Misreading the tealeaves

4LAKids: Sunday, Dec 10, 2006 In This Issue: • TOKOFSKY WON'T SEEK REELECTION: The L.A. school board member cites lack of enough family time and the toll of battling the mayor over district control • LAUSD TAKEOVER WORK IN PROGRESS, MAYOR'S STAFF MAKING PLANS + L.A. CHARTER SCHOOL CHIEF ACCEPTS MAYORAL JOB • O'CONNELL'S APPROACH TO EDUCATION FUNDING + O'CONNELL SEARCHES FOR THE TRUE COST OF EDUCATION + FUTURE OF CALIFORNIA EDUCATION: RESEARCH AND RESOURCES • L.A. TEACHERS RALLY TO PRESS BID FOR SETTLEMENT OF CONTRACT + UTLA CRITICIZES POSSIBLE DEAL TO KEEP ROMER AS DISTRICT ADVISOR • THE HEROISM OF JAMES KIM • EVENTS: Coming up next week... • What can YOU do? Featured Links: • smf4LAKids: The political campaign - Scott Folsom for School Board! • 4LAKids Anthology: All the Past Issues, solved, resolved and unsolved! • 4LAKidsNews: a compendium of recent items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, rants and amusing anecdotes, etc. • The monster type headline from the special Culture section screamed out from the plastic wrap of last Sunday's Times: "WHAT LOS ANGELES GAVE THE WORLD". Whatever it was, it wasn't meaningful discussion of school district governance or reform! _____ THE GREEN DOT CONNECTION became more apparent as the mayor picked the Green Dot Charter Schools second-in-command to be third-in-command of the schools he plans to take over. Green Dot's #1 Steve Barr unleashed an obscenity-laced (and that's being kind!) tirade in an LA Weekly interview and School board President Marlene Canter, quoted in an article following, says there has still been no formal meeting with the mayor's staff to discuss AB 1381. Three weeks away from AB 1381's scheduled implementation and there has been no meeting? I was actually in the room at the RJR Nabisco stockholders meeting in Phoenix in 1988 when Kohlberg Kravis Roberts pulled off the largest hostile corporate takeover of the last century, the one he book and movie "Barbarians at the Gate" was about. • That was a $25 billion deal. • LAUSD's annual budget plus the school construction budget exceeds that amount. • When people say it's not about the money, it's about the money! _____ Included are three pieces by or about State Superintendent O’Connell and his initiative for education funding reform – he has his work cut out for him in a year where the governor and presumably the legislature will be focused on health care and infrastructure. _____ FINALLY: 4LAKids isn't intentionally about me or my opinions – it's intended to be about public education in this City of Angels and it's supposed to provoke and inform your opinion. After a one month run for Board of Education I decided to withdraw my hat from the ring on Wednesday and return to this keyboard and the bully-pulpit soapbox to continue stirring the pot from within and without the school district. This proved to be a colossal misreading of political tealeaves with David Tokofsky's last minute withdrawal from the race on Saturday — that contest potentially becomes a no-contest with only one candidate remaining. • David did intimate to me that he might not run …but I chose to ignore the message. • Through backchannels I had asked UTLA where their support would be: David was their guy. • David continued to fundraise …he filed his nominating petition … he was SO running! My own decision to withdraw turned on the realization that any campaign I would run would be uphill and grass roots …and I had not received the level of support that I felt justified me asking people to invest their money and hard work in supporting me as a “tilter at windmills” in a three-or-four-way race I could not win. I hypothesized if I were to go out and raise funds it should be where the limited resources people contribute can go to good use — like supporting the underfunded Dental Health Program that PTA has run in cahoots with LA City Schools since 1911. A program – in the midst of a dental disease epidemic among California schoolchildren – that is in danger of going out of existence. • There remains a realistic expectation that the mayor will try to influence the school board elections with cash support for candidates who support his agenda. • Both the leadership and membership of UTLA still need to decide whether they support the mayor or the incumbents. At last count inside UTLA it was 50.22% for; 49.78% against. With those odds who-against-whom really doesn’t matter — in any political fight it's the kids who will lose! • And the teachers’ union is still smarting from supporting an unelectable candidate in this year’s special election. During the last month I have met with lots of folks out there, many who share my mission and passion — our mission and passion — very few who think anyone in LAUSD is really on the right track. • I have spoken to many folks who think the mayor is wrong and a number who (dangerously) think that anything else would be better. • Certainly I’ve spoken to a number of “anyone but the ones in there now” folks — a sentiment I understand but don’t entirely share …"anyone" is a wide universe of (im)possibilities! The window to file for office has been reopened. There may be second chances in politics …who knew? Call me a flip-flopper, call me what you will. I am reevaluating my decision not to run and I am asking for your opinion, input and thoughts. • Email smfolsom@aol.com • Call 323.446.8385 and leave word. I am asking for your help. Onward! – smf Giving the "F-word" a bad name: THE LA WEEKLY INTERVIEW WITH GREEN DOT SCHOOLS FOUNDER STEVE BARR TOKOFSKY WON'T SEEK REELECTION: The L.A. school board member cites lack of enough family time and the toll of battling the mayor over district control By Howard Blume and Joel Rubin, LA Times Staff Writers December 10, 2006 — David Tokofsky, a celebrated teacher who became an iconoclastic school board member and, more recently, one of the most vocal critics of the mayor's efforts to win authority over local schools, announced Saturday that he would not seek reelection to the Board of Education. The pullout of Tokofsky, who filed papers last month indicating he would run again, will trigger a one-week reopening of the filing period for candidates in District 5, the mayor's office said. The district stretches from Eagle Rock to the cities of southeast Los Angeles County. A new challenger would have little time to organize a campaign. Only one other candidate, Yolie Flores Aguilar, who narrowly lost to Tokofsky in 1999, remains in the race. Tokofsky said he submitted his notice of withdrawal Saturday at City Hall, where the election office was open because of a filing requirement in an unrelated race. He squeezed in the errand around a birthday party for his 6-year-old daughter. Tokofsky said one factor in his decision was his inability to spend as much time as he would like with his children; he also has an 8-year-old daughter. "I put a jumper in the backyard for the birthday party. While I wasn't in the jumper, I felt like I was jumping today," Tokofsky said. "A lot of pressure came off my shoulders in making this decision." Tokofsky, 46, added that he is weary of juggling outside work to get by on the $24,000-a-year salary paid to Los Angeles Unified School District board members — unchanged over the 12 years and three terms of his service. But he also said the battle with the mayor has taken a toll. Villaraigosa quietly targeted the three incumbents on the March ballot, all of whom opposed a law, backed by the mayor, that transfers some of the school board's authority to him. The board, with Tokofsky leading the rhetorical charge, has sued to overturn the law on constitutional grounds. The case goes before a judge next week. The mayor's office seemed pleased with the news about Tokofsky. "David Tokofsky understands that there is a growing chorus for change, and incumbent school board members can no longer defend the status quo," said Janelle Erickson, a spokeswoman for the mayor. A source in Villaraigosa's office went even further on condition of anonymity: "This is a huge victory for the mayor. Tokofsky was one of the leading opponents of the mayor's education reform efforts." Tokofsky was by no means certain to lose the race — even if opposed by the popular Villaraigosa and even though he is white in a district whose Latino majority is growing, said Paul Goodwin, who has conducted polling for Tokofsky since the board member's first race in 1995. "David was very strong going into this race," Goodwin said. "This is not a case of him being driven out because he had no chance of winning. We were pleasantly surprised. These are by far the strongest numbers he had going into any election." Tokofsky has a history of close finishes. He first won election by fewer than 100 votes. In his next contest, the margin was several hundred. He won his last race handily despite opposition from former Mayor Richard Riordan. "David has built up a cadre of voters who like him," Goodwin said. Other than Villaraigosa, the key player in this year's board races is the teachers union. Tokofsky has always won the backing of United Teachers Los Angeles — an endorsement that has sometimes been ratified by the membership against the wishes of top union leaders. The current union leadership, which has strong ties to Villaraigosa, has been cool to Tokofsky but has also conceded that he might well have won the union endorsement and the resources that come with it. The union can pour hundreds of thousands of dollars and an army of volunteers into a board race. Tokofsky's impending departure means he will be immune from union pressure to deliver a higher salary offer in ongoing contract talks with teachers. On Saturday, union President A.J. Duffy praised Tokofsky's accomplishments in the classroom as a teacher. Tokofsky coached a Marshall High School team to the U.S. Academic Decathlon championship in 1987. "I am reminded that David was a really fine teacher," Duffy said. "He's got a wealth of knowledge. What a great high school civics teacher he would make with his added wealth of experience from the school board." School board President Marlene Canter praised her departing colleague. "When he looks at an issue, it's through the lens of his keen intellect," she said. "He raises the level of discourse on the board." Tokofsky has also always had critics, who have accused him of being overly calculating and having an intellect that sometimes wanders too much from the main business at hand. Early in his tenure, he at times was combative with district administrators. As a board member, Tokofsky played a key role in hiring an inspector general, whose job is to ferret out fraud and waste. He also pushed successfully for the committee that oversees spending on the massive school construction and repair program. Such committees are now part of all school bond measures. He said Saturday that he is also proud of his advocacy for full-day kindergarten, for the district's comprehensive use of student assessment and for helping break up an insular culture that typically looked for leadership only from inside the school system. For the last 2 1/2 years, Tokofsky has worked part time for Green Dot charter schools. But he said he hasn't decided what to do next — other than that education will be involved. The self-professed political animal said he will miss the fray and playing a role in education issues at the state and federal level. "I love challenges and competition," he said. "But just fighting over power and control is incredibly distracting and demoralizing from the core mission of helping children. I could