Don't Forget South Central

  L.A. Academy Teachers Melissa Naponelli, Carla Colindres L.A.Academy students have the good fortune of being served by classroom superheroes on a daily basis--why wait for Superman when you have Superwoman and Batgirl on your side?

This email exchange landed in my inbox this week and shows the complexities of the issue of seniority, bargaining rights, and ed reforms.  L.A. Academy is ground zero for this debate, and we are working to try to reach a coherent, reasonable approach to all of these issues.  Of note, both teachers have been RIF'ed in the past 2 years.  (Exchange reprinted with permission of authors.) Email #1 From today's LA Times.  Interesting to see that the "reform" effort in Colorado was headed by democrats and that the Colorado chapter of the AFT eventually supported the reform in exchange for some changes they wanted. This is just one more indication that teachers are losing the public relations battle with our "just say no to everything" approach.  It's no longer just Republican union-busters coming after teachers, but pretty much the whole political establishment.  I really fear that if California teachers' unions continue to say no to all reforms they a...

This week, members of the United Teachers of Los Angeles will vote to approve 12 furlough days in the next 15 months. These furloughs translate in to a 5% pay cut. Should teachers vote for this measure, as a way to preserve jobs? Yes. It is completely understandable why many UTLA members may want to vote this measure down. It is unclear whether the LAUSD has cut enough from its own bureaucracy in order to justify a pay cut for teachers. Although many districts have their budgets posted online as a way of promoting transparency , getting accurate numbers from LAUSD is like pulling teeth. As teachers see it, vast mismanagement of funds, and poor management in general led to a surplus of workers in a district with declining enrollment. Now, to balance the budget, teachers are asked to sacrifice pay. This is not okay. Other UTLA members believe in the "last hired, first fired" way of fairly dealing with layoffs. That might make sense except at schools like L.A. Ac...

  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...

To LAUSD Board President Monica Garcia and Fellow Board Members: It has come to my attention that this week, a flyer was circulated by an unknown person, or persons, in an attempt to misinform parents about charter schools and to falsely imply that their immigration status could be in danger if they choose to enroll their child in such a school. Without a doubt, this flyer was beyond unethical; it was perverse. Preying on the fear and fragile vulnerabilities of families in this district is the antithesis of what educators stand for and have a long history of fighting against. Today, you chose to hold a press conference in front of the UTLA building to denounce this flyer, implying, just like the flyer, that UTLA members such as myself, were responsible for its creation and distribution. I am disappointed that you would imply that the thousands of educators who fight every single day to provide students and their families with a quality education could be responsible for this singul...

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...

According to this report, the language in the LAUSD New School Giveaway proposal will open up the possibility of not only giving governance of new schools to the highest bidder best proposal, but will also put the 34 LAUSD high priority schools on the chopping block. LA Academy is one of them. This blog has chronicled the pain and heartache of the budget cuts, the marginalization, and the massive teacher layoffs on the South Central community. In addition to these issues, we have had to deal with the skimming of the cream of the crop students by charters who have opened up shop in the neighborhood. While parent choice is important, it is also crucial for them to know what they are getting into. Do parents really know, or are they being blinded by propaganda? For sure, many parents have been let down by dysfunctional schools in the inner-city. But how much of that is the function of our society as a whole, which doesn't really seem to care what happens to...

Congratulations to local charter schools for scoring two top teachers that have had enough of the "wait and see" propaganda from both LAUSD and UTLA: Natalie Umber If LAUSD teachers were NBA athletes, Ms. Umber would be Blake Griffin, the #1 draft pick. What can you say about endless dedication, inspired creativity and the ultimate classroom management? Watching Ms. Umber teach was like watching a prima ballerina in action; and her students were the eager recipients of all her instruction. Saying goodbye broke a good many hearts, but we wish her the best at her new school. Laura Garcia This second year dynamo whipped her math students into shape, even though 90% of them were taller than her. I had the privilege of being on the same team with her and enjoyed our conversations at the New Teacher Roundtable. Ms. Garcia was a natural, and will be a fantastic educator. Her school is lucky to have her. How many more hits can our school take? And BTW, are there any outstandin...

Update 7/15/09 2:22 pm UTLA website states LA Times report incorrect. See http://utla.net/system/files/PrematureLATIMES.pdf According to the Los Angeles Times, in an article written by Howard Blume*, UTLA has made a deal with LAUSD that will result in the recission of the 2,000+ layoffs by canceling class-size reduction at the elementary level. The union has agreed to a pay freeze and/or a 1% reduction in wages. Its too late. Its at least too late LA Academy, where school has been in session since July 1st, and we have already lost our top new teachers who didn't sit around waiting while these two powerful organizations "negotiated" the fate of 700,000 students and 40,000 teachers. Let me tell you about who we have lost: Tracie Sanlin This creative 2nd year teacher never ceased maintaining high expectations for all of her students. She handled what many agree to be one of our most challenging 8th grade classes in year including many students who had been OT'd from...

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...