Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Calling All Teachers, Parents, and Principals!

I am looking for parents, teachers, and principals who can to speak at our May 26 Board meeting in support of improving the teacher dismissal system. We cannot stand by and continue to depend on a state system that is broken and sends unfit people back to the classroom.

Have you read the recent LA Times Investigation entitled "Failure Gets a Pass" that details how challenging it is to fire ineffective and abusive teachers from the District? After the LA Times articles were released there has been an outpouring of support and even more demands for immediate action from every corner. As a result I have decided to bring my the motion back to the Board table for the May 26 Board Meeting.

Since last fall, I have been meeting with internal and external representatives trying to change the way we remove ineffective teachers. On April 28 I brought forward two motions that would ask Sacramento to seek changes in state law to permit a tenured teacher to be dismissed for poor teaching or egregious behavior and would internally change our system for making sure principals signed off on teachers before they become tenured. Those motions melded into a task force that will study the issue – but I am bringing the issue back.

This motion is not a statement about teachers, I was a teacher and helped support teachers my whole working life. They do important work everyday. This motion is about fixing a system that currently puts people who harm children, commit crimes, harass co-workers back into classrooms with our kids.

If you would like to come to the Board of Education to speak in favor of my motion, please call my office at (213) 241-6387.


I am looking for parents, teachers, or principals who have experienced an ineffective teacher and can to speak to why the system needs to be changed.

If you would like to come to the Board of Education to speak in favor of my motions, please call my office at (213) 241-6387.

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