Crying "Monster!"

4LAKids: Sunday, March 9, 2008 In This Issue: • A BIG FAT F: Failing the Budget + EDUCATION COALITION FACT SHEETS IN ENGLISH & SPANISH • MUCH MORE STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE: Four Decades after Latino Students Walked Out of Their Classrooms, L.A. Schools Still Need Substantial Reforms • SCHOOLS WANT MORE CHOICES: Educators say lawmakers should look at other ways to trim budget • TEACHERS SETTLE PAYROLL LAWSUIT • HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources • EVENTS: Coming up next week... • What can YOU do? Featured Links: • 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. FROM IN AN ARTICLE IN THE LA TIMES about a bit of name calling in the presidential campaign by a Pulitzer prize winning author-Harvard professor-Time Magazine correspondent and suddenly-former Obama campaign consultant (an praiseworthy multi-hyphenated curriculum vitae): "Experts said she might have lost her way at the fuzzy intersection of her roles as author, journalist and campaign operative. 'If you are a book writer promoting yourself and your work, you are supposed to be provocative and interesting and tell the truth,' said Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism. 'Candidates are not there to speak the truth in all of its glory. They are there to win an election.'" This is a self aggrandizing piece of expert balderdash ...the telling of truth is the exclusive domain of journalists? Extending that logic tells us that journalists are not there to be provocative and interesting and tell the truth; they are there to sell newspapers and ad space. And this is true to a point. Candidates - whether for the school board or the presidency of the United States are aspirants to public service. Public service - despite evidence to the contrary - is a higher calling. The job of Public Servant from board of ed to oval office is precisely "to speak the truth in all of its glory" – to tell truth to power – and that power resides in we very folks who wander down to the polling place or mail in the ballot. We judge how well we think they are at it. When he first job of the candidate is to get elected democracy becomes "Project Runway" ...and don't get me started about the reality of 'Reality TV'! MONSTERS AMONGST US: There was a book a few years back about a street gang overlord, MONSTER: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN LA STREET GANG MEMBER. The title thug's gang name was "Monster". The life and actions of the protagonist were monstrous - and yet the gang culture continues to be celebrated in popular culture, from "Gangsta Rap" to "La Vita Loca." It isn't the four letter words or even the misogyny in gangsta rap that are obscene, it is the trail of sad, broken and crushed lives - in and outside gangs - etched into our sidewalks in blood and glorified in popular culture where the obscenity lives and festers. When gang members kill gang members it's admittedly hard to care; but in the past few weeks more innocent children have died in gang violence on our streets than gangster/terrorists. Last week a six year old died in Harbor Gateway for being Black in Brown territory. A star high school athlete died in his own Crenshaw 'hood for not knowing the right answer to "Where you from, cuz?" A thirteen year old in Echo Park, picking lemons. Dead. Enough. —smf THE GANGSTERS OF DREW STREET: Why neither God nor the Police Can Stop Them - What happened in the first of the current rash of gang killings? A BIG FAT F: Failing the Budget + EDUCATION COALITION FACT SHEETS IN ENGLISH & SPANISH A 4LAKids Editorial There was a flurry of heated press events, workgroups and task force meetings last week about the proposed budget cuts to education and children's health and welfare – in Sacramento, up and down the state and in our fair city. The message was like a good martini: strong, clear and somewhat mixed – No Cuts! Teachers and educators and nurses and public health workers cry loud and forcefully: "Save my job / Save my program!" The budget crisis can be framed as a labor issue; a "here we go again" red v. blue / progressive v. conservative / 'us' against 'them' collective bargaining dispute. That's a polarizing fight no one wins and all kids loose. When the rhetoric heats up listen for two voices: The voice of Parents and the voice of Students. At a media circus/photo-op at Lincoln High School Friday a frightened but eloquentl Latina Mom with a babe in arms followed the outraged politicos, besieged educators and verbose labor leaders to the microphone: "What about my children, what about their future?" And Atiana Duran - a student - addressed Governor Schwarzenegger: "What about me? What about my friends? What about our future?" These so-called temporary cuts - however applied - will permanently damage the education of schoolchildren for a year or more of their lives (retroactive mid-year cuts already hammer this year; next year promises worse. That's a year and more that may mean no art or music in our schools, larger class sizes; promises broken, needed reforms foregone. Some neighborhood schools will be closed. Field trips will not be untaken. Broken things will not be fixed. Students will be without textbooks. Kids who hurt themselves will visit nurse's offices with no nurses. The message will be heard by students who already ask themselves: "Why should I go to school?" Challenges are opportunities in disguise, but opportunities lost are gone forever. This is the opportunity to rethink school finance in California; this is the opportunity to revisit the Ed Code. This is an opportunity to recommit this state to the mission of being best and first in the nation in education. This is an opportunity to think big – or an opportunity to do the same-old/same-old and complain about the outcome. Think big and work hard — or cut-cut-cut and remain ignorant; you choose. Or let the governor choose. ¡Onward/Hasta adelante! -smf __________________________________ EDUCATION COALITION FACT SHEET GOVERNOR'S 2008-09 BUDGET PROPOSAL • While it is clear there are extraordinary challenges in balancing the state's budget, the Education Coalition strongly opposes the governor's 2008-09 budget proposal and his plans to eviscerate Proposition 98. Our students and schools did not create this budget problem, and their progress shouldn't be undermined because of it. • The governor's budget reductions would be disastrous to public schools and they are fundamentally inconsistent with the state's goal of improving student achievement. A $4.4 billion cut to Prop. 98 would mean laying off tens of thousands of teachers and would also result in increases in class size throughout the state, not to mention a further erosion of the support system for students provided by classified and paraprofessional staff. • Voters passed Prop. 98 almost 20 years ago to ensure our students and schools receive minimum funding. They strongly reaffirmed their support for the minimum funding law in 2005. Proposals to suspend Prop. 98 conflict with the will of the voters and jeopardize the minimum education funding levels Prop. 98 provides for students and schools. • According to a report released this week from Education Week, California spends $1,900 less per student than the national average. Other recent studies have shown that California seriously underfunds its public schools, with New York spending 75 percent more than California. The "Getting Down to Facts" studies show that billions more would be necessary to ensure the opportunity for all students to meet the state's rigorous academic standards. In addition, California has some of the most overcrowded classrooms and the greatest shortages of librarians, counselors and other critical support staff in the nation. • Experts including the Fordham Foundation (one of the nation's leading proponents of rigorous academic standards), the Public Policy Institute of California, EdSource and researchers at Stanford University all confirm that California's K-12 academic and performance standards are among the most challenging in the nation. With hard work, modest investments in teacher training and the adoption of standards-aligned textbooks, our students and schools have been making progress. Reading scores are up 25 percent and math scores have increased 17 percent in the last four years. This progress cannot continue with these proposed cuts to our public schools. • A state budget proposal that looks at cuts alone is not a real solution, because it doesn't address California's underlying problem of inadequate and unstable revenue sources. We can not talk about spending cuts without also talking