win the playground fight, but we tell our kids at school that if you fight at school, you're both suspended." LAUSD TAKEOVER WORK IN PROGRESS, MAYOR'S STAFF MAKING PLANS + L.A. CHARTER SCHOOL CHIEF ACCEPTS MAYORAL JOB ►LAUSD TAKEOVER WORK IN PROGRESS, MAYOR'S STAFF MAKING PLANS by Naush Boghossian, Staff Writer, LA Daily News 12/04/2006 — With Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa hoping to take over Los Angeles Unified in just four weeks, city officials say they're working hard to streamline operations while school district leaders are bracing for the changes. If upheld in court, Assembly Bill 1381, signed into law in September, will shift significant power from the elected school board to the district's superintendent and give the mayor authority over three low-performing school clusters. It also will give educators greater control over their campus's budget and curriculum. Villaraigosa's education team - led by his chief of staff, Robin Kramer; Deputy Mayor Ed Cortines; and attorney Tom Saenz - has been studying public-school districts nationwide and debating how to raise student achievement and make the LAUSD more efficient. Their top concerns, officials say, include pinpointing the district's dropout rate, providing educators with sufficient support and training, and including parents in the education system. For instance, Villaraigosa is weighing a program used in Chicago, where parents grade the performance of their children's schools. The education team is also developing timelines of when decisions need to be made and implemented, as well as benchmarks to track progress. But it will be newly hired Superintendent David Brewer who will feel the biggest change in his role. Beginning Jan. 1, he'll assume the authority to make budget, management and contracting decisions and take over the district's massive school-construction program. "Giving the superintendent more authority to run the school district will only streamline the decision-making process by giving him the oversight he needs to push for real change in our public schools," said Janelle Erickson, the mayor's spokeswoman. Villaraigosa and Brewer also want a management audit conducted of the LAUSD as part of their reform effort. And the mayor also must formally designate the three high schools and their feeder campuses for which he'll accept responsibility - two beginning July 1 and the third in September 2008. While the Mayor's Office is moving ahead with its takeover plans, LAUSD officials hope a judge will rule in their favor on a lawsuit seeking to invalidate AB 1381. Arguments in the case are scheduled for Dec. 15. Kevin Reed, the LAUSD's lead attorney, said a Jan. 1 implementation of AB 1381 will result in an upheaval in the district's budget process and its $19.2 billion construction program. Shifting contracting authority from the board to the superintendent will result in a slowdown in the process, said Reed, who predicted cost overruns of $150 million for a construction program that is already short of cash. "I think you can expect a lot of disruption with the operation of the schools, primarily related to the great ambiguity that exists in the bill and a lot of unanswered questions in AB 1381," Reed said. "But we have contingency plans." Reed also said the lines of authority between Brewer, Villaraigosa and the board will need to be worked out. "We would be entering territory no other school district or public agency has had to enter. The district will do its best to comply with the law when and if it goes into effect, but it will be incredibly difficult to do so. "It will be costly, and it will be a substantial disruption to the operation of the district." School board President Marlene Canter said there has been no formal meeting with the mayor's staff to discuss AB 1381. But, she said, board members want Brewer to serve as a liaison between them and the mayor - especially if a judge rules that AB 1381 is valid. "From the board's perspective, we are continuing our governance responsibilities and we'll continue to do that no matter what as we move forward," she said. "We'll do whatever we need to do to serve the needs of the kids." At a news conference last week, Villaraigosa said he hopes the suit challenging the constitutionality of AB 1381 will be decided quickly. Villaraigosa refused to divulge details of what his office is doing to prepare for a governance shift, but said staffers have been working hard. "We have an exciting plan for the mayor's partnership schools. We have met with some of the best education reformers in the country and leading advocates for kids. These schools, without question, do not have the resources they need. Part of what I can do with this bully pulpit is make the case for more funding." In its lawsuit, the district claims that AB 1381 violates constitutional mandates separating the operations of cities and the education system. The suit also says the law violates the Los Angeles City Charter, which does not grant the mayor specific authority over public schools; and that it disenfranchises voters who don't live in Los Angeles but are served by the district. In ruling on the suit, the judge will have to decide whether provisions of the City Charter or state law prevail, said Loyola Law School professor Karl Manheim. If AB 1381 goes into effect Jan. 1, most people won't expect the mayor to make dramatic changes in the first week - or even the first month, said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, a political analyst at the University of Southern California. But, the mayor's political future could depend on the success of schools, especially those in the three clusters he'll oversee. "At this point in time, it's fairly important in terms of his political career and his agenda," Jeffe said. "He set up this goal, and he promised there would be a difference. The question is whether or not voters will hold him to that promise or whether or not he can make good on his promise. "But if the schools he's directly overseeing don't improve, he's in a significant danger zone," she said. "There's no way out of that." ____________ ►L.A. CHARTER SCHOOL CHIEF ACCEPTS MAYORAL JOB By Howard Blume, Times Staff Writer December 9, 2006 — A leader of a fast-growing chain of local charter schools has accepted a top position with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's education team, immediately becoming a key player in the administration's school reform efforts. Marshall Tuck, 33, president and chief operating officer of Green Dot Public Schools, is expected to work under Deputy Mayor Ramon C. Cortines when legislation takes effect Jan. 1 that will give the mayor substantial authority over the Los Angeles Unified School District. The mayor's office declined to comment. Tuck confirmed the move but also said he wanted to talk with Green Dot staff before commenting further. Green Dot founder and chief executive Steve Barr was effusive about the appointment. "We're pretty fired up," Barr said Friday. "We love Marshall and it's a good validation of our hard work." The hire raised concerns late Friday afternoon at the headquarters of United Teachers Los Angeles that Tuck would head schools under Villaraigosa's direct control. Union leaders have generally opposed the rapid spread of charter schools in the district. Another concern was that hiring the top administrator without teacher input probably would offend union leaders. But a call between the mayor's office and a top union official apparently allayed any uneasiness. Union leaders said they understood that Tuck was not being hired to run the schools and that any such decision would be made later. A union official said he would reserve judgment on Tuck, saying he was not familiar with how teachers are treated at Green Dot. "If he can help make these non-charter schools successful, we would welcome that," said Joel Jordan, UTLA's director of special projects. The new law giving Villaraigosa a role in schools still faces a court date next week over a constitutional challenge that could nullify it. Tuck joined the charter school company in July 2002 as chief operating officer and became president in fall 2004. He'd previously worked as marketing manager and lead salesperson for a software company. He has also been an investment banker in New York and a volunteer teacher in Zimbabwe. L.A.-based Green Dot operates 10 small high schools, five of which opened this year near Jefferson High. Tuck, who has worked mostly in the background, represents the less controversial side of Green Dot. The other side is represented by Barr, whose brash personality and politicking have raised hackles about Green Dot that will inevitably color views of Tuck. Barr clashed openly with recently retired Supt. Roy Romer, and in the last race for mayor spearheaded a coalition that pressured both challenger Villaraigosa and incumbent James K. Hahn to seek authority over the schools. And in this week's LA Weekly, Barr took a shot at new Supt. David L. Brewer by criticizing the Navy's education programs. Brewer, a retired admiral, used to help run them. Barr also offered an obscenity-laced response to purported anti-Green Dot comments from teachers union President A.J. Duffy. Duffy said Friday that he had intended to criticize charters in general, not Green Dot in particular, but added: "Charters do not educate any better." O'CONNELL'S APPROACH TO EDUCATION FUNDING + O'CONNELL SEARCHES FOR THE TRUE COST OF EDUCATION + FUTURE OF CALIFORNIA EDUCATION: RESEARCH AND RESOURCES ►O'CONNELL'S APPROACH TO EDUCATION FUNDING SHOULD BE THE WAY WE LOOK AT ALL OF CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT By Frank D. Russo, Publisher, California Progress Report An article appeared in this morning's Oakland Tribune: "O'Connell searches for the true cost of education--California superintendent hopes $2.6 million study drives funding of state's schools", that provides much food for thought. It focuses on K-12 education--an important issue in its own right that is shaping up to be a major one for the Governor and legislature in the session that starts on Monday. But there is a very interesting approach O'Connell is taking--and it is one that is missing in public discourse on the size of government in our state, nation, and on a local level. It is so simple, but it is radically different from the posturing that is heard in the debates in Sacramento and by the press and the pundits at large on funding our state's schools. The usual debate focuses on how much we are spending, how it compares with years past, money that has been "borrowed" from education to balance the state's budget and whether it has been paid back, and how this fits within various formulae, including Prop 98, which requires a certain amount of our state's budget be dedicated to education . Sweep all that to the side. Instead, O'Connell is proposing to figure out what is really needed to provide the children of our state a proper education--both from a reform standpoint and the financing that is needed--and then acting on this information. Sure, all the statistics that have framed the debate in the past are relevant and should be taken into account. One needs to see where our spending level is compared with other states and the national average. But if we can first try to ascertain what is really needed, here in California, then we are ready to debate what we should spend on education. Only then can we have an intelligent debate on the overall budget, whether to raise taxes, and some of the larger issues that politicians pander to voters