UNION INVITES TEACHERS, PARENTS AND THE PUBLIC TO THE BARGAINING TABLE WITH LAUSD

By Thomas Himes, Los Angeles Daily News | http://bit.ly/1ou6N2a

7/24/14, 11:22 PM PDT  ::  After meeting with Los Angeles Unified officials for the first round of face-to-face contract negotiations Thursday, United Teachers Los Angeles announced plans to change its bargaining tactics.

The 35,000 or so member teachers union initiated those changes Thursday, bringing all seven union officers to the bargaining table. In future negotiations, UTLA will invite rank-and-file teachers to sit in on talks and hopes “to bring in parents and other public observers from the community and universities.”

UTLA is about $280 million per year in pay apart from the district’s proposal and also disagrees with other aspects that would change teacher evaluations, hand control of classroom bell schedules to administrators and other issues that affect classrooms.

“In many ways, their offer represents a ‘throwback’ to bad ideas the district had in past years that did not work,” UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl said after Thursday’s negotiations.

The district’s most recent proposal would give teachers back-to-back pay raises of 2 percent this year and next, with a final third increase of 2.5 percent on July 1, 2016. Additionally, teachers would collect a one-time payout equal to 2 percent of their salaries, under the district’s offer.

LAUSD spokeswoman Lydia Ramos said the district explained its proposal to union representatives at the meeting, which was “cordial.”

District officials have previously requested two additional face-to-face negotiations, on Aug. 6 and Aug. 21.

FEDS BACK ENGLISH LEARNER LAWSUIT AGAINST STATE OF CALIFORNIA, allegation is that 2% of qualified kids slip through the cracks

By John Fensterwald, EdSource today | http://bit.ly/1ntTFtB

July 24, 2014 | The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California has found an ally in the U.S. Department of Justice for its lawsuit charging that the state abdicated its obligation to ensure all students classified as English learners get extra instructional services to become fluent in English. The lawsuit, filed in April 2013, is set for a one-day trial next week in Los Angeles County Superior Court.

The state Department of Education and the State Board of Education “have the duty, the data and the tools” to meet their responsibility under federal law, Jocelyn Samuels, Acting Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, wrote in a brief for the case filed last week. “California’s (English learner) students cannot afford to wait any longer.”

The ACLU claims the state has done nothing to force school districts to provide appropriate services for the approximately 20,000 English learners who, according to a 2010-11 survey of school districts, are receiving no services. Those services include  materials in the student’s primary language, parallel instruction for parts of the day taught by bilingual teachers, or a specialized teaching approach called Specially Designed Academic Instruction In English, used for teaching academic content in science or social studies.

The 20,000 students comprise less than 2 percent of the state’s 1.4 million English learners, but those numbers are self-reported by districts and likely represent “the tip of the iceberg,”  ACLU Chief Counsel Mark Rosenbaum said.

The ACLU says the state is violating the federal Equal Education Opportunities Act, which requires the state to meet the language needs of all English learners, as well as the state Constitutional guarantee that all students are equally entitled to an opportunity for an education. The state education department and the state board “have washed their hands of ensuring district compliance, even though the students who have been denied service are disproportionately ethnic minorities and many from low income families lacking the resources and opportunities to otherwise become fluent” in English, the suit says.

The 20,000 students comprise less than 2 percent of the state’s 1.4 million English learners, but those numbers are self-reported by districts and likely represent “the tip of the iceberg” of students not getting help, ACLU Chief Counsel Mark Rosenbaum said.

The 2011 survey found that the students were in about a quarter of the state’s 1,000 districts. The biggest violators among those districts included Salinas Union High School District (43 percent of 3,784 English learners); Grossmont Union High School District in San Diego County (41 percent of 3,368 English learners) and William S. Hart Union High School District (54 percent of 2,118 English learners) in Los Angeles County.

The state’s initial response was that more than 98 percent of students were getting services; parents of the remaining students should file complaints with their districts and not with the state. The Department of Education subsequently asked the districts to reexamine the information in the surveys they provided. Of the 40 percent of districts that responded, some said that some of the students in fact had received specialized services and that other students were taught by teachers who were certified to teach English learners. The Department of Justice brief responded that federal law requires districts to provide services in addition to placing a certified teacher  in the classroom. The brief said that the state did nothing further to force districts to provide help and didn’t follow up with the 60 percent of districts that didn’t respond to the request for more information.

In a statement issued last week, state Department of Education spokeswoman Pam Slater said the state disagrees with the assertions in the lawsuit and the brief by the federal Department of Justice. “Once the (Department of Justice) takes the time to fully review the extensive documentation submitted by the (California Department of Education) over the past seven months, it will realize that the State takes seriously its obligation to monitor and ensure the provision of services to all English Learner Students,” she wrote.

The federal government funds services for English learners through Title III – about $105 per student. The state audits a small percentage of districts annually, which it says meets its obligation to monitor federal funding – a position that the Department of Justice and the ACLU dispute.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit months before the Legislature passed the Local Control Funding Formula, which increased existing state funding for low-income and English learner students to about $1,500 per student next year (20 percent above the base funding per student) plus extra dollars when low-income students and English learners are heavily concentrated in a district. The new funding formula also shifts financial control from the state to local districts, which are required to complete an extensive three-year Local Control and Accountability Plan. The LCAPs must detail what districts will do to improve services for low-income and English-learner students and how they will spend the extra money those students generate under the new system.

Districts approved their first LCAPs last month, so it is too soon to determine if the process will result in more and better services for all English learners. However, Rosenbaum said that the shift from state to local control and the adoption of a new funding system does not relieve the state of its responsibilities under the state Constitution.

The ACLU made a similar argument in another lawsuit against the state that it and the nonprofit law firm Public Counsel filed in late May on behalf of students in seven high-poverty, low-performing elementary, middle and high schools. In that case, the ACLU alleged that the state did nothing to fix chronic problems that denied students sufficient learning time. The problems included a heavy reliance on substitute teachers, course misassignments and weeks-long delays in class scheduling, a shortage of counselors and insufficient college-credit courses. Students who for years suffered the consequences were assigned to remedial classes, falling further behind, the lawsuit said.

The state board and the California Department of Education have not formally responded yet to the lawsuit.

JUDGE FINDS “EVIDENCE ESTABLISHING FINANCIAL MISMANAGEMENT” …BUT ALLOWS MAGNOLIA CHARTERS TO REMAIN OPEN

…either LAUSD staff overreacted or the Board of Ed underreacted. Whichever it was the charter schools get out of jail free.

by Vanessa Romo, LA SCHOOL REPORT | http://bit.ly/WIrpJO

Posted on July 25, 2014 11:26 am  ::  A California Superior Court judge today ruled that two Magnolia Public Schools (MPS) charters can remain open, blocking LA Unified’s effort to shut them down over financial concerns.

The decision by Judge Luis A. Lavin enables Magnolia Science Academy 6 in Palms and Magnolia Science Academy 7 in Van Nuys to welcome students back next month as scheduled. And they can continue to operate as if their charters had been renewed by the district.

Lavin’s ruling hinged on the language of the conditional approval as it was articulated at a March district school board meeting, when the members voted to renew the charters, pending a review of the schools’ finances.

Records from the meeting indicate that the school board intended to review a staff investigation into the schools’ financial status, he wrote. But the decision to deny the renewals was based on staff findings of financial malfeasance, not the Board’s vote to renew or deny the schools’ charters, based on the staff report.

The judge effectively ruled that the district did not act properly in acting on a staff recommendation, rather than a Board review.

While the ruling is a victory for the two schools and the students enrolled there, Lavin also acknowledged “evidence establishing financial mismanagement” by the charter schools organization. As a result, he attached to the injunction several conditions that put the parent company, which operates six other LA Unified charters, on a tight financial leash:

• MPS has until Monday to provide LAUSD with a copy of the 2013-2014 audit report for the charter schools, which the organization has not released.
• MPS has to provide the district with monthly updates of the the charter schools’ profit and loss statements, balance sheets, cash flow and bank statements, check registers, and expense reports.
• MPS must maintain a 5 percent cash reserve for each of its charter schools and cannot engage in deficit spending.
• MPS can no longer do business with Accord, a third-party contractor, or make further expenditures for immigration-related expenses.
• MPS has to provide the district with copies of its vendor agreements.
• MPS must, in a timely fashion, cooperate with any inquiry by LAUSD concerning its finances.

Judge Lavin did not make clear in his order what happens if either of the schools violates the conditions of renewal. Nor is it clear what actions the board can take, if any, to use the audit as a tool for a board-sanctioned non-renewal.

