LAUSD Teachers of the Year

Ten LA Unified teachers have recently been named LAUSD Teachers of the Year for the 2008-2009 school year.

I would like to congratulate Ms. Shari Siegler from the Westchester-Emerson Community Adult School in Board District 4 for being one of the teachers receiving this honor.

Ms. Siegler has been a teacher for 31 years and has been teaching English at Westchester-Emerson Community Adult School for the last 22 years.

We know that the quality of the teacher in the classroom has the single biggest impact on student performance and I commend Ms. Siegler for her commitment and dedication to her students.

The other nine honorees include Margaret (Peg) Cagle from Lawrence Middle School and Gifted Magnet in Chatsworth, Kathie Yonemura from Hesby Oaks in Encino, Jose Navarrao from Sylmar High School, Karile Baltrusaitis from Manual Arts High School in Los Angeles, Darryl Newhouse from Foshay Learning Center in Los Angeles, Christine Blackwell from 232nd Place Elementary in Carson, Zitlalpilli Luna from Glenn Hammond Curtis Middle School, Tracey Washington from Gardena Early Education Center, and Efrain Nava from Dana Middle School in San Pedro.

These 10 teachers will now compete against other outstanding educators for the L.A. County Teachers of the Year Award. Best of luck!

Delivering a Quality Education in Schools of Every Size

When it comes to education reform, what change will have the biggest impact on student achievement? This question was before the School Board on Tuesday as we discussed a resolution to transform large LAUSD schools in to schools of approximately 500 students.

I feel very strongly that the size of a school is far less important than the quality of the teachers and the principal at that school. I also feel that any large scale transformation requires a thorough, thoughtful analysis. Before I could commit to breaking down all of our large schools into smaller schools, I needed to know: Are schools of 500 too small to offer students everything we want and need to provide? What is the right number that achieves both a sense of personalization and improved student outcomes? How much will the changes cost and what do we forgo by using our resources to make schools smaller? How do we ensure that schools have the right conditions – from quality teaching staff and a strong principal to rigorous curriculum – for increased student achievement in a smaller setting and in every setting?

Tuesday’s debate was long and in the end, I was pleased that the authors of the resolution listened to my concerns and accepted amendments from Board Member Galatzan and me to do the requisite analysis and planning before declaring unequivocally that LAUSD will be transformed into a district of small schools by 2020. I look forward to receiving the Superintendent’s analysis in December and hearing his recommendations for making large schools smaller, where it makes sense.

I also look forward to the pilot phase, which will begin no later than 2010, focus on high priority schools and large middle schools, and which will be guided by the results of the Superintendent’s analysis. I know from my business career that you always start small, learn from your mistakes, and then scale up if the results warrant it.

2008-09 Budget Update

Yesterday, in the face of the Governor’s unconscionable cuts to education, my colleagues and I had the unwelcome task of cutting approximately $400 million from the budget for the coming school year. I know that the Superintendent and his team went to great lengths to propose cuts that would be least harmful to students, but the sheer magnitude of the cuts means that everyone will feel the impact. My vote to approve the budget cuts reflected my fiduciary responsibility to deliver a balanced budget, and in no way endorses the Governor’s lack of value for public education. I urge all of us to continue ringing the bell in Sacramento and sending the message that public education needs investment, not cuts.

To read more about the Board’s actions, click here.

Marlene

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.

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.

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.

You've heard we're offering space to Charter schools, here's why...

This entry is intended to give you some background about why the District has made these offers and what we are doing to protect the instructional programs currently operating at our schools.

The Los Angeles Unified School District has offered space on its campuses to charter schools. As you may know, charter schools are publicly funded schools that are freed from many of the regulations governing traditional public schools in exchange for greater accountability for student achievement.

In 2000, voters approved Proposition 39, a statewide ballot measure that lowered the threshold for passing local bonds. That measure also included language that requires school districts to identify and allocate space on their campuses to charter schools serving a minimum of 80 students within the districts¹ boundaries. Charter schools must submit a formal application each year to request space under Proposition 39.

While the District has endeavored to make space available for charter schools since 2000, the California Charter Schools Association and two charter operators filed suit against the District alleging that the District violated state law by not providing adequate facilities for charter school students. In February, after many months of negotiation, the Board of Education approved a proposal to settle the lawsuit.

The District agreed to offer classroom space to all charter schools that apply, as Proposition 39 requires. The settlement protects traditional public schools by outlining the criteria for placing charter schools on District campuses. Specifically, the District does not need to offer space to a charter school where doing so would:

-Require a District school to covert to or remain on a multi-track calendar
-Require District students to involuntarily ride a bus ­ restrict a District school from maintaining full-day kindergarten
­-Require a District school to force teachers to travel from classroom to classroom (unless the space offered to charter schools recognizes that charter school teachers
might have to travel as well)
-­Restrict the ability of the District to maintain certain programs (i.e. parent centers, learning centers, school based health clinics, special education rooms, computer and science labs, multimedia and technology rooms, textbook rooms, and early education and adult programs.)

