Singled-out L.A. Unified teacher shares skills with colleagues
Miguel Aguilar was cited as among L.A. Unified's most effective in an L.A. Times article on the 'value-added' evaluation method. Since then, many at his Pacoima school have adopted his methods. But budget cuts threaten his job.
 Miguel Aguilar forces his fifth-graders to slow down and think before answering questions. Many instructors at Broadus Elementary School in Pacoima have adopted his style. Now Aguilar may be laid off. (Michael Robinson Chavez, Los Angeles Times / March 18, 2011) |
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In February, fifth-grade teacher Miguel Aguilar stood in the front of a class, nervous and sweating.
The subject — reading and comprehension — was nothing new. But on this day, his students weren't 11-year-olds in sneakers and sweatshirts: They were 30 of his fellow teachers.
It was the first time anyone at Broadous Elementary School in Pacoima could remember a teacher there being singled out for his skill and called upon to share his secrets school-wide.
"A teacher coming forward … that hadn't happened before," said Janelle Sawelenko, another fifth-grade teacher.
Months before, Aguilar had been featured in a Times article as one of the most effective teachers in the Los Angeles Unified
The subject — reading and comprehension — was nothing new. But on this day, his students weren't 11-year-olds in sneakers and sweatshirts: They were 30 of his fellow teachers.
It was the first time anyone at Broadous Elementary School in Pacoima could remember a teacher there being singled out for his skill and called upon to share his secrets school-wide.
"A teacher coming forward … that hadn't happened before," said Janelle Sawelenko, another fifth-grade teacher.
Months before, Aguilar had been featured in a Times article as one of the most effective teachers in the Los Angeles Unified