about. As an abstract principle (and a pretty powerful one indeed) California's voters do not want higher taxes. But poll after poll have shown that they want services from their state government and education is at or near the top of the list of what they want. There is indeed a new poll that confirms that Californians, by a very sizeable majority, want a better educational system and are willing to pay for it--if there is accountability. Just saying taxes are "too high," pledging that there will be "no new taxes" in California, or saying that we have "a spending problem" does not get us to the starting point of the real debate we need. It is like the Emperor Joseph II in Amadeus telling Mozart that there are "too many notes" in his compositions. A thoughtful linguist at Real Reason, Annette Shenker-Osorio, said it best recently: "The problem with “Shrinking” Government: Government is typically viewed as something separate from community life—something that can simply be made to “grow” or “shrink” like a tumor. This mental model for thinking about government obscures some basic realities. The challenge is to promote a more sophisticated way of thinking about government. Government is the community coming together to set priorities that serve the common good. When government is starved of resources, these decisions don’t disappear—they simply shift to less transparent, less accountable, and less democratic institutions." Columnist Peter Shrag, wrestled with the contradictory attitudes of the voters of this state in his book California: America's High-Stakes Experiment. He spelled much of this out in a column in March of this year: "Does California really want things to work?" Is California-present - or for that matter the nation - prepared for the new society growing up around us in which we are all, to one degree or another, immigrants? Are we still willing to maintain and pay for the good society we seemed at one time on the road to becoming, and seemed sometimes to take for granted, or will we settle for an increasingly fractured, inequitable society divided between rich and poor?” Three months after Proposition 13 passed, Howard Jarvis, its principal author, wrote a piece for The Bee complaining about "illegal aliens who come here to get on the taxpayers gravy train." Since then we've had a string of ballot measures seeking to restrict services, including public education, for illegal immigrants, and ending ethnic preferences in employment and education. But in the long meantime, California's cumbersome governmental machinery - its supermajority vote requirements, its auto-pilot spending mandates, its incomprehensible fiscal machinery, its wild-card initiative process - make it appear that despite voters' expressed desires, they really aren't sure they want the thing to work at all. It would serve the people of California to have a debate and discussion of what is really needed in education and all levels of our government rather than tired clichés and campaign rhetoric. That goes for health insurance, the state's prisons, and any one of a number of expensive but important programs. http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/ ____________ ►O'CONNELL SEARCHES FOR THE TRUE COST OF EDUCATION: California superintendent hopes $2.6 million study drives funding of state's schools By Grace Rauh, Staff Writer, Oakland Tribune 12/01/2006 — SAN FRANCISCO — For years it has been a rhetorical question. But for the first time this spring, Californians may finally get an answer. Exactly how much does it cost to properly educate a child? The question has been posed repeatedly, and the answer was the focus of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell's speech Thursday, kicking off the California School Boards Association's annual conference, held in San Francisco's expansive Moscone Convention Center. Nearly 4,000 school board members from large and small districts around the state planned to attend the three-day event. "We actually asked what is the actual cost to educate a student," O'Connell told the crowd. "I hope that (the answer) really drives the discussions in Sacramento." The $2.6 million study responsible for uncovering this elusive answer was funded by four foundations and led by Stanford University. O'Connell, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Democratic legislative leaders commissioned the research and the results should be released in two to three months. "I hope it's a benchmark," O'Connell said after his speech, from the floor of an education trade show taking place alongside the conference. "I hope it's more than a study that is placed on the shelf. I hope it drives education funding." Education funding in California is distributed in a messy, complicated manner, with districts given different amounts of money to teach their students. On average, the state spends $7,746 on each student, according to data from the 2003-04 school year compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics. Texas spent $7,271 on each student during the same year. New York lavished $12,535 on each of its pupils, according to the center. California voters support spending more money on public schools, but only if there is greater accountability over how that funding is dispensed,according to a new statewide poll released Thursday by Children Now, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization based in Oakland. Eighty-four percent of the 1,300 voters surveyed by telephone believe public schools should have the materials and teachers needed to teach the state's academic standards, even if it means increasing education funding. Nearly eight in 10 voters surveyed said they support some type of education reform, which could include a complete restructuring of public schools or softer reforms that still would dramatically change the system. "There's not a big divide in the electorate in terms of making major changes in education," said Ted Lempert, president of Children Now. "They are saying loud and clear that the system is unacceptable and we need major change in California." For Lempert, the key to the polling results is the realization that voters want education reform and financial accountability. They are saying, "Let's do both. Let's do them together. Let's get them done," he said. ____________ ►THE FUTURE OF CALIFORNIA EDUCATION: RESEARCH AND RESOURCES State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell's remarks at the California School Board Association meeting, Thursday, November 30, 2006; JACK O'CONNELL: It's great to be here with you again at your annual conference. This promises to be an interesting year in Sacramento. Over the next few months we'll be hearing a lot about the results of a tremendous, multi-faceted research project now underway by four major foundations at the request of myself along with the governor and leaders of both houses of the legislature. That research will inform many of our education funding discussions in the upcoming year, and it may cause us to rethink many issues I know are a concern to you, from declining enrollment to teacher salaries. Rick Miller from my staff will be at this conference tomorrow to talk more about this effort. We look forward to your feedback when the research is complete. Quite simply, we need to find the resources to do whatever it takes to close the achievement gap. It's the job of public education to prepare students to succeed in the world regardless of the challenges they bring to us - to find those strategies, programs and interventions that work so that every child gets an education backed by the new 3 R's: • Rigor - because all students must be prepared to a level higher than ever before, and preparation for today's workplace must be as demanding as preparation for college. • Relevance - because we need to keep our students engaged with schools that relate to their real lives and the real world of work they face. • Relationships - because every student needs connections with caring adults and good role models in their schools. You as school board members have a big part to play in making sure that every student has access to these 3 R's. We can't deliver the education our students deserve without leadership at the district level. Now I'm proud that in California, unlike in many other states, we've resisted the pressure to lower our standards to make it appear as if our students are doing better, in order to avoid the harsh spotlight or sanctions of No Child Left Behind Act. Instead, we've kept our standards high and now we have a clear picture of how far we have to go to reach the high expectations we've set. And we do have a long way to go in order to eliminate the achievement gap that threatens the futures of a growing population of students. We are working to address this problem with extra resources, with interventions at the school and district level, and with better professional development for teachers and administrators. But clearly, we must work harder, faster and with more focus. Our challenge has been made more difficult because we have not in the past been able to point to solid research and say, "here are the two or three or a dozen things that must be done for this group of students or that group of students or all students - and here is what it will cost to deliver those things, if we expect to meet our goal of all students becoming proficient and prepared to succeed." We set high expectations, and then we just do the best we can when it comes to funding. And, as you well know, our schools are accustomed to a feast-or-famine - more often a diet or famine - depending on the size of the budget pie in any given year, regardless of whether or not education's cut of that pie actually meets the needs of preparing our students for the future. The question here in California and all across the nation is, just what will it take to close the achievement gap? Is there even a way education can make up for factors such as poverty and dysfunction in the home? What will it take for us to provide every student in every school with well-qualified, effective teachers, and how will we do this when, over the next decade, nearly a third of California's teachers, some 97,000, are expected to retire? How will we attract excellent leaders to serve as school principals in all of our schools in a decade when we expect 40 percent turnover in school administrators? And how do we ensure public support for adequate funding of our public schools as fewer Californians, particularly those Californians who vote, have children in schools? How do we do this at a time when the costs of health care, pensions and other services to support an aging population puts even more pressure on school budgets and the state budget itself? We know it is possible for students to overcome tremendous obstacles to achieve, with the right mix of attention, engagement, excellent instruction, and support. So we must find ways to deliver these ingredients to all children Meanwhile, i know we're all pleased that the 2006-07 brought us fiscal relief with a $4.5 billion, 11.4 percent Proposition 98 increase. And I'm particularly pleased that the O'Connell/CTA v. Schwarzenegger settlement sets up a stream of funding for low performing schools -- $2.9 billion over the next seven years. So this is a great year for one-time funds and I want to assure you my department is working to allocate those funds as quickly as possible and with the maximum flexibility intended by the Legislature and Administration. Fortunately, California voters this month once again showed their support for schools by passing Proposition 1D, and we'll see $200 million for small high schools, $500 million for Career technical education, and more money for state of the art school facilities as a result. Locally, 54 school bond measures were passed, representing more than $6.6 billion in construction and modernization funds. 