REMEMBERING A SPECIAL TEACHER: Fifty-two years after they left Wilbur Conover's sixth-grade class at Queen Anne Place Elementary School, more than a dozen of his former students gather to celebrate his passion and skills.

 

By Sandy Banks, LA Times columnist | http://lat.ms/pUSQxo

 

Fifty-two years after leaving Queen Anne Elementary School, former students in Wilbur Conover's sixth-grade class reminisce over an album of photographs during a reunion at the campus. (Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times)

October 4, 2011 - Mr. Conover wasn't there to hear them. He was old when he entered teaching, and he's been dead for years. But this weekend, 52 years after they left his sixth-grade class at Queen Anne Place Elementary School, more than a dozen of Wilbur W. Conover's former students gathered on the campus playground.

They raised plastic goblets of champagne in a toast to their still-strong childhood bond and their teacher's passion and skills. Then they packed and hauled away the bottles and cups so today's students at the school near Pico and Crenshaw wouldn't know they'd been drinking on campus.

The occasion was a class reunion of students from the elementary school, which was little more than a collection of pink stucco bungalows when they left it behind in 1959. Almost half the 36 students from the class attended, from as far away as Japan and as near as the West Adams district.

That was a surprise to someone like me, who can't remember the names of most of my sixth-grade classmates and can't imagine traveling cross-country to Cleveland to reunite with them.

But this group clearly had a special camaraderie. I joined them Saturday night for dinner, and Sunday at the Queen Anne Place campus, where they draped the lunch tables with butcher paper and recorded their memories with Crayolas.

They are an eclectic group. Almost all are college graduates; several have advanced degrees. Many lived abroad for years. A few are Vietnam veterans; one went to jail as a draft resister. Some followed straight career paths. But more of them dabbled, moving among interests and regions for most of their adult lives.

And they hadn't seen one another in decades.

Arthur Zack — a PhD in forest ecology who tends a forest in Idaho — remembers when classmate David Meyer's letter reached him in Spokane. "I told my wife, 'They're putting together a grade school reunion. This guy must have entirely too much time on his hands.' "

But memories of that time drew him and his classmates back.

They hadn't realized it when they were young, but they came of age during an extraordinary period of freedom in Los Angeles — a time of prosperity and promise, of endless possibilities.

"L.A. was exploding," Zack recalled. "People were coming here from everywhere. People who wanted something more open and free; they were building a new culture here."

About half of the students in the class were Jewish. But there were two black girls and one boy from Mexico. Three students were the children of Holocaust survivors. There were refugees from Hungary and Sweden, from the Bronx and small-town Pennsylvania. There was a student visiting from Japan and another whose Japanese American mother had spent time in an internment camp. There were working-class children from nearby apartments — including the child of a leftist who had fled McCarthyism — and rich kids from mansions in Fremont Square.

"It wasn't like we were crashing the party. We were the party back then," Zack said.

"Back then" was before carpools and play dates, when everybody walked to school, carrying lunch boxes packed by Mom. "We spent weekends and summers in each other's backyards … our parents knew each other," said Diana Johnson Roberts, a retired social worker and teacher who lives in rural Oregon.

They credit that for their closeness, and their success.

But they also credit Mr. Conover.

::

You can argue about what makes a good school: a modern building, small classes, teachers with advanced degrees. For these students, it was a World War II veteran who was lavish with praise but would put you in a headlock if you misbehaved.

He doesn't look like a favorite teacher in the sixth-grade graduation photo, standing ramrod straight in a suit and tie, tight-lipped with no hint of a smile. He was the only male teacher on their campus, and he didn't start teaching until he was 58, they told me.

"He wasn't our friend," Roberts said. "He made us march in military order."

I asked the group how he disciplined them. Michael Alexander — class cutup then, now head of the L.A. arts group Grand Performances — rose from his seat and mimicked shaking someone. A teacher's classroom was his kingdom back then.

So what made Mr. Conover so special? The answers came so fast, I almost made them raise their hands to speak.

He came an hour early to school each day to give them lessons on his marimba. He taught them about the Aztecs and the Maya at a time when textbooks made Indians look like savages. He helped them learn tolerance by supporting others' accomplishments.

Atsuko Sakurauchi had arrived the year before from Japan, and her English wasn't the best. "But in painting nobody could touch her," one of her classmates said. "Mr. Conover made sure we all knew that and celebrated her for it."

He opened their eyes to a world beyond the classroom, in a time before test prep and scripted lessons. He personified the freedom of the time — and the challenge of cultivating young minds.

"He let us discover our individual strengths," someone said. "He just wanted to make you better," somebody else chimed in.

::

Today, the bungalow classrooms they recall have been replaced by a new elementary school, an early education center for preschoolers and a ready-to-learn program for parents and kids. The complex stretches for half a city block. It is clean and cheerful and well-equipped.

Almost 90% of the students now are Latino, and half of them are still learning English. But the school's test scores are going up. Still, someone — who obviously failed spelling — has scrawled "LIER" next to the word "learn" on the metal nameplate at the entrance to Queen Anne Place.

The class of 1959 remembers a school with just a principal, a librarian, a janitor and one teacher for every 36 kids. Now, there are teachers' aides and intervention teams; program coordinators and attendance coordinators; a psychologist and a physical therapy provider.

The alums spent the weekend trying to figure out what kind of gift they could provide for their school: music lessons, classroom supplies, visits by performing artists. But the new principal's request was simpler: Come back to our Career Day, he said; introduce these children to the joy of possibilities.

I asked them what message they will leave with this new generation of students. The same message, they said, that Mr. Conover gave them:

Have some dreams. Do them. We did.

ADMINISTRATORS’ WORKLOAD: Assistant Principals

By Sayne Maza, in the Associated Administrators of Los Angeles Weekly Update

smf: Those who would attack LAUSD from without or within like to hang blame on Administrators – archetypical middle managers like the pointy-haired boss in Dilbert who spend the taxpayers’ money and ruin the lives of kids and the careers of teachers while ignoring parents.

You probably read "Up The Down Staircase":

During what was presumably my lunch period, Admiral Ass (a Mr. McHabe, who signs himself Adm. Asst.) appeared in my room with Joe Ferone.
"This boy is on probation," he said. "Did he show up in homeroom this morning?"
"Yes," I said.
"Any trouble?" the Admiral asked.
There we stood, the three of us, taking each other's measure. Ferone was watching through narrowed eyes.
"No. No trouble," I said.       Part I, ch. 7

The cardinal sin, strange as it may seem in an institution of learning, is talking. There are others, of course — sins, I mean, and I seem to have committed a good number. Yesterday I was playing my record of Gielgud reading Shakespeare … and I had succeeded, I thought, in establishing a mood. I mean, I got them to be quiet, when — enter Admiral Ass, in full regalia, epaulettes quivering with indignation. He snapped his fingers for me to stop the phonograph, waited for the turntable to stop turning, and pronounced:
"There will be a series of three bells rung three times indicating Emergency Shelter Drill. Playing records does not encourage the orderly evacuation of the class."                  Part II, ch. 9

That guy.

The truth is that California has less administrators-and-support-staff-per-student than any other state  And, as you read on, you will discover that AP's do more than they used to in the hallowed "Golden Age of California Education” …which was making sure that boy's hair was short and girl's hemlines were long.

Assistant Principal Sayne Maza, of Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies (the largest magnet school in the Los Angeles Unified School District - 2100 students in grades 4-12) addressed the following comments to District leadership – reprinted in the Week of Oct 3 AALA Weekly Update.

I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry when I received calendar dates for the District and Local District meetings I am expected to attend.

Does anyone outside of the schools really think administrators have the time to attend even one of these meetings?

I’m not going to give a litany of all the work I have to do as an Assistant Principal, for I know everyone works as hard as I do, and everyone knows what each other’s job entails. But I will say that I have no time to attend any off-campus or nonschool hours meetings because I don’t even have the time to do MY job.