This much is clear. One school board member, Bennett Kayser, is urging the state “to conduct an audit of all in-state Magnolia charter schools,” as he said in a statement late today. He also wants the federal government to take a closer look at Magnolia schools.

“Today’s ruling and the situation in which LAUSD finds itself is purely the result of a lack of oversight and accountability of all charter schools authorized by the Los Angeles Unified School District,” he said. “For too long charter school advocates have looked the other way knowing full well that some truly rotten apples are accessing our children. From bogus H1 immigration visas to out-and-out fraud, this national charter chain has manipulated our system for years,

CENSORED. CENSORED. CENSORED. + SOULVINE UNCHAINED

The L.A. Wave’s always outspoken “Soulvine” columnist Betty Pleasant  has never been afraid of going one step too far, that is how the game of agent provocateur is played, no matter the ‘hood. Her last two columns for the Wave have not been published, withheld for reasons unstated. Maybe because they speak for Dr. George McKenna – or against Mark Ridley Thomas? Or both?  Maybe.

Censored. Censored. Censored.

By Betty Pleasant [published under John Walsh’s byline in the  THE FRONT PAGE ONLINE]  http://bit.ly/1ta8dlo

7:00 AM July 18, 2014 ::  This Is It! --- For the past seven months, the people of Los Angeles County have been engaged in a great war against the politicians we elected to represent us. For the most part, our battles have been pity-pat encounters to make our local politicians respond to our needs --- rather than to their own obsessions to reign over us as little kings doing everything they can to create and/or perpetuate rich dynasties for themselves, their kin and their sycophants.

Well, nuclear war was declared this week when residents of LAUSD’s District 1 received two sets of campaign mailings in support of the election of Alex Johnson, King Mark Ridley-Thomas’s chosen minion, to the district’s seat on the School Board. These mailings are the worst pieces of campaign literature I’ve ever seen in my lengthy career. They are full of baldfaced and boldfaced lies about the people’s candidate, George McKenna, and constitute the nastiest smear campaign money can buy. I did not believe King Mark could stoop that low.

Sentinel publisher Danny Bakewell and I have not agreed on a single thing in almost 50 years --- until now. We both wholeheartedly support the election of McKenna --- who last week received the overwhelming endorsement of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, and today was endorsed by LAUSD Board member Monica Ratliff, who, like everyone else, maintains that McKenna’s “years of experience as a dedicated and successful teacher, principal and administrator will continue to serve the students and parents of District 1 well.”

It’s time to fight nuclear bombs with nuclear bombs. The only people who support Johnson are preachers who tow King Mark’s line because they have charter school and preschool contracts with L.A. County which they believe would be jeopardized if they didn’t back Johnson. They told me that. They told others in the community as well. It’s now common knowledge, particularly in view of what reportedly happened in one of our largest black churches a couple of Sundays ago when the pastor refused to interrupt his service to allow Johnson and King Mark to speak to his congregation. The preachers are getting bold, as they come to realize that the election of the truly qualified candidate, McKenna, would set them free.

Smearing McKenna

The first batch of smear literature against McKenna sported the disclaimer that it was not sent by the candidate or his campaign committee. It did state, however, that it was sent by the African American Voter Registration, Education, Participation Project (AAVREP), which, as we all know, is King Mark’s pet organization. He founded it, and he is, therefore, responsible for viciously maligning McKenna’s stellar career. The offending document lists as supporters, King Mark, Rep. Diane Watson (ret.), Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke (ret.), Congresswoman Janice Hahn, L.A. City Council President Herb Wesson and SEIU #99, Education Workers United. Now, it really upsets me when people I like do something I hate. So I called them for an explanation. I called Hahn in Washington D.C. and Watson at her house and both women were appalled that their names appeared on such a raunchy piece of campaign literature. “You know I’ve never participated in anything like that!” Watson said. “Johnson came to my house and presented himself well and asked for my support if he ran for the School Board,” Watson explained. “This was early when the election was finally agreed upon and I wanted McKenna in the seat. But he said he did not want to run for it. So I agreed to support Johnson, not realizing that McKenna would change his mind,” Watson said. “Now that he’s in the race, I definitely support McKenna. I do not like having my name on campaign pieces that attack him. I’m going to get to the bottom of this,” Watson said.

Like Watson, Rep. Hahn said she made an early commitment to support Johnson when he took her to lunch, where he made a decent impression on her. “Politics can get really dirty sometimes and this looks like one of those times,” Hahn said. “I must call over there,” she added. The other supporters named are obvious, as Burke’s support of Johnson is quid pro quo for King Mark’s support of her daughter for the Assembly. Wesson’s support may have something to do with the rumors that Wesson has been anointed to replace King Mark on the Board of Supervisors when he terms out. We will speak of this, and related matters, some more.

The House Is Open --- The McKenna campaign held an open house last Saturday at its Crenshaw area headquarters to which an overflow crowd attended. The people left the morning rally held in Leimert Park to protest the beating of Marlene Pinnock and headed straight to the McKenna party. In addition to good food and great camaraderie, we had the pleasure of hearing rousing speeches from Rep. Maxine Waters, former School Board member Rita Walters, venerable LAUSD teacher Owen Knox and Rep. Karen Bass’s deputy chief of staff, Solomon Rivera, who exclaimed to the enthusiastic crowd: “We will not be owned by anybody.”

 

SOULVINE UNCHAINED (The 7/24/14 Soulvine column rejected by the Wave)

Received by 4LAKids by email from a secret source.

By Betty Pleasant | Journalist

MEAN MAILERS --- As the Aug. 12 runoff election for the 1st District LAUSD school board seat draws near, potential voters are being inundated with campaign mailers, the overwhelming majority of which are sent by the Alex Johnson campaign and all of which malign education icon George McKenna and shed little light on Johnson.

One woman complained to the Soulvine that she had received nine mailings from Johnson that were nothing but smears against McKenna, and she’s angry about them and said she’s sorry she can only cast one vote for McKenna on Aug. 12.

Civil rights activist Pedro Baez of the Los Angeles Urban Policy Roundtable, was so angry about the series of mailers Johnson has been sending to the people that Monday, Baez and his group filed a formal complaint with the Los Angeles Ethics Commission demanding “a probe into the false, misleading and slanderous mailers sent by the Alex Johnson campaign.”

While Baez has been upset by previous anti-McKenna mailings from Johnson, he said the mailer that arrived Monday was beyond the pale and was more than he could tolerate. “In it, Johnson verged on labeling McKenna a pedophile enabler as he alleged that McKenna covered up sexual abuses in the school district!” Baez shouted.

In his complaint to the Ethics Commission, Baez wrote: “I and other civil rights leaders formally call upon the Los Angeles Ethics Commission for  a probe into the false and slanderous mailings from the Johnson campaign against McKenna. We are demanding that the commission issue a cease and desist order and impose the maximum fine against the Johnson campaign for the fraudulent attacks.”

At Tuesday’s press conference about the mailer, Baez blamed Johnson’s financial backers --- Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas and Maria Elena Durazo of the L.A. County Federation of Labor --- “for this despicable act” and he said he “also urged the Ethics Commission to charge Ridley-Thomas “with gross violations of ethics and human decency and order him to send out another mailer apologizing to the voters of the LAUSD District 1 --- and for Alex Johnson to withdraw forthwith from the race for this seat.”

The people have given the Soulvine the two most recent Johnson mailers that have upset them so, and I must say they are really raw. Johnson has a one-note theme to his campaign mailings and it appears to be about child molestation as opposed to child education, and in that regard he has accused McKenna of some despicable stuff which I must investigate. And while I’m investigating Johnson’s sex-tinged accusations against McKenna, I will probe Johnson’s lack of delineated credibility in the field of education. In his mailers, Johnson prides himself on having been an assistant district attorney (in the Bronx, N.Y.) “who prosecuted domestic violence, standing up for children and families who were victims of violence and abuse.” If that’s true, then why isn’t Johnson running for Los Angeles County district attorney? Lord knows we need prosecutors in the DA’s office, not on the school board! “Our kids are being prosecuted enough!” declared a group of women Saturday when they found Johnson literature on the windshields of their cars. They’re right. We need experienced educators on the school board, but education is a subject Johnson does not broach in his mailings. After further study we’ll discuss these things about McKenna and Johnson during the next couple of weeks.