about increasing revenues. • The most pressing challenge is to enact a balanced budget that continues the momentum of educational improvement that has been built since the late 1990s. This budget does not do that, and anything less is unacceptable. The Fact Sheet in Spanish - pass it on! EDUCACIÓN COALICIÓN HOJA INFORMATIVA GOBERNADOR DEL PRESUPUESTO 2008-09 PROPUESTA • A pesar de que enfrentamos retos excepcionales para poder balancear el presupuesto estatal, la Coalición Educativa se opone determinantemente al plan presupuestario del goberandor para el 2008-09, así como a sus planes de debilitar las protecciones de la Proposición 98. Nuestros estudiantes y escuelas no son los responsables de que el estado este pasando por problemas presupuestarios, y su éxito escolar no debe sufrir las consecuencias. • Las reducciones en el presupuesto del gobernador no sólo serían devastadoras para las escuelas públicas, sino que también contradicen la meta fundamental del estado de mejorar el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes. Si el financiamiento de la Proposición 98 es reducido en $4,400 millones de dólares como se propone, decenas de miles de maestros podrían perder sus empleos, y el número de estudiantes por aula podría aumentar a niveles alarmantes a través del estado. No sólo eso, sino que también se perdería el sistema de apoyo escolar para los estudiantes que reciben de personal clasificado y professional. • Los votantes de California aprobaron la Proposición 98 hace casi 20 años para que nuestros estudiantes y escuelas recibieran un financiamiento seguro y estable cada año. Asimismo, reafirmaron su apoyo para un financiamiento garantizado en el 2005. Propuestas que han intentado suspender los lineamientos de la Proposición 98 van en contra de la voluntad de los votantes, y también ponen en riesgo el financiamiento escolar básico que la Proposición 98 garantiza a los estudiantes y escuelas. • Según un reporte dado a conocer esta semana por la publicación Education Week, California gasta $1,900 dólares menos por cada estudiante, a comparación del promedio nacional. Otros estudios recientes han demostrado que el financiamiento que California destina a las escuelas públicas es grandemente insuficiente, con estados como Nueva York gastando un 75% más que California. Los estudios de "Getting Down to Facts", o "Los Hechos Imprecindibles", demuestran que se necesitan miles de millones de dólares adicionales para asegurar que todo estudiante pueda cumplir con los rigurosos estándares académicos que requiere el estado. Asimismo, las aulas escolares en California son de las más sobrepobladas, y las escuelas tienen los índices más bajos de bibliotecarios, consejeros, y otro personal de apoyo en la nación. • Varios expertos, incluyendo la Fundación Fordham (uno de los principales partidarios en el país a favor de los rigurosos estándares académicos), el Instituto de Política Pública de California (PPIC), EdSource, e investigadores de la Universidad de Stanford, han confirmado que los estándares académicos y de aprovechamiento en las escuelas públicas de California del kinder al doceavo grado son de los más exigentes en la nación. Nuestros estudiantes han podido mejorar su rendimiento escolar gracias a inversiones módicas que han sido destinadas al entrenamiento de maestros y la institución de libros de texto que están directamente alineados con los estándares académicos. De hecho, en los últimos cuatro años, las calificaciones en el área de Lectura han aumentado en un 25%, y un 17% en las Matemáticas. Ésta mejora no puede continuar si los recortes a nuestras escuelas públicas se llevan a cabo. • Un plan de gasto estatal que sólo se enfoca en realizar recortes presupuestarios no es una solución viable, porque no resuelve el verdadero problema en California, el cual se centra en ingresos inestables e insuficientes. No se puede hablar de reducir el gasto sin tampoco hablar de buscar la manera de aumentar los ingresos. • Nuestro reto más importante ahora es el asegurar la aprobación de un presupuesto balanceado, que continue apoyando los adelantos educativos en nuestros salones de clase, una inversión hecha a finales de los años 90, y que está comenzando a dar frutos. Este prespuesto está lejos de hacer esto, y el hacer lo contrario, es inaceptable. The Education Coalition Website: ProtectOurStudents.org MUCH MORE STILL NEEDS TO BE DONE: Four Decades after Latino Students Walked Out of Their Classrooms, L.A. Schools Still Need Substantial Reforms Op-ed in the LA Times by Mónica García • Mónica García is president of the LAUSD's Board of Education. March 8, 2008 - The year was 1968, and students at public high schools in East L.A. were banned from speaking Spanish in the hallways -- at risk of a paddling from administrators who embraced corporal punishment. The students were overwhelmingly Mexican American; the administrators were, without exception, white. Those students struggled against a host of daily humiliations: locked bathrooms during lunchtime, severely overcrowded classrooms and teachers who told them college was not a realistic option. That March, students from every East Los Angeles high school had had enough. In what became known as the East L.A. walkouts, or Chicano blowouts, students from Lincoln, Roosevelt, Wilson, Garfield and Belmont high schools walked out of their classes. In the days that followed, more than 20,000 students at 15 schools walked out to protest educational inequity. Their demands were simple: Provide a fine education with equal resources so all students had a chance to attend a four-year university. The L.A. Unified School District's Board of Education was confronted with a community united in its demand for change. The East L.A. student protest was one of the largest demonstrations of its kind. It sparked real changes, including the hiring of more Latino administrators, the right to speak Spanish on campus and a ban on corporal punishment. Greater awareness of the overcrowded and substandard facilities fostered successful efforts to build new schools on the Eastside. But four decades later, as we honor and remember those courageous students, many of these same challenges remain. According to a recent report by the community organization InnerCity Struggle, done in conjunction with UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education and Access, only 16 out of every 100 ninth-graders enrolled in a high school on the Eastside graduate eligible for college. Sixty-four out of 100 drop out. These grim statistics threaten to worsen as our educational system statewide faces the largest budget cuts we have seen in recent times. (California already ranks 46th in the nation in per-pupil spending, according to a 2008 Education Week report.) Despite our challenges, L.A. Unified must be a leader in urban school reform so that we can finally realize the goals of the '68 protests: giving all our youth the support and opportunities they need to learn and succeed. Our communities are energized for reform. Over the years, voters have supported four bond measures to fund construction of more than 100 schools, enabling the district to end forced busing and bring our schools back to traditional calendars. A 2005 policy called "A-G for All," when fully implemented, will ensure that all students have access to the college-prep classes required for admission to the UC and Cal State systems. This year, the board has increased the district's focus on meeting the needs of English learners, who make up the majority of our students. We're also trying new strategies to accelerate academic achievement, build ties to the community, increase flexibility of resources and strengthen autonomy and accountability at the school level. Sal Castro, the Lincoln High teacher who led the walkouts, said, "We knew something different had to happen." His words resonate today. We all have much work to do to reach 100% graduation for all LAUSD students. But this is a moment when we can take substantial steps forward. Sí se puede! Yes, we can! ________________________________________ â–ºsmf's 2¢: Board President Garcia has been a powerful advocate for improving opportunities for all LAUSD students; she championed the A-G FOR ALL INITIATIVE as former Board President Huizar's chief of staff and worked tirelessly against entrenched resistance to get it approved. However unfortunate compromises in the board resolution and some legalistic interpretation of the language - driven by opponents, naysayers and pennypinchers have moved the actual rollout of the graduation requirement to later date than originally promised. It may take some renewed activism