PARENT POWER + smf’s 2¢

By Bill Boyarsky | Los Angeles Jewish Journal

“Raw power, an unabashed transfer of political power to parents.”

That’s how Ben Austin describes Parent Revolution, the organization he founded and heads up, which aims to shake up Los Angeles’ public schools. It aims to remove the administration and faculty from low performing schools, and, if the parents desire, convert them to charter schools, which are independently operated, without strong unions, and financed by LAUSD.

Austin is a parent whose daughter will enter the Los Angeles public school system after she graduates from Temple Israel of Hollywood’s preschool. He has served as a political aide in the Clinton White House and in Richard Riordan’s City Hall. Public education reform is one of Riordan’s big interests, and after Austin left city hall in 2001, he continued to work on his old boss’ issue, independently and with Riordan and others interested in education. In fact, Austin planned to run for the school board in the Westside district in 2008, but had to drop out after a campaign assistant fouled up gathering the signatures needed to get him on the ballot.

A few months later, with backing from the private nonprofit foundations of arts and education philanthropist Eli Broad and Casey Wasserman (a philanthropist and the grandson of entertainment scion Lew Wasserman) and others, Austin and a few other parents created Parent Revolution, for which he serves as executive director. He also is a part-time prosecutor in the city attorney’s office. Parent Revolution, which now has an annual budget of about $500,000, began by organizing parents of students at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles and Mark Twain Middle School in the Mar Vista-Venice area. It plans to move on to other schools.

“We represented half of the parents in the enrollment boundaries,” he said. “After that, more parents came to us.” Then they sought help from L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa and allies on the school board. Last spring, members of the group met downtown and went to the school district headquarters. The result of this activity was a plan, presented by the mayor in 2009, which called for 250 school campuses, including some new ones, to be turned into charter organizations or other nonprofit groups. The teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), opposes the idea. But in a surprising defeat for the usually powerful union, the school board adopted the plan. Last month the teachers union filed suit to block its implementation.

The mayor’s plan is loaded down with bureaucratic obstacles. It may take a long time to implement. And with final decision making on how to implement the plan left to Superintendent Ramon Cortines, parents may be pretty much cut out of working out final details.

Looking for something better, Parent Revolution and other reformers went to Sacramento. This was a gamble, since the legislature traditionally has been firmly under the heel of the California Teachers Association, which represents more than 340,000 teachers and other school personnel around the state. “We didn’t have lobbyists, we didn’t have a ton of money,” Austin said.

But the political situation has been changing. President Barack Obama’s Race to the Top program promised $4.3 billion in federal funds to states that would require teachers to be judged by student test results. The Obama administration also insisted that states make it easier to form charter schools.

In the financially strapped Capitol, the promise of federal funds turned out to have more influence than the California Teachers Association. After a struggle, with Parent Revolution taking part in the lobbying, the California legislature passed a bill forcing districts to make major changes when 50 percent of a school’s parents sign a petition. This would apply to a limited number of poor-performing schools in a district. Those schools could become charters. The principal and teaching staff could be replaced. Or the school could be closed.

Under the state law, parents wanting to transform their school would have to sign up 50 percent or more of the parents in an enrollment area. This would trigger the process of change. Parent Revolution is an organizing group, with no plans to actually run schools. Its important role would be to train parent volunteers in how to sign up people and talk to them about the issues. After that, the parents themselves would decide whether they wanted a charter or to simply replace the principals and teachers with a new crew.

The measure also permits parents in the state’s 1,000 worst-performing schools to transfer their children to other schools. Performance of children and teachers would be measured by tests.

The specifics of just how this would work are yet to be worked out. The State Board of Education will write the regulations that will implement the state legislation. These regulations would determine what kind of organization would actually run a school. Just how the state law will mesh with the plan adopted by the Los Angeles Board of Education last year is unclear. It could sweep aside the cumbersome LAUSD program.

“We think it is the most important reform in the country, and it came out of Parent Revolution,” Austin said.

Parent Revolution’s particular foe is UTLA and its contracts with the Los Angeles Unified School District. Critics of L.A.’s schools say such contracts make it all but impossible to remove or discipline poorly performing teachers. Austin believes the current contracts are “restrictive contracts that don’t have anything to do with kids, where there is no accountability.”

A.J. Duffy, the UTLA president, disagrees. “Far too often, UTLA’s stance against outside operators is painted in a negative light — that our members don’t want our schools taken over simply because we don’t want to lose union members or weaken our contract,” he wrote on the union’s Web site. “That conveniently ignores what we all know to be true: Day after day, teachers and health and human services professionals put students first. It’s in our DNA. It’s why we work long hours for low pay. It’s why we stay up until midnight working on a new lesson plan after a TV show sparked an idea for teaching fractions. It’s why we spend that Target gift card on school supplies instead of a needed microwave.”

The combative Duffy and his union are expected to resist as Parent Revolution circulates its petitions in schools around the city, promising parents, in Austin’s words, “if you organize half the parents in your school, we promise you a great school.”

Sounds like a schoolyard fight. Hopefully, the students won’t be the losers.

Bill Boyarsky is a columnist for The Jewish Journal, Truthdig and LA Observed, and the author of “Inventing L.A.: The Chandlers and Their Times” (Angel City Press).

●●smf’s 2¢: Connect the dots

• In a schoolyard fight between adults students are always the losers.
• Boyarsky and Austin’s version of the creation myth of Parent Revolution (“the organization he founded and heads up…”) misses its genesis in The Los Angeles Parent Union – born fully formed in the mind of Steve Barr – founder of Green Dot Public (Charter) Schools.
• “Parent Revolution, which now has an annual budget of about $500,000…” Follow the money, someone’s getting what they are paying for.
• These dots connect in a circle:
• LAPU was  the parent arm of Barr and Mayor Tony’s support of AB 1381 - the almost successful (if only it wasn’t so darned unconstitutional!) attempt by the mayor to take over LAUSD.
• That effort also morphed into The Partnership for LA Schools – aka: The Mayor’s Partnership
• The LA Parent Union morphed with a letterhead,website  and T-shirt redesign into Parent Revolution.
• Parent Revolution, like LAPU before it, appears to be a  wholly-owned subsidiary of Green Dot.
• Austin was on the Green Dot Payroll. (The past tense can be construed to include the present.)
• There is a blurred but fine line between the Mayor’s Office and the Partnership for LA Schools – it is a line the mayor, mayor’s staff and PLAS staff crosses easily and at will – in so doing erasing all transparency and accountability.
• The current LAUSD superintendent extended that fine line into his superintendency when he moved from City Hall to Beaudry – and eventually from the 11th floor to to 24th. (Stretching the metaphor: an actual line from City Hall to Beaudry would bisect Green Dot’s HQ on Figueroa.)
• Los Angeles Parent Union/Parent Revolution started as  an  ‘off-the-shelf” parent group of almost-all charter school parents available-on-demand  to put on the blue T-shirts, get on the white buses, follow the script and assume the myth of prefabricated parent involvement.