WE BAD!! --- Remember when the June 26 Soulvine reported that Ruby Mary Price, the highly educated and experienced children-oriented social worker tried to get  a posted social worker job with the Children’s Institute--- the white-operated agency to which the L.A. County’s LACOE gave the black-operated Kedren Head Start program’s contract when it forced Kedren’s closure? Remember how Price said she was disrespected and ignored by the CI’s staff and was never even given an interview? Remember how she said we contacted Ridley-Thomas‘ office about CI’s racism and Ridley-Thomas‘ obviously ignorant employee named Omar told Price “the supervisor has nothing to do with Children’s Institute, LACOE or any of those because they are separate agencies?”

Well, after we discussed Price’s plight in the Soulvine, the Children’s Institute retrieved her job application from the trash can and offered her two jobs!! Most people (and agencies) tend to change their reprehensible behavior once they’re put on front street. (But then again, a lot of them don’t!) Congratulations Ruby. It’s too bad you couldn’t accept both jobs --- or can you?

DATEBOOK --- The 19th annual Central Avenue Jazz Festival will be held Saturday and Sunday (July 26 and 27) from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Central Avenue between Vernon Avenue and King Boulevard. The two-day festival --- presented by Councilman Curren Price--- pays homage to the vital role Central Avenue played in establishing jazz music and culture. Presented in cooperation with the Coalition for Responsible Community Development, the festival will feature three live stages, including one inside the historic Dunbar Hotel, and will present all genre of jazz. This year’s performers will include the Gerald Wilson Orchestra, Ernie Andrews, the Mongorama featuring Justo Almario, among others. As usual, the festival will be free of charge to all.

Congresswoman Karen Bass will be the special guest at the Friends of the Multicultural Coalition’s fundraiser for McKenna, which will be held on July 27 at 3 p.m. at the “fabulous” Taix French Restaurant in Echo Park.

The group invites everyone to a pleasant Sunday lunch at the Taix with school board candidate McKenna.

Then, on July 29, actress Wendy Raquel Robinson will be the special guest at another McKenna fundraiser at Mid-Wilshire’s trendy Rascal Restaurant, 801 S. LaBrea Ave. beginning at 6 p.m.

And on Saturday, July 31, Raul Claros and his group will host a fundraiser for McKenna at the downtown Bonaventure Hotel from 6 to 8 p.m.

 

smf’s deux centimes: Taix is a Basque Restaurant, the best one this side of Bakersfield.

DISTRICT ONE RACE NOW ALSO A REFERENDUM ON DIRTY POLITICS

Ridley-Thomas/Alex Johnson’s smear tactics are a disservice not only to George McKenna, but to the children, parents and residents of District 1, who deserve the opposite, i.e., strong, caring and ethical leadership. 

Opinion by Larry Aubry in the L.A. Sentinel |  http://bit.ly/1othFNP

HAPPIER TIMES: George McKenna, left, in January 2013 with former Inglewood school board member Larry Aubry  (the author of this Op-Ed)  center, and county Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, before Ridley-Thomas' deputy Alex Johnson and McKenna wound up running against each other for an L.A. Unified school board seat. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

            Published on Friday, 25 July 2014 01:12  ::  The runoff election to fill the unexpired term of deceased LA school board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte is now also a referendum on big money and sleazy politics orchestrated by Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas. His candidate is Alex Johnson.  Their opponent is Dr. George McKenna whose campaign stays focused on his vast experience and doing what’s in the best interest of children.  But the Johnson/Ridley-Thomas campaign is employing unconscionable smear tactics, the likes of which Los Angeles has not seen in a long time. Make no mistake, though, Johnson is the messenger; the one shoveling dirt is the Supervisor.

            Ridley-Thomas has been executing this game plan since just after Marguerite LaMotte died.  He immediately set out to block an appointment to fill the vacant seat in District 1 which would the chances of a propped-up candidate winning a special election.  (Practically all of the local and state Black elected officials and other prominent Black leaders quickly agreed to oppose an appointment, most not realizing that would deny District 1 representation for 8 months. During that time decisions were being made on major issues like common core standards and the Local Control Funding formula designed to direct funds to students most in need. This made no difference to Ridley-Thomas who pitched a bogus argument that an appointment would deny voters’ constitutional rights. It seems Ridley-Thomas’ motivation is to flex his political muscle by controlling a seat on the Los Angeles School Board. Alex Johnson is just carrying his boss’ water- he’s the Supervisor’s education staff person. But is Ridley-Thomas himself a pawn beholden to billionaire supporters of charter schools and privatization? Consider Alex Johnson’s contribution lists.  Even the handful of “educator” endorsements (McKenna has nearly all of them), is part of this cabal—former LAUSD Board president Marlene Cantor sits on the Green Dot Charter School board and another former board president, Caprice Young, founded the California Charter School Association.

            These are people who lean to privatization and profit, in effect, discriminating against our children by pulling valuable resources away from traditional public schools.  Other Johnson contributors include Black preachers, some of whom have charter schools themselves; others have regular dealings with the Supervisor, and a handful of “community leaders,” who are largely the public front.

            The inevitable conclusion: Ridley-Thomas aligns himself with big money and corporate support in an attempt to expand his faux- kingdom. All of this is contrary to the supervisor’s long-stated concern for moral and ethical leadership. 

            Now, the Ridley-Thomas/ Alex Johnson’s campaign is so desperate they are willing to smear, lie and censor.  They are saying George McKenna has failed to protect children, was personally sued for covering up allegations of child molestation and that he falsified grades and graduation rate, all false. Its manufactured dirt by a desperate campaign hell-bent on electing a  weaker candidate ostensibly to further the Supervisor’s aspirations. 

            He was undoubtedly ticked- off by McKenna’s primary victory and is gambling that money and more money is the only way to win this election. The most recent report from the City Ethics Commission shows monetary contributions and Super Pacs independent expenditures (allowed unlimited contributions) shows the difference between the two campaigns’ money-raising efforts is huge.  The Johnson/Ridley-Thomas Super Pac exceeds McKenna’s campaign’s by over $200,000. Yes, the “czar” is determined to have his way, only this time, hopefully, that will not happen.

            Obviously, the objective of the Ridley-Thomas/Johnson campaign is to erase McKenna’s 20% margin of victory in the primary and win the election, not only with big money but mud-slinging too.  However, as Lincoln said, “You can’t fool all of the people all of the time.”  People are vulnerable but they are not stupid, and judging from reports throughout District 1 of residents’ displeasure with the annoying flood of mail and multiple knocks on their door, the big money/smear campaign might just backfire.

            Alex Johnson seems like a bright and personable young man whose misfortune is having been pushed into an extremely untenable situation.  He is up against George McKenna, whose qualifications for the seat are so far superior, there’s simply no comparison. McKenna’s vast experience as teacher, administrator, and proven record of service and commitment to children, is legendary. But qualifications were never the issue for the Supervisor; he wants his  man on the school board, period. ( I wonder if he has any qualms about the campaign’s attempting to damage the reputation of his longtime friend?)

            Ridley-Thomas/Alex Johnson’s smear tactics are a disservice not only to George McKenna, but to the children, parents and residents of District 1, who deserve the opposite, i.e., strong, caring and ethical leadership.  As the driving force behind Johnson’s campaign, the   Supervisor shares responsibility for such tactics but probably will never publicly denounce their being used I this campaign.  The fundamental issue in this election is leadership, Black leadership especially. Does anyone actually believe the Ridley-Thomas/Johnson smear tactics benefit the Black community, or District 1, in any conceivable way? I think not, and that’s another reason Dr. George will win this election. Everyone knows God does not like ugly.

GEORGE McKENNA CAMPAIGN UNDER ATTACK: Community Outraged over lies, innuendo and propaganda

by Danny J. Bakewell, Jr. – Executive Editor of the Los Angles Sentinel | this article also appears in the LA Watts Times of July 24 |  http://bit.ly/WIl3KD

Published on Thursday, 24 July 2014 19:24  ::  Long time educator and child advocate George McKenna didn’t know his over 40 years of service on the front lines and in the trenches of education in some of California’s poorest and most underserved schools and school districts was a piece of cake compared to the political road that he would need to travel to the Los Angeles Unified School Board – District #1 seat. But not even McKenna or any of the community residents he has spent his life fighting for have could have imagined that the reputation and credibility of one of the nation’s leading educators would have come under attack in such a brutal and shameful way as it has in recent political mailings from his opponent Alex Johnson.

