Don't Forget South Central

These are the people who will be vying to take over my school.  See my comment below. Gigi, The charter school PR machine does a tremendous job of painting a pretty picture about purported academic success at its schools. You repeat it verbatim, with not a single critical question asked, or alternate point of view presented. You do the public a disservice. Public, please google "Stanford charter school study" and you will quickly find that only 17% of charters outscore public schools. 17%. If you choose to highlight successful charters (to which you must apply, impose a parent participation requirement, and in some cases legally hold back students a grade, none of which public schools are allowed to do) then you present the public with a misleading view that all charter schools are better than all public schools. Attrition at the "best" charters is high. Where do the students who don't want to be flunked a grade go? Right back to publ...

  This past week at L.A. Academy has been marked by the dread of imposed layoffs, uncertainty as to how many would actually go through, and the potential loss of our award-winning librarian. Coincidentally (or not), students decided at this time to behave in a manner unseen in years, to the faculty who has been around since the opening of the school in 1998.  There were “rolling fights” on campus, where students run in hordes from place to place, to witness fights or other disturbances.  This situation has the potential for lots of physical injury because if you are in the way of an approaching horde, you will get knocked down, run over, and trampled.  Two students were injured, and many others were pushed, shoved, and stepped on. Is there a connection between these two situations?  Teachers believe so.  Our school is a distinctly different place since 23 of our established faculty were laid-off in the 2009 Reduction in Force.  More than ...

Starting at dinner time on Friday the 12th, the texts and phone calls started coming in.  "I'm fired,"  "guess I'll be looking for a new job" or  "I get it, LAUSD, you don't want me."  Apprehensive teachers had made their way home to find their pink slips waiting for them. Unlike last year, the teachers were realistic about their chances of getting another one this year.  Nothing can really prepare you for getting the letter that tells you you have less than four months left of being a teacher and working with your students.  LAAMS lost 23 teachers last year, and with that fact in mind, and no clear UTLA plan of action, our new crop of RIF'ed teachers are grim about their future, and the future of our school community. At least 10 new RIF's have been confirmed, but LAUSD saw it fit to send duplicate RIF's to last year's laid-off teachers who are currently working as substitutes.  In a time of contra...

As we approach New Year's Day 2010, Los Angeles Academy Middle School has much to be thankful for. Below are some factors that have helped keep our school together, in spite of forces trying to tear us down: 1. Maria A. Borges, Principal This dynamic principal is tough as nails and has managed to put together an outstanding group of teachers and support staff that has allowed our school to thrive in difficult circumstances. The secret to her success? She doesn't care about winning popularity contests. She will ONLY do what she believes to be in the students' best interest, and doesn't hesitate to overrule something she thinks is misguided. Arne Duncan is running all over the country trying to figure out what works in education but all he needs to do is pick up the phone and call our Principal. 2. The Teachers Our LAAMS teachers have gone above and beyond the call of duty to plug...

Superintendent Cortines recently announced his plans to balance the LAUSD budget for the 10-11 school year through massive layoffs (again) or a 12% pay cut by LAUSD teachers. It also includes 4 furlough days for this school year. Apparently, the bargaining units have to accept/reject/negotiate this offer by early December, since that is when the school board must submit a balanced budget to Sacramento. We have to wonder why the District refuses to offer a clear look into their books so the units can make suggestions for cuts away from the classroom, instead of continuing the strategy of laying off teachers (and raising class sizes) to balance their budget. We wonder why this news was announced with such little time for meaningful negotiation. Perhaps it is part of the new trend to usher controversial proposals through with little time to allow for dissent . Should teachers receive a wage reduction? If there is nowhere else to cut, then it must be considered. But the consequences ...

Readers might remember the story of Lamar Queen , a talented third year teacher who was RIF'ed last year, and whose musical abilities gained him lots of fans and followers in cyberspace. His story came to represent the tragedy of losing so many young teachers to charters and other professions when the District sent out layoff notices in the spring. Lamar was one of the few teachers who chose to stay at our school and work as a substitute, in spite of having other options as a gifted math teacher. We are lucky to still have him on staff. This talented teacher has just completed his first album of math raps, and will be having a release party at Horace Mann Middle School on December 12th, at noon, in the MPR. If you enjoyed his funky Slope Intercept Form rap , or the catchy PEMDAS rap , then you will enjoy the rest of his masterful creations, such as the Quadratic Love Song and Distance Rate Time. The public is invited!!! Copies of the CD and DVD will be available for purchase a...

