOOLS LACK STAFF NEEDED TO RUN LIBRARIES: Annie Gilbertson | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC ... http://bit.ly/IGihOV
Times Reader’s Comments (3)
mamaofangels at 11:58 PM December 07, 2013 :: What is the impact on a
whole generation of students who will be without school libraries? Where
are the champions of civil rights on that topic? My child's school
library has been shuttered for almost three years. That is the case with
most LAUSD schools too. Why did we pass Prop 30?
gordianus at 10:50 PM December 07, 2013 :: What a pity that Supe Deasy
would rather put an iPad in the hands of illiterate students instead of
fully funding librarians throughout the District.
But hey, what can you expect of a guy who appeared at an American
Enterprise Institute event on education and who just co-wrote an op-ed
in the Daily News with a drone from that very same organization. We
know how pro public ed the American Enterprise Institute is, now don't
we?
I'd say Deasy was a wolf in sheep's clothing, but I think, particularly
since the death of Marguerite LaMotte, that he's shed the disguise. God
help the LAUSD.
ridgeley at 6:10 PM December 07, 2013
Oh look, an article about the importance of librarians and libraries in a child's ability to read.
If The Times wants to survive (unless they're coming out with a spoken
word version, with very basic words), then maybe they could be
spearheading a campaign for school districts to restore librarian
positions and demand that schools open up their libraries once again.
___________________________
►A TEACHER’S GOAL-LINE STAND: WHEN SOON-TO-BE USC COACH STEVE SARKISIAN
VISITED VERONICA BENNETT'S CLASS TO CHECK ON A STAR STUDENT, SHE MADE
THE RIGHT PLAY.
By Steve Lopez, LA Times columnist | http://lat.ms/1btqTmh
December 7, 2013, 2:00 p.m. :: Last week, a neat little nugget was
tucked into the bottom of a story about USC's new head football coach,
Steve Sarkisian.
The piece by Eric Sondheimer — the local treasure who covers prep sports
for The Times — noted that Sarkisian had dropped by Narbonne High
School in Harbor City last month to check on a star football player.
Sarkisian got as far as the athlete's classroom door, but in the
equivalent of a great goal-line stand, the teacher turned him away.
The young man was a student first, and he happened to be studying U.S.
government with the rest of his honors class, the teacher informed the
coach. She didn't appreciate the interruption.
I knew the moment I read this that I had to meet such a stand-up
teacher, so on Thursday I drove down to Narbonne. As I entered the
office, four well-dressed, exceedingly polite sophomores appeared. They
told me they were members of the school's Public Service Academy and
were running an errand for their teacher. Two of them told me they're
going to be lawyers, and the other two want to be a firefighter and a
police officer.
Somebody was clearly doing something right at this school. Principal
Gerald Kobata attributed the school's atmosphere to a lot of good
students and good teachers, too. And as we talked, one of those teachers
suddenly appeared.
Veronica Bennett, the best defender Steve Sarkisian ever met, has a big
voice and robust personality, but she was uncomfortably shy about my
visit. She's no different from most teachers, she told me. And she was
just doing her job.
Teaching, it turns out, is not Bennett's first career. The Bay Area
native worked in sales for a dental lab and then became a benefits
administrator for a chemical company. But it wasn't fulfilling work, so
when a friend suggested she was good with kids and should consider
teaching, she went back to school at age 42 to earn a credential.
"My thought … was that I would keep going until a door closed," said Bennett. "But the doors kept flying open."
She started teaching at Narbonne in 1996, and has never regretted her
midlife career switch, despite the challenges. Many of her students are
dealing with poverty, neighborhood crime and peer pressure.
"But when you get with them one-on-one," Bennett said, "they all want to succeed."
It was early November when Sarkisian visited Narbonne. He was head coach
at the University of Washington at the time and wanted to lure Narbonne
defensive back Uchenna Nwosu up to Seattle. Ironically, Nwosu wasn't
interested. He'd already committed to USC.
"It was third period," Bennett said. "So during the course of our
lesson, I get a school aide who comes and says the student needs to go
to the athletics office. And I said no, we're right in the middle of
class."
Bennett has a way of making that single word — no — into a lecture. It's all about tone, attitude, body language.