The accusations levied by the Alex Johnson for School Board Campaign and his supporters through an independent expenditure campaign have released a scathing array of accusations against the longtime educator, from blaming him for the child molestation charges which have plagued all of LAUSD for several years, to the state take-over of Inglewood and Compton Unified School Districts (the truth is McKenna left Inglewood Unified in 1994 and the state took over Inglewood in 2013. The State took over Compton Unified in 1993 and the state administrator brought McKenna in to repair the troubled district). 

“George McKenna’s track record speaks for itself; he is a man of unquestionable character and integrity who has always put children first,” Congresswoman Karen Bass.

“He has spent a lifetime fighting long and hard to make sure our kids have a level playing field.  He has committed his life to insuring equal opportunities for Black and Brown kids and all underprivileged and underserved children in the field of education.  His reputation is beyond reproach” stated Congresswoman Karen Bass.”

Rev. Jewett L. Walker, Jr.  manager for the Elect McKenna Campaign and who served for years as the campaign director for former LAUSD Representative Marguerite Poindexter- LaMotte who passed away in December 2013 stated, “there's a word to describe this type of dirty campaigning: SHAMEFUL!”   The Alex Johnson Campaign is engaging in the worst kind of politics a lie-and-smear campaign or “poli-tricks” – which we can only assume his chief endorsers and sponsors condone.” 

Candidate Alex Johnson>

“There's a word to describe this type of dirty campaigning: SHAMEFUL!”

“Our community has never witnessed an outrageous smear campaign against a candidate such as the Alex Johnson Campaign is waging against Dr. George McKenna.  The community must reject these kinds of lies and distortions against Dr. George McKenna who is a nationally known, successful and respected educator.  Furthermore Alex Johnson is neither knowledgeable or experienced or credible as an educator.  THIS IS IT.  He needs to quit it,” stated Congresswoman Maxine Waters.

George McKenna almost won the June Primary Election outright with over 44% of the vote compared to Alex Johnson’s 24%. He has been engaged in a heated battle to the August 12 special election finish line since the June 3 primary ended.  While Johnson has outraised McKenna 2 to 1 in money, mostly coming from large corporate donors and charter school advocate groups, the community and the residents of the district clearly appear to be supporting McKenna.   McKenna has received the endorsement of almost all of his opponents from the District 1 primary election including Genethia Hudley-Hayes, LAUSD Board of Education(ret.), School Teacher Rachel Johnson - Gardena Councilmember & Hattie McFrazier-LAUSD Educator/Pupil Services and Attendance Counselor (ret.).  McKenna has also been endorsed by former school board member and city council woman Rita Walters, UTLA, The Democratic Party just to name a few.

The latest slate of mailers sent out last week by the Johnson Campaign and other organizations supporting Johnson don’t appear to be promoting Johnson or his qualifications.  Instead they are attacking McKenna’s credibility and giving no credence to the years of leadership and service that he has provided to the children of our community.   Bishop T. Larry Kirkland, Presiding Bishop of the 5th Episcopal District of the AME Church stated that “Dr. McKenna is a man of unquestionable, integrity, character and experience who has always put our children’s best interest first to question or try and taint his integrity is disgraceful.”

“As a veteran campaign manager I can tell you that when a candidate loses a primary by 20 points, like Alex Johnson did, there is no clear path to victory in the runoff,” said Walker.

“Over the last several days Mr. Johnson and his supporters have revealed his plan: smear the good name of George McKenna.”

His powerful boss/political sponsor, has cut deals with billionaires and special interests to raise a boatload of money to flood the district with mailers and doorknockers that seek to trash the reputation that McKenna spent decades building by honorably serving our community. The good news is the Johnson campaign has no defense for McKenna’s greatest weapon: THE TRUTH.”

McKenna’s reputation as an educator is unquestionable. Upon arriving in Southern California from his native New Orleans, he was assigned to Washington High School in Los Angeles in 1979 when the school was besieged with violence, drugs and gangs. When he was done nearly 80 percent of the students went on to college.

This track record of success inspired the award-winning CBS movie, The George McKenna Story, starring Denzel Washington.  He is passionate about education and the many children who are trapped in despair.  This is a man who has received more than 400 citations and awards from civic, legislative and professional organizations.  

In 1989, McKenna received the Congressional Black Caucus’ Chairman’s Award and in 1997 was elected into the National Alliance of Black School Educators’ Hall of Fame.  Last week even local advisories joined forces to unify in support of a man so desperately needed that August  12 could not come soon enough. 

Some individuals are risking their reputations to tarnish that of McKenna’s.  George McKenna when asked about the slanderous accusations stated, “I will not be deterred, I will continue to push forward offering an inspiring message of hope for our kids future.  This is the message that is resonating with school age children their parents, teachers and community advocates who are willing to stand up for honesty and integrity.  My campaign and the work I have done around here throughout my life stands on its own.  I have always stood tallest for kids, for education and for this community and I am not going to let false accusations sway me now.”

Gwendolyn Landry a parent and community education advocate stated that “The trickery and lies being asserted by the Alex Johnson Campaign are terrible.  We cannot trust a person who distorts the truth to lead the education of our kids.”

It appears the political wrangling and power politics are just heating up as the campaign enters the last few weeks.  Award winning journalist Betty Pleasant had her weekly Soulvine column pulled at the last minute at another local weekly publication because of her support of McKenna and because of her outrage to the tactics being used by the Johnson Campaign to smear McKenna’s good name.  However, in today’s world of social media the censured column has now gone viral and was emailed, blasted, tweeted, posted on Facebook and other local mediums by community members outraged by this type of blatant disregard for the truth.   Betty has been in the business of community news for a long time and she was totally caught off guard and surprised that her editors refused to run her column.  Reverend Joe B. Hardwick president, Western States Baptist Convention and Pastor of Praises of Zion Church in Watts said “people think they can buy this election, but the truth is, our children, our community, and our future are not for sale.  George has built his reputation and dedicated his life to working for these kids and we are prepared to fight to insure that his legacy of service continues all the way to the school board.”

NEW POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE FORMS IN L.A. SCHOOL BOARD RACE: PAC is controlled by Dan Chang, who headed Deasy’s nonprofit foundation created to raise money for LAUSD

By Howard Blume, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1poPXOz

George McKenna, left, is running to fill the LAUSD seat vacated when Trustee Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte died in December. Supervisor Mark Ridley Thomas, whose backing has contributed to a huge financial advantage for Alex Johnson, on the right. (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

July 22, 2014  ::  A new political action committee has formed to influence the outcome of Los Angeles school board races, filling a gap created when a group of civic leaders, which includes former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, decided to sit out next month's key upcoming election.

The new organization, Great Public Schools Los Angeles Political Action Committee, joins other outside groups involved in the campaign to replace Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who died in December.

The Aug. 12 special election pits George McKenna, a retired senior school district administrator who finished first in a June primary, against Alex Johnson, education advisor to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

The new campaign committee is controlled by Dan Chang, who most recently headed the nonprofit foundation created to raise money for the L.A. Unified School District.

Through last weekend, Chang had reported raising nearly $100,000 in support of Johnson.

Chang's operation is vying to fill the void left by Villaraigosa, who left the mayor's office in 2013. As mayor, Villaraigosa acted as chief fundraiser of Coalition for School Reform, a political action committee established as a counterweight to the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles.

The coalition delivered mixed results, with Villaraigosa winning an allied board majority early on, then stumbling in some later elections despite record fundraising, including $1 million from then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The teachers union also has been unable to dominate, resulting in a politically divided school board.

Chang lists his contributors as including former U.S. Ambassador Frank Baxter, a charter-school funder, who donated $10,000 to the new venture after regularly supporting Coalition for School Reform.

The teachers union is backing McKenna. Through last weekend, UTLA's committee had spent $75,215 on his behalf.

District 1 covers a swath of south and southwest Los Angeles. The late LaMotte frequently criticized L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy; her successor could become a swing vote on such Deasy initiatives as using student standardized tests as part of a teacher's evaluation.

Johnson, 34, has declared himself a strong supporter of Deasy. McKenna, who worked directly under Deasy before he retired, has been less enthusiastic, but said he would not push for the superintendent's removal.

The campaign of McKenna, 73, has relied on community ties built over decades as an educator rising through the ranks. A product of L.A. Unified, Johnson spent much of his career dealing with education-related issues, most recently in Los Angeles.

Ridley-Thomas' backing has contributed to a huge financial advantage for Johnson. In the primary, Johnson outspent McKenna $413,000 to $215,000.

Both campaigns also amassed debt in the first round last spring: Johnson nearly $147,000, McKenna more than $34,000.

In the runoff, spending has shifted to organizations not controlled by candidates, again with Johnson claiming an advantage.