from Ms. Garcia to get the A-G piece back on track - especially if it is to be "for all". Some readers of the above may be a bit shocked at the mention of corporal punishment and locking bathrooms. Corporal punishment persisted at LAUSD schools long after the walkouts. School Boardmembers elected in the backlash of the civil rights movement Garcia celebrates launched careers that took them to Congress based on 'bringing back the paddle' [see below] – and until Roy Romer's superintendency student restrooms were routinely padlocked to save money. â–²GUIDELINES ON SCHOOL SPANKINGS - LA Herald Examiner - Nov 3, 1979 (Warning: Contains photo of adults behaving badly!) SCHOOLS WANT MORE CHOICES: Educators say lawmakers should look at other ways to trim budget by Jo Ann Kirby | Stockton Record Staff Writer March 7, 2008 - STOCKTON - County educators demanded Thursday that California lawmakers reject Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's call for 10 percent across-the-board cuts and look at alternatives. "The governor's budget does not prioritize education," San Joaquin County Office of Education Superintendent Frederick Wentworth said in a news conference before about 350 school officials, teachers, board members, parents and other educators. "Our children are making progress. It is not time to take a giant step backward," he said, standing beneath a large sign illustrated with giant scissors and the words "Public Schools: An investment we can't afford to cut." Wentworth said school districts won't know for certain how much money will actually end up being cut until the state budget is finalized, which could be anytime from June to September. But the governor's proposal of statewide cuts of $4.8 billion to education would slash school funding in San Joaquin County by nearly $100 million. "In the meantime, I have to require the districts to do their budgets by June 30," Wentworth said of fiscal year 2008-09. Compounding the uncertainty, districts are required by law to issue teacher pink slips for the next school year no later than March 15. Classified workers must be notified by May 15. Cuts to education will send a misleading message to schoolchildren, Lodi Unified school board President Ken Davis said. He urged educators, parents and taxpayers to let their voices be heard. "We need to send a message that we will not stand by idly and let them balance this budget on the backs of children," he said. Wentworth proposed three changes Schwarzenegger should initiate to help balance the state budget: » Restore the vehicle license fee. » Eliminate tax loopholes that allow for "$50 billion a year" in lost revenue. A similar plan was floated by state Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill last month. » End the practice of allowing bonds to be passed without supporting revenue sources. "Vehicle license fees alone could generate $6 billion a year," Wentworth said. "Let's put it back on the books." Manteca Unified Superintendent Catherine Nichols-Washer said the governor's budget would hurt districts, schools, classrooms and children. "Making it even worse is the fact that we must make the cuts without knowing exactly how much we need to cut," she said. "Districts will still have to pay the bills, which means taking out a loan." Money spent on loan interest is money not going to classrooms, she said. "Instead of holding districts to unrealistic timelines, adjust dates in order to give time for thoughtful planning based on real numbers," Nichols-Washer said. And even if a state spending plan is approved that avoids the kinds of cuts education officials are anticipating, the damage still will have been done as schools scramble later to restore what was eliminated. Ellen Old, a sixth-grade teacher with Stockton Unified's El Dorado School, said she worries new teachers who get pink slips in March will look for work in other professions or find teaching jobs out of state. The news conference, held at the San Joaquin County's Office of Education, is one of a series of events throughout the state being coordinated by The Education Coalition to sound an alarm over the governor's proposal. The group is made up of the California Federation of Teachers, California School Boards Association, California State PTA, Association of School Administrators and other education organizations. Coalition members were unified in their opposition to the governor's plan to suspend Proposition 98, which guarantees a minimum level of funding for schools. Wentworth said area education officials will head to Sacramento next week to press their case. In the end, PTA leader and mother of four kids in Lincoln Unified schools Heidi Orihuela said, it's important that lawmakers stand up for education. "Let's not be chicken," she said, holding a rubber chicken for effect. LA County Education Cuts TEACHERS SETTLE PAYROLL LAWSUIT from The Daily Breeze March 6, 2008 - LOS ANGELES - The union representing Los Angeles Unified teachers settled a lawsuit with the district over its trouble-plagued payroll system, a spokeswoman for United Teachers Los Angeles announced Wednesday. For months, the Los Angeles Unified School District's payroll problems angered thousands of district employees - who were either shortchanged on their checks or received more money than they should have - and had trouble getting the mistakes rectified. The agreement provides for 8 percent interest for about 6,700 UTLA members who were underpaid, according to Marla Eby, director of communications for UTLA. UTLA also will be reimbursed for expenses incurred while helping members resolve their payroll disputes, according to Eby. The LAUSD board approved the agreement Tuesday, according to Eby. HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources from JUST SCHOOLS CALIFORNIA- education news coverage of statewide interest compiled by UCLA/IDEA • Institute for Democracy, Education and Access. EDUCATORS COALITION FORMED TO FIGHT PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS •Adolfo Guzman Lopez/KPCC Schools administrators, labor unions and parent groups from the Southland announced Tuesday they've banded together to fight Governor Schwarzenegger's nearly $5 billion proposed cut to California's education budget. STATE SANCTIONS ON BAD SCHOOLS WON'T DO ENOUGH •Editorial/San Jose Mercury News California became the first state last week to invoke sanctions against 97 school districts that have failed to show progress under the federal "No Child Left Behind" law. But for all the hoopla over "severe" and "moderate" sanctions, the state's actions won't cause much to change. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell ducked a chance to knock heads in a handful of chronically mismanaged district offices. The State Board of Education, which must approve their weak plan, should consider stronger measures.The much-maligned "No Child Left Behind" law measures student improvement districtwide as well as in individual schools. STATES EYE LOOSER REIN ON DISTRICTS: MORE OPERATING LEEWAY SEEN AS SPURRING LOCAL IMPROVEMENT. •by Linda Jacobson/Ed Week The push to give school districts greater operating flexibility—a grassroots rallying cry eclipsed in recent years by the charter school movement—is seeing a resurgence, as states seek to spur innovation that will help raise student achievement. In Georgia, Gov. Sonny Perdue is proposing “performance contracts” that would free administrators in 15 districts from some regulatory strictures as early as next fall, if they agreed to meet achievement targets in the next three years. California is granting significant operating leeway to two large districts, Fresno Unified and Long Beach Unified, in exchange for their agreeing to work toward student-achievement goals in three areas. And Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons envisions “empowerment schools” statewide—if the state can find the money. VIEW OF A GLASS HALF-FULL •Blog by John Fensterwald/San Jose Mercury News It’s a wonder that California students have done as well has they have, all things considered. That’s the conclusion of “Meeting the Challenge: Performance Trends in California Schools,” the lastest brief from PACE, the Policy Analysis for California Education, a joint project run out of U.C.