2014 LATINO STUDENT REALITY AT LAUSD- ABSENT IN ESPARZA & OLMOS' 2006 FILM "WALKOUT" - Perdaily.com

2014 LATINO STUDENT REALITY AT LAUSD- ABSENT IN ESPARZA & OLMOS' 2006 FILM "WALKOUT" - Perdaily.com:



2014 LATINO STUDENT REALITY AT LAUSD- ABSENT IN ESPARZA & OLMOS' 2006 FILM "WALKOUT"

(Mensaje se repite en Español)

It seems that the motto of today's news is: If it doesn't make the reader feel good or shows our leadership and their allies in a bad light, it doesn't exist and will not be reported. Or worse yet, it will be distorted until it puts those in power in a positive light. In just the last week, I have experienced three examples of this increasingly trendy news phenomenon whose frequency seems to be increasing more and more in what we used to call a free press. 

The first was when I reported on the carefully orchestrated American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Convention in Los Angeles, which was carefully choreographed to buy into Common Core and the privatization of public education without ever showing AFT rank and file that its leadership was co-opted in this process by the very corporations and foundations that are leading the charge exclusively to line their own pockets, while eliminating a fairly compensated professional teacher corp.

The second was Israel's attack on the civilian population of Gaza, where all coverage that showed the unrestricted nature of these heinous acts by the orwellian newspeak described Israeli Defense Force (IDF) against clearly civilian targets was completely absent from mainstream media coverage in this country, if it in anyway contradicted the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) blind support for Israel. Dare to question this one-sided view and you are labeled antisemitic. Even when NBC reporter Ayman Mohyeldinwas able to report first hand the unprovoked murder of four innocent Palestinian children playing soccer on a Gaza beach, the initial response by NBC was to remove Reporter Mohyeldin, although he has since been sent back, because of the uproar it created with NBC's audience.

The third episode took place the other night, when I went to La Plaza de Cultura y Artes at Olvera Street in Downtown L.A. for what I thought would be a little R & R from the aforementioned week of depressing media obfuscation. The film they were showing was Edward James Olmos' 2006 production of "Walkout," about the 1968 student walkouts from five E.L.A. high schools, which, according to the film succeeded in addressing the inferior and second-class education that Latino students of the time were getting in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD).

So let's take a look at some of the issues raised by the film to show that not only are things no better in E.L.A. high schools and elsewhere throughout LAUSD, they are significantly worse in a district that is now more segregated today than it was in 1968, when the walkouts took place.

1. In reality, the students presented in the film act middle class White, even though they are supposed to be working class Latino. In one scene in the movie the students are depicted quietly reading in class at a level few Latino students have ever been given the ability to achieve at LAUSD. This is a motif that exists in virtually every film 2014 LATINO STUDENT REALITY AT LAUSD- ABSENT IN ESPARZA & OLMOS' 2006 FILM "WALKOUT" - Perdaily.com:

7-21-14 The Whole Child Blog — Free Webinar: Digital Learning Strategies with Mike Fisher

The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education:

Free Webinar: Digital Learning Strategies with Mike Fisher

Join Mike Fisher, author of the ASCD Arias Digital Learning Strategies: How do I assign and assess 21st century work?, for an exciting, free webinar to explore six questions for deciding whether or not to digitize your instructional strategies, processes, or products. Thursday, July 31, 2014, 3:00 p.m. eastern time Register now! How do you assign and assess digital work? More than a decade into t

by Klea Scharberg / 18min 

7-21-14 The Whole Child Blog — What Advice Do You Have for New Principals?

The Whole Child Blog — Whole Child Education: What Advice Do You Have for New Principals?As the key players in developing the climate, culture, and processes in their schools, principals are critical to implementing meaningful and lasting change in the ongoing school-improvement process. Those who have a clear vision; inspire and engage others in embracing change for improvement; drive, facilitate

by mike simpson / 22h 

Follow Your Heart | WagTheDog

Follow Your Heart | WagTheDog:

Follow Your Heart

 

Excerpts from Jim Carrey’s 20014 Commencement Speech at M.U.

“Fear is going to be a player in life, but you get to decide how much. You can spend your whole life imagining ghosts, worrying about the pathway to the future, but all it will ever be is what’s happening here, and the decisions that we make in this moment, which are based in either love or fear. 

So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality. What we really want seems impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect, so we never dare to ask the Universe for it.

I can tell you from experience, the effect you have on others is the most valuable currency there is. My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn’t believe that that was possible for him, and so he made a conservative choice. 

Instead he got a safe job as an accountant, and when I was 12 years old, he was let go from that safe job, and our family had to do whatever we could to survive.