54 out of 70 local communities approved general obligation bonds requiring 55 percent approval rate. Of those, 35 received approval margins between 55 and 66.6 percent. (So I'm grateful to voters for supporting California's public schools, and I'm proud that with your support we lowered the threshold for passing these bonds to 55 percent.) That's some of the good news. Budget forecasts for the 2007-08 fiscal year aren't quite so positive. Though it looks as if Proposition 98 revenues will support COLA and growth, the one-time monies available this year will be gone, and not much will be available to fund new programs. Education will also be competing with health care and other critical areas of the budget at a time when the governor has said he will eliminate the structural budget deficit. So let me assure you I will do everything in my power to protect Proposition 98. California voters intended this funding formula to be the base for school funding, and it must be the base, not the ceiling. I know declining enrollment is a top concern for many of you, and I understand the pressures particularly faced by unified school districts. You'll likely see proposals again this year in the legislature dealing with that issue, and as I said, coming out of the research we expect to be released early next year, we may see new approaches to resolving some of the issues stemming from declining enrollment. In the meantime, i plan to continue my support for the concept of extending the "hold-harmless" period for districts with enrollment in decline; that way you will have more time to consider how your district should respond to its changing enrollment and funding. I'm grateful to all of you for all that you do for the 6.2 million students we serve. Thank you. L.A. TEACHERS RALLY TO PRESS BID FOR SETTLEMENT OF CONTRACT + UTLA CRITICIZES POSSIBLE DEAL TO KEEP ROMER AS DISTRICT ADVISOR ►L.A. TEACHERS RALLY TO PRESS BID FOR SETTLEMENT OF CONTRACT from Associated Press LOS ANGELES, December 6, 2006 - (AP) -Teachers pressing demands for a new contract rallied outside Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters Wednesday evening. The teachers pointed flashlights at the building in a symbolic shining of light on what they claim is bureaucratic waste. Members of United Teachers Los Angeles have been seeking a contract settlement for five months, said Marla Eby, a spokeswoman for the local teachers union. The last contract expired in July. Their main complaint, according to Eby, is the district's expenditure of $450 million on non-school-site supervisory and administrative positions. Classrooms, meanwhile, are underfunded, union officials claim. Eby said teachers turned on their flashlights and directed them toward the building although many headquarters employees had already gone home. Teachers held up picket signs that said "Cut the Bureaucracy" and "Quality Schools Now." District Superintendent David Brewer III, still new on the job, issued a written statement before the demonstration. He said the district has offered teachers a package that includes a 4.5 percent increase in total compensation. "Our teachers are this district's most important asset to help accomplish the shared goal common to everyone involved in the LAUSD - to provide the best possible education for our children," he said in the statement. _____________ ►UTLA CRITICIZES POSSIBLE DEAL TO KEEP ROMER AS DISTRICT ADVISOR By Howard Blume, LA Times Staff Writer December 7, 2006 — As teachers prepared to rally Wednesday to protest stalled contract talks, their union leaders criticized contract extensions for senior school district officials as well as a possible consulting contract for former Supt. Roy Romer, who retired last month. One rally took place in the southwest San Fernando Valley; another was held just west of downtown at the headquarters of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Both were well attended. The featured prop for the late-afternoon event, in the hands of many demonstrators, was a flashlight to "shine your light on district waste." The union also brought along two movie premiere-style searchlights to round out the metaphor, and shined them on the central administration building. Speakers downtown addressed a spirited throng of more than 2,500 from atop a truck/bandstand. In an interview, union President A.J. Duffy accused the district of protecting entrenched bureaucrats and squandering money that should go to classrooms and teachers. He took direct aim at a possible consulting contract with Romer, which the school board discussed Tuesday in closed session. Duffy also criticized the rehiring earlier this year of more than 30 senior managers with two-year contracts that took effect July 1. With Romer intending to retire, such contracts should have been limited to six months or so, he said, allowing the new schools chief to "pick his own team." "It's the same old, same old. Why did they hire the entire senior staff back again?" Duffy said. "And we're concerned that the district would hire Romer back. Are we going to have two superintendents?" But new Supt. David L. Brewer III supports "tapping the experience and historical perspective" of Romer, said Don Davis, Brewer's chief of staff. Under Romer, he said, the district began offering multiyear contracts to attract top talent and provide continuity. The union has demanded a 9% salary increase and smaller classes; the district has offered 3% and a more limited class-size reduction. An earlier, separate pact over health benefits raised the compensation package by 1.5%. Negotiations are playing out against the backdrop of school board elections in March. The backing of United Teachers Los Angeles has been critical in previous elections. UTLA is withholding the possible endorsement of incumbents until January, to pressure officeholders on the contract talks. Three-term incumbent David Tokofsky will face one less challenger than anticipated. Luis Sanchez, who heads an Eastside nonprofit, said Wednesday that he would drop out and support Yolie Flores Aguilar, chief executive of the Los Angeles County Children's Planning Council. She lost a close election against Tokofsky in 1999. "She has a better chance of beating David Tokofsky," Sanchez said. "And to beat David we cannot split the Latino vote." Tokofsky's Latino-majority District 5 stretches from Eagle Rock to the cities of southeast Los Angeles County. THE HEROISM OF JAMES KIM By Scott Simon, broadcast on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday, December 9, 2006 Even in a week that's filled with bombings and poisoning investigations, for many people the saddest moment in the news was when Brian Anderson, an Oregon sheriff, had to turn away in tears as he announced that James Kim's body had been found. "I'm crushed," he said. "He was a real superhero." Mr. Kim and his wife Kati, their daughters -- 4-year-old Penelope and their 7-month-old baby Sabine -- were stranded in their car in a heavy snow after making a wrong turn onto a logging road west of Grant's Pass, Ore. The Kims lived in San Francisco, where James Kim worked for a tech news Web site. His family owned two boutiques and a coffee shop where he stopped each day, buying a double latte in the morning and a frappe that he brought home to his wife each night. They were driving home from Thanksgiving in Seattle, and missed a turn when snow began to fall; and their car got stuck. The logging road they turned down should be blocked off by a gate in November, because it's considered hazardous in winter. But authorities said yesterday that vandals apparently cut the lock; and the gate was open. For a week, the Kims huddled and ate berries, baby food and crackers. After a few days, they had to burn their tires to keep warm, and to try to attract attention. When they ran out of food, Kati Kim, who is still nursing their baby, breast-fed 4-year-old Penelope, too. In these times of mobile phones, instant messages and global positioning satellites, it is hard to imagine that you can be lost and out of reach anywhere in the United States. Many news accounts have tried to imagine the pain, cold, hunger and fright the family must have felt -- the excruciating uncertainty, day after day, as they weren't found and couldn't know that hundreds of people were searching for them. What might have been hardest for James and Kati Kim was to see and hear their children suffer. So after a week stuck in the wilderness, and no sign of rescue, James Kim decided that a father has to do whatever he can to save his family -- or die trying. He struck out to try to find help. Hungry, weak, and wearing only street clothes, James Kim, a city boy from San Francisco, walked and crawled for ten miles over sharp ledges, through bristling forests and swam through freezing creek waters. Two days after he left, Kati Kim and their daughters were found. Their health is good. But two days after that, James Kim was found dead in a ravine, of exposure. So much of modern popular culture depicts parents who are goofy, foolish, clueless and slightly pathetic. Almost every parent is certain they would risk their life for those they love; James Kim actually made that sacrifice. As Joe Hyatt, a member of the rescue team searching for James Kim, told reporters this week: "He must have been an extremely amazing individual. I would only hope I could do the same for my family." EVENTS: Coming up next week... ►MONDAY DEC 11, 2006 VINE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ADDITION: RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY Please join us to celebrate the completion of your new classroom building! Ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. Vine Elementary School 955 N. Vine St. Los Angeles, CA 90038 ►TUESDAY DEC 12, 2006 SOUTH REGION HIGH SCHOOL #6: CEQA Scoping Meeting The purpose of this meeting is to inform and obtain input from the community on the types of issues to be considered in a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - Bret Harte Preparatory Middle School Auditorium 9301 S. Hoover St. Los Angeles, CA. 90044 ►WEDNESDAY DEC 13, 2006 SOUTH REGION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #7: Presentation of Design Development Drawings. 6:00 p.m. - Russell Elementary School - Auditorium 1263 E. Firestone Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90001 ►THURSDAY DEC 14, 2006 SOUTH REGION MIDDLE SCHOOL #7: Project Update Meeting 6:00 p.m. - Peary Middle School 1415 W. Gardena Blvd. Gardena, CA 90247 *Dates and times subject to change. ►FRIDAY MORNING, DEC 15 Judge Dzintra Janavs will hear arguments in Mendoza, et al v. California (the case challenging AB 1381 - Mayoral Takeover of LAUSD) in Department 85 in the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. ________________________________________ • SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: http://www.laschools.org/bond/ Phone: 213.633.7493 ____________________________________________________ • LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR: http://www.laschools.org/happenings/ Phone: 213.633.7616 • LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR What can YOU do? • E-mail, call or write your school board member: Marlene.Canter@lausd.net • 213-241-6387 Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180 Julie.Korenstein@lausd.net • 213-241-6388 Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382 Mike.Lansing@lausd.net • 213-241-6385 Jon.Lauritzen@lausd.net • 213-241-6386 David.Tokofsky@lausd.net • 213-241-6383 ...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! Call or e-mail Governor Schwarzenegger: 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. • Register. • Vote. Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them? Scott Folsom is a parent and parent leader in LAUSD. He is President of Los Angeles 10th District PTSA and represents PTA as Vice-chair the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee. He serves on various school district advisory and policy committees and is a PTA officer and/or governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is also the elected Youth & Education boardmember on the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council. • In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids. • FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 4LAKids makes such material available in an effort to advance understanding of education issues vital to parents, teachers, students and community members in a democracy. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. • To SUBSCRIBE e-mail: 4LAKids-subscribe@topica.email-publisher.com - or -TO ADD YOUR OR ANOTHER'S NAME TO THE 4LAKids SUBCRIPTION LIST E-MAIL smfolsom@aol.com with "SUBSCRIBE" AS THE SUBJECT. Thank you.