Chang also established a nonpartisan group, called Great Public Schools Los Angeles. This group's goals include developing community leaders for future school board races.

The effort would "begin to fill the pipeline with people interested in education reform," attorney Virgil Roberts said.

Roberts is one of three controlling members of Coalition for School Reform, along with attorney Charles Shumaker and Robin Kramer, a top official under former mayors Richard Riordan and Villaraigosa. Both mayors raised funds to influence school board races. Current Mayor Eric Garcetti has not pursued such a role.

Roberts said the coalition gave Chang a "six-figure donation" for his long-term work, but had no preference in District 1.

In recent elections, the coalition focused on backing candidates who vowed to support Deasy. Roberts said the coalition, with Villaraigosa's participation, would be reactivated in future races.

Through a spokesperson, Villaraigosa said he intended to remain involved in issues affecting district leadership.

Before deciding to back Johnson, Chang had been involved earlier this year in nonpartisan organizing for a group called Moms Unite. Prior to that, Chang, 38, was the first executive director of L.A. Fund, an independently controlled group that raises money for projects within L.A. Unified. Chang also has been an executive with a charter school company, Green Dot, and with L.A.'s Promise, a nonprofit that manages three L.A. Unified campuses.

Other campaign committees also have entered the fray for Johnson: African American Voter Registration, Education & Participation Project, founded by Ridley-Thomas, has given more than $195,000; a charter schools committee has put more than $61,000 into the runoff after spending $54,323 in the primary.  [smf - see: McKenna is the union candidate, but CTA gave to Johnson backers | http://bit.ly/WW2XEF]

The total of independent expenditures tilts to Johnson, $357,982 to $75,215.

An appeal for support from Dr. McKenna

smf writes:

4LAKids is not political organization. While I plead guilty to the practice of politics, no one could ever allege organization!

Even when I have been a candidate myself I have not appealed for funds on these pages.  But the political fundraising and spending being done by – and on behalf of – Dr. McKenna’s opponent is horrific. And the negative campaigning being done by the other side, the mistruths told, the political hardball played, the censorship and the papering of the district with mailers, fliers and signs is frightening.

This is an election that hopefully will not be bought+paid for – and 4LAKids pleads for every voter to vote early and often …but some money is needed to finish up the campaign and finish off the opposition!

If you can give something, please do.

The sad truth is that not a lot of people are going to vote in this election; it will be decided by fewer still. If you can vote, vote. If you can’t vote reach out to those who can. We are the few that Margaret Mead said change the world - each and every one of us by engaging a few more.

August 12th is election day in the First District …and it’s the first day of school throughout LAUSD.

We can change the direction of the future, away from the negative blame+shame the teachers and towards a positive outcome for all children. 

By voting for kids. By voting for their future. By voting for George McKenna.

• We cannot out-fundraise them.
• We cannot outspend  them.
• We can only outvote them.

Luck has nothing to do with it - but luckily outvoting them is the only thing that matters!

Dr. McKenna writes:

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN JOHNSON AND McKENNA

Written by The Red Queen in L.A. in her blog | http://bit.ly/1jXu8JB

"The most curious part of the thing was, that the trees and the other things round them never changed their places at all: however fast they went, they never seemed to pass anything."

Thursday,  24 Jul 2014  ::  DID YOU KNOW THERE’S AN ELECTION IN THREE WEEKS?

If you do not live in LAUSD’s first district, you might be excused from awareness of it, though not if you drive anywhere within that district. You’d have to be blind (inadvisable if driving) to have overlooked the gigantic – and unethical, according to the COLA elections commission – political propaganda polluting public property in proclaiming the primacy of their favorite son, hand-ordained staff-member of Mark Ridley-Thomas, Alex Johnson.

Ginormous and ubiquitous, these signs represent the might of the political machinery backing Mr Johnson, rather than, say, the size of his public support or job qualifications.

At the age of 33, Mr Johnson has accrued basically zero track record in issues educational, either politically or pedagogically or theoretically or practically. He does, however, nicely reflect his bosses’ readiness to assert opinions educational a propos of no experience or background in the matter at all, as this account of County Supervisor Ridley-Thomas, his aide Alex Johnson and chief-of staff, attests. All three politicos cheerfully admit to having never read the thoughtfully crafted 29-page opinion regarding a Culver City charter school – before rejecting outright the school board’s denial of this petition.   Without permitting the deliberations of local elected political leaders or education experts to derail their well-buttressed pre-conceived convictions, nary a whiff of public education advocacy was permitted sway. These three officials asserted their right to an unreflective, uninformed support for the rejected petition because of “a philosophical difference [with the Culver City Unified School District board president] about charter schools”.

Just so, this episode accurately encapsulates the arcane board race in LAUSD1 too. It’s about charter schools.

This is a race that has been recapitulated with its underlying distinction over and over and over again all across this nation of ours. In our local school board elections, the body politic has weighed in cumulatively not once, not twice but in the three successive school board elections against the candidates allied with the political – that is not pedagogical but political – ideology of privatizing public education.

The first of these recent elections was won by Bennett Kayser over Luis Sanchez, candidate of privatizing champion, former-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa of the moribund Coalition For School Reform. The second of these wins pitted LAUSD board incumbent Steve Zimmer against millions of dollars corralled from across this nation, foremost among them from Mike Bloomberg, school privatizing, billionaire mayor of New York City. And most recent in the LAUSD series was Mónica Ratliff vanquishing challenger Antonio Sanchez, backed by a breathtaking constellation of corporate reformers.

Now we meet yet the latest iteration of this Borg-like incursion of corporatizers intent on subsuming our children’s schooling. Alex Johnson, having shallow education bona fides but deep political patronage roots, must be understood in that context so charmingly articulated by his padrone, as The Candidate From Charter Land. Alex Johnson may not be an educator or parent or theoretician, but his political placement enables those who seek public monies to underwrite essentially private schooling enterprises. That is, Alex Johnson derives utility by enabling charter schools and those who would champion them.

And who is it that champions charter schools in Los Angeles? Apart from the LAUSD board which has approved school charters numbering in the hundreds, rendering the westside of Los Angeles ground zero for the charter school movement? We have more charter schools here in our little ‘hood than in any other spot on the planet.

Superintendent Deasy can be thought of as Enabler Extraordinaire of the charter school movement, graduate of Eli Broad’s “academy”, installed by Antonio Villaraigosa and possibly salaried by his one-time employer the Gates Foundation, sustained by the last leg of the educational reform triumvirate, the Walton Family Foundation.

Note well and carefully: these charter schools are every bit as much a political phenomenon of the 1% as an educational one. In obeisance to neoliberalism, they are tearing apart the very edifice — literally and figuratively — of our democratic public education system.

And that is what, and really only what, this election is about. What flavor of school champion do you favor? Are you inveigled by the corporatizing reformer lining private pockets with money and expertise from the public coffer? Or do you support and extend the oft-reiterated preference of our electorate for the professional educator, one in the mold of Kayser, Zimmer, Ratliff and Marguerite LaMotte herself, represented this time around by former school superintendent George McKenna?

Who holds the intellectual needs of our young citizenry at heart? Teacher or Politician? Who protects their education as a basic human civil right rather than a monetized commodity? Who expresses the voice that we have elected time after time in recent years, the educator’s voice of concern for pedagogy?

George McKenna.

Vote for George McKenna on the first day back at school:
Tuesday, August 12, 2014.

 

The identity of the Red Queen in L.A. is a not very well kept secret, but I will protect it here. She is real parent at a very real Westside middle school.  ‘Real’ and ‘unreal’ being subject to Carrollian interpretation and LAUSD nonsense. Professionally a scientist, she is recovering from from a Liberal Arts Education.

FIRE BURNS GREEN DOT CHARTER SCHOOL CAMPUS …as ‘Mystery Drone’ hovers overhead

Fire has Animo South Los Angeles Charter High looking for a new location before school starts Aug.12   -   School called total loss after massive fire.

By Howard Blume and Veronica Rocha, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/1A7SRzM

Antwan Shepard sprays his house with water as smoke rises from a fire at nearby Animo South Los Angeles Charter High School on Tuesday afternoon. (Wally Skalij, Los Angeles Times)

23 July 2014  ::  A local charter school organization is scrambling to find an alternative location after a midday blaze swept through one of its campuses on Tuesday.

Animo South Los Angeles Charter High School has about 600 students enrolled but was on summer recess when the blaze was reported at 2:20 p.m.

Firefighters arrived to find heavy smoke and flames pouring from the roof, said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Scott Miller.