I can’t do MY job because. . . oh yeah, we lost an administrator, and my coadministrators and I have had to take up the slack. I haven’t even had time to schedule my classroom observations because of all the other tasks heaped on me. I can’t do those extra administrative duties because, oh yeah, we lost our locker clerk, and guess who is the new locker clerk? I can’t issue all the lockers in a timely manner because guess who is the new textbook clerk? Yeah, you got it. I just finished scanning 12,000 books.

Next week we will lose an attendance office clerk. ‘spect I’ll be taking on those duties, too. Hope we don’t lose our nurse.

So I hope I can be forgiven for not attending any nonessential, nonmandatory meetings, for I will most likely be unpacking boxes of textbooks, bar-coding them, scanning them, following up on missing orders, assigning lockers to new students, checking lockers and trying to open them, doing reports and writing plans that another administrator was supposed to do, while not getting to my own duties—unless I continue staying until 10:00 p.m. and come in on weekends, which I’m currently doing.

Laugh or cry?

I won’t cry. I wouldn’t give the District the satisfaction.

Student Fees: Navigating the New Landscape - COMPLIMENTARY LEGAL BRIEFING ON PENDING LAWSUITS + THE IMPACT OF AB-165 (which tightens regulations on student fees) + Legislation and background news story

from Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo | http://bit.ly/pHhfHp

Download the above flyer

AB 165 (Lara)
Pupil fees.

PART OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

(1)Existing law requires the Legislature to provide for a system of common schools by which a free school is required to be kept up and supported in each district. Existing law prohibits a pupil enrolled in school from being required to pay a fee, deposit, or other charge not specifically authorized by law.

This bill would prohibit a pupil enrolled in a public school from being required to pay a pupil fee, as defined, for participation in an educational activity, as defined, as specified. The bill would provide that this prohibition is not to be interpreted to prohibit solicitation of voluntary donations, voluntary participation in fundraising activities, or school districts, schools, and other entities from providing pupils prizes or other recognition for voluntarily participating in fundraising activities. The bill would specify that these provisions apply to all public schools, including, but not limited to, charter schools and alternative schools, are declarative of existing law, and should not be interpreted to prohibit the imposition of a fee, deposit, or other charge otherwise allowed by law.

Complete Legislative Counsel's Digest & AB 165 Bill Text and current status is HERE.

smf: As of this posting (1pm 3 October) the bill has been passed by both houses and is enrolled – which means it's on the governors desk for his signature or veto.

 

Bill would address illegal school fees: ACLU to drop lawsuit over issue if Brown signs into law

Story by Joshua Emerson Smith from California Watch | http://bit.ly/oG6Pxy

Previously: Student fees persist despite law

Tuesday, September 20, 2011 at 10:58 a.m.  - California public schools are not allowed to charge students for educational activities or supplies. That’s been the rule since the state Constitution was ratified more than a century ago, and it was reaffirmed in 1984 by the State Supreme Court.

But if a student’s family is told they have to pay for a textbook or football uniform, their only recourse is an expensive legal battle.

Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of students and parents filed a class-action lawsuit [PDF] against the state contending that schools were illegally charging fees for educational materials at a disturbing rate. Then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger agreed with the suit and pledged to pass a law that would create an enforcement mechanism addressing the issue. It never happened.

Now, AB 165 – by Assemblyman Ricardo Lara, D-South Gate – is sitting on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk. And the ACLU has said it will drop the lawsuit if the bill is signed into law. Under the legislation, superintendents, at the beginning of the school year, would be responsible for conducting assessments of the legality of collected fees. Financial and compliance auditors would include a review of those findings in their annual report. If a fee were found to be illegal, the issue would be taken up at a local school board public meeting.

Parents and students also would be able to file complaints about specific fees using the Williams Uniform Complaint Procedure – a process for anonymously petitioning districts to address school conditions. Districts would be responsible for reimbursement of all improperly collected money.

But how do administrators know which fees are acceptable?

Not all fees are considered illegal, said Brooks Allen, director of education advocacy for the ACLU of Southern California. The California Department of Education created several statutes that provide exemptions to the rule. While someone could argue technically that these statutes conflict with California’s broad constitutional language, Allen said there’s a general understanding about what’s appropriate.

“The issue of unconstitutional school fees is something that crops up from time to time,” he said. “But we saw a real surge in the calls we were receiving from parents and students for these fees being charged for core academic instruction materials.”

Because of the ambiguity around school fees, the San Diego Unified School District hired a lawyer to draw up guidelines for administrators after the district was included in the ACLU lawsuit. Brooks said the district came up with a fairly good set of rules.

Jack Brandais, spokesman for San Diego Unified, said some principals simply were not aware they were breaking the law, adding that students always were provided materials if they could not afford them.

“And you had other principals in areas where the PTA or the school foundation wanted to provide all this stuff, and parents feel like they don’t have a problem with doing this,” he said. “So in those areas where everyone thinks it’s OK, over the years, it’s just kind of evolved.”

Many schools were aware they crossed the line. According to the 2011 annual report [PDF] from UCLA's Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access, nearly 20 percent of principals questioned admitted to collecting illegal fees to help pay for instructional materials as a consequence of budget cuts.

The report also found that “high-poverty” schools are significantly less likely to try to collect fees than “low-poverty” schools – suggesting that students most significantly affected are those whose classmates are consistently more well off.

“We had students who went weeks without a required textbook and workbooks because they couldn’t afford them,” Brooks said. “In some instances, they had their names put up on the board and singled out in a humiliating manner.”

The ACLU reported that at some schools, students were required to buy hundred-dollar calculators; students were charged $80 to take an Advanced Placement test and $150 for AP biology lab fees. Art fees at one school ranged from $30 to $125 a semester; at another school, parents were asked to pay more than $700 for cheerleading uniforms.

ORGANIZATIONS CALL FOR EASING HARSH DISCIPLINE AT PUBLIC SCHOOLS

Adolfo Guzman-Lopez | KPCC | http://bit.ly/qDBmyl

Download Audio

3 Oct 2011 - 6:19 a.m. | Some education activists say public school discipline has grown too harsh in reaction to the deadly Columbine, Colorado high school shootings more than a decade ago. Southern California activists are participating in a national effort this week to reform school discipline.

Barbara Raymond with the California Endowment says that most of last year’s 720,000 suspensions and expulsions at state public schools had nothing to do with violence, drugs or weapons.

"The vast majority of suspensions are for much lower level incidents," Raymond says, "things that we used to be kept, they would keep us after school, and now kids are being kicked out of school. So this is like misconduct, disruption in the classroom, something that in California we call 'willful defiance.'"

Suspensions, Raymond says, don’t provide the kinds of tools that students and teachers need to work through discipline problems. She says in some cases suspensions can discourage struggling students to the point that they decide to drop out.

Participating groups are organizing rallies in L.A., Fresno, Oakland and Sacramento to call on school districts and lawmakers to revamp their discipline policies.

Southern California Public Radio receives funding from the California Endowment.

Cindi Santana 1994-2011: FATAL STABBING AT SOUTH EAST HIGH PROMPTS CALL FOR MORE SECURITY

Cindi Santana died Friday after being stabbed, allegedly by her ex-boyfriend, at South East High School in South Gate. Parents say the campus needs increased security.

By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/qDUdFe

Los Angeles school police officers look at photos from surveillance cameras after the stabbing at South East High School. The school was put on lockdown for two hours after a male student allegedly stabbed his girlfriend during lunch time. The female student later died. Another student and a teacher were also stabbed when they intervened, but their injuries are not life-threatening. (Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

October 2, 2011, 8:51 p.m. - Parents and students called Sunday for increased security after a fatal stabbing at South East High School, where grief counselors were on hand in the library and students were outside raising money for the victim's family.

Cindi Santana, 17, died Friday at a local hospital following a lunchtime attack by her ex-boyfriend, 18-year-old Abraham Lopez, authorities said. Lopez is being held without bail at the Men's Central Jail downtown.

Three days before the stabbing, he'd been released on $50,000 bail after being arrested on Sept. 25 for making a criminal threat against Santana. After the stabbing, authorities became worried that Lopez might have planted an explosive device in a car owned by Santana's family. That concern led to the temporary evacuation of the hospital parking structure where the victim's family had driven.

