UPDATE Week of May 19, 2008

A s s o c i a t e d A d m i n i s t r a t o r s o f L o s A n g e l e s

THE BEAUDRY ARK

According to the Old Testament, Noah saved life on earth by building an ark and harboring pairs of all living things thereby saving them from the forty-day flood. It appears as though the powers that be in LAUSD are building their own Beaudry Ark to harbor pairs of senior staff in order to save the District from the flood of problems that continue to beset the District. It appears that the Superintendent’s solution is to hire two people for every job.

We currently have for all intents and purposes two Superintendents, David L. Brewer III and Ray Cortines along with the following pairs:

• Two Chiefs of Staff

• Two Public Relations Officers

• Two Chief Executive Officers, Instruction/Special Education

• Two Secondary Assistant Superintendents

• And, of course, the ever popular Divisions of Innovation and Accountability that duplicate what Local District offices should be doing.

In addition to the twosomes listed above and numerous subordinates, the Beaudry Ark also contains many consultants who duplicate services rendered by senior staff.

AALA hopes that the flood ends soon. In this time of a budget crisis or at any time for that matter, Beaudry is not needed as an ark to preserve all living things. In fact, it might be much better if some positions did become extinct. Just think what life would be like on earth if Noah had not allowed certain marginally useful creatures such as mosquitoes to enter the ark. Likewise, LAUSD might be a far better place if some pairs of senior staff were not hired in the first place.

As much as AALA likes to point out District foibles, the pairs of senior staff and proliferation of consultants do create additional problems for this troubled District. In a time of budget crisis, it is very poor public relations to be spending millions of dollars on duplicative and often times inefficient services. How can we in good conscience approach the general public to fund our schools when money is spent at Beaudry as if it were plentiful? Additionally, the duplication

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of services creates a horrendous line staff communication problem. Administrators in our schools need to know who they can turn to for support in a consistent manner. The more senior staff, the more confusion in our schools. More is not always better. In fact, the duplication just muddies the water of line staff communications. Who is really in charge and what do they do? For example, who is really guiding the rudderless leadership of the Innovation Division?

Unfortunately, like in the movie "Field of Dreams," the District built the Beaudry Ark and senior staff keeps arriving. Let’s hope that one of the Superintendents will park the Ark and release unnecessary pairs, thereby keeping only the few who are critical to run the District.

Note: In the spirit of full disclosure, AALA has two Jacks and two Dans on staff; however, they are all productive workers as AALA operates in the fiscal black.

RETIREMENT CELEBRATIONS

Name Date/Time Location Contact Patricia Minnitti Saturday, June 21, 2008 22nd Street Landing Bette Medina 12:00 – 2:30 p.m. 141 West 22nd Street [email protected] San Pedro Kathy Snelgrove [email protected] Tanya Macapinlac Grace Saturday, June 21, 2008 Olympic Collection Akida Long 7:00 p.m. 11301 Olympic Blvd 310.326.5075 Los Angeles 323.296.8043

THERE IS A NEED FOR INCREASED EMPHASIS ON "MIDDLE" SKILLS

Recently, the Council on Competitiveness urged an increased emphasis on "middle" skills (those inherent to jobs that don't require a bachelor's degree but do require training beyond high school). The thrust of the need is a workforce that is enabled to better interact with customers, reports Mark Schoeff for Workforce Management. While it is evident that the United States needs to produce more scientists and engineers, quality alone is insufficient. For instance, technology workers need to have stronger interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial skills. http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/25/51/29.html

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REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY-Report For May 15, 2008

The fourth and final Representative Assembly meeting for the 2007-2008 school year was held on May 15, 2008. Members greatly appreciated hearing the comments of State Senator Tom Torlakson, especially his thoughts regarding the State budget crisis.

The AALA election results were reported as follows: Adult Department Vice President – Fred Hermosillo; Elementary Department Director – Judith Perez; Secondary Department Director – Mark Simmons; and Supervisory Department Vice President – Lynn Williams. Each will be serving a three-year term.

It was also reported that for the third time, the California Court of Appeals upheld the AALA position regarding the status of Directors as bargaining unit members. We assume that three strikes means you are out, and we hope that the District doesn’t feel the need to prolong its string of defeats all the way to the World Court at The Hague.

