From overlooking to oversight

4LAKids: Sunday 9•Sept•2012 In This Issue:  •  FIDDLING ON THE FISCAL CLIFF  •  LAUSD BOARD MEMBER STEVE ZIMMER WANTS TO STRENGTHEN OVERSIGHT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS  •  THREE ED REFORMS PARENTS SHOULD WORRY ABOUT MOST  •  CHICAGO TEACHERS MAY STRIKE, TEACH POLITICAL LESSON  •  HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources  •  EVENTS: Coming up next week...  •  What can YOU do? Featured Links:  •  OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE: What will California schoolchildren, your school district and YOUR School get when the initiative passes?  •  Follow 4 LAKids on Twitter - or get instant updates via text message by texting  •  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. “Charter schools,” it says in Wikipedia, (not the ultimate research authority but an ultimate arbiter of public [mis]perception) “are primary or secondary schools that receive public money (and like other schools, may also receive private donations) but are not subject to some of the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to other public schools in exchange for some type of accountability for producing certain results, which are set forth in each school's charter.” [1 ] | http://bit.ly/QkNcC4 Wikipedia continues: “There are two principles that guide charter schools. “First is that they will operate as autonomous public schools, through waivers from many of the procedural requirements of district public schools. The second is that charter schools are accountable for student achievement. While this accountability is one of the key arguments in favor of charters, evidence gathered by the United States Department of Education suggests that charter schools are not, in practice, held to higher standards of accountability than traditional public schools.” [That last sentence is not editorializing from 4LAKids – it’s there in the Wiki article; editorializing from the USDOE.] WHEN CHARTER SCHOOLS CAME TO LAUSD the Board of Ed was initially extremely resistant to them, granting charters only when they had no other choice. And with attorneys – often the board’s own attorneys - telling the board they had no choice. The California Charter Schools Association – which seems on the face of it to be to an umbrella organization representing all charters - is in reality a back-office service provider, lobbyist and dispenser of Walton Foundation largess for charter management organization operated/big box charter franchises. There are few mom-and-pop/teacher-and-parent grass roots charters in CCSA! The CCSA quickly set up LAUSD as their turf. You can learn a lot about an operation from its competition; did you ever hear anyone from another district saying they wished their district was more like LAUSD? (The Mayor’s Partnership doesn’t count!) ‘Edu-business’ is a name coined by CCSA’s competition. From EdHive, a competing charter incubator: “I’m just leaving the California Charter Schools Association conference and I can’t keep from thinking about how vendors seem to be so involved with an organization that should be so much about grass-roots. “While charter schools are the future, a select group of business interest seeks to hijack the movement and make a fortune off of tax-payers without adding any value. ’Edu-business’: a group of people who see education as a business opportunity and not a service to the community. Edu-business is going to kill the charter school movement.” | http://bit.ly/RUtmbD EduBusiness. The Billionaire Boys Club. Rephorm. ®eform. Broadies. Anyway, LAUSD (and Mayor Tony’s) own ®eform board authorized a lot of charters, slicing and dicing and co-locating; giving new schools to charter management organizations and granting waivers without holding those schools accountable in any way. (Charters were shut down for cheating on state tests – and had their hands slapped for fiscal impropriety – the integrity of tests being more sacrosanct than student outcome or the trusteeship of public –funds.) Now, with many dollars and students siphoned away, LAUSD cannot afford-to and is not prepared-to hold charters to the “higher standards of accountability than traditional public schools” as Arne Duncan and the feds demand. LAUSD cannot even afford plant managers or libraries or to open bathrooms in their own schools! "I have great concern about how we'd pay for another layer of government," Superintendent Deasy told the Daily News on Friday. "We have zero ability to fund it." Now SB 1290, which would require California charter schools to outperform their traditional neighbors, is on Governor Brown’s desk. [NEW ACCOUNTABILITY DEMANDS COMING FOR CHARTERS – STARTUPS AND RENEWALS] And an LAUSD Board of Ed resolution proposes to strengthen LAUSD’s oversight of charters. [ZIMMER WANTS TO STRENGTHEN OVERSIGHT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS] This sounds somewhat unfair at first – are the Feds and the State and the Board of Ed piling-on? But the premise+promise always was that charters would do better than regular schools – and then share their secrets. Charters are using millions of dollars in public funds, utilizing hundreds of millions worth of public facilities, and educating thousands of the public’s children. And the feds are saying that if California doesn’t come into compliance with the Federal charter regs (ie: if Brown doesn’t sign SB 1290) they will make a federal case of it. [•• O•VER•SIGHT can mean watchful and responsible care OR an omission or error due to carelessness. An auto-antonym or contronym is a word with multiple meanings, one of which is the reverse of one of its other meanings. You never know when there’s going to be a surprise SAT vocab test!] ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON I WAS INVITED TO A MEETING OF RIFed + DISPLACED LAUSD MAINTENANCE & OPERATIONS EMPLOYEES - held in the cafeteria of Cortines High School, These are hard workers who don't want to file a grievance, who don't want to sue. They just want their jobs back. As I tweeted from the meeting, in the school's quad outside contractors/outsourced painters were doing some of what used to be their jobs, painting out graffiti. And the money saved by the RIFs - if indeed any was any - is being paid in forced overtime to air conditioning staff - [HEAT WAVE COSTS LAUSD MORE THAN $400K IN A.C. REPAIRS] because someone didn't do their homework. They also serve who soldier on: "Not tho' the soldier knew Some one had blunder'd." Social justice isn't something that can be turned on-and-off with the times like a spigot. ARNE DUNCAN ADDRESSED THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION LAST WEEK and never mentioned the things he’s been talking about for the past three-and-half-years: Charter Schools, Evaluating Teachers Based on Test Scores, and Transforming “Failing” Schools. There must be an election coming up. ¡Onward/Adelante! - smf • Next Friday, Sept 14th is Student Recovery Day in LAUSD • There are 7 million truants in the United States. That isn’t 7 million students skipping class at a given moment – that’s 7 million students who miss one month or more of school per year. LAUSD Student Recovery Day Info FIDDLING ON THE FISCAL CLIFF By Jeff Simering, Director of Legislation, Council of Great City Schools/Sept. Urban Educator | http://bit.ly/P2BeaH 7-Sep-12 :: The financial condition of school districts has yet to rebound from the recession. And cuts to small education programs funded by the federal budget and the virtual freeze on major formula grant programs under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) in recent years have exacerbated the problem. The result is larger class sizes and shorter school years, in addition to reductions in service levels, staffing, extracurricular activities, and maintenance and building repairs. In these respects, public school systems have already fallen off the fiscal precipice, but Congress may have more in store. Public schools across the country face another substantial round of cuts if lawmakers can’t reach a budget deal by the end of the year. Yet, the nation’s financial and defense industries are screaming the loudest about the plight they face if the Bush-era tax cuts are not extended and defense spending is not exempted. The bipartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently issued its Mid-Year Budget and Economic Outlook predicting a decline in economic growth and the possibility of a new recession if no Congressional action is taken on federal budget and tax laws. The resulting sequestration of federal discretionary-program appropriations and reduced funding for certain entitlement programs, along with the expiration of portions of the federal tax code, are projected to decrease the gross domestic product by 0.5 percent in 2013 and increase unemployment to 9 percent. An alternative analysis by CBO, using more moderate projections of federal entitlement, budget and tax expenditures, results in estimates of economic growth of 1.7 percent and unemployment of 8 percent in 2013, but the budget group warns of financial and economic unsustainability over the long run without more drastic