-Berkeley and Stanford. The paper cited slow, steady academic progress by a number of measures over the past decade at a time that the proportions of poor, minority, English-learning students have grown in the state. A KEY REPUBLICAN SEES ODDS DIPPING FOR NCLB RENEWAL House members aren’t making progress on their pledge to reauthorize the No Child Left Behind Act this year, according to a leading Republican lawmaker. “We’re in a climate where it doesn’t look very favorable to get the reauthorization done,” Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, R-Calif., told a meeting of the Education Industry Association last week. Rep. McKeon, who is the senior Republican on the House Education and Labor Committee, said he hasn’t met with Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., the committee’s chairman, to discuss the NCLB law since October. THE DEBATE ON EDUCATION •by Jeffrey R. Henig/Boston Globe IN THIS presidential primary season, the issue of education has been like Sherlock Holmes's dog that didn't bark. Education is so far off the radar screen that, in an Associated Press-Yahoo poll, it didn't even make the 18-item list when voters were asked, "How important is each of the following issues to you personally?" The real reason education has been ignored is that other issues have taken precedence. I blame the American media and public for their short attention span and for their inability to focus on more than a few issues at a time. The headlines are focused on Iraq, terrorism, the economy, and healthcare. DEFIENDEN FONDOS PARA EDUCACIÓN -El LAUSD perdería casi mil dólares por cada estudiante -EDUCATION FUNDS ARE DEFENDED - LAUSD would lose almost $1000 dollars per student •by Iván Mejía/La Opinión De aprobarse los recortes propuestos por el goberndor Arnold Schwarzenegger para balancear el presupesto fiscal del estado, cada uno de los estudiantes del Distrito Escolar Unificado de Los Ángeles recibirá cerca de mil dólares menos por año para su educación. Schwarzenegger presentó una propuesta de recortes para balancear el déficit presupuestario estatal de 16,000 millones de dólares para el año fiscal 2008-2009, reduciendo 4,800 millones de dólares al presupuesto para educación. - If the cuts proposed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to balance the state's budget are approved, each student in LAUSD will receive approximately $1,000 less each year for their education. Schwarzenegger presented a budget cut proposal for fiscal year 2008-09 of $16,000 million dollars, reducing the education budget by $4,800 million. URGING A PUBLIC SCHOOL EXODUS •Column by Cal Thomas/Sacramento Bee As one group attempts to use California public schools as laboratories to assist children in "coming out" with their nontraditional sexual orientation, another is urging parents to come out from these schools and educate their children with their values at home or in private schools. Last Sunday, a group called "Exodus Mandate" (www.exodusmandate.org) began placing literature in scores of Southern California church lobbies, urging parents to take charge of their children's education and oppose attempts by activists and politicians to shape the worldview of young people, a worldview that runs counter to what many taxpaying parents believe and teach in their homes and places of worship. RIVERSIDE UNIFIED WON'T SLASH 154 JOBS AFTER ALL •By Imran Vittachin/Riverside Press-Enterprise As many as 154 kindergarten, first- and second-grade full-time equivalent teaching positions across Riverside Unified School District won't be eliminated after all. To cheers inside a jam-packed board room, the school board voted Monday to restore the positions. The board reversed its Feb. 22 decision to cut them by eliminating the district's kindergarten through second-grade class-size reduction program for 2008-09, which would have saved Riverside Unified about $9.6 million. The reversal came after Deputy Superintendent Mike Fine said he discovered an error in his calculations and recommended the trustees vote to restore the class-size program. SCHOOLS SEEK BETTER NOTIFICATION ON MEAT RECALLS •by Lesley Clark/Sacramento Bee Local school districts got incomplete – and at times tardy – information about last month's massive recall of suspect beef, several school administrators told Congress on Tuesday. Testifying before a House of Representatives committee that's looking at ways to improve the safety and nutrition of school meals, Doris Rivas, the director of nutrition for the Dallas schools, said she first was under the impression that the district "did not have any of the product in question," only to learn weeks later that it did. LINKS to he News that Doesn't fit for March 9th EVENTS: Coming up next week... Monday Mar 10, 2008 Loreto Elementary School Classroom Addition: Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony Ceremony starts at 1:00 p.m. Loreto Elementary School 3408 Arroyo Seco Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90065 Monday Mar 10, 2008 South Region High School #9: Schematic Design Community Meeting 6:00 p.m. Tweedy Elementary School Multi-purpose Room 9724 Pinehurst Ave, South Gate, CA 90280 Wednesday Mar 12, 2008 South Region Middle School #6: Pre-Construction Community Meeting 6:00 p.m. Normandie Elementary School 4505 S. Raymond Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90037 Wednesday Mar 12, 2008 Valley Region Bellingham ES Addition: CEQA Scoping and Schematic Design Meeting 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Bellingham Primary Center 6728 Bellingham Ave. North Hollywood, CA 91606 Thursday Mar 13, 2008 Central Region Elementary School #21: Pre-Design Meeting 6:00 p.m. Harmony Elementary School 899 E. 42nd Pl. Los Angeles, CA 90011 Thursday Mar 13, 2008 South Region High School #15: CEQA Scoping Meeting 6:00 p.m. Dana Middle School - Auditorium 1501 S. Cabrillo Ave. San Pedro, CA 90731 ________________________________________ • SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: http://www.laschools.org/bond/ Phone: 213-241-5183 ____________________________________________________ • LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR: http://www.laschools.org/happenings/ Phone: 213-893-6800 • � LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR What can YOU do? • E-mail, call or write your school board member: Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383 Marlene.Canter@lausd.net • 213-241-6387 Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386 Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180 Julie.Korenstein@lausd.net • 213-241-6388 Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382 Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385 ...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600 • Call or e-mail Governor 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 immediate past 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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Two cities.

4LAKids: Sunday, March 2, 2008 — Dr Seuss' B'day In This Issue: • NOTE FROM THE BOARD MEMBER: from the Feb 29 Galatzan Gazette • SOUTH L.A. NEIGHBORHOOD ON EDGE AFTER SHOOTING + PASADENA STUDENT ARRESTED ON GUN ALLEGATIONS • SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO GET HELP: Coachella Valley Unified faces the most severe sanction of the 97 not meeting targets. • P.A.C.E. REPORT SAYS STATE'S SCHOOLS HOLDING STEADY OR IMPROVING • HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources • EVENTS: Coming up next week... • What can YOU do? Featured Links: • 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. I meant what I said, and I said what I meant: An elephant's faithful one hundred percent. - Horton Hatches an Egg ____________________ School Boardmember Tamar Galatzan in her weekly e-mail newsletter/blog opens this week with Dickens most celebrated opening line - a first line as famous as that of Genesis or Caesar or Tolstoy's Anna K: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." In the context of this past week 4LAKids can only say "Indeed'. Dickens 'worst of times' describes Paris in a time and place (Einstein says these two imposters are the same) known to history as 'The Terror'/'La Terreur'; his 'best of times' the flowering of the British Regency in London The Convention Nationale did not invent terrorism, terror is a primal phenomenon from human prehistory. But Robespierre, Marat & Co. defined terrorism for our age: Misrule of-and-by fear. THE WORST OF TIMES: Terrorism was upon us Wednesday at a South LA bus stop. A gangster/terrorist opened fire at rivals, missed his targets and wounded eight bystanders waiting for the bus, five of them children. The illuminating moment is that some of the wounded children fled the scene and returned to their school. That was their place of refuge from those mean streets - the place of help and hope and sanity where sanctuary might be found. The terror echoed the next day as threats of retaliation and the hunt for the shooter kept children