South East High on Sunday became a gathering place for students, family, staff and community. A memorial included more than three dozen candles, bouquets of flowers and two heart-shaped balloons tied to a fence next to the parking lot in front of the campus.

Media were gathered there, too, but kept off the campus itself, where an intermittent stream of students and family members met in the library with counselors.

"You think your kids are safe at school, but they're not," said one parent, who declined to give her name. "To me they should have more security at school. They should search bags more often. I would like to see metal detectors."

Other parents and students echoed the call for more safety measures. But they also generally defended the school's academic program.

Until Friday's incident, the school had been under scrutiny chiefly for academic achievement levels that, while improving, remained low. South East High administrators and teachers have been busy putting together reform plans that would allow them to retain control of their campus.

Two well-known charter-school organizations are competing for the school, which serves a student body that is more than 85% low income, with more than a quarter of students learning English. About one-third of students test as proficient in English, as do 7% in math — figures that reflect substantial recent gains.

Special education teacher Dave Sievers, who is working on one reform plan, said the lunchtime supervision appeared to have been more than adequate Friday and that adults and students responded quickly to the attack. "We have some heroes here," Sievers said.

One student who tried to intervene was Jorge Garcia, who also was stabbed. On Sunday, he stood in front of the school with the group trying to raise donations.

"I'm doing OK," he said, adding that he wasn't ready to discuss anything related to the incident. "I'm sad that it happened."

Dean Christina Ordonez also tried to stop the assault and suffered a stab wound that was not life threatening. "She cares about students and looks out for them," said recent graduate Oscar Tranquilino.

"The dean was always trying to stop people from doing something bad, and she always tried to turn something from negative to positive," said senior Steven Gutierrez.

Gutierrez knew Santana and Lopez. "They were always walking around school, a happy couple. It didn't seem like there was nothing wrong," he said.

Students remembered the two as friendly and not known for getting in trouble. But some said Lopez seemed jealous and possessive.

"This is a heart-breaking situation for the school and the family," said L.A. schools Supt. John Deasy, who stopped by South East High on Sunday.

Deasy said the South Gate complex, which also includes a middle school, is patrolled by two to four school police officers and numerous security aides. As at other schools, there are random searches of lockers and backpacks, with some students checked with electronic wands.

Deasy also was dealing with the aftermath of the death of Angela Gettis, a sophomore at Washington Prep High School. She collapsed on the field at a high school football game Friday night at Fremont High School in South Los Angeles.

"We are working with both schools' students and staff," Deasy said. He added that counselors would be available throughout the week.

Education Reform Done Right: GIVE CALIFORNIA THE NCLB WAIVER

 

The Education Department should back off from its mandate that the state use test scores for teacher evaluations.

L.A. Times Editorial | http://lat.ms/pUoaeW

Brayan Diaz at work at Los Angeles Elementary School. Within a plan to grant California a waiver from the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act is a provision making standardized-test scores part of teachers' evaluations. ( Los Angeles Times)

October 3, 2011 - California would very much like a waiver from the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. The vast majority of the state's schools, including many high-achieving ones, would be labeled as failures by 2014 under the poorly written federal law, facing sanctions that time and experience now show to be of little help to low-achieving students.

The U.S. Department of Education would like to give California a waiver. It wants to show that states are willing to go along with its plan for revamping the law, and doesn't want to impose sanctions on the biggest state, with an eighth of the nation's students.

Yet state and federal officials could be headed toward a giant game of chicken over the waiver application because of a small provision within the very large and complicated plan. That provision would require states to make standardized test scores count in teachers' performance evaluations, a hot-button issue that has been vehemently opposed by teachers unions in California. In a meeting last month with The Times' editorial board, state Supt. Tom Torlakson didn't rule out the possibility of the state moving in that direction, someday and under the right circumstances. But he was far from committed to the concept, and opposed to doing it while the state is still using the current tests, which are due to be replaced in about four years.

The Obama administration nonetheless has been overly determined to prod states into using test scores in teacher evaluations. That was a factor in whether states were winners in Education Secretary Arne Duncan's Race to the Top — a grants competition that California never got fully on board with — and now the government wants to require it for relief from No Child Left Behind, with intermediate steps leading up to full adoption in four years.

Using test scores to rate teachers is the latest trend in the reform movement, and while doing so might have value as one of many elements in an evaluation, federal education officials admit that there is a dearth of research on whether it actually improves learning. That makes it premature to be talking about this as a long-term federal mandate. Politicians have seized on other supposed silver bullets of school reform — small schools, reconstituted schools — only to find over time and after study that the results were mixed to nonexistent.

The administration's plan should focus on accountability — whether schools are meeting their goals — rather than attempting to dictate the process by which they do it. The evaluation mandate is a troubling anomaly in a generally well-thought-out plan for overhauling No Child Left Behind.

The law, signed by President George W. Bush in 2002, was supposed to result in all U.S. students testing as proficient in reading and math by 2014. Assorted disciplinary measures have been levied on schools that didn't make the grade. But the goal was always unattainable — more than 80% of schools would be labeled as failing by that time. No Child Left Behind is clumsily crafted and laden with nonsensical rigidity, untested punishments and unrealistic expectations.

Congressional failure to overhaul the law as the situation moved closer to meltdown prompted the Obama administration to try its hand at formulating a more sensible plan. It has largely succeeded, though congressional Republicans validly question whether the law can in effect be rewritten by the president rather than Congress.

The Obama restructuring would build more flexibility into the goals and the way progress is measured. Schools would be credited for showing that students are on the path to proficiency even if they aren't there yet. States would be able to count other achievements toward schools' progress, such as lower absenteeism rates and higher graduation rates. States would be invited to create their own standards and ways of measuring progress, as long as a federal committee finds those to be rigorous enough. That would fix the current problem of states reacting to unrealistic goals by setting their standards so low that even bad schools can meet them.

Unlike No Child Left Behind, which labels schools as failing if they don't meet rigid goals for every subgroup of students, the administration's rules would take into account that there's a difference between a truly terrible school where no progress is being made and a school that's coming along even if it misses some targets.

What the plan unfortunately lacks is a way to address the narrowing of curriculum that has occurred under No Child Left Behind. With only reading and math measured by the federal law, schools have cut back on other parts of the curriculum, including the arts and physical education. The administration could have included more ways to measure progress through, say, portfolios that exhibit accomplishments in other subjects.

Republicans in Congress can do battle with the administration about whether it has the authority to impose its revamp of No Child Left Behind, but if they want to help students, they would be better off using the plan — with some amendments — as a blueprint for legislation. It returns significant authority and flexibility to the states, something the GOP has rightly sought.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration has made it clear that it wants every state to obtain a waiver from No Child Left Behind and will work with states to make it happen. If the Education Department is willing to be more flexible than the written mandates indicate, California and the federal government could work out a deal. The state should be exploring the use of test scores in teacher evaluations, but they should not be mandated at this point. That could include pilot programs like the one in Los Angeles Unified School District in which teachers can volunteer to participate in a more rigorous evaluation process. Research on the effectiveness of test scores as a teacher measuring tool are needed. It makes more sense for Duncan to back off from this mandate than to see California left without a waiver.

PROSECUTORS SEEK NEW CHARGES AGAINST FORMER BEVERLY HILLS USD CHIEF: Jeffrey Hubbard of Newport-Mesa Unified in Orange County faces two felony counts of misappropriation of funds in his previous role leading Beverly Hills schools and could face more.

 

By Lauren Williams, Los Angeles Times | http://lat.ms/nVznfD

The charges against Jeffrey Hubbard are related to his previous job as superintendent of the Beverly Hills Unified School District. (Los Angeles Times)

October 2, 2011, 6:23 p.m. - Prosecutors are seeking additional criminal charges against the Newport-Mesa Unified School District's chief.

Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard, 54, faces two felony counts of misappropriation of funds related to his previous job as superintendent of the Beverly Hills Unified School District.

The Los Angeles County district attorney's office plans to take recently acquired evidence to a grand jury in hopes of securing additional charges and possibly joining them with the first two felony charges.

"We learned of the details that give us a reason to file additional charges fairly late in the game," Deputy Dist. Atty. Max Huntsman said after Hubbard's pretrial hearing Friday.