It!/Not it!

4LAKids: Sunday, Dec. 3, 2006 In This Issue: • It!/Not it!: ALL WORK AND NO PLAY ... MAKES KIDS FAT AND PASSIVE v. PLAY TAG, BUT AT HOME OR PARKS • PRINCIPAL TURNOVER HITS RECORD: More may leave as standards rise; many new ones inexperienced. • LONGER DAYS, SATURDAY SESSIONS CONSIDERED FOR LA SCHOOLS • WHO'S IN CHARGE IN LA?: A battle for control between the school board and mayor goes to court • PHILANTHROPIST GIVES $10.5 MILLION TO CHARTER SCHOOL GROUP + BROAD BACKS KIPP CHARTER SCHOOLS FOR LOS ANGELES • EVENTS: Coming up next week... • What can YOU do? Featured Links: • smf4LAKids: The political campaign - Scott Folsom for School Board! • 4LAKids Anthology: All the Past Issues, solved, resolved and unsolved! • 4LAKidsNews: a compendium of recent items of interest - news stories, scurrilous rumors, links, academic papers, rants and amusing anecdotes, etc. THE GREAT TAG CONTROVERSY IS UPON US. PTA has staked a position; so has USA Today. The Times (both LA & NY), Daily News, UTLA, the Principals' Union, the School Board and the Council of Mayors will be there before you know it! Where is the Parents' Union? Is banning tag a school-based decision …or is it better left to (bloated) central office bureaucrats? Or is 'a bad decision' all we need to know? IT'S HAPPENING HERE TOO: "Thousands of districts across the Carolinas and nationwide face a leadership problem," writes Deborah Hirsch of the Charlotte Observer. "Principals – who must drive academic achievement, hire good teachers and ensure safety at their schools – are leaving at a record rate… as potential candidates shy away from the growing demands of the job." Though "[i]nstruction should come first," as Jimmy Poole, former principal of North Mecklenburg High in Huntersville, North Carolina, notes, "You have discipline issues to deal with, then the e-mails and paperwork and ballgames and after-school activities. How do you get… the paperwork done, as well as be there at the school visible to the kids and teachers? You could work 24 hours and never get it done." Last year, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school district [161 schools, 129,000 students, slightly larger than an LAUSD local district] had to hire 45 new principals, accounting for nearly a third of its district-wide principal positions, and 80 percent of the new hires had no previous experience as a principal. THE MAYOR AND THE SUPE ARE SEEING EYE TO EYE on expanding Saturday School (which is funded by the Feds) and lengthening the school day (which isn't). Superintendent Brewer's quote that "three days of Professional Development isn't enough" rings true …but I do believe we have been averaging 14 PD Tuesdays per year in LAUSD! And the quote that the mayor has not been allowed into schools since the bill was passed is a bit disingenuous – he's been visiting schools fairly consistently – recognizing Blue Ribbon Schools, honoring teachers, promoting safety and whatnot. A November 14 LA Times article about the mayor not riding public transport (by sometimes education beat reporter Duke Helfand) went so far as to say: "No one, of course, expects the ultra-busy mayor to step on a bus or train every time he visits a school or holds a news conference, as he travels from one end of the sprawling city to the other." So he does visit schools …but not on the bus! A national magazine for superintendents of schools asks the question: "WHO'S IN CHARGE IN LA?" As Philanthropist Eli Broad donates $10.5 million to Green Dot Public Schools (see: PHILANTHROPIST GIVES $10.5 MILLION…) and promises more to others, including KIPP, it may be him. Or Green Dot Founder Steve Barr. Or it just may be Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Dzintra I. Janavs, who decides on December 15th if not once-and-for-all at least first-and-for-now whether AB 1381 and the mayor's plan is legal. Onward! - smf Click for picture of the mayor taken at LAUSD School Nov 13 It!/Not it!: ALL WORK AND NO PLAY ... MAKES KIDS FAT AND PASSIVE v. PLAY TAG, BUT AT HOME OR PARKS • Remember when recess was the best part of the school day? Not any more! In some parts of the country, that carefree half-hour — when kids could run, jump, scream and play tag or other games — is on the endangered list. Two opinions from USA TODAY | 27 Nov. ▲ALL WORK AND NO PLAY ... MAKES KIDS FAT AND PASSIVE Two-fifths of American elementary schools have either eliminated recess or are considering doing so, according to a National Parent Teacher Association survey. And in many places where recess survives, play has become an intensely overregulated event. Tag and other "unsupervised chasing games" have been banned or discouraged at schools from Massachusetts to California. "No Running" signs have been posted at school playgrounds in Broward County, Fla. Tall slides, swings and teeter-totters have been removed. The motives for all of this — promoting safety, avoiding litigation, protecting feelings, providing more learning time — are well-intentioned. But something more important is being lost in the process. Undirected play "allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts" and to learn how to stick up for themselves, a report last month by the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded. Recess also promotes fitness and health. It allows kids to blow off steam, particularly fidgety boys who have trouble sitting behind desks all day and are falling behind girls academically. Cutting recess is especially troubling considering that 30% of kids ages 6 to 11 are overweight and that 15% are obese. Despite these statistics, too many educators view recess as a nuisance or as precious time taken away from reading and math instruction that can help their schools achieve better test scores. Highly restricted recess, meanwhile, sends the message that children are weak, are incapable of caring for themselves and should passively wait for instruction. It's true that playgrounds can be dangerous — 200,000 people injured on them wind up in hospital emergency rooms each year, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission. But the answer is to make playground surfaces and equipment safer, not to eliminate play. It's also true that games such as tag and dodgeball, where weaker players can be quickly eliminated, are exclusionary and might damage a child's self-esteem. But learning how to overcome hurt feelings and rejection is an important part of growing up. Children are sometimes cruel to each other, and adult supervision of school playgrounds is necessary to control bullying. But supervision shouldn't turn into a straitjacket. Scraping a knee or becoming "it" in tag won't scar anyone for life. Being smothered by overprotectiveness just might. ▼ PLAY TAG, BUT AT HOME OR PARKS by Richard Alonzo • To play tag, or not to play tag, that is the question. Who would have ever thought that the answer to this quandary would become a national debate? The chalk lines are being drawn across the country's playgrounds to either ban the game, or embrace it as a civil right for all children. Tag has been played by children around the world since "time for play" began. It's a simple game, no set rules, no timed periods of play, no winning point or designated teams. It ends when the bell rings, or when Mom calls you in because it's gotten too dark outside, or when someone has gotten hurt. While I don't support banning tag in our district, I certainly discourage it from being played at my overcrowded large urban elementary schools. There is little space for play activities that are not well organized and well supervised. Most playground accidents occur around free play and lack of adult supervision. I was principal of a newly constructed school with a beautiful playground that was surfaced in a product similar to that applied to tennis courts. The new surface was used to cushion the abrasive asphalt surface. One morning, a group of children resisted playing hopscotch or four-square. Instead, they began an impromptu game of tag. The momentum of the game began to spill into the play areas that were designated for organized play. A tag somehow became a slap, or a hit, or a shove, which resulted in a student falling, breaking her glasses and fracturing her arm. First aid was administered, parents were called, playground personnel were questioned and students were reminded of school rules. No tag! A few days later, the parents of the injured child presented me with the bills for the eye glasses and the broken arm. They had no health insurance to cover the costs. The school district does not reimburse these expenses. The parents were forced to sue for negligence and unsafe conditions. Although investigators found adequate supervision and ideal playground conditions, parents won their suit plus damages. Liability continues to be the primary reason for banning tag. Student safety is also a major factor. I'm on the side of this controversy that says tag should be played at home or at parks. Places with plenty of grass and space for kids to run and hide and have fun. Let schools continue to offer supervised play that teaches children to follow rules, and to treat each other with respect and fairness. • Richard Alonzo is superintendent of Local District 4, Los Angeles Unified School District. _______________ ►smf opines: A 2004 study showed 77% of principals and 61% of teachers say their colleagues avoid decisions they think are right (ie: 'Best for kids') because they might be challenged legally. Richard Alonzo is without a doubt one of the great guys in LAUSD, he's a thoughtful caring administrator – a former arts teacher …it pains me when he's as flat out wrong as he is on this one! His argument is that of the risk management beancounter and insurance actuary. Superintendent Alonzo is assuredly not one of those …but he's obviously been listening-to-or- reading-pink-memos-from them. (I realize I've just alienated actuaries and counters-of-beans from coast-to-coast; I should know better but I don't!) Most LAUSD schoolchildren don't have homes with plenty of grass and space. Los Angeles is