I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which, was that you can fail at what you don’t want, so you might as well take a chance on doing what you love.

That peace that we are after lies somewhere beyond personality. Your need for Follow Your Heart | WagTheDog:

7-22-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum:

Big Day for Special Education in Seattle Public Schools

The district has released the report from Accelify Consulting on the state of Special Education in Seattle Schools.  It will officially be released at a family meeting tonight.  The name of the report is Foundation for a Brighter Future: Essential Needed Improvements in Special Education in Seattle.Special Education Community MeetingTuesday, July 22, 20146:30 - 8:30 pm2445 3rd Avenue South - Audit

by Melissa Westbrook / 1h 

Tuesday Open Thread

The 2014 Band Jam event will take place at 6:30 pm this Friday July 25, 2014 at the Southwest Athletic Complex – 2601 SW Thistle St. (across the street from Chief Sealth International High School.)Band Jam is an annual band showcase intended to highlight what we all know to be the best part of the summer parade season – the bands. In addition to featuring some of the youth ensembles participating

by Melissa Westbrook / 25min hide  //  save

A Tragic Story

Here is an example of where the culture of lawlessness can lead.No one bothered with the rules for field trip. No one bothered with the rules for chaperones. After the crime no one bothered with the rules for investigation or response. Instead of stepping up and doing the right thing, everything was routed to the general counsel's office where they were committed to a cover-up and suppressing the

by Charlie Mas / 31min 

7-20-14 Seattle Schools Community Forum Week

Seattle Schools Community Forum: Stand for Children's Petition - Don't Sign ItStand has this "education" petition going around. Consider not signing it.First, note the source.  That should tell you all you need to know right there.  (What's funny is they want one word changed and claim it will "free" Washington from NCLB.  There's no way they can know that for sure.  Next, it i

by mike simpson / 20h 

7-22-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District):

2 LA Unified teachers selected as finalists for national award

2 LA Unified teachers selected as finalists for national award Two LA Unified elementary school teachers are among six California educators selected as finalists for the 2014 Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching or (PAEMST). The two were selected in the science category: Kristen Johnson, a fifth grade teacher at low-performing 93rd Street Elementary School, where

2 by Yana Gracile / 24min hide  //  save

LA Times endorses George McKenna for school board

LA Times endorses George McKenna for school board Via LA Times Editorial Board Two candidates with different styles and viewpoints are vying to join the Los Angeles Unified school board, replacing longtime board member Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who died in December. Both of the candidates also hold different beliefs than did LaMotte, who was a fiery opponent of most school reform. This is an

3 24min 

Deasy joins President Obama in ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ update

Deasy joins President Obama in ‘My Brother’s Keeper’ update LA Unified Superintendent John Deasy joined other education officials at The White House yesterday as President Obama announced new partnerships to help young men of color gain greater access to programs offering support from pre-K through high school. The program, which includes private companies, nonprofits and the NBA as participants,

2 1h 

CA low among states in children’s well-being, says new report

CA low among states in children’s well-being, says new report California ranks 40th among the 50 states in children’s overall well-being, according to The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 25th edition of the KIDS COUNT Data Book, released today in partnership with Children Now, a children’s health and education research, policy, and advocacy organization based in Oakland. The Data Book ranks each state

17min 

Morning Read: New political action committee joins board race

Morning Read: New political action committee joins board race New political action committee forms in L.A. school board race A new political action committee has formed to influence the outcome of Los Angeles school board races, filling a gap created when a group of civic leaders, which includes former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, decided to sit out next month’s key upcoming election. LA Times Whi

2 29min 

7-21-14 LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD

LA School Report - What's Really Going on Inside LAUSD (Los Angeles Unified School District): Morning Read: POTUS gains support for minority educationMorning Read: POTUS gains support for minority education Obama to report widening of initiative for black and Latino boys President Obama will announce on Monday that 60 of the nation’s largest school districts are joining his initiative to improve t

by mike simpson / 21h 

CPS Budget lies and budget liars - Substance News

Budget lies and budget liars - Substance News:

BUDGET LIES AND LIARS -- That three quarters of a billion dollars that Rahm's people 'cut' from the CPS 'administrative' budget? David Vitale could tell you that it never existed -- if he checked his notes from 2006. Reminder -- If you're going to tell a lie, tell a whopper and repeat endlessly...

George N. Schmidt - July 20, 2014

Eight years ago, as the first graphic with this article shows, the Chief Executive Officer of Chicago's public schools (Arne Duncan), the Chief Administrative Officer (at that time, David Vitale), and the Chief Financial Officer (at that time, Pedro Martinez) stood before a press conference to detail the fiscal (FY 2007) 2007 budget for reporters. It was June 6, 2006, and in those days CPS officials hosted regular press conference at CPS headquarters so that reporters could ask questions and get answers from the officials who supposedly knew about such things as, in this case, the budget of the third largest school system in the USA.