Huntsman declined to specify what the charges would involve, saying only that they would be similar to the counts already filed.

Huntsman said the district attorney's office received the evidence after Hubbard had been charged with the two felonies.

Hubbard's attorney, Sal Ciulla, said in court that he would fight any additional charges. Hubbard has pleaded not guilty to the two counts and has said that he would not accept a plea bargain.

The district attorney's office plans to make the case for more charges before Hubbard's trial begins; it is tentatively set for Nov. 10, Huntsman said.

The other defendant in the case, Karen Anne Christiansen, to whom Hubbard is accused of making payments without required school board approval, is expected to go to trial the same day.

Hubbard is accused of giving Christiansen about $20,000 without the approval of the Beverly Hills school board.

Hubbard took a leave from Newport-Mesa Unified, the district for schools in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, to prepare for the trial but is back on the job this fall. Several members of the school board have stood by him, saying they believe he is innocent.

DISTRICT ATTORNEY TO INVESTIGATE COMMUNITY COLLEGE DISTRICT “IRREGULARITIES” …kinda/sorta

HOW JAY-Z CAN HELP US REMIX EDUCATION

By José Vilson, EdWeek/TeacherMagazine | http://bit.ly/pjll2H

27 September 2011 - Recently, I bought "Watch The Throne," Jay-Z and Kanye West's collaborative album. Since Jay-Z's debut album "Reasonable Doubt," he's undergone a metamorphosis: from a young spitfire to a mature statesman, reigning over the hip-hop community lyrically and industrially. Meanwhile, all 15 of his albums to date have gone platinum. His keen business sense, quiet charisma, and almost imperturbable demeanor have kept his solo career afloat for more than fifteen years.

Jay-Z "broke out" at 25, at about the same age many lifetime educators start our careers. Most of us will never accumulate a net worth of $450 million, but we can meet ambitious goals as teachers. And I think we can learn a great deal from this hip-hop figure:

KEEP THE LANGUAGE SIMPLE—AND THE CONTEXT DEEP

Jay-Z's debut album was lauded by fans for its texture and complexity. The album analyzed urban life in the 1980s and 90s and incorporated deft and engaging storytelling. It also kept him from reaching a broader base of listeners. So Jay-Z shifted things for his next album—he simplified the language but kept the context deep.

What's the take-away for us as educators? We want all students to fulfill high academic expectations, but we must balance this with the need to meet our students at their level. I often hear educators refer to this as an "either/or" situation—but we can provide the "and." We can speak in language our students will understand without sacrificing the meaning, context, and depth of what we teach.

It's worth noting that Jay-Z was accused of 'selling out' when he simplified the language in which he articulated his experiences. However, ultimately, he reached many more listeners, and his real fans respected his growth. As teachers, we may experience some pushback from peers who are unwilling to meet their students halfway, but if we engage students in meaningful learning, helping them to master critical concepts, we will have done our jobs well.

CONSISTENTLY GOOD PERFORMANCE IS A SUSTAINABLE GOAL.

As in any other subculture, rap aficionados argue about which rapper has produced the most impressive output. Jay-Z has cited Nas, The Notorious B.I.G., and 2Pac as "greats"—and his career is often compared with theirs. The Notorious B.I.G. and 2Pac met untimely deaths in 1997, so comparisons are limited. But Nas' "Illmatic" is considered one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time. Few hip-hop fans believe any of Jay-Z's albums are of the same caliber, yet Jay-Z has released a consistent stream of critically acclaimed albums—while Nas' career hasn't flourished.

As teachers, we cannot expect to perform perfectly for every period of every day of the school year: Such unrealistic hopes can lead only to utter disappointment and early burnout. Unfortunately, perfectionistic tendencies can often be intensified by the pressures of high-stakes accountability systems. That's why we must gird ourselves for the long haul, developing mindsets, skills, and innovations that will enable us to sustain our careers.

Jay-Z has made plenty of mistakes. When he challenged the most prominent MCs in Queens (Nas and Mobb Deep) with his song "Takeover," he fed fans who were hungry for feuds—and initiated an ugly back-and-forth with Nas. In other instances, Jay-Z tried too hard to land in the pop category ("Sunshine"), let others outshine him on his own songs (Eminem in "Renegade"), and responded to haters who only sought to boost their own album sales (Jim Jones). These missteps didn’t end Jay-Z’s career—he learned from them.

All teachers make mistakes. At the end of the day, we have regrets. We didn't listen to a student when we should have. We didn't take advantage of a professional development opportunity. We could have better planned a lesson. None of these mistakes will break us—unless we fail to learn from them and they become patterns in our careers.

First-year teachers, take heed: A terrible day doesn't signal a personal Armageddon. Instead, it's a great opportunity to be thoughtful about regenerating the confidence students have in you. As long as we're willing to get back into the game, the game can become ours.

COLLABORATE WITH DIVERSE PARTNERS

Jay-Z understands that his professional place in the hip-hop universe is strengthened by diverse, visible collaborations—often with unlikely partners. He's made an album with rock band Linkin Park ("Collision Course") and has lent his voice to the albums of a wide range of artists, from Juvenile and Drake to Lenny Kravitz and Coldplay. He even invited Gwyneth Paltrow to sing the hook to "Song Cry" at a recent London show.

Just as Jay-Z enriches his solo work by collaborating with others, we can enliven our teaching by drawing on the expertise of our peers. Unexpected combinations can be especially productive, encouraging students to see a concept from an alternative perspective. Math teachers can draw upon social studies texts as we teach students to graph on a coordinate plane. Science and language arts teachers can co-create lessons that help students identify and use literary techniques as they read and respond to science texts. But however collaboration looks, its goal should always be to improve students' experiences in our classrooms.

ESCAPE SILOS AND SPREAD OUR EXPERTISE

Jay-Z finds ways to use his talents beyond the recording studio. He collaborated with author Dream Hampton to write Decoded. He is an entrepreneur, co-owning the 40/40 Club (an upscale sports bar and lounge with locations in five major cities) and the New Jersey (soon-to-be Brooklyn) Nets. He worked with President Barack Obama on his election efforts and pledged money and time to United Nations' efforts in the continent of Africa. And—even as these efforts move forward—he keeps pushing out rap albums.

Obviously, Jay-Z doesn't worry much about silos. Yes, he's wealthy and has a certain amount of power that may ease the way. But he can still serve as a source of inspiration for teachers who want to push past the silos of our classrooms.

Right now, teachers across the nation are going above and beyond our responsibilities to benefit our students: developing online professional learning communities, fine-tuning our schools' curricula, and connecting students' families to community resources.

What if accomplished educators' jobs could be restructured, enabling us to use and spread our expertise in innovative ways while also keeping one foot in the classroom? To draw on the Jay-Z comparison, what if we could make a greater impact on our world—while continuing to record rap albums?

In Teaching 2030: What We Must Do for Our Students and Our Public Schools … Now and in the Future, I collaborated with 11 classroom teachers and Barnett Berry, founder and president of the Center for Teaching Quality, to outline a hopeful vision for the future of education. We wrote about teacherpreneur roles that enable teachers to spend half of their time working with students and the other half solving our schools' most pressing problems. It's not surprising the teacherpreneur idea is gaining traction, thanks to the work of teacher leaders like Vicki Davis (who first coined the term) along with Ariel Sacks and Dave Orphal (who have imagined what teacherpreneurs could accomplish).

But we cannot wait for systemic changes—we must make them happen, cultivating our own policy voices and helping develop blueprints for improving our schools. School structures and policies have inhibited creativity for decades, with no real results for our students. It's time for autonomy and artistry to "trend" in education, much as Jay-Z does on our favorite social networks.

Sometimes we can find the best models in the unlikeliest of places.

• José Vilson is a math teacher, coach, and data analyst for a middle school in the Inwood/Washington Heights neighborhood of New York. A poet, web developer, and mentor to new teachers, he blogs about teaching and life in his spare time. Jose is a member of the Teacher Leaders Network and a coauthor of Teaching 2030: What We Must Do for Our Students and Our Public Schools … Now and in the Future.