one of the most park poor cities in the US. Many parents do not feel that their kids are safe in the few parks we have, they certainly are less safe traveling to and from them. We can all moan and groan that the fun and independence has been taken from being a kid with scheduled supervised programmed play dates – but that is the world we and our kids find ourselves in. School playgrounds are great public urban resources and they need to be used during and after school and on weekends for what they are intended: Play. Running and skipping and jumping and dodge ball. Games without rules invented by kids for kids. Adults need to stand back and allow tag to happen. Yes, some children will fall and be hurt. At my daughter's elementary school we had a really old playground apparatus – a great iron rocket ship/jungle gym from the sputnik era. It was old and beloved and inevitably condemned and dismantled as dangerous …though no children were actually ever hurt playing on it. New equipment replaced it; state of the art, colorful, safe equipment surrounded with approved rubber matting. Within a week a girl had fallen and broken her arm. The lesson to be learned? Growing up is fraught with peril, danger, risk and irony. Things happen. Actuarially we as parents, educators, administrators (and actuaries) must come to terms with the concept of an acceptable level of risk – our kids already have! I submit that tag and running on the playground is within it; running in the hallway with scissors is not. Sometimes Pink Floyd has it right: "Teacher, leave the kids alone!" And, as our kids take back recess, we adults must take back the parks and the pathways between them and our homes and schools. Not with signs that say "Safe School Zone" but with real safety. – smf ▲WHAT'S GOIN' ON? More than you ever wanted to know (from the media and the PTA) about the adult plot to get rid of Tag & Recess! PRINCIPAL TURNOVER HITS RECORD: More may leave as standards rise; many new ones inexperienced. by Deborah Hirsch, Charlotte Observer Wed, Nov. 22, 2006 - Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Peter Gorman has a leadership problem. Principals -- who must drive academic achievement, hire good teachers and ensure safety at their schools -- are leaving at a record rate. Many new hires are in their first full year. Thousands of districts across the Carolinas and nationwide face the same issue as a large group of principals reach retirement age. The constant churn can mean dramatic changes for parents and students. Despite existing turnover, Gorman may create even more vacancies as he sets a higher bar for principals and fires those who don't measure up. He says finding good principals is a priority, and his success hinges on meeting the goal. That might not be easy as potential candidates shy away from the growing demands of the job. "The market's tougher and tougher and tougher," Gorman acknowledged. His plan: Train assistant principals and groom teachers for the jobs. The district hopes to pull the community more into the hiring process. Gorman will provide more details Nov. 29 when he releases his 100-day plan. Last year, CMS hired nearly a third of its principals. Of those 45 hires, 80 percent were new to the job. The new superintendent, the creation of smaller high schools and a change in state retirement law could have contributed to an already high number of vacancies. Filling those posts has been hard. "I can't imagine any other business replacing such a high percentage of their leadership," said spokeswoman Nora Carr. "Ten years ago, you may get 20-30 applicants (per job); now you're getting five to 10." This year, the district has had 18 openings since July 1. One came up last week when Gorman demoted Waddell High Principal Edward Ellis to an assistant principal position at Providence High. In addition, 21 CMS principals are eligible to retire. Assistant Superintendent Kathy Auger, the district's director of human resources, said the newly promoted principals had been talented teachers and assistant principals. But there is something to be said for experience, former principals say. Community House Middle Principal Gif Lockley headed his first school at age 32. "Was I ready? Not even close," said Lockley, 45, president of the district's principal association. It takes time to learn the job, said Jimmy Poole, former principal of North Mecklenburg High who now coaches new principals as a consultant. Instruction should come first, he said, but "you get hit with the unexpected." "You have discipline issues to deal with, then the e-mails and paperwork and ballgames and after-school activities. How do you get ... the paperwork done, as well as be there at the school visible to the kids and the teachers? You could work 24 hours and never get it done." Poole said assistant principals once had to wait years before moving up, which gave them extra time to observe and learn. Now, school districts are forced to gamble on promise rather than wait for experience. An unattractive job It's not that there aren't enough people certified to be principals. They either aren't choosing to take the job or aren't staying with it very long, according to a study by the University of North Carolina system's Principals' Executive Program.The job has become more difficult as principals have become more accountable for the academic success of their schools. Once, principals served more as building managers than instructional leaders, Lockley said. Now, "I have to be able to show teachers that I can still teach." Brad Sneeden, director of the UNC system's principals' program, which helps train administrators, likens the job to a football coach. "If the team's not winning ... then they get a new coach," Sneeden said. "Years ago you didn't have that kind of pressure." Then, there's the pay. Averaged per month, administrators may not earn much more than veteran teachers. In CMS elementary schools, for example, assistant principals make $400 less per month than national board-certified teachers with master's degrees. "It's just not worth it," Sneeden said. Poole, who retired in June at 60, said he thinks many principals aren't ready to retire after 30 years of service but feel it doesn't pay to stay. "I've seen them, they go back and do something else," he said, or cross the state line for another principal post. CMS's solution CMS could change its principal hiring process as early as January, said Ruth Perez, chief academic officer. Instead of accepting applicants for a principal "pool," positions will be advertised for specific schools. The communities and staff of those schools will participate in the search. Two-year training programs for assistant principals could begin by summer, Perez said. The district will also start pairing principals with business community mentors. Further in the future, the district will create an incentive program to identify teachers who would make good principals, similar to programs in South Carolina, including York, Lancaster and Chester counties. In the meantime, Gorman says he's willing to shake things up. Who stays and who goes, he said, will be determined by "my faith in the person to move (the school) to the next level." LONGER DAYS, SATURDAY SESSIONS CONSIDERED FOR LA SCHOOLS by Ana Beatriz Cholo, Associated Press Wed, Nov. 29, 2006 - LOS ANGELES (AP) - More students in the Los Angeles Unified School District may end up with longer school days and have to go to class on Saturdays, new Superintendent David L. Brewer III said Wednesday after a meeting with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The district's bureaucracy will also be trimmed down, resulting in more money for students, Brewer promised. It was the second formal meeting for Brewer and the mayor, who has been given some authority in the nation's second-largest school district. Brewer, a former Navy admiral, assumed the role of superintendent two weeks ago after former Colorado Gov. Roy Romer stepped down. "Saturday academies is one thing we are looking at right away," Brewer said in an interview after the meeting. "We have to look at the ones that we have and improve those. That's one change we can do right away and then we have to look at longer school days." Last year, about 61,000 students participated in Saturday schools. District officials say getting them to class on their off day is a struggle. A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles, said some teachers may welcome the opportunity to help students after school for reasonable pay, but it should be up to them. "These things need to be negotiated," Duffy said. Villaraigosa said that, like their first meeting several weeks ago, his talk with Brewer was marked by their compatibility. Both men have agreed to meet weekly. "It was funny because we were almost completing each other's sentences today when we talked about what we wanted to do in partnership," the mayor said. Brewer said he plans to order an outside agency to conduct a comprehensive performance and management review of district employees. He said he conducted a similar audit during his time in the military in which departments were restructured, redundancy was eliminated and millions of dollars were saved. Bad teachers were also a topic of discussion during Wednesday's meeting. Although Brewer denied it, he appeared to back away from earlier statements he made to the press regarding his desire to fire incompetent instructors. "I am going to support having the best teachers in the classroom period," Brewer said. He said three days of professional development training per year is not enough. Teachers may end up being transferred to schools they are better-suited for, he said. "After you have done all of that and some people are not performing then you gotta do what you gotta do," Brewer said, alluding to possibly terminating teachers. During the hour-long meeting, the men also discussed providing safe passage for students in violent neighborhoods and making visits to Washington, D.C., and Sacramento to pursue more funding for schools. In two weeks, the constitutionality of a state law that gives the mayor a measure of authority in the school district and the superintendent more power, will be decided in court. The lawsuit, filed Oct. 10, challenges the law, which is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1. Villaraigosa, who said he has not been allowed into schools since the bill was passed, was also promised better access to schools by Brewer. WHO'S IN CHARGE IN LA?: A battle for control between the school board and mayor goes to court By Alan Dessoff, Contributing Editor | District Administration – The magazine for K-12 Education Leaders | December 2006 It's up to California's state courts to settle a bitter tug of war between the mayor and school board of Los Angeles over who will run the city's public schools. Unless a court rules otherwise, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will assume substantial control of the schools on January 1 under a bill he pushed through the state legislature and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed in September, calling it "a great day for children." But it wasn't a great day for most board members of the Los Angeles Unified School District, who vowed even before the measure was enacted to challenge it on the grounds that it violates the California state constitution. The challenge was launched formally October 10, when a coalition led by the school district filed suit in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Partners in the litigation include the League