Friday, May 11, 2012

A failing school and a failure of leadership on LAUSD board - latimes.com

A failing school and a failure of leadership on LAUSD board - latimes.com:


When a charter school is failing

Academia Semillas del Pueblo is an ambitious charter school run by dedicated educators, but when students aren't learning the basics, change is in order.

The Los Angeles Unified school board did an injustice to hundreds of students and to the school reform movement when it overrode the recommendation of its staff and decided not to close a low-performing charter school.
Academia Semillas del Pueblo in El Sereno is run by dedicated educators who are striving to provide their kindergarten-through-eighth-grade students with a safe environment, a lively and enriched curriculum, as well as skills in three languages. The school has been controversial because one of those languages is an indigenous language ofMexico, and part of the school's mission is to instill in children an understanding and appreciation of their cultural heritage. Most of Semillas' students are of Mexican descent.
We have no problem with a school that takes an unusual path to engage students and brings about academic success. The