CAFETERIA FOOD FIGHT: LAUSD's healthful new lunches are better for kids. Of course, not everyone is sold.

LA Times Op-Ed By Robert Gottlieb | http://lat.ms/rcwPMM 

After years of advocacy by the Healthy School Food Coalition, California Food Policy Advocates and other groups, the Los Angeles Unified School District has revolutionized the menus in its school cafeterias. (Illustration by Wes Bausmith / Los Angeles Times)

October 2, 2011 - Corn dogs and chicken nuggets are out. Butternut squash tortellini and quinoa salad are in.

After years of advocacy by the Healthy School Food Coalition, California Food Policy Advocates and other groups, the Los Angeles Unified School District has revolutionized the menus in its school cafeterias. The emphasis is on more healthful and sustainable food, and the backlash, predictably, has already begun.

The changes have come about slowly. For most of a decade, a loose coalition of groups concerned about children's health and about environmental issues has pushed the district to offer more healthful choices. In response to their efforts, the Board of Education in 2002 passed a motion banning the sale of sodas in school vending machines. The next year it voted to restrict the sale of junk food as well. In 2005, a motion was passed to improve cafeteria food. But implementation was slow, and for years the district's cafeteria offerings more often than not still mimicked fast food.

During the 2006-07 school year, the district purchased $120 million worth of food for the 109 million meals it provided. But less than $2 million of that went to buy fresh fruits and vegetables.

Now that is changing too. With a new, more health-oriented school food management team, purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables increased by 2010 to $20 million of the $100 million spent by the district on food.

That same year, a new food procurement approach was established. Instead of relying as much on commodity foods from the government and single-item purchases, new vendors or suppliers were selected in part on the basis of their ability to increase the portion of fresh fruits and vegetables supplied by farmers operating within a 200-mile range. Costs for the food purchased with this goal in mind turned out to be lower.

Even more dramatic have been the menu changes introduced this fall. Out are the canned cherries and apples that went into sugar-laden desserts. Flavored milk is no longer offered. Cafeterias now feature fresh local apples and strawberries and plain, low-fat milk. Hyper-refined mac and cheese and fatty, cheese-laden pizza have been replaced with more healthful entrees. And the new menu items reflect the region's cultural diversity, with offerings such as tamales filled with vegetables, vegetarian sushi and Greek salad.

To ensure that the new items would appeal to those who are eating them, thousands of students were enlisted to participate in taste tests, and the district held dozens of menu-focused input sessions with parents. Based on the feedback, some items, such as beef soft tacos, have been eliminated. Others, such as the tamales, have been incorporated into menus because of positive feedback.

The changes have certainly been noticed. In just a few weeks since the start of the school year, the district has received more than 5,000 emails and letters about the new menus, with about half supportive and half critical or concerned.

In feedback sessions arranged by the Healthy Food School Coalition, kids have told the district what they didn't like, such as a beef stew with vegetables. The reduced salt and sugar has clearly had an impact, causing several students to say that the food "tastes different."

Some critics have accused the district of creating an "elitist" menu. One principal complained that it was a "chef's menu," while a parent argued that the food was "better than what the students should be getting." Attempting to develop more cultural diversity caused one parent to complain that the district was not serving "American food," while another argued that the food was "too much what the people in Los Angeles look like."

This kind of criticism was to be expected. Weaning students from unhealthful fast-food diets is not going to be easy. It will require continuous feedback and engagement with students and parents about what the new menus represent and how to improve them. The district will also be doing a food waste analysis to see what is and isn't popular. Still, early indications are that students are embracing the new choices.

LAUSD school food used to be celebrated primarily for being the cheapest food one could buy. Today, without increasing the cost of its offerings, the district is also developing a reputation for being on the cutting edge of a revolution in school food. It is offering a far greater proportion of healthful, sustainably grown food, and it is doing so for a school population in which 80% of all students qualify for free or reduced-cost lunches because they come from families close to or below the poverty line.

Getting students and their families to accept new kinds of offerings while the dominant food culture still leans toward fast food is an enormous challenge. But in a city where obesity and diabetes present huge public health challenges, change is crucial.

Robert Gottlieb is director of the Urban & Environmental Policy Institute at Occidental College and the coauthor, with Anupama Joshi, of "Food Justice."

WASHINGTON PREP CHEERLEADAER COLLAPSES AT GAME, DIES

 

from abc WTVD-TV Raleigh-Durham, NC | http://bit.ly/qPmuuO

Updated at 11:07 AM Sunday 2 Oct 2011 - LOS ANGELES -- (AP)  A high school cheerleader died early Saturday, hours after collapsing on the sideline during a football game between rival Los Angeles schools.

The student was briefly revived after passing out Friday night on the sideline at Fremont High School, according to Los Angeles Unified School District spokesman Tom Waldman. She was rushed to a hospital where she died about three hours later.

The girl, a student at Washington Prep High School, apparently suffered sudden cardiac arrest, Waldman said.

School officials did not release the student's name when contacted by The Associated Press. Washington Prep Principal Todd Ullah identified the girl as 16-year-old sophomore Angela Gettis and told KABC-TV that she was a good student.

Model student: Cheerleader Angela Gettis, a student at Washington Prep High School, apparently suffered sudden cardiac arrest during a game Friday night  Screen capture from Daily Mail/UK>>

School district Superintendent John Deasy said Saturday the girl was "a wonderful young lady. It is a catastrophic loss for the school and for the community. My heart goes out to her family."

A witness, Cameron Bonner, told City News Service the Washington Prep squad tied the game against Fremont in the fourth quarter when the cheerleader collapsed. Play was stopped and coaches and trainers ran to help the girl.

"They had just tied the game up, and the cheerleaders were pumped up," Bonner said. She appeared "to just pass out," he said.

Bystanders performed CPR while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

"All of her friends were in a circle crying," Bonner said.

Crisis counselors will be at Washington Prep on Monday to help students and faculty deal with the death, Deasy said.

LAUSD STRIVES TO ESTABLISH RULES AS NEW UNIVERSE GROWS AROUND IT

By Connie Llanos, Staff Writer, LA Daily News – from the Contra Costa Times | http://bit.ly/n5LGDa

10/02/2011 01:00:00 AM PDT - The Los Angeles Unified School District is looking into policies for using social media such as Facebook.

Polytechnic High Principal Gerardo Loera is a big fan of social media, posting everything from football scores to schoolwide test results on Facebook and Twitter for students, parents and the world to see.

He even includes a live feed of his tweets, usually typed from his cellphone, on the school's website.

"It's just such a useful and immediate way to disseminate information to my school community in a very quick way," Loera said.

"In a few minutes one of my messages can reach thousands of people and if something I post gets retweeted ... well then Poly can be read about all over the country."

But not all uses of social media by teachers and administrators are seen in such a positive light. School districts throughout the country are studying how to best use the technology while steering clear of its drawbacks.

Nationwide, teachers have been fired for online behavior, from serious breaches like making passes at students on MySpace to the seemingly innocent, like posting a picture of themselves on Facebook having a drink at an after-hours party.

To help teachers avoid problems, last month Los Angeles Unified began debating a new social media policy.

Until last year, LAUSD had a strict ban on using social media sites during work hours or on district computers, which were kept out of the district's Internet server by the same filtering software and rules used to keep pornography and violent Web content away from students.

smf/4LAKids: This is the same filtering software and rules used to keep offensive words out of emails – and by extension blogs like this one. You won’t be offended by any references to the most popular parts of fried chicken here – whether white or dark meat!  The filtering apparently only affects incoming email – LAUSD emailers are free to write naughty words, but not read them.

The National Association of Secondary School Principals tweeted (@NASSP) Wednesday: “It's Banned Websites Awareness Day. Great day to lead conversation with faculty about how much filtering is too much.”

Officials acknowledge though that social media sites should be explored as useful tools for educators looking to connect with parents and community members.

"LAUSD is trying to enter the 21st century, but we need to have a policy that fits the needs of everyone," said Lydia Ramos, LAUSD's director of internal communications and a member of the committee that is drafting the new policy.