Proposed AALA Calendar of Events for the 2008-2009 school year was distributed.

It was noted that AALA President Mike O’Sullivan is being honored by the City Terrace Coordinating Council with their Heroes in Education award. The award will be presented on May 20 at the Council’s annual dinner.

Representatives submitted no notice motions.

Department Concerns included: Elementary Department – Why are we spending millions of dollars to develop a school accountability report card when no need apparently exists? Response – AALA has been critical of the need for an Accountability Office. We believe that schools have accountability in the form of WASC accreditation and other forms of accountability including the current School Accountability Report Card. Who determines what expenditures may come from individual school site budgets? Response – Budget Division staff consistent with Federal, State, and District regulations. Supervisory Department – Question regarding bumping rights. Response – Seniority and bumping rights were reviewed. LAUSD Human Resources staff may be contacted regarding any specific questions at 213-241-6131. How are position titles established for central office positions? Response – Position title is named or approved by the Superintendent and processed through Human Resources Branch. Secondary Department – Request that the District develop a sexual abuse/child abuse bulletin with a checklist similar to the Sexual Harassment Bulletin, and also develop professional development training and material to address cases deferred by local police agencies.

AALA thanks the following members for serving on the Representative Assembly and attending this meeting: Adult Department – Fred Hermosillo, Howard Saxe, Martha Peralta, Juan Urdiales and Bob Cochran; Elementary Department – Angel Barrett, Judith Perez, Joan Blair, Sharon Kaiser, Dona Lawrie, Judy Dichter, Farryl Weitzman and Emily Dixon-Hull; Secondary Department – Margaret Prietto, Mark Simmons, Ann Allocca, Scott Schmerelson, Mike Smith, Stephen Foster, Viola Moten, Pamela Donesley, Tom Jones, Willie Richardson, Randy Delling, Brenda Morton, Bob Weinberg, Salvador Velasco, Raul Aguilar, Regina Awtry, Angela Cleveland, Ken Easum, Cecil McLinn, Alex Placencio, Dan Ellis, Alicia Moran, Chibuzo Walton and Fay Chu; Supervisory Department – Lynn Williams, Madeline Latham-Wilson, Manuel Caldera, Nader Delnavaz, Zepore Kivork, Robert Meier and Martin Myers; Early Education Center Administrators – Karen Bowles and Maylin Ramirez; ACSA – Bob Kladifko and Jack Moscowitz; COBA – J. Maxie Hemmans and Edna Burems. AALA Staff present: President – Mike O’Sullivan; Staff – Dan Isaacs, Dan Basalone, Jack Silas, David Tokofsky, Lorraine Bush, Gema Pivaral Cathy Vacca and Steve Weingarten.

Meeting was adjourned at 7:45 PM.

First Representative Assembly Meeting for the 2008-2009 school year is scheduled for October 16, 2008. 3

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EDUCATIONAL OPTIONS MONTH - MAY 2008

We are pleased to inform you that the incoming Speaker Pro Tempore of the Senate Darrell Steinberg is the author of SCR 107, which declares and recognizes May 2008 as Educational Options Month. ACSA's Education Options Council has developed a very good relationship with Senator Steinberg, and he met with the Council this year and plans are in the works for additional opportunities for collaboration with our Education Options Council leaders and other ACSA members who work in this important area of education.

CONGRATULATIONS DR. LINDA CALVO

Congratulations to Linda Calvo, Principal of Arleta High School, who has won the 2008 MetLife Foundation Ambassadors in Education Award. The national award recognizes educators who are exceptional leaders for community engagement activities. The award also salutes principals in LAUSD who build partnerships with community organizations and parents and guardians, resolve conflicts, and promote safety in the school and community or promote civic engagement and community service.

Dr. Calvo's extraordinary efforts also earned a $5,000 grant for her school. In addition, she will receive a crystal apple to signify her achievement. Her community engagement practices will also be profiled as a resource for other schools and communities across the United States.

2 JOB OPENINGS: Palisades Charter High School

DIRECTOR OF STUDENT SERVICES: Functions of this position include managing attendance, compliance, the Dean's Office, and student-focused programs and activities.

