As I wind up my 24th year of teaching in Los
Angeles classrooms , I pause to think of my past lives in different
schools and neighborhoods. While presenting to students in Finland I always
included a slide of past eras of my life such as growing up in the Eastside, college and adulthood
in the Westside, teaching on the Southside, and married life in the Valley.
Apart from being a native Angeleno, significant years of my life have been
spent living in many parts of town, and teaching in many communities. I love
all of them.
Which is why I have no doubt in my mind that what students all
over L.A. need more than anything is an ally on the school board. My South
Central students need a warrior who recognizes that our teachers’ strike was more
than just a salary dispute, but a movement to reclaim our rightful place as
agents of change in the profession we love. One that will help us do our jobs
serving students. My West Valley students need a fighter who will challenge our
legislators to …
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L. A. School Board Fails to Heed Jackie Goldberg's Haunting Advice
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What does the passing of the current LAUSD budget for 09-10 mean to schools with a high percentage of new teachers? These teachers will be fired and replaced with demoted/displaced workers from Downtown headquarters and Local District offices. Per LAUSD policy, positions created by the firing of new teachers must be reserved for displaced workers. Even if schools are able to buy back positions with the increased Title 1 funding, those positions will be offered to displaced workers first. L.A. Academy has dozens of new teachers who will no longer be serving our students, arguably some of the least served students in society, come July 1st.
Jackie Goldberg, a former school board member, vividly warned the current school board about approving the current budget cuts. Nonetheless, Marlene Canter, Yolie Flores Aguilar, Monica Garcia, and Richard Vladovic voted to approve the layoffs of thousands of teachers (Garcia saying it was in the name of the children) thus assuring that schools in South Central such as L.A. Academy, Jefferson HS, Bethune MS, 75th St., and newly built schools like Miguel Contreras Learning Center and Frank del Olmo School will bear the brunt of the budget cuts.
What does this mean for children? It means that teachers who have worked with these children, who know what their needs are and how to cultivate their potential, will not be around to encourage these children to be the best they can be.
The displaced workers chose to not work directly with students a long time ago, for varied reasons. Many were not around classrooms when standards-based education arrived, technology became embedded in instruction, and programs such as block scheduling and small learning communities were implemented. This is not to say they will not be successful, but to have to train dozens of workers at schools where professional development time is already a luxury, and where the new school year starts in 10 weeks, is a recipe for disaster.
The one school board who represents schools such as L.A. Academy, Richard Vladovic, voted to approve the budget cuts. If our own school board member fails to advocate for our schools, who is representing these children? Only public pressure will force our elected politicians to not let this educational catastrophe occur. Consider doing one of the following:
1. ATTEND THE RALLY/PRESS CONFERENCE THIS MONDAY, APRIL 20th, TO PROTEST RICHARD VLADOVIC'S VOTE CAST AT THE BOARD OF EDUCATION BUDGET MEETING ON 4-13-09. JOIN TEACHERS AND CONCERNED MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AT WADSWORTH AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, 981 E. 41ST ST. FROM 4:00 P.M. TO 5:30 P.M.TO PROTEST VLADOVIC'S AFFIRMING VOTE.
2. PLEASE, CALL THE LA SCHOOL BOARD AND TELL THEM TO CREATE SPECIAL PROVISIONS FOR SCHOOLS WITH LARGE NUMBERS OF NEW TEACHERS.
School Board Members
Ms. Marguerite Poindexter LaMotte District 1 (213) 241-6382
Ms. Monica Garcia District 2 (213) 241-6180
Ms. Tamar Galatzan District 3 (213) 241-6386
Ms Marlene Canter District 4 (213) 241-6387
Ms. Yolie Flores Aguilar District 5 (213) 241-6383
Ms. Julie Korenstein District 6 (213) 241-6388
Mr. Richard Vladovic District 7 (213) 241-6385
Superintendent of Schools Ramon C. Cortines Address: 333 S. Beaudry Ave., 24th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90017 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 3307 Los Angeles, CA 90051 Tel: 213-241-7000 Fax: 213-241-8442 superintendent@lausd.net
As my Fulbright journey becomes a reality, I am one part excitement and anticipation, another part forlorn about what I am leaving behind. So each day, leading up to my departure this time next week, I will post what I am most looking forward to learning and what I will seriously miss from my life in Los Angeles.
Looking Forward To
Discussing Education
In our August orientation, I met some of the world's most intelligent and passionate educators. It feeds the soul! These are people for whom teaching is not just a job, but a calling. In just the few days we spent together, I knew that the ideas produced could actually make a difference in improving educational practices in the U.S. Now, I will have the opportunity to have these same type of discussions with educators in Finland while visiting their schools.
Here is some more information about the Finnish education system, from the Fulbright Center in Finland.
Who is AvalonSensei? A teacher dedicated to her students,
devoted 100%.
In 2009 I joined Twitter as a way to call attention to the
disproportionate affect that the teacher layoffs would have on communities in
South Central L.A. By connecting with other teachers and the public I hoped to
somehow shield my school and others from the tragedy to come. I implored the
school board to “Don’t Forget South Central” and began to write in earnest
about what it means to be a teacher in a hard to staff school.
Avalon Boulevard is where my school, Los Angeles Academy, was located and because
teaching is my identity, I called myself AvalonSensei.
I suppose before that I was BroadwaySensei when I worked at
Bethune Middle School, and BaldwinHillsSensei before that. But now, I have ended
my tenure at L.A. Academy. Am I still AvalonSensei?
Students and parents of mine know when I teach at a school,
it is more than just a job. It is a profession in which I embrace with zeal and
affection. Those are MY…
February marked a number of school visits ranging from
elementary (primary) to middle school (lower secondary) and high school (upper
secondary.) As the Fulbrighters get their feet wet, mastering public
transportation, integrating in schools, and networking in the education world,
the question that keeps arising in lunch rooms and private conversations is why
do we have so much violence in schools?
I was trying to explain my school environment both to the
History department at the University of Jyvaskyla Teacher Training School (the
Finnish version of a lab school) and to seniors at Schildt school, both mature
audiences who can handle a nuanced discussion. It never occurred to me just how
much I’ve internalized and to an extent, normalized the violence in our
society.
How does one explain the dramatic rise in poverty we have
experienced over the last few years, and the vast wealth inequality that has
existed for much longer? How do I explain that our society values the
protection of …
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