action. Despite the alarming economic predictions from the CBO and the hysterical pronouncements by the financial and defense industries, Congressional leaders have agreed to temporarily put aside the hard work until after the elections, instead passing a six-month Continuing Resolution (“CR”) to keep the federal government running through March. This Continuing Resolution removes much of the pressure for any immediate legislative action on the “fiscal cliff ” before the election—even though seven temporary CRs nearly shut down the federal government multiple times last year and a stalemate last August on the debt ceiling brought the federal government to the brink of financial default on its debt obligations. Fortuitously, the U.S. Education Department adopted an alternative interpretation (which had been recommended and promoted by the Council of the Great City Schools) on how the automatic across-the-board cuts/sequestration could be applied to key education programs. The Department announced that currently appropriated federal education funds from the FY 2012 spending bill (for school year 2012-2013) would not be subject to sequestration in January 2013. This alternative precludes mid-year budget cuts in this new school year, but the potential of an 8 to 9 percent sequestration in school year 2013-2014 continues to be a real possibility without Congressional action. A timely resolution of these critical federal budget and tax issues should not be expected, particularly in the middle of a contentious presidential and congressional election season. But, it is not too soon for educators to join the defense and financial sectors in sounding the alarm bells. •• SEE ALSO: Outlook: K-12 FUNDING, LEGISLATION AND THE POLITICAL PLATFORMS by Fritz Edelstein, from School Planning & Management | August 2012 LAUSD BOARD MEMBER STEVE ZIMMER WANTS TO STRENGTHEN OVERSIGHT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, L.A. Daily News | http://bit.ly/P3BMiA 9/7/2012 | 7:35:18 PM PDT :: School board member Steve Zimmer is taking aim at two of the most contentious issues facing Los Angeles Unified, with separate proposals to exclude high-stakes test scores from teacher evaluations and to strengthen the oversight of charter schools. Both resolutions on Tuesday's board agenda have generated heated debate behind the scenes, with critics worried that the proposals could delay or derail the progress that's been made toward long-awaited reforms. In an interview Friday, Zimmer insisted that each of the issues has reached a critical stage, and that board members need to decide the direction they want the district to take. The performance evaluation proposal is especially timely, with LAUSD under a court order to negotiate with union leaders on a system that uses student test scores to help gauge teacher success. District administrators have long advocated the use of Academic Growth over Time - which uses a complex formula of test scores and demographic data - but union leaders say AGT is an unreliable measure of pupil progress. Zimmer now wants his colleagues to endorse the use of multiple measurements - everything from periodic assessments to student portfolios - in the evaluation process. "The reason to do the resolution now is that it might move us forward to a position that we're not necessarily comfortable with, but can live with," said Zimmer, whose district includes part of the San Fernando Valley, as well as Hollywood and the Westside. "This is not the time for orthodoxy. It's a rare opportunity to seek compromise that will greatly impact the next generation of students and the quantity of growth and the quality of their learning." While the district and unions disagree over the methods used to evaluate teachers, they agree that the ultimate goal is to raise the quality of the instructor to improve student achievement. "When you look at simplifying the analysis of a teacher's work down to a single score - like the (health) grade you'd give a restaurant - that isn't going to help any teacher get better at their job," said Warren Fletcher, president of United Teachers Los Angeles. "Teachers welcome accountability, but we want it in a meaningful way." Los Angeles Unified is using AGT in an experimental performance evaluation involving hundreds of volunteer teachers. It also factors in classroom observation, parent and student feedback and a teacher's contribution to the community. West Valley board member Tamar Galatzan wants to know why the board is being asked to vote now on the AGT issue. "We started down this path a long time ago, and that was the time to object," she said. She also noted that the district is facing a court-ordered deadline of Dec. 4 for coming up with a new teacher evaluation, and is in sensitive talks with union leaders. "The issue is being negotiated at the bargaining table right now," she said. "This resolution is an attempt to make an end run around the bargaining." Galatzan was referring to the talks resulting from a ruling in Doe vs. Deasy, a lawsuit filed by the advocacy group EdVoice that challenged how the district evaluates its teaching corps. EdVoice, the United Way and a number of other education advocacy groups are lining up to oppose Zimmer's motion. "We believe that AGT and other educator effectiveness tools are key aspects to ensuring quality instruction for all Los Angeles children," said Ryan Smith, director of education policy for the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Educators4Excellence, a group of classroom reformers, said the district needs to push ahead with its use of AGT. "Putting the district's teacher evaluation system on hold while we wait years for a perfect measure of student growth data would mean another generation of teachers go without any meaningful feedback," said Ama Nyamekye, executive director of E4E. "We must move forward." Zimmer also thinks it's time for the board to review the approval and oversight of charter schools, with more than 230 of the campuses housing 110,000 students within the 700-square-mile district. "When you've crossed those kinds of thresholds, we need to take a careful and complete look at our role as authorizer," Zimmer said. He plans to introduce a resolution on Tuesday directing Superintendent John Deasy to craft plans for monitoring the charters, sharing best practices and resolving conflicts in sharing district facilities. It also endorses the creation of a 13-member Charter Oversight Commission to advise the school board on individual applications. Until those elements are in place, Zimmer wants the school board to postpone or refer new charter applications to the Los Angeles County Office of Education - a move that critics decry as illegal. In a letter sent Friday to Los Angeles Unified, the attorney for the California Charter Schools Association said the Charter Schools Act requires the school board to "continue to accept, hear and take action on all charter petitions." Corri Tate Ravare, managing regional director for the Los Angeles branch of CCSA, said the organization believes the moratorium would severely limit parental choice. "It would be shutting the door on the parents of 10,000 children who are on waiting lists for charters," Ravare said. She said she understands the need for district oversight of the schools, but said LAUSD's charter office has always worked professionally and collaboratively with the organization. Jose Cole-Gutierrez, executive director of the district's Charter Schools Division, said the agency conducts an annual "deep dive" at each school, which includes a review of academic and financial records, teacher credentials and admissions of special-education students. "We're the largest district authorizer in the nation and we believe we're among the best, but we're always wanting to improve and learn and increase student achievement," he said. Galatzan, the Charter Association attorney and Deasy himself also worry about paying for the additional bureaucracy. "I have great concern about how we'd pay for another layer of government," Deasy said. "We have zero ability to fund it." THREE ED REFORMS PARENTS SHOULD WORRY ABOUT MOST By Carol Burris from Valerie Strauss’ Answer Sheet/The Washington Post | http://wapo.st/Q9oCjn 8/23/2012 :: As summer comes to a close, students are preparing to go back to school. I find that most of them enjoy returning. Certainly, our daughters did. There is something exciting about a new beginning. Kids look forward to seeing their friends and meeting their new teacher. Teachers matter a lot to kids. When I ask the students in my school to describe their teachers, they use adjectives like “great,” “caring,” “smart” and “patient.” It is upon the caring and trusting relationship between student and teacher that learning is built. If you ask most Americans what they think of their child’s school, by and large, they think it is really pretty good. Although most parents see room for improvement, few think that the “sky is falling” on the roof of their neighborhood public school. When their son or daughter comes home with poor grades, most of the time they understand that their child’s effort had something