 

Roughly 30 minutes after the fire was reported, the building's roof caved in and the school's facade also collapsed. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Officials had not determined late Tuesday if the structure, at 11100 South Western Ave., is a total loss.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries. The building was presumed to be empty, but firefighters must still sift through debris to be sure, Miller said.

"My biggest concern is that no one is in the building," said Marco Petruzzi, chief executive of Green Dot Public Schools, which operates the campus, located east of Inglewood. Petruzzi, out of town on vacation, spoke as he watched the flames on a television feed.

The next step is determining how to begin the coming academic year Aug. 12, said Cristina de Jesus, who heads the group's California schools.

"We have already begun to notify parents of the incident and will keep them updated on our contingency plans," she said.

L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy pledged to help Green Dot find classroom space and open on time. Most Green Dot schools are authorized and overseen by L.A. Unified. Green Dot operates several schools on L.A. Unified property, but owns the land where the fire occurred.

With 21 schools, Green Dot is one of the largest charter organizations in California and recently announced an out-of-state expansion. Charters are free, public schools that are exempt from some regulations that govern traditional campuses.

One of the first Green Dot schools, Animo South just celebrated its 10th anniversary.

The school was undergoing some renovation over the summer that involved reconfiguring internal walls to create space for an extra classroom, Petruzzi said.

The Green Dot organization suffered another tragedy in April, when two students from Animo Inglewood Charter High School died in a fiery bus crash in Orland. They were part of a group of students on a trip to visit Humboldt State University. Two adults with ties to Green Dot also were killed.

In academics, Green Dot's schools have generally compared favorably with nearby campuses. One study, released this week, concluded that students attending three Green Dot campuses were less likely to engage in extremely risky behavior than similar students attending other schools.

 

---

Drone seen hovering over massive blaze at L.A. high school

By Veronica Rocha, LA Times | http://lat.ms/1nVZdZd

A mystery drone was seen flying over a massive fire at Animo South Los Angeles Charter High School on Tuesday afternoon. (KTLA)

22 July 2014 |  7:38 PM  ::  A mystery drone was seen hovering over the scene of a massive blaze as it tore through a South Los Angeles charter school Tuesday afternoon.

The small drone seen on KTLA-TV shows the craft flying above a plume of smoke and the curling flames at Animo South Los Angeles Charter High School.

Los Angeles police and fire officials said the drone did not belong to them and that they don't who was operating the craft.

As the drone hovered over the blaze, about 34 firefighters took a defensive stance against the flames.

Charter school fire| Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

The fire, which started about 2:20 p.m., consumed the school's roof, ultimately causing it to collapse. A wall and the school's facade also collapsed in the flames, Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Scott Miller said.

Two firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the blaze and were taken to hospitals, he said.

For now, Miller said it appears no one else was hurt in the blaze but cautioned that firefighters must still sift through a large amount of debris.

The campus was closed at the time of the fire but some construction was underway, said Gabriel Sanchez, Green Dot Public School spokesman.

Firefighters are investigating the blaze.

VERGARA RULING BECOMES A CAMPAIGN ISSUE …at least in Tuck’s mind + smf’s 2¢

By John Fensterwald | EdSource Today | http://bit.ly/1rdYjNb

July 17, 2014 |State Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Marshall Tuck this week launched a petition calling on his opponent, incumbent Superintendent Tom Torlakson, not to appeal a lawsuit ruling that struck down statutes giving California teachers firing protections and rights to tenure and seniority. The move indicates Tuck views the decision in Vergara v. California as an election issue that can work in his favor.

<<Judge Rolf Treu is not expected to release his final ruling in Vergara v. California until mid-August | Source: Courtroom View Network webcast of Vergara v. California |

Tuck, a former charter school executive from Los Angeles, is, like Torlakson, a Democrat.

The online petition letter reads:

To State Superintendent Tom Torlakson: The five laws that were struck down in Vergara v. California regarding teacher tenure, dismissal, and layoffs have made it nearly impossible to fire ineffective teachers. Instead of defending these laws, I urge you, as the defendant in this case, not to appeal this ruling. Let’s use this as an opportunity to make sure our schools are finally able to put an effective teacher in every classroom.– YOUR NAME

Torlakson, along with Gov. Jerry Brown and the State Board of Education, are named as defendants in the lawsuit brought by the organization Students Matter on behalf of nine student plaintiffs in 2012. In June, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu issued a tentative ruling that the five labor protection laws denied minority students their constitutional right to an equal opportunity for an education.

In a statement after Treu’s June 10 ruling, Torlakson said, “Teachers are not the problem in our schools, they are the solution.” And he said Treu’s decision could “inadvertently” complicate the task of attracting and retaining good teachers. But neither he nor Brown has directly commented on whether they would appeal Treu’s decision, although the California Teachers Association, which is also is a co-defendant, already has said it would appeal the ruling.

Brown did not mention the Vergara decision in remarks at the national convention of the American Federation of Teachers in Los Angeles last week, prompting his Republican opponent for governor, Neel Kashkari, to hold a press conference outside the convention hall in which he also called on Brown not to appeal Vergara.

There’s no rush for Torlakson or Brown. Treu has indicated he would take an extra month, through mid-August, to finish writing a permanent ruling on the case, which could differ from the tentative decision. Torlakson, Brown and the state would then have an additional 60 days to decide whether to  appeal.

Tuck’s petition appears on his campaign website. Those who sign it are also asked to  provide the campaign with their email address.

Paul Hefner, a spokesman for the Torlakson campaign, called the petition drive a “political stunt” and a way “to grab headlines.”

“Superintendent Torlakson is focused on the job voters elected him to do – working with teachers, parents and school officials to improve California’s schools,” Hefner wrote in an email.

 

Marshall Tuck is the candidate of the charter school community and ®eform, Inc. The Vergera Lawsuit is their campaign platform, blessed by a single judge in a single courtroom (supported by a Silicon Valley almost-a-billionaire, Superintendent Deasy and the California Charter School Association)  …with the Court of Appeals and the State Supreme Court to follow. Superintendent of Public Instruction Torlakson is a named defendant in the Vergara trial - to expect him to change his position (which is rooted in state law he has pledged to defend) based on a single preliminary trial court ruling and an online petition is to expect political reality to be suspended and enlightened education reform policy to be delivered like a flaming pie by the Lucky Charms Leprechaun.

Because right-wing talk-radio hosts have all the answers: MAKE THE BORDER KIDS AMERICANS + smf’s 2¢

By HUGH HEWITT, from Politico Magazine | http://politi.co/1mYCd0a

July 17, 2014  ::  Approximately 90,000 minors have entered the country in the two years since President Obama, whether out of the best of intentions, cynical political calculation or as another of his serial expressions of incompetence, allowed the idea to take hold abroad that kids who were brought to the country would be allowed to stay. Numbers are swelling rapidly and detention centers are bursting at the seams. Among them are thousands of unaccompanied Central American children—approximately 52,000 since October, according to federal records.

<<Lead image by AP Photo

Now, the United States has, in effect, a refugee crisis unlike any it has faced since the Mariel boat-lift exodus from Cuba in 1980, or the mass Vietnamese flight from the communists in the years following the fall of Saigon.

I have long argued on my radio show that the immigration crisis will continue until a long, strong, double-sided fence extends over every passable mile of the 2,000 that make up the U.S.-Mexican border, but I am not arguing for that now. Right now the country ought to act to end the humanitarian crisis of tens of thousands of what are, in effect, orphans and strangers in our land. The very young among them should find “forever families” right here, right now. They should become Americans. The process is not hard to imagine in broad outline or to implement quickly.

First, if a child under 13 can identify a parent, the child should be re-united with the parent immediately. Disposition of the parent’s status—in all likelihood permanent residence without citizenship if they have been here for years—can await the comprehensive immigration reform bill that will pass either after President Obama leaves office in January 2017, or if a strong Republican majority emerges from the midterms, perhaps next year, provided the bill does genuinely deliver the long, strong double-sided fence (almost certainly a minimum 1,000 miles in length) and the increased border security personnel to patrol it.

If children under 13 cannot identify a parent, they ought to be relocated to a new, centralized, humane federal facility exclusively for young unaccompanied minors, almost certainly at the United States Marine Corps’ Camp Pendleton in California, which handled a vast influx of 50,000 Vietnamese refugees for resettlement in 1975. Many Marines and residents of Orange and San Diego County have memories of organizing and administering that difficult task. It can be done again, and perhaps even more quickly if the Congress will step forward and authorize the churches of America to do what they are built to do: Shelter the orphan. The web would allow an application to be filed quickly, the adoption accomplished expeditiously. But to whom?

