The Incubator Pilot @ Venice High: A PARENT WRITES TO SUPERINTENDENT DEASY

by Mary Smith, reprinted with permission

Thursday, 3/21/13

Dear LAUSD School Superintendent Deasy:

This morning myself and another Venice High parent, witnessed you quickly and abruptly enter our Venice High School cafeteria building where we were holding a silent, peaceful, non violent protest, for Venice High students, parents and community members against the planned co-location of the Incubator Pilot School staff that was in our cafeteria. You proceeded to aggressively tear down, rip and put in a trash can in the inside of the cafeteria entrance, our two signs that were posted on the outside facing and open doors to the cafeteria.

The first sign read: No TECH Pilot School on Venice High Campus and the second Sign said: Come In and Silently Protest the Pilot School. These signs were handmade, they were not obstructing visibility into the cafeteria room since the two doors were open and the administration and security personnel of Venice High were aware and saw that the signs were in place. The silent, peaceful protest took place in the cafeteria all day and was available for any Venice High student(s), parents or Venice High stakeholders to join the silent, peaceful protest during nutrition and lunch to silently protest against the co-location of the Incubator Pilot School on our Venice High Campus.

When you, Mr. Deasy, aggressively and without our permission tore down our two signs and quickly and abruptly entered the cafeteria area, I asked you who you were and why were you ripping down our signs? Since I had never met you before personally, I did not recognize you right away. You introduced yourself to me as Superintendent Deasy and then proceeded to shout at me and the other parent that the two posted signs were a "fire hazard" and "I tore them down." I retorted in a calm voice with the other female parent by my side, that you could have asked us to take the signs down and relocate them, but that you tore them down, ripped them and put them in the trash can in an aggressive manner. I then proceeded to introduce myself as, Mary Smith, a parent of a Venice High Freshman student and shook your hand. Myself and the other parent(s) had properly signed in at the main office, obtained a visitor's pass and that we were volunteering our time to silently protest against the co-location of the Incubator Pilot School on our Venice High Campus. I informed you that myself and the other parent didn't appreciate you tearing down our signs and that I was going to retrieve, repair and re-post the two signs on the outside cafeteria doors. You said to me: "Don't post them on the windows, that is a fire hazard." I informed you that I was not going to post them on the windows. I proceeded to retrieve, repair and post the two signs again on the outside doors of the cafeteria.

While you were in the cafeteria, you asked myself and the other parent in a loud voice, "What do you want? Do you want to dialog with me on this issue?" I informed you that myself and several other Venice High parents, students and community members and 7 Venice High stakeholders spoke and gave testimony at the LAUSD Board meeting of why we don't want the Incubator Pilot School on our Venice High School campus. We were present all day at the LAUSD Board Meeting on Tuesday, 3/19/13, from 7:30 am to 5 pm. I informed you that you must have recognized me from the LAUSD Board meeting with my 6 foot frame and wearing a Venice High School sweatshirt. I informed you that we had presented our opinions and dissent to you and the LAUSD Board regarding Venice High stakeholders being opposed to the co-location of the Incubator School on our Venice High Campus. We submitted to you and the LAUSD Board at the Board Meeting on Tuesday, 3/19/13, close to 900 signatures gathered in just 2 days, of Venice High and the local Mar Vista/Venice area signatures of students, parents, teachers, Venice High alumni and local community members urging you and the LAUSD Board to postpone the vote on co-locating the Incubator pilot school on our campus.

I informed you today that clearly the postponement of the vote for co-locating the Incubator pilot on our Venice High campus was not being honored by you or the LAUSD Board as agreed upon on Tuesday, 3/19/13.

Myself and the other parent are concerned, startled and upset about your abrupt and aggressive behavior in tearing down and disposing our informational signs on our Venice High campus today, Mr. Deasy. Myself and the other parent, found your behavior aggressive, unprofessional and unbecoming of the behavior we would expect from a LAUSD administrator like yourself. I informed Venice High Principal Mendoza, Administrators, Venice High parent leadership and Mr. Steve Zimmer of your unprofessional and abrupt behavior in our Venice High cafeteria today.

I am happy to report to you, Mr. Deasy and to the LAUSD School Board, that Venice High had 35 students during nutrition and 75 students during lunch participate in the silent, non violent, peaceful protest AGAINST the co location of the Incubator School on our Venice High Campus. Mr. Deasy and the LAUSD school board, I respectfully want to inform you again that Venice High School does not want nor will it be railroaded into having the Incubator Pilot School on our campus. If you tear down our signs, we will put them up again. If you continue to be disingenuous and not respecting what was agreed upon at the LAUSD Board Meeting on 3/19/13 regarding that the co location site of the Incubator School would be decided upon by the vote(s) with stakeholder, SSC and SBM school committee of the yet to be determined school site within LAUSD, we will continue to have our voices heard and the process that was voted on respected. If you plan to do or have whoever you want on our Venice High campus, we will continue to voice our opinions, insist that we have a say and a vote on what programs and schools will be on our Venice High campus.

I urge you and the LAUSD Board--invest in Venice High School, fund our new Venice High STEM Magnet, support and fund our Small Learning communities and the community school on campus. Be respectful and professional when you come on our or any LAUSD campus.

Respectfully and Sincerely Submitted:

Mary Smith
Venice High Parent, Family Nurse Practitioner
Public Health Nurse, Master's of Science in Nursing.