Don't Forget South Central

There's a write up about teacher bloggers  in the latest CTA issue . This was one of the featured blogs! It's a bittersweet feeling. This blog was created in 2009 when our school was decimated by budget cuts and layoffs. Six years later the economy is finally recovering, but nothing is in place to make sure it never happens again. Who tanked our economy? Why were the most vulnerable of our population the ones to bear the brunt of the recession? Why are the majority of public school students in poverty? I'm really glad that CTA featured this blog and that the issues of students from poverty (and the teachers who teach them) are getting attention. This blog has led me to connect with some amazing educators and leaders from across the nation, especially those who tweet about #educolor on Twitter. I hope that more teachers are encouraged to step outside of their classroom to blog or tweet and make their voices heard. Each school is its own ecosystem with particular an...

What's happening to our school (massive layoffs over 3 years, drastic funding cuts) is now the norm district-wide.  Below is a telling video by the students and staff at Roy Romer Middle School in North Hollywood that pretty much sums up what's happening at schools throughout South Central.

Here's what I said today: Good afternoon, everyone, my name is Martha Infante, and I thank you all for inviting me to speak on the issue of Educational Equity as it relates to schools in California and the nation.   I, like David Cohen, am a member of the Accomplished CA Teachers Network, am Nationally Board Certified, and am currently a middle school history teacher in an urban, industrial area of Los Angeles. My educational background began in the public schools of East Los Angeles in the 1970’s.   I was fortunate to partake in a strong Gifted and Talented Education program and received a robust and fulfilling arts education as well.   As a graduate of UCLA, I continued benefitting from the investment made by the state in public schools and chose to return the favor by becoming a public school teacher in the hardest to staff area of the Los Angeles Unified School District:   South Central Los Angeles   where I have dedicated my service for 20 years....

When our school lost 23 teachers in the 2009 Reduction in Force, we lost some very accomplished individuals who had chosen to work at our previously hard to staff school, and were making progress with our students in South Central Los Angeles. When $17,000,000,000 in budget cuts occurred over the last 2 years, we pulled ourselves together and made do with less counselors, less supplies, less professional development, less, support staff, and less summer and Saturday school opportunities for students. When our school got hit with layoffs again this year, we gritted our teeth, knowing that the positions would not be filled in a timely manner because when all is said and done, the sad truth is that South Central has a bad reputation, some of it well-deserved, for being a scary place to work. We still have not staffed unfilled positions from 2009. So it was no surprise to anyone on the campus when we received the news that we did not achieve our test growth target according to the...

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...

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...

  March 4, 2010 was the Day of Action that brought together all those who have been affected by the $17 billion dollars in education funding cuts over the last two years.  College students, K-12 students, teachers, unions, and parents rallied from San Francisco to San Diego to tell the world it is wrong to cut education and spend billions on wars and prisons. For L.A. teachers, it was a chance to express our angst at the lack of foresight of laying off teachers, when in the next few years, millions of baby boomer teachers will be retiring.  Poor planning has led to many districts being in a dismal financial situation, while others who planned well and had rainy day funds have been navigating the Great Recession, even if only barely. Superintendent Cortines recently presented the 2010-2011 budget that included more cuts for LAUSD teachers, to the tune of 5,200 teaching positions .  Possible factors to mitigate these cuts include pay cuts for teachers, and furlough ...

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 ...