If Congress were to authorize adoption by any couple who were (1) certified by a church of (2) at least 250 members and at least five years of existence as a couple of character and standing within the congregation and (3) were under the age of 60, (4) had at least one member of the couple with a full time job of at least five year’s duration and (5) had raised or were presently raising at least one child who had achieved any normal set of measurements, the crisis over the effectively orphaned children would be over within months. Americans from all over the country would step up to care for these children, to give them new “forever families,” a term the Heritage Foundation’s Sarah Torre introduced to me, which captures the goal we should have for these youngest border crossers.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/07/make-the-border-kids-americans-109045.html#ixzz37rnSTIA0

This approach will require Democrats to recognize what a few of them may be loath to do: America’s churches are indeed populated by people who feel a Gospel call to love and care for “the least of these.” It will also require a cease-fire agreement in the war over the specifics of any future regularization bill fought primarily on the right over “a path to citizenship” and a refusal on the left to use the crisis to leverage it for more. It will require, in short, that America collectively put the interests of these children first.

A Pendleton base of operations will instantly attract the support and contributions of goods and services from the amazing network of churches in Southern California, just as it did in 1975. Pastor Rick Warrren and Orange County Bishop Kevin Vann need only summon their thousands of colleagues to a meeting and the short-term needs of these children will be met by volunteers bearing toys, food, clothing and English lessons, as well as adult supervision of the best sort. (Pendelton borders Orange County on its north, home to both Warren and Vann. Their San Diego counterparts would no doubt also throw all in.) It would be a giant Vacation Bible School without the Bibles, but it would work.

Likewise, if officials put in charge of assigning adoptees to applicant parents are caring, non-ideological officials, perhaps jointly credentialed by a body jointly selected by House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama, the adoption process will proceed quickly and with little fuss. Children will end up dispersed all across the country. The lucky ones will be in Northeast Ohio where they can become LeBron fans instantly. The less lucky ones will be sent north to Minnesota where the sun doesn’t shine but the Lutherans are welcoming and the State Fair fabulous.

Overnight they will be on the road to being Americans.

Most of those over 13 and under 17 could pass a similar system, though a more rigorous review of their circumstances and personality will have to occur. The reports of recruitment of some of the border crossers by organized crime cartels are concerning of course, which is why screening of older potential adoptees will have to be more rigorous.

Those 17 and 18 should be offered a choice: English school followed by the military for four years or a ticket home.

The humanitarian crisis must be met. It can be met. The policy that precipitated the crisis must be dealt with, and I still believe the beginning of construction of a long, strong, high fence as the visible expression of an invisible resolve to control our border would accomplish that messaging overnight, but neither it nor anything else ought to stop us from caring now for the children in these federal warehouses. A new “Children’s Crusade” is occurring, and one that could be as calamitous as that of 1212 seemed to be.

If allowed, however, the people of faith in America will step up to care for and raise these children as Americans. Congress should act expeditiously to allow them to do so, whether or not they can otherwise agree that the sky is blue.

Hugh Hewitt is host of a nationally syndicated talk radio show, a partner in a national law firm and a professor of law at the Fowler School of Law at Chapman University in Orange County, Calif.

OK, Hugh Hewett isn’t as wacky as Rush or Ken+Bob – somebody has to play the part of the straight man to the dittoheads at the tea party.

There’s very little here to agree with – the concept of tens of thousands unescorted minor children at Camp Pendleton being chaperoned+tended-to by Marines and all the clergy of Orange County (The recent record of clergy in looking after the welfare of children is not all that good!) – or the possibility of Congress and the Courts coming up with a way to assign the adoption rights to fine upstanding church people – but only from churches of a certain size and demographic profile isn’t just amusing – it takes the Tea Party from the revolutionary Bostonian Back Bay theatrical (“Lets dress up like Red Indians and toss the cargo into the ‘Ha-ba’!” ) to beyond Lewis-Carrollian madness.

“Take some more tea," the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.
"I've had nothing yet," Alice replied in an offended tone, "so I can't take more."
"You mean you can't take less," said the Hatter: "it's very easy to take more than nothing."

The thing I hope we can agree with is that these children aren’t vermin or vectors for disease – and they aren’t trying to subvert and overrun our American Way of Life by overwhelming the Border Patrol, ICE Agents and the border fence - no matter how long or many sided.  They are children.  The crisis is not a political crisis, it’s a humanitarian crisis. And Mr. Hewett wishes to solve it it his Orange County faith-based Christianist way.

It’s a start.

And if you wonder just how badly the best of intentions can go, read up about the Children’s Crusade of 1212.

“But I don’t want to go among mad people," Alice remarked.
"Oh, you can’t help that," said the Cat: "we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad."
"How do you know I’m mad?" said Alice.
"You must be," said the Cat, or you wouldn’t have come here.”

BEFORE BUYING TECHNOLOGY, ASKING ‘WHY?’

By Ross Brenneman, Education Week Teacher |  http://bit.ly/1mZsR3D

—Ross Brenneman

Published Online: June 18, 2014 /Includes correction(s): July 15, 2014  ::  District leaders and other advocates of personalized learning frequently say that the approach isn't about technology. But that’s easy for an administrator to say when every child in his or her district has a school-provided computer.

The record of spending certainly seems to suggest districts believe that one requires the other.

First, consider the nearly $400 million given out by the U.S. Department of Education for its Race to the Top district competitive-grant program in 2012, created to spur on personalized-learning initiatives in low-income areas. And then there’s the subsequent $120 million the department gave out in 2013 during the second round of that competition.

Out of the 21 total school districts to receive funds through those iterations of Race to the Top, almost all created 1-to-1 digital device plans. Even some of the districts without 1-to-1 ambitions in their applications, such as the Carson City, Nev., and Houston school districts, have nevertheless been working on getting laptops to their students.

Districts without such federal funding have also been entranced by 1-to-1 programs: In Arlington, Va., the district is piloting a 1-to-1 program among 2nd and 6th graders that will cost $200,000, before eventually expanding. The Madison, Wis., school system recently embarked on a $28 million 1-to-1 initiative that hints vaguely at personalized learning. Maine began implementing a statewide 1-to-1 initiative over a decade ago under former Gov. Angus King, although current Gov. Paul LePage almost shut it down over concerns about cost-effectiveness. That program has poured millions of dollars into Apple MacBooks for students.

Some districts may have comprehensive instructional plans to go along with their technology purchases, but it's not like Apple—or hundreds of other technology providers—will turn down money from more freewheeling school systems. Districts might believe that personalized learning follows directly from major technology purchases, but the reality tends to show otherwise.

"I get probably five or six calls a day from different principals or superintendents saying, 'I bought all this technology, now what?'" said Allison Powell, vice president for new learning models at the International Association for K-12 Online Learning, or iNACOL. "They're buying the technology without thinking through what their specific learning goals and outcomes are, and technology might not be the right tool for that."

Defining the Terms

If the initial question districts might ask is what learning goals should precede a classroom-technology implementation plan, another, far more basic question could precede that: What, exactly, is personalized learning?

According to experts, personalized learning is one of many similar and overlapping, but not identical, instructional philosophies that seek to better cater to students’ individual learning needs. Other approaches in the same pedagogical cluster include differentiated instruction, blended learning, competency-based learning, and the especially vague "student-centered learning." The only consistent underpinning of each is an assumption that students do not all learn the same way and that classroom instruction needs to be structurally modified to adapt to that fact. Proponents of these brands of instruction tend to grimace or smirk when they say things like "sage on the stage" and "one size fits all."

According to an October 2013 iNACOL report entitled “Mean What You Say,” written in a bid to build consensus around digital-learning terms, personalized learning is a system in which instruction bends to each student's pace and interests, but without altering the standards to which they are taught. Blended learning (which combines online and face-to-face instruction) and differentiated instruction can be means to that end, but blended learning can also be implemented without differentiation; students can show competency without personalization; and personalized learning can be achieved without blended learning.

And yes, that means that personalized learning can be implemented without technology.

The remote Chugach, Alaska, school district, for example, implemented a combination competency-based and personalized-learning program late in the '90s for which it won national recognition, including a Malcolm Baldridge Award. Rather than the usual 12 grades, in which students advance primarily by age, the district now operates on 10 competency levels based on student demonstrations of learning. The personalization component involves student portfolios that track their work, as well as triannual assessments designed to help teachers determine which students learn better visually, orally, or with other kinds of assistance. Students also assume increasing amounts of leadership over their learning as they progress, including designing their own learning projects.