in the neighboring schools off playgrounds and confined to classrooms on one of those singular LA picture-postcard days of sunshine and clear air. On Friday we heard the fear resonate again as Pasadena's Blair High School was locked down in a gun threat. THE BEST OF TIMES are harder to find and less often reported. On the day after the shootings I spent the day as principal for a day at Main Street Elementary School, 14 blocks from the shooting scene. At Main Street a dedicated faculty and staff - and a core of engaged parents - led by an outstanding instructional leader (on the other 365 days a year) light the Lamp of Knowledge on a year 'round overcrowded campus. And that light shines in the eyes and hearts and dreams and accomplishments of 1235 young people. I heard young people work out the Z axis and the Y axis and recite Dr. Kings Dream and deconstruct Paul Revere's midnight ride as poetry and history. To paraphrase Lincoln Steffens, "I have seen the future …and it's coming along quite well." TUESDAY EVENING I sat in a crowd of concerned neighbors and heard an elected official say "Not that it's an excuse but…" gang violence has been the reality in the neighborhood since his own childhood. To say the words is to offer the excuse; gang violence is not and cannot be the reality - terrorism must be an anomaly and treated as such. There is no place in the Museum of Tolerance for that flavor of tolerance. The next day I heard the same at a PTA meeting: "This is the way it is in those neighborhoods". Words as ugly and unhopeful as they come. This cannot be about Two Central Cities in the best and worst of times, or two Barrios, or the Barrio and the 'Hood. It is not of LA and Pasadena. It is not the City on the Hill v. the City Below. It is not Black and Brown and White and the rainbow of race or class or status. There is room for only one city; there is only this time and the future. There is only this once. I am an unrepentant mixer of metaphors; if LA is to be a City of Angels WE - every last one of us - must embrace Lincoln's very American/very secular "Better Angels of our Nature". And we must reject the fear that bedevils us, the tyranny of terror. In school we teach our children to reject bullying and fear; how can they believe when it rules their streets? ¡Onward/Hasta adelante! -smf NOTE FROM THE BOARD MEMBER: from the Feb 29 Galatzan Gazette by Tamar Galatzan, Member of the Board of Education, District 3, East San Fernando Valley. We can be reasonably sure that when Charles Dickens wrote "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," he did not have had in mind the Los Angeles Unified School District. But while it would be presumptuous to use words like such as "best" or "worst" in reference to our schools, LAUSD is currently experiencing highs and lows that recall Dickens' famous introduction to "A Tale of Two Cities.' On the down side, the unprecedented budget crisis threatens the future of public education in this district and others around the state. I mentioned last week that finding creative ways to establish financial stability will be a recurrent theme in the Gazette throughout the yaer. At the same time we are in the midst of a spate of reform movements that offer the hope of improved standards, a reduced drop-out rate, and an overall enhanced educational experience for our students. Clearly there are people throughout the city who have not given up on LAUSD. I support these efforts, while acknowledging the necessity of asking tough questions and remaining ever vigilant. I also recognize that for the general public and the educational community there is confusion regarding the specifics of the various plans being proposed and implemented. With the intent of lifting some of the fog, I am hosting a town hall on education reform in early April in the San Fernando Valley. I urge you to attend and ask your tough questions of the various panelists. You may come away believing that the "bet of times" is not just a phrase from English class. -Tamar ▲For more info on Ms. Galatzan's town hall, or to be added to the Galatzan Gazette e-mail list, e-mail Denise.Campos@lausd.net SOUTH L.A. NEIGHBORHOOD ON EDGE AFTER SHOOTING + PASADENA STUDENT ARRESTED ON GUN ALLEGATIONS ►SOUTH L.A. NEIGHBORHOOD ON EDGE AFTER SHOOTING: VIOLENCE THAT WOUNDED FIVE YOUTHS AND THREE ADULTS NEAR A MIDDLE SCHOOL HAS A COMMUNITY FEARING FOR ITS SAFETY. POLICE SAY THE SUSPECT, WHO HAS BEEN ARRESTED, WAS AIMING AT TWO PEOPLE. by Ari B. Bloomekatz and Paloma Esquivel | LA Times Staff Writers February 29, 2008 -- On the way home from school Thursday, 13-year-old Magda Gomez and his friends walked past the South Los Angeles intersection where five youths and three adults were shot the day before. One of the boys pointed out the splatter of dried blood that stained the sidewalk next to the bus stop at Central and Vernon avenues. "Check it out," he said. Gomez and his friends turned briefly to look and then kept walking. "I saw the injured people," Gomez said of Wednesday's shooting. He said he thought to himself, "I hope they're OK. I hope it doesn't happen to me." On Thursday, police arrested Billy Ray Hines, 24, who they said is a member of the 48th Street Crips and who they believe was responsible for shooting into a crowd of people at the bus stop. Police said the suspect's two intended victims fled the scene and remain at large Surveillance videos from nearby businesses show the gunman trying to shoot at two people who dodged in and out of pedestrians on the sidewalk, said Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Sergio Diaz. The shooting took place in front of scores of witnesses, many of them students on their way home from nearby George Washington Carver Middle School. All five wounded children, ages 11 to 14, are students at Carver, school administrators said Thursday. A 12-year-old girl, the most seriously injured, remained at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles in stable condition with a bullet wound to her chest, officials said. The three wounded adults -- a 48-year-old man, a 49-year-old woman and a 68-year-old man -- were in stable condition. "We're in shock, and we realize that we have to step up our security surrounding the schools," said Carmen Schroeder, a Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent. Counselors were at Carver on Thursday to speak to students, officials said. And the number of school police officers on campus was increased from one to four for at least the rest of the week. Parents dropping off their children at the school Thursday morning expressed concern for their safety. "I'm worried because this is not the first time," said Elvira Sandoval, who lives nearby and whose son is a student at Carver. "There's a lot of violence here. I tell [my children] to be careful, to never leave by themselves." Before school let out Thursday, about a dozen parents sat together on the steps at the campus' entrance. They were talking about Wednesday's violence when Rapida Rosales, 43, who was there to pick up her daughter, began describing how she was standing right behind a young girl who was shot. "I saw it," Rosales said, her voice cracking. "It could have been my daughter," she said through tears. "She watched the whole thing." Many of the parents expressed frustration with the LAPD, which they said has not adequately patrolled the neighborhood. "It's always like this when a tragedy happens," said one woman, pointing at the dozens of officers who gathered in front of the school. "One or two weeks and they'll forget about it, and then it'll happen again." Two mothers and a father then began listing violent incidents they've witnessed in the neighborhood: fights, gang members harassing students, men robbing youngsters on their way home from school. "My son wants me to let him walk home by himself, and I always tell him, 'No,' " said Noemi Corral, 29. "Yesterday I told him, 'You see why I don't let you walk?' " During an afternoon news conference, Police Chief William J. Bratton said the suspected gunman, who was on probation for a December burglary conviction, was arrested about 1:20 p.m. as he walked down the street a few blocks from the crime scene. Bratton said Hines is expected to be charged with at least 10 counts of attempted murder, which include the two intended victims. The attack reinforces "that we still have a pernicious gang problem in this city," Bratton said. But he said patrols in the neighborhood would not change in the short term. Amir Khani, 50, who has owned a discount store on Central since 1989, said the neighborhood has long been plagued by crime. "If I wanted to tell