to do with it. Parents, I find, are quite sensible in their perspective and do not automatically fault the teacher. It is unfortunate, then, we are lambasted with sweeping condemnations of public schools and the teachers who work in them. It creates cognitive dissonance between our faith in what we know and experience, and our opinion of public schools in general. You can see that ‘belief gap’ in polling. Although I agree that we should all make a serious commitment to improving education, I worry that reformers, many of whom have built careers and fame by constantly disparaging our schools, are successfully promoting changes that are not in the best interest of students. It may be that the “cures” they propose are far more harmful than the problems they seek to address. Here are the three reforms that I think parents should worry about the most. (1) EXCESSIVE TESTING. I strongly believe that the assessment of student learning is an important part of schooling. Assessment helps inform teachers, schools and parents about what students know and have yet to learn. Aggregate assessment information informs teachers and principals about the efficacy of their programs and their curriculum. What has occurred, however, in the past decade, is that standardized assessment has grown exponentially — especially in the younger grades. This year, New York State fourth graders, who are nine or ten years old, were subject to 675 minutes (over 11 hours) of state testing. And this did not include test prep and field testing. Both a NYSUT survey of teachers as well as an informal survey of teachers and parents by www.newyorkprincipals.org found that young students were breaking down in tears and suffering from anxiety due to testing. Excessive testing is unhealthy. Students begin to identify with their scores. Last June, I was appalled when I heard a 7th grader tell his mom, “What do you want from me? I’m only “a two.” (2) THE USE OF TEST SCORES FOR PURPOSES WHICH ARE NOT STUDENT-CENTERED. Student test scores should be used to help parents and teachers determine what a student knows and does not know. They should not be used for other purposes, such as evaluating teachers in order to dismiss them or to give bonuses. They should not determine which school should be closed or be rewarded. When that happens, the relationship between the child and the teacher, and the child and the school changes. Some children become more desirable than others. Some children might be looked upon as getting in the way of achieving a goal. This is not because teachers and principals are bad people; it is because they are human. They may be overly concerned, but I know outstanding, thoughtful teachers who are worried that their relationship with students will change when they are evaluated by test scores. They want to educate students, not test prep them. Now that all of the teacher, principal and school evaluations are based on growth models, yearly testing, I predict, will continue to expand. Each time that happens, precious learning time is lost. (3) THE AMASSING OF INDIVIDUAL STUDENT SCORES IN NATIONAL AND STATE DATABASES. State and national databases are being created in order to analyze and house students’ test scores. No parental permission is required. I wonder why not. Students who take the SAT must sign off before we send their scores to colleges. Before my high school’s students could participate in the National Educational Longitudinal Study, they needed written permission from their parents. Yet, in New York, massive amounts of student data are now being collected and sent beyond the school without parental permission —end of year course grades, test scores, attendance, ethnicity, disabilities and the kinds of modifications that students receive. This data will be used to evaluate teachers, schools, schools of education and perhaps for other purposes yet unknown. Schools are no longer reporting collective data; we are now sending individual student data. Although the name remains in the district, what assurances do parents truly have that future databases will not be connected and used for other purposes? The more data that is sent, the easier it will be to identify the individual student. Eleven states have agreed to give confidential teacher and student data for free to a shared learning collaborative funded by Bill Gates and run by Murdoch’s Wireless Corp. Wireless received $44 million for the project. With Common Core State Standards testing, such databases are expected to expand. Funding for data warehousing siphons taxpayer dollars from the classroom to corporations like Wireless and Pearson. Because Common Core testing will be computer-based, the purchase of hardware, software and upgrades will consume school budgets, while providing profits for the testing and computer industries. Although all of the above is in motion, it can be modified or stopped. Parents should speak to their local PTAs and School Boards, as well as their legislators. They should ask questions regarding what data is being collected and to whom it is sent. I think it is time to get Back to Basics. Let’s make sure that every test a student takes is used to measure and enhance her learning, not for adult, high-stakes purposes. Basic commonsense tells us that student test results belong to families, not databases. Remind politicians that the relationship between student and teacher, not student and test helps our young people get through life’s challenges. Finally, let’s return to the basic purpose of public schooling — to promote the academic, social and emotional growth of our children. It is the role of schools to develop healthy and productive citizens, not master test takers. • This was written by Carol Burris, the principal of South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York. Carol is the co-author of the New York Principals letter of concern regarding the evaluation of teachers by student scores. Over 1,500 New York principals and more than 5,400 teachers, parents, professors, administrators and citizens have signed the letter which can be found here. CHICAGO TEACHERS MAY STRIKE, TEACH POLITICAL LESSON by Becky Vevea, NPR Weekend Edition Sunday | http://n.pr/NTYCMO September 9, 2012 from WBEZ :: Twenty-five thousand Chicago teachers are planning to walk off the job Monday if they don't have a contract by midnight Sunday. As the Democrats look to unions to help them get out the vote, a strike by Chicago teachers might just put a crimp in those plans. On Friday during rush hour, a handful of parents and students stood on a bridge over the Eisenhower Expressway, holding signs that read, "Honk if you support teachers." Among them is Rhoda Gutierrez, who has two children in a Chicago public elementary school. "We're here because we know this makes not just an impact on our city, but nationally," she says. Parents like Gutierrez and others, who support the teachers union, are up against a school district and a mayor who have a very different idea about what the public schools should look like. In the contract battle between Mayor Rahm Emanuel and the Chicago Teachers Union, the two sides are furiously campaigning for public opinion as the city braces for the first teacher strike since 1987. Emanuel is pushing for big changes: a longer school day and year, a new system for evaluating teachers and a whole new way to pay teachers. At the Democratic National Convention last week, he defended many of his reforms. "For the first time in a decade, [students are] getting a very rigorous academic standard," he said. "For the first time, we're getting five new high schools all dedicated to science, technology, engineering and math. Six thousand more kids are going to magnet schools. We're making major changes." The union wants Emanuel to pay teachers more for what amounts to more work. Teachers are also pushing back on some reforms that the mayor didn't tout at the DNC. They want smaller class sizes, more art and music, and job protection when the district shuts down low-performing schools and opens privately run charter schools, which are not typically unionized. Steven Ashby, a labor professor at the University of Illinois, says a strike in Chicago could present problems for President Obama's re-election. "He will win Illinois delegates in the November election, but nevertheless, the last thing he wants is the Republican Party talking about how teachers are on strike in Chicago," West says. It's also a big gamble for the union. Ashby says the outcome in Chicago could affect the future of organized labor at a time when membership is down and public sector unions are struggling. Back at the overpass, parent Jennifer Biggs agrees with what the union is fighting for, but says there really is no political candidate supporting those goals. "The Democrats and the Republicans seem to be on the same page with education, which to me is terribly scary," she says. "I just think they're really going to lose some votes, or a lot of people might even just stay home." Picket lines are scheduled to start Monday morning, if the two sides can't reach a deal by 11:59 p.m. HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources CHICAGO TEACHERS MAY STRIKE, TEACH POLITICAL LESSON: by Becky Vevea, NPR Weekend Edition Sunday | http://n.... http://bit.ly/RsugBi Outlook: K-12 FUNDING, LEGISLATION AND THE POLITICAL PLATFORMS: by Fritz Edelstein, from School Planning & Manag... http://bit.ly/O3TKin Report - SKIPPING TO NOWHERE: Students share their views about missing school: a report from http://GetSchooled.com ... http://bit.ly/QsYQFs Expand LAUSD BOARD MEMBER STEVE ZIMMER WANTS TO STRENGTHEN OVERSIGHT OF CHARTER SCHOOLS: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer... http://bit.ly/TAdVcP Expand THREE ED REFORMS PARENTS SHOULD WORRY ABOUT MOST: By Carol Burris from Valerie Strauss’ Answer Sheet/The Washing... http://bit.ly/P1p5D3 ‘WHY ARE CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS SUSPENDING MORE STUDENTS THAN THEY GRADUATE?’: Statewide hearing examines the proble... http://bit.ly/RjqEBt Horace Mann: THOUGHTS ON TEACHING FROM THE “FATHER OF PUBLIC EDUCATION”: Horace Mann, circa 1850. Daguerreotype ... http://bit.ly/RsQnln ®eform…? What ®eform?: AS OBAMA IS NOMINATED, DUNCAN SPEECH FINESSES TOUCHY ISSUES: By Alyson Klein, EdWeek Poli... http://bit.ly/P0H8t8 CalSTRS: STUDY EXPOSES TEACHER PENSION SCAMS. State Controller finds teacher retirement fund lax on anti-spiking... http://bit.ly/QkJcMg HEAT WAVE COSTS LAUSD MORE THAN $400K IN A.C. REPAIRS + smf’s 2¢: By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News ... http://bit.ly/TpuHNj Study: SPECIAL EDUCATION SPENDING REDUCTION TO NATIONAL MEDIAN COULD SAVE DISTRICTS $10 BILLION + COULD CUTTING ... http://bit.ly/NVXxOu NEW ACCOUNTABILITY DEMANDS COMING FOR CHARTERS – STARTUPS AND RENEWALS: By Tom Chorneau, SI&A Cabinet Report | h... http://bit.ly/QfEaAC Stay tuned: CALIFORNIA SPENDING, OUTCOME IN SPECIAL ED WELL BELOW NATIONAL AVERAGES: By Kimberly Beltran SI&A Ca... http://bit.ly/RpDRDg TAKING CARE OF TRUANTS: L.A. Unified's new, gentler plan emphasizes counseling over handing out tickets + smf’s ... http://bit.ly/ResUK7 Expand PARENT & COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT IN THE “SUPERINTENDENT’S DISTRICT”: by smf 6 September 2012 :: In the redesign/r... http://bit.ly/OSrXDN I am @ angry meeting of RIFed M&O employees @ Cortines HS. Outside the room outsourced contractors are doing their work. –smf PTA + CHP PARTNER IN TEEN DRIVING SAFETY EVENT: “What Do You Consider Lethal?”: http://bit.ly/R80Tnx It isn’t all Democrats in the Tarheel State: N.C. COURT OF APPEALS UPHOLDS MANDATE ON PRE-K FOR AT-RISK CHILDREN... http://bit.ly/ThW3F7 Law Review Article: SAFEGUARDING SOUND BASIC EDUCATION IN TIMES OF FISCAL CONTRAINT: “Constitutional rights cann... http://bit.ly/R7SkJz HOW WILL EDUCATION PLAY AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION?: By Alyson Klein, EdWeek Politics K-12 Blog | ... http://bit.ly/PY1qTp EVENTS: Coming up next week... MONDAY: School Discipline Policy Hearing at LAPL | http://bit.ly/Q7B0D4 TUESDAY: School Board meets twice. Again. | http://bit.ly/Q7AODH FRIDAY: Student Recovery Day. | http://bit.ly/RMdThI *Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________ • SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: http://www.laschools.org/bond/ Phone: 213-241-5183 ____________________________________________________ • LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR: http://www.laschools.org/happenings/ Phone: 213-241.8700 • LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR What can YOU do? • E-mail, call or write your school board member: Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386 Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180 Bennett.Kayser@lausd.net • 213-241-5555 Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382 Nury.Martinez@lausd.net • 213-241-6388 Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385 Steve.Zimmer@lausd.net • 213-241-6387 ...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • Find your state legislator based on your home address. Just go to: http://bit.ly/dqFdq2 • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600 • Call or e-mail Governor Brown: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/ • Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school. • Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it! • Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child. • If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE. • If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE. • If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!. Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them? Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD and is Parent/Volunteer of the Year for 2010-11 for Los Angeles County. • He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represented PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee for ten years. He is a Health Commissioner, Legislation Team member and a member of the Board of Managers of the California State PTA. He serves on numerous school district advisory and policy committees and has served as a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT 2009 "WHO" Gold Award for his support of education and public schools - an honor he hopes to someday deserve. • 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 SUBSCRIPTION LIST E-MAIL smfolsom@aol.com with "SUBSCRIBE" AS THE SUBJECT. Thank you.

Houston, we've found the problem

4LAKids: Sunday 2•Sept•2012 Labor Day Weekend In This Issue:  •  THIS LABOR DAY: A letter from AFT President Randi Weingarten  •  OBAMA AND ROMNEY EDUCATION POLICIES ARE LEFT UNSAID: 8 Questions Americans Need Answered  •  Q&A: ARTS EDUCATION - INTERVIEW WITH JOE LANDON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE FOR ARTS EDUCATION  •  HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources  •  EVENTS: Coming up next week...  •  What can YOU do? Featured Links:  •  OUR CHILDREN, OUR FUTURE: What will California schoolchildren, your school district and YOUR School get when the initiative passes?  •  Follow 4 LAKids on Twitter - or get instant updates via text message by texting  •  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. In what can be described as a bought-and-paid-for puff-piece interview in a blog funded by folk who support his efforts at reform, Dr. Deasy confesses: “Don’t take this the wrong way; I’ve never read a blog in my life.” | http://bit.ly/NWJduV Don’t take this the wrong way, but never is long time. So, our superintendent – who employs a social-media director – has never read a blog? Not this one? Not KPCC’s Pass-Fail or The Times LA Now or his own LAUSD Insider (not updated since June)? Not Arne Duncan’s or The Gates Foundation’s? SCHOOL’S BEEN OPEN FOR THREE WEEKS NOW – and the signature accomplishment – until the test scores came out Friday – was the getting rid of Styrofoam lunch trays. Gone like chocolate milk in a media frenzy of self congratulation. Except, gentle readers, for this: When school opened on August 14th no LAUSD students attended schools on the Three Track/Concept Six/Year ‘Round Calendar. Ring the bell: Ding Dong, Concept Six is Dead! THAT is the signature accomplishment of the decade, promised a decade ago with Measures K, R + Y, approved by the voters, paid for by the taxpayers, delivered by the District – codified in the Williams Settlement – and delivered on August 14. Governor Romer promised this back when he was superintendent. And Roy Romer promised that school construction and modernization would deliver quality uncrowded neighborhood schools with rising Performance and Achievement and Student Success. The test scores have been going up; the promise has been delivered. And it took a press release from the ACLU to remind us – because LAUSD was preoccupied with the Styrofoam trays. Because the accomplishment was accomplished by the hard work of others than now occupy the superintendent’s office. By Strategic Execution Plans debated and discussed and agreed upon openly, transparently and accountably by the community …not issued unilaterally by the supe and the board president. HAPPY LABOR DAY WEEKEND. I include a letter from AFT President Randi Weingarten and some questions from AALA. I am not a knee-jerk champion of organized labor or teachers unions – but I can’t help but recognize the failure of the lege to address Teacher Assessment Based on Test Scores one-way-or-the-other …and the forced “bi-partisan” done-deal public employee CalPERS and CalSTRS pension reform from Sacramento without public debate. Both seem an affront to organized labor and the democratic process. Let us now faintly praise the faintly praiseworthy: Life and democracy are imperfect and maybe these are the best outcomes that can be expected in the current situation from the current cast of characters. The spin put upon the success of the Early Start Calendar during the Heat Wave puts some of this – and LAUSD labor relations - in perspective. The superintendent’s tweets congratulated employees for pitching-in to address the situation – an internal memo that threatened them for failing to comply with forced overtime sends a different message. | http://t.co/sSgbaEuj TO THOSE THAT LABOR: whether in front a classroom, or in an office, or pushing a broom or driving a bus or serving a lunch or turning a small green screwdriver upon the right tiny screw – by speaking or writing or blogging the Truth-to-Power …or by doing your homework or helping a student with their homework: Thank you for what you do for and with children every day. “Nothing you do for children is ever wasted. They seem not to notice us, hovering, averting our eyes, and they seldom offer thanks, but what we do for them is never wasted.