"In terms of engaging students, we know there is value to social media but there is disagreement even among teachers about how to take advantage of that."

The varied views of educators on the issue of social media can be seen in the vastly different policies some schools have adopted.

This summer the Pinellas County school board in Florida unanimously voted to ban teachers from communicating with students on Facebook or Twitter, out of concerns over inappropriate contact.

Also, the state of Missouri passed a similar law, which will force all school districts to implement no-social-media policies.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Education officials and the American Library Association have publicly supported the use of social media in schools.

A 2010 Department of Education report calls on districts to "(apply) the advanced technologies used in our daily personal and professional lives to our entire education system to improve student learning."

Some educators believe the issue can be a generational one, with older teachers feeling social media has no place in classrooms and younger, more tech-oriented teachers seeing the sites as useful learning tools.

LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy brought in a hipper and more tech-oriented attitude to the district's leadership team, which in the past had some administrators who had secretaries check their email for them and barely knew how to navigate Google searches.

By contrast, Deasy keeps an iPod and iPad near him at all times and he's a fan of tweeting.

Still, many teachers say the world of social media is still too unpredictable and could force them to deal with issues that could be easily avoided by staying off-line.

"Social networking has been a nightmare for me and is usually brought to my attention for negative reasons," said Debra Jelin, assistant principal at Millikan Middle.

Jelin, who was in charge of discipline at her previous high school campus, said she had to intervene on several occasions when cyber bullying became an issue between students.

"Social networking helps you bring connectivity which is important, but you're not having that kind of communication with that one person, but also with everyone else that person communicates with," Jelin said.

"There is also a fine line with what students and even parents need to know about your personal life," she added.

Ramos, a former teacher, admitted she also has a personal rule of not accepting friend requests from former students on social media sites.

Social media experts, however, stress that there are several ways for teachers to both make use of the benefits of these websites and protect themselves from common pitfalls.

For example, teachers can create a professional page used only for communication with students and parents that isn't linked to their personal page.

Schools can also launch pages that, essentially, serve as active community boards where they can post future events and answer common questions.

And teachers can even start groups among students on most social media sites, where only the group members can post content and comments related to a project or class discussion.

This could allow a class, for example, to have a collaborative research project on the Vietnam War where students could post YouTube videos, newspaper articles and related blog links, all located on an accessible social media page.

A recent University of Maryland study even found that kids can perform better in school by engaging in social media.

The report, which studied students from low-income families, found that students who used social networking sites felt a greater sense of belonging which in turn helped them do better in school, said Christine Goodhow, a professor of education and information studies at the University of Maryland.

LAUSD officials said they are still in the early stages of crafting their social media policy, which they hope will help lay out basic rules for what is acceptable - and what is not - for district educators online.

Still in draft form, some rules could require that all district staff set up separate accounts for professional life and personal life or that teachers obtain written parent or guardian approval before posting videos or photos of students to any online forum.

 

• Polytechnic High Principal Gerardo Loera tweets at @MrLoera
• LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy  tweets @DrDeasyLAUSD
• 4LAKids tweets @4LAKids

Not a twitterer? Good for you!

• If you want to check it out on your cell/smartphone send the text message FOLLOW 4LAKids to 40404.
• More than you ever wanted to know? Text LEAVE 4LAKids to 40404.

4LAKids notes that Los Angeles Daily News education reporter Connie Llanos is departing the DN for other things. Thank you Connie and good luck!

Screening: THE INCONVENIENT TRUTH ABOUT WAITING FOR SUPERMAN – Mon. 24 Oct @ 6:30PM

The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting for Superman
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ALL SERIOUSNESS ASIDE: http://laststand4children.blogspot.com/

DianeRavitch Diane Ravitch

Please read this blog. It will make you laugh out loud.

STATE SCHOOLS CHIEF TORLAKSON OPTOMISTIC DESPITE FACING MANY CHALLENGES, “There's too much bad reform”

By JONDI GUMZ, Santa Cruz Sentinel | http://bit.ly/o2lZZ7

 

Click photo to enlarge :: State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson speaks to Santa... (SHMUEL THALER/SENTINEL)

Posted: 10/01/2011 01:30:28 AM PDT - SANTA CRUZ -- State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson wants to look at the best ideas used in California schools, then figure out what's the common ingredient of success and how to "scale up" and promote those practices.

"Test scores have been going up," he said. "We could do so much more if we had the resources."

Torlakson spoke to 100 school board members, superintendents, politicians and business leaders Friday at the Cocoanut Grove at the invitation of county superintendent Michael Watkins.

"I want to keep education in the forefront of the public and the necessity to support public education," Watkins said, noting how ongoing state shortfalls have cut school budgets. "I don't think any other business could operate the way the schools operate with continued cutbacks."

Torlakson, a teacher before going into politics with a daughter who graduated from UC Santa Cruz, outlined his "Blueprint for Great Schools," touching on the need for teaching excellence and taking advantage of technology. He said 70 percent of taxpayers do not have children in school and need to know about "good things going on," such as the Santa Cruz-based Boomerang Project, in which high school freshmen are mentored by older students.

Most of his time was spent answering questions.

Soquel school district trustee Judy McGooden asked how the trigger for midyear cuts will be addressed.

"It concerns me how the trigger works," Torlakson said, noting some districts do not have reserves to cover another cutback. "The state kept taking money from them. I hope we wake up the Legislature."

He said he was "glad" to be sued this month by advocates claiming that $2 billion in budget cuts to public schools is unconstitutional.

"I think they'll prevail," he said.

No Child Left Behind, the federal accountability system that requires all students to be proficient in reading and math by 2014, was a hot topic.

"It's a crazy system, confusing to the public," Torlakson said, noting his alma mater, Westmoor High in Daly City, has an Academic Performance Index two points from the state goal of 800 yet under the federal law is deemed failing.

"There's too much bad reform, some not connected to real-world research on what improves student learning," Torlakson said.

"We are looking at putting our own California waiver plan together," he said, noting a federal waiver could come with conditions costing California $500 million to $2 billion to $3 billion. "Where do you have money in your budget to implement a new growth system?"

He is hoping for "a total timeout on all the sanctions."

County school board member Bud Winslow said some junior high and high school students "are staying home with grandma" rather than going to school since the state cut funding for in-home support services.

"It's another dilemma," said Torlakson, recommending school districts write to parents and get the district attorney involved if necessary.

He said 22 percent of kindergartners in Los Angeles are chronically absent, putting them a year behind by the time they reach high school.

Asked about charter schools, Torlakson said, "I've seen great things going on," citing Pacific Collegiate in Santa Cruz as an example.

He said 17 percent of charter schools outperform neighborhood schools and 35 percent underperform, concluding "excellent ideas come out of charters" but "it's not a silver bullet."

A retired stay-at-home dad in the audience urged senior citizens be made a part of the education blueprint.

"There needs to be a way to make it simple for me to volunteer," he said.

"I agree," said Torlakson, promising to work with Watkins on that.

Asked about support for children learning English, Torlakson said he has reorganized his department of 1,500 to prioritize literacy.

"We're working on it," he said.

He also offered to work with Superior Court Judge Denine Guy, who pointed out "a huge hole" in services for 18-year-old foster youth because of adult education cutbacks

Lori Butterworth of the Boomerang Foundation pointed out 79 percent of schools with Link Crew mentors met their Academic Performance Index goals compared to 48 percent of those without the mentoring program.

"It's great we're being paid attention to," said Anne Soares, a senior at Santa Cruz High and a mentor in the Boomerang Project Link Crew.

SCHOOL DISTRICTS SCRAMBLE TO GET STUDENTS VACCINATED

 

 

Laura Anthony, ABC7 Oakland KGO News Team | http://bit.ly/nhWCVI

 

Friday, September 30, 2011 - OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- A deadline is looming for Bay Area students who still have not gotten the whooping cough vaccine. In Oakland, 1,300 students were still not vaccinated as of Friday morning. They will not be allowed in school on Monday if they don't get the shots.

Even with the last minute push by the district, the fact is hundreds of Oakland students will not be allowed into class Monday morning. And according to the California Department of Education, districts will lose crucial funding for those students not in school.