None of the above makes any of the players bad people. Charter schools are not bad things; charter school parents want what’s best for their children. Some of them are true believer/revolutionaries  and assume that what’s best for their children is what's best for all children.

I am for empowering parents.

Choice is a good thing …but who chooses is critical.

LAUSD MAY FACE BIGGER BUDGET HOLE: Cuts in state budget plan could mean loss of another $200 million.

By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer | LA Daily News

01/26/2010 | 08:35:20 PM PST -- Already reeling from a series of financial hits in the past year, Los Angeles Unified School District officials recently learned that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's new state budget plan could chop an additional $200 million from the district next year.

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“After carving deeply into California’s K-12 budget over the past two years, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vowed Wednesday to spare schools from further cuts in the budget he will propose for fiscal 2011.” - Ed Week | Jan 6, 2010 | http://bit.ly/d6avDc

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LAUSD was already facing an expected budget deficit of $470 million next year. But officials found tucked in the fine print of the governor's budget an additional, unexpected cut of $250 per student for 2010-11, potentially raising the district's deficit to $670 million.

The discovery comes just six weeks before the district faces a state deadline to begin handing out pink slips to teachers and administrators who could be laid off next year.

LAUSD Chief Financial Officer Megan Reilly said while the governor's plan keeps education funding at last year's level, it also retains cuts that were supposed to be restored.

"More cuts will have to happen to address these hidden cuts to education," Reilly said.

The grim news comes a month after district officials approved a two-year budget plan that included eliminating some 5,000 jobs, including 1,400 teachers, 1,000 janitors and maintenance workers and 520 school office workers through 2012.

That plan also left K-3 student-teacher ratios at 29:1; slashed arts and music programs at elementary schools in half; and cut back school nurses, cops and aides.

LAUSD Board president Monica Garcia urged employee unions to share the pain and agree to other cuts that could help avoid another devastating round of layoffs.

LAUSD laid off about 2,500 teachers and 2,800 non-teaching school workers in 2009.

"The choices we face now are hard and we are at a place where no one wants to be," Garcia said.

"We need to work together with our bargaining units. ... In 2010 to tell a family that they do not have a job is a very serious thing."

Officials said the district can save $40 million for every 1percent salary cut approved by bargaining units. One furlough day saves about $15 million.

To date, SEIU Local 99, representing mostly custodians and cafeteria workers, has agreed to four furlough days for 2009-10 and the union's bus drivers have approved 10furlough days this year to prevent cuts to their unit.

Also, the California School Employees Association and the Building and Trades Council Unit E reached a tentative agreement last month for four unpaid work days.

A.J. Duffy, president of United Teachers Los Angeles - LAUSD's largest employee union - said teachers would not accept furloughs or pay cuts until district officials proved all other cuts had been made.

"We'll sit down and talk to the district about how we can help it find its way out of this financial crisis ... but only if they open their books and let us make suggestions on what else they can cut," Duffy said.

District officials have also talked about asking voters in November 2010 to approve a limited parcel tax, for up to $200 million.

LAUSD PLAN TO SEND STAFF TO QUAKE-RAVAGED HAITI APPROVED

By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer | LA Daily News

01/26/2010 07:53:57 PM PST - Recognizing the hardship Haiti's massive earthquake will inflict on the country's students, the Los Angeles Unified Board of Education unanimously approved a relief plan Tuesday that calls for sending district staff to help with rebuilding efforts.

LAUSD board member and author of the plan Steve Zimmer said the idea was to put the district's nationally recognized crisis-response team and school construction division to use in the impoverished Caribbean nation.

LAUSD is completing a $27 billion school construction project, the largest in the nation's history, and the district's crisis-response services are used as models across the state and country.

"As a district we may struggle with a lot of things, but we know how to build schools and we know how to deal with human crisis," Zimmer said.

"This is a very specific way that we as a district can help."

Zimmer's proposal would also centralize all of the district's fund-raising efforts, including moneys donated by employees through paycheck deductions, and it would funnel them to three specific non-profits already working in Haiti: Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross of America, and Habitat for Humanity.

While board member Yolie Flores supported the plan, she did question whether the district was in the financial position to help, as it struggles with a massive deficit that could top $600 million.

"I just don't want to oversell what we can do," Flores said.

Zimmer's resolution starts the process of studying how the district can help with relief efforts but more details need to be worked out before the plan can be implemented.

Zimmer said the district would coordinate relief efforts with other government agencies and nonprofits to keep expenses down.

7th AND FINAL STATE OF EDUCATION ADDRESS BY SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INTRUCTION O’CONNELL

 

By Canan Tasci | Inland Valley Daily Bulletin Education Now blog

Here is the text of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell's seventh and final State of Education Address.

The address was given Friday 1/22  at 11 a.m. :

"Good morning. I am pleased to see that so many close friends and associates have come from both near and far to be here today.

Each year I look forward to this day because it gives me the opportunity to speak directly to the education community, policy makers, and the citizens of California about the status of education; where we stand as educators; as a state; and more importantly, how our students are faring.

To begin with, I want to express my sincere appreciation to the entire education community and parents around the state for preparing our children for their successful future.

It is for your work that I am today both grateful and hopeful. Grateful because we have made so much progress during very challenging times. Hopeful because I know we can build on this progress, even as our challenges grow. "

• Continue reading 7th and final State of Education address by O'Connell.

FEMALE TEACHERS MAY PASS ON MATH ANXIETY TO GIRLS, STUDY FINDS: After a year in the classroom with female teachers who say they are anxious about math, girls are more likely to share that attitude -- and score lower on tests, researchers say.

STUDY: Social Sciences - Psychological and Cognitive Sciences: Female teachers’ math anxiety affects girls’ math achievement (Sian L. Beilock, Elizabeth A. Gunderson, Gerardo Ramirez, and Susan C. Levine PNAS published online before print January 25, 2010, doi:10.1073/pnas.0910967107

Abstract: People’s fear and anxiety about doing math—over and above actual math ability—can be an impediment to their math achievement. We show that when the math-anxious individuals are female elementary school teachers, their math anxiety carries negative consequences for the math achievement of their female students. Early elementary school teachers in the United States are almost exclusively female (>90%), and we provide evidence that these female teachers’ anxieties relate to girls’ math achievement via girls’ beliefs about who is good at math. First- and second-grade female teachers completed measures of math anxiety. The math achievement of the students in these teachers’ classrooms was also assessed. There was no relation between a teacher’s math anxiety and her students’ math achievement at the beginning of the school year. By the school year’s end, however, the more anxious teachers were about math, the more likely girls (but not boys) were to endorse the commonly held stereotype that “boys are good at math, and girls are good at reading” and the lower these girls’ math achievement. Indeed, by the end of the school year, girls who endorsed this stereotype had significantly worse math achievement than girls who did not and than boys overall. In early elementary school, where the teachers are almost all female, teachers’ math anxiety carries consequences for girls’ math achievement by influencing girls’ beliefs about who is good at math.