of Women Voters of Los Angeles, the California School Boards Association, the school district's two PTA groups, the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles, representing the district's school administrators, and several parents. LA MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA SAID HE WOULD CUT BUREAUCRACY, INVEST MORE MONEY IN THE CLASSROOMS, CREATE "A CULTURE OF INNOVATION," SUPPORT CHARTER SCHOOLS AND "DO SOMETHING TO IMPROVE ACHIEVEMENT AND LOWER THE DROPOUT RATE." Although they did not join the lawsuit, rank-and-file members of the powerful Los Angeles teachers union voted to back the school board, bucking their own union leaders who sided with the mayor. Meanwhile, in the midst of the politically tinged brouhaha, the board hired in October a new superintendent, retired Navy admiral David L. Brewer III, to succeed Roy Romer, who is retiring after six years at the helm of the country's second largest school district. Even the search was swept into the dispute over control, with Villaraigosa charging that he was kept out of the process of suggesting and reviewing candidates. Villaraigosa was away on a trade mission to Asia when the LAUSD announced its selection. But under the new law, he would have considerably more influence in future hiring and firing decisions. In statements his office issued in his absence, Villaraigosa stated he still was "deeply disappointed" in the selection process but had invited Brewer to meet as soon as he returned home. The Mayor's Unconstitutional Move? Villaraigosa, a former leader of the California Assembly and seen by some as a potential Democratic candidate for governor, kicked off an all-out campaign at the start of 2006 to wrest control of the schools from the school board, arguing that the system was failing its 727,000 students. He said that if he was in charge, he would cut bureaucracy, invest more money in the classrooms, create "a culture of innovation," support charter schools and "do something to improve achievement and lower the dropout rate." Villaraigosa pursued his objective through the state legislature, with a bill-AB 1381, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez (D-Los Angeles)-that called for a change in the governance structure of the school system as a foundation for fundamental reform. Leading Los Angeles business groups, religious leaders, community organizations, other elected local leaders and the governing board of the teachers union quickly endorsed the legislation. But even as the measure moved through the California capitol with little difficulty, caution flags were being raised over its legality. The state's nonpartisan legislative counsel, Diane F. Boyer-Vine, said in August that it probably was unconstitutional. The key provision of the California constitution states "No school or college or any other part of the public school system shall be, directly or indirectly, transferred from the public school system or placed under the jurisdiction of any authority other than one included within the public school system." Nevertheless, the legislature passed the bill in August with bipartisan support, and Schwarzenegger signed it. "Today we are proclaiming a victory for the students of LAUSD and their parents," he said at the time. "With this bill, schools with the biggest problems can get the most attention and direct oversight by the mayor, so he can focus on what counts-moving test scores up and dropout rates down." LAUSD BOARD PRESIDENT MARLENE CANTER OPPOSES THE NEW LAW BUT LOOKS FORWARD TO "MOVING BEYOND THIS DISCUSSION AND WORKING TOGETHER WITH THE MAYOR." Essentially, the new law gives the mayor veto power over the hiring and firing of future superintendents through a new council that would be comprised of mayors of the 26 other cities in the LAUSD. The council also would have oversight over other functions, including budget review and campus safety efforts. Further, the mayor would gain direct authority over three low-performing high schools and their feeder elementary and middle schools-potentially 40 schools altogether. The superintendent, meanwhile, would gain more authority over a number of functions previously controlled by the board, such as personnel, business operations and budgeting. Villaraigosa sees this move as providing a centralized point of accountability. The signing ceremony was emblematic of the political intrigue swirling around the school control issue. Schwarzenegger, a Republican who was running for reelection and was courting Latino voters, was a strong backer of Villaraigosa, who had endorsed Schwarzenegger's Democratic opponent. Villaraigosa himself is seen as a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2010. In a statement following the signing, LAUSD Board President Marlene Canter said although she strongly opposed the new law, she looked forward to "moving beyond this discussion and working together with the mayor." She said she hoped for a quick resolution of the constitutional questions. But those questions became murkier because the legislature framed the future new council of mayors as a "local educational agency" that would be part of the public school system itself, which would seem to make it constitutional. Like New York and Chicago Whatever the ultimate outcome in Los Angeles, the move for mayoral control of the schools follows earlier similar takeovers in New York and Chicago, where mayors Michael Bloomberg and Richard Daley, respectively, have cited improved accountability and school performance. They both backed Villaraigosa's move. Shifting authority to their offices has allowed for "fundamental changes that are breathing new life into our public schools," they said in a joint statement in early August. "We have brought back standards, empowered principals, improved safety and created innovative programs to support struggling students and schools." With control in their hands, they also were able to "allocate resources far more efficiently and effectively, shifting money out of the central bureaucracy and into the classroom," Bloomberg and Daley said. Unlike New York and Chicago, however, the new law in California does not give the Los Angeles mayor total authority over the schools. The school board will maintain limited control, and the new mayors' council will be able to weigh in on key issues. But as leader of the largest city in the district, the Los Angeles mayor is expected to dominate the council's decisions on issues like hiring or firing school superintendents. A key problem, as Canter sees it, is that the superintendent will report to both the school board and the mayor, which "blurs accountability and diminishes transparency." One result, says Canter, is that the superintendent "will have a huge responsibility to allocate $19 billion worth of contracts and $17.5 billion worth of general fund money without the purview of the public or the board." Meanwhile, in New York, where the law giving him temporary control four years ago is slated to expire in 2009, Bloomberg has already launched an aggressive campaign to make it permanent. In September, he visited Los Angeles and joined Canter, Romer and other local officials in launching a new school safety initiative. And earlier in the year, Villaraigosa traveled to New York to learn what Bloomberg had done to reduce crime in schools there. Countdown to January In California, lawyers were gearing up for the court battle over the basic constitutional issue of whether the mayor can assume control of the schools. While the state attorney general's office prepared to defend the law, Villaraigosa reportedly was hiring his own lawyer as well. Canter says that legalities aside, turning school control over to the mayor is wrong for another reason. "School board members are the only local officials whose job is solely to represent the children and the schools. We focus on those issues 100 percent of the time," while the mayor's job responsibilities are "much broader," Canter says. While there is a "nexus" where the board and the mayor meet, "I do not feel that in order for education or achievement to accelerate, the mayor has to take over. In fact, I believe it will dilute education because it will become one of many things he is responsible for," Canter declares. But that argument takes a back seat to the constitutional issue for now. In its suit, the school board sought a preliminary injunction to prevent the law from taking effect as scheduled on January 1. Control will shift to the mayor on New Year's Day unless the Superior Court leaves authority with the board, at least temporarily. But the case probably will go all the way to the California Supreme Court for a final ruling in the months ahead. DA-District Administration Magazine PHILANTHROPIST GIVES $10.5 MILLION TO CHARTER SCHOOL GROUP + BROAD BACKS KIPP CHARTER SCHOOLS FOR LOS ANGELES ►PHILANTHROPIST GIVES $10.5 MILLION TO CHARTER SCHOOL GROUP: Eli Broad's donation will help Green Dot open campuses near troubled L.A. Unified high schools. By Joel Rubin, LA Times Staff Writer November 30, 2006 - Billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad has donated more than $10 million to a leading charter school organization that will help its bid to triple in size as it continues to establish itself as an alternative to traditional public schools. The $10.5-million gift — thought to be the largest contribution ever to a California charter group — by Broad's education foundation comes as a strong signal that he believes the best chances of improving the city's troubled public schools lie with charters and not reform efforts from within the Los Angeles Unified School District or even those proposed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The money is earmarked to help Green Dot Public Schools carry out a plan to open some 21 new high school campuses and enroll about one of every 10 high school students currently in L.A. Unified by 2010. The donation, to be announced today, gives Green Dot founder Steve Barr a major boost as he continues to jockey for a dominant role in the volatile landscape of Los Angeles public education. District leaders "will clearly have to take notice of Green Dot's successes," Broad said in an interview, "and that [Barr] now has the financial resources to make it all happen." Charter schools are publicly funded but are run independently, outside the regulations and restrictions of school districts. In exchange for the freedom to innovate in the classroom, charters are expected to improve student performance and serve as incubators for school reform. Green Dot currently operates 10 high schools — eight of them within L.A. Unified boundaries in poor neighborhoods near low-performing district campuses. The nonprofit organization runs its schools around six basic tenets, including giving principals and teachers control over budgets and curriculum and capping enrollment at about 500 students. The model has produced some promising results. Last spring, Green Dot officials said 78% of seniors graduated and, among those, three of every four went on to four-year colleges. And, of the five campuses opened long enough to generate scores on the state's 1,000-point accountability index, four have posted scores of 700 or higher, outpacing nearby district schools. Broad's donation, Barr said, gives Green Dot about half the funds it needs to carry out its major expansion. The group aims to open about seven new schools near each of three of L.A. Unified's large, traditional high schools, in an attempt to draw students from those campuses. The first set of new