With deadline day upon them, nurses and staff in Oakland schools were working hard to get all their students the state-mandated whooping cough vaccine. That included send a team of nurses from school to school, administering last-minute shots.

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About 1,300 of Oakland's 12,000 7th-12th graders still need to get the vaccine, or present a waiver from their parents exempting them from it. The waivers are granted for religious or medical reasons only.

Skyline High School senior Quailyn Scott came into the on-site clinic only after his girlfriend heard an announcement about the vaccine over the school's pa system.

"My girlfriend kind of dragged me over here, yeah, it wasn't an option, I tried to run but she grabbed my belt, so that was the end of that story," Scott said.

Scott is 18 years old, so he could give his own consent. But for some of the younger students at Skyline, the hang-up seems to be in the home, where parents haven't signed or sent in the required paperwork with their student.

Dr. Joanna Locke is the health director for the Oakland Unified School District. Any student who has not either received the vaccine or presented a valid waiver will be turned away Monday morning.

"We obviously intend to comply with state law so those students who have not been vaccinated cannot attend classes," Locke said.

Oakland schools will be running shot clinics through next week to get those students who missed the deadline back into class.

DEATH+REDEMPTION: a tragedy in three acts at South East High School

act one

GIRL FATALLY STABBED AT SOUTH EAST HIGH SCHOOL: Teen's boyfriend is booked on suspicion of murder in the attack at South East High School. Two who tried to intervene are hurt.

By Sam Quinones and Rick Rojas, Los Angeles Times |http://lat.ms/nEypCe

A South East High School official speaks with parents after the campus was put on lockdown because of the stabbing incident. (Gina Ferazzi, Los Angeles Times / October 1, 2011)

October 1, 2011 - A teenage girl died after a lunchtime stabbing Friday at South East High School in South Gate, and another student has been booked on suspicion of murder. A school dean and one another student were also injured.

The 17-year-old girl, a senior, was stabbed in the side and back , allegedly by her estranged boyfriend. She died of complications during surgery at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood about 7:45 p.m., Los Angeles Unified School District Police Chief Steve Zipperman said.

student safety Some parents waiting outside the school were incensed. Citing staff layoffs, one said: "This school wasn't like this. They had more protection, more help."

Abraham Lopez, 18, a senior at the school, is being held without bail, Zipperman said. The girl was not identified pending notification of her family, he added.

The hospital was briefly locked down late Friday in response to a bomb threat in the parking garage. Authorities said it was somehow related to the stabbing.

The injured dean, who is also a teacher at the school, and the injured male student, an offensive lineman on the school's varsity football team, had stepped in to break up the fight. Both sustained non-life-threatening wounds, said Monica Carazo, a district spokeswoman.

Students said the couple had been together on and off since 9th grade and would walk the halls holding hands. The attack broke out shortly after 11 a.m., at the beginning of lunch break. Witnesses said the fight was over a breakup, and that the boy began choking the girl and put her in a headlock.

"She couldn't do nothing," said a 17-year-old senior, who witnessed the incident. "I'm still shaking. It's a shocker."

Ninth-grader Giselle Noriega was eating lunch when she said she noticed the couple arguing.

Suddenly, the boy grabbed the girl in a headlock and began punching her, said Noriega, 14. They fell to the ground, as the dean stepped in to stop the quarrel.

As havoc erupted, Noriega said, the football player, Jorge Garcia, ran to help the teacher break up the fight. "The guy stabbed [Garcia] in the arm. A lot of people were trying to separate the fight," she said.

Garcia, a junior, was supposed to play in a game Friday night. His coach, Derwin Henderson, said Garcia received about 15 stitches before being sent home from the hospital.

School officials said they will contact parents to explain what happened. Counselors were on campus to assist students, said L.A. Unified Supt. John Deasy.

"We want to remind students that violence is never the answer," Deasy said.

Some parents waiting outside the school were incensed. Marisol Aguirre's son graduated last year and she still volunteers at the school.

Citing staff layoffs since her son left, she said: "This school wasn't like this. They had more protection, more help."

• Times staff writer Ben Bolch contributed to this report.

Act Two:  flashback to thursday

South East's Gerardo Leos faces a daunting test

A promising sophomore linebacker-running back is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. His fellow Jaguars, who host Garfield on Friday, plan to honor 'the rock of our team.'

Gerardo Leos huddles with South East teammates, who will dedicate Friday night's game to the linebacker-running back who was recently diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. (Bob Chamberlin / Los Angeles Times)

By Ben Bolch, LA Times | http://lat.ms/oljaPC

September 29, 2011, 9:40 p.m. - The right arm that had helped carry Gerardo Leos onto the varsity football team as a sophomore was numb.

The right leg that had helped earn him the nickname "Tasmanian devil" was weak.

It was July, and the normally fleet linebacker-running back from South East High in South Gate was seemingly stuck in slow motion. He could barely lift one of his legs over a set of ropes during practice drills.

"I knew there was something wrong," said Derwin Henderson, Leos' coach, "because he's a really quick kid and he's always first in line."

The sensations in his extremities were initially dismissed as nothing more than heat exhaustion. When the symptoms later returned, there was fear they might be tied to cancer.

Last weekend came the diagnosis, two words that could rock even the most unflinching teenager: multiple sclerosis. There is no cure for the progressive autoimmune disease of the central nervous system.

"It's shocking because I'm 15 and I'm going through this," Leos said this week.

He's not enduring it alone. On Friday, when unbeaten South Gate (4-0) plays host to Garfield (0-4) in its first game since Leos learned of his disorder, the Jaguars plan to honor the player Henderson described as "the rock of our team" because of his hardworking, fearless demeanor.

"It's all him," Henderson said. "Every piece of tape, everything is going to have No. 14 on it."

That would be Leos' jersey number, one the sophomore hopes to wear again in a game before the end of the season.

He would not be the first athlete to compete with multiple sclerosis. UCLA's Robert Kibble played on special teams as a freshman in 2005 before being forced to retire because of his condition. Stan Belinda, a major league relief pitcher, played for two seasons after his diagnosis in 1998.

Leos wants to add his name to the list. He has an appointment with a neurologist Oct. 17, at which point he is supposed to learn more about his prognosis.

"Hopefully I get to play soon," he said.

Dr. Leigh Maria Ramos-Platt, a neurologist with Children's Hospital Los Angeles, said Leos could play again as long as he could tolerate the physical rigors of the sport.

It seems folly to rule out anything for the undersized overachiever who made the varsity last summer without playing one down on a lower-level team. Coaches first observed the 5-foot-7, 145-pound mighty mite plowing through junior varsity defenders in spring practice, prompting a Jaguars assistant to ask why Leos wasn't on the varsity.

Henderson confessed he didn't even know the kid's name. The coach told Leos he would make the varsity only if he figured to play. That seemed increasingly likely after Leos continued to impress during a summer passing league.

But the frightening episodes of numbness, weakness and tingling in his arm and leg commenced shortly thereafter. Leos would sprint for a few seconds before having to stop, the right side of his body unwilling to cooperate.

Visits to clinics and specialists ensued. Symptoms abated and returned, only to vanish again. Leos played in the Jaguars' first three games, establishing himself as a special-teams dynamo.

"He's like a kamikaze," running back Chris Ochoa said. "Every time we kicked the ball off, it was him getting the tackle."

Last week, Leos began suffering headaches. He was rushed to the hospital, enduring a four-hour MRI exam, before receiving his diagnosis.

"Once they told me the results," he said, "there was nothing I could do but stay strong."

Henderson delivered the news to his players Monday. Several asked about the particulars of the disease. The coach explained it was a serious disorder, something that was more likely to affect Leos in years to come and might require occasional hospitalization.

While Leos appeared upbeat when he returned to campus Wednesday, his mother, Ofelia, acknowledged the family feared for his future.

"For Gerardo and me, for us, the truth is we feel really bad," Ofelia said in Spanish. "I'm going to tell you something: I'm putting everything in God's hands and the hands of the doctors."

For his part, Henderson hopes Leos can fulfill his dream to play again. Not that he would let Leos decide whether to return to the field.