Full Text (PDF)       Supporting Information

By Karen Kaplan | LA Times

January 26, 2010 -- Girls have long embraced the stereotype that they're not supposed to be good at math. It seems they may be getting the idea from a surprising source -- their female elementary school teachers.

First- and second-graders whose teachers were anxious about mathematics were more likely to believe that boys are hard-wired for math and that girls are better at reading, a new study has found. What's more, the girls who bought into that notion scored significantly lower on math tests than their peers who didn't.

The gap in test scores was not apparent in the fall when the kids were first tested, but emerged after spending a school year in the classrooms of teachers with math anxiety. That detail convinced researchers that the teachers -- all of them women -- were the culprits.

"Teachers who are anxious about their own math abilities are translating some of that to their kids," said University of Chicago psychologist Sian Beilock, who led the study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The study is the first both to examine the math attitudes of teachers and to show that those feelings can spread to students and undermine their performance, said coauthor Susan C. Levine, also a psychologist at the University of Chicago.

Experts said the findings could have implications for policymakers seeking to draw more women into careers in science, engineering and technology. Instead of focusing their efforts solely on female students, they could devise interventions for teachers as well.

"We always need more excellent scientists and mathematicians," said University of Wisconsin psychology professor Janet Shibley Hyde, who examines gender differences in math performance and wasn't involved in the study. "They are the force that drives the nation's economy. You don't want to dismiss 50% of the potential scientists because they're girls rather than boys. That's just crazy."

Beilock and her colleagues recruited seven female teachers from a Midwestern school district and assessed their level of math anxiety -- a condition in which the prospect of doing math evokes unpleasant physiological and emotional responses. Such anxiety is more common among women, but isn't related to math abilities.

The researchers also gave math tests to 117 of the teachers' students and assessed their beliefs about math and gender at the beginning and the end of the school year.

By the spring, 20 of the girls subscribed to the math-is-for-boys stereotype; they were more likely to have been taught by math-anxious teachers. The girls scored an average of 102.5 on a test that asked them to count shapes and do simple addition and subtraction.

The average scores were higher for the other students: 107.8 for the remaining 45 girls and 107.7 for the 52 boys.

Beilock said she and her colleagues weren't sure exactly how the angst was transmitted from teachers to students.

Perhaps math-anxious teachers call on girls to solve math problems less frequently; praise boys more effusively; or simply imply that it's not important for girls to be good at math.

The teachers could also telegraph their own discomfort with math by hesitating when answering questions or speaking in a different tone of voice, and some girls internalize that attitude, Beilock said.

When girls see women struggling with math, it "contributes to the stereotype that math is for males," Hyde said. "It's kind of like the Barbie who said, 'Math is hard.' "

Studies have shown that girls have just as much math ability as boys. In a 2008 report in the journal Science, Hyde and her colleagues analyzed the math test scores of more than 7 million American students in grades 2 through 11 and found no difference between boys and girls at any grade level.

A study published this month by some of the same researchers examined the math performance of nearly half a million 14-to-16-year-olds in 69 countries. That report, in Psychological Bulletin, also found that boys and girls scored essentially the same, and that girls did better if they lived in countries where many women pursued careers in math and science.

The gap that emerged in the new study may seem small, but because math is a cumulative subject, its long-term consequences may be significant, researchers said. By high school, if girls don't take advanced math and science classes, they're effectively shutting themselves out of certain college majors and, thus, many career options.

"There's a snowball effect," Beilock said.

Marcia C. Linn, a professor of development and cognition at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Education, said the results were "disheartening," though not surprising. But she questioned whether it was fair to single out teachers.

"It's not just their teachers," she said. "It's the textbook, and it's a new conception of mathematics."

But Hyde pointed out that if the main problem were a boring curriculum, boys would be affected in addition to girls.

The study raises important questions about the education of elementary school teachers. Only 33% of kindergarten, first- and second-grade teachers took a course in probability and statistics in college, and only 13% took calculus, Beilock said.

More math training -- in college and afterward -- might improve teachers' confidence.

But the stereotype will probably persist as long as it remains acceptable for women to express a fear of math.

"You don't hear people going around bragging about the fact that they can't read, but you do hear people say, 'Oh, I don't want to calculate the bill,' " Beilock said.

SOME SCHOOL DISTRICTS UNSURE ABOUT ‘RACE TO THE TOP’ FUNDING

North County Times [North San Diego and Southwest Riverside counties]

Jan 23, 2010 -- As the federal government dangles a financial carrot to encourage school districts to commit to a series of education reforms, more than half of North County districts so far have decided not to bite.

That carrot -- the Obama administration's so-called "Race to the Top" program -- comes with what some educators consider serious strings. To qualify for the money, states and school districts must agree to requirements such as using test data in teacher evaluations, giving parents more of a say in what school their child attends and financially rewarding high-performing teachers.

The California Department of Education, which is expecting as much as $700 million from the federal program, set a Jan. 8 deadline for school districts to sign a memorandum of understanding indicating they wanted in on the deal.

In North County, seven districts signed the form and 10 didn't. The districts that said they were interested in the program are Bonsall Union, Cardiff Union, Encinitas Union, Ramona Unified, San Marcos Unified, Vallecitos Elementary and Vista Unified.

Some local educators said they couldn't commit to the program without more details.

"There were too many unknowns for me to recommend to the board that we participate," said John Roach, superintendent of the Carlsbad Unified School District.

Even in districts that signed the form, officials said that doesn't mean they have fully committed to all the changes.

"We want to see where things go," said Tim Baird, superintendent of the Encinitas Union School District. "The devil's in the details."

In Escondido, both school districts declined to sign the memorandum because they said more time was needed to study the long-term effects of Race to the Top.

"The problem is, it was put together so hurried, and the ramifications weren't clear," said Joan Gardner, president of the Escondido Union School District Board of Trustees.

Gardner said the district did not have time to discuss Race to the Top with the teachers association before the deadline to sign the memorandum of understanding.

"We haven't abandoned the idea, but at this time we couldn't move forward with all the unknowns," she said.

Escondido Union High School District Trustee Tina Pope also said the board felt rushed to make a decision.