you everything that's happened here," Khani said, "I'd have to write a book." ___________________________ ►PASADENA STUDENT ARRESTED ON GUN ALLEGATIONS: NO WEAPON WAS FOUND AT BLAIR INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE SCHOOL, BUT THE SUSPECT WAS DETAINED BASED ON WITNESS STATEMENTS, POLICE SAID. by Jean-Paul Renaud and Molly Hennessy-Fiske, LA Times Staff Writers March 1, 2008 -- A Pasadena school student was arrested Friday on suspicion of bringing a gun to campus, police said. The arrest occurred Friday afternoon, hours after a student reported that a classmate had brought a weapon to Blair International Baccalaureate School. Police and administrators ordered a lockdown of the 1,200-student campus shortly before 9:30 a.m. The lockdown continued through most of the day. The suspect, a male student whose identity was not released, was arrested in the afternoon and led from the campus in handcuffs, said Pasadena Police Lt. Tom Pederson. Police did not find the weapon but made the arrest based on witness statements, Pederson said. There were no gunshots reported. A crowd of parents had gathered at the school. Many were especially nervous following a string of recent shootings from Oxnard to Los Angeles. "There's a lot of stuff going on, like that shooting in L.A. You have to worry every time there's something," said Wanda Williams, whose daughter is a sophomore at the school. "You can't take anything lightly." Students were kept in classrooms before being led to the gym, their hands clasped over their heads, where they were searched. They were eventually released to their parents' custody. Some parents who gathered by an entrance to the school, in the 1200 block of South Marengo Avenue, were upset that the school did not contact them until early afternoon and that some students weren't allowed to use their cellphones. School PTA president Darlene Kopplin Easley said she believed Blair was a safe campus. "We have not had these types of incidents" in the past, she said. "My son will be back here Monday." SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO GET HELP: Coachella Valley Unified faces the most severe sanction of the 97 not meeting targets. • It is obvious - or perhaps oblivious - that the Times headline writer either has (or hasn't) heard the old joke punch line: "We're from the government, we're here to help". by Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer February 28, 2008 -- Offering ambitious rhetoric, but relatively few dollars, the governor and education officials Wednesday unveiled their plan to improve 97 school districts that face the stiffest sanctions for failing to meet federal academic improvement targets. The crux of the strategy is to send out "assistance teams" to ailing school districts including the state's largest, Los Angeles Unified with 700,000 students, as well as smaller ones, such as Marin County's Lagunitas with 250 students. "The goal is not to punish the school district," said state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. "We'll be working in a collaborative, constructive manner with each of these districts. Student achievement will occur much more quickly with supportive intervention rather than cutting money or closing schools or laying people off." Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, California could have closed schools, dissolved districts, fired superintendents and removed school boards. Instead, the focus will be on each district's curriculum -- the mildest option available under the law. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger offered a total onetime assistance of $45 million in federal funds for the ailing school districts. But districts still face more than $4 billion in cuts included in his provisional budget. Across the state, at least 5,000 teachers have so far received notice that they could be laid off, according to the California Teachers Assn. At a Sacramento news conference, Schwarzenegger blamed boom-and-bust budget cycles needing permanent reform. "It is a roller-coaster ride that we are taking our children on that is not fair," he said. But the governor added, "It's not just the funding that will help those schools, it will be also reforming the system and switching our personnel, and helping them in every way possible." Wednesday's proposal is, by default, a remnant of what Schwarzenegger originally touted as his Year of Education. A few initiatives still are moving forward, including a system to track the academic progress of California students and proposed rules giving school districts more flexibility in spending money. Federal law required the state to sanction "failing" school districts, which numbered 99 until two were taken off the list. By Wednesday, officials had grouped the remaining districts into three categories of severity. Two of the six districts in the bottom group are Keppel Union Elementary in northeast Los Angeles County and Coachella Valley Unified in Riverside County. Keppel Supt. Linda Wagner said she looked forward to working with an assistance team from the Los Angeles County Office of Education. "That will be helpful," she said. "They've done positive work already for us." Keppel's demographics are typical of districts on the list: 83% of its 3,000 students are poor; half are English learners, a percentage that has risen sharply. In recent years, the district has replaced its superintendent and half of its principals. The single most severe sanction was placed on Coachella Valley, which O'Connell proposed placing under control of a state-appointed trustee. In 2005, that district had agreed to face penalties in exchange for a $1.9-million grant if test scores didn't rise fast enough. It used the money to buy an elementary school curriculum and boost its efforts to help English learners. "Every penny was well spent and I'd do it again," said Supt. Foch "Tut" Pensis. Coachella Valley serves 18,000 students, including 11,000 English learners. Pensis also is dealing with cutting $12.5 million from a $160-million budget. "We built programs to serve English learners and we're going to have to tear that down," he said. "People are going to come in to evaluate our district, and they will see a shell of our programs." Other affected districts in Riverside County include Palm Springs Unified and San Jacinto Unified. In Orange County, Santa Ana Unified also made the list. A different sort of problem confronts the Orange County Office of Education, which the state regards as an agency that is needed to help school districts in its region. The office may be unable to offer assistance because it too landed on the "failed" list, in large part because of the test scores of students it serves in Juvenile Hall, said Laura Wagner, administrator of the state's intervention assistance office. Wednesday's announcement contained no surprises for L.A. Unified, said Supt. David L. Brewer. His district fell short because of its graduation rates and the English scores of English learners and disabled students. "My whole high-priority schools plan was a reaction to this," said Brewer of a reform strategy that has triggered much local debate. Other L.A. County school districts on the list include Palmdale Unified Elementary, Compton Unified, Antelope Valley Union, Montebello Unified and Pomona Unified. The proposed action for 97 districts is scheduled to go next month (March) before the state Board of Education, which is expected to approve it. ▲smf 2¢: What's wrong with this picture?: The state is offering Coachella $1.9 million to fix things - and cutting $12.5 million at the same time! Coachella Valley USD is a district with a substantial number of migrant farm workers' children — poor, transient, primarily non-English speaking. Youngsters often needed in the fields if the family is make ends meet. It is also the teaching home of Chauncey Veach, the 2002 National Teacher of the Year — probably the ablest and most committed classroom educator I have ever met. ► A list of the 97 PI Year 3 school districts, recommendations and related information can be found here. P.A.C.E. REPORT SAYS STATE'S SCHOOLS HOLDING STEADY OR IMPROVING By Kathleen Maclay, Media Relations | UC Berkeley News 27 February 2008 – BERKELEY – A new report from Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) says California's public school students lag behind much of the nation in most areas, but have managed to hold steady or improve across subjects and grade levels, with graduation rates also eking upward in era of lagging resources, a growing population and increasing diversity. "Although California's performance relative to the