OPERATIONS MANAGER: Functions of this positions include overseeing all aspects of PCHS plant/facilities, IT, and transportation.

For additional information and application procedures contact Colleen McCarthy, Human Resources Director, at 310.230.6623 or [email protected] or FAX 310.454.8248.

CHANGE OF VENUE: COBA Conference/Scholarship Luncheon

Saturday, June 7, 2008 – Council of Black Administrators' (COBA) Thirty-third Annual Black Child Conference/Scholarship Luncheon will be held at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott Hotel, Los Angeles Airport Radisson Hotel, 6225 W. Century Blvd., Los Angeles (corner of Century and Sepulveda) 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. For additional information contact the COBA office at 323.296.2040 or [email protected] or www.lausd.k12.ca.us/orgs/coba.

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Ed. Note – In the past few weeks, thanks to Steve Weingarten, UPDATE has been profiling Community Adult Schools and the great job they do providing educational services to the community. This is the fourth and last.

GETTING BY WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM MANY FRIENDS

Watts may seem like a world away from Hollywood, but that didn’t stop the popular remodeling show "Extreme Makeover" from inviting students from the Maxine Waters Employment Preparation Center’s carpentry, electrical and other construction classes to tape a recent episode. Now that’s reality TV!

The clanging and banging continues at the Central Avenue campus. The cement was barely dry on a new home for Waters’ Adult Ed nursing program and Early Education Center when ground was broken for new Automotive and Gerontology centers and a Culinary Arts classroom.

Budget crisis? Principal Janet K. Clark said the crisis is real, but not insurmountable. “I have the same problems with funding that everyone else has,” Clark said, “but I’m innovative.”

Instead of cutting back, Clark has taken entrepreneurship to new levels and found supplemental funds to save and expand programs. She has formed partnerships with labor unions, networked with community groups, knocked on corporate doors, and tapped the school’s namesake, U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters.

“The Congresswoman gave us $198,700 and I used every quarter, dime and penny of it to stock these programs,” Clark said as she motioned around a state-of-the-art nursing classroom. Teacher Norma Roberts’ Licensed Vocational Nursing class has had a 100% pass rate for more than 10 years.

“This is the mayor’s model,” she said, “but we’ve been doing it all along.”

Clark has made the most of the nursing program through a collaborative with a union representing in-home healthcare workers. SEIU Local 6434B Pres. Tyrone Freeman paid $120,000 for 20 of his members to go through the LVN program. “Now other would-be employers want to pay for their students,” she said.

Since then, Clark has asked Rep. Waters for $600,000 more in federal funds, and is looking for new partners for the Auto and Gerontology centers. She wants a corporate sponsor to turn the Culinary Arts classroom into a test kitchen. “That way I’ll never have to upgrade the equipment. The manufacturers would do it, and our students would always be able to use state-of-the-art equipment.”

This is heady stuff for a school that rose from the ashes of South L.A. in 1966 as the Watts Skill Center. It took the new name in 1990, and a new main building opened two years later. Two

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WATERS EMPLOYMENT CENTER (Continued) months after Clark became principal in 2004 she added the Jordan-Locke Community Adult School complex to her service area.

Last year 9,500 students participated in classes on Waters’ main campus and 32 satellite locations. These streets can be mean, and the school offers training for welding, automotive, construction, hazmat, and other jobs “where an arrest record doesn’t seem to matter,” Clark said. “We’re in an area where 150 parolees get dropped off a week.”

But Waters also appeals to Watts’ better angels. Juan Carlos Ramirez, who once studied at the school, now teaches Internet and Computing Core Certification. Ramirez’s multimedia lab is stocked with new I- Macs, where students are learning to produce a school yearbook, videos for job fairs, and websites.

AALA salutes Principal Janet Clark and Assistant Principals Peggy Pope, Rocelia Robertson, and Jose Alcazar for jobs well done.

POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Minimum Qualifications: Candidates are responsible for making sure all the District requirements for administrative positions have been met. AALA is not responsible for errors in publication.