"There's a few things in that memorandum of understanding that aren't clear, and I'm not a fan, personally, of jumping into something without having all the details before us," she said.

State officials were strongly encouraging districts to get on board before Jan. 8 to show solidarity and improve the state's chances of getting the federal grant money, said Tina Jung, a spokeswoman with the state Education Department.

But schools that didn't sign the memorandum by the state's January deadline may be able to join the program later. Nothing in the federal application precludes that, according to the California Education Department's Web site.

It's unclear how the state will handle such latecomers.

Some local school officials have said they have interpreted the rules to mean that they wouldn't qualify for any of the federal money if they didn't sign the memorandum.

Those that did sign it will be able to back out if they can't make the changes for some reason "after a good faith effort," the memorandum states.

In total, more than $4 billion is set to be doled out to participating states through Race to the Top, part of the sweeping federal stimulus program known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. California officials expect to get between $350 million and $700 million. The state Education Department can take as much as half of that. The rest will be split up among participating districts.

Statewide, 760 educational agencies -- including school districts, charter schools and county educational offices -- have signed the memorandum.

It's not yet clear how much money that could mean for each district, but some local educators say they don't expect it to be much.

"It's a big state, and it's not a ton of money," Roach said.

Staff writer Gary Warth contributed to this report.

HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS: Los Angeles City Section faces $1.4-million budget cut | http://bit.ly/8evznW

The 20% loss in high school athletic funding is part of reductions required by the LAUSD as it deals with the loss of state funding .- LA Times

TEACHERS PUSH GARDENA HIGH REFORMS – proposal ‘met with mixed reactions and some befuddlement’

By Melissa Pamer Staff Writer | Daily Breeze

01/25/2010 - In response to a reform mandate from the Los Angeles school board, teachers and administrators at Gardena High have come up with a plan they hope will get the troubled school back on track.

But the proposal, drafted to comply with a closely watched board initiative that lets groups inside and outside of the Los Angeles Unified School District bid for control of 30 campuses, has met with mixed reactions and some befuddlement.

Next week, thousands of parents at Gardena and its feeder schools will be asked to take a yes-or-no vote on the 43-page plan, which aims to improve academic achievement, increase campus safety, boost family involvement and give teachers a greater voice.

Supporters characterized the document as a plan to "keep Gardena, Gardena."

Teachers, who appear to back the proposal while remaining skeptical of the process, say they already have another vision in mind for Gardena High: turning it into a district-affiliated charter school. That move, which they say will proceed on a separate track from the Public School Choice process, would increase local control over school policies.

"We would like a model that would give teachers more say so," said Saul Lankster, a Gardena history teacher and union leader who helped draft the proposal. "If the local people were in control of that school, you would have a completely different outcome."

Last week, the panel that drew up the plan presented its vision to about 150 parents. Similar presentations have been made this month across LAUSD, as teams compete for control of 12 existing "focus schools" and 18 newly constructed campuses that will open in fall.

The focus schools were named in September by Superintendent Ramon Cortines because, he said, they met a list of criteria that showed academic failures, including poor or nonimproving performance on standardized tests and a high dropout rate.

Gardena, with its score of 576 on the state's Academic Performance Index, is tied with Leuzinger High in Lawndale for the lowest-performing school in the South Bay.

Gardena High has also experienced less measurable problems in recent years: a rapid succession of district- appointed principals, an unhappy faculty, and safety concerns about the large campus.

So it surprised few when no outside charter or nonprofit group stepped up to apply for control of Gardena High. Likewise, no groups sought control of crowded San Pedro High, also named a focus school.

The Gardena High "improvement proposal," produced by a group of teachers and administrators, focuses on the implementation of "small learning communities," a districtwide program that divides students into educationally themed groups.

It also calls for the creation of a discipline committee, a modified bell schedule, and an earlier beginning to the school year. School would end earlier on most Tuesdays to give teachers time for professional development and collaboration.

Many said the process of drawing up the plan had been therapeutic for a fractured staff that was now more united. A crucial shared school governance council that had not been established in fall is on its way to resurrection because of the process.

"We are on the right path to healthy, trusting relationships between faculty, administration and students," said Principal Rudy Mendoza, who was appointed to his job in October.

At its public presentation last week, the panel that wrote the plan offered generalities and academic buzzwords - such as "project-based learning" and "personalized instruction" - in describing its vision to parents.

During a limited question- and-answer session that was marked by poor audio quality, parent suggestions about requiring student uniforms or posting grades and homework assignments online were essentially met with "maybe."

Some wanted assurances that the school would stop busing in students from overcrowded campuses in Carson, Wilmington and South Los Angeles. Officials responded that it remains unclear if busing will continue.

Many observers - including district officials - said they felt the reform plan listed policies that Gardena High should already be practicing.

Others were left without a clear picture of how the school would be changed.

"There's no clarity in what they're presenting; there's no transparency," said Gardena Councilman Dan Medina, who has followed the process closely. "It's hard to be enthused about something that you don't understand."

Medina said that even having attended multiple meetings, he and others felt confused by the presentation.

"The parents left, saying `huh?"' Medina said.

Internally, there appears to be less confusion, though few could summarize - or agree on - how the plan would ultimately improve the school.

"The overarching issue at Gardena is governance and teachers wanting more of a voice," said Juan Flecha, the Local District 8 administrator overseeing the plan. "The teachers really feel that they don't have a venue to provide input."

Some teachers said that while they were on board for the proposed reforms, they believe turning the school into a charter is the best choice. The earliest that complicated process could be completed is in the 2011-12 school year.

As teachers pursue that option, they're worried about another upheaval. Some believe Principal Mendoza will be moved from the school to a new secondary campus under construction near Carson. Mendoza denied that, saying he's at Gardena High "for the long haul."

Lankster, who has railed against the district's policy of moving administrators around, expressed optimism about the future. The teachers, he said, were united.

"We have come to realize that we need take that step together," he said. "We cannot make this step as a house divided."

A public vote on the plan is set for early February. The outcome will not determine the fate of the proposal - that's up to a district review panel and Cortines, who will consider the vote when making recommendations to the school board. Later in February, the board will select a plan for each of the 30 campuses subject to the reform initiative.

If the board does not approve the Gardena High plan, it's unclear what would happen next.

"Just because there's only one applicant per school doesn't mean that applicant will automatically get it," said district spokeswoman Gayle Pollard-Terry.

One possibility is reconstitution, in which all staff are fired and made to reapply for the jobs. In December, Cortines announced such a restructuring for Fremont High School in South Los Angeles, warning that the move would be considered for other failing schools.

Pollard-Terry said the move was not currently being discussed for other schools, but rumors have persisted about what Cortines might do.