Maintaining the focus of her third-period students can be tricky, she said, so she doesn't like distractions.
"They're nice kids, don't get me wrong," she said. "But they're very social."
Moments after the first aide was turned away, another one appeared.
Same request.
Same reply.
Even my temperature was rising as Bennett related the story.
"So she leaves, and five minutes later I get a counselor coming in. By
that point I'm pretty steamed," said Bennett, who told me her students
"were now bouncing off the walls."
She sent the counselor packing.
Moments later, another knock.
"This is the fourth interruption and I can't get anything done. So I go
to the door and here's our football coach and Sarkisian," said Bennett,
who was once the athletic director at Narbonne. She said she told
Sarkisian she knew him from his days as a star athlete in the South Bay.
"I said, 'Hi, coach, I'm Victoria Bennett, you went to West Torrance
High.' He said yes, and I didn't give him a chance to say anything else
because I was hot. I said, 'I'm sure you will understand I've had most
of these youngsters for two years and my goal is to get them across the
stage."
If her students play football, fine, Bennett told me. If they get a full college scholarship, yahoo!
"But academics is my No. 1," she recalls telling the coaches in what she
describes as a deliberate but respectful tone. "This is what I do. This
is it."
She suggested that even a big-deal college coach like Sarkisian could wait until after class to conduct his business.
"I said, 'I am not enamored of celebrity.'"
With that, Bennett went back and taught her class, and Sarkisian waited until later to visit Nwosu.
"She's a very good teacher," said Principal Kobata. "She holds them
accountable. When you go into her class, you see student engagement....
They don't just sit passively."
Kobata said he was upset with his staff for interrupting Bennett's class. The policy is for recruiters to visit after school.
And what about Nwosu, who, as it turns out, will have plenty of time with Sarkisian at USC next year?
"I appreciated what she was doing," the student said of the way Bennett put his education first.
Nwosu said his grade-point average is above 3.0 and he might major in business at USC.
Bennett, he said, is "a cool teacher. Cool and funny."
"I love that class."
HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T
FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other
Sources
A TEACHER’S GOAL-LINE STAND: When soon-to-be USC
coach Steve Sarkisian visited Veronica Bennett's class to che... http://bit.ly/1jAFyPW
SCHOOL LIBRARIAN HELPS STUDENTS STRUGGLING WITH READING + smf’s 2¢: TIMES HOLIDAY CAMPAIGN: Program aims to he... http://bit.ly/1kpGkgf
BLACK LEADERS SPEAK OUT ON HOW TO FILL LA MOTTE’S BOARD SEAT: by Vanessa Romo, LA School Report http://... http://bit.ly/1br3IZH
TWO OPTIONS FOR L.A. SCHOOL BOARD IN FILLING MARGUERITE LAMOTTE’S SEAT: L.A. Unified can replace LaMotte by ap... http://bit.ly/1bqXoS0
On the passing of Ms. LaMotte: A HEROIC FIGURE IN THE HISTORY OF PUBLIC EDUCATION IN LOS ANGELES: http://bit.ly/1kkKmGT
Opinion: DON’T HOLD UP FUNDING FOR L.A.’s POOR SCHOOL KIDS + smf’s 2¢: By Kevin Modesti, Los Angeles Daily New... http://bit.ly/1iHGjsI
DON’T LET FEARS STOP NECESSARY TECHNOLOGY REFORM IN L.A. SCHOOLS: By Frederick M. Hess and John E. Deasy + smf... http://bit.ly/1juWx6b
(THE NIGHT BEFORE) PISA DAY MEETS JINGLE BELLS…. or the doggerel ate my homework: East Coast Blogger Jersey Ja... http://bit.ly/1d5JXWm
iHave a Dream: THE UNANSWERED QUESTIONS BEHIND LAUSD’S ED TECH FIASCO: By Yasha Levine | PandoDaily http://bi... http://bit.ly/ITS1k0
▶ VIDEO: What Does the PISA Report realy Tell Us About U.S. Education? - YouTube http://bit.ly/1iFbS6g
View media
MARGUERITE POINDEXTER LAMOTTE 1933 - 2013: Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, veteran L.A. school trustee, dies ... http://bit.ly/1d301rN
Board Report 129-13/14: IN WHICH SUPERINTENDENT DEASY RECOMMENDS IGNORING THE BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE RECOMME... http://bit.ly/1jrQJul
TWEET: Howard Blume @howardblume 5 Dec: L.A. Unified has confirmed that
Board of Education member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte has died.
