Thursday, May 15, 2008

Budget Town Hall Meeting

As you probably already know, the District is facing budget cuts of at least $460-million as a result of the Governor's budget proposal.

The Superintendent presented his budget proposal to the Board of Education this afternoon. The Board will hold several meetings to discuss the Superintendent's budget, ultimately voting on the budget on June 10, 2008.

I will be hosting a town hall meeting to discuss the District's budget on Wednesday, May 21, 6:30 p.m. at Emerson Middle School, 1650 Selby Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024.

I will be joined by Megan Reilly, the District's Chief Financial Officer, Ronni Ephraim, Deputy Superintendent of Professional Learning, and Jose Cole-Gutierrez, Executive Director of the Charter Schools Office.

Friday, May 09, 2008

Big Sunday Volunteers Beautify Nora Sterry Elementary

Nora Sterry Elementary School held its first Big Sunday event this past Sunday May 4.

The event was made possible by hundreds of volunteers who brought out their paint rollers and hard working attitudes to prime and paint the exterior walls at the school to prepare them for new murals representing the school's mission.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Beethoven Elementary School Celebrates New Playground!

Thanks to the generosity of the Anne & Kirk Douglas Award, the students at Beethoven Elementary School are enjoying a new play structure on their main yard.

Yesterday the school held a ribbon cutting celebration to inaugurate the new playground and to honor Mr. & Mrs. Douglas. The celebration also served to recognize Beethoven's tremendous academic gains which recently culminated in the California Distinguished School designation.

Before the play structure installation, the yard consisted of dated playground equipment and a bleak stretch of asphalt. Over the past 10 years, a partnership of the Friends of Beethoven booster club, school staff and community organizations and foundations have successfully beautified the front side of Beethoven Elementary. They are now moving forward in phases to transform the "Big Yard."

Since its inception in 1997, the Anne & Kirk Douglas Award has provided more than $8 million to over 400 projects.