In addition, according to the settlement, ³Each District and charter school shall be able to utilize space on secondary schools necessary to implement and operate small learning communities, including space for teacher planning and meetings and administration for small learning communities.²

This year the District received a record 55 Proposition 39 applications for approximately 17,000 seats, three times the number requested last year. In recent months, the District has been working to identify space on all public school campuses to accommodate this seat need. Last week, with input from local district administrators, the Superintendent approved a list of charter school matches. Charter schools that received offers will have until May 1,
2008 to make a decision.

In the event a charter is interested in an offer, the Facilities Division will coordinate with Local District staff and the corresponding District principal to schedule a visit to the District campus in order for schools to become familiar with each other and their programs. Specific discussions related to use of shared space, campus modifications, and general co-locations issues will occur after the charter officially accepts the offer. Campus modifications can include fencing to separate the schools, creating new entrances, and the addition of sanitary buildings ­ paid for by local bond measures which specifically earmark funds to assist the district to implement Proposition 39.

Most co-location configurations were determined when site reviews occurred at campuses prior to the extension of offers with the input of the principal and Local District staff. While in most cases, this is a new change for our campuses, I hope that our schools view this as an opportunity to share best practices, create instructional partnerships and learn from one another.

This process has been incredibly taxing on all of us, from parents, community members, principals, local district staff to Superintendent Brewer. While I understand our obligation to provide space for public charter school students, I strongly encouraged the Superintendent to consider the instructional priorities at each District school and work to ensure that locating a charter school on the District campus does not disrupt those priorities.

I understand that the addition of charter schools on District campuses may be of concern to you, but I want to reiterate that the District is mandated by state law to provide space to charter schools. As we move forward, I want to assure you that the safety of all students is one of my main priorities and that the District is doing all that it can to ensure the academic success and safety of both our traditional and charter school students.

Education Budget Crisis

This past January, Governor Schwarzenegger announced a projected $14.5 billion deficit in the state budget for 2008-2009. As a result, the Governor has proposed $4.8 billion in cuts to K-12 education funding. That figure translates into a staggering loss of $460 million in revenue for LAUSD in the upcoming school year, and the cuts could worsen after the Governor's May budget revise.

Needless to say these proposed cuts could have a disastrous impact on the District's ability to provide a quality education to our students. The proposed cuts are equivalent to LAUSD closing 22 high schools, or shutting down all District schools and offices for nearly two weeks.

The proposed budget cuts are unacceptable and would have a tremendous impact in the classroom. The cuts come at a particularly bad time when the District is seeing improvements in academic achievement and is embarking on some key reform initiatives.

In recent months, the Superintendent and his cabinet have been working to develop budget recommendations to propose to the Board of Education. Superintendent Brewer will present his budget recommendations to the Board after the Governor presents his May budget revise.

For more information about the budget impact on LAUSD, please visit ttp://www.lastudentscount.org/

Congratulations!

I would like to congratulate Venice High School teacher Diane Pollock for being selected the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom Vocational Agriculture Teacher of the Year!

Diane has displayed a tremendous commitment to rebuilding and maintaining the Venice High School Garden Program, educating both high school students and the surrounding community.

Students Chime In on the School Meal Program

I am very pleased to report that on February 20th at Roosevelt High School my office collaborated with the LAUSD Food Services Branch, The Healthy School Food Coalition, California Food Policy Advocates and The Southeast Asian Community Alliance to convene the first ever Student Discussion Group to elicit students' opinions on the school meal program.

Seventeen middle and high school students from several different sites in the District participated to give honest and constructive feedback about their cafeteria experiences. Our Executive Chef, Mark Baida, was on hand and engaged the students in a taste test of a new flavored milk product sweetened with sucrose instead of high-fructose corn syrup.

The students also engaged in several activities including nutrition jeopardy where they competed in teams to answer questions about the taste and texture of the food, entrees they do or don't like, the atmosphere of their cafeterias and what they'd like to change. Students were very constructive in their answers and surprisingly what came out on top is students want sushi! We'll have to follow up with Chef Mark to see if it can happen.

Change of course doesn't happen quickly but this is definitely progress and I am very encouraged that Food Services is engaging students and the community.

The future plan is to conduct these student discussion groups once a month to maintain student involvement in the meal planning process. If you know students who would like to participate in one of these discussion groups please contact Andrea N. Giancoli, the School Nutrition Policy Coordinator in my office at 213 241-5141 to find out how.