“ Garrison Keillor ¡Onward/Adelante! - smf THIS LABOR DAY: A letter from AFT President Randi Weingarten Thursday August 30, 2012 Dear Scott, Thank you for your work, your dedication and your commitment to the children and people you serve. Labor Day means many things to many people—back to school, the end of summer, a needed respite from the daily grind. For us, as working people and union members, Labor Day stands for something special and profound. It’s a day to honor the deep commitment each of us has to serve the children we teach, the families we heal and the communities we love. It’s a day to reflect on the values we hold dear—that every American should have access to a good job that can support a family, with access to affordable healthcare; that every child should be able to attend a high-quality public school in their neighborhood; that college should not be a luxury for the few but should be affordable for all; and that we should be able to retire with dignity after a lifetime of hard work, without worrying that we’ll be a burden to our loved ones. Working people built this country—we did it together—brick by brick, school by school, town by town. Through these collective efforts, we built the middle class, each generation did a little better than the one before, we advanced the ideals of equality and justice, and we expanded opportunity for all. The work you do builds on this foundation. Your work has value. It should be respected and honored, not just on Labor Day but every day. Too many of us feel that the American dream we built is slipping further and further away. And with just 7 percent of our private sector colleagues in unions, we have seen growing wealth and wage inequality, and as a result, growing frustration and angst. At the same time, too many politicians and elites demean and disrespect our work while budget cuts and calls for austerity make it harder to provide high-quality services. And no wonder. An unholy alliance of corporate interests and politicians—intent on slashing budgets and then blaming us for the harmful results, while at the same time finding ways to finance tax cuts for wealthy donors—continue to double down on efforts to polarize and divide us: parent against teacher, union member against nonunion member. Because if we stand divided, they stand to profit. This is our new normal. And our union is meeting this moment with a new vision of unionism: solution-driven unionism. It’s an approach that is relevant and appropriate to the 21st century. An approach that is creative and visionary. An approach that advances solutions that unite the people we represent and those we serve—our students, our families and our communities. We must bring people together around agendas that serve all kids, all workers and all communities—to restore the middle class, strengthen our public schools, and invest in, not destabilize, communities. We must counter polarization and anger with ideas and innovation. It’s what AFT members and leaders are focused on across the nation. It’s why we’re advancing a Quality Education Agenda [http://bit.ly/NZLmWy] that offers specific proposals to create a first-class public education system for all children in America. And why we are attacking the fixation on testing in this country with a grass-roots campaign to get back to teaching and learning. It’s why we worked with an innovative corporation to develop a digital filing cabinet of lesson plans and ideas for teachers called Share My Lesson. It’s a commonsense solution to help teachers who are being asked to do so much more with diminishing resources and without the supports they need. It’s why we are mitigating the impact that poverty and other out-of-school factors have on students in places like Cincinnati, by partnering with the community to offer health and mental health services, meal programs, tutoring, counseling, after-school programs and other wraparound services. It’s why in one of America’s very poorest regions, we are leading a coalition of businesses, community groups and educators to completely transform the educational and economic opportunities available to children and families in McDowell County, W.Va. It’s what we were able to accomplish this past year in Ohio—linking with the community to stop Gov. John Kasich’s efforts to strip working people of their voice. Because when we—the dedicated members of the American Federation of Teachers and other union members—propose solutions, it’s harder to demonize us, harder to cut vital services, and harder to divide us from the people we serve. The best solutions come from you. It is your ideas that will strengthen our schools, hospitals and communities. Just as with the generations before us, it is your work and commitment that will propel economic and educational opportunity and social justice. Visit http://go.aft.org/solutions to share your solutions and ideas. Our ability to advance these solutions depends on electing leaders who believe in public education as a pathway to our future; who believe that public employees and healthcare professionals provide essential services and must be treated fairly; and who believe that working people and their families are entitled to a voice in their destiny and a pathway to fairness, dignity and respect. The November elections will determine the future of our nation; this is a defining moment to stand up for our values and our vision for America. I know that, together, we can turn a time of frustration and uncertainty into a time of action and promise. I thank you for the work you do each and every day—through good times and bad—to serve your communities and imagine a better future for our nation. That is solution-driven unionism. And together we can turn our values into reality. Have a safe and happy Labor Day. In unity, Randi Weingarten AFT President Questions awaiting answers: THE 2012-2015 STRATEGIC PLAN –WHOSE PLAN IS IT? From the AALA Weekly Update of September 3, 2012 | http://bit.ly/NGibSH August 30, 3012 :: The Superintendent, Dr. John Deasy, and the President of the Board of Education, Mónica García, recently released a beautiful, colorful, artistically stimulating and above all, politically correct document titled ALL YOUTH ACHIEVING, 2012-2015 STRATEGIC PLAN. The plan literally constitutes a yeoman’s amount of work and is impressive, encompassing all of the current trends and buzz words in education and we were duly impressed. However, in all its glory, it does raise a few questions: 1. Where did it come from? 2. Who wrote it? 3. How much did it cost? 4. Who endorsed it? a. Where are the rest of the Board Members? b. Where are the unions and employee groups? c. Where are the parent groups? 5. Who provided input? Where was the collaboration? 6. Although it is posted on the LAUSD website, has anyone really read it? 7. How many new initiatives are introduced via the Plan? 8. What does it really mean for those in the field? 9. Where do all of those happy, smiling people in the pictures really work? We think this may be another blatant attempt to manipulate the public by dazzling them with a full press of education lingo and pictures of beaming, well-rested, jovial people. Is it another effort to divert attention from the real issues facing the District: tremendous lack of resources, exceedingly low morale, poor working conditions and leadership through fear and intimidation? Or is it the work of those paid “education experts” in the District or outside agencies who have not ever run a school or its supporting units? We plan to read the Strategic Plan in depth, explore the various initiatives, review the Performance Meter and report to the membership key provisions that will affect working conditions. Prior to seeing the Strategic Plan, AALA asked the Superintendent not to burden school staffs with more new initiatives on top of CCSS, new evaluation procedures, new graduation requirements, new reporting structures and a new discipline policy, all with reduced resources and increased administrative norms. Alas, that apparently fell on deaf ears; so much for “dynamic and distributive leadership” (one of the tenets of establishing a positive collaborative, professional culture). We encourage AALA members to share their views of Dr. Deasy’s “roadmap,” based on his “Theory of Change,” by sending us a letter via e-mail. ●●smf: As one delves into the Strategic Plan it becomes obvious that this is John and Mónica’s Strategic Plan; not LAUSD’s, not the Board of Education’s. Oh sure, the Board of Ed logo is liberally sprinkled throughout – but so are those of UTLA and AALA. When the nominative plural pronoun “We” is used, or its possessive “Our”… and the objective “Us” – it is John and Monica “we” are talking about. And maybe the Forces of ®eform, Inc. Embedded in the Strategic Plan the Apollonian Goals of •100 Percent Graduation, •Proficiency for All, •100 Percent Attendance, •Parent and Community Engagement, and •School Safety. LAUSD’s record of Parent and Community Engagement is abysmal at best – and the current regime’s strategy of disbanding parent representative committees cannot be seen as a step in the right direction. However, on pp. 20 The Strategic Plan accepts that 86% of students feeling safe at their school is a goal achieved. 