"It's certainly in his arsenal," Flecha said. "It's a definite possibility."

But there's no been no official warning of any kind to Gardena, Flecha said.

"We haven't gone to Gardena in any shape or form and said, you really need to shape up or you're going to be shipped out because now you're going to be reconstituted," Flecha said. "The school has really done their best effort to put their best foot forward."

What's next?

Gardena High School parents are asked to take part in an advisory vote on a campus reform plan, which is available at www.lausd.net. Parents from the following feeder schools may vote: 135th Street, 153rd Street, 156th Street, 186th Street, Amestoy, Avalon Gardens, Chapman, Denker Avenue, Gardena and Purche Avenue elementary schools and Peary Middle School.

Where: Gardena High School, 1301 W. 182nd St., Gardena.

When: 7 to 10 a.m. and 3 to 7 p.m. Feb. 2, and

9 a.m. to noon Feb. 6.

RECOMMENDATIONS THRICE REMOVED: “As a reminder, advisory votes are only recommendations to me. They are not a binding vote. I will include the results of the advisory vote recommendations in my final recommendations to the board.” PSC UPDATE: SUPERINTENDENT’S LETTER, REVISED SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS & ADVISORY VOTE SCHEDULE AND PROTOCOL.

Those would be the votes of parents. Of teachers and staff. Of students. Of the entire school community. Even the superintendent’s “final recommendations” are only recommendations.

The “choice” in the public school choice resolution lies exclusively with Board of Education. -smf

Public School Choice Update 1 22 10

The soft bigotry of low expectations v.2.0: BERKELEY HIGH MAY CUT SCIENCE LAB CLASSES TO FUND PROGRAMS TO FUND PROGRAMS FOR STRUGGLING STUDENTS

Trying to address a major ethnic and racial achievement gap, the school could divert funds from before- and after-school science labs filled mostly with white students. The plan has sparked debate.

By Maria L. La Ganga | LA Times | http://bit.ly/67a7hQ

January 24, 2010 -- Reporting from Berkeley - Aaron Glimme's Advanced Placement chemistry students straggle in, sleepy. It is 7:30 a.m. at Berkeley High School. The day doesn't officially begin for another hour. They pull on safety goggles, measure out t-butyl alcohol and try to determine the molar mass of an unknown substance by measuring how much its freezing point decreases.

<< Kelechi Okereke and Andrew Wilde-Price, right, conduct an experiment for an AP chemistry class at Berkeley High. A proposal would shift money from before- and after-school labs to fund "equity" programs for struggling students. (Robert Durell / For The Times / January 19, 2010)

In the last school year, 82% of Berkeley's AP chemistry students passed the rigorous exam, which gives college credit for high school work. The national passing rate is 55.2%. The school's AP biology and physics students are even more successful.

Most districts would not argue with such a record, but Berkeley High's science labs are embroiled in a debate over scarce resources with overtones of race, class and politics.

Campus leadership has proposed cutting before- and after-school labs -- decreasing science instruction by 20% to 40% -- and using that money to fund "equity" programs for struggling students in an effort to close one of the widest racial and ethnic achievement gaps in the state.

The racial and ethnic makeup of science classes was considered when crafting the proposal to shift money away from science instruction.

White students predominate in the science classes that require supplemental lab time, according to an analysis by a lead teacher in the Berkeley High math department. Her study also showed that three-fourths of the students who take less-rigorous science classes -- those that do not require extra lab time -- are African American or Latino.

"There's a big fear of taking away from high-end achievers," said Linda Gonzalez, co-chair of the school governance council, which crafted the controversial proposal. But "why are we having science classes with two or three labs when there are kids in science classes with no labs?" wondered Gonzalez, a parent who supports the shift.

Response to the proposal was swift. A group of science teachers sent a letter to Berkeley residents protesting the move and seeking support. More than 250 people have signed an online petition in support of the labs. The story ricocheted around the Internet with headlines like, "Berkeley High may drop 'white' science labs."

In this famously liberal college town, which prides itself on having one of the highest concentrations of PhDs in the country, the debate has revealed deep disagreement over how best to help underachievers, pitting haves against have-nots, whites and Asians against blacks and Latinos.

"This became a race issue, because just about everything that happens in Berkeley is fundamentally viewed through that lens," said Glimme, who acknowledged that "there's a very clear difference by race as to who shows up to the lab classes."

In Berkeley's 10 square miles, multimillion-dollar hillside homes with sweeping views rise above working-class bungalows and apartments in the flatlands. The percentage of adults with at least a bachelor's degree is more than twice as high as in the state as a whole, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, while the percentage of residents living in poverty is nearly 1 1/2 times the statewide level.

Or as Ingrid Seyer-Ochi, an assistant professor in the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Education, puts it: "Because of class differences, you can claim all of the benefits of being progressive without living the complex reality" of Berkeley. "You can live in the hills."

Such inequality translates into a stark achievement gap. Only 30.8% of African American students at Berkeley High are proficient in English and 31.3% in math, according to the state Department of Education. Just over 90% of white students are proficient in English, 87.1% in math.

At Claremont High School in Los Angeles County, which has a demographic profile similar to Berkeley High, the gap is much narrower: 52.5% of African American students are proficient in English and 46.7% in math. Just over 80% of white students meet English instruction standards, and 79.5% meet math standards.

  >>more | http://bit.ly/67a7hQ>>

The Box Score: HISTORY/LITERATURE/GEOGRAPHY - 0 | CHARTER SCHOOLS - 29

"Take a look at Arne Duncan's speeches. Over the past six months, he's made nine major policy addresses that have been posted on his Department's web site. And in those speeches, he's mentioned "history," "literature," and "geography" exactly zero times. Meanwhile, there were seven instances of "accountability," and "charter schools" left his lips an astounding twenty-nine times."

—Michael J. Petrelli, Fordham Education Gadfly, 7/16/09

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES IN HARD TIMES

see: AT HOME OR IN SCHOOL, CALIFORNIA STUDENTS FACE HARDER TIMES, SURVEY FINDS | http://bit.ly/8ZSexL

Tele-Press Conference Announcing the Release of the Latest California  Educational Opportunity Report

On January 22, 2010, UCLA IDEA held a tele-press conference announcing  the release of the annual California Educational Opportunity Report.  IDEA director John Rogers presented key findings of the report to an  audience of statewide reporters. You can download the audio file of  the tele-press conference, as well as the accompanying PowerPoint  presentation.