rest of the nation is a disturbing reminder of how far we have to go, we should not lose sight of how far we have come," says Jennifer Imazeki, an associate professor at San Diego State University who specializes in the economics of K-12 education, in the PACE report, "Meeting the Challenge: Performance Trends in California Schools." PACE is a non-partisan policy research institute jointly based at UC Berkeley, Stanford University and the University of Southern California. It is affiliated with research centers at UC Davis, UCLA, and UC Santa Barbara. The institute contracted with Imazeki to look at California schools' performance trends. "Californians have high expectations for their schools," David N. Plank, executive director of PACE and an education researcher with UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education, said in response to the report. "We have a long way to go to achieve those expectations, but it's important to recognize that our schools are generally moving in the right direction, in spite of huge obstacles to their success." In the brief, which will be online starting Thursday (Feb. 28) at: http://pace.berkeley.edu/pace_publications.html, Imazeki cites data from various sources that reflect that "the trend across multiple measures of performance is fairly consistent: all students are doing better, or at least holding steady, during a time when the system is serving a larger and more diverse population of children." That's impressive, according to the economist, in light of a population of more than 6.2 million students enrolled in California's public schools in 2006-2007, 1 million more than in 1993-1994. Imazeki also points out the state's incredible diversity: More than 70 percent of California's K-12 students are non-white and just under half come from families poor enough to qualify for government-sponsored lunch programs. "[It] is a testament to the dedication of our public school teachers, principals and staff," she says, that schools are functioning so well, even though California's per pupil spending is below the national average and the ratio of adults to students is dramatically smaller than in most of the country's large states. Imazeki says school performance also is impressive because nearly a fourth of all of California's public school students are new to learning English, and the state's system of finance and governance appears in need of an overhaul. In her progress report, Imazeki notes: * All fourth graders performed steadily better between 1992 and 2005 in reading and math proficiency on National Assessment of Education Progress tests, as did eighth graders across all racial sub-groups. * Based on California's own standardized exams administered since 2003, the state's third graders have been doing increasingly well in math and reading, echoing results in other grades and all racial subgroups. * California is one of the few states that recorded improvement in its high school graduation rate between 1992 and 2002, with a slight increase in the late '90s followed by fairly flat or declining rates in recent years, possibly due to the 2006 institution of the California High School Exit Exam. * The number and percentage of high school students enrolled in chemistry classes from 1998 to 2006 increased, as did the percentage of students signed up for advanced math and physics. * The number of high school students completing coursework required for admission to the University of California or California State University systems is on the rise. At the same time, Imazeki warns that there are some distinctly rough edges around California's public schools' performance, such as persistent and fairly wide achievement gaps across grade levels and subjects between white and Asian students and their African American and Latino peers. She also notes that state-level statistics can mask gigantic disparities, as reflected by some schools in which almost all eighth graders study algebra and other schools where no one does. "How much better might our schools have done, and how much more might they do in the future, if California's school finance and governance systems actually supported student performance and accountability?" Imazeki asks. "If we are going to ask our schools for continued improvements, we must also ensure that they have the strong support that they need to do this vital work." Such reform will no doubt be a challenge, Plank said, noting that while 2008 has been declared the Year of Education Reform in California, the state now faces a $16 billion budget shortfall. HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest of the Stories from Other Sources Loosely cobbled together from [mostly] the UCLA/IDEA Just Schools California Weekly News Roundup, Click link below to access full stories. ► STUDY FINDS DISPARITY IN CIVICS CLASSES By Martha Irvine/San Francisco Chronicle Her neighborhood, with its police cameras and abandoned buildings, isn't known for inspiring hope. Yet, 18-year-old Ariel Williams feels empowered. She's lobbied her state lawmakers to increase education funding. She and other students traveled to Iowa in December to campaign for presidential candidates. And now she can't wait to vote in November's election. They are the sort of results that happen when civics education is creative and engaging, according to a new study." ► SCHOOL BUDGETS SQUEEZED Battle begins to limit losses By Laurel Rosenhall/Sacramento Bee Laying off teachers, school bus drivers, librarians and counselors. Adding more kids to every classroom. Charging students fees to play sports. Getting rid of music. In e-mails and newsletters, during board meetings and rallies, school districts across California are telling parents that they have to do these things – and more – because of budget cuts proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Today they'll say it again during a news conference at Valley High School, where leaders from Sacramento's biggest school districts will join the state superintendent to blast Schwarzenegger's proposal to slash $4 billion from next year's K-12 education budget. ► NOT MUCH TO APPLAUD IN LATEST EDUCATION ANNOUNCEMENT State students deserve more aggressive efforts at improvement. Editorial/Fresno Bee We suppose the latest education announcement by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state Schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell is better than completely ignoring the problems in California's public schools. But not much. Schwarzenegger and O'Connell on Wednesday unveiled a proposal to help schools avoid federal sanctions for not achieving academic improvement goals. The state should have taken action to help these 96 school districts long before they were considered the worst of the worst. ► LAUSD'S COFFEECAKE A RECIPE FOR FAILURE … or Daily News uses typo in recipe to justify District break-up Los Angeles Daily News, CA - Feb 29, 2008 IT'S starting to seem that the Los Angeles Unified School District cannot do even one thing right. Even the district's one shot at getting some positive attention - after months of justified public bashing over the payroll scandal that wasted millions ... ► TEACHER-PAY MODEL NOT SEEN AS PROMISING AT SECONDARY LEVEL By Bess Keller/Ed Week A leading model for professionalizing teaching and changing the way teachers are paid shows mixed capacity for raising student test scores, concludes the first independent examination of the Teacher Advancement Program. While elementary schools in the program do better than comparison schools, TAP middle and high schools lag behind their non-TAP counterparts in test-score gains, the study says. The research, presented this week at a conference on teacher pay organized by the National Center on Performance Incentives, based at Vanderbilt University, looked at annual gains in mathematics test scores over four years for about 1,200 schools in two states. ► CHEATING SCANDAL ROILS ELITE HARVARD WESTLAKE SCHOOL Los Angeles Times, CA - Feb 27, 2008 The tests were then shown to several other students before midterm exams last month, said Harvard-Westlake President Thomas Hudnut. ... smf: What fun to wring one's hands and bemoan the downfall of the rich and privileged - but his story contains one of the great pieces of pseudo-scientific research jumped-to-conclusions of all time: "According to a national survey of high school students by the Los Angeles-based Josephson Institute of Ethics, young people display deeply entrenched habits of dishonesty." Here's a little song we can all join in with: 'Why can't they be like we were, perfect in every way? Oh whatsthematter with kids