JUNE 6, 2006. David Vitale and Pedro Martinez stand beside a sign explaining the allocation of funds for the 2006 - 2007 school year. Not that the pie chart shows that "Administration" was only $198 million and amounted to 4.2 percent of the total budget of a little less than $4.7 billion. Standing in the photo above is David Vitale (who at the time was the CPS "Chief Administrative Officer"), behind the sign. On the right is Pedro Martinez, who at the time was CPS "Chief Financial Officer." Vitale went from CAO to Board President. Martinez went from Chicago's CFO to a top educational post in Nevada, even though he has never taught and didn't hold a teaching or administrative certificate in Illinois. Note that the Jun 2006 version of the budget did not cut a piece of the pie to single out the "pension crisis." At the time, and throughout history, pension costs were included as a part of General Education, since they were always a part of teacher and PSRP compensation. That changed in 2007, when CPS propagandists began singling out the cost of "Pension" as a separate slice of the pie and beating the drum about the "pension crisis" which they had caused by not refusing to pay into the pension fund for years and years. When the above photograph was taken, Arne Duncan was standing on the right at the podium answering reporters' questions. Substance photo by George N. Schmidt.On that day, eight years ago, the Board presented a pie chart showing that after five years of "reducing administration", Arne Duncan and his "team" had brought the total cost of what they then called "administration" to less than $200 million.

Three years after that, Arne Duncan was U.S. Secretary of Education. David Vitale was President of the Chicago Board of Education. CPS had had a half dozen or so "Chief Financial Officers" since Pedro Martinez left for Nevada.

And CPS officials tried to tell the public that between May 2011 and July 2014, under the sharp-eyed administration appointed by Rahm Emanuel, CPS had cut "administration" by $740 million!

At three budget hearings held in Chicago on July 16, 2014, various officials of the nation's third largest school system presented the public with a 15-page Power Point. And on one of those pages, the officials claimed that an administrative budget that in 2006 was around $200 million had somehow bloated up to around a billion so that the miracle team assembled by Rahm Emanuel was able to cut three quarters of a billion dollars from it!

One difference between June 2006 and July 2014 was that the Board of Education no longer holds press conferences, so reporters don't get to answer questions. And if a reporter has a question, the answer is likely to be given by a person from the CPS "Office of Communications" who doesn't know anything about the complexities of the $6 billion CPS budget, but is Budget lies and budget liars - Substance News:

New political action committee forms in L.A. school board race - LA Times

New political action committee forms in L.A. school board race - LA Times:


New political action committee forms in L.A. school board race

A new political action committee has formed to influence the outcome of Los Angeles school board races, filling a gap created when a group of civic leaders, which includes former Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, decided to sit out next month's key upcoming election.

The new organization, Great Public Schools Los Angeles Political Action Committee, joins other outside groups involved in the campaign to replace Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte, who died in December.

The Aug. 12 special election pits George McKenna, a retired senior school district administrator who finished first in a June primary, against Alex Johnson, education advisor to Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas.

The new campaign committee is controlled by Dan Chang, who most recently headed the nonprofit foundation created to raise money for the L.A. Unified School District.

Through last weekend, Chang had reported raising nearly $100,000 in support of Johnson.

Chang's operation is vying to fill the void left by Villaraigosa, who left the mayor's office in 2013. As mayor, Villaraigosa acted as chief fundraiser of Coalition for School Reform, a political action committee established as a counterweight to the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles.

The coalition delivered mixed results, with Villaraigosa winning an allied board majority early on, then stumbling in some later elections despite record fundraising, including $1 million from then-New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The teachers union also has been unable to dominate, resulting in a politically divided school board.

Chang lists his contributors as including former U.S. Ambassador Frank Baxter, a charter-school funder, who donated $10,000 to the new venture after regularly supporting Coalition for School Reform.

The teachers union is backing McKenna. Through last weekend, UTLA's committee had New political action committee forms in L.A. school board race - LA Times:

Twenty-fifth Edition of KIDS COUNT Data Book Highlights Improvements Since 1990 - The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Twenty-fifth Edition of KIDS COUNT Data Book Highlights Improvements Since 1990 - The Annie E. Casey Foundation:

Twenty-fifth Edition of KIDS COUNT Data Book Highlights Improvements Since 1990

POSTED JULY 22, 2014, BY THE ANNIE E. CASEY FOUNDATION

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National, State Policy Changes Have Resulted in Positive Changes for Children, but More are Living in High-Poverty Neighborhoods and in Single-Parent Families

Demographic, social and economic changes combined with major policy developments have affected the lives of lower-income children in both positive and negative ways since 1990, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 25th edition of its annual KIDS COUNT Data Book. The good news is that there has been steady improvement in the numbers of children attending preschool and a decline in the number of schoolchildren not proficient in reading and math.