- Audio file of tele-press conference

- PowerPoint presentation

  Click here to download the Educational Opportunity in Hard Times (Full Report)

Click here to download the Educational Opportunity in Hard Times (Exec Summary)

  Click here to download to the Data and Definitions: A Technical Appendix

Click here for the Conditions, Opportunities, and Outcomes in Californnia Public Schools

Dumb superintendent tricks: FORMER L.A. SCHOOLS CHIEF FINED IN BADGE INCIDENT

by Jason Song | LATimes/LA Now blog

January 21, 2010 |  8:38 pm -- A former Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent pleaded no contest Thursday to unlawfully displaying a badge while allegedly trying to pull a woman's car over in Pomona.

Ruben Zacarias waved a school district police badge at a woman driving on the 57 Freeway in July and said he was a “cop,” according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.

Zacarias, who was superintendent for 2 1/2 years before being bought out of his contract by the school board in late 1999, was fined $250 and must pay a $100 restitution fee.

Also, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Brougham ordered that the badge -- which was seized by the California Highway Patrol -- be returned to the Los Angeles Unified School District, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Ceballos.

HISTORIC TIME FOR ‘CHOICE’ IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS + DO THE APPLICANTS HAVE WHAT IT TAKES? - Parents, students and teachers are urged to get informed; selected school operators may control schools for five years.

By Gloria Angelina Castillo, Gloria Alvarez, Paul Aranda Jr, and Eloisa España  | Eastern Group Publications - Eastside Sun / Northeast Sun / Mexican American Sun / Bell Gardens Sun / City Terrace Comet / Commerce Comet / Montebello Comet / Monterey Park Comet / ELA Brookyln Belvedere Comet / Wyvernwood Chronicle / Vernon Sun

21 January - Following a historic vote last summer, the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) is initiating revolutionary changes for some of its most underperforming schools as well as 24 new campuses set to open next fall.

As part of the District’s Public School Choice (PSC) Resolution, school operations will no longer be the sole responsibility of the LAUSD, but may be turned over to new school management teams that are convinced they have a better plan to raise student achievement and graduation rates.

Clockwise from top left: Esteban Torres High School (rendering), Luther Burbank Middle School, James A. Garfield High School, and Abraham Lincoln High School

Starting today, presentation teams will be in East and Northeast Los Angeles communities to discuss proposals submitted to the LAUSD for schools included in the PSC plan. Some meetings have already been held in other parts of the District.

In the Northeast area, students at Burbank Middle School (Highland Park) and Abraham Lincoln High School (Lincoln Heights) could find themselves in schools radically different than previous generations. The same could be said for Eastside students at James A. Garfield High School. The new Esteban Torres High school in East L.A. is also part of the upcoming changes. Due to its placement in the mayor’s Partnership for Los Angeles Schools, Roosevelt is exempt from the new plan.

The community meetings mark the latest stage in the implementation of the Public School Choice Resolution, approved by school board members in August 2009.

Many view PSC as the District’s most progressive attempt in years to address the poor test scores and high dropout rates that have plagued many schools for decades. The resolution allows LAUSD educators, charter school operators, partnerships and non-profits to submit plans to operate designated schools. For-profit entities were not allowed to submit a plan.

The presentations are expected to provide a wide-array of educational experiences and philosophies. The range of proposals include pilot schools, specialized academies run by current teachers and charter schools run by large charter operators. At Garfield, one of the plans is from a neighboring school district.

Burbank, Lincoln and Garfield are among 12 existing schools selected based on the following criteria: “Program Improvement 3+” status, which means they have been under-performing for five or more years; zero to negative growth in Academic Performance Index (API) for the 2008-2009 year; Less than 21 percent  of students scoring proficient or advanced on either the Mathematics or English Language Arts California Standards Test; and a drop-out rate greater than 10 percent, according to a Dec. 2009 LAUSD memo.

Following the public presentations, the District will conduct internal reviews of each application, according to the Public School Choice Timeline Appendix. Advisory votes on each application will be taken in February.

Advisory votes are open to the public, including parents and guardians of students attending the selected school, a designated feeder school, or schools set to be relieved as in the case of Torres High.

A review panel for each school will present the advisory votes, community feedback and analyze each plan before making a recommendation to the Superintendent.

The Superintendent will share the advisory recommendations with the school board when he makes his recommendations sometime in February, according to LAUSD. The Board is scheduled to vote on February 23.

Selected applicants will operate the school for five years. The school will be reviewed twice a year, with a report submitted to the Board and Superintendent annually, according to the district. The public will be able to monitor the progress through LAUSD School Report Cards.

For more details, visit http://notebook.lausd.net.

 

Do the School Choice Applicants Have What it Takes?

EGP Staff has put together a guide to the strategies proposed by applicants that think they can improve academic performance at Garfield, Lincoln and Esteban Torres High Schools and Luther Burbank Middle School.

By EGP Staff Reports

Garfield High School:  Garfield’s 2009 API Growth is 595,the school failed to make a five percent improvement from the previous year. The 2008 Base API was 597.

Applicant: Garfield Faculty and Administrators with Aupport from Local District 5.

Applicant proposes using four inter-related curricular strategies to reform student achievement: (1) Literacy and numeracy courses; (2) A multi-tiered system of instructional strategies; (3) A professional development routine and (4) a cooperating team of small learning communities. Each student’s curricular path will be tailored to meet student’s individual needs and interests, including those requiring Special Education or identified as Gifted or English learners.

Applicant intends to establish six cooperative small learning communities in addition to the existing Computer Science Magnet — College and Career Readiness Academy, Global Studies Academy, Green Architecture Design Academy (GADA), Humanitas Academy of Media Arts, Teacher Career and Performing Arts Academy, University Preparatory Program — each with its own advisory group of parents, community members, and students. When they mature to six separate small schools, each will have its own School Site Council, bilingual and Title I committees, and a shared decision council.

An “intervention friendly’ schedule will allow students to take extra classes to improve skills or for enrichment while still completing the A-G requirements, and allow more professional development time for teachers. Applicant will aggressively pursue increasing the number of minority students with disabilities in GATE and taking Advanced Placement classes. The school will move from a three-track, year-round schedule to a traditional one-track schedule.

The assumption is that the school will receive approximately the same funding, ADA and enrollment-based state and federal revenue, throughout the five-year proposal.

State mandated assessments, CAHSEE, CELDT, and others will be administered. Athletics and extracurricular activities will be continued and supported.

Applicant: Green Architectural Design Academy (GADA)

GADA is an existing small learning community at Garfield High School seeking continuation through the PSC program. The academy’s curriculum emphasizes learning opportunities in the fields of green technology and architecture, along with the required A-G core classes needed for college admission. Applicant calls it a three-year pathway to raise test scores, increase graduation rates, and prepare students for entry into the career fields around green architecture.

GADA is funded by the state through 2012, when the first class graduates. The academy’s 500 students in grades 10 through 12 include the requisite number of students from the attendance area and special education students.