today? wackado, wackado, wackado' - from Bye, Bye, Birdie ► MISSING IN CAMPAIGN '08: THE EDUCATION CANDIDATE Opinion by Wendy D. Puriefoy/USA Today Wendy D. Puriefoy is CEO of the Public Education Network, a Washington-based association working to advance public school reform in low-income communities Listen to the fevered rhetoric of the presidential candidates and you get the impression that the country is in a state of crisis. They have talked pointedly about the war in Iraq, the ailing economy and the need for health care reform. Taxes, immigration and the war on terror? All accounted for. Yet one issue that's key to our nation's security, prosperity and future has barely been discussed in the more than 30 hours of debates: education. Nearly 50 million of our nation's children attend public schools, yet the men and woman who aspire to lead us have spent less time debating how these children are being educated than it takes to get a haircut or facial. ► L.A. SCHOOLS' HIRES ARE LOANERS Two in mayor's program are being lent by another district. By Howard Blume/Los Angeles Times The mayor's office acknowledged Thursday that two top hires it introduced this week are technically on loan from the San Diego Unified School District. One of the employees is Angela Bass, who was presented at a Monday news conference as the superintendent of instruction for the two academically struggling high schools and four middle schools that will fall under the stewardship of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. The mayor's team expects Bass and Staci Monreal to stay long-term in Los Angeles, said Marshall Tuck, executive director of Villaraigosa's Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. The loan arrangement allows both to continue earning credits in the California State Teachers' Retirement System. ► DATA DEFICIT Editorial/Riverside Press-Enterprise (Monday) California's best strategy for reducing the number of students who drop out of high school: compile better data about pupil performance. Until the state has a system in place to track individual students' achievement, recommendations for stemming the flow of dropouts depend on educated guesses and approximations. So the governor and Legislature should not let a budget crisis delay a new data system that will track individual students' performance from year to year. The governor proposes to spend $10.9 million on the system next fiscal year, which is a worthwhile investment even given the state's budget deficit. ► THE FIGHT OVER QEIA Blog by John Fensterwald/San Jose Mercury News (Monday) The Legislature never should have signed off on the $3 billion out-of-court settlement two years ago between Gov. Schwarzenegger and the California Teachers Assn. over education funding that the governor had promised but withheld. But legislators shouldn’t cut it now; they should reject the recommendations of Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill. In the budget alternative that she presented last week, Hill suggested suspending next year’s allocation of $450 million of the Quality Education Investment Act, the seven-year, $3 billion agreement to funnel more money to low-performing schools. ► EDTRUST’S NEW DATA TOOL Blog by John Fensterwald/San Jose Mercury News (Tuesday) Thanks, EdTrust-West, for making it pain-free to find out how every school is doing — and other vital stats parents and teachers need to know. Raising the Roof is a terrific new data-mining tool that EdTrust-West introduced yesterday at the start of its conference in San Francisco on student achievement. It takes the state Department of Education’s kludgy data base, DataQuest, and makes it simple, even fun, to use. The state’s education data system is woefully weak; this year, by creating a state data commission and funding the next phase of a data bank, the Legislature may do something about it. Meanwhile, the Education Trust-West is making the most of what’s available. ► SCHOOL SMARTS Consolidating grants saves money and more Editorial/San Diego Union-Tribune (Tuesday) In a state Capitol full of grandstanders, lazybones and union puppets, Legislative Analyst Elizabeth Hill's pragmatism and professionalism stand out. This was once again on display with a key element of her proposal on how to tackle the state's massive budget crisis. Hill argues one simple reform could allow education spending to be frozen through the next fiscal year – wiping out at least $2.8 billion in projected funding increases – without any downside. That reform: consolidating 43 “categorical” K-12 spending programs mandated by state rules into four basic grant programs. We think this approach not only wouldn't have any downside; it would probably improve schools. ► WORRY FOR SCHOOLCHILDEN WHO HAPPEN TO BE POOR Editorial/Monterey County Herald (Wednesday) Poor people and schools. Those four simple words are meant to nudge anyone who can help. There is a special need this year for Californians of all stripes to go to the defense of poor people and schools as the not-so-Golden State prepares for the messiest budget battle of recent memory. Many others will be hurt as well, but most are headed into this fight better protected than poor people and schools. Budget cutting usually starts with the poor, for reasons that include lack of an effective lobby. And while it might seem, based on the purported strength of the California Teachers Association, that the schools are well organized and able to fight for themselves, the results of many past budget cycles contradict that thinking. ► IMPROVING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION Blog by Mitchell Landsberg/Los Angeles Times (Wednesday) An organization started last year by the James Irvine Foundation to promote career and technical education -- the newfangled term for what used to be called vocational ed -- issued a report today with policy recommendations for California schools. But the president of ConnectEd, Gary Hoachlander, says that of the 10 recommendations, only four are probably realistic this year, considering the severe funding cuts that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing for education. You can find all 10 recommendations here. CLICK TO ACCESS FULL STORIES. EVENTS: Coming up next week... • Tuesday Mar 4, 2008 VALLEY REGION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #13: Presentation of Recommended Preferred Site 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. Panorama High School 8015 Van Nuys Blvd Panorama City, CA 91402 • Wednesday Mar 5, 2008 SOUTH REGION MIDDLE SCHOOL #2: GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY Ceremony starts at 10:00 a.m. South Region Middle School #2 3620 Gage Ave. Bell, CA 90201 • Wednesday Mar 5, 2008 SOUTH REGION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #12: Pre-Design Meeting 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Miramonte Elementary School - Auditorium 1400 E. 68th Street Los Angeles, CA 90001 • Thursday Mar 6, 2008 CENTRAL REGION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #16: GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY Ceremony starts at 10:00 a.m. Central Region Elementary School #16 120 E. 57th St. Los Angeles, CA 90011 • Thursday Mar 6, 2008 RAMONA OPPORTUNITY HIGH SCHOOL: Construction Update Community Meeting 6:00 p.m. Ramona Opportunity High School - Cafeteria 231 S. Alma Ave. Los Angeles, CA 90063 • Thursday Mar 6, 2008 SOUTH REGION ELEMENTARY SCHOOL #9: Site Selection Update Meeting 6:00 p.m. South Gate High School - Auditorium 3351 Firestone Blvd. South Gate, CA 90280 *Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________ • SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: http://www.laschools.org/bond/ Phone: 213-241-5183 ____________________________________________________ • LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR: http://www.laschools.org/happenings/ Phone: 213-893-6800 • LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR What can YOU do? • E-mail, call or write your school board member: Yolie.Flores.Aguilar@lausd.net • 213-241-6383 Marlene.Canter@lausd.net • 213-241-6387 Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386 Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180 Julie.Korenstein@lausd.net • 213-241-6388 Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382 Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385 ...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600 • Call or e-mail Governor 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 immediate past 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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