NOTE: Please do not contact AALA for information regarding administrative positions. Use the listed contact phone number, or contact LAUSD Human Resources Division at 213.241.6886 or via e-mail at http://certificated.lausd.k12.ca.us/admin_vacancies.

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED POSITION STILL AVAILABLE

Position Location Deadline Contact

Principal, Elementary Amestoy Magnet School 05/30/08 310.354.3400

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From the Archives of Superintendent Bill Johnston (Ret.) who shared this letter from a member of the Senior High Schools Principals Organization.

I would like to commend the Superintendent and his staff for involving the High School Principals Organization in recommending priorities for budget reductions. The staff drew up excellent general guidelines identifying possible reductions, leading off with recommendation number one: "School-based reductions in staff and programs should be minimized."

May I briefly review some of the budget cuts affecting our high schools during the past ten years.

In 1970, senior high schools were cut to a five-period day and since that time there has been a partial restoration of this reduction to the point where our students can take a full six-period program during three of their high school semesters.

In 1974, high schools lost the opportunity teaching position, which was assigned to us six years before.

In 1975, each high school's allotment of supplemental counseling positions was reduced by one. Most high schools assign six or more full-time counselors to serve in this capacity despite the fact that the district is only able to fund two or three, depending on the school's size. Four supplemental counseling positions are funded for those high schools with more than 3,550 students.

Many high schools used to be able to receive reserve teaching positions from area offices, but this funding was severely curtailed in 1977 and virtually eliminated the following year.

Many inner-city schools have seen a reduction in the number of off-norm teachers allotted for urban-impact purposes. This was done to broaden the support for this program so as to include more schools in this worthy plan. For example, Franklin High School had eleven in 1970; today we receive seven urban impact positions.

The proposed loss of the "other activities" position can have serious consequences for those high schools who use this long time off-norm assignment to place a full-time scholarship advisor in the counseling office.

Despite the gloomy picture described, the district has been aware of the impact of these cuts by adding new programs whenever possible such as the career advisor's position added to all high schools in 1974, the use of CETA assignments at many schools, the equalization of advanced course offerings funding in 1977 and the summer school cancellation positions added for a one-year period just this last school year. We look forward to your creative efforts in improving the senior high school program.

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FERIA DEL LIBRO BOOK FAIR

The 6th Annual Feria del Libro: A Family Book Fair is scheduled to be held on Saturday, June 7, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the steps of City Hall with an expected attendance of over 35,000 children, their families and friends. The book fair is a coordinated effort among Families In Schools (FIS), the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles County Office of Education, and First Five LA. As a result of our success in promoting books and the joy of reading, the event has grown from 5000 in 2003, to over 35,000 in 2007. Because low-performing schools tend to be located in communities that lack access to bookstores, it is impossible to develop the necessary appetite for book ownership and the habit of investing in books for a lifetime. This appetite is essential to ensure that our children not only learn to read, but read to learn for their lifetime. Such habits will stimulate a better future for our children, increased academic achievement, and a stronger and more vibrant Los Angeles.

On this day, we connect families and children to local book vendors and literacy-based entertainment and speakers. Additionally, approximately 600 students earned $50 gift cards as a reward for meeting the Million Word Challenge (MWC). They can spend the cards at the participating booths of book vendors. FIS raises funds to ensure every child receives this reward.

We sincerely appreciate all the work and time that principals have given to this project. Our partners share the belief that it “takes a village” to ensure that our neediest students receive the learning supports necessary to succeed in school and life. Your participation and your support of this event will move us closer to that vision.

For additional information please contact Mr. Marquez at 213-484-2870 ext. 241 or by e-mail at [email protected].

CORRECTION: In a prior week we wrote that schools could order promotional material from Jefferson High School print shop. Actually, all LAUSD schools are receiving a few posters from their district offices and all LAUSD Million Word Challenge registered schools are receiving posters, flyers, bookmarks, and an outdoor banner through their local districts. We apologize for the error.

…ON EDUCATION IN SOCIETY…

"Nations have recently been led to borrow billions for war; no nation has ever borrowed largely for education... no nation is rich enough to pay for both war and civilization. We must make our choice; we cannot have both." -- Abraham Flexner