The state provides regular training and oversight of the academy’s expenditures. Community, educational and industry partnerships are being developed to provide funding, training, guidance and student internships.

GADA Instructional Methods include progressively challenging project-based learning around green architectural themes. Students will engage in a real-life, real-time project in constructing a “green auditorium” at the school.

GADA emphasizes key CAHSEE and CST tests standards and provided appropriate intervention and assistance and teacher directed study to raise passing and proficiency rates. GADA will use Specifically Designed Academic Instruction in English (SDAIE strategies) in all classrooms with English Learners. Special Education students will be fully included in intervention and modification programs directed by special education personnel.

GADA will follow the same single or multi-track calendar as Garfield, but with a block class schedule to facilitate remediation and credit recovery for at-risk students.

Applicant: Montebello Unified School District (MUSD)

MUSD, like the Los Angeles Unified School District, is a public educational organization under the California State Department of Education. It is bound by state policy and the Educational Code to adhere to certain operating procedures. MUSD says the student demographics at Garfield are very similar to those of the MUSD, but MUSD has higher graduation rates and API scores. Over 300 Garfield area transfer students currently attend Schurr, Montebello and Bell Gardens High School in the MUSD.

Garfield would be incorporated into MUSD’s 5-year strategic plan to increase student achievement through a rigorous standards based curriculum that includes access to Honors and AP Courses, A-G core curriculum, and career-themed Multiple Pathway (Small Learning Communities), teacher development and a safety net for students who need support to meet CST, CAHSEE or CELDT benchmarks. Parent and community participation opportunities will be available through school site committees. MUSD will provide service to LAUSD identified “high-priority” students.

MUSD expressed confidence in current Garfield staff, and said it would remove instructional impediments to promote instructional momentum. MUSD Superintendent and Board of Education will provide leadership/governance over Garfield.

Revenue would be based on ADA and enrollment-based Federal and State categorical funding, and other grant opportunities. Athletics and extracurricular activities will be continued and supported.

Abraham Lincoln Senior High School: The school’s 2009 API is 587, down from 608 in 2008.

Applicant: The Lincoln High School Focus Team

The focus team is comprised of existing administration, classified personnel and teachers at the school, as well as students and parent groups. The primary goal is to create five Small Learning Communities (SLC) and implement block scheduling.

The SLC’s include; Law, Business and Government, aims to prepare students for college and knowledge necessary for entry-level jobs in law, government or business; Science for Global Studies emphasis on academic skills, preparation and motivation to successfully pursue university degree’s in science, technology and engineering; VOICE (Victory Over Ignorance Through Culture) focuses on creating awareness of social and political inequalities for the purpose of self-empowerment and the development of critical-thinking skills; Math, Science and Technology Magnet is a college-preparatory program with strong emphasis on science, mathematics and computer technology; Humanitas will provide students with an interdisciplinary curriculum for students entering the workforce after graduation; and Medical and Health Careers, a health and medical career-focused education program.

Applicant will adopt a semester block schedule to allow students to complete more courses in four years, and more time to assist students with low-standardized test scores with additional English and math courses. Students can use extra periods for SLC related enrichment courses. The enrollment policy for Lincoln High School will comply with identified LAUSD attendance boundaries and admission requirements for English Learners, Special Educations, and students with disabilities.

A student coordinating committee will be created to allow students to participate in the decision making of their SLC. A school governance council, comprised of teacher representatives, administrators and student representatives, parents and community members will oversee the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the school.

Applicant: The Law, Leadership in Entertainment and Media Arts (LEMA) Pilot

Applicant includes veteran LAUSD teachers supported by Local District 5 and Local District 4’s Pilot School Director. LEMA proposes to operate as a small independent school on the Lincoln High School campus. All LEMA students will be allowed to participate in extracurricular clubs and sports teams from the main campus.

LEMA’s objective is to provide students with a solid background knowledge of law along with the technical skills emphasized in the entertainment industry, through a program that engages students in learning and practice, improving the school’s graduation and test passage rate.

LEMA proposes to lengthen the school day, (8:00 am to 3:30 pm) and adopt a trimester calendar to allow students to complete 15 classes each year. Students may be able to finish high school early and participate in work-study programs or enroll in community college courses for free. The trimester calendar will allow struggling students extra time to finish yearlong courses and improve tests scores.

LEMA will implement eHIGH (extended high school) where students will participate in intervention, enhancement and acceleration programs (i.e. Internships) after school, on Saturdays and during vacations. LEMA will create financial incentives for students for academic achievement, attendance and performance on standardized tests. The incentives will be offered through eHIGH internships, workforce education and jobs programs.

As a pilot school, LEMA would have autonomy over its budget, governance, staffing and curriculum, and be exempt from certain Board Rules and District policies, and provisions of the UTLA contract.

Luther Burbank Middle School:

Applicant: Luther Burbank Middle School submitted three individual proposals for the school as an internal applicant. The school proposes re-naming the school Luther Burbank Learning Complex (LBLC) composed of three grade-specific small pilot schools and the recently opened magnet schools (Luther Burbank Math-Science-Technology Magnet and Luther Burbank Police Academy Magnet). The Learning Complex may be similar to the Civitas School of Leadership near downtown L.A.

—Luther Burbank Sixth Grade Science, Technology, English Arts & Mathematics “S.T.E.A.M.” Pilot School

The STEAM Pilot school aims to give 6^th grade students a strong background in core courses to help them successfully transition to middle school. The transition pilot will intentionally create a setting similar to an elementary school but instead of one teacher, students will experience two to four teachers in their first year. Students will be offered learning opportunities and support before and after school; parents and students can access the student’s progress and grades at least once a week.

Students will be introduced to their Individual Learning Plan per LAUSD, teachers will use the Understanding by Design instructional model which includes communicating with 5^th and 7^th/8^th grade teachers about “how” each student learn best.

STEAM will have multiple layers of school governance that will encourage parent participation, and the creation of a Board of Trustees made up by school community stakeholder groups. The Board will not make decisions, but will represent groups and report to the principal and School Site Council.

The STEAM fiscal plan will focus on Pilot-Per-Pupil budgeting formula. Other costs will include reducing the student to teacher ratio to 27 to one, two weeks of training for teachers prior to the new school year, funding for the AVID program, and buses for trips to colleges.

—Burbank Middle School Proposal for the seventh grade “Luther Burbank Intermediate School for Environmental Studies”

The Environmental Studies Pilot philosophy is that very child can and will learn through direct experiences with nature; three-fourths of an acre on the campus will be dedicated to cultivation and xenoscaping. Student’s daily schedule consists of an advisory period for 40 minutes where they can engage in collaborative projects and/or service-based learning focused on an environmental issue. There will be daily intervention or enrichment for 55 minutes depending on a student’s progress. After school tutoring and support will be available. Students will be taught to analyze their own progress and be able to explain it to their parents. Students will have an Individual Learning Plan and one semester of Technology Skills.