"If it was up to him," Henderson said, "he would dress and play on Friday."

Times staff writer Kevin Baxter contributed to this report.

Act three: HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

South East ends trying week with 31-28 win over Garfield

One South East player is wounded in campus violence, and another is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The Jaguars build a lead and hang on for the victory over league rival Garfield.

By Ben Bolch, LA Times | http://lat.ms/oDHMlU

September 30, 2011, 11:01 p.m. - South East's 31-28 victory over Garfield on Friday night did more than give the Jaguars their first victory in the history of an Eastern League rivalry that has spanned seven years.
It also served as a tribute to two South East players who were sidelined after a tumultuous week.

Running back-linebacker Gerardo Leos is out indefinitely after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Offensive lineman Jorge Garcia was sliced in the arm Friday morning while assisting a female classmate who was fatally wounded in a campus stabbing.

"We've always said this game was going to be for them," said South East cornerback Juan Nevarez, who made two big plays to preserve the victory. "They've always given their all."

After Garfield had shaved a 31-14 deficit with consecutive touchdowns, the Bulldogs (0-5) drove to the South East 40-yard line with 11 seconds left. On third down, Nevarez broke up a long pass. On fourth down, he tackled Lance Fernandez on a hook-and-ladder play to end the game.

"Those were the two biggest plays I've made this whole year," Nevarez said.

Leos was with the Jaguars (5-0) from the start, carrying the team flag when players ran onto the field before the game. After being hospitalized earlier in the day, Garcia joined his teammates on the sideline in the fourth quarter.

South East tailback Robert Lewis, who rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns in 18 carries, wore Leos' No. 14. So did Jaguars Coach Derwin Henderson.

"It's a pretty emotional day for them," Henderson said of his players. "There's been a lot of crying going on. But our kids were determined. They just believed in themselves, that's the biggest thing."

South East quarterback Jonathan Santos completed 14 of 22 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.

EDUCATION POLICY CHOICES: Unsuccessful, Unproven or Unaffordable

Themes in the News for the week of Sept. 26-30, 2011 by UCLA IDEA | http://bit.ly/o6gr2Q

09-29-2011 - Last week, President Barack Obama affirmed that states were struggling under unrealistic requirements of the No Child Left Behind law. States can now obtain waivers from meeting proficiency rates in reading and mathematics, in return for adopting key pieces of the administration’s reform agenda. The move may be attractive to some states, but to others, it presents a difficult choice between two undesirable alternatives.

First, states could choose not to seek the waiver. That would retain a nearly impossible commitment for students to achieve proficiency in reading and math—up to 100 percent in 2014. Missing proficiency targets brings steep consequences. With each year schools fail to meet the benchmarks, they could face state takeovers, closures or charter conversions. Earlier this year, Education Secretary Arne Duncan told Congress that 82 percent of schools were on track to fail, given the current NCLB requirements (Education Department). In California, more than 3,800 schools were labeled in need of improvement after missing benchmarks for at least two years (CDE).

On the other hand, states that accept the waivers would have to adopt higher college and career standards, tie teacher evaluations to test scores, intervene in more low-performing schools, be receptive to charter involvement and accomplish all this without new resources (New York Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Colorlines, Christian Science Monitor). Schools are concerned because some of the replacement requirements are either untested (with no assurance they would accomplish their goals) or they are very expensive (schools are already financially stressed just keeping the doors open and teachers employed).

California’s Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has reservations:  “We are carefully examining the proposal, which would appear to cost billions of dollars to fully implement, at a time when California and many other states remain in financial crisis” (CDE release, Educated Guess, Education Week). California has been hit hard by the economic crisis and has seen a steady decline of more than $500 per student over the last three years (see chart).

The waivers impose untested strategies on schools and states to gauge learning and progress (Washington Post). UC Berkeley education professor Bruce Fuller said that relief from the onerous portions of NCLB comes with requirements that are “not always backed by evidence, but now there’s a new president, and he has a new set of remedies which he thinks are going to be effective (Colorlines).

On a positive note the willingness to grant waivers signals that key education leaders recognize that No Child Left Behind is crumbling as the cornerstone of the nation’s education policy. Unfortunately, schools now have to choose between unsuccessful old policies and unproven new reforms, while lacking resources to accomplish either. With or without waivers, California and other states are in an awful position of meeting requirements without proper support.

UC TURNS CAREER TECH ED FRIENDLY: Approval of Business Algebra II and Automotive Physics for A-G signifies change

By John Fensterwald - Educated Guess | http://bit.ly/pdVdVE

Posted on 9/30/11 • A decade ago, 258 career technical education courses counted toward satisfying requirements for admission to the California State University or the University of California. Today, the number has grown to 9,079 courses, closing in on the 2012 goal of 10,000 courses that the Legislature set several years ago.

The numbers reflect a dramatic shift in the mindset toward CTE by the University of California, whose faculty determines which courses meet A-G, the 15 subjects that all students must pass to apply to a four-year state university. They dispel the myth that UC discourages the submission of CTE courses for A-G approval, Nina Costales told attendees at the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s annual career technical education conference on Thursday. Costales oversees the course review process for the UC Office of the President.

In years past, it’s been true that UC professors, as definers of rigor, looked down their noses at applied learning. But that has changed, as UC felt pressure from the top – the Legislature, led by Senate President pro Tem Darrell Steinberg – and the bottom – a groundswell from high schools, encouraged by the Irvine Foundation – to expand CTE and inject real-world learning into academic courses.

“We are listening to the schools,” Costales told me.

Of the 9,079 courses, two approved this year reflect the sea change: Accounting, and Business Algebra II. The requirement of passing Algebra II, particularly at CSU, has often been criticized by those who question its relevance for non-science majors. Many had predicted that UC would never approve a course that strayed from a standard, textbook Algebra II.

Business Algebra II was created over a four-day retreat at Lake Arrowhead in May. It was organized by the University of California Curriculum Integration Institute, which brings together CTE and academic high school teachers, UC professors, and education experts to design courses that cross disciplines. One of Steinberg’s bills, SB 611, now sitting on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk, would write the Institute into law and expand the course offerings, as state money permits.

Richard Stapenhorst, a teacher at the Finance Academy at Independence High in San Jose, was on the team that designed Business Algebra II. Students who take it will use logarithms and exponential functions in cost-benefit analyses and use linear programming to maximize profits. They will use scatter plots to set varying prices for selling drinks on hot and cold days. For students who see no relevance for Algebra II, the course will show practical applications and perhaps pique their interest to pursue higher education.

Stapenhorst had been a skeptic of UC’s role as gatekeeper of courses. The experience at the Institute turned his views “180 degrees.”

“It became clear that UC is doing the best it can to incorporate CTE and its own requirements for academics without losing sight of its mission,” he said.

A separate obstacle, not of UC’s making, is who will teach cross-discipline courses like Business Algebra. If taught by a math teacher, it will satisfy the math requirement, but if taught by a business teacher, it will satisfy only an elective requirement, the “G” in A-G. Under the No Child Left Behind requirement for highly qualified teachers, core subjects must be taught by teachers credentialed in those areas.

Until this year, UC had never accepted an accounting course. Stapenhorst has submitted what he hopes will be the third to be approved. UC had assumed Accounting was nothing more than bookkeeping. But his course will include economic modeling and topics in finance and require that students write papers, said Stapenhorst, who worked a quarter-century in high-tech marketing and sales before turning to teaching.

Granting an A-G elective to Accounting should help him expand the Finance Academy, a three-year California Partnership Academy that by law must focus on at-risk students. Since East Side Union High School District voted this year to adopt A-G as a default graduation requirement, his students will need elective credits like Accounting. Awarding A-G credits will also entice college-bound students outside of the Finance Academy to get a taste of a business course for a possible major or career path.

Most CTE courses satisfy only “G” as electives. But among the lab science courses that UC has approved (the “D” requirement) are Biotechnology, Applied Physics and Engineering, Engineering Physics and Geometry (satisfying science and math), and Forensic Biology.

“We want to provide more options for students. Courses like Automotive Physics may excite students to design cars and seek higher education,” Costales said.