The PISA Scores: MICHELLE RHEE CLUCKS THAT THE SKY IS FALLING: More Mediocrity for American Education: The bad... http://bit.ly/1iCXsni
ALEC: ADVOCACY GROUP PROPOSES RESTRICTIONS ON STUDENT DATA + smf’s 2¢: by Tom Chorneau | SI&A Cabinet Report :... http://bit.ly/1d0Zrem
PARENTS KNOW LITTLE ABOUT FUNDING LAW BUT WANT TO GET INVOLVED, SURVEY FINDS: By Susan Frey | EdSource Today h... http://bit.ly/IRgtCP
LA SCHOOLS CHALLENGE FOR NEW FUNDING: INVOLVING PARENTS IN HOW THE MONEY IS SPENT + Parent Survey: Annie Gilbe... http://bit.ly/1d0M91n
SUPERINTENDENT TO ASK BOARD OF ED TO PROCEED WITH $115 MILLION iPADS PHASE2 DESPITE BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE O... http://bit.ly/1cZnASo
LCFF: DEASY ESCALATES DISPUTE WITH STATE OVER MEAL PROGRAM VERIFICATION: by LA School Report | http://bi... http://bit.ly/1bgwgVO
LA UNIFIED BOARD MEMBER BENNETT KAYSER TALKS ARTS EDUCATION: Mary Plummer | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC | http://b... http://bit.ly/1izdr5T
SCHOOLS PROMOTING ‘TRAUMA-INFORMED’ TEACHING TO REACH TROUBLED STDENTS: By Jane Meredith Adams, EdSource Today... http://bit.ly/1iz9gH4
TWEET: Arne Duncan: ”It’s fascinating to me that some of the pushback (to the Common Core) is coming from, sort of, (cont) http://tl.gd/n_1rsq46k
SECRETARY OF ED ARNE DUNCAN DISPLAYS ARROGANT, BIGOTED, ANTI-PARENT SENTIMENT: by Laurie Rogers Education New... http://bit.ly/1cT5Rfo
SURVEY RESULTS ON iPAD POPULARITY AMONG TEACHERS + ADMINISTRATORS DIFFER: Survey: Most LAUSD teachers would di... http://bit.ly/1iwr7yz
TWEET: “Voc Ed is dead. Long live the new Voc Ed.” | http://bit.ly/auDNT3
THE COLLEGE-FOR-ALL MODEL ISNT WORKING: After years of disfavor, vocational education is being transformed for... http://bit.ly/1k73Cax
L.A. UNIFIED ACCUSES STATE OF ’SHORTCHANGING’ NEEDY STUDENTS + smf’s 2¢: By Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times... http://bit.ly/1jhrhHW
PISA Scores: The failure of ®eform, testing, or keeping score?” U.S. STUDENTS AVERAGE AROUND AVERAGE …AGAIN: “... http://bit.ly/1ivZtlg
TWEET: The new 9 most terrifying words in the English language
are:“We’re from Corporate Philanthropy & we’re here to help.” http://bit.ly/auDNT3
NEW YORK’S SECRET EDUCATION POLICY MAKERS + smf’s 2¢: by Alan Singer, Social studies educator, Hofstra Univers... http://bit.ly/1eQA0hc
DOZENS OF LA UNIFIED SCHOOLS LACK STAFF NEEDED TO RUN LIBRARIES: Annie Gilbertson | Pass / Fail | 89.3 KPCC ... http://bit.ly/IGihOV
TWEET: “When you wage war on the public schools, you're attacking the mortar that holds the community together. (cont) http://tl.gd/n_1rsnllu
Reframing the Refrain: CHOICE AS A CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUE: “ School ‘Choice’ advocat... http://bit.ly/1b9zBpA
TWEET: A t-shirt slogan seen recently: "Those who can, Teach. Those who can't, pass laws about teaching."
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
Monica.Ratliff@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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