Instruction will be collaborative, reflective, innovated and connected. Intervention programs will address individual student needs. School governance and fiscal plan will be similar to the Sixth Grade STEAM Pilot.

Partnerships will continue with the Hathaway House, Los Angeles Police and Probation Departments, Occidental College and CSU Los Angeles.

First-year goals for the pilot include increasing by 10 percent students scoring Proficient or Advanced on CST in English Language Arts and Math, Science and Social Studies, and increase by 10 percent the performance of students identified as Standard English Learners (SEL).

—Burbank Middle School Proposal for Eighth Grade “Luther Burbank Intermediate School for Humanities and Arts”

The Humanities and Arts Pilot will offer dance, theater, music and visual arts in addition to core subjects, and foster an environment of support with the goal of cultivating independent and thoughtful learners who will pursue a higher education and become active and creative citizens.

Arts will be incorporated into the curriculum and will build upon the student’s knowledge and “what it means to be a human being living in a culturally diverse community; the goal is connecting to their life experiences,” the proposal states. No student will be turned away based on talent in art fields.

Students will have group and cooperative learning, project-based and problem-based learning opportunities, public speaking and leadership opportunities, and give/receive peer feedback on assignments.

The education plan, governance and fiscal plan will be similar to the STEAM and Environmental Studies Pilot Schools.

Esteban Torres High Schools #1, 2, 3, 4, and 5

Esteban Torres High Schools is a newly built educational complex scheduled to open in September 2010. The school complex was designed to accommodate five separate high schools. Students will come from the Garfield and Roosevelt attendance areas, relieving overcrowding at those schools. Eight separate applications were submitted for the five schools.

Applications include two applications each from charter school operators Alliance for College Ready Schools and Green Dot Public Schools, and one from The Design High School; together they currently operate 36 charter schools. They propose to operate the five high schools under the name of “Esteban Torres Family of Schools.”

Individual applications were also received from the Social Justice Leadership Academy, The Humanitas Art and Technology Academy, East Los Angeles Renaissance Academy, East Los Angeles Performing Arts Academy and a team from Local District 5, under the name of the Energy & Technology Academy. A summary of these applications will be updated soon.

‘DESPERATE’ UC STUDENTS SCURRY TO SNAG KEY CLASSES

By Larry Gordon | LA Times LA Now blog | http://bit.ly/8mgdsp

21 Jan - Some courses have hundreds wait-listed as the new term begins. Many students fear they won't get the classes needed to graduate on time -- and with higher fees, may not be able to afford an extra year   [more]

UC TO ESTABLISH WAITING LISTS FOR FRESHMAN APPLICANTS

LA Times/ LA Now blog| http://bit.ly/6RvGIg

January 20, 2010 |  3:29 pm -- The University of California will break its tradition and establish waiting lists this spring for freshman admissions as it copes with uncertainty over state funding, officials said Wednesday.

UC has not previously used waiting lists across its system, and not all of its nine undergraduate campuses will do so this spring, administrators said during a UC regents meeting in San Francisco. But they predicted that most campuses will adopt the lists, at least to a limited extent, while the university decides whether to cut freshman enrollment for fall 2010.

For the current freshman class, UC reduced enrollment by about 2,300, or about 6%, in response to state budget cuts. Patrick Lenz, UC's vice president for budget, said he hoped to avoid another reduction of that magnitude. "I don’t think it's going to be as severe as 2,300, but there could be some," he said.

Continue reading »

RttT/NCLB v.2.0: OBAMA PUSHES $1.35 BILLION OF EDUCATION PLAN

By Mark Silva | LA Times LA Now blog | http://bit.ly/8QTbyI

Jan 21 - Speaking from a low-income, high-achieving campus, the president promotes his Race to the Top program. Tuesday was the deadline for states to apply for a share of the program's funding. (more)

QUOTE O’ TH’ WEEK: "We've worked hard to get parents more involved in their children's education but how can they help if they don't know there's a problem?”

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his State of the City Address | http://bit.ly/6p1UEk

 

smf: Maybe the problem isn’t just at the schools …maybe the problem is at Gracie Mansion.

The always parent-friendly Mayor Michael’s other notable quote is: “If parents don’t like the way I run the schools they can boo me at parades.”

AT HOME OR IN SCHOOL, CALIFORNIA STUDENTS FACE HARDER TIMES, SURVEY FINDS + Survey rollout invite

Statewide poll of principals reveals an increase in cutbacks and layoffs at schools, and unemployment and homelessness among families.

By Howard Blume | LA Times | http://bit.ly/7uSmSR

Full survey will be published Friday and should appear here. 

[UPDATE: http://bit.ly/4ui433]

January 21, 2010 | 12:16 a.m -- The state's children found no escape from harder times last year whether at school, where they endured larger classes, unfamiliar teachers and scarce supplies -- or at home, where they faced family stresses from emptier refrigerators, job losses and more frequent dislocation.

The grim compilation comes in a report to be released today by UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education and Access and the University of California All Campus Consortium on Research for Diversity.

"It's the bleakest I've ever seen," said one Los Angeles County school principal, who, like others in the principals survey, participated anonymously.

Among the report's findings:

• High-poverty schools were more than four times as likely (65.6% to 15%) as low-poverty schools to experience teacher layoffs.
  
• 70% of principals reported that summer school had been cut back severely or eliminated. High-poverty schools were almost three times as likely (48.7% to 16.7%) as low-poverty schools to eliminate summer school.
  
• 48% of principals reported that after-school programs were cut or eliminated -- in many cases, ending tutoring programs.
  
• Almost one-third of principals reported increased homelessness; several indicated they had never before seen homelessness at their schools.
  
• Principals in high-poverty schools were three times as likely (44% to 15%) as those from low-poverty schools to say that support services outside school also were slashed. (more)

 

SAN FERNANDO VALLEY SUN INTERVIEW RE: SAN FERNANDO MS ‘CHOICE’ PROPOSAL PT2 http://bit.ly/6yOPBF | EN ESPAÑOL http://bit.ly/4qHdWR

San Fernando Valley Sun/El Sol

Thursday, January 21, 2009 - Last week, The San Fernando Valley Sun/El Sol interviewed Laura Tracy, the UTLA Chapter Chair and history teacher at San Fernando Middle School, on the "Collaborative" proposal, one of two proposals submitted to LAUSD to operate the school. Tracy has been very involved in the development of the collaboration proposal which partners with Project Grad and L.E.A.P. The following is part two of that interview with Tracy.