14% of LAUSD students don’t feel safe. What about them? 30 Aug | ‏@DrDeasyLAUSD: "Our first priority is the well being of our students..." John+Mónica’s All Youth Achieving, 2012-2015 Strategic Plan OBAMA AND ROMNEY EDUCATION POLICIES ARE LEFT UNSAID: 8 Questions Americans Need Answered By Frank HaglerPolicyMic | http://bit.ly/ObMwtG ● “Romney made his most detailed remarks at a private fundraiser in Florida, where he said he would combine and eliminate federal departments, including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and would either consolidate the Department of Education with another agency or make it a ‘heck of a lot smaller’." | LA Tines: http://lat.ms/NDfgjA ● "A world-class education is the single most important factor in determining not just whether our kids can compete for the best jobs but whether America can out-compete countries around the world. America's business leaders understand that when it comes to education, we need to up our game. That's why we’re working together to put an outstanding education within reach for every child" - President Barack Obama, July 18, 2011 Sept 1, 2012 :: If the above quote from President Obama is true then, why hasn’t there been a discussion on education this election season? Historically, during presidential elections, education is a central theme. Education policy has the ability to tie central themes together, such as the role and size of government, the stability and growth of the economy, the future of our nation, child welfare, poverty, and the family unit. Education touches everyones life and makes economic, social, and domestic policy real to every American. But, education has not made an appearance this year. Education was curiously missing during the Republican Presidential Primary debates. It has not been mentioned as a platform issue at the Republican National Convention. Mitt Romney has yet to give a major address outlining his education policy. A white paper on education can be found on Romney’s campaign web site. According to the Romney website, “Mitt Romney believes that the long-term strategy for getting America’s economy back on track is ensuring a world class education for American students.” If that is the case, why haven’t we heard anything on education? The Obama campaign has been equally quiet on education. In 2009, Obama heavily promoted his policy on education. He made a point of speaking about the importance of education as a parent. He attended parent-teacher conferences for his children. Obama made it a priority to save teacher jobs, not as a matter of ideology, but as a matter of economic stimulus. For her part, Michelle Obama wrote op-ed pieces and spoke extensively on education. In 2009, education was so important to Obama that it was included in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act. Why isn’t Obama contrasting his education policy with Romney’s? In a campaign poster, Obama extols that, “Education should not be a Republican or Democratic issue. It’s an American issue.” Well when does the discussion begin? To the candidates, I have eight questions for you: 1) What are your plans for the Department of Education? 2) Do you support Race to the Top? Will you extend it if elected/re-elected? 3) What is the role of unions? What is your plan to help local jurisdictions retain teachers? Do you believe teachers are being compensated fairly? 4) What is your position on charter schools? Are they effective? Do you believe we should use public funds and infrastructure to support charter schools? Are you prepared to make federal funds available to support voucher-based schooling? 5) A modern day workforce is required for a modern day market. What programs and policies will you put in place to spur the growth of Science, Technology, and Engineering and Mathematics studies? 6) What infrastructure program will you implement to address decaying school structures? Will you provide funding to build new schools? How will you ensure that all schools have full telecommunication capability, including wired classrooms, high-speed internet, computers and Wi-Fi capability? 7) What will you do to help restore arts and music programs to school curriculum? What about physical education? How are you prepared to support education for children with special needs? 8) What coordination is required between the FDA and the DOE to maintain adequate nutrition standards in school meals? Obama and Romney need to start talking about education. Americans need answers, and it's certainly not unfair of us to be asking questions. Q&A: ARTS EDUCATION - INTERVIEW WITH JOE LANDON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE FOR ARTS EDUCATION From the Summer 2012 issue California Schools Magazine, published by the California School Boards Association | http://bit.ly/PS2AEc June 28, 2012 :: Joe Landon—executive director of the California Alliance for Arts Education—learned the hard way that being passionate about the importance of the arts isn’t enough to transform an accomplished artist into an effective advocate in the ongoing campaign to preserve visual and performing arts programs in California’s cash-strapped public school system. Although he’d spent more than two decades as a successful playwright and screenwriter in San Francisco and Los Angeles—no mean feat in that ultra-competitive world—Landon was in for a rude awakening when he took a job in 2002 as speech writer to then-Assembly Speaker Robert Hertzberg. “What I learned working in the Capitol was that the skills set I had, had almost no relevance to what was going on in the system of how things get done.” Landon recalls ruefully. In other words: Caring deeply about a cause was just the beginning of any effective advocacy campaign. After Hertzberg was termed out of office, Landon went to work as senior consultant for Assembly Member Wilma Chan, specializing in early childhood education issues. In 2006, he left the Capitol to become policy director for the California Alliance for Arts Education and was promoted to the organization’s top job last fall. The Alliance, which was established 40 years ago by arts educators, operates on a budget of $600,000 that’s funded mainly by corporate and foundation grants. Its primary focus is on public advocacy and on building effective community partnerships in local school districts. The Alliance organizes constituencies to support arts programs in public schools and helps district and county office governing boards identify effective strategies for saving and even expanding these essential services in an extremely challenging fiscal climate. Under his leadership, the Alliance has built a statewide network of local partnerships that bring together community leaders, parents, teachers, artists and arts advocates, elected officials and school boards to support the arts in more than 30 California school districts. It’s an advocacy network that relies on good working relationships with governing boards. In a recent conversation with California Schools magazine, Landon talked about how he’s bringing his experience as an artist and public policy advocate to his work with the Alliance. ________________________________________ How did you become so passionate about the arts? When I was an undergraduate at UC Berkeley in the late ‘sixties, I started writing plays. I took to it immediately. It gave me a way to reorganize my experience in a way that made sense to me. It enabled me to articulate my own perspective. It taught me about discipline and about focus. But most important to me, I learned about what it was like to create something out of nothing. And that completely changed the direction of my life. When did you make the shift from being an artist to advocating for the arts? The reality was that after 15 years of making a living as a professional TV writer, I was increasingly disconnected from what had brought me to L.A. to write, and that was that inner calling. It felt important to make the distinction between what I was doing to make a living and what I was doing to fulfill myself as a writer. It was time to go. After I moved to Northern California, I taught theater and music at a private school in Marin County for about five years and then got a job working at the Capitol. What happened when you arrived in Sacramento? I realized pretty early on that no matter how wonderful your feelings or your issue might be, you had to have three things to make a difference: First, you had to be at the table. Secondly, you had to have partnerships with other organizations that could also exert influence; and