schools will open in August and will probably surround Locke High, Dorsey High or Crenshaw High, each of which has a large number of African American students, Barr said. The following year, he is eyeing a more middle-class and racially mixed school such as Marshall High in Silver Lake or Fairfax High. And finally, he plans a return to heavily Latino neighborhoods, where several of Green Dot's first schools opened, Barr said. The organization will hold off on finalizing any decisions until Villaraigosa announces which three high schools he intends to take over under a new law that gives the mayor increased control of the district. Barr said he hopes the mayor will invite Green Dot to reform at least one of the schools. Villaraigosa's education advisor, Ramon Cortines, recently visited some Green Dot campuses, but discussions remain informal, Barr said. Cortines said he was impressed with what he saw and is "very much open to partnering with Green Dot," but added that he will not recommend to Villaraigosa that he hand over complete control of any of the schools to Barr or any other charter operator. Regardless of what happens with the mayor, Barr and Broad voiced hope Wednesday that the district would offer space on the campuses that Green Dot targets. "This is not about a hostile takeover and throwing everybody off campuses," Barr said. "It's about doing an assessment to see what is working and what is not." Julie Korenstein, one of the Board of Education's skeptics on charters, indicated that she was opposed to making room for Barr on district campuses. "To go into our existing schools and our new ones and take seats, it does not help us," she said. To be certain, the infusion of cash from Broad will rekindle tensions in the increasingly heated debate over charters in L.A. Unified. As the number of charters in the district has passed 100, board members have increasingly questioned whether the alternative schools on the whole offer a better education than district schools. Also of concern is the financial toll charters take on the district as state funds follow students from district schools to charters. Broad's gift "will make things more difficult for us. We need the additional funds to be competitive," Korenstein said. Charters "are still a gamble without really knowing what impact it is going to make on students. You have to start wondering if it's a good idea to gamble with students' education." Barr expressed doubt that the district would open its arms to him, saying he was disheartened that new Supt. David L. Brewer had not yet agreed to meet with him. Green Dot recently left its imprint on a district high school, when it opened five South Los Angeles campuses this autumn around troubled Jefferson High. Barr sparred aggressively with school board members and then-Supt. Roy Romer over Jefferson, calling on the district to relinquish control of the campus to Green Dot. Romer and board members rejected Barr's demands, saying district reforms were taking hold at the school. In the end, Romer agreed to lease space on nearby district properties for Green Dot to open two of the five charters. Broad's gift is the second he has made to Green Dot; he gave $2.8 million in 2004. In all, his education foundation has contributed more than $40 million to charter organizations, and he indicated that he was willing to give more. He said, for example, that he has told leaders at KIPP, another successful charter group, that he would be willing to write a similar-size check if they agreed to expand from just one Los Angeles school. Broad denied that his Green Dot gift should be viewed as a rebuff to the district and the mayor, but he has had an uneven relationship with both. The philanthropist has backed off considerably from his support for district efforts since coming under criticism over his involvement in the bid to build an arts high school. And in July, he wrote a stern letter to Villaraigosa after the mayor watered down his plans to take control of the district, saying he could not support the less ambitious route. ______________ FOR THE RECORD: Broad donation: An article in Thursday's California section on a donation by philanthropist Eli Broad to Green Dot Public Schools stated that Green Dot graduates 78% of its seniors. In fact, 78% of students who enter Green Dot schools as ninth-graders go on to graduate in four years. Also, the article said that another charter organization, KIPP, operates one school in Los Angeles. It operates two schools. — ________________ ►BROAD BACKS KIPP CHARTER SCHOOLS FOR LOS ANGELES by The Associated Press December 1, 2006 (AP) - Billionaire philanthropist Eli Broad, who has already given millions to boost educational opportunities for inner-city students nationwide, said Thursday that he is willing to give more -- but only to those programs with a history of success. In a wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, Broad said not all charter schools are good and that donors like himself will support only those that have proven themselves. "What I like about charter schools is if they don't work, you close them down," Broad said. "If a public school doesn't work, try closing it down." In particular, Broad pledged to do "whatever it takes" to bring more schools from a highly regarded, national charter program to Los Angeles. KIPP, an acronym for Knowledge is Power Program, currently has two schools in the city and 52 around the country. Broad, who first saw KIPP in the South Bronx years ago, said the difference between the students there and at neighboring schools was "night and day." The program is usually geared toward middle schoolers, stressing longer school days, classes every other Saturday and a system of rewards and consequences. Each student is told college is an expectation and not just a possibility. EVENTS: Coming up next week... ►CHOICES INFORMATIONAL FAIRE FOR PARENTS & STUDENTS SATURDAY, DEC 9, 2006 from 8:00 am - 12:00 noon at Cal State Los Angeles. Receive information about Magnet programs, Public School Choice (PSC), Gifted/High Abiility/Highly Gifted Magnets and Permits with Transportation (PWT) Program. For more information please contact the Specially Funded Programs Division. Phone: 213 241-6572 or 213 241-6500. FAX 213 241-8483 Download a registration form at http://sfpc.lausd.k12.ca.us/sis/default.asp Cost: Free Where: California State University, Los Angeles. 5151 State University Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90032 ____________________________ ►Sandra Tsing Loh, having taken on LAUSD (...and the Magnet Program ... and the CHOICES brochure — is nothing sacred?) and brought all to its knees, now takes on Christmas! Sandra Tsing Loh's "SUGAR PLUM FAIRY" Written and Performed by STL Directed by David Schweizer and Bart DeLorenzo The autobiographical tale of one 12 year-old’s disastrous foray into the Nutcracker, Sugar Plum Fairy pokes playful fun at the kitschy excess of the holiday season. Anyone who has ever said, "I hate Christmas" will enjoy this delightfully festive, wickedly funny one-woman tour-de-force. At the Luckman Fine Arts Complex (The Intimate Theatre) Cal State Los Angeles 5151 State University Drive (just east of downtown LA) Sugar Plum Fairy runs Dec. 1-10. Six performances: Fri. 8:00pm, Dec. 1, Dec. 8 Sat. 8:30pm, Dec. 2, Dec. 9 Sun., 3:00pm, Dec. 3, Dec. 10 Ticket price: $35 Call the box office at (323) 343 6600 or log onto http://www.luckmanarts.org ____________________ MONDAY DEC 4, 2006 SOUTH REGION HIGH SCHOOL #13: CEQA Scoping Meeting The purpose of this meeting is to inform and obtain input from the community on the types of issues to be considered in a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). This report evaluates the potential impacts that this project may have on the surrounding environment. Your comments and concerns are very important. Please join us! 6:00 p.m. Charles Drew Middle School 8511 Compton Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90001 TUESDAY DEC 5, 2006 SOUTH REGION HIGH SCHOOL #12: Project Update Meeting 5:00 p.m. 93rd Street Elementary School Auditorium 330 E. 93rd Street Los Angeles, CA 90003 WEDNESDAY DEC 6, 2006 4TH STREET NEW PRIMARY CENTER: RIBBON-CUTTING CEREMONY Please join us to celebrate the ribbon-cutting of your new community school! Ceremony will begin at 1 p.m. 4th Street New Primary Center 469 Amalia Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90022 WEDNESDAY DEC 6, 2006 CENTRAL LOS ANGELES HIGH SCHOOL #2: Construction Update Meeting 6:00 p.m. Salvin Special Education Center 1925 Budlong Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90007 WEDNESDAY DEC 6, 2006 VALLEY REGION BYRD HS RECONFIGURATION: Preliminary Environmental Assessment (PEA) Hearing Please join us at this public hearing to discuss the findings of the Preliminary Environmental Assessment (PEA). The PEA determines if an environmental clean up action is necessary to ensure the health and safety of our children. We will be collecting your comments and questions regarding the PEA for this project. 6:30 p.m. Byrd Middle School 9171 Telfair Ave. Sun Valley, CA 91352 THURSDAY DEC 7, 2006 EAST VALLEY AREA NEW HIGH SCHOOL #1A: Groundbreaking Ceremony Please join us to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new community school! Ceremony will begin at 10:00 a.m. East Valley Area New High School #1A 8401 Arleta Ave. Sun Valley, CA 91352 *Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________ • SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: http://www.laschools.org/bond/ Phone: 213.633.7493 ____________________________________________________ • LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR: http://www.laschools.org/happenings/ Phone: 213.633.7616 • LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR What can YOU do? • E-mail, call or write your school board member: Marlene.Canter@lausd.net • 213-241-6387 Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180 Julie.Korenstein@lausd.net • 213-241-6388 Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382 Mike.Lansing@lausd.net • 213-241-6385 Jon.Lauritzen@lausd.net • 213-241-6386 David.Tokofsky@lausd.net • 213-241-6383 or the Superintendent of Schools • David L. Brewer III superintendent@lausd.net • (213) 241-7000 ...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • Call or e-mail Governor Schwarzenegger • 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/ • Call or e-mail Mayor Villaraigosa • 213/978-0600 • mayor@lacity.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. • Register. • Vote. Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them? Scott Folsom is a parent and parent leader in LAUSD. He is President of Los Angeles 10th District PTSA and represents PTA as Vice-chair the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee. He serves on various school district advisory and policy committees and is a PTA officer and/or governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is also the elected Youth & Education boardmember on the Arroyo Seco Neighborhood Council. • In this forum his opinions are his own and your opinions and feedback are invited. Quoted and/or cited content copyright © the original author and/or publisher. All other material copyright © 4LAKids. • FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 4LAKids makes such material available in an effort to advance understanding of education issues vital to parents, teachers, students and community members in a democracy. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. 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