As a much simpler example, Powell suggests that a teacher with a student interested in animals could help that pupil land a veterinary internship and base some of the in-class curriculum on animal-related texts.

“You can do [personalized learning] without the technology, but [technology] just makes it a whole lot easier for the teachers to do," Powell said.

Also more important than the technology per se, or even the style of learning, is the long-term planning.

If that plan includes a computer for every child, research (and anecdotal evidence) suggests a good 1-to-1 program will likely take 3-5 years to implement, Powell says. That includes time to craft the plan, get all relevant parties on board, and begin integrating instructional changes. Next comes counting the technology options, purchasing and stocking the devices, and training teachers, principals, and parents, before managing distribution to students.

New schools may need to be especially careful, or else risk the problems faced by several new charter schools profiled in a May 2014 report by the Center for Reinventing Public Education. Many of those schools, which planned to utilize personalized learning, underestimated costs associated with hiring staff, leaving them to spend less on hardware and software alike.

With or without technology, shifting a district’s teachers to a new form of instruction requires thorough professional development, drawn from a “coordinated, intentional, and systematic” plan, according to iNACOL’s October 2013 case study of the iLearnNYC Lab Schools, part of New York City’s Innovation Zone schools. Meeting the qualifications of such a plan requires schools to understand the needs of their teachers and administrators, and a district’s capacity to deliver.

No matter what plan a district goes with, school administrators and teachers need to know what they’re all in for.

"The vision needs to come first," Powell said.

HOW MUSIC ED POWERS THE STEAM MOVEMENT

By Richard Naithram, NEA Today Online | http://bit.ly/Wb0zcQ

July 16, 2014 ::   With many of the nation’s education leaders focused on the importance of STEM education, the movement to add music to the equation is getting more attention. Recently, a panel of experts gathered on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC to discuss ways to elevate music education– and the arts in general – and turn STEM (Science Technology Education Math) into STEAM.

The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) sponsored the event, called “Music Education Powers STEAM: The Broader Minded Role of Music in Preparing a 21^st Century Workforce.” The panel included Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici of Oregon, NAfME President Glenn E. Nierman, David Dik, National Executive Director of Young Audiences Arts for Learning, and Dru Davison, Arts Administrator for Shelby County Schools in Memphis. The panel was moderated by Matt Wallaert, a behavioral psychologist with Microsoft/Bing.

The participants all agreed that successful music education advocacy depended on highlighting how music develops key skills in students, including self-reflection, communication, collaboration, creativity and innovation.

“The goal of our teachers is not to make music majors, but lifelong persons who appreciate the arts and there are number of 21^st century skills like communication and collaboration that happen almost every day in the music classroom,” explained NAfME President Nierman.

“Everything can be connected. Instead of saying ‘now we are studying science and then we are studying art,’ it can be integrated curriculum that can be really engaging to students…because we all know students learn in multiple ways,” said Rep. Bonamici, who also reported that the bipartisan Congressional STEAM Caucus has grown to include 63 members of Congress.

Nierman added that music offers students the chance to interact intellectually, kinetically, and emotionally, allowing them to take ownership of their world through creation and expression.

“One of the things that the arts and music do uniquely is to help that child discover who they are as a person and their relationship to their fellow human beings,” explained Nieman. “I have often talked to school boards about the fact had we had more students to come in contact with arts education and the integration of art, maybe we would not have had Columbine, the awful things we see happening in schools.”

Dru Davidson urged all stakeholders to recognize the role music teachers play in helping close achievement gaps. Davidson pointed out that too much of the dialogue about science and technology education and career readiness tends to focus on very high-achieving students. A strong music education program, he argued, can help struggling students – which Davidson was when he was in school – become more engaged in their studies and steer them toward a career and college readiness path.

“What are doing to prescribe solutions those students who are not at that high end?” Davidson asked. “The music teacher specifically has a unique role and I think we’re the prescription in many cases.”

Watch the NAfME STEAM Panel Discussion

Rep. Bonamici also emphasized that music and arts education can help close the gender gap by getting girls involved with STEM.

“Girls begin to realize that there are parallels between music and math or science and art, “Bonamici explained.  “So we can start to get that confidence back and begin to close the gender gap.”

“Every child deserves arts education,” Bonamici continued. “It shouldn’t be an extra class or done in the basement or up in the attic of the school. It should be for everyone. We have to move STEAM forward and translate it into policy that will benefit not only to our students and our schools, but also to our business community and to the country – to make sure we are globally competitive and our students become innovative thinkers.”

The day after the briefing, more than 150 music education leaders and supporters visited Capitol Hill for NAfME Hill Day 2014 and shared with elected officials the urgent need to ensure the continued preservation of school-based music programs across America.

ARNE DUNCAN FLUBBED ON COMMON CORE …AND THEN HE MADE IT WORSE

Opinion by Karin Klein, member of the L.A. Times editorial board,  in the Times | http://lat.ms/1jy0yKh

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, speaks at its convention over the weekend in Los Angeles. (Los Angeles Times)

July 14, 2014  ::  The scaffolding of support for the Common Core curriculum standards continues, right and left, to lose a beam here, a platform there. After adopting the standards, with vocal support from the governor, both the Oklahoma Legislature and Gov. Mary Fallin have now abandoned them. The American Federation of Teachers was once a big supporter. At its meeting over the weekend, though it didn't switch to outright opposition, it voted to set up grants for teachers to critique or reformulate the standards.

The rush to implement Common Core was a mistake. But it's also a mistake to dump solid standards ... because of some out-of-the-gate flubs.  

Some of this — especially among the red states that have pulled away to one extent or another — is more political than educational. Even though many Republicans were among the notable figures endorsing the standards from the beginning, now politicians are more interested in pushing the “federal overreach” button as a way of denying President Obama a victory of any kind, especially right before an election.

But the Obama administration has to take the lion’s share of the blame for the uproar over Common Core. The early arm-twisting to get states to adopt it was one problem; with the standards attached to waivers from No Child Left Behind, instead of arising from states looking to improve their students’ ability to succeed in college and jobs, there was bound to be some buyers’ remorse.

But far worse were poor implementation policies supported all along the way by Education Secretary Arne Duncan. It happened too fast, with too little review. Worse, it happened with an unconscionable emphasis on holding everyone responsible right away for how students fared on a new curriculum and new tests.

In other words, this was a management failure, and Duncan, education manager in chief, managed to turn doubters and worriers into opponents when he attacked and mocked those who raised legitimate concerns.

This is a real shame. In part, the Common Core standards were written to respond to valid complaints. Even students accepted to four-year colleges arrive without the skills to produce clear, grammatical sentences, organized paragraphs and arguments that are backed up by facts and reasonable analysis. Their ability to read and comprehend good writing, especially nonfiction writing that isn’t a textbook, is stunted. Their math skills tend to be rote, which makes it hard for them to move to more complex levels of mathematical and scientific understanding.

In other words, the ideas behind the standards are solid ones. And it’s important to remember that standards aren’t the same as curriculum. The standards say only what students should be learning by the time they reach a certain grade. It’s up to states to write the curriculum that gets students to those levels.

That’s a huge job, especially with the related switch to doing more work on computers that schools don’t even have yet. On top of that, good as the standards are in many ways, they’re also more difficult to carry out well. Getting students to analyze, write gracefully and devise novel solutions to problems is much more difficult than stuffing them with knowledge so they can fill in the bubbles on a test. It’s going to take excellent teachers who can discern the needs of individual students, know when to give them an explanation and when to tell them to figure out the next part on their own, with maybe a little hint to get them going.

On top of that, Common Core probably should have been introduced from the bottom up, over the course of years. It requires not just teachers but students to think about their English and math work in different ways. What are the chances that a student who has learned math by the old method for nine years can suddenly switch to a new format for problem-solving in 10th grade without huge frustration? It would have made more sense to start with kindergarten and first grades, add a couple more grades the next year, and so forth. This also would have provided the time to edit the standards and related curricula as schools went along, train teachers and develop instructional materials and tests that come from more sources than mega-academic companies.

The rush to implement Common Core was a mistake. But it’s also a mistake to dump solid standards, even if they might need amending, because of some out-of-the-gate flubs. Where is the leadership to call a timeout and help states and schools fashion a more thoughtful educational plan for Common Core, one that puts top priority on improving curriculum and instruction, and worries later about how we hold schools accountable for the results?

Not in the U.S. Department of Education, it would seem.