There also is a positive trend in parental education that benefits kids: A smaller percentage of children live in families in which no parent has a high school diploma — from 22% in 1990 to 15% in 2012. In addition, the teen birth rate is at a historic low and the death rates for children and teens has fallen as a result of medical advances and increased usage of seat belts, car seats and bike helmets.

Worrisome trends include a rise in the official child poverty rate as defined by the federal government. Although the rate dropped from 18 to 16% from 1990 to 2000, the rate had reached 22% by 2010 and has remained at roughly that level. In 2012, nearly 16.4 million kids were living in poverty. The percentage of children living in single-parent families has risen significantly — in 1990, 25% of children lived in a single-parent household and by 2012 the figure had risen to 35%. Since 1990, the rate of children growing up in poor communities has also increased, with 13% of children living in a neighborhood where the poverty rate is 30% or more.

“With advances in neuroscience, as well as solid research on what works, we now know more than ever before about how to give children a good start and help them meet major developmental milestones throughout childhood,” said Patrick McCarthy, the Foundation’s president and CEO. “On several fronts, we’ve seen the difference that smart policies, effective programs and high quality practice can make in improving child well-being and long term outcomes. We should all be encouraged by the improvements in many well-being indicators in the health, education and safety areas.”

“But we must do much more,” McCarthy said. “All of us, in every sector — business, government, nonprofits, faith-based groups, families — need to continue to work together to ensure that all children have the chance to succeed. We should strengthen our commitment and redouble our efforts until every child in America develops to full potential. We simply cannot afford to endanger the futures of the millions of low-income children who don’t have the chance to experience high-quality early childhood programs and the thriving neighborhoods that higher-income families take for granted.”

To examine the more recent trends between 2005 and 2012, the newData Book uses 16 indicators across four areas – economic well-being, education, health and family and community.

• Children continue to progress in the areas of education and health. All four education indicators covering milestones such as preschool attendance and high school graduation showed steady improvements. Child health also improved across all four indicators, and more children have access to health insurance coverage than before the recession. There were also drops in child and teen mortality and teen substance abuse. The percentage of low-birthweight babies declined slightly.
• Economic progress still lags, even after the end of the recession. Three of the four economic well-being indicators were worse than the mid-decade years, which is not surprising given the severity of the economic crisis over the past six years. However, the majority of the indicators in this area improved slightly at the national level since the2013 Data Book, indicating modest but hopeful signs of recovery.
• Mixed picture on family and community indicators. The teen birth rate is at a historic low. There was a small drop in the percentage of children living in families where the household head lacks a high school diploma. However, there was an increase in the percentage of children living in single-parent families and more children living in high-poverty areas.

At the state level, Massachusetts, Vermont, Iowa, New Hampshire and Minnesota rank highest for overall child well-being, while Arizona, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico and Mississippi rank lowest. Three southwestern states — Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico — are once again in the bottom five for the overall rankings. Other state highlights:

• While three New England states rank within the top five for overall well-being among the 50 states, the top five states in the area of economic well-being are in the heartland and Plain States regions — North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska.
• The biggest improvements in overall rankings compared to last year’sData Book are seen in Iowa, Utah, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee. The biggest drops in overall rankings are seen in Wyoming, New Hampshire (moving from #1 to #4), New Jersey, Montana and Oklahoma.
• Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia saw improvements since 2005 in math proficiency, but a considerable gap lies between Massachusetts with only 45% of its eighth-graders not proficient in the subject, and Alabama with 80%.

“The Foundation’s partnership with state and national advocates for children has thrived since our first Data Book and has brought steady attention to how kids are faring, said Laura Speer, Casey’s associate director for policy reform and advocacy. “The Data Book highlights the achievements of advocates across the country that have been critical in advancing increased investment in effective programs and services to help ensure that kids get the best possible start in life.”

The 2014 KIDS COUNT Data Book features the latest data on child well-being for every state, the District of Columbia and the nation. This information is available on the KIDS COUNT Data Center, which also contains the most recent national, state and local data on hundreds of measures of child well-being. Data Center users can create rankings, maps and graphs for use in publications and on websites, and view real-time information on mobile devices. Twenty-fifth Edition of KIDS COUNT Data Book Highlights Improvements Since 1990 - The Annie E. Casey Foundation: