excerpt from latimes.com:
L.A. Unified tells teachers to refund over-payments (LMFAO!)
The district paid about $53 million too much to 36,000 workers. They are given until Dec. 10 to decide whether to pay or fight.
In the latest fallout from a badly flawed payroll system that has plagued the Los Angeles public school system for nearly a year, officials have taken steps to recoup $53 million they calculate has been overpaid to about 36,000 school district employees.
Teachers and other staff in the Los Angeles Unified School District must either trust the district's claim that they were overpaid and repay the money -- or dispute the calculations and face further chaos come tax season.
For Genie Penn, a veteran second-grade teacher at Overland Elementary on the Westside, the choice is clear.
"All of a sudden they've decided I owe them $9,000?" asked an exasperated Penn, who has a graduate degree in business. "I know I owe them some money, but it is not that much. Until they can show me some proof of how much I owe them, I am not paying a dime. It's just absurd. It's mind boggling! But I guess when you work for LAUSD, nothing should surprise you."
Affected employees -- the vast majority are teachers -- have until Dec. 10 to choose whether to repay the district the entire amount they received, request a repayment plan, repay only the amount they believe they were overpaid or refuse to pay anything.
Any employee who disagrees with the district's overpayment calculation and refuses to pay some or all of the money will have to wait for L.A. Unified and union officials to work out a process for how such disputes will be resolved. Zeronian and David Holmquist, interim chief operating officer, said they expect those plans to be finalized early next year.
[OH GOOD...GLAD TO SEE EVERYTHING WILL BE OFF TO A SMOOTH, PRODUCTIVE, EFFICIENT AND NON-COMBATIVE START NEXT YEAR!]
After months of mounting confusion and frustration, many are dubious of the computer system's ability to accurately calculate over-payments. Several teachers pointed to an earlier attempt by the district to determine over-payments and under-payments that was marred by widespread inaccuracies.
Penn, for example, is flummoxed because the district claimed during the summer that she owed a couple of hundred dollars and now says she owes nearly $9,000. As far as she can tell, the new figure is impossibly high because she is paid only about $4,000 each month and, as far as she can tell, the only overpayment she received was a month's pay while she was on leave.
"These numbers just don't make any sense," echoed Stephen McDonough, a sixth-grade music teacher at Reed Middle School in North Hollywood, who was told he owes $1,900. "Nobody is clear on how they came up with them. They are asking me to take their word for it and pay them a third of my salary right before the holidays. I can't do it."
[AND NOW BRACE YOURSELF FOR SOME OF THE "STUPIDIST" PR COMMENTS EVER UTTERED...]
Holmquist urged employees to trust the district. But he could offer only a tenuous reason to do so, saying that the relative success of this month's payday indicates that repairs made so far to the payroll system appear to be working. Some technical glitches remain unresolved, however, and 3,000 employees are estimated to have had paycheck problems this month.
Are the calculations "100% guaranteed? No," Holmquist said. "But it's highly probable. We have a higher degree of confidence than ever before that we are accurate."
[OH GOOD! I'm sure people are bending over backwards to trust you and pay whatever you ask, as soon as possible, now that you have a "higher degree of confidence" in the accuracy.]
Challenging the district over the repayment totals, however, comes with considerable risk. In the letters to employees, Zeronian warned that once the December deadline passes, employees will be responsible for the total amount of the alleged overpayments, including the amount the district withheld for taxes.
[OH GOOD...NOW THE DISTRICT IS THREATENING TEACHERS WHEN THEY ARE NOT EVEN SURE THEY ARE ACCURATE!?!?!]
If Penn, the elementary school teacher, for example, refuses to pay and it is ultimately determined the district calculations are right, she will have to repay the district $8,983 -- the $6,068 the district overpaid her and the $2,915 it took out for taxes. It would then fall to Penn to try to get the excess tax money back from state and federal agencies. If the district tally for Penn is wrong, L.A. Unified will have to issue her a revised income tax form.
"It is going to be a tax nightmare for people to try to unravel," said Patty O'Connell, a partner at the accounting firm Holthouse, Carlin & Van Trigt in Los Angeles.
"These are their mistakes," he said. "If they think they put too much money in my pocket and they want to discuss it, they can come out to me at school, prove it, and then we can work something out."
[Guess what LAUSD...you blew it...not you're gonna have to eat the loss. Are you crazy??? You think you are gonna sort this out, and disrupt these teachers lives and turn their financial world upside-down? YOU'RE GONNA BE EATING MOST OF THAT $53 million you big f*cking dummies! (AND WE ALL KNOW WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS SYSTEM AND WHY IT WAS SELECTED! Just ask Monica Garcia...she should be able to tell you! Cause when your cronies have a payroll system to sell...you just GOTTA use that one!)
full article
IS THERE A PARENT IN THE CITY LEFT THAT WOULD TRUST THESE LAUSD BUFFOONS WITH THEIR KIDS? STUPID AND CORRUPT...IT'S A TRAGIC COMBINATION.
zumadogg@gmail.com
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
LAUSD School Board To "Shift" $1 Billion Voter Approved Bond Dollars For Other Purposes (But Remember...It's For The Kids!)
from latimes.com:
L.A. board may shift $1 billion to school construction [Don't worry...they will!]
The Measure Y bond money was approved by voters in 2005 for modernizing existing campuses. [But VillarGarcia LAUSD School Board Wants To Use It For Something Else. So THEY will make that decision for you!!!]
HEY MARK "MR. K" GERMAIN: Remember all those calls MC Zuma Dogg made to you over the past year and a half about LAUSD's $20 billion school construction budget -- and how you have a corrupt mayor who was sent to heist as much of the money for his political backers so they will promote him to governor? (Well those days may be gone...but he still has to pay 'em back for making him mayor.)
LOOKS LIKE THE HEIST IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!!! TODAY! AT THE LAUSD SCHOOL BOARD MEETING. THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE THE DECISION FOR YOU THAT THEY WANT TO "BORROW" SOME OF THE BOND MONEY FOR SOMETHING ELSE...THEN CAN ASK FOR ANOTHER BOND LATER, IF NEEDED. (Then maybe they can ask for another one, after that...INFINITY!)
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 23, 2007
Los Angeles school district officials want to close most of a staggering deficit in the school-construction program by using more than $1 billion in bond money that was meant for other purposes. The Los Angeles Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the shift today. [Let me take a guess...they'll APPROVE to shift this money?]
The proposal, expected to pass, would use -- for new schools -- money that would have repaired and modernized existing schools, improved Internet access and other technology on campuses, and built and repaired preschool centers. Instead, the funds will backfill the plan to build 145 schools in an effort to provide all students with a neighborhood campus that operates on a traditional two-semester schedule. [Because you can't hijack that much of the budget with little old repairs and modernization -- you have to build entire new construction projects to heist that much money efficiently and with no transparancy or accountability.]
"Our hope here is that this is just a borrowing, if you will, of those funds" and the original programs "will be finished sometime in the future with other funds, whether they be from future bond measures or from other sources," said Edwin Van Ginkel, senior development manager for the Los Angeles Unified School District. [Borrow now...people will forget it's a loan, then pass a bond measure in the future if you need more money. And how dare you vote, "No"...IT'S FOR THE KIDS, REMEMBER!?!?]
Van Ginkel added that the bond's wording allows for such a transfer. [It's called "loopholes" and they are intentional. To these people if it DOESN'T say they can't...to them it means they CAN. Ethics/Spirit of Intent vs What they can get away with, those shady f*cks...they should all be locked up in jail for what this new LAUSD school board is pulling!]
But the fine print of ballot resolutions is not enough, said Jamie Court, president of the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights.
"Politicians will try to use whatever money is on hand to fill any hole they have," Court said. "And in those cases they're often very flexible with 'the voter's intent' when the voter's intent wasn't that elastic. Politicians can't lawfully seize on the fine print to use money where that use was not made explicitly clear." (Words suitable for framing.)
[Infomercial Announcer: BUT WAIT...There's more!] Even after all the planned construction, tens of thousands of students will still attend classes in portables.
Justifications aside, a promise to voters is a promise, said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. "There was a factual determination that over a billion dollars was needed to renovate schools where students are going right now. To take money away from that seems a fundamental violation of public trust."
The point is not lost on Scott Folsom, vice-chair of the district's bond oversight committee.
Even after the new schools are built, he said, 80% to 90% of students will be attending schools that exist today.
Still, the oversight committee approved the transfer last week. Its decision is not binding on the school board, which rarely goes against such recommendations. [NO WONDER MONICA GARCIA PULLED THE PLUG ON THE AUDIT COMMITTEE THAT INCLUDED THE INSPECTOR GENERAL'S INVOLVEMENT!!! And Laura Chick appointed (endless non-action report-writer) Connie Rice to the "School Construction Bond Citizens' Oversight Committee" (LMFAO!)]
Folsom foresees another difficult juncture approaching: "We are going to need to go to the voters at some point in the future -- not that far away -- to ask for more money." [AND WITH THAT FINAL SENTENCE...ALL OF ZUMA DOGG'S PREDICTIONS HAVE NOW COME TRUE.]
more of the article
ZumaTimes.com
L.A. board may shift $1 billion to school construction [Don't worry...they will!]
The Measure Y bond money was approved by voters in 2005 for modernizing existing campuses. [But VillarGarcia LAUSD School Board Wants To Use It For Something Else. So THEY will make that decision for you!!!]
HEY MARK "MR. K" GERMAIN: Remember all those calls MC Zuma Dogg made to you over the past year and a half about LAUSD's $20 billion school construction budget -- and how you have a corrupt mayor who was sent to heist as much of the money for his political backers so they will promote him to governor? (Well those days may be gone...but he still has to pay 'em back for making him mayor.)
LOOKS LIKE THE HEIST IS ABOUT TO BEGIN!!! TODAY! AT THE LAUSD SCHOOL BOARD MEETING. THEY ARE GOING TO MAKE THE DECISION FOR YOU THAT THEY WANT TO "BORROW" SOME OF THE BOND MONEY FOR SOMETHING ELSE...THEN CAN ASK FOR ANOTHER BOND LATER, IF NEEDED. (Then maybe they can ask for another one, after that...INFINITY!)
By Howard Blume, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
October 23, 2007
Los Angeles school district officials want to close most of a staggering deficit in the school-construction program by using more than $1 billion in bond money that was meant for other purposes. The Los Angeles Board of Education is scheduled to vote on the shift today. [Let me take a guess...they'll APPROVE to shift this money?]
The proposal, expected to pass, would use -- for new schools -- money that would have repaired and modernized existing schools, improved Internet access and other technology on campuses, and built and repaired preschool centers. Instead, the funds will backfill the plan to build 145 schools in an effort to provide all students with a neighborhood campus that operates on a traditional two-semester schedule. [Because you can't hijack that much of the budget with little old repairs and modernization -- you have to build entire new construction projects to heist that much money efficiently and with no transparancy or accountability.]
"Our hope here is that this is just a borrowing, if you will, of those funds" and the original programs "will be finished sometime in the future with other funds, whether they be from future bond measures or from other sources," said Edwin Van Ginkel, senior development manager for the Los Angeles Unified School District. [Borrow now...people will forget it's a loan, then pass a bond measure in the future if you need more money. And how dare you vote, "No"...IT'S FOR THE KIDS, REMEMBER!?!?]
Van Ginkel added that the bond's wording allows for such a transfer. [It's called "loopholes" and they are intentional. To these people if it DOESN'T say they can't...to them it means they CAN. Ethics/Spirit of Intent vs What they can get away with, those shady f*cks...they should all be locked up in jail for what this new LAUSD school board is pulling!]
But the fine print of ballot resolutions is not enough, said Jamie Court, president of the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer & Consumer Rights.
"Politicians will try to use whatever money is on hand to fill any hole they have," Court said. "And in those cases they're often very flexible with 'the voter's intent' when the voter's intent wasn't that elastic. Politicians can't lawfully seize on the fine print to use money where that use was not made explicitly clear." (Words suitable for framing.)
[Infomercial Announcer: BUT WAIT...There's more!] Even after all the planned construction, tens of thousands of students will still attend classes in portables.
Justifications aside, a promise to voters is a promise, said Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn. "There was a factual determination that over a billion dollars was needed to renovate schools where students are going right now. To take money away from that seems a fundamental violation of public trust."
The point is not lost on Scott Folsom, vice-chair of the district's bond oversight committee.
Even after the new schools are built, he said, 80% to 90% of students will be attending schools that exist today.
Still, the oversight committee approved the transfer last week. Its decision is not binding on the school board, which rarely goes against such recommendations. [NO WONDER MONICA GARCIA PULLED THE PLUG ON THE AUDIT COMMITTEE THAT INCLUDED THE INSPECTOR GENERAL'S INVOLVEMENT!!! And Laura Chick appointed (endless non-action report-writer) Connie Rice to the "School Construction Bond Citizens' Oversight Committee" (LMFAO!)]
Folsom foresees another difficult juncture approaching: "We are going to need to go to the voters at some point in the future -- not that far away -- to ask for more money." [AND WITH THAT FINAL SENTENCE...ALL OF ZUMA DOGG'S PREDICTIONS HAVE NOW COME TRUE.]
more of the article
ZumaTimes.com
Sunday, October 21, 2007
New Video and Emails Regarding LAUSD (Mt. Gleason)
LAUSD Parents Contact ZD Over Stonewall Tactics and Safety Issues:
ZD Video Recap of LAUSD Parental Input (To ZD)
ZD's INBOX: Hey, Zuma, You might want to check out the foothills forum index. It is a web site for our community and then some. There are some interesting threads on the schools around here. My oldest child told me there were 5 fights today and one planned for after school. She witnessed one of the fights. She said two girls were b**ch slapping each other. Where is all the supervision the school keeps saying they have?
ZD' s INBOX: Hello, Yes the stuff that is happening in the tujunga area is true. Kids are afraid to go to class in fear that they are going to be poked with or should I say stabbed with mechanical pencils and the administration is playing dumb. There is minimal supervision at this middle school because the Principal wants everyone to think that things are under control. There are an average of three fights a week in or around this school and parents are starting to get concerned, me in particular. The Principal claims to be too busy to be involved in parent meeting that concern the safety of their children. I demanded that the principal be involved in a meeting between myself and the father of another boy who was assaulting my son on a regular basis, and she acted like we as parents were wasting her time......Big Big problems at this school..
ZD's INBOX: You know, ZD, the way my friend talks about you reminds me of a guy I went to High School with. His name was (Joe Smith). He used to sit next to me in 9th grade. He would get up early every morning to go to the beach to surf and then get back in time for school. He was a really nice guy. I was very shy when I was young and he was just about the only guy who ever talked to me as though I was just like everyone else. I have a very soft spot in my heart for surfers because of him. He was a very smart and I often wonder what became of him. Hope you have a great weekend. Keep me informed when you can.
ZD's INBOX: Dear Zuma Dogg, My name is [LAUSD parent] and I am a parent of two children at the school my friends told you about. I understand her fear in not wanting to tell you specifics, but for me, well, I want to see them pay for what they are doing to my kids. The school is Mt. Gleason Middle School and the Principal is Ms. Debora Acosta.
My oldest daughter is the student body Vice President this year. As the VP she and the other student body reps are supposed to organize school functions like dances, fund-raisers and such. This year they wanted to put on a Haunted House that would be held after school and the community would be invited. The principal is not allowing it.
So far this year, the student body reps. are being prevented from doing any of the things they are supposed to be doing. So what exactly are these kids doing during their Leadership Class? Trying to come up with something that would be acceptable to the Principal!
Our test scores went down last year. My honors student's State test scores went down as well. I asked her about it, my kids talk to me about everything as I don't believe in punishing them for bad grades as long as they did their best. She said that a lot of the stuff on the test was not covered in class or was gone over too quickly for the kids to grasp. I don't blame the teachers as they were doing a great job the year before. I blame the new changes that were forced on everyone last year by the "new kid on the block". The kids for the most part can't stand her. Okay, so it's not a popularity contest. My kids used to love school! Now they ask why they have to go.
ZD's INBOX: The Parents thank you for your help. Just the attention you have given it, is more than most of them get from the administration.
ZD's INBOX: Zuma, I appreciate all that you do. I am a LAUSD Parent of 2 Students. I am an Advocate/Activist fighting for our local schools in Sunland-Tujunga. I have a school in my Community that represents everything you are saying about LAUSD.
I need to discuss this with you as it will help what you are doing. I am a "No Home Depot supporter and saw you at City Hall. I took my daughter and neice, with me to the Hearing (9th grader and 6th grader), so that they could see Government in action.
I feel that kids are a major missing piece of the Puzzle, there are so many of them and their rights are being ignored, the City and School Board should tell these children to their faces, why they are making bad decisions for them.
I started every sentence with "I" since it "is " all about me , Maybe I should run for City Council? All kidding aside, Please contact me, as I have contact with Many parents and local Community Members. We may be able to help each other.
Sunland Parent
ZD's INBOX: "I would appreciate if you could forward this info to the parent from Mt. Gleason: There's no reason that they shouldn't be able to have an after-school haunted house for their student body as well as their community. None that I can even imagine. I take that back, if they don't have a parent association there, e.g. Booster Club and/or PTA, there might be insurance issues. Not to mention that the Risk Management Dept. of LAUSD makes it virtually impossible to have something on campus that you could find at any community event, like a Street Fair or Farmers Market. We couldn't even have a stupid giant inflatable slide. Forget face painting or dunk tanks, rock climbing walls or bands. So, yeah, now that I think about it, I can imagine Risk Management saying "Uh ... sorry, no", like I've heard from them dozens and dozens of times. And ... LAUSD now CHARGES schools for using LAUSD facilities for events like that. Next spring, I'm gearing up for a real fight because at our yearly "carnival" (just a few homemade game stands, a bounce house, food, REAL simple stuff, no rides or anything crazy) we may have to pay some crazy fee to have it when we've never ever ever had to before.
So yeah, make your PTAs pay a fee to you while we're trying to raise money for shit that you're (LAUSD) supposed to be paying for. Does that make any sense?? I'd call that biting the hand that's trying to help feed you. Not only that, now our Brownie troop is being told we may have to pony up $500 (payable to LAUSD) in order to have our after-school meetings on school grounds. Nice. That basically wipes out our account with no money left for trips or craft supplies or anything. I'm so pissed off, I can't even tell you. Stealing money from Girl Scouts. Lovely."
MORE TO COME...
zumadogg@gmail.com
zumatimes.com
ZD Video Recap of LAUSD Parental Input (To ZD)
ZD's INBOX: Hey, Zuma, You might want to check out the foothills forum index. It is a web site for our community and then some. There are some interesting threads on the schools around here. My oldest child told me there were 5 fights today and one planned for after school. She witnessed one of the fights. She said two girls were b**ch slapping each other. Where is all the supervision the school keeps saying they have?
ZD' s INBOX: Hello, Yes the stuff that is happening in the tujunga area is true. Kids are afraid to go to class in fear that they are going to be poked with or should I say stabbed with mechanical pencils and the administration is playing dumb. There is minimal supervision at this middle school because the Principal wants everyone to think that things are under control. There are an average of three fights a week in or around this school and parents are starting to get concerned, me in particular. The Principal claims to be too busy to be involved in parent meeting that concern the safety of their children. I demanded that the principal be involved in a meeting between myself and the father of another boy who was assaulting my son on a regular basis, and she acted like we as parents were wasting her time......Big Big problems at this school..
ZD's INBOX: You know, ZD, the way my friend talks about you reminds me of a guy I went to High School with. His name was (Joe Smith). He used to sit next to me in 9th grade. He would get up early every morning to go to the beach to surf and then get back in time for school. He was a really nice guy. I was very shy when I was young and he was just about the only guy who ever talked to me as though I was just like everyone else. I have a very soft spot in my heart for surfers because of him. He was a very smart and I often wonder what became of him. Hope you have a great weekend. Keep me informed when you can.
ZD's INBOX: Dear Zuma Dogg, My name is [LAUSD parent] and I am a parent of two children at the school my friends told you about. I understand her fear in not wanting to tell you specifics, but for me, well, I want to see them pay for what they are doing to my kids. The school is Mt. Gleason Middle School and the Principal is Ms. Debora Acosta.
My oldest daughter is the student body Vice President this year. As the VP she and the other student body reps are supposed to organize school functions like dances, fund-raisers and such. This year they wanted to put on a Haunted House that would be held after school and the community would be invited. The principal is not allowing it.
So far this year, the student body reps. are being prevented from doing any of the things they are supposed to be doing. So what exactly are these kids doing during their Leadership Class? Trying to come up with something that would be acceptable to the Principal!
Our test scores went down last year. My honors student's State test scores went down as well. I asked her about it, my kids talk to me about everything as I don't believe in punishing them for bad grades as long as they did their best. She said that a lot of the stuff on the test was not covered in class or was gone over too quickly for the kids to grasp. I don't blame the teachers as they were doing a great job the year before. I blame the new changes that were forced on everyone last year by the "new kid on the block". The kids for the most part can't stand her. Okay, so it's not a popularity contest. My kids used to love school! Now they ask why they have to go.
ZD's INBOX: The Parents thank you for your help. Just the attention you have given it, is more than most of them get from the administration.
ZD's INBOX: Zuma, I appreciate all that you do. I am a LAUSD Parent of 2 Students. I am an Advocate/Activist fighting for our local schools in Sunland-Tujunga. I have a school in my Community that represents everything you are saying about LAUSD.
I need to discuss this with you as it will help what you are doing. I am a "No Home Depot supporter and saw you at City Hall. I took my daughter and neice, with me to the Hearing (9th grader and 6th grader), so that they could see Government in action.
I feel that kids are a major missing piece of the Puzzle, there are so many of them and their rights are being ignored, the City and School Board should tell these children to their faces, why they are making bad decisions for them.
I started every sentence with "I" since it "is " all about me , Maybe I should run for City Council? All kidding aside, Please contact me, as I have contact with Many parents and local Community Members. We may be able to help each other.
Sunland Parent
ZD's INBOX: "I would appreciate if you could forward this info to the parent from Mt. Gleason: There's no reason that they shouldn't be able to have an after-school haunted house for their student body as well as their community. None that I can even imagine. I take that back, if they don't have a parent association there, e.g. Booster Club and/or PTA, there might be insurance issues. Not to mention that the Risk Management Dept. of LAUSD makes it virtually impossible to have something on campus that you could find at any community event, like a Street Fair or Farmers Market. We couldn't even have a stupid giant inflatable slide. Forget face painting or dunk tanks, rock climbing walls or bands. So, yeah, now that I think about it, I can imagine Risk Management saying "Uh ... sorry, no", like I've heard from them dozens and dozens of times. And ... LAUSD now CHARGES schools for using LAUSD facilities for events like that. Next spring, I'm gearing up for a real fight because at our yearly "carnival" (just a few homemade game stands, a bounce house, food, REAL simple stuff, no rides or anything crazy) we may have to pay some crazy fee to have it when we've never ever ever had to before.
So yeah, make your PTAs pay a fee to you while we're trying to raise money for shit that you're (LAUSD) supposed to be paying for. Does that make any sense?? I'd call that biting the hand that's trying to help feed you. Not only that, now our Brownie troop is being told we may have to pony up $500 (payable to LAUSD) in order to have our after-school meetings on school grounds. Nice. That basically wipes out our account with no money left for trips or craft supplies or anything. I'm so pissed off, I can't even tell you. Stealing money from Girl Scouts. Lovely."
MORE TO COME...
zumadogg@gmail.com
zumatimes.com
Villaraigosa Backed LAUSD School Board Is Exactly The Nightmare We Were Afraid Of: Parents Contact Zuma Dogg In Outrage!
LAUSD: An LAUSD parent came across one of my threads, and they contacted me -- then they passed my info on to another parent...and it all kinda snowballed from there. Let's just say there is extreme parental dissatisfaction in the Valley regarding what is happening this year under the new school board. And some safety issues that didn't just pop-up over night -- but is escalating, and the parents who have contacted me feel like they are being stone-walled this year when it comes to parental input and scholastic reaction. (I'll basically be taking all the emails and faxes and compiling them into a thread for this weekend, if I can keep my A.D.D. in check...so stand by for that, for all who spent time on the phone filling me in and taking time to type up waaaaaaaay too many detailed and extensive emails.
MORE ON "LAUSD PARENTS SPEAK OUT"
MORE ON "LAUSD PARENTS SPEAK OUT"
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Meet LAUSD's All City Band Lead Trumpet Player PLUS "All City Marching Band" VIDEO
Zuma Dogg and LAUSD's All City Band Lead Trumpet Player Address School Board
Thanks to Pedro from LAUSD's Fairfax High School who stopped by ZD's "state-of-the-art" studios in Hollywood, CA to speak about the new season and to talk about their 20 year old uniforms that say "CHS" instead of "FHS". Plus, ZD yields time to Pedro to address Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia and LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer to tell them what is needed for the upcoming school year. He says, "More ciricular programs" (after school programs). PLUS: A performance by YOUR LAUSD "All City" Marching Band!!!
Zuma and Pedro of LAUSD All City Band
Brought to you by ZumaTimes.com: Analysis and News Stories Before They Happen!
Thanks to Pedro from LAUSD's Fairfax High School who stopped by ZD's "state-of-the-art" studios in Hollywood, CA to speak about the new season and to talk about their 20 year old uniforms that say "CHS" instead of "FHS". Plus, ZD yields time to Pedro to address Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia and LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer to tell them what is needed for the upcoming school year. He says, "More ciricular programs" (after school programs). PLUS: A performance by YOUR LAUSD "All City" Marching Band!!!
Zuma and Pedro of LAUSD All City Band
Brought to you by ZumaTimes.com: Analysis and News Stories Before They Happen!
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
NEW VIDEO: LAUSD School Board Meeting About Locke Charter w/Zuma Dogg, Monica Garcia and Green Dot's Steve Barr
Here are some clips of Zuma Dogg at Los Angeles City Hall, County Board of Supervisors and Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). PLUS ZD & BEE GEES!
ZD speaks with Bill O'Reilly over LA City/County non-profit abuse concerns, especially regarding Federal money (public money) for Charter schools. PLUS: NEW ZD TV SHOWS from over the weekend, plus some other ZD e-media you may have missed. NOTICE: Please check out the top video for a special bonus, "Zuma Dogg sings LIVE, WITH The Bee Gees, kinda. (It's the debut of "The Zee Gees!"
NEW: Zuma on Bill O’Reilly Radio & ZD for full hour on local LA radio show
Zuma Dogg LIVE at the Operator11 studios. Including ZD's first ever appearance (on H. Stern Show), NEW freestyle singing and rapping, political activism apperances at City Hall, School District and Board of Supervisors -- AND ZD with Whitestarr (from VH1 reality show "The Rock Life") including their new video "Beverly Hills Hotel", plus "ZD sings at the Library" and "Gene Simmons Mask at City Hall". (Low mic audio level, but the clips are o.k. volume). zumatimes.com
Zuma Dogg LIVE on Mayor Sam (Tuesday Night 08/14)
Clips from zumatimes.com. Funny show featuring Zuma Dogg and his political activism in the City of Los Angeles at Venice Beach and City Hall.
Clips from "The Zuma Dogg Show" as seen in Los Angeles on cable TV. More ZD video at www.zumatimes.com (Comedy/Music/Activism/Funny)
Zuma Dogg LIVE on Mayor Sam (8/14/07) pt 2
Zuma on YouTube (Many clips. Scroll Arrows.)
Zuma’s Video Blog: Including Embedded Videos not on YouTube
Zuma’s Political Investigative Journalism Blog
More ZD radio calls & Original Zuma Songs for iPod
ZumaTimes.com: Official ZD site
ZD speaks with Bill O'Reilly over LA City/County non-profit abuse concerns, especially regarding Federal money (public money) for Charter schools. PLUS: NEW ZD TV SHOWS from over the weekend, plus some other ZD e-media you may have missed. NOTICE: Please check out the top video for a special bonus, "Zuma Dogg sings LIVE, WITH The Bee Gees, kinda. (It's the debut of "The Zee Gees!"
NEW: Zuma on Bill O’Reilly Radio & ZD for full hour on local LA radio show
Zuma Dogg LIVE at the Operator11 studios. Including ZD's first ever appearance (on H. Stern Show), NEW freestyle singing and rapping, political activism apperances at City Hall, School District and Board of Supervisors -- AND ZD with Whitestarr (from VH1 reality show "The Rock Life") including their new video "Beverly Hills Hotel", plus "ZD sings at the Library" and "Gene Simmons Mask at City Hall". (Low mic audio level, but the clips are o.k. volume). zumatimes.com
Zuma Dogg LIVE on Mayor Sam (Tuesday Night 08/14)
Clips from zumatimes.com. Funny show featuring Zuma Dogg and his political activism in the City of Los Angeles at Venice Beach and City Hall.
Clips from "The Zuma Dogg Show" as seen in Los Angeles on cable TV. More ZD video at www.zumatimes.com (Comedy/Music/Activism/Funny)
Zuma Dogg LIVE on Mayor Sam (8/14/07) pt 2
Zuma on YouTube (Many clips. Scroll Arrows.)
Zuma’s Video Blog: Including Embedded Videos not on YouTube
Zuma’s Political Investigative Journalism Blog
More ZD radio calls & Original Zuma Songs for iPod
ZumaTimes.com: Official ZD site
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Zuma Dogg's Overview of LAUSD "Annual Order of Business"
First of all, again, congratulations to LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer for delivering the finest, world-class speech I have seen delivered publicly at this year's LAUSD Annual Meeting. See story here Whether of not the goal of transforming LAUSD is an accomplishable goal will remain to be seen. But I don't think you are going to be able to find anyone who is able to articulate what it will take to get the job done. Brewer convinced Dogg that he knows what to do, has a plan and method to achieve the goal. Let's hope it's the goal is achieveable in the first place. And if it is, at least I believe we have the best possible leader for this most important challenge.
ZUMA DOGG'S OVERVIEW OF LAUSD ANNUAL ORDER OF BUSINESS/STATE OF THE DISTRICT
As mentioned in my previous articles on Deming (as published in ‘94’s "Quality Digest"), recent LA Weekly article on "SCAG" (Southern California Association of Governments) and blogging, most of the high-quality jobs the previously available to college graduates have left the region and the manufacturing industry has slipped overseas to Asia and China. (Did you see recent news reports that China is now #3 economic superpower, surpassing Germany?)
That leaves the U.S. and especially Southern California in a strategy position it hasn’t been in for quite some time, if ever in the industrial era: The under dog position. The U.S. and as I will refer to for purposes of this audience, California, must look around and say, " How do we rebound, now that we allowed it to get away from us, and we are left with the low-quality, low-income angle.
In other words, how do we regain the ground we lost to oversea economies that took Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s 14 Point plan, implemented it, and now has the U.S. scrambling to keep its society above water.
It starts at the top. It’s a prevailing philosophy. Successful management, like the type responsible for turning the manufacturing tables on the U.S. by implementing "quality and productivity" on the job (like Japanese automobiles and electronics manufacturing) would never front-end load management contracts that end up putting inappropriately excessive amounts of project money into salaries of managers and their perks and not enough into the public project, itself, to get the job done. Then the politicians come back and ask for more money though bonds and taxes.
So if you are operating from the premise of, "Well gee, all the high-end, college type jobs have gone overseas along with the manufacturing that left a long time ago, how do we make due with what’s left? The lower-paying, "lower-quality" jobs. (That term is not an insult. That’s how government and economic types categorize it. "high-income", "low-income", "high-quality jobs" (higher education, higher skilled, higher paying, higher status), "low quality jobs" (lower education, lower skilled lower payer, lower status).
However, given California’s position in this new global economy, the lines are beign blurred between what constitutes "high skill"/"low skill"; and what level of education you need to make what is considered to be "higher paying" money. (Shortage of vocation workers like electrical workers at DWP has raised the pay.)
COLLEGE READY KIDS?
So just as LAUSD has a 50% dropout rate as it is, with more and more English learners coming into the system that before, there is a lot of LAUSD "order of business" relating to preparing kids to be college ready.
Although this is an ambitious and admirable goal, and of course we need a certain percentage of LAUSD students to continue on to college (the career of further education to fill the jobs requiring that added level of skill and knowledge), it should not be the goal of LAUSD to prepare all kids for college.
The goal should be to prepare all kids for graduation and if you have to prepare them for college, the added raising of the bar will actually increase the drop out rate as a whole new level of students are not able to rise to the higher level of achievement, because you have not yet fixed the system for them.
The current Villaraigosa-backed majority school board, under Monica Garcia, has an overly ambitious agenda for a board that just got started and doesn’t have the answers to the questions that will allow them to provide the actual solutions that will actually improve the district.
However, although they are biting off more than they should regarding the policy (a full streamroll ahead approach)/already raising the bar and making it more challenging and demanding for students) – you should be doing EVERYTHING to improve/fix the system for the students and parents! Make no demand until you have provided the environment and system (method) to achieve such goal.
Some basic examples:
Monica Garcia should let Superintendent David Brewer make a new public announcement, (under this new annual "order of business") to all parents, students and teachers that transformation is on the way. One leader is now in charge of this transformation and will be working with the school board to achieve new levels of heightened student achievement and increased graduation rates. And request input from all interested parties, from wherever it may come from.
Empower everyone on the job in the district from tree trimmer to school board president to use common sense and life-experience to do their best job, and let management know how they can help you do a better job/improve.
For example, maybe the gym teacher suggests moving classes to after lunch, when the kids have more energy to burn, rather than right before lunch when they are ready to drop because no one eats a good breakfast. Maybe a principal that tells teachers, "Hey no mid-term exams the day after American Idol finals. Kids won't study, and overall test scores will drop." (Based on what the teacher learned last year.)
Let common sense prevail, wherever legally possible. Knowledge comes from everyone within the system (it is called a school "system"), and if your ship is sinking, don’t ask what kind of life jacket they are throwing you.
For example, maybe the janitor can tell cafeteria not to serve a certain item anymore, because most of it is ending up in the trash. (The meal planner would never know, because all of it was served. Or the parking lot attendant who notifies the principal that the lights need to be replaced in the staff parking lot because kids shot them with a BB gun. (And the principal would never know because he leaves work before dark.) Kids know the problems; parents know the problems; teachers know the problems. Many of them have the solutions. Embrace your biggest asset, community input. (And I see Brewer doing that.)
Now, let’s look at some bigger picture solutions outside LAUSD’s job description that can help "fix" LAUSD.
So, a more immediate first thing that can be done to fix the school system starts at home. Parents need to accept responsibility and become active participants in their children’s lives. You can judge what a young kid says, and how they behave by the standards imposed on them by the parents. It’s tough to say "no" to your kids, when other parents say, "yes", or don’t say anything at all, because the kids are left un-attended.
Too many parents think it is the schools and teachers job to instill dignity, respect and discipline into their kids. BUT IT IS NOT. That is the parents’ job. The schools job is to educate kids. Help fix LAUSD by fixing your kids, so the school can do its job. (Teach them how to read, write, add, etc.) Asking your kid, "How was school today? Did you do your homework?", is not taking responsibility for your child’s education.
I know it’s tough to be a parent to your kid, these days. The high cost of housing, taxes and gas makes it hard to make ends meet, and both parents (if there are even both parents at home) have to work long hours, and travel through long traffic-jammed commutes, for not enough pay, at the end of the day.
And at the end of that day, It’s much easier to say, "yes", than argue a long protracted battle over how late a kid can stay out, or how many hours they can use myspace, youtube, ipod, xbox, or even regular old TV. And it doesn’t help when other parents refuse to do a thing to help instill discipline, morals or standards in their kids.
But you must rise to the challenge and be the leaders and role models in your kids’ lives. Parents, don't rely on the City to be your kids’ babysitters after school. Rely on each other. Spend more time talking to each other about after school activities. Do more for each other. Talk about what your kids are and are not allowed to say and do. Try and convince other parents to go along with the higher standard, so all the kids that play together lift each other up, instead of drag each other down.
So that's ONE thing the community can do to fix the schools (besides reducing classroom size, paying teachers more so we can recruit new ones, after school programs, safer streets and other things that are out of your control):
Take on more responsibility to do the job you asked for when you had a kid. Be a mentor -- to your own kids. You cannot leave the job of raising your kids and teaching them responsibility and values needed to keep them in school, graduating and productive members of society we need them to be to a school system. That’s not THEIR job, it’s YOURS. Take on the challenge. It will be almost as enriching and rewarding of an experience as myspace or YouTube.
There IS much for LAUSD to do as well, especially in the areas of management of quality and productivity as it related to operations and the administrative system itself. But the parents and kids have a long way to go before they can start pointing too many fingers at the system itself.
HOW ABOUT "JOB READY" KIDS?
How about vocations to prepare kids for today’s U.S. job market? Do you know how much carpenters, plumbers, sales people, electricians, AC/Heating, tile person, car mechanic or truck drivers make these days? ($90,000 plus.)
If high-end college type jobs have left the region and are now overseas in Asia and China, how about the vocations mentioned above, and others are jobs that you cannot export; and you cannot import. (You don’t fly in a construction contractor when you build a new condo. And you can’t import the electricians DWP is short on.)
Not everyone is meant to go to college. It is the school systems job to provide students with the basic, necessary skills to either enter the job market, go on to further vocational training, or college and more interpersonal skill training.
But to say it is the government’s job to prepare all kids for college, means that a diploma has no value as its own entity. A diploma is supposed to be the piece of paper you need to be prepared to enter the job market, not an expected requirement to enter another four-year round of expensive education to prepare you for jobs that are not available, because they have been outsourced and downsized in a new electronic era. Do all kids need to be prepared to learn Shakespeare and calculus?
Today’s school system was created in 50s era to prepare kids to conform for the manufacturing jobs that drove the U.S. economy. Everyone had to conform to the same factory jobs, along the assembly line. No uniqueness required.
Engineers make a lot of money, sales people make a lot of money, real estate agents make a lot of money. Train people for the types of jobs the big corporations need: Sales, administration; and construction of facilities, among others.
LAUSD CHARTER REFORM
Charter schools can be valuable tools to allow the community to partner with the government to help improve the quality of education for the student and be an overall asset toward improving the overall result of the State education system.
However, as in any system, there is concern for flaws that allow for the exact type of fraud, waste and abuse that ends up producing the exact opposite results that are promised (higher student achievement provided more efficiently) and ends up leaving the public system weaker than before (cream of the crop students taken by charters leaving higher percentage of "special needs" and "low-achievers" at LAUSD non-charters, which also means less number of students, then they cut the money to those schools who need the money the most).
So as LAUSD starts to approve more and more charters to help the state better educate the kids, and increase all the right numbers in all the right places…let’s make sure there is enough openness and transparency in the process so as to prevent the types of conflicts of interest and fraud, waste and abuse that intentionally, or unintentionally continues to shoot the system in its own foot, causing it to stumble out of the starting block, time and time again.
THE COMPASSION PRINCIPAL
Since ’94, LAUSD has authorized charters: To this date, there is no accountability standard according to the district. I have also heard that there is an intensive application process. Some people view charter schools as a back door policy to break up the LAUSD district.
And breaking up the district in a meaningful and efficient way would be the right step to take. It’s way too big and way to bureaucratic to operate efficiently. Besides being too big geographically, it’s too wide socio-economically. The higher performing schools in the more affluent areas seem to get the "house advantage" over the lower performers in lower economic areas. (Different needs and attentions.) But even socio-economic inequalities aside, it’s just too big a system to operate as an efficient system. But, we are stuck with this monstrosity of a system, for now.
At Green Dot Charter, applicants are required to include parent income; previous student grades; and require additional parental involvement. And some say the application process is more like a screener, skimming the cream of the crop students from the non-charter, public schools; leaving LAUSD with the special needs, and low-achieving students.
Charter schools are run by a lottery to pick students. But the application process to get into the lottery is more difficult than and Ivy League Law School (12 pages long).
What are bright kids from low-income, less-attentive/non-attentive parents to do? They are being punished because charters won’t take them, because parents won’t commit to the added time, or don’t make enough money. Why are we blaming these kids for who they are born to?
As in "special education" students, "highly gifted" students (150 and above I.Q.) is an equally distributed number across all income, social and cultural levels.
So this means there are a minimum of 5000 "highly gifted" kids in the 73% Hispanic and 11% black LAUSD district which reflects the demographic makeup of the district (including 9% white).
So what do we do about these low-income, neglected geniuses not having their uniqueness being catered to?
You have to prove that you care about kids in the way THEY want you to care about them, instead of disenfranchising them; having them drop out, and fall prey to gangs, and we lose out on qualified workers to help keep society not only competitive in a global economy, but simply ticking and functioning on a day to day basis.
If you get them interested in these vocational skills, then they will be interested enough to want to learn the basic and more advanced math that is needed for shop, or garage class. And then, that just might provide the jumpstart that will allow them to be able to go on to college, if they choose; or to directly enter the local job market with a higher level of achievement, and there for higher level of skill and value to the job market and therefore, society. DWP can’t find qualified people to do the electrical work.
This is how you reduce the dropout rate as well. Get them interested in a vocation or interpersonal skill that will create the interest to get them involved in the math, science and English skills required to pursue their dream, and you will reduce the dropout rate; reduce the crime rate; reduce the gang rate; reduce the prison population and increase the pool of qualified applicants for jobs we need like teachers, police, fire, sales, administration, and all of today’s highly-demanded jobs.
A charter lottery is supposed to be an open application process of anyone who wants to "go charter", and then the lottery is based on all applications.
According to one LAUSD "reformer/charter supporter", all the "involved parents" already pulled their kids out of LAUSD and are in private/charter schools.
So now, LAUSD will start to jump into the privatized Charter game, using public money and handing the management over to private entities. So we have to admit, we now have a two-tier education system, like cable TV. You have basic LAUSD (non-charter public school catering to special needs and English learners) and premium LAUSD (charter public school with "cream of the crop" skimmed off the district).
Instead of preparing for two school systems, all teachers, resources and efforts should go to ONE education system for all.
Is the newly elected LAUSD school board members like the zero experience as an educator, Tamar Galatzan, or even "now veteran" Monica Garcia knowledgeable on the type of school reform they are taking on?
I heard that at Green Dot, only 40%=50% of teachers are fully credentialed. In one school, only 3 out of 22 teachers are credentialed. By state law, this number must be equal to LAUSD, which is 90% credentialed across the general district.
IF THIS IS TRUE, THESE SCHOOLS SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN BY LAW!
Do these charters have the 12%-13% Special Education Classes like LAUSD? Are Charter schools skimming the cream of the crop students leaving LAUSD with the lower performers, then get to say, "LAUSD failed", while making it easier to charters to show improvement with the cream of the crop highest achievers?
And the system is set up to keep the school in constant, "need for reform" mode.
The State Lottery placed steady funding for books and supplies. So, you must wonder why you hear so many cries from students that they don’t have enough text books. Somehow, the State Lottery money is now being used for wage and benefits.
Now I support as much money for teachers as possible, and they have one of society’s most important jobs (next to the police), but I don’t think there is a need to take the kid’s book and supplies money to achieve the goal.
With a $61,000 average LAUSD salary; plus those who chose to earn more money as mentors; summer school gigs; mentoring new teachers; or simply choose to work at Radio Shack during the three month vacation you are talking $85,000 a year, plus National Board certified teachers make upwards of $100,000. (And who else making this much also gets three months off?) But they had to dip into the kids’ books and supply money because teachers were too uncomfortable at this type of salary level, for nine months work. And teachers don’t generally work as many hours as other executives and workers in this salary range, and don’t have the long "after hours", at home computer work many executives at this salary level are forced to take home everyday and over the weekend.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
People have given up on our public schools, now they want to pass the buck to charter schools. (I mean pass the buck literally and figuratively.) Although charter schools can be a welcomed blessing to the community and state (society), it is up to the community to insure that the system is providing that service in the best interest of the public, since the state, through LAUSD approval, is handing over public money to be managed and operated by private corporations (non-profit and for-profit organizations), and history has shown that in many cases, conflict of interest, fraud, waste and abuse ends up producing the exact opposite results as required by law.
More to come.
Contact: zumadogg@gmail.com
ZumaTimes.com
ZUMA DOGG'S OVERVIEW OF LAUSD ANNUAL ORDER OF BUSINESS/STATE OF THE DISTRICT
As mentioned in my previous articles on Deming (as published in ‘94’s "Quality Digest"), recent LA Weekly article on "SCAG" (Southern California Association of Governments) and blogging, most of the high-quality jobs the previously available to college graduates have left the region and the manufacturing industry has slipped overseas to Asia and China. (Did you see recent news reports that China is now #3 economic superpower, surpassing Germany?)
That leaves the U.S. and especially Southern California in a strategy position it hasn’t been in for quite some time, if ever in the industrial era: The under dog position. The U.S. and as I will refer to for purposes of this audience, California, must look around and say, " How do we rebound, now that we allowed it to get away from us, and we are left with the low-quality, low-income angle.
In other words, how do we regain the ground we lost to oversea economies that took Dr. W. Edwards Deming’s 14 Point plan, implemented it, and now has the U.S. scrambling to keep its society above water.
It starts at the top. It’s a prevailing philosophy. Successful management, like the type responsible for turning the manufacturing tables on the U.S. by implementing "quality and productivity" on the job (like Japanese automobiles and electronics manufacturing) would never front-end load management contracts that end up putting inappropriately excessive amounts of project money into salaries of managers and their perks and not enough into the public project, itself, to get the job done. Then the politicians come back and ask for more money though bonds and taxes.
So if you are operating from the premise of, "Well gee, all the high-end, college type jobs have gone overseas along with the manufacturing that left a long time ago, how do we make due with what’s left? The lower-paying, "lower-quality" jobs. (That term is not an insult. That’s how government and economic types categorize it. "high-income", "low-income", "high-quality jobs" (higher education, higher skilled, higher paying, higher status), "low quality jobs" (lower education, lower skilled lower payer, lower status).
However, given California’s position in this new global economy, the lines are beign blurred between what constitutes "high skill"/"low skill"; and what level of education you need to make what is considered to be "higher paying" money. (Shortage of vocation workers like electrical workers at DWP has raised the pay.)
COLLEGE READY KIDS?
So just as LAUSD has a 50% dropout rate as it is, with more and more English learners coming into the system that before, there is a lot of LAUSD "order of business" relating to preparing kids to be college ready.
Although this is an ambitious and admirable goal, and of course we need a certain percentage of LAUSD students to continue on to college (the career of further education to fill the jobs requiring that added level of skill and knowledge), it should not be the goal of LAUSD to prepare all kids for college.
The goal should be to prepare all kids for graduation and if you have to prepare them for college, the added raising of the bar will actually increase the drop out rate as a whole new level of students are not able to rise to the higher level of achievement, because you have not yet fixed the system for them.
The current Villaraigosa-backed majority school board, under Monica Garcia, has an overly ambitious agenda for a board that just got started and doesn’t have the answers to the questions that will allow them to provide the actual solutions that will actually improve the district.
However, although they are biting off more than they should regarding the policy (a full streamroll ahead approach)/already raising the bar and making it more challenging and demanding for students) – you should be doing EVERYTHING to improve/fix the system for the students and parents! Make no demand until you have provided the environment and system (method) to achieve such goal.
Some basic examples:
Monica Garcia should let Superintendent David Brewer make a new public announcement, (under this new annual "order of business") to all parents, students and teachers that transformation is on the way. One leader is now in charge of this transformation and will be working with the school board to achieve new levels of heightened student achievement and increased graduation rates. And request input from all interested parties, from wherever it may come from.
Empower everyone on the job in the district from tree trimmer to school board president to use common sense and life-experience to do their best job, and let management know how they can help you do a better job/improve.
For example, maybe the gym teacher suggests moving classes to after lunch, when the kids have more energy to burn, rather than right before lunch when they are ready to drop because no one eats a good breakfast. Maybe a principal that tells teachers, "Hey no mid-term exams the day after American Idol finals. Kids won't study, and overall test scores will drop." (Based on what the teacher learned last year.)
Let common sense prevail, wherever legally possible. Knowledge comes from everyone within the system (it is called a school "system"), and if your ship is sinking, don’t ask what kind of life jacket they are throwing you.
For example, maybe the janitor can tell cafeteria not to serve a certain item anymore, because most of it is ending up in the trash. (The meal planner would never know, because all of it was served. Or the parking lot attendant who notifies the principal that the lights need to be replaced in the staff parking lot because kids shot them with a BB gun. (And the principal would never know because he leaves work before dark.) Kids know the problems; parents know the problems; teachers know the problems. Many of them have the solutions. Embrace your biggest asset, community input. (And I see Brewer doing that.)
Now, let’s look at some bigger picture solutions outside LAUSD’s job description that can help "fix" LAUSD.
So, a more immediate first thing that can be done to fix the school system starts at home. Parents need to accept responsibility and become active participants in their children’s lives. You can judge what a young kid says, and how they behave by the standards imposed on them by the parents. It’s tough to say "no" to your kids, when other parents say, "yes", or don’t say anything at all, because the kids are left un-attended.
Too many parents think it is the schools and teachers job to instill dignity, respect and discipline into their kids. BUT IT IS NOT. That is the parents’ job. The schools job is to educate kids. Help fix LAUSD by fixing your kids, so the school can do its job. (Teach them how to read, write, add, etc.) Asking your kid, "How was school today? Did you do your homework?", is not taking responsibility for your child’s education.
I know it’s tough to be a parent to your kid, these days. The high cost of housing, taxes and gas makes it hard to make ends meet, and both parents (if there are even both parents at home) have to work long hours, and travel through long traffic-jammed commutes, for not enough pay, at the end of the day.
And at the end of that day, It’s much easier to say, "yes", than argue a long protracted battle over how late a kid can stay out, or how many hours they can use myspace, youtube, ipod, xbox, or even regular old TV. And it doesn’t help when other parents refuse to do a thing to help instill discipline, morals or standards in their kids.
But you must rise to the challenge and be the leaders and role models in your kids’ lives. Parents, don't rely on the City to be your kids’ babysitters after school. Rely on each other. Spend more time talking to each other about after school activities. Do more for each other. Talk about what your kids are and are not allowed to say and do. Try and convince other parents to go along with the higher standard, so all the kids that play together lift each other up, instead of drag each other down.
So that's ONE thing the community can do to fix the schools (besides reducing classroom size, paying teachers more so we can recruit new ones, after school programs, safer streets and other things that are out of your control):
Take on more responsibility to do the job you asked for when you had a kid. Be a mentor -- to your own kids. You cannot leave the job of raising your kids and teaching them responsibility and values needed to keep them in school, graduating and productive members of society we need them to be to a school system. That’s not THEIR job, it’s YOURS. Take on the challenge. It will be almost as enriching and rewarding of an experience as myspace or YouTube.
There IS much for LAUSD to do as well, especially in the areas of management of quality and productivity as it related to operations and the administrative system itself. But the parents and kids have a long way to go before they can start pointing too many fingers at the system itself.
HOW ABOUT "JOB READY" KIDS?
How about vocations to prepare kids for today’s U.S. job market? Do you know how much carpenters, plumbers, sales people, electricians, AC/Heating, tile person, car mechanic or truck drivers make these days? ($90,000 plus.)
If high-end college type jobs have left the region and are now overseas in Asia and China, how about the vocations mentioned above, and others are jobs that you cannot export; and you cannot import. (You don’t fly in a construction contractor when you build a new condo. And you can’t import the electricians DWP is short on.)
Not everyone is meant to go to college. It is the school systems job to provide students with the basic, necessary skills to either enter the job market, go on to further vocational training, or college and more interpersonal skill training.
But to say it is the government’s job to prepare all kids for college, means that a diploma has no value as its own entity. A diploma is supposed to be the piece of paper you need to be prepared to enter the job market, not an expected requirement to enter another four-year round of expensive education to prepare you for jobs that are not available, because they have been outsourced and downsized in a new electronic era. Do all kids need to be prepared to learn Shakespeare and calculus?
Today’s school system was created in 50s era to prepare kids to conform for the manufacturing jobs that drove the U.S. economy. Everyone had to conform to the same factory jobs, along the assembly line. No uniqueness required.
Engineers make a lot of money, sales people make a lot of money, real estate agents make a lot of money. Train people for the types of jobs the big corporations need: Sales, administration; and construction of facilities, among others.
LAUSD CHARTER REFORM
Charter schools can be valuable tools to allow the community to partner with the government to help improve the quality of education for the student and be an overall asset toward improving the overall result of the State education system.
However, as in any system, there is concern for flaws that allow for the exact type of fraud, waste and abuse that ends up producing the exact opposite results that are promised (higher student achievement provided more efficiently) and ends up leaving the public system weaker than before (cream of the crop students taken by charters leaving higher percentage of "special needs" and "low-achievers" at LAUSD non-charters, which also means less number of students, then they cut the money to those schools who need the money the most).
So as LAUSD starts to approve more and more charters to help the state better educate the kids, and increase all the right numbers in all the right places…let’s make sure there is enough openness and transparency in the process so as to prevent the types of conflicts of interest and fraud, waste and abuse that intentionally, or unintentionally continues to shoot the system in its own foot, causing it to stumble out of the starting block, time and time again.
THE COMPASSION PRINCIPAL
Since ’94, LAUSD has authorized charters: To this date, there is no accountability standard according to the district. I have also heard that there is an intensive application process. Some people view charter schools as a back door policy to break up the LAUSD district.
And breaking up the district in a meaningful and efficient way would be the right step to take. It’s way too big and way to bureaucratic to operate efficiently. Besides being too big geographically, it’s too wide socio-economically. The higher performing schools in the more affluent areas seem to get the "house advantage" over the lower performers in lower economic areas. (Different needs and attentions.) But even socio-economic inequalities aside, it’s just too big a system to operate as an efficient system. But, we are stuck with this monstrosity of a system, for now.
At Green Dot Charter, applicants are required to include parent income; previous student grades; and require additional parental involvement. And some say the application process is more like a screener, skimming the cream of the crop students from the non-charter, public schools; leaving LAUSD with the special needs, and low-achieving students.
Charter schools are run by a lottery to pick students. But the application process to get into the lottery is more difficult than and Ivy League Law School (12 pages long).
What are bright kids from low-income, less-attentive/non-attentive parents to do? They are being punished because charters won’t take them, because parents won’t commit to the added time, or don’t make enough money. Why are we blaming these kids for who they are born to?
As in "special education" students, "highly gifted" students (150 and above I.Q.) is an equally distributed number across all income, social and cultural levels.
So this means there are a minimum of 5000 "highly gifted" kids in the 73% Hispanic and 11% black LAUSD district which reflects the demographic makeup of the district (including 9% white).
So what do we do about these low-income, neglected geniuses not having their uniqueness being catered to?
You have to prove that you care about kids in the way THEY want you to care about them, instead of disenfranchising them; having them drop out, and fall prey to gangs, and we lose out on qualified workers to help keep society not only competitive in a global economy, but simply ticking and functioning on a day to day basis.
If you get them interested in these vocational skills, then they will be interested enough to want to learn the basic and more advanced math that is needed for shop, or garage class. And then, that just might provide the jumpstart that will allow them to be able to go on to college, if they choose; or to directly enter the local job market with a higher level of achievement, and there for higher level of skill and value to the job market and therefore, society. DWP can’t find qualified people to do the electrical work.
This is how you reduce the dropout rate as well. Get them interested in a vocation or interpersonal skill that will create the interest to get them involved in the math, science and English skills required to pursue their dream, and you will reduce the dropout rate; reduce the crime rate; reduce the gang rate; reduce the prison population and increase the pool of qualified applicants for jobs we need like teachers, police, fire, sales, administration, and all of today’s highly-demanded jobs.
A charter lottery is supposed to be an open application process of anyone who wants to "go charter", and then the lottery is based on all applications.
According to one LAUSD "reformer/charter supporter", all the "involved parents" already pulled their kids out of LAUSD and are in private/charter schools.
So now, LAUSD will start to jump into the privatized Charter game, using public money and handing the management over to private entities. So we have to admit, we now have a two-tier education system, like cable TV. You have basic LAUSD (non-charter public school catering to special needs and English learners) and premium LAUSD (charter public school with "cream of the crop" skimmed off the district).
Instead of preparing for two school systems, all teachers, resources and efforts should go to ONE education system for all.
Is the newly elected LAUSD school board members like the zero experience as an educator, Tamar Galatzan, or even "now veteran" Monica Garcia knowledgeable on the type of school reform they are taking on?
I heard that at Green Dot, only 40%=50% of teachers are fully credentialed. In one school, only 3 out of 22 teachers are credentialed. By state law, this number must be equal to LAUSD, which is 90% credentialed across the general district.
IF THIS IS TRUE, THESE SCHOOLS SHOULD BE SHUT DOWN BY LAW!
Do these charters have the 12%-13% Special Education Classes like LAUSD? Are Charter schools skimming the cream of the crop students leaving LAUSD with the lower performers, then get to say, "LAUSD failed", while making it easier to charters to show improvement with the cream of the crop highest achievers?
And the system is set up to keep the school in constant, "need for reform" mode.
The State Lottery placed steady funding for books and supplies. So, you must wonder why you hear so many cries from students that they don’t have enough text books. Somehow, the State Lottery money is now being used for wage and benefits.
Now I support as much money for teachers as possible, and they have one of society’s most important jobs (next to the police), but I don’t think there is a need to take the kid’s book and supplies money to achieve the goal.
With a $61,000 average LAUSD salary; plus those who chose to earn more money as mentors; summer school gigs; mentoring new teachers; or simply choose to work at Radio Shack during the three month vacation you are talking $85,000 a year, plus National Board certified teachers make upwards of $100,000. (And who else making this much also gets three months off?) But they had to dip into the kids’ books and supply money because teachers were too uncomfortable at this type of salary level, for nine months work. And teachers don’t generally work as many hours as other executives and workers in this salary range, and don’t have the long "after hours", at home computer work many executives at this salary level are forced to take home everyday and over the weekend.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
People have given up on our public schools, now they want to pass the buck to charter schools. (I mean pass the buck literally and figuratively.) Although charter schools can be a welcomed blessing to the community and state (society), it is up to the community to insure that the system is providing that service in the best interest of the public, since the state, through LAUSD approval, is handing over public money to be managed and operated by private corporations (non-profit and for-profit organizations), and history has shown that in many cases, conflict of interest, fraud, waste and abuse ends up producing the exact opposite results as required by law.
More to come.
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