finally, you had to have advocates behind you to back you up so that when you said you wanted something, you weren’t just speaking for yourself—you could demonstrate your political clout. Tell me about how you got involved with the Alliance for Arts Education and what lessons you brought with you from your experience in Sacramento. We sensed that decisions about education were increasingly being made at the local level and so, as policy director, one of my first responsibilities was to create grassroots organizing in local districts. I would go into districts that were cutting arts education and I would meet people who were precisely as committed to the arts as I was, but who had absolutely no sense of how politics works or how to effectively advocate for your cause. Can you give me an example of your work with one district? We went into Saddleback Valley Unified in Orange County, aware that [the district] had announced their intention to cut its elementary arts program, and we convened a breakfast. We invited local school board members, the mayor, the superintendent, and other leaders from around the community to come. The gathering provided unity and momentum to what had previously been disparate efforts to preserve arts education in the schools. What happened eventually was that the school board backed away from those cuts. Since then we’ve been building out on that system throughout the state. It’s not enough to love the arts, you have to understand how the politics work. Where do local school boards fit in? We’ve found that school board members are often deeply sympathetic to the issue and are struggling with difficult budgetary choices they’re being forced to make. It helps to have constituents who back the arts, who will say the arts are critical in our schools. That way local school board members can say: “I am responding to the voice of my constituents who say clearly that this is a priority.” And who can also make the case why it makes a difference. You had a really interesting piece on the Silicon Valley Education Foundation’s TOP-Ed blog earlier this year about using Title I funds—which are targeted toward raising English and math skills among disadvantaged students—to support research-based arts instruction that’s integrated into the core curriculum. Can you describe your message? I’m convinced arts education strategies can be an asset in achieving Title I program goals. A recent study from the National Endowment of the Arts, “The Arts and Achievement in At-Risk Youth,” reports that low-income students who have access to arts education achieve higher GPA and test scores, are more likely to graduate from high school and attend college than their peers without access to the arts. Unfortunately, there’s been some confusion around Title I funding and whether or not it’s appropriate to use arts education as a strategy to accomplish those goals. What we were hearing from districts was that they’d been told they could not use Title I funds for arts education strategies. I felt what we needed was clarification from our state superintendent of public instruction on the issue, so we pushed for that and eventually got a letter from Deb Sigman, California’s deputy superintendent of public education. What did the letter say? The letter acknowledged that if it’s a program that has demonstrated success in raising test scores that it’s possible to use those funds, provided the school district fulfill other requirements related to Title I. Some districts and county offices saw this as good news and said, “We’ve got those strategies and we’re ready to go.’” But other districts are hesitant? In the absence of clear guidance on this issue, there’s a concern at both the state and local level. Yes, Arne Duncan says it’s OK to use Title I in this way, which he had, and before him Rod Paige said the same thing, but the people underneath him, they’re reluctant to stick their neck out because who knows how long Arne Duncan is going to be there?” Districts feel the same reluctance because they’re concerned that the state might object to broadening the scope of Title I strategies. What you’re talking about has less to do with arts education for its own benefit and more about effective educational strategies in general. What I am talking about is arts integration, which is not to say that I don’t also believe in core arts programs where arts are being delivered for their own intrinsic value. [The arts] can deepen learning and improve outcomes across the curriculum, including literacy and numeracy. Can we back up and get a basic primer about The California Alliance for Arts Education and how it came into being? The Alliance started as a small volunteer effort about 40 years ago, and over the years has grown to be a robust organization representing a broad spectrum of stakeholders. Today our Policy Council is composed of representatives from parent, business, arts, labor and education organizations. We have built a network of over 30 local advocacy coalitions statewide. And we have an active, engaged group of “e-advocates” across the state who take part in action alerts and other advocacy efforts. We provide policy expertise and counsel and make recommendations at the statewide level, sponsoring legislation like SB 789 [by Sen. Curren Price, D-Los Angeles], which would establish an Index of Creativity and Innovation, and taking positions in support of or opposition to relevant bills. What do the local coalitions consist of? They’re composed of arts organization leaders, educators, parents, business leaders who have some sympathy or interest in arts, practitioners—community leaders, it might be clergy. They work together on a grassroots level to advocate for arts education in local schools. Then what happens? It depends on the specific community. Each one has different strengths and is facing unique challenges. In some districts, our advocates have helped develop district arts plans, in others they have built partnerships with local business or provided advocacy training to parents. The general parameters are [that] we encourage these local alliances to have points of contact with the school board: in other words, school board members should be aware that there is a coalition in their community that is committed to this issue. We also encourage advocates to reach out to the media, to tell the story in various ways of how arts education is making a difference in their communities. We ask them to build partnerships with organizations like Rotary, PTA, other parent organizations wherever possible, and to be a part of our statewide network so that when we have a bill that we support or oppose they are available to be part of a statewide effort. Why would the Rotary Club care about arts integration or arts education? For the workers in the 21 century, it’s not adequate to have workers who have been trained to fill in bubbles on standardized tests. You need workers with the capacity to solve problems in a way that didn’t used to be the model of what a worker does. So it’s actually an economic investment consideration, which is that if you are going to have businesses in California and you want to have an effective work force, you need kids coming out of school with the capacity to think creatively, to provide innovation to what they’re doing, to have the ability to present themselves, to be disciplined, self-motivated, collaborative; and we consider all these skills to be the domain of the arts. Traditionally the reason business gets into education is because down the line, it’s going to make a difference to their bottom line. If they don’t have workers who are capable of doing the job, their businesses can’t succeed. You mentioned Saddleback Valley USD. Can you talk about some other districts where alliance coalitions are really working? Advocates in the South Bay and in San Diego have become a force to be reckoned with. They have built a large following on social media that helped activate support for the arts throughout San Diego County. When there’s a town hall or school board meeting, they put the call out and advocates are not only there, but they are prepared. They approach school board members as partners. They have a clear, consistent message, and they bring solutions rather than complaints. County offices have really been taking leadership in many areas, haven’t they? We’ve invested a lot of time and energy, partnering with Jim Thomas and the Orange County Department of Education, but there’s a robust system of support in Alameda, Los Angeles and San Diego counties, too, with long-term, substantial investments in arts education. Our advocacy work is most effective when it teams with the commitment of a forward-thinking district or county office. Do you give strategic guidance about where to look for money? Your work on Title I was one way of helping districts find financial support. Because we’re at the statewide level and we’re small, we’re less likely to know what money might be available locally. But I would say that if you get an alliance going, a lot of times what grows out of that is an exchange of information. It’s one of the side benefits of these efforts: when you have people in a room together with shared interests sometimes those kinds of connections occur. Is there a typical person you contact within districts to oversee construction of these local alliances—an artist, or a professional grassroots organizer? Often it’s a parent. In Orange County there have been a lot of PTA people who had an interest in the arts and became our local organizers. We’ve also established a partnership with the California Arts Council and their new executive director, Craig Watson. They’re a state-funded, statewide entity, with local arts councils at the county level, who share our commitment to promote arts education in the schools… In the coming year we’ll be partnering in the establishment of new alliances in Santa Cruz, Fresno, Placer, Mendocino and Amador counties. At the county level, we’re also working with [the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association] to leverage opportunities with county offices. Can you talk about the impact of the economic downturn on arts education and about the emphasis on standardized testing and reading and math that accompanied the federal No Child Left Behind Act? Every time there’s a cut, arts programs are perceived as the nonessential courses because they’re not at the heart of what’s being specifically tested for. And so the attrition has been considerable. You really see a system that’s no longer capable of providing comprehensive arts education because districts can’t continue to hire teachers who can provide those services. The narrowing of the curriculum under No Child Left Behind has exposed what happens when you don’t provide an education that really engages kids. Bubble testing doesn’t measure what kids learn or need to know, and it encourages teaching to the test. It’s a vicious cycle in which kids aren’t being given the opportunity to cultivate skills they’re going to need in order to be successful. The way we learn is deeply personal. That’s why the arts matter so much—because they call upon that personal response in every person. My organization lauds the accomplishments of the tremendously talented students in the arts, but that’s not really what we’re about. We’re about ensuring that every student has the opportunity to both receive and to express the arts, in their own unique way. Doing that will benefit them throughout their lives as well as in school, and it will give them a place in which they are actually connected to their education. Can I just add one more thing? Please do. The longer I go and the more I fight to stop this cut or to preserve that program, the more I’m convinced that arts need to be recognized at the core of education, not an add-on, an after-thought, a reward or an embellishment. The arts live at the core of our vision of what education is. And that’s really what I want to be talking about. How do we get to that? Carol Brydolf ( cbrydolf@cba.org ) is a staff writer for California Schools. HIGHLIGHTS, LOWLIGHTS & THE NEWS THAT DOESN'T FIT: The Rest (but not necessarily the best) of the Stories from Other Sources Compare+Contrast: THE EARLY START CALENDAR & THE HEAT WAVE EMERGENCY IN FACE OF THE RIFs IN M&O: LAUSD correspon... http://bit.ly/QSGzGN PENSION REFORM: Top-paid administrators to take biggest hit: By John Fensterwald, Ed Source Today | . http://bit.ly/QNR3ah THE SHORT RUN. THE LONG RUN. AND THE RUN AROUND.: Themes in the News by UCLA IDEA, Week of Aug. 27-31, 2012 | http://bit.ly/R5W74h OBAMA AND ROMNEY EDUCATION POLICIES ARE LEFT UNSAID: 8 Questions Americans Need Answered: By Frank HaglerPolicyM... http://bit.ly/R5W4FO AB5: CALIFORNIA TEACHER EVALUATION BILL ABANDONED BY LAWMAKERS: Legislative time runs out on the bill that educa... http://bit.ly/QNOcyc Study: LOOPHOLE IN TITLE I MEANS MINORITY-MAJORITY SCHOOLS GET LESS FUNDING: Posted on Latino Ed Beat by Kather... http://bit.ly/QNDdER Fuentes puts AB 5 on the shelf; not enough time for public hearing on last-minute amendments http://sacb.ee/QJLNEw The results are in: LAUSD MAKES ITS BEST SHOWING EVER ON STAR TESTS; State makes gains in English+Math: By Barba... http://bit.ly/PGIlFd The First Presidential Debate: MITT vs.. GEORGE ROMNEY ON BLACK-WHITE ACHIEVEMENT GAP, SCHOOL SEGREGATION: By Ri... http://bit.ly/PGzZ63 Day 17: WHERE IS KENNEDY HIGH COACH MANNY ALVARADO?: by Eric Sondheimer/Varsity Times Insider: Times reporters b... http://bit.ly/T2RKf9 Q&A: ARTS EDUCATION - INTERVIEW WITH JOE LANDON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE FOR ARTS EDUCATI... http://bit.ly/R1ZsS6 YES ON PROP 38: Time to Fix California Schools: The Reporter: Opinion By Paul Boghosian. Op-Ed in the Vacaville... http://bit.ly/QIJBgD CHARTERS DRAW STUDENTS FROM PRIVATE SCHOOLS, STUDY FINDS: The switch from private to public schools has added $1... http://bit.ly/R1GL0J KEEPIN’ MUSIC BEYOND THE BELL: A Fun(d)Raiser Event for After School Programs @ The Conga Room on Wed. eve, Sept... http://bit.ly/QZw8vo Eagle Rock Student Struck by Car Thursday Morning - Eagle Rock, CA Patch http://eaglerock.patch.com/articles/eagle-rock-student-struck-by-car-thursday-morning?ncid=wsc-patch-article-headline … NATIONAL PTA REVISES POLICY ON CHARTER SCHOOLS: By Sean Cavanagh, http://Edweek.org .| http://bit.ly/PSNdZv Pu... http://bit.ly/SVJBuw CalPERS HAILS JERRY BROWN'S "SWEEPING CHANGES" TO PUBLIC PENSIONS: by Anthony York in Sacramento, LA Times | Pol... http://bit.ly/QDPJ9P LAWMAKERS APPROVE TAKEOVER, BAILOUT LOAN FOR INGLEWOOD UNIFIED: By Kimberly Beltran, SI&A Cabinet Report | http://bit.ly/OyJXRQ Teacher Assessment: MORE AMENDMENTS COMING TO AB 5, INCLUDING SUNSET CLAUSE …and perhaps an “end-around” the cou... http://bit.ly/SXSlPf SENATE BACKS ELIMINATING SPECIAL ED BEHAVIORAL INTERVENTION PLAN MANDATE; ONLINE LEARNING, MATH ADOPTION MOVE AH... http://bit.ly/QDF8Mc 100-YEAR-OLD DRIVER HITS 9 CHILDREN NEAR LAUSD SCHOOL WHILE BACKING UP HIS CAR: Ruben Vives in South Los Angeles... http://bit.ly/QDf2J4 John Deasy: THE TAKEOVER ARTIST?: Takeover Artist: from Wikipedia | http://bit.ly/QydlwF “When [a] company ge... http://bit.ly/QTZpaO DING, DONG; CONCEPT SIX IS DEAD!: by Hector Villagra. Executive Director, ACLU of Southern California in the huf... http://bit.ly/QTXS4G “Don’t take this the wrong way, I’ve never read a blog in my life.” Dr Deasy to bought-and-paid-for blogger Hillel Aron|http://bit.ly/NWJduV Sex scandal, cover-up claims at LAUSD: FORMER SUPERINTENDENT RAMON CORTINES' ACCUSER SPEAKS OUT: By Barbara Jone... http://bit.ly/Tju7wf EVENTS: Coming up next week... *Dates and times subject to change. ________________________________________ • SCHOOL CONSTRUCTION BOND OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE: http://www.laschools.org/bond/ Phone: 213-241-5183 ____________________________________________________ • LAUSD FACILITIES COMMUNITY OUTREACH CALENDAR: http://www.laschools.org/happenings/ Phone: 213-241.8700 • LAUSD BOARD OF EDUCATION & COMMITTEES MEETING CALENDAR What can YOU do? • E-mail, call or write your school board member: Tamar.Galatzan@lausd.net • 213-241-6386 Monica.Garcia@lausd.net • 213-241-6180 Bennett.Kayser@lausd.net • 213-241-5555 Marguerite.LaMotte@lausd.net • 213-241-6382 Nury.Martinez@lausd.net • 213-241-6388 Richard.Vladovic@lausd.net • 213-241-6385 Steve.Zimmer@lausd.net • 213-241-6387 ...or your city councilperson, mayor, the governor, member of congress, senator - or the president. Tell them what you really think! • Find your state legislator based on your home address. Just go to: http://bit.ly/dqFdq2 • There are 26 mayors and five county supervisors representing jurisdictions within LAUSD, the mayor of LA can be reached at mayor@lacity.org • 213.978.0600 • Call or e-mail Governor Brown: 213-897-0322 e-mail: http://www.govmail.ca.gov/ • Open the dialogue. Write a letter to the editor. Circulate these thoughts. Talk to the principal and teachers at your local school. • Speak with your friends, neighbors and coworkers. Stay on top of education issues. Don't take my word for it! • Get involved at your neighborhood school. Join your PTA. Serve on a School Site Council. Be there for a child. • If you are eligible to become a citizen, BECOME ONE. • If you a a citizen, REGISTER TO VOTE. • If you are registered, VOTE LIKE THE FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT. THEY DO!. Who are your elected federal & state representatives? How do you contact them? Scott Folsom is a parent leader in LAUSD and is Parent/Volunteer of the Year for 2010-11 for Los Angeles County. • He is Past President of Los Angeles Tenth District PTSA and represented PTA on the LAUSD Construction Bond Citizen's Oversight Committee for ten years. He is a Health Commissioner, Legislation Team member and a member of the Board of Managers of the California State PTA. He serves on numerous school district advisory and policy committees and has served as a PTA officer and governance council member at three LAUSD schools. He is the recipient of the UTLA/AFT 2009 "WHO" Gold Award for his support of education and public schools - an honor he hopes to someday deserve. • 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. 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