Monday, November 16, 2009

UTLA spotlights Teacher-Parent-Administrator Collaboration | United Teachers Los Angeles


UTLA spotlights Teacher-Parent-Administrator Collaboration United Teachers Los Angeles:

"UTLA invited the media to get a glimpse of constructive collaboration in action on November 10, when representatives from focus schools and new schools gathered at UTLA headquarters to finalize their letters of intent as part of the Public School Choice motion.

More than 15 media outlets took UTLA up on the offer and filmed parents, teachers, and administrators as they worked with each other and, in some cases, with UTLA‐provided grant writers. Reporters also interviewed participants about the Public School Choice motion and the customized reform plans they are developing for their schools. The letters of intent are due on November 16.

The positive nature of the UTLA press event contrasted sharply with a negative, hastily organized press conference in front of the UTLA building earlier that day by Alliance for a Better Community, Families in Schools, and LAUSD School Board members Yolie Flores Aguilar and Monica Garcia. During that event, the groups displayed a copy of a crudely laid‐out flyer reportedly distributed to parents that says they could be deported for signing a charter school petition. The groups also made other vague, unsubstantiated claims of parent intimidation, with no particulars shared."