image from 3.bp.blogspot.com They say you should wait to write a response when you are frustrated or disappointed. This school community is outraged at the passage of the Flores-Aguilar privatization act. So after waiting two days, we will attempt to share how teachers in South Central are reacting to the news that schools such as ours, LA Academy, might be outsourced to a private organization. 1. School board decisions have a way of trickling down to us in a different incarnation. When the layoffs were announced in March, we knew that if our young staff was laid off, few veterans would want to take their place down here in South Central. We were right. We continue to have unfilled positions, some taught by the very same laid-off teachers who are working in their own classes at substitute pay sans benefits. This is free market theory at its clearest. We think its wrong. We are concerned that the policy passed yesterday will also be implemented in a convoluted way in South Cen...

Tonight was the fourth townhall meeting regarding the LAUSD New School Giveaway proposal, held at Hamilton HS on the Westside. We have to wonder if this is an exercise in futility as was the effort to retain the dozens of new teachers our school lost during the massive budget cuts that occurred at the end of the last school year. At tonight's meeting, there were a scant 110 or so adults present. We would say 20% were parents, 50 % were teachers, 20% were charter school advocates, and 10% were District staff. The presentation revealed that aside from the 50 new schools that would be open to a new governance system, all PI 3+ would also be deemed "struggling" and subject to takeover by any of the following: 1. Charter school organizations 2. Pilot school programs 3. University affiliated programs (LMU Family of Schools, UCLA Community Schools) 4. Traditional schools The LD3 Superintendent, Michelle King, said teachers would be welcome to submit proposals...

Students created a farewell shirt for Natalie Umber Tomorrow is the last day of school at Los Angeles Academy Middle School. It will be the final day of work as teachers for some 20 + outstanding, dedicated young professionals who have been crushed by the Los Angeles Unified School District, impotent Sacramento legislators, and let down by their union. The students in South Central will bear the burdens of the mistakes made by those we have elected and entrusted with their care. The last several weeks have been among the most stressful in the 20 years I have worked in this district. To see the hope, desperation, resignation, and disappointment in the eyes of these teachers has been almost too much to bear. To have to break the news to the children has led many adults on campus to reach their breaking point. Today, at our recognition ceremony, it was all Principal Borges could do to keep her composure as she said goodbye to the teachers she has come to admire so much. Teachers are ...

Kudos to Mr. Queen who along with fellow L.A. Academy teacher Jimmy Pascascio earned a Video in the Classroom award for their work on PEMDAS-Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally-Secondary Math Video. Mr. Queen's last day at L.A. Academy will be June 30th. You can view Mr. Queen's videos by clicking on the links below. The awards will be broadcast Sunday, June 28th, at 3:00 p.m.

Teacher of the Year is Inspired and Enlightened by Talented, Laid-Off New Teacher Dear Ms. Sanlin, My mind is having a hard time accepting the reality of what is to come in less than three weeks. You, a superbly talented new teacher, who has been a source of invigoration and inspiration to me and fellow colleagues for the last two years, have chosen not to linger in limbo and have accepted a teaching position in New York City next year.  When you received your Reduction in Force notice on March 15th, I know you hoped it would be rescinded, and that the District would realize that you cannot decimate a struggling school by laying off 23 of its 112 committed teachers.  This is, however, what happened and it means that 200 students in our hard to staff school in South Central Los Angeles, will be deprived of the magic of your teaching and your vibrant personality next school year.  I remember your first year of teaching (last year), when we shared a class of difficult students.  One, in p...

Teachers continue to make their voices heard at the Friday morning informational leafletings at L.A. Academy Middle School. Pictured here are many of our RIF'ed teachers, the Rifters, who are trying to stay positive in the face of their layoff notices. Pictured here are Emmanuel Ofili, Silvia Garcia, Giovanni Torres, Ricardo Andrade, Rico Gutierrez Osvaldo hands out flyers when he could be home in bed. Carita Spencer Bryant (left) has taught at this schools since it opened and does not want to see her newer colleagues go. Melissa Naponelli is UTLA Co-Chair and is fighting valiantly to help the new teachers. The Chimalpopoca family participated in the leafleting, even though Osvaldo, an 8th grader in our Advanced Studies program is off track and could have slept in. Joe Zeccola (left) and Brent Tercero have both been RIF'ed and are devastated. From left to right are David D'Lugo, Natalie Umber, Maria Flores, Silvia Garcia, and Brenda Talaro. All of these teachers have been R...